Fifth Avenue Sports

Blog

fifthavenuesports.com/

Profile

fifthavenuesports.com/author/a

Homepage

fifthavenuesports.com

  • Windy City Woes: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Bears, Week 12

    The Pittsburgh Steelers are now 6-5. With starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers ruled out due to his wrist injury just hours before kickoff, backup Mason Rudolph led the offense to a 21-point losing effort, with his unit getting help from a TJ Watt strip sack in Chicago’s endzone that led to a defensive score. But Pittsburgh’s…

  • Game Of His Life: Kerrith Whyte Jr

    “Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, Kerrith Whyte Jr. Kerrith Whyte Jr’s pro football career featured a lot of stops, but not a lot of games. Originally a seventh…

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins Have Not Won A Shootout In Over A Year

    The shootout is one of the NHL’s more controversial topics. First introduced after the full-season 2004-05 NHL lockout, the shootout was brought in as a creative way to end ties in the league. Now, every game had a winner and a loser, much the way of baseball and basketball. Over the years, it’s divided hockey…

  • Discussing Pavel Mintyukov And If The Penguins Could Get Involved

    Trade talk is always fun, no matter what time of year. And for the Pittsburgh Penguins, a new name has emerged that had some fans on social media clamoring for the team to get this done. In his latest 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote of some chatter surrounding Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov. After…

  • Comparing Anthony Mantha’s Start From This Year To Anthony Beauvillier’s From Last Year

    If you pay attention to general managers in the NHL long enough, you’ll start to notice some patterns. For Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team’s general manager made a very similar signings two years in a row. Before last season, the Penguins inked free agent forward Anthony Beauvillier to a one-year deal worth…

  • Eleven Thoughts On The NFL For Week 11

    One: Admit it, Darnell Washington is becoming one of the most entertaining players to watch in the NFL. The 6′ 7, absolute tank of a tight end has been worked more and more into the passing game for the Steelers this season, and it’s giving us some incredible television. On Sunday afternoon, Washington recorded a…

  • Bengal Beatdown: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Bengals, Week 11

    After dropping three of their last four, the Pittsburgh Steelers got back into the win column with a 34-12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. It wasn’t the prettiest or crispest of wins, but it was desperately needed in more ways than one. With Baltimore (predictably) climbing out of their 1-5 hole to now sit at…

  • Why Sunday’s Sweden Win Was So Important For The Penguins

    Given the recent slide that the Pittsburgh Penguins were on, their trip over to Sweden as part of the NHL’s Global Series felt equally as important as it did special. The Penguins had lost four of their last five and five of their last seven. That losing stretch had included a rough 5-2 loss in…

  • Will The Penguins Pursue David Kämpf?

    Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas loves his guys. Just ask Toronto Maple Leafs fans. He loves bringing in guys for a second time around, and he loves acquiring people that he’s familiar with and worked alongside before. That mantra only continued to grow after his exit from Toronto, when he signed on to take…

  • Checking In On Vasily Ponomarev

    For the first time in a long, long time, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a prospect pool with legitimate names in it. Whether they’ve played NHL minutes this season like Owen Pickering, Ben Kindel, or Sergei Murashov, or are still working their way up like Tanner Howe, Bill Zonnon, and Will Horcoff, there’s a lot of…

  • Ten Thoughts On The NFL For Week 10

    One: “On any given Sunday.” That’s the famous phrase we hear about the NFL every week. On any given Sunday, any team can win, no matter their record, their roster, or their circumstances. Well, this feels like one of the few seasons where that’s actually true. I mean, just take a look at Buffalo. Last…

  • Dead Batteries: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Chargers, Week 10

    For the third time in four weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers dropped a game on national television. Their latest loss came at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers, who took the easy 25-10 win over the Steelers, dropping them to 5-4. Steelers fans did their part to invade SoFi Stadium, but those in black and…

  • Comparing Arturs Silovs’ First Nine Starts, Last Season Vs This Season

    On Saturday afternoon, goaltender Arturs Silovs started his ninth game for the Pittsburgh Penguins, making 23 saves on 24 shots in a game his team eventually lost in the shootout. For Silovs, it was another strong game, even if the end result was disappointing. Silovs is in his first true NHL season with the Penguins,…

  • Penguins 5-3 Win Over Capitals Shows Us What This Team Is Capable Of

    Thursday night featured the latest chapter in the legendary rivalry between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. In an ultimate 5-3 win, the Penguins had an extremely up-and-down night. But in the end, their performance showed us a lot about what this team is capable of. The start to this game was great. After a deflating…

  • Revisiting Ron Hextall’s Final Penguins Draft

    As the Pittsburgh Penguins enter a transitionary period, one where they are putting far more emphasis on the youth movement and development, fans are going to have a lot more reason to pay attention to the next several drafts. This past summer, the Penguins had selected three players in the first round for the first…

  • Meet The (Not So) New Penguins

    In case you missed it on Tuesday night, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a flurry of roster moves. Forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari, as well as goaltender Tristan Jarry have all been placed on injured reserve. Brazeau has missed the last few games and was considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Now, it looks as…

  • Nine Thoughts On The NFL For Week 9

    One: No one deserves that kicking record more than Cam Little. Back in August, the 2024 sixth round pick had drilled an amazing 70-yard kick against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with a few yards to spare. It was the longest successful field goal ever recorded in organized football. But, since it occurred in a preseason game,…

  • Horseshoe Theory: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Colts, Week 9

    For those who are unaware, the Horseshoe Theory is used in politics to describe how the two polar opposites of the political spectrum might actually be closer to each other than they are to the political center. Now, allow me make a huge reach here, but this idea makes sense to me, so I hope…

  • The NHL’s Frozen Frenzy Is A Great Idea, But Here’s How To Actually Execute It

    On Tuesday night, the NHL held their third annual Frozen Frenzy, where all 32 NHL teams play on the same day. The idea, in theory, is great. Every single team in action means there’s 16 different games going on. It gets eyes from every single hockey market in both the United States and Canada, and…

  • The Rise Of Ryan Shea

    In the summer, Ryan Shea’s role in the new rendition of the Pittsburgh Penguins was up in the air. Sure, the left-shot defenseman had earned himself a one-year extension with the club back in March worth $900K. And yes, it was the second time that general manager Kyle Dubas had liked what he saw enough…

  • How The Homestead Grays Played The First True Night Game At Forbes Field

    When one does a simple Google search for “first night baseball game in Pittsburgh” they’ll find results for a game from June 4th, 1940. It’s a result that details a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Bees (present day Atlanta Braves), where on an early summer night, the Pirates played their first night game…

  • Eight Thoughts On The NFL For Week 8:

    One: Yeah, Baltimore is still going to win that division, aren’t they? A division that is often seen as one of the best in football has turned into a tire fire this year. Only one team is currently above .500, and that team, well…they aren’t doing so hot themselves. Meanwhile, the Ravens won against Chicago…

  • Pack It In: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Packers, Week 8

    It was a game that the football world had circled on their calendars since the day Aaron Rodgers officially signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. After spending 18 seasons in Green Bay with the Packers, Rodgers would finally face his old team, three years after they parted ways. The game, a Sunday night showcase, would pit…

  • Anthony Mantha Is Off To An Unexpected Hot Start

    The Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a shocking good start. Nine games in, the Penguins are 6-2-1, and have not lost in regulation in nearly two weeks. Goaltenders Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry have both performed brilliantly in net so far, their defensive unit has had its moments, and the Penguins have enjoyed a ton…

  • Penguins Pass Massive Test Down In Sunrise

    On Wednesday, I penned a piece talking about the hot start that the Pittsburgh Penguins were on. At the time, they had just won a decisive 5-1 game over Vancouver at home, and had improved to 5-2-0 to open their year. Their early season success can be attributed to a lot of things. They are…

  • Looking At The Hot Starts Down In Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

    While the Pittsburgh Penguins are off to a surprising 5-2-0 start to kick off the 2025-26 season, they are not the only team within the organization that is playing well right now. Down in the American Hockey League, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a perfect 5-0-0 to open their season. Leading that charge is prospect goaltender…

  • Ok So, Like, Are The Penguins Actually Good?

    If I was from the future, and I came back to visit you before the season started to tell you that, seven games in, Justin Brazeau would be leading the team in goals, you probably would have one of two questions: That’s completely ok. I would have asked the same questions! Yet, seven games into…

  • Seven Thoughts On The NFL For Week 7

    One: Raise your hand if you had the Indianapolis Colts at 6-1 seven games into the season. Put your hand down, you’re lying. Everything is turning up Indy right now. Running back Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in almost every rushing statistic, including leading by over 100 yards over the second-place Javonte Williams. He’s up…

  • Do The Steelers Have Something In Ke’Shawn Williams?

    A few weeks ago, I detailed some of the odd, occasional, and forgotten kick returners that the Pittsburgh Steelers have deployed over the years. The team has not been able to find any kind of consistency, in both personnel and performance, in years. This season alone, the team has already used four different players return…

  • The New York Rangers Are Minutes Away From Breaking A Pittsburgh Pirates Record (Yes, You Read That Right)

    Rumors of the scoring problems in New York might be greatly exaggerated, as the Penguins found out the hard way a week ago. Hosting the Rangers for their third game of the season, the Penguins were blown out 6-1 at PPG Paints Arena, with the Rangers getting contributions from a large chunk of their roster.…

  • Bungled: Five Thoughts On Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Bengals, Week 7

    On a night where the Steelers had a chance to take a stranglehold on the AFC North, and shed some troubling historical trends, they ended up doing neither. A 33-31 loss in Cincinnati has the Bengals now only 1.5 games back in the division, and has opened the door for maybe even Baltimore to storm…

  • What Should The Penguins Do With Thomas Novak Long Term?

    Thomas Novak is going to be one of the more interesting Penguins players to keep an eye on this season. Yes, his play on the ice is obviously a big part of that, but as the Penguins slowly continue to try and figure out exactly what their future is, Novak is the type of player…

  • Six Thoughts On The NFL For Week 6

    One: I might not know a lot, but I know for certain that the NFL needs to issue a massive apology to the people of London, for what they were forced to witness on Sunday. In what I can only describe as one of the worst games of all time, the poor people of London…

  • Bingos And Breakouts: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Browns, Week 6

    The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to roll while the rest of their division continues to crumble. Now at 4-1, the Steelers are the only team to have a winning record in the AFC North, and have taken the first of six opportunities to widen their lead against their rival teams with a 23-9 win against Cleveland…

  • To Tender Or Not To Tender: A Look At The Arbitration List For The Pirates

    A few days ago, Matt Swartz and MLB Trade Rumors released their projected salaries for arbitration eligible players this year. They aren’t official numbers, but at the very least, they provide a good baseline to go off heading into the offseason, which is especially crucial for the Pittsburgh Pirates and general manager Ben Cherington. The…

  • Justin Brazeau And The Recent History Of Odd First Goal Scorers

    With all due respect to Justin Brazeau, I do not think many of us had him as the first goal scorer for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2025-26. And I am absolutely certain that no one had him scoring the first two goals of the season for the Penguins. After all, Brazeau went into the game…

  • Benjamin Kindel And Harrison Brunicke Mark Third Duo Of Penguin Teenage Debuts

    When Benjamin Kindel and Harrison Brunicke stepped on the ice at Madison Square Garden last night, they etched themselves into Penguins history forever. Per Penguins PR, the duo was just the third pair of teenage teammates to make their NHL debuts together. Oddly enough, each duo included one forward and one defenseman. Their stories in…

  • Five Thoughts On The NFL For Week 5

    One: It was hard to have a better bye week than the Pittsburgh Steelers did on Sunday. Getting some rest after a trip overseas to Ireland, the Steelers got to sit back and watch as their division crumbled around them. Cleveland, making the change from Joe Flacco to rookie quarterback and the Browns pick we’ve…

  • Previewing The 2025-26 Pittsburgh Penguins Season

    This Pittsburgh Penguins season is going to be weird, man. A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice in a game that counted. They revamped nearly their entire coaching staff, including their first change at head coach in ten years. Dan Muse, a first time head coach in…

  • So Long, Solak: A Retrospective On One Of The Most Random Pirates In Recent Time

    Nick Solak has one of the more interesting careers in recent baseball memory. After playing 253 games over parts of four big league seasons with the Texas Rangers, Solak tumbled out of a consistent job and found himself on a dizzying carousel of minor league teams. It was odd to see Solak struggle to grab…

  • What Ever Happened To The Draft Pick The Penguins Sent To Vegas In The Expansion Draft?

    Last week, the Pittsburgh Penguins did something unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the NHL. The team signed goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a wink-wink professional try out, where the future Hall of Famer played one period in the team’s September 27th preseason game vs the Columbus Blue Jackets. With a packed house behind him, Fleury…

  • Five Stats That Lead To Questions For The Pirates In 2026

    The Pittsburgh Pirates look like a rudderless ship right now. In a year where they finished 71-91 despite their star ace, Paul Skenes, putting up one of the best pitching seasons of all time, the team has decided to make no major changes regarding their approach. Semi-new manager Don Kelly is staying. Overdue general manager…

  • How The Penguins Should Deploy Ville Koivunen This Year

    In a year of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey that is going to be weird and wonky, one player that I am super excited to watch is Ville Kouvinen. Ever since the Penguins acquired Koivunen in that Jake Guentzel trade about a year and a half ago, I have been incredibly high on the kid. The fantastic…

  • Bringing Back Ben Cherington Is A Fatal Mistake For Pirates

    Paul Skenes is in line to win the NL Cy Young award this season. It will mark just the latest achievement in the 23-year-old phenom’s short, but illustrious pro career. After winning NL Rookie of the Year last season, starting two straight All-Star Games, and leading baseball in WAR, ERA, strikeouts, and WHIP, winning a…

  • Four Thoughts On The NFL For Week 4

    One: For the first time since the 2022 season, there was a tie in the NFL. Three years ago, both the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans, and the New York Giants and Washington Commanders fought their way to a tie game. Ironically, both those games were 20-20 ties. Three years later, we got a 40-40…

  • Luck Of The Irish: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Vikings, Week 4

    Come on, you knew it could never be that easy. Raise your hand if you thought, that when the Pittsburgh Steelers were up 24-6 in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings, that this game would go quietly into the Ireland night. Put your hand down, you’re lying. That’s just not how the Steelers play…

  • Le Retour De La Fleur: A Night Unlike Any Other

    Saturday night was truly a one-of-a-kind moment. The kind of night that I’m honestly not sure I can put into words. But, that’s kind of what I do here, so, I’m going to try my best. Lines formed hours before the 5:30pm door open time. The lines and pandemonium inside the building’s PensGear store for…

  • Presenting The Finalists For Most Random Pirate Of 2025

    Yeah, Paul Skenes is probably going to win the NL Cy Young, but let’s get to the award that really matters. Who will be crowned the Most Random Pirate of 2025? While games played isn’t always a direct indicator of a player’s “randomness,” it certainly helps if they didn’t play a lot. After all, the…

  • Training Camp Transcripts: Valtteri Puustinen

    A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice. There’s a new head coach, a new surrounding staff, and a new goal for the organization heading into this season. And even though the goal might not be to win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still a lot…

  • Game Of His Life: Michael Pérez

    “Game Of His Life” tells the story of Pittsburgh athletes who may not have had the most illustrious, Hall of Fame level careers, but had one absolutely amazing game. In today’s edition, Michael Pérez. I’ll be honest, in some of these editions, I maybe am stretching the definition of “Game Of His Life” just a…

  • Training Camp Transcripts: Tristan Broz

    A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice. There’s a new head coach, a new surrounding staff, and a new goal for the organization heading into this season. And even though the goal might not be to win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still a lot…

  • Three Thoughts On The NFL For Week 3

    One: I have to wonder if the end is near for Russell Wilson in New York. Wilson didn’t have a great night Sunday night in New York’s loss to Kansas City. He went 18-of-32 for 160 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions. New York’s only touchdown of the game came courtesy of running back Cam…

  • Foxborough Fumble Fest: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Patriots, Week 3

    This one feels much more like a Patriots loss than it does a Steelers win. New England outplayed Pittsburgh in almost all areas offensively. They had 368 yards to Pittsburgh’s 202, and nearly doubled them both on the ground and through the air. But the Patriots just could not get out of their own way.…

  • Training Camp Transcripts: Filip Hallander

    A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice. There’s a new head coach, a new surrounding staff, and a new goal for the organization heading into this season. And even though the goal might not be to win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still a lot…

  • Training Camp Transcripts: Sam Poulin

    A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice. There’s a new head coach, a new surrounding staff, and a new goal for the organization heading into this season. And even though the goal might not be to win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still a lot…

  • The Recent History Of Odd Kick Returners For The Steelers

    Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson has had a brutal week. In the days after his mistake handling a kickoff that led to a game-changing touchdown for the Seattle Seahawks, the Iowa product has been blasted in the media for his miscue. In my own personal opinion, Johnson’s blunder reflects poorly on the coaching…

  • Kaleb Johnson’s Kick Return Blunder Reflects Poorly On More Than Just Him

    Special teams was the ultimate killer in Pittsburgh’s Week 2, home opener loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Yes, their defense was shredded once again, and the offense stalled out as quarterback Aaron Rodgers looked much less impressive than his season debut. But, it was a mishap on a kickoff that swung momentum entirely in Seattle’s…

  • Two Thoughts On The NFL For Week 2

    One: Joe Burrow’s injury changes everything, doesn’t it? The AFC North, the AFC as a conference, and the NFL as a whole. But nowhere will feel it as much as Cincinnati’s division, the AFC North. In a division that is always tough and had four teams with playoff aspirations heading into this season, Cincinnati is…

  • Hawk-Eyed: Five Thoughts On Steelers vs Seahawks, Week 2

    After Week 1, it felt like we had a lot of answers regarding the Steelers. After Week 2, it seems like we have just as many questions, if not more. The offense looked much more reminiscent of the unit we’ve seen over the last four years or so, and the vaunted defense broke down for…

  • Training Camp Transcripts: Rafael Harvey-Pinard

    A lot has changed since the last time we saw the Penguins take the ice. There’s a new head coach, a new surrounding staff, and a new goal for the organization heading into this season. And even though the goal might not be to win the Stanley Cup this season, there is still a lot…