U mad, bro?: Some Penguins fans are dubious of Kyle Dubas; Pirates fans getting fussy

Here’s how I can tell that NFL OTAs happen too early for us to really care. I didn’t get a single Pittsburgh Steelers complaint this week.

Not one “I don’t care that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season.” Nary a “Kenny Pickett is never gonna be all that good.” Not even a random “Fire Canada!” in a subject heading.

Check back with me in September, though.

Eh, who am I kidding? Check back with me after the first open practice at Saint Vincent College in July.

Thankfully, though, y’all seem pretty agitated by the Penguins and Pirates. So there is plenty of content for this week’s “U mad, bro?”

This is an email from “sbeal68.” He thinks the coaches in Pittsburgh have it too easy when it comes to low expectations from their bosses — especially after new president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas said Mike Sullivan “can coach forever” during his introductory press conference.

“I used to joke that there was something in the water in Pittsburgh that kept coaches from being fired, but it’s obvious after addressing the media about Mike Sullivan’s future with the team, that the first thing a thirsty Kyle Dubas did after his plane landed was to drive on down to Point State Park and take a drink of water from the fountain.

I guess it’s a worthy debate now to discuss who will be fired first: Tomlin or Sullivan, with Shelton being a dark horse to be here longer than either of them.”

I dunno, Steve. Didn’t you just watch that Pirates-A’s series? I think all bets are off for Shelty, too, after that debacle — contract extension or not.

Speaking of Sullivan’s influence, this reader on Twitter has a thought.

Managers mgmt, coaches coach, players play. That's my article, send it to print.

— Hotheon (@_Hotheon_) June 2, 2023

You’re hired. When can you start? Word economy. I like it.

Don also hopes Dubas cleans house.

“If he doesn’t disinfect everything, they’ll still have the virus. Don’t be in awe man, or it will be groundhog day all over and over and over again!”

Did I come off as being “in awe” in either column I wrote about Dubas’ hire? I actually think I was one of the few in the Pittsburgh media to avoid gushing about the guy, quite frankly.

But don’t worry. I am familiar with “Groundhog Day.”

“Do you ever have déjà vu, Mrs. Lancaster?”

“I don’t think so, but I could check with the kitchen.”

Rea is down on the Pirates.

“It’s the same old Pirates. I’ll be surprised if they don’t lose at least 100-110 games this year, maybe more.”

Wanna know something? Rea sent this email as the Pirates were about to sweep the Cardinals and before their collapse against the pitiful Oakland A’s.

Geez! I wonder what she must be thinking now.

Gary is pretty fed up with the local baseball team too.

Aside from the embarrassment it's a lost opportunity to add to their overall win total versus the worst team in MLB. On paper this series looked too easy. Should have seen these results coming a mile away.

— J Gary Sutton (@jgarysutton) June 7, 2023

Gary, are you single? I’d like to introduce you to my friend Rea.

Rea, meet Gary. Gary, this is Rea.

I’m expecting this to be my first successful match of my new dating app. It’s called “Pirates Fans Connections: Cupid homers, even when Austin Hedges can’t.”

We end with Christopher. He loved my column about Dubas being hired by the Penguins as their president of hockey operations — even without getting any clarity regarding Sidney Crosby’s plans to play beyond his contract ending in 2025.

“LOL (My reaction to reading about halfway through your ‘column.’

It’s folks like you pushing the concept that Crosby isn’t going to extend.

Really, all you have to do is take a step back and do simple math (via common sense), IE: Letang signed and Malkin signed (mainly thanks to Crosby working his friendship with Malkin).

The clear answer is, yes, Crosby is going to end up as a Penguin with the other ‘big two.’ Otherwise, why would they have both extended here?

Beyond that, I thought that the Dubas press conference went well. I thought he was very transparent, at a high level. I think that Sullivan is a very good coach in this league as well and, given the hand that he was dealt from the previous management team, did ok.

Lastly, as it relates to your perspective, which for some reason is almost always, seemingly, cynical (which is what makes your opinion, and thereby, columns extremely insufferable to read the entire way through), I would simply suggest to take a positive approach and, candidly, start using some common sense.”

Christopher, trust me when I say that I had the same “LOL” reaction to your email. A few things …

• You’re probably right. Crosby probably will extend. But it’s not my job to make you feel warm and cozy in your No.87 Sid footy pajamas, as you pray that he is going to play in Black and Gold until he’s 90 years old. It’s not my job to protect your delicate fan sensibilities from a time when you will have to eventually ponder an existence without him on the ice. It’s my job to frame a conversation based on the information that’s known.

• If it’s so obvious Sid’s extending, then why doesn’t he say it? What’s the harm if it is so obvious?

• When you talk about Dubas being transparent, do you mean as transparent as saying he’s not going to “pop up somewhere else next season,” then he does so three weeks later?

• ”Candidly,” it’s not part of my contract to “take a positive approach.” That’s the job of a web writer for any one of the local teams. I don’t work for them. My job is to give opinions on what I see.

• Mike Sullivan’s teams started to go south before Ron Hextall took over as general manager.

• Cynicism isn’t just a trait some columnists have. It should be a requirement for all of us who have that job title. If you don’t have it, you are just spoon-feeding the public what they want to hear and what the teams want you to digest.

• If you have such a keen understanding of my writing and you can’t get through a whole column, no one is making you open my links in the first place … as I’m sure you did for this piece wondering if your email made the cut.

Congratulations. Glad I could make your day. And thank you for reading all the way to the end.

Don’t worry. I get emails like this all the time. Dare I say, it’s almost like “Groundhog Day.”