The year isn't quite complete, so there's still time for reflection on a remarkable year in Pittsburgh sports. Each day for the rest of this week and, thus, the rest of this year, we'll offer the DKPittsburghSports.com staff's choices for the best quotes, best photos and, for the climax Friday, the 25 most memorable moments of 2016.
Let's talk before we walk and begin with this year's classic quotes, somehow resisting the urge to use nothing but Clint Hurdle material top to bottom:
PENGUINS
“I’m a champion, man. Me … I’m a champion.” -- Justin Schultz, on the ice in San Jose and evidently in Edmonton no more
"I think Tootoo took exception to a hit I had just made. So he switches sides before the faceoff, comes over to my side. I asked him if he wanted to go. He basically turned me down, then he shoots a puck at me. Next thing I know. I think I’m at Tri Delta Sorority, getting hit by pillows. The guy’s a joke.”— Tom Sestito, after fighting the Devils' Jordin Tootoo in March
“I believe in my team, I believe in myself. We're coming back to Pittsburgh.” — Evgeni Malkin, before the elimination Game 6 in Tampa
"It was quiet. We were all sitting around, not saying much at all. And,you know, it started with Sid. He was the first one to stand up and say something. We were OK then.” — Ian Cole, on Sidney Crosby's speech before OT in Game 6 against the Capitals
“It’s time to see that adjustment. Sometimes Kris just puts himself in positions where he doesn’t need to. Especially with his history of injuries, if he could just made some changes, make some smarter decisions out there, he wouldn’t be as vulnerable. And he’d still be just as effective.” — Jim Rutherford, on Kris Letang needing to adjust his game in January
“What you just saw Kris do … there’s no defenseman anywhere who can do that. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone. Not anyone. And that’s because I know what’s inside. I know what he’s made of.” -- Rutherford on Letang, June 12 in San Jose
“Yeah, that was pretty fast-paced, huh? But that’s the kind of team we need to be, and that’s how you get there. We aren’t there yet. We haven’t all played as we’d all like. But we’re all improving, getting better. There’s still half a year left. That’s a lot of time. That’s how I look at it, right? We’ll all get better as a team and be where we want to be.” — Phil Kessel, after a January practice
“Hell yes, we’re going to win.” -- Eddie Johnston, 80 and wholly unchanged, to a Winnipeg radio station the morning of Game 7 against the Lightning
“This is special. I’m not going to lie: This is special.” -- Crosby, clutching the Cup on that same ice
“I’m gonna tell you, I’m delighted to be here because we’re gonna be above the noise, and you’ve just met the man that’s gonna lead our ship. And if you’re not impressed with him, then you maybe aren’t in the right spot.” -- Scott Barnes, on the hiring of Kevin Stallings as basketball coach, shortly before deciding that his right spot was Oregon State
"I loved every minute of Pitt, and I was excited about it, and we had a great team coming back from an NCAA Tournament team. … I wanted to leave a place that I’d worked 17 years at in a good situation." -- Jamie Dixon after returning to his alma mater TCU
"Coach Dixon was a good coach.He won a lot of games, but I think sometimes you have to let guys play to their skills, let guys show their skills and let guys play with a little bit of freedom. I think I got more confident not being yelled at all the time. I’m not saying coach Stallings doesn’t yell, but he puts it in a different way. I don’t know how to say it.” -- Jamel Artis on the freedom under Kevin Stallings.
"These guys have been a certain way for a long time. There’s a phrase that not many media people know about and coaches say a lot, ‘We’re not social workers.’ We say that a lot. We’re not social workers. We don’t change. We’re not social workers. We’re not behavioralists. We’re coaches and I”m trying to help these guys to change to help them. Sometimes I see progress and sometimes I don’t, but that’s OK. They’re not perfect. They’re 20 years old or 22 years old. They’re not perfect.” -- Stallings on his players' personalities.
“I can tell my son that I played the No. 1 team in the country. We balled out the best we could and fought to the end.” -- Deva’Nyar Workman, after the Duquesne women's first NCAA appearance ended against mighty UConn
“We all saw the positive impact the women’s basketball program had on not only the Duquesne community but on a national stage this past season.” Ken Gormley, university president
“The biggest thing to me was … you saw that student body storm the court … that’s the turning point. Because it’s been a long time since our school’s seen that. So now, everybody’s got to get behind that. The student body’s got to come back for more games. The administration has to see what this can do for our university. The city of Pittsburgh has to see that we can have more than just one good basketball team in the city. It can be us. It can be Robert Morris. It’s great when Pitt is good, but it’s better when all of us are good.” -- Jim Ferry, after beating Pitt in the City Game
“A lot of guys come to Robert Morris because of the success we’ve had, and then they find out how hard you have to work to have that success and say, ‘Hold on, I don’t know if this is what I was planning.’ ” -- Andy Toole, on the wave of players who left the basketball program under his watch
“The hay is already in the barn. This is what we played for all year. For a coach, you put the game in the hands of your players. There isn’t much coaching in overtime, just observing. You just hope that they can get the job done.” - Derek Schooley, after the OT winner against Army that put the Colonials in the Atlantic Hockey Conference championship
RIVERHOUNDS
“He’s been the shining light of the season. He sits next to me in the locker room. The nicest guy you could meet. Obviously I didn’t see what happened, but I think it was out of character.” -- Kevin Kerr, midfielder and captain, on Romeo Parkes' vicious and internationally viral ninja kick to a New York player's back in May
“That’s just about right for this season. Unreal.” -- Willie Hunt, defender, after a Cincinnati strike accidentally struck his arm and led to the decisive penalty in the 2017 finale that brought a 6-17-7 record
"There's been progress. We're much tighter defensively. We are. When I got here in midseason, I started with the attack, but we were much too leaky defensively. Now, we aren't. You have to start there," -- Dave Brandt, new coach, looking ahead to next summer
Shots from the Rio Olympics. - DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS and GETTY