Welcome to Pittsburgh

A long day of travel, but the Register has arrived in the Steel City. Myself and colleagues Bill Cloutier, Mike Wollschlager and photographer Pete Casolino are here and ready for a full week of coverage. Check the blog and www.nhregister.com for comprehensive coverage of Yale and Quinnipiac at media day tomorrow and the games on Thursday.

Couple of interesting notes from our brief time here. Pittsburgh natives aren't ashamed of the Pirates. Who knew? We saw a couple of fans in T-shirts, cases of Pirates-labeled Budweiser and a guy with a Pirates tattoo. Thinking of buying an old-style gold-and-black Pirates batting helmet. We also discovered Pittsburgh is nuts about the Penguins. In retrospect, that's not a shock considering the team is 29-10. Still, our restaurant had the Penguins-Hurricanes game on every single TV. When I think of Pittsburgh, I think of Steelers country. But they are all about hockey, too. Pleasant surprise.

Our hotel has a basketball court. Got a ball to shoot around with Wollschlager, and discovered my vertical leap is now under 1-inch. I also have the basketball skills of a 70-year old man. Rather depressing. I'm never playing basketball again.

And in case you were wondering, it's against Pennsylvania state law to purchase a 12-pack of beer at a designated beer distributor. Only full cases. Just a little FYI for any Yale or Quinnipiac fans. We aren't above important public service announcements.

This much is clear. We're excited for some hockey! Go New Haven!