Pittsburgh's Jeremy Lin? - 02-16-12

The Pensblog had a pretty good post yesterday talking about the seemingly overnight celebrity of New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin (above).

Lin just isn't a player catching fire and putting up some numbers. He's become a cultural icon. His last name has become a word in itself. Add in his heritage and the fact that he's doing his thing in the largest media market in North America, Lin transcends a lot of barriers inside and outside of sports.

Has Pittsburgh ever had a player come on to the scene randomly the way Lin has and become an overnight sensation? Here are the three most recent examples for each of Pittsburgh's professional sports teams.

Penguins - Johan Hedberg

Entering the 2001 postseason, the Penguins weren't quite sure what they were going to do with their goaltending. Sure, they had Mario Lemieux back from retirement playing with Jaromir Jagr and the second line of Martin Straka, Robert Lang and Alex Kovalev was the envy of most team's first lines, but the Penguins were shaky in net. Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Garth Snow were iffy options.

At the trade deadline, the Penguins swung a deal exchanging journeyman blue liner Jeff Norton for another journeyman defenseman Bobby Dollas. Patrick managed to pry a minor league goaltender out of the deal. Just over a month later "The Moose" and his quirky blue mask were arguably the biggest stars of that fantastic Penguins team.

Hedberg only played in nine regular season games down the stretch of the regular season but went 7-1-1 and took over the top spot from Aubin. The Swede quickly endeared himself to Penguins fans by leading the club to a defeat of the rival Capitals in six games. Then he edged the Sabres and future hall-of-fame goaltender Dominik Hasek in a thrilling seven-game series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Penguin ran into a superior Devils team and had their run ended in the third round. But by that time, "Moooooosssseeeee" chants were commonplace at the Mellon Arena and a legend was born. During that playoff run, someone vandalized a sign on the Parkway West changing "Heidelberg" to "He d  berg." A local restaurant chain even marketed a desert after Hedberg's "Moose" persona.

The Penguins struggled and missed the next two seasons. Hedberg was consistent but hardly spectacular in that time span and was dealt to the Canucks in a trade during the 2003 offseason.

Pirates - Kevin Polcovich

If there was a player who exemplified the miraculous 1997 "Freak Show" Pirates, it was Polcovich.

After dropping all their remaining star players the previous players, the Pirates opened that season with a payroll of approximately $9 million, by far the lowest in the the majors. Through the first two months of the season, the Pirates had hovered around .500 and threatened to take over first place in the sub-par NL Central from the Astros.

A big part of that surprising success was veteran shortstop Kevin Elster. In mid-May, Elster suffered a broken hand and would be sidelined following surgery. That created an opportunity for a ho-hum marginal prospect who was selected in the 30th round of the 1992 draft.

In that season's spring training, Polcovich was literally bagging groceries and selling shoes part time in order to make ends meet. Just over two months later, he was a starting major league shortstop on a division contender.

Polcovich's numbers weren't thrilling by any means. He only hit .273 with four homer and 21 RBIs. But his all-out hustle on defense and his back story made "Polky" a fan favorite on a team full of underdogs.

The zenith of Polcovich's season game in late July at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. With the game tied, 2-2, all-everything pitcher Curt Schilling had mowed down the Pirates with 15 strikeouts through 7 2/3 innings. After botching a suicide squeeze which allowed the Phillies to force catcher Keith Osik out at third, Polcovich smacked 3-2 pitch off the future hall-of-famer. The home run held up as the winning run in a 3-2 victory.

In late August, the Polcovich suffered a sprained ankle in Milwaukee and missed the final month of the season. His absence was so devastating to the team, management pulled the trigger on a surprising trade to replace him with veteran Shawon Dunston.

Polcovich only lasted one more season in in the majors and could only hit 189 with the Pirates in 1998.

For a brief summer full of good stories for the Pirates, "Polky's" might have been the best.

Steelers - Tommy Maddox

Entering the 2002 season, the Steelers had Kordell Stewart as their established starter. He had a strong rebound season in 2001 which saw him direct the team to the AFC Championship and earn a trip to the Pro Bowl.

After two loses to the Patriots and Raiders to open the season, the Steelers trailed the Browns, 13-6, with just over four minutes left. Maddox led the team on a seven-play, 70-yard drive in 2:12 which was culminated with a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress with 2:02 left in regulation. The Steelers would win the game in overtime, 16-13, on a Todd Petersen field goal.

-"Touchdown Tommy" didn't quite come out of no where. He was a first-round pick by the Broncos in 1992 but he never quite lived up to those expectations and bounced between the Broncos, Rams and Giants in the 1990s. He left football to sell insurance but eventually returned with stints in the Arena Football League and the bizarre XFL where he won that league's MVP award in its only season of 2001.

Joining the Steelers prior to the 2001 season and served as a backup to Stewart. After replacing him in 2002, Maddox went on a improbable run going 5-2-1 as a starter. During a 31-23 home loss to the Titans in Week 11, Maddox suffered a neck injury and was forced out of the lineup for two games. He returned to the lineup and led the team to a 3-1 record down the stretch and a playoff berth.

During that time, Maddox became a hero to longshots everywhere and No. 8 jerseys supplanted No. 10s.

In the AFC Divisional Round, the Steelers faced the Browns once again. And once again, they trailed their rivals. Maddox was able to throw three touchdown passes in the final 19 minutes and directed the team to a wild 36-33 comeback win in the snow.

Maddox and the Steelers would lose a shootout in Tennessee the next week. Following the season, Maddox was showered with accolades and was named the NFL's player of the year. In 2003, Maddox simply didn't have the same spark and the Steelers slumped to 6-10. The team would draft his successor, Ben Roethlisberger, in 2004 and by 2005, Maddox was out of the NFL again.

(Photos: Lin-Chris Chambers/Getty Images; Hedberg-Doug Pensinger/Allsport/Getty Images; Polcovich-Jeff Carlick/Allsport/Getty Images; Maddox-Andy Lyons/Getty Images)