Where's Ben?

Last year, one of my hobbies was tracking Ben Roethlisberger's offseason. I know, I have no life. But I was simply amazed at the frequent-flyer miles he racked up, especially after, shall we say, a less-than-memorable 2006 campaign.

This year, Ben is picking up where he left off. Big Ben News, who is to Ben Roethlisberger what Dukes Court is to Duquesne Basketball, is once again providing comprehensive coverage with their exclusive Roethlisberger tracking device. I'm convinced that BBN knows where Ben's going before he does.

So what's on the agenda for #7? Well, an appearance on Jim Rome is Burning (PHENOMENAL!), a Pro Bowl press conference with Matt Hasselbeck and Larry Fitz, and a spot on the NFL Network are already in the bag. Coming up is a guest-host appearance on Fox's Best Damn Sports Show Period on February 1, the debut of his Super Bowl commercial on Sunday, and his appearance as an honoree at the 30th Annual Ed Block Courage Awards in Baltimore on March 11.

Other than that, he's busy making wish lists and ticking off Hines Ward. And then making up with Hines, which is always good news. I guess all's well that ends well.

Chris Berman Goes Crazy

As the YouTube clip says, the title says it all....

Is PSU Football Anti-NHL?

by Rege Ryan

regeryan@gmail.com

I don’t know how well circulated this column from the Patriot News debunking the possibility of another outdoor game next year at Beaver Stadium was. But columnist David Jones uses some pretty harsh words in describing NHL fans and the state of hockey in general. Jones states that NHL will never trump football in this part of the state...just ask the Hershey Bears.

First off, Mr. Jones, comparing the Pens and Flyers to a sputtering AHL franchise with no fan base is a slap in the face to every Pennsylvanian that is a hockey fan. But the line that really fired me up was this one:

So 73,000 people showed up at a football stadium to watch an outdoor hockey game from seats which were all roughly one-fourth to one-half mile from the ice. Curious behavior, Captain.

I've heard NASCAR fans set up folding chairs out on the grassy highway islands to watch the tractor-trailers of their favorite racers roll by. Just the trailers, mind you. It's not like the drivers get out and sign autographs or anything. They're not even there. And the cars are, of course, inside the trailers so you can't actually see them. Guess it's the same type of thing.

Nothing against NASCAR but I find this insulting. Mr. Jones has no idea about how special this game would be to the state of Pennsylvania. But here are the main excuses for brushing aside the idea of a game:

Not that he has anything against the idea. Necessarily. But Curley said a lot that wouldn't be obvious to the average Iron-swilling, No. 87-wearing Pens fan must be done to make 107,000-seat Beaver Stadium anywhere close to ready for a hockey game.

Like functioning bathrooms. They turn the water lines off after the football season ends every late November.

"If you're going to put 80,000 people in there," Curley said, "you'd better figure out how to make the restrooms work."

Would it be cold enough if the game was played, say, the first week of December? Or would a double-time-earning maintenance crew have to crank The Beav back to life the first week of February?

But here‘s the real story.

Penn State is a selfish place with selfish administrators. So by now you're thinking, "where am I gathering this anti-NHL hypothesis"? Well, any Pennsylvanian knows that PSU is PSU Football, plain and simple. Yeah, I’m sure they do some nice Agro-horticulture research and compete with the best and brightest academically from around the county, but in all honesty Penn State is in the football business, first and foremost.

Any event that would overshadow anything football on that campus is a big no-no. Graham Spanier doesn’t want an NHL game, Tim Curley doesn’t want one, and the idea of hockey players being the biggest draw and most published event that occurs in Beaver Stadium in a calendar year has to fire up JoePa more than anybody. Believe me, nobody, I mean nobody upstages PSU football. And since JoePa is PSU football you are upstaging Joe himself by hosting an outdoor NHL game.

Not attempting to get in on the cash cow known as “outdoor hockey” is ridiculous. Just ask the city of Buffalo and the surrounding areas how much tourism profit (hotels, bars, restaurants, etc.) they reaped from the Winter Classic. Add up the free national press (any exposure is good for recruiting), TV exposure (ESPN, Fox) and the hefty check from the NHL to hold the event, and you are looking at a fantastic payday for the university. For athletic director that does lame 1-AA money grab sellouts (does Coastal Carolina ring a bell?) to start the season, why not reap the benefits of another sell out?

Lame excuses about how it’s just too much work to fire up Beaver Stadium and wondering where everybody will pee is not enough to convince me that PSU is doing enough to seriously plan a game for next season. I guess the Ivory Tower doesn’t get NHL Center Ice.

If you want to read the article in its entirety, here’s the link.

The News

--The Pitt Panthers used a 22-3 run to knock off Villanova, 69-57, at the Pete. Tyrell Biggs had 14 off the bench, Sam Young added 15, and D-Blair contributed 10 and 14.

--By the way, in way-too-early, extremely-rampant speculation, Sam Young will be joining Aaron Gray and the Chicago Bulls with the 39th pick in 2009, and Pitt will be a four seed in this year's tournament.

--Penguins 1, Thrashers 4 in Hotlanta. Not a pretty game for the Pens, in a contest that featured the pulling of Ty Conklin in the third period. Only a Ryan Whitney goal prevented the dreaded goose egg.

--Kris Beech, as a Capital: "Well, the worst uniform, the logo's pretty awful, I'd have to say the Pittsburgh Penguins."

--Have you heard about the $115 million soccer stadium that's being proposed for Philadelphia, with $45 million coming from the state? Hmmm...I wonder if they'll have to go through years of negotiations and jumping through hoops for this stadium, or is that just a Pittsburgh-specific problem?

--Hines Ward is one of four finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. When, oh when, will someone finally pay attention to this man?

--Bad news from our friend The Duke: his beloved Duquesne fell to UMass, 94-80.

--Help the Wheeling Nailers shred Rich Rodriguez. Keep it up, WVU. And when Bill Stewart doesn't work out, watch the elite coaches line up to not coach there.

Which reminds me...WVU's current basketball coach...was he not under contract when they poached him away from Kansas State? How do you spell hypocrite?

--A putrid parent faked his kid’s cancer just so they’d get a visit from Steve Yzerman.

--Great news! Cincinnati picked up another one of the Palmer brothers to solidify the quarterback position on their sinking ship of a team.

--I'll just say this: Jessica Simpson, Tony Romo, and Sweet Child O' Mine. On video.

--For the truly bored, here's American Gladiator Power Rankings.

--New Blog Alert! In the author's words: "I am a transplanted yinzer in CT. I just started to write cause I need a new hobby besides eating nachos and drinking whiskey. Please check it out...."

You have me sold. Welcome We Suck Again to the blogosphere.

--Alycia Lane may be back on the air...with the WWE.

--Get your Pats 19-0 commemorative book now!

--Jennie Finch and Team USA will be coming to Robert Morris on May 1.

--There will be no Lingerie Bowl in 2008. D-list female celebrities everywhere are devastated.

--This page is simply titled, "another wvu player, another homo-erotic picture". Note that this is on a Marshall message board, so they obviously have no axe to grind.

--Here's some tall wide receivers for Big Ben to throw to.

--Missed the last few headlines from the PG's high school football section? Here's a recap. See if you can follow the theme:

High School Football
Pryor may push back college choice (01/30/2008)
Pryor pares down his list (01/29/2008)
Central star commits to Pitt (01/28/2008)
Pryor to be named Parade's top player (01/28/2008)

--Racism! Drug abuse! Sexual harassment! Radar revisits ESPN's most outrageous commentator gaffes

--Meet the farmer who lives in a hay castle

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS

All 117 reasons why Dr. David Banner was driven to "Hulk out"

10 TV shows to get you through the week
Top 10 Valentine's Day gifts for women
20 TV shows that ran out of episodes (from the strike)
High-calorie, high-fat takeout choices to avoid

66 Stills from various episodes of The Simpsons, each one beside the still from the movie scene to which they refer

Koz: Trade Crosby Now

It’s time for a playoff run. It’s time to do the unthinkable. Trade Sidney Crosby. Look, I’d take a Jason Blake spear for the guy, but the team won’t survive without him. It’s time to make a move while other GM’s are willing to bite. I’m serious.

Do I have your attention? I’m not talking to Ray Shero. I’m talking to you, fantasy hockey manager. The fact of the matter is King Crosby is out until Easter, which if you are in a head-to-head league, might mean the rest of the regular fantasy season. Now is the time to move (or make a move for) everyone’s favorite Nova Scotian. Let’s review a couple scenarios for head-to-head leagues.

Unless you are at the top of your league, six or eight weeks are a lifetime. You can’t risk missing the playoffs. You ought to be able to get a two for one, or even three for one deal.

If you’re in the need for some goaltending, you might package him with a mediocre goalie and make a play for one of the studs. This could really flip the makeup and strategy of your team, but good goalies are hard to come by (just look at your league’s waiver wire). With more and more teams going to goalie by committee, the top goalies are overvalued. Remember, no one ever wins a fantasy hockey league with crappy goaltending.

If you’re in a league with my mom or someone else who is obsessed with Sid, they might overpay for him. By all means, take advantage of that.

Of course, with all this, the inverse is true. If you don’t have Sid and you’ve been dying to get him on your team, now is the chance. You might pry him away from an anxious owner, especially if he’s got a couple injured players on the roster already. If you’re confident in your playoff spot, Crosby figures to come out on fire when he returns to the ice in mid-March, just in time to lead you to a championship. There is also the hope that he’s a quick healer and comes back earlier than expected. If you have goalie depth but you’re a little weak in the scoring department, you might take a chance to balance your team

If you’re in a keeper league… well you should have stopped reading several paragraphs ago.

Alright, back to real life.

I-Told-You-So of the Week: Not a bad all-star game, eh? I don’t care how it’s played; any game that is decided in the last minute is one worth watching. The Penguins’ representatives played well with two assists from Malkin and a couple slick plays by Gonchar to keep offensive chances alive for the East.

NHL Improvement Idea of the Week: The two new additions to the skills competition worked well. The obstacle course had a good team aspect and the breakaway challenge (unofficially sponsored by And1) was exciting, even though no one scored on any of the fancy tries. It will be much better next year I’m sure. If you look back at some of the early NBA dunk contests, they were pretty tame. Over the years, the bar was raised and we’ve seen some crazy stuff. I expect the same creativity for the breakaways. I like that they have a goalie in the net, because an empty net just wouldn’t be that interesting, but they have to force them to stay in the crease to allow for the creative moves. The last thing we need is Dominik Hasek to charge out of the crease and knock out Ovechkin in the middle of his 360 spin.


Waiting to pounce at any moment…

Street Hockey Memories: Speaking of the Dominator, does anyone remember when he pulled that move in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Penguins? This was way back when he was doing mop up duty for Ed Belfour and we had no idea he was going to be a hall of famer. Anyway, we thought he was a joke. When my brother and I played goalie in street hockey, we would charge at oncoming scorers and scream “DOMINIK HASEK!!!” and dive with reckless abandon at our friends’ knees. We thought it was hilarious.

Hockey YouTube of the Week: This one comes courtesy of my Canadian friend. It’s Sidney Crosby in happier, younger times. His composure in this interview is almost frightening.

Your Accu-Weather Forecast: After escaping New Jersey with a 4-2 win, the Pens have two games against SouthLeast Division opponents before visiting the Devils again on Monday (televised on Versus for all my fellow out-of-town Pens fans). The team has survived with a patchwork crew so far. It’s conceivable that the Pens could secure nine of 12 possible points in the first two weeks without #87, with most of those games played on the road. That’s certainly better than most thought possible. After Monday the next four games are at the Mellon before Valentine’s Day. January has been quite a ride of highs (Conklin, Winter Classic, Crazy Evgeni’s Hat Bonanza) and lows (nearly the entire team auditioning to appear as extras on Grey’s Anatomy, Recchi’s Revenge, the “Season Debut” Line, Brooks Orpik playing left wing). Hopefully February brings the Pens better health and continued success.

We’ve Got Enough Media Hype Here, Thank You

by The Backyard Scrawler

backyardscrawl@gmail.com

There’s something oxymoronic and just plain moronic about The Week Leading Up To The Big Game. Were you at all surprised that a credentialed scribe-to-be wearing a wedding gown proposed to each team’s quarterback at Media Day? Are you at all alarmed that most of the questions were about the “hype” and the enormity of the game rather than the actual game?

Gisele's not going to be happy about this

Didn’t think so.

The farcical fodder of this football fortnight –– alliteration, can you feel it!?!? –– is trivial enough to break a threshold where it’s OK to be ashamed our own misguided sporting interests. Here’s my question: Why limit this to two weeks?

There’s enough manufactured non-stories covered in Pittsburgh during any given week, and, to a greater extent, enough call-in shows, blogs and message boards to equally blow a story out of proportion and marinate it in our cynicism for awhile.

The media set the tone for discussion and sentiments, but there aren’t enough renouncing voices to squelch every story that makes every yinzer yawn or yak over nothing at all.

So here are a few Pittsburgh musings from This Week In Sports Talk, Newspapers and Television (we’ll call it T.W.I.S.T. ‘N.A.T. –– anagrams, can you feel them!?!?!)

Exhibit A, Item #1 for the week was the Big Ben-Whines Hard controversy. Everyone has taken their side by now, but overlooked is the media’s role. Mark Madden said on his show Monday that Ed Bouchette milked Ward so much that he was probably mooing by the end of the interview.

Was Bouchette really creating The Jerry Springer Show on the pages of the Post-Gazette to keep the Steelers in the news? Not when “The Dean” of pro football writers has been known to throw a wet sopping blanket on several hot rumors and ideas. Let’s be real. Half, no, make that more than half (726 words for 55%, I counted), of that article was quoted material by Hines. Remember after Ward broke the Steelers receptions record and talked unsolicited for 20 minutes about himself during the post-game? Yeah, that’s what happened.

Edd-ie, Edd-ie!

This story should not have any legs –– or at least short, possession receiver legs –– for as long as it has. Sorry, John Fedko, this is not going to send “shockwaves” into mini-camp and even into training camp in August.

Submitted for your approval

That, by the way, was my early favorite for Mind-Numbing Exaggeration of the Week until KDKA’s Rob Pratte told FSN viewers that watching the story of “The Game” between Central Catholic and Gateway will “change your life forever.” (That’s explains why my girlfriend left me, but that dadgum hook-and-lateral play there at the end sure did get me right with Jesus again. Thanks, Rob.)

So Hines Ward is diminutive and dismissive. Here are some other musings from the week of Pittsburgh sports media:

Hey, look Pitt has two talented athletes in two different sports, and, you’ll never believe it –– this is where it gets good –– they are both FRESHMEN. Thank you, Post-Gazette, for that revelation. Oh, and you too, Tribune-Review.

Why are people so thrilled –– and in some cases appalled –– about the Pitt women’s basketball team making the front-page, above-the-fold of the P-G?

Joe Starkey has a nifty proposition for all your all-star game fans who are waxing existential.

Dejan, those people who approached you with a “curious glare” at PirateFest, they feel sorry for you being the Bucco beatwriter. If I were you I would stop answering Q&A and start writing obituaries to practice for the season.

Finally, here are my favorite calls on late-night TV sports call-in shows from the week:

Rich from Coraopolis on the Subway Nightly Sport Call claimed –– admitted, more like –– to working in the Pirates front office during the Cam Bonifay Era. He suggested the Pirates sink $5 million into training facilities in Pittsburgh rather that the Dominican Republic. Great idea, Rich, train no-talent ballplayers in the few warm months we have so they can be drafted by other teams. Latin American players are better and exempt from the draft.

Jim from Upper St. Clair, also on the Nightly Sports Call (see a pattern here), was happy to tell us about his arthritic hip and his hip replacement surgery. He suspected that Steelers LB Lawrence Timmons has the same problem after hearing about his symptoms and suggested that the Steelers were hiding something. Yeah, Jimbo, they drafted him when he was only 20-years-old because he’s quickly mutating into a middle-aged retiree from the suburbs. I wondered why Timmons was wearing that “Ask Me About My Grandchildren” shirt.

Stan from Blawnox (probably not) tried to ask newbie-host Jory Rand if the signing of Kris Beech off waivers meant there would be a fire lit under him and former love interest Sonni Abatta. Jory, without missing a beat, answered as if the caller left off the word “and Sonni Abatta” from the question.

If she married Kris, would she be "Sonni Beech"?

Finally, Mike, on the Fedko Fone Zone –– who sounded like Chris from the Family Guy and still came across more informed than the host –– asked three or four questions with the word “awesome” in it and after interrupting Fedko mid-sentence said “I gotta go, man.” You have to love a call-in show when the inmates run the asylum and the host sways back and forth with his hands in his pockets and talks to some inaudible off-camera voice that answers to “Digby.”

Is that you, Mike?

That’s all for now … I’ll hang up and listen to your comment.

Time to Talk Ben and Hines

It has to be talked about. I can't ignore it any more. Of course, I'm referring to the grand debate of who's wrong: Hines Ward or Ben Roethlisberger. And my verdict is in: they're both guilty.

We'll start with Hines Ward, or as Mr. Madden, Super Genius calls him, Whines Hard. Hines was a college quarterback and wide receiver at the University of Georgia and was drafted as a receiver by the Steelers in the 3rd round of the 1998 draft. Hardly the "no one ever gave me a chance" sob story that he would want you to believe. Sorry Hines, but third-rounders actually have a pretty good chance to make the squad. A guy like the undrafted Willie Parker didn't have a chance, and then he ultimately did have a chance anyway. So we can put that long-standing Hines storyline to bed.

Another card played often by #86 is the D-card. And by D, I mean "disrespect". As I researched this story on Pro Football Reference, I was greeted with the header, "4-time Pro Bowler & 3-time All-Pro". He was voted by his teammates as the Steeler MVP or co-MVP in 2002, 2003, and 2005. And he also was awarded the MVP award in a rather big game on February 5, 2006 in Detroit.

As I dug back to his college days, I found that Hines was All-SEC at Georgia. He was co-MVP of the 1995 Peach Bowl and a Bulldog Team Captain in 1997. And high school? Hines scored All-American honors from Super Prep, Blue Chip Illustrated and USA Today, as well as All-State and Super Southern Top 100 honors. Heck, he was even a two-time Clayton County Offensive Player of the Year.

This is a man who's gotten nothing but respect ever since he put on a pair of cleats. An example of no respect, other than Ben Roethlisberger and Rodney Dangerfield, is Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor. Sure, his nickname is Fragile Fred, but the guy's run for over 10,000 yards, 17th all-time and second among active players. How many trips to Hawaii has he made? One, on the NFL's dime. And that will be this year. That's disrespect.

Hines has bellyached every time the Steelers used a high pick on a wide receiver. There was Troy Edwards in 1999. There was Plaxico Burress in 2000. There was Santonio Holmes in 2006. You get the drift. He takes each pick as a personal slap in the face, even though he's outlasted two of the three receivers mentioned in the Steeler black and gold.

And as he just proved, Hines continues to take offense at any comment remotely directed in the direction of his position. The reality is that he shouldn't. He's the Steelers' all-time leader in catches, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He's taken home all of the above honors, such as the Pro Bowls, the All-Pros, and the Super Bowl MVP. In college, his 3,870 all-purpose yards are second only to Herschel Walker in Bulldogs history. In the 1998 Outback Bowl, he set a bowl record for receptions and yardage with 12 catches for 122 yards. He was in the culturally significant Super Bowl Disney World commercial. He went on a goodwill trip to South Korea. He has his own TV show. He's John Madden's wide receiver equivalent of Brett Favre. And he's even been on boxes of Franco's donuts. This is not a person who should be so angry at the world. This is the resume of a future Hall of Famer.

After the Steelers' playoff loss to Jacksonville, I had this to say about the receivers, and in particular, Hines:

Hines Ward and Heath Miller were inspirational to say the least. Their play in the second half was simply unreal, especially Ward, who I haven't seen so irritated by an opponent in some time. 10 catches for 135 yards in the playoffs is a big-time effort. For the record, the great Terrell Owens (2002 vs. Giants) and Randy Moss (1999 vs. St. Louis) have only amassed more than 135 yards in a playoff game once time each. It's also the third time that Ward has acheived 10 catches in a postseason game, a feat neither Moss nor Owens has ever accomplished. So for the people who say the Steelers have no receivers, look elsewhere for your sacrificial lamb.

And I still stand behind those words. Contrary to popular belief, the ticket to the Super Bowl is not always punched with a hulking receiver lining up on your squad. Consider the leading receivers on Super Bowl teams since 2000:

2000 - Ravens - Qadry Ismail - 655 yards

2001 - Pats - David Patten - 1199 yards

2002 - Bucs - Keyshawn Johnson - 1088 yards

2003 - Pats - Deion Branch - 803 yards

2004 - Pats - David Givens - 874 yards

2005 - Steelers- Hines Ward - 975 yards

2006 - Colts - Marvin Harrison - 1366 yards

I wouldn't exactly call that a list of superstars. In fact, the average of these seasons comes in at 994 yards. And this is not a new phenomenon. Of the top 10 leaders in career receiving yards, only three of the 10 men own Super Bowl rings: (1) Jerry Rice, (3) Isaac Bruce, and (5) Marvin Harrison.

Look, the Steelers' season did not end early because of their receivers. It ended because of a horrible offensive line and a defense that bent, bent, bent, and then broke at the most unfortunate times. No one was pointing the finger at Hines Ward. Yet when Ben Roethlisberger was recently asked for his offseason wish list, a "tall wide receiver" came in alongside a new contract, as well as a new contract for Alan Faneca.

Could the Steelers use a tall wide receiver? Absolutely. But should Roethilsberger have made the comment? That's questionable.

The comment itself was innocent. But Roethlisberger should have considered the reaction from his thin-skinned teammate.

If Ward has proven anything, it's that he uses the aforementioned d-card as motivation. At any perceived slight, Ward vows vengeance on whoever he believes wronged him, usually an opponent or the media. This is what's made him such a great player. But it's a double-edged sword with Hines. What makes him great also makes him difficult. And if Roethlisberger didn't realize that his comments might come back to bite him, considering who might take exception to his words, then I find some fault with him.

As a team leader on the field, you can't ask for any more out of Roethlisberger. He gives his all, he plays hurt, and he takes full blame when things go wrong. I wouldn't trade him for any QB in the league. I believe with the right mix of help, he's every bit as good as anyone else.

But there's a stink lingering in Steeler Land. It first reared its head with the team MVP vote, when James Harrison somehow took home the honor from his teammates, who conveniently disregarded the team record for touchdown passes and a QB rating second only to Tom Brady's.

People have debated the impact of this mini-war of words ad nauseam, but it must be said that this is not a good thing, in any way, shape or form. If anything, it's another piece of evidence towards a possible down season in 2008, alongside a killer schedule, key players having to return from injury, and the probable loss of a future HOF lineman.

Mike Tomlin made a lot of good moves in his first season as coach. But he also made some mistakes. Here's hoping that he gets everyone on the same page...and fast. If not, it could be a looooooong season in 2008.

We Miss You, 87

I miss Sid. You miss Sid. The Penguins miss Sid. The NHL misses Sid. We all miss Sid. So tonight, to help pass the time until he returns, I'm posting a few random Sid links that have been found in the inbox.

--I think I mentioned this around the time the original deal was struck, but a reader reminded me that Sid, the model of health and proper nutrition, is a spokesman for Tim Horton's chain of coffee and donut shops. Sid also promotes the program where he started, Timbits Minor Hockey:

Sidney has a natural connection to Timbits Hockey through his participation back in 1993. At age 5, Sidney played for the Cole Harbour Timbits in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. Standing at 3’ 11” Sidney wore jersey # 8 and played centre, clearly a sign of things to come.

Even as a 3'11" five-year-old in 1993, he would've been the best player on the Flyers.

--As a result of Sid's deal with Tim Horton's, he has been omitted from the highly-popular trading card set that McDonald's releases in Canada each year. The answer to this mystery was solved where else but a message board:

Crosby endorses Tim Hortons which is owned by the same company as Wendy's.That's why you don't see any crosby cards in McDonalds. Probably against his endorsement contract.

So there you go. No more sleepless nights wondering why McDonald's might have a grudge against Crosby.

--Here's a great pic of Sid pulling a Happy Gilmore and signing a woman's chest while in juniors. Is that Eva Mendes?

--From the eBays: did you know that one of those Crosby action figures is selling for $350? That's one valuable piece of vinyl.

And to close, some of the better Crosby videos floating around YouTube:

Sid's Top 10 Goals

Sid's RBK 360 ad

Sid's first fight, against former Penguin Andrew Ference

Sid's All-Star Pillow Fight Commercial, with Ovechkin, Staal, Thornton, etc.

Shirtless Sid's GQ Shoot

A dispute with former Flyer Peter Forsberg

The Winter Classic Shootout Goal

And Now, in the Pantheon of Great Commercials..

What do you get when you combine Colby Armstrong, Max Talbot, Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin, and A and L Motors?

This:

Bargains Galore at PirateFest

In case you missed it, PirateFest went down this weekend. You know, the annual offseason gathering of the worst organization in baseball to try and enthuse their fans for yet another season full of letdowns. With the momentum of offseason acquisition Chris Gomez to drive traffic, the Pirates somehow managed to get 14,511 Pittsburghers through the doors, the third-highest total in PirateFest history. I guess anything's possible when the Steelers are done and the Penguins are at the All-Star break.

At the very least, though, you can say that Jason Bay is not too enthused about his team's prospects of turning it around this year. Because if anyone's qualified to call out his team, it's a guy whose numbers went from 35/109/.286 in 2006 to 21/84/.247 in 2007.

In addition to free autographs from the likes of Brian Bixler and Nyjer Morgan, the Buccaneers were also having a memorabilia sale. And guess whose "officially used" Pirate merchandise you could buy? Raul Mondesi!

Reader Dave sent in this note and photo:

Had to share this acquisition from Piratefest with you. The Pirates were selling nameplates from lockers at a booth with the game used jerseys. One pile was from Mother's Day 2004. Good thing the Pirates decided to finally sell this for the breast cancer charity, four years later! They were $20 per. I picked up the Mondesi and offered $10. This was too big of a decision for the cashier so he summoned a lady in the booth. While she was contemplating my offer, I interjected, 'Nobody in their right mind is going to pay you $20 for Mondesi's locker plate, even for charity. Think about it.'

$10 is probably too much for anything related to Raul Mondesi, but given the fact that I could get some comedic value out of it, I'll give my stamp of approval to the purchase.

I was at the original PirateFest, way back in 1990. I stood in line for hours waiting to meet Bobby Bonilla, and getting his signature on that 1987 Topps card with the wood borders would probably net me about $5 today. But the experience of all that waiting, and then finally meeting a disinterested Bobby Bo...I'll remember it for a lifetime.

Bay disappointed about lack of Pirates' offseason moves [PG]

Bucs wrap up 2008 PirateFest [MLB.com]

10 Reasons Why the Patriots Will Lose the Super Bowl

by Big Snack and Diego

pierogisnat@gmail.com
pierogisnat.blogspot.com

Well, it's that time of the year again: Super Bowl week, full of endless speculation, interviews, Tom Petty, and lots and lots of hype. It’s all good if your team's in it, but this year ours isn’t. So basically, we’re all just rooting for the Patriots to take one on the chin and looking forward to seeing some new commercials. After the popularity of the Top 10 Reasons to Hate the Patriots (by far my most popular and controversial post). I had no choice but to get at them again, and with that in mind here is this week's Top 10...

10. Week 17 -

Did the game week 17 really mean anything to either of these teams in terms of the playoffs? The answer to that is no, but yet every starter for both teams, on both sides of the ball played the entire game. It proved that the Giants were tough and weren’t scared of the seemingly immortal Pats. The G-Men handled business too, leading into the 4th quarter of the game. The experience of facing the Patriots will help the Giants prepare for the rematch. They’ve dealt with the media blitz, they’ve dealt with Brady and Moss, and they are ready to go. In that game Brady passed for more yards, but Eli passed for 2 more TD’s. Also, the Giant’s red zone efficiency was a perfect 4/4 while the Pats was only 3/5.

See you in Arizona, punk...

9. The Redemption/Upset Factor -

Lets face it, the Giants are probably feeling a little like Rodney Dangerfield here, getting no respect. The opening line for this one had the Giants getting 14 points. That is an outrageously high spread, especially for a Super Bowl. If that’s not enough to get the Giants pumped, then maybe the never-ending media coverage of the heroic Patriots will do the trick. After all that the Giants went through in the off season, retaining Tom Coughlin and losing Tiki Barber, it almost seems like destiny for the Giants: overcoming all obstacles to rise up and win the big one against all odds. 9 Huge upsets to inspire the Giants

Webster’s INT brought redemption for Tynes Sunday

8. The Giants have 2 quality Running Backs -

The Giants have a nice combination of thunder and lightning, if you will, in their two running backs, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Jacobs is basically a refrigerator with legs - dude is HUGE. If you don’t believe me, ask Charles Woodson, who attempted to tackle the big man on the first play of the NFC championship and got totally flattened. The Beast from the East, Jacobs, has stepped in as the main man in NY now that Tiki is busy smoozing with socialites in the media. He has not disappointed, raking up 155 rushing yards and 3 TDs in the playoffs. Jacobs' counterpart Bradshaw is small but much quicker and has ability to take it to the house on any carry. This combo, mixed with one of the best O-lines in the game, makes the Giants' rush game is dangerous and a huge concern for the permeable Pats run defense.

All aboard! Next stop, endzone!

7. The Giants don’t make mistakes -

Turn the ball over to Tom Brady and he will screw you faster than a hooker in a massage parlor. Brady is good, and so is his offense, so making it easier for him to score is about as smart as punching a cop. However, the Patriots have not blown out Super Bowl opponents in the past, winning 20-17 over Rams, 32-29 over Carolina, and 24-21 over Eagles. With those close margins of victory, not turning it over could be the difference maker. The Giants have been winning the turnover battle in the postseason, and it's been paying off for them. Eli has been perfect so far, with no interceptions in the playoffs, and he will need to be perfect once again if the Giants want to come home with a win.

That's it, keep it nice and boring for them Giants...

6. Giants Defense -
The first two weeks of the season, this defense looked like swiss cheese - but since then they have pulled it together. They wouldn’t be where they are now without their defense, especially last weekend when Corey Webster picked off Brett Favre in OT. Defensive coordinator Spagnuolo is the hot assistant coach this year, as his name has been linked to many vacant head coaching positions. Spagnuolo is the head honcho of the ferocious G-Men D, and if they expect to beat the Patriots they will have to make stops on 3rd down and take the ball away. This has seemingly been what the G-Men have been doing all year - putting pressure on the QB with the front 7, which leads to turnovers and sacks. Getting pressure on Brady will be key, but also won’t be easy, thanks to the best offensive line in the game. Defensive leaders Michael Strahan and Antonio Pierce will have their work cut out for them, but they understand a chance like this may only come once in a lifetime. (Or twice in Strahan's case...)

We're gonna get you, sucka...

5. Tom Brady’s walking cast -

Oh you gotta love those pesky camera men over at TMZ, as they snapped a pic of Brady walking to the NY apartment of his girlfriend Gisele. First off, what are you thinking hanging out in NY this week Brady? If I were you I would be a little concerned about getting Tonya Harding’ed while walking the streets - I hope you were watching your back. Now I don’t know if this injury is a concern or not, seeing as there has been so many conflicting stories on the matter, but I do know this is a distraction. A distraction for a team that may be a little too relaxed, kicking up their feet with the perfect record of theirs. If the Patriots worry too much about Brady’s ankle, and don’t focus on the assignment at hand, it could spell upset.

No bodyguard, huh? Hope your packin' some heat, Tom...

4. Plaxico “The Roach” Burress -

Who can stop this lanky SOB? Surely nobody in the Packers secondary could, as Plax had his way with them catching 11 passes for 154 yards. This guy has been hurt pretty much the whole year, but has still dominated, stepping up his play on a weekly basis. Toomer is decent and all, but Plax is definitely more of a big play threat, and yet he still manages to torch corners and safeties to make the big play. He is surprisingly quick for a man of his size and he has excellent hands. I know the Pats have Moss, but he’s been relatively quite this post season catching only 1 pass in the AFC championship. If Burress can stretch the field then the Tom and Randy might find themselves playing catch up.

YMCA!

3. Giants have won 10 in a row on the road -

Winning 3 games on the road in the playoffs is a very impressive feat on it's own, however, winning 10 games in the row on the road is absolutely ridonkulous (yes, I make up my own words). The Giants are the road team in the Super Bowl this year, so they are going for number 11. The only team in NFL history to make a run such as this in the playoffs won the whole thing. (hmmm...I wonder who that was?...Oh yeah, the Pittsburgh Steelers...) So the G-Men are road warriors this season and they have got history on their side, which is good because they are certainly lacking in Super Bowl experience. Coughlin has these guys playing with some good chemistry and more importantly, they believe in themselves, not in the hype.

UPDATE: From reader Mike in Dallas :

There is an inaccuracy in statement #3. The 1985 Patriots were the first team to win 3 road playoff games en route to the Super Bowl when they beat the Jets, Raiders, and Dolphins. The Giants are the 3rd team to accomplish the feat.

For this error, Big Snack and Diego will be fined $500,000 and lose their #1 draft pick next year.

2. 75% of the America will be cheering them on -

I wanted to say the world here, but it seemed a little too substantial. The entire 1972 Dolphins team is on our side, and so are the cities of Jacksonville and San Diego. Its kind of like the Patriots are the evil empire...as our Top 10 reasons to Hate the Patriots showed, there are many reasons to hate this team, but I would say the main one is that no one likes a team that just wins all the time ex. Duke Basketball and Yankees. There is just so much not to like here; the cockiness, the miserable expression on the face of their coach, the stupid humble pie, their obnoxious fan base, and the continual praises from ESPN. (Including that stupid ass corny Brady Bunch Tom Brady segment they constantly show) On the other hand, it will make it all worth while if they lose in the Super Bowl - just to see the look on the face of the Patriots fans and especially those old shriveled up defensive players like Junior Seau, Rodney Harrison, Teddy Bruschi, and Mike Vrabel...it will be priceless.

The only 112 year old player in the NFL...go pop some more roids old man, you're gonna need them...

1. The Super Manning Bros. -

Archie Manning played for the Saints and they sucked. Luckily for him, he has super sperm and he’s 50% responsible for creating not one but two number one overall draft picks in the NFL. Archie might not know how to win himself, but he sure as hell knew how to raise some winners; behold the great and mystical power that is the Manning’s! You wait and see - Peyton got his ring last season, and this year it's Eli’s turn. As I previously stated, Eli has outplayed Tom Brady, and has been the MVP of the 2008 playoffs thus far and only needs one more good game. Then and only then we will see Eli-mania in 2008-09, with him taking the media spotlight away from his big brother. He’ll get the commercials, the bonuses, and hell, he may even date a model/actress himself...I’m thinking an Olsen twin possibly.

Well, there’s our list. Big Snack would leave a prediction right here, but Diego reminded him that he’s the biggest whammy in the world, so to keep the Giants hope alive, I’ll just say Go Steelers, and remember to check our site Pierogi’s N’at, for our daily take on the Pittsburgh sports scene. And thanks to everyone who’s been leaving comments thus far – it’s been entertaining to say the least…

Until next week…

Catching Up with Dave Dameshek

As many of you remember, I became a somewhat-regular guest on Dave Dameshek's Sports Contraption show on 93.7 The Man Station last year. Unfortunately, The Man Station suffered yet another identity crisis, as 93.7 reverted back to its B-94 format on October 5. So instead of hearing Dave Dameshek or Scott Paulsen, you now get Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" once an hour (at least that's what I experienced in my sampling of the station a week ago).

That being the case, Dave moved on to greener pastures. And frankly, he's blowin' up. Or blowed up, as Emmitt would say.

Dave went on to score the job of afternoon drive-time on ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles, and things are going well. In fact, his podcasts were downloaded 84,000 times on ESPN.com, 4th among all ESPN podcasts. He's keeping busy with his buddy Bill Simmons, as well as hosting an on-air roast-0ff with the very talented Jeffrey Ross.

But recently, Dave had a conversation that he really thought you, the Mondesi's House faithful, would enjoy:

Last Wednesday, we had Lucky Luc Robitaille for almost an hour - during which time he and I fell very much in love. He couldn't have been a nicer fella. I think your readers would enjoy it because we debate 66 vs Gretzky, and I become quite angry with his response. I also sing a song about Jarkko Ruutu.

You can listen to the audio of the interview here.

Dave, a Pittsburgh native, has had a long and interesting showbiz/sports media career, one that's taken him from The Man Show to Crank Yankers to Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as stops as co-host on the Adam Corolla radio show and his 93.7 show. He's always been a strong supporter of Mondesi's House (as he is now turning on his L.A. listeners to it via his homepage), and a great fan of all things Pittsburgh. So check out his site and listen to a podcast or 10. It's certainly better than Kiss, Kiss.

710 ESPN: The Dave Dameshek Show [Dave's homepage]

Dave Dameshek & Luc Robitaille [MP3 audio]

"The Mosh Pitt": A Weekly Wrapup of All Things Panther

by Patrick Sehn
psehn29@yahoo.com

There's an old saying. When you get thrown out of the mosh pit, you get back in the mosh pit. So, after a week's absence, it's on to round 2. We've cleaned our bruises, the swelling's down, let's get right to it. First off, it's time for reader mail.

The Jason Mailbag
Our first ever email comes from Chris in Nebraska. How exotic. He writes:

"I'm a Steeler's fan out here in Nebraska. So, of course I'm a Husker fan. Now that the Steelers' season is done (damnit!), I was wondering what Pitt fans think of Steve Pederson. When he got sacked here, it was similar to Saddam getting overthrown. All we had to do was track down & eliminate his lackeys, which we did. I'll admit he got some things done & built, but he created an atmosphere where longtime Nebraska employees could not stand it anymore.

All I've heard about him at Pitt is that he didn't like the term "Pitt." Also, he may be the reason Mark May was so anti-Nebraska for a long time."

It's funny. Plenty of people were upset to see Pederson leave Pitt when he did. However, the reaction from most people when he came back ranged from surprise to confusion to anger. I, for one, can tell you how shocked I was that they hired him so quickly. Did the powers-that-be even look elsewhere? Who else was interviewed? This was confusing to me. I know Peterson, who's from Nebraska, wanted to take a job back home, but he jumped ship. In turn, we rewarded his betrayal and completely miserable failure at another job
with another job offer. This angered me. Then he immediately extended Wanny's contract. This didn't assuage my anger. I guess what it comes down to is this: Pederson did a pretty good job here his last go 'round. He helped put the football program back on the map, and the basketball team hasn't missed an NCAA tourney since before the Peterson Events Center was built. Give him the benefit of the doubt, for now. Keep in mind though: he couldn't push Nebraska, an already established program, to where they needed to be. I'm not so sure it will be any easier this time at Pitt.

Next email:

I think you're really sexy.

Sincerely,
Stephanie

I swear to you, I found that in my inbox the day the last Mosh Pitt went live.

Lastly, the Duke from Dukes Court was kind enough to write and offer me some suggestions to make the column a little better. I'm extremely greatful. I'm going to end the first installment of the Jason Mailbag by following said advice.

"Add more pictures"

Mondesi is also a strong advocate of pictures. So since everyone wants something to look at, here's Pictures for the Sake of Having Pictures:

Terrelle Pryor was spotted at another basketball game this week. This time in Michigan, again with Chaz Batch.

Probably a couple years old, but what are Chevy Troutman and Carl Krauser up to these days, other than the occasional XPlosion game? Where are their shirts? Is Jeff Reed hosting this party?

Very random, I know. I just think it’s important to know that Orlando didn’t always wear a bow-tie.

One last flashback pic. I think it’s fair to compare Blair to Mobley. Mobley had a couple inches on Blair, but they’re both aggressive big men who play the same style of basketball.

-Men’s hoops had a fairly interesting week. We saw a completely uninspired showing against Cincy, followed by a dominating performance against St. John's in the Garden. It’s encouraging to see Sam Young step up and take over a game like he did on Wednesday night. Let’s hope he can carry that performance through to the rest of the Big East schedule.

-I saw “There Will be Blood” at the theater. Not as much blood as you would think. I will say, it kind of reminds me of the way I’m looking at next football season. Wanny gets this year and maybe next to prove he can do more than recruit, or else...

-Here’s a couple of links I came across this week:
-This one is actually a link to the Pitt library system. It has the media guides for football and basketball from 1950 until now stored digitally and free to download. Sweet. You know you’re geeked on Pitt sports if you spend more than 5 minutes on there.

-Rivals.com predicts their NFL all-pros for the year 2017. A couple of current and future Pitt players made the list.

-Go to a Pitt basketball game this year, you’ll be sure to encounter someone handing out flyers in support of the Pittsburgh Xplosion. Apparently John DeGroat had a pretty good week. His three game scoring total was 76. That was enough to earn him the coveted "CBA player of the week" award, the second consecutive week he's taken home that honor. He'll be representing Pittsburgh at the All-Star Classic Tuesday night in Yakima. Good seats still available.

OK, ladies and gents. Have a good week. Hail to Pitt!

"General Admission": Pens at Flyers

General Admission

by Rege Ryan

regeryan@gmail.com

Well readers, I survived the lion's den. Walking away with a win would have been the best case scenario, but regardless of the "L", this was one of the most entertaining Penguins games I’ve been to in long time.

First off, we had our tickets in the all-you-can-eat section of the Wachovia Center, which is pretty self-explanatory. They give you a wrist band and you're off to the races. Our buddy Dane did his best Kobayashi impression and housed seven dogs, two boxes of popcorn, two orders of nachos and multiple drafts of Miller Lite. I limited myself to a mere three dogs and two nachos. Needless to say, nobody went home hungry.

After we loaded up on free hot dogs and draft beer, we made it up to our seats. A chorus of "Crosby sucks" promptly greeted us, but I’ve seen much uglier chants at Steeler games. The craziest two taunts of the evening had to be, "Hey Lemieux, cancer's coming back to finish the job!" and "Hey Malkin, get off the ice you f***ing Commie!"

Philadelphia. Always classy.

There were just too may Crosby taunts to list. You would think for how much these fans genuinely hate him that Sid took a train to Philly and personally slept with every Flyers' fan's wife/girlfriend. Growing up we all hated Eric Lindros, but he was a genuine prick/A-Hole. Sid is neither. I took my medicine like a man and kept my counter-taunting to a minimum.

Off the ice, the Flyers entertainment staff embraces the signature virtues of the city of Philadelphia: obesity, public intoxication, and total disregard for social norms. “Dancing Guy” as the Flyer fans refer to him as, gets a free season ticket every year, now that he dances for the jumbo-tron every game. This YouTube link is actually pretty funny .

Aside from the all-you-can-eat snacks, taunts, and dancing fatsos, the Pens put a nice effort in on Thursday night. The hitting was hard and the physicality of the game was a sight to see live.

I’m confident that the Pens can sustain .500 hockey until Crosby returns. I really get the feeling that this is a mentally hardened group. That atmosphere in the Wachovia Center is rather intimidating and this game opened my eyes to how difficult it would be to win a playoff series in this building. Let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

The News

--Sad news from the world of hockey, where the Pens fall to 0-4 against the Philadelphia Flyers this year with a 4-3 loss. At least there was a good boxing match to warm up the crowd.

--At long last, some pics of Dana Jacobson taking a vodka bottle to the face at the now-infamous Mike and Mike Roast. I'd love to know what Trey Wingo was thinking as he watched in the background.

--Great news from Steeler Country: Hines Ward is ticked at Big Ben. Roethlisberger had the audacity to ask for a tall receiver, and Ward shot back, saying, "I don't hear Tom Brady or Peyton Manning asking for that. I don't know, whatever he says. I have no idea. To me, it's a rare combination of receivers out there who are good and tall. We won a Super Bowl, we didn't have a tall receiver then. I don't see Tom Brady caring about who's tall or not. He got Randy this year, but he did it before without him."

I guess Hines missed the part where Brady, who took less than fair market value in his last contract, asked Santa Kraft for an upgrade from the Pats' 2006 troika of Reche Caldwell, Doug Gabriel and Troy Brown. Total coincidence that all of a sudden the team is now trotting out Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth. Total coincidence.

--It's been 20 years since Jerome Lane sent it in. The PG catches up with him. In case you were wondering, no, he hasn't shattered any other backboards.

--A musical 'tribute' to the Gunslinger in all his glory. Cheesehead not necessary to view and listen.

A MINI-LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS

Top 10 Dangerously Drunk Cities

Top 10 Stupid Criminals of 2007 -Pittsburgh represents at #9!

The Best 2007 Sports Videos

Lee's Tunnell Vision: The Pirates Caravan Recap

by Zane Bloom
leestunnelvision@gmail.com

I was going to talk about the Pitt basketball game, but truthfully, it wasn’t that interesting. I was going to talk about the Duquesne game, but I started writing this column and mostly just kept the game in the background. Both teams were just better than their competition last night. I have a couple of other stories that I was going to hit on, but I’ll push them back for another week. Instead, I’m going to talk about my Monday. My six-year old son, ZW, and I made the trek to Erie to visit the Pirate Caravan’s stop at Dick's next to Millcreek Mall. (That mall in Erie made by the mafia in the shape of a pistol).

We got there just as they opened the autograph line at 11 and we were greeted, somewhat surprisingly, to a line throughout most of the store. In fact, it took us an hour to get to the front. ZW is a huge baseball fan and the normally energetic kid was slowly becoming more and more shy the closer we got to the big-leaguers. This was a big deal for him.

Zach Duke was first at the table and very nice to meet. We mentioned that ZW’s first Bucco game was last year’s Father’s Day start by Zach against the White Sox. We didn’t mention that it was a typical ’07 Duke start with a five-run inning, a lot of pitches, a lot of hits and not a lot of swings and misses.

Nyjer Morgan was next. I tripped him out when I told him that I knew his half-brother, a buddy of mine I work with, and a former Pitt basketball player. ZW asked if Nyjer wanted to race on that crazy indoor track in the shoe section of Dicks, but he was having none of it. Nyjer was a big hockey player growing up and played four years of junior hockey in Canada, including major junior in the Western Hockey League with the Regina Pats. Something to keep in the back of our minds should the Pens injuries continue.

Jeff Andrews, the Bucs new pitching coach, was doing an interview so we just grabbed his card. Hopefully he was talking about how to fix/leave alone autograph #1.

Jack Wilson was next, one of ZW’s favorite players. He was an engaging guy, and that makes him very easy to root for. The guy plays hard every inning, every at-bat. In fact, I wish everyone hustled like he does. He’s put up seven solid seasons together in the black and gold and finished last year batting .296 with a career-high 12 dingers. And how he’s yet to win a Gold Glove is beyond me. He’s one of the good guys.

As we neared the end of the table, I was surprised to see Bill Cowher signing autographs, considering it was the Pirate Caravan and all. I was surprised to find out it was actually Carrick’s own John Wehner. You know, this John Wehner. His announcing started out sort of rough to start the year, didn’t it? But week after week, I really thought he improved and by the end of the year, was doing a really solid job.

Greg Brown was there too, but apparently too "big-time" to sign autographs. A little ‘did you know’ about Greg: he was an announcer for the Buffalo Bills during the amazing second half come back against the Oilers in the ’93 AFC Championship Game. I caught the game on ESPN Classic at some point and was surprised to hear Greg’s voice.

Here’s some video of the event from the local Erie sportscast. ZW is the boy in the blue jacket and Bucco hat 17 seconds in after Nyjer moves his head out of the way.

All-in-all, the wait was worth it. As much as I was excited to meet some of the guys, I was more excited that my son had a chance to.

Anybody else remember going to Picture Day as a kid? That one afternoon when they let you walk across the warning track at Three Rivers, getting autographs from all the players. They were all there. They were all nice and interacted with you.

You could meet Willie Stargell. How cool was that? Heck, you spent your entire summer emulating Pops, playing wiffle ball with your pinkie finger over the knob of the bat and round housing it before the pitch like you were going to hit it Carnegie.

There was Bucco Manager Chuck Tanner. Ok, I’m a little uncomfortable, 25-years later, with where Chuck’s hand is.


And who could forget Omar “the Outmaker” Moreno?

By the way, Omar still loves the black and gold:

OMAR MORENO’S FOUNDATION

Former Pittsburgh Pirate, Panamanian Omar Moreno, gave loads of little kids something to smile about last Friday. Moreno owns a nonprofit Foundation that teaches young children how to play baseball. Moreno’s Foundation works closely with the Panamanian Embassy to spread the love and improve lives.

And then we had Tony Pena. Remember when it was your turn to catch and you stuck your one leg out just like Tony?

Then there's everyone's favorite closer, Kent Tekulve, The Rubber Band Man!


Dale Berra!

Dale Berra! How’d he sneak in there? What, were Steve Nicosia and Doug Frobel busy getting their picture taken with someone else? I can’t believe my dad took that picture. I found out that Dale Berra and his .236 career batting average, played in 853 games, which happens to be more games than any son of a Hall-of-Famer, topping Dick Sisler. So he’s got that going for him.

You could get your picture taken with your favorite player, like mine, Johnny Ray.

Man, I desperately want the Pirates to be good again. For their sake, for my sake, for my son’s sake, for our sake, for the city’s sake. I don’t want my son to be an Indian fan, I want him to be a Bucco fan. This 15-years of losing is just painful. PAINFUL! I’m tired of it. Where have you gone, Bill Mazeroski? Do you remember the good old days? When the Pirates mattered? When you didn’t have to be embarrassed to cheer the Bucs?

I remember. Thanks Dad. And for the sake of this generation and the next, I hope there are better days ahead for our beloved team, and sooner rather than later.

Are you listening Mr. Nutting?

Check or Hold? Lee Tunnell, out.

leetunnelvision@gmail.com