So the people who have been downplaying the Pirates all year - and you know who you are - are now finding themselves short of reasons to rip on them so now they are saying "Big deal. A one game wild card game. It could all be over in one game." Some people are even refusing to acknowledge that this game is a "real" playoff game. To them, I say "Balderdash!!!"Let me get this out there BEFORE the playoffs begin. I like the whole...
Sunday, September 29, 2013
It is so very sad when you learn of the passing of one of the sporting heroes of your youth, and it is especially sad when that person is a mere five years older than you. Such is the case with Pittsburgh Steelers all-time great, L.C. Greenwood, who passed away today at the age of 67.If you are a regular reader of The Grandstander, the chances are that you need no introduction...
For sheer whimsical fun, nothing beat being on the Allegheny River shore by PNC Park when the Giant Rubber Duck arrived this past Friday evening.I got a good shot of him in front of the "alma mater":And I got another view from the vantage point of Heinz Field at the Pitt game on Saturday:I know it's silly, but I gotta say it....I love the Duc...
Back on September 4, I wrote of friend Matthew Algeo, author and lifelong Phillies-Fan-Turned Pirates-Fan (for this season, anyway) now living in Ulaanbaatar.Mongolia. http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-jolly-roger-flies-in-ulaanbaatar.htmlThanks to the initiative of friend David Cicotello, a Jolly Roger flag was dispatched to Matthew, and this past Friday,...
Friday, September 27, 2013
Two weeks ago, the Colorado Rockies Todd Helton quietly announced that he would be retiring at the close of this 2013 season. That was it. No major press conference announcement, no Farewell Tour throughout the National League, no gifts from opposing teams. Just "I'm retiring when the season ends in a couple of weeks".Was Todd Helton a "great player"? I...
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
The lateness of he game and the post game celebrations on Monday, combined with some personal obligations on Tuesday, has delayed by about thirty-six hours the writing of a post that, as recently as Opening Day of this season, I wasn't sure I would ever write, certainly not in 2013, if not in my lifetime.You all know about the Marte Par-tay home run....Which led to the...
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Like so many Pirates fans everywhere last night, I was sickened by how that 5-2 sure thing victory was snatched away from them by the Reds last night. I turned the TV off as soon as the final out was recorded, and could not bring myself to post or even read other's posts on Facebook's Pirate Chat page, could barely settle myself to go to bed, and when I did fall asleep, I awoke at 2:15 and could not go back to sleep for the rest of the night/morning....
Friday, September 20, 2013
Mrs. Grandstander and I embarked on another "Retiree Adventure" this week with a three night stay at the Peek'n Peak Resort just outside of Findley Lake, NY. If you are not familiar with it, "The Peak" is a ski resort about 15-20 miles east of Erie, PA, about a two and quarter hour drive from our North Hills home. It had been about a dozen years or so since our...
Sunday, September 15, 2013
The weekend in Pittsburgh sports started badly when the Pirates let one get away on Friday night against the Cubs, however, they talked us off the ledge last night with another fantastic pitching performance by Gerrit Cole. They are now poised to take three of four from the Cubs today behind Francisco Liriano. That would give them a record of 6-1 since that disastrous weekend in St. Louis last week should they take care of business this...
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Some DVR Alerts for this upcoming weekend on Turner Classic Movies. All times Eastern.Saturday, September 14:8:00 PM: "Lifeboat" (1944) Alfred Hitchcock's story of survivors on a lifeboat after their ship was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. Wait 'til you see how Hitch works his cameo into this one.12:00 AM (technically, Sunday morning): "Titanic" (1953)...
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Yeah, you know what I'm talking about - the streak, or, rather, The Streak, the twenty year Longest-Losing-Streak-in-the-History-of-Professional-Sports-in-North-America, is now, finally, officially over. With the Pirates' 1-0 victory over the Texas Rangers last night, The Streak has now been relegated to ignominious history. And how about that game. The pitching...
Sunday, September 8, 2013
In recent years, the NFL took a beating for bringing in geezer rockers - the Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Who, Madonna - for the half time extravaganza at the Super Bowl. While I didn't mind seeing the Stones, and I loved Bruce Springsteen at the Steelers game against the Cardinals, I had to admit that The Who and Madonna were pretty bad, and that the NFL need to unstuff...
If you are a fan of classic old movies, you will know that the above is a picture of Ray Milland in his Oscar winning role in 1945's "The Lost Weekend". I felt that there was no better metaphor than this for what Pittsburgh sports fans experienced this weekend. As a matter of fact, I mixed myself a high ball after the final whistle blew at Heinz Field this afternoon.First,...
Thursday, September 5, 2013
The National Football League kicks off tonight with the Ravens teeing it up against the Broncos, and the Steelers start for real on Sunday against the Titans, so it's time for The Grandstander's all-encompassing Steelers / NFL Preview. Because of the season that the Pirates have been enjoying this summer, the Steelers have been pretty much relegated to my personal back...
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
I had a very cool experience while watching the Pirates secure their 81st win of the season last night in Milwaukee.As I watched the game, I was making comments on the "Pirate Chat" Facebook page. At one point, along about the seventh inning with the score tied 2-2, the following comment popped up under one of my posts:Matthew Algeo For some dumb reason AFN is carrying...
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
For the first time since my college days, I am a Pitt football season ticket holder (Man, those were the days - the Dave Hart and Carl DePasqua eras when 1-9 seasons were not uncommon, nor was it uncommon to see the clock run continuously in the fourth quarter when Pitt was getting thumped 62-7 to the Notre Dame and Penn State teams of that era), and I was anxious to see Pitt's ACC Inaugural game against Florida State, and to spend time with friends...
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Word arrives on Facebook this morning of the death of British entertainer David Frost, or Sir David Frost to give him his due. Frost was introduced to America as host of the satirical "That Was The Week That Was" in the 1960's and later had a long run as successful talk show host here in the States. Frost came back into American consciousness in recent years with...
Here is what yesterday's Pirate trade for Justin Morneau - and the trade earlier in the week for Marlon Byrd and John Buck - means. It means.......that the Front Office has lived up on it's promise to do what needs to be done once all of the building blocks were put in place in the franchise infrastructure...that Bob Nutting opened up his wallet and spent money, significant...
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