Pittsburgh Football in 2013 - A Final Look Back

Before we get too immersed in the NFL Playoffs and Monday's BCS title game, a final look back (and a tentative look forward) on the local scene.

STEELERS

If you are really interested, you can see what I had prognosticated for the 2013 Steelers back in September here:

http://www.grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/09/its-steelers-time.html

If I say so myself, I think I was pretty perspicacious in my predictions.  However, if you don't want to read the whole post from five months ago, here is the relevant passage:

As for 2013, I see the team being anywhere from 7-9 to 9-7 and not making the Playoffs this year.  I see Baltimore winning the AFC North with the Bengals - I can't believe I'm saying this - finishing ahead of the Steelers, who will still be better than the Browns.

Well, the Steelers finished 8-8, so I was on target there.  Yeah, yeah, I know, I was way wrong about the Ravens, who failed to make the playoffs.

This is the second year in a row that the Steelers went 8-8.  In 2012, they started 7-2 and then crashed and burned , going 1-6 in the final seven games.  This year, as we all know, they started 0-4, then rallied to go 8-4 in the final twelve games.  What to make of that?  Nothing, because 8-8 is the very definition of mediocre, and, essentially, that is what the Steelers have been for the last two years.  I think it would be a mistake for anyone to think that that nice 8-4 finish means that things are okay with the Steelers going into next year.

On the positive side, the Steelers seem to be a good offensive team.  Ben Roethlisberger remains a franchise quarterback, and Le'Veon Bell came on strong after he got healthy and looks to be a Grade-A running back.  Despite everyone's constant bitching about OC Todd Haley, the Steelers problems do NOT appear to be on that side of the ball.

The Steelers defense continues to age and continued a trend from '12 of not being able to hold fourth quarter leads.  Can that ship be turned around for the 2014 season?  That is the big question in my mind as the off-season gets underway for Rooney U.

PITT

You can make all the fun you want about a win over a MAC team in a minor league bowl game, but the Panthers victory over Bowling Green in the Pizza Pizza Bowl, was impressive and, I think, important to the team as they closed out a season that sent somewhat mixed messages.  (In addition to that, it was an entertaining and fun game to watch!)  The fact of the matter is that Pitt did NOT win those minor league bowl games the prior two seasons, so that alone makes the Pizza Pizza win a good one.

As the guys in the ticket group I am in watched Pitt throughout the season, we kept wondering just what kind of team they were.  Well, they finished 7-6, won a game or two we didn't expect (Notre Dame) and lost some they should have won (Navy, North Carolina).  As my expert on all things Pitt (Dan Bonk) said prior to the season, "if they win seven games, that would be a good season for them." So, there you are.

I keep thinking that 19 freshman received significant playing time for Pitt this year, and I'll be optimistic and say that that augers well for the future.

I will say that Pitt fans had better enjoy and appreciate Tyler Boyd in 2014, as I am sure that he will be gone to the NFL as soon as rules allow him to opt for the NFL draft.  He is a remarkable football player.

PENN STATE

I have decided not to comment in this forum on what has gone on there this past week.  Still too touchy and emotional an issue, and I'm just going to let it lay there.  

Some Football Thoughts......

Some pigskin thoughts....

• The Steelers season came to a practical end with that loss to the Dolphins on Sunday, although the NFL PR machine will still churn out the fact that they are still mathematically in the hunt.  
• The Steelers of 2013 are most certainly not a very good team, but you can't say that their games have not been entertaining.  You've got to give them credit for that.
• In trying to find some positives, I will say that Le'Veon Bell looks like he will be a good to quite good NFL running back, that Cameron Heyward is starting to look like he was worth that first round pick, and that Ben Roethlisberger remains an elite NFL quarterback.
• In the comments made by readers to Bob Smizik's blog post following Sunday's game, a reader stated that he "will never forgive" Antonio Brown for stepping out of bounds on that final wacky play of the game.  I feel sorry for a person like that.  He must have a pretty empty life.
• In the beginning of the season, I said that the Steelers would be somewhere in the range of a 7-9 to 9-7 team.  At 5-8 with three to play against the Bengals, Packers and Browns, I'm thinking 7-9 would be an achievement at this point.
• End zone dances and celebrations after touchdowns by players don't usually bother me, but I can do without the histrionics after a routine first down.
• Pitt is going to the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl in Detroit on December 26 against Bowling Green.  It's easy to make fun of this, but what the hell?  As friend John Kraemer noted recently on the Facebook W. PA Football Huddle page, since the only "meaningful" bowl game will be the BCS Title game between Auburn and Florida State, then every other bowl game played, even the biggies on New Year's Day, are every bit as "meaningless" as is Pitt's contest with BG.  So enjoy the game if you are so inclined.  No one is forcing anyone to watch a single one of these contests.
• However, spare me the rhetoric of the importance of the extra fifteen practice sessions that schools gain by playing in a Bowl Game.  This will be the sixth year in a row that Pitt has had these fifteen extra practices and they have enabled them to put together two back-to-back 6-6 seasons.
• When I was a high school student, the Catholic High Schools did not belong to the WPIAL or PIAA.  They competed in a Catholic League.  Well, the number of Catholic Schools have diminished, and schools such as one time fierce rivals Central Catholic and North Catholic compete on different levels in the WPIAL and do not play each other any more.  I think that that is a shame, but I know that I am in the minority on that.  In any event, both Central and North will be playing for State Championship football titles this weekend in Hershey, so good luck to them both.  It allows some of us old-timers to reflect upon the old days of the Catholic League.

Pitt, Football and Basketball

The Pitt Panthers closed their football season today the same way that they began it last Labor Day evening - by giving up 41 points to a school from Florida, and losing convincingly.  Tonight it was the Miami Hurricanes who laid the wood to the Panthers and coming away with a 41-31 win, and trust me, the game wasn't as close as the score indicated.  The Panthers finish their season with a 6-6 record and will be making a trip to some meaningless bowl game in late December.

After Florida State beat Pitt 41-13 to open the season I wrote, among other things,  the following:

You just have to hope for game by game improvement as the season progresses and maybe for an unexpected upset somewhere along the line.

Well, Pitt did get that big upset when they beat Notre Dame earlier in the month.  It was easily the high point of the season.  As to whether the game by game improvement occurred, not so much.  Every step forward seemed to be accompanied by a step-and-a-half backward, tonight's drubbing by Miami being a prime example.

On the other hand, as I was driving home from the game, the radio announcers said that 19 freshman had significant playing time for Pitt this season.  Here is hoping that that is a sign that a youth movement under Paul Chryst is taking place and that it will bear fruit in the seasons ahead.

On to basketball.  The Panther Hoopsters are 6-0 and coming off a most impressive two game performance at one of those pre-season tournaments, this one in Brooklyn, earlier in the week.  I will get to see them tomorrow afternoon when they take on Duquesne in the "City Game" at the Consol Energy Center.  I will have more on that match-up later in the weekend, but I am especially excited that this will be my first visit to the Consol Energy Center.  The building is now into its fourth year of hosting events, and I cannot believe that it has taken me this long to get down there.  Of course, I will be giving all of you my impressions of the Building.

Pitt 28 - Notre Dame 21

As Len Martin and I were walking into Heinz Field last night, we had a conversation that boiled down into two main points.  One, that we hoped for a competitive game, and two, neither of us could remember that last time Pitt football posted a meaningful win, or a "signature" win.  There certainly had not been such a win in Paul Chryst's brief tenure as Pitt Head Coach, and wouldn't be something if such a win could possibly happen against Notre Dame?

Well, Pitt fans got both of those wishes last night with that 28-21 win over Notre Dame, and it was a well earned, well executed (for the most part) win over a team that no doubt has superior talent.  I am happy for Pitt, but I will take no more pleasure over this win than I would over any win over a strong, nationally ranked team.  One of the best young men I know is a Notre Dame graduate, and I'm sorry for him and his family, so there will be no hatin' on the Irish from this corner, as I enjoy the aftermath of Pitt's win.

I also have to say that the atmosphere at Heinz Field was really good last night.  It was a chilly but beautiful night. The stadium was sold out (although there were a number empty seats) and as you would expect, a large portion of the crowd was rooting for Notre Dame, but I saw no ugly incidents among the fans, unlike what people who may be dressed in Buffalo Bills garb may experience today at Heinz Field.  Do you think that that might possibly be because no beer is sold during the Pitt games?  Lots of tailgating pre-game with both Panthers and Fighting Irish fans pleasantly co-mingling.  The Pitt band was in great form, and the Pitt student body wass spirited and pretty much remained in the Stadium until the final gun.  And I have to say that Pitt really does a nice job in "presenting" the college football experience at Heinz Field.

So congratulations to coach Chryst and his Panthers.  In a season that has been mostly "meh", they delivered a big win last night against a quality opponent.  Panthers fans can only hope that this will be a nice stepping stone into the future.

Halfway Through a Sports Weekend

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 afternoon.
Tied for first place in the NL Central, and a magic number of 7 to clinch a playoff spot.

Also, we will be in attendance on Monday night when AJ Burnett takes the mound against the Padres. This will probably be our last game of the season, although I do have a tentative date with a friend to take in the Bucs first home game in the Division Series should that come to pass.

At Heinz Field yesterday, the Pitt Panthers opened up a big can of whoopass on the New Mexico Lobos, 49-27, and , trust me, the game wasn't all that close.  Not sure what this means, as NM appears to be to Bad Teams what Florida State was and is to Good Teams. Perhaps we will shall get a better indication as to where the Panthers sit on the Bad-To-Good Scale next week when they visit Duke in Durham.

One takeaway from yesterday's game of which we can be pretty sure - Freshman Tyler Boyd is one tremendous looking football player.  The Real Deal for sure.

(Elsewhere in college football, I regret that personal circumstances prevented me from seeing any of the 49-42 Alabama win over Texas A&M.  Sounds like that game was one for the ages. Tell me, did Nick Saban smile or show any sign of joy at all over his team's big victory?)

(Elsewhere in college football, part 2.  I kept switching to the Penn State game between innings of the Pirates last night.  In other days, this would have been considered a big upset and a bad loss for Penn State, but is it really?  I ask that sincerely since I am not well informed on the fortunes of UCF, but under the leadership of George "Mr. Resume" O'Leary, perhaps they are making strides on the national scene.)

Part Three of the Weekend Trifecta takes place tomorrow night in Cincinnati when the Steelers play the Bengals.  Not a lot of hope after the mess the Steelers showed us last week, but there is always hope because (a) Ben Roethlisberger is better than Andy Dalton, if it comes down to a battle between the quarterbacks, and (b) there is always hope that the Bengals will continue to be, well, the Bengals, which they were last week when a stupid personal foul penalty ended up costing them the game.

Speaking of which, are you getting tired of the "Hey, Marvin Lewis is a Western PA Guy" stories whenever these two teams play?  In case you missed it, the Post-Gazette pulled out that old chestnut today.

Let's Go Bucs!!! 

Here We Go, Steelers!!!!

Florida State 41 - Pitt 13

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 Dan Bonk, Len Martin, and their season ticket group.  

I make no claim to being an expert on Pitt's personnel, but those folks who are have told me that if Pitt manages a 7-5 or 6-6 season in 2013, they would consider it a success.  I do know that Florida State is always a force with which to be reckoned, so I had no great hopes for a Pitt upset last night.  Then, the Panthers took that opening kickoff and managed a very neat touchdown drive and led 7-0, and, well, the Seminoles are starting a freshman quarterback, so, hey, you never know, right?

Well, then that freshman QB, Jamies Winston took the field and the party was pretty much over.  He was simply remarkable.  At one point in the third quarter I said that I wish they would put his stats on the scoreboard, because, I said, "he has to have completed at least 75% of his passes."  Guess I wasn't playing as close attention as I thought, because Winston ended up going 25 for 27 (93%) for over 350 yards and four TD's.  Three of those TD's, by the way, were to  kid named Nick O'Leary, who happens to be the grandson of some guy named Jack Nicklaus.  Pretty cool.  Winston will be a most interesting player to follow throughout the season and his career.  He will certainly come up against far better defenses than what Pitt threw at him last night, but he sure looks like quite a talent.

It's easy, I suppose, to come down hard on Pitt, but both the good and bad news of last night was that eleven freshman received significant playing time in that game.  Pretty obvious that the there was not a lot there when Paul Chryst took over the Panthers in 2012.  If you are a Pitt fan, you can only hope that these kids turn out to be good players, and that Chryst and his staff can coach 'em up and get the best out of them.  Also, and I claim no expertise here, I am not sure that the ACC, with the exception of Notre Dame, is going to throw any stronger opposition against them than what Florida State did last night.  You just have to hope for game by game improvement as the season progresses and maybe for an unexpected upset somewhere along the line.

Two other things I'd like to comment upon concerning last night's game.

First, Pitt issued a special over-sized commemorative ticket for last night's ACC Opening Game.  I know that lots of folks collect such things.  The Heinz Field ticket takers then proceeded to fold the tickets and tear them in half.  And to make the cheese more binding, there was no perforation in the ticket so what you got back was a jagged, ripped ticket,  You could have gotten a cleaner tear if you bit your ticket in half with your teeth.  The tickets did have a bar code on them, but word was that the scanning equipment wasn't working last night.  So, so much for that nice souvenir ticket.  And you thought only the Pirates were capable of such screw ups!

Secondly, you may have heard reports on the radio today that the Pitt student section pretty much abandoned Heinz Field after the singing of "Sweet Caroline" at the end of the third quarter.   Wrong.  I would say that more than half of the Pitt students - and they had reported 11,000 student tickets sold - abandoned Heinz Field at halftime.  Those that were left then departed after "Sweet Caroline".  I am not sure how such a mass exodus can be prevented, but it doesn''t look good when your students exit in droves like that.  And I am not buying the reasoning of some hard line Pitt folks that this is all because that "damn Steve Pederson moved football off campus".

On the bright side, I had great time with the folks in the ticket group.  Male bonding at its finest!

Bring on them New Mexico Lobos!

Mental In-Box Time! A Little of This, A Little of That

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box on a Saturday morning.....

• I finally caught up with the Tom Cruise movie, "Jack Reacher", on DVD this week.  It's an okay movie, not great, not awful, but of all the movies filmed in the City of Pittsburgh in recent years, this one showcases Pittsburgh like no other.  The opening sequence over the titles alone is spectacular.
• Much ado was made over the selection of Cruise to play Reacher.  Too short, said the multitude of fans of the Lee Child novels.  I say, fuhgeddabout it!  Cruise may be a screwball in his personal life, but he is undeniably a good actor, so I thought he was fine in the role.
• That said, I am not reader of Child's Reacher novels.  I think I read one of them.  Perhaps I'd react the same way if the "wrong" actor was selected to play Lucas Davenport or Alex Delaware.
• Final note on Tom Cruise.  He is starting to look his age (he's 51).  Time to stop being the boyish charmer and look for more character roles.
• Through the magic of Facebook, I was able this week to see and catch up with an old grade school and high school buddy, Bill Tarrant.  I had literally not seen Bill since we graduated from Central over forty years ago, and it was terrific experience catching up. As you can see below, Bill (that's him in the middle) joined Jim Scuilli and me for a mini-reunion of St. Phil's Class of '65 and Central Class of '69.  Later that night, Bill and I took in the Pirates game and then closed the bar at the Priory Hotel on the North Side.  It was pretty cool day.

• Bill is a journalist for Reuters and has lived in Malaysia and Singapore for much of the past thirty or so years.  His is a fascinating story, but it is his story to tell and not mine, so I will leave it at that.  i will say though, that Bill is as up-to-date and current on the Pirates, Steelers, and all around Pittsburgh scene as anyone I know.
• While running through the TV clicker before going to bed last night, I happened upon the last two plus minutes of a football game between Kansas State and North Dakota State and figured, what the hell, I'd watch until the end, in which North Dakota State pulled off the big upset.  More to the point is that these two plus minutes of game time took about twenty-five minutes of real time to play.  During times out, Fox Sports 1 would jam in three or four commercials.  That, my friends, is how college conferences are signing multi-billion dollar TV deals.
• By all accounts, Robert Griffin III seems to be a decent guy, and he is undeniably charismatic.  That said, this little pissing contest he seems to be conducting with Coach Mike Shanahan is really getting tiresome.  One of the many life lessons taught to me by my Dad is that "everybody has a boss", and RG III hasn't seemed to grasp that. Unfortunately, in the world of sports, it is the "boss" that usually loses in these things.
• Not that Mike Shananhan is an exceptionally sympathetic guy, you understand.
• The fact the Tim Tebow might be on the verge of being cut by New England, after failing in New York, makes that Steelers playoff loss to Denver two years ago all the more galling, doesn't it?
• The Pirates. Tied for first place with 28 games left to play.  This is what we have wanted for the last twenty years, right?  Win or lose, these games have been and will continue to be exciting, nerve wracking, heartbreaking, maddening, euphoric.  I wouldn't trade it for anything right about now.
• I have gone on record of declaring a moratorium on the Neal Huntington Bashing for obvious reasons (not the least being the trade he pulled off this week for Marlon Byrd and John Buck), but I did hear him on his radio show last week, and he still can come off as being terribly condescending to the Pirates fan base, also know as his PAYING CUSTOMERS.  Somebody in the Bucco PR office should give him some coaching.
• I took my own recent DVR Alert Advice and watched "The Wild Bunch" yesterday.  This 1969 western by director Sam Peckinpaugh was considered ground breaking when it was released, mainly because of it's amazingly realistic violence, and the stark and unromantic depiction of aging outlaws in the days when the "old west" were pretty much coming to a close.  It was all of that, to be sure, but to be honest, I wasn't all that crazy about the movie.  I wanted to see William Holden as one of the aging outlaw, and he didn't disappoint.  
• Two other observations about actors who were in "The Wild Bunch".  No actor could play "evil" as well as Ernest Borgnine, and no actor could play "loony" quite like Strother Martin.
• The $765 million settlement by the NFL upon the plaintiffs in the class action "concussion lawsuit" was, sadly, a tremendous victory for the NFL owners.  This comes out to little more than $150,000 per plaintiff, and it will be paid out over twenty years.  Pure chump change for the NFL, who will no doubt reward Czar Roger with a huge bonus and/or raise because of it.
• Still, I believe that this suit will continue to have far reaching effects that will change the game of football as we know it.  It may not happen for twenty or thirty years, but I think one day the game will be a fundamentally changed one than the one we know today.
• A lawyer friend of mine has postulated that sooner or later some lawyer is going to win some major lawsuit against a school district over a serious football injury, and when that happens, school districts will be dropping football left and right.
• Still think it can't happen?  Consider that in the middle part of the 20th Century, pretty much in my lifetime, and certainly in my parents' lifetime, perhaps the biggest sport in America, after baseball, was boxing, which is pretty much a niche sport today.
• OK, all that said, call me a hypocrite, but I am looking forward to the start of football, real football and not practice games, this weekend.  Some college games on the menu today, and I will be at Heinz Field on Monday for Pitt's Inaugural Game in the ACC.  Can't wait.
• The NFL starts next week, and I will reveal The Grandstander's thoughts on what lies ahead for the Steelers by mid-week.

Enjoy the Long Weekend, everybody!!

Pitt Reels in the Recruits

Thanks to my friend Dan Bonk (Official Golden Panther to The Grandstander), I was able to attend the big National Letter of Intent Day event that Pitt held at Heinz Field last night.

Paul Chryst and his staff officially landed 27 recruits for the 2013 recruiting class, and a lot of great hoopla surrounded the announcement.  As Dan puts it, this event, along with the hoopla surrounding the NFL Draft, is one of the great "Non-Events" on the sports calendar,  but, what the hell, it's fun, and what's the value of following a team if you can't have a little unbridled optimism once in awhile.  

The way the deal worked last night, Chryst opened the show by thanking everyone for coming (and there was probably a couple of thousand people there) and their support. He then introduced each position coach who then talked about each of the kids, or, excuse me, each of the Young Men, who will be coming to Pitt this Fall.  Of course, every recruit was a tremendous football player with great "upside", and all were outstanding Young Men who came from Great Families.  When it was all said and done, you figure that Pitt should probably end up winning 45 games or so over the next four years.

We were the shown video game films from the high schools of each of the 27 Young Men who will be coming to Pitt. It got a little tedious, to be honest, but one thing I noticed was that on everyone of those tapes, the kid that was being highlighted was always, and I mean always, either the biggest or the fastest kid - and sometimes both - on the field.  The only problem is that now these 27 kids will now be competing with and against other kids who were the biggest and fastest kids on their high school fields.

I hope that ALL of these kids work out for Pitt, that they all become All-Americans, Heisman finalists, and/or first round NFL Draft picks, but the reality is that some of these kids won't make it.  Some will drop out of school for various reasons, some won't be good enough to play on the Division I-A level, and one or two may get arrested.  I don't know what the percentage is that makes for a really good recruiting class, but I'm thinking if seven or eight of those kids become solid two or three year starters, with one or two being solid NFL prospects, Chryst and his staff will probably be pretty happy with it.

In the meantime, as a brand new season ticket holder, I enjoyed last evening's event, and am looking forward to Pitt kicking it off in the ACC come Fall.

Steelers, Pitt, the SEC, RMU, and More Conference Madness

As you can see from the title, a mixed bag from The Grandstander this morning.....

Not much to add to what you have no doubt already read about yesterday's unexpected, but now euphoric, victory over the Ravens.  How can you not be happy for Charlie Batch about engineering this victory?  The picture below may well end up summarizing the Steelers season, and seeing it on TV as this moment was taking place even brought tears to the eyes of Mrs. Grandstander:

So now the Steelers sit at 7-5, in a playoff position, and with four games, three of them at Heinz Field, remaining, all games that they should be favored to win (San Diego, Dallas, Cincy, and Cleveland), provided Ben Roethlisberger returns to the helm.  who would have thought it after those losses to the Raiders and Titans?

*****

Pitt closed it's season on Saturday night with a win over South Florida, giving them a 6-6 record, and securing for themselves a third straight trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl, also known as the "Granddaddy of all Garbage Bowls".   This is disappointing in that many were anticipating that Pitt would play West Virginia in the tradition-rich Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.  Surely a renewal of sorts of the Backyard Brawl would make everybody happy, right?  Well, call me Oliver Stone, but I have a theory as to why this match-up did not occur.  I believe that all of these third tier bowls have tie-ins to various conferences, and both the Compass and Pinstripe are tied to the Big East.  I believe that the Big East decreed that Pitt got sentenced to Birmingham for the third straight year rather than take on WVU, and that this was done as one final big Middle Finger from the Big East to BOTH schools for their desertion of the Conference.

I wonder how Pitt will handle playing in a bowl game this year while NOT under the direction of an interim coach?

*****

The wailing and gnashing of teeth of the SEC Loyalists on Facebook this weekend have been hilarious.  Georgia, they are saying, was this close to playing in the BCS title game, but now they are relegated to playing in the god-awful Outback Bowl (a New Years's Day game, btw) against Nebraska, a team that couldn't even win the god-awful Big Ten, while an undeserving, god-awful independent like Notre Dame gets the chance to be horsewhipped by Alabama in the title game.

My answer to this is, hey, that is the BCS system in place, but I guess that that is only a good system when two SEC teams get into the title game.

Makes me want to call my nephew Kevin and borrow as much ND gear as possible to wear while watching that game on January 7.

*****

I skipped both the SEC title game and the Pitt-USF game and toddled out to the Sewall Center to take in my first basketball game of the season, and was rewarded with a nice Colonials victory over undefeated Ohio University.  It was a nice wire-to-wire win for RMU and they withstood a big push from the Bobcats in the second half, but never did give up the lead.  I was impressed with both the enthusiasm of the RMU students throughout the game, and, more importantly, with the play of the Colonials.  They look like they could be a pretty strong team in the Northeast Conference this season. 

*****

Reports now say that both Duke and North Carolina may be looking at joining the Southeast Conference, or maybe the SEC is looking at them.  Whatever, the case, the ACC could end up going down that same path that the moribund Big East is now traveling.  Four sixteen team super-conferences are just around the corner, and I fear that Pitt may end up on the outside looking in when it all the dust settles.

Hail To Pitt!

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that I was looking forward to my first visit to Heinz Field since 2003 yesterday, and I was not disappointed.  I was able to join friends Dan Bonk and Len Martin when one of their "regulars" was unable to use his Pitt ticket yesterday, and I really enjoyed the experience.

I had not been to a Pitt football game in many, many years, and I really have to commend the University for the job that they do in presenting and creating a "college atmosphere" at Heinz Field.  The parking lots, the businesses around Heinz Field, the student section, the Pitt Athletic department, the Pitt Marching Band and the Cheerleaders really make for a fun atmosphere.  Also, the fact that beer is not sold in the Stadium during the game also makes for an enjoyable day.  I noticed that there were lots of families in attendance with very young children, something no responsible parent would do at a beer-soaked Heinz Field Steelers game.

As for the game itself, Pitt did as expected and romped over I-AA Gardner Webb, and the quality of the opponent no doubt contributed to Heinz field being only slightly over half occupied.  I can only imagine that a strong opponent, a meaningful and quality game, and a large near-capacity crowd would only increase the pleasure of the experience.

I am hoping to repeat the experience several times in the future as Pitt becomes a part of the ACC in 2013.

Will close with a view of Len and I soaking up some pre-game atmosphere on General Robinson Street.

Pheasant Ridge, Pitt, An Absent Friend

Three quickies:

I had a most enjoyable round of golf today at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Gibsonia.  It was the first time that I had played at Pheasant Ridge, and I really liked the course.  It is one that i would definitely like to play again.  I played fairly well (103) by my standards, but the best part of the day was playing once again, for the first time in several years, with former co-worker and long time golf partner Bill H.  A truly fun day.

As an aside, one drawback to Pheasant Ridge was that there were no water coolers on the course.  This is not unique to Pheasant Ridge, as I have noticed that water jugs on golf courses this summer have gone the way of metal spikes.  You just don't see them anymore, and I think that this is not-so-nice treatment of the paying customers.

I am looking forward to watching Pitt play the Cincy Bearcats tonight.  An important game for the Panthers after that very poor showing against Youngstown State last week.  

Absent Friend:  Art Modell died today at the age of 87.  Once he bought the Cleveland Browns from Paul Brown back in the 1960's, Modell became one of the movers and shakers in the NFL, but for all of that, he will be remembered foremost for moving the Browns out of Cleveland to Baltimore.  The City of Cleveland never has and no doubt never will forgive that sin.

"What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is Going On....?"

The title of this post is dedicated to my breakfast companions of yesterday morning.


Some sporting thoughts on a Sunday morning.....

• It is frustrating to see the Pirates just eaking out wins over the Astros, a team that they should be hammering into submission, this weekend, but, hey, they ARE winning those games, right?  Just a sign, I suppose, about how far the Pirates have come this season.
• Those Astros, by the way, are really a bad ball club.  As bad a team as I've seen since, oh, the 2010 Pirates.   I'm watching these games, and I am unfamiliar with just about every player on that team.  And is it a coincidence that Brad Mills makes you think of John Russell as he stands expressionless in the Houston dugout?
• For the record, I liked the trade for Wandy Rodriguez.  Nolan Ryan, he ain't, but he will be an improvement over Kevin Correia, I think, in the long run, despite the fact that Correia has won his last six decisions.
• It should also be noted that Rodriguez is under contract, and not an inexpensive one, for, I believe, two more seasons after this one, so kudos to Nutting/Coonelly/Huntington for pulling the trigger on this one.
• If Colton Cain wins 20 games for the Astros in 2017, this will still have been a good deal, if the Pirates get to the post-season this year, or even if they stay in the hunt deep into September.
• I also like that Starling Marte is now here in Pittsburgh, and how can you not after that spectacular debut?  True, he is hitless in his last two games, but I do believe he will be an improvement over what Pirates left fielders/lead off batters have given the team so far.
• Now the big question:  Does GM Neal swing a deal to bring a hitter, or "a bat" as is now the lingo, to PNC Park for the stretch?  I will not pay attention to anything Neal might say on the subject between now and Tuesday - he will never say anything significant on such a subject - but I anxiously await that July deadline.
• In case no one noticed, and it is definitely a secondary story line in Pittsburgh this summer - the Steelers opened training camp  this week.  The highlight for me was hearing my first Mike Tomlin soundbite of the season.  I LOVE hearing those, and I am not being sarcastic.
• Mike Wallace learned a hard lesson this week: When you get into a contract hassle with the Steelers, you will lose.  Every time.  You think these guys would know that by now.
• One thing that guys like Wallace and their agents absolutely, positively need to remember:  the Steelers released Franco Harris in a contract dispute back in 1983.  They do that to one of the pre-eminent figures in franchise history, then guys like Wallace will never have a chance.
• It amazes me to hear that there are some folks in Pitt fandom who think that the Panthers should now forget about ever playing Penn State, even to the point of canceling the two games scheduled for '16 and '17.  "Who needs THEM now?", they sniff.  This makes those elements at Pitt guilty of the same arrogance and hubris that they have accused (and not without some justification, it should be noted) Penn State and Joe Paterno of having had ever since the series ended.
• My friend Dan Bonk, a major Pitt fan and supporter, has taken the opposite tack:  AD Steve Pederson should be on the phone RIGHT NOW to whoever is in charge at Penn State these days negotiating a long term home-and-home deal with Penn State. 
• Penn State has always been able to find a way to schedule teams like Ohio University.  Pitt has always found a way to schedule teams like the University of Buffalo.  They can find a way to make this happen, and don't forget, the one person who always prevented  this series from continuing, is no longer on the scene.
• The NCAA and other college "spokesmen" have talked very loftily about how the College football culture needs to change after it was allowed to run amok at Penn State.  Yet there were reports this week, the ink on the consent decree not even dry, of rival schools' coaches on the PSU campus recruiting the Lions' current scholarship athletes.  Do you REALLY think that that culture is going to change?
• In spite of all that has fallen upon Penn State, I find myself really rooting for Bill O'Brien and those kids who will choose to stay at Penn State this coming season.
• I learned very quickly this week, that if you want to watch the Olympics and not know the results of a given event, stay off of Facebook, Twitter, or the entire Internet itself over the course of the next two weeks.