I Finally Get to The Consol

I attended the first games - exhibition and regular season - at both PNC Park and Heinz Field.  I did not make the Three Rivers Stadium opener, but I know I saw my first game there on the first weekend after it opened.  I even have a vague recollection of being at the Civic Arena at some sort of public open house before it officially opened.  All this is background to the somewhat shocking fact that it wasn't until yesterday, in the fourth season of its operation, that I attended my first event at this venue.

 

Yes, four seasons until I set foot in this place.  I know that my father, who made me the sports fan that I am, is no doubt looking down upon me with great disappointment over this fact.

Anyway, the City Game, the annual basketball game between Pitt and Duquesne, is the event that finally righted this wrong, as my buddy Len Martin and I took in the big game.

The game itself, a 17 point win by Pitt was rather unremarkable,  but aspects of it are worth commenting upon and will be addressed in a separate post within the next day or two.

Anyway, my impressions of the Consol are favorable.  Very favorable.  A beautiful place.  Wide concourses in which to maneuver, terrific selection of food and drink, comfortable seats, great sight lines, easy to get into and out of.  Just a great place to see an event.  Now I will say that for the game yesterday, the place was just a little over half full, so I am guessing that the openness and easy maneuverability might not be what I experienced at a sold out hockey game or concert.

A great experience and a great place.  Of the four major sports venues opened in Pittsburgh in this century, I would rank this just behind PNC Park and just ahead of the Peterson Athletic Center.  (If you are keeping score, yes, Heinz Field ranks fourth.)

Looking forward to getting back there.

By the way, I snapped the picture below from one of the concourse areas on the top level of the Consol.  It is where the Civic Arena used to be.  We still await, four years after the fact, all that new development that the Penguins promised us when we built them their new play pen so that they would not move to Kansas City.

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.

TO ALL LOYAL READERS.....

.....my THANKS to you for frequenting this particular Grandstand!

The Pirates Make Some Moves

The Pirates have been relatively quiet in this off-season, but that changed just a little bit yesterday, which gives me an excuse to write about them as the snow falls in McCandless, PA.

The biggest news, and it should come as no surprise, was the release of 1B/RF Garrett Jones.

The career year that Jones had in 2012 was followed by a mediocre one in 2013, and when you combine that with the fact that he is headed for arbitration for the second time this winter, well, as I said, no surprise.  In his five seasons with the Bucs, Jones produced 102 HR, 330 RBI, hit .254, and had a .774 OPS.  A left-handed hitter, he is the quintessential platoon player, and the Pirates will not pay over $5 million for that.  I have no doubt that he will catch on with some team and that he will probably do well, if he is used properly.

He was also quite popular, and appeared to be a Good Guy.  Thanks for you time here, Garrett, and all Pirates fans no doubt wish you well

The Pirates also made a trade of minor leaguers with the Padres yesterday, sending Alex Dickerson to San Diego in exchange for OF Jaff (pronounced "Jeff") Decker and P Miles Mikolas.  I know that some viewed Dickerson as a possible "first baseman of the future" and Decker has some good minor league numbers, and Mikolas seems ordinary at best.  Who knows?

On the A.J. Burnett front, nothing seems to be happening.  The Pirates have made it clear that they will not / cannot pay market value ($28 Million for two years) for the 36 year old A.J. Burnett, and Burnett hasn't changed from his Pirates-or-Retire stance, but you can be sure that his agent is trolling and no doubt some team is going to make him that market value offer. Then we'll see how sincere Burnett has been.  At the SABR meeting last week, Clint Hurdle made it clear that the Pirates need a decision from Burnett one way or another soon or they will need to move on. Stay tuned.

The Post-Gazette today listed those remaining Pirates who will be eligible for salary arbitration: Gaby Sanchez, Charlie Morton, Neil Walker, Mark Melancon, Vin Mazzaro, Travis Snider, Mike McKenry, and Pedro Alvarez.  Should be some interesting figures bandied about over these guys.  I am guessing that Alvarez will no doubt set a record for an arbitration award where the Pirates are concerned, and it will be interesting to see if the team will try to avoid arbitration with Walker by seeking to sign him to a multi-year deal.  If they do not, it will speak volumes, I believe.

The Pirates have the same questions hovering over them this off-season as they did last year, namely, first base, right field, and to a lesser extent, short stop, although I believe that Jordy Mercer has earned the job there for 2014.  Not everyone agrees.  It looks like they will seek a lefthanded hitting first baseman (who comes cheaper than Jones) to platoon with Sanchez, and that right field will still be up for grabs with Jose Tabata first among equals at this point. However, in his blog this morning, Bob Smizik raises an intriguing question about a free agent currently on the market - Carlos Beltran, and he makes a compelling argument.  Read on:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/smizik-on-sports/2013/11/26/In-right-field-for-Pirates-Why-not-Beltran/stories/201311260120

Some good stuff to toss into the Hot Stove as you prepare to stuff the Thanksgiving Turkey. Have a great holiday, everybody!

Sunday Morning Insomnia - Football Thoughts

Ever wake up at 3:15 AM and then CAN'T FALL BACK TO SLEEP??????

Maddening, isn't it?  So, how about some football thoughts several hours before NFL Kick-off time.....

• First, though how about a look back at that 37-27 Steelers win over the Lions last week. The nature of that game - 14-0 Steelers in the first quarter, followed by a 27 point second quarter by the Lions, followed by total impotence by the Lions and/or total domination by the Steelers in the second half - was really kind of weird.  A fun game to watch, to be sure, and a win by the home town team is always nice, but still....an odd game.
• Makes you wonder how the game in Cleveland will got today.  Both teams are 4-6 (as are the Ravens, the team on deck for the Steelers), but as poor as the Steelers have shown themselves to be, the Browns certainly appear to be even worse.  On the other hand, when you have losses on your record against the Vikings (2-8) and the Raiders (4-6), nothing can be taken for granted.
• Nevertheless, I call for a Steelers victory on the Lakefront this afternoon.
• Broncos-Patriots, or Manning-Brady, on Sunday Night Football tonight.  That ought to pull in a nice ratings number.
• Interesting story in Sports Illustrated this week about how the NFL played their scheduled games fifty years ago on the weekend of the Kennedy Assassination.   Revisionist history has always criticized the NFL for this decision, and Pete Rozelle himself has said it was the worst mistake of his career.  Now, I have no memory of what was said at the time of this decision back in 1963, but I was interested in seeing in the SI article that all of the stadiums for those games on November 24, 1963 were "packed".  A picture in the magazine of Franklin Field for the Washington-Philly game does indeed show a full house.
• Before leaving the NFL, two remarkable stories this year, to me anyway, are the Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons.  The Texans, chic pick by many to be a Super Bowl finalist, are 2-8, and the Falcons, the team that had home field advantage in the NFC throughout the playoffs last year, are 2-9.  How disappointed must you be if you are a fan of either of those teams?  In the words of Fred Willard, "Wha' Hopppend?"
• Pitt defeats Syracuse, 17-16 yesterday and becomes bowl eligible, and joy exists throughout Pantherland.  However, all this means is that Pitt is now 6-5 and could very well be headed to a Bowl with a 6-6 record. (BTW, thanks to Bob Smizik for pointing out that another definition of "bowl eligibility" could very be "Mediocrity".)  The important thing is, Pitt's coaching staff will now get those all-important extra fifteen practice sessions to jump start Spring Practice.
• Can't wait to see what garden spot will be the Panthers destination.  Please, God, anything but another trip to the BBVA Compass Bowl!
• Wish I could get as excited about high school football as so many people do, but it just doesn't happen for me.  Still, it was nice to see my alma mater, Central Catholic, win the WPIAL Quad-A title yesterday.  A very alert Central player - or more likely, a coach on the sideline screaming at him - produced a touchdown for Central after they had botched a punt.  Interesting play.
• Listening to ex-Steeler Craig Wolfley as color analyst on the WPIAL games on Root Sports is enough to drive you nuts, but then you realize, these are high school games, so why get worked up about it?  
• Hearing an announcer saying that an apparently injured player has a "hitch in his get-along" is enough to make you cringe.  Wolfley used that expression, not once, but TWICE in the Central-Woodland Hills game yesterday.
• I am betting that for the eight teams that played yesterday, the Heinz Field playing surface was the worst surface that any of them had played on all season.
• And let us leave on this note: Arizona State defeated UCLA last night and secured a spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game, which means that Todd Graham, the Souless Rat Bastard and a Grandstander H.A. Citation winner, is now one win a way from a trip to the Rose Bowl.  Oh, the humanity!!!

JFK - The Fiftieth Anniversary

As we all know, tomorrow, November 22, 2013, marks the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and if you were old enough then to carry a memory of the event with you to this day, it remains one of the seminal events of your lifetime.

My story is not much different or more extraordinary than any of yours.  I was in seventh grade at St. Philomena School.  The school secretary came into the classroom to tell us that the President had been shot and was not expected to live.  I also remember that our teacher, Sister Theodore, would not allow us to turn on the classroom TV set until the all-important weekly spelling test had been administered. Then the TV set was turned on, the class watched, and I believe, but am not absolutely certain, that school was dismissed early.

Then it was sitting in front of the TV set  at home for the next four days. The arrival of Air Force One from Dallas, the lying in state at the Capital Building, the Oswald shooting, and the funeral in Washington and the burial at Arlington.

I also remember that that weekend was the first time I ever saw my Dad cry.

******

Yesterday, I read a book called "The Torch Is Passed".  This was a special commemorative book published by the Associated Press and released shortly after the Assassination.  I can recall this book being offered for sale by the Post-Gazette via mail order and sending in my very own money - $3.00 - for a copy.  It was filled with pictures of the four days, and written by staff writers of the AP.  Over the years, the book got lost or thrown out, but I found a copy of it a few years ago at a used book sale, and I pulled it out again this week to re-read it.

With perspective of fifty years of history, it is interesting to read an account of the event that was written at the time it occurred.  A couple of things struck me.

Foremost among them was the way that Jacqueline Kennedy acted in the face of losing her husband in such a sudden, violent, and very public way.  She truly was extraordinary during those four days. 

And she was only 34 years old.

It also was interesting reading something that was written before the Warren Commission Report.  Before Conspiracy Theories that claim to state What Really Happened became a cottage industry that continues to this day, and will no doubt continue forever.  The AP did do a great job in capturing Lee Harvey Oswald. For example:

"Lee Oswald's fourth grade teacher says 'He wasn't for anything. He wasn't against anything. He just wasn't anything.' "

The mystery of WHY Oswald did what he did will never be solved, and anyone with a keyboard and a modicum of imagination can spin out a semi-plausible conspiracy theory.  They have been doing it for fifty years now, but it must be noted that none of these theories, not a single one of them, has ever been proven to be true.  Of course, Conspiracy Theorists would no doubt respond to that statement by saying, "well, that's just what THEY (whoever they are) want you to think!"

Tomorrow, Turner Classic Movies are showing a number of movies about JFK's campaigns, his Presidency, and his death.  One that I will be watching will be the 1964 documentary called "Four Days in November" which, as the name says, documents those four stunning days.

And if you want to read more on those four days, I suggest the following by Dallas reporter Hugh Aynesworth:

I read this book myself earlier this month and it is excellent.  It describes the reporting done by Mr. Aynesworth at the time,  and it also puts to rest all of the conspiracy theories. 

As for Jack Kennedy, history has proven that he was not the saint that many thought he was at the time of his death, and his legacy is still being debated and discussed by historians.  I am no historian, but my own thought is that whatever else his Administration did or did not accomplish, or did not have the time to accomplish, Kennedy earned his stripes and his place in history for stewarding this country during the thirteen day Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962.

RIP President Kennedy, and Mrs. Kennedy.

Big Break Mexico Follow-Up

Back in August, I wrote about the victory of 23 year old Taylor Collins on Golf Channel's "Big Break Mexico":

http://grandstander.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-big-break-mexico-champion.html

Among the cash and prizes that Ms. Collins received was an exemption into the LPGA's Lorena Ochoa Invitational.  Well, that tournament took place this past weekend, and here is how Taylor's Big Break turned out for her.

In a field of 36 golfers, Taylor Collins, sadly, finished in 35th and last place (one golfer withdrew after the second round).  Over the four rounds, she shot 74-77-76-73 - 300, which was twelve shots over par, seven shots behind the golfers just ahead off her, and twenty-eight shots behind winner Lexi Thompson.  For her efforts, Collins cashed a check for $7,250.

This is not to make light of Taylor Collins' performance, but, rather, to point out the world of difference between those golfers who regularly compete on the PGA and LPGA Tours and those golfers who scuff around on the fringes of professional tournament golf and compete on "The Big Break".

Taylor Collins is a terrific golfer by almost anybody's standards, and she seemed like a pleasant young woman when you watched her on the show.  I wish her well in pursuit of her dream, but it looks like she has a steep mountain to climb.

The current iteration of the show, Big Break NFL, will grant exemptions into professional tournaments in 2014 to both a male and female golfer, and The Grandstander will follow up on those performances as well.

By the way, to my knowledge, only one Big Break winner, Tommy Gainey, has managed to make a go of it in golf's big leagues.  He won once on the PGA Tour in 2012, and in 2013 he played in 28 events, made 14 cuts, had one top ten finish, and earned $520,000.  He's making a living, but he's hardly a household name.