Beaver County Times, January 25, 2015

Nothing is easy in the NFL this year. If it were possible for Roger Goodell to actually earn his $44 million, it would be true this year.
The first week of Super Bowl run-up has been overwhelmed by the scandal surrounding the inflation of footballs in last week's AFC Championship Game. It's a CSI mystery layered enough to stand on its own.
Any good story needs a villain, and Bill Belichick is perfect for that role. Beady-eyed, often hidden under a hood, he says little and smiles only when someone hands him the Vince Lombardi trophy.
Belichick is obsessed with finding any edge to win games. That's what led the Patriots to illegally tape opposing defensive coaches to decipher hand signals. They called that "Spygate" and the Patriots were penalized by the NFL.
The first reaction to the football inflation scandal was a dismissive eye roll. Just more Patriots-inspired suspicion, which they've earned.
But as the week crawled on, there were two significant observations that added context and substance. Mark Brunell, a former NFL quarterback now employed by ESPN, was adamant in asserting that slightly-deflated footballs are easier to grip and more likely to spiral perfectly. In short, they're a quarterback's dream.
Then Hines Ward said on NBC's "Today Show" that the conspiracy could have been a cozy arrangement limited to Tom Brady and one of the faceless sideline helpers who handles the footballs. That makes sense.
As any avid mystery reader knows, conspiracies should always be limited. If 10 people know, there are 10 potential leaks. Many factors might motivate a whistle-blower -- pangs of conscience, money, revenge, desire for attention. If too many people know what's going on, there are too many chances for the secrets to be revealed.
A few things make a Patriots cheating scandal entirely plausible:
--Athletes will use any edge, real or imagined. Before steroids, baseball players used to cork their bats. Pitchers would hide small pieces of sandpaper in their gloves to scuff baseballs and make them dip unpredictably.
Baseball has a long history of sign theft. When Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings in 1959, the Braves were stealing every sign from catcher Smoky Burgess and relaying the information. It wasn't until the 1980s that someone from the Braves finally told Haddix about it.
--Athletes have a freakish relationship with the tools of their trade. Some hitters can open a shipment of new bats, lift each one and instantly identify one that's an ounce heavier or lighter than the others. Hockey players have a similar sixth sense about sticks. A quarterback who constantly handles a football is probably just as attuned to the slightest alteration.
--Equipment managers are sports' great secret keepers. They see everything, hear everything, tell nothing. They are confidants, the Alfreds who will never reveal that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Cell phones have changed the world, but in the old days a locker room guy would keep messages straight so a player would know which one was from the Jennifer who was his wife and which came from the Jennifer who was his girlfriend. That's trust.
Equipment guys knew how to cork bats, and how to pull a fast switch when the umpire came to confiscate the bat. Jaromir Jagr played a lot of shifts for the Penguins with an illegally curved stick. But the equipment staff knew to ditch those in the last period of a close game and substitute legal ones in case the opponent challenged the stick.
The bond between players and equipment guys can be strong. It's not uncommon for a wealthy player to buy a new vehicle for a trusted helper, or to provide an envelope full of cash. Or here, have a box of autographed stuff that you can sell out the back door at $300 a pop.
Support staffers work long hours for low salaries in less than favorable conditions (Have you ever smelled a hockey locker room?) Some players use them like valets, and provide significant rewards. It is possible to buy loyalty.
The NFL is investigating the Patriots, but don't expect any conclusions for a while. Only Columbo could take and solve a case in two hours.
Unfortunately, he's not available for this one. It would be fun to watch him irritate Bill Belichick with "...just one more thing."

Beaver County Times, January 18, 2015

Late-breaking NFL medical update: There's apparently an outbreak of laryngitis at Steelers headquarters.
That would explain why no one from the organization has been available to answer questions about the team's transition from Dick LeBeau to Keith Butler as defensive coordinator.
Both aspects of that switch have been handled with statements from the team rather than an actual news conference.
In a town where the annual shaving of Brett Keisel's beard is a media event worthy of leading the 11 o'clock news, anything Steelers-related is pretty big. So the exit of a long-time coach with Hall of Fame credentials qualifies as significant in the context of football.
Yet the Steelers have chosen to go all Kremlin and restrict comment to statements issued from the bunker.
Here's what happened: LeBeau wanted to come back. The Steelers didn't want him to. Awkward. LeBeau apparently wasn't interested in considering a role other than defensive coordinator.
So they announced the split as a resignation, which is technically correct. It's less messy that the fundamentally dishonest way they handled Bruce Arians' departure as offensive coordinator a few years ago.
If LeBeau wanted to leave without comment, that's fine. If the Steelers wanted to refrain from saying much about his departure, that's probably OK, too. It was a touchy issue.
But there's no excuse for not making Butler available. There are a lot of relevant questions that could be directed to him and Mike Tomlin, given that defense was the Steelers' weakness in an otherwise-successful 2014 season.
The Steelers usually aren't media shy. They buff their image regularly with photo ops that connect them to community and charitable endeavors. They invite cameras when they're reading to kids or helping to buy winter coats or distributing holiday turkeys. The TV stations show up like sheep for everything.
So it might be fair to expect the Steelers to be available when the news isn't as self-serving. Tomlin held a news conference to wrap up the season, but said he couldn't comment much on players or coaches because he hadn't spoken to them yet. They got the obligation out of the way without really offering much.
It wasn't always this way. Chuck Noll was no fan of media scrutiny, but he didn't create obstructions. Former GM Tom Donahoe loved to poke his head in the media room at Three Rivers to snarl about the slightest perceived inaccuracy, but he also understood the symbiotic nature of the relationship.
It seems incredible in today's environment, but in the 1970s the Steelers would compile a list of the players' home addresses and phone numbers and distribute it to the media. It was done with the understanding that the contact information was to be used a last resort, only after efforts to reach a player through regular channels had failed.
That couldn't happen now. The team understandably wouldn't have that level of trust, especially in a world where the list could instantly show up on the Internet.
But there's still no good reason why the coach can't take some basic questions when he hires a new coordinator.
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--NO BIG DEAL
Yikes, Pedro Alvarez did not attend Pirates mini-camp in Florida last week.
On the giant list of reasons to worry about the Pirates, that doesn't even make the top 100.
Mini-camp is a waste of time, a staff-created cure for cabin fever. Nothing important happens. Alvarez will have six weeks of spring training to work on his recovery from a bad season. Four days in January wasn't going to make a difference in his adjustment from third base to first.
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--MIXED MESSAGE
The 10:35 Nightly Sports Call on the KDKA-TV's stepchild CW station is currently between sponsors. So in keeping with the low-budget theme of the show, the previous sponsor's name has been deleted with a bold black line.
Looks like they're mourning rather than hunting a new underwriter.
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--TOUGH CHOICE
There was controversy in last week's Ravens-Patriots playoff game because New England exploited a loophole in the rule about linemen being eligible receivers.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh protested, but what Bill Belichick did was legal. He just a found a way to cause confusion, which is what smart coaches do.
You can debate the interpretation of the rule, but here's the bigger question: Which side do you feel comfortable taking in a dispute between Harbaugh and Belichick?

Beaver County Times, January 11, 2015

Maybe those decisions the Steelers face on veteran players aren't that tough after all.
Put aside sentiment and the respect for past service to the team and ask one question: Will this player consistently help the Steelers win games in 2015?
Strip it down to that cold truth, and it becomes apparent it's time to cut ties with four defensive players who have served the franchise well.
--Brett Keisel was a late signing because the staff wasn't quite sure it had enough depth on the defensive line. Keisel did OK until his season was ended by a torn triceps muscle on Nov. 30.
That's a tough injury to come back from, especially when the player will be 37 in September. The Steelers wasted two years hoping Aaron Smith could rebound from a torn muscle, and that experience should have taught them something.
The Steelers thought they were done with Keisel last season, but necessity brought him back for an encore. This time the split should be final.
--James Harrison re-signed with the team weeks after he went through the formality of a paper signing so he could officially retire as a Steeler.
It wouldn't seem like the hard-as-nails Harrison would be the type to inspire a lot of sentiment, but his return was a story that grabbed a lot of people. He played reasonably well for 36 years old, and his presence seems to have meant something in a locker room that had lost the concept of Steelers toughness.
But Harrison also missed games because of injuries. It's also been revealed that Jason Worilds wasn't allowed to rush the quarterback as much because he had drop back for pass coverage that Harrison couldn't provide.
The Steelers have invested heavily in outside linebackers in recent drafts. Both Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier have had problems getting on the field because of injuries.
They're the future, though, and they have to play. The Steelers should submit those Harrison retirement papers again and move on.
--Troy Polamalu's decline has been noticed by everyone except network commentators. Maybe they're mesmerized by the flowing hair, but they still wax about his ability to attack from many different angles. Yet splash plays have become rare as age and mileage have taken an obvious toll. Polamalu may get a call from the Hall of Fame in a few years. But he shouldn't get one from the Steelers with an invitation to return for 2015.
The defense continues to evolve, and the focus is now on the secondary. It needs help, and it's unlikely to get it from Polamalu at age 34. It's always sad to see a great career wind down, but it's inevitable, too.
--Ike Taylor maintains he's lost nothing from his game. Of course. He plays cornerback, and that position is all about confidence. Corners play on the edge and they have a different mentality. Even if they get beat on a play, they firmly believe they'll make the next one.
Taylor has been loyal, saying he considers himself a Rooney. Chairman Dan Rooney, who is not known to get gooey about things, is said to consider Taylor one of his all-time favorite players. It's worth noting that Dan Rooney once fired his brother because he thought the move would make the Steelers better.
There should be a place for Taylor in the organization. This formerly no frills operation now has its own media platforms on the Internet and television. Make Taylor a part of that, to share his gems like, "You only get a once in a lifetime opportunity so many times." Put him on TV. Put him on radio. Just don't put him back at corner.
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--NO INTEREST?
There are currently six head coaching vacancies in the NFL, and each one has about six likely candidates listed.
Yet Todd Haley's name hasn't been mentioned prominently for any of them. This is a guy who has head coaching experience, has just directed on the NFL's most potent offenses and seemingly has a desire to run his own show again.
It seems odd that nobody seems to be interested.
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--MISMATCH
Poor Dri Archer.
He ran the ball against the Ravens in last Saturday's playoff game, only to have Terrell Suggs wrestle the helmet off his head while making the tackle.
The visual effect was that of the brave little guy who foolishly wandered onto the playground where the big kids were playing.

Beaver County Times, January 4, 2015

It can only be good that Pat Narduzzi was in Fort Worth for the Armed Forces Bowl.
Presumably he was taking notes on the Pitt football team he'll be coaching. Presumably the first eight pages of his notes included the words, "Recruit defensive talent."
The bowl loss took it to a ridiculous level, but bad defense was the reason the Panthers were in the Armed Forces Bowl rather than a more prestigious destination. They couldn't ever really stop anybody when they had to.
Narduzzi is a defensive expert, but his strategy won't matter much unless he has players who can execute his plans. He has one advantage: He can promise recruits they'll have an excellent chance to start as soon as they arrive.
Pitt's football program is an easy target these days. Records are consistently mediocre and constant coaching changes keep realtors and movers busy.
But any perception that Pitt can't be a Top 25 program is off the mark. It would be foolish to predict the Panthers will be playing for a national championship anytime soon, but there's no reason why Pitt can't have the kind of nine-win seasons that will put the school in the rankings.
The Panthers headed into the bowl game 6-6 after losing four games -- two of them at home -- by five points or less. Make a play here and there, and Pitt could have been in the Top 25 and off the minor bowl invitation list.
Those who won't let go of the on-campus stadium issue are disengaged from reality. There's no money build it, there's no place to put it and students showed apathy when they could fall out of their dorm rooms and into the bleachers at Pitt Stadium. Besides, sharing a stadium and training facilities with an NFL team should be a significant recruiting asset.
At Narduzzi's introductory press conference, he was asked legitimate questions about how long he planned to stay. How would he know? Pitt doesn't have an exclusive on the fluid coaching situation that exists in college sports now.
West Virginia native Rich Rodriguez bolted from Morgantown when a better offer came along. After boldly stepping into the Penn State mess, Bill O'Brien packed his bags when the NFL came calling him back. Even Joe Paterno thought long and hard about leaving Penn State when the New England Patriots wanted him in 1973.
The hideous bowl loss notwithstanding, it's not all gloom and doom for Pitt football. But Narduzzi had better find some players for his defense.
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--LESS THAN CLASSIC
The NHL Winter Classic saw a drop in ratings from last year, and there are probably three reasons why that happened.
This year's game had college bowls as direct competition, which hasn't always been the case. The NHL overdid outdoor games last season, which devalued the Jan. 1 game as a special event.
But the biggest reason was probably the weather. Casual viewers are more likely to get hooked when the snow is flying and the players are battling the elements. That will automatically draw people who don't understand or appreciate hockey.
The sun was shining in Washington, DC. In fact, it was so bright that the light and shadows made it almost impossible to follow the puck at the start of the game. It didn't matter how big the screen was or how sharp the HD was, it looked like a 12-man mime routine.
Bad weather makes for bad hockey, but a great spectacle. Good weather created lousy TV, and viewers went elsewhere for their holiday sports.
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--ON THE WRONG SCENE
One of the great things about television is the way it invents its own reality.
With a big Steelers playoff game looming, there was naturally plenty of wide-ranging coverage during the week. The anchors were regularly throwing it to reporters who were standing by at Heinz Field with the very latest.
Of course, game day is the only time any Steelers are at the stadium. The rest of the time, they're at the practice facility on the South Side. That's also where the coaches are, along with all the executives who make any football-related decisions.
But the reporters stand in the cold and dark on the North Side, just in case there's any breaking news from the stadium's 65,050 empty seats or vacant parking lots.
Why? Because that's television.