Beaver County Times, October 20, 2013

This is it for the giant inflatable duck who's been the talk of the town for the last several weeks.
The big yellow bathtub toy ends his (her?) run tonight around 11. A tugboat is scheduled to take it to be cleaned and warehoused.
The duck first appeared on Sept. 27 and became an instant hit. He (she?) was there for the Pirates' stretch run, the raucous wild card game against the Reds and the two playoff games against the Cardinals.
People love the duck. He (she?) doesn't really do anything, doesn't even quack. It's just big and conspicuous and non-threatening, kind of like Max Starks was over the last couple of seasons. Since Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has gone into hiding, the duck is the cutest symbol of Pittsburgh this side of Baby Ben Roethlisberger.
Desperate fans started an online petition to extend the duck's stay, but that wouldn't really work. If he (she?) stayed, it would become just more routine river clutter like the car fenders that float by, or the drunken boaters who turn green bobbing on the waves on Steelers Sundays.
All your Facebook friends have photos of themselves with the duck hovering placidly in the background. People will be sending duck-themed Christmas cards.
People love the duck, and not just because it's free to see him (her?). The Fort Pitt Block House reports its attendance has jumped significantly during the duck's stay, with a corresponding rise in merchandise sales. This means people have actually visited the Block House without being shanghaied on a school field trip.
The duck is staying just long enough to get some final face time during CBS's coverage of this afternoon's Ravens-Steelers game.
We'll miss the duck, but this is certain: He (she?) was a bigger hit in 23 days here than Steely McBeam has been in seven years.
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--Adapting admirably
In his worst power year with the Cardinals, Albert Pujols had 32 home runs and 103 RBIs. He never posted a batting average lower than .299 in his 11 seasons in St. Louis.
Yet the Cardinals have continued to reach the postseason without him and are now in the World Series.
They're running a pretty good organization over there.
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--Remembering Goose
A fond farewell to longtime KDKA radio sportscaster Marvin "Goose" Goslin, who died suddenly last weekend at 64.
Goslin was one of the few media people who had a passion for hockey before Mario Lemieux arrived in town and made the Penguins fashionable.
The eccentric Goslin would schedule mid-winter vacations to places like Chicoutimi and Cornwall so he could catch a cluster of junior hockey games. He even published and marketed an NHL draft guide for a few years.
When he failed to become the hockey version of Mel Kiper, he busied himself hosting the Penguins pre-game shows and later made IUP football his new obsession.
Goslin was an accomplished singer and frequently performed the anthems before games. He handled that task with typical enthusiasm, even learning the French words to "O Canada" for the nights when the Montreal Canadiens visited.
He was a quirky character who worked hard and delivered for the audience in his 20-plus years of reporting for KQV and KDKA.