A couple of precocious kids, ages 10 and 11, got 15 minutes of publicity for their campaign to bring the NBA to town.
They started a fund-raising effort that led to a couple of billboards advertising their desire to see the NBA join the local sports scene.
Waste of time. The kids should have spent their money on cigarettes and fireworks, like their peers do.
The NBA has no immediate plans to expand or relocate, and if that changes, Pittsburgh still isn't on the NBA's list of places to go.
In fact, it's something of a miracle that a market the size of Pittsburgh has three major professional sports franchises, all of which happen to be thriving at the moment.
The Steelers have a sellout streak that started when Richard Nixon was president. The Penguins have a long streak of sellouts that spans their presence in two different venues. Pirates attendance at PNC Park has never gone below the level of respectable, even during a long losing streak. They're setting records now that the team is contending again.
But it's more than just selling tickets. An NBA franchise would have to sell luxury boxes and corporate sponsorships. They'd have to line up advertisers for broadcasts, and approach many of the same companies who are already spending huge sums of money on the three existing teams.
Markets similar to Pittsburgh rarely have all four pro sports -- St. Louis, Tampa, Cleveland and Charlotte also have three of four. Smaller markets like Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Buffalo and Kansas City have two of the four.
This has nothing to do with Pittsburgh's past pro basketball history. Most of that was a lifetime ago and involved either minor leagues or upstart leagues, like the ABA, which included the Pipers/Condors.
It takes a lot of money from a lot of sources to prop up pro sports, and Pittsburgh's card is full with the three teams.
At least these were just naive kids trying to drum up support. It never makes sense when the media reacts to some loon publicity hound who sends a letter to the NBA and then calls a news conference to announce his "plan."
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--THE MADNESS
Something to remember as more bracket sheets are run through the shredder: That Syracuse team in the Elite Eight lost to Pitt three times in the regular season.
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--GET READY
The annual "Guess How Many Games The Pirates Will Win" contest is up and running at my "Mainly Mehno" blog at the altoonamirror.com website.
Go there for details. It costs nothing to enter and you could win the prize.
http://altoonamirror.com/page/blogs.detail/display/6481/The-2016-Contest-is-Here.html
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--JOE GARAGIOLA
Joe Garagiola played on the 1952 Pirates, who lost 112 games on a 154-game schedule. No wonder he became a baseball humorist.
Garagiola, who died last week at 90, was best remembered for NBC's Game of the Week, but he was a versatile broadcaster. His credits included two stints on the panel of "The Today Show," filling in for Johnny Carson on "Tonight," hosting game shows and covering the Westminster Dog Show.
Two of his greatest accomplishments were lobbying against the use of spit tobacco in baseball and helping to found the Baseball Assistance Team. The organization helps former players and their family members who are in need.
They confidentially investigate, then do what is necessary to solve problems. Players from previous generations didn't make millions and a lot of players didn't qualify for a pension. The BAT has secretly helped scores of former players with basic necessities.
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--JUST SAYING
People want to hear about your brackets about as much as they want to see your dental x-rays.
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