Altoona Mirror, April 30, 2017

Many decades ago the Steelers would have drafted a player from Pitt with the idea of appeasing the fans, getting some publicity and ultimately selling some tickets.

Those days are long gone.

Theirs is not an organization that leans on sentiment or panders heavily to ticket buyers. They have thousands of names on a season-ticket waiting list, so goosing sales isn't a factor.

They drafted Pitt's James Conner because they think he can be the complement to Le'Veon Bell. Conner hits the line like a tight end, but he has some speed and moves when he's in the open field. He can catch the ball.

After his fight against cancer, his work ethic is unquestioned. The Steelers are counting on his health improving even more so he can contribute as the replacement for DeAngelo Williams.

If Conner had any edge in being drafted by the Steelers, it's the proximity he enjoyed in their shared training facility on the South Side. The two teams interact, and the Steelers have seen the evidence of Conner's character first-hand.

Fans are going to love the choice, and that's fine. But the Steelers saw a player they think can help them win rather than a hometown favorite.

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--THE PROCESS

Watching the draft coverage on the NFL Network, two thoughts come to mind:

1. How far has my life gone off the rails to watch wall-to-wall coverage of the draft?

2. How much time is spent discussing draft status of players being affected by those nagging off-the-field issues?

It seems like every other draftee has a police record or a sketchy drug test or some allegation of domestic abuse clouding his record.

So it's not a matter of a player's stats or his size as much as it's the gamble a team has to assume to draft someone with possible character issues.

While the Steelers were taking Conner, the Cincinnati Bengals chose Oklahoma's Joe Mixon, who was banned from the NFL Scouting Combine after league officials saw the video of him punching a woman in the face.

Fear not, though. The Bengals will provide an environment in which he can be mentored by responsible professionals like Vontaze Burfict and Pacman Jones.

Give credit the NFL Network for a very candid interview with Mixon, conducted by former New York Times writer Judy Battista. She didn't pull any punches, didn't make any veiled references to "issues" or use the "some have said" disclaimer on the tough questions.

It was a very straight forward approach that wouldn't ordinarily be expected from a league-operated outlet.

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--LANGUAGE BARRIER

It wasn't exactly a proud moment for the league when Atlanta's No. 1 choice, Takkarist McKinley of UCLA, dropped a heavy duty obscenity while reacting to his selection.

McKinley was carrying a giant sized portrait of his late grandmother and speaking emotionally about the promise he'd made to her shortly before her death. Through the tears, he somehow inserted the bad word, then said, "excuse my language."

The NFL Network interviewer counseled him to calm down. Who was this settling influence? None other than Deoin Sanders, who in a previous life skulked around the Atlanta Braves' clubhouse to dump a bucket of water on Tim McCarver.

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--FILLING HOLES

Is it possible some good may yet come from the gaps the Pirates have in their lineup?

It did before. In 2006, the Dave Littlefield-Jim Tracy administration had cast Freddy Sanchez as a utility player, primarily to back up an over-the-hill Joe Randa at third base.

Randa was injured, Sanchez got the opportunity and wound up winning the batting title with a .344 average. That helped launch a career that made him more than $32 million.

While Jung Ho Kang and Starling Marte sit out games for their misdeeds, can someone step up and make the most of an unexpected chance?

(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)

Altoona Mirror, April 23, 2017

Art Rooney II has been running the Steelers for a while now, so there's no official change in leadership with the team.
The difference is he can no longer walk down the hall and tap into the knowledge his father accumulated over a lifetime in the game.
Dan Rooney's passing makes the transition to the next generation official at the Steelers, and it could make a difference.
Just as Dan Rooney did some things differently than his father did, Art Rooney II will have his own ways as well.
Will the same patience with head coaches prevail? The Steelers last fired a head coach after the 1968 season. How hands on will Art II be with football operations? Every indication suggests that he mandated Bruce Arians' ouster as offensive coordinator following the 2011 season.
Sure, Dan Rooney ordered Chuck Noll to make some changes in the coaching staff, but that came after the team had gone 5-11 in 1988, its worst record since Noll's first team was 1-13 in 1969.
Arians was fired after a 12-4 season, and had a solid working relationship with Ben Roethlisberger, who opposed the move. What complicated matters further was the Steelers' spinning Arians' departure as a retirement, a ruse that was quickly exposed when he signed on with the Indianapolis Colts.
Was Art Rooney II, a lawyer by trade, behind that deception?
Art Rooney II is not a kid. He turns 65 this year. By contrast, his dad was just 36 when he made his first big decision and hired Noll as head coach in 1969.
Will the Steelers change with the change in leadership? Undoubtedly they will. The question is how much and in what ways?
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--SLOW PROGRESS
The Pirates are taking it s-l-o-w with rookie pitcher Tyler Glasnow, which raises the question of whether he'd be better off in the minor leagues.
The answer to that is no. General manager Neal Huntington has said that Glasnow has nothing left to prove at the Class AAA level. That may sound odd given Glasnow's struggles so far in the major leagues, but it's fundamentally true.
Blowing away minor league hitters wouldn't do Glasnow much good. He still has to get major league hitters out. Better that he does some on-the-job training here and now rather than repeating the success he's already had in the minor leagues.
The Pirates had a choice between Glasnow and Trevor Williams for the fifth spot in the rotation. Here's the issue: Two years from now, Trevor Williams will still be Trevor Williams, perhaps a competent major league pitcher. Glasnow has a chance to be a top of the rotation pitcher who leads a staff for years.
So you take that chance now. The Pirates' patience can't be unlimited. Maybe they give him until the All-Star break to show some major progress.
The potential reward in this case is worth the risk.
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--SIGNING OFF
Must stink to be Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey these days.
They just spent nearly eight months with the Penguins, broadcasting the games on Root Sports. They're done, now, though because NBC takes over the coverage through the rest of the playoffs.
Doing some work on the team's radio network isn't a possibility because those are separate entities.
If there's anything good about it, viewers won't be subjected to the silly intermission and post-game interviews that litter Root's broadcasts.
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--GLOVE STORY
Say this about Starling Marte's suspension and the subsequent open auditions in the outfield:
It's eliminated the idea of a routine fly ball to right field.
His absence has further defensively weakened a team that's already had too many problems making plays in the field.
Between the sputtering offense and the cringe-worthy defense, the pitchers may be ready sue for non-support by mid-season.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)

Altoona Mirror, April 16, 2017

Of all the things to remember about Dan Rooney, the one that comes to mind immediately is the hot dog line.
The Steelers put out a couple of pans of hot dogs in the press room at halftime of games at Heinz Field. Because the hot dogs are free, the line is long, and Dan Rooney would be in the middle of it, waiting his turn.
Like everyone else, he'd grab a bun, use the tongs to fish a hot dog out of the pan, move to the condiment station and enjoy his snack.
This was a guy who could have cut to the front of the line. He could have told the people in charge to bring him a hot dog. Forget all that, he could have had lobster and filet mignon delivered to his seat.
But even though he was the person paying for the hot dogs, he waited his turn, often behind the kid from W-Nowhere radio and the guy from an obscure weekly who scammed a press pass.
Little things can mean a lot, and Rooney's presence in the hot dog line spoke volumes about him.
Art Rooney Sr. raised his boys in the rough-and-tumble North Side with a couple of non-negotiable rules: Never let anyone mistake kindness for weakness. And -- most important of all -- don't ever act like a big shot.
A big shot would have cut the line. Dan Rooney waited his turn.
In that way, he was his father's son. In later years, he also had his dad's unruly white hair and perpetually rumpled appearance, no matter what he wore.
But Art Rooney was the beloved Chief, a naturally gregarious person who considered everyone his friend. Dan Rooney was more quiet and reserved. When Bill Cowher tried to clamp a man hug on him, Dan Rooney awkwardly stiffened.
Father and son were different in another way, too. Art Rooney didn't do a very good job of running the Steelers. His eldest son turned the team into one of the NFL's premier franchises.
Dan's influence started to be felt in the mid-1960s, when he won a power battle against impulsive coach Buddy Parker. Dan Rooney nixed a typical Parker trade which would have sent two of the Steelers' better young players to Philadelphia for a quarterback who was average on his best day.
Dan Rooney said no. His father backed him, and Parker quit in a huff. The Chief hired one more wrong coach (Bill Austin) before he turned the search over to Dan. After a rebuff from Joe Paterno, which could have rewritten Steelers and Penn State history, Dan Rooney hired Chuck Noll. That was the day the Steelers became a real team.
Rooney was hands on yet rarely meddled. He'd come to the office every day after attending morning Mass. He liked to watch practice. He was a football guy, a former North Catholic quarterback who had grown up in the family business. He sat in the coach's booth at Heinz Field on game days.
Like his father, he enjoyed personal relationships with the players. He knew their families. When Mike Webster's life went off the rails, Dan Rooney quietly picked up the bills to help him as much as possible.
Rooney could be tough. He fired his brother from the scouting department because he believed it was the right thing for the business. He ordered his friend Noll to make changes in his staff when the Steelers had sunk into mediocrity. He played hardball when the gravy train for new sports venues was rolling. When a TV interviewer asked him why taxpayers should help prop up a highly successful private business he snapped, "Because that's the way it works."
Dan Rooney could have lived behind gates in Fox Chapel, where the joke is garbage cans have to be gold plated. He lived in a big house on the North Side, the neighborhood where he grew up. Police sirens are part of the soundtrack there.
Art Rooney curiously envisioned blue collar career paths for his sons, none of which they followed. He had Dan pegged as an electrician for some reason.
Instead, Dan was the one who embraced the Steelers and made the team his life's work. The success speaks for itself.
Dan Rooney was a genuine and humble man who happened to be a multi-millionaire.
With his passing, the NFL has lost a moderate voice who helped broker labor deals when the hard-liners failed. We've lost a repository of Steelers and NFL history, and a unique multi-generational perspective. We've lost someone who contributed to the community in many ways.
And we've also lost a guy who never thought he was too good to stand in line and wait his turn for a halftime hot dog.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)

Altoona Mirror, April 9, 2017

Clint Hurdle's future as Pirates manager seems to have suddenly become a topic for conversation.
Last week a Las Vegas betting site established odds on the first manager to be fired this season. It had Hurdle as the favorite.
That seems to make no sense. The Pirates had one bad year after three trips to the postseason. Last year's failure was caused by the collapse of their starting pitching and the prolonged absence of two big bats from the middle of the order.
Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Andrew McCutchen and Jung Ho Kang disappointed, but that had nothing to do with managerial decisions.
Hurdle can be a handful. A guy who mass e-mails a daily inspirational message that closes, "Love, Clint" is sometimes very dismissive when he's asked a question he doesn't like. Some of his strategic decisions can be debated, but that's true of any manager.
The Pirates aren't going to fire Hurdle. Would he leave voluntarily?
Maybe. This is the last year of his contract, although there's an option for 2018.
This is the seventh Pirates season for Hurdle, who turns 60 in July. He was fired during his eighth season with the Colorado Rockies.
Clearly, Hurdle is nearing the end of his managerial career. More than ever, it's a young man's game. The time commitment required is significant. Because of 24-hour sports talk and social media, there's more heat than ever.
Would Hurdle walk away from managing, or just walk away from managing the Pirates?
There are special circumstances in Pittsburgh. The possibility of finding a job with a team that has a bigger budget might be tempting. Of course, that's a crap shoot. Who knows what jobs might open?
This could all be settled if the Pirates offered an extension and Hurdle accepted it. Ten years seems about right for a manager. Much more than that, and things tend to get stale.
Chuck Tanner managed the Pirates for nine seasons. Jim Leyland stayed for 11. Could Hurdle sign for three more years, which would give him 10 in Pittsburgh and take him to age 63?
That might be a possibility. Hurdle's getting fired by the Pirates this season is not.
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--LET IT SNOW
Opening day was a miserable experience for the people who paid their way into PNC Park.
It was cold, it was windy, and it was unpleasant, even for those bundled in parkas under blankets.
That's the risk of starting the season so early, but MLB has no choice. To cram in 162 games and leave room for a World Series that might run until November, that's when the season has to begin.
Reducing the length of the season isn't viable because revenue would be lost. Starting in warm weather cities or domed stadiums doesn't work, either.
The Pirates opened the 1984 season with an extended trip through the west coast and St. Louis. They came home 3-7, which killed a lot of whatever buzz might have been attached to the home opener.
April is erratic. Friday's game was played in winter weather. Today's conditions will approximate summer.
Reportedly there was vigorous debate in the Pirates' bunker over whether to play on Friday. Making good on 36,000 rain checks is a major headache.
So they played. It wasn't good for anybody, but it was the choice of least resistance.
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--PLAYOFFS, FINALLY
The Penguins can beat the Columbus Blue Jackets in their playoff series, even without Kris Letang.
The real issue is how healthy the Penguins might be after a bruising opening series.
The toll from games against the Blue Jackets might show up in subsequent rounds.
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--NO NEWS
What was the biggest non-news story of the week, Ben Roethlisberger's coming back, or Barry Manilow's coming out?

Altoona Mirror, April 2, 2017

There are two overriding questions as the Pirates open the 2017 season in Boston tomorrow:
1. How good will the starting pitching be?
2. When/how will the Jung Ho Kang situation be resolved?
An unfavorable answer to either could doom the Pirates to a second straight losing season. A positive resolution to both should keep them in contention all season.
Baseball success is dictated by starting pitching. The Pirates have plenty of potential, but the fate of the team depends on how well the starters do.
Last season fell apart primarily because the team's No. 1 and No. 2 starters, Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano, did poorly. Cole, a 19-game winner in 2015, couldn't get past a series of minor injuries. He lost confidence and his season was lost with it.
Liriano was a disaster, statistically one of the worst starters in the National League, until he was dispatched to Toronto for 2017 payroll relief.
Cole has had a solid spring training, and there's no reason to believe he won't rebound. He's a major talent who should be coming in to his prime years.
The second starter is either Ivan Nova or Jameson Taillon, and there's reason to be hopeful about both. Nova was a strike thrower in his 11-game trial with the Pirates, and showed enough to earn a three-year, $26 million contract after he sampled the free agent market.
Is Taillon ready to take another step after an impressive debut? He sat out two seasons because of injuries and seemed to be anxious to make up for that lost time. His stuff was impressive, and his poise was even better.
The Pirates can live with Chad Kuhl being competent in the No. 3 spot. No. 5 starter Tyler Glasnow is a wild card, capable of great and frustrating things within the same inning.
But better to let Glasnow work out his problems at this level rather than sending him back to Class AAA, where he has nothing left to prove.
The Kang situation has a potential huge impact on a lineup that badly needs power. Forget about the morality of embracing a guy guilty of multiple DUI violations. If and when he's eligible, he plays. (Sorry, but that's how sports works).
If Kang is back in the middle of the lineup, he's a legitimate power bat who can be counted on for 25 to 30 home runs over a season. If he's not there, it's a scramble.
Not only do the Pirates lose a power bat, they're forced to make daily decisions. David Freese could take some of the games at third base, but not all of them. Does Josh Harrison have to move back to third? If he does, will shortstop Jordy Mercer play with multiple second base options? That's not a good situation.
If the starting pitching holds up, the Pirates will be on the plus side of .500 and play relevant games through the end of September.
If not, it's going to be a repeat of 2016 -- a team that isn't successful and isn't especially interesting to watch.
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--CONTEST UPDATE
There's still time to enter the annual Guess How Many Games The Pirates Will Win contest.
You e-mail me two numbers: The number of games the Pirates will win, and (the tiebreaker), the number of home runs they'll hit this season. They won 78 games last season and hit 153 home runs. If you win, a box of leftover Pirates promotional stuff will be mailed to you (only open to addresses in the United States).
The official e-mail address to enter is johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com. The deadline is Thursday, April 6 at 2 p.m. One entry per person. People related to me are not eligible.
It isn't as good as Powerball, but it doesn't cost anything to enter.
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--PARADISE
Just think....in another 24 hours, you won't have to hear anyone blathering about their brackets for another 11 months.