The Steelers got rid of a problem, and the Pirates may have reacquired one.
Here's some commentary to go with the headlines:
--The NFL holds its draft, and the Steelers make a trade.
You want a letter grade on the Steelers' draft? It's W, which stands for wait and see. Wait about four years, as a matter of fact.
Sorry, that's reality. It's guesswork, which could be proven by hauling out the stories where Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin raved about getting Jarvis Jones on the first round in 2013.
Does anybody remember spontaneous dancing in the streets when the Steelers selected Antonio Brown on the sixth round in 2010? Of course not. And what of James Harrison, who was never drafted?
It's guesswork. Educated guesswork for the experts, while lesser lights just throw darts or flip coins.
The Steelers made one move on the first night of the draft that made perfect sense. They sent receiver Martavis Bryant to the Oakland Raiders for a third-round draft pick.
How do you get rid of a headache? Trade him.
Bryant had no future with the Steelers. His contract was due to expire after this season, and he wasn't going to be re-signed. After sitting out a full season's suspension for NFL drug policy violations, Bryant came back to his second chance cranky rather than committed.
He sniped at rookie Juju Smith Schuster, seemingly out of jealousy, and offered an unwanted sullen counterpoint to Smith Schuster's ebullience. Maybe the trade and change of scenery will jolt Bryant into maximizing his considerable talent, but that wasn't likely to happen in Pittsburgh.
--The Pirates announce the return of Jung Ho Kang.
Meanwhile, the Pirates surprised everyone with the news that Kang had cleared the legal hurdles that were preventing him from playing in the United States. Kang's ban came after his third DUI conviction in South Korea.
Can he still play? He's 31, he's been away for 14 months and he was released from a Dominican winter ball team after a few weeks of dreadful play.
Do the Pirates need him? They could certainly use whatever power they can find, but rookie third baseman Colin Moran has had a good first month and there are adequate backups in Sean Rodriguez and David Freese.
Fan reaction is less of a concern. If Kang hits, people will be happy. If he's awful, there will be a traffic jam on the moral high road. Because that's the way sports works.
If Kang can play, the Pirates have some options. They could install him at second base and trade Josh Harrison, whose versatility would be very attractive to a contending team. They hold an option on Kang for next season at a relatively modest $5.5 million. On the other hand, Harrison's team option for next season (when he'll be 31) is $10.25 million.
---
The late Bruno Sammartino was widely praised as a genuine guy, which he was.
That's interesting because the business that made him famous was a complete fraud.
There was no sadder image from Sammartino's funeral than the shot of retired wrestler Domenic DeNucci waving goodbye to Sammartino as the door to the hearse was being closed. DeNucci's friend, Tom Leturgey, described him as "inconsolable" at that moment.
In the last nine months, DeNucci has lost his wife and now his best friend. That's a lot to handle at age 86.
---
A little timeline perspective:
The last time the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup, the Steelers had one Super Bowl trophy.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, April 29, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 25, 2018
They meet again.
The Penguins open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Washington on Thursday evening, starting what has become an almost annual series between the rivals.
The only thing more predictable than Penguins-Capitals is the outcome. There have been 10 playoff series. The Penguins have won nine.
So before the perfunctory prediction, let's get to some of the factors to watch in this series:
--Goaltending. Can Matt Murray handle the load of a nigh intensity series against a quality opponent? There's no Marc-Andre Fleury safety net this time, so it's on Murray. He had mixed results against Philadelphia, but the final result in that series also speaks for itself.
--Evgeni Malkin. He missed the last game of the Flyers series with a lower body injury. The Penguins didn't miss a beat, scoring eight goals without him. But sustaining offense could be a problem without Malkin's talent. Injury information is strictly classified in hockey, especially in the playoffs, so we have no prognosis on Malkin. The Penguins will need him.
--Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals' star doesn't have trouble scoring goals against the Penguins. He's had a big comeback from a disappointing season last year, and he was good in the Capitals' first-round series against Columbus. Can the Penguins questionable defense keep Ovechkin under control?
--Fatigue? The Penguins have played into June in the last two seasons. The wear and tear of that grind showed up at times in the regular season, but was not a factor in the Flyers series. The Capitals will play a physical game, guaranteed. It could take a toll during this series.
So, here's what it looks like -- the Penguins in seven games. But with these two talented teams, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it go the limit and turn out in the Capitals' favor.
They have to win one of these years, don't they?
---
The season is over for the Penguins' TV announcing team of Steve Mears and Bob Errey.
After the first round of the playoffs, all the games belong to NBC, which spreads them among its various channels.
The local announcers will continue on radio all the way through, so Mike Lange will be calling the games with Phil Bourque for as long as the Penguins last.
---
Mike Francesa was the best known and highest paid host on New York's WFAN radio.
He left the all-sports station last December, walking away from a $3 mullion annual salary.
Now he's reconsidered and will return to the station as soon as possible. The separation really didn't work out for either side.
Francesa didn't find anything else to do, and there's also the matter of missing that $3 million in the bank account.
The station's ratings tanked without Francesa, so they're more than willing to take him back.
---
Has a baseball team ever had worse luck with early season weather at home than the Pirates?
The snow has finally gone away, but it was replaced Tuesday night by a miserable steady drizzle.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
The Penguins open the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Washington on Thursday evening, starting what has become an almost annual series between the rivals.
The only thing more predictable than Penguins-Capitals is the outcome. There have been 10 playoff series. The Penguins have won nine.
So before the perfunctory prediction, let's get to some of the factors to watch in this series:
--Goaltending. Can Matt Murray handle the load of a nigh intensity series against a quality opponent? There's no Marc-Andre Fleury safety net this time, so it's on Murray. He had mixed results against Philadelphia, but the final result in that series also speaks for itself.
--Evgeni Malkin. He missed the last game of the Flyers series with a lower body injury. The Penguins didn't miss a beat, scoring eight goals without him. But sustaining offense could be a problem without Malkin's talent. Injury information is strictly classified in hockey, especially in the playoffs, so we have no prognosis on Malkin. The Penguins will need him.
--Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals' star doesn't have trouble scoring goals against the Penguins. He's had a big comeback from a disappointing season last year, and he was good in the Capitals' first-round series against Columbus. Can the Penguins questionable defense keep Ovechkin under control?
--Fatigue? The Penguins have played into June in the last two seasons. The wear and tear of that grind showed up at times in the regular season, but was not a factor in the Flyers series. The Capitals will play a physical game, guaranteed. It could take a toll during this series.
So, here's what it looks like -- the Penguins in seven games. But with these two talented teams, it wouldn't be a surprise to see it go the limit and turn out in the Capitals' favor.
They have to win one of these years, don't they?
---
The season is over for the Penguins' TV announcing team of Steve Mears and Bob Errey.
After the first round of the playoffs, all the games belong to NBC, which spreads them among its various channels.
The local announcers will continue on radio all the way through, so Mike Lange will be calling the games with Phil Bourque for as long as the Penguins last.
---
Mike Francesa was the best known and highest paid host on New York's WFAN radio.
He left the all-sports station last December, walking away from a $3 mullion annual salary.
Now he's reconsidered and will return to the station as soon as possible. The separation really didn't work out for either side.
Francesa didn't find anything else to do, and there's also the matter of missing that $3 million in the bank account.
The station's ratings tanked without Francesa, so they're more than willing to take him back.
---
Has a baseball team ever had worse luck with early season weather at home than the Pirates?
The snow has finally gone away, but it was replaced Tuesday night by a miserable steady drizzle.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, April 22, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 22, 2018
If you root, root, root for the home team, does that mean you have to hate the guys on the other team?
That question is relevant as the Penguins' Stanley Cup playoff series against the Flyers returns to Philadelphia this afternoon for a sixth game.
They don't think much of Sidney Crosby in Philly.
They've been chanting about him for years, and making up signs that identify him as "Cindy" Crosby. It started right from the beginning, when Crosby had his facial features rearranged by a Flyers' high stick.
When he used his bloody mouth to complain to the referees about the treatment, he picked up the reputation as a whiner.
It's more than that, of course. Crosby has inflicted more than a decade's worth of damage on the Flyers and visibly enjoyed every moment of that.
So the fans chant and they carry signs that suggest the Penguins' franchise player is a whining little girl.
The latest is that someone put photographs of Crosby in the urinals at the Wells Fargo Center in advance of one of last week's games.
The Flyers said the prank was not sanctioned by the team. That raises a different question: in this age of pat downs and bag inspections at the gates, someone can enter the building and plant things in the restrooms? Yikes.
Plus you'd think the team would have them removed before the gates were opened.
The idea was apparently borrowed from a tactic used by Washington Capitals during a previous playoff series against the Penguins. It didn't work then either.
What exactly is the idea? Is Crosby supposed to get so spooked that he'll play poorly? If the chants and signs don't bother him, why would that?
Disclaimer: Philadelphia doesn't have an exclusive on knuckleheads among its fan base. The Steelers-Browns rivalry doesn't amount to much these days, but there's still a brisk business in obscene t-shirts about Cleveland outside Heinz Field on game days.
Philadelphia does have a reputation for an excess level of rowdiness, which is almost always characterized by the 1968 incident when Eagles fans booed Santa Claus and threw snowballs at him.
Win or lose, the Penguins are playing their last game in Philadelphia today.
Maybe that will be a relief for Crosby. It certainly will be for the janitorial staff at the Wells Fargo Center.
---
So which is the real Pirates team -- the one that started the season 11-4, or the one that has lost five of its last six games?
Trick question! They both are.
If anything is encouraging about this past week's slide, it's that the culprit has been the offense and not the suspect starting pitching. The Pirates got only one really bad outing from a starter. That came from Jameson Taillon, the starter who provides the least concern.
The problem has been the offense, and it's been an illustration of how important Gregory Polanco is to the daily lineup. Things go much more smoothly when Polanco provides a productive bat and power threat in the middle of the lineup.
This is a pivotal season for him and will go a long way toward determining whether the long-term contract he signed was a smart investment or a more expensive Jose Tabata-like misfire.
Whatever happens, remember this. It's April 22. It's far too early to reach any conclusions, positive or negative.
---
If AT&T Sports Net's goal was to bore everybody with tutorials on advanced stats, they've hit a home run. (The hit probability on that was 99 percent, by the way).
Sports are supposed to be fun, not math class. There's a place for the information, but it shouldn't be presented in lecture form.
Baseball is played by real humans. How about some stories about them instead of reducing what they do to a bunch of actuary tables?
---
Late the other night, a radio talk show guy was projecting the Steelers' record based on the announcement of their schedule.
Wouldn't it be wise to wait until after the draft for that, just to see who might actually be on the team?
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
That question is relevant as the Penguins' Stanley Cup playoff series against the Flyers returns to Philadelphia this afternoon for a sixth game.
They don't think much of Sidney Crosby in Philly.
They've been chanting about him for years, and making up signs that identify him as "Cindy" Crosby. It started right from the beginning, when Crosby had his facial features rearranged by a Flyers' high stick.
When he used his bloody mouth to complain to the referees about the treatment, he picked up the reputation as a whiner.
It's more than that, of course. Crosby has inflicted more than a decade's worth of damage on the Flyers and visibly enjoyed every moment of that.
So the fans chant and they carry signs that suggest the Penguins' franchise player is a whining little girl.
The latest is that someone put photographs of Crosby in the urinals at the Wells Fargo Center in advance of one of last week's games.
The Flyers said the prank was not sanctioned by the team. That raises a different question: in this age of pat downs and bag inspections at the gates, someone can enter the building and plant things in the restrooms? Yikes.
Plus you'd think the team would have them removed before the gates were opened.
The idea was apparently borrowed from a tactic used by Washington Capitals during a previous playoff series against the Penguins. It didn't work then either.
What exactly is the idea? Is Crosby supposed to get so spooked that he'll play poorly? If the chants and signs don't bother him, why would that?
Disclaimer: Philadelphia doesn't have an exclusive on knuckleheads among its fan base. The Steelers-Browns rivalry doesn't amount to much these days, but there's still a brisk business in obscene t-shirts about Cleveland outside Heinz Field on game days.
Philadelphia does have a reputation for an excess level of rowdiness, which is almost always characterized by the 1968 incident when Eagles fans booed Santa Claus and threw snowballs at him.
Win or lose, the Penguins are playing their last game in Philadelphia today.
Maybe that will be a relief for Crosby. It certainly will be for the janitorial staff at the Wells Fargo Center.
---
So which is the real Pirates team -- the one that started the season 11-4, or the one that has lost five of its last six games?
Trick question! They both are.
If anything is encouraging about this past week's slide, it's that the culprit has been the offense and not the suspect starting pitching. The Pirates got only one really bad outing from a starter. That came from Jameson Taillon, the starter who provides the least concern.
The problem has been the offense, and it's been an illustration of how important Gregory Polanco is to the daily lineup. Things go much more smoothly when Polanco provides a productive bat and power threat in the middle of the lineup.
This is a pivotal season for him and will go a long way toward determining whether the long-term contract he signed was a smart investment or a more expensive Jose Tabata-like misfire.
Whatever happens, remember this. It's April 22. It's far too early to reach any conclusions, positive or negative.
---
If AT&T Sports Net's goal was to bore everybody with tutorials on advanced stats, they've hit a home run. (The hit probability on that was 99 percent, by the way).
Sports are supposed to be fun, not math class. There's a place for the information, but it shouldn't be presented in lecture form.
Baseball is played by real humans. How about some stories about them instead of reducing what they do to a bunch of actuary tables?
---
Late the other night, a radio talk show guy was projecting the Steelers' record based on the announcement of their schedule.
Wouldn't it be wise to wait until after the draft for that, just to see who might actually be on the team?
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Thursday, April 19, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 19, 2018
He was one of those one-name performers. Bruno.
One name suffices. Roberto. Franco. Mario. Bruno.
Back in the day, there was a wrestling show every month at the Civic Arena. On those Friday nights, the phones in the Post-Gazette sports department would ring constantly from people who couldn't wait for the main event result.
Danny Palmer, the clerk who answered the phones, made the task easy.
"I say 'Bruno won' and I hang up," he said.
That information was almost always accurate.
Bruno Sammartino wasn't the champion because he could beat everyone else. That didn't matter. He was the headliner for nearly 15 years because promoters knew he would draw crowds and make money for them.
When Sammartino died on Wednesday at 82, a real piece of Pittsburgh's sports history was lost, even if pro wrestling wasn't really a sport.
Saturday evening's "Studio Wrestling" was the most accidentally watched TV show in town. Everybody knew what happened, but nobody admitted they watched it.
It was always, "The kids had it on and I overheard it" or "My grandmother likes it and I watch it with her."
People watched because it was an entertaining show, and it was built around Sammartino. A former construction worker, he hit it big after promoter Rudy Miller spotted him on a TV show performing feats of strength.
The wrestling business has traditionally shoveled up tons of background fiction about its performers. The most compelling story of all was Sammartino's, and it was true.
He barely survived World War II after the Nazis occupied his family's village in Italy. Sammartino's father was already in Pittsburgh, working a mill job to earn enough money to bring the rest of the family to America.
The Sammartinos fled to the mountains after the troops landed. His mother would sneak back to the house at night to take as many jars of canned food as she could carry. Then she would carefully ration the food, bean by bean, to keep her family alive.
When they finally got to Pittsburgh, kids bullied Bruno, who was malnourished and struggled with English. A teacher steered him to a weightlifting gym and it was love at first sight.
Soon the weakling was a beast. He started as a bodybuilder, then turned to wrestling. Three years after he entered the business, he was the star attraction for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which operated in all the big cities in the Northeast.
He remained on top because he sold tickets. It was a bonus that he did things the right way. He wore a suit to the arenas. He wouldn't even have a glass of wine with dinner for fear someone would say they saw him drinking. He stayed away from the bars and the groupies who populated them. He was a gentleman.
When he wanted out of the business, they stalled him for a year and a half because they feared what would happen without him. When his replacement disappointed, the WWWF begged him to come back. He wisely used that leverage for a sweet deal, unprecedented for the times.
When Vince McMahon killed the wrestling Bruno knew and replaced it with steroid-fueled and R-rated "sports entertainment," he protested bitterly. Otherwise, he led a quiet life in the suburbs, lifting weights in the afternoon while he listened to either radio talk shows or his beloved opera music.
He would do autograph appearances and hear the same story a million times -- "We used to watch you every Saturday night." He would smile, offer thanks and say, "A long time ago." He seemed to be genuinely surprised that people remembered him.
His uncommon charisma allowed him to connect with fans, who cheered his entrances because it was Bruno, not because fireworks were exploding and music was blasting.
In fact, a lot of people were convinced that wrestling was fake, "except for Bruno's matches."
That doesn't make any sense, but it does tell how people perceived him. Even when they knew wrestling was make believe, they were certain Bruno was real.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
One name suffices. Roberto. Franco. Mario. Bruno.
Back in the day, there was a wrestling show every month at the Civic Arena. On those Friday nights, the phones in the Post-Gazette sports department would ring constantly from people who couldn't wait for the main event result.
Danny Palmer, the clerk who answered the phones, made the task easy.
"I say 'Bruno won' and I hang up," he said.
That information was almost always accurate.
Bruno Sammartino wasn't the champion because he could beat everyone else. That didn't matter. He was the headliner for nearly 15 years because promoters knew he would draw crowds and make money for them.
When Sammartino died on Wednesday at 82, a real piece of Pittsburgh's sports history was lost, even if pro wrestling wasn't really a sport.
Saturday evening's "Studio Wrestling" was the most accidentally watched TV show in town. Everybody knew what happened, but nobody admitted they watched it.
It was always, "The kids had it on and I overheard it" or "My grandmother likes it and I watch it with her."
People watched because it was an entertaining show, and it was built around Sammartino. A former construction worker, he hit it big after promoter Rudy Miller spotted him on a TV show performing feats of strength.
The wrestling business has traditionally shoveled up tons of background fiction about its performers. The most compelling story of all was Sammartino's, and it was true.
He barely survived World War II after the Nazis occupied his family's village in Italy. Sammartino's father was already in Pittsburgh, working a mill job to earn enough money to bring the rest of the family to America.
The Sammartinos fled to the mountains after the troops landed. His mother would sneak back to the house at night to take as many jars of canned food as she could carry. Then she would carefully ration the food, bean by bean, to keep her family alive.
When they finally got to Pittsburgh, kids bullied Bruno, who was malnourished and struggled with English. A teacher steered him to a weightlifting gym and it was love at first sight.
Soon the weakling was a beast. He started as a bodybuilder, then turned to wrestling. Three years after he entered the business, he was the star attraction for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which operated in all the big cities in the Northeast.
He remained on top because he sold tickets. It was a bonus that he did things the right way. He wore a suit to the arenas. He wouldn't even have a glass of wine with dinner for fear someone would say they saw him drinking. He stayed away from the bars and the groupies who populated them. He was a gentleman.
When he wanted out of the business, they stalled him for a year and a half because they feared what would happen without him. When his replacement disappointed, the WWWF begged him to come back. He wisely used that leverage for a sweet deal, unprecedented for the times.
When Vince McMahon killed the wrestling Bruno knew and replaced it with steroid-fueled and R-rated "sports entertainment," he protested bitterly. Otherwise, he led a quiet life in the suburbs, lifting weights in the afternoon while he listened to either radio talk shows or his beloved opera music.
He would do autograph appearances and hear the same story a million times -- "We used to watch you every Saturday night." He would smile, offer thanks and say, "A long time ago." He seemed to be genuinely surprised that people remembered him.
His uncommon charisma allowed him to connect with fans, who cheered his entrances because it was Bruno, not because fireworks were exploding and music was blasting.
In fact, a lot of people were convinced that wrestling was fake, "except for Bruno's matches."
That doesn't make any sense, but it does tell how people perceived him. Even when they knew wrestling was make believe, they were certain Bruno was real.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 18, 2018
The Penguins can't clinch their playoff series tonight, but they can essentially put away the Philadelphia Flyers.
Winning tonight would give the Penguins a 3-1 edge in games, and the Flyers won't be able to come back from that.
So while winning tonight's game won't wrap up the series, it will make finishing the Flyers a formality.
Philadelphia's best chance was at the start of Game 3 on Sunday. The Flyers came out with admirable intensity, but they couldn't get anything past Matt Murray.
The third-year goalie held off the Flyers until the rest of his teammates caught up with the pace of the game. It had to be discouraging for the Flyers to come out with that kind of onslaught and have nothing to show for it.
Take care of business tonight, and the Penguins will have made a big down payment on advancing to the next round.
---
It's perfectly understandable that the Pirates' Josh Harrison is upset about having his left hand broken by a pitch.
For one thing, it's painful. It's inconvenient. The injury will prevent him from doing his job for the next six weeks.
But Harrison wasn't particularly logical in his complaint that Pirates pitchers were not protecting him by throwing close to opposing hitters.
Harrison was hit by 23 pitches last season, and that's a lot. It's a mistake, though, to think those pitchers were trying to hit him with those 23 pitchers.
Good pitchers have to establish both sides of the plate. If a pitcher never comes inside, a hitter doesn't have to bother looking there.
Harrison is one of many players who crowds the plate with his stance, then dives forward even more when he starts his swing. That approach works for him, but he has to realize that getting hit is an occupational hazard.
After Harrison was hit and knocked out of the game by the 96 mile per hour pitch, Ivan Nova's first pitch of the next inning hit the Marlins' J.B. Shuck in the butt.
The umpires warned both benches, and that was it.
Did hitting Shuck somehow avenge losing Harrison for six weeks? No. It was a gesture by Nova, and that's all it was.
Nothing else was accomplished.
---
OK, it's April 18, so it's no longer early. It's still cold, though, way too cold to sit in a baseball park and watch a game played under awful circumstances.
MLB threw the Pirates a bad curve when two or their first three home opponents were teams that make only one trip to Pittsburgh. That increases the urgency to play the games through the cold and snow because the opponent won't be back in town.
Truth be told, the teams would rather play the games as scheduled, no matter how cold and miserable it is. It's the lesser of two evils since the alternative is getting stacked up with doubleheaders later in the season.
The way teams protect pitchers these days, nobody wants doubleheaders.
---
Happy birthday, Steve Blass. He turns 76 today.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Winning tonight would give the Penguins a 3-1 edge in games, and the Flyers won't be able to come back from that.
So while winning tonight's game won't wrap up the series, it will make finishing the Flyers a formality.
Philadelphia's best chance was at the start of Game 3 on Sunday. The Flyers came out with admirable intensity, but they couldn't get anything past Matt Murray.
The third-year goalie held off the Flyers until the rest of his teammates caught up with the pace of the game. It had to be discouraging for the Flyers to come out with that kind of onslaught and have nothing to show for it.
Take care of business tonight, and the Penguins will have made a big down payment on advancing to the next round.
---
It's perfectly understandable that the Pirates' Josh Harrison is upset about having his left hand broken by a pitch.
For one thing, it's painful. It's inconvenient. The injury will prevent him from doing his job for the next six weeks.
But Harrison wasn't particularly logical in his complaint that Pirates pitchers were not protecting him by throwing close to opposing hitters.
Harrison was hit by 23 pitches last season, and that's a lot. It's a mistake, though, to think those pitchers were trying to hit him with those 23 pitchers.
Good pitchers have to establish both sides of the plate. If a pitcher never comes inside, a hitter doesn't have to bother looking there.
Harrison is one of many players who crowds the plate with his stance, then dives forward even more when he starts his swing. That approach works for him, but he has to realize that getting hit is an occupational hazard.
After Harrison was hit and knocked out of the game by the 96 mile per hour pitch, Ivan Nova's first pitch of the next inning hit the Marlins' J.B. Shuck in the butt.
The umpires warned both benches, and that was it.
Did hitting Shuck somehow avenge losing Harrison for six weeks? No. It was a gesture by Nova, and that's all it was.
Nothing else was accomplished.
---
OK, it's April 18, so it's no longer early. It's still cold, though, way too cold to sit in a baseball park and watch a game played under awful circumstances.
MLB threw the Pirates a bad curve when two or their first three home opponents were teams that make only one trip to Pittsburgh. That increases the urgency to play the games through the cold and snow because the opponent won't be back in town.
Truth be told, the teams would rather play the games as scheduled, no matter how cold and miserable it is. It's the lesser of two evils since the alternative is getting stacked up with doubleheaders later in the season.
The way teams protect pitchers these days, nobody wants doubleheaders.
---
Happy birthday, Steve Blass. He turns 76 today.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 15, 2018
Clint Hurdle has gray hair, two artificial hips and a fondness for 1970s rock anthems like Grand Funk's "We're An American Band."
But he never seemed older than he did the other day when he invoked the unwritten "respect for the game" statute against the Chicago Cubs' young star, Javier Baez.
Baez flipped his bat high in the air after popping up a pitch against the Pirates last week.
The gesture was his way of saying, "I can't believe a hitter as good as I am didn't crush that pitch."
Hurdle didn't like it, and he said so.
That set up an interesting divide among those who think athletes should check their emotions and those who believe displays like that add something to the games.
It breaks down mostly along age lines. Hurdle is 60, and grew up idolizing players like Al Kaline, who limited their emotion to a modest fist pump, and only after their team won the World Series.
The opposing view holds that a flamboyant display adds to the presentation when players show how they really feel. We're people, not robots, is the message.
There are a lot of these conflicts in baseball.
If you're over 30, you probably loathe the baggy pants over the shoe tops, the designer sunglasses perched on the bill of the cap and the jerseys deliberately unbuttoned to show off the bling.
Insufferable Cubs manager Joe Maddon jumped in to offer counterpoint, but he was just sticking up for his player. (By the way, that's about as predictable and old school as it gets).
Players used to have their own way to policing things like that. If a pitcher took offense at the way someone behaved, he'd throw at him. Maybe it wasn't the most civilized approach, but it seemed to work. Most people don't enjoy being drilled in the hip by a rock-hard baseball.
Message sent. Your receipt was a bruise in the shape of a baseball. Wear it for a while.
Does that code still exist? Players are awfully chummy these days. Then again, nobody likes to feel disrespected. Maybe someone will deliver the message to Baez to tone things down in the next Cubs-Pirates series.
That would definitely win some favor with the manager.
---
There's a lot of consternation about the Pirates' shaky middle relief pitching.
There were three changes made last week, with a bunch of interchangeable pitchers and another group heading out. It will probably be that way all season. Until someone nails down a spot with consistently good work, it will be trial and error. The waiver wire will be required reading at 115 Federal Street.
Keep this in mind, though:
If middle relief pitchers were any good, they probably wouldn't be pitching middle relief.
---
The person who has the most interesting job in town is the one who goes over those videos of Penguins games and practices and inserts all the bleeps.
If you've watched AT&T Sports Net's ancillary Penguins programming, you know the drill. They plant microphones along the boards or on players to get the natural sound. It helps make things authentic.
Hockey players are generally genial people, but they also have a habit of inserting (bleep) and (bleep) into the most routine sentences. A hockey player can cheerfully ask "How are ya?" with one of those words stuck in the question.
The person who doles out those bleeps for the finished product has a heavy workload.
---
Friends of Bruno Sammartino are concerned about some of the health challenges that have beset the former pro wrestling champion over the past year or so.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
But he never seemed older than he did the other day when he invoked the unwritten "respect for the game" statute against the Chicago Cubs' young star, Javier Baez.
Baez flipped his bat high in the air after popping up a pitch against the Pirates last week.
The gesture was his way of saying, "I can't believe a hitter as good as I am didn't crush that pitch."
Hurdle didn't like it, and he said so.
That set up an interesting divide among those who think athletes should check their emotions and those who believe displays like that add something to the games.
It breaks down mostly along age lines. Hurdle is 60, and grew up idolizing players like Al Kaline, who limited their emotion to a modest fist pump, and only after their team won the World Series.
The opposing view holds that a flamboyant display adds to the presentation when players show how they really feel. We're people, not robots, is the message.
There are a lot of these conflicts in baseball.
If you're over 30, you probably loathe the baggy pants over the shoe tops, the designer sunglasses perched on the bill of the cap and the jerseys deliberately unbuttoned to show off the bling.
Insufferable Cubs manager Joe Maddon jumped in to offer counterpoint, but he was just sticking up for his player. (By the way, that's about as predictable and old school as it gets).
Players used to have their own way to policing things like that. If a pitcher took offense at the way someone behaved, he'd throw at him. Maybe it wasn't the most civilized approach, but it seemed to work. Most people don't enjoy being drilled in the hip by a rock-hard baseball.
Message sent. Your receipt was a bruise in the shape of a baseball. Wear it for a while.
Does that code still exist? Players are awfully chummy these days. Then again, nobody likes to feel disrespected. Maybe someone will deliver the message to Baez to tone things down in the next Cubs-Pirates series.
That would definitely win some favor with the manager.
---
There's a lot of consternation about the Pirates' shaky middle relief pitching.
There were three changes made last week, with a bunch of interchangeable pitchers and another group heading out. It will probably be that way all season. Until someone nails down a spot with consistently good work, it will be trial and error. The waiver wire will be required reading at 115 Federal Street.
Keep this in mind, though:
If middle relief pitchers were any good, they probably wouldn't be pitching middle relief.
---
The person who has the most interesting job in town is the one who goes over those videos of Penguins games and practices and inserts all the bleeps.
If you've watched AT&T Sports Net's ancillary Penguins programming, you know the drill. They plant microphones along the boards or on players to get the natural sound. It helps make things authentic.
Hockey players are generally genial people, but they also have a habit of inserting (bleep) and (bleep) into the most routine sentences. A hockey player can cheerfully ask "How are ya?" with one of those words stuck in the question.
The person who doles out those bleeps for the finished product has a heavy workload.
---
Friends of Bruno Sammartino are concerned about some of the health challenges that have beset the former pro wrestling champion over the past year or so.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Altoona Mirror, April 11, 2018
PITTSBURGH--The 82-game, 185-day play-in round is finally over.
The Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight with the Pittsburgh Penguins facing the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena.
Some thoughts on the match-up:
--The Penguins swept the four games in the season series, but that might be a bit deceiving. Two of those wins came in overtime. The Flyers had just two fewer points than the Penguins through the regular season. This isn't as one-sided as it might appear.
--If the Penguins are to win a third consecutive championship, their toughest competition will again come within the Eastern Conference. These things are cyclical, and the East is loaded with good teams.The Penguins will have to beat three of them.
--Philadelphia has more speed than past Flyers teams have had. This is a trait that has given the Penguins trouble this season because their defensive corps has changed.
--Biggest concern for the Penguins is defensive depth. If they have any injuries on the blue line -- and some are almost inevitable through the long grind of the playoffs -- it could be troublesome.
--The other concern is the lack of experience behind goalie Matt Murray. It was an incredible luxury to have Marc-Andre Fleury in reserve, especially last year. This year's back-ups, Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry, have never played in a Stanley Cup playoff game.
--That isn't to say that either back-up couldn't steal a game here or there if necessary. It's just a tall order if either had to contribute the kind of extended run that Fleury did last spring.
--The Penguins acquired Derick Brassard primarily for his skating ability and his reputation as a postseason player. He will be returning from a lower body injury, believed to be a groin problem. Will he be at full strength? We should find out soon enough.
--Evgeni Malkin has had a fabulous season. The key to a good postseason will be his ability to skate away from confrontation. Malkin can often lose his temper and wind up in the penalty box. Opponents know this and will try to goad him into penalties. Who can do that better than the Flyers?
--The pick here is the Penguins in six. Their firepower should overwhelm the Flyers' less-than-stellar goaltending.
---
There's a multi-year renovation going on at Wrigley Field.
If you watched Tuesday's Pirates-Cubs game on TV, you may have noticed that the expanded Cubs' dugout is almost down the left field line now.
They've added more seats and a video scoreboard to go with the vintage hand-operated board. The Cubs' clubhouse has been expanded, and the bullpens were moved off the sidelines (maybe to make room for the dugouts).
One feature that hasn't changed yet is the closet-sized visitors' clubhouse. When rosters expand in September, teams almost have to have their players dress in shifts.
The visiting team's clubhouse also has a door that leads directly out to the first base stands. Sometimes that door gets opened at inopportune times and it doesn't always get noticed.
The Pirates were there one time when the door was wide open after the game. Fans were leaving the park, and the players were showering.
Fans got a full look into the clubhouse. Not all of the players were wearing towels.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 8, 2018
You know how angry you get when the Steelers have those silly pre-planned touchdown celebrations?
Turns out Mike Tomlin shares your feelings.
That must have come as a shock to those who figured that Tomlin was on board with the high-stepping, preening and booty shaking.
"I don't like it," Tomlin said recently.
So why does it persist?
One reason is coaches need to pick their battles. It's possible to get sidetracked by obsessing over things like facial hair, backwards caps and other trivial matters that ultimately only alienate players. A football team isn't the military.
The other reason is coaches realize it's a delicate balance between keeping order and being a martinet who will become a target for mutiny. "My way or the highway" doesn't play the way it did 50 years ago.
Coaches need players. If someone is a good enough player, there will be plenty of rope. Nobody embarrassed the team more than Ben Roethlisberger did with his two off-field incidents, yet he will likely play for the Steelers as long as he wants to.
Cedric Wilson was released by the Steelers after he was linked to a couple of domestic abuse allegations. His biggest mistake was being eminently replaceable.
Is Tomlin prepared to bench Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell because they participate in a goofy touchdown dance? No coach in his right mind would do that.
You may not like the celebrations, but you accept them. Tomlin has.
---
It's too early to tell anything definitive about the Pirates, but there are some things to like as the season enters its second full week:
--Plate discipline. Josh Harrison had as many walks in seven games as he did in all of last April. Gregory Polanco was laying off those bad pitches he tended to chase before.
--Josh Bell. He had some peaks and valleys last season, which were to be expected. He isn't intimidated by the cleanup spot. The Pirates should be talking to him about a multi-year contract before it's too late.
--Colin Moran. The hole Jung Ho Kang left at third base was large and went unfilled last year. Moran has a chance to be the solution.
---
Like a lot of Pittsburgh kids in the 1960s, Tom Sullivan grew up idolizing wrestling champion Bruno Sammartino.
Sullivan met Sammartino as a teenager, then sought to emulate him. Pro wrestling then was a closed business and someone who aspired to join the secret club needed an inside connection.
Sammartino sent Sullivan to Detroit to train and perform menial tasks like setting up the ring, refereeing matches and losing TV mismatches against stars.
He came back to Pittsburgh working under the name John L. Sullivan. Dyed blonde hair was his only concession to his new identity.
John L. Sullivan was a benign good guy whose career wasn't advancing beyond preliminary matches. In 1973, he had the idea to turn himself into a bad guy, and things took off from there. He had a quick wit and insulted opponents and fans to build heat, an approach that works well in wrestling and politics.
He wound up teamed with established star Handsome Jimmy Valiant and became his faux brother, Luscious Johnny Valiant. That set Tom Sullivan on a long run in the business as a wrestler, manager and TV commentator.
When it ended, he pursued acting jobs and developed a stand-up comedy routine. The off-the-wall verbal style that served him well as a wrestling villain translated to the stage.
He was still chasing acting jobs when he died last week at 71 after being hit by a truck while crossing busy McKnight Road.
He was just a short distance from his boyhood home, but a million miles from the days when Tom Sullivan had a Bruno Sammartino picture on his bedroom wall.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Turns out Mike Tomlin shares your feelings.
That must have come as a shock to those who figured that Tomlin was on board with the high-stepping, preening and booty shaking.
"I don't like it," Tomlin said recently.
So why does it persist?
One reason is coaches need to pick their battles. It's possible to get sidetracked by obsessing over things like facial hair, backwards caps and other trivial matters that ultimately only alienate players. A football team isn't the military.
The other reason is coaches realize it's a delicate balance between keeping order and being a martinet who will become a target for mutiny. "My way or the highway" doesn't play the way it did 50 years ago.
Coaches need players. If someone is a good enough player, there will be plenty of rope. Nobody embarrassed the team more than Ben Roethlisberger did with his two off-field incidents, yet he will likely play for the Steelers as long as he wants to.
Cedric Wilson was released by the Steelers after he was linked to a couple of domestic abuse allegations. His biggest mistake was being eminently replaceable.
Is Tomlin prepared to bench Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell because they participate in a goofy touchdown dance? No coach in his right mind would do that.
You may not like the celebrations, but you accept them. Tomlin has.
---
It's too early to tell anything definitive about the Pirates, but there are some things to like as the season enters its second full week:
--Plate discipline. Josh Harrison had as many walks in seven games as he did in all of last April. Gregory Polanco was laying off those bad pitches he tended to chase before.
--Josh Bell. He had some peaks and valleys last season, which were to be expected. He isn't intimidated by the cleanup spot. The Pirates should be talking to him about a multi-year contract before it's too late.
--Colin Moran. The hole Jung Ho Kang left at third base was large and went unfilled last year. Moran has a chance to be the solution.
---
Like a lot of Pittsburgh kids in the 1960s, Tom Sullivan grew up idolizing wrestling champion Bruno Sammartino.
Sullivan met Sammartino as a teenager, then sought to emulate him. Pro wrestling then was a closed business and someone who aspired to join the secret club needed an inside connection.
Sammartino sent Sullivan to Detroit to train and perform menial tasks like setting up the ring, refereeing matches and losing TV mismatches against stars.
He came back to Pittsburgh working under the name John L. Sullivan. Dyed blonde hair was his only concession to his new identity.
John L. Sullivan was a benign good guy whose career wasn't advancing beyond preliminary matches. In 1973, he had the idea to turn himself into a bad guy, and things took off from there. He had a quick wit and insulted opponents and fans to build heat, an approach that works well in wrestling and politics.
He wound up teamed with established star Handsome Jimmy Valiant and became his faux brother, Luscious Johnny Valiant. That set Tom Sullivan on a long run in the business as a wrestler, manager and TV commentator.
When it ended, he pursued acting jobs and developed a stand-up comedy routine. The off-the-wall verbal style that served him well as a wrestling villain translated to the stage.
He was still chasing acting jobs when he died last week at 71 after being hit by a truck while crossing busy McKnight Road.
He was just a short distance from his boyhood home, but a million miles from the days when Tom Sullivan had a Bruno Sammartino picture on his bedroom wall.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 4, 2018
"But he had a no-hitter."
There was a lot of social media consternation Sunday afternoon when Pirates starter Trevor Williams was removed from his start in Detroit after six innings.
Williams hadn't allowed a hit.
Clint Hurdle thought the pitch count (85) was more important than the zero the Tigers had in the hit column and made the pitching change.
It was a cold, raw day, and the game was also Williams' first start of the season.
"But he had a no-hitter."
Yes he did. He had also walked five batters in six innings, which was a career high. Michael Feliz came in to pitch the seventh.
Hurdle said there wasn't even any debate about leaving Williams in the game beyond the sixth.
"But he had a no-hitter."
"He wasn't going to get through nine," Hurdle said. "That wasn't an option for him today. There were probably other people who were thinking more about it than we were."
There certainly were. One Facebook poster said a previous generation of pitchers -- he cited Dock Ellis and Steve Blass -- wouldn't have given up the ball with a no-hitter in progress.
Disbelief dominated discussion of the move, and you know why.
"But he had a no-hitter."
"We're trying to be realists," Hurdle said. "Second game of the season with a guy at that point with five walks. That's a lot to try to take on."
Hurdle didn't mention one other detail. The Pirates had a 1-0 lead, which wound up being the final score.
How many times has a pitcher who lost a no-hitter then lost his concentration and let the game get away in quick order?
Winning the game are protecting Williams' arm were the priorities that should have taken precedence.
Even Williams was OK with that.
"He made the right decision," Williams said. "It was a 1-0 game and we have a shutdown bullpen. We need to get a 'W.'"
They did. Credit to Hurdle for his handling of the situation.
---
No-hitters are big news in the moment and they're surely a point of pride for a pitcher.
You think no-hitter, you think Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson.
But there are some other names in the record book that lend credence to the belief that no-hitters can be a random occurence for a pitcher who is not quite as memorable.
Does anyone remember Bud Smith's no-hitter for the Cardinals in 2001? How about Phillip Humber (perfect game in 2012), Chris Heston in 2015 or Henderson Alvarez 2013?
Didn't think so.
---
Things that don't seem quite right:
--The Pirates had to spend five nights in Detroit to play three games.
--Wrestlemania and the final round of The Masters are on the same day.
--Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage went to the mound in the home opener wearing a ski hat rather than a baseball cap.
--Nathan's (great hot dogs!) are the official hot dog of MLB, yet they're not available at very many MLB parks.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com).
There was a lot of social media consternation Sunday afternoon when Pirates starter Trevor Williams was removed from his start in Detroit after six innings.
Williams hadn't allowed a hit.
Clint Hurdle thought the pitch count (85) was more important than the zero the Tigers had in the hit column and made the pitching change.
It was a cold, raw day, and the game was also Williams' first start of the season.
"But he had a no-hitter."
Yes he did. He had also walked five batters in six innings, which was a career high. Michael Feliz came in to pitch the seventh.
Hurdle said there wasn't even any debate about leaving Williams in the game beyond the sixth.
"But he had a no-hitter."
"He wasn't going to get through nine," Hurdle said. "That wasn't an option for him today. There were probably other people who were thinking more about it than we were."
There certainly were. One Facebook poster said a previous generation of pitchers -- he cited Dock Ellis and Steve Blass -- wouldn't have given up the ball with a no-hitter in progress.
Disbelief dominated discussion of the move, and you know why.
"But he had a no-hitter."
"We're trying to be realists," Hurdle said. "Second game of the season with a guy at that point with five walks. That's a lot to try to take on."
Hurdle didn't mention one other detail. The Pirates had a 1-0 lead, which wound up being the final score.
How many times has a pitcher who lost a no-hitter then lost his concentration and let the game get away in quick order?
Winning the game are protecting Williams' arm were the priorities that should have taken precedence.
Even Williams was OK with that.
"He made the right decision," Williams said. "It was a 1-0 game and we have a shutdown bullpen. We need to get a 'W.'"
They did. Credit to Hurdle for his handling of the situation.
---
No-hitters are big news in the moment and they're surely a point of pride for a pitcher.
You think no-hitter, you think Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson.
But there are some other names in the record book that lend credence to the belief that no-hitters can be a random occurence for a pitcher who is not quite as memorable.
Does anyone remember Bud Smith's no-hitter for the Cardinals in 2001? How about Phillip Humber (perfect game in 2012), Chris Heston in 2015 or Henderson Alvarez 2013?
Didn't think so.
---
Things that don't seem quite right:
--The Pirates had to spend five nights in Detroit to play three games.
--Wrestlemania and the final round of The Masters are on the same day.
--Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage went to the mound in the home opener wearing a ski hat rather than a baseball cap.
--Nathan's (great hot dogs!) are the official hot dog of MLB, yet they're not available at very many MLB parks.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com).
Monday, April 2, 2018
Altoona Mirror, April 1, 2018
It's a cruel April Fool joke that's being played on the Pirates.
They get extra time in Detroit.
Two of their first three scheduled games had to be postponed because of weather, including the Thursday opener and Saturday's matinee.
So at 6:10 p.m. this evening -- about the time they should be boarding their flight to Pittsburgh -- they'll instead be taking the field for the back half of a day-night doubleheader against the Tigers.
That's what happens when MLB opens its season in the last week of March in cities where winter is lingering beyond its official expiration date.
People start yelling that baseball has to do a better job of early-season scheduling, but there's only so much that can be done.
There aren't enough warm-weather places and domed stadiums to go around, so teams wind up making that jarring transition from six weeks of spring training in balmy Florida to a season that opens in frosty Michigan.
There's more at work here than a shortage of Margaritaville-like climates and stadiums with lids, retractable and otherwise.
In 1984, MLB had the Pirates opening in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a stop in St. Louis on the way home. It was a 10-game trip. Even though the Pirates swept the series from the Dodgers, they didn't do much against the Padres, Giants and Cardinals.
They came home with a 3-7 record. Nothing takes some steam out of the home opener quite like a home team with a .300 winning percentage.
So they roll the dice and bundle up. It gives MLB a chance to show off the line of officially-licensed parkas and ski hats. Players from the Dominican Republic can send a snowball selfie to the folks back home.
With this series, MLB created a real jackpot by scheduling inter-league games for Detroit. The Pirates only make one trip there, so there's no other alternative for rescheduling.
The day-night doubleheader is inconvenient for everyone. Does anyone think fans want to sit in a ballpark after sundown on Easter Sunday? It could be very lonely when the second game ends.
They'll play the first one, clear the ballpark, then start the second game.
The Pirates will now have a quick turnaround from the second game of today's doubleheader to the home opener against Minnesota, scheduled to start at 1:05 Monday.
That's weather permitting, of course.
---
Leave it to the NFL.
No sooner than the league gains clarity on the catch rule, it creates more confusion on helmet hits and the appropriate penalties.
Nobody wants to see gratuitous violence (except maybe Vontaze Burfict). Football is a mean and nasty game, played by people who have accepted the considerable risks, both short and long-term.
Now the NFL is trying to judge intent, and that's a slippery slope. There are occasions when someone's mean streak gets too wide and there is a deliberate attempt to injure. (Another parenthetical reference to the Bengals Burfict would seem to fit nicely here).
But most dangerous hits aren't as clear. A player who is moving is trying to hit a moving target. The same thing happens in hockey. A player has no intention of making an illegal hit, but the movement of the recipient turns it into that.
---
You already know that the Penguins intermission interviews on AT&T SportsNet are a chance for Dan Potash to remind everyone that he's the players' buddy.
The post-game interviews, which are broadcast to the crowd at PPG Paints Arena, turned into rallies a long time ago. Potash in the past has led an "M-V-P" cheer while ostensibly interviewing Evgeni Malkin.
So it's not exactly Mike Wallace-type stuff, and that's probably OK. It's only sports.
But it gets just a little too syrupy when an exchange with Brian Rust ends with Potash's exhortation, "Go get 'em, Rusty."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
They get extra time in Detroit.
Two of their first three scheduled games had to be postponed because of weather, including the Thursday opener and Saturday's matinee.
So at 6:10 p.m. this evening -- about the time they should be boarding their flight to Pittsburgh -- they'll instead be taking the field for the back half of a day-night doubleheader against the Tigers.
That's what happens when MLB opens its season in the last week of March in cities where winter is lingering beyond its official expiration date.
People start yelling that baseball has to do a better job of early-season scheduling, but there's only so much that can be done.
There aren't enough warm-weather places and domed stadiums to go around, so teams wind up making that jarring transition from six weeks of spring training in balmy Florida to a season that opens in frosty Michigan.
There's more at work here than a shortage of Margaritaville-like climates and stadiums with lids, retractable and otherwise.
In 1984, MLB had the Pirates opening in San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, with a stop in St. Louis on the way home. It was a 10-game trip. Even though the Pirates swept the series from the Dodgers, they didn't do much against the Padres, Giants and Cardinals.
They came home with a 3-7 record. Nothing takes some steam out of the home opener quite like a home team with a .300 winning percentage.
So they roll the dice and bundle up. It gives MLB a chance to show off the line of officially-licensed parkas and ski hats. Players from the Dominican Republic can send a snowball selfie to the folks back home.
With this series, MLB created a real jackpot by scheduling inter-league games for Detroit. The Pirates only make one trip there, so there's no other alternative for rescheduling.
The day-night doubleheader is inconvenient for everyone. Does anyone think fans want to sit in a ballpark after sundown on Easter Sunday? It could be very lonely when the second game ends.
They'll play the first one, clear the ballpark, then start the second game.
The Pirates will now have a quick turnaround from the second game of today's doubleheader to the home opener against Minnesota, scheduled to start at 1:05 Monday.
That's weather permitting, of course.
---
Leave it to the NFL.
No sooner than the league gains clarity on the catch rule, it creates more confusion on helmet hits and the appropriate penalties.
Nobody wants to see gratuitous violence (except maybe Vontaze Burfict). Football is a mean and nasty game, played by people who have accepted the considerable risks, both short and long-term.
Now the NFL is trying to judge intent, and that's a slippery slope. There are occasions when someone's mean streak gets too wide and there is a deliberate attempt to injure. (Another parenthetical reference to the Bengals Burfict would seem to fit nicely here).
But most dangerous hits aren't as clear. A player who is moving is trying to hit a moving target. The same thing happens in hockey. A player has no intention of making an illegal hit, but the movement of the recipient turns it into that.
---
You already know that the Penguins intermission interviews on AT&T SportsNet are a chance for Dan Potash to remind everyone that he's the players' buddy.
The post-game interviews, which are broadcast to the crowd at PPG Paints Arena, turned into rallies a long time ago. Potash in the past has led an "M-V-P" cheer while ostensibly interviewing Evgeni Malkin.
So it's not exactly Mike Wallace-type stuff, and that's probably OK. It's only sports.
But it gets just a little too syrupy when an exchange with Brian Rust ends with Potash's exhortation, "Go get 'em, Rusty."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)