Replay in baseball became a good idea around the time that Jerry Meals blew an easy home plate call and cost the Pirates a game.
If everyone could see it was the wrong call, why not correct it? Even Meals admitted his mistake the next day, long after it was too late to do anything about it.
So with that call, and others just as egregious, embarrassing the game, MLB decided to do something about it. Instead of endless arguments, go to the video. The umpires get on a headset to New York, where a different crew of umpires reviews a play that's been challenged.
Makes perfect sense. But now the reliance on technology has gone too far, as we saw in the deciding fifth game of the National League Division Series.
Washington was threatening with runners a first and second. Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras snapped a quick pickoff throw to first base, where Washington's Jose Lobaton was ruled safe.
The call looked good. Lobaton clearly beat the throw. With nothing to lose, the Cubs challenged the call, and they won big.
When the video was slowed to a crawl, it showed Lobaton's foot losing contact with the base for a split second. First baseman Anthony Rizzo's tag was still on Lobaton. The call was reversed. Lobaton was called out.
Inning over, rally over, and the series was also essentially over for the Nationals.
By the letter of the law, the reversal was correct. By the spirit of what replay is supposed to be, it was an impossibly nitpicky call.
Lobaton was a fool for getting far enough off the base for there to have been an issue. Bad play on his part.
But he beat the throw back. An expert in physics can explain why his foot became disengaged from the bag for a blink, but that shouldn't have been the deciding factor.
It took a magnifying glass to make the call, and it shouldn't be that way.
Let replay correct the big and obvious mistakes, like the one Meals made against the Pirates.
For the ones that need the most minute technological review to reverse, let the umpire's call stand. It's a baseball game, not a CSI case.
---
--ALUMNI DAY
Santonio Holmes stopped by the Steelers offices last week for a brief ceremony that allowed him to retire as a member of the team.
Holmes last played in the NFL three years ago, and hasn't worn black and gold since 2009. He was part of the second-greatest play in franchise history, the leaping catch in the corner of an end zone to win Super Bowl XLIII.
But he was gone a year later, sacrificed to the New York Jets for a fifth-round draft pick. His game was still fine; he'd had his best statistical year in 2010. Holmes had just become too much of a pain in the neck to keep around.
It was never anything that big -- a couple of marijuana incidents, accusations of a domestic dispute, run-ins with police. But it was enough to lead the Steelers to give away a former No. 1 draft pick.
However, there he was last week, smiling with Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin, reminiscing about his happiest days in the NFL.
Memories really are selective. Should we now await the Plaxico Burress retirement ceremony?
---
--ULTIMATE WALK OFF
Friday was the anniversary of Bill Mazeroski's home run that won the 1960 World Series for the Pirates.
We still don't know what the exit velocity was, but it counts anyway.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Altoona Mirror, October 8, 2017
The tough thing about covering the NFL is that once a week schedule, which means large shovels are often needed to fill all the 24-hour news cycles between games.
From one Sunday to the next, there's a lot more talk than action. That's why you get stuff like "keys to victory," which usually starts with the combination of "establish the running game" and "control the running game." True confession: I haven't read a "keys to victory" filler in decades, so I'm going from memory.
The NFL has its own TV network jammed with shows that fill time until there are actual games to dissect and real-life highlights to show.
That's why people who purvey words were secretly delighted last Sunday when Antonio Brown pitched a fit on the sideline in Baltimore. He flung an empty Gatorade cooler (you try to move one of those when it's full) and then pulled angrily away from offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who tried to cool things down.
Brown was hot because Ben Roethlisberger failed to notice he was wide open for a potential touchdown. His display of temper essentially showed up the quarterback by calling attention to the oversight. It was "Hey, look at the mistake Ben made."
Bad stuff. Bad for morale. Selfish. Depending on your perspective on Brown, it was possibly oh so A.B., a hopelessly me-first guy who tries to keep those traits under wraps as much as possible.
In reality, it was a gift from above for those who have to comment on pro football matters between games. Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin had their say on Tuesday.
The issue got more life because of Brown's totally arbitrary policy of restricting his media availability to Fridays during the season. That kept the flame flickering for an end-of-the-week blowout, which left just one more day for everyone to deduce the keys to victory.
We're told that things are fine now, and that's all well and good. The tempest served its purpose.
It was an annoyance for Roethlisberger, an embarrassment for Brown, a distraction for Tomlin, and a blessing for the people who would otherwise be looking for variations on "establish the running game/control the running game."
---
--BLING IS THE THING
Those massive diamond-crusted Penguins Stanley Cup rings are serious pieces of jewelry.
They are also something no hockey player will ever wear in public. Sidney Crosby will wear that ring on his grocery store run right after he dyes his hair purple.
As the rings get bigger and brighter every year, it also becomes more apparent they'll stay in bank vaults after the initial presentation and photo op.
Seems like it kind of defeats the purpose.
---
--SPECIAL GUEST
Before the Pirates adjourned for the offseason, they got into some mildly hot water with MLB over inviting Wiz Khalifa to throw out the first pitch before a late-season game.
Khalifa is the Pittsburgh-rooted rapper whose career is based largely on the glorification of marijuana use.
He showed up at PNC Park wearing a t-shirt that read, "Legalize It." Before he threw the pitch, he pantomimed a man smoking a joint. Then the artist whose releases include "Rolling Papers," "Weedmixes" and "Wake and Bake" made his cameo appearance.
MLB didn't think much of the Pirates' judgment in extending the invitation, and sent along an official but mild reprimand.
Oh well. At least they offer those all-you-can-eat seats for Wiz followers with a serious case of the munchies.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
From one Sunday to the next, there's a lot more talk than action. That's why you get stuff like "keys to victory," which usually starts with the combination of "establish the running game" and "control the running game." True confession: I haven't read a "keys to victory" filler in decades, so I'm going from memory.
The NFL has its own TV network jammed with shows that fill time until there are actual games to dissect and real-life highlights to show.
That's why people who purvey words were secretly delighted last Sunday when Antonio Brown pitched a fit on the sideline in Baltimore. He flung an empty Gatorade cooler (you try to move one of those when it's full) and then pulled angrily away from offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who tried to cool things down.
Brown was hot because Ben Roethlisberger failed to notice he was wide open for a potential touchdown. His display of temper essentially showed up the quarterback by calling attention to the oversight. It was "Hey, look at the mistake Ben made."
Bad stuff. Bad for morale. Selfish. Depending on your perspective on Brown, it was possibly oh so A.B., a hopelessly me-first guy who tries to keep those traits under wraps as much as possible.
In reality, it was a gift from above for those who have to comment on pro football matters between games. Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin had their say on Tuesday.
The issue got more life because of Brown's totally arbitrary policy of restricting his media availability to Fridays during the season. That kept the flame flickering for an end-of-the-week blowout, which left just one more day for everyone to deduce the keys to victory.
We're told that things are fine now, and that's all well and good. The tempest served its purpose.
It was an annoyance for Roethlisberger, an embarrassment for Brown, a distraction for Tomlin, and a blessing for the people who would otherwise be looking for variations on "establish the running game/control the running game."
---
--BLING IS THE THING
Those massive diamond-crusted Penguins Stanley Cup rings are serious pieces of jewelry.
They are also something no hockey player will ever wear in public. Sidney Crosby will wear that ring on his grocery store run right after he dyes his hair purple.
As the rings get bigger and brighter every year, it also becomes more apparent they'll stay in bank vaults after the initial presentation and photo op.
Seems like it kind of defeats the purpose.
---
--SPECIAL GUEST
Before the Pirates adjourned for the offseason, they got into some mildly hot water with MLB over inviting Wiz Khalifa to throw out the first pitch before a late-season game.
Khalifa is the Pittsburgh-rooted rapper whose career is based largely on the glorification of marijuana use.
He showed up at PNC Park wearing a t-shirt that read, "Legalize It." Before he threw the pitch, he pantomimed a man smoking a joint. Then the artist whose releases include "Rolling Papers," "Weedmixes" and "Wake and Bake" made his cameo appearance.
MLB didn't think much of the Pirates' judgment in extending the invitation, and sent along an official but mild reprimand.
Oh well. At least they offer those all-you-can-eat seats for Wiz followers with a serious case of the munchies.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Altoona Mirror, October 1, 2017
The Pirates drop the curtain on a second straight disappointing season today, one that keeps them south of .500 again.
Culprits abound, but the biggest reason the Pirates were a non-factor was their offense.
Some of the young starting pitchers sputtered on fumes at the end, but they weren't the problem. In fact, they offered hope.
The bullpen had to be rebuilt with significant changes made on the fly, but that settled down, too.
Truth be told, though, the young pitching is a significant asset, both for trying to build a contender and to have as trading stock to fill other holes.
As noted here previously in detail, the Pirates got no better than 50 percent production from the projected 2-3-4-5 spots in their batting order. That's going to lead to a lot of dreary nights, and the Pirates had them in abundance.
Starling Marte will be better. Gregory Polanco had better be. There's still some life in Andrew McCutchen, and there's still a year on his contract. If Jung Ho Kang can't make it, the Pirates need to find a legitimate replacement.
This is not a "blow it up and start all over" proposition.
---
--THREE THOUGHTS ON THE PIRATES
Three other things on the Pirates:
--Two questions (with answers provided):
1. Should the Pirates pick up McCutchen's 2018 option at $14.5 million?
Yes.
2. Should they sign McCutchen beyond 2018? No.
--Here's how long a baseball season is: Remember when Gift Ngoepe reaching the major leagues was a big deal?
--As AT&T SportsNet searches for a new analyst to replace the retiring Kent Tekulve on Pirates broadcasts, there's one contemporary name who might be interested.
Jason Grilli bought a house in the leafy green northern suburbs with the idea of landing some broadcast work here after his pitching career ended.
---
--OFFENSIVE PENALTY
Because there are 800 or so college football games being broadcast by someone every Saturday, the depth of the announcer pool gets tested.
Former NFL player Takeo Spikes was the analyst on the ACC Network's Rice at Pitt. Spikes may not be the biggest name, but he's not as anonymous as some of the guys working the games from the lower part of the barrel.
Thanks to technology, any announcer willing to make the effort can pretty well get caught up on whatever team he might be covering. Then there are those late-week meetings with the coaching staffs, which get constantly referenced throughout the broadcast.
But in one cringe-inducing click-by caught on Saturday, football wasn't the issue with Spikes. English was.
He managed to combine a "has ran" and "have went," a 1-2 that should have gotten him detention in the classroom instead of a job in broadcasting.
---
--STEELERS STUMBLE
A lot of people (including my cousin Mike in Texas) took last Sunday's loss in Chicago as more evidence of a Mike Tomlin-coached Steelers team losing to an inferior opponent.
Could be. But three games in, Le'Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger have not been playing at levels less than expected from them.
---
--SO LONG, TEKE
Enjoy your new life, Kent Tekulve.
When a guy is 70 and a transplanted heart is giving him a precious second chance, he doesn't need to be sitting around a TV studio at midnight waiting out the rain-delayed finish of an 11-2 game that everyone else has abandoned.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Culprits abound, but the biggest reason the Pirates were a non-factor was their offense.
Some of the young starting pitchers sputtered on fumes at the end, but they weren't the problem. In fact, they offered hope.
The bullpen had to be rebuilt with significant changes made on the fly, but that settled down, too.
Truth be told, though, the young pitching is a significant asset, both for trying to build a contender and to have as trading stock to fill other holes.
As noted here previously in detail, the Pirates got no better than 50 percent production from the projected 2-3-4-5 spots in their batting order. That's going to lead to a lot of dreary nights, and the Pirates had them in abundance.
Starling Marte will be better. Gregory Polanco had better be. There's still some life in Andrew McCutchen, and there's still a year on his contract. If Jung Ho Kang can't make it, the Pirates need to find a legitimate replacement.
This is not a "blow it up and start all over" proposition.
---
--THREE THOUGHTS ON THE PIRATES
Three other things on the Pirates:
--Two questions (with answers provided):
1. Should the Pirates pick up McCutchen's 2018 option at $14.5 million?
Yes.
2. Should they sign McCutchen beyond 2018? No.
--Here's how long a baseball season is: Remember when Gift Ngoepe reaching the major leagues was a big deal?
--As AT&T SportsNet searches for a new analyst to replace the retiring Kent Tekulve on Pirates broadcasts, there's one contemporary name who might be interested.
Jason Grilli bought a house in the leafy green northern suburbs with the idea of landing some broadcast work here after his pitching career ended.
---
--OFFENSIVE PENALTY
Because there are 800 or so college football games being broadcast by someone every Saturday, the depth of the announcer pool gets tested.
Former NFL player Takeo Spikes was the analyst on the ACC Network's Rice at Pitt. Spikes may not be the biggest name, but he's not as anonymous as some of the guys working the games from the lower part of the barrel.
Thanks to technology, any announcer willing to make the effort can pretty well get caught up on whatever team he might be covering. Then there are those late-week meetings with the coaching staffs, which get constantly referenced throughout the broadcast.
But in one cringe-inducing click-by caught on Saturday, football wasn't the issue with Spikes. English was.
He managed to combine a "has ran" and "have went," a 1-2 that should have gotten him detention in the classroom instead of a job in broadcasting.
---
--STEELERS STUMBLE
A lot of people (including my cousin Mike in Texas) took last Sunday's loss in Chicago as more evidence of a Mike Tomlin-coached Steelers team losing to an inferior opponent.
Could be. But three games in, Le'Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger have not been playing at levels less than expected from them.
---
--SO LONG, TEKE
Enjoy your new life, Kent Tekulve.
When a guy is 70 and a transplanted heart is giving him a precious second chance, he doesn't need to be sitting around a TV studio at midnight waiting out the rain-delayed finish of an 11-2 game that everyone else has abandoned.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Altoona Mirror, September 24, 2017
Sports statistics are everywhere. The explosion is so profound, we're all lucky decimal points are round and less dangerous as shrapnel.
When Bob Prince called the Pirates games a million years ago, he wouldn't even give a batting average for the first six weeks of the season. Instead, he'd offer a speech about how the averages jumped around so much that they were meaningless that early in the season.
He was espousing the idea of "small sample size" without ever meaning to. The Old Gunner's idea of small sample size was a shot glass only half filled with vodka, but forgive the digression.
Given Prince's minimalist approach, it's easy to understand why the audience was so jolted when Milo Hamilton replaced him. Milo loved numbers like a CPA, and had a compulsion to share them.
He would not only tell listeners what Phil Garner was hitting on April 14, he would break it down into lefthander-righthander, home-road, starter-reliever and whatever other categories were handy.
Computers and independent researchers made the numbers expand. If there wasn't a stat to illustrate the point, they would create one. Welcome, WAR, OPS, WHIP and all their upper case brethren.
Some of them have fallen into common use while others remain arcane.
NFL broadcasts now bombard viewers even though the sport is more of a collaborative effort than baseball and doesn't have the constant one-on-one drumbeat that establishes a context.
The Steelers play in Chicago today and one of the local TV guys somberly noted that the Bears hold a 12-1 edge in those games, "all-time." It really is "all time," a time when George Halas prowled the sideline, when Gale Sayers galloped through a lousy Steelers defense and Dick Butkus frightened Steelers linemen with his savage approach to the game.
None of that will have any relevance today, considering that Halas died in 1993, Sayers retired because of hopelessly wrecked knees almost 50 years ago and Butkus is still mean but wobbly as his 75th birthday approaches.
If the Steelers have any problems with the Bears today, dusty ghosts from old ledgers won't be among them.
---
--ON THE MEND AGAIN
When you have one of those seasons where very little goes right, even the smallest details work against you.
The health care giant that partners with the Prates has been running commercials for a lot of the season. They brag about how the group's superior care is helping to keep injured players like Francisco Cervelli and Josh Harrison on the field.
Both Cervelli and Harrison are finishing the season on the disabled list.
---
--SIMPLY THE BEST
Nobody does PR like Sidney Crosby.
Every year, he drives to the home of some Penguins season ticket buyer to deliver the tickets. He says hello to everybody, he signs autographs, he poses for pictures, he goes out in the driveway and plays street hockey with the kids.
He would probably edge the lawn if someone asked. He just does it. He never tells the Penguins, "Aw, Kris Letang can do it this year."
For all of the marvelous things he's done on the ice, his most amazing feat is getting through 12 years of a very public life without one behavioral misstep.
Credit to him, obviously, and to his parents, Troy and Trina Crosby.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Altoona Mirror, September 17, 2017
There's no way to spin anything good out of being on the wrong end of 59-21 score, as Pitt was against Oklahoma State on Saturday.
--Pitt apparently has two quarterbacks, senior transfer Max Browne and redshirt freshman Ben DiNucci. It's true what they say: Teams with two quarterbacks really don't have a quarterback.
If Browne can't get the job done, it doesn't make much sense to play him given that he won't be around after this season.
--It doesn't matter who the quarterback is if the Panthers miss as many tackles as they did in staking Oklahoma State to a 21-0 lead.
--Nobody seems to know what Jordan Whitehead did to earn a suspension from the first three games. Like most schools, Pitt didn't stray from the standard "violation of team rules," which can cover anything from being late for a meeting to grand theft auto.
But it must have been significant for coach Pat Narduzzi to sacrifice one of his best players for three games, including Penn State.
Whitehead can't get back soon enough, considering that Pitt allowed 516 yards of offense in Saturday -- in the first half.
--By the way, 516 yards was the distance some fans could walk to a restaurant and enjoy a good meal while they skipped the second half of Saturday's debacle.
---
Three thoughts on the Pirates:
--Offseason attention will be focused on whether the Pirates decide to trade Andrew McCutchen and forgo the last year of his contract.
But the more appealing trade chip the Pirates hold is Josh Harrison. He's more attractive because of the versatility that makes him a great fit for a contender.
He is scheduled to make $10.5 million next year, the same amount he's guaranteed for 2019. Then there's a final year where he will be paid $11.5 million at age 33.
Those amounts wouldn't make a team like the Boston Red Sox blink, but they're significant in Pittsburgh.
The question is whether the Pirates could trade Harrison and cover second base with a combination of Adam Frazier and Max Moroff. Frazier's defensive shortcomings would be a particular concern.
--If Elias Diaz is going to take a bigger role at catcher next season, he has to get much better at blocking pitches in the dirt. Somehow Diaz has spent nine seasons in the organization without mastering that basic skill.
--General manager Neal Huntington has had a bad year. It got even worse with the decision to drop Drew Hutchison from the 40-man roster, which is the first step toward letting him look for an opportunity elsewhere.
The Pirates paid Hutchison $2.3 million to pitch at Class AAA. They thought he might be the only useful asset in last year's trade that sent Francisco Liriano to Toronto. Instead, to get relief from Liriano's $14 million price tag, they also parted with two non-prime prospects (Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez) and paid Hutchison about $3.26 million to do nothing over two seasons. Ouch.
---
Because the NFL assigns every team a Thursday night game that most people don't watch, the Houston Texans played at the Cincinnati Bengals on NFL Network last week.
Viewers would have been better off chasing down some "I Love Lucy" reruns if they wanted to be entertained.
The performance was so bad that the Bengals fired their offensive coordinator the next day. It was the first correct call they've made this season.
The worst part? Bengals serial miscreant Vontaze Burfict was suspended, so that lessened the chances an attention-diverting riot might break out on any snap.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
--Pitt apparently has two quarterbacks, senior transfer Max Browne and redshirt freshman Ben DiNucci. It's true what they say: Teams with two quarterbacks really don't have a quarterback.
If Browne can't get the job done, it doesn't make much sense to play him given that he won't be around after this season.
--It doesn't matter who the quarterback is if the Panthers miss as many tackles as they did in staking Oklahoma State to a 21-0 lead.
--Nobody seems to know what Jordan Whitehead did to earn a suspension from the first three games. Like most schools, Pitt didn't stray from the standard "violation of team rules," which can cover anything from being late for a meeting to grand theft auto.
But it must have been significant for coach Pat Narduzzi to sacrifice one of his best players for three games, including Penn State.
Whitehead can't get back soon enough, considering that Pitt allowed 516 yards of offense in Saturday -- in the first half.
--By the way, 516 yards was the distance some fans could walk to a restaurant and enjoy a good meal while they skipped the second half of Saturday's debacle.
---
Three thoughts on the Pirates:
--Offseason attention will be focused on whether the Pirates decide to trade Andrew McCutchen and forgo the last year of his contract.
But the more appealing trade chip the Pirates hold is Josh Harrison. He's more attractive because of the versatility that makes him a great fit for a contender.
He is scheduled to make $10.5 million next year, the same amount he's guaranteed for 2019. Then there's a final year where he will be paid $11.5 million at age 33.
Those amounts wouldn't make a team like the Boston Red Sox blink, but they're significant in Pittsburgh.
The question is whether the Pirates could trade Harrison and cover second base with a combination of Adam Frazier and Max Moroff. Frazier's defensive shortcomings would be a particular concern.
--If Elias Diaz is going to take a bigger role at catcher next season, he has to get much better at blocking pitches in the dirt. Somehow Diaz has spent nine seasons in the organization without mastering that basic skill.
--General manager Neal Huntington has had a bad year. It got even worse with the decision to drop Drew Hutchison from the 40-man roster, which is the first step toward letting him look for an opportunity elsewhere.
The Pirates paid Hutchison $2.3 million to pitch at Class AAA. They thought he might be the only useful asset in last year's trade that sent Francisco Liriano to Toronto. Instead, to get relief from Liriano's $14 million price tag, they also parted with two non-prime prospects (Reese McGuire and Harold Ramirez) and paid Hutchison about $3.26 million to do nothing over two seasons. Ouch.
---
Because the NFL assigns every team a Thursday night game that most people don't watch, the Houston Texans played at the Cincinnati Bengals on NFL Network last week.
Viewers would have been better off chasing down some "I Love Lucy" reruns if they wanted to be entertained.
The performance was so bad that the Bengals fired their offensive coordinator the next day. It was the first correct call they've made this season.
The worst part? Bengals serial miscreant Vontaze Burfict was suspended, so that lessened the chances an attention-diverting riot might break out on any snap.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, September 10, 2017
Altoona Mirror, September 10, 2017
There's a full NFL schedule today, which means the potential for national anthem protests is abundant.
Here's the thing about the perceived sanctity of the anthem: It was purged from most sports broadcasts years ago.
Unless it's a celebrity performance or some other special occasion, you're not going to see or hear the anthem. If it gets on the air, it was probably a mistake in timing.
On most football and baseball broadcasts, the anthem is scheduled for a time when the radio and TV audiences are either listening to a taped interview or commercials.
Basically, the anthem doesn't matter to them unless it's a basis for a protest.
Comedian Robert Klein years ago said the importance of the anthem was as a timing device. At, "Oh say can you see...." fans at the venue reflexively knew it was time to either hit the rest room or the beer stand because kickoff was near.
Would people miss the anthem if it weren't played? Probably not. Most aren't paying attention.
Maybe that's the unintended consequence of what Colin Kaepernick has brought to the NFL. He made the national anthem relevant at NFL games.
---
--ADVANCED CHEATING
The Boston Red Sox were busted last week, caught stealing the New York Yankees' signs by using an Apple watch.
Only the technology changes. Cheating has been part of sports forever, but now devices make it more convenient.
When the Pirates' Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings in Milwaukee in 1959, he discovered decades later that the Braves were stealing catcher Smoky Burgess' signals throughout the game. Someone in the bullpen had binoculars and would focus on Burgess.
The spy would hang a towel on the fence (or not) to let the batter know if the upcoming pitch was a fastball or breaking ball. Even when they knew what was coming, the Braves couldn't touch Haddix that night.
So now the crimes are being aided by technology. A St. Louis Cardinals executive was sentenced to prison after he admitted to hacking the Houston Astros' scouting files. A producer on Penguins telecasts got in trouble with the NHL when he declined to use a replay because it showed an angle that would have overturned the call to the Penguins' detriment on a replay challenge.
Apple watches? Makes the New England Patriots' use of video tape to capture opponents' sideline signals seem so 1990s.
---
--ONE MORE CHANCE
It wasn't a big story, but the Penguins' hiring of Kevin Stevens to their scouting staff last week was significant.
Stevens' life since he was a standout on the Penguins' first two Stanley Cups has been a train wreck. He suffered a devastating injury when he crashed face-first to the ice in the 1993 playoffs.
He was never the same player after the facial reconstruction surgery. He developed a dependence on drugs that cost him his career and estranged him from family members. He was done as a player when he walked away from the Penguins during a trip to Buffalo.
He worked as a Penguins' scout once before and did a good job. But his inability to focus led him to leave and find more drug-related trouble.
Now he's back, getting another chance at 52.
Stevens owes this job to Mario Lemieux. Lemieux won't give up on Stevens, even though others may have.
There have been jokes on the Internet for a long time about "F.O.M," which stands for "Friends of Mario." Pierre Larouche is a charter member.
It's no laughing matter to Lemieux, who takes care of people he values. When the decision was made to drop Paul Steigerwald from the broadcast team after more than 30 years, Lemieux didn't overrule his people. But he did make sure there was another job for Steigerwald in the organization.
Kevin Stevens can be grateful for his membership in "F.O.M."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Here's the thing about the perceived sanctity of the anthem: It was purged from most sports broadcasts years ago.
Unless it's a celebrity performance or some other special occasion, you're not going to see or hear the anthem. If it gets on the air, it was probably a mistake in timing.
On most football and baseball broadcasts, the anthem is scheduled for a time when the radio and TV audiences are either listening to a taped interview or commercials.
Basically, the anthem doesn't matter to them unless it's a basis for a protest.
Comedian Robert Klein years ago said the importance of the anthem was as a timing device. At, "Oh say can you see...." fans at the venue reflexively knew it was time to either hit the rest room or the beer stand because kickoff was near.
Would people miss the anthem if it weren't played? Probably not. Most aren't paying attention.
Maybe that's the unintended consequence of what Colin Kaepernick has brought to the NFL. He made the national anthem relevant at NFL games.
---
--ADVANCED CHEATING
The Boston Red Sox were busted last week, caught stealing the New York Yankees' signs by using an Apple watch.
Only the technology changes. Cheating has been part of sports forever, but now devices make it more convenient.
When the Pirates' Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings in Milwaukee in 1959, he discovered decades later that the Braves were stealing catcher Smoky Burgess' signals throughout the game. Someone in the bullpen had binoculars and would focus on Burgess.
The spy would hang a towel on the fence (or not) to let the batter know if the upcoming pitch was a fastball or breaking ball. Even when they knew what was coming, the Braves couldn't touch Haddix that night.
So now the crimes are being aided by technology. A St. Louis Cardinals executive was sentenced to prison after he admitted to hacking the Houston Astros' scouting files. A producer on Penguins telecasts got in trouble with the NHL when he declined to use a replay because it showed an angle that would have overturned the call to the Penguins' detriment on a replay challenge.
Apple watches? Makes the New England Patriots' use of video tape to capture opponents' sideline signals seem so 1990s.
---
--ONE MORE CHANCE
It wasn't a big story, but the Penguins' hiring of Kevin Stevens to their scouting staff last week was significant.
Stevens' life since he was a standout on the Penguins' first two Stanley Cups has been a train wreck. He suffered a devastating injury when he crashed face-first to the ice in the 1993 playoffs.
He was never the same player after the facial reconstruction surgery. He developed a dependence on drugs that cost him his career and estranged him from family members. He was done as a player when he walked away from the Penguins during a trip to Buffalo.
He worked as a Penguins' scout once before and did a good job. But his inability to focus led him to leave and find more drug-related trouble.
Now he's back, getting another chance at 52.
Stevens owes this job to Mario Lemieux. Lemieux won't give up on Stevens, even though others may have.
There have been jokes on the Internet for a long time about "F.O.M," which stands for "Friends of Mario." Pierre Larouche is a charter member.
It's no laughing matter to Lemieux, who takes care of people he values. When the decision was made to drop Paul Steigerwald from the broadcast team after more than 30 years, Lemieux didn't overrule his people. But he did make sure there was another job for Steigerwald in the organization.
Kevin Stevens can be grateful for his membership in "F.O.M."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Altoona Mirror, September 3, 2017
The Steelers made the splash of the week by signing cornerback Joe Haden shortly after the Cleveland Browns released him.
There are a couple of ways to look at this.
1. The Steelers were able to acquire a quality player to beef up their iffy secondary.
2. The Steelers are so concerned about their secondary that they're willing to take a chance on a guy the Browns didn't want.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The secondary could use an upgrade, and Haden is a two-time Pro Bowl player. Steelers offensive players have talked about what a difficult opponent he was.
Being discarded by the Browns is not necessarily a negative, given that franchise's long history of questionable personnel decisions. The administrators change, but the mistakes continue, like wasting a first-round draft pick on Johnny Manziel.
That was a train wreck most NFL teams spotted from a mile away, but the Browns thought an erratic, unfocused player with significant off-field issues was the man to lead their offense. By the way, quarterback shoppers, Derek Carr was available when they drafted Manziel.
But this isn't about beating up the Browns, no matter how much fun that is.
Haden comes with a certain amount of risk. He had groin surgery in the offseason, and a cornerback needs to be able to run in quick bursts.
If he's healthy, it's hard to imagine he can't help, given some of the dubious talent the Steelers have on the secondary depth chart. The front seven of the defense is fine. The line is strong, and it's encouraging that the linebacking corps seems to be less dependent on 39-year-old James Harrison. That has to be good.
The secondary needs the help, and general manager Kevin Colbert didn't waste any time, grabbing Haden for three years and $27 million.
They've addressed a weakness. We'll find out soon if they've solved the problem.
---
--WEARING DOWN?
The Pirates are skipping Ivan Nova's scheduled start on Tuesday. Nova has been awful since mid-June, and Clint Hurdle thinks fatigue is an issue.
Fatigue? Could be. He's pitched 168 and 2/3 innings, already the second-highest workload in his major league career.
Nova was fine for the first two and a half months. There was even briefly talk of his being selected for the All-Star team. His three-year, $26 million contract looked like smart business.
But it's been consistently downhill since then. Can he rebound? If he doesn't, have the Pirates invested $26 million in a long reliever?
---
--FINALLY ENOUGH
Sports Illustrated reported last week that FOX plans to drop Pete Rose from its postseason baseball studio team.
Rose has worked for the network for a couple of years, filling a role as a grumpy curmudgeon who entertains the other panelists with his old school observations. A bow tie and his bad dye job just add to the oddball persona.
But they'll apparently carry on without him, the result of Rose's being implicated in an inappropriate relationship with a minor. It has been alleged that during his playing career, Rose carried on a romantic relationship with a high school student. It has been reported that she was 14. Rose countered that she was 16, the age of consent in Ohio.
At the time, Rose was a 34-year-old married father of two.
So those allegations were finally the breaking point for FOX. He bet on baseball? They didn't care. He lied for more than a decade about betting on baseball? They didn't care. He operates an autograph-selling business where, for an extra fee, he'll add the wise guy inscription, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." They didn't care.
Finally there was something even FOX couldn't overlook.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
There are a couple of ways to look at this.
1. The Steelers were able to acquire a quality player to beef up their iffy secondary.
2. The Steelers are so concerned about their secondary that they're willing to take a chance on a guy the Browns didn't want.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The secondary could use an upgrade, and Haden is a two-time Pro Bowl player. Steelers offensive players have talked about what a difficult opponent he was.
Being discarded by the Browns is not necessarily a negative, given that franchise's long history of questionable personnel decisions. The administrators change, but the mistakes continue, like wasting a first-round draft pick on Johnny Manziel.
That was a train wreck most NFL teams spotted from a mile away, but the Browns thought an erratic, unfocused player with significant off-field issues was the man to lead their offense. By the way, quarterback shoppers, Derek Carr was available when they drafted Manziel.
But this isn't about beating up the Browns, no matter how much fun that is.
Haden comes with a certain amount of risk. He had groin surgery in the offseason, and a cornerback needs to be able to run in quick bursts.
If he's healthy, it's hard to imagine he can't help, given some of the dubious talent the Steelers have on the secondary depth chart. The front seven of the defense is fine. The line is strong, and it's encouraging that the linebacking corps seems to be less dependent on 39-year-old James Harrison. That has to be good.
The secondary needs the help, and general manager Kevin Colbert didn't waste any time, grabbing Haden for three years and $27 million.
They've addressed a weakness. We'll find out soon if they've solved the problem.
---
--WEARING DOWN?
The Pirates are skipping Ivan Nova's scheduled start on Tuesday. Nova has been awful since mid-June, and Clint Hurdle thinks fatigue is an issue.
Fatigue? Could be. He's pitched 168 and 2/3 innings, already the second-highest workload in his major league career.
Nova was fine for the first two and a half months. There was even briefly talk of his being selected for the All-Star team. His three-year, $26 million contract looked like smart business.
But it's been consistently downhill since then. Can he rebound? If he doesn't, have the Pirates invested $26 million in a long reliever?
---
--FINALLY ENOUGH
Sports Illustrated reported last week that FOX plans to drop Pete Rose from its postseason baseball studio team.
Rose has worked for the network for a couple of years, filling a role as a grumpy curmudgeon who entertains the other panelists with his old school observations. A bow tie and his bad dye job just add to the oddball persona.
But they'll apparently carry on without him, the result of Rose's being implicated in an inappropriate relationship with a minor. It has been alleged that during his playing career, Rose carried on a romantic relationship with a high school student. It has been reported that she was 14. Rose countered that she was 16, the age of consent in Ohio.
At the time, Rose was a 34-year-old married father of two.
So those allegations were finally the breaking point for FOX. He bet on baseball? They didn't care. He lied for more than a decade about betting on baseball? They didn't care. He operates an autograph-selling business where, for an extra fee, he'll add the wise guy inscription, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." They didn't care.
Finally there was something even FOX couldn't overlook.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
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