Beaver County Times, March 22, 2015

Pete Rose has slithered back into the headlines, petitioning new MLB commissioner Rob Manfred to lift his lifetime ban.
A lot of people would like to see that. Respected ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney said Rose has served enough of a penalty.
Sorry, but he hasn't. He needs about 100 more years on his sentence.
Baseball has one rule that is posted in every clubhouse at every level. You don't bet on baseball.
You like to bet? No problem. There are NCAA pools in every clubhouse right now. There's a casino right down the street from PNC Park. There are still horse and dog tracks.
Want to bet on NFL games? Go to Las Vegas, where sports betting is legal, and you can wager your next 10 paychecks.
But people who work in baseball are not allowed to bet on baseball. Rose knew that. Not only did he break the rule, he did a tap dance on it, then emptied a couple of garbage cans over it, too.
He figured he was Pete Rose, so he could get away with it. He was wrong about that.
Let's remember that Rose voluntarily signed an agreement for the lifetime ban. It was a plea bargain because Rose and his lawyers knew that MLB had the goods on him.
Let's look at the arguments in favor of his reinstatement:
--He deserves a second chance.
He might, if he'd ever shown genuine remorse or at least an understanding that what he did was profoundly wrong.
Instead, Rose lied for more than a decade and said he didn't bet on baseball.
When he finally told the truth, he tied it to the release of a book from which he hoped to profit. It wasn't contrition, it was another hustle.
--He never bet on the Reds to lose.
Does that mean he bet on his team to win 162 times a season? Rose wouldn't be foolish enough to do that.
So when he didn't bet on the Reds to win, what message did that send? As manager, would he hold back a good relief pitcher to use him in a game when he had money on the Reds to win?
--The steroid cheaters are worse than Rose.
Flawed logic. People who get pulled over for speeding like to protest that the officer writing the ticket should be out catching murderers. It doesn't change the fact the driver was breaking the law.
--It's not a Hall of Fame without the all-time hits leader.
His accomplishments are noted in the Hall of Fame. Rose-related memorabilia is in the Hall. He is not ignored, but he isn't enshrined, either.
He's on the outside looking in, which is exactly where he belongs.
---
--ANY FOLLOWERS?
If Mike Johnston is riding in the lead car for a Stanley Cup parade, all will be forgotten.
Nothing with the Penguins matters until the postseason. For now, though, it's fair to wonder if the team pays much attention to its first-year coach.
Johnston said he talked to Steve Downie about avoiding foolish penalties. Hours later, Downie was hit with a pair of 10-minute misconducts in one game.
Starting quickly against Dallas was one of Johnston's points of emphasis last week. The team opened sluggishly and stayed in the game only because Marc-Andre Fleury was strong against an early onslaught from the Stars.
Johnston has told the team to keep its composure, yet Kris Letang gets easily distracted by opponents who agitate, then compounds the problem by protesting too much to referees.
Part of being a successful coach is getting players to follow instructions.
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--TACTFUL APPROACH
The current Penguins could take a lesson from Hall of Famer Ron Francis when it comes to referee discussions.
Francis favored a whine-and-follow style that was effective. Instead of yelling at the refs, he would sort of skate along with them and take the, "Aw, geez, Donnie, are you sure about that one? Kinda looked like he fell on his own."
It didn't change calls, but it made a case without infuriating referees to the point where they carried a grudge.
There's no question some officials carry over bad feelings from one game to the next.  It's best not to make enemies of them.
---
--MARCH MADNESS
Congratulations to the deer on their upset win over Mt. Lebanon.

Beaver County Times, March 15, 2015

It's a shame there is no sense of shame in sports.
Pete Rose sets up in Las Vegas and trades his autograph for cash. He'll add the inscription, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball," not because he feels remorse, but because he gets an extra fee for writing those words.
Hey, it's almost NCAA Tournament time, and he's probably in a few pools.
Rose is in his third decade as a lost cause, and nobody expects anything better from him.
The ugly combination of arrogance and lawlessness is exemplified by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, whose program was just hit with NCAA sanctions.
After voluntarily withdrawing from any tournament consideration this year, Syracuse got its penalty from the NCAA: Loss of scholarships, recruiting restrictions and a nine-game suspension for Boeheim next season.
The University president's big takeaway was to complain about how long the investigation took. In Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, a defiant Boeheim used coarse language to express contempt for his critics.
Anyone who expected a more measured response from Boeheim after the penalties were announced was disappointed.
Boeheim is 70 years old. This would have been an appropriate time for him to admit his mistakes and reaffirm his respect for the university by resigning. It was a chance to leave gracefully and give someone else a chance to get Syracuse basketball on the right track.
Instead, he said, "I'm not going anywhere."
Boeheim has done a lot of good for Syracuse, raising money for cancer research and developing youth basketball programs. He's made the school a national basketball power.
The NCAA said it found a pattern of offenses that went back at least a decade. That means the violations weren't a wayward misstep, but instead suggests it was the way Syracuse conducted business.
Syracuse might be another of those places where the coach is bigger than the program. There were horrible stories from State College a while back that demonstrated how badly things can go off the rails with that imbalance.
Boeheim should go, but he doesn't want to and the school doesn't seem inclined to make him leave.
That's a shame.
---
--HEARING THE CALL
Jason Worilds' stunning decision to leave football to work for the Jehovah's Witnesses is unusual but not unprecedented in Pittsburgh sports.
The Penguins had a defenseman, Tom Edur, who abruptly retired from hockey at 23 right before the start of training camp in 1978. He also left to devote his life to the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Stories suggest Edur strongly felt the call of his faith after becoming disillusioned with a pro hockey lifestyle filled with drinking and promiscuity.
The Penguins had acquired Edur at the urging of Johnny Wilson, who had coached him in Colorado and with Cleveland in the WHA. Edur was an offensive-minded defenseman who was good on the power play. He was 11th in scoring among NHL defensemen in his final season.
The Penguins originally suspected that Edur was using the retirement threat as leverage for a better contract. When they realized he was serious, they offered him a deal that would allow him to take Sundays off. Edur declined.
The Edmonton Oilers acquired Edur's rights the following year, but he passed on a chance to play with Wayne Gretzky. He never returned to hockey.
At last report, Edur, now 60, was working for the Jehovah's Witnesses in the northern European country of Estonia.
---
--TAKING HIS TIME
If things go as expected, Tony Sanchez will be playing for the Pirates' Class AAA team in Indianapolis.
It's been a slow crawl through the organization for Sanchez, who will turn 27 in May. To this point he has 146 major league plate appearances over the past two seasons.
That can't be what the Pirates had in mind when they made him the fourth overall pick in the 2009 draft and paid him a $2.5 million signing bonus. Mike Trout was in that draft and has become a star. Matt Carpenter, the Cardinals' 13th round choice that year, has developed into a solid major league player.
Throwing problems have slowed Sanchez's progress in recent years, but he's said to be working through those. So maybe he'll be major league ready next season, when he's 28.
---
--TIME TO GO
So long, Brett Keisel. Did anyone ever enjoy being a Steeler more than he did?

Beaver County Times, March 8, 2015

Steve Blass has often complained on Pirates broadcasts that any rules and policy changes in baseball are at the expense of pitchers.
He is correct. Just about every sport wants more offense, one reason MLB played dumb when hitters were suddenly developing WWE-ready physiques through their local drug labs.
Football is always tweaking rules with the idea of getting more touchdowns on the scoreboard. The old Steelers were so good at mauling receivers downfield that no contact is allowed now beyond five yards.
Then there's hockey. The sport had a chance to reinvent itself after losing the 2004-05 season to a work stoppage, and the NHL took full advantage. It pledged to take obstruction out of the game, to let the stars shine.
The league followed through, too. Referees were told there was a zero tolerance policy on holding and hooking, and they got in trouble when they let things go without a whistle. It got ridiculous at times, with teams sometimes getting as many as 10 power play chances in a game.
But it worked. The players adjusted, and the game was better. Somewhere along the way things changed again, and not for the better. Obstruction made its way back into the game, and now anyone who watches the NHL realizes that 2005 was a long time ago.
Whoever leads the league in scoring this season has a chance to post the lowest points total in more than 50 years. Given the skill level of the current players and the strategic advancements over the past five decades, that should be impossible.
Goalies are better than ever, and that's part of it. They're more acrobatic and almost every team has a quality goaltender. Dunc Wilson and Pat Riggin couldn't play in today's NHL.
Shot blocking has also become a bigger point of emphasis. Skating lanes are clogged by bigger, quicker players, but there's also less room to shoot because of players who throw themselves in front of shots.
The correctable element is to get back to calling all obstruction. It's not being done consistently, and the game suffers.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman came from the NBA and has no great attachment to hockey. His idea of a fan-friendly concept is the shootouts that quickly became passe.
Hockey doesn't need rules changes. It just needs diligent enforcement of the existing rules.
Let the stars shine.
---
--PERFECT TIMING
One of the tenets of Neal Huntington's tenure as Pirates GM is his belief that relief pitching is a fungible asset.
It's a juggling act, trying to weigh a reliever's value against his salary and his contractual leverage. The stakes are higher, but it's the same concept as trying to time the ripeness of bananas. Keep them too long, and it's a bad investment.
He'll probably never be as right as he was about Joel Hanrahan, who was traded to Boston after the 2012 season. In the last two seasons, Hanrahan's major league work has been limited to the seven and 1/3 innings he spread over nine appearances for the 2013 Red Sox.
He's been injured since then, and recently learned that he needs a second Tommy John ligament replacement surgery, which will sideline him for at least another season.
Huntington not only moved on from Hanrahan, he used him to acquire the closer replacement, Mark Melancon.
Melancon has saved 49 games for the Pirates over the past two seasons while Hanrahan has been flipping through magazines in Dr. James Andrews' waiting room.
---
--PROSPECT TO SUSPECT
There was a time when people raved about the potential of Simon Despres, one of several young defensemen in the Penguins system.
His stock fell to the point that he was dealt even-up for Ben Lovejoy, who figures to be on the team's third defensive pairing. Lovejoy fills a role for the Penguins, but he's not the kind of player who should net a former first-round draft pick -- unless that player has some holes in his game. Despres apparently does.
It's reminiscent of Ryan Whitney, another highly-regarded defensive prospect who fizzled. The long-standing belief that Whitney was a victim of then-coach Michel Therrien's rough treatment was disproved when Whitney went elsewhere and played himself out of the NHL.
After leaving Pittsburgh, Whitney was with three clubs in seven seasons. Unwanted as a free agent, he now plays in Russia.

Beaver County Times, March 1, 2015

The Pirates have made a couple of additions that are certain to pay off for them this season.
They're opening three new drinking areas in PNC Park, and that's a can't-lose proposition.
Games continually evolve, and the biggest changes in baseball may have come off the field. For decades, we heard what a lousy baseball venue Three Rivers Stadium was. That was indisputable.
Now the Pirates play their home games in a baseball palace, but it seems like large numbers of people don't even watch the games. At any given point during a home game, you'll find people slowly walking the concourse like a mall, looking for ways to spend money.
The Pirates have paid attention, and that's why they're jamming new places to buy alcohol in small spaces that hadn't been used efficiently through the park's first 14 seasons.
There's been a generational shift in the way consumers approach the ballpark experience. Sometimes it seems like the baseball is a backdrop for being in a trendy place, especially on the weekend nights that draw so well.
The cliche used to be that people attended Pirates games for fireworks and bobbleheads. Now they're on board to take selfies and sip craft beer.
When PNC Park opened, there was a controversy over bringing in outside food and drinks. Kevin McClatchy made a fool of himself, petulantly slamming sandwiches and water bottles into a regulation-sized cooler bag while he complained about the attention given to the issue.
Is anybody brown-bagging homemade chipped ham on Wonder bread these days? More likely people are forking over large bills for one of those Primanti Brothers' "Hey Where's The Meat On This Thing?" specials, at the usual sports venue markup.
Of course, it's never been purely baseball. Old timers tell of a section at Forbes Field where gamblers would congregate to indulge their affliction by wagering on everything. Will the next pitch be a ball or strike? Batter swings or doesn't? Ground ball or fly? Fair or foul? Yes or no on a Kiner home run? Legend says the section was constantly hopping with the compulsive action.
But it still seemed as though the game was the thing, at least more than it may be now in a world of limited attention spans. One of the new drinking areas will offer a lousy long-range view of the field, but it will be augmented by a series of TV screens. So you're basically experiencing the game the way you would if your living room was really loud.
The Pirates are at last enjoying success after a 20-year drought, yet it seems like people have one eye on the game, and the other on their phone or the racing pierogis. Scoreboard watching exists, but now it's for the cheesy game show knockoffs. That's assuming ticket buyers aren't prowling the concourse in search of Dippin' Dots, the perennial ice cream of the future.
The Pirates have raised ticket prices and have an incredibly confusing price scale, yet people are buying more tickets than ever. They're coming out to the ball park in record numbers, and buying a lot more than peanuts and Cracker Jack.
Maybe somebody can update the lyrics of the traditional seventh-inning stretch song to include the limited edition ales and sandwiches loaded with fries and cole slaw.
Will there be a point where someone's lasting first-game memory isn't a three-run homer or spectacular catch, but rather the turkey burger topped with fresh mozzarella and washed down with a $9.25 hipster brew?
---
--BUILDING PROJECT
Wonder if Titans fans are excited about the prospect of a 77-year-old coordinator fixing the team's 27th-ranked defense with over the hill Steelers players?
---
--LET'S MAKE A DEAL
It could be a tough NHL trading deadline based on the prices teams are paying for rental players.
Daniel Winnik should help the Penguins' bottom six forwards, but they had to give up two draft picks (including a second-round choice) plus a marginal player to get him.
There was no doubt New Jersey would trade Jaromir Jagr, but the Devils were able to pry second and third-round draft picks from Florida for him.
Trading is already restricted by salary cap considerations. The Penguins are pretty well hamstrung in that regard, unable to take on a significant contract unless they also unload one.
---
--UNWANTED ATTENTION
Here's a message line you don't expect to see in the day's e-mail list:
"Statement from the Pittsburgh Pirates Regarding Photo of Mohammed Emwaz."

Beaver County Times, February 22, 2015

The Pirates are in spring training. The Steelers are in their offseason planning phase.
The Penguins? They're in crisis.
They haven't been winning a lot lately, and they've been consistently coming up short against the NHL's better teams.
It was distressing to hear first-year coach Mike Johnston almost gush about his team's performance in last Sunday's 2-1 shootout loss in Chicago. Was he that desperate for a hopeful sign that he could find solace in an effort that produced one goal?
The Penguins have clearly slipped from the elite level of the Blackhawks. That's why Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma are gone. But it was still jarring to hear Johnston acknowledge the Penguins were happy just to keep it close against the Blackhawks.
Sidney Crosby is one of the few players who has to apologize for a season in which he's among the league's scoring leaders. But that comes with the territory.
His sputtering performance in last year's playoff series against the Rangers helped trigger the offseason overhaul that swept out the general manager, coaching staff and a good chunk of the roster.
Crosby is never more than one game away from a breakout, and it's still foolish to bet against him. But his recent lack of production is baffling.
There's a new stat that says an NHL forward's peak years are between 27 and 29. Crosby is 27. If he were showing the effects of the concussions and broken jaw, that would have happened earlier. He won the scoring title last season and was an MVP finalist.
It's a mystery, one of several surrounding the Penguins. How does a power play fail so badly when it includes Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang? How does it get zero goals when it's possible to score off two skate deflections, a goal post and a defenseman's shin? Is there a big fix-all deal out there that GM Jim Rutherford can fit under the salary cap?
The danger here is getting consumed with February hockey. It will soon be a distant bad memory, just like the snow piled outside the front door and that stupid burrowing rodent in Punxsutawney.
The 1992-93 Penguins, the best team to not a win a Cup, had a 2-7-1 streak in February and early March before setting a record with a 17-game winning streak.
The 2009 Cup-winning Penguins were five points out of a playoff spot on Feb. 15, 2009 when Bylsma was promoted to replace Michel Therrien.
February in the NHL: Learn from it, but don't get consumed by it.
---
--DELIVERY FAILURE
The February sweeps period has ended for local TV. Sweeps bring out the worst in the hype-meisters who create promos. That spilled over to a sports story, KDKA-TV's profile of Johnston.
The promo promised viewers would see Johnston as they never have before. Lip synching to Lady Gaga? Assisting on surgery? Skydiving?
None of the above. The story was a standard 1-on-1 sit down with reporter Rich Walsh. It revealed that Johnston likes college football, particularly the up tempo style of Oregon, and he listed some of his favorite restaurants.
It was an OK story, but it didn't come close to matching the revelatory promises of the promo.
---
--OUT OF PRIME TIME
ESPN pulled Dick Vitale off its Duke-North Carolina broadcast and used Jay Bilas as the analyst, much to the consternation of Vitale.
That's a big game, and Vitale considers him a big-game broadcaster. But he's also 75, which means ESPN is undoubtedly greasing the skids for his exit.
Younger is better in TV, which is why Tim McCarver was bumped off the national stage in the last couple of years. When the desired audience considers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine old-timers, those stories about Bob Gibson don't connect.
Missing Duke-UNC undoubtedly stung, but Vitale should get used to it.
---
--MIRACLE WANTED
Moon native John Calipari's success as a college coach is undeniable. However, there isn't enough space for the debate about his methods.
He's won at Massachusetts, Memphis and Kentucky, although it might be hard to prove since the NCAA vacated the Final Four appearances of his first two schools.
Calipari is 56, still in the prime of his career. There's one more job he should take before retirement, though.
He should come home to coach Duquesne and transform the Dukes into a top 10 team. His legacy as a wizard would be minted if he could do that.

Beaver County Times, February 15, 2015

The Dapper Dan club honored Neal Huntington, giving the Pirates GM a rare and probably uncomfortable moment in the spotlight.
It's fitting in some way that he didn't get the group's main award, but settled for a separate one that honors leadership.
All things considered, Huntington likely would have chosen to skip the banquet and instead spent the evening looking for another set-up reliever to invite to spring training.
Huntington isn't interested in recognition, which is a good thing. He rarely gets any.
But after what's happened here, the Pirates' motto ought to be, "In Neal we trust."
The job he's done in getting the Pirates from a 100-loss team to the postseason has been every bit as impressive as the revival Syd Thrift staged when he was the team's GM from 1985-88. The economic circumstances are much more difficult now.
When Huntington took the Pirates job, one of his peers called with congratulations and then offered the cynical assessment, "You'd be better off with an expansion team."
The Pirates had some good but not great pieces and although it was never publicly acknowledged, a nearly total rebuild was necessary.
Yes, Andrew McCutchen was in the minor league system, but there wasn't a whole lot more.
It didn't help the public perception that Huntington's earliest days were fraught with missteps. There were contract extensions for mediocrities like Ian Snell and Ryan Doumit. When it came time to deal his biggest chip, he concocted a three-way trade that managed to send away Jason Bay for nothing significant in return from either team.
And while firing Jim Tracy was the correct move, hiring John Russell to replace him didn't make anything better.
Huntington learned and grew on the job. He's been able to combine detailed analytics with traditional scouting to find players. He can handle working with Clint Hurdle, whose personality is high profile. He understands that the MLB economic system is stacked against the Pirates, and he works within those ever-tightening limitations.
That's why there's no multi-year deal for Neil Walker as he approaches 30. It may be unpopular, but every indicator says that money should be invested in someone five years younger to maximize the peak years of a career. Failing to sign Walker earns Huntington the same level of fan criticism that signing Russell Martin in 2012 did.
Every step in Gerrit Cole's progress comes with the reality that agent Scott Boras will likely steer him out of town when free agency arrives. That's why there's promising young pitching stacked efficiently behind Cole.
Unlike some other GMs, Huntington doesn't have the luxury of doing things a year at a time. The reality of working in this market means his focus is always expanded to look ahead. You wonder if ownership appreciates how difficult this task is.
The Pirates are one of five teams to reach the postseason in each of the last two seasons. They have a chance to get in the playoffs for the third straight year. They haven't done that since 1990-92. Unlike that run, there isn't the sense of an impending crash because mass free agency defections loom.
The man most responsible for that success is also the one least interested in taking credit for it.
---
--THE FAN-NAVERSARY
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the launch of 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM).
The success of the station is reflected in its staggering commercial load. It's bringing in revenue, but it's also an expensive proposition because of the staffing needed to execute the format. Even the late night and weekend time fillers get union scale.
The Fan has become the go-to spot for sports talk, which was expected once full-time sports radio went on the FM dial without signal issues. Yet it still doesn't have a signature show that qualifies as a must-listen, the way Myron Cope did a generation ago.
There have been changes along the way. Paul Alexander, Jon Burton, Vinny Richichi and John Seibel have all departed from the original show lineup.
That initial group also included the notorious update specialist Kalena Bell, whose lack of knowledge painfully stood out on a station aimed at hardcore fans. She's the one who famously said that "Sidney Crosby made two goals," that "Charlie Morton earned three runs in five innings" and "Tiger Woods had 75 points on the second day of play."
At last report, she was pursuing acting and commercial opportunities in Seattle.

Beaver County Times, February 8, 2015

It's been a week since Pete Carroll made the transition from successful football coach to national punch line.
With one truly bad decision in one game, he's become the national symbol for screwing up on the job, a human version of New Coke.
"Yeah, our company was doing pretty well, but then they hired a new manager and he Pete Carroll-ed us right into Chapter 11."
Even non-football fans know who Carroll is, for the wrong reason.
It can't be easy. You can bet that Carroll is meeting with PR experts on the best way to handle this sudden unwelcome notoriety. He had a sit-down with Matt Lauer on NBC's "Today Show," by midweek, probably the first step in the effort to rehab the image that took a hit when his boneheaded call led to losing the Super Bowl.
The ultimate fix would be winning Super Bowl 50, but that's far from a sure thing and it's still 51 weeks away anyway.
Sometimes when your biggest mistake comes on the biggest stage, you wind up wearing it.
Bill Buckner played 22 seasons in the major leagues, hit .289 in that career and even won a batting title. But he's forever the guy who let the ground ball go through his legs to turn the tide in the 1986 World Series.
Ralph Branca appeared in 322 major league games, but it all comes down a single pitch, the one that Bobby Thomson hit to win the 1951 playoff for the Giants.
The 133 field goals that Scott Norwood kicked for the Bills don't matter. The attempt that's remembered is the one from 47 yards that sailed wide right in Super Bowl XXV.
That single moment can provide a spotlight that warms for a lifetime. Just ask Bill Mazeroski and Franco Harris.
But if your signature moment is a blunder, it can be an albatross that never quite goes away.
---
--ON FURTHER REVIEW...
While there's no denying the pass vs. run decision was awful, let's also remember that quarterback Russell Wilson had no business throwing the ball into traffic.
If the play wasn't going to unfold with an uncontested game of catch between the quarterback and receiver, the ball needed to be thrown where no one could get it. Stop the clock, regroup and try again.
Let's also acknowledge that Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler made an excellent play. It seemed as though "undrafted" was threatening to become his new first name, attached to him as though that status made the play call even more egregious.
Donnie Shell was also undrafted. He played in five Pro Bowls, and has been in the final 15 for Hall of Fame consideration.
---
--OH, BEAU
Beau Bennett finally got his name off the Penguins' injury list and then managed to work his way into Mike Johnston's doghouse in no time.
It's probably this simple for Bennett: He has to find a way to be more conspicuous on the ice.
If that doesn't happen, they'll probably wind up trading him. If that happens, it will continue the Penguins' lousy record of finding and developing forwards.
---
--MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The easiest thing in the world is spending someone else's money. So here goes.
You may be aware of Mayor Bill Peduto's participation in the hokey but popular CBS-TV show "Undercover Boss." The formula is employees who have been overlooked or undervalued get some bonus to either further their education or get some necessity they couldn't otherwise afford.
The Pittsburgh episode led to a stink over who was providing the $155,000 to make the dreams come true. The specific sticking point was the $25,000 given by Visit Pittsburgh, a tourism agency that may have been paying its share with tax dollars.
When that happened, it would have been a noble gesture if any (or all) of the local sports franchises had offered to cover that modest shortfall. After all, what's 25 grand when you sell water for $3 a bottle?
The local teams all have very profitable venues that were funded largely with public money, buildings that are not on the local tax rolls.
Offering to cover the payment would have been the kind of image bolstering that the teams usually embrace.
For either $25,000, or some share of that amount, they could have purchased a million dollars worth of good publicity.