Broncos Puss Out

So it was basically a given that the Steelers were playing the season's opening game at home on the Thursday of Week One. But we didn't know the opponent until the other day, when Miami was announced as the lucky victim.

Which made little sense to me. Saban and Culpepper aside, they lack the cache Denver or Kansas City or Cincinnati or about five other teams would carry as far as rivalry and national interest would go.

Then, oops, it turns out that the Broncos were slated to come to Heinz, but talked their way out of it.

Exqueeze me a second, but how does that work? I know Pat Bowlen's a pretty high muck-a-muck in the league office, but how does he get to work his own schedule? This isn't college.

Cheesed me off, it did.

Tip to good ol' SteelCityInsiders.

Does This Ever Happen to You?

So I'm reading through the papers tonight as always and at the P-G I get this tidbit on Jason Bay and Dejan's Q&A. And I got misty-eyed.

Lame, I know. It's just that I love the Pirates so bloody much and I'm dying for them to finally do well. What flashed in my mind was the thought of Castillo, Duffy, Doumit, Duke, Perez et al all reaching that "very good MLB player" status, some becoming great like Bay, all as Pirates. I knew immediately that it'd take the impact of one Mr. Mark Cuban and his wads and wads of dirty, dirty money to make it happen, but I want it. I want to see them "grow up" together, to really be a nucleus. I want to see PNC Park, maybe my favorite place in the whole world, rock on chilly October nights. I want to feel the way I did in February for the team regularly considered to be the retarded kid in Pittsburgh's sports family, not just for one of the most beloved franchises in America.

What'll it take, Mr. Cuban?

What Can't Be Killed?

Me, apparently. I just can't not blog right now. I tried to stay away, I really did, but I'm back and hopefully better than ever...which, you know, would mean occasionally attracting the odd reader. Whatever.

Lots of stuff to chat at, and I'm going to deviate a skotch from Pittsburgh sports occasionally to the wider world, and occasionally from sports to other things like movies and politics. Other things I pretend to know about.

Vote for the Cobra!

I never saw Dave Parker play as a Pirate, mostly because of his trouble with drugs and whatnot. When my old man would talk about the Family, Parker's name rarely came up. I didn't discover the guy until college, when I started learning a little bit about Pirates history.

With those disclaimers, I can see both how he should and shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame. His stats are here: although he was one of the best all-around players of his time, he wasn't a Great. He ranks in HoF territory as far as doubles, RBI, total bases, at-bats, and extra-base hits. He won Gold Gloves and an MVP. His Hof qualifications are listed here. Playing in a non-slugger era (for the most part), he performed well enough within that framing to demand consideration.

Two other problems for Dave: the drugs and his non-friendly relationship with the media. We'll know how drugs really matter when the steroids crowd is due for induction, but that media relationship is key. You can't create bad blood between yourself and the people who vote.

Parker won't reach the Hall of Fame. Compared with those already enshrined and those who probably will be, his numbers don't stand out, the same problem Jim Rice faces.

But with the best sports nickname ever, he deserves it. Dammit.

Pistons Roll

Again.

I know, I know...they only beat a Shaq-less Heat team by five at home. Gave up over a hundred. Got crap from the bench, even with Dice playing 20 minutes (it's almost a shame the Carloses don't get more PT).

This team is ridiculous. They just win. Can they match the Bulls run from a few years back? Why not? Until March, the schedule's pretty favorable.

And it's worthless if they don't win the championship. For all this, they'd better. It'll take a monumental collapse to keep them out of the Finals, but weird things happen in basketball...like when a team-first defensive team full of guys other teams didn't want beats the Kobe-Shaq-Phil Lakers.

Pens Win! Pens Win! Pens Win!

Forgive the exuberance (and the breaking of my own "team name" rule), but it's been so long since the Penguins just really kicked someone's ass.

I'm not about to get overly excited and predict a sudden run back to respectability, but this is exactly how the team should have been playing all year: efficient shots from great offensive talents and solid goaltending. I don't care if it came against a rookie goalie and a slumping team.

That last part's the kicker: your average goalie facing 46 shots gets shelled. Not Marc-Andre Fleury. He's nasty. Most guys who have a 3.2 GAA aren't much better than backups or journeymen, but most guys with a 3.2 GAA don't have a .905 SV%. That's not a great number, but when you consider that he a) plays with 1 1/2 quality defenders (that's cumulative, not individual) and b) is all of 21, it's a fantastic sign for his future. And games like this will only bolster that confidence that every great goaltender needs.

Likewise nasty is Sid Crosby. Three points in under fifteen minutes of action is always good: so's two hits and four penalty minutes to go with it. That he's averaging better than a point a game is remarkable for someone surrounded by such underachieving boobery. I really like this kid. I hope he gets the same mean streak Lindros had...and avoids the concussions.

And I hope they get this arena deal squared yesterday. Screw the veterans: give me a team led by Crosby, Malone, Malkin, Orpik, Whitney and Fleury. Eric Christensen, Tomas Surovy, even Ric Jackman...there's some real talent here, and these guys have a good ten years together before they start to fall apart. I love it. Give me more.

End optimism.

Hiatus

I know it broke the world's heart that I didn't post for, like, fourth months, but I'm superstitious about the Steelers and given that they went 15-1 last year without my ramblings, I wasn't going to mess with a sure thing.

Since they're probably going to do no better than maybe win one playoff game, I figure it can't hurt to jump back in.

So:

The Pirates continue to do everything possible to not get any better. Sean Casey for Dave Williams: bad trade. Outbidding themselves for Joe Randa, leaving my main guy Freddy Sanchez lost in a utility role: bad trade. Mackowiak-for-Marte was ok by me, but I don't get the Martinez thing or the current desire to dump Craig Wilson for Eric Byrnes. And I'm really cheesed over Sanchez. I was that guy when I played and I appreciate him way more than I should because of it. Considering him as a player, good defense and fair bat, and the other trades that went down during the Hothothot Stove, I can't believe the Bucs didn't swing a Jack Wilson-Andy Marte thing, or get more involved in Troy "traded on the cheap" Glaus dealings. I love Jack Wilson, too, but he's not irreplacable. Sanchez is cheaper and would have let the team get a real third baseman.

The Penguins are absolutely terrible, and I have no idea why. Edzo deserved to be fired, Therrien may be next, and if not for Crosby and Fleury being absolutely disgusting for players of their age, I probably would have already died in agony. This was a team that should have, at least, competed into the second round of the playoffs. If they make it now, I'll cut off a toe and send it to Craig Patrick. At least things are looking better on the arena front. Too bad Mario had to essentially promise to move to get things going.

The Pistons are kicking ass. They have the best starting five, a top-five bench, the perfect coach for a disciplined team, and nasty swagger. They'll beat the Spurs in a rematch. I can't wait.

Pitt football didn't happen. It just didn't. The recruiting, on the other hand, is going swimmingly. I hope Wanny grabs another top 100 guy or so in the next few weeks, preferably a running back. Even if he doesn't, he's doing great so far. He gets three years from right now, his first class, to prove he can coach the team back to Harris levels...and the very fact I write that is indicative of how terrible the season was.

Pitt basketball basically promises to be a tease. I'll get more on them as the games show up on TV, but the freshmen sound like "real deals," Aaron Gray is exactly what I thought he'd be (dominant, but not dynamic, big guy), Carl Krauser isn't as good as Brandin Knight but he's good enough, and I really hope someone makes the 3 his own. Jaron Brown's shoes are tough to fill. So are Chevy Troutman's. Maybe Biggs/Young will do that. I just don't have faith in Levon Kendall. As they're 10-0 as of tonight, I'll give them 20-7 through Big East play with at least two bad losses to beatable teams, a respectable run in the BET, and another middling seed in the NCAA that will yield nothing. Still, I love watching them. I hope I can get "my guy" for the future team, now that Troutman's gone. Krauser just doesn't do it for me.

And, the Steelers. This is a 13-3 team if Ben doesn't get hurt, maybe the two seed, and has legitimate championship aspirations. But Tommy "Fucking" Maddox botched the job twice and now the team has to live with a six seed and a ringless send-off for the Bus. Ben certainly has developed well, hasn't he? Fast Willie, too. Fugettabout the secondary, which is straight nasty. The team's going into a flux period for a few years, but I like their chances for a ring or two after that.

Hopefully, I'll get back to daily posts. Hopefully, I'll have something other than the NBA and college recruiting to be happy about.

Steelers Football

You know, that thing Pittsburgh revolves around. I should probably talk about it.

It's just that I can't right now. The preseason sucks. I don't go to camp, so I don't see who performs in practice. There's only been one game, so I can't compare performance very well. I read the article and boards at SteelCitySports.com. That doesn't put me in a position to comment very much.

I'll three things that I know to be true:
I was right about Nate Washington.
Alonzo Jackson is a goner.
So is John Kuhn.

Wow, that was pretty big, huh? I say "Eh." This isn't the time.

I'll also offer that I worry about Rebel Child. Everyone knows he wasn't so much a nasty quarterback when he rattled off all those wins. He let his defense keep games close, the running game control the clock, and the talent around him help out. His comeback wins aside, he alternately flashed brilliance and bad mechanics. And what's up with his mysterious injuries? I hope that, with a full half of football ahead of his tomorrow, he'll show that he's over some of that stuff and just plays quarterback. We need that from him.

By the way, this isn't The Year. Ben isn't ready yet, the running game won't perform as well this year, the defense is between secondaries (and linebacking corps, but whatever), and the offensive line may struggle a little. 12-4 this year, another bad playoff loss. I'm holding out for 2006.

I Don't Need No Stinkin' Title!

Yeah, so I haven't posted in awhile. What's it to you? You got a problem with my slacking? My suddenly-too-busy life off the blog? I saw to you! Feelings hurt yet?

This will probably continue. I'm on an almost unprecendented streak of good fortune. My personal productivity has suffered, but in two weeks' time I got a good job, got my fiance back from the evil clutches of New York, started preliminary work on a project that could be career-making, and still have a small clutch of other responsibilities that make life just a little too busy for a blog that, by my guess, gets a hit every third day. It's not like I report on news or anything. I just bitch.

It's impossible to bitch the day after a Zuke start. I was a little upset when his perfecto bid was foiled by Nate McLouth (who I'm more convinced isn't Major League material every time he plays) and his E-9, and I was even more upset when it was clear even over the internet that the official scorer ruined the no-hitter not much later by giving the home team a hit instead of what appeared, to my eyes, to be another McLouth gaffe. Whatever. 7IP, 2H, 0BB, another nasty W. I remember thinking, a few years back, that Josh Fogg was the Pirates pitcher closest to Greg Maddux territory: location, speed changes, location, savvy. Then Fogg turned into a waste of a contract. And he never had whatever it is that Zuke has.

What is it about Zuke? Everyone lines up to praise his "poise," as if the average Major League pitcher is a budding head case who can, and will, implode the moment a touch of adversity strikes. I consider the characterization an insult to others and especially to Zuke: it doesn't adequately describe his "it." "Moxie" might be more appropriate, but he's not Oliver Perez or any other pitcher with an attitude, a guy so incredibly confident in his stuff that he's willing to go toe-to-toe with Albert Pujols just because he's there. That's not Zuke's style; he's not a K guy, he doesn't have any one pitch that's crazily overpowering, and his stuff-confidence mostly revolves around his determination to never, ever give the hitter "his" pitch. "You will hit Zuke's pitch," Zuke says to every batter. "You must beat me."

And how does he do it? He thinks like a veteran, throwing his various styles of junk outside. He doesn't start thinking strikeout when he's ahead in a two-strike count. He lives for outs, and I don't think he cares how he gets them. He'll set up a guy for the K, but he knows better than to live that way. His fastball tops out at 93 on a particularly good day. He'd rather go breaker-breaker-fastball-change on the outside corner, toss up soft strikes in friendly counts to get guys basically forced to swing. You'll notice he manages to get easy outs without pitching around anyone. He can get a pop-up when he wants it, a grounder another time. In exactly one of his starts has the opponent really gotten the better end. That's an 8-1-1 record for those keeping score at home (the Brewers did a good job with good pitches in his first game).

What do we call it? I call it "brains." Read an interview, and you'll see that Zuke has the study habits and focus of a ten-year guy. He knows things about hitters that even they might not know. If he makes a mistake, he's likely to not make it again. He's smart. He has a little of Fogg's determination, a little of Maddux's savvy, and a lot of pure execution. He doesn't elevate a ball without meaning to. He doesn't throw over the middle if it doesn't behoove him. He can, and will, put the ball where he intends. It's all in his head at all times, and he knows how to control his own brain without over-thinking. And he has guts, unlike Kip Wells. It's "out" time when he toes the rubber, not "I hope I don't screw this up."

In short, Zuke is not controlled by hitters, by game situations, by managerial analysis, or by fear of failure. He controls himself. He intends to pitch well, to get guys out. He intends to win. And he just keeps doing it.

Michael Finely, Eh?

I don't usually have much to say about non-playoffs NBA news because, well, I just don't care enough. It's easily my sixth sport, and I'd rather watch rugby or international soccer than your average NBA regular-season tilt. But I know what I know, and I know the Pistons need an Anthony McDyess for their backcourt (no, Lindsay Hunter and Carlos Arroyo don't fit that mold). Now that the future owner of the Pirates has dumped Michael Finley in the amnesty period, I hold out hope that Joe Dumars moves to strengthen his bench and picks the man up. The guy can play. Just don't give him a mega-contract. I'd be willing to see Brian Grant as well. Elden Campbell's nice and all, but a real four-man rotation at the four and five would be swee-eet.

What a Weekend!

First things first, my lovely better half finally got back from her summer-long trip. That's been nice.

And somehow the Pirates not only pitch, but hit, to go for consecutive shutouts against the NL's hottest team, in their house, the house that Swallows Bucs Alive? Woo-hoo! It didn't even matter that Zuke had his worst outing so far (and it's still not even in Kip territory)...that was just great.

Then we move on, and Jason Bay's the NL POW, and Dave Williams goes the distance, and Jack Wilson hits two dingers in two days, and Jesusholycrap, I actually failed to see any of it.

I don't care. John LeClair? Are you kidding me? Just getting that little bit of news turned Monday into extended Sunday. FORGET DEFENSE, KIDS...WE'RE SCORIN' TWENTY!

What's that, you say? Hines is back? WHAT!? Awesome. Just great. I danced at work when I caught word. Fantastic. Stupendous. Hyperbolous.

Did you see the game tonight? Man, what a crap-fest! Nice to see:
Special teams were better than great. Ike and Coke looked like "real deals."
Hines was on the sideline.
Fast Willie and Noah Herron both looked pretty good. FWP only had three carries, but his screen pass was pretty nice. I thought they were perma-ditched from the playbook. Herron's much faster than I expected, and looked mean as hell. Did you see that cut on his arm?
The receiver depth is great.
Saint played better than my personal favorite, Homestead Charley. I like Batch as a player and a person, but I don't think he takes Maddox's job and he shouldn't take Saint's. He'll latch on somewhere.
Heath Miller had a nice catch. So did Matt Kranchick. Matt Cushing was nowhere to be seen. It breaks my heart to see a guy like Cushing get jerked around so much, but what can he expect as a modestly-talented swing player?
John Kuhn and whichever Tuiasosopo is on the team probably won't be for long. Your 2005 backfield is Kreider-Herron-Haynes-Parker-Bettis-Staley. Maybe Herron on the PS. Kuhn and Tuey can maybe join him there if they're really, really lucky.
I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, hate the broadcast crews.

Help!

I'm dying for more info on Pitt's practices. The local papers suck. I like reading about walk-ons and freshmen earning PT and all, but I'd really like to get an idea about the overall tenor of the team before I start spouting off. Don't make me wait until the Notre Dame game!

This Is the Point At Which I Throw Myself Into Traffic

Ward's "people" and the Steelers' "people" are "talking," but apparently not negotiating. It seems as though Mr. Hines will sit out part of the season, then come back to play for the minimum to ensure free agency for himself.

Hi, Mr. Rooney? Say, I have a really keen idea--why don't you do right by the guy?