Still crazy after all these years

Steelers' fans have been outraged all week about the call in the New England game that cost them a touchdown -- and a possible win -- but Post-Gazette columnist Paul Zeise disagrees with their analysis.  Here is the gist of what he wrote earlier this week: "Blaming the refs is misguided and the Steelers should look into the mirror when looking for someone to blame ... frankly, the Steelers had the game won and choked." NFL rule stinks First, my analysis. The rule about controlling the ball the entire way through the catch is a very poor one. It says that if a player does not control the ball on a reception to the ground, then there is no reception. Based upon that, the officials overruled the touchdown. Granted, the ball broke the plane of the goal line and was in the possession of tight end Jesse James. However, it hit the ground when he came down, and by rule, that makes it an incomplete pass and negates everything else.  From this standpoint, the offi...

... Terry is not senile From the Post-Gazette. To paraphrase: This much I know about Ron Cook: He is wrong more than he is right.  Mike Tomlin a Hall of Fame coach? Well, maybe if he beats the New England Patriots and reaches the Super Bowl.  Maybe if he demonstrates that the can beat Tom Brady who has won more than eighty percent of his games against the Steelers.  Maybe if he can help design a defense that can at least keep the Steelers within two touchdowns.  This much I know about Mike Tomlin: He is no Chuck Noll. Not even close.  This much I know about Mike Tomlin: He is no Bill Bellichick. Not even close. Not even in the same ball park.  The major difference is that Noll had discipline and beat the best in the NFL during the 70s when he had the talent.  Tomlin inherited a slew of talent, and to his credit, did something that Bill Cowher did not. Won a Super Bowl quickly and within four years had been to two.  Since th...

... good luck with that My dad must be chuckling as he looks down on these Pennsylvania athletic officials. Last week, two officials filed suit against the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) for not providing them with some basic rights given to other Pennsylvanians. According to the Post-Gazette, the two officials, identified as Charles Ruslavage of Canonsburg and Mario Seneca of Wexford , said that  the officials who work athletic events for public schools in Pennsylvania " all improperly classified as independent contractors and not afforded the minimum wage and overtime compensation when they worked in excess of 40 hours per week.”    Here is how officiating works. A person passes an examination given by the PAA for every sport, and thus earns a license. The official is then permitted to officiate games in that sport. It is up to the official, or sometimes a conference or officials organization, to find the assignments for the offici...

... Wooden was classy; Knight was not Bobby Knight would like to be known as one of the upper echelon of great college basketball coaches. He did win three national championships while at Indiana.  However, he also demonstrated that he does not have the temperament to be dealing with young people -- or people as a whole. His mercurial temper has gotten him in trouble over the years, and now he is even belittling one of the most revered and successful basketball coaches in history. In an interview with Joe Buck that ran on Direct TV last night, one that Mediaite described as "bonkers," Knight railed against Indiana University for having fired him for having assaulted a student at the Bloomington school. According to the transcript of the interview, Knight said this, "Some kid came up to me and said, 'Hey Knight, what's going on?' That kid made a dumb mistake. I went over to that kid and I did a lot more for the son of a bitch than his par...

... due to incestuous scheduling Last year after Clemson annihilated Ohio State, 31-0, in the national semifinals, I said two things: First, that Ohio State did not belong in the findl four and was not that good; and second, that the Big Ten is vastly overrated, and always has been. The losses today of Ohio State and Penn State mean that no Big Ten team will win the national title -- again.  The Buckeyes were crushed by Iowa, 55-24, dropping their overall record to 7-2, and Penn State absorbed its second straight defeat, a 27-24 loss to Michigan State. Both losses were on the road.  The Nittany Lions dropped to 7-2 after a 7-0 start, and the loss means that a dream of a national championship will elude Happy Valley for the 31st consecutive year.  Making things worse for the Nittany Lions is that junior running back Saquon Barkley had another poor day. He carried the ball just 14 times for 53 yards, a sub-100-yard game that is huring his chances.  Mayfield...

 ... will Barkley break a 44-year streak? The truth is that many Penn State football fans may not rank John Cappelletti in the top ten of best running backs for the Nittany Lions. They will name runners like Curt Warner, my number one pick, Blair Thomas, Lydell Mitchell, D.J. Dozier, Ki Jana Carter, or Lenny Moore, among others. Nevertheless, he the only Penn State player to win the Heisman Trophy, which is given to the top college football player in the country. That was in 1973, 44 years ago. The question now is whether the Nittany Lions will be able to break that streak in 2017. John Cappelletti John Cappelletti was a back for the Nittany Lions from 1971 until 1973. He played defensive back for Coach Joe Paterno in 1971 and running back the next two years. In his senior season, he rushed for 1,522 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 5.3 yards per carry, as the Lions went undefeated, 12-0. He was a first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Trophy in addition to t...

I ended my blogs in early April. Now, I am writing essays on the other blog, but will not be dealing much with sports topics. Thanks for taking time to read this blog. I enjoyed writing on it. 

… have some decisions to make  The final NFL draft decisions are on the mind of Steeler GM Kevin Colbert at this time with the selection slated to start on April 27 in Philadelphia. The question is who they will take, and even more important, which positions are on their minds right now. Major concerns Conventional wisdom has the Steelers taking an outside linebacker first to improve the pass rush while then selecting a defensive back in the next round. Those would satisfy the most pressing needs on the defense, though they have some other areas of concern. So, the team has been hosting some potential picks as part of their allotment of 30 pre-draft visits. One of the pass rushers who has really interested them in Takk McKinley of UCLA, who had ten sacks last year while playing for former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley, now with the Bruins. McKinley is slated to be a first-round pick, but he has an issue. He had shoulder surgery in February, and that...

... Biggest play in Pittsburgh sports history The Pittsburgh Pirates had not won a World Series title in 35 years, and they were huge underdogs in 1960. However, in the bottom of the ninth inning in game seven, leadoff hitter second baseman Bill Mazeroski knocked a home run over the left field scoreboard to defeat the dastardly New York Yankees, 10-9. That bat and the uniform that he wore were donated to the Heinz History Center this week by filmmaker Thomas Tull and his wife Alba of Pittsburgh. Tull had purchased the memorabilia a few years ago when Mazeroski decided to sell them. The memorabilia will be placed in the Western Pa. Sports Museum at the Heinz Center. They will be available immediately in the Special Collections Gallery in the museum. According to the Tribune-Review, "At the unveiling, Andy Masich, president and CEO of the history center, said the Mazeroski items eventually will be the centerpiece of a new-and-improved baseball exhibition. The History Center is se...

…  But, Tony Romo?  Jerry Jones tried his best, but he still could not find a team willing to trade for his backup quarterback. So, the 36-year-old QB, Tony Romo, is apparently going to retire after being released by the Cowboys tomorrow. The interesting part of this is that Romo is reputed to be the next hire by CBS Sports  to replace former Giants QB Phil Simms on the number one team with Jim Nantz. Reports ESPN first reported the move, and Sports Business Daily confirmed it. "Tony Romo will be a TV analyst with CBS next season, according to sources. A deal has yet to be signed, but CBS and Romo have reached a verbal agreement. The Cowboys QB is expected to replace Phil Simms as the net’s top game analyst, where he will be paired with Jim Nantz. CBS outbid Fox Sports for Romo’s services, sources said. Fox Sports wanted Romo to replace John Lynch as the game analyst on the net’s No. 2 broadcast team. Just a couple of weeks ago, Fox was considered the fron...

… good move?  The Georgetown Hoyas last won a national basketball title in 1984 when they had a dominant center by the name of Patrick Ewing. He was a three-time All-American and Big East and National Player of the Year during his years playing with the Hoyas. Now, with the program in dire straits, Georgetown has apparently reached out to their illustrious past and given him the head coaching job. According to ESPN Radio and the unofficial Georgetown basketball website Casual Hoya, Ewing has accepted the job after serving as an assistant coach in the NBA since 2003. Ewing has never coached in college. Ewing played 17 years in the NBA, primarily for the New York Knicks, who drafted him number 1 in 1985 He was an 11-time all-star and scored 24,815 points (21 ppg) and pulled down 11,617 rebounds (9.8 rpg). Ewing is fondly remembered by Georgetown fans for the great run that they made in the mid-80s. They won in 1984 but were upset by unranked Villanova in his seni...

… his last as a Pirate  The man who became the symbol of the resurgence of the Pittsburgh Pirates has one more year left with the team. Andrew McCutcheon is back again after being used as trade-bait by the Pirates in the offseason. That was because he had a poor year in 2016, but he could bounce back from that despite all of the naysayers. Cutch wrote in February in a "Dear Pittsburgh" letter that he was dreading the phone call that told him that he was being traded to another team. "All I knew was that I wanted to keep playing in Pittsburgh. I wanted to finish what I had started here. I knew that I hadn’t played up to my capability last season, and that I had to use this off-season to get better. And I wasn’t going to let rumors distract me from doing that. I wasn’t going to get caught up in all the noise. As far as I’m concerned, until that phone rings and I’m told otherwise, I’m a Pittsburgh Pirate for life," he wrote on theplayerstribune.com. Slipp...

… the Bucs are $71 million less than number 1 in NL-Central  In order to win in any professional sport, franchises have to spend money to attract top talent. When you are spending $72 million less than the top team in your division in Major League Baseball (MLB) and $51 million less than the second-best team, you will struggle. That is the reality for the small-market Pittsburgh Pirates, which have a payroll of approximately $100.5 million this year, according to Spotrac. The Chicago Cubs, the team that used to annually be woeful, is now paying its players $172.1 million while the St. Louis Cardinals have a payroll of $151.68 million. Fortunately for the Bucs, the Milwaukee Brewers are the true cheapskates in the NL Central at $63 million. The leading payroll for the fourth consecutive season is the Los Angeles Dodgers, which has a payroll of $225 million, according to the AP. The AP noted that the Cubs increased their payroll by $7 million this year, but last season, the one in...

… most of all, he has always been a class act  When they first joined the Northeast Conference in football, the Robert Morris University Colonials of Coach Joe Walton dominated it. From 1996 through the 2000 season, the Colonials won five consecutive conference titles. They also won in 2010 when they earned their first and only trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in 2010, eventually losing to North Dakota State. However, they have fallen on tough times. In current Coach John Banaszak's three year tenure, the Colonials are just 6-25, 3-13 in the Northeast Conference The team took one positive step toward restoring that tradition last week with the hiring of former Johnstowner LaRod Stephens-Howling, a veteran of five years in the NFL who also played running back and kick returner for the Pitt Panthers. LaRod will coach the running backs and will join a familiar face in developing the offense. Mike Miller is the offensive coordinator at RMU, and he c...

… went through treatment himself  The president of the Pittsburgh Pirates recalled a very embarrassing part of his past this week while offering to use it to help one of his current players. A few days before Christmas in 2011, Frank Coonelly was stopped by police in Ross Township on the Parkway North in suburban Pittsburgh. According to an AP story in Feb. 2012 about his charges, Connelly faced "four drunk driving-related charges" as a result of the arrest. One was driving under the influence, another was driving the wrong way, the third was careless driving, and that last was driving with a blood-alcohol level that was at least twice the state's limit. Coonelly issued a statement and the Pirates' management issued one too. Coonelly said in part, "My actions that evening were irresponsible and wrong. I take full and sole responsibility for them. There is no excuse for ever driving under the influence of alcohol. My conduct that night was uncharacteristic to ...

… and now he goes for his 12th national title Life for the Auriemmas in Montella, Avellino in Italy in the 1950s was challenging. On his website, Geno recounts the difficult part and the most important part of his early years in Italy. "Growing up in Montella with parents Donato and Marsiella and siblings Ferruccio and Anna wasn’t paradise in the traditional sense—running water, heat and electricity were considered luxuries, and the family had no phone, car or television. What they did have, and what has continued to be the foundation of his life and career, was love, honor and loyalty." The family eventually moved to the United States when Geno was seven-years-old back in 1961 and eventually settled in Norristown, Pa., which had a large Italian-Catholic neighborhood. However, Geno took charge once in his new country even though his family could speak little English. From his website, "[I]t wasn’t uncommon for 7-year-old Auriemma to help his parents make th...

… owners understand one thing: $$$  Without doubt, Roger Goodell is the most unpopular head of any professional sport at any point in history. Prove me wrong, but I cannot find the name of anyone nearly as unpopular. According to a poll about a year ago by Public Policy Polling, Goddell's job approval rating was just 28 percent. That is in range with some of the most unpopular presidents in history. As a result, last fall the NFL public relations office made an attempt to improve that rating. It was probably unsuccessful. He is still despised by the fans and particularly by the players. Hated may be a more accurate word for how the players feel about him. Scandals Then the scandals of the past few years have really taken a toll on the league. Deflategate and the Ray Rice domestic abuse case have done tremendous amounts of damage to its reputation -- and to his. Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman explains why that is the case. "Despite some of the mistakes G...

… NCAA referee inundated by Kentucky fans  Many in Pennsylvania lament the fact that no one wants to become a sports official today. But, there are good reasons. For instance, they read about the story of John Higgins, who has had to ask for police protection because of threats made to him, his family, and his business … all because of a call that he made in a basketball game. Actually, this was a big basketball game, and the call was one that basketball fans at the University of Kentucky dispute. North Carolina defeated the Wildcats, 75-73, on a last-second shot by Luke Maye. That gives the Tar Heels a chance to play for the national championship instead of Kentucky. So, it was a heated game. Background Part of that animus from Kentucky fans started with comments made by Kentucky Coach John Calipari, who blamed personal foul calls on his players for the loss. He has a right to express that opinion, and the official knows that he must be willing to accept the ...

… this may not be a conventional finish  This year's Final Four may be the most interesting in recent history … or perhaps not. Only one of the four has been a traditional favorite, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Because of their background and success, you would think that conventional wisdom would have them as the favorites this year. And you would be right, though I think that Vegas may be shaking a little at the thought of this Four. Vegas has established the Tar Heels as the favorites, according to Odds Shark. In addition, remember that the Tar Heels were in the title game last year only to be nailed by Villanova, 77-74, on a buzzer-beater trey. Here is the list that they have established as favorites: North Carolina +140 Gonzaga +180 Oregon +550 South Carolina +750 So, according to this, the championship game should pit the the Tar Heels against the Zags. According to Sporting News, Gonzaga entered the tournament with a +1000 rating, so they have moved up...

… not something Pirates' fans want to hear  The word "visa" is one that fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates have heard often this spring. It is the reason that their third baseman is still in South Korea. However, the Pirates have now said that outfielder Gregory Polanco, one of their upcoming stars, would not be able to play in the exhibition games in Montreal against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday and Saturday because of a problem with his passport. What? According to the Tribune-Review, "For most of the players, applying for visas to enter Canada was a routine process. However, those who played in the World Baseball Classic are hampered by a compressed timeframe to finish the process." I am not really following this line. Perhaps the general manager of the organization can clear it up for us. “It's more challenging because of timing, because of paperwork and because of all of their passports being with them,” Neal Huntington said. “Gregory's visa is f...

… no concept of fundamental fairness  The NFL competition committee rectified some of the horrible wrongs in their league this week. They made some changes that were long overdue. According to Joe Rutter of the Tribune-Review, these were the changes that were made: -- Players no longer can leap over the line of scrimmage to block field-goal and extra-point tries. [Wow!] -- Receivers running a pass route will be given “defenseless” receiver protection. [duh] -- Crackback blocks will be prohibited by a player in motion, even if he is no more than 2 yards outside of the tackle when the ball is snapped. [so?] Now, tell me NFL fans, when was the last time that you saw a game decided because of one of those terrible oversights? The receivers should have been given defenseless protection years ago were it not for the geniuses on that committee, like Mike Tomlin. However, the big rule that they tabled had nothing to do with the horrible injustice that occurred in this yea...

… not really a playoff team  Sports Illustrated talked to many pro baseball scouts about the chances of each team. The good news is that they do not expect the Cubs to win 103 games again. The bad news is that they do not expect the Bucs to make the playoffs, though they have an outside chance. In a division with the Cubs and Cards, they will probably not make it. My dream I had this dream a few years ago that the Pirates would make the World Series again in my lifetime. After all, it has been 38 years since 1979. It is time. If the Cubs can do it after much longer, so can the Bucs. I am resigned to the reality that is not going to happen. Small-market teams need a billionaire owner who is willing to spend big bucks. The Cubs, certainly not small market, bought their team that way after disposing of the penny-pinching Wrigleys. Pittsburgh does not have that, but they do have enough to make things interesting, at least according to these scouts. The SI analy...

... and take crybaby John Madden with you  Great news out of the NFL today. The whiniest, nastiest, meanest, lowliest and most worthless franchise in the NFL is moving to the sleaziest city in the U.S. -- although I truly feel for the Raiders' fans. Yes, tne NFL approved the move of the Oakland Raiders to Las Vegas, Sin City, with that name very appropriate for the franchise. My bias Okay, I am biased. This goes back to the 1970s when the Steelers battled a nasty Oakland team that cried and cried and cried when they lost. Their coach, John Madden, is still whining that the Immaculate Reception that gave the Steelers a last second victory over his despicable team was illegal. This is 45 years later, and he is still moaning that Jack Tatum never touched the pass that somehow mysteriously flew backwards 12 yards into the hands of Franco Harris, who promptly sprinted into the end zone with it. Give it up, man! My advice to the Raiders: Take that whiny 80-year-old to Sin City with y...

… big bat or a backbone?  After the story last week that indicated that Pirates infielder Jung Ho Kang had been denied a work visa to re-enter the United State after his DUI conviction in South Korea, Tribune-Review columnist Kevin Gorman made a case that the best-case scenario for the Pirates may be cutting him. In short, Gorman explained the dilemma for the Pirates as they consider the fate of their talented, but troubled, athlete from a foreign culture: "At best, Kang is a South Korean star with power potential who fulfills the Pirates needs at third base and the cleanup spot in the batting order. At worst, he's a repeat offender as a drunken driver who also has been accused of sexual assault." It is not a pretty picture for the Bucs. The reality is that the Pittsburgh Pirates organization signed a work visa for Kang in 2015 after the player had been twice convicted of driving under the influence in Korea early in his baseball career. That is a violation of the Un...