Redefining a Fire Sale in Pittsburgh

No comment is necessary. The following facts speak for themselves. Of the nine starters for the Pirates on Opening Day 2008, only one remains with the team one season and 100 games later.

Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 Opening Day Lineup

• CF Nate McLouth - traded to Braves, 7/3/2009
  
• 2B Freddy Sanchez - traded to Giants, 7/29/09
  
• LF Jason Bay - traded to Red Sox, 7/31/2008
  
• 1B Adam LaRoche - traded to Red Sox, 7/22/2009
• RF Xavier Nady - traded to Yankees, 7/26/2008
• C Ryan Doumit
• 3B Jose Bautista - traded to Blue Jays, 8/28/2008
  
• SS Jack Wilson - traded to Mariners, 7/29/09
• P Ian Snell - traded to Mariners, 7/29/09

Pittsburgh Pirates 2009 Opening Day Lineup

• LF Nyjer Morgan - traded to Nationals, 6/30/2009
• 2B Freddy Sanchez - traded to Giants, 7/29/09
• CF Nate McLouth - traded to braves, 7/3/2009
• C Ryan Doumit
• 1B Adam LaRoche - traded to Red Sox, 7/22/2009
• 3B Andy LaRoche
• RF Brandon Moss
• SS Jack Wilson - traded to Mariners, 7/29/2009
  
• P Paul Maholm

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City of Champions

From Blogger Pictures

I put this together Saturday morning to celebrate the winning of two major championships, the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup, in one city, Pittsburgh.

Leave Nothing Behind

I think this is a great shot by Harry How (Getty Images) of the Pittsburgh Penguins' Tyler Kennedy giving everything he has in last night's Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Pens managed a 2-1 victory over the Red Wings to send the series to game 7 Friday night in Detroit.

I heard on Mike and Mike this morning that this is the fifth NHL final to go seven games this decade while the NBA and MLB together have only gone seven three times.

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• Fleury, Pens Beat Red Wings 2-1 to Force Game 7 (abcnews.go.com)
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• This time, Penguins rise to occasion in Game 6 (cbssports.com)

Villanova vs Pittsburgh - A Classic

Image via Wikipedia

Last night I had the opportunity to enjoy one of the most intensely exciting college basketball games of all time. East region top-seed Pittsburgh and three-seed Villanova squared off in Boston for a berth in the 2009 NCAA® Final Four.

I've seen thousands of games in my lifetime and this is without question one of the best ever. Being from western Pennsylvania and having chosen Pitt as one of the final teams in my bracket, I was cheering on the Panthers. From that perspective, unfortunately, the last second heroics of 'Nova's Scottie Reynolds sent the Panthers home on the short end of a 78-67 score.

It is one of those games about which you'll hear the cliche, "It's too bad somebody had to lose." That, however, is truly the case here. I have seldom seen both teams in any contest play with such intensity and with such abandon. Bodies soared through the air, crashed to the floor, collided with each other. The pace of the game was exhausting just to watch. Neither team left anything on the court.

I want to thank all those players, coaches, and officials for staging a contest that will long be remembered by those of us lucky enough to have seen it.

Oh, 'Nova you didn't! This was an ending for the ages
By Mike Freeman, CBSSports.com National Columnist

No, I Really Don't Want to Buy Your Product

This past weekend, I spent far too much time watching the first two rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I love it, though, and look forward to the big dance from the first tip of the season.

One really troublesome consequence of watching all this hoop action is that I tend to see the same commercials over and over. Some are good and I don't mind, the Pacific Life "whales" ad, for example. Unfortunately, many are annoying and that is only exacerbated through repetition.

Here are some of those I find most irksome ...

• the Chevy truck "man step" ad with Howie Long
• the Fidelity "green line" ads
• the Charles Schwab ads which are posterized
• any Lexus ad
• the Sonic "basketball injury" ad
• the Enterprise "grandma" ad
• the Burger King breakfast shots ad
  

I suppose irritating potential customers is a sound marketing strategy during tough economic times. What do I know?

NCAA® March Madness® on Demand

Watch live games from the NCAA® Championship! Live Online | 100% Free

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Closed for the Super Bowl

Apart from bars and restaurants with big screen TV, this sign pretty much typifies Super Sunday in Steeler country ...

Super Bowl XLIII Prop Bets

The term prop bet is short for proposition bet, and this type of betting involves wagering on certain details of the game, such as which team will win the coin toss, which team will score the first touchdown, or many more arcane events.

Prop bets can be a terrific way to be generate interest in every aspect of the Super Bowl. They can also give you a better chance of taking away some winnings.

Here are some examples of current prop bets on this year's Super Bowl ...

• Which team will win the coin toss?
• Who will be named MVP?
• Will Kurt Warner break Joe Montana's career Super Bowl passing record?
• Will Limas Swede or Jerheme Urban have more receptions?
• Will Hines Ward or Santonio Holmes catch a pass first?
• Will Larry Fitzgerald or Anquan Boldin catch a pass first?
• Will Kurt Warner throw a TD or an INT first?
• How many yards will Edgerrin James have on his first carry?
• Will Kurt Warner's first pass be complete, incomplete, or intercepted?
• Will Willie Parker or Larry Fitzgerald score a TD first?
• Nate Washington's first reception will be how many total yards?
• Will Willie Parker's total rushing yards be an odd or an even number?
• Will Alex Ovechkin have more points than Willie Parker has receptions?
• Which team will score last in the first half?
• Wll the team that scores first win the game?

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How Super Bowl Footballs are Made

This video essay by AP Photographer Amy Sancetta shows how Wilson is making the balls for Super Bowl XLIII.

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Another Myth Dispelled

"It's really tough to beat a team three times in one year!" A myth as seen in this shot of a Jim Rome interview with Steelers corner Ike Taylor ...GO, STEELERS!

Great Interception by Steeler Troy Polamalu

Pittsburgh Steeler star Troy Polamalu makes one of the most amazing interceptions I've ever seen ...

The Integrity of the 162-game Schedule

Last week, while I was watching part of the Olympic baseball coverage, I listened to the broadcasters talking about the possibility of representing the US with major league players, our best players, as we do in basketball and hockey.

I had previously thought about this point myself. Sending NBA players to the Olympics doesn't really conflict with the NBA regular season, but the NHL season must take a two-week hiatus to allow their players to compete in the Olympics. Such would be the case with major league baseball.

The broadcasters considered this point and agreed that "the integrity of the 162-game schedule must be protected." What the heck is that supposed to mean? Might it destroy MLB if once every four years the schedule were to be adjusted to accommodate Olympic participation by the best baseball players in the world, not only for the US but other nations as well?

RoboShooter

Need a solid shooting guard for your team? Check out this guy from Pittsburgh. He never misses!

Snakey Daze

I had one of life's little adventures while golfing today. On the ninth and final hole, I put my first shot into the pond that protects the front of the green. I hit a horrible second shot that ended up in a ditch along the right side of the fairway. The groundsman had earlier used the weedeater in the ditch and it was still full of the cuttings.

I expected that the ball would be lost under those clippings, but I took a look anyway. I didn't see my ball, but I saw what appeared to be two crossed sticks in the grass. A closer look caused me to suspect one of those things wasn't a stick, but a rather large snake about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and nearly three feet in length.

I watched it for a minute or so seeing no sign of movement. I began to think perhaps it was dead. I called my partner over and he took a look. Still no movement from the snake. The groundsman was mowing nearby, and we waved him over. He took his look, but the vitality of our slithery friend was still indeterminate. The groundsman reluctantly poked at it from behind with a stick. It was not deceased! It didn't move far, however.

Since none of us knew the sort of creature we had on our hands and because of its fairly large dimensions, we decided a speedy termination was in order. While my partner and I maintained our observation of the serpent, nine-irons in hand, the groundsman fetched a shovel. Upon his return, he made short work of the beast.

If any of you find the demise of this snake upsetting, I'm sorry, but as for me, the only good snake is a dead snake.

It's a Pirates Life for Me!

Green Bay will say "Good Bye, Brett. Thanks for everything, but it's time we all get on with our lives!"

You Make the Call

I captured this still from CBSSportsline video of game 2 of the Eastern finals of the NHL's Stanley Cup playoffs between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Sergei Gonchar's shot bounced off Flyers Martin Biron and Derian Hatcher and appears to have crossed the goal line. The on-ice signal was no goal and that stood as NHL officials said there was no definitive evidence the puck had crossed the line. What do you think?

March Madness 2008

This makes my spine tingle every time...

One Shining Moment sung by Luther Vandross for 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Video Montage of the Tournament Highlights after the final game. University of Kentucky equipment manager, Bill Keightley who passed away during the tournament is also honored in video . Broadcast on CBS April 7, 2008.

My Bracket After Round 4

My bracket heading into the Final Four of the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament

My NCAA Bracket Update

My bracket updated after round three of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

My NCAA Bracket Round 2

My NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bracket through Round 2