Rich's Sports Beat

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and, for many, it will mean a weekend of travel to celebrate what is traditionally the first holiday of the summer season. For those of us who are car junkies, and racing junkies, it is a doubleheader on Sunday. The Indianapolis 500 will celebrate the 100th running of, arguably, the greatest race in the world. Fitting that an event so prestigious takes place in Indiana, and that is not a knock on this great Midwestern state. On the contrary, it doesn’t get any better than staging such a great race in our nation’s heartland, where it belongs. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is hallowed ground for those of us who celebrate the marriage between man (and now woman) and machine. The place just wreaks of history, with the fabled Gasoline Alley leading to the pits and, ultimately, the track. The track consists of two long straightaways and two short turns, called short chutes, making a rectangular oval. It is mainly a flat track with little banking...

*The Pirates were swept last weekend in Milwaukee by the Brewers, which has been a place that has been nothing but agonizing for the Pirates for many years. Now before everyone starts to think same old Pirates, let’s remember one thing. These 18 years of futility did not happen overnight and this thing is not going to get turned around overnight, either. There are places that the Pirates go where the opposition owns them and Milwaukee is one of them. Just like back in the day when the Cleveland Browns, no matter what they did, could not win in Pittsburgh. Well, the Pirates just can’t win in Milwaukee. It is going to take time for this to turn the corner. I have not given up nor have I given in on this team. The core is in place. They just need to begin producing and start getting to opposing pitchers. The Pirates are back home this weekend to take on the Detroit Tigers in interleague play. *The rumors are swirling that the Penguins may try and bring back Jaromir Jagr for a y...

The Pittsburgh sports scene may seem a little lackluster since the Penguins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are now playing for the Eastern Conference title. There is no NFL since the lockout was reinstated and the draft concluded. As of now, there is a schedule in the league, but it is tentative in terms of how long the lockout lasts and if/when the season does begin. So, in essence, there are a lot of unknowns. That leaves the Pirates and the national sports scene. As of Sunday, the Pirates got back to the .500 mark this early in the season since 2002. The cynical among us may say that it’s only a matter of time before the Pirates go back to the cellar. I not only beg to differ, I will also say that this is a different Pirates team from the past and they also have a manager that knows how to get the most out of his players and is committed for the long haul. The core of this team, Neil Walker, Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, and Andre...

So, the 2011 NFL Draft took place last weekend, as scheduled, before the lockout was reinstated after being lifted for a couple of days. The Steelers stayed put, not moving up or down in any round, and seemed to have a typical draft by their own standards. Nothing flashy, to be sure. They filled needs and seemed to have added some depth. So, here is Sports Beat’s take on how the 2011 Steelers draft panned out: First Round, selection number 31, Cameron Heyward, Defensive Tackle, 6’ 5” 294 lbs, The Ohio State University. Many may have had a cornerack pegged for this selection, but the Steelers got who they wanted when Heyward fell to them late in the first round. He is the son of the late Pitt running back Craig “Ironhead” Heyward. This young man fits the ideal Steelers mold AND helps to further inject youth into an again defensive line. Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel are both in their 30s and won’t be getting any younger. Heyward’s selection bookends the selection of Ziggy Hood ...