Sports Thoughts
Sports thoughts for the week:
*By the time this week’s edition hits your mailbox and the newsstand, we will new NBA champions (the Dallas Mavericks were crowned champions after defeating the Miami Heat Sunday night) and new Stanley Cup champions (this past Wednesday night – Bruins and Canucks for all the marbles). What that also means is that two seasons will draw to a close (pro basketball and hockey) for the summer until September and October roll around and those respective sports’ training camps open. For the summer, we will be left with baseball, golf, and auto racing, primarily NASCAR. For the sports fan, this should suffice. However, a great many people, if they haven’t already, will be enjoying the great outdoors.
*This was mentioned in light of the fact that the NFL lockout is looking larger as training camps are scheduled to open in a month and a half. When the lockout began, it really wasn’t a big deal. Now, to the football fans, it is becoming a bigger issue. As of press time, according to courses, a deal was in the works.
*Imagine September rolling around and no NFL on Sundays. Imagine Heinz Field sitting empty all fall while the lockout drags on. Sure, we’ll have high school football on Friday nights and college football on Saturdays, but no Steelers around here will be the equivalent of no fireworks on July 4. Food for thought.
*Okay, this is what the college football landscape looks like now, with the changes that have taken place recently. You have a college campus about two hours drive to the west in Columbus, Ohio, one about 45 minutes south in Morgantown, West Virginia, and one in our own backyard. One experiencing turmoil and change would be one thing, but all three?!
At Pitt, Dave Wannstedt was either forced to resign, or he was fired. What’s the difference? Good question. I have always been led to believe that if someone resigns, he no longer has to be paid. If he is fired, then the organization has to pay him what is left on his contract. Then again, when Bill Cowher stepped down in 2007, he had one year remaining on his contract with the Steelers and was forbidden from any contact with any other team until that contract expired.
That being said, Wannstedt landed in Buffalo as an assistant on Chan Gailey’s staff with the Bills. His replacement, Mike Haywood, was arrested for domestic assault and was subsequently fired. This led to another search and it looked like Tom Bradley had the inside track. Think again. Todd Graham was hired from Tulsa to be the third head coach for Pitt in only a matter of weeks.
*If that wasn’t enough, Oliver Luck, WVU alum, was hired as the new athletic director at his alma mater. He decided to hire Dana Holgerson as his offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting for one year while Bill Stewart exhausted his contract. Not sure whose idea it is to hire a “coach in waiting” but that is a bad recipe. Not a good way to get started in your tenure as athletic director.
Then, to add salt to the wound, Holgerson has been found to have been intoxicated in a number of establishments, namely casinos, and has been asked to leave those places. So, your new head coach in waiting (and now new head coach) has a drinking problem. Some might say that he’ll fit right in at WVU, which is ranked as one of the top five partying schools in the nation. After a game, maybe he’ll toss back a few with the students and alumni.
Actually, this is a problem. A big problem. A coach is supposed to be a leader of young men. He is supposed to set the example for others to follow. Having a drinking problem is not a good example to set. This does not make WVU, or Luck, look very good, unless Holgerson gets help. And there’s not much time for that as the college football season will kick off in about two and a half months.
Then, this past week, Stewart decided to step down and accept a $600,000 buyout after reports of media leaks regarding Holgerson’s transgressions. Both schools believe that can compete for national titles. Not in the Big East and not the way the BCS is structured. The Big East is a poor excuse for a football conference and the only reason it exists is because of the basketball conference. Pitt and WVU are a long way from anything more than eight or nine wins a season.
*Now, we know Jim Tressel stepped down at Ohio State and we also learned that Terrell Pryor is also not returning to OSU for his senior season. He also turned down an opportunity to play in the Canadian Football League. Pryor also has a pie in the sky mentality, thinking he can play quarterback in the NFL. He is not even close to being a NFL caliber quarterback. Here is where the hypocrisy sets in.
When these kids are being recruited to these Division I colleges, it was the lure that coaches can help them get to the NFL. Pryor would have been NFL worthy with another season of seasoning and a lot of coaching on both levels. However, we are doing these kids no good with all of this pipe dreaming. They are one injury away from having those dreams go dark for good. One blown out knee, one blown out ankle, any debilitating injury that would keep a kid from playing competitive ball.
National signing day has become a televised circus with all of these kids sitting at a table with hats lined up where he will pick the hat and put on his head of the college of his choice. Nothing more than a side show. Then we learn the kid gets into trouble (Pryor) and all the world falls down on top of him.
I am a football junkie and I always will be. I love the game itself and what goes into offensive and defensive game planning. All of the sideshow stuff I can do without. But, with a 24 hour news cycle and all sports all the time, we cannot avoid it. It’s everywhere. All of these illegalities and win and all costs mentalities I can do without.
I just want to see a good game and let the circus stay on the sidelines. But, this is what we have to deal with. Three schools with their own sets of turmoil. This season promises to be a very interesting one and one we won’t forget for a very long time.
*Jeff Gordon won the Sprint Cup race at Pocono last Sunday, his second win of the season, and his 84th overall, tying him for third place on the all time list with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip and behind Richard Petty with 200 wins, and David Pearson with 105. Both Petty and Pearson are members of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame. Gordon’s place is secure and it will only be a matter of time before he gets in. This week’s race, on Father’s Day, will be in Michigan, home of the Big Three (General Motors, Dodge/Chrysler, and Ford) in Detroit. The track is in Brooklyn, Michigan, yet the Big Three will be heavily in attendance to see their brands compete on the track. In racing, it’s win on Sunday, sell on Monday!
*Finally, also on Father’s Day, the U.S. Open will be staged at Congressional Golf Course in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. Tiger Woods has pulled himself from competition due to his balky left knee. The field is wide open and any one of several golfers can win the championship.
*Breaking news at press time – it was announced that after a long hiatus that Pitt and Penn State would renew their college football rivalry. Beginning in 2016, Penn State will travel to Heinz Field to take on the Panthers, then in 2017, Pitt will travel to Happy Valley to play the Nittany Lions. No word on anything beyond those two years.
*By the time this week’s edition hits your mailbox and the newsstand, we will new NBA champions (the Dallas Mavericks were crowned champions after defeating the Miami Heat Sunday night) and new Stanley Cup champions (this past Wednesday night – Bruins and Canucks for all the marbles). What that also means is that two seasons will draw to a close (pro basketball and hockey) for the summer until September and October roll around and those respective sports’ training camps open. For the summer, we will be left with baseball, golf, and auto racing, primarily NASCAR. For the sports fan, this should suffice. However, a great many people, if they haven’t already, will be enjoying the great outdoors.
*This was mentioned in light of the fact that the NFL lockout is looking larger as training camps are scheduled to open in a month and a half. When the lockout began, it really wasn’t a big deal. Now, to the football fans, it is becoming a bigger issue. As of press time, according to courses, a deal was in the works.
*Imagine September rolling around and no NFL on Sundays. Imagine Heinz Field sitting empty all fall while the lockout drags on. Sure, we’ll have high school football on Friday nights and college football on Saturdays, but no Steelers around here will be the equivalent of no fireworks on July 4. Food for thought.
*Okay, this is what the college football landscape looks like now, with the changes that have taken place recently. You have a college campus about two hours drive to the west in Columbus, Ohio, one about 45 minutes south in Morgantown, West Virginia, and one in our own backyard. One experiencing turmoil and change would be one thing, but all three?!
At Pitt, Dave Wannstedt was either forced to resign, or he was fired. What’s the difference? Good question. I have always been led to believe that if someone resigns, he no longer has to be paid. If he is fired, then the organization has to pay him what is left on his contract. Then again, when Bill Cowher stepped down in 2007, he had one year remaining on his contract with the Steelers and was forbidden from any contact with any other team until that contract expired.
That being said, Wannstedt landed in Buffalo as an assistant on Chan Gailey’s staff with the Bills. His replacement, Mike Haywood, was arrested for domestic assault and was subsequently fired. This led to another search and it looked like Tom Bradley had the inside track. Think again. Todd Graham was hired from Tulsa to be the third head coach for Pitt in only a matter of weeks.
*If that wasn’t enough, Oliver Luck, WVU alum, was hired as the new athletic director at his alma mater. He decided to hire Dana Holgerson as his offensive coordinator and head coach in waiting for one year while Bill Stewart exhausted his contract. Not sure whose idea it is to hire a “coach in waiting” but that is a bad recipe. Not a good way to get started in your tenure as athletic director.
Then, to add salt to the wound, Holgerson has been found to have been intoxicated in a number of establishments, namely casinos, and has been asked to leave those places. So, your new head coach in waiting (and now new head coach) has a drinking problem. Some might say that he’ll fit right in at WVU, which is ranked as one of the top five partying schools in the nation. After a game, maybe he’ll toss back a few with the students and alumni.
Actually, this is a problem. A big problem. A coach is supposed to be a leader of young men. He is supposed to set the example for others to follow. Having a drinking problem is not a good example to set. This does not make WVU, or Luck, look very good, unless Holgerson gets help. And there’s not much time for that as the college football season will kick off in about two and a half months.
Then, this past week, Stewart decided to step down and accept a $600,000 buyout after reports of media leaks regarding Holgerson’s transgressions. Both schools believe that can compete for national titles. Not in the Big East and not the way the BCS is structured. The Big East is a poor excuse for a football conference and the only reason it exists is because of the basketball conference. Pitt and WVU are a long way from anything more than eight or nine wins a season.
*Now, we know Jim Tressel stepped down at Ohio State and we also learned that Terrell Pryor is also not returning to OSU for his senior season. He also turned down an opportunity to play in the Canadian Football League. Pryor also has a pie in the sky mentality, thinking he can play quarterback in the NFL. He is not even close to being a NFL caliber quarterback. Here is where the hypocrisy sets in.
When these kids are being recruited to these Division I colleges, it was the lure that coaches can help them get to the NFL. Pryor would have been NFL worthy with another season of seasoning and a lot of coaching on both levels. However, we are doing these kids no good with all of this pipe dreaming. They are one injury away from having those dreams go dark for good. One blown out knee, one blown out ankle, any debilitating injury that would keep a kid from playing competitive ball.
National signing day has become a televised circus with all of these kids sitting at a table with hats lined up where he will pick the hat and put on his head of the college of his choice. Nothing more than a side show. Then we learn the kid gets into trouble (Pryor) and all the world falls down on top of him.
I am a football junkie and I always will be. I love the game itself and what goes into offensive and defensive game planning. All of the sideshow stuff I can do without. But, with a 24 hour news cycle and all sports all the time, we cannot avoid it. It’s everywhere. All of these illegalities and win and all costs mentalities I can do without.
I just want to see a good game and let the circus stay on the sidelines. But, this is what we have to deal with. Three schools with their own sets of turmoil. This season promises to be a very interesting one and one we won’t forget for a very long time.
*Jeff Gordon won the Sprint Cup race at Pocono last Sunday, his second win of the season, and his 84th overall, tying him for third place on the all time list with Bobby Allison and Darrell Waltrip and behind Richard Petty with 200 wins, and David Pearson with 105. Both Petty and Pearson are members of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame. Gordon’s place is secure and it will only be a matter of time before he gets in. This week’s race, on Father’s Day, will be in Michigan, home of the Big Three (General Motors, Dodge/Chrysler, and Ford) in Detroit. The track is in Brooklyn, Michigan, yet the Big Three will be heavily in attendance to see their brands compete on the track. In racing, it’s win on Sunday, sell on Monday!
*Finally, also on Father’s Day, the U.S. Open will be staged at Congressional Golf Course in Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital. Tiger Woods has pulled himself from competition due to his balky left knee. The field is wide open and any one of several golfers can win the championship.
*Breaking news at press time – it was announced that after a long hiatus that Pitt and Penn State would renew their college football rivalry. Beginning in 2016, Penn State will travel to Heinz Field to take on the Panthers, then in 2017, Pitt will travel to Happy Valley to play the Nittany Lions. No word on anything beyond those two years.
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