Steel City Jim

Last week was the week that was nothing. It was pre-hype week for the Super Bowl leading up to the Pro Bowl. Here's some things on my mind:

1. Why do they play the Pro Bowl? They should just appoint a virtual team and let the pundits jawbone about which will win, who will star, etc. Kind of like trying to figure out how the 1975 Steelers would do against the 1968 Packers. All these sessions accomplish is using up air time when there's not much else to talk about. Getting back to the Pro Bowl, why should they risk any players getting hurt? I did catch snatches of the game last night and I noticed that there wasn't much passion. They went through motions, but no one hit anybody. That's why the score was so high. The whole exercise is ridiculous.

2. I see that Kiper's first-round draft picks are coming in at the bottom of the screen. I don't think I ever remember Kiper or any other draftnik predicting who the Steelers would pick in the first round, or in ensuing rounds. It makes for some interesting punditry, but it is highly inaccurate. And we have more than two months to go before the draft.

3. I'm glad I don't have to make decisions on which older NFL players to sign, let go, or put the franchise tag on. I think the Steelers have been pretty good at sizing this up in the past. They have let quite a few guys go who didn't have much gas left in the tank. But there were a couple of exceptions. One was Rod Woodson who played very well for the Ravenzzz. Another was Chad Brown. Finally, Alan Faneca has been doing very well with the Jets. I heard last week that Joey, the Mouth of the South, was on the bubble in Miami. Joey hasn't done much since leaving the Steelers but pick up big paychecks and exercise his vocal chords.

4. The Orioles will carry on spring training in Sarasota in coming years. Sarasota lost the Reds, who went on to greener pastures. Sarasota will build a new stadium for the Orioles. Interestingly, they will vend crab cakes, a Baltimore staple, and Boog's barbeque. The food could be the best part of going to a game. (I am in Sarasota as I write this.)

5. It looks like the Pitt basketball team is seeking its own level. After starting the Big East schedule with five straight victories, it has lost to the likes of Georgetown (the real deal), Seton Hall and South Florida. One thing about coach Jamie Dixon, he'll get the most out of what they got. But maybe they ain't really got that much after all.

6. It has just emerged that Mario Lemieux and his partner, Ron Burkle, offered to buy the Pirates. But the current owner, Mr. Nutting, turned them down. Nutting is pretty shrewd. He's a bottom line guy. His payroll is $35 million, I think that is the lowest in the Major Leagues. He is hoping that some of his youngsters can blossom and that some of the free agents (the ones no one else wants) will miraculously rise from the ashes and have a stellar year. This hasn't happened in the past 17 years. But Nutting can dream. In the meantime, the Lemieux-Burkle combine could be THE answer to the Pirates problems. They would breathe life and cash into the team that currently has neither. It would bring the Pirates into line with the other ridiculous payrolls in the Major Leagues and make them competitive. It's sad but true. Baseball sucks.