December thoughts.

Well I made it a whole month without a blog, I think its time to come out of my hiatus. Like any month for an avid sports guy, there are always plenty of compelling and interesting stories that affect fans locally and nationally.  This blog has always had a Pittsburgh flavor to it, but I do not forget about what is happening elsewhere. I am going to lay out eight stories that have happened recently that are national and local and let you know what I'm thinking.

8. The NBA is back.
I guess it depends on how you feel about the whole situation.  I was not missing the NBA, and I am not sure how many people really were.  The NBA had a great thing going last season that found a way to come up with a public relations nightmare with their lengthy strike.  The NBA resolved their issues and had a Christmas blowout this past week. And with typical NBA games, it came with dull Basketball, predictable blowouts that still found a way to become close games, and kicked off months of tireless games until the real stuff starts.  The NBA regular season has never been my cup of tea, I even tried to spice it up by playing fantasy basketball.  But as I stated, the league is flat for months.  Talk to me in May and I will be out in full force.

Quick NBA Predictions if you really want to know from an unenthusiastic bystander that doesn't really care.....

The Miami Heat are going to the NBA finals.  They are villains, and they are really good.  Who is going to be the knight in shinning armor that will take down?  I will boldly say Kevin Durant will fight the evil ones valiantly, but the Heat are winning it all this season. You heard it here, and probably a lot of other places too.





7. Penn State.....ummmmm

Well nothing further needs to be pointed out other than the obvious. Penn State had an atomic bomb blow up in State College.  From the very top, to janitors there were plenty of people that saw, heard, or knew "something." Jerry Sandusky is well, in a bad spot.  Joe Paterno went out in a way that nobody could have imagined. The all time winning-est coach was sitting in his house as 40,000 students were singing Kumbaya outside.  The whole thing was just flat out strange.  There was an apparent cover up, nobody can get around that. Joe's involvement is still in question, and truthfully they will protect the old man as best as possible. We can sit here and say this and that, nobody knows and nobody will know for some time.  The best possible thing the school can do, is just to move on.  They need to bring stability to a very unstable situation.The Bowl game is in a few days, they need to hire a coach in less than a week afterwards.  Dead period for recruiting ends, and the new guy will only have a month to put together anything at all. Is that guy Tom Bradley?  Maybe. But an outsider isn't the worst thing in the world. Get a coach, get back to football.  Perfect remedy.

6. Fraud Graham?

Todd Graham must have a speech he wrote about ten years ago and said "I will use this speech when I get hired as a Head Coach."  I wonder if he knew he would use it four times in such a little stretch.  Todd Graham  is a scumbag. He is a fraud, he tells you want you want to hear but is only looking out for number one.  He used and abused Pitt, and I think Pitt is the real winners in the whole ordeal. Arizona State was happy with hiring a guy that went 6-6 in the Big East? More Power to them.  He will ultimately take a better job if offered, there is very little doubt in my mind. Pitt gets a guy that is not a great speaker, but he comes highly recommended and the Wisconsin offensive production speaks for itself. He needs to bring stability and he needs to put people in the seats.  Paul Chryst has his work cut out for him, but he seems like an honest man that is very appreciative of the job. I think he will do a fine job, very unlikely that it will be next season though.


5. San Diego, Boise, Houston, Dallas in the East?

Well apparently now that is the case.  The Big East went a little wild, but did the best they could to hold what was left of their conference. UCF, San Diego State, Boise State, SMU, and Houston all have decided to bring their talents to join up with Cincinnati, Louisville, South Florida, Rutgers, and UConn to form the first coast to coast conference. Well to me, it looks like a glorified Conference USA, and anything involving teams like Marshall and Tulane should not be glorified.  I give that clown, John Marinatto credit. He is trying.  Navy and Air Force might be next. Let us face facts, if the ACC chooses to go to 16 teams, UConn and Rutgers are gone. Same with the Big Ten.  Nobody wants to be in this league.  The strong Basketball clout remains, and will remain a force but taking away Pitt, WVU, and Syracuse weakens your league however you shape it. This thing is set up for failure.

4. Loyalty?

The great Albert Pujols is the baseball player of this generation. He is destined for 700 Home Runs. He was the new age Stan the man in St. Louis.  The great baseball town had a hero once again. The Cardinals were coming off an epic and memorable World Series(the second "The Machine" brought to St. Louis) and it all seemed like the legend would stay where is held in the highest regards.  The flashy new Miami Marlins tried their hardest but fell out of Albert's graces.  It all added up, Albert Pujols would be the greatest Cardinal of them all. The statue was being bronzed, than..... he signed with the LA Angels. Shocking. He spurned the city that loved him for dollar signs.  Many thought Albert was above it, myself including. He just proved to be a money hungry athlete that wanted to play for the big team. Well the pressure is on.  Alex Rodriguez is a pariah in New York. Albert can be that same thing unless he produces at MVP levels for the next few seasons.

3. Year of the Mid Major.

More like decade.  College Basketball is under way, and it is as unpredictable as ever.  Butler, George Mason, VCU proved that it can be done, and some other non power conference teams have decided they want to try it out.  An unheard amount of "mid majors" are playing factors in the College Basketball scene already. San Diego State, Harvard, Creighton, Murray State, UNLV, Saint Louis, Gonzaga, and Xavier have all appeared in the top 25, and have defeated top 25 teams. Murray State is in the ranks of the unbeaten and have a legitimate chance to run the table.  Can we see one of these teams cutting down the nets at the Final 4?  Maybe this IS the year.

2. Quarterback Frenzy.

The NFL has had quite the offensive season. It is a Quarterback's league anymore, and these guys are proving their worth.  Drew Brees just took down Dan Marino's record that stood for decades. Tom Brady is not far behind, Aaron Rodgers was running a clinic for weeks, Tim Tebow is winning games without being able to throw the ball, Ben Roethlisberger plays more like a gladiator, and Superman, I mean, Cam Newton looks the farthest thing from a rookie.  The NFL always has great Quarterbacks but the current crop seems as strong as ever, and the numbers are there to prove it.

1. Is this the year?

The Pirates gave everyone a taste for four months last season, can they keep up with the winning ways? They added some intriguing pieces like Erik Bedard, Casey McGehee, and Clint Barmes.  The Cardinals lost Pujols and Ryan Braun is gone for 50 games in Milwaukee. Things set up nicely for the Pirates. Can they regain the magic of last June? I would like to think they can.  Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker have another year of experience and some guys will be healthy this time around. The Bucs have something special brewing with Clint Hurdle. I hope the management starts giving him the tools they need to win, they are not as far away as they were five years ago.  Progress has been made, and more is coming.