Feb 09 2010
Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.
Never let it be said this blog is lagging in draft coverage. Here is Scott Carasik's 7 Round Super Bowl Super Mock, courtesy of our Washington bureau. It has a clean, easy-to-read format. Consider yourself covered. -- Bob Smizik
Feb 09 2010
By Bob Smizik | Tuesday, 12:30 a.m.
Trying to pick the most talented college football team in history is similar to trying to pick the best NFL quarterback in history -- only much harder.
I have no idea which college team in the more than 100 years the sport has been played was the most talented. But I have a nominee.
How many college teams can say this in reference players elected last week to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
* One of the players elected was only the second best outside linebacker on his college team.
* Another player elected was only the third best offensive lineman on his college team.
The Pitt team of 1980 could say that about outside linebacker Rickey Jackson and center Russ Grimm, who will be inducted at Canton next summer.
Jackson, of course, played in the massive shadow of the great Hugh Green, who was second in Heisman Trophy voting in 1980. Grimm was an unsung member of that Pitt line, which had at tackle Mark May, who won the Outland Trophy that season, and Jimbo Covert, a two-time first-team All-American.
But Jackson, Grimm, Green, May and Covert were hardly the only great players on that team. Jackson and Grimm aren't even the only Hall of Famers.
They will follow quarterback Dan Marino, an all-time great at Pitt and in the NLF, into enshrinement at Canton.
Jackson and Grimm weren’t even near the top of their own senior class on that 1980 team. Jackson was taken in the second round of the 1981 NFL draft and Grimm in the third. Green, May and fullback Randy McMillan went in the first round. Defensive tackle Greg Meisner, safety Carlton Williamson and Grimm went in the third; defensive tackle Bill Neill, tight end Benjie Pryor, cornerback Lynn Thomas and nose tackle Jerry Boyarsky in the fifth and quarterback Rick Trocano in the 11th.
Two years later, nine more Pitt players were drafted, including Covert, cornerback Tim Lewis and Marino in the first round.
And from that same team, a year later six more players were drafted including defensive tackle Bill Maas in the first round.
That’s seven first-round draft choices and three NFL Hall of Famers.
A loss to Florida State, on a sultry October night in Tallahassee, deprived that team of a national championship and a place in the discussion among the greatest teams of all time.
But nothing can diminish the talent on that team. The Pitt defense was all-powerful, with Green and Jackson terrorizing the opposition from their defensive end/linebacker positions. That team held great Syracuse running back Joe Morris, who broke the record of Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little and Larry Csonka, to 12 yards on 16 carries. It shut down Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers in the Gator Bowl.
That defense was so deep that although it graduated nine starters, the 1981 Panthers led the nation in defense most of the season and rendered Hershel Walker, another Heisman Trophy winner, largely ineffective in the Sugar Bowl.
And it’s not like those guys just did well in college.
The entire defensive line, Green, Jackson, Neill, Meisner and Boyarsky all started in the NFL. As did Williamson, Thomas and free safety Tom Flynn.
On offense, in addition to Marino, Grimm, May, Covert and McMillan, guards Ron Sams and Rob Fada and wide receivers Julius Dawkins and Dwight Collins started in the NFL.
Five underclassmen, who didn’t start in 1980, went on to start in the NFL. They were Maas, defensive tackle Dave Puzzuoli, offensive linemen Jim Sweeney and Emil Boures and Lewis.
Additionally, middle guard J.C. Pelusi started in the Canadian Football League and wide receiver Willie Collier in the USFL.
Others from that team to make NFL rosters were linebacker Steve Fedell and Rich Kraynak, defensive end Al Wenglikowski, wide receiver Keith Williams, running back Joe McCall and Trocano.
The 1980 team was so talented that even losing Marino wasn’t a problem. When Marino was injured midway through the season, he was replaced by Trocano, who had started at quarterback in 1978 and part of 1979 but who had switched to free safety in 1980. Trocano played so well that even when Marino was healthy, coach Jackie Sherrill, the man who recruited all this talent, stuck with him.
Pitt outscored its opposition, 380-130, en route to an 11-1 record.
Years later, Trocano, who played professionally with the Steelers and Cleveland Browns, said, ``I remember guys being drafted by those teams who couldn’t have started for us at Pitt.’’
But the final word on that Pitt team goes to Bobby Bowden, who coached the only team to beat Pitt that year. Some 20 years later Bowden said this to Sam Scuillo Jr., who has chronicled the Pitt scene so well for some many years:
``I've said it many times, in all my years of coaching, that Pitt team was the best college football team I have ever seen."
Feb 08 2010
By Bob Smizik | Monday, 9:30 a.m.
In all the furor last week about the Penguins offer to buy the Pirates, a comment by manager John Russell was almost totally overlooked.
Russell comes across as a quiet, conservative guy. But he’s wild and crazy with some of the things he says. Of course, in making ridiculous statements he’s just taking a lead from his boss, owner Bob Nutting.
Here’s what Russell said about the 2010 Pirates:
``Our talent level has increased tremendously over the past couple years. We are very much looking forward to moving forward with a very talented group of major league players, with very talented players on their way from our system.’’
Keep in mind that Russell is the manager of the Pirates. He has little or nothing to do with the minor-league system. He was talking about the 2010 Pirates when he said the talent level has ``increased tremendously.’’
Sure makes you wonder about his player-evaluation skills.
Here’s some of the players the Pirates have traded since July of 2008:
Jason Bay, Nate McLouth, Xavier Nady, Adam LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson, Nyjer Morgan, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, John Grabow, Sean Burnett.
If Russell wants to say the Pirates might be better in the future than they were in the recent past, that’s fine. But to say the team’s ``talent level has increased tremendously,’’ is an outrageous exaggeration and just another dose of Kool-aid the team likes to ladle out to its fan base.
If the players listed above were still with the Pirates, the team would have a much better chance of winning in 2010 because the team would be more talented.
Has Russell forgotten that the team he’ll start the season with is pretty much the same one that lost 46 of its final 65 games last year -- a 114-loss pace?
The Pirates are estimated to start the season with a payroll under $40 million.
Here are the 2010 salaries of the players the Pirates traded away. The salaries were either negotiated after the end of last year or carried over from deals done with the players in question by the Pirates. In some cases, they figures represent the average of a long-term deal.
Bay, $16.5 million; Sanchez, $6 million; Wilson, $5 million; LaRoche, $4.5 million; McLouth, $4.5 million; Snell, $4.25 million; Grabow, $3.75 million; Nady, $3.3 million; Gorzelanny, $800,000; Burnett, approximately $800,000; Morgan, approximately $500,000.
Those 11 players will earn about $50 million, which is $10 million more than the 25 Pirates will earn.
But why wouldn’t Russell say anything, regardless of how mindless it might be? Some people actually believe it. Besides, he’s doing nothing more than taking the lead from his boss.
Nutting is best know for calling president Frank Coonelly and general manager Neal Huntington ``the single best management team in all of baseball, maybe in all of sports."
And while that might top his all-time list, let’s not forget this oldie but very goodie from 2007, when Nutting said this in a letter to Pirates fans:
``I am energized about our core group of exciting, young, talented players. We have one of the youngest teams in all of baseball and now will be able to keep them together for several years. Coming off last season's second half success, I am confident that this team, under the leadership of Jim Tracy, will continue to improve. I very much look forward to the 2007 season.’’
He was so energized by that core of players that he gave permission for virtually all of them to be traded.
It’s one thing to be positive about the future. It’s something quite else to make outrageous exaggerations that mislead people.
Quite, unassuming John Russell is a master of such tactics.
Feb 08 2010
By Bob Smizik | Monday 12:15 a.m.
What a great Super Bowl game and what a great win for the New Orleans Saints and, more than that, for the city of New Orleans.
People tend to give sports too much credit for what it can do, but this is one time when a victory can't be underestimated in its impact. As great a win as it was for the Saints, one of the least successful franchises in the NFL, it was a bigger win for the a city that has taken way too many hits.
Drew Brees took his place in the discussion of who is the best quarterback currently playing in the NFL. He had a far better game than Peyton Manning and was going against what was believed to be a better defense than Manning faced.
Saints coach Sean Payton has been cited as the best play-caller in the NFL. But he outdid himself in this 31-17 victory. But calling for an onside kick to start the second half and having his team recover it, Payton fully turned around a game that already had started to bend in his direction.
It was a total team victory for the Saints, whose defense gave up scores to Manning on the first two possession of the game and then only one more the rest of the way.
The Saints victory paves the way for a natural season opener for the NFL on the Thursday after Labor Day. The Steelers are scheduled to play in New Orleans next year. What better way to open the season than to match the two most recent Super Bowl champions.
Feb 07 2010
By Bob Smizik | Sunday 2 p.m.
I can't recall looking forward more to a non-Steelers Super Bowl as I am for the game today between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints.
The game matches two excellent offensive football teams and two of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. Peyton Manning of the Colts already is a dead-certain Hall of Famer and in the discussion for the best in NFL history. He's that good, and I don't dispute his credentials. Drew Brees of the Saints isn't in Manning's class but he pretty much matched Manning's excellence this season.
The game goes a long way toward eliminating the old cliche that defense wins championships. Although the Colts in particular are strong defensively. both teams reached this point on the strength of their offense.
I think the cliche in question would better be stated as ``good teams win championships,'' even if that doesn't have quite the ring to it. There have been too many one-year wonders to suggest all Super Bowl champions are great teams.
Considering the Colts recent history and their ability to play defense at a high level along with their offensive excellence, should they win there will be every reason to label them a great team. The Saints won't qualify for that until the stands the test of time.
I'm not big on predictions, but on occasion they are appropriate and this is one of those occasions.
Indianapolis 34, New Orleans 24.
Feb 07 2010
Sunday, 9 a.m.
Shootouts, the method by which the NHL ends games that are tied after 65 minutes of play, are a cheap trick that have nothing to do with which of the two competing teams is the best. If you don't believe me, ask Drew Sharp, a columnist for the Detroit Free-Press.
Sharp watched the Red Wings fight the Penguins to a 1-1 tie a week ago and then lose in a shootout. He didn't like what he saw and not because the team in the city where he works lost.
Here's Sharp's take on why shootouts should be eliminated by the NHL. -- Bob Smizik
The 5-year trial is over: Scrub the shoot-out
BY DREW SHARP
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
The shoot-out concept was cute at first. The NHL acquiesced to short attention spans after the owners' lockout five years ago, guaranteeing a quick resolution to regular-season overtime games. Turn 65 minutes of grinding endurance into a dazzling, gimmicky one-on-one skills competition for an extra point.
There stood Jimmy Howard outside the crease Sunday, knowing that nothing friendly stood between himself and two of the NHL's most lethal stickmen -- Sidney Crosby on one rush and Evgeni Malkin on the next -- during the Wings' shoot-out against the Penguins.
Both made splendid moves to score on Howard. Crosby went top shelf off his backhand, and Malkin patiently waited for Howard to commit before calmly tucking the puck behind the fallen goalie's skate.
Pittsburgh got the point, but the NHL is missing the point.
Maybe I've simply grown tired of the shoot-out, because it seems to happen so frequently that there's no longer anything fresh about it. Perhaps the NHL should acknowledge it made a mistake in cheapening the value of victory for the sake of creating easy highlights for "SportsCenter" (That is, on those rare occasions when "SportsCenter" shows hockey highlights).
Read the rest of the story here.
Feb 06 2010
Saturday 1 p.m.
By his play on the field, Peyton Manning continues to leave little doubt that he is the best of the current crop of quarterbacks. Many, in fact, say he ranks at or near the top of the all-time list.
With so much emphasis placed by some people on winning titles when ranking quarterbacks, Manning stands on the threshhold of true greatness tomorrow when his Indianapolis Colts play the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl. Manning will be seeking his second Super Bowl victory. He already has won four NFL MVP awards.
My stance is that titles are but a small part of rating a quarterback. I have Manning at the top of my list, along with Dan Marino, Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana, and he’ll remain there regardless of what happens tomorrow. If Super Bowl wins meant so much, jim Plunkett, who has two, would be in the discussion -- and he's not -- and Marino, who has none, would not be -- and he is.
Bob Ryan, the great columnist of the Boston Globe, has his take on who’s the all-time best and he doesn’t forget about Bart Starr and Otto Graham. An excellent read. --- Bob Smizik
By Bob Ryan, Globe Columnist
What’s this I hear? Some people are saying that Peyton Manning can’t make a claim to being the greatest quarterback in NFL history if he doesn’t get himself more than one championship ring?
Forgive them, Lord. They know not what they do.
If accumulation of rings were the final measure, then Terry Bradshaw (four) would automatically vault ahead of everyone who has ever played the game except Bart Starr, a guy who won five championships without ever throwing more than 16 touchdown passes or reaching 2,500 yards in a season. (There’s Otto Graham, too, but we’ll get to that.)
On second thought, Lord, I’m not sure I want to forgive them.
I’m not dissing Bart Starr. He was great. He’s a drop-dead Hall of Famer. He was a vital contributor to a team that was the best in its time.
Note those final three words.
To paraphrase Jack Nicklaus on the subject of the randy fellow who has been pursuing him for career majors, I’m having Bart Starr say of the current Indianapolis quarterback, “That young man plays a game with which I am not quite familiar.’’
Read the rest of the story here.
Peyton’s place: At the top
Feb 06 2010
Saturday, 1 a.m.
Q: Dante Taylor was a McDonald's High School All- American and as highly touted as he was, he has barely made an impact on the Pitt basketball team this year. On the flipside, Dion Lewis wasn't considered a top prospect out of the state of New Jersey, but had one of the greatest seasons ever for Pitt running back. This being the case, I don’t understand why so much attention is paid towards signing day in football and basketball. It seems like an absolute crapshoot.
Nate Mattern
Bob Smizik: I don’t understand it either, Nate, and you did a great job of framing the discussion with topical examples. The public clamors for this information and there are plenty of people willing to give it to them. A colleague once explained that these signing days, along with all of the drafts days, are so big because they offer hope to everyone. That’s true and just as important, no one loses on those days either.
__________
Q: I believe there are only three avenues left to us if we want to see the Pirates become competitive again.
1. Boycott games and turn in season tickets. Want to see baseball? Organize daily bus trips to Altoona and State College to see the minor leaguers who will be stars someday. Take trips to Cleveland and Baltimore.
2. Boycott sponsors. No bang for the ad buck.
3. Petition MLB and the players’ union to investigate the use of revenue sharing money ala the Marlins. Just the threat caused Florida to act. Might that happen here?
Elliot Markovitz
Bob Smizik: I could not disagree more strenuously. When you boycott the Pirates, you hurt the little man more than you hurt owner Bob Nutting. You hurt the restaurant owners on the North Shore and all their employees. You hurt the ticket takers, ushers, concession workers, parking lot attendants, etc.
The type of boycott you are suggesting might be appropriate to right a social injustice. Baseball is merely a form of entertainment. You are taking sports much too seriously.
And those sponsors you want to boycott. They have employees with spouses and children. Is that who you want to hurt in the name of punishing Bob Nutting?
__________
Q: Recently many people said Jamie Dixon was a great coach because he could win games with lesser talent than his foes. I'm not sure that is a compliment. I think that bringing out the best in a player and blending it together with his teammates is what makes the best coach. It seems much harder to blend a team when the individuals have great talent and bigger egos. Dixon rarely recruits big talents, perhaps because he can't handle those egos. Before last year hardly any of his players were even drafted by the NBA. Dixon does not have a track record of dealing with superior talents and making the Final Four.
Tom Trageser
Bob Smizik: There all kinds of ways of determining coaching excellence. To my way of thinking, Dixon has exhibited almost all of them. To suggest he not had some great individual talent is incorrect, and DeJuan Blair and Sam Young are proving that every day in the NBA. Furthermore, to suggest developing NBA talent is a barometer of coaching ability is absurd. Some of these NBA players spend one year in college and are little influenced by their coach.
__________
Q: Pirate fans should not be mad at Bob Nutting or Kevin McClatchy or anyone who was in charge of the Pirates when PNC Park was built. I believe about 85 percent of it was funded by the city/county/state and the rest by the Pirates. One condition that should have been made was to force the team to open its books once a year to justify what they are doing with the funds.
Blame ex-mayor Tom Murphy, the county commissioners and anyone else who rubber stamped the funding against tax papers' wishes. Those are the people that should being called on the spot right now.
Greg Ribar
Bob Smizik: It might have been a good idea to do that, but the Pirates were not without their leverage when the time came to build. Since it has been disclosed that MLB will make public the names of teams not properly spending revenue sharing money, and that the Pirates have yet to be named, that would indicate they are doing things within the letter of MLB law.
__________
Q: Here is an expansion idea that might work for the NCAA basketball tournament. Expand from 65 to 68 teams and have a "play-in" game in all four of the brackets instead of only one. Play two games as a doubleheader in Dayton. Play the other two games as a doubleheader at the Palestra in Philadelphia - - where the first NCAA tournament game ever was played.
Jack Finarelli
Bob Smizik: That is more palatable than 96 but I have a better idea. Bring the field back to 64 and there won’t have to be any play-in games.
__________
Q: I don't understand how Scott Paulsen got that 1250 ESPN gig (The Drive, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m weekdays). He doesn't know any more about sports than I do. I can guarantee I will be listening to the new KDKA-FM offering. They already made a real good move by getting Joe Starkey. I like him a lot. I really like Joe Bendel a lot, too, and that's who I listen to in the afternoon.
John Bryan
Bob Smizik: Scott Paulsen is actually a great radio talent. Sports is not his strong suit. I still cannot fathom why management at 1250 ESPN cast of ``The Drive’’ the way it did. If it’s sports talk, you need someone with a strong sports opinion. ``The Drive’’ has never had that. If it had been Joe Starkey or Ron Cook with Paulsen and Eddy Crow or Mike Logan, it would have at least had a chance. It never had a chance, and with Crow out of the mix it has less of a chance.
Feb 05 2010
By Bob Smizik | Friday 12:15 p.m.
When the suits at 1250 ESPN unveiled their new afternoon drive-time show to replace Mark Madden last summer, I said it lacked an authoritative sports presence and that could be its downfall.
Last week, Eddy Crow, one part of the three-man show that also included Scott Paulsen and Mike Logan, was fired. The station, through Paulsen, said the firing was strictly economics.
What ever, ``The Drive’’ is more hollow than before and if the station has reached the point it is firing people for fiscal reasons, it’s not going to spend the money to bring in an authoritative sports voice to salvage that show.
That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t bring in another voice for ``The Drive.''
I’m speaking of Chris Mack, the wise guy, know-nothing, who hangs around the mid-day show of Stan Savran and Guy Junker and makes sophomoric comments. Mack was plugged into the show to attract a younger demographic. Presumably, 1250 ESPN executives are unaware that most 9 year olds are in school when the show is on the air.
The station, I’ve learned in discussions, has a high opinion of Mack. If that’s the case, move him away from Junker and Savran, where he’s not needed, and move him to ``The Drive,’’ where he might help.
He might or might not strengthen ``The Drive,’’ but we know for certain his departure will strengthen the Savran and Junker two hours. That’s known as addition by subtraction.
And while the station is at it, now that it will be getting strong competition from The Fan, it might want to go to war with ESPN nationally and get back the one hour Savran and Junker lost to Colin Cowherd. If you can believe that?
Having Savran and Junker on the Internet, while Cowherd is on the air isn’t just dumb, it’s almost as dumb as starting a three-man, afternoon drive-time show without an authoritative sports voice.
Feb 05 2010
Friday, 9 a.m.
The New Jersey Devils boldly won the Ilya Kovalchuk- sweepstakes yesterday when they traded for the high-scoring forward in a move that vaults them into the favorite’s role in the Eastern Conference of the NHL
``We have the players to win now,’’ said New Jersey captain Jamie Langenbrunner.
There are still other moves to be made by other teams, but Kovalchuk, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, was generally believed to be the best player available. Others teams seeking help will be going after the second best.
The Devils trail the Washington Capitals by 12 points in the Eastern Conference, and are one point ahead of the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres, but they look like the Stanley Cup favorite today.
Below is Mark Everson’s story in the New York Post.
And here you can see the take SI.com had on the trade. -- Bob Smizik
Devils score big by landing Kovalchuk
By MARK EVERSON
The general manager didn't say so, but his players believe Lou Lamoriello declared his pursuit of his fourth Stanley Cup with last night's rental acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk, the NHL's top goal-scorer since 2001.
"He's sending that message pretty clearly, that we're looking to be one of the top teams with a shot at winning it, that we have the players to win now," captain Jamie Langenbrunner said.
It's a steal of a rental, even if the Devils can't sign Kovalchuk after he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Devils sent defenseman Johnny Oduya, winger Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and a first-round pick to the Thrashers for Kovalchuk, defenseman Anssi Salmela, who was dealt to Atlanta last season, and a swap of second-rounders.
Lamoriello said he expects both Kovalchuk and Salmela to face the Leafs in Newark tonight.
"We felt Kovalchuk was a player that could come and fill the need we felt we had with reference to an explosive scorer, someone who could add a different dimension to our power play with his type of shot," Lamoriello said.
Read the rest of the story here.
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