* Look out for IUP’s basketball teams. Both the men and women are on fire. The wins over Edinboro over the weekend made it fourteen in a row for the IUP men and six straight for the women. Joe Lombardi and Tom McConnell have done outstanding coaching jobs this season. Their teams have gotten so much better this season, and are now peaking at the right time. I have no idea how far the IUP teams will go in the postseason. I do know that I wouldn’t want to play either one.
* The Pens came away with three points on their two game road trip to Colorado and Arizona. They should have earned four points, even though it took a rally from two goals down to tie the Coyotes. The Pens had all the momentum going to overtime and were dominating play, only to lose when backup goaltender Marc Andre Fleury gave up a really soft goal from long distance. It was a bad ending to a beautiful comeback. One bright spot in the game was the two goals from youngster Josh Archibald, who was playing in just his second NHL game. Archibald is another really fast kid who looks like he will have a nice future with Pittsburgh. Fleury’s future remains cloudy, and that’s being kind.
* Sidney Crosby did not get the two points he needs on the trip to make him a member of the NHL’s 1000 Point Club, but it will happen soon. Crosby continues to make dazzling plays on both ends of the ice. Think how many points he would have at this point in his career had he not suffered the concussions and injuries he has had? Crosby is a superstar, both on and off the ice. Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post Gazette has a terrific story about Crosby’s good deeds off the ice. He is truly one of the few superstars who gets it. Charles Barkley once said he is not a role model. Crosby is a role model, and after reading this story you’ll like him even more, if that is even possible.
* The announcement that Andrew McCutchen will now play right field for the Pirates was not at all surprising and probably a year too late. Cutch really declined in the field last year, misplaying balls and at times looking totally out of position. I don’t know if it was because the Pirates had him play a shallow center field or not, but he clearly wasn’t the player who dazzled fans and fellow players with his defense. Starling Marte will now be the man in center, and Gregory Polanco will be tasked with manning the spacious left field at PNC Park. I think it will make the Pirates better, for sure. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if McCutchen is traded before the year is over, which could make Josh Bell the right fielder of the future. Stay tuned.
* The New England Patriots have now won five Super Bowls by a total of 19 points. They have had a lot of close wins and two incredibly devastating last minute loses. You can make an argument that the Pats could be 7-0 in Super Bowls. You can even make a strong case that they could only have a few Super Bowl victories. Had Seattle run the ball when they were on the one yard line in Super Bowl 49 the Patriots would have lost. And had Atlanta run the ball when they were in field goal range last week they would have won Super Bowl 51. The Patriots would be three-time champs, not five time champs had it not been for stupid decisions by opposing coaches. I was at New England’s first two victories, last second wins thanks to Adam Vinatieri’s accurate right foot that won them Super Bowls 36 and 38. My old friend, Brian Kinchen, was the long snapper on the winning kick in Super Bowl 38. The Patriots are the modern day gold standard in the NFL. But they have also had a lot of help in the big game, thanks to some boneheaded decisions by their opponents.
* We’ve had some incredible finishes in major sporting events over the last year. Super Bowl 51 may be the greatest and most exciting game ever played. But it wasn’t the only terrific championship game. Last year’s NCAA Championship game saw Villanova beat North Carolina at the buzzer. In the college football playoff Clemson rallied in the final minutes to stun Alabama on a last second touchdown catch. And let’s not forget the World Series, which saw the Chicago Cubs break the hearts of the Cleveland Indians with a win in extra innings of Game Seven. I doubt we will ever see so many great finishes in so many major championship games in less than a year’s time ever again.
* I hope the Steelers don’t make another trade for a defensive back. The Justin Gilbert experiment was a disaster. That’s two years in a row now that the Steelers have given up a draft pick for another team’s reject. My guess is that going forward Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin have learned their lesson, and they will not deal away precious draft picks. I, for one, hope that is indeed the case.
* It’s only a matter of days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Can’t wait for the cries of “Play ball!”
