If you’re a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan like me, you face a dilemma on Super Bowl Sunday. Root for the hated Patriots, who with a win tie the Steelers with six Lombardi Trophies, or cheer on the Eagles from the city that embodies everything but brotherly love. I can’t stand the Patriots, but marvel at what they’ve done for such a long period of time during the salary cap era. There’s no doubt Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the best ever, whether they win Super Bowl 52 or not. The Eagles have never won the big game. I saw them lose their first to the Oakland Raiders in the Superdome in 1980. Imagine what their fan base will do if they actually win the big game? I’d love to say I won’t even watch the game, but that would be a lie. I guess I’ll just have to suffer for four hours while one of these two teams wins.
• I watched a few minutes of the Pro Bowl, which was more than enough. The game is a joke, even though the Steelers were well represented. Same with the NHL All Star Game. Between the two games I don’t think there was one solid hit.
• The Cleveland Browns, who don’t do much right, made a smart move in hiring Todd Haley as offensive coordinator. Haley did good work for the Steelers. Though the Browns are 1-31 the past two years, they do have a chance to be pretty good in a few years if they draft and develop players. Haley will make the young talent better. I just hope he doesn’t’ come back to haunt the Steelers.
• The Pens come out of the All Star break having won eight of their last eleven. And with a favorable home schedule coming up, there’s no reason to think the Pens can’t finally make their move in the standings. I still believe the Pens will make some deals, possibly a blockbuster, before the trading deadline. Until then, it will be interesting to see if the Pens finally right the ship.
• Has there ever been a more impressive first year expansion team than the Vegas Golden Knights? I don’t think so. Vegas had the second most points of any NHL team entering the All Star break. That’s beyond incredible to me. It’s a great story that only figures to get better. How cool would it be to see former Penguin Marc-Andre Fleury hoist the Stanley Cup wearing a Vegas Golden Knights sweater?
• The Major League Baseball Players Association is not happy with the Pirates and Miami Marlins, which is exactly how fans of the two teams feel. Still, there’s little they can do about the teams trading off star players and rebuilding. Major League Baseball didn’t take long to come to the defense of the Buccos and Marlins. Right now the two most hated guys in baseball seem to be Pirates’ majority owner Bob Nutting, and Derek Jeter, the new face of the Marlins.
• Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are two of the greatest players in baseball history. Despite what they did on the diamond it’s pretty clear to me that they will never be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Both former stars missed out in the voting announced a few days ago. I don’t see that changing down the road, despite some calling for the inclusion of players who took steroids. I firmly believe that both Bonds and Clemens would still have been great without the juice and certainly would have ended up in Cooperstown. Now, you can forget about seeing them there.
• Tennis isn’t the popular sport it once was in this country, and the TV ratings prove it. Still, it’s hard not to appreciate Roger Federer, who won the Australian Open over the weekend. Federer, at age 36, has now won twenty major titles. To put that in perspective consider the fact that Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe won a total of twenty-four combined. Federer is also one of the classiest athletes of all time. Good for him. While at it, kudos to Carolina Wozniaki for winning her first ever major. She too is one of the really great people in sports, and finally doesn’t have to apologize for never having won a major title.
