PIRATES ARE DONE

The weekend couldn’t have gone much worse for the Pirates. The weather was lousy, attendance wasn’t much to write home about and if that wasn’t enough, the Buccos got swept. It’s pretty obvious that the Pirates aren’t going anywhere other than down in the standings. The Pirates have now lost five in a row, six of their last seven, and were a dismal 3-6 on the recent home stand. It’s a shame to have to give up on the season so soon, but that’s where the Pirates are these days. They’re done.
• Last week on his radio show Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington said the club would like to add at the trade deadline. Now, there are reports the team is considering a major sell-off of players. That’s what the Pirates should do. This season is shaping up to be a disaster and the fans have jumped ship. It only makes sense that the Pirates get what they can for guys who don’t figure into their long-range plans and admit the Pirates are in a major rebuilding phase. It’s a shame it’s come to that, but that’s the state of the Pittsburgh Pirates today.
• I was supposed to go to the Saturday weekend game with my family. We debated about going because of the weather. Ultimately, we decided not to go because of the threats of more protests around PNC Park and all of downtown. If you watched the late news on Friday night it was pretty scary.
• Jim Rutherford was pretty quiet over the weekend at the annual NHL Draft. No big moves, no big news, nothing. That doesn’t mean the Pens’ GM won’t make be active as free agency approaches next week. I still don’t think the Pens will trade Phil Kessel, but I do think Rutherford will wheel and deal. It’s early on the off-season. A lot can happen between now and training camp.
• The Pens only had four draft picks at the draft, and once again didn’t have a first rounder. I’ve been saying for a few years now that I don’t like how the team keeps trading away their first rounder. Sooner or later it will hurt them. It’s doubtful any of the four new draftees will make much of an impact for a couple of years. It usually takes that long for most guys to make it to the NHL, if they make it at all. We can only hope that next year the Penguins actually have a first round selection.
• Ben Roethlisberger had some interesting comments about youth football recently. Big Ben says he doesn’t want his kids playing before the fifth grade. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre went a step further saying he doesn’t think kids should play youth tackle football. Many former players have gone so far as to saying that they hope their kids never play the game. It’s a topic that isn’t going away anytime soon.
• Phil Mickelson finally came out with an apology this week for his conduct at last year’s U.S. Open Golf Tournament. I happen to think of world of Phil, but think it came way too late. Mickelson should have made his apology right after his meltdown at the third round of the tournament. He should also have been disqualified from the tournament. Mickelson is my favorite player and is one of the really good guys on tour. I doubt you’ll ever see him make headlines like this again.