September 1, 2001

 
I watched the US Men's World Cup team v. Honduras yesterday, and I don't think I've seen the defense look this slow and dimwitted since the days of Alexi Lalas. Jeff Agoos and David Regis were awful, and Agoos in particular has shown an alarming tendency in recent games to not just get beaten but to get beaten so badly as to look like he's trying out for a free form dance team. That said, I don't think Honduras deserved the penalty kick they got.

The offense and the midfield play was uneven, though we mounted some good chances. Feel badly for Ernie Stewart, who scored two goals but missed a penalty. As Bret noted though, any time you need a player to score a hat trick just to stay in the game, you're asking for trouble.

It is true that the US has a lot of injuries with which to contend. Unfortunately, these are all offensive or midfield players who are out. Our defense can't expect much help when people get back from IR. I remain optimistic that we'll qualify for the World Cup, but there are a lot of teams in the world with a better offense than Honduras, and these guys made our defense look like Swiss cheese. That does not bode well.

The Steelers completed their preseason with a 20-0 victory over the Buffalo Bills. The team is improved in almost every facet of the game this year, the burning question now being "by how much?"

Defensively, I think the team will be very strong. We've bulked up the line, added faster linebackers, and solidified the secondary. The defense should have a great year.

Offensively, questions remain. The line is much better than last year's, but I'm skeptical that they can provide good QB protection week after week. Jerome Bettis looks great, but he doesn't have a healthy fullback to lead him into the gap, so he's probably gonna take a pounding in the early season. The receiving corp is improved but questionable. Our best receivers are slow, our fast receivers have the dropsies. One potential All-Pro receiver, Plaxico Burress, has yet to prove anything. QB Kordell Stewart can still run like crazy, but his throwing ability is weak. He can do short stuff ok, but anything over 20 yards is a prayer.

Special teams should be good. Both punter and kicker are excellent, and our coverage squad has a bunch of young fast guys on it.

On the whole, I like the Steelers' chances to make the play-offs this year. I don't know that they're Super Bowl bound, but I'm a fan, so there will always be a part of me that wishes it to be so.

 August 12, 2001

 
I'm late in celebrating it, but Lance Armstrong was amazing in the Tour de France. Watching him blow past competitors was like watching Jordan with the basketball, Tiger with the golf club, or Big Mac at the plate. Sports should always be this good.

Steelers won their opening preseason game 17-16 over the Falcons, but there wasn't a lot to cheer about. The quarterback situation remains a mess, and despite improvement everywhere else on the team, I don't know that Kordell Stewart is capable of leading Pitt to victory all that often. I guess we'll see.

 June 6, 2001

 
Against my better judgment I ended up watching some of the NBA Finals Game 1 with the Lakers and 76ers. (I still managed to see most of Who's Line Is It Anyway? on ABC.) I'm happy to report that the NBA-sponsored U2 halftime concert was excellent. The rest of the affair was decidedly mixed, though you've got to love any conclusion that has the Lakers losing—especially when officials continue not to call the blatant and repeated offensive fouls against Shaq. It's a testament to the 76ers that they were able to overcome this because, frankly, I didn't think it was possible. I still don't think the 76ers will win another game (unless injury hits Kobe or Shaq or the refs start doing their job), I'd be a very content man to be proved wrong again like I was this evening.

 June 4, 2001

 
Despite my reservations, I tuned into the second half of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the 76ers and the Bucks. Allen Iverson is a heckuva offensive talent, and he'll get his points against the Lakers (who have no one to stop him), but it's fantasyland to think that the 76ers can beat the Lakers without an injury to Shaq or Kobe. Their only other hope is that refs will call Shaq for the offensive fouls he always commits, but that would require a willingness heretofore unseen in NBA officialdom, so I'm not holding my breath. I might catch a game, but then again I might not. That's about where it ranks on my priority list.

Much higher on my list is the NHL finals between the Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils. I predicted a championship for the Avs prior to the playoffs, but that was before All-Star Peter Forsberg was knocked out of action with a ruptured spleen. Now it's pretty even with the Devils, and tonight's Game 5 (with the series tied 2-2) should be a nailbiter. I'm still hoping that the Avs pull it off since that would make me look good in the prediction department (hehe), but you've got to concede that in what now amounts to a best of three series, it could easily go either way.

 May 9, 2001

 
There's not much to say about the firing of Blazer coach Mike Dunleavy that hasn't already been said, so I'll leave it at this: I'm done with the Blazers until things in the front office change and they can get players on this team who are quality people.

Heck, I may be done with the whole NBA at the rate things are going. I watched the first half of Game 1 in the Sacramento Kings v. LA Lakers series, and the refs continue to refuse to call obvious offensive fouls on Shaq. They did the same thing in the Portland series (not that the Blazers would have won). Why watch a game where the officials control the outcome, and worse, where the officials don't equally apply the rules?

There are some great players in the NBA, and basketball can be a great game. Maybe the NBA will return to fast break basketball and maybe the refs will get better. In the meantime, I think next year I'll be checking out college hoops.

 April 28, 2001

 
It could be the case that the TrailBlazers will come back from their 2-0 deficit to the Lakers, win the series, win the Western Conference Championship, and the take the NBA Finals. If they do so, they might wish to thank those fans who never gave up on them. I would not be among those fans.

I continue to be, however, a big fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, so as you can imagine I'm pretty stoked about their 2-0 lead in their playoff series with the Buffalo Sabres. I'm hopeful that we'll even get ABC carrying one of those games before too long. I don't mind seeing Colorado (who I still think will win it), but I do when I could be watching a Pens game instead.

 April 25, 2001

 
USA 1, Costa Rica 0. Sorry Tico friends! That three more points for the Yanks giving us a total of nine—count them, NINE—points in our first three games for World Cup qualifying. Kasey Keller commanded the goal and had, by all accounts, a terrific game. There are seven more qualifying games to go—that's 21 more possible points—but the US is off to a great start.

 April 23, 2001

 
Good draft for the Steelers IMHO. NT Casey Hampton is just what the doctor ordered on defense and Kendrell Bell should work his way into the linebacking corp. Other second draft day selections may or may not work out, but our first two picks look to me to be winners.

With those two defensive additions, the Steeler defense looks to be very strong next year, even better than last year's above average unit. I don't know that we'll be as good as the Ravens, but we should be very good.

On the offensive side of the ball, the line has stablized and should be the best we've had in years. I don't know how dominant they'll be, but both run blocking and pass protection should be dramatically improved. Let's not forget that Jerome ran for over 1,000 yards last year with a make-shift line. Give him decent blocking, and the Bus will roll.

The continuing question mark that is Kordell Stewart larger went unanswered in terms of this draft. Stewart will have a better line, and one would hope that the receiving corp would be improved. At the end of the season, I think we can say with certain whether or not Kordell is all he's cracked up to be. Barring injury, there will be no more excuses.

 April 8, 2001

 
Both Jaromir Jagr and Mario Lemieux sat out the Penguins final regular season game, a 6-4 victory over Carolina. Nonetheless, Jagr captured his fourth straight scoring title. That means either he or Lemieux have one the Art Ross Trophy every year since 1994.

Not bad, but heck with individual stats. Now NHL playoffs begin and you can't ask for more exciting sport than that.

Which is to take nothing away from Tiger Woods and his incredible achievement at the Masters today. He was cool and collected on the back 9 in particular. There wasn't a whole lot that was spectactular, but Tiger playing solid golf is unbeatable anyway.

I saw a lot of Jack Nicholas growing up, and I don't know that Tiger isn't better already at age 25. And that's not intended as a slight to the great Golden Bear who, other than maybe Tiger, is the best I've ever seen. It's just that nobody's ever done what Tiger's doing.

 April 6, 2001

 
As soon as I come out dissing the NBA game as a ponderous, clear out the strongside, 1v1 affair, the Blazers visit the Warriors and put on one of the more entertaining b-ball shows of the year. Passing was pretty, and shooting was good. I don't know if I saw the lame clear out play more than once from the Blazers, who looked like a completely different team than I'm used to.

That's not to say, however, that my comments about a lot of them being jerks and/or losers have lost much relevance, particularly on a night that saw Blazer forward Shawn Kemp go into drug rehab for the rest of the season.

Still, it was heartening to see good b-ball at the pro level. It gave me hope that it was still possible, though normally fastbreak basketball stops come playoff time and teams revert to 1 v 1 play. It also made me realize that what I really enjoyed was less the Portland Trail Blazers and more good basketball in general. If that makes me a fair weather friend, so be it.

 April 4, 2001

 
Looks like I picked the wrong Pac-10 team for the NCAA hoops final. Arizona v. Duke was a fairly good one, though. Not a huge surprise to me that Duke won it, but good game and good tournament nonetheless.

Indeed, watching a lot of the collegiate hoops reminded me of just how much purity is missing from the NBA game. College basketball is so much more interesting and on so many levels, that I don't know if the NBA can recapture my interest—and I'm saying this with NBA playoffs approaching.

After all, what is an NBA offense? Clear out everybody to the weak side and let your "go-to guy" play 1 v 1. Excuse me if I find that so boring that I'm falling asleep just thinking about it. There's talk in the NBA rules committee of allowing zone defenses and implementing some other rules to liven up the game, but the excitement level is only one part of the equation.

The other is that there's not much of a case to be made for professional basketball players as heroes. Jerks in the NBA abound, and no amount of clever marketing can cover that up. A minimal clean-up effort by the league would be to put in a rule suspending a player for the game following any contest where he's ejected. He should be suspended without pay, too. Even that may not contain some players, but the NBA will never be family entertainment otherwise.

The greatness of the Trail Blazers of the early '90s was that they were good people playing exciting basketball. The nucleus of the team, Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and Jerome Kersey, were classy, decent people, and you felt good cheering for them.

With the possible exception of Steve Smith and maybe one or two others, you can't say the same thing about today's Trail Blazers. Most are whiners, jerks, and/or scofflaws.

It's a very telling thing that Rasheed Wallace, an All-Star and the Blazers' acknowledged best player, holds the all-time record for technical fouls in a season (set this year). It's not just that Sheed is a jerk on the basketball floor, it's that he's the most monumental jerk in the history of the NBA (or at least since they started tracking stats like technical fouls). He shouts, he swears, he berates, and he scores 25 a night, assuming he's tossed out in the later stages of the game.

[One can't help but feel a little bit of pity for Wallace. He clearly doesn't understand that civility is a low-cost lubricant in human social interaction and that the day will come when his considerable skills will fade and no one—fans, players, the league, etc.—will want anything to do with such a graceless individualist.]

Watching this cauldron of talent boil over should, I suppose, be more interesting. I guess it is in a rubbernecking there's-a-crash-on-the-freeway sort of manner. But why should I care if this group of multimillionaires manages to check their egos and play good ball by playoff time? Right now it's an open question.

 March 23, 2001

 
March Madness is upon us, which means lots of collegiate hoops action. The great thing about a single-elimination tourney is that it enables the Cinderella story. I don't think we'll see that this year—I'm predicting a Stanford v. Duke final—but you never can tell when a team like Gonzaga is gonna pull something off.

Speaking of hoops, the Blazers seem to have halted their skid. I'm probably in the minority who thinks that adding Rod Strickland was a good idea. I've always loved Rod's game. Yeah, he's can be a borderline headcase, but hell, Sheed is a complete headcase, so what's one more luntic in the asylum? This is a team loaded with talent and dysfunction. The only player that's not screwy seems to me to be Steve Smith. He might be co-captain, but I doubt he's the man to reign in the wild horses.

Personally, I think this team can go as far as Sabonis' weary legs and tender feet will carry them. Because he can shoot from distance and because he's arguably the best passing center in the history of the game, he opens up the offense for the rest of the team. Sabonis is the only player on the squad capable of taking the team from very good to great.

I still don't know that it will be enough to beat either the Lakers or the Spurs. Barring injury to Duncan or Robinson, the Spurs are my pick out of the West. I'll take Philly in the East, but the Lakers, Blazers or Spurs would beat anybody coming out of the East so, like last year, whoever wins the West, wins it all.

 March 4, 2001

 
Well, the Steelers dropped Dermonti "Dirt" Dawson for salary cap reasons but managed to sign Jerome Bettis to a 6 year deal. It's hard not to feel badly about Dirt, since he's been a Hall-of-Fame center for the team, but he's also been injured a lot in the last few years, and there's little question he's on the downside of his career. I hope we can find a replacement that's half as good, though, because when he was healthy, he was a rock in the middle of the line.

 February 4, 2001

 
Watched the NHL scorefest aka the All-Star game, and what a shootout it was. Some dynamite skating and shooting in a 14-12 victory for the North Americans over the World All-Stars. Most points ever scored in an All-Star game, and man, was it fun to watch. Only downside? Not Jagr due to injury. Other than that, it was perfect.

As many of you know, I'm a football fan in general and a Pittsburgh Steelers fan specificially. So what did I think of the XFL debut on NBC?

Well, the quality of play was better than I expected, though not all that great. Probably on a part with small college football. There were a few interesting but heavily overused camera angles. And there was a lot of the sickening over-the-top wrestle-mania style hype that I absolutely abhor.

In short, I don't plan on tuning in again. There are a couple of ideas which the NFL could swipe, but there's nothing here that will make me abandon the Steelers any time soon. My guess is that the XFL will run for a few seasons and then be discontinued as unprofitable. At first glance it seems like that's about what it deserves anyway.