My Complete Reaction to the MLB Mitchell Report

1) Duh.

2) Sadly, I think this is getting more coverage than when the 9/11 Commission released its final report.

3) Duh.

4) The Pirates only had two people linked to steroids during their time with the team. So now we have yet another reason why they never win.

5) Duh.

Sports Sports and Sports!

It is official sports week here, so much going on it's awesome.

The Women's World Cup started up. Am I the only one who's jaw dropped upon seeing that the US Women's team TIED their first game? The world has been put on it's ear. But, that's why they play the game, eh? And I am very happy to see that ESPN is covering the tournament. One word: EXPOSURE. The NHL could stand to learn that word.

Speaking of the NHL, it's presale time! Picked up tickets to five Pens games on the season ticket holder waiting list presale. Made the investment of buying extra tickets, because I figure it shouldn't be hard to round up friends or sell tickets that I don't round friends up for. I just need to remember to close my eyes before opening my credit card statement. Two big highlights: Pens vs. Devils and Pens vs. Capitals! Also, a bunch of my Cincy buds and I got tickets to a Detroit/Columbus game in Columbus. Fun!

Pardon me for a moment while I do my "Yay Hockey Season Is Coming" Dance.

And last but not least (well, maybe least), the Pirates seem to have selected a new President, Frank Coonelly, currently MLB's chief labor counsel. I won't pretend to know whether it's a good choice or not. A lot of people seem irritated in that he's played a large role in the setup of the current MLB financial structure so they believe that he will not bring any outside-the-box thinking to the team. However, my challenge to that is we don't necessarily need thinking outside of the MLB box, but outside of the Pirate box. I'm willing to see how it goes. One thing that does give me pause is that they also seem to have candidates lined up for the GM job already. I thought the whole point was to allow the new Pres to hire the new GM...so are they in the process of handcuffing the new Pres before he's even officially hired? Not so good if that's the case.

Not Even Matt Kata Could Save Him

So long, Dave Littlefield. I never take pleasure in someone losing their job. But as a Pirate fan, I am allowed to be happy that someone who has misguided the team for so long has been removed from the equation. Of course, when he came on board we had all the same pleasure of seeing his predecessor Cam Bonifay depart, and all sorts of hope for him. Seven losing seasons and a 442-581 record later, that hope has been long gone.

But, eternal optimist that I am, with a new principal owner who talks a good game about not putting up with the current state of affairs, and the search for a new CEO who everyone speculates will have to be a baseball guy, I hope this time around will be different...better... Could it really be worse? Well, I guess it could be empirically worse, but when it comes down to it a losing season is a losing season (to the 15th degree).

My Poor Buccos

Dejan Kovacevic passed along the following video...if you're a Pirate fan, you won't know whether to laugh or cry. If you're not a Pirate fan, just laugh. But the next time you come across one of the Bucco faithful, remember it and be kind.

Yes, the last time the Bucs had a winning season, Christopher Reeve was still walking; apartheid was still in place in South Africa, and 23 current teams in the four major sports leagues either did not exist or existed in a different incarnation, 10 in the NHL alone. But, I won't spoil it all for you--see for yourself!

And that's just what they were able to fit into the length of the song. Let's see...what else has happened since my boys last won? David Beckham made his first start in the English Premier League; Martin Luther King Day was officially observed in all 50 states; the Branch Davidian complex in Waco was sieged and burned; the US Marines entered Somalia; Arthur Ashe, River Phoenix and Richard Nixon died; the Brady Bill became law; the following movies were released: Schindler's List, Philadelphia, The Lion King, The Crying Game; the following shows all began and ended their original runs: Absolutely Fabulous (began and ended twice), The X-Files, Beavis and Butthead, the Power Rangers, and NYPD Blue; the Chunnel opened between England and France....

Oh, I could go on.

Hey thanks, Kev

Bob Smizik had a very thoughtful column in the PG today, it was a good reminder that few things are black and white and few people really are the devil incarnate. The Nuttings still might prove to be the devil incarnate, but Kevin McClatchy, not so much.

Granted, I'm somewhat easy to sway with appeals to sports sentimentality, as one of the few who refuse to boo Jagr when he comes to town. Sorry, but you have to take the sum total of a guy, not just the last two years when he was a whiny crybaby.

Barry Bonds, on the other hand, has never been anything but a prick. Which is really why everyone hates him, not the steroids. Sure we ridicule other guys like McGwire and Giambi, but we don't hate them. Bonds = Prick = Hate.