|
Pitt's Style Forcing Opponents To Adapt
The Big Dance is a waltz for some and a complicated Salsa for others.
It's about timing and the right partners, but even then, the best
cha-cha-cha-er can end up with two left feet.
Syracuse found its rhythm at precisely
the right time last year, thanks to an unsolvable 2-3 zone defense,
a coach who pulled all the right strings and a freshman named Carmelo
Anthony.
There might have been more attractive
ensembles on the NCAA's 64-team dance card, but the third-seeded
Orangemen ended up in the right bracket, playing the right teams
and catching lighting in a bottle when they needed it most . . .
more.....
Fleury's Success Goes Beyond Rookie Stats
As a proven star on the international junior stage and the second
goaltender in NHL history drafted first overall, Marc-Andre Fleury
was expected to do nothing less than turn heads when he arrived
in Pittsburgh. So he did.
The 18-year-old was the best goaltender
in training camp, stopped 46 shots in his NHL debut against Los
Angeles, outplayed Dominik Hasek eight days later for his first
professional victory and, before October was out, blanked the Blackhawks
in Chicago and won Rookie of the Month honors . . . more.....
Up Close With Clark Kellogg
Clark Kellogg serves as a game analyst for CBS' coverage of college
basketball and studio analyst during the network's coverage of March
Madness. An All-American forward at Ohio State, Kellogg went to
the Indiana Pacers as the eighth overall selection in the 1982 NBA
draft. Knee problems forced him to retire after posting career averages
of 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over five seasons. PSR
editor Tony DeFazio caught up with Kellogg in his Hartford, Conn.
hotel room the night before Notre Dame visited Connecticut . . .
more.....
Let's Play The Games The
Florida Marlins are baseball's world champions. They're thrilled
with their status. That they defeated the New York Yankees to win
their championship makes them feel even better.
Last year, the Anaheim Angels were reigning
champions. They too were thrilled as they entered spring training.
That the Angels got past the Yankees to get to the Series made it
even sweeter.
Two springs ago the Arizona Diamondbacks
started Cactus League action as defending champs . . . more.....
Reaching For Relevance First,
a four-letter word: ESPN.
For sports fans, they are the greatest
four letters ever assembled, but for those of us covering sports
for any local television outlet, this four-letter word has become
a source of frustration, cutbacks and even firings. This view comes
from one who not only works for a company that partially owns ESPN,
but also has a good working relationship with the network.
No, ESPN has become a four-letter word
for those of us in the local sports broadcast industry because it
has become the standard by which electronic sports journalism is
measured, causing local sportscasts to be seen by some as superfluous
. . . more.....
Senior Games: Turning Silver Into Gold
Mary Bauermaster is an 85-year-old from Hamilton, Ohio. She runs
100 meters in 17 seconds. There are NFL linemen who can't do that.
She is one of many who hope to set a few records when the Senior
Olympics come to Pittsburgh in June of next year. While the Games
will overflow with incredible stories like hers, local businesses
will be looking for their coffers to overflow.
Thirty-five million dollars is nothing
to wheeze at . . . more.....
|
Beware The Messenger The
move of Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees has electrified baseball
fans everywhere. Well, in New York and beleaguered Boston, anyway.
Yet the national baseball media would have us believe that A-Rod's
arrival in the Big Apple is something we should all be following
with baited breath; something that should make us overlook the misery
being peddled at PNC Park and get excited about baseball again.
Why is that? . . . more.....
Struggling For Respectability
If there remains a need to fully understand just how far away the
Pirates are from being a World Series caliber team, consider the
following.
The New York Yankees, American League
Champions, needed a third baseman and went out and traded for Alex
Rodriguez, the reigning AL Most Valuable Player. The Pirates settled
for Colorado castoff Chris Stynes.
The National League Central champion
Chicago Cubs needed a . . . more.....
Pirates' Farm Report Phillip
Jose Castillo, 6-1, 200, 22-years-old infielder
Considered the organization's best position
prospect before last season, might be, but must do better than he
did at AA Altoona last season and in winter ball, hit .287 with
5 HRs, 66 RBI and 19 SBs in 29 attempts at Altoona...played both
SS, his natural position, and 2B...also has worked at 3B and even
OF during the winter, hit just .255 with 5 HRs and 28 RBI in 53
games with Caracas this winter.
John VanBenschoten, 6-4, 215, 23-years-old
RH starting pitcher . . . more.....
It's Starting Spot Or Minors For Vogelsong
He remains the lone potential salvation of Dave Littlefield's initial
trade as the Pirates' GM in July 2001.
That alone puts pressure on pitcher Ryan
Vogelsong.
Add in a lack of big-league success,
continuing recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery and increasing
competition on the pitching staff, and Vogelsong knows that this
spring has become now or perhaps never for him as a Pirate . . .
more.....
National League Preview
Armed and Dangerous
Last season, Chicago's bread and butter
was the foursome of Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Matt Clement and Carlos
Zambrano, all of whom worked at least 200 innings and won at least
13 games. Now the fifth wheel is some guy named Maddux, who happens
to be a four-time Cy Young Award winner. So when you face the Cubs,
who do you hope is on the mound? Offensively, it's easier to blow
fastballs by Sammy Sosa than it used to be, but it's still . . .
more.....
American League Preview
Silly Red Sox. They believed they would be on even terms with the
Yankees. Of course, that was before the Bronx Bombers landed a haymaker
by acquiring the game's best player on the eve of spring training.
Only the Yankees could lose Roger Clemens,
Andy Pettitte and David Wells, a combined 659 lifetime victories,
and come out of it okay. Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez will ease
the pain, and A-Rod and Gary Sheffield will add sizzle to an already
star-studded line-up.Don't expect . . . more.....
|
