Pittsburgh Sports Report - Not Sorry You're Gone

Pittsburgh Sports Report
December 2004

Not Sorry You're Gone

Maybe we overreacted. Pittsburgh didn't miss these guys as much as initially feared.

Brian Giles

Vilified by Pirates' fans because he was mean to Jack Wilson and apparently didn't get along with Kris Benson, Giles' history with the Pirates has been somewhat rewritten by fans and media lately. The guy averaged 37 HR, 109 RBI, 108 runs and a .309 average over his four full seasons as a Pirate - and his effort between the lines was nothing but exemplary. It appeared there was no way the team would be able to replace him in the batting order. And for the first five weeks of the season, that's exactly how it looked. Then NL Rookie of the Year Jason Bay joined the line-up, hitting .283 with 26 homers and 82 RBI. Giles numbers in San Diego were virtually identical - and Bay was about $8 million cheaper.

Ben Howland

When Howland less-than-gracefully departed Pitt for UCLA in March 2003, Panther fans seemed to all of a sudden forget that he literally raised the program from the dead. As Beano Cook would say, 'the greatest comeback since Lazarus.' And when native son Skip Prosser very publicly rebuffed Pitt for the vacant head coaching position, the gnashing of teeth got louder. Enter luck in form of Jamie Dixon. The first year head coach lead his team to the most wins in school history, a third straight Big East regular season crown, and a third-consecutive Sweet 16 appearance. He did all this with Howland's players, so the jury is still somewhat out but Dixon has already been a force on the national recruiting trail, landing two blue-chip recruits in last month's early-signing period.

Rod Rutherford

Let's get one thing straight: Rod Rutherford was one of the best quarterbacks ever to play at Pitt. He was a two-time All Big East selection, earning First Team honors as a senior. Precisely why he was going to be so missed in 2004, correct? Not so fast. Along came Tyler Palko, who, after a slow start, has made the grieving period over Rutherford's departure a short one. While he lacks his predecessor's tremendous arm-strength, his athletic ability and leadership are at least equal to that of Rutherford; and Palko's field vision, game management and knowledge of the offensive system are superior. If he continues to improve, those comparisons to Danny Marino might not seem so far-fetched.

NHL Hockey

The Steelers' fantastic start has the full attention of the city, so no one is missing the Penguins just yet. But the Steelers' run will end no later than Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 6. Maybe then sports fans in Pittsburgh will start missing hockey, right? Well, actually, that's right about when Big East basketball really heats up at Pitt. If the Panthers take things into March, that'll leave a few days for us to miss the NHL before the Bucs come north for the start of their season. The sad fact is, hockey is probably not going to be around at all this winter, and most of Pittsburgh is unlikely to notice. Rick Pitino, one of the bright lights in college basketball, began a new era in University of Louisville men's basketball when he was named head coach of the Cardinals on March 21, 2001.