Media Savvy
Enjoying The Big 3
By Andrew Stockey

It's confession time.

I'm not a parent, but I have hundreds of kids.

I have never changed a diaper, but I have had a front row seat to watch young boys and girls grow into men and women.

As a television broadcaster who covers high school sports on a regular basis, there is no greater joy than watching the student-athletes I report on every night on WTAE-TV and get to know on a personal basis mature into the athletic stars of the future.

Whether its meeting LaVar Arrington at North Hills, following him to Penn State and then watching as he became one of the top linebackers in the NFL; or seeing Swin Cash as a high school basketball star become a collegiate and Olympic champion and now a world champion in the WNBA, there is nothing more exciting and more gratifying than seeing young people fulfill all the promise of their athletic gifts.

You don't have to be a broadcaster to watch this maturation process and be able to take pride in the end result. It's happening right now - on a larger scale - right here.

Pittsburgh has never had a greater collection of youthful talent in the city's professional ranks than at this very moment.

Let's call them the Big 3.

Big Ben, Super Sidney and the Duke.

You know them. You've seen them. They seem to have it all - talent, riches, looks and fame. They carry the weight, hopes and dreams of their franchises on their shoulders. They are also young - so very young.

Once Sidney Crosby hits the Igloo ice this month, the trio will officially begin its reign. A reign that will hopefully continue for many years and could define Pittsburgh professional sports for the next 15 years. This is assuming the Pirates don't let Zach Duke get away when he becomes a free agent. This is assuming the Penguins get a much-needed arena so Sidney doesn't end up skating in Oklahoma City. This is assuming Big Ben avoids a major injury.

Why am I so high on the Big 3? Aside from the obvious, I can't remember a single time when all three teams in town had a single athlete that young who had become a draw. Think about it. A Zach Duke outing is an event. People actually buy tickets on the night he's pitching specifically because he is pitching! Ben Roethlisberger went from a rookie whose name none of us could spell to the hottest rookie property in the NFL. His jersey is now among the top 10 sellers in the NFL.

Now the biggest of the three steps onto the ice with more fanfare than the other two combined. Sidney Crosby has been considered "the Next One" for years now. He is a star in two countries and will likely get more media attention that any athlete ever to play in Pittsburgh.

Of course, each of the Big 3 faces a huge question that needs to be answered over the next 12 months. Will Sidney be as good as advertised? Will Duke be just the latest Pirate flash in the pan? Will Ben suffer a sophomore jinx?

I don't know, but I can't wait to find out. I will have a front row seat - just like you - for this latest group of young men to mature into stars in their respective sports. Sit back and enjoy it, because this time with our young stars and fleeting and will never come again.

Just ask any parent.

Andrew Stockey is the sports director at WTAE Channel 4.