Welcome To The Dark Side, Jerome
Mad at the Bus?
By John Mehno

Could you be angry with Jerome Bettis?

No way, right? (The fumble in the Indianapolis playoff game is an obvious exception). He's "The Bus," the loveable, huggable symbol of the Steelers' improbable Super Bowl XL run. But that was Jerome as No. 36 in black and gold. That part of his life ended shortly after the Steelers were presented the Vince Lombardi trophy in the confetti shower at Ford Field in Detroit last month. It took just about two weeks for Bettis to move on to the next phase of his life. He'll be an analyst for NBC as the erstwhile peacock network returns to NFL coverage with a Sunday night game. Bettis is a natural for TV. He's bright, personable and has what teammate Joey Porter calls, "a face made for television."

Oops, better designate Porter as a "former" teammate. Bettis isn't part of the Steelers any more, although his identity will always be tied to the team. He's working for NBC now, and he'll discover soon enough that he's not one of the guys any more. NBC wants opinions, and some of them will probably upset some people along the way. It's all a part of being in the media business.

Players won't be able to pull the "You ever play the game?" gripe on Bettis, but there are always complaints when feelings get bruised. A high-profile Pirate of recent vintage grumbled that Bob Walk had "forgotten how tough the game is" when he made some critical comments on the radio.

Bettis is a smart guy and he presumably goes into the new job with his eyes open. His loyalty is to NBC, which issues his checks, and to the viewers, who count on his insights to be relevant and truthful.

It's going to be a different experience for Bettis, one that might make an enemy or two. Welcome to the dark side, Jerome.

In other matters:

o This is absolutely the best time on the baseball calendar, because irrational optimism abounds. Reports from camps suggest that players will be better because they either gained or lost weight, because they had laser eye surgery, or because they shaved. In Kansas City, they're excited about having Mark Redman, who was 1-11 with a 7.20 ERA in his last 16 starts for the Pirates. The power-starved Pirates are convinced they've upgraded with Sean Casey (nine homers), replacing Daryle Ward (12 HRs) at a cost of an extra $7 million. It's spring, a time to dream big goofy dreams.

o Congratulations to the UPN 19 Nightly Sports Call on fielding its 1,000th prank call.

o Cyril Wecht has been accused of using unclaimed bodies as barter in exchange for other services. According to news reports, cadavers sell for anywhere from $1,800 to $4,000. Wow. The Pirates have been paying millions for theirs.

John Mehno has been covering Pittsburgh sports since 1974. He can be reached at: johnmehno@lycos.com