Blogs

Brief and to the Point … >> The Friday column is all about the NBA. Yeah, that’s right. The NBA. My sincere thanks to Bob Miller of Sidelines Bar and Grill in Millvale for serving as our guinea pigs in this basketball vs. hockey project. Neat place. >> So the Cubs hint that Starlin Castro [...]

. Brief and to the Point … >> The Friday column examines how West Virginia and Pitt will emerge from their conference shuffle. The answer isn’t the no-brainer many seem to think. >> It’s stunning, still, just to hear conference commissioners and school presidents openly talking about the four-team playoff. In the event of the [...]

. PHILADELPHIA — Brief and to the Point … >> My Monday column points the finger squarely at the Penguins’ defense. Not the team defense. I’m talking the defensemen. http://triblive.com/mobile/1070444-81/penguins-core-team-kovacevic-staal-crosby-defense-dejan-letang-malkin >> I offer you, o voracious hockey readership, this simple question: Was this the worst collapse we’ve seen in the city’s history? If you think [...]

. Brief and to the Point … >> My Friday column is about Paul Chryst’s effect, both visible and audible, on Pitt football. If the piece doesn’t give you the impression that I came away highly impressed, then it will have failed. >> Dan Bylsma hasn’t made many mistakes since becoming the Penguins’ coach, to [...]

. Brief and to the Point … >> My Wednesday column is … well, you’ll see. Suffice it to say I was standing in a snowfall Saturday afternoon and caught up in the moment. >> The panic at both ends of the Pirates-Yankees A.J. Burnett talks, I can promise you, is not shared by the [...]

Some sporting thoughts before sunrise … >> Unless I missed something while away from the TV set, I didn’t catch ESPN mentioning anything having to do with Syracuse’s own child-abuse charges against former assistant coach Bernie Fine. This was a fine Jason Whitlock column I read yesterday about Fine. Is he right that the mess [...]

DENVER – Some sporting thoughts from a mile high … >> My Monday column eulogizes the Steelers. I’ll let it stand on its own. >> This has nothing to do with anything, but am I the only one put off by Maurkice Pouncey aggressively peddling — through Twitter and Facebook — T-shirts commemorating his Pro [...]

Looking ahead to kickoff … Game: Pitt (6-6) vs. SMU (7-5), BBVA Compass Bowl Time: 1:02 p.m. Site: Legion Field, Birmingham, Ala. TV, radio: ESPN, 93.7 The Fan Weather: 63 degrees, rain Here is the official live summary, and here are news updates on our Pitt page. Jerry DiPaola is covering the game.

DENVER – Some sporting thoughts from a mile high … >> My Friday column covers the Mike Wallace issue, or at least as much as anyone can hope to cover Wallace. It’s largely from the Denver perspective, which I found telling. >> Had a request to interview John Elway turned down. I’m told he does [...]

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Some sporting thoughts before sunrise … >> My Friday column, penned before I flew up here to hockey heaven, looks at Pitt’s hiring of yet another football coach, the third in a year and six days. >> As your loyal Manitoba correspondent, I’ll be covering Penguins-Jets tonight — the morning skates, too, [...]