Idle Thoughts- A Sports World Gone Mad
I'm not one to share my opinion, but since you asked...
- In the wake of sleeping off what I thought was a really bad dream, I wake to see Joe Paterno being chased from home to practice and from practice to home again. This story will only calm down somewhat when he addresses the media. The people who run Penn State should know this and make sure that happens ASAP. Seriously, who is running this clown college?
- Please, let us not forget those who suffered the abuse that the state attorney general alleges took place. How sad is it that we tend to focus on abstracts when the obvious sits in front of us being neglected?
- Sidney Crosby will not be playing anytime soon. Please don't get your hopes up that he plays in a few days. You will have to wait for 2012 to see him skate...maybe.
- Todd Graham is the right guy to help get Pitt out of a 30-year sleep. His style of play will fit well into ACC life. Give him another year, then watch sparks fly.
- Despite trimming the fat of their payroll by nearly $20 million, the Pirates will act slow in trying to re-sign Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker. I think Walker will be signed 1st. McCutchen is the best of the bunch and will come last and for good reason. He (McCutchen) should not settle for a 2nd rate deal. He should try to get close to what he feels he's worth, but only if he wants to stay here and really try to lift this franchise out of it's nearly 20-year slump.
- I thought Joe would not coach on Saturday vs. Nebraska. I'm leaning towards that actually happening. The only reason I think this will happen is because Penn State has been so slow to reacting towards this moment. They knew this day was coming soon and to be so unprepared is just confusing. Joe may actually make it through the regular season. He will not make it to the bowl game however.
- Despite losing to Baltimore on Sunday, I do think the Steelers will finish with 11 wins and make the playoffs. The schedule the rest of the way is weak, littered with 2 Browns matchups, along with two games vs. the Bungals. Yes, the 6-2 Bungals have beaten one team with a winning record. I expect a somewhat close game on Sunday, but the Steelers will win by 10 before it's all said and done.
- Hines Ward looked very pedestrian on Sunday after he was removed from the Baltimore game for being hit really hard. I still think he will make 1,000 catches as a Steeler, but this is going to be his last season in an Steelers uniform.
- Does anybody really care about NASCAR? Yeah, I thought the answer to that question was no.
- I have revised my decision on who will win WPIAL titles in football. North Allegheny will win in Quad-A. Franklin Regional in AAA. Seton-LaSalle in AA and Clairton in class A. The Bears are the only team that has stayed put from my initial choices in August.
- Pitt will not finish with six wins and not make a bowl game. I thought 6-6 was a best case situation for the Panthers football team before the season started, even with Ray Graham. Without him, I can't see Pitt winning two of their last three. The only way that happens is if the Panthers beat Louisville and Syracuse. There is no way they beat WVU in the last Backyard Brawl.
- Mike McQueary is the most tragic figure from the Penn State side of all of this, not Joe Paterno. This young man was a GA who found himself in a no-win spot. Yes, he did go to his dad 1st, then Paterno. Maybe his hope is that the people above him would do their job and act appropriately. They didn't. That is not McQueary's fault. Could he have called the cops? Yes, he could have. But he didn't. He didn't fail as bad as the people above. Not even close.
John Phillips is the author of this article and a secret member of the Galactic Empire. When he's not chasing down Jedi across the Mon Wharf, he can be heard hosting weekend talk-shows and anchoring sports updates on 93.7 The Fan. Follow JP on Twitter @ http://www.twitter.com/937Phillips
