Random Comments

• Funny that the news of the Penguins/Burkle/Lemieux group's bid to buy the Pirates hits the papers during the team's annual FanFest Celebration.
• IF the Penguins' offer was serious, and IF they REALLY want to buy the Pirates, everyone please recall how Mario put the squeeze on the powers that be until the Pens got the new arena they wanted (needed?)
• Please don't take the above as a knock on Mario (which is tantamount to a mortal sin in some quarters). I am merely giving him his due. He may even be a better businessman than he was a hockey player!
• Bob Smizik had a great description of Bob Nutting earlier in the week: He's a man who does not embarrass easily.
• Robert Morris' easy win over St. Francis (NY) last night, combined with Quinnipiac's loss to Mount St. Mary's, puts the Colonials in first place all alone in the Northeast Conference with a 9-1 mark.
• Quinnipiac visits the Sewall Center on February 20. Circle the date and be there!
• I read a total of six books in the month of January. Way ahead of the pace I would have set had I still had that pesky little day job.
• One of those books was "The Paris of Appalachia: Pittsburgh in the 21st Century" by Post-Gazette columnist Brian O'Neill. Very interesting and thought provoking. Worth a read.
• Three of those six books read were read via the Kindle. I do like the Kindle - it's a convenient and less expensive way to purchase books - but I do still like to hold a book in my hands.
• One of those six books was borrowed from the library, which is way less expensive that any other form of obtaining a book!
• I will admit to a guilty pleasure - I still read and enjoy the comics in the newspaper. If you do as well, then I recommend the following site: www.comicscurmudgeon.com This site will give you several laughs in the course of any given week (even more so than the actual comics), and it will point out to you that true comic gold can be found in the "serious" strips like Rex Morgan, Mark Trail, and Mary Worth.
• Oh, damn! I just realized that by typing this right now, I am missing the Pro Bowl!
• Speaking of football, are you of the opinion, or do you know anyone who is, that the Saints might win next week? I haven't encountered anyone like that as yet.
• One thing you miss not being in an office anymore: You can't get into a Super Bowl Block Pool. Fortunately, I called a former co-worker who put me in for two squares in a Highmark block pool!
• I wonder if Bob Nutting reads the newspapers and the blogs? If he does, how does he feel knowing that he is universally disliked - if not actually hated - by the populace?
• Remember the old story about Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hammill having the discussion about the three most evil people in history? The story goes that they came up with Hitler, Stalin, and Walter O'Malley, but couldn't agree on the order in which to rank them. That's where Bob Nutting now seems to be.
• In an effort to provide some balance, Bob Smizik points out that it needs be kept in mind that Bob Nutting has only been in charge for the last three of these seventeen long, long seasons.
• Signing off for January. Thanks for welcoming The Grandstander during its first month of existence!