To Absent Friends - Pope Francis

 

Pope Francis

b, Jorge Mario Bergoglio

1936-2025

Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church

2013 - 2025

After thinking long and hard over the past ten days, there is not much that I can say in  adequate praise of Pope Francis, who died, remarkably, on the day after Easter Sunday at the age of 88.  A remarkable man, a remarkable life.  He was truly worthy of the title of Vicar of Christ.

Requiescat in pace, Franciscus.

The Steelers Draft 2025...and The Shedeur Affair

Before weighing in on the matter of the Steelers Draft, let me begin with a story that I tell every year at this time.

Sometime back in the pre-Chuck Noll era of Steelers Football, and shortly after the NFL Draft of the given year, back the the draft was not a three day nationally televised extravaganza, my dad runs into Steelers DT Ben Magee (ask your parents or grandparents, kids) at some downtown Pittsburgh lunch counter.  "Hey, Ben," Frank asks "what do you think of those guys the Steelers drafted?"

Ben replies "You don't know nothin' about them until they get into camp."  

True then, true today,  but with that in mind, here are your newest Pittsburgh Steelers. 

Derrick Harmon certainly fills a need on the defensive line, first, to play alongside Cam Hayward, and then to ultimately replace him.  So, good pick - if he can play at the next level.

The Steelers certainly need a running back now that Najee Harris is gone, and Kaleb Johnson is big and fast and was the best RB in the Big Ten.  So, good pick - if he can play at the next level.

Of the other five guys, the only ones that I can say I am familiar with are the two kids from Ohio State, LB Jack Sawyer and QB Will Howard.  We all saw a lot of Ohio State as they marched through the College Football Playoffs on their way to the National Championship.  I distinctly remember Sawyer being all over the field and a dominating defensive presence during those games.  Imagining him playing like that alongside Edge (when did "Edge" become an official position in football? Just curious) guys like TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig is certainly an exciting prospect.

I also remember watching QB Will Howard and being impressed with his leadership and abilities as he led the Buckeyes in the CFP.  I think that I said at one point to someone, "Don't know if his abilities will carry over to the NFL, but if they do, he'd look good in a Steelers uniform."  Or words to that effect.   And hey, wouldn't it be something if an overlooked Big Ten quarterback who doesn't get drafted until the sixth round after a half dozen or so other quarterbacks get drafted before him turns out to be terrific and lead his team to multiple Super Bowls.  Doesn't seem likely, but it HAS happened before.

As for the other three guys, Yahya Black, Carson Bruener, and Donte Kent, who knows?  I sure do not.I can say that Black's first name is pronounced "Why-Yay", I looked it up, and it is very cool that Carson Bruener is Mark Bruener's son.  

Let's hope that the scouts and evaluators had it right with all of these guys, and that the coaches will be able to coach 'em up.

We'll start finding out once "they get into camp."

THE story of the 2025 Draft, though, was the plummeting of Shedeur Sanders all the way down to the fifth round.  Personally, when I saw that Shedeur had a custom made "Draft Room" built in the Sanders home in Texas, and saw that the predominant feature of the decor  were large dollar signs (not to mention that dollar sign necklace he was wearing), I was glad to see that the Steelers, much to the disgust of Mel Kiper Jr., took a pass on him in the first round and in subsequent rounds.

Then he ends up being drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round, who had already drafted a QB, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, in an earlier round.  The Browns now have five quarterbacks:  40 year Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Gabriel, the injured massage-aholic Deshaun Watson, and Sanders, whose father, Coach Prime himself, has already indicated that he will be involved in his son's progress,  What a circus there is going to be in Cleveland this season. It just might be the Brownsiest thing that the Browns have done since that came back into the league in 1999, and that is not an easy bar to clear.

Speaking of Kiper, a delightful sideshow to L'affaire Sheduer was watching Kiper get completely discombobulated and "disgusted" (his word), and completely lose his shit as Sanders, the "best quarterback in this draft", kept falling into the abyss. It was hilarious.  Oh, and it doesn't take much internet research to see that in previous years, the "best quarterback available in this year's draft" have been guys like Brady Quinn, Ryan Leaf, Jimmy Claussen, and Will Levis.  WILL LEVIS!!

(Full Disclosure:  I only watched the Draft up until the Steelers selection of Henry in the first round on Thursday night.)

Of course, it is hard for a Steelers follower to cast stones at another team's quarterback situation, given what is facing the Black and Gold at this point in time, which is Mason Rudolph, Skyler Thompson, and Will Howard, as the team continues to do this odd dance with Aaron Rodgers.  That is a topic that will be discussed when and if the Long Rodgers National Nightmare comes to an end.

For Zelda, Our Absent Furry Friend

When I married Linda in 2022, I gained more than a loving wife and life partner. I also gained a charming little twelve pound, then five year old Morkie dog with the Jazz Age name of Zelda Fitzgerald.

 

I had never owned a dog before, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out, but it wasn’t long before I understood what all the dog owners I have ever known meant when they said there is nothing quite like unconditional love and affection a dog brings into your life.  It wasn’t long before Zelda and I became best buds, as you can see from the various photos that accompany this post.  

Loved when Linda would drop her leash from across the street and tell Zelda to “Go get him!” and she would run across the street and jump all over me.  

Loved it when she would cuddle up to me on the couch when I was watching TV. or reading a book.

Sometimes, she would even read with me!

Loved it when she became The Grandstander's Executive Assistant.

Loved how she would always let you know when it was time for a walk,  

Loved how she somehow just knew when I was having a bad day and would snuggle up to me. I even came to love her sleeping at the foot of our bed and then somehow worm her way up between us during the night.  Well, I didn’t always  love that part, but then she would lick your hand or arm, and one look at her face, and, well, how could you possibly be upset with her?

I even loved it when she spent too much time talking on the phone.....

Over the past several months, Zelda has encountered a number of health issues.  No need to detail them here, but they have changed her wonderful personality, and she has been suffering.  Linda and I made the agonizing, and that is not an exaggeration, decision that our dog needed to be put down.   This came after many consultations with vets and others who have owned dogs (including Linda, who has gone through this process at least three times in her life) and had to make similar decisions.  We knew that we were doing what was best for HER, Zelda, but that didn’t make things any easier.  The ten days spent between the time we decided this until her very peaceful euthanization on Friday, April 25 were simply terrible for us, but I can assure you that we loved her right to the very end, and that we always will.

When I first came into Linda’s life, I used to tease her mother and her about how they treated Zelda.  “She’s just a dog” I would say, but I have learned over these last three years that beloved pets are a whole lot more than that,  

Especially, Zelda.

Rest easy, oh loving and faithful companion.

Christmas, 2022

I posted this on Facebook at the time with the caption

"We Are Family"

Len Martin and the Three Rivers Stadium Markers

This past Thursday, April 17, marked the 70th anniversary of Roberto Clemente's first major league hit.  This date was chosen to dedicate the permanent markers that were placed on the sidewalks along General Robinson Street to mark the precise locations of the pitcher's mound and second base at Three Rivers Stadium.  A home plate marker was placed and dedicated a few years ago. (History lesson, kids: Three Rivers Stadium stood on land between PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium.) 

Lots of dignitaries were on hand to celebrate the occasion.  A couple of members of the Pennsylvania State Legislature were there, and deservedly so, since they helped secure some state funding for the project.  Roberto Clemente Jr and Steve Blass were there and spoke, and their presence was deserved for obvious reasons.  Also speaking was Travis Williams, President of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  It should be noted that the Pirates contributed ZERO DOLLARS, as in NOTHING in support of this project, a fact that should surprise no one who follows this team closely.

However, it must be noted that the events of this day would not have happened without the vision and the dog-on-a-bone persistence of my friend Len Martin.  It was Len who assisted in finding the precise locations of home plate, the pitchers's mound, and second base.  It was Len who designed the markers and helped in their fabrication.  And it was Len who persisted in raising money and being a general thorn in the side of all of the players involved to make sure that this project got done.  This was Len's baby from start to finish.

Some photos of the day.

The Monuments Themselves

Len Martin addresses the crowd

Roberto Clemente Jr

Bob Walk and Steve Blass pay a visit to their old "office"

Len with some of his closest pals

Dennis DeValeria, Dan Bonk. Andy Terrick, Len,

Roberto Jr, Craig Britcher, Fred Egler, Bob Sproule

Hey! Who is that guy seeking advice from The Grandstander?

One more history lesson.  A permanent marker also is in place at the location of old Exposition Park, where the Pirates played from 1890 to1909 and where the first World Series was played in 1903.  It is in the shadow of PNC Park in a parking lot along Mazeroski Way and right across from the Southern Tier Brewing Co. restaurant.  That was Len Martin's project as well

"Lethal Prey" by John Sanford

 

I just finished reading this latest offering in author John Sandford's series featuring Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers.

This one features a twenty-one year old cold case that is reopened when the victim's twin sister offers a $5 million dollar reward to anyone who can provide leads that will solve the case and identify her sister's murderer.  The twist is that she makes this offer via the internet and opens the door to the vast army of True Crime bloggers and podcasters that exist out there in the ether. (Might Sanford have been inspired by "Only Murders In The Building"? Probably not.)

Bringing these "true crimers" into the mix gives Sanford a chance to interject some humorous commentary into the story, and, lo and behold, they also serve to aid Lucas and Virgil, who have been given the assignment by Minnesota Senator Elmer Henderson - it seems that the surviving twin is a major donor to the Senator - to oversee the investigation.  Of course, the killer is still very much among us, may kill again now that things have reopened, and may pose a threat to both the true crimers and Lucas and Virgil.

I will say that this is a terrific entry in the "Prey" series.  I will say no more about the plot but will leave you with two thoughts.  One, many may find the ending unsatisfactory, but I found it to be a really intriguing one, and two, what is next for Virgil Flowers?

Four Stars from The  Grandstander.

Three Quick Sports Thoughts

Some "Sports Briefs" from this section of The Grandstand this morning.

Behold this item form the sports pages of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this morning about Auburn University basketball player Chad Baker-Mazara.

By my reckoning, and using all go my fingers and toes to count, Mr. Baker-Mazara, now 25 years of age, has now played five seasons at four different Institutions of Higher Learning (two at Auburn and one each at Northwest Florida State, San Diego State, and Duquesne) and is now looking to play one more season (at least) at yet another Institution of Higher Learning.

How does this happen?

********

As a Steeles fan for over 65 years, nothing has been as off-putting to me as this dance that the Steelers have been doing for over three months now with Aaron Rodgers,  In HIS COLUMN in today's Post-Gazette, Jason Mackey details quite perfectly why this madness has to stop and why the Steelers should tell Rodgers that....

....and that he needs to shit or get off the pot soon, as in, say, yesterday..

My own thought is that if Dan Rooney were still with us and running the team, this circus would not have been tolerated and would never have happened.

*******

I usually wait to give an assessment of any given Pirates season until about thirty games, or 20% of the season, have been played.  The Pirates have played only 20 games, and despite having just won three of four from the equally bad Washington Nationals, the Bucs are 8-12 and are in last place in the NL Central, and they are giving off all indications that they will be posting a season that will be historically bad, with 100 losses being well within their grasp.

I will do a deeper analysis at that thirty game mark, but I will leave you with this photo of the box score from the game of two nights ago against the Nats,

Check out those batting averages, five guys batting below .200 and a sixth guy sitting right on the .200 mark.  Oh, and the guy with the highest BA among them, a robust .250, was batting eighth in the order.  I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that.

Yesterday, I attended my first game of this season, and I did enjoy seeing a Pirates victory, a 1-0 win in which the Pirates mustered five hits and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.  The entire offense came when Oneil Criz hit a monster home run - the outfielders didn't even move when it was hit - on the first pitch of the game.  Glad we weren't late arriving or we'd have missed everything. Andrew Heaney pitched a nice ballgame, going 7.1 innings and lowering his ERA to 2.13, but Pirates pitchers can't be expected to have to pitch shutouts every time out in order to win games.  I mean...

(How's that for resurrectiong an oldie but goodie of a picture?)

Shirt Pocket Notes

A lot has happened in the eleven days since I last posted, a time span that now makes much of this "Old News", so I will be brief in my comments.

Florida defeats Houston for NCAA Mens Basketball Title

The Shot That Wasn't

The Men's Final Four gave us three terrific games including a stunning upset, to me anyway, of Houston over Duke in one of the semi-final games.  If those two teams played a best of five or best of seven series, Duke would win it, but that's not how it goes in this tourney.  Duke's wonderful team of one-and-dones, including the marvelous Cooper Flagg, will now scatter to the winds and the NBA, but they will probably spend  lot of time over the rest of their lives wondering "We had a great season and THAT was how it ended?"  Or maybe they won't.

The title game featured a terrific comeback by Florida that ended when a Houston player was unable to get off a potential game winning shot thanks to a terrific defensive play by the Gators' Walter Clayton Jr.

UCONN trounces South Carolina for NCAA Women's Title

Back in February, Linda and I were enjoying lunch at a sports bar in Hilton Head SC where we watched the UCONN women dismantle top ranked and defending national champ South Carolina.  The crowd of South Carolinians in the bar were stunned by the one sided nature of the Huskies' win, and I said to a gent in the bar, "I guess we should never underestimate Geno."

The thoroughness of that UCONN win made me jump on the Huskies in the final game when I saw that they were laying a mere 6.5 points to the Gamecocks.  I expected a Connecticut win, but I never expected that they would thrash South Carolina the way that they did, leading by as many as thirty points at one time before  ending with an 82-59 win.

For HC Geno Auriemma it was an incredible 12th National Championship, and such a championship was fitting end to the collegiate career of the amazing Paige Bueckers.

Betting Statistics

So how did I do betting on college basketball games this season, you ask?   In betting on Men's games I went 73-48, while going 30-24 betting on Women's games.  That produced an overall winning percentage of .589 (103-72).  Included in those 175 wagers were March Madness games for both Men and Women of 37-16.

So, if you bet with me, you would have made money.  Again, my average wager falls somewhere in the range of $2.50 to $3.00, so I'm not getting rich (or poor) doing this.  It's a hobby, not an addiction.

The Pirates Open Season and Are, Well, The Pirates

In the 15+ years that I have been writing this blog, never have I written less about the Pittsburgh Pirates than I have this season, and for good reason.

In an effort to build a winning team around the once-in-a-generation talent of pitcher Paul Skenes, the Pirates spent the off-season trading for a guy named Spencer Horwitz, a first baseman who showed up in Bradenton with an arm that needed surgery, and added free agent Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier, two over-the-hill guys.

Predictably, they have started at 5-9 and are currently in last place in the NL Central, three games out of first place.  They have earned this miserable record by continuing to play lousy fundamental baseball that would get a high school coach fired.  Derek Shelton continues the post game bromides such as "We can't let things like that happen" and "We have to get better at executing plays like that" and We're working on correcting things like that".  The same crap he has been spewing for six seasons now.

In fairness, Sheltie can only work with what Ben Cherington gives him, which is nothing.  On Wednesday afternoon against the Cardinals, the Bucs starting lineup consisted of four guys hitting below .200, another guy hitting .204, and another guy, Tsung-Che Cheng, making his ML debut, who went 0-2 so then they had five guys hitting below .200,. but hey, Cheng is the 17th best prospect in the Pirates system!  They have also used guys like Pham, Frazier, and Jack Suwinski as lead-off hitters, none of whom will ever be confused with Rickey Henderson, or even Omar Moreno.

In what other businesses would guys like Cherington and Shelton still have jobs after five plus years of performances like this?  

Then there were the public relations gaffes concerning the removal of the Clemente marker and replacing it with an ad (and did you ever read such bullshit as the statement put out by Travis Williams over that screw up?) and the mess with the commemorative bricks outside of PNC Park.

If ever an organization exemplifies the expression "They could f--k up a one car funeral", it is the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Book Review

This is an autobiography of Trafford, PA's Sonny Vaccaro, founder of the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic, and legendary athletic shoe hustler, the guy who put Nike on the map, basketball-wise, and who signed Michael Jordan to that stupendous deal with Nike way back when.  I, of course, knew who Sonny Vaccaro was, and I always felt that he was a bit on the shady side of the ethical line, and that at least some of the evils - if that's the word you want to use - that have beset college sports here in the 2020's can be traced directly to his feet.

He doesn't see it that way, of course, but it's his book and he can tell it any way he wants, and he makes no effort to hide his light under a bushel, as the saying goes.

A pivotal scene in the book is when Vaccaro testifies before the Knight Commission that investigated college sports.  Former Penn State President Bryce Jordan interrogates Sonny by piously asking "Why should a university be an advertising medium for your industry?"

Vaccaro's answer was revealing:

"They shouldn't, sir.  You sold your souls, and you are going to continue selling them. You can be very moral and righteous in asking me that question, sir, but there is not one of you in this room that's going to turn down any of our money.  You're going to take it.  I can only offer it."

Vaccaro was correct in skewering the university presidents and other NCAA poo-bahs, but his answer is also like a drug pusher saying "I'm not making these school kids buy hard drugs, I'm only offering them."

"Legends and Soles" was in interesting read, and gets Two Stars from The Grandstander.

The Baseball Part of Our Cooperstown Trip

 

In  my post yesterday I told you all about the "Bed & Brew" portion of our weekend in Cooperstown, so now it's time to talk about the Baseball part of the trip, as evidenced by the photo you see above.  First, however, let me tell you about how we took in the Pirates Opening Day game against the Marlins in Miami.

We had decided that we would break up our trip to Cooperstown by stopping and staying over in Ellicottville,  NY on Thursday.  It is a lovely little resort town that caters primarily to skiers.  There was still snow on the slopes and we did see some people skiing.  We found this place...

...and settled in for a late lunch, sampled a flight of local brews, and set up our laptop, streamed Sports Net Pittsburgh via FUBO-TV, and watched Paul Skenes handle the Marlins in the manner to which we became accustomed last season.

We made our own sports bar!

We stuck it out at the Ellicottville Brewing Co. until Derek Shelton, in his infinite managerial wisdom, removed Skenes in the sixth inning.  We then went back to the hotel to watch the rest of the game and see the Pirates blow a 4-1 lead and the Marlins walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.  It was a game that was perfect microcosm of the lousy last half of the '24 season, a season that should have gotten Sheltie and most of his bosses fired. However, we will leave the state of the Buccos for another day.

On Friday we arrived in Cooperstown and spent the afternoon visiting the Hall of Fame gift shop, have lunch at a local restaurant, and visited many of the charming little shops that line Cooperstown's Main Street.

This is the card shop where Pete Rose would set up shop every year during Induction Week and hawk his autograph and cheesey "Hit King" merchandise. The guy who owned the store spoke reverently of Rose and how much he will be missed.  I referred to the place as "Pete Rose's Whore House".

We also stopped by Doubleday Field (the place was padlocked so you couldn't go in and sit in the stands), and I paid a visit to the paver stone that I purchased there many years ago,

On Saturday we made our visit to the HOF itself.  First time visitor Linda really enjoyed touring the place. I enjoyed it as well, as I always have,  Here are some random thoughts and photos from our visit.

I found it curious that in the locker that represented the current day Pirates it highlighted two pieces of memorabilia of ex-Buccos John Jaso and Aroldis Chapman.  Couldn't they have done better than that?

It also showcased the cap that Paul Skenes wore when he started the All-Star Game last year, and the players wore those god-awful generic uniforms and caps.

I also noticed a couple of cool things.  In the HOF Gallery, where the plaques are displayed (it feels like you're walking into the Vatican), the plaques are arranged in various nooks grouped by the years of induction.  For example, 1941-1945 or 1993-1996 and so on.  Anyway, one such nook, and I can't tell you the exact years, includes the plaques of Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, and Willie Mays.  That, my friends, is a mighty exclusive neighborhood.  And in a case of absolute serendipity for Yankees fans, the plaques of Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter hang right next teach other.

Ever since I first visited Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame back in 1976 I have loved the place and have always looked forward to coming again at some point in the future.  Now, at 73, I have to wonder if this visit might have been my last.   Mind you, it's not like I'm planning on checking out any time soon, but Cooperstown is a long way away, and seven hours of driving is a lot harder than it used to be.  Whatever the case may be, I have wonderful memories of the place from seven visits over forty-nine years that I will always cherish,  Everybody should visit Cooperstown if they ever get the chance.

I'll close now with a few more photos from our visit to the Museum.

Johnny Mathis

 

I felt bad when I read this week that singer Johnny Mathis announced that he was retiring from touring and performing at the age of 89 due to "age and memory issues".

I have been fortunate enough to see Mathis perform live twice in my life, most recently in 2012 at Heinz Hall with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. (You can read about that HERE.)  Nobody could deliver a love song like Johnny Mathis!

Mathis has been performing since 1956, almost SEVENTY YEARS, and he is entitled to call it quits on his terms.  However, when someone loves his work, as Johnny Mathis so obviously did, it is sad to see that he is doing so for the reasons stated.  Let us all wish that Mathis spends the rest of his years in peace and comfort.

Of course, there are dozens and dozens of Johnny Mathis songs that I could include in this post as a tribute to him. Here is a FILM CLIP from the terrific 1978 movie "Same Time Next Year" starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn. Mathis, along with Jane Olivor, sung this song, "The Last Time I Felt Like This", over the titles and throughout the movie.  Music by Marvin Hamlisch, Lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, it is a terrific song, and Mathis made it even better.  It is also a movie that I highly recommend.