It Was A Busy Weekend....

Some recollections of a busy weekend before it gets too far in the rear view mirror.....

• The weekend began for us on Friday afternoon when we took in the new, heavily promoted Ben Affleck movie, "The Accountant".  It was exciting, it was action packed, and it was somewhat original, and we enjoyed it a lot.  Both Marilyn and I are big fans of Affleck, so we were not disappointed.  However, when you leave the theater and reflect upon it, you can begin to see some of the elephant sized holes that were in the storyline, and you start asking questions like "Well, where did he learn how to do.....?" or "How did he know to go to....?"  You know what I mean.  Don't let that stop you, though, because as I said, it's really entertaining.  Also quote violent, so be forewarned. I give it two and one-half stars.
• Saturday afternoon gave us that amazing 45-31 Pitt victory over Virginia.  After a first half in which neither team could stop the other, a Jordan Whitehead 58 yard interception gave Pitt a 35-28 lead right before halftime.  And then, Pat Narduzzi and the defensive staff made some kind of miraculous adjustments at halftime and stopped UVA cold over the final two quarters.  This has seemed to me to be a hallmark of Narduzzi in his time at Pitt.  When adjustments are needed to be made at halftime, they make them.  Doesn't happen all the time, but it happens more often than not, it seems to me.
• Then came that Steelers 30-15 loss at Miami yesterday.  This highlights a disturbing trend over recent seasons of the Steelers losing to crummy teams, teams that the should be beating.   And make no mistake about it, the Dolphins are a bad team.  They will finish below .500 by a wide margin when all is said and done. the injury to 
• And as for the injury to Ben Roethlisberger.....  As I write this, it is not known how many games he will miss, but with each game that he doesn't play, the Steelers chances of that predicted Super Bowl win, or even a run in the playoffs, decrease exponentially.

• On a much happier note, we took in our first play of the 2016-17 Pittsburgh Public Theater season on Sunday night, "The Fantasticks".  Until last night, all I knew about this play was that it was the longest running musical play in American theater history (it has been running in New York City continuously since 1960), and the song "Try To Remember" came from it. A story about two young people falling in love, in sprite of the (seeming) objections of their fathers, overcoming the rough spots when the bloom is off the rose, and then cementing that love forever.  I thought it was delightful, and, as usual, the staging and presentation by the PPT was fabulous.  The show runs through October 30 at the O'Reilly, and I highly recommend it.
• The three leads in "The Fantasticks" were played by Mary Elizabeth Drake, Jamen Nanthakumar, and Josh Powell. Each of these young actors were making their debuts with the PPT, and I hope that we will see them again in the years to come.
• Theater Trivia: The part of El Gallo in "The Fantasticks" was originated way back in 1960 by Jerry Orbach.  Orbach was at the beginning of what would be a long career on Broadway (he would later win a Tony Award) and in the movies, but he will probably be best remembered for playing hardened and sardonic Detective Lennie Briscoe on TV's "Law and Order".
• The program gave a list of some of the actors who have played in "The Fantasticks" over the course of it's long history.  In addition to Orbach, you can also include folks like Liza Minelli, Elliott Gould, Richard Chamberain, and F. Murray Abraham.
• We got home Sunday evening in time to see the final five innings of the Dodgers 1-0 win over the Cubs, led by the dominating performance of Clayton Kershaw.  The performance of Kershaw both last night and in the NLDS against Washington has put to rest, it seems, the notion that "Kershaw stinks in the post season".  He's STILL not the "next Koufax", though.
• The Dodgers' win is going against the hoped for conclusion of a Cubs pennant.  The series now stands at 1-1 with three games now coming up in LA.   In the American League, the Indians have taken a 2-0 lead as that series now heads to Toronto.  You know that MLB and Fox, in spite of possibly losing a large chunk of that LA market, are dying for a Cubs-Indians World Series. Two teams that, between them, have not won a World Series for 176 years. It would be quite a story line, but pardon me if I am cheering for Joe Maddon to be dealt one giant dose of humility.  I am, however, rooting like hell for the Tribe!
• And on one final note, we stopped at Appleby's for dinner on the way into town for the play last night, and I had a cheeseburger, the "American Classic Burger" to be specific.  Long time readers know of my never ending quest for terrific burgers, and that search usually avoids chain restaurants, but I gotta be honest, that burger at Appleby's last night was absolutely terrific.  I can't recommend it highly enough!

Football in Pittsburgh, 2016

We are not quite one-third (actually, 31.25%) of the way through the Steelers season and halfway through the Pitt season, and 2016 has been nothing if not wildly entertaining for fans of these two teams.

At the beginning of the season, I said that the Steelers would "win twelve games, win the AFC North Division and gain first round playoff bye, win the AFC Championship, and win the Super Bowl."  Today the team sits at 4-1 and are one, two, and three games ahead of their AFC North rivals, and are playing at a level that is almost impeccable. Yes, they did fall behind the Jets at one point yesterday, but was there ever a moment in that game when you felt that they were NOT going to comfortably beat the Jets?

There have been injuries to some key players, but it hasn't appeared to slow them down a bit.  And, yes, there have been times when that bend-bit-don't-break defense can get a bit scary, but they have been more than adequate, in fact, they have been quite good, when it comes to surrendering points, and all four of those wins have been laughers.

Well, there was that blip in the form of that 34-3 loss to the Eagles in Week Three.  Not sure how you account for that, and I am thinking that when the season is over, that game may well qualify for the NFL Aberration of the Year Award.

And as long as none of those key injuries happens to #7, I see no reason to back off of my pre-season prediction.

And while none of us can look past the Dolphins next week (it's the kind of game that the Steelers have lost in recent seasons), that match-up with the Patriots at Heinz Field on October 23 is shaping up as a possible AFC Championship preview.

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Then there are the Pitt Panthers.  

They are half way through the season and are 4-2 (1-1 in the ACC).  Save for the opener against Villanova, everyone of the Panthers games have been high scoring, decided in the final minutes of each game, and wildly entertaining.  Pitt could very easily be 6-0 today.  They also could very easily be 1-5.  They are just that kind of a team, and it has been that kind of a season.

What remains before them are home games with Virginia Tech, Duke, and Syracuse, and road games with Virginia, Miami, and Clemson.  The only game among those six that appears to be a sure thing is a loss to Clemson.  Of the other five, it would be a surprise but not a shock if Pitt went 4-1 or 5-0.  It would also not be a shock to see them go 1-4 or 2-3.

Two more wins are needed for Pitt to gain Bowl eligibility, which is no great shakes in today's college football scene, but winning their division in the ACC is also in play given some help from some other schools.  My buddy Bob Middleman, who has forgotten more about Pitt football than I will ever know, told me before the season that he thought Pitt would be a 7-5 team this year, maybe 8-4.  Those numbers are attainable, so if that is how it ends up, I suppose that you would be able to call this a reasonably successful season.  It will then be up to Pat Narduzzi to continue to bring in his kinds of players and continue to coach 'em up.

And no knock on Nate Peterman, but a top flight college quarterback would be nice.  And more guys named Quadree.

Steelers Prediction for 2016

Okay, gang, I'm going to make this short and sweet.

In 2016, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to win twelve games, win the AFC North Division and gain first round playoff bye, win the AFC Championship, and win the Super Bowl.  I'm not going to make a prediction as to who they will play in the Super Bowl, because, who cares?  The Steelers are going to take home that seventh Lombardi Trophy.  

Of course, this prediction is contingent upon Number 7 staying healthy throughout the season.  If Ben goes down for any considerable length of time, i.e., more than two games, all bets are off.  Any loss of significant playing time for Antonio Brown would also hurt the cause, but the QB is the real key here.

You don't really need any more analysis than that do you?

You heard it here first, and, as always, watch, but don't bet.

Rio Post Mortem, Pirates, Hearst, and Other Topics

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box.....

• The Rio Olympics ended this past Sunday amidst much pomp, ceremony, and overproduction.  Marilyn and I found ourselves watching much more of the games than we anticipated ahead of time, and we enjoyed them immensely.
• Everyone will have their own "Olympic Moments" to savor in their memories.  For me, however, the most enduring memories of these Olympics will be as follows:

• The complete domination of the sprints by Jamaica's Usain Bolt.  In particular, I will remember his anchor leg in the 4x100 event.  When he took the baton, the sprinters from Japan and the USA were almost dead even with him, and he proceeded to leave them in the dust.  Simply amazing.

• The dominance in the swimming pool, for the FOURTH OLYMPIAD, of Michael Phelps.

• The dominance in the swimming pool by Katie Ladecky, and at only 19 years of age, I suspect that she will still dominate in 2020, and quite possibly 2024.

Moving away from the Olympics....

• What do you make of the Pittsburgh Pirates?  In the month of August, they went 5-4 in a stretch against bottom feeders Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Diego.  They then go an improbable 5-1 against the Dodgers and Giants on the West Coast, only to return home to face critical series against the Marlons and the Astros and go 1-5 and look completely impotent in doing so.  You just can't figure them out, or, as Yogi Berra once put it "In baseball, you don't know nothin'."
• The Steelers.  They are 0-2 in the practice games, have looked awful (or so I'm told; I think I've watched a total of about a half dozen plays in the two games, total).  What I think is happening is that Mike Tomlin is using these games as a coach should use them.  To look at newer and marginal players, to avoid injuries to key players (Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, to name only two key players, have not played a down), to practice.  These are PRACTICE GAMES, people.  What a concept for a coach to follow.
• Of course, this doesn't stop the Steelers and their 31 NFL lodge brothers from charging full boat for the tickets and making purchase of these tickets mandatory in all season ticket packages.  Shameful.
• I have just started reading this recently released and current best seller...

• It's hard to believe, but you pretty much have to be over fifty years old to have a first hand memory of the Patty Hearst Kidnapping and the amazing and bizarre story that followed it.  I am only about forty pages into it, but it promises to be an interesting and fascinating book.  Rest assured that The Grandstander will be providing a full review upon completion.
• My mentioning of this book on Facebook yesterday prompted some comments along the lines of "Whatever became of Steven Weed?"  Anyone under age fifty reading this know who Steven Weed is/was?  Anyway, a Google search reveals surprisingly little about him. Google will show a successful realtor in Menlo Park, CA named Steven Weed, that is about the right age, but no indication if he is THE Steven Weed.  Perhaps Toobin's book will reveal the answer.

The Happy Couple

• Speaking of Usain Bolt, look what has been turning up on various golf courses western Pennsylvania of late:

• What a legacy, huh?