The Sports Weekend That Was

A quick whirl around the wide, wide world of sports from this past weekend....

• The finalists in the NCAA Men's basketball tournament have been determined with Virginia defeating Auburn and Texas Tech defeating Michigan State in two wildly amazing games.  What an improbable finish to that Virginia game with the kid sinking three straight free throws with .6 seconds left to eek out a 63-62 win.
• So as to avoid jinxing the situation, I will just say that we in this household are vigorously rooting for Virginia tonight.  Should the desired outcome be achieved, I will spell out the details at some point later in the week.
• After suffering two bad losses to the Cardinals last week,  the Pirates then proceeded to complete a four game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds and now stand at 5-3.  
• Yesterday's game featured a benches clearing hissy fit which caused numerous post game comments about baseball's hallowed "unwritten rules" and hand wringing about how certain players need to "respect the game."  What a bunch of horseshit that is.

• Chief hand wringer among the Pirates was relief pitcher Keone Kela (who was ejected from the game for his actions in the brouhaha).  Kela apparently broke his spring training "not gonna talk to the media" dictum to make his overwrought pronouncements.  Two of the Pirates three losses, by the way, came in large part because Kela twice surrendered home runs that erased leads that he was brought in to protect.  Maybe Kela should work on that little kink before declaring himself the Arbiter Of All Things Proper On A Baseball Diamond.
• It is becoming apparent that we are in the beginning of a season long journey wherein all broadcasts and telecasts will be a tribute to Steve Blass as he serves out his final season as a broadcaster.  I'm not a Blass Hater, by any means, but this is already getting tiring.  By what date in the season's calendar will Greg Brown begin to openly and unabashedly weep over Steve's pending departure? I say it happens after the All-Star Break, but before the July 31 trade deadline.
• The University of Pittsburgh unveiled it's new look, or new "branding" for its athletic teams.  The blue-and yellow color scheme of the Majors-Dorsett-Sherrill-Marino-Risacher Era of Pitt athletics will now be official.  As will the "Script Pitt" logo, which, in fact, came back about two years ago.  Also, a new Panther Head will also become the "secondary" logo for Pitt's teams.

• Much of Pitt's fan base, which has been kvetching for the return of the Script logo ever since the Evil Steve Peterson did away with them in 1997, acted predictably all across social media last night and today:  They hate the new look.  Oh the script is good, and the colors are okay, but the font of the numbers is awful and what's with that stupid new panther, they ask.  Some people are only happy, apparently, when they are unhappy.
• Me, I like the "new" Panther, but I'd like everything a whole lot more if HCPN could manage a ten or more win season in 2019.
• If you didn't watch the NCAA Women's basketball championship game last night, won 82-81 by Baylor over Notre Dame, shame on you.  For two and a half quarters, Baylor led ND by anywhere from ten to thirteen points. Then Baylor's best player, Lauren Cox, left the game with a bad injury, and Notre Dame proceeded to stage a valiant comeback that saw them take the lead late in the game, only to have Baylor play equally valiantly in fighting off the comeback and eventually winning the game and the championship.  Terrific game.
• The Penguins qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs which begin on Wednesday.  Time for me to hop on the bandwagon and start watching the Pens.  My prediction:  The Penguins to win it all, no series lasting longer than five games.  The only thing not certain at this point is the exact date for the victory parade. 
• And in football, Antonio Brown tweeted out that the person responsible for the Steelers not making the Playoffs last year was.....Juju Smith-Shuster.  Juju, you will recall, was voted team MVP by his teammates last year, and AB, apparently, has never recovered from this blatant act of disrespect.

So, what will this new week bring us?  This is why we follow sports.

Olympians Come to Pitt

Thanks go out to my friend, Mark Matera, who clued me in on and invited me to join his son and him at an event at the University of Pittsburgh last night.  The event in question was the premiere of a documentary film called "The Renaissance Period of the African American in Sports."  

The film was produced by Pitt alumnus, Trustee, and Olympic Bronze Medalist (1948), Herb Douglas.  The film focused on nine African American track and field athletes who were on the United States Olympic Track and Field team at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, which were staged under the watchful eyes of Adolf Hitler.  Of course, the most famous of these athletes was Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at those games.  However, other medals were won by these nine athletes, including a gold medal by Pitt's John Woodruff, and Mack Robinson, whose younger brother, Jackie, would go on to make some history of his own eleven years later.

Following the film, a panel discussion moderated by WTAE news anchor Andrew Stockey featured the following Olympians:

Harrison Dillard, winner of four Olympic Gold Medals, two each in both the 1948 and 1952 Olympics.  Dillard is now 91 years old.  His Olympic teammate, Herb Douglas, is 92, and if you saw both men you would put them in their late seventies or early eighties.

Bob Beamon, Gold Medalist in the long jump at the 1968 Olympics.  Beamon's Gold Medal is is most remembered because in a sport where records my be broken by fractions of inches, Beamon's Olympic jump broke the then world record by almost 22 inches.  

His record in the long jump stood for an amazing 23 years.

Edwin Moses, Gold Medalist in both the 1976 and 1984 Olympics, and Bronze Medalist in the 1988 Games.

Moses so dominated his event, the 400 meter hurdles, that he won 122 consecutive races in this event, a streak that lasted for nine years ands nine months (1977-87).





If you haven't been keeping score up until now, that was four athletes on stage with nine Olympic medals, seven of them gold, among them.

Hearing these men talk about their careers, with an emphasis on the African American experience that they shared, was remarkable and enthralling.  I only wish that Stockey would have asked Beamon to talk about the atmosphere in the Olympic Village in Mexico City after the protest on the Medal stand that was staged by Tommie Smith and John Carlos.  (For you younger readers who may not know what I am talking about, look it up.  It was a remarkable story, and a story that defined a distinct era in American history.)

Beamon did tell the story of his record setting leap in Mexico City.  About how he concentrated so hard not to foul, about all the years of training that led to this moment, about how is heart was pounding, and how, as he was at the apex of his jump, he took time to look at his watch. That last part obviously didn't happen, but it was the laugh line in the story.  This is obviously Beamon's "go to" story, and you can tell that he has told it many, many times over the years, but you know what?  That was okay by me and the rest of the audience.

The evening ended with Pitt Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg telling a very moving story about 1936 Olympic Champion John Woodruff, and also introducing from the audience former Pitt football player Bobby Greer, who became the first African American to play in the Sugar Bowl football game in 1957, after Sugar Bowl officials wanted to not allow him to play in segregated New Orleans, and Pitt said "he plays, or no one plays".

(During the reception prior to the event, Mark Matera introduced me to Chancellor Nordenberg, and I have to tell you that he is one very impressive gentleman.)

As we were leaving the event at the end of the evening, I got to say hello to and shake the hands of both Bob Beamon and Edwin Moses, and I have to tell you, it was a VERY cool experience.

I am most grateful to Mark Matera for thinking of me and including me in this experience.  It was a very memorable evening.

Hail To Pitt!

I mentioned on Facebook yesterday that I was looking forward to my first visit to Heinz Field since 2003 yesterday, and I was not disappointed.  I was able to join friends Dan Bonk and Len Martin when one of their "regulars" was unable to use his Pitt ticket yesterday, and I really enjoyed the experience.

I had not been to a Pitt football game in many, many years, and I really have to commend the University for the job that they do in presenting and creating a "college atmosphere" at Heinz Field.  The parking lots, the businesses around Heinz Field, the student section, the Pitt Athletic department, the Pitt Marching Band and the Cheerleaders really make for a fun atmosphere.  Also, the fact that beer is not sold in the Stadium during the game also makes for an enjoyable day.  I noticed that there were lots of families in attendance with very young children, something no responsible parent would do at a beer-soaked Heinz Field Steelers game.

As for the game itself, Pitt did as expected and romped over I-AA Gardner Webb, and the quality of the opponent no doubt contributed to Heinz field being only slightly over half occupied.  I can only imagine that a strong opponent, a meaningful and quality game, and a large near-capacity crowd would only increase the pleasure of the experience.

I am hoping to repeat the experience several times in the future as Pitt becomes a part of the ACC in 2013.

Will close with a view of Len and I soaking up some pre-game atmosphere on General Robinson Street.

The Umbrellas at Pitt

I have to admit that I have loved following the story of the planning and execution by the Pitt Freshman Orientation Committee and their successful attempt to stage the World's Largest Umbrella Dance as a part of Orientation week at Pitt yesterday.  In case you missed it, over 3,500 incoming freshman took part in this dance on campus yesterday afternoon, shattering the previous record.  This not only will be noted in the Guinness Book of World's Records, but it also paid tribute to Pitt alumnus Gene Kelly on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Such an event is silly and goofy, to be sure, but not totally frivolous, because as a team building exercise, it sure beats a lot of stuff I went through at various corporate seminars over the years.  It is also the kind of "college experience" that I never had when I went to college, and I fully admit to being jealous as hell about it.

So, to all of those 3,500+ freshman and the Committee that conceived of this and pulled it off, I say....

"Hail to Pitt!!"