To Absent Friends: Bill Austin

The man who preceded Chuck Noll as the Steelers head coach, Bill Austin (that's him on the left above), died yesterday at the age of 84.  Austin served as Steelers coach for three seasons before he was canned, and Chuck Noll was hired.  His term at the helm was, shall we say, undistinguished.

Austin serves as an object lesson for anyone who wants to see a successful sports coach fired (Jamie Dixon? Dan Bylsma? Mike Tomlin?), because you just never know who you are going to get when you hire a replacement.

In 1966, Bill Austin had the perfect pedigree to be the Next Big Thing in NFL coaching circles.  A successful assistant coach of the dynastic Green Bay Packers, he came highly recommended to Art Rooney by no less that Vince Lombardi (that's him on the right for all you youngsters out there) himself.  When he got there, he modeled himself after Lombardi, right down to the yelling and screaming and winning-is-the-only-thing persona.  Trouble was, there was only one Vince Lombardi, and Bill Austin turned out to be  just another bad NFL head coach.  The NFL was full of them then and it still is.

Anyway, RIP Bill Austin.

Another Reason Why We Love Baseball...Pirates 5 - Tigers 3

I have just returned home from attending the Pirates 5-3 win over the Tigers with buddy, Len Martin.

If you care enough to be reading this, most likely you know what transpired.  With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, I was contemplating how I was going to write about the absolutely dominating performance of Tigers pitcher Annibal Sanchez, and while it was too bad the Pirates lost, but that you had to tip your hat to such a dominating performance from a pitcher.  At that point he had given up two hits, had nine strike outs, no walks, and his pitch count was in the low 70's, with an ungodly  K:BB ratio, and the Tigers led 3-1.  Then....

• Garret Jones singles
• Russell Martin walks
• Pedro Alvarez, who couldn't have looked more pathetic in his two previous AB's, doubles to the opposite field, scoring Jones and Martin.  Tie game.
• Travis Snider doubles, scoring Alvarez, then advances to third on a wild pitch
• Jordy Mercer then lays down a perfect squeeze bunt that scores Snider without a play being made on either Snider or Mercer.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the game had completely turned around.  What appeared to be a desultory loss, became an electrifying win for the Pirates, served with the requisite grilled cheese sammitch from Jason Grilli in the ninth.

If this were a football game, and your team was being dominated the way Sanchez was dominating the Pirates, there is no way the team turns it around and wins the game.  Another reason why we love baseball.

One final note.  In this series, the Pirates have managed to keep Miguel Cabrera in check, until the fifth inning when he launched an absolute rocket halfway up into the right field seats.  A no-doubt-about-it bomb.  Since the Bucs did manage to win this one, I have to say that it was kind of fun to see Miggy, who is having another unbelievable year, hit such a bomb.

Golfing, Falling, Pirates Winning, Neal Does Well, and a New Award

Cleaning Out the Mental In-Box, Memorial Day Edition.....

• Had a delightful round of golf today at Moon Golf Club.  Well, the company - Dan Bonk, John Coley, and Fred Shugars - was delightful.  The golf, not so much.  I have been playing golf for 30-some years now and am approaching age 62, so I am what I am as a golfer, so I don't get angry anymore when I play poorly, but I do get disappointed when I just know that I'm capable of playing better.
• A note to the Moon Golf Club:  I want a rematch, at which time I intend to kick your ass!
• Hey, how about those Pittsburgh Pirates???? 31-19 after taking two of three from the Hated Brewers in Miller Park!  When things like that happen, maybe it's a sign that this is the year that the World Record Losing Streak ends. Still a lot of grass to mow, however.
• A little over a week ago, we all looked forward to what was thought to be a soft part of the Pirates schedule, 13 games with the Brewers, Astros, and Cubs.  The Pirates came through that patch with a 10-3 record.
• Now the team faces ten games against good teams, the Tigers, Reds, and Braves. Five games at home, five on the road.  I'll be happy with 5-5 on that stretch, and would love it if it included two of three against the Reds.
• 10,000th Win Contest Update:  The Pirates are playing at a .620 clip that, if maintained, would bring win #39, aka, the 10,000th Win in Team History, on the 63rd game of the season.  This pace is making Don Lancaster look like Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.  Don called for this win to take place in game #65.  No one else is even close.  It will take a losing stretch of epic proportions (kind of like what happened last August) for Don to not take this prize.  
• Speaking of Don Lancaster, this past Tuesday he won his primary election race for Borough Council in Indiana, PA.  Go get 'em in November, Don!
• The performance of the Pirates is being sparked in large part by the following factors: (1) the Other Worldly performance of closer Jason Grilli, who became the closer due to the Joel Hanrahan trade, (2) the also Other Worldly performance by set-up man Mark Melancon, who was obtained in the Hanrahan trade, (3) the spark plug performance by catcher and free agent signee Russell Martin, who some have stated has been the team MVP, (4) five wins by Wandy Rodriguez, (5) five wins by Jeff Locke, (6) continued outstanding performance by AJ Burnett, (7) solid performances from fifth starter Jeanmar Gomez., and (8) a 3-0 start by free agent signee Francisco Liriano.
• What do the eight guys listed above have in common?  They all were brought here by the maneuverings of General Manager Neal Huntington.  Yes, I who have spent so much time and blog space bashing the NHR since the close of last season, now must give the GM credit where it is due.  Oh, he still drives me crazy with his line of say-nothing NHB, and there is still two-thirds of a season to be played, but so far, a "Well Done" to GM Neal for 2013.  Final grade to be delivered in October.
• Speaking of Joel Hanrahan, there seemed to be some gloating among Pirate Chatters (the Neal Loyalists?) when he started poorly with the Red Sox, and even some "told-you-so" type comments when he had to undergo season ending surgery, which I felt was bad form.  Hanrahan served the Buccos loyally and well, especially in 2011-12, I, for one, feel bad about what has befallen him since the trade, and wish him well when he returns in 2014.
• Do any of you out there watch "Mad Men"?  If so, do you agree that last week's episode was bizarre at best and downright awful at worst?  Let's hope that that episode was an aberration or else we could be talking shark-jumping here.
• I mentioned earlier that I will be turning age 62 in a few months. Not sure there is a correlation here, but yesterday morning, while crossing a North Side street on my way to breakfast with some friends, I fell down.  Don't know what happened, what caused the misstep, but all of a sudden, it was "DOWN goes Frazier!"   Skinned my knee, jammed my wrist, and suffered major embarrassment, but otherwise, came out okay.  The lesson is, something like this can come out of nowhere, so, as they said at the Hill Street Station "Be careful out there."
• Maybe that fall explains my complete inability to hit a wedge shot or make a putt today.
• How about that nutty Sergio Garcia?  First there was his incessant whining about Tiger Woods two weeks ago at the Players Championship, followed this week by, to be kind, racially insensitive comments about Woods at a press conference in Europe.  For all of Sergio's utterances, we bestow upon him The Grandstander H.A. Citation.  Hey, Sergio, this is for you:

(Photo courtesy of Dan Bonk Enterprises)

• The "H.A. Citation" will now become a semi-regular feature of The Grandstander. 
• And I will accept nominations for future Grandstander H.A. Citations, so let me have your suggestions.

Tony Award Predictions from Our Man on Broadway

As long time readers know, each year we turn The Grandstander over to our Official Broadway Correspondent,  Hatboro, PA's (by way of Landview Street) Big Poppy for predictions on Broadway's Annual Tony Awards, which will be presented on June 9.

Big Poppy is most definitely a man for all seasons, and his opinions on the American stage are highly valued.  He is coming off of a poor - for him -  prediction record in 2012, and is looking to rebound strong this year.  These predictions are coming a bit early this year because he and Mrs, Big P will be traveling to the Aloha State and will not be on the Mainland on the day the Awards are presented.

We will be watching and will provide a scorecard come June 10, and with that, take it away, Big Poppy.....

Hi Grandstander!  I know that you and your loyal readers have been anxiously awaiting my annual Tony Award predictions.   Yes, Big Poppy can hear you all snoring from 300 miles away.  NOT that I'm discouraged or dissuaded from trying to improve on my 6 for 10 performance in 2012.  This year, I'm picking eight winners representing only three shows: Kinky Boots, Matilda, and Pippin.  Here goes:

 

Revival of 

a Musical .........................  Pippin

Featured Actress, Musical ............... Andrea Martin

Featured Actor, Musical .................. Terrance Mann

Best Score .......................................... Cyndi Lauper (Kinky Boots) ... (Yes, that same Cyndi Lauper)

Best Book, Musical ........................... Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots) ... (could be Danny Kelly, Matilda)?

Leading Actress ................................ Patina Miller (Pippin)

Leading Actor ................................... Bertie Carvel (Matilda)   *SHOULD win ... Billy Porter (Kinky Boots)

Best Musical ...................................... Kinky Boots  (in a photo finish over Matilda)

 

Enjoy the show!  June 9th on CBS.  

"Romeo and Juliet" at Seneca Valley

More supporting of The Arts in area high schools.  Tonight, it was the Seneca Valley Thespians production of Billy Shakespeare's classic, "Romeo and Juliet".  The hook that got us there tonight was the inclusion in the cast of our nephew, Zach Stoner, as the "Friar".  He was brilliant, by the way.

A very nice production, and it occurred to me as I was watching that while I had to read "Romeo and Juliet" in high school, I had never actually seen a production of the play.  Have seen a million versions of West Side Story, but not the play that inspired, so I guess that I have been rounded out just a bit by finally seeing it on stage.

Congratulations to Zach and all of his cast mates on  a job well done!

Book Review: "Silken Prey" by John Sandford (No Spoilers)

I have just finished John Sandford's latest Lucas Davenport novel, "Silken Prey", and, once again, Sandford and Davenport have hit one out of the park.

The novel begins with a political dirty trick in a knock down, drag out US Senate race in Minnesota.   Child pornography has been found on the office computer of the incumbent Senator.  Is it his? Or, was it planted there by an operative of the challenger's?  And  on top of everything else, one of those political operatives seems to have turned up missing.  The Governor of Minnesota, Elmer Henderson, asks Lucas to investigate the matter and try to clean it all up before Election Day, a mere eight days away.

In conducting his investigation, Lucas discovers just what a blood sport Politics is, and realizes how his career could be on the line depending on how the whole mess turns out.

Other Sandford characters make appearances, including Virgil Flowers, and Kidd, an artist and part time computer hacker, and his wife, Lauren, who has a very interesting background herself.  Kidd is the subject of about a half dozen other Sandford novels.  I have not read any of those, but I think I am going to have to give them a whirl.  My favorite character, however, may be that of Governor Henderson.  He has some great lines of dialog in this book, and I kept picturing him  as John Slattery, the guy who plays Roger Sterling on "Mad Men".  His lines are that good!  The door is also left open so that one of these characters may appear again to bedevil Lucas in future "Prey" novels.

As I said, "Silken Prey" is another home run for John Sandford.  Read it.

The Mt. Lebanon High School Percussion Concert

Our Spring 2013 Tour in support of "The Arts" at area high schools took us to Mt. Lebanon High School last night for the annual Percussion Concert.  We were there to support Ashley Hansen, daughter of our friends Roger and Denise Hansen.  This was the second year we have been to this event, and it was a bittersweet occasion because Ashley will be graduating in two weeks, and this was her final Percussion Concert.

The concert was amazing and we also got to see all of the seniors being recognized for all of their efforts over the last four years.  It was amazing - Eagle Scouts, National Honor Society members, high honors recognition, and, perhaps just as important, I saw a group of kids having more fun in one concert than I had in four years of high school (an exaggeration, to be sure, but not a large one!).  Our future is in good hands with kids like this.

Good luck, Ashley, and Well Done, and have a great four years at Penn State!

After musicals at Seneca Valley, North Allegheny, and Montour, and last night's concert at Mt.  Lebo, the only stop remaining on our tour is the Seneca Valley Film Festival in a few weeks.