"June Swoon"

Guess What, there are only 61 days remaining before the Pittsburgh Steelers report to training camp on July 31 in Latrobe, PA. On the same day the Pittsburgh Pirates are 20-29 and in the meantime the Pirates have lost 7 out of the last 10. Let's hope that the Pirates do not go into the dreaded,as the Gunner Bob Prince called it, "The June Swoon." The good news is that Houston is playing bad and their record is a morbid 16-32. With the Penguins flushed out of the Stanley Cup race by Montreal, all the Hockey Bars in this region are suffering from lack of alcohol/food sales from at least 8 more and upwards of 14 more games that the Penguins could have played. I sure there are some great Hockey Bars around the Pittsburgh area but 2 of the best are the Saloon of Mount Lebanon and the Pittsburgh Bottleshop in the Heidelberg/Bridgeville area. The places do well without Playoff Hockey Games but some of these Hockey bars across this region are totally packed during Hockey Playoff games. The die-hard Pirate fans would love to see the Pirates in the Playoffs come October but unfortunately the fans of this region may have to wait a long time for this. It is unbelievable what an economic explosion is caused in the Pittsburgh region when a local professional teams makes the Playoffs and a lot of times it carries over Nationwide. Pittsburgh fans, whether they live in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, have great enthusiasm. Lets go Bucs, by-pass the dreaded "June Swoon", and focus first on a winning season, then the Playoffs down the road. July 31 is 61 days away and hopefully it will not be an indicator of the Pirates season coming to a halt.

Super Bowl News

So the Super Bowl is going to New York City in 2014. Many of the media and fans alike are concerned about the impending cold weather that could occur at that time of the year and especially in the Big Apple when you can get smashed with a Nor'easter at any time in the winter months. Let us look at another scenario. That is 4 years from now. The direction the National Football League is taking, the Super Bowl may not be played until late February in 2014. Let us not forget back in the mid 1980's, the Super Bowls were played in the Mid to Late January time frame. It seems it keeps getting moved back from early to mid February. With the possibility of a 17 or 18 game schedule, this would push the Super Bowl back 1 to 2 weeks. With the potential of adding another team into the playoffs in each division, this scenario may push the Super Bowl back another week. Do not forget the NFL Draft was held in Late February back in the 1970's and into the 1980's. Now the draft is the last weekend in April. What if this all occurs, the Super Bowl may be played on the final Sunday in February or even the first Sunday in March. I am not a meteorologist, but after Valentine's Day, the average daily high temperature begins to rise in the Northeastern states. The NFL is taking a gamble with the weather at this time of the year but do not forget a few years ago when the Super Bowl was held in Atlanta, that city had a significant ice storm the day prior to the Super Bowl. The powers in the National Football League may have this all figured out after they have studied the Farmer's Almanac.

Hard Hat

After seeing Pirate pitcher Chris Jakubauskas get hit in the head with a scorching line drive recently, I feel like changes need to be made with the equipment usage in baseball and other sports. The pitcher after his delivery is completed is about 57 to 60 feet away from home plate. After pitching the ball, some pitcher's balance is not spectacular. I do not know how fast the ball is coming off the bat upon contact, but it has to be on high levels of velocity. My feeling over the years comes to one conclusion. That is, pitchers should wear a full batting helmet strictly for protection and safety. It may not be comfortable and may not match the uniform code, but safety should be a major concern when you are 60 feet away from danger. The pitchers reaction time is limited in such short areas with Jakubauskas reaction to the line drive. I was watching College Women's Fast Pitch Softball and thought the same thing. These young ladies are only 43 feet from the batter. It may not be comfortable, but a full batting helmet on with the team logo on the front is vital for protection from serious injury. It is hard to fathom that Hockey Players 40 years ago did not wear protective head gear. Head injuries can be devastating. Athletes need to protect themselves from Head injuries.

Spring Football or No Spring Football

Most of the high schools if not all high school across the great state of Pennsylvania do have Spring Football but it is without full fledged equipment and live contact. The teams are in shorts and work on fundamentals and skill development in an orderly fashion. They also are in the weight room working on strength training activities. This format is a continuation of the process of player development and improvement. Most of the time it occurs after the Spring Sports are completed at each individual high school. "Live Contact"Spring Football can work also but I feel comfortable with this alternate plan. In numerous high schools across the state, many high school athletes participate in multiple sports throughout the year. There bodies are spent and they need adequate rest. A proposal that has gone through my mind is as follows. Instead of Spring Live Contact Football, start the summer football camp 5 days earlier. Move it up from the normal old starting date of August 15 to let's say August 10. This will give each program 10 more live contact sessions which would have occurred in the Spring. Then allow each team to compete in a third scrimmage instead of the standard 2 scrimmages. This gives a program a different type of competition rather than banging heads with the same people everyday. Least we not forget, some school districts are beginning school earlier in August so therefore some schools have 2-a -days for one week only. This earlier starting period will establish a more thorough continuity in a football program. The players and their families can make the adjustment to an earlier starting date and hopefully the athletic powers in the state would agree to this change of moving Summer Football Camp up 5 days.

What's up with the Panthers

With the Pitt Panthers coming out of a 10 and 3 season with a bowl victory over North Carolina and a miscue on a penalty vs. Cincinnati which may have cost the Panthers a BCS bid, the recruiting is starting to shape itself out in the middle of May. Some 1A schools have upwards of 10+ commitments as of May 20, 2010 of the Rising Seniors(present Juniors) for the Class of 2011. As of May 20, the Pitt Panthers have 3 commitments of which I can comment on 2 of them. One of the commitments comes from heralded DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md coached by the fabled Bill McGregor who is originally from the Dormont section of Pittsburgh and played at the Catholic School Powerhouse South Hills Catholic(now Seton LaSalle). He is TE Sam Collura, a strapping 6'3 1/2"/245 Tight End who reminds me of recent Pitt TE Nate Byham who was recently drafted in the 6th round by the 49ers last April. Collura has good in-line blocking skills, plus can release into space and be a sound pass receiver. His powerful and rugged blocking game makes him a valuable recruit if you are a running team like the Panthers. The other commitment is OL Artie Rowell from Harrisburg, PA Central Dauphin. Coached by high level technician Glen McNamee, Rowell is a workhorse interior lineman. Just about 6'2 1/2"/280 he has a nice surge off the line and is athletic enough to get ot the second level and block inside linebackers. He has similarities to former OG John Malecki who has a solid career as a starting OG for Pitt. This is the time of the year when the Juniors(next season Seniors)are deciding on their collegiate choices. I will keep everyone updated.

How and Why?

How did Sergei Gonchar allow Travis Moen from the Canadiens make a swim move over top a stunned Gonchar and score a short handed goal in Game 7 of the series?

How is Manager John Russell of the Buccos allowing Aki Iwamura to still be the lead-off hitter when he is batting .042 in his last 24 at bats?

Why did the Nationwide tour allow Mr Jerry Rice(former NFL wide out)to get a sponsors exemption to play on the Nationwide tour? Did you ever see Jerry's golf swing?

By the way did you know that the Nationwide tour is coming to Southpointe Golf Club later on this summer. It could be interesting to see some young upcoming golfers play in this region!

Why did the Pittsburgh Steelers draft 3 linebackers in the most recent NFL draft which will give them a total of 10 linebackers on the roster now? I will tell you why, these guys can play, they were available, and can play special teams.

How would the Pittsburgh fans react if the Detroit Pistons moved from their economically troubled city to the brand new state of the art Pittsburgh's own Consol Arena?

Is Pittsburgh ready for an NBA franchise?

Are the Pittsburgh Pirates ready to break the .500 barrier?

Why did the Pirates trade Nyjer Morgan and why didn't the Pirates trade Chris Benson for slugger Ryan Howard when he was offered to them?

Beat 'em Bucs

As the old song goes"The tide is high and I'm rolling on, I want to be your number 1."Who wants to be number 1 for the Pirates and I mean the lead off hitter. Are the Pittsburgh Pirates not capable of finding a lead-off hitter. After 34 games the lead off hitter Aki Iwamura is batting a dismal .161 with a tie for second on the team with 27 strikeouts. At the one fifth mark of the season, Iwamura has more strikeouts than hits. Isn't the lead off batter a guy that is supposed to make every effort he can to get on base, slap the ball around the field, wait out pitches, and attempt to get walks. They had their guy in Nyjer Morgan who is playing well for the Washington Nationals. Morgan does exactly what a lead-off hitter is supposed to accomplish. Not only that but right now he leads the National League in triples with 5 and the Pirates as a team only has 3 triples. If Morgan was still here, he probably would have 10 to 15 stolen bases by now. Pittsburgh Pirate Baseball has so much potential and the Pittsburgh fans are Awesome in terms of supporting the Buccos. After 17 losing season, the Pirates are on the third year of their 4th Five Year Plan. Remember Mr. Kevin McClathcy initiated the first 5 year plan so long ago that fans forget the date it started. There is a lot of pressure on Aki Iwamura as a lead-off hitter. He could be moved down in the line-up but the Buccos may have no choice. Me and about 2.5million other people in this region want the Pirates to not only break the .500 mark but also have a shot at the playoffs. Let's keep our fingers crossed. You know that basically every Senior in High School in this region has never seen a Pittsburgh Pirate Team break the .500 barrier. Unfortunately for the Pirates, this barrier has become a Mountain. Hopefully they will crack the bad streak and win 82 or more games this season.

NFL Minor Leagues

In an earlier Blog I mentioned I would discuss why there is an alarming lack of talent at the Quarterback position in the National Football League. In the college football circles, there has been an overhaul with the quarterback position the last 10 to 15 football seasons. And that is running the spread offense which negates the old method of having the QB under center and instead putting the QB in a shotgun formation. What you are seeing now are more wide open offenses in collegiate football and with many schools implementing the plan of throw first, run second. Most NFL teams want their QB's under center and go to the shotgun when necessary. This poses a problem for developing a QB into the NFL system. Another issue that sticks out to me is the lack of experience by the back-up QB's in the National Football League. Very few back-up QB's get into the game unless there is an injury to the starter. Isn't the quarterback position a position where the player needs hands on game experience to develop? This is an area in professional football that needs development. And that would come to fruition with a Minor League format. This format will be accentuated at a later date but playing multiple games at the professional level is where a quarterback can get experience and not by just standing on the sideline with a head-set on and observing the game. It is the old driving range-golf course theory. When you are on the driving range many of your shots look good and crisp. But when you get on the golf course in a competitive nature, the game of golf can change for an individual. Like a golfer, a quarterback needs playing time.

53 to 59

Just think, 5 months from today will be one of the greatest days of this decade. What is so special about this day? It is 10/10/10. Here it is in the middle of the Hockey Playoffs and at the early stages of baseball season and we are still talking football. It must be in our systems. This could be a valuable presumption for the players association and team coaches but may not be for the NFL owners. My assumption is to raise the rosters from 53 to 59 players. That would cost each team around 1.5 million in additional salaries but on the flip side it could really help with team chemistry. With the additional 6 roster spots, a team could carry a total of 4 quarterbacks, 1 more additional offensive lineman, 1 more additional defensive lineman, a special teams guru, and maybe what I call a utility player. A utility player could either be a guy that strictly is used to kickoff or be a back-up punter if that guy gets injured during the game, and could even be a back-up holder for extra points and field goals. The utility player could specialize in long and short snapping or be strictly a back-up TE just used solely for blocking purposes. I still cannot figure out why each team makes players that are on the active roster inactive during the game. What purpose does that serve? With the ever increasing speed of the game and consequently the injuries that occur, it would probably be logical to increase the rosters but it may not be financially logical for the owners. Down the road, I would like to address increasing the number of games from 16 to say 17 or 18 in the NFL.

Pitch Count

As previously stated, what are the circumstances involved around the "Pitch Count." Pitch count did not exist back in the 1960's and 1970's and came to fruition in the 1980's. Anyone that follows the great game of baseball can explain what "pitch count"is. I think they should change the adage and call it "Throw Count". This is what Throw Count would be! It would be all the throws a Pitcher makes during the Game and Pre-Game cycle. This would include warm-up throws prior to the start of the game, warm-up throws in between innings, this would include throws to first base by the pitcher to hold the runner, and this would include fielding throws by the pitcher on bunts, etc. If a "Pitch Count" is let's say 120 then in reality it is probably double that number based on what was said above. I realize while the game is in progress, the pitcher is throwing his multitude of pitches with varying degrees of velocity but the pitcher does that prior to the beginning of the game to get his arm ready. If MLB had a pitch count back in the 1950's, then would Pirate Pitcher Harvey Haddix lasted the 12+ innings versus the Milwaukee Braves to throw his Perfect Game for 12 entire innings. A throw count does not exist in football but being around the game, quarterbacks throw the football hundreds and hundreds of times every DAY and no one counts their throws. I know pitching a baseball and throwing a football are different and the throwing motions are diversified but the deliveries are similar. Probably football sports medicine clinicians should really do a thorough study on the number of times quarterbacks throw the football during practices and during games. A "throw count' may arise in the football ranks. QB's should probably rest their arms.

Waste of Money

You think the federal government has wasteful spending, try teams in the NFL including the Oakland Raiders who spent an outrageous sum of money to sign the #1 choice in the 2007 NFL draft named JaMarcus Russell. What do these NFL scouts, GM's, and coaches see in players to spend a guaranteed 39million dollars on a player then cut him 3 years later. Russell got released by the Raiders because the Raiders traded for QB Jason Campbell who basically did very little for the Washington Redskins. You mean to tell me that there are not 32 good to excellent quarterbacks in the entire planet that holds approximately 7 Billion people. Very few NFL associates can explain why there is a distinctive lack of talent in the National Football League especially at the QB position. But I feel very comfortable giving my explanation of what the reason is. I will do this at a later date for the answer will take some blog space up but it makes a lot of sense. Meanwhile, the answer to the question of what do these guys have in common including people like Chad Pennington, Marc Bulger, etc. from a previous Blog is: all of these quarterbacks were drafted before Mr. Tom Brady(New England Patriots)in the 2000 NFL draft.Also, Pittsburgh's Seton LaSalle grad Bruce Gradkowski should be the Raider's starting QB based on the way he performed the last half of the 2009 season.

The Class of 2008

In a previous blog bringing up the name of Terrelle Pryor opens up a lot of eyes in this region of the country in terms of football evaluation. That Class of 2008 in the Western Part of Pennsylvania was off the charts considering this region was on a downward spiral of population loss and school enrollment decline. Here are some of the players from that Class of 2008. Pryor is a sure fire high draft pick coming out of Ohio State as either a QB or a pure athlete. At 6'6"/235 lbs this guy can do a multitude of athletic things. Next is Pitt's 6'5"/230 WR named Jonathan Baldwin from Aliquippa who solidifies himself as a high draft choice whenever he enters the NFL draft. Next in line is 6'6"/300 OT Pitt's Lucas Nix from Thomas Jefferson H.S. He has great upside as n OT at the next level. Huge TE from Pitt Michael Cruz from Johnstown Bishop McCort is a guy on the rise with an excellent future. Two more players from Norwin H.S.that are blossoming fast are Pitt WR Michael Shanahan and was somewhat under the radar locally WVU TE Tyler Urban who has been starting as a true freshman. Another player I expect to produce is on the Rise Pitt QB Tino Sunseri from Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Showing his stuff this season will be Penn State ILB Michael Yancich from Washington Trinity. Boston College DE Kaleb Ramsey from Uniontown Laurel Highlands started some games at BC as a true frosh as did TE Christian Wilson playing at North Carolina coming from Montour H.S. A total unknown from small town Cochranton(Meadville area)is DT James Harvey who started as a true freshman at Akron. Pitt WR/KR Cameron Saddler from Gateway H.S. has a lots of talent and is expected to play well this upcoming season. I could name about 15 to 20 more players and that will follow after the 2010 season. This Class of 2008 could turn out to be incredible.

Does Pass Count Exist?

I made an avocation into a vocation in scouting basketball then football and turned them into a full time livelihood conducting basketball and football camps. I was fortunate to have the correct people around me and working with me for this to materialize. But I always had a love of the game of baseball. It was very difficult to break into baseball as a scout. I think I understand a little about the great game of baseball. Above and beyond having 17 straight losing seasons and a continuation of trading solid players away mid-way through the season, 2 events really perplexed me about the 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates. Number 1 was the trading away of Nyjer Morgan who was a very talented guy. Morgan was a nice lead off hitter, when he got on base as a lead off guy, he had the unique ability to drive the pitcher crazy. He could stretch his lead off first base because of his quickness, he could flip his hips and fly to second base attempting to steal, and he disrupted the pitcher's concentration on the batter. He was not bad defensively as a left fielder and his arm strength was not bad either. It was a bad trade, you can always use a speed guy and he turns only 30 this summer. Actually after leaving Pittsburgh, his batting average for Washington was .345(Not to shabby). Next was the pulling of Zach Duke in a game late in the season after he pitched 8 2/3 innings with an 8 run lead. Do not hit me with the pitch count routine. Let Duke attempt to finish the game and get a complete game. Why not? He just went 8 2/3 innings. I will talk about pitch count later. Do they talk about pass count in football on how many times a QB throws the ball in warm-ups and during the game? Did anyone out there ever hear of Pass Count?

Some things I think I think

Some things I think I think! Look at the really good web site call Draft Daddy.com and scroll down on its Blog page to see the NFL 2007 Hindsight Draft. It is unreal the flops that occurred in this draft. The Steelers did well in this draft getting Lawrence Timmons, Lamar Woodley, Matt Spaeth, and punter Daniel Sepulveda. Maybe one of all time bust of this draft came in the form of another QB JaMarcus Russell(LSU) as #1 choice overall to the Oakland Raiders. This guy got 39 Million guaranteed. He still has a chance to develop but I doubt it. Going back to a previous statement I made, teams may be better off trading out of the first round. Look at the first round QB's that did not pan out(which is a generous way of saying they flopped). 1998 draft #2 pick overall Ryan Leaf(Wash.State)Chargers, 1994 Heath Schuler(Tennessee) #3 overall Redskins, #3 overall in 1999 draft Akili Smith(Oregon)Bengals, and also in 1999 #12 overall Cade McNown(UCLA)Bears. What is going on here? Here is a trivia question for you all! What do these QB's have in common: Chad Pennington(Marshall), Giovanni Carmazzi(Hofstra), Chris Redman(Louisville), Tee Martin(Tennessee), Marc Bulger(WVU), and Spergon Wynn(Texas State). I will give you the answer on a later Blog, but I think many football draftniks will be able to supply the answer. Later on I want to switch gears and talk about our beloved Pittsburgh Pirates on some things I think I think.