Oakmont C.C. is one tough course

Paula Creamer deserves a tremendous amount of credit for finishing 3 under par (281) on one of the most difficult golf courses around anywhere that is Oakmont Country Club on Hulton Road 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Years ago one of my close friends Mr. Bill Banks would take 3 of his good friends out to Oakmont every year for about 15 straight summers. Of course these 3 guys are Mr. John Steigerwald, Mr. Jack Donahue, the infamous Wheezer a former bartender at the heralded Saloon of Mount Lebanon, and myself. I remember the first year we played that I was so nervous that I had nightmares the night before could not relax while playing. When I got on a roll the greens drove me crazy. The caddy would tell me to put over here and I would say are you sure about that line. Consequently, I stunk that day shooting in the mid 90's, I think John Stag played fairly well, and the Wheezer played like Angelo Spagnola while the member Mr. Banks played nice and steady. Mr. Bill Banks kept saying the course is not that hard. I believed him to a certain degree. But as the years wore on in to the early 90's and beyond, my rational thinking told me that Oakmont was getting easier. Fortunately for me, the final time I played Oakmont C.C. I shot an 80, birdied the unrealistically hard first hole, and I felt so comfortable reading the greens and developing a touch for the speed of the greens that I had the utmost confidence that day. I will tell you this, I could never do that again. John Stag played steady golf all those years and the Wheezer really improved his scores at Oakmont. My question to all of those that have played Oakmont, which is the easier 9 holes, the front or the back. I say the back is easier with Number 10 and 18 being off the chart hard from tee to green.

51 and 25 to be .500

*****Getting back to the Pirates, they are 30-56 as the All Star break is upon us. The Pirates are last in the league in batting average and 2 from the bottom in team ERA. Pedro Alvarez is showing some promise but needs to be somewhat more patient at the plate for he swings at some bad pitches. After 86 games, not one starting pitcher has a complete game. Could this be a major league record? *****Is the off season injury loss of Willie Colon going to be disruptive to the Steelers running game? You better believe it. Former OL Coach Larry Zeirlein called Colon one of the best run blockers in the entire NFL. The Steelers this year have a mandate to run the football and losing Colon will hurt. *****Just remember, when the first day of the month is on a Sunday, then that month will have a Friday the 13th. *****I have noticed that the BP Station near my home is way off in gasoline sales. I wonder why?*****With 20 days remaining until Training Camp begins, Pittsburgh will be without services of Big Ben(4-6 games), Willie Colon for entire 2010 season, Santonio Holmes traded to the Jets. Read back on my previous blog about Steelers signing Alan Faneca. It would look good now without Colon. Arizona OL Coach Russ Grimm still thinks he has gas left in his tank. He could play left OT and move Max Starks to Colon's slot or RT or move Trai Essex to RT and Faneca to RG. Too late now, he is with the Arizona Cardinals and who knows what will happen there.

LBJ wants back in Power

LBJ going to the Miami Heat to team up with Chris Bosh and Dewayne Wade. Then you have southpaw Michael Beasley from Kansas State and Point Guard Mario Chalmers from Kansas as their potential starting line-up. I think LeBron James will become a chemistry player with the Heat. What does this mean? LeBron will change his game a little. In Cleveland, he was a scorer, shooter, slashing type driver, take the ball coast to coast, follow others shot for explosive throw back dunks, and he worked the perimeter hard. I really believe in Miami, he may change his game to adapt to the style of his teammates. Over his career, one stat sticks in my mind, that is he averaged 7 rebounds per game. He is a 6'8"/260 pound explosive athlete with a 7 foot wing span who has great timing and plays with aggression. His role may change to become a combo forward rather than a 2nd guard. I think LeBron has the potential to be a great rebounder and pull down minimum 10 boards a game. Instead of handling the ball coast to coast, the Heat should kick it out to either Dewayne Wade or Chalmers and have LeBron fill the lanes with his great speed. Few realize this but LeBron is a real good shot blocker. His game in Miami may drift to the inside, come off screens and receive the first pass from the point guard or the second pass from Wade. Less dribble, more power, more interior physical play, more rejections, and become a great rebounder which he is capable of doing. Everyone knows he is excellent on the perimeter and has powerful quick slashing moves to the bucket but not many realize what a great rebounder he is and can become. Let's go back in time when Wilt the Stilt flipped his game around when he joined the Lakers by setting screens, becoming an assist guy, boxing out, and rebounding like crazy with less scoring. Playing with Dewayne Wade and high post skilled guy Chris Bosh, that gives LeBron the latitude to be explosive inside. Editor's quick note: Miami Heat Power Forward Michael Beasley just got traded to Minnesota to open some cap room

You kiddin' me? Five first rounders

The NFL scouts will be banging on the University of Pittsburgh South Side Complex door come this Fall and through next Spring. Pitt has the potential of having 5 first round selections in the 2011 NFL Draft. How can this be? 2 seniors have first round grades by National going into their senior season. They are the bookend Defensive Ends Greg Romeus, 6'5"/267 and Jabaal Sheard, 6'3"/260. Then another Senior Jason Pinkston 6'3.5"/312 OT/OG from Pittsburgh, PA Baldwin High School has a high level 2nd round grade. Pinkston has lots of upside to position himself into the first round. Where do the other 2 first rounders come into play. They are 3rd year Junior Jonathan Baldwin 6'5"/230 wide out from Aliquippa H.S. who has a great future and if he decides to test the waters of the NFL draft, he may be a top 20 choice. The last guy is Sophomore Running Back Dion Lewis. Lewis attended Blair Academy in New Jersey before enrolling at Pitt so he will have 3 seasons out of high school which makes him eligible for the draft. Wow! Lewis is a very explosive running back who has excellent acceleration, change of direction and runs with power. This Western Pennsylvania region back 3 and 4 decades used to pump Offensive Linemen into the NFL. During the 2009 NFL season, only 1 Western PA Offensive lineman was active in the entire league. That Guy was South Park High School's Reggie Wells who had a stellar career at Clarion U of PA and started in Arizona's Super Bowl loss to the Steelers. Let's give credit to Dave Wannstedt and his coaching staff for recruiting some very talented players to attend Pitt.

A Unique Group

There are 2 scouting services that some of the NFL teams subscribe to that many fans are not aware of. They are National, which is based out of Tulsa, OK. and the other is BLESTO, which used to be based out of Pittsburgh, PA headed out by former Pittsburgh Steeler Defensive Back from years ago named Jack Butler. Mr Jack Butler retired a few years back and subsequently BLESTO moved its headquarters to Jacksonville, FL. The scouts from these 2 organizations go into many of the 699-4 year football colleges and look for prospects in the Junior Class, that is prospects that will be Seniors in the Fall who's eligibility will be completed. Like I said above, some of the NFL teams subscribe to these and some do not. The ones that do not, send their own scouts out to the colleges. This work is basically done in the early Spring of each year and sometimes coincides with the scouts finalizing information of the draft eligible seniors. Instead of BLESTO or National hiring their own individual scouts, the teams that subscribe to the services utilize their own scouts to work for BLESTO and National. Each NFL team has approximately 10 scouts. This is a very unique group of men who by the nature of this business favor the conservative evaluation. 32 NFL teams with about 10 scouts per team. This equates to a total of 320 NFL scouts in the entire world. This is a unique group. Next time I will discuss the talent level that the Pitt Panthers possess for the 2010 season and 2011 NFL Draft. By the way, it is not a perfect system. 2 players I mentioned on earlier Blogs in Late March and Early April were OLB Arthur Moats from James Madison and ILB Josh Hull from Penn State. National gave Moats a low level free agent grade and he played tremendous his Senior season at JMU and became the 179th selection by the Buffalo Bills. Keep an eye on Moats for he could be like a James Harrison type. Penn State's Josh Hull was not even listed by National which means he probably received a rejected grade. Josh Hull had a great Senior season for the Nittany Lions and got drafted in the 7th round by the St. Louis Rams. On the flip side, Ole Miss DE Greg Hardy was rated a top 5 pick based on his Junior campaign and dropped all the way to the 6th round. Players need to play every play like there is no tomorrow.

Summer Quarterback

Here it is the 5th of July, 2 weeks after the longest day of the year and just 25 days until Pittsburgh opens training camp. 3 quarterbacks are making and going to make the sports pages interesting for some to read about in weeks to come. First is Big Ben on the outside looking in with his 4 maybe 6 game suspension. After his one-on-one interviews with Bob Pompeani and Sally Wiggin, it makes me wonder were they worth even doing. My philosophy here is real simple: actions speak louder than words. Big Ben, no matter what you say, you have to show it and do it. Next is the southpaw from Newport News VA and VA Tech, Michael Vick. I think most football fans are worn out hearing about the escapades of Michael Vick. Nothing would surprise me on the investigation for his whereabouts during his 30th birthday party celebration. Remember just 3 years ago while Vick was free on bail on his Interstate Dog Trafficking charge, Vick tested positive for marijuana in a random drug test. This was a violation of the conditions of his release while awaiting sentencing in federal court for his felony conviction. His NFL jersey at one time was one of the hottest sellers in the league along with Big Ben's. Vick is 30 years old and has a ton of football ahead of him. But is he going to be around to play this game in the NFL? And then to continuing saga of Brett Favre. Favre turns 41 this 2010 season if he plays. Many fans have filed verbal complaints about the press time Favre soaked up during the summers of 2008 and 2009. The publicity on Favre this summer will not be the same as it was in the past. I think Favre is going to play this 2010 season for Minnesota. Favre has a record that is incredible with 309 consecutive starts(including playoffs). He has a record which some fans may deem meaningless but to me is an interesting record. Favre has 37 touchdown passes of only 1 yard. Another record he possesses is a negative for Favre. Brett Favre has 30 interceptions in playoff games(ouch). Last but not least, Favre is the first known active NFL player to be a proud grandfather at the age of 40. As we all know, the best philosophy is to take one day at a time.

Countdown Begins

The countdown has begun. Only a mere 27 days until the Pittsburgh Steelers begin training camp. St. Vincent College is an excellent place to run a training camp. The field space is terrific and the fields are manicured well. It has an amphitheater type setting where the Steeler Nation can bring their blankets, their picnic baskets, and their entire families to sit on the hillside and watch the Steelers practice. It is amazing how people from across the entire country will show up at training camp. Why do the people in this region and across the nation and even worldwide have such a love affair with the Pittsburgh Steelers? It is real simple: the Steelers win! The Steelers have played in 7 Super Bowls with the first victory coming on January 12, 1975 and have an outstanding Super Bowl record of 6 wins and 1 loss. In the last 35 football seasons, the Steelers have participated in 7 Super Bowl. In the last 35 years, they are on a 20%Super Bowl participation rate which is incredible considering there are 32 teams in the NFL and some of these franchises have never participated in the Super Bowl. The Steelers administrative personnel have been top notch, the coaching has been superb, and the scouting department is doing a very thorough job. The scouting department is really grinding it out finding some way down"Under the Radar" undrafted free agent players that have developed into integral components of the team. It is real simple, this organization knows how to win.