IUP’s basketball teams continue to roll. Both the men and women had another great week. The men are now 21-2 and the women are 20-1. It’s been a great year already for these two teams, and the best may still lie ahead.
• Pitchers and catchers report for spring training at Pirate City in Bradenton this week. Hard to believe that baseball is right around the corner. It’s pretty obvious the Bucs aren’t going to make any major last minute moves before the regular season. I think they’ll be lucky to finish fourth in the NL Central, even if Pirates’ management talks as if the team will be a contender.
• Will big name free agents Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have new teams by Opening Day? It’s surprising that neither has inked a new deal yet. The Players Association is starting to use the word collusion when trying to rationalize while neither player has found work. I think clubs are finally getting smart and realize that signing players to ten year deals worth three hundred or more million dollars is just plain dumb. If neither player has a new team by the time the regular season starts you can bet there will be a real battle between the owners and players when their labor agreement comes up again in three years. You’ve been warned.
• What’s wrong with the Pens? They’ve now lost four in a row and look off their game. Granted, injuries to Evgeni Malkin and Matt Murray haven’t helped. Still, the Pens are just not getting it done. Now is the time they need to start making their push for the playoffs. Instead, they look like they’re stuck in quicksand.
• Will the Steelers actually consider putting the transition tag on Le’Veon Bell? Sounds like they are considering it. Doing so would be a gamble for the Steelers. But if the Steelers could pull it off and trade Bell it could prove to be a very smart move. I still think the odds of Bell coming back to Pittsburgh are zero. So, if the Steelers want to get anything for their star running back this year applying the tag and making a trade for Bell is the only way they’ll benefit in 2019.
• Antonio Brown’s trade value is going down by the day. The latest reports of Brown being involved in a domestic dispute in January make me believe the Steelers will not get anywhere near what they should in a trade. I think it’s obvious by now that Brown has played his final game for the Steelers. Unfortunately, I think it’s also becoming quite clear that Brown’s many antics will cost the Steelers the return they should receive for their troubled wide receiver.
• I saw about two minutes of the debut of the Alliance For American Football League Saturday night while flipping channels. That‘s all I needed to see.
• We knew it wasn’t going to be all smooth sailing for Jeff Capel during his first year at Pitt. The Panthers surprised many, me included, to start the season. Unfortunately, reality has set in. The Panthers have now lost seven straight games. They’re nothing like last year’s team that failed to win a game in the ACC, but they are definitely going in the wrong direction. Capel needs time and better players. He also needs to hope his team can find a few wins to build on as they conclude season one of the Capel Era.
