The Strive for .500

The 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates seemed like a team of destiny for the first four months of the season, bosting a 54-49 record on July 28. But after a month of solid suckage, including a 10-game losing streak, the Bucs stand at 62-72 on August 30. For you math majors out there, that would be an 8-23 record, as Pittsburgh has gone from 1.5 games out of first place to 18.5 during that span.

(Almost) Manager of the Year.

The thing on everyone's mind when the Bucs were doing well was breaking the unfathomable streak of 18 seasons under .500, which has been going strong since 1993. Of course during my lifetime, I had never experienced a winning season so my feelings were very mixed while the Pirates were hovering around first place around the All-Star break. Even though the Bucs were overachieving, and everyone knew it, I had the feeling that, "This is the year! They are really gonna do it!"

(Almost) Most Valuable Player.

But now that they fell from the top and are pretty much where they should have been anyways, I am really not surprised, and neither is anyone else. The talent on their roster is honestly more reflected in a 62-72 record than it is in a 54-49 record. With most of their talent, especially pitching, in the lower minor leagues, the Pirates are still at least two years away from being competitive in the National League.

(Almost) fielded this ground ball cleanly.

Lately I have been thinking of a few scenarios for the Pirates for the remainder of the season and wondering which one would be ideal for long-term success:

1. If the Pirates finish .500 this year, they will get the monkey off their back, but will have raised expectations for next year, which they probably will not meet.

2. But if they finish below .500, they will make it 19 consecutive losing seasons, but they can keep progressing at their own pace with limited expectations for next year.

Of course it will basically take a miracle for the team to finish 19-9 the rest of the season, but I am still asking: Which of these situations would be better for the team, fan base and organization as a whole?

Fall from Glory: Overview

So as I outlined the wrongdoings of Reggie Bush, Pete Rose, Cam Newton, Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger (x5), you can see how their actions have affected their careers and the people around them.

In Reggie Bush's case, in the eyes of the media, the public and the Heisman Trust, he compromised the meaning of the Heisman Trophy. The trophy is supposed to be awarded to the player who, each season, best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity. It is the Heisman Trust's job to make sure the winners uphold this integrity and, according to them, Bush did not do that.

Pete Rose bet on baseball, then lied about it. In sports, people usually forgive and forget an act that does not involve violence, such as gambling or steroid use, if the person is truly sorry and comes clean. For example, Jason Giambi apologized for using steroids and now it is just an afterthought. I think if Rose would have come out at the beginning and admitting betting on baseball, he might have been forgiven by now.

The jury is still out on whether or not Cam Newton actually did anything wrong. But if he is found guilty of soliciting money from schools in the recruiting stage, he could receive the same penalty as Bush. The Heisman Trophy might be stripped from the 2010 season, the Auburn Tigers championship season could be erased and his legacy would be turned upside down.

Kobe Bryant probably did not sexually assault that young woman, but he still committed adultery. He is still a great role model on and off the court, but it just shows that one incident can completely skew the view of an athlete. Of course he is always under great scrutiny for anything he does, but it was taken a lot of hard work and positivity for Bryant to overcome that mistake.

And as for Ben Roethlisberger...

Just read the posts. There are five of them. I think that should be good enough.

Kobe Bryant & the Missing Testimony

Speaking of sexual assault allegations...

NOT the kind of SI cover you want to be on.

In the summer of 2003, Kobe Bryant was scheduled to have knee surgery in Vail, CO on July 2, so he booked a room at the nearby Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Eagle, CO. The surgery was a success, but on July 4, Bryant flew from Los Angeles back to Eagle to turn himself in to local police under an arrest warrant for sexual assault charges. Bryant was released on a $25,000 bond, but news stories began surfacing. To the media, this was the first sign of any wrongdoing by Bryant, so it came as a huge surprise to find that he had been arrested.

Katelyn Faber, a 19-year old worker at the hotel, claimed that Bryant had called her up to his room on July 1 and they began flirting. The flirting led to kissing which led to sex; Faber claimed it was sexual assault while Bryant claimed it was consensual. One of the iconic images of the entire situation was Bryant in tears at a press conference on July 18, with his wife by his side, apologizing for committing adultery, but preaching his innocence to the sexual assault charges.

Pretty darn emotional.

Everything about the trial was a huge mess. During investigation, examiners found multiple male "DNA" samples on Faber's clothes and it was revealed that she had multiple sexual partners around the same time as Bryant. The defense also highlighted the fact that Faber was taking anti-anxiety pills at the time and had been suicidal a few months prior to the incident.

The accuser's name was leaked to the public, information about her sexual history were accidentally exposed and the defense publicly called her a "sexually promiscuous liar and drug abuser." Because of the intrusive nature of the trial, Faber elected not to testify in court and the District Attorney, Mark Hurlbert, requested that the judge drop the criminal trial, and on September 1 it was no more.

It was also revealed that Faber had filed a civil suit just a few weeks prior to September 1 to collect damages from Bryant. Experts say that she wanted the criminal charges to get dropped because if it did not go well, she would not have been able to get as much money in the civil trial. The two sides settled in the civil trial for an amount that has not been disclosed to the public.

Some say Bryant may have gotten off easy, but overall it seemed like the evidence was too questionable for a guilty verdict. Bryant's popularity took a hit, dropping his #8 jersey sales and losing endorsements with McDonalds and Nutella. The Los Angeles Lakers won NBA titles in 2009 and 2010 and years later, this incident is hardly even an afterthought of the career of Kobe Bryant.

Bryant has then changed to #24 and jersey sales are near the top of the charts.

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part V

Off the field, Ben Roethlisberger has been exposed as one of the rudest, stupidest and most scandalous professional athletes in America. You heard "Roethlisberger" just as often as "Rapelisberger" or "Rapistberger" when talking about the quarterback. So what now?

"Feel my wrath!"

This questionable behavior did not go unnoticed from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Roethlisberger for the first six games of the 2010 season for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Even though Roethlisberger had not yet been taken to trial for the incident in Nevada and had charges dropped for the incident in Georgia, Goodell slapped a suspension on him.

The commissioner saw Roethlisberger as a role model who needed to turn his life around, and as a part of the suspension ordered him to get therapy and undergo behavioral evaluations before he returned to the field. With "good behavior," Roethlisberger could get his suspension reduced from six games to four.

Poor guy, he couldn't even stand on the sidelines...

Goodell was satisfied with Roethlisberger's progress and the quarterback was allowed to return after week four. During that time, backups Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch led the team to a surprising 3-1 record, allowing Roethlisberger to come back "with a vengeance" after the Steelers' week five bye week. The Steelers went 9-3 the rest of the way, won the division title and earned the #2 seed in the AFC playoffs.

After winning two home games against the Ravens and Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers were headed to the Super Bowl to face the Packers. The game did not go according to plan, however, as Roethlisberger threw two first half interceptions that led to Packers' touchdowns and a late Steelers' comeback faltered as they lost 31-25.

Championship belt: FART.

This entire situation is a good example of how fans will forgive a player's off the field issues if he plays well. As the season went along and the Steelers went deeper and deeper into the playoffs, you could feel the opinions of Roethlisberger getting more and more positive. If he would have won the Steelers their seventh Super Bowl, you could probably bank on the sexual assault cases barely being mentioned ever again. But since they lost, there are still some residual effects of his misbehaviors.

Most of the hate that Roethlisberger still faces is from female fans. More male fans have forgiven him because they are less aware of what "sexual assault" really means, or how it would affect them. Female fans are more upset about what Roethlisberger allegedly did and are going to have to be more convinced by his complete product to accept him back into their hearts, which is completely understandable. On July 24, 2011 Roethlisberger was married to his girlfriend Ashley Harlan, so hopefully that will put an end to his sexcapades.

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Big Ben!

I hope you enjoyed the five-part series as we look forward to a new and improved Ben Roethlisberger in years to come!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part IV

When I last left off in this series, there were no Roman numeral "V" yet in the title and Ben Roethlisberger just got done with a subpar season as quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh yeah...

...and THIS!

In March 2010, Roethlisberger once again was in the middle of sexual assault allegations. This time, it was from a 20-year old college student from Milledgeville, GA, where Roethlisberger would vacation during the offseason. The story is hazy, but it basically goes like this:

Roethlisberger arrived with his posse at a bar, where there was a group of sorority girls from nearby Georgia College & State University (actually a real school, yeah surprised me too). At one point Roethlisberger yelled: "All my bitches, take some shots!" and proceeded to get these underage girls even more drunk. Then Roethlisberger brought one of the girls into the bathroom, where no one is quite sure what went on. While the two were in there, the girl's friends tried to get in to help her out, but Roethlisberger's bodyguard would not let them enter.

Very hazy now, bro.

While leaving the bar, the woman slipped and hit her head, so she went to the emergency room. While at the hospital, during evaluation, doctors discovered she had some "internal" injuries, but could not tell if it was from sexual assault. When a rape kit was collected, none of Roethlisberger's "DNA" was found and the woman had said, "A boy kind of raped me."

After a few weeks of investigation Georgia district attorney, Fred Bright, announced that he did not have enough evidence to prove Roethlisberger guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. During that time the woman had her attorney write a letter to the district attorney saying that she did not want to move forward with the case because she did not want to go through such an intrusive and public trial.

No comment.

Even though Roethlisberger was not even put on trial, stories began to emerge about him being a bad person and constantly having a bad attitude in public situations. Because of Roethlisberger's strong Christian and nice guy background, rumors began swirling that this personality change might be attributed to concussions and possible brain damage suffered in the motorcycle accident and on the field.

A Sports Illustrated article came out in May 2010 titled "The Hangover," in which Pittsburgh business owners came out and told stories about Roethlisberger coming in to their restaurants/establishments and as being rude as can be. He made inappropriate comments toward a pregnant waitress, he refused to pay his bill and he saw himself as "God" of Pittsburgh when out on the town. 

Teammate Hines Ward came out and claimed Roethlisberger had been a bad influence in the locker room, head coach Mike Tomlin said he was worried for the quarterback and team president Art Rooney was just absolutely confused.

What repercussions will Roethlisberger face and will he ever change? Find out next time in Part V!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part III

So here we are again, Ben Roethlisberger just won a Super Bowl and is on top of the world. The scars from his motorcycle accident are faded and are just an afterthought of the two large rings on his fingers. However, when you are on top, the only way to go is down.

Way down.

In July 2009, Andrea McNulty, who worked at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, NV, filed a civil suit against Roethlisberger for sexually assaulting her during his stay at the Harrah's in July 2008. She claimed that Roethlisberger, who was staying at Harrah's during a celebrity golf tournament, called her up to his room one night to fix his television. She went upstairs and found that his television was working just fine, he then stood in front of the door, refused to let her leave and sexually assaulted her.

After this came out, McNulty's co-worker, Angela Antonetti, filed an affidavit stating that McNulty had indeed had consensual sexual relations with Roethlisberger. NcNulty actually had bragged to Antonetti about the incident and was hoping that "a little Roethlisberger" was on the way. And considering the incident happened an entire year before the suit was filed, it was pretty hard to believe McNulty was telling the absolute truth.

The trial has been stalled for two years because McNulty wanted to have the hearing in Reno, where the case was filed, while Roethlisberger wanted the hearing to be in Lake Tahoe, where the incident allegedly took place. Just recently it was announced that the hearing will be in Reno, but it is still predicted that Roethlisberger will be found innocent. Roethlisberger has expressed the will to countersue McNulty for damages in the future.

Sure, why not.

Well it was back to football and the Pittsburgh Steelers began the 2009 season with a 6-2 record, but that is when it all fell apart. The Steelers lost five games in a row, one with Roethlisberger out due to injury, and found themselves pretty much out of the playoff hunt. With Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith injured most of the way, the defense was very shaky during the skid. Although they won the next three games, it was not enough to make the playoffs and the Steelers suffered from post-Super Bowl hangover for the second time in recent memory.

Even though he was not found guilty of sexual assault, it brought more negative attention to Roethlisberger. People began wondering whether he was a good role model off the field and whether he was completely worth his new contract. With the struggles on the field in 2009, it gave people even more of a reason to hate Roethlisberger.

But what have we learned so far about Ben Roethlisberger? When he is down he bounces right back up! Right?

Not this time.

Please visit next week when I wrap up this series with Part IV. Or maybe I will just keep it going forever, and ever, and ever, and ever...

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part II

Ben Roethlisberger had it all. He was a Super Bowl winning quarterback on one of the most storied franchises in sports, everybody loved him and it seemed like nothing could derail him from success.

Wrong.

A hobby of Roethlisberger's was to ride his motorcycle, without a helmet. There are no helmet laws in Pennsylvania and Roethlisberger felt that he would never get in an accident so wearing one was not a necessity. He still did not begin wearing one after getting heat from former Steelers' quarterback Terry Bradshaw, Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher and many others for ignoring safety protocol.

Unfortunately, Bradshaw and the others were right, on June 12, 2006 Roethlisberger was in a near-fatal crash and without a helmet suffered numerous injuries. He had a nine-inch laceration to his head, a broken jaw, broken teeth and other injuries. Roethlisberger underwent nine hours of reconstructive surgery and if medical personnel did not arrive quickly, he may have bled out and died right on the pavement.

After an offseason of rehab and recovery, it seemed Roethlisberger would be miraculously ready to play in the team's first regular season game, until he had emergency surgery to remove his appendix just weeks before the opening game. He rushed back to the field in week two and went on to have the worst season of his career with 18 TD to 23 INTs. In the 2006 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 8-8 and Cowher, who had been the Steelers' head coach since 1992, resigned from the position.

Under new head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers came out in 2007 with a full-fledged passing attack. Roethlisberger seemed poised to lead the team to another Super Bowl, but with struggles in late-game situations and lack of defensive support, the Steelers lost to the Jaguars in the first round of the playoffs, ending their 10-6 season in which they won a division title.

Gahh, I can't believe it was David Garrard.

After Roethlisberger's career season in 2007, the Steelers made him the highest paid player in franchise history with an eight-year, $102 million contract extension. He responded with a very consistent season where the defense did most of the work. The defense was the best in the league, allowing 14 points per game, 237 yards per game and registering three sacks per game. With Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith healthy and James Harrison having a Defensive MVP season, Roethlisberger did not have to do much more than protect the football.

The Steelers finished 12-4 in the regular season and went 3-0 in the playoffs, capping it off with a Super Bowl XLIII win against the Cardinals. Roethlisberger was the hero, capping a game-winning drive with a seemingly impossible pass to Santonio Holmes for a touchdown with just seconds remaining.

Hmm, this looks familiar.

Roethlisberger was the man once again, but what could he do this time to screw it up?

Come visit later this week to see Part III and the series finale!

Ben Roethlisberger & the Bad Attitude: Part I

Ben Roethlisberger has had a see-saw kind of life, to say the least.

At the age of two, his parents divorced, his father remarried and when he was eight years old, his birth mother died in a car accident. A very tough stretch of events for anybody, especially for someone at such a young age. Through his youth and into high school, Roethlisberger was a star athlete at numerous sports, which showed when he went on to captain the baseball, basketball and football teams.

Nicknamed "Big Ben," Roethlisberger stands at 6'5" and 240 pounds. Even though he may not have been that big back in high school, his size definitely helped him get where he is today. Despite his obvious skills as a quarterback, Roethlisberger's high school football coach started his own son at quarterback and made him play wide receiver. Roethlisberger started as quarterback in his senior season and garnered enough attention to go to Miami (OH) on a football scholarship.

Big shot.

Roethlisberger redshirted his first year in Oxford, OH and started quarterback for the next three seasons, dominating the college football ranks and proving himself as a legitimate talent at the NFL level. He was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the #11 overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. Pittsburgh had Tommy Maddox struggling as its starting quarterback and wanted to groom Roethlisberger into the quarterback of the future.

Ugh, good riddance.

Roethlisberger was thrown into the fire when Maddox suffered an injury during the second game of the season against the Ravens. Pittsburgh lost that game and were 1-1 after week two and headed towards a season of the unexpected with a rookie quarterback starting the rest of the way. With the help of a outstanding defense and great running game, the Steelers finished the regular season 15-1 and were the #1 seed in the AFC going into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh won its first playoff game against the Jets and then lost to Tom Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship game. In the 2004 season, Roethlisberger set the record for most consecutive wins by a quarterback to start his career. At this point, the Steelers ditched Maddox and looked forward to the Roethlisberger era in Pittsburgh. After a 15-1 premiere, expectations could not be higher for Roethlisberger.

He embraced the new role and led the Steelers to a Super Bowl XL Championship a year later over the Seahawks. After an 11-5 regular season, Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh to win three straight games on the road in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger had a bad game, but his teammates bailed him out and the Steelers won their fifth Championship.

One for the thumb, baby!

So at this point you may be asking, "This seems like a whole lot of success, when does the down part of Roethlisberger's see-saw life happen?" Well avid reader, it all went downhill after Super Bowl XL...

So tune in next week for Part II!

Cam Newton & the Solicitation Allegations

A little known fact is that while Tim Tebow was in the middle of his Heisman Trophy winning season at the University of Florida in 2007, a quarterback by the name of Cam Newton was his primary backup.

In the 2008 season, Newton was was injured in the team's first game and would have to redshirt his sophomore season. While he was taking time off due to his injury, Newton stole a laptop from a fellow Florida student. When the police came to investigate, he tossed the laptop out of his room and it was eventually found in a nearby dumpster.

Inevitably facing suspension, Newton announced his intentions to transfer to Blinn College, a junior college in Texas, to continue his football career. He led the Buccaneers to a championship in his only season with the school, and was eligible to transfer back to the NCAA. Newton's top choices were Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs and, after consideration, chose to go to Auburn to play for head coach Gene Chisik in 2010.

Newton impressed the football world immediately. With his large stature, great throwing arm and the ability to make exciting plays, he became extremely popular in the blink of an eye. As the Tigers kept on winning, Newton's Heisman stock kept rising and Auburn continued to climb the rankings.

However, it did not take long for rumors of illegal activity to arise. It was reported that a recruiter from Mississippi State heard a demand from Cam's father, Cecil Newton, that it would take $100k-$180k for Cam to transfer to the Mississippi State Bulldogs from Blinn College. Newton went to Auburn, so he did not get this money, but if Cecil wanted money for his son to play for Mississippi State, the NCAA wanted to make sure Auburn did not pay him to go there.

Daddy knows best!

Auburn held strong on the fact that they did not know of his father's negotiations with Mississippi State and that they did not pay Cam to play football. At the time, Auburn was undefeated and heading to the SEC title game. Newton was the favorite to win the Heisman and one more win would put the Tigers in the National Championship game.

After it was confirmed that Cecil wanted Cam to get paid to play at Mississippi State, Auburn banned his father from any future involvement in the program. They also declared Cam ineligible, but issued a plea for reinstatement by the NCAA. The NCAA obliged because there was no evidence that Auburn knew of any of Cecil's actions during the recruiting process.

Newton went on to win the Heisman Trophy and lead the Tigers to a National Championship victory. He was chosen #1 overall by the Carolina Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft. However, his suspected violations are currently under review and who knows if Auburn will have to vacate its National Championship in the future, or if Newton will have to return his Heisman Trophy?

Worth it?

Worth it.

Pete Rose & the Lifetime Ban

There are really only two things you need to know about Pete Rose:

1. He is the all-time hit leader (4,256 hits - 67 more than Ty Cobb)
2. He bet on baseball.

"Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox were the most infamous players to bet on baseball. That team threw the World Series by betting on their opponent, the Cincinnati Reds, and losing on purpose. Major League Baseball had "Rule 21: Misconduct" in place, which prohibits gambling, bribing or any other kind of behavior that might put a player's integrity in question. Everyone knows the rule and it is mandatory to have it printed and posted in every clubhouse.

Rose bet on horse racing, basketball and football his entire life. He had a gambling addiction; it gave him the rush he needed when he was not playing baseball. In the late 80s, Rose went on a cold streak and he began losing lots of money on the other sports. He then turned to baseball to try and turn his luck around. Rose, who was the manager for the Reds at the time, claims to have never bet against his own team.

Allegations against Rose first emerged in February 1989, when he met with MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth and National League president Bart Giamatti to talk about rumors regarding his gambling exploits. When asked if he ever bet on baseball, Rose responded with a firm "No."

Not a good move, bro.

A few weeks later, Giamatti took over as commissioner and the MLB announced it would begin investigations on "serious allegations" against Rose. In April 1989, Sports Illustrated published a story about Rose betting on baseball and stuck him on the cover. Meanwhile, the MLB had hired John Dowd to do some research on the situation and the Dowd Report was submitted to Giamatti in May. It was a 225-page report that included bank, telephone and betting records and the ultimate conclusion that Rose bet on baseball.

Even though Rose denied it, Giamatti believed the report, and he sentenced Rose to a lifetime ban from the MLB on August 24, 1989. Just a week later, Giamatti died of a heart attack. Some say because it hurt his heart so much to see an honorable player such as Rose disrespect the game, while some say it was because he was overweight and smoked three packs a day.

In 2002, Rose met with MLB commissioner Bud Selig about the ban and he actually confessed to betting on baseball after years of regret, turmoil and gambling therapy. Selig heard his plea and was satisfied with Rose finally coming clean, but it does not seem that he will lift the lifetime ban anytime soon. Rose also wrote a piece for Sports Illustrated in 2004 telling his side of the story, truly a great article.

In the meantime, Rose is trying to get back on the fans' good side:

No joke, you can actually buy this baseball from his website for $400.

Reggie Bush & the Heisman Debacle

Introducing the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner, from USC, running back, Reggie Bush...

On December 10, 2005, Reggie Bush became the 71st winner of the Heisman Trophy, the "Most Prestigious Award in College Football." Just over five years later, Bush was to return the trophy because of his irresponsible actions and lack of integrity while at USC and in the NCAA recruiting process.

In 2005, Bush had one of the most dominating, and incredible, seasons in the history of college football. He amassed 1,740 rushing yards, 478 receiving yards, 672 yards from kick returns and 19 touchdowns. Bush won the Heisman Trophy over Vince Young of Texas and teammate Matt Leinart, who had won the award in 2004.

So what did Bush do to cause this incredible season and these unforgettable memories to be erased from the history books? Bush accepted improper benefits from an agent; over $300,000 in hotel fees, cars, house rent, spending money and more.

When Bush was found guilty after NCAA probing in 2010, USC was punished for Bush's dirty deeds. The Trojans were put on a four-year probation, put on a two-year postseason ban, removed of 30 scholarships for the next three years and were forced to vacate all of their wins from 2005 and their 2004 National Championship.

And Bush is punished... how?

Since Bush is in the NFL now, the NCAA could not touch him. He was sued by the people who gave him the benefits because he did not pay them back; does that count? No.

The NCAA is completely out of control. Stories come out every year about recruiting violations, improper benefits and other illegal activity from collegiate programs. The NCAA hands out discipline, the school self-imposes some restrictions for the future seasons.

That is good, right? The school learns its lesson and the player who committed the "crime" gets kicked off the team. But what about in Bush's case, where the player has moved on and earned millions of dollars in bonuses, salaries and endorsements at the professional level? Well, the NCAA is out of luck.

There was some pressure on Bush to return his Heisman Trophy after this stuff came out. Of course his off-the-field antics have nothing against him being the best collegiate player in 2005, but in the eyes of the "Heisman Trust," Bush did not represent what it meant to be a role model and a champion.

So the "Trust" stripped him of the honor, just like it never happened (if you check out the list of Heisman Winners on their website, the winner for 2005 does not even exist!). Bush actually spoke of his regret and mistakes, and claimed that he would return the trophy as a sign of respect.

However, Bush has not yet returned the trophy, which he had loaned to the San Diego Hall of Champions. It has recently been returned to the Bush family from the museum and the whereabouts of the stiff-arming statue are not exactly known at this point...

Holding Down the Fort: Michael McKenry

As the hanging Carlos Marmol slider was reciprocated into a fly ball into the cheap bleachers at PNC Park, Michael McKenry slowed to a trot halfway down the first base line. The stadium erupted into pandemonium as the Bucs took a 7-4 lead in the bottom of the eighth, about five minutes after being down 4-3 with two outs as Marmol trotted in from the bullpen. But after Josh Harrison flared a single to center on the first pitch to score Neil Walker, McKenry held his own on a 0-2 count and launched a three-run shot to send the Pittsburgh Pirates into first place in the NL Central... goddamn Mark Kotsay.

Awesome shot

My first impression of McKenry was on June 21, when I went to his Buccos debut vs. the Mets. He picked a guy off second base and sprinted out every ball he hit, whether it was a knubbly ground ball or a pop fly to shallow outfield. He was giving it every ounce of effort on every single play, throwing his entire body at all of the balls in the dirt and blocking all of them. You have to respect a ballplayer who doesn't take anything for granted.

Really, why would he? As a career minor leaguer with the Rockies, McKenry was in Colorado's minor league system from 2006-2010 and went hitless in the only eight at-bats he saw in the majors. He was in the Red Sox AAA affiliate in Pawtucket when the Bucs traded for him in mid-May. Ryan Doumit and Chris Snyder had gone down with injury, and Wyatt Toregas wasn't really doing the job...

Precisely

I love McKenry's attitude. He digs out wild pitches, he hustles his ass off and in every shot you see of him there is a distinct layer of sweat on his face. Nothing paints the picture of a ballplayer more than a dirty jersey, a receding hairline and a smile. Even though his homerun count was 0 before tonight, McKenry has looked much better at the plate as of late. After being nearly an automatic out early in his Buccos career, he is fighting through counts, making good contact and is beginning to get hits on a regular basis.

Since McKenry slipped on the black and gold #55, Pittsburgh is 13-5 when he is in the starting lineup. It really doesn't matter that McKenry may not hit many more homeruns this year, or that he probably won't hit above .250. Because what he brings is that defensive rock behind the plate and a positive attitude that the Bucs need from every single player for nine innings each day.

Kentucky/UConn In-Game Blog

Prediction: Kentucky 68-64. I think the way Kentucky is playing right now, with the defense complementing their skill, they are going to be tough to beat. UConn is playing well, but has been squeaking by with the superb play of their role players. I think the role players for UConn have an off game tonight and Kentucky takes advantage and wins in the last minute. UConn is probably the better team, but Kentucky has more talent and it will show. I also like Calipari over Calhoun right now. It seems like Calhoun is letting his players control the game, while Calipari is more in control of his team, which will play a big part in a Final Four game like this. But that's just my opinion, let's see how it plays out...

FIRST HALF

20:00-15:03
Time: Kentucky 10-8
Game: Kentucky 10-8

Kentucky seems to be settling for jumpers, when they get in the lane they are making plays. On the other end, Kentucky seems to be content with UConn settling for mid-rang jumpers. Lamb made a wide open shot, but then Oriakhi missed one; that is what the Wildcats want. Walker has been awfully quiet so far, he hasn't even taken a shot. He is probably letting the game go by a little and seeing the tempo before he wants to start making moves. Just now Walker takes advantage of a long rebound and defensive mistake by Knight for a breakaway layup. Jones is locked in... Uh oh.

TPTs: Harrellson and Jones.  Harrellson has had some strong rebounds and is a strong interior presence on defense. Jones just took over, seven points already. Oh man if he can have a strong game, he is going to get 25. UConn doesn't have a matchup on defense for him.

15:03-10:47
Time: UConn 3-2
Game: Kentucky 12-11

Bunch of turnovers by both teams, a combination of sloppy play and good defense. UConn really wants to get out and run and Kentucky seems like they want to slow down the tempo. They must realize they don't match up well with the Wildcats in terms of talent, and even athleticism. Then again, if Kentucky gets an opening, they're running past everyone. Kentucky is getting three-happy, could be a problem if they continue to settle for jumpers. Walker is starting to take over, but is playing very selfish so far. He needs a good balance of driving ability and creation for UConn to play their best.

TPT: Walker. He had to wake up and start to lead the team. He is very noticeable on defense so far with some good pressure and some rebounds, but he will need to start leading a more efficient offense for UConn to get out to a lead.

10:47-6:39
Time: UConn 12-7
Game: UConn 23-19

Walker knocks down a three from a Lamb pass right out of the timeout, he is so good when he lets the shots come to him. Kentucky is making a lot of extra passes, not a bad thing, but it seems like no one is willing to take over this game. They have all missed some jump shots early and seems reluctant to jack up any more. Kentucky is slashing to the hoop a lot more, but they are out of control. They have missed a few short shots in the lane trying to draw fouls and flail around to get an open look. They need some sets for Harrellson and see if UConn can guard them. Walker is really in the zone, he has a few baskets since the last timeout and just made a nice dish for a layup. Knight finally takes a controlled mid range jumper and sinks it, that will be the key.

TPT: Walker. He is showing why he is the best player on the court. Creating plays for his teammates, working hard on offense and defense. UConn is on quite a run here, but Knight has a few baskets that is keeping Kentucky in the game.

6:39-3:33
Time: UConn 4-0
Game: UConn 27-19

Okwandu has good offensive instincts for a big guy, he knows where to be in order to get good passes from the guards. Walker with an unreal strip from Knight on the drive and then an outlet pass for a dunk, absolutely incredible. Kentucky seems to be losing their composure at a rapid pace right now, if they can keep it within five at half it will be good for them. Kentucky going to a 2-3 zone now, but they are having a lot of trouble getting rebounds with Harrellson off the court.

TPT: Lamb. Doing a great job of keeping UConn calm. Walker wants to push, push, push, which is good, but sometimes they just need to chill out. Lamb has great instincts for this, possibly better than Walker. Lamb is really the glue to this team, you can see it already.

3:33-0:00
Time: UConn 4-2
Game: UConn 31-21

Lamb comes right out of the timeout with a set-up backdoor play; with the feed from Walker he gets a nice reverse layup. Kentucky goes back to the zone, but Lamb finds an open area and hits a jumper. Kentucky is just surviving at this point. Jones needs to take more control over the Kentucky offense, Knight is playing with confidence, but he is missing a lot of bunnies.

TPT: Lamb. Made some shots and playing suffocating defense. Took a pretty bad jumper on the last possession, but it didn't hurt UConn as Kentucky came down and missed a three at the buzzer.

HALFTIME


Player of the first half: Walker. He is leading this team to the finals with his composure and explosiveness. At this point he has a very good mix of the two, and it helps when Lamb and the rest of the team is playing so well in the supporting role.

First half key: UConn's defense. Kentucky is settling for jump shots, but UConn is doing well at contesting them. They are also not allowing the Wildcats to get open layups, so when they do drive, they are still not efficient.

Second half key: Kentucky's jump shooting. In order for Kentucky to get back in the game, they really need to start hitting shots. They are driving enough now to have good balance with their offense, but they need some shots to drop to help with their confidence and on the scoreboard. Harrellson missed the last few minutes of the half with two fouls, but the Wildcats were still rebounding well without him.

SECOND HALF


20:00-15:53
Time: Kentucky 8-2
Game: UConn 33-29

Napier really needs to stop shooting, he is a very poor shooter. He is so quick and he is great at creating for others. Kentucky comes out with two quick threes and they are right back in the game. Calhoun calls a good timeout to try and settle things down. Kentucky comes out with a zone, a pretty good move with the energy they are showing right now; could couse some havoc for UConn. Harrellson is a beast, even though he screams like a woman giving birth. Kentucky is screwing themselves with all of their missed foul shots, but they do have a ton of offensive rebounds. Kentucky is very content with anybody other than Walker trying to beat them; Napier has had some open shots and they are playing one-on-one when UConn goes to the post.

TPT: Harrellson. Him being in there has opened up some space for the others to take shots, and his rebounding skills are great. He doesn't get up very high at all, but he is always in the right spots, especially on offense, to get the board.

15:53-11:56
Time: Kentucky 10-7
Game: UConn 40-39

The UConn bigs have not been very involved in this game and it shows; Oriakhi looks sloppy and not confident at all. Kentucky keeps hitting threes! Lamb comes in and knocks down two with no rim involved. Walker silences the crowd with a long jumper and Harrellson gets a great feed and finishes with a flush. A little too aggressive by the Kentucky defense and they foul Walker shooting a three; mistakes that can't be made in this type of a game. Game is slowing down a little now and teams are trying to feel their way around. Walker comes up with a twisted ankle but then hustles back on defense and stops a breakaway layup. What a player. Harrellson picks up his third foul with 12:09 remaining; not a bad situation, but obviously not the position Kentucky where wants to be.

TPT: Lamb. He comes in off the bench and ignites the team with two huge threes. He was in position to get a layup to put Kentucky ahead, but Walker absolutely made a great play to deny him at the rim. We have ourselves a game here. Players are getting a little rest now, the next few minutes will be huge for Kentucky without Harrellson.

11:56-2:09
Time: UConn 14-9
Game: UConn 54-48

Every time UConn comes out of a timeout, they execute on offense. Walker with a great bounce pass to Smith for a layup. Lamb hits another three, the kid is coming up huge for the Wildcats. UConn is at their best when they run, Walker missed a three but then Oriakhi had a huge put back slam on a failed box out in transition. UConn guards beginning to flop and the refs are giving in to the acts. This is the time of game when the refs try to make foul calls so they won't have to at the end of the game. Good timeout by Calipari with his team down four and looking shaky on defense.

Out of the timeout, Jones takes it one-on-three, gets a chance at an and-one, misses the foul shot, steals the ball and then Kentucky gets another layup from Knight; a solid four-point-play. Very good back and forth action now, the players are sensing  that it's crunch time. Some stupid shots from Napier and Knight break the flow, but then back to back turnovers and a transition layup by Walker forces Calipari to call a timeout at 4:07.

The announcers say Kentucky is tired, and that might be the case, considering they don't play very many players. It has been a while since a TV timeout and the last few minutes will be very long with a lot of stoppages. Kentucky seems to be short on most of their jump shots, could be getting jelly legs. Still no under-8:00 TV timeout and Calhoun calls his own with 2:49 remaining. UConn give Napier an isolation and he drives to the hoop for a layup, that's what he needed to do from the start.

TPT: Walker and Jones. Both of these players are leading their teams at this point. This is one of the best games I have seen Walker play in terms of being in control. Jones is being very aggressive but is now 0-6 from the foul line. Absolutely horrible at this stage.

2:09-0:56.5
Time: Kentucky 3-0
Game: UConn 54-51

Jones is an absolute beast other than his foul shots. He is all over the defensive glass and he has at least three steals in the last five minutes that are directly attributable to his instincts. Liggins hits a three off a Jones rebound and the last TV timeout of the game is called with under a minute to go. Kentucky gets the ball after the break.

TPT: Jones. The best player in the game tonight, looks dominate on the defensive end and when he wants to be on offense. Going to be a crazy finish here.

0:56.5-0:00
Time: Kentucky 4-2
Game: UConn 56-55

Liggins is fouled shooting a long jumper and his toe was just on the line; makes one of two foul shots. Napier tries to split a screen and dribbles the ball off of a Kentucky foot, Knight jumps on it and calls a timeout. Kentucky ball, down two, with 16 seconds left. This has to be a play for Jones, who seems to be the only one in this game with any offensive rhythm. The only bad idea about that is that Jones doesn't seem to be too keen on passing the ball if there is nothing available. Knight will probably get the ball here because of his clutch moments in the early games. Knight gave the ball up while Jones was just standing around, Liggins takes a deep three and misses! Napier gets the rebound and is fouled with 2 seconds left; two foul shots and it's over. He makes both and UConn is up four! Calipari calls a timeout but there is no point. Knight makes a three at the buzzer! Oh wait... UConn wins 56-55!

POST GAME


Player of the second half: Jones. He was the best player on the court, but was not very assertive in getting the ball on the offensive end. His defense really brought Kentucky back in the second half, but it was not quite enough to overcome Knight's 6-23 sucktitude.

Player of the game: Walker. Could have easily been Jones, but Walker's team won and he was very effective in all aspects of the game. Assists, steals, rebounds, points, foul shots, he did it all.

Second half key: Kentucky's defense. Really kept them in the game, they were very aggressive and efficient on the glass and made UConn look very bad on offense in the second half.

Game key: Foul shots. Kentucky went 4-13 for the game. Yes, 4-13. Meanwhile, UConn went 9-11. That was the difference. UConn won the first half and Kentucky won the second half, but in a close, evenly matched game like this, the freebies make all the difference. And guess what? UConn squeaked by with the superb play of their role players.

Some thoughts moving forward:
1. UConn/Butler is going to be a hard ass game.
2. Calhoun is a pig.
3. Walker is a winner.
4. Go Butler!

The Butler Game

It is hard to say what hurt more: the Scottie Reynolds game or the Butler game. Of course the Scottie Reynolds game was for a spot in the Final Four, but buzzer beaters happen all the time. It is one thing to lose a game because an opposing player makes a play, it is another to lose a game like the Butler game. I have watched hundreds upon hundreds upon thousands of basketball games in my life and I have never seen anything like what happened at the end of the Butler game.

I am not going to recall what happened because first of all, everybody knows what happened, and second of all, it hurts me inside to recall the events of that evening.

Blame. Who is to blame for the loss? It is funny because the last person I would blame would be Nasir Robinson. Yes, he was the one who committed the foul, but he was just acting on instincts. As my mom, yes my mom, said, if you are an athlete, you have to expect to make mistakes and fail sometimes. That is just the way the sporting world works. But to be honest, Robinson should not have even been in the situation to make that mistake.

Jamie Dixon is the one to blame. Yes, Jamie Dixon, the man who has the most wins in his first eight seasons as a head coach in NCAA history. I love the guy to death, but I do not understand what he was trying to do in this game. Of course in recent years he has had limited to no tournament success in his years as head coach, but this year was the year for Pitt.

In the Scottie Reynolds game, the only coaching mistake I can remember was Dixon not choosing to pick up the defense until half court on the last play of the game. Scottie Reynolds blew by everyone and tear-dropped a layup over Gilbert Brown with under a second to go.

But in the Butler game, even though I only watched about half of it, Dixon made several questionable decisions over the course of the game. In the first half, when the defense was struggling with pressure on the outside shooters of Butler, especially Shelvin Mack, Dixon decided to go to the zone defense after made baskets... WHY?!

It seemed like every time Pitt went to a zone, Butler had an even better wide-open opportunity from three. It would be one thing if Pitt played zone defense well, but it is another when Pitt is very bad at it and it was less effective than their lazy man-to-man defense. When players are hot from the outside, as a coach, you have to preach to your players to tighten up and try to let the other team shoot themselves cold.

The strength of Pitt this season was their depth. Yes, the strength is the starting five, as it is with most teams, but when Pitt could put in three or four bench players and keep it competitive while the starters rested, that was when they were at their best. Dixon did it in non-conference play and in conference play, but it seemed like when the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament came around, he threw that notion down the drain.

In the Big East loss to UConn, the Pitt bench played 48 minutes, which is a little below average, but mostly inflated due to the poor play of Gary McGhee and the necessity for a substitute. But in the NCAA loss to Butler, the bench played just 34 minutes. Then, when Dante Taylor and Travon Woodall came in with a just few minutes to play and committed a few mistakes (Woodall forcing a shot in traffic, then Taylor attempting a put-back dunk from the parking lot before Woodall committed a dumb foul) you could not blame them because they had no game momentum.

Basically what Dixon did in this game was everything he did not do in the regular season. What Dixon did was completely panic when his team got down, then go to a completely different strategy than what got his team to a 28-5 record to that point.

Then not only did Dixon make the broad mistakes, but when the game fell into Pitt's lap after the Mack foul with 1.4 seconds left, he made the little mistakes at the end of the game which were magnified afterwards. When the referees went to the monitor before Gilbert Brown was to shoot the biggest foul shots of his life, Dixon failed to call his team over to the bench for some words, and Mack was saying God-knows-what to Brown in the middle of the lane, and they probably were not words of wisdom.

During those few seconds, Dixon could have said some final words to Brown, words that Butler head coach Brad Stevens spoke to Matt Howard a few seconds later when he was shooting foul shots to win the game. Dixon also could have givens some instructions to the players in the lane, like, DO NOT FOUL. Or, when Brown proceeded to make the first foul shot, he could have pulled the Pitt players out of the lane completely to eliminate ANY risk of foul, lane violation or whatever else could have happened to screw up the game.

Now I need to be completely honest: I sure as hell did not think of this until after Robinson committed the foul and Howard rained the necessary foul shot to cement Butler into the Sweet 16. But it is Dixon's job, Dixon's responsibility and Dixon's salary to notice these things before they cost his team a chance at a National Championship. Now, if I were in that situation, I take all of the Pitt players off the line after Brown makes the first shot; either he makes the second one and they win or he misses the second and it goes to overtime. Period.

Not to mention Dixon burned his last team timeout with 8.8 seconds left after a stoppage to check the time and a Butler full timeout to apparently explain something more to his team about the upcoming Butler possession with Pitt winning 70-69. I would just like to note (to which Peter Hyndman and Bobby DeWolfe can attest) that I had ZERO confidence that Pitt would stop Butler from scoring. Why would I? They never have, and guess what? THEY DIDN'T! Butler got a wide-open layup with 2.2 seconds left and then Pitt was stuck without any timeouts.

So anyways, who else to blame? Do I blame Gilbert Brown? Hell no. Look at the foul shot he missed, one centimeter stronger, or one half-rotation different and the ball drops in for the win. It was nearly a robbery of a shot and just an unlucky shooter's roll.

Do I blame the refs? Now this is an interesting situation. The foul on Gilbert Brown with 1.4 seconds left was a foul and it should have been called because Mack denied Brown a shot at moving up the court for a shot. So then Robinson climbs all over Howard with .8 seconds left. Was it a foul? Absolutely. Did it affect any play in the game? No, but that is where it gets hazy.

Now, here are the two reasons why the foul against Robinson had to be called. For one, he absolutely smothered Howard. It was not even close to a touchy foul, I mean Robinson really whacked him. Also, the referees had to have the thought that since they called Mack for that foul, Butler was due for a call. If the situation had been different and Mack had never committed the foul seconds earlier, since the foul on Robinson did not directly affect the play, I doubt the referee would have blown the whistle.

What I mean by affecting the play is that since there were 1.4 seconds left and Howard had secured the rebound, the foul did not prevent Butler from doing anything offensively and did not give Pitt any kind of advantage. But then you have to think that since the foul did not directly affect the play, why call the foul at all? Imagine if the referee does not call the foul, Butler fans go crazy because of the foul called on Mack seconds earlier. So you would have to think the foul was called because of the fact that Pitt was due for one, which makes sense, but then again does not.

But at a point, you have to give credit where credit is due. But wait, Butler did not even play that good of a game. They shot 46%, which is okay, but should not be enough to beat a number one seeded team especially when they allowed Pitt to shoot 56% from the field and were out-rebounded 36-25. But what Butler did well was throw in three-pointers from everywhere (12-27) and cut down on turnovers (six). They also were able to do the most important thing it takes for a lower-seeded team to make an upset, limit possessions. If a team limits possessions, they can allow their opponent to shoot 56% and still win.

The player who did beat Pitt was Shelvin Mack, he got opportunities to make some deep shots and he made them in the first half to keep Butler in the game. In the second half he kind of tailed off, especially as the game came to crunch time, but by then his damage had been done. Pitt's defense was too worried about Mack and allowed other players to make plays in the last few minutes.

Just as last year with Jordan Crawford and the year before with Scottie Reynolds, Pitt could not stop the other team's star player and it cost them. It seems like Pitt's balance during the regular season seems to always hurt them in the postseason because no one player steps up enough to pull Pitt through deeper into the tournament.

And as for the cliche "There is always next year", well, I do not know about that. A loss like this is not the kind that builds a team, it is the kind that kills confidence, especially for Nasir Robinson, a player who could be the key to Pitt's season next year. There are rumors of Ashton Gibbs leaving to go to Europe to get more attention and pro experience for the NBA... right.

And even though Dixon got a great recruiting class for next season, there are probably no players in that class who personify the type of player that it takes to win tournament games. Players like Kemba Walker, Shelvin Mack and Jimmer Fredette who are just cool as the other side of the pillow and just take control of the game when it matters. Players Pitt has never really had. They have always had unselfish players, like Brad Wanamaker, Brandin Knight, LeVance Fields and even Ashton Gibbbs. It is not a bad thing in most cases, but sometimes it takes a selfish player to really take a team on his shoulders and carry them when they need it most.

As you know, I will be here next year. I cannot imagine a most heartbreaking loss, but if I experience one in the hands of Pitt basketball in the future, which is actually pretty likely in all reality, I will stay with this team. I have said it before and I will say it again: If Pitt could win a National Championship, I would not mind if the Steelers went 0-16 every year for the rest of my life. That is how much this team means to me and it is how it will always be.