The Sports Monitor

I wasn't too enthusiastic when a possible return of Jaromir Jagr started not too long ago. I'm even less enthusiastic after the Pittsburgh Penguins offered $2 million and were expecting to hear an answer from Jagr. Instead, no one seemed to know where Jagr was on Wednesday, the day is was supposed to decide his future. Maybe he's trying to get more money from the Penguins or another team. Or maybe he's being the same old Jagr. Either way, I'm not too thrilled with the Penguins getting strung out like this by a 39-year-old primadonna. A simple, "I'm still deciding" would have been sufficient. We'll probably hear today, but I'd rather not see a reunion. Let some other team deal with Jagr and is baggage. I don't think it's in the Pens' best interest to sign him.

I don't usually delve too much into the world of golf, but with the U.S. Open in full swing, this is as good a time as any. What prompted me was a column by Associated Press columnist Tim Dahlberg about Tiger Woods. Dahlberg, it seems, is missing this tournament without Woods not being there. In a "letter" to Woods, Dahlberg writes, "Believe me, this tournament needs something to make it interesting." Ah, did you happen to watch the first round, Dahlberg? Rory McIlroy blew threw Congressional Country Club. And on Friday, he did it again. McIlroy's 11-under is a record through 36 holes at the Open. That's not too shabby. Not many expected it, I'm sure, especially Dahlberg. Maybe we just need to embrace change. I don't miss Woods and his surly attitude. I don't miss Woods swearing after every errant tee shot. When McIlroy withered on the final day of the Masters in April, he handled it with class and grace. I'm confident enoug...

Finally. Pitt and Penn State will resume their once-storied football rivalry. The only problem is, we have to wait until September 2016 for it to happen. The wait will be worth it, however. If you're a fan of college football and you're from western Pennsylvania this series was the one to watch. The rivalry ended in 2000, so it'll be a long gap between games. So long, in fact, many young fans from western Pennsylvania don't have an idea what it was like to have such a heated rivalry. It was Auburn-Alabama, UCLA-USC or Ohio State-Michigan. Some blame Penn State coach Joe Paterno for the end of the series in 2000. I'm just glad it's back. Do you think JoePa will be on the sidelines for the game in 2016?

No, it's not first-run episodes, but BBC America is running one of my favorite series of all-time, Battlestar Galactica. This, of course, is the revamped version, with former Victoria's Secret models as Cylons, not the 1970s version. Great drama, great action, and great acting. It's worth checking out.

I want to give a sincere thanks to LeBron James. He single-handedly made me interested in the NBA Finals. I used to be a big NBA fan. My all-time favorite player was Hakeem Olajuwon. But I soon started to drift away from the NBA. There were many reasons, I guess, but I'll spare you the details today. I would check in from time to time, but it wasn't like it used to be. Then came The Decision. I didn't mind seeing Cleveland lose a dynamic player. I just didn't like the way James went about selecting his new NBA home. From then on, the Heat were at the top of my list of teams to dislike. When the Finals came around, I had to watch. I had to root against LeBron. The series against the Mavs, however, has turned into something more. Yes, it's great to see LeBron disappear. And it's even better to see the Heat one game away from losing. But this series has been fantastic to watch. I wouldn't have noticed too much without James' decision n...

OK, Pitt football fans, you have to admit, this was fun to watch. The West Virginia football program tried to clean up its coaching mess Friday when Bill Stewart resigned and Dana Holgorsen took over. Holgorsen, AD Oliver Luck's coach-in-waiting, doesn't have to wait any longer to be the man. The man I find partly responsible is Luck himself. Luck's hiring of Holgorsen and refusal to fire Stewart cultivated the troubles that led to Friday's events. It was supposed to be a smooth transition. It turned out to be anything but smooth. Stewart and Holgorsen didn't like each other. You can't blame them, but you could expect them to act like adults. Holgorsen allegedly got unruly at a casino and had to be removed. Then, the allegations got interesting. Stewart reportedly tried to dig up dirt on Holgorsen. Maybe Stewart thought that he could survive if more reports surfaced about Holgorsen. Instead, when that news broke, it hastened Stewart's departu...

No surprise yesterday as UCLA's Gerrit Cole was selected No. 1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the baseball draft. The big surprise to me is the statistics put up by a supposed elite college pitcher: six wins, eight losses and a 3.31 ERA. I'd expect him to lead his team or conference in strikeouts and reach double-digits in wins. Oh, that's right, Cole's teammate did all that. Trevor Bauer went 13-2 and set a Pac-10 record with 203 strikeouts. His ERA was 1.25. And this stat really stood out: he ended the season with nine straight complete games. But back to Cole. My big question: If he's struggling to get college hitters out with a fastball that can hit 100 mph, how is he supposed to get major leaguers out? The Pirates feel pretty confident he will. "We felt he'd have the biggest potential impact for us of anybody on the board," general manager Neal Huntington said. The Pirates obviously project him to be an outstanding pitcher. And...

Gerrit Cole looks like the No. 1 pick overall in tonight's baseball draft. Ordinarily, I'd say that might be a good choice. However, that first overall pick belongs to the Pittsburgh Pirates, so I'm skeptical that they'll make the right choice. The Pirates have a long and storied history of losing for nearly 20 years. Along those same lines, they have a long and storied history of making bad selections in the first round of the draft. Remember Bryan Bullington at No. 1 overall? How about the great John VanBenschoten? He's the guy that led college baseball in home runs and the Pirates thought he'd be better as a pitcher. Then there's J.J. Davis, Bobby Bradley and Sean Burnett. Ugh. That's why I'll watch with trepidation tonight to see who the Pirates select. Normally, I'd be all for drafting a pitcher who has a fastball that can hit 100 mph. But Cole's dominance just isn't there for a first-round pick. He's not even the bes...

Former Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress will be released from jail in a couple days. That doesn't mean the Steelers should actively pursue Burress once he's free and a deal between the players and owners happens. I've seen it before. Burress, as talented as he may be, also is wildly inconsistent. He'll also be 34 years old when a season eventually begins, not exactly his prime as a football player. Those are just two reasons why. And I'll give you three more: Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. Those are three young receivers I'm impressed with. Wallace's contributions have been evident. Sanders and Brown have a bright future in front of them. Then there's that guy who can dance a little, Hines Ward. The Steelers are fine at receiver. There's no need for Burress to return.

I used to have a lot of respect for Giants general manager Brian Sabean. Sabean, who built the Giants into a World Series champion, seems like he's falling apart. The GM ripped into Scott Cousins the other day. And if you don't know who Cousins is, that's probably OK. He's an outfielder for the Marlins, which isn't noteworthy. What really ruffled Sabean was Cousins' gritty play on May 25. Cousins plowed into Giants catcher Buster Posey, who was blocking the plate. During the jarring collision, Posey broke a bone in his leg and tore ligaments. Posey was a key member of the Giants' run to the title last year, so he's also a key cog for any title defense. But that doesn't defend what Sabean said several days after the play took place. "If I never hear from Cousins again or he never plays another game in the big leagues, I think we'll all be happy." That wasn't all. "He chose to be a hero, in my mind, and if that...