The Sports Monitor

Wow. I was truly wrong about this year's Pittsburgh Pirates. A little more than two weeks ago, I though the Bucs were on the right track this season. It took me a little bit of time, but I was there . Again -- wow. I was wrong. Maybe I should have waited a little longer. Then I would have seen this epic collapse coming. The Pirates enter Monday night just two games over .500. I'm not thinking playoffs anymore. I'm not sure they finish with a winning record. Clint Hurdle doesn't have a magic touch. James McDonald isn't anywhere near the pitcher he was in the first half. He doesn't even look like a major league starter at this point. A.J. Burnett hasn't been the stopper either. There was a seven-error game, bad managerial moves (suicide squeeze?) and yesterday's meltdown by minor league pitchers called upon to protect a lead against the Cubs. This has been a complete and utter disaster. The joy of the first four months of the ...

The Pitt football team lost to Youngstown State 31-17 Saturday. Let that sink in for a minute. The Panthers, in the first game of the Paul Chryst era, lost its home opener at Heinz Field to Youngstown State. 31-17. And it wasn't that close. Youngstown State did what it wanted on offense. Pitt couldn't do much on offense or defense. An ugly loss? It was worse than that. An all-time loss. In their last season in the Big East, the Panthers didn't even look ready for Division III football let alone the ACC. There's no way to erase the stink and stench of this loss. It almost makes you yearn for the days of Todd Graham, who just happened to win his team's season opener 63-6. But Pitt fans have to live with the fact that their team lost to Youngstown State. That's not the way to start a season. On the bright side: It can't get any worse.