The Sports Monitor

Thanks for visiting in 2013. Best wishes in 2014. Have a great new year.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Well, the NFL has weighed in on the Steelers' hit of Bengals punter Kevin Huber Sunday night. Illegal. Apparently, the punter is a defenseless player. And maybe you could throw in the term helpless, too. Tell that to kick returners who have been tackled by the punter and missed out on touchdowns. If the punter is defenseless, maybe he should trot off the field after he makes the kick. Yeah, it was a brutal hit by Terence Garvin. But if a punter doesn't want contact, get him off the field.

I love it when a coach goes off after a loss. Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's famous "I'm a man, I'm 40" tirade rates right up there. We'll have to add Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson to the epic meltdowns of our time. Hinson went off after a loss Tuesday night dropped his team to 2-8. Some of the highlights: "Our three starting guards had one assist and seven turnovers. They must think it’s a tax credit." "There was a sniper in the gym. Didn’t you see that? We had guys falling down. We had a guy snipered at half-court. " "I've been telling my wife this for years, size doesn't matter." You gotta check out the full video:

One of my biggest beefs with the Pitt basketball team has been its inability to hit free throws. That happened again Tuesday night. Up one and shooting two, the Panthers had a chance to get some breathing room. Clank. Clank. Cincinnati gets an offensive rebound, puts it back in. Game over. I still think Pitt's a Top 25 team.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he's happy with the coach at running back the team made last spring. Given the choice of Eddie Lacy and Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers choose Bell. What else would they say? One of the rumors after the draft was the Steelers liked Bell better because of worries about Lacy's health. Well, Bell has had his share of injuries this season. So far, Lacy has rushed for 1,028 yards on 248 carries (4.1 avg.) and eight touchdowns. He has 31 catches for 236 yards. Bell has 646 yards rushing on 198 attempts (3.3 avg.) and six touchdowns. He has 43 catches for 388 yards. Bell has been fine for the Steelers, running behind a make-shift line all season. But I would have taken Lacy in the spring, and nothing since then would have changed my mind.

I'm sure one of the highlights of the Steelers win over the Bengals Sunday night was Terence Garvin's hit of Bengals punter Kevin Huber. Here it is: Turns out Huber has a broken jaw and a cracked vertebra.

Let's get this straight: A team from a power conference, one with a history of regular appearances, has a 10-0 start to the season and still hasn't cracked the Top 25 in the Associated Press poll? Yeah, the schedule might be easy, but it always is to start the season. And it's not like other teams are going through a grinder to start the season. The big test will be against Cincinnati on Tuesday. A win there, and there's no excuse for avoiding the Panthers. But they really should be Top 25 right now.

Tom Hanks made the line famous in "A League of Their Own." Maybe Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant should take it to heart in football too. Bryant said he walked off the field before the end of the 'Boys' stunning loss to the Packers because of his emotions. Bryant said he went into the locker room and cried. Really? In a regular-season game? Wow. He really is an emotional wreck. He seriously needs to grow up.

The national media has raved about the dedication of Steelers fans. They're called Steelers Nation because of their following. But what's going on with the crowds at Heinz Field? On Sunday night, just 45,000 and some change showed up for a prime-time game against the Bengals. This was after a less-than sellout crowd showed up for the Dolphins game. Is it because the team is all but mathematically eliminated? Is it because of the weather? I'm not casting blame, just looking for answers. I know all the games have been sold out since 1972. The Steelers announce the attendance based on the bodies that show up. But to see the yellow seats, it makes me scratch my head. Can anyone shed some ideas?

You're a rookie safety and you're about to go up against the best receiver in the NFL. What do you do? Call him out of course. That's what the Baltimore Ravens' Matt Elam did to the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson. Elam called Megatron pretty old. Why fire up Johnson before the game? Athletes can really, really be dumb sometimes.

There won't be any playoffs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. A winning record won't happen either. It's likely that the team will finish with a losing record. So what's the point in playing veterans? It seems like coach Mike Tomlin might be too tight with them. What the team should be doing is evaluating the younger players on the roster. If you lose, so what? Losing actually makes sense. It will improve the Steelers' draft position. The team surely needs all the help it can get at this point.

Did you see the report that Mike Tomlin and Jim Harbaugh are possible candidates for the Texas job? We're talking Texas Longhorns, not Houston Texans. I don't see it. You have two coaches from flagship franchises in the NFL that might go to the college ranks? I don't see it. The theory is there's no salary cap, the coach has ultimate control of the team, etc., compared to their NFL jobs. I still don't see. Can someone make a better argument?

I'm seeing positive comments about the Pirates' signing of Edinson Volquez to a $5 million contract. Generally, it's a no-lose deal with plenty of upside? Is it? I don't think so. For the Pirates, $5 million is a big deal. Yes, the Pirates had success with A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano. Will it happen a third time? Did it work with Erik Bedard? Did it work with Jose Contreras? Did it work for Jonathan Sanchez? There's no guarantee. And now, $5 million from the Pirates' limited budget is tied up for us to find out. Their money could have been better spent.