The Sports Monitor

My beef with the NFL Draft doesn't end with the hours of television time it eats up. It continues right through to the grading of teams after the draft. This is another exercise in futility. The problem is the preconception of players by those handing out grades. The gurus who grade the teams for their performance, or lack thereof, already are locked into a belief of where a player should or should not be drafted. So let's say Draft Guru A has Football Star B rated really high on his draft board. For some reason, the NFL teams selecting players keep passing on Football Star B. When a team finally gets around to drafting our broken-hearted player in the third round, Draft Guru A will rave about what a steal that selection was. Why? Maybe Draft Guru A doesn't want to look so bad. Maybe it's a way to cover his behind. By the time everyone figures out Football Star B doesn't have the talent to be a starter in the NFL, we'll have forgotten about Draft Guru A's as...

Who cares? No, not about the Steelers. I share the same passion of thousands, if not millions, of Steelers fans cheering for their team. I mean who cares about the NFL Draft? As a recovering draft-watcher, I have no plans to park myself in front of my television for 5 hours and listen to Mel Kiper Jr.'s hair tell me why so-and-so is a great pick at No. 21 when 20 other teams passed on the guy. I've seen the error of my ways and won't spend my day doing that -- especially when the weather forecast is for a sunny, 70s day. There's better things to do. Like sit in front of my television and watch baseball for 5 hours (I jest). The NFL Draft is the biggest hoax on TV these days. It's Geraldo Rivera finding nothing in Al Capone's vault. You see chatter, endless chatter. The live action includes players walking up to a podium, putting on a team hat and smiling. Talk about excitement. I think I'd rather watch soccer on TV. Let me get back to the actual draft. Pick...

It's always satisfying to see the New York Yankees lose a baseball game. It got better when they opened the $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium on Thursday and lost to the Indians. The best part, however, was the 22-4 bludgeoning of the Yankees by the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. The highlight was a 14-run second inning that lasted 37 minutes. The Tribe sent 17 batters to the plate that inning. How has it been going for the Yankees so far? Check out this comment from the New York Daily News after that thrashing: "We thought Obama banned torture in the United States, but it doesn't count for Yankees fans," said Larry Fannin, 51 of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., who paid $100 for his ticket. "The people around us were screaming we want a refund." Fannin was lucky. The top ticket at the new Yankee Stadium costs $2,625. I wonder what that person was saying after the game? The park is a celebration of greed and excess. The only thought put into the stadium was to extract mor...

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a mad dash at the end of the season to grab the No. 4 seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs. After Wednesday's thrashing of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their best-of-seven showdown, the Penguins are showing no signs of slowing down. Sidney Crosby and Evegni Malkin each scored a goal and assisted on one, and Marc-Andre Fluery was solid in goal in the team's 4-1 win that wasn't even that close. Pittsburgh improved to 19-3-4 under interim coach Dan Bylsma. The Pens dominated for most of the game and the Flyers tried to get dirty at the end to send a message. They finished the game with three players in the penalty box. "We know that's their style. That's how they play," Fleury said after the game. "But it's nice to see how the guys handled it with no problem and just moved on." The Pens' message was better. They'll move on to Game 2 Friday night. Expect the Flyers to come out with something to prove. Just...

I'm a sucker for opening day. I've been going to Three Rivers/PNC Park many years now to kick off the start to Pirates' season in good times and bad. I enjoy the crowds, the ceremonies and all of trimmings that come with the opener. Monday at PNC Park was no different. Except if you're looking at the Pirates' record at PNC. Zach Duke looked like an all-star, the offense looked like the Lumber Company of old and the crowd had one heck of a time celebrating the Bucs' 7-0 win. It was just the Pirates third win at a PNC Park opener. The game was one to remember. Adam LaRoche (!) and Ryan Doumit hit home runs, Freddy Sanchez looked like a former batting champion and the fans actually had "the wave" going around the park. But it was Duke's day. It was his third career shutout and the first shutout in a home opener since 1978. Yeah, it was a good day. It all came together for the Pirates. Maybe there's more down the road this year.

Now we know what really happened in Ian Snell's first start of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Snell gave up six earned runs in a loss to the Cardinals on Tuesday. We were left with this offering from the Associated Press: Snell, who came down with a severe case of the flu during the final week of spring training, said he had his first full meal on Thursday night. The illness left him incapacitated for several days. "I've never felt like that in my life," Snell said before Friday's game was postponed. "I really got sick. That was the worst." That might have explained Tuesday's game. Was he sick all of 2008?

A key for the Pirates this year will be starting pitcher Ian Snell. Tuesday, he proved it. Snell was shelled for eight runs in four innings in a 9-3 loss to the Cardinals, bringing back memories of many starts in 2008. He finished last year with a 5.42 ERA after sporting a 3.76 ERA the previous season. One problem Snell had last year was with left-handed hitters, who combined to hit .314 off him. That, and Snell's road ERA last season (6.22) was a recipe for disaster. And a disaster it was. The Cards' Chris Duncan proved Snell's not over his lefty problem with a two-run shot. Then the Bucs showed they weren't over their Albert Pujols problem when he sent a Snell pitch over the wall. It was Pujols' fifth career blast off Snell. Let's remember one thing: It's one start, so a lot can change. Many pitchers have been hammered in their first start this season (CC Sabathia, Tim Lincecum, Brandon Webb), so things can turn around. However, with a poor season from Sne...