The Sports Monitor

Mike Haywood will never see the sidelines as coach of the Pitt Panthers football team. The university fired Haywood on Saturday after his arrest on a charge of domestic violence. Haywood says, "The truth will eventually come out." While the circumstances are truly disgusting and hopefully the truth will be brought to light, the charge is a way for athletic director Steve Pederson to get a do-over after failing to get a solid candidate in the first place. With a chance to inspire players, alumni and fans, Haywood underwhelmed many with his introductory news conference nearly three weeks ago. Those from Dave Wannstedt's recruiting class apparently were underwhelmed, too, as some of them decided to play elsewhere next season. I've felt that Haywood was lucky to be considered for any coaching gig. He parlayed a couple breaks into a job at a conference with a tie-in to a BCS game. (Notice I didn't say big-time school, because Pitt clearly hasn't shown eno...

One of the first questions about Pitt football after the firing of coach Dave Wannstedt was whether new coach Michael Haywood would be able to keep Wannstedt's recruits in the fold. Highly touted Bishop McDevitt running back Jameel Poteat has changed his mind about the Panthers, choosing instead to go to Cincinnati, a school many Pitt fans would consider inferior to Pitt. Penn Live has more details on Poteat's move. Poteat was the star back for Bishop McDevitt, the PIAA Class AAA champs. He rushed for 31 TDs this season, bringing his career total to 84. While Pitt has two strong running backs already in Dion Lewis and Ray Graham, the move is troubling for Pitt. Penn Live reported that Poteat is " is one of a number of Pitt recruits who have de-committed" since Wannstedt was forced out. One of Wannstedt's strengths was the ability to recruit. It was his coaching that got him in trouble. Hopefully Haywood does better coaching than Wannstedt did. While i...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have earned a reputation of being cheap. Add the University of Pittsburgh to that list. The Panthers reportedly are interested in Michael Haywood as their next football coach. For a university that wants to think of itself and its football program as great, you don't consider a coach from a MAC school. If you're cheap and are looking at saving a few bucks, then Haywood is your guy. The firing of Dave Wannstedt led folks to believe Pitt wanted more from its program, that Pitt thought it was capable of being an elite football school. Haywood as a leading candidate after two better ones have gone elsewhere doesn't confirm what Pitt fans wanted to believe. Sure, Haywood turned around Miami (Ohio) after going 1-11 in his first year. Pitt doesn't need a turnaround. The Panthers need to move up a level. Maybe Haywood can accomplish that. He reportedly is a good recruiter, and that's half the battle. But this reminds me of Mike Gottf...

Meet your new first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates: Lyle Overbay. The Bucs continued their overspending spree on mediocre or washed up players Tuesday by signing Overbay to a one-year, $5 million contract. Overbay, 33, hit .243 last season with the Blue Jays with 20 home runs. The last time he hit 20 homers was 2006 when he hit 22. He's solid defensively, but lacks the skills to make contact. He certainly doesn't have the profile of your prototypical first baseman, which is probably why he was available for the Pirates. The Bucs' new plan is to have Overbay play first base with Garrett Jones and Matt Diaz splitting time in right field. At $5 million, it's a bad plan. I can't imagine fans going out to buy season tickets as Christmas gifts because of this signing.

One of the big risks when firing a coach is the ability to get a better one. By many accounts, Pitt AD Steve Pederson lost two picks as the replacement for Dave Wannstedt. Al Golden went to the University of Miami while Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen went to rival West Virginia. If either were Pederson's top pick, he blew it by waiting too long. If Pederson still needed approval to make a hire, then there's too much red tape at the university to be efficient. Leave it to WVU to trump Pitt and get Holgorsen.  There's still time to make a good hire, but time is of the essence. A new coach needs to be in place to lock up the players that committed to Pitt. And the new coach will have to hit the recruiting trail to build his incoming class. My hope still is for an offensive-minded coach, one that doesn't play the conservative game that was a Wannstedt hallmark. I'm still waiting for Rich Rodriguez to get canned at Michigan in time for ...

There was a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Shaquille O'Neal was an unstoppable force in the NBA. Part of the reason for his dominance was his physique. He was big (7-foot-1) and tipped the scales at over 300 pounds. You couldn't stop him. The only way to slow him down was the aptly named Hack-A-Shaq defense. That's where the defenders would simply foul O'Neal when he got the ball close to the basket. The reason it worked, or at least gave the opposition a chance, was the poor foul shooting by O'Neal. Because Shaq was so big and strong, referees would allow the opposition to get physical with O'Neal. Sometimes, they got too physical. The problem was, no one else was allowed to get away with it on another player in the league. Which brings me to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Opposing defenses are teeing off on Big Ben, with some very questionable hits going unnoticed by officials. He's become the new Shaq. Roethlisberger isn...

There was lots of speculation about what was wrong with the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers. After Sunday's game against the Cincinnati Bengals, there's no mystery. The problem with the 2009 Steelers was the absence of safety Troy Polamalu. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Polamalu makes the Steelers. Without him, they simply are an average team. With him, he turns a team with a banged-up offensive line and a quarterback that looks like he can barely walk and breathe into a title contender. Polamalu's interception return for a touchdown Sunday kick-started the Steelers and turned the Bengals into the Bungles. Another Polamalu interception and a LaMarr Woodley pick-six later, and the Steelers beat the Bengals 23-7. It was quite a showing by the defense. And it all happened because of Polamalu. Polamalu's play the past couple weeks elevates him into the frontrunner for the defensive player of the year award. More importantly, it sets the Steelers up for a long pl...