The Sports Monitor

There comes a time when a team believes in itself. Then there are times when a fan starts to believe in a team. For me, I think that happened last night after the Pittsburgh Pirates shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 5-0. It took me 130 games, but I'm there. I admit it, I fully expected the Pirates to crack this series against the Cards. Nothing changed after the Bucs lost 4-3 Monday. Well, I thought they might get swept. Instead, the Pirates responded with back-to-back shutouts of one of the teams they're trying to chase down for a wild-card playoff berth. Today, before they enter a series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates are just one game away from that coveted spot. I'm not sure they'll reach it, but I have faith they won't utterly collapse either, which was a big fear before the Pirates bounced back and beat the Cardinals 9-0 Tuesday. Maybe Pedro Alvarez will stay hot through the end of the season. If he does, then I think the Bucs ha...

Yeah, I know there's still a couple more weeks before the calendar says fall begins. For me, however, summer ends when my kids go back to school. That was today. Golf's over (the PGA Tour's playoffs are a joke), baseball pennant drives are heating up and the U.S. Open has started. Couple that with football around the corner and our vacation to Myrtle Beach, S.C., wrapped up, and it's over. I'm just waiting for the trees to fall.

Every so often, I go off topic here. After a barrage of commercials, I still have no desire to see 'Total Recall.' Not even Jessica Biel or Kate Beckinsale can bring me to the cineplex. Maybe it's because I was a fan of the original. Maybe it's because I found the trailers uninteresting. I'm still not sure. But I can say you won't see me buying tickets for it. Maybe it'll be a rental. Maybe you can convince me it's worth my time.

Badminton is an Olympic sport. Yet baseball isn't. On top of it all, eight athletes have been booted from the badminton competition. I'm still not sure what's more shocking -- badminton as an official sport or a scandal where eight athletes were tossed for intentionally losing. And they were doing a terrible job at losing, too. Maybe they should have been kicked out for being poor at losing. Either way, gimme some good ol' football. Or baseball -- the Pirates still are contenders. One final question: Did NBC have a channel dedicated to badminton?

The Pittsburgh Pirates have their power-hitting outfielder. The question is: Will it pay off this year for them? The Bucs picked up Travis Snider from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for pitcher Brad Lincoln. On the surface, it appears the Pirates got a minor league player for a successful reliever. This trade should be better than that. Snider provides a power-hitting threat needed. He's also under control for at least three seasons, meaning the Bucs should have an outfield of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Snider for a few years. That should be a very good outfield. I'm not sold on Lincoln as a starting pitcher in the future. I think he could be a future closer, which always is appealing. However, relievers aren't as difficult to find. Plus, they can bottom out really fast. Remember Evan Meek, the former All-Star for the Pirates? This also reminds me of the deal that sent Ricardo Rincon to the Indians for Brian Giles. We'll find out soon en...

Antonio Brown got paid by the Pittsburgh Steelers Friday night. Mike Wallace hasn't. And maybe he won't. Brown got the long-term deal Wallace wanted. Brown's five-year extension is worth a reported $42.5 million. Wallace currently is sitting out, wanting some big bucks that likely won't come from the Steelers. Wallace can earn $2.7 million this season. It looks like it will be his last with the Steelers. Brown, the team's MVP last year, is the better choice for the long-term deal. He clearly passed Wallace at the end of last year and looks like a legit No. 1 receiver in the NFL.

Does anyone believe a thing Jerry Sandusky's wife is saying? Dottie Sandusky told the Centre Daily Times that the convicted child molester is not "who they say he is." Someone should be advising her to stay quiet. She's not helping his cause and she's ending any credibility she might have.