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.

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...