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.