The Sports Monitor

I'm a horror movie fan, so this time of the year I get into the marathons on cable. After watching the "Friday the 13th" movies, I decided to go ahead and rank my favorites. 1. The Original. Series doesn't get any better. Jason jumping out of the lake. Kevin Bacon biting the dust. And, don't forget, Jason wasn't the killer in this movie (Ask "Scream" fans). 2. Part 2. Jason dons the burlap bag and jumps through the window at the end. The latter, I presume, is to try to duplicate the scare of the original. 3. Part 3. This one was in 3-D, if that matters. The music at the beginning and end credits was cool (I still like it today. Too bad those end credits aren't played in full like they used to). This was the one where Jason got his hockey mask. 4. Part 6. This is where I probably go in a different direction than others. After the disaster that was Part 5, the writers brought back Jason is a good way. Alice Cooper had the "Man B...

Here it is, the obligatory post marking a milestone, usually a nice round number. So, I'll fall into the same trap. Thanks for reading really useful post No. 400.

Travis Ishikawa. Do you think Cardinals fans are mutter that name this morning? A guy that was cut from the Pirates hits a ninth-inning home run to clinch a spot in the World Series. And do you think Pirates fans wish Ishikawa stayed on the team? The Pirates thought so highly of Ishikawa that they traded for Ike Davis to play first base. It seems the Pirates Way is to get rid of players and watch them succeed elsewhere. Maybe that's not entirely true, but it seems that way.

Here it is deadline day and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been mentioned in some possible deals to bolster their team. Yeah, it's nice to hear the Pirates as being buyers instead of sellers at this stage of the summer. It's a much-needed change. But, really, do you truly expect the Pirates to make a blockbuster deal to go all-in and try to win a title this year? I don't. Here's what I expect to come out of Pirates GM Neal Huntington after the deadline passes: "We wanted to add to our club, but the price was too high. We did not want to sacrifice our minor league system at the expense of a short-term gain." That's all nice, but the team is just a couple of games out of the lead in the division. Are all those minor league prospects going to pan out? They rarely do. And maybe it's also about the money too. Never underestimate the cheapness of the Nutting regime. The Pirates already missed out on John Lackey and Jon Lester. Now we're wait...

Cleveland is at the center of the sports universe. Can it really be? When you're talking Johnny Manziel and LeBron James, two of the biggest things going in sports, and they're both with Cleveland teams, then, yes, it is really happening. LeBron is the face of the NBA, and his Decision II, which Cleveland into a state of joy, is worthy of all the hype surrounding him. Say what you want about his leadership traits or the ability to win championships, he's the best player in the NBA. So when the best player in the league leaves the team he helped win two titles, it's big news. When it's LeBron, it's the story of the year -- at least if ESPN is concerned. LeBron makes the Cavs a legitimate title contender again, just like when he played for them. The genius of James' move is he rebuilds his image and still gets a shot to win a title. The NBA's Eastern Conference is a joke, so it's a lot easier for LeBron to make it back to the Finals than if...

Favorite sports movie? Well, since it turned 25 years old and it's fresh in my mind, because of its big birthday bash over the weekend in Iowa, it's "Field of Dreams." Heck, it might be my all-time favorite. It was the first movie that I played back and watched again on VHS. (Yeah, I know, it makes me old) There are some terrific scenes, and there are others, like the one where Shoeless Joe lines Ray's pitch right back at his feet, where it doesn't get enough credit. And you can't forget Moonlight Graham. I'll avoid the obvious and go with a different clip as one of my favorite scenes: What's your favorite?

Chuck Noll has passed away. It still doesn't seem right to type those words. I know Noll was 82 when he died in his sleep Friday after being in ill health, but it doesn't seem possible. The news froze me when I heard it a little before midnight. Chuck Noll is dead? Wow. I couldn't believe it. He was a hero of mine growing up. How could you grow up in the '70s near Pittsburgh and not root for the Steelers? Noll was the firm hand guiding the Steelers to Super Bowl championships .    It wasn't that long ago when he was carried off a field winning a Super Bowl. And it couldn't have been that long ago when he stepped down as a four-time Super Bowl champ. That was a sad day. Today is even sadder. It's too bad we can't just push pause and stop and cherish those moments a little bit longer. But time moves on and all we'll have left is memories of The Emperor. Rest in peace. Steelers Nation mourns your passing. And thanks for the wo...