Our Long National Nightmare is Over

Its official: the Braves will not win their division this year, ending their title streak at 14 seasons.

Its quite an accomplishment, as James noted. However, now that it is finally over, I figured I would post a bit of a celebration.

Because for me, that streak reminded me, every year, that the Pittsburgh Pirates would not win while the Braves did it again.

It has been frustrating. Ever since Sid Bream brought the last post season (and the last winning season) the Pirates were in to a close, the Braves have just kept on going. As they piled up victory after victory, I began to hate the Braves more than any other team in Major League Baseball. More than even the Yankees (though not by much). For me, even now, it will always be the Braves. Whenever I hear their name in the news, I always hope that news of a loss accomponies it, espicially if they are playing the Pirates.

How can I hate the Yankees more, when the Pirates beat them in the last World Series they played them in? When my only baseball post season memories are of the Pirates losing to the Braves? To be fair, they lost to the Reds in my lifetime, but for some reason, I have no memory of that season – I was very young at that time. This was my first real exposure to pro sports. I remember staying up late and watching the games. I vividly remember the Tomahawk chop, the silly gimmick the Braves used to hype up their fans, and wondering why we didn’t have anything like that for our team. I vaguely remember the inability to get the last out in that last series. However, in my youthful optimism, I thought that the Pirates would return to the post season, and hopefully make the World Series. Little did I know . . .

In any event, its over, and this Pirates fan says “Thank goodness”. Now if only the Yankees would stop buying up division titles, I’d be a much happier baseball fan. I do respect the mark the Braves have made, and will give them more credit than I will give the Yankees if they reach that mark (and will actively root against that). However, I had to contribute my side of this story.

Pirates Reach Historic Lows

Pittsburgh Pirates put together worst losing streak in over 100 years.

While the Kansas City Royals have had the worst record in baseball (right now, they are tied with the Pirates), the Pirates just got swept by them. As the article says, they used to win. In 1979, the combination of the Pirates and the Steelers winning championships made Pittsburgh the “City of Champions”. While the Steelers have held up their end of the bargain, the Pirates continue to sink to lower and lower depths. It is sad to watch this franchise turn into a laughingstock – I think it is time to look at a way to make a change in ownership.

Pittsburgh Sports Fan in Non-Football Season

Its hard being a Pittsburgh sports fan when football is done – the only thing we had going for us was college hoops, and that was a while back. If you wondered why I haven’t posted in a while, that’s the main reason: nothing of note happening in Pittsburgh – an offseason of few surprises for the Steelers, and nothing happening at all on other fronts.

The Bucs are, as usual, stinking up the joint. Here’s a sampling of the headlines in the Pirates section of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s website:

Execution absent in Pirates hitters
First things first for Bucs
With Pirates, it’s hit or miss
Slumping Bay may slide in lineup
Bullpen lets down Pirates
Perez gets another shot to turn season around

Not the types of headlines you get from a successful team – at least, you don’t get THAT MANY negative headlines with a good team (unless you are the Yankees or the Mets).

This year we were told that the pitching would be good, we had Jason Bay who was decent, and this could be the year that we break .500. Yes, I know, lofty goals, but you have to start somewhere.

The last time the Pirates were good, the Braves beat them in 7, back in 1992. With apologies to James (I hate both the Braves and Cowboys, go figure), I’ll never forgive them for that, and for not having a LOSING season since. Its just not fair. At least the Steelers won the Super Bowl. And I will still root for the Bucs, through thick and thin. I’m just getting tired of the thin part of that equation.

Mark Cuban: Pittsburgh Penguins Owner?

Mark Cuban eyes ownership stake in Pittsburgh Penguins.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is interested in becoming a limited partner in a new ownership group trying to buy the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, according to a report.

“I have told several people who have contacted me that, although I wouldn’t be the lead or largest investor, I would kick in some money if it would help,” Cuban, a Pittsburgh native, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

I’m not sure how I feel about this one . . . Cuban is a bit of a firebrand, but his Pittsburgh background may just be what keeps the Penguins in Pittsburgh when they hit the auction block. Also, I’m not sure I like having to like the owner of any Dallas team.

Now I really want to see him do something with the other losing team in Pittsburgh.

Cuban has also expressed interest in owning the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are not currently for sale.

The Pirates need SOMETHING lit underneath them – Cuban may be just the thing. You know that baseball is not going well when you see this series of headlines on the Tribune Review’s website:

Another game to forget
Cards rally to beat Pirates
Pirates lose sixth straight
Casey injury affects Bay
Cardinals 6, Pirates 3: How they scored
Eldred out four months

Eesh. At least the Steelers won that little game called the Super Bowl a few months back.

Kris Benson Cheated on Anna?

NY Post’s Jeane MacIntosh confirms earlier reports that Anna Benson has withdrawn her divorce petition. It seems however, that there was a little hanky panky going on:

Days after hurling divorce papers at her husband, smoking baseball wife Anna Benson has decided to give him an intentional pass. After a weekend in seclusion at her suburban Atlanta mansion, the ex-stripper rescinded her divorce petition against former Mets pitcher Kris Benson, her lawyer said yesterday. Just hours after The Post caught a glimpse of the brunette bombshell — looking haggard and weary as she sat with two friends on the steps of her $2 million gray stucco mansion — Anna decided to try and salvage the marriage despite the alleged infidelity of her hubby.

Anna had called it quits amid reports that Kris — traded in the off-season to the Baltimore Orioles — got well past first base with one of her gorgeous friends. Yesterday, she had lawyer Jeffrey Bogart withdraw the divorce petition she filed Thursday night in Georgia Superior Court in Atlanta.

“She expresses her love for her husband and her sincere desire to reconcile their marriage,” Bogart said.

“I think Anna did some soul-searching over the weekend and decided that she wanted to make every effort to repair her marriage. Hopefully, Kris feels the same way.”

Dude:

Let’s not get greedy, m’kay?

Barry Bonds, Steroids, Pittsburgh, and Pirates Memories

Barry Bonds will always hold a special place in my memory. As a 9 or 10 year old, he was a member of the first sports team I paid attention to and loved – the Pittsburgh Pirates. The four names I remember from that era were Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke (my favorite), Bobby Bonilla, and Jim Leyland. I can’t say I appreciated how good Bonds was. Even at that age, I disliked Bonds, though I can’t remember having a reason why. It may have been that everyone around me disliked the man, and I picked up on it. Van Slyke was cool, and I liked Bonilla as well. Leyland was a great manager. Bonds, however, was someone I was not fond of. He made it worse by leaving the team for the Giants. As a kid, I didn’t understand why the Pirates couldn’t hold on to their team and try to get to the World Series again. I also thought players were a bit more attached to the concept of “team”. Naive? Yes, but I still disliked Bonds all the more for leaving, and Bonilla and Van Slyke also suffered in my perception as the Pirates began their plunge into their current cellar dwelling ways.

As far as I can tell, Bonds wasn’t on steroids in Pittsburgh (this is confirmed by just about every reputable source out there). After he left, and the strike happened, I lost track of Barry Bonds. When Bonilla retired, I assumed Bonds must have retired while I wasn’t looking.

Then the home run race happened. Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire tried to hit a lot of baseballs out of a lot of ballparks. I was rooting for Sosa, but remember hearing that Bonds was still around. I was surprised, but figured he had to be on the tail end of his career. It had been a long time since I had seen him in Pittsburgh, and hitters don’t last that long.

That’s when his hitting picked up. This seemed odd to me. By that point, I’d followed baseball long enough to know that this wasn’t right. As his hitting picked up, he started getting press. The pictures took me aback – Bonds looked nothing like how I remembered him. Comparison photos taken since prove this – Bonds looked like a totally different person. His head was a different shape, and his body was much more muscular than I remembered. Even then, I suspected him of steroids, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, I felt I had been unfair on him when he left Pittsburgh. I’d seen how Pittsburgh fans treat their quarterbacks, so I knew that we were capable of assuming the worst of everyone who played in the ‘Burgh we didn’t like. Even so, I hated seeing Bonds surpass McGuire’s record. It seemed anti-climatic, like I had seen something that I had been told was a “once in a lifetime” event for the second time, cheapening that event. Also, of all people in baseball to get this record, Bonds? BONDS? I had already had enough of this guy.

The instant he started talking about rubbing on cream he knew nothing about, I knew for sure. Bonds was on steroids. Nothing he could say after that would change my mind on that fact.

Barry Bonds should keep the records he gets to. No asterisk should be placed by his name. It won’t ever have to be. Thanks to this era, everyone will remember that the accomplishments were tainted. The history of baseball will not let us forget – unlike many sports, baseball has a long memory. Had Pete Rose been in the NFL, he would have been reinstated by now. Baseball will never let him be reinstated. Bonds may not be banned, but he will forever be remembered as a surly cheat.

Cross posted at The Unusual Suspects.