On the way in to work every morning Jack and I listen to Mike and Mike in the morning on ESPN.  Today, amidst the football banter about Bradford’s injury and the Miami upset, they pointed out that it has officially been 17 years since the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning season.  17 years, y’all…

They pointed out that in 1992 (can you believe that?!) “End of the Road” by Boyz II Men was the number one hit, that Miley Cyrus was born, and that Bret Favre made his NFL debut.  Of course I needed to know more.  These facts alone didn’t explain why the Pirates have been in losing mode for almost two decades.  Here’s what I found out:

• January 8, 1992 — President George H. W. Bush is televised throwing up in the lap of the Prime Minister of Japan.
• February 17, 1992 — A Milwaukee court sentenced Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.
• March 30, 1992 — Silence of the Lambs won the Oscar for Best Picture, and Anthony Hopkins won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his 16 minute role as Hannibal Lector (still the shortest performance to garner such an award).
• April 6, 1992 — Microsoft releases Windows 3.1.
• May 19, 1992 — Dan Quayle gives his famous Murphy Brown speech.
• June 15, 1992 — Dan Quayle erroneously corrects a spelling bee contestant on how to spell “Potato.”
• June 23, 1992 — John Gotti is sentenced to life in prison for conspiracy to murder and racketeering.
• July 25- August 9, 1992 — The Summer Olympics are held in Barcelona, Spain
• September 6, 1992 — The body of Christopher McCandless (aka Alexander Supertramp) was found in the Alaska Wilderness near Denali State Park after wandering the country attempting to live off the land.  His exploits inspired Into The Wild and a movie by Sean Penn by the same name.
• October 1, 1992 — Pittsburgh International Airport’s New facility opens in Findlay Township.  The new terminal was built as an expansion for USAir and an upgrade from the old facility.
• October 31, 1992 — Pope John Paul II issues an apology and lifts the edict of the Inquisition against Galileo.
• November 3, 1992 — Bill Clinton defeats incumbent George H.W. Bush and Ross Perot to become President of the United States.
• December 9, 1992 — Prince Charles and Princess Diana publicly announce their separation.
• Oh, and Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize for Literature. 

Now, I’m not saying any single one of those things has anything to do with the Pirates and their losing season, but only one of those things has to do with Pittsburgh, and only one of those things has (arguably, though not well) been an ongoing disaster for the region.

That’s right.  I’m blaming USAir for the Pirates’ 17th straight losing season.  And much like other forms of interpretation based on circumstantial evidence, you can’t prove the contrary.  You want someone to blame aside from the owner, the GM, the agents, the players, the NBL, the economy, the Loch Ness Monster, the missing B-52 in the Mon, and even the nefarious Easter Bunny.  I gave you USAir. 

You’re welcome.

Tags: Andy Van Slyke has a fantasy killing lisp, I miss the 1991 Pirates, lists, Pirates, Pittsburgh, Sports

It’s no secret that I love horse racing–specifically, the Kentucky Derby.  This year I’d like to try and make it to the Preakness if possible since we now live so close (we’re only about an hour away, and it’s about 15 minutes from where I work), but we’ll see what happens.  The Preakness has its own set of problems to deal with before the big day there, but the Derby will go off without a hitch, as it has for the past 134 years.  This year will mark the 135th Run for the Roses, and I’m still as excited to watch it as I was the first time.

Mind you, I know nothing about betting on horses.  I don’t have a clue what half of the racing blogs are talking about, and when I started to do research into the matter I realized that I wasn’t interested in analyzing statistics to death.  I could go forth and read blogs, betting sheets, owner run downs of the competition, and statistics of each of the 3 year olds’ races in the past year, but I won’t.  (I had no idea that there were blogs for the horses entering the derby!  You can check them out at KentuckyDerby.com)

Churchill Downs

I realized that I don’t have to analyze everything to death, and for once, I’m just going to enjoy the experience with what limited knowledge I have gathered over the years.  I don’t have to know everything about everything in the horse racing world.  I’m just going to place my bets based on the same strategy I’ve always had.  My gut feeling when seeing the names and then the horses themselves. 

This year, I’m going to say my favorite to win (based only on pictures and the name) is Friesian Fire.  Not only is he beautiful,  but he just won the Louisiana Derby by a considerable margin.  I’d love to pick Square Eddie, but there is still speculation about whether he’ll be racing and he’s lost his past few races since January.  The only other one I can safely throw my hat in for is I Want Revenge, who raced just this month and placed 1st.  All three are beautiful horses, but instinctively I’d say it’s a toss up between Friesian Fire and I Want Revenge, with Friesian Fire taking home the roses. 

How do you pick Derby winners?  Maybe there should be a “all in good fun” wager for the Derby this Saturday, May 2nd?

(…and don’t forget, May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day too!)

Tags: Kentucky Derby, Sports

Forgive the quality of these photos– they were taken with my phone in the snow and frigid wind between squalls at lunch.  These also fail to capture the energy and hype from the vendors and fans wearing Steeler’s gear looking to buy more Steeler’s gear under the warm sounds of Fight Songs from every direction and generation.  There’s just something about the energy that takes over this city during a Super Bowl…

Tags: Pittsburgh, Sports, Steelers