Pittsburgh sports fans are scarred over something that happened 30 years ago. They are already grumbling about something that may happen seven years in the future.
And they are really ticked about some stuff happening right now.
That’s the case in this week’s “U mad, bro?”
Let’s start with a tweet I received in response to my story about the 30th anniversary of the Penguins losing to the New York Islanders on the infamous David Volek goal to end Game 7 of the 1993 Patrick Division Final.
Sorry, I love reading this kind of story as much as the Sid Bream beats the Pirates story. Right up there with Steelers losing SB to Cowboys.
— 25 IBU (@25Hop4ever) May 15, 2023
Don’t skip over the Steelers’ 1994-95 loss to the San Diego Chargers. That’ll be coming up next year.
Steve sent me a lengthy email about the Penguins general manager search. Here’s a portion of it, specifically talking about former Penguins assistant GM — and current assistant GM in Seattle — Jason Botterill.
“An assistant with another successful program would be a good hire, but that said, I don’t want Botterill, even though he’s most likely to get the job based on his history with the Penguins and his recent success working under Ron Francis in Seattle.
Problem with him is, when he did get a shot at GM in Buffalo, he did nothing but further help extend the losing culture there by making bad trades, overseeing bad drafts, and doing little to correct anything in the signing of free agents. So he was fired. Why bring that to the Penguins?
Oh, I know why … because he won’t rock Sullivan’s stubborn sinking boat. After all, this is his team to run, not whoever the new GM will be. Decisions will go uphill from now on, while the team predictably goes downhill.”
I like Botterill, Steve, but I have a lot of those concerns too. And I’m sure many other candidates who are on the cusp of becoming a general manager do as well. That’s why I think this job is going to be hard to fill.
If Toronto’s Kyle Dubas is leery about leaving the Maple Leafs, this job wouldn’t be appealing enough to do so. Chris Drury reportedly didn’t want it when Ron Hextall got it. And I’ve heard questions raised about the level of sincere interest from Tampa Bay’s Mathieu Darche.
That’s too bad. Because Darche is the most intriguing option to me.
More sports
• Steelers announce signing of QB Mason Rudolph
• Tim Benz: Steelers rookies hope to prove they’re as versatile as scouting suggest
• Penguins coach Mike Sullivan dismisses rumor
Ray responded to my column about the Steelers bringing back quarterback Mason Rudolph.
“You are forgiven for plagiarizing my Mason Rudolph idea.”
Honestly, Ray, if you wrote me something about the Steelers bringing back Rudolph, I wasn’t thinking of it when I wrote that column.
Frankly, I plagiarized myself and essentially wrote the same column as I did when I reported back in February that this could happen.
I just don’t understand why so many people seem to have a problem with the idea.
Here is a reply to our story about Le’Veon Bell wanting to box former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Mr. “Iron City 6 pack” has a different idea.
fight AB…. I will pay to see that.
— ironcity6pack (@onemizzz) May 16, 2023
You might pay to see it. But based on his track record, Antonio Brown would probably fail to pay any of his trainers, his cut man or the boxing commission for the license. So I’m pretty sure the fight would never get off the ground.
But, you’re right, I’d watch it too.
Ben tweets about some of the Pirates’ recent issues.
The Pirates are simply regressing to the norm. They’re not as bad as they’re playing now, and not as good as when they were winning at a ridiculous pace.
— Ben Harris (@MrHarris804) May 7, 2023
I agree with the second part, Ben. But as far as the first part goes, I dunno. I think this massive slump they just went through at the plate prior to Wednesday’s 8-0 bust out win over Detroit may be a fairly accurate indication of how much they will struggle in the batter’s box moving forward.
Dave has some thoughts on the Penguins and the growing conversation about the prospect of new stadiums on the North Shore.
“Something makes me think they have lost everything including the recipe for ice. But, hey, in addition to lousy teams, we may also be soaked for billions for new stadiums for the teams in the City of Losers.”
If you want to see what peak “U mad, bro?” looks like, check back to this space in about six or seven years when the stadium leases are almost over. The dialogue is starting already, and I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in 2030.
“Yinz think dey are gonna get one more penny of my tax dollars to fund a stadium for ‘at team, n ‘at coach who ain’t never won nuthin’ wit’out coach Caher’s players!?
“Well yinz got another thing comin! I’ll tell yinz ‘at right now!”
Cut. Copy. Repaste. Redo. Every week until the new stadium opens to 70,000 strong …
… in Cranberry.
Let’s get one more response on the Volek flashback before we go.
Nice article…… Way to pick the scab.
— Dennis (@BeerLeague32) May 14, 2023
Not a lot of other options these days, Dennis. It could be worse. I could’ve written about this year’s Penguins.
I mean, to suffer playoff heartbreak, at least you have to make the playoffs first.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
