Year In Review
Winners & Losers. The Best And Worst Of Pittsburgh Sports

The year in sports is filled with winners and losers. We all know who won the important events, the Marlins captured the World Series, Syracuse won the NCAA Basketball tourney, etc.

PSR looks beyond the scoreboard to identify who gets trophies and who gets something a little less flattering.

Good:

The best sports story of the year in Pittsburgh ended up morphing into one of the worst.

When the final buzzer sounded on the Pitt Panthers' 74-56 victory over Connecticut in the Big East championship at Madison Square Garden March 15, the Panthers claim on the sports spotlight in Pittsburgh was ironclad. The glorious ride continued for the next 12 days, when they finally lost a heartbreaker to Marquette in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Bad:

Only days later, in a fashion that has become uniquely and typically Pitt, their dream season turned into a nightmare. First, Ben Howland slipped off to UCLA. Pitt's overtures to Western Pa. native and Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser were ignored, and Jamie Dixon finally landed the job after a curious job search. Pitt fans laughed when Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese suggested that Prosser turned the Panthers down because he knew of an impending ACC invasion of the Big East Conference. They weren't laughing when the Big East came crumbling down a few months later.

Good:

And while we're in Oakland - Has Pittsburgh seen a football talent like Larry Fitzgerald in the past quarter century? The Panther receiver and Heisman candidate does it all, the impossible leaping catches between three defenders, the clutch possession catches with games on the line, leading the way on toss sweeps with tenacious downfield blocking. Off the field, his humble and charming demeanor is a breath of fresh air. If he heads to the NFL sooner rather then later, don't begrudge him. Be happy you got to see him play. The combination of Fitzgerald and quarterback Rod Rutherford has been breathtaking for the past two seasons.

Bad:

On the other side of the ball, however, Pitt has offered up one of the most dreadful displays of defensive football this side of - well, their neighbors at Heinz Field. Two guys named Jones put up 503 yards and 6 TDs against the Panthers in two games this season. No Pitt back has been able to amass that much yardage in 11 games. The Pitt rushing D currently ranks 80th in the NCAA. This after ranking 24th last season, 26th in 2001 and 17th in 2000.

Good:

The WPIAL has been taking heat over the past few years for being an overrated producer of talent. While there is no question that Western Pennsylvania is not Texas , Florida or California , 2003 has been a good year for high school football in this part of the state. Western PA currently has 14 players ranked in the Rivals.com top 30 at their respective positions. Five players, QB Anthony Morelli of Penn Hills, RB Andrew Johnson of North Hills, TE Rory Nichol of Beaver, LB Tyrell Sales of Butler and DT A.Q. Shipley of Moon were all among recruiting expert Bill Hodge's Top 150 overall.

Bad:

Rush Limbaugh on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown.

Good:

Dan Rooney's commitment to making Heinz Field a great stadium. They place looked great from inside and outside last season. The field surface, however, was awful. Kicker after kicker complained about it, player after player slipped on it. To his credit, Rooney took notice and spent the money to make the turf equal to its new digs.

Bad:

Former Pitt defensive lineman Tyre Young was thrown off the team last spring after being involved in a drug-related altercation during which he was shot with his own gun. Young had three years of eligibility remaining when Walt Harris booted him from the squad. Young's final season at Pitt in 2002 began with a one-game suspension and ended a week later with an injury against Texas A&M . In that one half, though, Young was obviously the team's best defensive lineman. His future was full of potential. One monumentally stupid decision at an Aliquippa bar on January 17 cost him that future. It also cost his teammates dearly, as a healthy Young in the middle of the Pitt defensive line would have made a difference in losses to Notre Dame, Toledo , and West Virginia . Even so, Walt Harris made the right decision. Trying to discipline players for typical everyday-type infractions would have been nearly impossible had Harris let Young back.

Good:

Swin Cash is just about as good as it gets. The McKeesport High School graduate was a key cog on the 2000 Connecticut women's basketball national championship team and the second pick in the 2002 WNBA draft. Now in her second season, Cash was seventh in scoring in the league with an average of 16.9 points a game and 20th in rebounding with 5.8 a game. Her Detroit Shock won the 2003 WNBA Championship just one year after losing a league-high 23 games. As TV cameras focused on Cash in a postgame celebration, she yelled a few times, "What's up, McKeesport !" Cash is well-spoken, remains committed to her Pittsburgh roots, is actively involved in charities in Pittsburgh and Detroit , and was selected the WNBA's Community Assist Award winner for her community outreach.

Good:

Lloyd McClendon's Pirates won 50 of their final 98 games this past season. After the bullpen ceased productivity about the time the team broke camp in Florida . After 'closer' Mike Williams' career apparently came to a sudden end around late May (although no one told the Phillies ). After 'staff-ace' Kris Benson disappeared with another arm injury. After stocking the NL runner-up Cubs' line-up with a centerfielder and both corner infield positions. After sending his best player to San Diego . Mac went 50-48 this season with obstacles most other managers in the major leagues never have to face. Is he a pennant-winning caliber manager? Who knows? He's never been close to having the type of ammunition to make it something worth considering. After last season, though, it's about time he gets the credit he deserves.

Bad:

We can talk about the disappearance of the Steelers' running game, the plight of the much-maligned offensive line, or the lack of big plays in the passing game. But the biggest mystery surrounding the Steelers is identity of their defense. Literally, what do these guys look like? I've not seen anything but the back of their jerseys since Labor Day.

Good:

Rush Limbaugh NOT on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown.

Good:

The Steelers' Alan Faneca and Penn State 's Michael Robinson have been the ultimate team players this fall. Faneca moved to tackle in a futile attempt to help the Steelers' o-line, which will probably cost him a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Robinson has been ushered from starting quarterback to part-time tailback to receiver to back-up quarterback to starting tailback the past two seasons without a word of complaint.

Good:

Marc-Andre Fleury and the young Penguins. When these guys play their A-game, and follow Edzo's system exactly, they can be awfully exciting to watch. The youthful energy that inspires the veteran players around them, the excitement of a hard-earned victory, the crowd's sense that Fleury is something special.

Bad:

The same Pens when they get off their game plan. The two-game stretch in November where they were out-scored 15-3 by two teams from Florida will be more common than uncommon, sad to say.

Good:

Talk about outhouse to penthouse - Pittsburgh Central Catholic's football team enjoyed a truly remarkable turnaround. Their 2002 season ended in an ugly hazing scandal that split the team, caused players to leave, and threatened the future of the sport at the school. But Coach Art Walker, Jr. took charge, cleaned-up the program, and lead the Vikings to their first-ever WPIAL quad-A championship.

Good:

Rich Rodriguez is quietly becoming one of the best coaches in the east. Rich Rod took his lumps when he took over for Don Nehlen in 2001, dismantling a perfectly good team and forcing his system upon players who were not cut out for it. He changed in the off-season, however, firing his defensive coordinator and adjusting his system to match the talent on his roster. The past two seasons, the ' Eers have struggled coming out of the gate, but have played their best football when it mattered the most, finishing near the top of the Big East the past two seasons. And he's beaten Pitt two consecutive years - and that's what really matters in Morgantown .

Bad:

The Pens' future in Pittsburgh . The owner is forcing his aching body to play for the sake of ticket sales. The arena is in bad shape. The city is broke. The Pens are broke. The team is selling off land, for crying out loud. Unless some major changes occur in the next labor agreement, the flightless birds would very well take flight.