Take the Pirates' money, please

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Friday, February 10, 2012

Derrek Lee remains a free agent after his two-month stint with the Pirates in 2011. (AP)

It's one of the many torments of the Pirates' longest-suffering fans, the perpetual thought that somehow, some way, this will be the winter they make that big free-agent splash.

The thought was born, really, when PNC Park opened in 2001 with the promise of spending with the big boys.

That bought Derek Bell a yacht.

The thought was revived, at least a little, when Bob Nutting took control of ownership in 2007 and restored the team to fiscal responsibility with the promise that prudence would pay in the long run.

That bought Lyle Overbay for half a season, Byung-Hyun Kim for a month, Scott Olsen for a week, Craig Monroe for three spring bombs in a day, Eric Hinske, Matt Diaz, Ramon Vazquez, Bobby Crosby, Chris Gomez and probably 10 other non-shortstop shortstops.

Prudence might pay, but it sure can't play.

This winter, again, was going to be the one. The Pirates flirted with first place last summer, enough to spike attendance 20 percent. More ticket money would equal bigger spending. And it did, if you consider that new shortstop Clint Barmes' two-year, $10.5 million deal is the richest for any free agent in franchise history.

(No, seriously. It is.)

But this winter has brought a different harsh reality: The Pirates have tried to spend money above their still-too-low projected payroll of $48 million — actual big-splash money — only to see free agents turn up their noses.

It began in December when general manager Neal Huntington tendered salary arbitration to first baseman Derrek Lee in hopes of keeping Lee after a strong two-month finish. The process assures he would have made at least $7.25 million, same as 2011, and very likely more.

Lee rejected it for free agency.

He's still out there, too, waiting on any of his three or four preferred teams. The Pirates are not among those, and they don't expect that to change.

In the past week, it emerged that Huntington offered pitcher Edwin Jackson three years and $30 million. Not a misprint. Not an alternate reality. It really happened, and I can confirm that every penny was guaranteed, not couched in options or incentives. It would have been the team's biggest deal ever by a factor of three Barmeses.

Jackson rejected it in favor of one year at $11 million from another losing team, the Washington Nationals.

It's a wild risk on his part. On one hand, super-agent Scott Boras set up his client to reap a huge payday with a strong 2012, and Boras additionally can wave the Pirates' offer in front of any prospective buyers. On the other hand, every pitcher's next pitch can be his last.

Another quality arm, Roy Oswalt, is still on the market, also in Jackson's price range. He won't even pick up when Huntington calls.

Yeah, I can feel the eyes rolling right now. Some cynics don't believe the Pirates really made these overtures. Or, if the team did, it was just for PR purposes.

It's nonsense.

Lee's offer is easy to confirm, having been submitted through Major League Baseball's arbitration process.

Jackson's offer was solid, too. I've dealt with Boras for years. Be sure that if anyone publicly floated an inaccurate number attached to his name, even if it's off by a decimal point, he'd protest vociferously. He hasn't.

The Pirates aren't lying. And it isn't that they aren't trying, as some suggest. It's that top-tier talents still aren't buying what they're selling.

That has to change someday, obviously. But how?

"Honestly, we just need to keep playing better ball," Huntington told me by phone Wednesday after another late night at PNC Park. "When we win, we're going to see those results change, along with a lot of other things. We have a great pitcher-friendly ballpark. We have a lot of pieces in place. But the winning has to happen first. And it will. We still feel very good about the team we'll have in 2012."

Huntington should feel good about these rejections in at least one underlying way.

Say the Pirates raised the ante on Lee and offered $10 million. Say Lee accepted. There would be no reason to believe he's committed in the slightest. Remember, right now he'd rather retire than play in Pittsburgh. An extra million or two on top of his $80 million career earnings wouldn't change that sentiment much.

I enjoy watching Lee play baseball, but I don't want that here.

And say the Pirates had topped Washington's one-year offer to Jackson by a million or so. Same thing applies. You already know he was willing to walk away from $19 million to not play in Pittsburgh.

Maybe next winter.

Haley's hire a nutty narrative

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Nothing says you're nuts quite like aspiring to become the Steelers' offensive coordinator. Except, of course, accepting when they offer.

So, Todd Haley is nuts.

This became official when the team announced his hiring Tuesday by way of a written statement in which Haley described himself as "excited about the opportunity." You know, the opportunity to be an idiot when the Steelers lose, a bumbling obstacle when they win, and generally less popular than anyone in town except the county treasurer whose name you fill out on property-tax checks.

You've got to be nuts.

Just ask Bruce Arians, who dealt with all of that, won a Super Bowl, was fired by Art Rooney II and immediately latched on with the Indianapolis Colts to take the same job.

He's twice as nuts.

This whole offensive coordinator saga is nuts, actually, and it's hard to imagine it's playing out with a franchise as founded in non-nuttiness as the Steelers.

Let's start with Haley himself, whose behavior throughout his 15-year NFL coaching career has been outright certifiable.

How about the interview Haley granted to the Kansas City Star in December, shortly before the Chiefs fired him, in which he first swept a PR office for bugs he suspected were placed by upper management to spy on him?

Haley went on to tell that interviewer he also thought his cell phone, which he owned before joining that team, had been bugged by those same spies. Others have made similar accusations against the Chiefs' autocratic general manager, Scott Pioli, but no proof ever has emerged.

How about the relentless criticism in Kansas City that Haley was more about promoting himself than doing right by the Chiefs?

Jason Whitlock, Fox Sports' renowned Kansas City-based columnist, wrote in January 2011 that Haley tried to compensate for not having played football even at the high school level — back problems limited him to golf at Upper St. Clair — and that Haley was "too insecure to work in a professional manner with confident, competent people for an extended time." Indeed, Haley fired or pushed out two experienced offensive coordinators, Chan Gailey and Charlie Weis, in just two-plus seasons as head coach. Whitlock and others charged that those moves were made to get Haley more credit for the Chiefs' successes.

And, going off the rails a bit, how about in 2009, when Haley and his family sued a McDonald's for $1.7 million after his wife found a dead 6-inch rat in her salad?

Haley's lawyer riotously explained to the Associated Press that the ingestion of the rat caused "violent physical illness" — how do you lift a whole rat onto a fork to ingest anything? — that the store manager "brought them no comfort" when visiting their house, and that "the family needs closure" on the matter. They ended up securing an out-of-court settlement, not to mention securing Haley's perpetual place as the butt of rodent jokes.

Nuts, all of it.

And this is to say nothing of how Haley's spotty background won this job, how his pass-specialist pedigree will address Rooney's wish to bolster the run, how being passed over will sit with the rest of Mike Tomlin's staff and, in the biggest issue by far, how Haley might — or might not — coexist with Ben Roethlisberger. Haley has clashed with some of his best players, often in public.

Are the Steelers nuts, too?

Look, I had no issue with Rooney stepping in to make the call on Arians. Owners are right to get involved when they see something amiss, and they're right to help maintain a franchise identity. Rooney didn't want Arians in the role, and he got rid of him. That's only meddling if it happens regularly.

But to hire this guy?

Rooney had a longtime connection with Haley's father, Dick, the Steelers' famed personnel man from 1971-90, and this sure has the feel of that connection paying off. Yes, Tomlin interviewed Todd Haley. Yes, there's even a chance Tomlin liked him, though they appear to have zilch in common. But this process has Rooney's fingerprints from start to finish.

We know Tomlin wanted Arians back, but Rooney overruled him.

We know a few of Tomlin's players — notably Roethlisberger — pushed for quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner to get Arians' old job, and Rooney evidently overruled that, too.

It's hard to tell what anyone's thinking on the South Side. Tomlin has barely made a peep since the Steelers were Tebowed, and he wasn't quoted in the team's statement Tuesday. Haley himself was whisked in and out of headquarters without a spoken word.

Pardon this pun, especially if you're picking through a salad, but I smell a rat.

Highlights: Canadiens 3, Penguins 2 (SO)

Haley doesn't figure to buddy up to Ben

By Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
February 7, 2012

If indeed he's the Steelers' new offensive coordinator, Todd Haley will have a few things in common with the guy he reportedly will replace.

Like Bruce Arians, Haley loves the passing game.

Like Arians, Haley has a passion for the game of golf.

I point that out because Ben Roethlisberger has similar interests.

Roethlisberger, the quarterback and face of the Steelers' franchise, likes it best when he's moving the offense via the pass. And when football season is over, he knows how to manuever around a golf course quite well. Often over the years, he'd tee it up with Arians. They've both been members at a private venue in western Pennsylvania as well as one in Georgia.

They used football, golf and an occasional game of cards to develop a very close relationship not often found between athlete and coach.

Maybe that's one reason Steelers president Art Rooney II decided to part ways with Arians two weeks ago, that the close bond between Roethlisberger and Arians was too close.

That doesn't figure to be the case with Haley and Roethlisberger ... at least not right away.

Roethlisberger was upset when Arians wasn't retained. And, based on his past, Haley, the former head coach of the Chiefs, probably won't care if he ever develops a friendship with Roethlisberger. Over the years, Haley has gained the reputation of a combustible, headstrong egomaniac who's not afraid to be confrontational with his players.

Haley, who could be named O.C. as early as today, has ties to the Steelers. His father, Dick, played defensive back for the Steelers from 1961-64. Then from 1971-90, he was director of player personnel and responsible for drafting many of the great Steelers from the 1970s.

When Todd Haley was a kid growing up in Upper St. Clair, he'd spend time at training camp as a ball boy. But when he attended high school, he didn't play football. Instead, he played on USC's golf team.

After working for his dad in the Jets' scouting department in the mid-1990s, Todd Haley decided to enter the coaching profession. He coached wide receivers for the Jets and Bears. He coached in Dallas for three years as the Cowboys' wide receivers coach and passing-game coordinator.

From 2007-2008, he was the offensive coordinator in Arizona and helped the Cardinals make it to the Super Bowl XLIII against the Steelers. In '08, the Cardinals had one of the NFL's most explosive offenses. Of course, it helped to have Kurt Warner at quarterback and Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver.

But in the past three years as head coach in K.C., Haley's teams went 4-12, 10-6 and 5-8 in the regular season. The Chiefs did win the AFC West two seasons ago, but this past year Haley was fired after 13 games.

So now it appears that Haley, 44, is headed back to Pittsburgh. No doubt, the ties his father had with the Steelers didn't hurt his chances of landing the job. But most importantly, he got the job because of his offensive expertise.

It will be his job to make the Steelers a more explosive offense than they were under Arians.

If Haley does that, it won't matter if he ever calls Roethlisberger his friend.


Mike Bires can be reached online at mbires@timesonline.com or by phone at 724-622-4284

Eight-point games once routine for Lemieux

By Mark Madden
Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/
February 6, 2012

The hockey world went nuts when Edmonton's Sam Gagner notched an eight-point game Thursday. Four goals, four assists: A point on every Oilers goal in an 8-4 win over Chicago.

Big deal.

Eight-point games were once a habit for Mario Lemieux.

Before Gagner, the last NHL player to notch an eight-point game was Lemieux. He did it three times in 1988-89, his 199-point season. That was Lemieux pre-back surgery, pre-cancer. That was Lemieux with a shake-and-bake that looked both foreign and magnificent for a man standing 6-foot-4.

That was Lemieux at his very best.

Lemieux's first eight-point game was Oct. 15, 1988. Two goals, six assists at home vs. St. Louis. That psychologically clinched the scoring title. How can you beat that? Lemieux ultimately won the Art Ross Trophy by 31 points.

His second eight-point game was Dec. 31, 1988. Five goals, three assists at home vs. New Jersey. It's a night better remembered for five goals, five ways: Even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot, empty net. So unique, no one realized it was a big deal until well after the fact. Like Gagner, Lemieux got a point on every Penguins goal.

His third eight-point game was April 25, 1989. Five goals, three assists in a 10-7 home playoff win vs. Philadelphia. Perhaps the most overwhelming performance of Lemieux's career. Flyers goalie Ron Hextall couldn't attack Mario. Too low-rent. So Hextall attacked Rob Brown instead.

Lemieux ended the year with 85 goals and 114 assists. Yet, he somehow finished second in MVP voting to Wayne Gretzky, who had 31 less points on 31 less goals. It remains a remarkable injustice, one that still angers.

The prevailing "wisdom" was that Gretzky had engineered a turnaround of the Kings during his first season in Los Angeles. The Kings made the playoffs, but lost in the second round. The Penguins did exactly the same. Exactly how was Gretzky more valuable? Mario's Penguins had a much rougher road to respectability than Gretzky's Kings. Ultimately, Mario's Penguins accomplished more.

The voters changed the rules on Lemieux. The Hart Trophy usually goes to the best player. Except that time. Absurd.

Lemieux once said that he measured himself by Stanley Cups and scoring titles, because "nobody votes on those." Amen.

Back problems mounted after 1988-89. Lemieux lost agility. So he reinvented himself, substituting craft for boogie. He got a lot done, just in a different fashion. That reinvention refined itself further when Mario came out of retirement in 2000.

There seems little doubt that Lemieux would have had a few 200-point seasons, maybe even a 100-goal campaign, had physical problems not intervened. That would have been nice, but conquering his back, and cancer, burnished his legend. Made him noble. Gave him a story beyond stats.

There wasn't a ton of hockey on television then. Not a ton of tape exists of Mario at his absolute best.

But what Gagner did once, Lemieux did thrice in one season. And he had countless other nights operating at or near that level. Lemieux had a seven-point game, a six-point game and eight five-point games in 1988-89.

That's 77 points in 13 games. It seems impossible.

You've got to give Gagner credit. On Saturday, he got points on Edmonton's first three goals and netted in the shootout as the Oilers beat Detroit, 5-4. Gagner got points on 11 straight goals.

That young man has a sense for the occasion. Not unlike his predecessor in eight-point glory.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Highlights: Devils 5, Penguins 2

Steelers' Dermontti Dawson, Jack Butler make Hall of Fame

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Sunday, February 5, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS — That richly traveled road from Pittsburgh to Canton gained four more followers Saturday with the Pro Football Hall of Fame elections of center Dermontti Dawson and cornerback Jack Butler of the Steelers, running back Curtis Martin of Allderdice High School and Pitt and defensive end Chris Doleman of Pitt.

Still no Bus on that road, though.

Jerome Bettis, who barreled his way to the NFL's No. 6 all-time rushing yardage with 13,662, fell short of election in his second year of eligibility. The 44-member selection committee, which met yesterday at the Super Bowl XLVI media hotel, doesn't release vote totals, but Bettis fell short of the 80 percent needed to join the class of six that also included offensive tackle Willie Roaf and defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy.

Enshrinement will be Aug. 4 in Canton.

Bettis didn't even make the cut of 10 out of the 15 modern-day finalists entering the day. Martin, like Bettis in his second year of eligibility, had the edge with a committee that was reluctant to add two running backs in the same class. In Bettis' first year, Marshall Faulk got the nod.

No more than five modern-era candidates can be elected in one class.

Dawson, 46, was seen by many in the football community as woefully overdue, finally making it in his eighth year of eligibility. He was born in Lexington, Ky., where he lives and works as a real estate developer. After a brilliant career at the University of Kentucky, he became a six-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowl selection in 13 seasons with the Steelers, retiring after 2000.

"It's a great honor to be elected," Dawson said. "I never would have thought I'd be in this position. I feel very fortunate. It's something my kids and grandkids can see, to take a look at what their granddad did."

Following the Hall of Fame footsteps of Mike Webster, Dawson might have been even better. His streak of 170 consecutive games was second-longest in franchise history, and his extraordinary athleticism for a big man - he was nationally ranked in discus and the shot put in high school -- afforded him a then-rare ability to lead sweeps and execute blocks as far downfield as the safety.

"Kudos to Dermontti," former Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "He played center better than any other during my 22 years of coaching. A true professional and better person."

Before Webster, Ray Mansfield held the Steelers' center position in 1966-75, making for a three-player, 35-year run unlike any in NFL history.

"I learned a lot from Mike Webster in my first year, how to take care of yourself, how to prepare," Dawson said. "That's something I always valued, and it means so much to me to join this group."

As friendly off the field as he was fiery on it, Dawson was held in such high regard that the Steelers' offensive linemen showed up at the Super Bowl's Media Day in 2009 wearing his No. 63 jerseys to support his Hall induction.

The elections of Dawson and Butler, the only choice of the Hall's senior committee, raised the Steelers' Hall total to 20 who spent significant time with the organization. Dawson joined cornerback Rod Woodson (2009) as just the second player from the post-dynasty era.

"They're both deserving of this honor for all they've done throughout the years to help build and continue our rich tradition," Steelers president Art Rooney II said.

Butler, 84, was born and raised in Oakland near Forbes Field before starring at St. Bonaventure, then for 103 games in 1951-59 for the Steelers. His 52 interceptions - including four in one game Dec. 13, 1953, against the Washington Redskins -- were second-most in NFL history at the time of his retirement. He was All-Pro in his final five seasons before a knee injury ended his career.

"It's an honor and privilege," Butler said. "Everybody knows that. But I love this. I love being here."

Even if it took a half-century.

"I never, ever thought I would be here. I just didn't think this was reality. When I was a kid, I dreamed about being a football player. And here I am, Jack Butler from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, going into the Hall of Fame. I can't believe it."

Butler went on to work 44 years for the Steelers as a scout/manager.

Martin, 38, also was a Pittsburgh native, growing up in Homewood, Wilkinsburg and Duquesne before finally joining the football team at Allderdice High School as a senior. He was an immediate sensation at running back, linebacker, even quarterback, before the secret was out with four flashy years at Pitt.

In 1995-2005 with the New England Patriots and New York Jets, Martin amassed the NFL's No. 4 all-time rushing yardage - two notches ahead of Bettis - at 14,101. He won a rushing title in 2004 and was a three-time All-Pro.

"This is one of the most humbling feelings I've had in my life," Martin said. "I'm so grateful to all my coaches and teammates."

Martin has been deeply active in community endeavors, including in the Pittsburgh area. That prompted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to say upon his retirement, "Curtis Martin represents everything an NFL player should be."

Martin spoke emotionally of being raised by a single parent.

"Football was something I did just to stay out of jail back in Pittsburgh. Shows what can happen if you do the right thing."

Doleman, 50, had 150 1/2 career sacks over 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers. Before that, the York, Pa., native excelled in four years at Pitt with 25 sacks, still sixth-most in school history.

This was his eighth year of Hall eligibility, and he and Kennedy emerged from a pack of formidable pass rushers.

"When they call your name, you're absolutely numb," Doleman said. "There are times you wonder if you've been overlooked, but I've always had the respect of my peers. I always went out and played for God, family and friends. It is a big payoff, I'll tell you that."

The elections of Martin and Doleman give Pitt eight players in the Hall, along with Dan Marino, Tony Dorsett, Mike Ditka, Russ Grimm, Joe Schmidt and Rickey Jackson.

The rest of the 17 finalists yesterday who didn`t make it were former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, Charles Haley, Andre Reed, Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Aeneas Williams, Bill Parcells and Eddie DeBartolo Jr.

Enshrinement will be Aug. 4 in Canton, Ohio.

Highlights: Penguins 2, Bruins 1

For Bettis, impact to the end

By Ralph N. Paulk, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Saturday, February 4, 2012

Jerome Bettis, a.k.a. The Bus, had just enough fuel in his tank to help carry the Steelers to their fifth Super Bowl victory six years ago.

Bettis couldn't have scripted the final game of his 13-year career better. He walked away from the game amid a largely partisan Steelers crowd at Ford Field in his hometown of Detroit.

He left with a diamond-studded championship ring on his finger. He left, too, having vaulted himself into the pantheon of affection that Steelers' fans allot a precious few, guys like Franco Harris, Jack Lambert and Joe Greene.

The 43 yards Bettis rushed for in a 21-10 conquest of Seattle didn't matter nearly as much as the energy and leadership he provided the Steelers that season.

Bettis, a 1993 first-round draft pick of the Rams, put together impressive numbers: 13,662 rushing yards, eight 1,000-yard seasons and six Pro Bowl appearances. He led the Steelers in rushing the first six seasons after the Rams shipped him to Pittsburgh in 1996.

All that's left, it seems, is a bronze bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

"It's definitely an honor to make it this far," Bettis told Steelers.com. "When you are on the list of all of these great players and there is the possibility of being in the Hall of Fame, it's an honor definitely."

Bettis is among 17 finalists being considered today for election. The selection committed expects to elect four to seven finalists for induction.

Bettis, a finalist for the first time in 2011, is among four former Steelers on the ballot. The others are center Dermontti Dawson, defensive end/linebacker Kevin Greene and cornerback Jack Butler.

Also, two Pitt products -- running back Curtis Martin and defensive end/linebacker Chris Doleman -- are hoping to secure a place in the hall. Martin gained most his 14,101 yards with the New York Jets, and Doleman established himself as one of the most-feared pass rushers while playing in Minnesota.

The odds are relative good that at least one, maybe two, former Steelers will join the 20 other Steelers in the hall.

Dawson, a six-time All-Pro, is confident Bettis will be among those elected for enshrinement during the induction ceremony scheduled Aug. 4.

"I definitely believe he belongs in the Hall of Fame," Dawson said. "He defines what you're looking for in a tailback."

Bettis led the Steelers in rushing in eight of his 10 seasons with the team. His most productive season was 1997, when he rushed for 1,665 yards on 375 carries.

"There is no doubt about his abilities when you look at the numbers and consider what he meant to the Steelers," Dawson said. "He got it done year in and year out."

In his final season, Bettis took a significant pay cut to spell Willie Parker as a short-yardage back. Bettis totaled a career-low 368 yards, but he led the team with nine touchdowns.

Pittsburgh Dad Talks Super Bowl