Perez, the Pirates' 14K gem, embarks on golden path
Thursday, March 31, 2005
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
2005 Baseball Preview Index
BRADENTON, Fla. -- It was no place for a young pitcher, not even a wide-eyed wunderkind.
It was Denver's Coors Field, the hitters' paradise of baseball with its mile-high air and mammoth gaps. To boot, it was a brisk 39 degrees on a mid-May night. And into the box for a fourth-inning at-bat stepped Vinny Castilla, revving up his resurgent 2004 season with the Colorado Rockies.
Somehow, this scenario was on the verge of turning into a laughing matter in favor of Oliver Perez.
Humberto Cota, the Pirates' catcher, does not make a habit of hey-batter-batter bantering. But he makes the odd exception for a fellow Mexican, and he found that he could not resist offering a playful prediction to Castilla.
"He comes up to the plate, and I tell him in Spanish, 'You know, you're not going to hit my guy today.' " Cota recalled. "He says, 'Oh, yeah?' I tell him, 'No way. Wait till you see what he's got coming here. No chance.' He just shook his head."
Three pitches later, Castilla still was shaking his head.
Still speaking Spanish, too.
Oliver Perez: Big "O"
Oliver Perez's numbers for 2004 -- his first full season with the Pirates:
Category-No.
Games-30
Games started-30
Wins-12
Losses-10
Innings-196.0
Hits-145
Runs-71
Earned runs-65
HRs allowed-22
Walks-81
Strikeouts-239
Strikeouts/9IP-10.97
Earned run average-2.98
Perez's 2004 Highlights:
Ranked 6th in the NL in earned run average (2.98)
Ranked 4th in the NL in strikeouts
Recorded his first career shutout April 25 vs. the Reds, 6-0.
Struck out a career best 14 batters Sept. 9 in beating the Astros, 3-1. The 14 strikeouts were the most by a Pirate pitcher since April 1985 (Jose DeLeon, 14 vs. Mets).
More than Oh-K
The top 10 strikeout seasons in Pirates history:
Bob Veale, 1965-276
Bob Veale, 1964-250
Oliver Perez, 2004-239
Bob Veale, 1966-229
Bob Veale, 1969-213
Larry McWilliams, 1983-199
Kris Benson, 2000-184
Bob Friend, 1960-183
Bert Blyleven, 1978-182
Bob Veale, 1967-179
Only he was muttering to himself on the way back to the dugout after a failed, flailing attempt at a patented Perez slider that nosedived violently under his bat.
"As a catcher, you try not to laugh," Cota said. "But some of the stuff that hitters say after Oliver gets them is pretty funny."
He grinned at the thought.
"We hear all kinds of bad things about Oliver, you know? And then, the next day in the paper, they're comparing him to Randy Johnson."
Perez went the distance in the Pirates' 11-2 rout that night. No other opponent pitched a nine-inning complete game at Coors last season.
Still, by year's end, that performance would blur into so many others of equal or superior caliber. Enough to convince more than a few in the baseball fraternity that, at age 23, Perez is on the fast track to joining the game's elite.
Not the current elite.
The elite of Sandy Koufax, Lefty Grove and Steve Carlton, the greatest left-handers in history.
And no one laughs when they say it.
Raw material
Perez did not emerge as a consistent major-league starter until last season, but his talent was discovered much earlier.
The San Diego Padres paid $40,000 in 1999 to gain his rights from Gustalvo Ricaldi, owner of the Yucatan Leones of Mexico's top professional league. Perez was 17.
Shortly after that, Mike Brito, the Los Angeles Dodgers scout who signed Fernando Valenzuela, advised Padres general manager Kevin Towers that he had just landed Mexico's most gifted pitcher since Valenzuela.
The opinion was shared by many.
"Everyone could see he had a great arm. But what set him apart was that he was so confident," said Ricardo Gama, a teammate of Perez at the time and now a member of agent Scott Boras' company that represents him. "We knew he could be great. Everyone in Mexico did."
When Perez made his San Diego debut June 16, 2002, he was 20, the youngest player in the majors. He hardly looked out of place, though, earning victories in his first two starts against the Seattle Mariners and New York Yankees, the opponents in the American League Championship Series the previous year. In the latter, he outdueled David Wells before a home crowd of 55,858, prompting Padres pitcher Alan Embree to tell reporters: "You had Fernandomania. How about Olliemania?"
Perez struck out 13 in Colorado a month later, stuck out the year in San Diego, and his future appeared golden.
But an erratic opening to his 2003 season contributed to the Padres demoting him to Class AAA by May, just after he was pounded for seven runs in three innings by the Pirates. He came back up in mid-June but fluctuated from brilliance to butchery.
After an 0-3 run, the Padres traded him to the Pirates Aug. 26, along with future National League rookie of the year Jason Bay and prospect Cory Stewart, for All-Star Brian Giles. San Diego management, preparing to move into a new ballpark, coveted a veteran standout.
The move mostly was panned in Pittsburgh as yet another salary dump by the Pirates, and the immediate reaction was little better from Perez, who was disappointed to leave San Diego. He even made the naive offer to Padres manager Bruce Bochy to stay for one more night after the trade and fulfill his next scheduled start.
"It was a surprise," Perez said. "I didn't know what to expect from the Pirates."
The Pirates did not know what to expect from Perez, either.
"We knew we gave up a good player in Giles, and we weren't sure how Ollie would work in the majors," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "But we knew he had great talent."
[Oliver Perez
History in the making ]
No one was more eager to work with Perez than pitching coach Spin Williams, although it did not take long to realize that he was facing perhaps the most significant challenge of his career.
Perez had a blazing fastball that regularly hit 98 mph on the radar gun, rare for a left-hander, along with a devastating slider and blossoming curveball. He overflowed with confidence in his ability to attack hitters. The raw material, without question, was there.
But the control was not: The mechanics were a spastic mess. The problem was not that Perez did not know how to pitch. It was that he did it so many different ways, mostly without reason. He had multiple arm angles, motions, release points, even leg kicks.
Variety can be a pitcher's friend in the sense of mixing up pitches, but it does no good to have inconsistent delivery. Not in getting the ball to the catcher's mitt. And certainly not in terms of preventing wear on the arm, which was the Pirates' primary concern.
"I could see an injury coming if he kept going the way he did, and something needed to be done about it," Williams said. "For him to move his arm angles, really, was the big worry. If you drop your arm below where you're used to pitching, that creates a drag in your motion and, as a result, more strain on your elbow. A pitcher's elbow needs to be strong and healthy, needless to say."
Management closely monitored Perez for the rest of 2003 -- he went 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA in five starts -- and again in spring training, but advice was limited to minor suggestions.
[Oliver Perez
At 22: Memorable Company ]
That changed March 19, 2004, in Fort Myers, Fla., where Perez blew up in an exhibition against the Boston Red Sox by allowing five runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Williams pulled Perez aside that day and told him it was time for a fresh start. He instructed Perez to be at Bradenton's McKechnie Field early the next morning and every morning thereafter for the duration of spring training.
Together, they worked on rebuilding every aspect of his pitching motion. Using a white towel in place of the ball at first to minimize strain, Perez followed through again and again in an attempt to make his deliveries uniform. Then, he did more of the same while holding a ball and with different pitches.
"I wouldn't call it a total reconstruct of his mechanics," Williams said. "But it was an adjustment to just about everything."
The timing complicated the process. The Pirates were two weeks away from opening the season, and Perez was no better than an even bet to make the major-league roster.
"I had to make a lot of changes, and I still wanted to make the team," Perez said. "I was thinking about both of those things at the same time."
The angst could have mounted with his next exhibition outing, March 25 against the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota, Fla. He gave up four runs in three innings, and his fastball was clocked 10 mph slower than usual.
[Oliver Perez
History cont'd ... For comparison's sake]
"That outing right there told me a lot about him," Williams said. "He could have been discouraged by the results and decided that his old way was better. But that's not what happened. He realized that he did everything we wanted from him out there. His mechanics were terrific, even if the results weren't. And he stuck with it."
The rest of the season, as Pittsburgh baseball fans would come to know, was magical.
He became the staff ace with a 12-10 record, a 2.98 ERA that ranked sixth in the National League and a total of 239 strikeouts that ranked fourth. His average of 10.97 strikeouts per nine innings was highest in the majors and a figure that only seven other pitchers in history have matched. He struck out 10 or more batters in a game nine times, including a career-best 14 against the hard-hitting Houston Astros Sept. 9 at PNC Park.
All that, and he managed to limit his walks to 81, a reasonable average of 3.7 per nine innings.
The transformation impressed those who share a uniform with him significantly more than it did his head-shaking opponents.
"You look at where Ollie was last spring, and you didn't know what you were going to get," fellow starter Josh Fogg said. "But, just like that, it seemed, he got as sound mechanically as you can be. And when you're a guy throwing 97-98 mph with a dirty slider, if you can locate your pitches the way he was, that's a heck of a package."
Fogg is one of many in the organization who credit Williams.
"Spin deserves the credit for that," McClendon said. "I think my pitching coach is as good as anybody in this league as far as teaching. He does a fine job with all our young pitchers, and he did a great one with Ollie."
Williams wants none of it.
"That kid attacked the problem," Williams said. "He went after it the same way he goes after hitters."
Mining for More
The foundation for a great pitcher, naturally, is a great arm. Not a strong arm, necessarily, but the one with the ability to pass through the pitching zone with the greatest speed.
Which is why Perez can throw 98 mph while pitchers who can bench-press twice as much struggle to hit 90 mph.
"Bigger, stronger has nothing to do with it," said Will Carroll, author of "Saving the Pitcher," a book that studies pitchers' anatomies. "Perez, like so few others, has a natural ability to control the entire kinetic chain and move his arm at 2,300 degrees per second, placing the ball at spots inside a rectangle roughly the size of a book. It's part genetics, part luck, and part practice, but all magic when it comes together."
Even if it is immaterial in terms of velocity, Perez is visibly bigger this spring, having bulked up his once spindly frame to 6 feet 2, 205 pounds in the past year. As McClendon observed in the opening week of camp, "Look at him. He's a man now." That could help his coordination and consistency.
Another element that separates great pitchers from good is their deception factor.
That is how baseball insiders describe the ability to prevent the batter from seeing the ball until late in the motion. It can be the arm coming across the body late or the wrist flicking in a manner that keeps the ball hidden a fraction of a second longer.
Versatility is important, too.
Perez threw 65 percent fastballs last season, which is understandable given that his average of 93 mph was sixth-best in the league. But he was no less effective with his slider, which many opponents have compared to Randy Johnson's. It has a dramatic bite that often leaves batters looking like golfers whiffing in sand traps. He also has a reliable curveball that can travel as slow as 75 mph and make for a dramatic shift in the batter's timing, plus a two-seam fastball that offers more movement than the conventional version.
He is tinkering with a changeup, too, but it might not be used regularly for a while.
Add all that to the command Perez displayed last season, plus his palpable comfort with being an ace, and the result would appear to be an advantage for the pitcher that borders on unfair.
"It's fair for us," Williams said, smiling. "It's nice for the Pittsburgh Pirates to have that guy who has all that. And make no mistake: Ollie has it all. He's got a tremendous amount of talent, something very few guys can say. He's so good that it's essentially up to him to be what he can be. If he continues to grow ... it's scary where he can go."
To get there, though, Perez will need to show that his command of 2004 -- the first sustained span of his career without control trouble -- was no aberration.
"He's not out of the woods by any means," Williams said. "When you pitched the way he did for as long as he did, you have to stay on guard."
Perez also must invest more time analyzing batters' tendencies, those close to him say, through scouting reports and video breakdowns. He has done little of that in the past.
"What's the most impressive thing about what Oliver's done, in my mind, is that he doesn't think about who the hitter is that he's facing," Cota said. "He thinks he doesn't need to study hitters. He thinks he can just overpower them."
Cota, Perez's closest friend on the team, paused and shook his head.
"Well ... he's right, OK? He can do it without those things. But he needs to do better. He's a No. 1 pitcher now. We need him. He's going to be lined up against the other team's best pitcher most of the time. Hitters are going to learn more about him. He works hard on getting himself prepared physically, but he needs to do more of this to get even better."
Perez did not dispute Cota's assessment.
"I must continue to work hard and do more to help the team. I know that," he said. "I'm looking more at the things I did bad last year, so I don't do them again. I don't like to make mistakes."
Perez, however, is resisting the Pirates' wish to see him sacrifice strikeouts to keep his pitch count low and last longer in his starts. He pitched more than seven innings only six times in his 30 starts last season despite averaging 104.5 pitches per outing, fifth-most in the league.
Williams is urging Perez to expend less energy to record outs.
"I don't care about strikeouts. I care about zeroes every inning," Williams said. "Strikeouts are Oliver's thing, and I know that. He loves them. But, as I've told him many times, he can't strike somebody out until he gets two strikes."
Sometimes, of course, a strikeout is best, particularly when men are on base. Perez allowed batters to hit just .180 against him with runners in scoring position last season.
"There are some pitchers who give up a couple of runs and go back to the dugout and say, 'OK, guys, pick me up.' Ollie tries to strike everybody out," Cota said. "I keep telling him, 'You can't do that.' But he does it."
For all the adjustments Perez has embraced at the Pirates' behest, he is not convinced of the need to lower the strikeout total.
"I can't change that. I don't want to change that," he said. "I have to go out there and think I'm going to strike out the batter. Sometimes, I can think about the ground ball, if I need a double play. But I think about strikeouts. I always will be like that."
Crown jewel?
One advantage to being a strikeout pitcher is that people remember your name. And, as was evident last summer in Pittsburgh when his starts were drawing record walk-up crowds, people want to watch you work.
Both of which could contribute to a legacy of greatness in years to come, should Perez fulfill the enormous expectations that surround him.
Some, including Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield, are cautious when predicting Perez's future.
"Let's not forget: We were here, a year ago in spring training, all kind of scratching our heads that this talented guy is continuing to show his inconsistency," he said. "Well, this guy regrouped, got it together and had a fantastic year. Can it revert back to some degree? Sure. We've seen too many examples. My belief is that it's not going to go that way, but there's a possibility."
One National League scout called Perez "an outstanding young pitcher" but cautioned that trying to rifle each pitch through the catcher's mitt is no way to establish the longevity or effectiveness needed for greatness.
"Oliver needs to use his off-speed stuff a little more to take some pressure off his arm," the scout said. "His changeup is a good pitch. He just doesn't use it enough. He tends to take the challenge of the bigger hitters, the better hitters -- Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, those guys -- and say, 'Here, see if you can hit this.' As he matures, I think he'll realize that changeup's probably going to be his best friend. My big concern about Oliver is his health in the future because there's a lot of effort in his delivery."
Others, however, already are comparing him to the most decorated left-handers in the game's history. And the numbers help their case.
Derek Jacques, contributor to the Baseball Prospectus online site, produced the following:
Perez's 2004 showing was the ninth-best by any 22-year-old left-hander since 1900, when statistics are adjusted for differences in the various eras. The top two: Frank Tanana in 1976 and Babe Ruth in 1917.
Of the six 22-year-old left-handers the Pirates have had in their 118-year history, Perez took second to Frank Killen, who went 36-14 in 1893.
Perez's strikeout pace of 10.97 per nine innings was the third-best in history among players his age -- only Kerry Wood and Dwight Gooden were better -- and the 22nd best since World War II when adjusted for eras.
Some of the greatest left-handers of all time -- Warren Spahn, Lefty Grove, Carl Hubbell, Whitey Ford and Randy Johnson -- were not even in the majors at age 22.
Ask Perez's teammates, and they tend not to hesitate in predicting greatness.
"What he did last year was pretty impressive," shortstop Jack Wilson. "But if he can improve -- and I think we all believe he can -- the sky's the limit for him."
"There won't be anyone in our league who is more dominant, not with Randy Johnson pitching for the Yankees now," Fogg said. "There's nothing he can't do."
Ask the old-timers of the organization, and their answers are much the same.
"I compare Oliver to John Candelaria, and I consider Candy to be one of the best pitchers in the history of game," said Chuck Tanner, manager of the Pirates' 1979 championship team and now a scout for the Cleveland Indians. "On top of all that talent, he's a real competitor. Can he be great? Oh, yeah, why not?"
"I know he has the stuff to be great," said Bill Virdon, center fielder on the Pirates' 1960 championship team and a lifelong baseball man. "To be able to say he's Koufax? I can't do that yet. I know Koufax, saw him for a lot of years. As Pirates, we can all root for Oliver to be that type of pitcher. And we can be realistic in doing so because he does have that type of talent."
Ask Perez, though, and the concept of greatness gives way to a discussion of improving for his next start.
"I hear about all those names ... Koufax ... Randy Johnson. I had one good year," he said. "I am having fun. I used to try to put too much pressure on myself. Not now. It's a good game. You have to enjoy it. I am going to enjoy my next game."
That would be the Pirates' home opener Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers, his first chance to start a season as staff ace.
No pressure there?
"To me, it is fun. I love to pitch in Pittsburgh, how they came to see me last year. If you know people are coming there to watch you, you feel happy. It's an honor that people come to watch me pitch. I hope they can enjoy it again. That is all I am thinking about. I'm not worried about Koufax or Randy Johnson."
(Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1938.)
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Charlotte Observer: Delamielleure Unhappy With Haslett
Joe DelamielleurePosted on Tue, Mar. 29, 2005
Delamielleure unhappy with Haslett
Hall of Famer says comment by Saints coach inappropriate
STAN OLSON
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer
New Orleans coach Jim Haslett's comment last week that half of the NFL's players and all of its offensive linemen were using anabolic steroids in the 1980s infuriated Joe Delamielleure.
"That was inappropriate and irresponsible," said Delamielleure, a Charlottean, on Monday. "Haslett shouldn't say everyone was taking them, because I wasn't. But for Haslett to make that comment doesn't surprise me. I played with him (in Buffalo), and he was always inserting his foot in his mouth, then taking it out and putting the other one in."
Delamielleure played guard for 13 seasons in a Hall of Fame career with the Bills and Cleveland, and he knew the league had a steroid problem.
"I knew guys were taking them; it wasn't a banned substance until 1987, and (steroids) were a great leap physically for some guys," he said. "As much talk as there was, everybody thought something was going on, because guys were getting bigger and bigger. But personally, I never saw anybody injecting steroids.
After the 1985 season, Delamielleure was forced from the game, primarily because he couldn't add weight to his 260-pound frame.
"I was very bitter; 260 got me into the Hall of Fame, and all of a sudden it's not big enough to play," he said. "No matter how hard I worked out, I couldn't get bigger than that. That last year I was barely hanging on. And guys were cheating but nothing was done until a couple of years later."
Delamielleure doesn't put all the blame on his peers of several decades ago. At the time, he said, you could compare steroids to tobacco.
"My dad smoked; he thought he was cool, the Marlboro man and all that," he said. "Nobody knew that it might kill you, and steroids were like that."
Now they are finding out.
"I was in an NFL strongest man competition with six other guys back in '82 or '83," Delamielleure said. "Now five of them are dead."
Circumstantial evidence, to be sure, but worth consideration. And that brings him back to Haslett, who said he used steroids for one season as a linebacker in the '80s.
"Now I'm a personal trainer. I work with high school football players and they think if all linemen took that stuff, then I must have taken it," Delamielleure said.
He's not certain the game's current players have learned. The NFL has crowed for years that its drug testing is the pride of pro sports, but Delamielleure isn't sure that still holds true.
"Look at some of these guys; there's no way you can weigh 350 pounds naturally," he said. "And for everything the testers do, the guy who knows how to mask it is always one step ahead and just getting richer."
And he worries about the future of the game.
"It is unfair when you do it the right way," Delamielleure said, "and you teach kids that the guy who works the hardest will succeed, and then, because somebody else is taking something, it doesn't pay off."
John Mehno: Steelers Were Part of Steroid Culture
Jon KolbSports Columnist - John Mehno
03/27/2005
Beaver County Times
Steelers Certainly Part of Steroid Culture
A couple of newspaper guys went to breakfast with New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett and got a free scoop with their pancakes.
In a day when any mention of steroids guarantees a headline, Haslett let it drop that he had taken them. Avalon native Haslett also said the Pittsburgh Steelers had been ahead of the rest of the NFL in recognizing the muscle-building magic of steroids.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Steelers president Dan Rooney said.
Or perhaps not. On page 180 of Roy Blount's "About Three Bricks Shy of a Load" (published in 1974) there's one Steeler talking about using steroids.
Offensive lineman Jim Clack, a starter on the first two Super Bowl teams, recounted his use, which began after the Steelers signed him as a free agent in 1971.
Clack said coach Chuck Noll asked him how much he weighed and Clack said he was 228 pounds. Noll told him he should add seven pounds and come to camp at 235. In fact, he needed more than that. Clack was actually only 214 pounds.
Blount wrote, "Clack ate a special weight-gaining diet and took steroids and lifted weights."
Clack recounted weight-lifting sessions with teammate Jon Kolb that lasted more than three hours. He was at 248 pounds within two years, adding 34 pounds.
Clack said he gave up steroids at his wife's insistence.
"She says they don't do any good, but they do," Clack told Blount.
It is worth noting that steroids were neither illegal nor against any NFL policy at that time.
Haslett apologized but didn't deny what he said or dispute the accuracy of the quotes.
A crackpot theory holds that Haslett holds a grudge against the Steelers from his friction with head coach Bill Cowher, but that's bogus. Haslett was simply saying what a lot of people have.
One Super Bowl-era Steelers player bulked up substantially in a single off-season for a position change. Another shrunk by 30 pounds shortly after announcing his retirement.
You can quibble about whether the Steelers started the trend in the '70s but they were certainly part of it.
---
For once it isn't the Pirates' fault.
Their 1979 World Series trophy may be up for auction, and that stems from a miscalculation by past owners. The Galbreath family loaned the trophy to the Allegheny Club for display.
The Club went bankrupt and the trophy, along with other prized memorabilia, could be sold.
The Allegheny Club was a disaster from the start, a waste of prime seating space. Now it's haunting Pittsburgh from its grave.
Unfortunately, the trophy's plight is a quick and easy way to illustrate the Pirates' fall from glory.
---
The two Beaver Falls-Aliquippa high school basketball playoff games provided more entertainment at the Palumbo Center than the last five Duquesne basketball seasons.
Times sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at johnmehno@lycos.com.
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2005
Ron Cook: '70s Steelers are Guilty Like Bonds
Mike Webster
[Mr. Cook fails to point out the fact that steroid use was not illegal during the 1970s...as it is now. Thus, a difference between Bonds and those football players of the 70s can certainly be found.
Is there really any knowledgeable football fan out there who didn't know that some of the Steelers' offensive linemen were taking steroids back in the 70s?
I agree with Mr. Cook that Steve Courson's book is very interesting...I also recommend it. I guess it could be construed as problematic that Steve Courson was one of my favorite Steelers at the time.
I recently read Mark Madden's piece suggesting that Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire weren't cheating when they set the single-season homerun records because steroid use was not against MLB's rules at the time. I might suggest that such use was against the law of the land and a compelling case for cheating may be made as a result. - jtf]
Cook: '70s Steelers are guilty like Bonds
Sunday, March 27, 2005
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It's so easy to look at Barry Bonds as a fraud. We don't like him. We never liked him, going back to his first season with the Pirates in 1986. We don't want to believe he hit those 73 home runs legitimately or that he'll ever be the true home run king no matter how many more home runs he hits than Babe Ruth and Henry Aaron. It has to be the steroids.
But it's a lot harder to come down on the Super Steelers. They were our heroes. They won four Super Bowls. They made us proud. It wasn't the steroids. It was all talent and hard work. That's our story and we're sticking to it.
You know what?
We're hypocritical as heck.
Bonds and the Steelers of the 1970s became uncomfortably linked last week when New Orleans Saints coach, former NFL player and Avalon native Jim Haslett shared his thoughts on steroids use with the Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette. Haslett admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs when he played and estimated that 50 percent of the NFL players in the 1980s -- including all of the linemen -- were users. He also said he believed the rampant use of steroids started with the Steelers of the 1970s, a contention that instantly made him something of a pariah in his hometown. The backlash was so sudden and so acute that Haslett felt the need to apologize the next day for mentioning the Steelers.
How sad.
The man merely spoke what he believed to be the truth.
For the most part, he was right.
Steroids use in the NFL didn't start with the Steelers. It was around for more than a decade before they won their first Super Bowl after the 1974 season. But there's little doubt the success of those Steelers teams helped to popularize performance-enhancing drugs. Haslett wasn't wrong about that.
It's understandable why Dan Rooney, who went so far as to question Haslett's sanity, wants to protect the Steelers' legacy. For the same reasons, he wants you to believe the NFL's current steroids-testing plan is an enormous success even though the experts will tell you the players always have and always will find a way to beat the system because their chemists are one step ahead of the league's testers. It makes it easier to sleep at night. Steroids make everyone feel so dirty, especially now that they are under so much scrutiny because of Bonds and Mark McGwire.
But not even Rooney, probably the most powerful and respected man in the NFL this side of Paul Tagliabue, can rewrite history.
Go to one of the old book stores. See if you can find Steve Courson's "False Glory," published in 1991. It was a fascinating read then and is even more fascinating now. Courson, who played for the Steelers from 1977-83, detailed his and his teammates' steroids use.
If you're looking for another Jose Canseco tell-all book, you're going to be disappointed. Courson did not name names. He didn't out teammates the way Canseco did to McGwire. The purpose of his book wasn't so much to make money as it was to shine a light on a long-standing NFL problem and maybe, in the process, educate a few young athletes about steroids. He had made national headlines six years earlier by admitting his steroid use to Sports Illustrated.
Courson exonerated the Steelers' defensive linemen -- "In those days, few defensive linemen did [steroids]," he wrote -- which is why L.C. Greenwood could go on a national radio show the other day and say, with good conscience, that Haslett's assertion was the damnedest thing he ever heard.
But Courson wrote that 75 percent of the Steelers' offensive linemen took steroids at one time or another and would sit around as a group discussing their usage the way other men might discuss their wife or girlfriend, a night at the bar or a good hunting trip.
"Disgruntled players throughout the league called us the 'Steroid Team,' as if performance-enhancing drugs were the sole reason for our success," Courson wrote, adding how maniacal the Steelers' linemen were in the weight room.
"The fact is, our [steroids] usage was the same -- give or take -- as most of the NFL teams at that time."
Rooney's contention the Steelers didn't have a steroids problem because Chuck Noll preached against their usage is almost laughable if you believe Courson's book.
"Chuck never encouraged steroid use on the Steelers, but he conveniently and most definitely turned his head to it," Courson wrote. He cited an example of Noll calling him out in front of the team and screaming -- "All you want to do is body-build and take steroids!" -- after his hamstring was pulled in training camp in 1983. "That was a full two years before I admitted my steroid usage in Sports Illustrated," Courson added. "Evidently, [Noll] was not as blind or ignorant of the steroid issue as he would have the politicians and public believe."
If that's true, that doesn't make Noll a bad guy. It just makes him the same as any other coach who isn't against an edge that might help his team win a championship. It also makes him the same as the baseball owners who really didn't want to hear about steroids as Bonds, McGwire and Sammy Sosa were hitting home runs and bringing fans to the ballparks.
Sadly, it also leaves us with a conclusion we'd just rather not face:
If Bonds' achievements are tainted in any way by steroids, then so are the Super Steelers' triumphs.
We can't have it both ways.
(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)
Ed Bouchette: Haslett Admits to Using Steroids
Says Steelers of 1970s triggered outbreak
Thursday, March 24, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Jim Haslett went from a 160-pound quarterback at Avalon High School to a 230-pound defensive end at IUP, but he said it wasn't until he reached the NFL that he took steroids.
Haslett, the New Orleans Saints' coach, discussed the rampant steroids use in the NFL 25 years ago at a time when Major League Baseball is attempting to rid that sport of the illegal drugs. He detailed his use of steroids yesterday over breakfast at the NFL meetings in Maui.
Haslett estimated that half the NFL players, including all the linemen, used steroids in the 1980s when they were not banned by the league and legal if prescribed medically. He claimed steroids began in the NFL with the Steelers' players in the 1970s and mentioned Barry Bonds as having tell-tale signs of use.
Haslett said it wasn't long after he was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 1979 that he felt he needed to take steroids to stay competitive in the league.
"They tossed you around, they were strong. So everybody wanted an advantage, so you tried it; I tried it. I mean I tried it, everybody tried it."
The league did not begin steroids testing until 1987; suspensions were issued for the first time in '89 and random year-round testing began in '90. The current steroids policy was negotiated with the players as part of the collective bargaining agreement of 1992 and remains in effect today.
A first positive test draws a four-game suspension. A second brings a six-game suspension and a third a one-year ban. No one, however, has tested positive more than once under the program, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Haslett said he believes the league long ago gained control of the steroids problem that was rampant when he played.
"If you didn't [take steroids], you weren't as strong as everybody else, you weren't as fast as everybody else," Haslett said. "That's the only reason to do it. Everybody's looking for a competitive edge."
Haslett said the Steelers of the 1970s were big steroids users.
"It started, really, in Pittsburgh. They got an advantage on a lot of football teams. They were so much stronger [in the] '70s, late '70s, early '80s ... Steve [Courson], Jon [Kolb] and all those guys. They're the ones who kind of started it."
Dan Rooney quickly and strongly refuted that accusation.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Rooney said between meetings yesterday. "Chuck Noll was totally against it. He looked into it, examined it, talked to people. Haslett, maybe it affected his mind."
Rooney pointed out that Noll's offensive lines were noted for their speed and trapping ability and not their size -- they were among the smallest lines in the league in the 1970s.
"Chuck Noll told the players, hey, this stuff doesn't do you any good," Rooney said. "If you just do the work, lift, things like that, you'll be all right."
Haslett, a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL, said he took steroids for only one offseason around 1979 or '80, then got off them. He estimated his playing weight at 252.
"I didn't think it was very good for you. I was hyper all the time. Got bloated, a fat face. I'll tell you one thing about steroids, if you take them you still have to eat right and you have to work your ass off. If you take them and you don't do anything, that doesn't do anything for you."
Haslett said he was a college coach when he first met Barry Bonds and saw a different player when Bonds returned to Pittsburgh with the San Francisco Giants when Haslett was the Steelers' defensive coordinator from 1997-99.
"I met Barry Bonds, he was about 185," Haslett said. "Next time I saw him, I was a coach at the Steelers and he was about 210. A big 210. You get so much stronger. Your bat speed [increases], everything."
Asked if he thought Bonds took steroids, Haslett did not answer.
"I promise you, if those guys did take them, they're working their ass off anyway," Haslett said. "So they were going to get gains anyway, but probably not to the magnitude they did when they take the stuff."
The main advantage to taking steroids, Haslett said, is they help players lift more often and thus get stronger and possibly bigger.
"I didn't put weight on, I just got strong. If you lift on Monday, usually you lift Wednesday, Friday. [On steroids], you can lift like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. You never got tired.
"Your muscles recovered from it. When you lift, your muscle tears down and the blood comes in and repairs it. It takes bout 28 to 40 hours for the blood to repair the muscle. When you take steroids and it rips the muscle, the blood immediately flows in there, and it repairs itself right away. That's why you never feel tired, you never feel sore.
"You can lift every day, you can recover right away. My bench went from 440 to 480 in about 6 weeks."
Haslett acknowledged he was more volatile than usual when he took steroids and that "I've seen guys snap. Somebody says something, they'd snap. You get hyper all the time, sweating."
He described the introduction of steroids by the Bills to one of their new teammates in the 1980s.
"I played with a guy who came into the league, he came out of the USFL," Haslett said. "He was 270, and he would never have made our team if he didn't get up to 300. The linemen got him together, got him a little supplemental pill for the week and he got up to about 305 and made our team. And he's probably one of the all-time great players in Bills history. He was a great player."
While his description fits former Bills center Kent Hull, Haslett would not name him. Hull joined the Bills from the USFL New Jersey Generals in 1986 and played 11 seasons in Buffalo.
Haslett has been New Orleans' head coach since 2000.
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878. Click here for more National Football League news.)
NFL Notebook: Haslett apologizes to Steelers for steroid remarks
Saturday, March 26, 2005
From local and wire dispatches
New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett has apologized to the Steelers and team owner Dan Rooney, saying he didn't intend to harm anyone or any team when he said this week that steroid use was rampant at one time among NFL players.
Haslett, speaking to a small group of reporters Wednesday at the NFL owners meeting in Hawaii , admitted that he had used steroids, and singled out the Steelers of the 1970s, saying "it started, really in Pittsburgh."
Rooney responded that it was "totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers."
Haslett released a statement Thursday saying that his earlier comments "were intended to express my understanding of the NFL's Drug Testing Policy, which is the best in all professional sports.
"As a former player and now a coach in this league, I have a tremendous amount of respect for our game both now and in the past. We would be naive to think that enhancing drugs were never used in our league, but the difference here is that the NFL recognized that steroid use was detrimental to our league and has implemented policies to ensure that it never would be an issue.
"I was not intending to do any harm to anyone or any organization or the NFL with these statements and if I did I offer my sincerest apology. I have the utmost respect for Mr. [Dan] Rooney and what he has meant to the NFL and offer my apologizes to him and the Steelers."
Thursday, March 24, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Jim Haslett went from a 160-pound quarterback at Avalon High School to a 230-pound defensive end at IUP, but he said it wasn't until he reached the NFL that he took steroids.
Haslett, the New Orleans Saints' coach, discussed the rampant steroids use in the NFL 25 years ago at a time when Major League Baseball is attempting to rid that sport of the illegal drugs. He detailed his use of steroids yesterday over breakfast at the NFL meetings in Maui.
Haslett estimated that half the NFL players, including all the linemen, used steroids in the 1980s when they were not banned by the league and legal if prescribed medically. He claimed steroids began in the NFL with the Steelers' players in the 1970s and mentioned Barry Bonds as having tell-tale signs of use.
Haslett said it wasn't long after he was drafted by Buffalo in the second round in 1979 that he felt he needed to take steroids to stay competitive in the league.
"They tossed you around, they were strong. So everybody wanted an advantage, so you tried it; I tried it. I mean I tried it, everybody tried it."
The league did not begin steroids testing until 1987; suspensions were issued for the first time in '89 and random year-round testing began in '90. The current steroids policy was negotiated with the players as part of the collective bargaining agreement of 1992 and remains in effect today.
A first positive test draws a four-game suspension. A second brings a six-game suspension and a third a one-year ban. No one, however, has tested positive more than once under the program, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Haslett said he believes the league long ago gained control of the steroids problem that was rampant when he played.
"If you didn't [take steroids], you weren't as strong as everybody else, you weren't as fast as everybody else," Haslett said. "That's the only reason to do it. Everybody's looking for a competitive edge."
Haslett said the Steelers of the 1970s were big steroids users.
"It started, really, in Pittsburgh. They got an advantage on a lot of football teams. They were so much stronger [in the] '70s, late '70s, early '80s ... Steve [Courson], Jon [Kolb] and all those guys. They're the ones who kind of started it."
Dan Rooney quickly and strongly refuted that accusation.
"This is totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers in the '70s," Rooney said between meetings yesterday. "Chuck Noll was totally against it. He looked into it, examined it, talked to people. Haslett, maybe it affected his mind."
Rooney pointed out that Noll's offensive lines were noted for their speed and trapping ability and not their size -- they were among the smallest lines in the league in the 1970s.
"Chuck Noll told the players, hey, this stuff doesn't do you any good," Rooney said. "If you just do the work, lift, things like that, you'll be all right."
Haslett, a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL, said he took steroids for only one offseason around 1979 or '80, then got off them. He estimated his playing weight at 252.
"I didn't think it was very good for you. I was hyper all the time. Got bloated, a fat face. I'll tell you one thing about steroids, if you take them you still have to eat right and you have to work your ass off. If you take them and you don't do anything, that doesn't do anything for you."
Haslett said he was a college coach when he first met Barry Bonds and saw a different player when Bonds returned to Pittsburgh with the San Francisco Giants when Haslett was the Steelers' defensive coordinator from 1997-99.
"I met Barry Bonds, he was about 185," Haslett said. "Next time I saw him, I was a coach at the Steelers and he was about 210. A big 210. You get so much stronger. Your bat speed [increases], everything."
Asked if he thought Bonds took steroids, Haslett did not answer.
"I promise you, if those guys did take them, they're working their ass off anyway," Haslett said. "So they were going to get gains anyway, but probably not to the magnitude they did when they take the stuff."
The main advantage to taking steroids, Haslett said, is they help players lift more often and thus get stronger and possibly bigger.
"I didn't put weight on, I just got strong. If you lift on Monday, usually you lift Wednesday, Friday. [On steroids], you can lift like Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. You never got tired.
"Your muscles recovered from it. When you lift, your muscle tears down and the blood comes in and repairs it. It takes bout 28 to 40 hours for the blood to repair the muscle. When you take steroids and it rips the muscle, the blood immediately flows in there, and it repairs itself right away. That's why you never feel tired, you never feel sore.
"You can lift every day, you can recover right away. My bench went from 440 to 480 in about 6 weeks."
Haslett acknowledged he was more volatile than usual when he took steroids and that "I've seen guys snap. Somebody says something, they'd snap. You get hyper all the time, sweating."
He described the introduction of steroids by the Bills to one of their new teammates in the 1980s.
"I played with a guy who came into the league, he came out of the USFL," Haslett said. "He was 270, and he would never have made our team if he didn't get up to 300. The linemen got him together, got him a little supplemental pill for the week and he got up to about 305 and made our team. And he's probably one of the all-time great players in Bills history. He was a great player."
While his description fits former Bills center Kent Hull, Haslett would not name him. Hull joined the Bills from the USFL New Jersey Generals in 1986 and played 11 seasons in Buffalo.
Haslett has been New Orleans' head coach since 2000.
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878. Click here for more National Football League news.)
NFL Notebook: Haslett apologizes to Steelers for steroid remarks
Saturday, March 26, 2005
From local and wire dispatches
New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett has apologized to the Steelers and team owner Dan Rooney, saying he didn't intend to harm anyone or any team when he said this week that steroid use was rampant at one time among NFL players.
Haslett, speaking to a small group of reporters Wednesday at the NFL owners meeting in Hawaii , admitted that he had used steroids, and singled out the Steelers of the 1970s, saying "it started, really in Pittsburgh."
Rooney responded that it was "totally, totally false when he says it started with the Steelers."
Haslett released a statement Thursday saying that his earlier comments "were intended to express my understanding of the NFL's Drug Testing Policy, which is the best in all professional sports.
"As a former player and now a coach in this league, I have a tremendous amount of respect for our game both now and in the past. We would be naive to think that enhancing drugs were never used in our league, but the difference here is that the NFL recognized that steroid use was detrimental to our league and has implemented policies to ensure that it never would be an issue.
"I was not intending to do any harm to anyone or any organization or the NFL with these statements and if I did I offer my sincerest apology. I have the utmost respect for Mr. [Dan] Rooney and what he has meant to the NFL and offer my apologizes to him and the Steelers."
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Obituary: David Little
Obituary: David Little / Former Steelers linebackerFormer player, 46, had enlarged heart
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The shadows that enveloped David Little always appeared to be immense.
He grew up and played football in the same city as his older brother, Larry, an All-Pro guard with the Miami Dolphins and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
When he was drafted by the Steelers in 1981, he backed up perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Jack Lambert, another Hall of Famer, before replacing Lambert in 1984.
But Little never let that bother him. He never tried to ride his brother's fame. Nor did he try to emulate Lambert or any of the other great Steelers linebackers.
"David was his own man," his wife, Denise, said. "He never let anything affect him. He never got caught up in anything."
Little, 46, who played 12 seasons with the Steelers until he was released in 1993, died Thursday while working out alone in his Miami home.
Denise Little said an autopsy revealed her husband had a heart arrhythmia that caused him to drop a 250-pound barbell on his chest. The bar rolled onto Little's throat, suffocating him. Little was found by the oldest of his three children, son, David Jr., 18.
Mrs. Little said the coroner's report determined her husband had an enlarged heart, a condition unbeknownst to her and the former Steelers linebacker. The arrhythmia could have been brought on by "strenuous activity," Mrs. Little said she was told by the coroner.
"Me being his big brother, 14 years apart, and him having to grow up in the city where I was a star on a great football team, he never let it bother him," Larry Little said yesterday from Miami, where he is head coach of the Miami Morays, a team in the National Indoor Football League. "It never deterred him. He did things his own way.
"He was very easy going, very calm, and you never saw him angry. He'd give you the shirt off his back, if he had it."
Little carved his niche in 12 seasons with the Steelers, being elected the team's co-MVP with Rod Woodson in 1988 and being selected to his first and only Pro Bowl after the 1990 season. He was known as a quiet leader, a player whom Coach Chuck Noll once referred to as "the glue who held our defense together."
He appeared in 179 games with the Steelers, starting 125 after replacing an injured Lambert in the 1984 season opener. He was the team's leading tackler in five seasons and missed only five games because of injury in 12 years.
"If you didn't know it, or you didn't do the research, you would never know he was Larry Little's brother," said former wide receiver Louis Lipps, who played eight seasons with Little. "That's the way David carried himself. He always had a positive thing to say and he was the ultimate competitor."
"David was a raspy-voiced guy from Florida, but he was the quiet leader on that defense," said former guard Craig Wolfley, who played eight seasons with Little. "He was always overlooked, but he was always one of our best players. He had this great sense of determination and a great sense of humor that made him priceless."
Little once played 89 consecutive games for the Steelers. After being a seventh-round draft choice from the University of Florida in 1981, he didn't miss a NFL game because of injury until the beginning of the 1988 season.
"He was gentle giant," Mrs. Little said. "He did great things, but he never wanted to be in the limelight. He always gave credit to everybody else."
Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who is in Hawaii attending the NFL owners meetings, was unaware of Little's death. Rooney said he talked to Little several months ago when Little called about getting into coaching.
"David was a fine guy and was a really good player, someone who really contributed to the Steelers," Rooney said. "He played his position well. He was a good addition to us. I'm sorry to hear it, I really am."
Little played at Miami's Jackson High School before attending Florida, where he graduated with a degree in sociology. He was working as a counselor at Village South, a drug rehabilitation center in Miami, and often gave antidrug speeches at local schools.
Mr. Little was the youngest of seven children -- four girls and three boys. His oldest brother, George, died in 1971.
Mrs. Little said one of her husband's last thrills was seeing his son, David, help Miami's Killian High School win the Florida Class AAAAAA championship last fall.
"We were so proud of him," Denise Little said. "He got to see his son play and win the state championship."
In addition to his wife and son, Little is survived by two other children -- Darien, 16, and DeAira, 10. A funeral service will be 2 p.m. Thursday at New Birth Cathedral Church in Miami.
Mrs. Little said memorial donations can be made to a Children For College Fund at Wachovia Bank in Miami.
(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466.)
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Ed Bouchette: Bettis, Steelers Start Talks on New Contract
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Jerome Bettis may be leaning toward returning to play for the Steelers next season, provided the sides can work out a new contract.
Steelers' free agents
The Steelers have exchanged proposals with Bettis' agent.
Bettis is contemplating whether he wants to retire. In the meantime, the Steelers would have to reduce his salary of $4.484 million by March 2 or possibly release him because they will be above the NFL's salary cap.
Lamont Smith, Bettis' agent, said last night that he hopes a contract could be worked and that the Steelers would not release Bettis.
"To release him would change the dynamics of this whole thing," Smith said.
If the Steelers and Bettis can reach a new contract agreement, Bettis is expected to play in 2005.
In another matter, the Steelers likely won't protect Plaxico Burress from becoming a free agent when the deadline rolls around to designate their "franchise" player at 4 p.m. today.
The Steelers will have to release some players before March 2 to comply with the NFL salary cap that goes into effect starting that day.
Each team's salary cap should rise to around $85 million for 2005, up from $80.582 million last year, when the new figure is calculated soon. Despite the increase, the Steelers would be over the cap unless they cut salaries or players in the next week.
At least two veterans affected by this are cornerback Chad Scott and Bettis. Both could be released before March 2, although in Bettis' case it might not be final. Today is the first day veterans can be released.
Bettis currently counts $5.484 million against their cap, which includes $1 million from a prorated signing bonus. The Steelers could release him next week and then sign him to a new contract later, if he decides to play again. Last season, he took a pay cut of nearly $2.7 million to play for $1 million, but he did so before the March 2 deadline.
The Steelers would prefer to have a new contract with Bettis in place before March 2 even if he later decides to retire.
Bettis said in Jacksonville, Fla., the week of the Super Bowl that he wanted to return to Pittsburgh and speak with coach Bill Cowher before he makes his decision about retirement in "three or four weeks." He has not yet done that. Cowher and his staff will leave this week for the NFL scouting combine, which runs from Thursday through next Tuesday in Indianapolis.
Scott is scheduled to earn a salary of $3,885,000 in 2005 and count a little move than $4 million against the team's cap. He is signed through 2006. Mason Ashe, Scott's agent, said yesterday the Steelers have not informed him of any plans they might have for Scott, whether it would be to release him or ask him to take a pay cut. Ashe noted they did not inform him before they released another of his clients, linebacker Levon Kirkland, early in 2001.
Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, declined comment yesterday on any aspects of free agency. Colbert and his scouts also will leave for the NFL scouting combine today.
The Steelers have the option to put the franchise player tag on Burress today, but that would cost them $7,768,000 in a one-year deal. That represents the average of the top five salaries of wide receivers in the league. Unless the Steelers work some financial magic over the next week, that would not fit under their cap.
Each team can freeze one potential free agent by making him a franchise player. The Steelers have used the tag judiciously in the past, on tight end Eric Green in 1994 and linebacker Jason Gildon in 2002. Gildon eventually signed a long-term contract and did not play under the one-year franchise deal. The Steelers released him in June 2004.
The Steelers were $80,000 under the salary cap in the first half of last season before they reworked some contracts to free up $500,000.
They long have known they would be over the cap for 2005 and would have to release players or rework contracts. But their cap was further reduced because more players earned more incentives in 2004 than expected and that will count against their 2005 cap. Those so-called "unlikely to be earned" incentives from 2004 will reduce their salary cap by about $5 million more than they had once thought.
Their salary cap situation also should prevent them from pursuing many free agents this year.
Click here for more National Football League news.
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Bob Smizik: Briles Left Perfect Mark on Baseball
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Side by side with the sad news of his death earlier this week was the recollection of the most famous piece of pitching by Nelson Kelley Briles.
If you're a Pittsburgher of a certain age, you know it was Nellie Briles who put the Pirates in position win the 1971 World Series with a Game 5 masterpiece against the Baltimore Orioles. It was Briles, who had to sit out his turn in the National League Championship Series because of injury, who pitched a two-hit shutout and set the stage for Steve Blass' classic in Game 7.
That might have been the most famous performance of Briles' career, but not his best.
On a pleasant late August night in 1972, when the Pirates seemed cruising toward another World Series appearance, Briles literally was inches away from an accomplishment that would have dwarfed his masterpiece of 10 months earlier.
The Pirates were playing the San Francisco Giants in a matchup of the NLCS participants from the previous year. But the Giants had stumbled that season and were 14 games under .500 and 21 1/2 games out of first place, which is why there were only 9,389 in the stands at Candlestick Park.
The Pirates were 30 games over .500 and had an 11 1/2-game lead in the National League East. Everyone knew they were going to the playoffs and most believed they would repeat as World Series champion. It was a team without a weakness. The batting order had Robert Clemente and Willie Stargell in the middle, flanked by the likes of Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen, Dave Cash and Richie Hebner. The rotation was led by Blass and Dock Ellis. In the bullpen, closer Dave Giusti and left-hander Ramon Hernandez bordered on unhittable. The bench, with Vic Davalillo, Gene Clines, Rennie Stennett and Jose Pagan, was so good the team didn't falter when Clemente missed a long stretch because of an injury.
Briles was matched against Juan Marichal, a future Hall of Famer and one of the dominant pitchers in the game. Marichal gave up a leadoff single to Davalillo, who was quickly erased on Cash's double-play grounder. Clemente reached second on an error and Stargell followed with a run-scoring double. Marichal then picked Stargell off second base.
Briles had a run and he knew it might be all he'd get against the great Marichal. It was. But it made no difference.
The Giants went up and down in order through the first six innings. The tension was mounting at Candlestick. Not a hit, not a walk, not a baserunner. Everyone knew Briles was working on a perfect game.
In the seventh, Bobby Bonds and Chris Speier led off with infield outs. That brought up Ken Henderson, the quintessential journeyman. Henderson was a lifetime .257 hitters with seven teams. He ripped a shot toward right that was rising as it reached Stargell at first base. Willie jumped. The ball was catchable. But not this time. It hit off Stargell's glove and went to right field. The official scorer had no choice. Even though the ball was catchable, it clearly was a hit.
Briles never wavered. He retired Willie McCovey to end that inning and got the next six Giants.
Briles, as classy as a player as he was in later life as a Pirates executive, handed the postgame interviews like a pro. But afterward, as the Pirates boarded their bus for a trip to the airport and a flight to Los Angeles, he wondered aloud what the fame of a perfect game might have done for his budding entertainment career.
In the early 1970s, the salaries of baseball players weren't much more than the average man. Some of the younger players made about as much as a newspaper reporter. Briles had capitalized on his World Series fame to kick off a singing career. He was good. He made some television and nightclub appearances. The publicity that comes with a perfect game might have sent that career spiraling.
But it wasn't to be. His near masterpiece became a forgotten one-hitter. The Pirates famously lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the playoffs on a wild pitch and finished under .500 the next season. General manager Joe Brown believed moves had to be made and Briles was sent to Kansas City.
Briles bounced around baseball after that with four teams before retiring after the 1978 season with a 129-112 record.
Eventually, he made his way back to the Pirates' family, where he was vice president of corporate projects at the time of his death.
He was a wonderful asset for the franchise, a humble hero of rare class who was equally at ease with the common fan or the business tycoon.
Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church in Greensburg. Viewing will be from 7-9 p.m. tomorrow and 2-7 p.m. Friday at the Kepple Graft Funeral Home in Greensburg.
Nellie Briles never got that perfect game, but he always remained baseball's perfect gentleman.
(Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.)
Monday, February 14, 2005
Obituary: Nellie Briles
Obituary: Nelson Kelly 'Nellie' Briles / Former Pirates pitcher and front-office official
Monday, February 14, 2005
By Nate Guidry, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Nelson Kelley "Nellie" Briles, a former Pirates pitcher who hurled a brilliant two-hit shutout against the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth game of the 1971 World Series, died yesterday of an apparent heart attack.
Mr. Briles, who was 61, was playing golf in an annual Pirates alumni event in Orlando, Fla., when he passed out. Among the golfers playing behind Mr. Briles were Hall of Famer Bill Mazeroski, who was visibly upset when Mr. Briles collapsed.
"Obviously it's a big loss to the Pirate family," Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy said. "Nellie was just a valuable part of our organization."
Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said he spoke to manager Lloyd McClendon, former manager Jim Leyland and many other people in the organization to let them know what had happened.
"Everybody had such good things to say about him," Littlefield said. "He was a class guy. A real Pirate through and through."
"I'm just stunned," said Steve Blass, broadcaster and Mr. Briles' former teammate. "It blindsided me. I was just with him at the Fantasy Camp [in Bradenton, Fla., Jan. 23-30]. He ran that camp as well as it can be run. I had no awareness of any heart problem history. He was tireless."
Mr. Briles, who worked in the Pirates organization for more than 24 years, most recently as vice president of corporate projects, grew up in Chico, Calif. At Chico High School, he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. During his senior year, he averaged 40.5 yards per punt and was named to the all-league football team.
After graduating, Mr. Briles attended Chico State College and Santa Clara University and in 1963, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. He spent only one year in the minors.
In 1967, Mr. Briles led the league with a .737 win-loss percentage. He went 14-5 that season with a 2.43 ERA in 49 games.
In January 1971, Mr. Briles was obtained by the Pirates from St. Louis.
Mr. Briles was a valuable addition to the Pirates as a spot starter and reliever. He posted a 7-2 record in a starting capacity. He was inserted into the starting lineup in late August and won three of four decisions, including two shutouts.
A leg injury kept Mr. Briles idled during the championship series against the San Francisco Giants, but he bounced back in the fifth game of the World Series to pitch a two-hit shutout over the Orioles.
"As a teammate, he was terrific," said Blass. "We got him from the Cardinals [who won the World Series in 1967 and 1968], so he had been down road with championship teams. The postseason experience he brought to us was tremendous."
In 1973, Mr. Briles was traded to Kansas City and later to Texas and Baltimore.
After his retirement he returned to Pittsburgh and in 1979, served as a television broadcaster.
In May 1986, Mr. Briles joined the Pirates' front office as director of corporate sales. He also
directed the club's annual Fantasy Camp and was the founder and president of the Pirates Alumni Association and president of the Pirates Speaker's Bureau.
Sally O'Leary, editor of The Black and Gold, the Pirates alumni magazine, said she and Mr. Briles worked together closely over the years.
"We formed the newsletter in 1987, the year the Pirates turned 100 years old. He will be missed," she said.
Mr. Briles was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Western Chapter, in 1992, and the Pennsylvania State Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.
"He wasn't a homegrown Pirate, but he became part of the Pirate fabric," said Blass. "He spoke everywhere. He was tireless with the alumni. He was an absolute plus to the organization and the city whenever he represented the Pittsburgh Pirates."
McClatchy said that Mr. Briles "was very dedicated to the organization and the Pirate family. He just loved working for the Pirates." He kept alumni involved, he said.
"Our alumni association is regarded [by other major league teams] as one of the best -- if not the best -- in baseball. But beyond that Nellie was a great guy. His loss will be felt by all of us."
His easygoing personality was mentioned over and over by those who knew him.
"He was a cheerful and as pleasant a man as I've ever know," said Pirates broadcaster Greg Brown. "He was the perfect ambassador for the club. The thing that most impressed me about him was how comfortable he was under any circumstance. He really was a pleasant, pleasant guy. It's really a shame. It's a terrible loss for the club."
Mr. Briles, of Greensburg, is survived by his wife, Ginger, a son, David, and three daughters, Christina, Kelley and Sarah.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete last night.
(Nate Guidry can be reached at nguidry@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3865.)
Friday, February 11, 2005
Gerry Dulac: Steelers Feel at Home in Pro Bowl's Setting
It's old hat for coaching staff, many of 9 players
Friday, February 11, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Jerome Bettis walks into the locker room that houses the AFC Pro Bowl team, he will be a long way from the South Side, both in distance and climate. But, even in Hawaii, where the temperature is 85 degrees and the palm trees sashay in warm ocean breezes, he will feel as if he's back in the 'burgh.
"It will be like walking into our locker room," Bettis said.
That's because Bettis is one of nine Steelers who will be part of the AFC team Sunday in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu --one shy of the club's 1979 record.
In addition, Bill Cowher and his staff will coach the AFC team, meaning there will be nearly 30 members of the Steelers, counting trainers and medical personnel, on the sideline.
"It should be easy to implement our game plan," said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
The Steelers will have five players on offense, four on defense -- more than any other NFL team, including the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
Six players were voted to the team --guard Alan Faneca, center Jeff Hartings, wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and linebackers Joey Porter and James Farrior. Faneca and Ward are each making their fourth appearance in the Pro Bowl; Porter is making his second.
Three other players have been added --Bettis, offensive tackle Marvel Smith and defensive end Aaron Smith. Bettis, who is making his sixth Pro Bowl appearance, was named by the NFL three days ago to replace injured Patriots running back Corey Dillon as much for his career accomplishments as his performance during the 2004 season.
Marvel Smith and Aaron Smith were voted as alternates to the team. They made it to Hawaii because of injuries to Kansas City tackle Willie Roaf and New York Jets defensive end John Abraham.
The addition of Marvel Smith means the Steelers will have three offensive linemen in the Pro Bowl for the first time. They have had two offensive linemen in the game on two previous occasions -- in 1983 (tackle Larry Brown, center Mike Webster) and '93 (center Dermontti Dawson, guard Carlton Haselrig).
"We'll have the entire left side of our offensive line," Whisenhunt said. "How many teams can say that?"
The players have different feelings about the Pro Bowl than the coaches.
They would have been in Hawaii even if they had managed to beat the New England Patriots in the AFC championship at Heinz Field. Win or lose, they were going to bask in the tropical sun as one of the best players in the AFC.
"It would have been nice to be in Hawaii after winning the Super Bowl," said Farrior, who will start for the AFC along with Faneca.
Not the coaching staff. They're only in Hawaii, coaching the AFC team, because they lost to the Patriots, small consolation for a staff that is getting far too accustomed to reaping such spoils.
"I'm sure, at some point, it will be nice," coach Bill Cowher said, when asked if the Pro Bowl is becoming a drag.
This is the third time in the past eight years and fourth overall that Cowher and his assistant coaches have been, uh, punished and exiled to Hawaii. Some, like running backs coach Dick Hoak, are a little weary of the assignment.
"The flight's too long," said Hoak, the only assistant who has made every trip to Hawaii with Cowher. "I'd rather not go."
Nonetheless, the coaches enjoy working with the AFC's best players, even if some of them are their own. And it is not a grueling week of work.
There are two-hour practice sessions, beginning at 9 a.m, consisting mostly of getting the non-Steelers players accustomed to simple versions of the offense and defense.
Whisenhunt said he has installed 42 basic plays for the offense. Compare that to the 120 to 125 he has at his disposal for a regular-season or playoff game.
"The toughest thing is getting them to understand the terminology," Whisenhunt said. "They might run a similar play with their teams, but they might have different names for it."
NOTES -- Porter and Ward will compete in the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge that will be aired at 6 p.m. tomorrow on ESPN. Porter will compete in the strongest man competition, along with Buffalo linebacker Takeo Spikes, Dallas defensive tackle La'Roi Glover, Detroit defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and Philadelphia linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Ward will compete in the best hands competition against eight other receivers, including Marvin Harrison of Indianapolis, Chad Johnson of Cincinnati and Muhsin Muhammad of Carolina.
Click here for more National Football League news and stats.
(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466.)
Friday, February 11, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Jerome Bettis walks into the locker room that houses the AFC Pro Bowl team, he will be a long way from the South Side, both in distance and climate. But, even in Hawaii, where the temperature is 85 degrees and the palm trees sashay in warm ocean breezes, he will feel as if he's back in the 'burgh.
"It will be like walking into our locker room," Bettis said.
That's because Bettis is one of nine Steelers who will be part of the AFC team Sunday in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu --one shy of the club's 1979 record.
In addition, Bill Cowher and his staff will coach the AFC team, meaning there will be nearly 30 members of the Steelers, counting trainers and medical personnel, on the sideline.
"It should be easy to implement our game plan," said offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.
The Steelers will have five players on offense, four on defense -- more than any other NFL team, including the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
Six players were voted to the team --guard Alan Faneca, center Jeff Hartings, wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and linebackers Joey Porter and James Farrior. Faneca and Ward are each making their fourth appearance in the Pro Bowl; Porter is making his second.
Three other players have been added --Bettis, offensive tackle Marvel Smith and defensive end Aaron Smith. Bettis, who is making his sixth Pro Bowl appearance, was named by the NFL three days ago to replace injured Patriots running back Corey Dillon as much for his career accomplishments as his performance during the 2004 season.
Marvel Smith and Aaron Smith were voted as alternates to the team. They made it to Hawaii because of injuries to Kansas City tackle Willie Roaf and New York Jets defensive end John Abraham.
The addition of Marvel Smith means the Steelers will have three offensive linemen in the Pro Bowl for the first time. They have had two offensive linemen in the game on two previous occasions -- in 1983 (tackle Larry Brown, center Mike Webster) and '93 (center Dermontti Dawson, guard Carlton Haselrig).
"We'll have the entire left side of our offensive line," Whisenhunt said. "How many teams can say that?"
The players have different feelings about the Pro Bowl than the coaches.
They would have been in Hawaii even if they had managed to beat the New England Patriots in the AFC championship at Heinz Field. Win or lose, they were going to bask in the tropical sun as one of the best players in the AFC.
"It would have been nice to be in Hawaii after winning the Super Bowl," said Farrior, who will start for the AFC along with Faneca.
Not the coaching staff. They're only in Hawaii, coaching the AFC team, because they lost to the Patriots, small consolation for a staff that is getting far too accustomed to reaping such spoils.
"I'm sure, at some point, it will be nice," coach Bill Cowher said, when asked if the Pro Bowl is becoming a drag.
This is the third time in the past eight years and fourth overall that Cowher and his assistant coaches have been, uh, punished and exiled to Hawaii. Some, like running backs coach Dick Hoak, are a little weary of the assignment.
"The flight's too long," said Hoak, the only assistant who has made every trip to Hawaii with Cowher. "I'd rather not go."
Nonetheless, the coaches enjoy working with the AFC's best players, even if some of them are their own. And it is not a grueling week of work.
There are two-hour practice sessions, beginning at 9 a.m, consisting mostly of getting the non-Steelers players accustomed to simple versions of the offense and defense.
Whisenhunt said he has installed 42 basic plays for the offense. Compare that to the 120 to 125 he has at his disposal for a regular-season or playoff game.
"The toughest thing is getting them to understand the terminology," Whisenhunt said. "They might run a similar play with their teams, but they might have different names for it."
NOTES -- Porter and Ward will compete in the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge that will be aired at 6 p.m. tomorrow on ESPN. Porter will compete in the strongest man competition, along with Buffalo linebacker Takeo Spikes, Dallas defensive tackle La'Roi Glover, Detroit defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and Philadelphia linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Ward will compete in the best hands competition against eight other receivers, including Marvin Harrison of Indianapolis, Chad Johnson of Cincinnati and Muhsin Muhammad of Carolina.
Click here for more National Football League news and stats.
(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466.)
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Gerry Dulac: Bettis Named to Pro Bowl Team
Will replace Patriots RB Dillon for AFC
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
It was one thing to begin the season in a backup role and end as the team's leading rusher. It was another to agree to a nearly $2.7 million pay cut and end up posting seven 100-yard rushing games.
But, in a season of amazing circumstances, Jerome Bettis might have saved his greatest performance for last:
Getting named to the AFC Pro Bowl team.
The NFL will announce today that Bettis has been added to the all-star squad as a replacement for New England running back Corey Dillon, who had to withdraw from the Pro Bowl because of an injury received in the Patriots' 24-21 victory Sunday against Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX.
"Super cool," Bettis said last night. "It's gratifying because of the sacrifices you make for a team game, and to be recognized for that by your peers and the football community, it's very humbling."
Dillon was added to the team last week after Indianapolis' Edgerrin James pulled out because of a back injury that happened during the regular season.
Bettis will be making his sixth Pro Bowl appearance -- four with the Steelers, two with the Rams.
"Going to the Super Bowl last week and seeing all the players, your competitors, congratulate me on the season, that was impressive," Bettis said. "To play in the Pro Bowl, that's special."
The addition of Bettis, who was 12th in the AFC with 941 rushing yards, brings to nine the number of Steelers who will participate in the Pro Bowl game Sunday at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. It is the most players since the Steelers had 10 in the 1979 Pro Bowl.
In addition, Bill Cowher and his coaching staff will coach the AFC team, a consolation for losing the conference championship game to the Patriots. Jim Mora and the Atlanta Falcons staff will coach the NFC team.
"It will be really special because of what you had to endure to get here," Bettis said. "You were pretty much off the radar screen to start the season and to be off the radar screen and become a blip is pretty special."
Bettis, who has two years remaining on his contract, agreed to take a pay cut of nearly $2.7 million from $3,757,000 to remain with the Steelers this season in a reduced role.
But after Duce Staley's hamstring was injured in an Oct. 31 victory against the Patriots, Bettis stepped in and rushed for 100 or more yards in each of his next seven starts, including a playoff victory against the Jets. The only start in which he didn't rush for more than 100 yards was in the 41-27 AFC title game loss to the Patriots, when he had 64 yards on 17 carries.
"At the end of the day, that's what you have to look at, regardless of the situation you're in -- always be ready," Bettis said. "It can be a good teaching tool, as well, because you're able to tell young players you got to be ready, too, just look at that guy, No. 36.
"He didn't look like he would be asked to do much this season, but when the opportunity came he was ready for it."
The Steelers had six players voted to the team -- guard Alan Faneca, center Jeff Hartings, wide receiver Hines Ward, safety Troy Polamalu and linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter. Faneca was the only player voted a starter, though Farrior will be a starter, too, because Baltimore's Ray Lewis will miss the game because of an injury.
Two more Steelers players were added to the AFC team because of injuries -- defensive end Aaron Smith and left tackle Marvel Smith. They replaced New York Jets defensive end John Abraham (knee) and Kansas City tackle Willie Roaf (ankle).
Bettis said he will fit right in with the rest of his teammates.
"It's not like I have to do much to get ready," he said. "I know the offense."
(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466.)
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Ron Cook: Care For the Game? Not These Guys
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
You have to wonder if they even care.
Barry Bonds, the best ballplayer of our lifetime, who will forever be linked to the cream and the clear as much as to Ruth and Aaron.
Jason Giambi, who has admitted to using steroids.
Sammy Sosa, who has used a corked bat for sure and, if the whispers are true, steroids.
Gary Sheffield, whose name came up in the BALCO scandal.
And Jose Canseco, whose tell-all book doesn't just acclaim the wonders of steroids but outs just about everyone from his time in the game, from Mark McGwire to George W. Bush.
No, the president didn't use steroids.
But he tacitly condoned their use during the time he ran the Texas Rangers, Canseco writes.
Do you think any of them give a damn that they have stained the sport that was so good to all of them?
I don't, either.
Steroids in baseball are very much in the news again because of Canseco's book, which is due out this month. This is the saddest part of his little snitch:
He is a loser and a low-life with virtually no credibility, yet the rat's story he tells is thoroughly believable.
How sad is that?
How sad has baseball become?
We know too much now to dismiss Canseco's tale merely because he has been in one legal scrape after another, has done jail time and is so desperate for money and attention that he has been selling himself -- literally -- for years with his vain spend-the-day-with-Jose events ...
What?
You thought Bonds and Alex Rodriguez invented the $7,500 handshake-and-10-minute-chat?
According to the New York Daily News, Canseco writes in his book that he injected McGwire in the backside with steroids in a clubhouse bathroom stall and watched McGwire and Giambi inject each other when they all played for the Oakland Athletics. What is so hard to believe about that? After Giambi has admitted to steroid use later in his career? Especially after the BALCO scandal, which has disgraced Bonds and will leave a figurative asterisk next to his records for eternity?
McGwire, of course, denies using steroids. His character witnesses already are lining up to say how reprehensible they think it is that Canseco is trying to bring him down for a monetary gain. Tony La Russa, their former manager with the Athletics, is among them, telling the New York Times, "I am absolutely certain that Mark earned his size and strength from hard work and a disciplined lifestyle."
Is it just me or do you believe that about as much as you did Bonds when he said he didn't know the cream and clear substances he used were steroids?
Canseco also writes he introduced teammates Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez to the miracle of steroids after he was traded to the Rangers in 1992 and that Bush had to have known about it. Bush began to condemn steroid use a few years ago, about the time doing so became politically expedient. He went so far as to pick the preposterous time of his 2004 State of the Union address to rail against it. But is it really so hard to believe that he looked the other way when his players were using? Is it so hard to believe that all of the owners looked the other way when they saw how home runs were selling? Did it really matter to them what McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and the others were doing, as long as they kept hitting those long flies and the fans kept coming to the parks?
But back to the original question:
Do you think this generation of players and owners regrets smearing the game almost beyond recognition and leaving us in a very bad place, trying to guess what is real and what is the result of modern chemistry?
That really is a stupid question.
Canseco writes as much. He says he never would have hit 462 home runs or been the 1988 American League MVP without the help of steroids. He leaves little doubt that he would do it all again.
Life was good for Canseco and McGwire when they were known as the "Bash Brothers" on the Athletics. They were young, strong, wealthy and famous. (For those with prurient interests, Canseco writes about how easy it was to satisfy his sexual hunger in those days, although you might be surprised and disappointed to learn that he says he never slept with Madonna). It's no wonder Canseco would laugh when warned about the potential long-term health risks of steroids.
"He'd say, 'Come on, man, what are you talking about? I got the world by the tail,' " La Russa told the Times.
Maybe that's the real problem here.
Too many people in baseball have the world by the tail. The money is outrageous. The fame. The adulation ...
The players and owners got theirs.
They wouldn't re-write history even if they had the chance.
The hell with the game.
(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
You have to wonder if they even care.
Barry Bonds, the best ballplayer of our lifetime, who will forever be linked to the cream and the clear as much as to Ruth and Aaron.
Jason Giambi, who has admitted to using steroids.
Sammy Sosa, who has used a corked bat for sure and, if the whispers are true, steroids.
Gary Sheffield, whose name came up in the BALCO scandal.
And Jose Canseco, whose tell-all book doesn't just acclaim the wonders of steroids but outs just about everyone from his time in the game, from Mark McGwire to George W. Bush.
No, the president didn't use steroids.
But he tacitly condoned their use during the time he ran the Texas Rangers, Canseco writes.
Do you think any of them give a damn that they have stained the sport that was so good to all of them?
I don't, either.
Steroids in baseball are very much in the news again because of Canseco's book, which is due out this month. This is the saddest part of his little snitch:
He is a loser and a low-life with virtually no credibility, yet the rat's story he tells is thoroughly believable.
How sad is that?
How sad has baseball become?
We know too much now to dismiss Canseco's tale merely because he has been in one legal scrape after another, has done jail time and is so desperate for money and attention that he has been selling himself -- literally -- for years with his vain spend-the-day-with-Jose events ...
What?
You thought Bonds and Alex Rodriguez invented the $7,500 handshake-and-10-minute-chat?
According to the New York Daily News, Canseco writes in his book that he injected McGwire in the backside with steroids in a clubhouse bathroom stall and watched McGwire and Giambi inject each other when they all played for the Oakland Athletics. What is so hard to believe about that? After Giambi has admitted to steroid use later in his career? Especially after the BALCO scandal, which has disgraced Bonds and will leave a figurative asterisk next to his records for eternity?
McGwire, of course, denies using steroids. His character witnesses already are lining up to say how reprehensible they think it is that Canseco is trying to bring him down for a monetary gain. Tony La Russa, their former manager with the Athletics, is among them, telling the New York Times, "I am absolutely certain that Mark earned his size and strength from hard work and a disciplined lifestyle."
Is it just me or do you believe that about as much as you did Bonds when he said he didn't know the cream and clear substances he used were steroids?
Canseco also writes he introduced teammates Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez to the miracle of steroids after he was traded to the Rangers in 1992 and that Bush had to have known about it. Bush began to condemn steroid use a few years ago, about the time doing so became politically expedient. He went so far as to pick the preposterous time of his 2004 State of the Union address to rail against it. But is it really so hard to believe that he looked the other way when his players were using? Is it so hard to believe that all of the owners looked the other way when they saw how home runs were selling? Did it really matter to them what McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and the others were doing, as long as they kept hitting those long flies and the fans kept coming to the parks?
But back to the original question:
Do you think this generation of players and owners regrets smearing the game almost beyond recognition and leaving us in a very bad place, trying to guess what is real and what is the result of modern chemistry?
That really is a stupid question.
Canseco writes as much. He says he never would have hit 462 home runs or been the 1988 American League MVP without the help of steroids. He leaves little doubt that he would do it all again.
Life was good for Canseco and McGwire when they were known as the "Bash Brothers" on the Athletics. They were young, strong, wealthy and famous. (For those with prurient interests, Canseco writes about how easy it was to satisfy his sexual hunger in those days, although you might be surprised and disappointed to learn that he says he never slept with Madonna). It's no wonder Canseco would laugh when warned about the potential long-term health risks of steroids.
"He'd say, 'Come on, man, what are you talking about? I got the world by the tail,' " La Russa told the Times.
Maybe that's the real problem here.
Too many people in baseball have the world by the tail. The money is outrageous. The fame. The adulation ...
The players and owners got theirs.
They wouldn't re-write history even if they had the chance.
The hell with the game.
(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)
Saturday, February 05, 2005
AP: Cowher, Roethlisberger Honored by Sporting News
Posted on Wed, Feb. 02, 2005
Manning, Cowher, Roethlisberger honored by Sporting News
Associated Press
ST. LOUIS - Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who threw a record 49 touchdown passes this season, has been named NFL player of the year for the second straight season by the Sporting News.
The St. Louis-based publication also Tuesday named Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher coach of the year and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger rookie of the year.
Details will be released in the Feb. 11 issues, on newsstands Thursday.
Manning, 28, broke Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record, long considered one of the NFL's most cherished records. His passer rating of 121.1 also broke a record held by San Francisco's Steve Young.
"Peyton Manning turned in the most remarkable season we have ever seen in the history of the NFL," Sporting News editor John Rawlings said.
Cowher, 47, led the Steelers to a 15-1 regular-season record and an appearance in the AFC championship game, where they lost to New England.
Roethlisberger, 23, was 14-0 as a starter during the regular season and had a passer rating of 98.1.
NFL pro scouting directors voted on player and rookie of the year; league coaches selected the coach of the year.
The scouting directors also selected the Sporting News all-pro team:
OFFENSE: Wide receivers Terrell Owens of Philadelphia and Marvin Harrison of Indianapolis; tight end Antonio Gates of San Diego; tackles Walter Jones of Seattle and Orlando Pace of St. Louis; center Jeff Hartings of Pittsburgh; guards Alan Faneca of Pittsburgh and Brian Walters of Kansas City; quarterback Manning; and running backs Edgerrin James of Indianapolis and Curtis Martin of the New York Jets.
DEFENSE: Ends Dwight Freeney of Indianapolis and Julius Peppers of Carolina; tackles Richard Seymour of New England and Kevin Williams of Minnesota; linebackers James Farrior of Pittsburgh, Ray Lewis of Baltimore and Takeo Spikes of Buffalo; cornerbacks Champ Bailey of Denver and Chris McAlister of Baltimore; and safeties Brian Dawkins of Philadelphia and Ed Reed of Baltimore.
SPECIALISTS: Kicker Adam Vinatieri of New England; kick returner Terrence McGee of Buffalo; punter Shane Lechler of Oakland; and punt returner Eddie Drummond of Detroit.
Joe Starkey: NHL Players Better Wake Up
By Joe Starkey
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, February 5, 2005
The argument against the NHL players can be fairly characterized in one sentence:
Chris Pronger makes $10 million.
OK, Pronger actually receives $10,000 per month in union-generated lockout pay. The point is that the St. Louis Blues -- essentially at gunpoint -- signed Pronger to a one-year, $10 million contract last July.
Yeah, right around the time the players were insisting that the market was "correcting itself."
More accurately, around the time union boss Bob Goodenow was telling the players to insist that the market was correcting itself.
See, the players don't think for themselves. If they did, they would vote on the NHL's latest proposal or maybe work to improve their lot within the limits of that proposal, which featured, among other things, a minimum $32 million payroll per team.
The Columbus Blue Jackets had a $32 million payroll last season, and nobody had to subsist on Ramen Noodles.
In fact, more than half of Columbus' opening-day roster (12 players) made at least $1 million. Three made at least $3 million and six "earned" $2 million-plus (including defenseman Luke Richardson, who was minus-11 with six points in 64 games)
Not a single player was ticketed for less than $425,000, not even Chris Pronger's brother, Sean, who was coming off a season in which he had 13 points and a minus-26 rating in 78 games.
Need proof that players don't have a real say in their plight?
Check this out:
A few days after the union announced a surprising proposal that called for a 24-percent rollback on existing contracts, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said, "A lot of us learned about it through the media."
Hmmm. Do you think Goodenow and his executive committee -- composed of hilariously overpaid players such as Bill Guerin (2003-04 salary: $8.7 million; times he's reached 70 points: once) -- might have had the courtesy to clear a 24-percent pay cut with their constituents?
Meantime, go stand at any bus stop in America and ask 10 people to identify Chris Pronger. If more than one can do it, you've got a scoop.
Pronger is a very good player, but nobody in this league should be making $10 million, even if some misguided owner offers as much.
One other thing about that $32 million minimum payroll -- it implies significant revenue sharing among owners. How else would low-revenue teams such as the Penguins be expected survive while radically increasing their payrolls to meet minimum standards?
The owners must have a fairly extensive revenue-sharing plan. They better.
Goodenow keeps telling everyone that the players merely want to continue to work in a free-market system. Truth is, there never was a free-market system.
Not when so many players were guaranteed a 10-percent raise regardless of their production. Not when players could go to arbitration and win inflated contracts based on their peers' salaries (instead of what owners would have chosen to pay). Not when there was a minimum salary.
As for Pronger, the Blues had to offer him the same $9.5 million salary he made last season if they wanted to retain his rights. They did so (imagine the outcry if they hadn't) and threw in a $500,000 signing bonus.
"Owners have the ability to determine player values," Goodenow has said, "and to decide what they're going to compensate the players for."
Fair enough. And unless I'm missing something, the owners determined a few months back that every player's value is $0 (just like the league's network television contract) and decided that none would be compensated until a fiscally sane CBA emerged.
Hey, maybe this is a free-market system after all.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, February 5, 2005
The argument against the NHL players can be fairly characterized in one sentence:
Chris Pronger makes $10 million.
OK, Pronger actually receives $10,000 per month in union-generated lockout pay. The point is that the St. Louis Blues -- essentially at gunpoint -- signed Pronger to a one-year, $10 million contract last July.
Yeah, right around the time the players were insisting that the market was "correcting itself."
More accurately, around the time union boss Bob Goodenow was telling the players to insist that the market was correcting itself.
See, the players don't think for themselves. If they did, they would vote on the NHL's latest proposal or maybe work to improve their lot within the limits of that proposal, which featured, among other things, a minimum $32 million payroll per team.
The Columbus Blue Jackets had a $32 million payroll last season, and nobody had to subsist on Ramen Noodles.
In fact, more than half of Columbus' opening-day roster (12 players) made at least $1 million. Three made at least $3 million and six "earned" $2 million-plus (including defenseman Luke Richardson, who was minus-11 with six points in 64 games)
Not a single player was ticketed for less than $425,000, not even Chris Pronger's brother, Sean, who was coming off a season in which he had 13 points and a minus-26 rating in 78 games.
Need proof that players don't have a real say in their plight?
Check this out:
A few days after the union announced a surprising proposal that called for a 24-percent rollback on existing contracts, Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik said, "A lot of us learned about it through the media."
Hmmm. Do you think Goodenow and his executive committee -- composed of hilariously overpaid players such as Bill Guerin (2003-04 salary: $8.7 million; times he's reached 70 points: once) -- might have had the courtesy to clear a 24-percent pay cut with their constituents?
Meantime, go stand at any bus stop in America and ask 10 people to identify Chris Pronger. If more than one can do it, you've got a scoop.
Pronger is a very good player, but nobody in this league should be making $10 million, even if some misguided owner offers as much.
One other thing about that $32 million minimum payroll -- it implies significant revenue sharing among owners. How else would low-revenue teams such as the Penguins be expected survive while radically increasing their payrolls to meet minimum standards?
The owners must have a fairly extensive revenue-sharing plan. They better.
Goodenow keeps telling everyone that the players merely want to continue to work in a free-market system. Truth is, there never was a free-market system.
Not when so many players were guaranteed a 10-percent raise regardless of their production. Not when players could go to arbitration and win inflated contracts based on their peers' salaries (instead of what owners would have chosen to pay). Not when there was a minimum salary.
As for Pronger, the Blues had to offer him the same $9.5 million salary he made last season if they wanted to retain his rights. They did so (imagine the outcry if they hadn't) and threw in a $500,000 signing bonus.
"Owners have the ability to determine player values," Goodenow has said, "and to decide what they're going to compensate the players for."
Fair enough. And unless I'm missing something, the owners determined a few months back that every player's value is $0 (just like the league's network television contract) and decided that none would be compensated until a fiscally sane CBA emerged.
Hey, maybe this is a free-market system after all.
Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com
Ed Bouchette: Marino a Lock for Hall, Greenwood, Grimm Hopeful
[L. C. Greenwood did not get elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year...a result that is absolutely ridiculous...and while I'm at it, Andy Russell, Jack Butler, and Donnie Shell should also be voted in. The only thing more maddening than the Baseball Hall of Fame selection process is that of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. - jtf]
Marino a lock for Hall of Fame; Greenwood, Grimm hopeful
Saturday, February 05, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Dan Marino, the Oakland kid the Steelers let get away, will finally celebrate victory at a Super Bowl. It will come a day early and a career late, but Marino will find glory on the big game's big weekend when he's elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.
It's not guaranteed because the 39 board of selectors must vote him in this morning, but that's such a foregone conclusion that it quickly brings about the next issue: Just how big a Pittsburgh flavor will today's new Hall of Fame class have?
Also among the 15 finalists for election are defensive end L.C. Greenwood and guard Russ Grimm. Greenwood played 13 seasons on the Steelers' defense that helped forge four Super Bowl victories. Grimm, a Scottdale, Pa., native, played at Southmoreland High School and at Pitt. He earned three Super Bowl rings as a dominant guard with the Washington Redskins from 1981 through 1991. Grimm is the Steelers' line coach and assistant head coach.
Marino, in his first year of eligibility, is the only candidate considered to be a sure thing today. Although he played in just one Super Bowl and never won, he rewrote the NFL record book for passing by the time he retired after the 1999 season, his 17th, all with the Miami Dolphins.
Among Marino's 17 NFL records are his 61,343 yards and his 420 touchdowns, and he was a bargain for the Dolphins at that. They drafted him with the 27th pick in 1983, after the Steelers infamously bypassed him and were cursed with instability at the quarterback position for a generation.
"It's humbling to even think about the opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame," Marino said. "... It's funny; I haven't thought about it a whole lot. It's this thing that's there and people talk about it, but before it actually happens it's hard to accept that fact if it does."
It's possible Marino, who played at Central Catholic High School, will have some Pittsburgh company today. Grimm, his former Panthers teammate, is among the 15 finalists for the first time and one of only two offensive linemen on the list. No member of the Redskins' famed Hogs offensive line is in the Hall of Fame.
Greenwood makes a return to the list of finalists after falling off the past few years. He has one more year of eligibility under the modern era list of candidates before he would be relegated under different and more difficult circumstances governing senior candidates.
Those who played with and against Greenwood believe it has been an oversight that he has not joined them in Canton.
"I'm saying a prayer for him," said tackle Bob Brown, inducted last year. He was "as good as I've seen -- one of the best."
"L.C. was a guy you didn't want to play against," said Dan Dierdorf, another tackle who had to fend off Greenwood.
Coach Bum Phillips' Houston Oilers played against the Steelers twice annually in the Central Division and also lost to them in consecutive AFC championship games in 1978 and '79.
"As good as we faced," Phillips said of Greenwood. "In the same class as Joe Greene. He was one of the best players on the best football team ever put on the field."
Greenwood stood 6 feet 6 1/2 and weighed 250 pounds. He played on the left side of the Steel Curtain defense, outside Greene at tackle and in front of linebacker Jack Ham, both in the Hall of Fame. Some believe that has hurt Greenwood's candidacy -- who wouldn't benefit playing next to those two?
But Greene and Ham long have said they were the ones who benefited by playing with Greenwood, who was as quick as a point guard and as big as a power forward.
"He made me and Joe Greene much better," Ham said.
His exceptional speed and quickness, combined with his height proved to be an overpowering combination. Running backs found it difficult to turn the corner on him and quarterbacks often had their passes slapped back in their faces. During Super Bowl IX, the Steelers' first, Greenwood knocked down three Fran Tarkenton passes.
"As athletic a defensive end as there was in the league," former Cleveland Browns coach Sam Rutigliano said. "He dominated everybody."
The competition for Grimm and Greenwood today will be stiff. A minimum of three and a maximum of six candidates will be chosen from the 15. Two other defensive ends are on the list, Richard Dent and Claude Humphrey, along with linebackers Derrick Thomas and Harry Carson. Guard Bob Kuechenberg previously reached the final six candidates before coming up short of enough votes to make it.
Joining Marino and Thomas as other first-time candidates are Steve Young and Michael Irvin.
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)
Marino a lock for Hall of Fame; Greenwood, Grimm hopeful
Saturday, February 05, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame 2005
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Dan Marino, the Oakland kid the Steelers let get away, will finally celebrate victory at a Super Bowl. It will come a day early and a career late, but Marino will find glory on the big game's big weekend when he's elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame today.
It's not guaranteed because the 39 board of selectors must vote him in this morning, but that's such a foregone conclusion that it quickly brings about the next issue: Just how big a Pittsburgh flavor will today's new Hall of Fame class have?
Also among the 15 finalists for election are defensive end L.C. Greenwood and guard Russ Grimm. Greenwood played 13 seasons on the Steelers' defense that helped forge four Super Bowl victories. Grimm, a Scottdale, Pa., native, played at Southmoreland High School and at Pitt. He earned three Super Bowl rings as a dominant guard with the Washington Redskins from 1981 through 1991. Grimm is the Steelers' line coach and assistant head coach.
Marino, in his first year of eligibility, is the only candidate considered to be a sure thing today. Although he played in just one Super Bowl and never won, he rewrote the NFL record book for passing by the time he retired after the 1999 season, his 17th, all with the Miami Dolphins.
Among Marino's 17 NFL records are his 61,343 yards and his 420 touchdowns, and he was a bargain for the Dolphins at that. They drafted him with the 27th pick in 1983, after the Steelers infamously bypassed him and were cursed with instability at the quarterback position for a generation.
"It's humbling to even think about the opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame," Marino said. "... It's funny; I haven't thought about it a whole lot. It's this thing that's there and people talk about it, but before it actually happens it's hard to accept that fact if it does."
It's possible Marino, who played at Central Catholic High School, will have some Pittsburgh company today. Grimm, his former Panthers teammate, is among the 15 finalists for the first time and one of only two offensive linemen on the list. No member of the Redskins' famed Hogs offensive line is in the Hall of Fame.
Greenwood makes a return to the list of finalists after falling off the past few years. He has one more year of eligibility under the modern era list of candidates before he would be relegated under different and more difficult circumstances governing senior candidates.
Those who played with and against Greenwood believe it has been an oversight that he has not joined them in Canton.
"I'm saying a prayer for him," said tackle Bob Brown, inducted last year. He was "as good as I've seen -- one of the best."
"L.C. was a guy you didn't want to play against," said Dan Dierdorf, another tackle who had to fend off Greenwood.
Coach Bum Phillips' Houston Oilers played against the Steelers twice annually in the Central Division and also lost to them in consecutive AFC championship games in 1978 and '79.
"As good as we faced," Phillips said of Greenwood. "In the same class as Joe Greene. He was one of the best players on the best football team ever put on the field."
Greenwood stood 6 feet 6 1/2 and weighed 250 pounds. He played on the left side of the Steel Curtain defense, outside Greene at tackle and in front of linebacker Jack Ham, both in the Hall of Fame. Some believe that has hurt Greenwood's candidacy -- who wouldn't benefit playing next to those two?
But Greene and Ham long have said they were the ones who benefited by playing with Greenwood, who was as quick as a point guard and as big as a power forward.
"He made me and Joe Greene much better," Ham said.
His exceptional speed and quickness, combined with his height proved to be an overpowering combination. Running backs found it difficult to turn the corner on him and quarterbacks often had their passes slapped back in their faces. During Super Bowl IX, the Steelers' first, Greenwood knocked down three Fran Tarkenton passes.
"As athletic a defensive end as there was in the league," former Cleveland Browns coach Sam Rutigliano said. "He dominated everybody."
The competition for Grimm and Greenwood today will be stiff. A minimum of three and a maximum of six candidates will be chosen from the 15. Two other defensive ends are on the list, Richard Dent and Claude Humphrey, along with linebackers Derrick Thomas and Harry Carson. Guard Bob Kuechenberg previously reached the final six candidates before coming up short of enough votes to make it.
Joining Marino and Thomas as other first-time candidates are Steve Young and Michael Irvin.
(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)
Friday, February 04, 2005
Another Look: Robin Cole
Another Look - Robin Cole: Talented linebacker of the 1970s and '80s overshadowed by Hall-of-Fame teammatesBob Barrickman, Beaver County Times Sports Correspondent
02/03/2005
Even though the Pittsburgh Steelers featured a couple of legendary linebackers in Jack Ham and Jack Lambert, they were left a void when another famous linebacker retired following the 1976 season. "That's why I was a first-round (NFL draft) pick," said Robin Cole. "(The Steelers) were looking for someone to replace (Andy) Russell."
Cole was the first outside linebacker chosen in the 1977 draft as the Steelers selected him out of the University of New Mexico with their initial pick. A first-team All-American as a senior at New Mexico, Cole went on to play 11 seasons with the Steelers from 1977-87 and played his final year in 1988 with the New York Jets.Now a motivational and inspirational speaker, Cole and his wife, Linda, make their home in Eighty-Four, Pa., near Washington.
"I speak at schools and corporations," said Cole, 49, who has sons, Robin Jr., 26 and Jeremy, 23, and daughters, Lacie, 16, and Logan, 14. Robin Jr. played football at Robert Morris University, where his father was an assistant football coach."
I (also) work in the fitness business," said Robin Cole Sr. "I design fitness centers for schools and some health clubs."Cole's career with the Steelers got off to a rocky start in his rookie season."I broke my arm in the first game and missed the next eight games," he recalled. Cole returned and started the remaining games of the regular season and against Denver in a first-round playoff loss.
In Cole's second year, the Steelers reached Super Bowl XIII. Though Cole started most of that season, the Steelers decided to start veteran linebacker Loren Toews against the Dallas Cowboys."After a (few) series, I came in and played the rest of the game," remembered Cole, as the Steelers won, 35-31.
Coming into his own in 1979, Cole helped lead the Steelers to Super Bowl XIV. A native of Compton, Calif., near Los Angeles, Cole was excited for the Steelers to be going up against his hometown Los Angeles Rams. What added to Cole's excitement was that the Super Bowl was to be played in Pasadena, Calif.
"It was huge," said Cole of returning to his roots to play in the biggest game of the year. "I consider it my most memorable game."
It wasn't just "memorable" because of the opponent and the game's location. Cole's performance spoke volumes in the Steelers' 31-19 victory.
"I was told that I was the MVP going into the fourth quarter," Cole said. "I wound up second to (Steelers quarterback) Terry (Bradshaw). For a linebacker to be MVP, you have to play (well) the whole game. A defensive back can return a couple interceptions for touchdowns or a quarterback can throw a couple of bombs."
Cole didn't hesitate when he reflected on why the Steelers built a dynasty in the 1970s. "It started from the top with (coach) Chuck Noll," he said. "He knew how to build a team and he built it with men of character. A man with character is going to work hard. It's very easy to train and teach a willing person to get better."
It was difficult for Cole to receive his due recognition having played alongside Ham and Lambert. "I didn't get enough publicity," Cole admitted. "How could I when you have two Hall of Famers? There was no room for me. When they left, I started receiving accolades."
Cole was named to the Pro Bowl in 1984 when the Steelers reached the AFC championship game and was an alternate in 1985 and 1986. He left the Steelers a year later before wrapping up his career with the Jets.
"Our presence was phenomenal," Cole said about how the Steelers of the '70s were perceived by opposing fans and players. Nine players from those clubs are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and a 10th could be added if former Steelers defensive lineman L.C. Greenwood is named to the next class this weekend.
"I don't know why Russell keeps getting skipped over for the Hall of Fame, and Donnie Shell should be in," Cole said.
He said that in today's era of free agency and the salary cap, it would be very hard for a team to put together such a collection of talent like the Steelers did over two decades ago. "They'd all leave because of dollars," Cole said.
Cole said he never predicts Super Bowls but did analyze Sunday's game between New England and Philadelphia."These are the two best teams in the National Football League," Cole noted.
"New England is like us. When they take the field, they're saying, 'We're going to beat you.'"People say that it's hard to stay on top. But, you fight harder when you're at the top. You don't want it taken away from you."Cole said similar things 25 years ago when he collected two Super Bowl rings.
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
