Primary Notes on Tuesday

Here are some things that are primarily on my mind today:

• Katie Couric is not long for her job. There were rumors she is already working to get out of it. Then comes word that the CBS Evening News registered its lowest alltime viewership numbers. Now the coup de gras: she can't spell Pittsburgh:
  

  Pittsburg Steelers fans are typically Clinton voters. Many are Catholics and blue-collar workers from central and western Pennsylvania. They want someone to fight for health care, but are more culturally conservative.

• Empty Netters asks, on this day of two game 7's: Beltway or Broadway? He chooses Beltway and so do we. For many reasons. One of which is I'm interested to see what innovation Leonsis and his lackeys come up with the prevent Pens fans from gobbling up tickets at the Verizon Center.
• Keep this in mind when watching tonight's games:
  
  • Pens are 3-0 in their history vs the Rangers (89, 92 & 96).
    
  • They are 6-1 vs the Caps. Winning in 91, 92, 95, 96, 2000 & 2001. Losing only in 1994.
• I usually love DK's coverage of the Bucs and his candid answers in his Q&A's, but in today's Q&A, he is wrong about two things:
  
  1. About Miserable Matt Morris (MMM), he writes:
     

     I am increasingly amused that there is such great angst over the Pirates wasting $10 million on an ineffective player, if only because that is $10 million out of ownership's pockets, $10 million that no one can chalk up to profit, which seems to me would be of great delight to a great faction of you.
     

     The angst began last summer when Littlefield made the trade to get Morris. It may go down as his worst move of his tenure and that in a very a crowded field. But DK has defended the move, first saying that if Morris could pitch as he did in the first half of 2007 he would be a good investment especially on a staff that is so young. This argument ignores the fact that MMM's performance at the start of last year was an extreme aberration to what has been a quick and steady decline in his performance. To gamble $10M on it continuing was stupid, as evidenced by the fact that no other team in baseball was willing to take it.
     
     Now DK claims that the $10M doesn't matter except to the Nutting's bottom line. Well, when we're told that the starting point with the team is a $50M payroll, it sure does matter that 20% of that is being eaten up by MMM. That's a big chunk that can't be used to get better players, this year or next, and the Nuttings aren't budging on how much they're going to spend. It's a stupid use of limited resources that no other team in baseball, even the ones with unlimited resources was willing to take, and that is why the people don't like MMM and want him gone. At this point, the money is spent - cut him and let's move on.
     
     
  2. In talking about player performance, DK states:
     

     At some point or other, it is incumbent upon the athlete to perform, to foster the winning environment, to put things together. These players, this group have been instructed, brought together, even bolstered a bit by acquisitions ... and things look different only in the sense that they actually look worse.

     Which raises the most important question the Pirates now must ask: Why is that?

     My problem with this is: it's not NOW that Pirate fans must ask this question, we have been asking this question for the last 15 years! Could be the new management, could be the players, could be the jinx of Big Jim Bibby, could be anything; and guess what? They've tried and we've seen everything tried over the last 15 years and NONE OF IT HAS WORKED! That is why Pirate fans are finally at their wit's end. I quibble with DK on this because I don't think he understands this point or at least seems to have forgotten it.
     
     I'm willing to give the new management team some time, like a season, to at least turn around the way this team plays or get rid of those who can't. But many aren't so willing.
     
     
• Santonio, Santonio. Yikes.
• If the Steelers draft a WR or RB in the first round, I am not going to be someone you want to be around Saturday night.
• Ed Bouchette thinks the Steelers "The Steelers would love to have [Chad Johnson], Cincy won't trade him here, though." Yikes! Those aren't your old time Steelers if that's true.
• Heard the pucker from NYC on the radio yesterday, still spouting about how "Pittsburgh is a diving factory". I'm not sure what he believes or not, but it is clear that he is setting the tone for the drivel that will come out of Madison Square Dump if the Pens and Rangers play. Already, the fans and talk show hosts are debating whether they want the Pens, who will get all the calls because they have Crosby and the NHL wants him to win, or the Canadiens. And many actually prefer the Canadiens because of this. While they admit somewhat to the "fact" that the NHL also wants the Rangers to win since they are from the biggest market, they think the league wants Crosby more and thus the refs will receive a directive from the league offices and order up 7-8 power plays per game for the Pens. Their thinking that whatever the preference of the Commish and his cronies want will wind up being the eventual outcome is laughable and is what passes for knowledgeable hockey talk on the airwaves. As if four straight Cup winners coming from the non-hotbeds and small market burgs of: Anaheim, Carolina, Tampa and East Rutherford, NJ didn't make this point loudly enough (and the fan's compliant has been going on for years, substitute a different team and player), then nothing will.
• Provided the Caps win tonight, the Rangers will easily be my most hated team left in the playoffs.
• This summer's irritating promotion from ESPN will surely be the Titletown competition, taking the crown from last summer's "Who's Next?" annoyance. But it has already given us all one great column from DJ Gallo that should be required reading for all Burgh fans. One fact he mentions is this:
  

  As for the Pirates, only the Yankees, Cardinals and Red Sox have more World Series championships than Pittsburgh's five.
  

  Amazing huh? Just keep that in mind when you get all depressed about the last 15 years. It is about time things change. Isn't it? Please make it change Mr. Huntington!!