Pittsburgh Sports

Mark Cuban is in Pittsburgh this week, and because of this, rumors are flying that he may be interested in purchasing the Pirates.

On the surface, people may ask why would he be interested in buying a team that has been so bad for so long? Simple, he is from Pittsburgh.

Last year, there were rumors that he was interested in purchasing the Steelers. The Rooney family was in the middle of having to sell part of the team, and Cuban wanted to be involved.

Things happened, and it did not work out. That does not mean he is not interested in rebuilding the Pirates.

On this Father's Day weekend, all of our thoughts turn to our dads, the shapers of so much in our lives. The lucky ones will get to hug their dads and perhaps share a silly card.

Others like me, whose fathers have passed on, can only cling to the memories of Father's Days past.

For all of us, fathers have played an instrumental role in or lives, guiding us in our growing up years and instilling important values along the way. 

One bright, sunny afternoon I was driving home from a miserable hockey practice and was furious at my iPod for running out of juice.

The failure of said trusted piece of technology was the catalyst for a life-changing discovery. I turned the radio dial to 104.7 FM, hoping to catch a weekend recap of The War Room With Quinn & Rose, or something mildly entertaining.

On behalf of the ever-suffering Pittsburgh Pirates' deck crew, I'd like to offer a small proposal. This flagship has had some dreadful leadership in the past, but as the new skipper, let's not start out by making mistakes, alright?

This could quite possibly be the most fascinating time in Pittsburgh sports history.

The Steelers have just won their second Super Bowl in four years and the Penguins flirted with the Stanley Cup last season featuring the dynamic duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.

The Pitt Panthers men's basketball team drifted in and out of the No. 1 ranking while the university's football team saw a 9-3 resurgence and a trip to the Sun Bowl.

The one thing missing from this picture is Pittsburgh's oldest and most tradition-soaked team—the Pirates.

PIRATES 6, PHILLIES 5
at Clearwater, Fla.
Friday, March 13

Pirates on the mound

Left-hander Zach Duke threw the ball well in 3.2 innings. He allowed just one hit and one walk and struck out two. He got into a bases-loaded jam in the fourth after a leadoff single to Eric Bruntlett, a two-out walk to Ryan Howard, and an error from third baseman Andy LaRoche to load the bases, but left-hander David Davidson took over and got out of the inning without a run scoring. Daniel McCutchen allowed five runs in 1.1 innings.