PITTSBURGH - Will Pittsburgh Steelers fans boo Ben Roethlisberger today?
Absolutely, if he throws an interception.
But reaction to his return from suspension should be a non-issue. He's already played in the pre-season at Heinz Field, and he seems to have made an effort to change his behavior.
Besides, fans have seen what a Charlie Batch/Dennis Dixon/Byron Leftwich world looks like.
They'll be happy to have Roethlisberger back.
Take it easy
You know the Pittsburgh Penguins have arrived by the level of panic caused by their 1-3 start.
Never mind that each of the losses was by one goal, and never mind that they're without Jordan Staal, one of their best two-way players.
And let's also overlook that lately two of their better defensemen, Brooks Orpik and Zbynek Michalek have also been out with injuries.
They lost two games because of sub-par goaltending by Marc-Andre Fleury. The power play hasn't clicked, but isn't an adjustment period to be expected after Sergei Gonchar leaves as a free agent?
Maybe it's because everyone is locked into a football mindset that 1-3 seemed to be more important than it really was.
It's a tiny portion of a very long season.
Yes, 1-3 is trouble in a playoff series. In the regular season, though, it's barely a blip.
Making the grade
There's a big stink in one of the local school districts.
Students who don't maintain a minimum of a C grade in all core subjects are ineligible for extra-curricular activities.
That includes football. There are apparently more than a few football players not meeting the requirement.
Parents are screaming that the kids may not get college scholarships if they can't play football.
If you can't make at least a C in high school courses, are you really college material?
Just a reminder
Today is the shared anniversary of the Pirates' last two World Series victory - 1971 and 1979.
Give yourself credit if you remember the Baltimore Orioles players who made the last out in each of the Game 7s: Merv Rettenmund in '71, Pat Kelly in '79.
Making choices
There is talk of expanding the baseball playoffs to include two more teams.
This would also lengthen a postseason that now potentially runs until the first week of November.
Might be interesting to see how the World Series would do in the TV ratings against "A Charlie Brown Christmas."
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com. His weblog is at altoonamirror.com.
