PITTSBURGH - Mid-week news and commentary:
n Jim Tressel resigns as Ohio State football coach.
What choice did he have?
NCAA regulations can be incredibly trivial nit picks at times, but there's a reason they're on the books.
Violate them, and you're in trouble.
Mislead investigators by giving them incorrect information, and you're done.
There are always college athletic programs that have difficulty playing by the rules.
But when Southern Cal and Ohio State are among the violators, it's a severe black eye for college football.
Now the issue is what Ohio State does to clean things up and restore its reputation.
n The Atlanta Thrashers move to Winnipeg.
This is the first U.S.-to-Canada transfer since the Flames left Atlanta in 1980 and went to Calgary.
Since then, the NHL has been moving in the other direction, trying to get established in non-traditional markets in the U.S.
Canadians scream about this, but the NHL has always had its sights on the U.S.
The Original Six included two Canadian teams (Montreal and Toronto) and four in the U.S. (New York, Boston, Detroit and Chicago).
When the NHL took the bold step of doubling its size through expansion in 1967, not one Canadian market was included.
The additions were Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minnesota, St. Louis, Los Angeles and Oakland.
The NHL moved the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, and transferred the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. The league expanded to Tampa Bay, Miami, Nashville, Anaheim, Columbus and San Jose.
Having a base in the U.S. helps with TV ratings (Canadian markets are not counted) and in selling corporate sponsorships.
The 10-year TV contract the NHL signed with Versus/NBC lessens the blow of losing Atlanta, the No. 9 TV market in the U.S.
n The NFL lockout continues.
A middle school in the area won a contest that promised to deliver a couple of Steelers for a program about fitness.
But with the players locked out, the Steelers' representatives at the school were the team's strength and conditioning coaches.
They're fine guys, but you have the feeling the kids were counting on seeing a couple players.
Maybe they can do a make-up session after the labor contract is signed.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
