PITTSBURGH - "All My Children" wrapped up after 41 years on TV last week.
TV experts say daytime dramas are disappearing, the result of changing tastes and lifestyles.
Really, though, these multi-layered stories of betrayal, duplicity and dishonesty have shifted over to sports.
What university is looking to file divorce papers on its current conference affiliation? Who is having secret meetings? What school is trying to lure away a rival's coach?
Then there's the subplot of who's trading memorabilia for tattoos.
It's the ultimate reality show, even if it is rather hard to keep track of all the characters.
Like any good soap opera, there's a constant undercurrent of money and lust.
The cesspool that college sports have become is approaching the level of a national disgrace, but who cares?
We want our teams to win, and we want plenty of games on TV. This wouldn't happen without plenty of enablers.
Sometimes in the details we lose the long-range view. Colleges are supposed to be institution of higher learning.
Years ago, a certain professor complained that a certain university in Oakland was becoming, "a football team with an undergraduate program attached to it."
Now, of course, it's football and basketball. Progress.
As often as these things happen, it's still disconcerting.
There's something unsavory about university administrators conducting business in a style that suggests Al Davis and Art Modell as role models.
A little short
Pitt didn't beat Notre Dame on Saturday, but the Panthers certainly competed.
They forced turnovers and played some of their best defense of the season against an offense that has shown it can move the ball.
The Panthers have yet to show the high octane offense that first-year coach Todd Graham promised.
The biggest obstacle to that might be quarterback Tino Sunseri, whose skills appear to be too average to pull off what Graham wants.
Stay tuned
There are rumblings that Lacee Collins' nervous sideline reporting won't be part of Pirates telecasts next season on ROOT Sports.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
