Just one take on the entire sporting world

Seriously, nobody asked me but…

Was it easier to get on the bandwagon that read,… Seriously, nobody asked me but…

Was it easier to get on the bandwagon that read, “Steelers headed to Super Bowl” after they beat the Raiders or was it easier to get off it after this Sunday?

Have you ever seen a Division I football team need a home game against a Division I-AA team as badly as Pitt does on Saturday? Too bad Pitt picked one of the best I-AA’s in the country. Is that an upset I smell?

The Yankees should have swept the Red Sox in the Bronx. It’s ironic that the only game the Yankees lost was the only game they needed Mariano Rivera.

We self-proclaim ourselves as the greatest sports country in the world, but our Olympic basketball team didn’t even make the gold medal game, our World Cup hockey team didn’t make the finals either and, my goodness, did Europe hand it to us in the Ryder Cup.

The Heisman Trophy will probably either end up in the hands of USC quarterback Matt Leinart or Oklahoma signal caller Jason White for the second straight year. But has anyone looked better than Purdue’s Kyle Orton? If the Boilermakers win the Big Ten, mark Orton down as the winner. But White has already stolen one trophy, he might do it again.

Speaking of the Heisman Trophy, what an incredible race it will be next year. Florida Quarterback Chris Leak, USC running back Reggie Bush and Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson will participate in one of the best competitions of all time.

The happiest man on the planet Saturday was Tennessee Volunteer kicker James Wilhoit. After missing an extra point to tie the game at 28, he kicked a last-second, 50-yard field goal to beat the Florida Gators, 30-28. Watching him run around the field after making the final kick was priceless and is what college sports, or even professional sports, are all about.

In the same week that Barry Bonds hit his 700th home run, Jerry Rice didn’t catch at least one pass in a game for the first time in almost 19 years. What accomplishment is better? I would say Bonds’. But 274 straight games, are you kidding me?

How bad does the ESPN original movie about Pete Rose entitled “Hustle” look? It will be worse than the movie they did about Bobby Knight that doesn’t even deserve my remembering its name.

How is there another season of Dream Job on ESPN when the first winner, Mike Hall, never even sniffed air time except some report on extreme sports in some country that might have been Bangladesh?

There are two quarterbacks in the country who have shown flashes of great promise and will only get better with time. You guessed it; they’re right here in the ‘Burgh. Tyler Palko and Ben Roethlisberger will both be great soon enough.

The NHL is in the middle of another lockout and it doesn’t look like much hockey is going to be played in the states this winter. Next.

In three weeks, can I come and take back my comment about Palko and Roethlisberger?

How far out on a limb am I if I say West Virginia is going to win the Big East easily, Temple will finish dead last and Rutgers, who hasn’t improved, will finish in the middle?

Finally, on Sunday all the teams in the NFL wore a decal with the number 40 on their helmets in memory of fallen soldier and former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman, who was killed serving his country. Don’t get me wrong; the respect is warranted, but Tillman did nothing more than the rest of the brave men and women who have lost their lives in combat.

I can’t wear decals with all their numbers, but I can say thank you.

Matt Sortino is a staff writer for The Pitt News. E-mail him at