By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
MOST NFL TEAMS look forward to their “bye week.” The banged-up Pittsburgh Steelers can use one this weekend.
The Steelers showed their resolve when they defeated Minnesota last week, turning key turnovers into victory. While Pittsburgh appears to be the luckiest team in the league, returning a fumble and interception for touchdowns, a lot of it has to do with their great ability to take advantage of their opportunities.
It’s nice to be good, but it’s better to be good and lucky! Then again they got some help from the referees as well against Minnesota with a rare — and horrible — tripping call that negated a Packers TD and then resulted in a turnover for a score.
Pittsburgh is one of the teams getting a bye this week. The Chicago Bears also get a bye as they play the Cleveland Browns.
How low can any team sink? How long can Eric Morongini keep his coaching job?
While it appears the Browns made a serious mistake hiring Mangini, the real problem starts with the owner and general manager. Nobody can tell me that even Mangini thinks that Derek Anderson should still be the starting quarterback. Nobody could be that stupid.
That has to come from above because the Browns don’t want to pay Brady Quinn a bonus of $11 million if he takes 70 percent of the snaps.
You know that long-suffering Browns fans have finally had enough when even “Dawg Pound Mike,” one of the leaders of the “Dawg Pound,” is preaching a revolt from fans. He is asking all fans at the Monday Night game on Nov. 16 to stay away from their seats for the opening kickoff. That will make a great statement on the biggest TV night for the NFL. (Well it was the biggest TV night until they scheduled the Browns. There has to be some reruns of “I Love Lucy” that would be better.)
I plan on staying away from seats in Cleveland until they actually put a respectable team on the field. Hopefully that will come in my lifetime.
If the Browns are rocked today by Chicago — I predict 27-3 — maybe this will be a “bye-bye” week for Mangini.
Still, life outside football goes on for Browns fans and not everything is sour. Long-time Browns backer John Davidson of Sharon Regional Health System nailed a hole-in-one on No. 4 at Avalon at Buhl Park this past week with a 6-iron shot and took money off Steelers’ fan Frank Evans. Sometimes Browns fans do get some small victories in life.
Last week my predictions went 6-7 for a season mark of 53-50. Following are the rest of this week’s picks, betting line in parentheses just for fun:
Bye over Steelers
Green Bay (-31/2) over Minnesota
Detroit (no line) over St. Louis
NY Jets (-4) over Miami
Ravens (-3) over Denver
Houston (-31/2) over Buffalo
Indy (-10) over San Fran
Dallas (-91/2) over Seattle
San Diego (-161/2) over Oakland
Jacksonville (plus 3) over Tennessee
Arizona (-71/2) over Carolina
Philly (-3) over NY Giants
New Orleans (-81/2) over Atlanta
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SPORTVIEW: Steelers get much needed bye as do the Bears when they play the Browns
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PIAA Track: Hickory's Bell, Lubarski, Regginello grab gold
SHIPPENSBURG — There’s a big difference between being seeded 1st and finishing 1st — Matt Bell can attest to that.
After settling for silver last year, the Hickory High senior put the shot 59 feet, 6 3/4 inches Friday afternoon to garner gold at the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships at Shippensburg University. -
WM to play for D-10 baseball title; GC, Sharon, Sharpsville lose
Four area baseball teams were in action on Friday in the District 10 semifinals as the squads battled to compete for District 10 championships on Monday.
West Middlesex rolled past error-prone Linesville, 8-0, in Class A action at Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park.
In Class AA, both Sharon and Sharpsville suffered 2-1 losses. The Tigers fell to Saegertown at Ainsworth Field in Erie while the Blue Devils lost to Titusville at SRU.
In Class AAA, the Grove City Eagles were denied the chance to defend their D-10 crown after suffering a 6-3 loss to Warren at SRU. -
Farrell volleyball falls in D-10 semifinals
The Farrell High boys volleyball team suffered a 2-0 (25-15, 25-12) loss to Saegertown on Thursday night in the District 10 semifinals at Meadville Area High’s “House of Thrills.”
“This was the first year we made it out of the first day (pool play) of the playoffs,” said Steelers’ coach Dan Dragicevic. “I’d like to cite my seniors (Eric Demus, Anthony Perkins, Jaylen Chambers and Lawrence Hughes). -
Locals ready to go for gold at Shippensburg
Now that Mercer County is on the map, it’s incumbent upon the area aggregation to chart a course for the ultimate destination — Seth Grove Stadium’s medals stand — during this weekend’s PIAA Track & Field Championships.
Led by West Middlesex High sprinter Clay Allen, many Mercer Countians are seeded at or near the top of their respective events for the annual 2-day marathon at Shippensburg University, which commences 9 a.m. Friday. It will continue beginning 9 a.m. Saturday. -
D-10 Playoffs: Local teams go 6-for-6
ä Grove City 1, Harbor Creek 0 — At Slippery Rock University’s Jack Critchfield Park, what the Grove City Eagles couldn’t accomplish themselves, the Harbor Creek Huskies unwittingly did for them.
Unable to plate runs themselves, Torin Smith scored the Eagles’ only run when teammate Tyler Devine’s seeming inning-ending pop-up to left field was dropped by Harbor Creek’s Chris Merritt in the bottom of the 7th inning of Tuesday’s tourney opener. -
Great year for WM track; local qualifiers listed
It’s been a big year for the Big Reds.
Though there’s no official documentation, the 2011-12 academic year may be the most successful in West Middlesex High’s athletic annals. -
SPORTVIEW: Local names Kroko, Lutz, Kareklas in news elsewhere
IT’S ALWAYS GOOD to hear of former area people who have gone on to athletic success in other areas, or the family of former area residents. Following are a few of those stories:
ä Bob and Betty Kroko of Sharon are avid followers of professional baseball. No, not necessarily the Pittsburgh Pirates or Cleveland Indians like many local fans.
The Krokos keep a close eye on the Austria Major League! -
Petty an all-around great athlete in track and gymnastics
When Mercer County’s contingent convenes at the annual PIAA Track & Field Championships this weekend, it will be well represented
Clay Allen, Matt Bell, John Yohman, Johnathan Jacoway, Jeremy Jansco, Nico Zahniser, DeShawn Coleman, Dan Jaskowak, et all, should haul home some hardware. But with all due respect, the aforementioned young men may or may not be best athletes in the area’s aggregation that will assemble this weekend at Shippensburg University. -
Lubarski, Richards, Petty, Allen shine at D-10 Track Championships; Hickory girls, WM boys team champs
Hickory High’s high-jump state champion Lauren Lubarski suffered a severe blow to open her competion at the annual District 10 Class AA Track & Field Championships Saturday at Hickory HIgh Stadium.
She failed to qualify for state in the event she had won the previous year. -
Baseball, softball D-10 playoff pairings
The District 10 pairings for the baseball and softball playoffs have been released. Five area baseball teams and four (possibly 5) softball squads have qualified.
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