A thought for a cold February morning: A Pittsburgh without the Penguins

I completely agree with Bob Smizik ("Pittsburgh still great with or without the Penguins," Jan. 28). Love of sports is totally subjective. If the Penguins leave, Pittsburgh still remains a great sports town because it has the Steelers and Pirates. Penguins fans who love hockey and the team are pretty much inconsequential in the big picture. Sort of like if the Post-Gazette ends up leaving, Pittsburgh will still remain a great media town with all of the other outlets to choose from. Not.

DIANE ELAINE McNATT, Monroeville

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It's not the '70s anymore

Bob Smizik's column about the Media Friends of Mario (MFOM) really made me laugh ("Pittsburgh still great with or without the Penguins," Jan. 28). Smizik has been one of the city's biggest Pirates apologists since their ineptitude began 14 years ago. Smizik is a huge MFOM -- Media Friend of McClatchy.

Maybe he longs for the 1970s when the Pirates were competitive and he was a relevant writer. The fact is, the Penguins appear to have a bright future while the Pirates continue to fail miserably. The Penguins' plan is working while most wonder if the Pirates ever had one at all. A large number in Pittsburgh would dearly miss the Penguins if they leave. If Smizik was replaced by a fresh voice in the media, you could probably count those who would miss him on one hand.

SCOTT MILLER, Mars

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The NHL has changed

I was disappointed to read a letter in last week's Sports Mailbag berating the play of Sidney Crosby's teammates by saying that they do not care enough about this well-being on the ice.

I beg to differ. Ryan Malone and Jarkko Ruutu have been dropping the gloves and avenging most of the hits that Crosby has been receiving lately. I also challenge the writer to find a Dave Semenko, Wayne Gretzky's on-ice bodyguard, on any other team.

While there may not be another player with Crosby's skills, there are many special players on other teams who do not need a goon to protect them. The NHL has evolved. The onetime goon in the pre-lockout era such as the popular Francois Leroux is now becoming a skilled, two-way player who can drop the gloves.

MAXWELL SHERRY, Point Breeze

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Gee, no Bert

Once again, the imbeciles comprising The Baseball Writers Association of America have thumbed their noses at Bert Blyleven for the Hall of Fame.

Blyleven won 287 games and is fifth on the all-time strikeout list. Imbecility from the BBWAA isn't new. Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Don Sutton and Early Wynn all won at least 300 games but none were inducted in his first year of eligibility. Cy Young, winner of 511 major-league games, had been retired 25 years when the first inductees were enshrined in 1936, but he wasn't one of them.

It is time for players, managers and coaches to be the ones to decide who belongs. As Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., writing on another matter, said, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough." Those words also apply to the baseball writers.

AL MATLACK, State College

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Discovering the Dukes

I took my sons to the Duquesne-Temple basketball game and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It is great to see the student body starting to turn out, and I cannot remember seeing that many in attendance for a game at the Palumbo Center except for Pitt or West Virginia. Three general admission seats made the experience affordable. We love college basketball, so our hats are off to Ron Everhart for creating a competitive team we can afford to cheer for. It would be good to see Pittsburgh become a two-school college basketball town.

C.L. HUGHES, Mt. Lebanon

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'Howland' needs to go

Now that Jamie Dixon has won 20 games or more in four consecutive years (for the most part with players that he and his staff recruited), perhaps the time has come to drop "Howland" from the references to the success of the team. It should no longer be called the Howland/Dixon Era. This is Dixon's team and has been for more than four years now. Let Howland go. That's what he wanted when he took his dream job.

THOMAS C. REED, Park Place

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Where did the stars go?

Is it me or is the NHL trying to lose its TV ratings by having the All-Star festivities during the week? In the past, they were on the weekend and I enjoyed watching the skills contest and even the game, but if you didn't catch the paper you didn't even know it was on Wednesday.

WESTON L. WHITE, SR., North Side

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No need to go there

Ron Cook may have been saying what some people are thinking but some things are best left unspoken ("Were others 'ruled' out by Rooney," Jan. 23). He is saying that Mike Tomlin being a minority may have been the primary reason he has become the Steelers' new coach. That is a ridiculous statement. In fact, Tomlin is the new coach in spite of his race.

Can you imagine the pressure this young man must feel? Cook makes you believe that if Tomlin does not succeed then we should never again look at a black coach. The Rooney Rule was put in place because not enough qualified minority coaches were being interviewed. The rule helps people like Tomlin get their foot in the door. Cook may want to see that door shut but progress cannot be criticized. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think the Pittsburgh Steelers would ever have a black head coach. Rooney should be commended for what he has done, not criticized

LES CRAWLEY, Houston

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Send in the clowns

It was refreshing when the Pirates returned to their traditional white sleeveless uniforms made famous in the 1950s-60s. Now we are returning to the circus-like atmosphere when the Pirates wore the canary yellow pajama uniforms. Can you imagine the Yankees abandoning the white pinstriped uniforms for red? If I want to see clowns, I'll go to the circus.

HENRY MILLER III, Ross

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