When it's time to hang a new calendar, most of us are keen on thinking about the future. With apologies to the late, great Satchel Paige, this is one new year when it might be all right to take a longer look back than ahead.

From Bill Cowher to Agnus Berenato, Sidney Crosby to Sal Buscaglia, Rich Rodriguez to Suzie McConnell- Serio, a naked golf course to an empty Uptown lot, there was enough going on in 2007 that if you are a sports fan from around here and you got bored, you weren't paying attention.

Rarely did we go more than a few weeks without some large-headline event taking over the sports pages.

It's difficult to believe that at any time in the past generation -- if ever -- there has been a year full of more significant local sports stories than we had in these parts in 2007.

Perhaps some of those City of Champions years in the 1970s came close, but that was probably more of an era than a year that stood out.

The notable events of last year spanned the spectrum from college to pros, baseball to football, hoops to hockey, on and off the field.

The topper is that much of the sports happenings during that newsy year were about strides and accomplishments. Outside of major thrill-kills Rodriguez and the Pirates, there was a whole lot of positive going on.

We should have known that Cowher's resignation after 15 seasons as Steelers coach last Jan. 5 was a sign to buckle our seat belts and tighten those chin straps. When a year starts with television reporters camped in front of the Steelers' headquarters on the South Side from dawn to dusk, it's not going to be a quiet circle around the sun.

Nothing locally trumps Steelers news, and the hiring of Mike Tomlin as just the second coach since Chuck Noll was monumental.

Underneath that roar, lots of other things were happening.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the Penguins rated about an 87 for franchise news in a year.

First, they wrapped up their future here and a deal for a new home across the street from Mellon Arena. Then they became one of the most improved teams we've ever seen, returned to the playoffs and drove everyone else into the boards on awards night, with Crosby winning MVP and scoring title honors, and Evgeni Malkin becoming rookie of the year.

The Pirates' contribution to the year would have been another dull losing season, but they made things mildly interesting by revamping their personnel. Unfortunately, it was the staff, not the players.

Bob Nutting stepped up as the face of the Pirates (so that's what he looks like), replacing Kevin McClatchy. Also new are manager John Russell and his staff, general manager Neal Huntington and president Frank Coonelly.

A lot happened at the colleges, too.

Pitt reached the Sweet 16 again in basketball and was flying high the first half of this season with a win against Duke, although that has been tempered by injuries. West Virginia perked ears by hiring Bob Huggins, and Duquesne continued an inspirational comeback from the on-campus shootings of 2006.

In football, things were pretty quiet from the Panthers until their stunning upset of West Virginia, a day after Pitt brought back love-him-or-hate-him athletic director Steve Pederson.

The Backyard Brawl gave us new insight on Rodriguez, who turned sore loser and ditched West Virginia to become the coach at Michigan, starting a $4 million tug-of-war over his buyout.

Not to be overlooked were the Pitt women's record 24 wins under Berenato and first trip to the NCAA tournament, playing host to the subregional. Also debuting in the NCAAs were Buscaglia's Robert Morris women, and West Virginia joined the party.

Not to be left out, Duquesne made a great move by hiring McConnell Serio as its women's basketball coach. At Penn State, once regal Rene Portland resigned after stains of losing and controversy.

Moving away from team sports, storied Oakmont -- albeit with a sad chapter on excessive tree removal -- held the U.S. Open in June, and the golf world watched cigarette-addicted Argentine Angel Cabrera snuff out Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk.

This young year started off strong with Crosby winning the outdoor Winter Classic for the Penguins. We'll see what the patchwork Steelers can muster in the postseason and whether anything can stop the Pirates from a record 16th losing summer.

It's a long shot that 2008 could top the past 12 months, but you never know.

Go ahead. Make our year.