WEST POINT, N.Y. -- In a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, President Obama announced that "it is in our vital national interest" to send 30,000 troops to PNC Park, the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, "to bring stability to a volatile part of the world, and to a Major League Baseball team, that has been ravaged by the ruthless, repressive ownership of the Nutting family."

The president condemned the Nuttings as "extremists" ... [who have] engaged in "increasingly brazen and devastating acts of terrorism against the people of Western Pennsylvania."

The decision to deploy troops comes amid rising domestic opposition to the move. A recent Gallup Poll showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans favor imploding PNC Park, while the Pirates are inside.

Cartoonist Rob Rogers does "Rob's Rough," an early look at his work and his creative process, exclusively at PG+, a members-only web site of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.