Time to visit a few sporty things...and none of them involve Brett Favre...

Give the Pirates credit.  Steeler training camp has opened and the Pirates have had their share of the sports pages in these parts.  Who would have thought. 

First there was the Nady trade and then Jason Bay.  I think it's a good sign that the Bucs are dealing with the best franchises in baseball.  Certainly on the Major League level, the Yankees and Red Sox rarely bring rookies into the fold, but in order to get the high level pros that take the field for them, young players locked in behind grizzled vets are expendable. 

The Pirates have taken undesirables off the hands of good teams in the past, but early returns say these deals were good for the Bucs.  Neil Huntingdon is the first GM the Pirates have had since Sid Thrift who hasn't begun or ended each news conference with an apology to the fans.  Huntingdon seems to have his hands firmly around the situation.  The Pirates are a small market team in a vulturous business.  Their moves have to be perfect just to be competitive. 

But it can be done.  Others have shown that it is possible to be successful in the current market place, even with a moderate payroll.  The first thing the Pirates have to purge from their mental makeup is this defeatest attitude.  It's been prevalent in the makeup of their teams for almost a decade and a half.  The better players are trying to get onto a better team and the hangers on, just can't do any better.  Notsomuch if Huntingdon's plan takes hold. 

Ok, that's enough of the Pirates.  I divorced them after the Colorado series following the All-
Star break.  I may let them re-apply for my attention at a later date. 

News hasn't been great out of Steeler camp.  Too many players were banged up early.  Not sure if they are out of shape injuries, but it didn't seem so.  Frankly, when a starter spends time on the sideline, you know that player cannot be hurt any worse while he's out.  For the veterans, training camp is too long anyway.  You hope to head off anything that could turn into a nagging problem. 

The best news I've heard is that last year's #1 draft pick, Lawrence Timmons is having a good camp.  He's been given a better than 50-50 chance of being a starting linebacker for the Steelers before mid-season. 

Dan Sepulveda's injury is the most troubling at this point.  I still think this offense, if the line comes together will be the most powerful Steeler offense, perhaps ever.  They'll be more explosive than they've ever been.  And they are supposedly going to no-huddle more often. 

Just me, but a full game of no-huddle is impracticle.  The game takes too long. 

I must admit that I watched some of the Redskins-Colts game on Sunday.  Not many of the players were all that familiar, but just seeing a supposedly pro football game was like coming home to your family when you've been gone for some reason or another.