Here's a little food for thought to kick off my last week before a much-needed vacation break:
- Strangely absent from Saturday's story about area high school alumni football games was any mention of the expected Charleroi-Monessen matchup.
Well, Cougar and Greyhound fans: Have no fear. The two alumni teams are hoping to play this summer, possibly in July.
However, if they do, it will not be under the umbrella of the Alumni Football USA organization.
The two squads are trying to work out an alumni game among themselves and thus allow the schools and/or boosters to make the bulk of the profit instead of Alumni Football USA.
I do think the Alumni Football USA organization is a great option and plan, but I do understand IF an organization can manage to pull the event off, it can prove to be very lucrative for either alumni, boosters or the school districts. Really, it is a no-brainer.
- Sadly, word passed my desk last week of the sudden death of Barry Hughes, a former Monessen High football and basketball standout.
Hughes, who graduated from MHS in 1968, went on to play football at Lafayette.
My personal memories of Hughes as a player were him splitting time at quarterback with Jim Perry during the 1967 season, one of the earliest I can recall watching Monessen football.
Kevin Gladys, a classmate of Hughes, called his friend, "a leader on and off the football field. He was someone you just wanted to follow no matter what."
Gladys added that his class has lost a few classmates over the years, "But this is the first one that feels like a punch in the stomach."
J.T. DeLuca, a former mayor of Monessen and another classmate of Hughes, echoed Gladys' sentiments, saying, "I just can't get this one off my mind. There were over 300 people at his funeral because he was so well liked. It's such a shock."
I'm not surprised that his family asked that all donations in Hughes' name be made to the Monessen High School Football Program.
Word has it that he has requested to have his ashes spread over Memorial Stadium.
Once a Greyhound, always a Greyhound.
- People, I never said I hated the Pirates. Heck, I've been a Bucco fan since I can remember listening to Bob Prince and Jim Woods call games on a transistor radio when I was a kid.
However, what I did say is that I was not a believer in this team as of yet and, in particular, of this ownership and front office group. Seriously, after watching two decades of utter B.S. on the field, I think I reserve the right to feel that way.
I get just as happy as the next guy when they manage to win a series or two, I just don't start planning to order playoff tickets.
As I've said before, it's late June. I will reserve my judgment on this team until August or September when I see where the Bucs are in the standings and, more important, if the front office is once again "selling" rather than "buying" players down the home stretch.
I'm telling you; late summer is the telling time. The Bucs have wilted faster than a soft piece of chocolate on the sidewalk on a hot summer's day after the All-Star break pretty much every season the last decade.
However, I am amused at how many loyal fans there are out there. I've had several people on the street remind me of the on-field improvement in this team.
And on Sunday, while sitting at my favorite breakfast eatery, My Girls Restaurant in Charleroi, the cook personally delivered my meal and, with a huge grin on his face, said, "How about those Bucs?"
- Add Pirates: If anyone deserves a huge amount of credit with the progress of the Bucs, it is skipper Clint Hurdle. He came to a team that nobody with any credibility wanted to manage and has worked wonders with basically the same talent that 2010 manager John Russell lost more than 100 games with.
- Whatever happened to Eddie Weightman?
- I know there is such a big push for the Pens to sign Jaromir Jagr and, while I would like to see him return to the place where it all started in his career, I'm willing to trust GM Ray Shero to decide if it really is best for the franchise.
I can understand the passion of Pens' fans, but I laugh when so many of them think they know what is best for the organization.
- OK, Penn State fans, here is a chance to beat your chest with pride. The Wall Street Journal ran a story on college athletics last week. The article stated major college programs without major rules violations since the NCAA began tracking them in 1953 included just four - Northwestern, Boston College, Stanford and Penn State.
And with what is going on at Ohio State these days, I think that news is even a little more interesting.
