Here’s a little food for thought to help get you through a rainy day:

> > I’ve never professed to know a great deal about soccer.

However, one thing I’ve always been able to comprehend is when I was getting the short end of the stick.

And there is no doubt that the Belle Vernon Area boys received that end of the stick in the WPIAL Class AA playoff bracket.

Despite having a record of 16-2 and the only losses coming against undefeated and unscored-on No. 4 seed Ringgold, the Leps were seeded No. 14 and drew undefeated Blackhawk (16-0-1).

Really?

There are some pundits out there who think Ringgold may be the best team in AA. If that is so, what does that make BVA, which lost tough games by scores of 1-0 each time?

I guess the 14th best team in the field.

Yeah, right.

> > Count me among those who hope Ringgold’s Quad Law gets the green light to play in Friday’s showdown for first place in the Keystone Conference with unbeaten Franklin Regional.

Law is a truly gifted athlete who has a knack to make others around him better.

And he is really fun to watch.

In fact, when Law is on the field with teammates Demetrius Louis and Alfon Cook, the Rams just might have the quickest set of skill players I have ever seen in high school.

> > One of the reasons I enjoy going into the archives to do sports history is because of the nuggets I come across the actually stir my memory bank a bit.

That happened earlier this week when I came across the Oct. 19, 1991, front sports page that had the story of Charleroi’s Darrell Harding setting the WPIAL rushing record and the Monessen Greyhounds scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to come back and beat Geibel, 24-22, in a battle of conference unbeatens.

I covered the Monessen game and that was one of the first times I could remember seeing so many kids crying — for joy — after a game. I will never forget interviewing Jamie Reader, who scored the game winning touchdown on a three-yard run with seconds to go, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

And while I didn’t draw the assignment of covering the Charleroi game that night, I did get to watch and write about Harding for four years. Not only was he a great talent on the field, but he was one of the classiest kids I’ve ever come across in 30 years in this business.

> > Whatever happened to Phil Hughes?

> > Did the Oakland Raiders overpay for Carson Palmer with potentially two first round draft picks in a trade with the Bengals?

Considering Palmer’s age and the wear and tear on his body from all those years of getting pounded by the Steelers, my answer is a resounding: “Yes!”

He definitely makes the Raiders a better team and could vault them ahead of the Chargers in the AFC West. However, I would have never paid more than a first and fourth for him — if that.

> > Why is it that before the season so many people said the Pens will be a great team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but still would be good enough to make the playoffs without them• Now that they are playing without the two stars all I hear is the word “depleted” before Penguins after a loss?

> > Add Pens: Who in the heck made the NHL schedule anyway?

Going into yesterday, the Pens had played eight games while no other team in the league had played more than six and some played as few as four. Plus, the Pens have already made two lengthy trips across the country in that time span.

Just sayin’.

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