Top sports stories of 2011

Top 10 list

1. END OF AN ERA

Less than two weeks after setting a Division I record by getting his 409th victory, Joe Paterno was out as coach of the Penn State football program. The firing had nothing to do with his advancing age (84) or his ability to win games (the Nittany Lions were 8-1 when he was dismissed). Paterno was brought down amid the furor over how Penn State handled sex abuse allegiations against his former assistant, Jerry Sandusky. The university shakeup in November came hours after Paterno announced plans to resign at the end of the season. The school's board of trustees, however, hastened his departure and named defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as interim coach. The scandal sullied Paterno's legacy that included two national championships and five unbeaten, untied seasons in 46 years as head coach. A few weeks later, Patern• o was diagnosed with what his family said is a treatable form of lung cancer. In December, 10 days shy of his 85th birthday, he fractured his pelvis in a fall at home.

2. Head games for Crosby

When Sidney Crosby took two hard hits in early-January games, nobody knew the concussion he received would keep the Penguins' star out of action for almost 11 months. Or that he would be sidelined again indefinitely because of headaches after playing in just eight games. Crosby's recovery featured more twists and turns than Kennywood's Phantom's Revenge. He took the ice in March for noncontact practice but was shut down three weeks later because of headaches. Updates were sketchy throughout the summer as Crosby sought alternative forms of treatment. His allegiance with an Atlanta chiropractor who used unorthodox treatment methods heightened the controversy. Crosby finally returned Nov. 21, triumphantly scoring two goals and totaling four points against the New York Islanders. But he sat again in mid-December after symptoms returned.

3. College coaching carousel

Mike Haywood and Bill Stewart never made it to the starting line for the Pitt and West Virginia football programs in 2011, and Todd Graham lasted less than a year on the job as Haywood's replacement. The turbulent times began New Year's Day when Pitt fired Haywood after 15 days on the job. He was cut loose one day after his domestic violence arrest in South Bend, Ind. Haywood later sued the university claiming he was wrongfully terminated. Stewart was a lame duck at West Virginia heading into the year, as Dana Holgorsen was hired as the coach-in-waiting with the plan to spend one season as offensive coordinator before taking charge. But Stewart resigned under pressure in June amid accusations that he leaked information to the media regarding accusations that Holgorsen was involved in alcohol-related incidents. Graham led Pitt to a 6-6 record before bolting suddenly Dec. 14 to Arizona State for a contract of similar length and pay. Holgorsen led WVU to a 9-3 record and BCS berth in the Orange Bowl.

4. No seventh heaven

The Steelers' quest to increase their Lombardi Trophy bounty was put on hold by the upstart Green Bay Packers, a No. 6 seed which won Super Bowl XLV, 31-25, at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. It was only the second defeat in Super Bowl play for the Steelers, whose six victories in the big game are more than any other franchise. Mike Tomlin was trying to become the first coach to win two Super Bowls in his first four seasons, but he watched his team fall behind 21-3 in the second quarter before mounting a comeback. The Steelers pulled within 21-17, but a Rashard Mendenhall fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter proved costly. Down by six points with 2:07 remaining, Ben Roethlisberger tried to duplicate a comeback he made in the Super Bowl two years earlier. But he couldn't get a first down, and the Packers, guided by head coach Mike McCarthy of Greenfield, held on for their fourth Super Bowl championship.

5. Pirates sizzle, fizzle

For more than half of the baseball season, the Pirates were one of the feel-good stories in the major leagues. On July 19, the Pirates were 51-44 and in first place in the National League Central. Snapping a run of consecutive losing seasons that date to 1993 seemed a certainty. Then, came the collapse, a 10-game losing streak in August and a 72-90 finish that represented 19 losing years in a row. Many fans pointed to a blown call by umpire Jerry Meals in the 19th inning of a July 26 loss at Atlanta as the beginning of the end, but the Pirates' ship was taking on water before then. The starting pitching faltered and slumping slugger Pedro Alvarez was sent to the minors amid a team-wide offensive decline.

6. Big East breakdown

Unconfident with the direction of the Big East amid college football's changing conference landscape, Pitt joined Syracuse in applying for admittance into the Atlantic Coast Conference. The two long-tenured Big East institutions were accepted into the ACC in September with the expecations of beginning play in 2014. West Virginia was the next to bolt the Big East, accepting an invitation in October to join the Big 12. The defections put the future of the Backyard Brawl in question and led to West Virginia and the Big East exchanging lawsuits over whether the Mountaineers could join their new conference in 2012.

7. Familiar finish for Pitt hoops

The ending was strange -- a game-winning free throw following a foul with .8 seconds to play -- but the outcome was not unusual for the Pitt basketball team. For the seventh time in the past 10 years, the Panthers lost to a lower-seeded team in the NCAA basketball tournament. The Panthers, a No. 1 seed, were dispatched by No. 8 Butler (the eventual tournament runner-up) in the second round, 71-70. Pitt (28-6) became only the second top seed in the past seven years -- and 14th since 1985 -- to lose prior to the Sweet 16. The loss was heartbreaking for Nasir Robinson, whose foul in the lane with less than a second left resulted in Matt Howard's free throw that snapped a 70-70 tie. "I thought this was the year," Pitt guard Ashton Gibbs said. "I was confident, and everybody else was."

8. Shell game for Pitt football

Hopewell's Rushel Shell, one of the most recruited running backs in the country, decided to stay home and play his college football at Pitt, choosing the Panthers over Alabama and other NCAA powers. Shell finished his scholastic career as the PIAA's top running back, gaining a state-record 9,078 yards over four seasons. In his final game, a 24-21 WPIAL quarterfinal playoff loss to Franklin Regional, Shell broke the record of 9,027 yards with a 292-yard effort. It was his 39th consecutive game of 100 yards or more, a national record. "Records don't matter. Championships matter," Shell said. "We fell short of a championship. I could have all the records in the world, but in my eyes, that doesn't matter because we lost."

9. No homecoming for Jagr

As free agency approached July 1, the Penguins had reason to believe they were bringing Jaromir Jagr home for one final season. Jagr, who won the Stanley Cup in his first two NHL seasons with the Penguins, hinted that he wanted to return, and Penguins GM Ray Shero acknowledged that "we want him to retire as a Penguin." But the five-time scoring champion and former MVP spurned the Penguins' one-year, $2 million offer and signed instead with the hated Philadelphia Flyers for $3.3 million. The news broke the hearts of Penguins fans ready to embrace Jagr after a 10-year break following his 2001 trade to Washington.

10. Early exit for Pens

Sidney Crosby was concussed, Evgeni Malkin was out with a torn-up knee and Matt Cooke was suspended. Despite these obstacles, the Penguins jumped to a 3-1 series lead against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. That's when the Penguins ran out of steam. The Lightning won the next three games, culminating with a 1-0 victory in Game 7, to send the Penguins to an early offseason. It would be the final game for forwards Max Talbot and Mike Rupp in a Penguins uniform.

Quotes

• "It's a mild concussion, I'm told he'll miss about a week." -- Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, Jan. 6 in Toronto when Sidney Crosby was first diagnosed with a concussion.
• "His heart is in Pittsburgh." -- Petr Svoboda, Jaromir Jagr's agent on June 30; On July 1, Jagr signed with Philadelphia.
• "It was a dumb play. I'm smarter than that. I've been playing the game too long to make a dumb mistake like that." -- Pitt basketball player Nasir Robinson after his foul with .8 seconds left resulted in the game-winning free throw and Pitt's 71-70 loss to Butler in NCAA Tournament second round.
• "I feel like I let the city of Pittsburgh down -- the fans, my teammates, Coach. It's not a good feeling." -- Ben Roethlisberger after failing to execute a last-minute, game-winning drive in a 31-25 loss to Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV.
• "It's great to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay." -- Packers coach Mike McCarthy, a Greenfield native after winning Super Bowl XLV over the Steelers.
• "My wife is way too good-looking for that." -- Packers coach Mike McCarthy, a Greenfield native, when asked if he slept with the Lombardi Trophy after beating the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV
• "He looked like he oled him and I called him safe for that." -- Umpire Jerry Meals on a controversial call at home plate when he erroneously ruled that Atlanta's Julio Lugo had evaded Michael McKenry's tag in the 19th inning of the Pirates' July 26 game in Atlanta.
• "It's isn't fair. The truth will eventually come out." -- Mike Haywood, on the day he was fired as Pitt football coach for domestic assault.
• "I'm not one of those guys who have a five-year plan. I have a one-year plan. I want to win the championship next year." -- Todd Graham, whose first Pitt team finished 6-6.
• "You should have seen our first meeting. He came in with a wrinkled suit, the worst suit I had ever seen. It looked like he had picked it up at Goodwill." -- Pitt senior defensive tackle Chas Alecxih talking about the team's first meeting with new coach Michael Haywood.
• "We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style." -- Rashard Mendenhall, on Twitter, discussing the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center in the wake of Osama bin Laden's death.
• "Try hard• That's like grits with breakfast in the South: It just comes with the deal. This isn't a try-hard league. This is a do-good league." -- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, on his players' effort in a successful July.
• "We cannot let Josh Cribbs do what he's done to us time and time again in the past. We've been dead Indians in his cowboy movie enough." --Mike Tomlin, before the Steelers faced Cleveland in December.
• "It's baseball. It's almost 2 o'clock in the morning. The man had the plate for six, almost seven hours. It's a shame because Jerry Meals is a hell of an umpire." -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, on Jerry Meals' infamous blown call in the 19th inning in Atlanta.
• "I did what I was supposed to with the one charge brought to my attention." -- Joe Paterno, in his first written statement on the Sandusky matter.
• "I wish to say that Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have my unconditional support." -- Penn State president Graham Spanier, in his first statement on the Sandusky scandal.
• "Right now, I'm not the football coach. And I've got to get used to that." -- Paterno, on the night he was fired.

Timeline

Jan. 15: Steelers erase a 21-7 halftime deficit to defeat the Baltimore Ravens, 31-24, and advance to the AFC Championship Game.

Feb . 13: Mario Lemieux criticizes the NHL and says he needs to "rethink whether I'll be a part of it" after he doesn't like punishment meted out following fight-filled Penguins-Islanders game.

Feb. 21: Penguins trade defenseman Alex Goligoski to Dallas for forward James Neal and defenseman Matt Niskanen.

Feb. 28: Following the death of coaches Scott Lang and Kristen Zawacki, respectively, the La Roche men's and St. Vincent women's basketball team are selected for the NCAA Division III basketball tournament for the first time in each program's history.

March 8: Peabody and Schenley basketball teams play their final games as both City League schools close at the end of the year.

March 9: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma receives a three-year contract extension.

March 11: The Arena Football League Pittsburgh Power debut at Consol Energy Center with a 58-52 overtime loss to Philadelphia.

April 27: Penguins lost 1-0 to Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of first-round playoff series, blowing a 3-1 series advantage.

May 3: Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall makes controversial remarks on Twitter regarding Osama bin Laden's death and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

May 15: Jeffrey Eggleston, racing as the "rabbit" to push elite runners, unexpectedly outdistances everyone and wins the Pittsburgh Marathon in just his fourth professional race.

May 23: Penn State basketball coach Ed DeChellis surprisingly leaves his post with three years remaining to accept a five-year contract at Navy.

May 24: Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward wins ABC's hit reality show "Dancing with the Stars," beating actresses Chelsea Kane and Kirstie Alley in the finals.

June 8: Jeannette product Terrelle Pryor, facing a five-game suspension at Ohio State for selling memorabilia in exchange for tattoos and other benefits, leaves school with one year remaining. He eventually declares for the NFL supplemental draft.

June 15: Pitt and Penn State announce a brief resumption in their football rivalry, playing a home-and-home series in 2016-17. They haven't played since 2000.

June 25: Four Pittsburgh natives are selected in the two-day NHL draft held in Minnesota.

July 13: In a Men's Health article, Steelers linebacker James Harrison calls NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a crook and criticizes teammates Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall.

July 23: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger marries New Castle native Ashley Harlan and has lavish reception at David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

July 31: Pirates become rare buyers at the MLB trading deadline, acquiring 1B Derrek Lee from Baltimore and OF Ryan Ludwick from San Diego.

Aug. 9: Pirates snap 10-game losing streak that drops them into fourth place in NL Central, two weeks after sitting in first.

Aug. 15: Pirates pony up $8 million to sign No. 1 overall draft pick Gerrit Cole and $5 million for second-round selection Josh Bell.

Aug. 22: Oakland Raiders select Terrelle Pryor in third round of supplemental draft.

Sept. 10: Steelers sign SS Troy Polamalu to 4-year contract after earlier in camp agreeing to extensions with LBs Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley.

Sept. 27: Joe Walton, the only coach in Robert Morris football history, announces he will retire in 2013 at the end of a two-year contract extension.

Oct. 4: First-year West Virginia football coach Dana Holgorsen calls out fans for poor attendance against Bowling Green.

Oct. 26: Pitt star running back Ray Graham is lost for the season after sustaining a serious knee injury in the first quarter against Connecticut.

Nov. 16: The Pitt basketball team has its 58-game non-conference winning streak at Petersen Events Center snapped with loss to Long Beach State.

Nov. 25: West Virginia rallies from 10-point deficit to defeat Pitt, 21-20, in perhaps the final Backyard Brawl.

Nov. 27: Clairton wins its fourth consecutive WPIAL Class A football title and fifth in the past six years, beating Sto-Rox, 42-6.

Dec. 4: West Virginia, the Big East tri-champion, gets the conferences BCS berth and will face Clemson in the Orange Bowl. Pitt and Penn State settle for minor bowl games.

Dec. 13: Harrison is suspended one game without pay for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy.