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There are a ton of small stories today that do not really deserve their own post, so I’m just going to run through them here and give brief analysis. Included in here are Pitt basketball, Penguin hockey, Pirate baseball, Steeler football and some other random stuff.

• The Steelers will be without DE Aaron Smith, one of the most important players on the defense over the duration of his career. Smith, who has been to one Pro Bowl, suffered a torn biceps at some point during the game against New England Saturday. It is believed that Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason, two younger guys, will work together to replace Smith, but the loss definitely means that the Steelers’ hopes of advancing deep into the playoffs are diminished as the team will be missing one of its defensive leaders.
• The Steelers need one more win to ensure themselves of a playoff spot. Hopefully it comes Sunday against David Garrard and Jacksonville.
• Pitt basketball is one of15 undefeated teams left in the nation. That really does not mean too much right now as they look a little bit weak, if anything, coming off of unduly tough games against Duquesne and at Washington. The Panthers are better than they looked in those games, but need to avoid the inevitable “we’re so great” pitfalls that usually befall teams early in the season.
• Pitt moved up to 11 in the AP poll and stayed at nine in the USA Today poll. They have shown an ability to win at home and will probably look dominant again this weekend against Oklahoma State, but need to start playing better basketball on the road.
• Sidney Crosby is the leading vote-getter for the NHL All-Star game with about 325,000. It is awesome that he is getting the attention he deserves by fans of the game, but sad that the most popular player in the league has that few votes.
• I have said it before and will say it again. Sergei Gonchar should be on the All-Star ballot. He is the most prolific offensive defensemen of the last decade and has kept his production up this year. He deserves whatever attention comes to him and, obviously, some that does not.
• Neal Huntington is saying that the Pirate are not planning on trading one of Damaso Marte, John Grabow, and Matt Capps now. That is a stupid, stupid move on the part of the Pirates. Relief pitchers are tradeable commodities, especially when a team, such as the Pirates, should not be planning on carrying very many leads late into games. They should capitalize on the value of these players while they still can.
• Apparently Huntington is interested in 32-year-old catcher Michael Barrett, too. So he wants a guy who just signed with the Padres as a free agent, probably spurning the Pirates, and who is known for attitude issues to be his starting catcher? Great.
• The accolades keep coming for Sidney Crosby as the center won the Lou Marsh Award, awarded to Canada’s top athlete by the Toronto Star, today. Crosby is the first hockey player to receive the award since 1993, when Mario Lemieux won it.

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