by John Buffone
Although it happened thousands of miles away, a progressive and sports-crazy area like Armstrong County can see the utter tragedy of what happened last week in Arizona. Mesa Preparatory Academy was awarded that Arizona Charter Athletic Association State Championship last week after Our Lady of Sorrows Academy refused to play in the finals because Mesa’s starting second baseman was (get ready for this)…a girl. 15-year-old Paige Sultzbach was mature to a fault earlier in the season by sitting out while the two teams played but wisely stood her ground come championship week. Our Lady of Sorrows has a strict policy about mixing girls and boys in sports and claim they believe in teaching boys to “treat ladies with respect” while “forming and educating boys and girls separately”. Perhaps this dark ages approach towards respect works for such institutes like Our Lady of Sorrows but here in the twenty-first century, treating ladies with respect means no longer treating them like helpless and incapable porcelain dolls. Perhaps treating a lady with respect is acknowledging her skills and ability to break onto the starting roster of a state championship-level baseball team instead of polarizing her into the subject of a forfeited state championship. As a result, the championship can’t feel right for Sultzbach and Mesa and a sense a sympathy has to be felt for Our Lady of Sorrow’s team because they were robbed of a state championship opportunity due to an outdated and unwarranted school rule.
by John Buffone
When the Pittsburgh Steelers essentially fired former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians in favor of former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley, some fans and players were concerned about a potential overhaul of the Steelers’ offensive system. Well it doesn’t look like those worries have subsided with time after quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently compared Haley’s new offense to the foreign language learning program Rosetta Stone. Recently graduated Roethlisberger also joked that his final paper at the University of Miami (Ohio) was less difficult than Haley’s new offense. While Haley’s system may be very structured, precise and intricate, Roethlisberger as
well as fans have every right to be a little worried. The Steelers are still in a championship timeframe and are likely the favorites to win the AFC North this season. However, if Haley’s offensive learning curve takes longer than usual, Pittsburgh will most certainly lose ground to veteran Baltimore and Cincinnati who is on the upswing after a very solid draft of their own. The window may be closing for the Steelers who currently have a superior defense but are seeing their superstars age into their thirties. The Steelers could also have some issues on the offensive line despite it being the main area of attention during the draft. Though talented, the new-look O-line will be inexperienced and may not give Big Ben a lot of room for error in his new offensive system. While the team still has plenty of time to learn Haley’s offense, don’t be surprised to see a few bugs in the system come August and September.
