Bucs, Huggins and Secretariat
Just in case anyone was wondering what I thought 鈥�
Everyone needs to calm down about the 鈥渃ollapse鈥� of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
You really expected this team to contend for a division title?
The Bucs are still at least a year or two away from being serious contenders and they lost one of their core players in Oneil Cruz early in the season.
It was nice to see them get off to such a surprisingly good start and stir up some interest but it was never logical to think, looking at their roster, that pace would be sustainable.
Going into Tuesday night蘑菇视频 game against the Padres, the Pirates were closer to the last-place Cardinals (3 games) than first place (5.5 games). So, despite the optimistic beginning, the endgame likely will see Pittsburgh in last place.
That蘑菇视频 not to say a turnaround is far off. They have the makings of a contending team not too far down the road.
They now must be sellers at the trade deadline but that can be a tightrope to walk because I think it would be unwise to part with two of their best players in fan favorites Andrew McCutcheon and David Bednar.
Fans are disgruntled enough and I feel those two can play key roles in the next year or two.
On the other hand they don鈥檛 have many other players that can bring back much in a trade. Lefty starter Rich Hill would draw something from a contender. Can you really get anything of note for expendable veterans like Connor Joe or Carlos Santana? Likely not.
It will be interesting to see how the Bucs play it when the trade deadline approaches.
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When one tries to amass a list of the greatest athletes of all time Secretariat has proven even 50 years later he still belongs on that list.
Big Red as he was nicknamed still holds the record for all three Triple Crown races and his win in the 1973 Belmont Stakes is one of the greatest performances in sports history.
Even now, when you look at the numbers it蘑菇视频 amazing what Secretariat did that day. He finished the race in a blistering 2:24, winning by 31 lengths.
Just to put that in perspective, Arcangelo won this year蘑菇视频 Belmont with a time of 2.29.23. I鈥檝e read that one second equals approximately six lengths, meaning Secretariat would鈥檝e beaten Arcangelo by over 30 lengths.
That蘑菇视频 right, 30 lengths.
The second-fastest Belmont ever run was by Easy Goer who won the 1989 race in 2:26. Secretariat would鈥檝e beaten him by about 12 lengths.
Incredible when you think about that, isn鈥檛 it?
Arcangelo蘑菇视频 victory was very noteworthy nonetheless as Jena Antonucci became the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race, a very impressive accomplishment that hopefully opens the doors to more lady trainers on the biggest stage.
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It was sad to see Bob Huggins鈥� basketball coaching career at West Virginia end the way it did but let蘑菇视频 not forget he oversaw the greatest era in Mountaineer basketball history.
Huggins wound up as the second-winningest coach in WVU men蘑菇视频 basketball history with a record of 345-203 in 16 years, he made the NCAA tournament 11 times and took the Mountaineers to the Final Four for only the second time in program history.
Gale Catlett was 439-281 in 24 years and made the NCAA tourney eight times. John Beilein had a nice run of 104-60 in five years. Fred Schaus was 146-37 and got the Jerry West-led Mountaineers to the Final Four.
Huggins tops those three in my estimation.
Rob Burchianti is sports editor of the 蘑菇视频 and can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com.