Mike Prisuta’s Sports Section
A weekly look at the games people are playing and the people who are playing them.
Madness That Captivates On The Way to One Shining Moment
The NCAA Men's Basketball tournament is a happening that captures the imagination of the hard-core and the casual fan, seemingly from coast to coast, no matter who’s making a run and who’s inexplicably gone bust.
Bucs’ Sorting-Out Process Will Extend Well Beyond Bradenton
Many unresolved issues surround the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, and they won’t be sorted out by the time the team heads north in a few weeks. However, the Bucs have the potential to make it an interesting summer.
Pens Didn’t Get ‘The’ Defenseman, But They Got What They Needed
Assuming everyone’s healthy again by mid-April, the Penguins will be eight deep along the blueline heading into the this season’s playoffs.
Dave Hanson and the Enduring Legacy of Slap Shot
The Hanson Brothers and other stars of the classic hockey film will return to Johnstown this weekend for a 40th anniversary celebration.
Love Affair Between Pittsburgh & Keisel is a Two-Way Street
Where else but Pittsburgh would a football player, two years removed from his playing days, be able to raise about $85,000 in one night for the staging of an event that involves the gathering of a crowd to watch a man shave?
Hard Sell by Bucs Implies Complications with McCutchen
Moving Andrew McCutchen to right field should’ve been a routine matter; the way the Pirates handled it suggests it may have been anything but.
Penguins Must Recapture a Defense-Wins-Championships Mentality
At the All-Star break, the Pens appear to be one of the best teams, if not the best team, in the league. But something is missing that will need to be found if the team is to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.
Steelers 2016: More Than an Also-Ran, Less Than a Champion
The Steelers didn't reach the promised land this season, but to an expert observer of the game, this team is much more than a Super Bowl wannabe.
Tomlin Needs to Be Tomlin Against Brady, Belichick
The Steelers are going to have to attack the game to survive it, to grab it by the throat and choke it to the desired conclusion.
You Can Hope, but Don't Expect an Easy Steelers' Win in KC
Pittsburgh blasted Miami because the Steelers performed as expected against an opponent that was depleted by injury and overwhelmed by its circumstances. But that isn’t likely to happen again.
The Bell Finally Tolls for Tomlin and the Steelers
With the playoffs looming, Le’Veon Bell could change the narrative of the past few seasons.
Steelers' Arthur Moats Loves Being Superhero Off of The Field
Moats is the Steelers’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which annually recognizes community service.
Is Mike Tomlin an Under-Appreciated Winner? You Bet He Is
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has been winning since he got here, and he’s winning still. But unless he winds up winning Super Bowl LI, Tomlin will continue to have his detractors.
Pittsburgh The Heart of the NFL? Yinz Got that Right
At the NFL Scouting Combine, at the NFL Draft and wherever NFL games are played, there’s often something of a Western Pennsylvania reunion taking place.
Big Ten-Champion Nittany Lions More Worthy Than Buckeyes
For some reason Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in the latest playoff rankings and Penn State is No. 7. That has to change if Penn State beats Wisconsin on Saturday night.
A Kiss to Remember and Validation For a Program at Pitt
Pat Narduzzi can't explain why he kissed his kicker in the seconds after he missed an extra point in the second quarter of Pitt's showdown with Clemson. But after Pitt's upset victory, no one is complaining.
Steelers Want You to Believe, But Do They?
Their regular season is half over and among the questions yet to be answered is who are these guys?
Epic Series Reminds Us Why We Love The Game
The ebb and flow was almost too much to take, especially when Game 7 went to extra innings but first had to endure a rain delay.
Steelers’ Lack of Progress Ominous Entering Bye
The performance of the defense recently inspired blunt criticism from one of its own players while the offense, too, has been too inconsistent.
Pats' Impending Arrival Fortifies Hatred That Won't Fade
With the twist of a knee, anticipation has turned to dread for Sunday's showdown at Heinz Field.
Crosby Concussion Shouldn’t Blindside Penguins
Sidney Crosby’s latest situation, while worthy of concern given his history with concussions and his stature in the organization and in the game, is merely a continuation of what the Penguins became quite accustomed to overcoming a season ago.
‘Steeler for Life’ Has a Nice Ring To It For Greene
Kevin Greene may have played 20 percent of his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler –– but he retired 100 percent black and gold.
Pirates’ Ship Sunk But Salvageable
Of all that conspired to derail the Pirates after three consecutive trips to the playoffs, the unanticipated implosions of Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano proved, in retrospect, to be more of a deal-breaker than anything else.
Pens Look Back and Ahead to Cap ‘Summer of Stan’
The puck drops for the opening of training camp on Friday, and once that happens the Penguins must transition from “champions” into “defending champions.”
Steelers’ Defense Is Creating a New Identity
When a team blitzes as infrequently as the Steelers did against the Redskins –– you have to start wondering if the Blitzburgh tradition is one the Steelers are interested in upholding.
Evolution a Bigger Deal for Steelers Than Opening Night
The Steelers can and should get better as the 2016 season progresses, as they did in 2015 despite obstacles that included the use of three quarterbacks and four kickers.
Kaepernick Got It Wrong While Exercising His Constitutional Right
The 49ers' quarterback has already apparently forgotten what Steelers left tackle and former U.S. Army Captain and Afghanistan veteran Alejandro Villanueva has vowed never to forget.
Le'Veon Bell Talks The Talk But Can’t Walk The Walk
The Steelers running back emphasized his latest suspension resulted from missed random drug tests, and not a relapse into the marijuana-induced haze that got him jammed up last season. But if you lack the maturity to grasp the consequences of your actions (or, in this case, inactions), does it really matter?
Harrison, Steelers Can’t Escape Latest NFL – Players' Union Spat
The National Football League Players Association's ongoing war with the NFL in general, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in particular, continues to escalate –– and this time Harrison is among those being asked to lead the charge.
Winning Half of the DB Battle Not Enough for Steelers
When talking about his rookie defensive backs, Mike Tomlin's is dishing out praise for No. 2 pick Sean Davis while No. 1 pick Artie Burns isn't even in the conversation.
Can Steelers' Defense Keep Up With Its Offense?
It’s rarely the defense’s day when Ben Roethlisberger commands the proceedings the way he has been ever since he first reported for his 13th NFL training camp.
Optimism With An Asterisk As Good As It Gets In Steelers Training Camp
Although NFL teams never simply pick up where they left off the previous season, there’s reason to believe the 2016 Steelers could resemble the team that came agonizingly close to knocking off the eventual Super Bowl Champion Broncos in Denver last January.
Up-and-Down Bucs Survive First Half With Hope Intact
The Pirates did just enough in the days before the All-Star break to embrace the second half of the season with anticipation if not expectation.
Bucs' Biggest Problem Easier to Identify than Solve
As the Pirates try to climb out of a demoralizing slump, one factor has emerged as the team's biggest shortcoming.
Perspective Accompanies Long-Awaited Second Crosby Cup
The Pittsburgh Penguins may be more poised to establish a dynasty in 2016 than they were in 2009.
Mike Sullivan Embraces Pittsburgh Along with The Cup
When Sullivan showed up in December and began going about the business of delivering to the city its fourth Stanley Cup, he also found out what Pittsburgh sports are really all about.
About This Blog
Mike Prisuta is a veteran of Pittsburgh sports reporting since 1985.
Mike can be heard Monday through Friday talking sports with Randy Baumann and the DVE Morning Show.
His favorite sport is whatever’s in season.
Follow him on Twitter @DVEMike
