News today is that the Steelers have had a spasm of rationality hit their organization and in that convulsion of consciousness, they fired Kevin Gilbride. This guy can't get out of his own way. He stunk so much at Houston that Buddy Ryan tried to punch him out on the sidelines during a nationally televised game; he stunk at Atlanta with during the Falcons' “calendar years” when they had June Jones and Bobby April on the coaching staff at the same time; he stunk as the head man in San Diego; and he has stunk in Pittsburgh. With a resume like his, I will conclude that he has pictures of six owners consorting with household pets if he gets a new job as a coordinator. Or maybe he goes to one of the traditionally stinky organizations to assure that they stay that way. Has Mike Brown placed any calls yet? Can we get the cell phone records? Staying in Pittsburgh…

... Other news out of Pittsburgh today is unequivocally sad. Joe Gilliam, the flamboyant black QB of the Steelers from the era of the 70s, died at age 49. Gilliam had a great arm - at least the equal of Terry Bradshaw's. But Gilliam got involved in drugs and tossed his career into the toilet. He took the money he had made and lost it/squandered it. He lived in a refrigerator carton under a bridge somewhere for a couple of years and finally began to put his life back together. He was in Pittsburgh when the Steelers turned out the lights at Three Rivers Stadium a couple of weeks ago and now his lights are similarly out. Another athlete that lost a LOT of money with a boneheaded move last year was…

…Juan Gonzalez who has fired the agent that brought him the measly $140M contract that the Tigers offered him last season and has hired Scott “Nuclear Winter” Boras. Given Juan's inability to go through a season without injuries and his sometimes quirky behavior in the clubhouse and his off field distractions (has he been divorced 5 times or 6 now?) and his inability to be on time for anything other than cashing his paycheck, I think that even “Darth” Boras will not be able to deliver a contract worth that much at this time. Too bad, Juan; you had your chance and you rolled the dice on last season and you crapped out. Barry Sanders also departed the pro athletic scene in Detroit a couple of years ago but…

…Another athlete split from the Detroit area in the last year and he is not doing real well at the moment. Grant Hill played on a bad ankle/foot in the playoffs last year the Pistons and wound up needing some complicate surgery. He signed with the Magic over the summer and showed up for camp with a lot of rehab to be done. He worked and tried to play and now needs more surgery and is out for the year. After all the work the Magic did to get way under the cap so that they could go out and sign Hill and hopefully Tim Duncan. What they got was an injured Hill and Tracy McGready who would be really valuable with a healthy Hill in the same line-up. And with all that work in the Magic front office, how could they have failed to get an independent orthopedic surgeon to look at the medical files and records and let them know that Hill's foot was not back in pristine condition? You want to talk about foot problems…

…The Cavs' center, Zysifugas Ilgauskas - or whatever his name is - has just broken his foot for the fourth time in five years. That is not a chronic condition; that is a habit. And the Cavs now get to play Chris Mihm at center for lots of minutes in lots of games. Mihm is Greg Ostertag with a better hair stylist. Mark this down as the high water mark for the Cavs for this year. High water would be a minor problem this weekend…

…But it seems the Tampa Bay Bucs will arrive in Philadelphia in the midst of a storm that will be delivering water in one of water's solid forms. Could be ice; could be snow; could be that lovely thing called “wintery mix” - which has nothing to do with snuggling up in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate. The Bucs have still not won a game where the weather on the field at game time was below 40 degrees and the forecast for Philly has the temperature staying below 35 degrees for as long as the Weather Channel dares to predict. And to bring this full circle…

…The weather here in western Pennsylvania is COLD with temperatures in the teens with a wind blowing and some light snow showers falling. I am sitting in front of a fire with a glass of chardonnay at hand and I'm happy to report that I have not broken my foot nor was I dumb enough to turn down a $140M contract offer nor am I homeless nor am I so delusional that I would offer Kevin Gilbride a job doing anything more complicated than being a WalMart greeter. Later…

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...