Welcome to Paul Zeise’s weekly mailbag, where the Post-Gazette columnist and 93.7 The Fan radio host answers your questions about sports, life and everything in between. You can also chat about all sports with Paul at noon Thursdays. If you want to ask a question, tweet him @paulzeise or email him at pzeise@post-gazette.com.
Let’s get started:
Engstock: So Bob Nutting decides to sell businesses and it has to be the ski resorts. It's probably too much to hope that he's entering a stage of life where he wants to cash everything in and spend his days counting his fortune or that any of the money from those sales will go to the Pirates payroll. But do you see these sales having any impact on the Pirates?
Zeise: Um, no. That is the short answer. And the answer to the next logical question is no, he is not going to sell the Pirates. I would bet like many businesses the last two years, COVID has crushed the resort/ski business. He is probably just cashing out now and eliminating something that has been a bit of a financial drain. It is hard to run one of those places. I think the Pirates will be run as they always have been under Nutting — for better or worse.
Chef Timbo: Since JuJu's season was far less than expected, could he be affordable enough for the Steelers to consider re-signing him, freeing them up to trade Chase Claypool? Could he hold enough trade capital for the Steelers to move up in the draft to get a quarterback if one they like is available?
Zeise: Sign him for what? He is a ham-and-egger, a possession receiver. You can get a bunch of those guys anywhere you look. And now he is coming off a major injury. Are you watching Devin Bush? It could be two years before he can play at a high level again. That’s not a player the Steelers need to sign and then watch limp through a season.
Edward: Is T.J. Watt going to get paid all that money to basically sit in a hot tub?
Zeise: I said before the deal I would not give him all that money. I think the way he plays, the number of violent collisions he is in ... those kinds of players tend to break down. And we have seen it — not major injuries, but nagging small injuries that add up. I would have franchised him once or twice and moved on. I fear they will be getting his brother’s career, which has been a bunch of injuries.
Amy: Will Kenny Pickett play in the Peach Bowl? Why has it become such an accepted practice for players to sit out of bowl games.
Zeise: I think we will find it out soon. It sounds like he is conflicted right now because he loves his teammates and this team. He also knows that there is a lot at stake. There is a lot of money to be made in the NFL draft. He can’t risk it all playing in a game that is meaningless. He just played in the biggest game of the season and won it. This game is just basically a fun little vacation for players and a reward for a great season. As for why the practice is accepted now, it comes with the way attitudes toward athletes getting paid is viewed. It is now not considered selfish to look out for themselves. They give a lot to these schools and people mostly understand they have to, at some point, look out for themselves.
Tim: Do you think Jeff Capel should still be given another year seeing as the Pitt Men's Basketball team has now lost to the Citadel, UMBC, and now Monmouth not even halfway into this season?
Zeise: This is a tough one. I don’t see how you bring him back if he goes, like, 2-18 in the ACC after all those bad losses and going 3-7 (likely 3-8) in nonconference play. I mean if he is 5-23, attendance will be in the toilet and the program will be at an all-time low. And if he doesn’t have any recruits lined up and the annual exodus happens, it is a bad, bad look. On the other hand, if it turns around, he shows some improvement in the ACC, gets a few recruits to commit and all of his guys commit to next season, maybe you stay the course for one more year. These next three months are really important.
Chad: Who do you think is the most overrated announcer in sports, currently or all time?
Zeise: I have never been a Bob Costas fan. He waxes poetic way too much and never shuts up. Tony Romo is basically stealing money at this point because he used to be good but he isn’t anymore. Louis Riddick is another “smartest guy in the room” who loves to hear his voice too much. I’m just not really one of these guys who loves to hear these guys talk. I would rather watch the game with the sound down.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com or Twitter: @paulzeise
First Published: December 15, 2021, 5:03 p.m.
Updated: December 15, 2021, 5:03 p.m.
