Welcome to Paul Zeise’s weekly mailbag, where the Post-Gazette columnist answers your questions about sports, life and everything in between. If you want to ask a question, find him on X @PaulZeise or email him at pzeise@post-gazette.com.
Author’s note: My duties at the Post-Gazette and my schedule have changed. I will be doing more live videos each week. In general, they will be around 5 p.m. each day. You can find all our Post-Gazette videos on our YouTube channel here. As we figure out our new schedule, the mailbag will move from Wednesdays to later in the week, so keep firing those questions at me every week.
Let’s get started:
Amy: What position should the Steelers target in the first round? We all know they need a quarterback, but I fear there are only two good ones on the board, and both will be gone in the top five.
Zeise: It has to be defensive line. There is no other position that makes sense because I do agree with you that the quarterback list is uninspiring. I mean, if they trade way up and get Shedeur Sanders, I suppose that would move the needle, and I do think he has a chance to be really good. But the other part of this is that it would take a lot to trade up to get him, so I am not sure that’s a direction the Steelers want to go. They haven’t addressed the defensive line, and they need to because as good as Cam Heyward is, he can’t play forever, and they need to add defensive line depth as well as start planning for life after him.
Jason M: Why are you always hating on T.J. Watt? You say they should trade him, and I say if that’s what you really believe, you are an idiot. You don’t trade an all-time great, bozo.
Zeise: I am confused. Am I an idiot or a bozo? Pick one or the other. You don’t get both! Many “all-time greats” have been traded late in their careers for a variety of reasons, and there are plenty of examples of it working out just fine. The greatest was when the 49ers traded Joe Montana (do you think he is an all-time great?) to the Chiefs in 1993. The next year, they won the Super Bowl with Steve Young. It is possible. I love Watt. I love his game. He is a special talent. But I have to weigh his ability to help me win a Super Bowl versus his salary. And given his age, the fact that he has seemingly gotten worn down every year of the last couple of years and has been a non-factor in the playoffs, I have to think he is probably still worth a nice haul in return for draft picks and that means I can build my team for the future. Watt is an all-time great but one whose best days are probably behind him, so why not trade him while his value is still high? If that is hating, well, then guilty as charged.
Zach: Do you think David Bednar is a cautionary tale that a non-contending team should always trade their closer at his highest point?
Zeise: ABSOLUTELY. I wish I could make it even more bold and loud than I just did — absolutely, and the Pirates were dumb last season not only to not trade Bednar at the all-star break but Aroldis Chapman too. Closers seem to be vulnerable to down years and arm troubles. There is absolutely no reason to keep them around beyond the all-star break if you have a team that isn’t contending. The Pirates have seemingly never had much of an issue finding a guy who can close games, so when you have a player that contending teams desire midseason, you have to make the deal, especially if he is a closer, as someone desperate will overpay you for him.
Joey: Why do you think Bob Nutting gets so much more hate than former Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy despite the former delivering winning/playoff teams, something McClatchy never did?
Zeise: Well, McClatchy is seen as the guy who saved the Pirates in Pittsburgh, so he was given that kind of pass. He was also never viewed as the penny pincher that Bob Nutting is. I don’t know if it is entirely fair, but McClatchy put together a group to buy the Pirates when they were considered 50/50 to even stay in Pittsburgh, something he will always be remembered for. Well, that and PNC Park, which he spearheaded the effort to get built before selling the majority stake in the team to Nutting five or six years later.
Angela: You said what I've been feeling and thinking for years. It matters not about Aaron Rodgers, or who they draft, or injuries, etc. We have no identity, spunk, spark, nothing. At all. Kirk Herbstreit, a friggin college guy, even said what happened to us? How many games have we seen when the Steelers were absolutely lifeless?
Zeise: Yes, because that is the case. The Steelers just don’t have that aura anymore like they used to. They are no longer the franchise. It is just one of those things where I don’t know how they will get it back absent of winning. And what’s more troublesome is that not only are they lifeless at times, but they are also lifeless in playoff games.
Engstock: I just finished reading your column about the collegiate NIL mess and the responsibility university presidents have for creating it. I agree. But when you said there are no victims here, I wonder how wrestlers, swimmers, etc., who might lose their scholarship, spot on their team, or maybe even the team itself, are not victims. How are people who lose something that's important to them because of the arrogance, greed, or stupidity of other people, not victims?
Zeise: Well, you misunderstood -— all of this has come about largely because athletes demand to get paid, and some have even gone so far as to try and unionize. So athletes, in general, are not victims of this because they have created it as much as anyone else. To your point, though, some specific groups of athletes will be victims of the financial mess that has been created.
Jim: Do you think the impact of NIL and the portal will change college sports forever? Do you think the days of Saint Peter’s, Loyola of Chicago, and Oakland U upsetting the majors are over? Talented players from mid-majors are and will be bought by the big boys. The magic of March Madness has been altered by money.
Zeise: I would tend to agree with you. I mean, there will still be a Cinderella story or two, but for the most part, you are correct: the edge mid-majors used to have was their ability to field older teams. Well, anyone who gets good at a mid-major is leaving for the Power Four, so now you have teams like Florida, Auburn and even Houston loaded with older guys. The era of Cinderella isn’t dead, but it might be on life support, given how the landscape has changed.
Xavier: When you were asked last week about the most "cursed" team in the NCAA tournament, where do you think the Pitt program ranks, particularly the Jaime Dixon years? So many very good teams with high seeds netted only one Elite 8 appearance.
Zeise: Well, Pitt actually came to mind, but that felt too easy. Forget about just the Dixon years, how about the late 1980s when they were loaded with Charles Smith, Demetreus Gore, Curtis Aiken, Jerome Lane and then Sean Miller, Jason Matthews, Rod Brookin, Brian Shorter. That whole era was cursed even beyond just the ridiculous Barry Goheen loss. Dixon had some tragic losses as well. People point to Scottie Reynolds, but what about the loss to Butler when they were a No. 1 seed and a few others? No question Pitt would rank really high among the most cursed programs in the NCAA tournament. Houston, though, might have solidified their spot at No. 1 with that choke job Monday against Florida.
First Published: April 11, 2025, 8:00 a.m.
Updated: April 12, 2025, 2:42 a.m.
