All bad things must eventually come to an end, right?
I'm sure that's what most Pittsburgh Pirates fans were thinking about earlier this summer.
Just a couple short weeks ago it appeared skipper Clint Hurdle's Bucs were a lock for a winning season.
Although the Pirates are still alive to reach the one-game postseason play-in contest and still finally snap that 19-year stretch of losing seasons, they are doing their best to make things difficult.
Having been an avid baseball fan my whole life I still can recall like it was yesterday when Atlanta Braves pinch-hitter Francisco Cabrera laced the game-winning, two-run single to left in the bottom of the ninth inning during Game 7 of the 1993 National League Championship Series to beat the Pirates as David Justice and Sid Bream scored.
It's hard to fathom that was the beginning of a decline for the Pittsburgh franchise I'm sure no baseball fan saw coming now nearly two decades later.
Strangely, that year of 1993 when this terrible streak for Pirates fans began also happened to mark the first year of the Frontier League, which of course has been in the news around here lately as the Mid-Ohio Valley area is trying to figure out if it can bring a team to town and support it.
The good news is the Pirates still have 20 games left in the season and anything can happen.
If things don't work out for the Pirates this year I can understand the frustration because that's the type of season it's been for my old American League only fantasy baseball team. During the season each franchise only has slots for 10 pitchers, but my squad has somehow managed to use 21 different starters. It's actually 23 total pitchers (two relief bums) in all and the latest addition of Kevin Millwood from the waiver wire was the actual 21st starter through the first 140-plus games. Talk about a season to forget.
Turning to football, I'd love to be at Joan C. Edwards Stadium on Saturday to watch the visiting Bobcats of Ohio University take on Marshall.
I've been trying to decide all week long which team I should take. Last week turned out to be a rough one for my football picks, but congratulations go out to the Belpre football team and head coach Greg Adams for putting that losing streak to bed.
Oddly, the OU Bobcats never have won a game in their five attempts on the road against the Thundering Herd since Joan C. Edwards Stadium opened back in 1991. Oddsmakers, though, obviously like Ohio University's chances to win the Battle for the Bell since they are a strong touchdown favorite in Las Vegas.
Of the nine Class A schools which are still winless, two of them go head-to-head as Paden City, losers of six straight, travel to take on Gilmer County, which has lost seven in a row and 15 of 16.
Hopefully, someone will end a losing streak there on Friday night, unless it ends up in a tie.
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com
