If you grew up in Pittsburgh during the 1960s and early 70s, you probably watched Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time and remember him introducing cartoons by taking his “magic sword” and saying the phrase, “Down goes the curtain and back up again for Beanie and Cecil” or some other cartoon. However, there is another famous curtain in Pittsburgh, and when it went down, it stayed down
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We’ve had labor disputes, strikes, and lockouts that have temporarily suspended seasons, and our sports teams have endured wars and the terrorists attack of 9/11. Below is an account of how some of our most beloved sports leagues and teams have fared while facing undue circumstances. Major League Baseball The American and National Leagues merged. As the oldest league, it has seen its share of
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Presently, there are 26 quarterbacks in the NFL Hall of Fame from the modern era. Of those, six of them hail from our own backyard–more than any other place in the country. Why is this area such a seedbed for superstar quarterbacks? Let’s examine each Hall of Famer for clues. Here are their stories presented in the order of their induction into the Hall of
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In May 2019, Robert Morris University debuted its new $43 million UPMC Events Center, which will not only serve as the home for both the Colonials men’s and women’s basketball teams and women’s volleyball team, but is also a state-of-art, gleaming venue that will play host to family-friendly shows and concerts. “The events center was constructed on the former site of the Sewell Center and
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Pittsburgh has had several soccer teams come and go, like the Pittsburgh Phantoms who lasted only one year, and the Pittsburgh Spirit, who played for seven seasons starting in the late 1970s. Outlasting them all are the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, who have been around for two decades. The following are some fun facts about the Hounds. Initially, the Riverhounds were called the “Riverdogs,” but the Minor
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On June 12, 2006, my family and I were on vacation at North Carolina’s Outer Banks, a popular beach destination for many Pittsburghers. As it was an overcast day, my daughter and I decided to do some shopping at Scarborough Faire Shopping Village. Near lunchtime as we meandered along the boardwalk that connected the boutiques, my daughter’s cell phone rang. While she answered it, I
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Penn State and Pitt Continue the Rivalry Before Pitt and Penn State renewed their rivalry on September 10, 2016, the last time the teams had met on the gridiron, John Paul II was pope and Bill Clinton was president. During that meeting on September 16, 2000, the Panthers defeated the Nittany Lions 12-0. When they renewed the rivalry in 2016 at Heinz Field, it was
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Western Pennsylvania has set the standard for quarterback excellence. It has been distinguished as the “Cradle of Quarterbacks” for producing such names as Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino. The gunslinger who pioneered the movement, Johnny Unitas, led a storied career of sheer dominance with an arm that put the NFL on the map. We remember his greatness fifteen years following his
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To those who love sports, the venues where the games are played are akin to temples. Pittsburgh is home to some of the best facilities for cheering on a hockey team, watching a football game, or taking in a baseball game. But even if you have been to The PPG Paints Arena for every puck that has ever been dropped, seen every kickoff since Heinz
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Baron Batch came to Pittsburgh as the Steelers’ seventh-round pick in the NFL’s 2011 draft out of Texas Tech University, where he was the school’s eighth-ranked, all-time rushing leader and where he led the team in rushing his senior year with 816 yards on 177 carries. In retrospect, it seems that football would turn out to be only a means for Batch to find his
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