Beware the Ides (plus 1) of March

Pittsburgh sports fans have had better months.
With opening day 18 days away, three of the Pirates' projected starters (Francisco Cordova, Jason Schmidt and Kris Benson) have arm injuries. That means Todd Ritchie and Jimmy "Curley Howard" Anderson could be starters one and two when the Pirates open the season in Cincinnati on April 3.
Attraction: It's a good thing the Bucs have a new ball park to attract fans. Pitching woes could limit early-season wins, turning summer games into "playing for next year" sessions.
Steelers fans, meanwhile, are dealing with the loss of two of their best players over the past seven seasons.
Quietly, center Dermontti Dawson and linebacker Levon Kirkland have been released, the victim of Pittsburgh's ever-present salary cap struggles. Dawson's release makes sense -- his playing days are limited because of a nagging hamstring injury that cost him most of the past two seasons.
Kirkland, 32, is another story. OK, I admit it, Kirkland has been my favorite Steeler since Super Bowl XXX ended.
As the Steelers said good-bye to linebackers Kevin Greene, Chad Brown and Greg Lloyd; cornerback Rod Woodson; and a multitude of defensive linemen, Kirkland became the heart and soul of the Steelers' defense.
Game in and game out, win or lose, he stood in front of the locker, never ducking the media.
His playing weight has been a problem the past few seasons, but Kirkland deserved better, especially since he was willing to restructure his deal in order to stay.
Inaction: Why hasn't quarterback Kordell Stewart done the same thing? Obviously, Kordell (who knows there is no I in T-E-A-M but there is a M-E) isn't motivated to do what it takes to keep the players needed to get the Steelers back to the postseason.
Once again, the ridiculous contract extension the Steelers gave Stewart after his 7-9 1998 season has come back to bite the fans.
Over at Mellon Arena, the Penguins are about to qualify for their 11th consecutive Stanley Cup playoff appearance.
But even with Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr terrorizing opposing goalies, they don't appear to be a serious contender for Lord Stanley's hardware.
The passing of Tuesday's National Hockey League's trading deadline without a major trade reinforces the Pens' iffy status.
Now admittedly, most Pens fans didn't want the team to part with defenseman Darius Kasparaitis or forwards Milan Kraft, Jan Hrdina and Robert Lang. Those players were, most likely, the price general manager Craig Patrick would have had to pay in order to pry a top-notch goalie from an also-ran.
Jean-Sebastien Aubin remains their best hope in goal and therein lies the problem. Aubin's problem is consistency, especially against contenders. (Then again, what could have been worse than Wednesday's loss to the lowly Islanders?)
Seeding status: The Pens, at present, are in a chase with Buffalo and Toronto for the fifth seed. In the NHL, three division winners in each conference get the top three seeds based on final standings. The other five playoff qualifiers are ranked in order of points earned.
Even if a team that finishes second in its division accumulates more points than another division winner, the division winner still gets seeded higher.
With time running out, the Pens, realistically, are shooting for fifth place, which would mean a first-round series against the New Jersey Devils or Philadelphia Flyers (whichever doesn't win the Atlantic Division).
Even the most optimistic of Penguins fans would have to admit that Pittsburgh doesn't match up well against the Devils (defending champions) or Flyers (the team that knocked them out last May). In this case, perhaps less would be more.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator.