O'Brien has no excuse

Admit it Buckeye fans -- it did your hearts good knowing that the latest scandal in The Ohio State University athletic department has no Youngstown connection.
There's no excuse for men's basketball coach Jim O'Brien giving money to a recruit. If anyone is supposed to know and understand and follow NCAA rules, it's extremely well-paid coaches.
Even more disturbing is the claim in a civil lawsuit that O'Brien and one of his assistants knew that a player on the 1998-99 Final Four team received cash assistance and classroom help.
Once again, Buckeyes athletic director Andy Geiger has his hands full trying to clean up messes that shouldn't occur at Ohio's top state university.
And don't cry for O'Brien -- heaven knows he'll end up coaching again real soon.
Bucs' news not good
To the southeast of us, news is not good on several fronts.
Two weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates put together a three-game winning streak against the Chicago Cubs. Although the Bucs were still in last place in the National League Central Division, their 23-22 record offered hope.
Today, that bubble has burst. In their next 13 games, the Bucs dropped 12 of them to tank the 2004 season. After two months of hovering near the .500 mark despite a depleted payroll, the Bucs are playing down to everyone's expectations.
Across the Allegheny River, Pittsburgh Penguins owner Mario Lemieux confirmed on Thursday what veteran hockey observers have known for months -- the clock is ticking on the Penguins' future in Pittsburgh.
Breaking a seven-month vow of silence since a hip injury ended his National Hockey League season, the 38-year-old Lemieux said his days as owner are numbered .
Lemieux expressed tremendous frustration for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County officials who have done little to generate financing for a new downtown arena to replace the 43-year-old Mellon Arena, the oldest in the NHL.
Luxury-box revenue
Lemieux is no dummy -- he knows his franchise can't exist much longer in a facility lacking the luxury box revenue being generated by so many NHL rivals.
For the Pens to remain in Pittsburgh past 2007 when their current lease expires, a new arena has to be ready to open. And since it takes about two years to build such an ice palace, the time has come for action or to get ready to say adieu to NHL hockey.
Lemieux's ownership group cannot continue to sustain the team with crowds averaging less than 12,000. The time is coming when a sale to out-of-town interests makes nothing but sense.
Further down the Monongahela River, the Steelers' best player -- wide receiver Hines Ward -- is unhappy with his contract and may not report to training camp in Latrobe, Pa.
Ward's contract calls for a base salary of $1,688,760. Considering he caught 95 passes last season despite playing with broken ribs in December, he's worth every penny of it. Probably more.
Ward's complaint came after quarterback Tommy Maddox received a contract extension that improved his $750,000 salary (woeful for a starting quarterback in the NFL).
An exception
President Art Rooney II says the Maddox extension was an exception and other players shouldn't expect similar treatment.
Perhaps Rooney should make another exception -- Ward has been the Steelers' best threat since they junked the run-dominated attack led by Jerome Bettis in favor of an aerial assault.
On the flip side of all this negativity, two former Penguins have been named to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
When defenseman Paul Coffey was traded by the then two-time champion Edmonton Oilers in 1987, the Pens immediately shook off their laughing-stock status. Coffey's offensive skills teamed with Lemieux's scoring capability to generate one of the NHL's most frightening power-play units.
Pens fans knew little about defenseman Larry Murphy when the Minnesota North Stars traded him in December 1990, but he quickly became a force on the blue line for the Pens' championship teams in 1991 and 1992.
Both earned their invitations to Toronto's hallowed hall.
XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write him at williams@vindy.com