Smorgasbord Time!

* Has Sidney Crosby become the best major professional athlete at his particular sport in the world right now? This argument has previously centered on Peyton Manning and LeBron James, with a little bit of Albert Pujols sprinkled in, but with what Crosby has done this year he has eliminated all challengers in hockey as the game’s best player.

* Crosby will look to extend his point streak to 26 games tonight against the Islanders. In case you were wondering, the record is 51 games by Wayne Gretzky at the start of the 1983-84 season. Mario Lemieux holds the team record with a 46 game scoring streak in the 89-90 season. There are only five scoring streaks of 30 or more games in NHL history.

* Did anyone else hear Chris Collinsworth criticize Adrian Petersen’s short yardage running last night? I wanted to jump through the TV and slap him in the face. AP is the best short yardage back in the NFL. I think he has failed to get the first down or touchdown on a 3rd or 4th and one situation approximately three times over the last two years.

* If you watched West Virginia’s offense in their bowl game last night you now know why they decided to hire Dana Holgorsen to run the show.

* Anyone else sick of hearing and seeing Matt Millen these days? Didn’t that guy get fired from the Lions for having no clue how to run a team?

* We are probably going to hear a lot in the next few days about the lack of Steelers who made the Pro-Bowl this year and I must say that I agree. Lawrence Timmons and Mike Wallace most certainly deserved a spot on the team and a strong case could be made for Casey Hampton, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior and even a small one for Ben Roethlisberger, though I would have chosen the same three QBs who did make it.

* There is a good chance a few more Steelers will be named to the team through the alternate process after many players bow out of the game due to injury or just plain apathy. You can bet, however, that all of the Steelers hope that they will not be able to play in the Pro-Bowl due to a slightly more important game the following week.

* Despite the Pro-Bowl talk, you can be sure that the Steelers have all of their attention focused on the Cleveland Browns this week. They remember what happened last year when they went up there not ready to play and even more is on the line this year with a first round bye and the AFC’s #2 seed there for the taking.

* With Indianapolis needing a win to clinch their playoff spot and Kansas City having virtually nothing to play for, expect Peyton Manning and company to win Sunday and earn the #3 seed in the AFC (with a Chiefs loss to the Raiders). That should make Steelers fans worry. This Colts team is not particularly great, but number 18 can always beat you with his right arm.

* I heard a good bit of talk in Pittsburgh the past couple of weeks that this particular Pitt basketball team was overrated. I think that talk has been silenced for a little while. People have to realize in basketball that sometimes the basket looks like an ocean to the opposing team, and that certainly looked like the case when Pitt was dismantled by Tennessee. It was only one game in a long season, however, and this Pitt team is awfully deep and awfully talented. They proved that on Monday night.