Sports Paradise

Young fans’ enthusiasm is being traded, too Steelers Jerseysrian O’Neill’s column on Tuesday really resonated with me (“The Real Loss for the Pirates Comes at an Early Age,” July 7).My husband and I are Pirates full-season ticket holders and have been for a number of years. We have an 11-year-old son who has still not recovered from last year’s Jason Bay trade.The Jason Bay poster that Charlie purchased at the school book fair with his own money still hangs above his bed. He had it autographed at a Dick’s Sporting Goods Gloves for Kids event. The Jason Bay 2006 National League All-Star jersey still hangs in the closet. Charlie won’t wear it, but when he sees it he says, “Remember the time we were at Pirate Fest and Jason Bay came up to me and said ‘nice jersey’?”I am not making this up.We have taken Charlie to see the Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium, PNC Park, the old Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Jacobs Field, Great American Ballpark and Camden Yards. He has seen a lot of Pirates baseball. Charlie plays baseball and loves the game. He doesn’t play football or hockey, but Charlie knows that the Steelers and Pens have won championships in his lifetime — as well as the hearts and minds of his peers.There are a number of Pirates bobbleheads on Charlie’s dresser. When a player is traded, the bobblehead moves from the bedroom to the playroom in the basement. That’s the home version of “being sent down.” As of yesterday Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Santonio Holmes JerseyTom Gorzelanny, Matt Capps and Ryan Doumit were still there — but for how much longer?AILEEN BOWERSCenterWhy support them?I am a 50-year-old man who grew up in Vandergrift. The Pittsburgh Pirates used to come to town every summer. We had a huge parade; the players would sign autographs and thank us for our support. We would then go down to Three Rivers Stadium for Vandergrift Day. I was a baseball fan above all else when I was a kid.The Pirates were one of the best teams in the ’70s. I look at the Pirates today and wonder what happened. The owner keeps most of the money in his pocket, the team trades its best players and some of the ones they do keep don’t hustle.I went to a game with my brothers on June 14 and spent $87 myself. There were well over 30,000 people at the game. You do the math. If the Nutting family doesn’t give a damn about the Pirates, neither do I. I have spent my last dollar the Franco Harris Jersey Pirates will ever see.The Penguins and the Steelers have earned and deserve my support, not the Pirates. We were told if a new ballpark was built a winning team would be put on the field. They got their ballpark and the Nuttings get to keep their money. We get losing teams and good players traded, while making the owners richer. When is enough, enough?JOHN RICHARDSButlerUnselfish dedicationThis letter is in response to the article “Vatican Inquiries Into Sisters Causing Trepidation” (July 3).Two themes emerge from this article as I interpret it: 1) the Vatican’s concern that women religious have become too secular, and 2) the Vatican’s concern that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious continues to speak out in favor of female ordination.In response to women religious becoming secular, I ask what is the relevant correlation between a sister’s place of residence or her attire, and her ability to teach our children, care for our sick and answer the cries of our poor? Consider not where they live, or the clothes they wear, but rather consider their unselfish dedication on our behalf for decades and for low pay.Following Vatican II, many religious and lay Steelers Jerseys women alike looked forward to an expanded role for women including diaconate and priestly ordination. Moving forward let us make a renewed commitment to embrace, uplift and support women religious, some of whom truly believe they have a call to ordained ministry.In closing, I wish to thank these religious communities — Charity, Felician, Mercy and St. Joseph; many of your members contributed to my spiritual formation and to my personal and professional development. And I always will be grateful.MARY ANN HVIZDOSWilkinsburgChurch monologueThank you for publishing the article about the Vatican’s investigation of U.S. religious sisters (“Vatican Inquiries Into Sisters Causing Trepidation,” July 3). Being a Catholic today has much in common with being in an abusive marriage. Do you stick it out and work for change, or do you leave? Many have left, and those who have stayed are being “investigated.”People in an abusive marriage can go to counseling.

The counselor creates a safe place to discuss Sittsburgh Steelers Jerseysdifferences. Some abusive spouses will not go to counseling, and neither will the official church.There is no safe forum for discussing the ordination of women, which many believe is the key issue behind the Vatican’s move. The official church has a three-step monologue process for those who disagree: (1) write official documents telling people what to believe, (2) failing to convince, apply sanctions, and (3) when people will not be silenced, tell them that they have “placed themselves outside the church.”If Catholics speak out about the ordination of women, they risk being removed from their religious communities, their ministries or their jobs, which can mean loss of financial supports and benefits.I speak about this from the inside having been told in public print that I have put myself out of the church. No personal letter, no phone call, no counseling, no discussion, no dialogue, just “out”; however, I will not be abused, and I will not leave my church. The result of my taking this stand is that I have found myself in the best of company.JOAN CLARK HOUKMcCandlessThe writer was among women ordained by Roman Catholic Womenpriests in July 2006.Mayor’s task nowKudos to Mayor Luke Ravenstahl for Rashard Mendenhall Jersey publicly stating that the Pittsburgh Promise is as important as winning the Super Bowl and hosting the G-20 economic summit (“Fund Raising Not the Only Goal of Pittsburgh Promise,” July 7). An important message is sent when the city’s top elected official asserts that education deserves the same attention that is lavished on professional sports and public relations.Mr. Ravenstahl voiced strong support for the Promise when it was launched shortly after he became mayor in 2006. Now, with the perspective that comes with being a new parent, it’s likely that he is even more keen on making high academic achievement a reality for all Pittsburgh children.The mayor can take an immediate, positive step toward that goal by filling a recently vacated school board seat with an independent-minded appointee who is 100 percent committed to both the Promise and the job.CHRIS ZURAWSKYSquirrel HillWill Onorato put the interests of polluters above residents’ health?Since 1988, the Allegheny County Department of Health has used a set of guidelines to monitor the effect of airborne toxic chemicals on the health of county residents. Three years ago concerned citizens, local environmentalists and representatives of business and industry met to develop an updated version of the guidelines. This seemed a reasonable course given the advances in science and technology as well as public support for clean, sustainable technologies. Agreement among all parties was reached and the revised guidelines were submitted to the county Board of Health.Unfortunately the members of the Greg Lloyd Jersey board appear to be stuck in the past. On July 1 the board voted to indefinitely table the revised guidelines (“Residents Angered by County Health Board’s Inaction,” July 2). This action essentially kills these guidelines. It also dashed the hope of thousands of residents of Clairton, Glassport, Ben Avon, Emsworth, Kennedy, McKees Rocks, Avalon, Ohio Township, Sewickley, Stowe and Bellevue for a better level of protection from toxins associated with increased levels of cancer and asthma.Board members took this action because they felt the revised guidelines would impose a burden on new polluting industries wishing to locate in the county. There was no mistaking that the board felt it was more important to protect the interests of polluters than the health of residents.Now the ball is in the hands of County Executive Dan Onorato. He touts the greening of Allegheny County but allows his appointees on the Board of Health to do the dirty work of supporting polluting industries.Mr. Onorato, now is the time for you to show your true colors. Intervene on behalf of your constituents to pressure the board to reconsider its poor decision. Will your true color be green or the same old smoky gray?NORM MASTAvalon

CANTON, Ohio — It was an annual rite of Steelers Authentic Jerseys August, this march to history, this journey to destiny. One by one, they made their way to the front steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, each taking their turn at enshrinement as part of a franchise — a Super era, if you will — that was unlike any in National Football League history.The 1970s produced more than four Super Bowl titles in six years for the Steelers. They produced nine players and a coach who would be inducted into the Hall of Fame, nearly all just five years after retirement — the minimum waiting period for enshrinement.Last night, on a stage a couple of hundred yards from where 10 members of the Super Steelers were inducted, Rod Woodson took his turn and was given enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first player from the post-Steel Curtain era to be inducted.”It’s more than putting on a jacket and seeing your bust here,” Woodson said. “It’s being part of an elite team of pro football. I’m honored to be in the ’09 class with good men.”Woodson, an 11-time Pro Bowl cornerback who played 10 seasons with the Steelers (1987-96), played seven more seasons with three other teams — the Baltimore Ravens, Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers — and finished with the third-most interceptions in NFL history (71).PG graphics: Join the Club Class of 2009: Pro Football Hall of FameAnd even though he is the first Ravens player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, Woodson will always be remembered as a member of the Steelers, even though he never won a Super Bowl with them.”I want to say thank you to the Rooney family — a great, great family,” Woodson said. “The Steelers are Chris Kemoeatu Jersey arguably one of the best, if not the best, sporting franchises because of their family. I want to thank you for 10 wonderful years.”And then, looking toward the audience littered with Terrible Towels and No. 26 jerseys, Woodson said, “And the Steeler Nation for accepting me and cheering me on — and, after I left, for booing me. If you cheered me when I put on a Ravens uniform, I think I would have lost a lot of respect for the Steeler Nation. I’m glad you booed me, because you should.”Woodson’s induction, unlike that of the other Steelers’, took place on a giant makeshift stage inside Fawcett Stadium, just a Terry Bradshaw pass from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And, though raucous crowds gathered, stood and chanted in black-and-gold jerseys for the induction of their past Super Bowl heroes, Woodson’s enshrinement had less of a Pittsburgh flavor.In fact, the crowd inside the stadium was mostly red, white and blue — the colors of the Buffalo Bills, who had two members of their franchise, owner Ralph Wilson and defensive end Bruce Smith, being inducted.”Rod is more than a Hall of Fame football player; he’s a Hall of Fame person,” said Tracy Foster, Woodson’s longtime friend from Fort Wayne, Ind., who presented him for enshrinement.In a tribute to a career that spanned 17 seasons, each of Woodson’s five children wore a different jersey of the four teams for which he played. In a lengthy speech he thanked each of the three teams that employed him after his departure from Pittsburgh after the 1996 season; nonetheless, Woodson saved most of his tribute for the Steelers coaches who started him on the road to stardom, beginning with Chuck Noll. He also included assistants Tony Dungy and his first defensive coordinator, Rod Rust, whom he called a “defensive genius, a guy who went above what he should have done.”Then, after citing Bill Cowher and former defensive coordinator Dom Capers, he began an unofficial campaign to get his former secondary coach, Dick LeBeau, into the Hall of Fame.”I hope the voters, seriously, get it right,” Woodson said. “He deserves to be in as a player, and if you don’t put him as a player, you put him in as a contributor. He deserves it. The voters will get tired of hearing me Ike Taylor Jersey saying it — Dick LeBeau deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”Woodson had 38 of his 71 interceptions and five of his NFL-record 12 interception returns for touchdowns with the Steelers, who made him their No. 1 pick in 1987. In ’94, his eighth season with the Steelers, he was named as a cornerback on the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team, one of only five active players to be so honored.He joins nine other players who were drafted by Noll in the Hall of Fame — Bradshaw (1989), Joe Greene (1987), Jack Ham (1988), Mel Blount (1989), Franco Harris (1990), Jack Lambert (1990), Mike Webster (1997), Lynn Swann (2001) and John Stallworth (2002). Noll was inducted in ’93, a year after he retired.Greene and Blount were the only past Steelers inductees to attend last night’s ceremony and sit on the stage behind Woodson. Steelers president Art Rooney II also was in attendance.”I knew just from watching him over the years, and from watching great athletes, this guy was a great player,” Blount said. “I knew what kind of skills you have to have and this guy had them all — plus. We’re excited to see him go in and see him go in in style.”One of Woodson’s greatest achievements with the Steelers won’t even show up in the record book. In the ’95 season, after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee in the season opener against the Detroit Lions, he came back to play in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys — a remarkable feat considering the severity of the injury. He is believed to be the only player to return from a torn ACL in the same season, even though his participation Steelers Jerseys in the Super Bowl was limited to specialty packages.”It never would have happened if Bill didn’t leave a spot open for me,” Woodson said. “There’s no coach today [who would do that]. But Bill saw something. What he saw, I don’t know, but he gave me a great opportunity to play in the Super Bowl.”Woodson left the Steelers after the ’96 season, his seventh Pro Bowl season, because Cowher and director of football operations Tom Donahoe believed injuries had robbed him of his effectiveness.But Woodson went on to play seven more seasons — one with the 49ers, four with the Ravens, two more with the Raiders. He won a Super Bowl with the Ravens in 2000, when he played safety, and made it to the Super Bowl with the Raiders in ’02, a year in which he led the NFL, at age 37, with eight interceptions.Woodson retired a year later. Last night, his journey, which began with the Steelers, was completed.Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac

Josh McKivigan and Meg St-Esprit Pittsburgh Steelers Authentic Jerseys stopped at Ross Park Mall on Wednesday afternoon with a goal — pick up Ms. St-Esprit’s shoes for their July 18 wedding.While there, they passed by tables set up for an autograph event that evening with Steelers’ tight end Heath Miller.”We couldn’t pass it up,” Mr. McKivigan said. Rather than leave, they walked around killing time before the event. Ms. St-Esprit had her necklace fixed, and Mr. McKivigan purchased presents for his groomsmen at L.L. Bean.Once their Heath Miller autographs were in hand, Ms. St-Esprit said she was going to try to persuade her fiancé to buy her an early wedding present at Macy’s.With the recession putting the squeeze on retailers, malls around the country are using community events to drive traffic into the building or to get such consumers as Mr. McKivigan and Ms. St-Esprit to spend more time shopping.The Conference Board, a New York-based organization that surveys consumers to gauge and predict shopping habits, issued a report at the end of June saying consumer confidence had dropped following a few months in which confidence numbers rose, signaling a slow recovery in which retail sales will continue to struggle.Consumers are more cautious about how and where they spend their money now, said C. Britt Beemer, chief executive officer and founder of America’s Research Group in Charleston, S.C. The recession means that malls must encourage traffic, and organizing community events is a good way to draw customers in, Mr. Beemer said.”What you hope it does, is that people who go in the mall, even though they may not buy something on that particular visit, they say, ‘Gosh, I’ll have to get back there,’” he said.Malls across the country are marketing themselves as meeting places or community centers, especially in locations that don’t Jack Ham Jersey have a downtown area, International Council of Shopping Centers spokeswoman Erin Hershkowitz said.”It certainly has become more of a social scene than it used to be, rather than just a place to shop,” Ms. Hershkowitz said.At Ross Park on Wednesday, a local Pittsburgh charity foundation hosted Mr. Miller and held a silent auction to raise money. “Glimmer of Hope” funds an under-40 breast cancer research study at Magee-Womens Research Institute, and for four hours, they occupied the mall’s center court, where they attracted a line of people — some dressed in Steelers jerseys — excited to see the Super Bowl winner.Johnnie Thomas, 20, and Sean Garrison, 21, both of Bellevue, visited Ross Park because Mr. Garrison’s mother had told them Mr. Miller would be there signing autographs. They walked around the mall beforehand, but didn’t buy anything, Mr. Garrison said, but they were planning to shop afterwards.The community events are a positive for the retailers, the community and the mall, said Michael Gianoutsos, the director of marketing for Ross Park Mall.”We feel that the mall isn’t just a place where people go to shop anymore,” he said. “It’s a place where people go to see what’s happening.”The mall has been hosting community events for years, he said, but recently they’ve been ramping up. When the DVD of vampire movie “Twilight?? was released, Ross Jack Lambert Jersey Park hosted a blood bank sign-up at the mall’s “Hot Topic” store. They also have worked out a deal with the Pittsburgh Symphony so people can park at the mall, take a bus Downtown to the performance, and then receive a coupon book to shop in the mall.”We would love to have [an event] every single day if I could handle it,” Mr. Gianoutsos said. “It’s just a great way for the mall to stay in touch with the community.”Coincidentally, it’s also a way to draw in consumers that are not flocking to malls the way they have in the past. Century III Mall in West Mifflin was listed in a recent U.S. News World Report ranking of the country’s 10 most endangered malls. The rank determination was based on data that included sales and occupancy rates. Tenants fill 70 percent of the space in Century III, the report said.Century III is hosting more community events this year than it did in 2008, said Christine Jamison, the director of marketing and business Steelers Jerseys development at the mall. It held 44 events in 2008, and have held 61 so far in 2009, including job fairs, high school robot competitions, pet adoptions and a comic book and collectibles show.”The stores see an increase in traffic on those days, and that gives us an opportunity to promote to people that may not have been at the mall,” she said.South Hills Village Mall in Bethel Park has had about a 30 percent increase this year in community events, said Megan Frenz, director of marketing and business development. She said she’d always tried to think of the mall as more than a place to shop.”You can come to the mall, you can do your shopping, you can eat and you can go to the movies,” she said. “It’s really just going on with what we’ve always done.”Mindy Suhoza, marketing director at Monroeville Mall, said that while the shopping center hosts community events often, it hadn’t had a significant increase in programs this year.Meanwhile, Ross Park already had several more community events planed, Mr. Gianoutsos said, including the unveiling of a mural painted on a mall entrance by the MLK Community Mural Project.”The more we have going on in the mall, the better for the property itself,” he said.Kaitlynn Riely can be reached at krielyor 412-263-1468.

In my local coffee shop last weekend, the Steelers Jerseysconversation turned to the G-20 conference that Pittsburgh will host in September. A couple of women were concerned our shopping might lack the pizzazz to satisfy our international visitors.They were serious. I couldn’t believe it. On anyone’s long list of worries, how could one possibly make room for whether some French diplomat’s mistress turns up her nose at the jewelry on Smithfield Street, or a shirt-tail relative of the Saudi royal family isn’t bowled over by the sandals and pumps at Ross Park Mall?It almost made me want to throw in with the anarchists busily planning to sabotage the whole show.My neighbors’ concerns are evidence, as if more were needed, of Pittsburgh’s chronic self-esteem issues. The knee-jerk reaction too often has been: “They picked us? Why?”Why not?First of all, folks, this is the G-20, the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, the suits who see themselves in charge of the world economy. Take a look at the world. Take a look at the economy. This gang should feel lucky it’s allowed in anywhere.Second, this is a very intense, highly policed and scheduled 48-hour summit, and the conferees and the 2,500 credentialed media representatives are likely to spend most or all of their time in the control zone of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. And some arriving from more repressed countries might never want to leave the hotel room mini-bars and the (ahem) premium James Farrior Jersey movie channels.Third, speaking as a satisfied transplant, I can tell you that only the boring can find a way to stay bored in Pittsburgh.We’re not New York and we’re not London, but as one who grew up happily on the edge of the former and spent an enjoyable four months as a student in the latter, I believe that’s just fine. There’s no use worrying about people who visit a new place and then moan because it’s not like the place they just left. (I’m talking to you, Sienna Miller.)I don’t worry about the various embassy staffs and the set-up technicians finding fun stuff to do. I don’t know about you, but after I’ve just spent a long day discussing a proposal to radically reform the International Monetary Fund, I know no better way to unwind than a Pirates game and a Primanti Brothers sandwich.Oh, and we also have a world-class symphony and museums if they’re into that. And it’s a nice drive down to Fallingwater that time of year, and a walk along the Jeff Reed Jersey rivers or an Incline ride up Mount Washington would show anyone that Pittsburgh’s a pretty little city at summer’s end.I have siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws all over the map, and most know cities larger than ours, but I don’t recall any who haven’t enjoyed their visits here. New Yorkers, in particular, seem to have a fondness for the feel and scale and relative ease of life here.The other day I was at PNC Park and about every fifth soul was someone from Greater New York in town to see the Mets play the Pirates. Some sections were so alive with New York voices they sounded like the Joe Pesci Chorus. The Mets lost all three games, but fans around me took comfort in the ticket prices they paid and the views they had sitting in the prettiest ballpark in North America.”I can’t get over it,” said William Heymann, 42, of Brick, N.J., sitting behind the plate and wearing a Mets jersey. “I’m like in awe. You don’t know how good you have it.”He calculated that it was cheaper for him to fly from Newark to Pittsburgh and buy this ticket than to drive to Queens and buy a similar ticket in Citi Field.Being a long-suffering Pirates fan, I told him if his team lost Steelers Jerseys for 16 consecutive seasons, his tickets would be cheap, too. But Mr. Heymann went on about the restaurants he’d visited on the North Side, the South Side and Mount Washington with his cousin, Victor Diaz, of Monroeville. It was his first visit, but he’s returning in the fall for the Steelers-Vikings game, and plans to make the Mets series an annual event.”The people are friendly. It’s just nice.”Pittsburgh is pretty nice. In a few months, anarchists willing, more of the world (and of Pittsburgh) may figure that out.Brian O’Neill can be reached at boneillor 412-263-1947. More articles by this author

Emily and Matt Kocian are spending time Sittsburgh Steelers Jerseys in the hospital this summer, but they aren’t sick.At least one day each week, the siblings put in several hours of volunteering — before a lot of teens have even rolled out of bed.Hunter Berk, 16, hasn’t given a lot of thought yet to his college career, but he’s already knee-deep in SAT prep books.He’s busy making sure that study aids are available to students whose families might not be able to afford them.And Chelsea Dickson, 16, is organizing Face the Music, a concert to benefit Family Resources of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit that combats child abuse.When the school year ends each June, some teens while away the summer at poolside or take part-time jobs to earn spending money. But many find fulfillment in helping others.Matt, 14, of Reserve, rises about 6 a.m. every Thursday to volunteer as a patient escort at St. Clair Hospital in Mt. Lebanon, where his dad works. Matt’s legs are strong from his lawn care business, and that helps as he logs miles a day pushing patients in wheelchairs “wherever they need us to go. I spend the whole day walking,” Matt said. By 4:30, “I’m usually tired.”He often walks for two hours or more without rest. His throat gets tired, too, from chatting with the patients, who enjoy seeing young people volunteering.”They say, ‘Oh, we got a young one!’ ” said Matt, who will be in ninth grade at Shaler Area High School. “Everyone thinks the volunteers are all old guys.”Matt might think his sister, Emily, 16, has it easy. She plays all day. Emily, who will be a junior at Shaler Area, has volunteered for three years in the playrooms at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.She previously Jerome Bettis Jersey volunteered in outpatient and same-day-surgery playrooms, but this summer she advanced to inpatient playrooms and bedside play, where she entertains children who have longer stays.”We might play games or video games or do crafts,” she said. “I worry about the kids being OK, and I try to make them smile and laugh.”The experience has helped her realize she wants to pursue a career in psychology.Playing might sound easy compared to pushing wheelchairs for hours on end, but Emily said, “I wouldn’t suggest going straight to inpatient playroom” as a first volunteer experience. “It wears you out. These kids are so happy to see someone, they just go, go, go!”Other teens have developed their own volunteer projects.Hunter, of O’Hara, was chatting with his mom, Joe Greene Jerseywho is writing a book about colleges, when an unpleasant fact dawned on him. Not only is the cost of college tuition overwhelming for many students, but even if they find a way to afford college, they first have to be able to afford the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the books used to prepare for it.Most students use the books once and discard them. Hunter, who will be a junior at Fox Chapel Area High School, started the College Bound Collection, collecting used college prep books to distribute to teens who otherwise could not afford them.”There are people who hire coaches for their kids for $10,000, and then there are some kids who can’t even come close to getting access to stuff like that,” Hunter said. “These books can run from $40 to $50. Advanced Placement tests are about $89. The SAT starts at $45 with different fees added on. It adds up after a while.”The concept of charging for educational supplies seemed unjust to Hunter.”The College Board is a large corporation, and it’s hard to get into a college without taking the SAT,” he said. “They’re not only making money off the tests but their books, too. They’re making so much money on something I don’t think they should charge for.”With the help of his principals and computer technology teacher at Fox Chapel Area, Hunter contacted students and placed collection boxes at the high school, Lauri Ann West Memorial Library in O’Hara, Adat Shalom synagogue in Cheswick and Café Latte on Saxonburg Boulevard in Indiana Township. He has received hundreds of books. He sorts the donations into AP Steelers Jerseysprep books, SAT prep books, flash cards and unbiased books about colleges. He even recycles college conscientious brochures.”We’ll get the [Fox Chapel Area] high school library fully stocked, and I’m contacting different community and citywide organizations,” he said. “We don’t want this to be just for Fox Chapel kids; there are so many kids out there who can use this

He hopes other students will hear about the Steelers Authentic Jerseysffort and start similar collections. “I mean, we can’t store all these books in my basement,” he said, with a laugh.Chelsea has involved other students in her project.Say the word “concert” and most teens line up for tickets and T-shirts. Say “concert” to Chelsea, and she lines up 10 of her closest friends and puts them to work.Chelsea, who will be a junior at Shady Side Academy in the fall, learned about Family Resources from her dad, who has been involved with the organization’s fund-raisers.”In early June, I started brainstorming about what I could do this summer,” said Chelsea, of Highland Park. She kicked off her vacation by traveling to Appalachia with a church group to build homes. She also manages her school soccer team while she heals from an injury, and she volunteers regularly with day camps at Carnegie Museum of Art.”I love concerts and music,” she said, so planning a concert seemed like a no-brainer.”It’s a little nerve-racking,” she conceded. “It’s fun, but a lot more Kevin Greene Jersey work than I imagined.”She designed the concert logo and has regular meetings with her core group of volunteers, teens who attend Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel Area High School and Oakland Catholic.”Some are creating T-shirts for the staff, one is doing media relations, another is contacting sponsors, two are getting Penguins and Steelers jerseys to auction off, some are making signs and putting up posters, and one created a Facebook group,” Chelsea said.The Aug. 28 concert, which will feature the band Crossing Boundaries and opening act Courtney Barker — all teens from the North Hills — has consumed Chelsea’s summer.The money from the outdoor concert will go to Family Resources’ new campaign, “Be the Difference, Lawrence Timmons Jersey” which offers suggestions on how observers can respond to parent-children conflict in public settings.”We’ve all been in the grocery store where there’s an overstressed mom and she loses it with her kids,” Chelsea said. ” ‘Be the Difference’ encourages people to say something, to [give positive support to the parent] but also to let them know people are watching.”Rebecca Hebert, director of Individual Giving at Family Resources, loves that teens such as Chelsea care enough to spend their free time volunteering.”It’s a way for them to make a change,” Ms. Hebert said.For more information on Face the Music or to buy advance tickets, visit www.familyresourcesofpa.org. Tickets are $10.For more Steelers Jerseysinformation on College Bound Collection, contact Hunter Berk at hdberk@me.com.Freelance writer Jennifer Kissel can be reached in care of suburbanliving

Where else but Pittsburgh would the citizenry Pittsburgh Steelers Authentic Jerseysmark the 100th anniversary of something that’s not there anymore — and hasn’t been there for four decades or so?But when it comes to Forbes Field, the iconic ballpark set against the backdrop of Schenley Park in Oakland, the memories are as vivid as ever.Nicknamed the House of Thrills in its later years, Forbes Field was the stage for some of the most dramatic moments and some of the biggest stars in baseball. But it was also the place where Pitt became the Panthers and chalked up national football titles, where Art Rooney’s NFL franchise was born, where boxing champions stepped into the ring, where crowds enjoyed everything from the circus to soccer but never saw a pierogi race.Franklin D. Roosevelt once campaigned there. Billy Graham brought Limas Sweed Jerseyhis crusade. Mahalia Jackson sang gospel, and Benny Benack and the Iron City Six blazed a trail for all the sports ditties that grace today’s airwaves.The combination of sports, politics, religion and music made it the city’s unofficial community center. It was more than a place. It was a state of mind.Tuesday is the 100th anniversary of its opening day, when the defending champion Chicago Cubs — yep, it was their last title — defeated a Pirates team that would win its first World Series title four months later. With the Cubs in town to play at PNC Park on Tuesday, the Pirates are celebrating history. Among the returning dignitaries is a certain Hall of Fame second baseman who set a major league record for double plays and who hit a home Lynn Swann Jersey run of note at 3:36 p.m. on Oct. 13, 1960.As part of Tuesday’s festivities, the club will announce the top Forbes Field moment, as determined by fan voting on the Web.In addition, the Sen. John Heinz History Center has opened a Forbes Field exhibit called A Century of Memories. It will be displayed until Nov. 8, the last possible date the baseball season can go this year.”Forbes Field lives on,” said Anne Madarasz, director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the History Center. “There were so many great moments Steelers Jerseys that people shared together and are still sharing.”It’s appropriate that the anniversary falls on a day that the Cubs are in town to face the Pirates, and not because the Cubs have the longest title drought in North America and the Pirates are on a record-setting pace for most losing seasons in a row.The first National League game played in Pittsburgh in 1887 was against the team that became the Cubs.When the local club moved to Exposition Park in 1891, the opponent was Chicago. And when Exposition Park closed in 1909, the game matched the Cubs and Pirates.

The two teams christened Forbes Field, and Steelers Jerseysthey were involved in the finale on June 28, 1970, when the Pirates swept a doubleheader.Baseball palaceThe father of Forbes Field was Barney Dreyfuss, the Hall of Fame owner who wanted a fireproof structure of steel and concrete to replace Exposition Park, located in an industrial neighborhood on the North Side that was prone to flooding.With $1 million of his own money ($24 million in today’s currency), he built the park on land acquired with the help of Andrew Carnegie, acclaimed at the time as one of the richest men in the world.Had Mr. Dreyfuss had some other hobby than betting on horses, Forbes Field may not have been a one-of-a-kind destination. Architect Charles A. Leavitt Jr., who had designed the grandstands at Belmont and Saratoga racetracks, was brought in. Forbes Field was his only ballpark, and the day it opened, the newspapers called it the greatest baseball palace in the world.Its revolutionary design featured lavatories specifically designated for women, public telephones, an underground parking garage and ramps instead of steps. (One could, however, sit in the left field bleachers and not be able to see home plate because of obstructed views.)The place was named after John Forbes, the British general whose forces built a road through the Pennsylvania wilderness to evict the French from Fort Duquesne in 1758. In his after-action report, the general called it “Pittsbourgh,” Maurkice Pouncey Jersey and the name stuck even if the spelling didn’t.An overflow crowd of 30,338 — to that point the largest throng ever to witness a baseball game — attended the opener as Mayor William Magee threw out the first pitch. Days later, during the Fourth of July weekend, Forbes Field was the altar upon which the marriage of baseball and fireworks was consummated. Pyrotechnics were set off in the evening there following an afternoon baseball game.The Pirates gave the city its first World Series title and first championship parade the year Forbes Field opened as Honus Wagner outplayed Ty Cobb in a showdown of superstars.When it closed 61 years later, the Pirates were within percentage points of first place and went on to win a division title in 1970 at Three Rivers Stadium.World champions were also crowned in 1925 and 1960, with the 1927 Pirates losing the World Series to the Yankees and their Murderer’s Row.All-Star games were staged Mel Blount Jerseythere in 1944 and 1959.The last “tripleheader” in the major leagues was played at Forbes in 1920, with the Pirates losing two of three to the Reds.The Pirates weren’t the only baseball occupants, however. The Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the old Negro Leagues played at Forbes, but in those infamous days of segregation, the players were denied use of the clubhouses and showers.Two of the greatest sluggers of all time left spike marks in the batter’s box — Josh Gibson, of the Grays, and Babe Ruth. While playing for the Boston Braves in the twilight of his career, The Babe smote the final three home runs of his career on May 25, 1935. No. 714 cleared the grandstand in right field.The last of the 10 sluggers to clear that formidable barrier was Willie Stargell, who launched seven balls out of the park over the years.Gridiron greatsWith an area so expansive that a gridiron could be fitted over the diamond, the ballpark has a rich football history.At various times, Pitt, Duquesne and Carnegie Tech used it for home games.Fans will recall baseball nicknames like the Tiger, Kitten, Dog, Quail, Duck and Possum. But the menagerie also Steelers Jerseysincludes the Four Horsemen and Seven Mules of Notre Dame, who tore up the place against Carnegie Tech in 1924.Then on a Wednesday night in 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, the NFL franchise that became the Steelers played its first game and later got its first victory at Forbes Field.The last time the Steelers appeared there was a preseason game in 1969, Chuck Noll’s first year as coach. It was a loss to the Bengals.Jock Sutherland left his mark on the place.

A native of Scotland, he was an All-American who Sittsburgh Steelers Jerseysplayed on two of Pitt’s national championship teams, and he later coached the Panthers to a handful of national titles. What’s more, he later coached the Steelers, who played their only postseason game at Forbes Field in 1947.Heavyweight historyFrom fights to tights, boxing and wrestling found their way to Forbes.Hometown boxers Harry Greb, Fritzie Zivic and Billy Conn — champions all — delighted local crowds. Jersey Joe Walcott knocked out Ezzard Charles in the seventh round to win the heavyweight title at Forbes Field in 1951.Jersey Joe returned 13 years later as a special referee for a wrestling match between Classy Freddy Blassie and Bruno Sammartino, who was unable to continue after a low blow.Raise the windowForbes Field witnessed its share of broadcast history in 1921.Not only did KDKA put Pirates baseball on the radio for the first time, it also aired the first collegiate football game, the Backyard Brawl between Pitt and West Virginia.As a baseball announcer, Rosey Rowswell endeared himself to his audience with a home run call that implored Aunt Minnie to raise her window. He passed the torch to Bob Prince, whose colorful phrases included the Green Weenie and a can of corn, neither of which was a foodstuff.The Gunner’s best-known sidekick was Jim “Possum” Woods, but he also worked with Nellie King. That means the final game at Forbes had a royal broadcasting tandem of a Prince and a King.Greenberg GardensThe dimensions of Forbes Field changed over time, but who can forget the batting cage parked in center field during games.The walls were so distant that when the Pirates Merril Hodge Jerseyacquired slugger Hank Greenberg, left field was shortened in hopes of producing more home runs. Greenberg Gardens, as it was called, was just a temporary characteristic.The only advertisement allowed on the outfield walls was a plea to buy war bonds during World War II. Part of that campaign was the 32-foot-tall figure of a Marine in dress blues.The original version of the movie “Angels In the Outfield” was filmed in 1951 at Forbes. And the all-Alou outfield appeared for real in 1963.Roberto Clemente, a promising rookie outfielder, got an infield hit in his first at bat in 1955.Elroy Face won his 17th straight game, still a record for a reliever, at Forbes in 1959.On what was considered the worst infield surface in the major leagues, Bill Mazeroski and Gene Alley set a record for double plays with 215 in 1966. Not only did Maz hit the home run that beat the Yankees in 1960, he stepped on second base to record the final out in the final game played at the Mewelde Moore Jersey ballpark.Demolition began in 1971. The site is now part of the campus of the University of Pittsburgh, which bought the property in 1958 to allow for expansion. Plans to close Forbes Field were delayed until Three Rivers Stadium was built.Only in PittsburghRemnants of the ballpark can still be found, including portions of the brick wall where people gather every Oct. 13 to listen to a broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 Series.Those remnants, by the way, are not far from where Tom and Jerry’s Custard Stand and the Big Isaly’s used to be. If you don’t understand, it’s a ‘Burgh thing.Fans of a certain age can still recall the aroma of boiled hot dogs or the El Producto cigars that were sold for 15 cents at concession stands. They were as much a part of Forbes Field as the seat cushions rented for two bits and the orange drink that made you thirstier after you drank it.Here’s one perspective on Forbes Field: It opened six years after the Wright brothers introduced Steelers Jerseyspowered flight, and it closed a year after astronauts left boot prints on the moon.And when the reminiscences reach critical mass, it’s possible to hear a gravel-voiced announcer in a loud sports coat saying, “Good night, Mary Edgerly, wherever you are.”Correction/Clarification: (Published July 4, 2009) Jersey Joe Walcott knocked out Ezzard Charles in the seventh round of a heavyweight title fight at Forbes Field in 1951. This story as originally published on June 28, 209 on the 100th anniversary of Forbes Field incorrectly reported the result. Robert Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak