When I asked my six year-old grandson a few days ago if he's going to play baseball this year, he said, "No, I like hockey better." He'll probably end up playing baseball but he won't be as obsessed with it as he is with hockey.
His favorite shirt is the blue one with "87 CROSBY" on the back and he's just about finished with his first batch of skating lessons. If you're planning to pay him a visit, you had better be prepared to play at least one game of driveway hockey with him before you sit down.
He asked me on Wednesday if I could drive him to Canada to see the Penguins play.
He can tell you the names of several Penguins but he couldn't name a Pirate if you promised him ice cream every day for a week.
While the Pirates are doing their annual early season flirtation with .500 on their way to another losing season, Gunnar and kids like him and older are caught up in Penguins fever. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published a long piece last week with tips for parents who want to keep their kids entertained at PNC Park during Pirates games. (How about leaving them at home?)
You probably won't see a similar piece for Penguins ticket buyers any time soon.
Gunnar and his buddies can look forward to 15 or 20 years of watching Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and while they're watching them, the Pirates might be working on their 25th losing season in a row.
A few days ago, Gunnar came home from kindergarten and had this conversation with his mother:
Gunnar: "Mom, Josh said something mean today."
Mom: "What did he say?"
Gunnar: "He said the Pirates stink."
Mom: "Well, honey, they do."
Gunnar: "They do?
Mom: "Yep."
Gunnar: "Oh."
If the Pirates think that they're irrelevant now, they ain't seen nothing' yet.
The last Western Pennsylvania hockey boom took place from the late eighties to the mid nineties. That's when many high schools had more boys out for hockey than football. We're at the beginning of another boom right now.
If the Penguins turn out to be as good as everybody expects them to be, imagine the effect that will have on kids like Gunnar who are at the age when they decide which sport they're going to play and/or fall in love with.
Get ready for more fireworks at PNC Park.
n Who said this and what was he talking about : "(Blank) is spiritual replenishment that can stir the soul."
A reporter describing the Pope celebrating mass in Washington, D.C.? Nope.
Jim Nantz of CBS talking about The Masters. And here I was thinking that it was just a really good golf tournament. Ask around today and see if you can find one person whose soul was stirred by Trevor Immelman's quest for the green jacket.
n How do you like Michel Therrien's coaching now? All season long, the talk shows and the message boards have been filled with fans saying that the Penguins were winning in spite of Therrien. No honest person can look at the way the Penguins are playing now and deny that they look like an extremely well coached team.
Yeah, the Senators stink, but it's not just about how the Penguins played in the first round of the playoffs, it's about how they've played for the last season and a half.
You don't have to know a lot about hockey to see that this is a team that is 100 percent committed to a disciplined system and people who have been around the Penguins for a long time will tell you that they have never seen a more cohesive group.
That's coaching.
Maybe they've bonded as a result of their dislike for Therrien. Fine. That's coaching, too. He deserves serious consideration for coach of the year.
n Steve McNair, who announced his retirement on Thursday, may be the toughest NFL quarterback ever. He not only played hurt, he stood in the pocket when he was playing hurt and took huge hits to make a play. There haven't been too many quarterbacks who were tougher on the Steelers, either. No opposing quarterback was bothered less by their pass rush, that's for sure.
n It's nice to see that the Nutting family, according to the current issue of Forbes magazine, is turning a profit with the Pirates. In case you were wondering, that's why they got into the baseball business.
Nothing wrong with that. I'm sure they appreciate your support.
John Steigerwald hots a weeknight talk show on KDKA Radio and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.