Pittsburgh Sports 2017: 15 biggest moments

By Joe Smeltzer

Photo creds to avonnewsonline

2017 has come and gone. As with every sports city, a lot of things happened, both good and bad, over the past year. Pittsburgh was no exception. Here are, in the eyes of Joseph Arthur Smeltzer, the 15 biggest things, for better or worse, that happened in Pittsburgh sports in 2017. Let's get into it.
#15: 106-51
Tuesday, Jan. 24

Pitt head men's basketball coach Kevin Stalling hasn't had an easy time in the Steel City (Photo creds to Sporting News)

The score says it all. To get every prominent sports team in the city on this list, it made sense that Pitt basketball's entry would be something bad and what could be worse than that 106-51 drubbing to Louisville at the Peterson Events Center Jan. 24? Yikes.

#14: Hail to Pickett
Friday, Nov. 24

Photo creds to Asbury Park Press

We move from the worst of Pitt sports in 2017 to the best.

In what was otherwise a lost season for Pat Narduzzi, the last game gave Panthers fans hope that things might not be so bad in 2018. Led by two touchdowns rushing and one passing by freshman quarterback Kenny Pickett, Pitt stunned the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes, 24-14. What this triumph will mean long term remains to be seen, but regardless, Nov. 24 was a pretty good day for Panther fans.

#13: Clinching against the Dirty Birds (Again)
Sunday, Dec. 10

Photo creds to Steel Curtain Rising

Every football fan on the planet knew that the Steelers were going to win the AFC North in 2017. But the way they did it was still fantastic.

Led by Big Ben, Pittsburgh scored ten points in the last three-and-a-half minutes, with a Boswell field goal putting the Black and Gold in front with 42 seconds left.


TJ Watt sacked Joe Flacco on the ensuing possession to seal the game and the North. The Ravens still had a shot at the playoffs, but that, uh, didn't end up working out either.

#12: Jay-Hay spoils/makes history
Wednesday, August 23

Photo creds to Yahoo Sports

August 23 seemed like a dull night in Pittsburgh. The Pirates were virtually out of the playoff race, and beginning to play out the string, while the Dodgers had the NL West well in hand. What transpired, however, was something that had never happened in the history of PNC Park.

Dodgers starter Rich Hill took a perfect game into the ninth inning and a no-hitter into the 10th. The problem was that his offense couldn't score a run. Leading off the 10th, Josh Harrison made sure that LA would pay for not scoring, hitting a walk-off homer over the left field wall. The Pirates were no-hit for nine innings and ended up winning the game. Not a lot went right for the Bucs in 2017, but this was pretty freaking cool.

#11: Owning the Chiefs
Sunday, Jan. 15/Sunday, Oct. 15

Photo creds to SI.Com

Whether it be in the middle of January or the middle of October, a lot went right for the Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium in 2017.

It started January 15, when 170 rushing yards from Le'Veon Bell and six Chris Boswell field goals led Pittsburgh to an 18-16 win in the AFC divisional round. Seven months later, the Steelers were just 3-2 and coming off an embarrassing loss to Jacksonville, while the Chiefs were the last unbeaten team remaining in the NFL.

Once again, Pittsburgh rained on KC's parade, beating the KC, 19-13. The game served as a turning point for both teams. Pittsburgh went 9-1 the rest of the way, while KC went 5-5 and almost missed out on the postseason.



#10: Big AL and nobody else 
Sunday, Sept. 24

Photo creds to USA Today

In Week 3 of the NFL season, football was hardly the big story. Instead, Donald Trump and taking a knee took center stage. In the midst of all of this non-sports related chaos, Mike Tomlin decided to focus solely on the game ahead and decided not to have his team go out for the National Anthem. Apparently, one Steeler didn't get the memo.

Offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, known for his military service, walked out of the tunnel with none of his teammates around him. Although photos revealed that the rest of the Steelers weren't far behind Big Al, the perception was that Villanueva was all alone in honoring the flag.

It didn't have an impact on the Steelers season win/loss wise, but Villanueva's decision was one of the bigger stories in all of sports in 2017, not just in Pittsburgh.

#9: Not-so-super Starling
Tuesday, Apr. 18

Photo creds to Pittsburgh-Post Gazette

One minute, the Pirates were completing a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The next, their star left fielder was suspended for 80 games, and the 2017 season never recovered from this point forward. Although it's unlikely that the Bucs would have made an impact in the national league regardless of Marte's status, this was the first in a long line of events that helped turn this year into a lost cause.

#8: "Surviving the Ground" 
Sunday, Sept. 17

Was it a catch (Photo creds to CBS Sports)

Time will tell how significant Jesse James' catch that wasn't will end up being. To say the play itself was disputable would be an understatement. What's indisputable, however, is that it was one of the biggest stories in Pittsburgh sports in 2017 and, depending on what happens in the first month of 2018, could be discussed a lot over the next several months.

#7: Brady beats Ben (Again)

Sunday, Jan. 22

Photo creds to Battle Red Blog

Tom Brady is the best of all time. He proved it again in the 2017 AFC title game. It's possible that these two teams could be meeting again shortly. We can only hope that the result will be different. 

#6: Taillon strikes out cancer

Monday, Jun. 12

Photo creds to USA Today

2017 wasn't kind to the Pirates. People will say whatever they want about the organization, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anybody who isn't a straight up troll that has a negative word about starting pitcher Jameson Taillon.

When Taillon found out he had testicular cancer in early May, he fought back, and five weeks later, was back on the mound at PNC Park, getting a win over the Colorado Rockies. 

Taillon is an example of how sports can teach us lessons in perseverance that can relate to anybody, regardless of their level of interest. The Pirates weren't champions in 2017, but Jameson Taillon was. 

#5: "Shalieve"

Monday, Dec. 4

Photo creds to Choiz

When the Steelers lost arguably the best player on their defense to a possibly career-ending back injury on a Monday night in Cincinnati, it was a matter that went far beyond the gridiron. 

The organization recognized this and knew that the effect the injury had on Shazier's football career paled in comparison to what it could mean for his everyday life. 

Seeing Shazier at Heinz Field, cheering on his teammates despite the circumstances, as well as players from other teams such as the Browns using touchdowns as prayers for number 50, has been inspiring. The prayers will continue to roll in, and Shazier will, thankfully, have plenty of support in his fight. 

#4: Adding to Washington's misery 

Wednesday, May 10

Photo creds to SI.Com

When the Penguins face the Capitals in the postseason, the team that was superior for the first 82 games doesn't usually win. 

That held true in 2016 when Nick Bonino sent the Pens to the Eastern Conference Finals, and it stayed so the next year when Marc-Andre Fleury stood tall in what would be his last standout performance in a Penguins uniform in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Presidents' Trophy winners. 

Fleury stood tall, pitching a shutout. Bryan Rust and Patrick Hornqvist made sure "flower" wouldn't see his heroics go to waste, and for the third time in eight years, the Penguins crushed Washington's dreams. Awesome. 

#3: Farewell Mr. Dan

Thursday, April 13

Two men who helped change the history of Pittsburgh Sports (Photo creds to 247sports)

Pittsburgh lost one of its most iconic figures ever April 13, when former Steelers owner Dan Rooney passed away. 

While Rooney's father, Art, founded the Steelers, Dan was the one who made them what they are today, starting with hiring Chuck Noll as head coach in 1969. It was through his hiring decisions with scouting and coaching that Pittsburgh was able to draft the talent they needed to win four Super Bowls in six years. 

The NFL lost one of its good guys in 2017 and "Mr. Dan" will never be forgotten. 

#2: The unsung hero has his moment 

Thursday, May 25

For almost a decade, former Penguins winger Chris Kunitz flew under-the-radar. He was dependable and spent a lot of time on Sidney Crosby's line, but always seemed to be overshadowed by guys like Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. But in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, in what would end up being one of his last games as a Penguin, Kunitz finally had his signature moment. 

At 5:09 of the second overtime period in a 2-2 game, Kunitz took a pass from Sidney Crosby and rocketed a perfect shot past Senators goalie Craig Anderson for his second goal of the game, and his most important in Black and Gold. It sent the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second year in a row, and for Kunitz, was a moment years in the making. 

#1: Back-2-Back 

Sunday, June 11

Photo creds to CBS News

What else could have been number one? What the Penguins have done over the past two years is extraordinary, and for anybody who has followed this team, I don't think I need to explain why that is. I'll just let the cups do the talking.