TODAY'S HEADLINES

Pitt losing a Buddy? I've always heard a lot of good things about Pitt strength and conditioning coach Buddy Morris, and apparently, so have the Washington Redskins, who will interview him for a similar position on Wednesday.

Morris was Pitt's strength and conditioning coach from 1980-90 and from 1997 to 2001, moving on to hold the same position for the Cleveland Browns from 2002-05 under head coach Butch Davis. After a 2006 spent as director of sports performance at the University of Buffalo, Morris re-joined his alma mater and is credited with building up the Panthers' late-game endurance for five wins in the fourth quarter or overtime in 2008. [PG]

Duquesne axes four sports: It's a sad day for the Duquesne athletic department, which is doing away with baseball, wrestling, men's swimming and men's golf. The move will affect 70 athletes and will shift more than $1 million annually into the athletic department's 16 other sports. [WPXI]

Stan Musial: The Bridge: The Bridge Formerly Known as Donora-Monessen will soon be renamed in honor of Donora native Stan Musial, as a bill is set for a vote Wednesday in the Senate Transportation Committee.

The 89-year-old Cardinal great was a 24-time All-Star, 3-time World Series Champ and 3-time MVP. He hit .331 in his career, with 475 homers and 3,630 hits, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969.

Musial gets nowhere near the national recognition he deserves because he didn't play in New York, but this is a step in the right direction, even if only on a local level. [PG]

Ben Roethlisberger: The Football Camp: Boys and girls ages 7-14 can sign up now for this experience, which takes place on June 21-23 at Mars HS. Cost is $224 per person and includes goodies such as an autographed camp team photo. But as far as I know, you'll have to bring your own Big Ben Beef Jerky. [ProCamps.com]

Jersey Shore invades the North Shore: I totally whiffed on this, but apparently a few cast members of Jersey Shore were at McFadden's recently, and Channel 11 was there with camera in hand. If any of you fellow Italians out there are cool with the whole "Guido" thing, then click away, because the caption writer for these photos used it to describe virtually every picture in the gallery. [WPXI]

Concert season will be upon us soon: Dave Matthews just announced a concert at PNC Park on on July 10, and Megadeth will be coming to Greensburg's Palace Theatre of all places on March 12. But the big question: when is the Pants on the Ground guy coming to town?

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

UNDEFEATED

That's right, Bucco fans. You're in first place. It's OK to gloat - no one's going to begrudge you.

It wasn't the prettiest all-around win, but it was an exciting first day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who got a two-out, two-strike, bases-loaded double from Jack Wilson to save the day, pushing the Bucs over the top in a 6-4 victory against the St. Louis Cardinals. To see the dejected reaction of Cardinals manager/supervillain Tony LaRussa after Wilson's hit would've been well worth the price of admission and a plane ticket to St. Louis, but luckily TV captured it quite well.

Wilson's double off a 96-MPH fastball on an 0-2 pitch from new Cards closer Jason Motte contributed to a four-run ninth inning, and Matt Capps closed the door in the bottom half of the frame to lock up the Pirates' first win of 2009. Raise the Jolly Roger, Greg Brown.

Paul Maholm, just as SI predicted, had a decent outing, giving up just one run while working into the seventh inning. The Pirates also got a big game from the top of the lineup, as Nyjer Morgan had three hits in the leadoff spot and Freddy Sanchez two hits in the second spot. Even notorious slow-starter Adam LaRoche had two hits in the opener, which is usually his quota for the entire month of April.

There were a few ugly moments, particularly a hacky Andy LaRoche strikeout, to be added to his two fielding errors. And Ryan Doumit left five on base while going 0-for-5. But a comeback win on a cold day in front of a hostile crowd at 104% capacity is a welcome sight at any time of the year.

The Cardinals, who used Donora's Stan Musial alongside Red Schoendist to throw out the first pitch, fielded quite the interesting lineup. SS Khalil Greene was the head-scratching choice at cleanup, but this comes from the same manager who sometimes bats the pitcher eighth. LaRussa doesn't have much time to ponder any changes, because the two teams meet again on Tuesday. Ian Snell (7-12, 5.42 in 2008) meets up with Kyle Lohse (15-6, 3.78). Gametime is scheduled for 8:15.

Wilson, Pirates rally with 4-run 9th vs. Cards new closer Motte [ESPN]

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com.