And here, all this time, the punchline (sad reality?) surrounding fatalistic Pittsburgh Pirates fans and their new superstar centered around the Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Yankees.

As in a sarcastic, “Can’t wait til 2030 when Paul Skenes is pitching for the Yankees!”

Or, “I’m sure the Dodgers are keenly watching Paul Skenes develop at their minor-league affiliate, Pittsburgh.”

Maybe, all along, where Skenes will truly end up after his obligatory tour of service with the Pirates ends … is the Angels?

After all, Skenes grew up about a half-hour drive from Angels Stadium in Lake Forest, Calif. And apparently, he’s a big fan of a pro team that plays across the street at the Honda Center. Enough so that that team, the Anaheim Ducks, sent him a customized sample of their new jerseys and posted a 17-second video to their X account of Skenes admiring it.

OC native and @Pirates flamethrower Paul Skenes is ready to rock the orange this fall. pic.twitter.com/mQhLypnCi4

— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) June 26, 2024

“Orange, that’s my favorite color,” Skenes said as he unfurled the No. 30 SKENES jersey. “That’s sweet. Got the old hockey mask. I’ll have to come out to a game.”

The reaction from some Pittsbughers and/or Pirates fans was … predictable.

Hate to tell you this ducks

He’s in Pittsburgh. He’s not allowed to be a ducks fan

— Noah (@Golge618) June 26, 2024

He’s a penguins fan sorry HAHAHA

— Big Baseball Fan23⚾️???? (@Baseball4Ever99) June 26, 2024

Skenes is scheduled to make his next state Saturday night in Atlanta. Through eight career outings, he is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 61 strikeouts in 46⅓ innings.

We’ll see if maybe the Penguins counter by gifting a customized jersey of their own.

Or maybe just one for his girlfriend.

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Get out the vote

On the night of the first presidential debates, shut-out candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. seemed to get more attention than anyone from the Penguins did at the NHL awards show.

There have been times in recent decades when Penguins dominated the annual trophies. This year, not so much. On not even one ballot was any Penguins player given so much as a No. 5-ranked vote for the Vezina (best goalie), Calder (rookie of the year) or Norris (best defenseman). No Penguins player even got a vote for the NHL all-rookie team.

Good thing Sidney Crosby again carried the proverbial black-and-gold flag for the awards. He placed ninth in voting for the Hart Trophy as MVP.

One of the 193 ballots had Crosby as its No. 2 choice, four other voters had him among their top four and 13 listed Crosby fifth. Crosby has gotten at least one vote for the Hart during each of the 17 seasons in which he has played at least 42 games. A two-time winner, Crosby has now 10 times been a top-10 vote-getter for NHL MVP.

Crosby (one first-place, one second-place, two third-place among 187 voters) was the only Penguins payer to appear on ballots for the All-NHL teams. Crosby had the fourth-most votes at center.

Crosby was also the only Penguins player to get a vote for the Selke Trophy (best defensive forward), finishing ninth. He joined since-retired forward Jeff Carter as the only Penguins players mentioned on ballots for the Lady Byng Trophy (gentlemanly play). The Lady Byng (Carolina’s Jaccob Slavin) and Selke trophy winners (Florida’s Aleksander Barkov) were named last month.

Related

• Shocked and humbled, Pitt's Blake Hinson adds another highlight by signing with Lakers • For better or worse, Penguins have long history of trading away 1st-round draft picks • Former Altoona Curve teammates unsurprised by Pirates prospect Braxton Ashcraft's ascent

Big ‘Mac’

Spend a day at the Steelers’ facility on the South Side, and there’s one face you might see first — and more often than any other: director of facilities Bob McCartney.

Known to all as “Mac,” McCartney had his day Thursday in Canton, Ohio. He was among those at the Pro Football Hall of Fame honored as recipients of Awards of Excellence.

Including his long tenure as video director, McCartney has worked for the Steelers for 51 seasons.

On Thursday, Bob McCartney was honored as a recipient of the @ProFootballHOF's ‘Awards of Excellence’.

????: https://t.co/QB1NBswpqM pic.twitter.com/DDzx1kYLRB

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 27, 2024

“There’s no doubt that it’s truly special,” McCartney told Teresa Varley of the Steelers’ official website. “Knowing that my name is going to be in the Hall of Fame, along with guys like Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Jack Lambert and, of course, Joe Greene.

“I laugh because I filmed all those guys, videoed those guys, and it’s not like they’re going to put a bust up there, but to know that in perpetuity that my name is going to be in the Hall of Fame is pretty darn special.”

The Hall of Fame has been giving out Awards of Excellence annually since 2022. They are intended to honor assistant coaches, athletic trainers, film/video directors, equipment managers and public relations personnel.

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