U mad, bro? Steelers fans are smoldering. Pitt fans upset. Penguins fans ‘fond farewell’ to Matt Murray.

I’ve gained a whole new respect for Steelers fans. They’ve proven to me that they can get just as uncontrollably agitated about a game the Steelers didn’t even play as they can get about a game that the Steelers didn’t win.

I mean, this Tennessee Titans postponement really has Western Pennsylvania in a tizzy!

That’s how we start “U mad, bro?” this week. Well, at least with the responses I can print cleanly.

Then we get to some Penguins hockey and Pitt football, too.

Everybody is fired up about the Titans’ situation.

Their covid-19 outbreak has forced a revamped Steelers schedule that doesn’t exactly sit well with the local team.

Now rumors are that the Titans may forfeit their game with the Buffalo Bills next week. Many Steelers fans think that if such an eventuality should take place, the Steelers should retroactively get an automatic win and shouldn’t have to bother making the rescheduled Week 7 trip to Nashville.

That would essentially give the team a second bye and a week of rest before their showdown with the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.

As the Ravens currently have in advance of hosting the Steelers.

I would think they'd have to forfeit both if that's the case.

— Jake Taylor (@HailtoPitt44) October 7, 2020

Actually, I don’t. I doubt the NFL worked so hard to reschedule the Steelers-Titans game just to cancel in the event they cancel a different game.

I’m sure they could go back and forfeit the Pittsburgh game.

— Mike Ross (@IronCity_Mike) October 7, 2020

I’m sure they could, too. However, unless the Titans keep testing positive for three more weeks, I’m also sure they won’t.

And, lastly, Brian sent a message, “If they forfeit the Bills game then they need to do that for Steelers. Otherwise it gives a level of unfair advantage.”

I wonder what the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs would say to that.

Do you think Baltimore would consider it “fair” that the Steelers were gifted a win as those two teams battle for the AFC North?

Do you think the Chiefs (4-0) would consider it “fair” that they had to expose themselves to positive cases on the Patriots team last Monday, yet the Bills (4-0) just get a free win to avoid playing against Tennessee to keep pace in the race for the top seed in the AFC playoffs?

Look, there is no totally “fair” way to get around this. In the words of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, someone is going to get the “short end of the stick.” And, in this case, to a degree, it’s the Steelers.

It stinks. But welcome to 2020. We should all be used to that by now.

I mean, a physicist at Illinois State University just calculated when and how the final massive explosions in our universe will take place.

Hmm. Is Monday, Nov. 2 an option? Maybe save us all a big headache before the polls open?

On Tuesday morning, I posted a column ripping an alleged covid-19 emergency plan advanced privately by some NFL coaches. The idea is to change the rules mid-season and play 12 games. This would move up the playoffs, eliminate a bunch of teams earlier in the process and minimize the chance of coronavirus infection undermining the season.

It’d also be breaking glass in case of emergency, before the emergency. So I’m not a fan.

This reader has a different suggestion.

Set playoff qualification at 10 wins by week 17. Cancel meaningless games among non-qualifiers. It can be some with a little creativity

— KobeTheCat (@CatNamedKobe) October 5, 2020

Well, by that standard of needing 10 wins before Week 17 starts in order to reach the playoffs, in 2019 the Titans (who went to the AFC Championship game) never would’ve qualified. And no one would’ve won the NFC East.

The NFL just expanded the playoffs from six teams per conference to seven. Now you’re potentially talking about shrinking it to five. And what if it is unbalanced between the conferences?

Can you imagine if, after two straight years of finishing seventh, the Steelers get eliminated in sixth place because they are 9-6 after 16 weeks?

If you think Big Ben is complaining about the “short end of the stick” now, what do you think he’d say if this guy’s plan went into place?

Here’s another suggestion that was sent to me after writing that column.

If they want to change the season around while it's being played, why don't they change other rules like 'if TJ Watt is being held on every play, maybe the refs should call it'

— Jey Bag f Dnuts (@joeybagovdonuts) October 6, 2020

OK, now that idea I support.

I also supported it when it was happening to James Harrison. And no one in zebra stripes seemed to buy it then.

So don’t count on it.

In the comments section of Seth Rorabaugh’s story on Wednesday afternoon, someone calling himself (or themselves) “The G G Men” took a parting shot at Penguins goalie Matt Murray after he was traded to Ottawa.

“He’s not very athletic. Takes him a long time to get back to his feet (unlike Fleury).

And we all know about the glove hand.”

Two things.

1) There’s a difference between “not very athletic” and “not as athletic as Marc-Andre Fleury.” I don’t know a lot of “unathletic” goalies who win two straight Stanley Cups. That’s like saying, “That basketball player is not very tall. I mean, he’s shorter than Shaq!”

2) Murray’s glove hand wasn’t his biggest problem. His biggest problem was that he was a 6-foot-4 goalie with long legs and arms who used to play tall and took away a lot of the net.

Then he suddenly started playing too deep in his crease and started playing more crouched and compact.

His glove hand wasn’t slow. He just — for whatever reason — wasn’t really smooth at catching and securing the puck. He’d stab at it. Like Pedro Alvarez playing first base. I couldn’t figure it out either.

I’m going to miss the “Murray’s glove hand” smack. It’s one of my favorite Pittsburgh sports fan tropes. It’s right up there with:

• The Patriots cheated the Steelers out of three more Super Bowls.

• The replay judges have the fix in for Mike Tomlin.

• Bob Nutting won’t spend money on the Pirates so he can spruce up Seven Springs.

• Pitt football would be a national title contender if it had an on-campus stadium.

And, right on cue, here’s “Swift Eddie” commenting on Pitt’s upset loss to N.C. State last Saturday.

“Look, Panther fans. The program will NEVER be better than it is right now. We can expect season after season of 6-6, 7-5, and once in a while an 8-4. That’s provided we keep scheduling two small-school patsies every year. We’re a team with no home stadium, and no mystique….Don’t blame Coach (Pat) Narduzzi. He’s been playing with the cards he’s dealt, as has his predecessors. At least we have a new women’s lacrosse facility in the works.”

As I was saying …

I don’t wanna be the one to worry “Swift Eddie,” but what if the women’s lacrosse team ends up playing at Heinz Field, too?

Eh, doesn’t matter. Just blame the media for not voting them high enough in the women’s lacrosse Top 25 like Narduzzi does for his football team.

That usually works out great for him.