A town with an old population known for its old-fashioned ways and old Iron City beer is now home to four of sports great young superstars, one of which legally can’t drink Iron City. With a combination of luck and strategy Pittsburgh has landed Jason Bay, 27, Ben Roethlisberger, 24, Zach Duke, 23 and Sidney Crosby, 18 all within a span of less than three years.

            A town with an old population known for its old-fashioned ways and old Iron City beer is now home to four of sports great young superstars, one of which legally can’t drink Iron City. With a combination of luck and strategy Pittsburgh has landed Jason Bay, 27, Ben Roethlisberger, 24, Zach Duke, 23 and Sidney Crosby, 18 all within a span of less than three years.

            The Pirates are sunken ship destined for 100 losses this season and having absolutely no plan or strategy to ever compete again but it is tough to deny the excitement surrounding what could have been back-to-back National League Rookie of the Year Awards. Bay was picked up in a trade with the San Diego Padres and won NL Rookie of the Year in 2004. Duke was an absolute steal with the 594^th pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft and in my opinion fell a few starts short of taking the Rookie of the Year award from Ryan Howard last season.

            A horrendous 2003 campaign by the Steelers allowed them to land the No. 11 pick and finally draft a quarterback in the first round. Big Ben was not supposed to be this good this quick but he’s already got the ring on his finger and was named top rookie in 2004.

            All karma aside, the Penguins secured the top pick of the draft in a lottery that was designed after their late season “struggles” in which they were rewarded with Mario Lemieux. The Penguins have made some questionable strategic moves but not even they could blow this one. They promptly selected Canadian hockey phenom Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick and after becoming the youngest player in NHL history to score 100 points in a season and score the most points by a Penguin rookie Crosby is competing with Alexander Ovechkin for this year’s honor as top rookie in the NHL.

            Evgeni Malkin picked up No. 2 overall in the previous draft and Marc Andre-Fleury, the No. 1 overall pick in 2002 can infuse even more youth into the Penguins and the town.

            The Steelers improbable run to a Super Bowl this year and all the other promising young talent among the cities other sports teams have people claiming a return to the city of champions. Sports give outsiders and even Pittsburghers their most distinct impression of the city. Having the Duke, Bay, Big Ben and Sid the Kid in the fold can help erode the image of an old and dying city. Who said sports was just a game?