NEWS AND NOTES

--John McCain and Barack Obama will appear at halftime of the Steelers-Redskins Monday night game. It's about time someone put these guys on TV. [Shutdown Corner]--Pitt opens the season at #6 in the ESPN poll. That's basketball, not football. [PG]--Keith Rivers implies payback for Hines Ward. Is there some way he can team up with Terrell Suggs and get this out of the way for everyone? [PG]--Check out these Pittsburgh Mascot Political Attack ads. They're better than the real ones. [Kiss 96.1 Morning Freak Show]--Legendary local high school coach Don Yanessa calls it quits after a long career. By the way, he's 13 years younger than Joe Paterno. [PG Varsity Blog]--Who's afraid of a Hines Ward crackback? [ESPN]--Great article in the PG yesterday about the Phantom of the Attic comic shop in Oakland. As a young nerd (as opposed to my current status as old nerd), one of my favorite places to visit was the Phantom of the Attic's Parkway Center Mall location.--The fir...