In Friday’s “On Sports,” with ESPN’s “College Gameday” losing an icon in Lee Corso, we take a look back at his classic “headgear picks.”

Meanwhile, former Pirates manager Clint Hurdle has found his way back into a MLB dugout.

Momentum is good for a Penn State player in the NFL Draft. And a former Penguins player finds himself in a rather good spot heading into this year’s path to hoist the Stanley Cup.

Not so fast, my friend …

The news that Lee Corso will retire after 38 years as part of ESPN’s “College Gameday” brought about plenty of highlight reels on social media of the iconic “headgear picks” that Corso became so known for.

ESPN says Corso has made 430 mascot headgear picks. Though the network broke it down to the extent Corso picked 69 different teams, had a 286-144 overall record and picked Ohio State the most (45), it did not provide a complete comprehensive list of all picks by team.

Luckily, something called Cole’s Gameday Blog did (though there is a one-game discrepancy in what Cole reports — he accounts for 431 Corso headgear picks). But if whoever Cole is is to be believed, Corso was even better at picking the “local” teams than he was overall (.666 winning percentage).

Corso picked 26 games involving Penn State, three involving Pitt and four with West Virginia — though one was a “Backyard Brawl” between the latter two. Corso was a combined 25-7 (.781) in games involving PSU, Pitt or WVU, including 20-6 in Nittany Lions games he picked, 2-1 in matchups involving the Panthers and a perfect 4-0 when the Mountaineers were playing.

Corso, though, never picked West Virginia to win. He picked Penn State only seven times in those 26 games he chose via headgear, going 5-2 in those instances and 15-4 when he picked against the Lions.

The three Pitt games Corso picked were a Panthers win against Virginia Tech at what was then called Heinz Field in 2003, a Notre Dame win against Pitt two years later (Corso had picked the Panthers) and the 2022 Backyard Brawl season opener on a Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Corso will be 90 when he plans on taking part in his final Gameday broadcast the Saturday of Week 1. It’s safe to assume Corso is through using headgear to pick any games involving our “local” teams because you can rest assured College Gameday won’t be setting up shop on the North Shore, in State College or in Morgantown that day (Aug. 30). The Week 1 schedule features Pitt hosting Duquesne, Penn State home to Nevada and West Virigina at home against Robert Morris.

Clint’s back

It was only last month that former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told the recently-retired Jerry DiPaola that “it would take an act of God” for Hurdle to consider managing again.

Well, apparently, God acted. Hurdle is headed back to the dugout.

Technically, Hurdle is not managing again. But he did accept a gig as the Colorado Rockies hitting coach on Thursday.

Hurdle, 67, has served as a special assistant to the general manager of the Rockies since he was fired by the Pirates on the day of the 2019 season finale. Hurdle, who spent nine seasons as Pirates manager, managed the Rockies from 2002-09. He led Colorado to the 2007 World Series, and more impressively actually guided the Pirates to the only four non-losing seasons they have had since 1992.

Hurdle has a history as a major-league hitting coach, with both the Rockies and Texas Rangers. But he turned down coaching gigs with the San Diego Padres (2019) and Los Angeles Angels (2024).

The Rockies have lost 100-plus games each of the past two seasons and are off to a miserable 3-15 start this season. They rank among the bottom in the majors in most offensive categories, leading to the dismissal of hitting coach Hensley Meulens.

Hurdle this winter released a book, “Hurdle-isms: Wit and Wisdom from a Lifetime in Baseball.”

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A.C. the next LT?

Momentum is building among the mock draft industrial complex that Penn State star edge defender Abdul Carter will be the third pick of the NFL Draft. Carter, for his part, seems to be strongly embracing the idea of heading to the New York Giants.

Carter in particular seems intrigued by following in the footsteps of the player generally regarded as the greatest at his position in NFL history. Lawrence Taylor spent all 13 of his pro seasons starring for the Giants, his No. 56 one of the most single recognized numbers associated with a player in pro football.

So, when Carter on Thursday posted a simple “#56” quoting an X post by the Penn State football program promoting Carter going in the draft, it wasn’t difficult to make the connection.

A week ago, Carter posted a photo of Taylor.

A Pro Football Hall of Famer, Taylor is the most recent defensive player to be named NFL MVP — in 1986.

Carter wrapped up a decorated college career by helping Penn State to the College Football Playoff semifinals. He was a freshman All-American in 2022, first-team all-Big Ten the following year and first-team AP All-American last season.

Serving time

Two months after getting waived by the Penguins, Jesse Puljujarvi has found himself regularly in the lineup for the defending Stanley Cup champions. But Puljujarvi will have to sit out the first two games of the Panthers’ quest to defend their title.

The NHL announced Thursday that Puljujarvi has been suspended for two games as the result of an illegal check to the head on Mitchell Chaffee during a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

Atlantic Division rivals Florida and Tampa Bay open up a first-round series with Games 1-2 on Tuesday and Thursday.

A former No. 4 overall pick back in 2016, Puljujarvi scored his first goal with Florida during his third game with the team last week. He has appeared in five games for the Panthers after earning a promotion from their AHL team in the wake of having three goals and six assists in 26 games for the Penguins this season.