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Posted on Mon, Aug. 8, 2011

Pittsburgh zoo still waiting for elephant semen

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Officials at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium say they're still waiting for South African officials to ship elephant semen to the United States so the zoo can establish North America's first elephant sperm bank.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (http://bit.ly/qS5twH) says the zoo has been working on the plan for nearly two years, but they've had difficulty getting export and import permits for16 liters of semen being stored in the National Zoo's BioBank in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Pittsburgh Zoo is working with officials in Germany and France to establish sperm banks in Europe and the United States so elephants can be bred without having to ship the animals themselves internationally to mate.

Pittsburg Zoo president and chief executive officer Barbara Baker says, "It is taking longer than we hoped" though officials expected delays because this hasn't been done before.

Information from: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, http://pghtrib.com

I left this page the way it was online so you could see that waiting for elephant semen was breaking news in Pittsburgh (I added the picture, because when is it NOT a good idea to Google search for elephants humping while you are at work). They don't mean elephant sailors either. They need elephants on SWOOOOOOOLE!

-Big Ran

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

A Sad Day in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Post Gazette - The city of Pittsburgh will hold a rally at noon Thursday to honor Hines Ward's victory in ABC-TV's "Dancing with the Stars" competition.

The rally will be held in front of the City-County Building on Grant Street.

Mr. Ward and dance partner Kym Johnson will be present.

Fans are encouraged to wear black and gold and bring Terrible Towels to the rally.

"City residents and the Steelers Nation have contacted my office asking for the city to properly thank our hometown hero for once-again shining the spotlight on Pittsburgh," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said.

In addition, couples are invited to highlight their dancing skills in two-minute YouTube videos for a chance to appear on stage with Mr. Ward and Ms. Johnson. No more than two dancers can appear in the video.

Videos, with the entrants' contact information, must be submitted to CityDWTScontest@gmail.com by 4 p.m. Wednesday.

City officials will pick five videos for posting on the city Facebook page. The three entrants with the most "likes" by 11 a.m. Thursday will be invited on stage for a "dance-off" to be judged by Mr. Ward, Ms. Johnson and Mr. Ravenstahl.

The three finalists will be photographed with Mr. Ward, Ms. Johnson and their Mirror Ball Trophy. Winners of the dance-off will receive autographed Hines Ward jerseys.

In addition, fans who bring non-perishable food items for the Salvation Army can enter a contest with the chance of winning a Terrible Towel signed by Mr. Ward and Ms. Johnson.

Wow. This is honestly sad. I always thought it was pathetic when Boston had a rally for Ray Bourque after he won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, but Pittsburgh has taken it to a whole new level. This is a city who has seen the Pirates win the World Series five times (well, 3 of them were 1960 or earlier and the last was in 1979, so no one under the age of 35 could possibly remember this and I think at this point they have had 20 straight losing seasons), the Penguins just won the Stanley Cup two years ago in 2009 after winning back-to-back in 1991 and 1992, and the Steelers, who are one of the marquee franchises in the NFL, winning the Super Bowl six times including 2005 and 2008. Its not like they haven't seen success and seen it lately. I mean, I know they have to live in Pittsburgh and probably all have the black lung, but this is out of control. I picture Bill Cowher standing there with a single tear streaming down his face in pure unadulterated sadness.

-Big Ran

PS: Don't forget your terrible towels.