Given western Pennsylvania’s pool of talent, it’s inevitable that the Arena Football League’s Pittsburgh Power will work to roster a few local heroes. Former Panthers, Mountaineers, Nittany Lions and small college and high school standouts not currently thriving in organized ball may have an opportunity to come back home and wear the local colors.

The Rose Bowl of wrestling comes to the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House on Saturday, March 20. And the team of Pennsylvania all-stars that will face off against the best amateur wrestlers in the United States can be stacked with an unprecedented number of blue-chip recruits.

The ninth annual Allegheny County Wrestling Championships are underway at Fox Chapel Area High School, with 40 local teams competing in the two-day tournament. The county’s best wrestler is conspicuously absent, however.

On the Sunday after Christmas, I trekked west on I-70 for an evening in Wheeling. The Nailers were playing the Elmira Jackals, and, despite the fact that the roster didn’t boast much prospect-level talent, $18 for two seats on the red line seemed like a solid deal.