Confused Steelers fans mourn loss of wideout

Reports of the death of Mike Wallace were greatly exaggerated, at least by some Pittsburgh Steelers fans.

The respected newsman from CBS's "60 Minutes" died Saturday at age 93. He was a 21-time Emmy Award winner known for his hard-hitting interviews aimed at uncovering the truth in tough stories.

He was not the Mike Wallace who is known for his speed and touchdown catches.

But when news of Wallace's death was reported, a small number of NFL followers hit Twitter to express fear it was the Steelers' star wide receiver.

Yahoo! Sports blogger Chris Chase wrote, "Tweets below are actual messages from actual users. Names have been removed to protect the idiotic:

-- "Mike Wallace died? The Steelers are [expletive]."

-- "RIP Mike Wallace. Maybe the Steelers shouldn't have cut Hines Ward?"

-- "Mike Wallace passed away. I guess the Steelers will be targeting a receiver in the draft now #sucks #gonetosoon."

It was a case of mistaken identity due to common names. As far as we know, there is only one Ben Roethlisberger.

"Steelers fans are safe for a while," Chase wrote, "at least until a hot college prospect named Morley Safer catches the eye of scouts."

■ ODDS COUPLE -- Imagine the thrill Lee Beardmore got Sunday when Bubba Watson won the Masters. Beardmore bet Watson to win at 1,000-1 odds, or so he thought.

According to The Sun newspaper in London, a ticket writer at the Coral sports book confused Bubba's odds (40-1) with the odds on Tom Watson. The book refused to pay the 1,000-1 because of the error.

"I don't bet very often, but I am an avid golf fan, so I enjoy a flutter on the Masters, and I couldn't believe it when Bubba won," said Beardmore, who had one British pound ($1.60 U.S.) bet on Watson. "I was really excited when I went to collect my winnings because I've never won that much before.

"But when I found it was a mistake, I didn't know what to think. I was gutted and angry because I don't know why I should be punished for someone else's mistake."

Beardmore's bet was settled at the correct odds of 40-1. That's still a good payoff and certainly no reason for the poor guy to feel gutted, angry and punished.

■ OFF THE JUICE -- New manager Bobby Valentine eliminated the party atmosphere from the Boston Red Sox clubhouse. The team's swagger is missing, too, after a 1-5 start.

Said Janice Hough of LeftCoastSportsBabe.com: "Who knew beer and fried chicken are performance-enhancing drugs?"

■ TAKING A PAY HIT -- New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wants a long-term contract and is unhappy to be stuck with the franchise tag that would earn him a measly $14.4 million this season.

Brees is looking for a deal in the neighborhood of $18 million per year. But the Saints are struggling to come up with the money, after paying out too much in bounties.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL