In the dull heat of a summer collapse by the Pirates, refreshing sports notes are like a cold Coors Light from a Styrofoam cooler on a Steelers training camp hillside. Sharky’s or Dino’s? There’s no bad choice!

• Ratings are out for the Madden video game. The Steelers’ Kenneth Pickett is a 73. He’s tied for 27th among quarterbacks with San Francisco’s Brock Purdy, who was Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 draft, and Houston’s C.J. Stroud, who has never taken an NFL snap. Not great optics.

• Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins ranks ninth with a rating of 84. I see Cousins as Pickett’s ceiling, and that would be OK. Lots of years, lots of yards, lots of money. Just no Super Bowls. Cousins has been flooded with respect because he comes off favorably in the Netflix series “Quarterbacks.” Patrick Mahomes called Cousins the most underrated QB in the league. If Pickett can be Cousins, we should be happy. Because Pickett won’t be Mahomes.

• Pickett probably won’t be Deshaun Watson, either. Watson was one of football’s best quarterbacks when he was with Houston from 2017-20. He’s only 27. Why are so many presuming that Watson won’t return to that level in Cleveland? Here’s betting he’s appreciably better than Pickett this season.

• ESPN’s Kimberly Martin called Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts the NFL’s most disrespected player. Yet, somehow, Hurts’ contract has the league’s second-highest average annual value at $51 million. Respect isn’t about video-game ratings. It’s about wins and money. Hurts has both.

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• NFL running backs had a “workers of the world unite” Zoom meeting. Here’s hoping somebody brought Viagra because that was impotence on parade. Austin Ekeler was the catalyst for the gathering. He got the starting job with the Los Angeles Chargers when Melvin Gordon got hurt. Ekeler showed he could do the same or better for cheaper. Now Ekeler went on Zoom to lead his peers in whining about the exact business model that got him his job.

• Mike Tomlin has coached 16 seasons, has 163 regular-season wins, has earned 10 playoff berths, is 8-9 in the postseason and has one Super Bowl ring. Mike McCarthy has coached 16 seasons, has 155 regular-season victories, has been in the playoffs 11 times, is 11-10 in the postseason and has won one Super Bowl. Why is Tomlin revered and McCarthy held in comparably low regard? P.S. — McCarthy beat Tomlin in Super Bowl XLV.

• Is Pat Freiermuth overrated? He’s a 6-foot-5 tight end on a team that got only two touchdowns from outside the red zone last season. The Steelers’ offense is red zone-oriented to a prehistoric level. But Freiermuth caught only two TDs. Maybe he’s just popular because MUUUTH! sounds like HEEEATH!

• Fantasy football drafts are approaching. Pickett should obviously be first choice overall. If the entry fee for your league is under $500, you’re a cheapskate taking zero risk and should be embarrassed. You’re a fake at being a fake GM.

• San Jose defenseman Erik Karlsson says Seattle and Toronto are in the mix to acquire him, not just the Penguins and Carolina. With Karlsson’s move to Pittsburgh not feeling imminent, the notion that another team could join the pursuit late and steal the deal seems a legit fear. But Karlsson’s $11.5 million cap hit makes the process difficult for everyone.

• Karlsson would hate Carolina’s close-to-the-vest style. He’d love the Penguins’ wide-open approach. Carolina has a better chance to win a Stanley Cup than the Penguins. What would sway Karlsson? Here’s betting on style. It’s also easy to convince yourself that Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin always provide a chance, even at their respective ages. Heaven knows we do that.

• If the Penguins don’t get Karlsson, would free-agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo be an option? DeAngelo’s character, behavior and politics have made him a journeyman: Four teams in seven seasons. But he’s a skilled playmaker and power-play man. DeAngelo is 27 and would likely play cheap. The Penguins are in no position to moralize. They’re truly at the last-chance saloon and haven’t added enough (or even changed very much) if they don’t get Karlsson.

• In MLB, how come Baltimore’s plan is working, Cincinnati’s plan is working, Tampa Bay’s plan never stops working, and the Pirates just keep promising? What’s the difference between the Pirates and those other franchises?

• Third baseman Scott Rolen entered the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. In 2018, his first year on the ballot, he got 10.2% of the vote. Seventy-five percent is needed. This year, Rolen got 76.3%. How did that happen? Rolen’s stats didn’t increase in the interim. No stunning new video turned up. How did Rolen’s percentage skyrocket? He has the lowest first-ballot vote of anyone who ultimately made it. When you omit those more deserving, odd stuff happens. Rolen is above average, no better.

• The U.S. women’s soccer team looked meh in their World Cup-opening 3-nil win over Vietnam on Friday. But this isn’t necessarily a vintage version, and the U.S. isn’t head and shoulders above the competition now. There are more good teams. The U.S. will play better and could win. But it won’t be easy.

• It’s being said the U.S. could become the first team, men or women, to win three straight World Cups. That’s a false equivalency. The men’s tournament is much tougher to win. More better teams. It’s two different competitions. We’re too often stupid in our mad rush to make things equal when they’re not.

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