It’s a tough time to be a sports fan in Pittsburgh these days.

Things haven’t been this bleak in the “Burgh since the 1985 baseball drug trials and the three-headed Steelers’ quarterback monster of Mark Malone, Scott Campbell and David Woodley.

Yikes.

Just a refresher on how bad things have gotten for black and gold sports teams:

• In case you have been living under a rock or in Biodome 3, the 12-4 Steelers lost to the 8-8 Broncos in the Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs Sunday.

To make matters worse, the Steelers lost to Tim Tebow, a quarterback who has completed more than 50 percent of his passes this season in just one of his 12 starts.

• The Penguins are without Gretzky 2.0, Sidney Crosby, for who knows how long with another concussion.

Tack on a six-game losing skid and a slew of other key injuries and the Pens may actually have to put a team of real penguins borrowed from the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium on the ice to finish the season.

• Pitt has taken a double whammy. The football team was awful all season, so bad in fact that Todd Graham evacuated the premises as if he looked like Roger Goodell and James Harrison was chasing him. Then, the Panthers went out and mailed in a 28-6 Something-or-other Bowl loss to SMU.

SMU! Weren’t they dead?

The Panthers basketball team has been just as putrid this season, losing to Wagner (not even a cool Wagner like Robert Wagner) and to Rutgers by a billion points.

• And, finally, the very best indication that things in Pittsburgh have nearly hit rock bottom: Yinzers are actually looking forward to baseball season and the Pirates.

When was the last time Pittsburghers were counting down the days to spring training? It had to be at least five Barry Bonds’ hat sizes ago.

So, here were are in early January. No football. Struggling hockey. Mediocre basketball.

It’s not all bad, however.

The Pittsburgh Power arena football team kicks off the season in March.

The Pitt wrestling team is 8-1. The Duquesne women’s basketball team is 13-4 and 9-0 at home. The Robert Morris women’s hockey team is 12-5-2.

There are plenty of good teams in Pittsburgh to root for.

Besides, how bad is it

really?When healthy, the Pens are one of the top teams in the NHL. Pitt hoops will bounce back. The Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003. They ended up with 12 wins this year and it isn’t deemed a success because it didn’t conclude in a Super Bowl.If the Cleveland Browns ever win 12 games, there would be a ticker-tape parade down Euclid Avenue.So, it could be worse. You could be living in Cleveland.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.