Thursday, December 29, 2011

Jagr and Talbot return to Pittsburgh tonight as Flyers

This is the night many Penguins fans have been waiting for since Jaromir Jagr and Max Talbot both signed with the hated Philadelphia Flyers in early summer.

In Talbot's case, I think the fans will eventually forgive and forget. I mean, Max may have been a very popular player when he was here, and he did score the deciding goals in game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings, but Max Talbot is not exactly a world-class winger. The Pens weren't going to overpay to keep him, and you really can't blame Talbot for signing with Philadelphia if they were willing to pony-up the cash. Business is business.

In Jagr's case, there will never be any forgiveness from the fans. Or put it this way, the fans may have found it in their hearts to eventually forgive Jagr for how he left Pittsburgh many years ago if he re-signed with the team this past summer, but after leading the fans, and even Mario Lemieux, to believe he was going to come back here before signing with the team's top rival? Well, you can put Jagr's name at the top of Pittsburgh's most hated former athletes list in permanent marker because there will be no need to ever try and erase it.

To say that Jagr left Pittsburgh on less than friendly terms back in 2001 would be an understatement, and Penguins fans have never forgotten it. Unlike Talbot, however, Jagr is a world-class winger (or at least he was during his time here in Pittsburgh), but he couldn't wait to leave, or at least he gave the city and the organization that impression before they finally traded him away.

It's a shame that Pittsburgh's relationship with Jagr is so strained, but it's not exactly out of he ordinary around here.

The fans of Pittsburgh have had some pretty curious love-hate relationships with a few of their superstars over the years. Barry Bonds and Dave Parker were two of the most productive and accomplished players to ever put on a Pirates uniform, yet, the fans never quite accepted them. Speaking of Bonds, he may actually be the most hated athlete to ever play in Pittsburgh. Most people just know Bonds as a San Francisco Giant who broke a lot of home run records, but they may not realize that Bonds had a really productive career with the Pirates before heading out West. He was considered maybe the best all-around player in the game in the early 90's, winning two MVP awards during his time in Pittsburgh.

Parker also had a productive career with the Pirates. He was the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion. However, he was also the first Major League player to earn a million dollar salary, and this seemed to irk Pirates fans more than anything. It got so bad for "the Cobra," he had to wear a batting helmet in the outfield because fans were throwing coins and batteries in his direction.

Heck, even guys like Terry Bradshaw and the beloved Roberto Clemente initially had frosty relationships with the City of Pittsburgh before finally earning the respect and love of the fans. In Bradshaw's case, he was so bitter about what the fans said about him in the early portion of his career, he waited nearly two-decades to come back to town to let the Steelers and their faithful honor his great career.

When it comes to the fans ever officially honoring Jagr, well, I'm sure he's finding out right about now that it may take 30 or 40 years for Penguins fans to find it in their hearts to appreciate and love him.

Jagr is one of the most prolific scorers in NHL history, but like a lot of former Pittsburgh athletes have discovered, you can't always buy our love with stats.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

There are so many week 17 playoff scenarios involving the Steelers and other teams, it's as if Santa waited a week to give me my Christmas present

I'm obviously a huge Steelers fan, but I'm also a huge fan of the NFL, in general. And this time of year, when we're heading to the finish line of the NFL regular season, and the playoff picture is starting to come into focus, well, it's Heaven for me.

9 of the 12 playoff spots are already accounted for as we head to the final week, but there are many questions still unanswered, not only with those three available playoff spots, but with regards to when and where many of the teams will be playing their January football.

Will the Steelers, currently the 5th seed in the AFC, jump over the Ravens and claim the AFC North title and first round bye for the third time in the last four seasons? Heck, for that matter, could the Steelers even climb as high as the number one overall seed? Will the Steelers get a week off to lick their many wounds, or will the Black and Gold have to take their show on the road during Wildcard Weekend?

Will Baltimore finally take advantage of a situation that has them in control of their own destiny by beating the Bengals this week and winning their first division title since 2006? Or will they, once again, be sporting their road whites when the postseason begins?

Can the Bengals seize the final playoff spot in the AFC by knocking off the Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium this coming Sunday? Will enough people in the Cincinnati area even show up to create an actual homefield advantage for the Bengals?

If the Steelers do lose out on the AFC North title, will they have to travel to Denver the following week, and will Ryan Clark stay behind? If the Broncos make it, how many times will we hear the name "Tim Tebow" the week leading up to the game? How many features will Sally Wiggin do on the Mile High Messiah?

If it's the Raiders who are the Steelers opponents for the wildcard game, how many times will we see the footage of Kemo crashing into Carson Palmer's knee during that playoff game from a number of years ago? Will the Raiders fans crash Steelers blogs talking smack and acting like it's 1976? How many Raiders fans will be banned from Steelers blogs and vice versa during the week leading up to the big game in the Black Hole?

Will the Jets, once again, beat all of the odds and somehow make it into the playoffs as a wildcard? Right now, they need the Bengals, Titans and Broncos/Raiders to all lose or tie. If I bet a $100 that it would happen, how much could I win? If the Jets make it to the playoffs again, what team will they be playing in the AFC Championship game?

In the NFC, the only playoff spot available is a "win and you're in" scenario. The Giants and Cowboys will be playing for the NFC East title. The winner gets the number 4 seed in the NFC. If the Cowboys advance to the postseason, how many times will network execs, salivating over the prospect of Jerry Jones' ratings-juggernaut being in the postseason, force their on-air talent to say stuff like, "Right now, if I'm in the NFC, I wouldn't want to face the Cowboys in the playoffs"?

Even though there is only one spot up for grabs in the NFC, a few seeds are still very much undecided. The 49ers are in the driver's seat for the 2nd seed and a bye. Will they close it out and earn that bye, or will they lose their final game to the god-awful Rams and fall down to the 3rd seed? If that happens, will the Lions lose their final game to a Green Bay team that has everything wrapped up and will surely be resting most of their key personnel? The Lions are currently the 5th seed in the NFC, but if they finish in a tie with Atlanta, the Falcons would leap over them for the 5th spot. If the 49ers are the 3rd seed and the Lions the 6th, my God, we would spend another week rehashing the postgame dust-up between Lions coach Jim Schwartz and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh from earlier in the year. I never thought I'd say this, but please earn that number 2 seed, Jim Harbaugh! I'll be rooting for you!

Made me sick just typing that.

Yes, I think the final week is shaping up just fine. I can't wait!

Happy holidays to me!

Friday, December 23, 2011

Texans fall to the Colts. Still hope for that Steelers bye, and boy do they need it

The other night over on Behind the Steel Curtain, I wrote an assessment of the obstacles that stood in the way of the Steelers earning a possible bye into the second round of the playoffs.

One of those obstacles was the tiebreaker that the Houston Texans hold over Pittsburgh. Last night, Houston lost to the suddenly resurgent Indianapolis Colts, who started off 0-13 and are now playing their best football at the end of the year.

The Texans just clinched their first ever playoff spot two weeks ago, and one has to wonder if the relief of finally getting that monkey off of their back combined with their injury troubles have made the young franchise complacent and just happy to be in the playoffs. With rookie TJ Yates under center, I can certainly see the Texans going one and done in the postseason, bye or no bye.

Now, if the Steelers win their last two games and the Ravens lose another down the stretch, Pittsburgh would earn at least the number 2 seed in the AFC.

So, a bye is still possible, but the Steelers will have to try and beat the Rams without several key starters, including Ben Roethlisberger, who will reportedly miss tomorrow's game.

It looks like center Maurkice Pouncey will miss his second straight game, and linebacker Lamarr Woodley may also sit out tomorrow's action.

It's going to be interesting to see how the Steelers answer the bell over the last two weeks. Injuries can bring a team down faster than just about anything this time of year.

The Steelers can sure use that bye.

Paul Chryst is new head coach at Pitt

The Pitt Panthers officially named Wisconsin Badgers offensive coordinator Paul Chryst as their new head football coach.

Chryst is considered a great hire by many, but that's what they said about Todd Graham about a year ago. We'll see what happens.

Chryst is a great offensive mind who had some very impressive seasons guiding the Badgers offense. Chryst also showed a willingness to adapt to his players strengths--a breath of fresh-air after the "Hammer Down, High Octane or Bust" era. Chryst has also shown the ability to develop quarterbacks, something that may work wonders for Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri, who will now be forced to learn his third offensive system in the last three seasons.

Many Pitt fans were mad that Chryst was only a coordinator, but it was just a matter of time before the guy was someones head coach. Every head coach was an assistant at one time or another.

All indications are that the Panthers got the right guy for the job. I like the hire, but then again, I said the same thing last year about Graham.

We'll see what happens.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The Steelers making the playoffs just never gets old

There is much disappointment in Steeler Nation this week following the team's, 20-3, loss at the hands of the very impressive San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park Monday Night.

Heading into the weekend, I was prepared for a loss, not necessarily because I thought San Fran was that great, but because of the many key injuries that the Steelers were dealing with after their Thursday night game 10 days earlier against the Browns.

But the way things unfolded last Sunday with the Ravens and Texans losing, I admit, I awoke Monday morning feeling pretty excited about the prospects of the Steelers gaining control of, not only the AFC North, but homefield advantage all throughout the playoffs.

Unfortunately, Monday night's showing by the Steelers left a lot to be desired, and now the team is back in the same boat it was in before the weekend. There's no doubt that I'm disappointed in what transpired Monday night, but I still find myself pretty happy today because I know that the Steelers clinched a playoff berth even before their lethargic Monday night showing. And I know that regardless of how the rest of the regular season unfolds, I'll get to experience the anticipation of at least one playoff game.

I said pretty much the same thing last year after the Steelers clinched a playoff berth, but I'll repeat it: no matter how many times the Steelers have made the playoffs in my lifetime (they're up to 26 appearances in my 39 years on this planet), it just never gets old.

I know the Steelers are facing some pretty tough odds as they more than likely will wind up with the 5th seed, but it sure beats the heck out of the alternative.

After their previous two Super Bowl appearances, the Steelers missed the playoffs, and I don't know about you, but the '09 season was maybe the most frustrating I've ever experienced as a fan. I thought they were good enough to repeat as champions, and there they were sitting at home with everyone else. If there's one thing worse than your team not making the playoffs, it's seeing them fail to make it a year after providing you with the ultimate high.

So, while their seed might not be ideal, they're still in the dance. I don't agree with Ray Lewis a lot, but as he said, making the playoffs is the number one agenda.

The Steelers made it again! It just never gets old.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Colts win. Packers lose. Steelers in the playoffs again

Boy, do I have great timing or what? I decide to write a blog about the significance of the Indianapolis Colts 0-13 start to the 2011 season, and just when I'm finishing up, they knock off the Tennessee Titans, 27-13. It's OK. I think my post works just as well with a 1-13 Colts team.

The great news if you're a Steelers fan is the loss by Tennessee clinches a spot in the playoffs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is the second straight trip to the postseason for the Steelers, and the fourth time in five years under head coach Mike Tomlin. It's also the second year in a row that Pittsburgh clinched a spot in the playoffs on week 14 (or is it really 15?) without actually winning a football game. A year ago on this same weekend, the Steelers officially made the playoffs despite losing to the New York Jets at Heinz Field, 22-17. Today, the Steelers players were probably sitting around at the team hotel, getting ready for their Monday Night football clash with the 49ers tomorrow night, when they official qualified for the postseason. The really funny part about today is that the Steelers, who are technically behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North by virtue of losing both games to their division rivals, qualified for a spot in the playoffs before the Ravens. I'm sure it has something to do with conference records or whatever.

Also, the Houston Texans looked really bad today against the Carolina Panthers, one week after winning the AFC South and punching their ticket to the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Houston fell to Cam Newton and company in front of the home folks, 28-13. I was watching some of the game, and the announcers were alluding to, perhaps, a playoff clinching hangover as the cause of Houston's lackluster effort. If you're a Texans fan, you better hope it's a hangover, and not the Texans' injury problems finally coming home to roost.

Now, if the Ravens lose to the Chargers tonight in San Diego, not only would the Steelers have a chance to jump into first place with a win in San Francisco tomorrow night, at 11-3 they would be in total control of the number 1 seed in the AFC.

First things first, and I never thought I'd lower myself to say this, but Go Philip Rivers!

And, finally, for you conspiracy theorists out there, on the same day that the Indianapolis Colts put a temporary end to their season-long hibernation, the 13-0 Green Bay Packers lost to the Chiefs in Kansas City, putting an end to their 19-game winning streak as well as their bid to go undefeated for the 2011 season. Now, the Packers can just concentrate on a second-straight Super Bowl title. The way history has judged the 2007 New England Patriots for their 18-no season, I'm thinking the Packers are probably a little relieved that they don't have to be under the same kind of pressure. I don't get to see much of ESPN these days, but I'm sure Chris Berman is cueing up the sound of the cork popping on the bottle of champaign in-honor of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the last team to finish a season undefeated.

What Does the 0-13 Start Say About the Indianapolis Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts have been one of the most consistent franchises in the NFL over the better part of the past decade. From 2002-2010, the team won 10 games or more nine straight times, won the AFC South seven times, and made the playoffs nine years in a row. They've played in three AFC Championships, appeared in two Super Bowls, and were crowned World Champions in 2006.

When we look back on this great era of football years from now, the Colts will certainly be put in the same class as teams like the Patriots, Steelers and Packers.

Unfortunately, this season has been a complete disaster for the Colts. Star quarterback and NFL Ambassador, Peyton Manning, has been out all year after having neck surgery in the off season. Without Manning, the Colts have started the season 0-13 and have looked completely helpless in most of their games.

The Colts have also suffered other notable injuries to key players such as Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai. However, with guys like Jeff Saturday, Dwight Freeney, Robert Mathis and Reggie Wayne in that locker room, you would think the team would still have enough talent, heart and resiliency to at least tread water this season. However, they've been outscored by 198 in their 13 losses (15.2 points a game) and have looked nothing like the perennial Super Bowl contenders they were in recent years.

With over 54,000 yards and 399 touchdowns in his stellar career, there is no doubt that the Colts were going to miss Manning, but I didn't believe it would be this bad for them.

The Colts asked Kerry Collins to come out of retirement right before the season, but before long, back up Curtis Painter was under center. And now, there's some guy named Dan Orlovsky barking out the signals for the team.

It's so weird seeing the Colts with this kind of record. Years from now, when people are scanning this portion of the team's history, 2011 is going to stand out like a throbbing, infected, totally mutated sore thumb.

When I went back and looked at other historically great NFL teams, they never had years even approaching this.

When the Packers of the 60's were winning five NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowls, they never came close to having so much as a losing season until Vince Lombardi's departure marked the end of their glory days.

The Oakland Raiders won three Super Bowls from 1976-1983, and the worst record they had in that stretch was 7-9 in 1981.

Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys had 20 consecutive winning seasons from 1966-1985.

The worst year that I could find by a team that won on a fairly consistent basis was by the 1990 Denver Broncos, who went 5-11 right smack-dab in the middle of the John Elway era.

Maybe it's a bit unfair to compare the Colts to those other teams with Indy missing such an important piece to its puzzle. Yes, injuries are always a hindrance, but a truly great team should be able to overcome even the most significant of injuries and, if not thrive, at least look somewhat respectable. The 1976 Steelers suffered many injuries--including losing Terry Bradshaw for a lengthy amount of time--but were still able to dominate as a team even with Mike Kruczek starting under center for six games.

Manning has often been compared to Dolphins' legendary quarterback Dan Marino. Even though Marino's Dolphins never accomplished as much as Manning's Colts, number 13 was still the most important part of his team during his storied career. In 1993, Marino suffered a season-ending Achilles injury in week five, and although Miami eventually lost their last five games, they were initially able to survive Marino's absence by winning five out of six games with Scott Mitchell and Steve Deberg under center.

People say things are different today. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and if a team loses its elite signal-caller, it's only going to be a shell of its former self.

Well, what about the New England Patriots? The Patriots have also been one of the best teams in the NFL over the past decade, winning eight division titles, four AFC Championships and three Super Bowls. In week one of the 2008 season, the Patriots lost Tom Brady for the year with a knee injury. Bill Belichick was forced to use Matt Cassel under center, and even though New England missed out on the playoffs, they still managed to post an 11-5 record.

Many people are acting as if the 2012 Colts will just pick up where the 2010 team left off--the Manningless 2011 nightmare is just an abberation--but don't be so sure of that. I know Peyton Manning makes a difference, but does he make THAT big of a difference?

You could sort of see the decline in the Colts last season, even with Manning leading the way. After going 14-2 and making an appearance in the Super Bowl the year before, they started out 6-6 and had to rally to win the AFC South with a 10-6 record, but lost in the first round of the playoffs to the New York Jets.

Is the Colts 2011 season just a Manningless hiccup, or does it mark the end of the team's great era?

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Do you think Todd Graham can sleep at night? In today's day and age, it's probably a lot harder than years ago

As everyone knows by now, Todd Graham is the most hated man in Pitt football circles since Walt Harris occupied Pitt's sidelines. And in Harris' case, he was hated for staying too long, not leaving too soon.

Graham's departure from Pitt for Arizona State after 11 months was so swift and out of left field, it reminded me of the way most radio stations handle a change in personnel or format. In other words, there was no indication this was going to happen literally a day before. Graham was speaking at a Pittsburgh coaches function on Tuesday, and according to people in attendance, he was speaking as if he wanted to be at Pitt for a very long time.

Hours later, Graham was on the phone asking Pitt AD Steve Pederson if he could get permission to talk to ASU about their coaching vacancy (Pederson said no). Hours after that, Graham was slamming the door in the face of a Pitt official who came to his house to talk about the situation.

Wednesday afternoon, Graham asked another Pitt official to forward an email to his players informing them that he was on his way to Arizona State to accept the head coaching job. He couldn't even tell his own players face to face that he was leaving.

There is a picture floating around the Internet of Graham and his wife sitting on a jet on their way to Tempe Wednesday afternoon, and both were smiling from ear to ear. Didn't seem Graham had any regrets about his decision or the manner in which he went about leaving.

I wonder if Graham really does feel bad about the way he left. Sure, it's not that uncommon for coaches to jump ship on short notice, but the way Graham did it just seemed particularly smarmy.

Graham has a history of coach hopping, and the dislike for the man isn't just contained to Pitt players, fans and alumni.

When Graham left Rice for Tulsa, a group at Rice started a facebook page called: "Coach Graham has no Soul."

Pitt's players were very vocal about Graham on Wednesday, and they voiced their displeasure in a series of Twitter comments.

Years ago, coaches could probably do stuff like this, and there may have been as much hatred and resentment from the people they left behind, but it was generally contained to the mail bag section of the newspaper or the local talk shows. But now with the Internet being what it is today, and social media being so widespread, it's hard to hide from the criticism if you're in Graham's position. It's even become fashionable for newscasters to quote people of celebrity when they say something of note on social media outlets such as Twitter or facebook.

Graham has to know what's being said, even all the way over there in Arizona. Heck, the link that I posted a couple of paragraphs ago was from an Arizona sports site.

There is no way Graham doesn't realize he went about things the wrong way. No matter how much he tries to justify the way he left, deep-down, he has to know it was sleazy.

Or maybe that facebook group was right. Maybe Coach Graham has no soul. Probably the only thing helping him sleep at night.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

It would have been nice if Todd Graham actually did use the Pitt job as a stepping stone

Back in January, when Pitt finally ended up with Todd Graham as its new head coach after the Mike Haywood 16 day disaster, many Panthers faithful were complaining that Graham was just going to use the job as a stepping stone to bigger and better things. I guess the fans and alumni saw this as a slap in the face. "What college football job is better than the one at Pitt?"

They wanted someone who considered this a dream job and would be willing to stay for life.

Well, guess what? They had that guy. His name was Dave Wannstedt, a man who considered being head coach of the Pitt Panthers one of the greatest honors of his life.

Unfortunately, he failed to elevate the program from where Walt Harris left it. In fact, Wannstedt couldn't even duplicate the success that Harris had and never got the Panthers back to a BCS game.

Around this time last year, Wannstedt said his tearful goodbyes and that's when all the fun started. Two coaches later, Graham came in talking a big game. He wasn't just going to settle for mediocrity, he wanted to build a national champion. I was all for that.

Was he looking at the Pitt job as a mere stepping stone? Well, duh! But in order for a job to be a stepping stone, in most cases, you're supposed to do some great things when you're walking on those stones. You're supposed to leave the program in a better condition than it was when you came on board.

Like how Johnny Majors turned the Panthers into a national powerhouse after he took over the program in 1973. When Majors was named head coach at Pitt, they were a national doormat. By the time he left for his dream job in Tennessee in 1977, Jackie Sherrill was named new head coach of the defending National Champions, and the Panthers were so full of talent, they remained in the hunt for a national championship until the early 80's.

If you want a more recent example of a coach using a job as a true stepping stone, but leaving the program much better off than where he found it, you need not look any further than Pitt's Men's basketball program.

When Ben Howland inherited the basketball program from Ralph Willard in 1999, it was a complete mess. The success the Panthers had in the 80's and early 90's was a distant memory. Howland was just a no-name coach from Northern Arizona, but by the time he left for his dream job in UCLA following the 2002/2003 season, he helped transform Pitt into one of the most consistent programs in the country. Pitt was wise to promote Howland's lead assistant, Jamie Dixon, to head coach in 2004, and today, Pitt Men's basketball is considered elite.

Those are two positive examples of a person using a job as a stepping stone. They came in, established themselves, established their programs, and left them better off than when they took over.

This might irk a lot of his haters, but what Walt Harris did when he took over the Pitt football job in 1997 was maybe an even better example than what both Majors and Howland did. When Harris took over the Pitt program, it was arguably in even worse shape than in the early 70's. Majors came back to coach the football team in 1993, but unlike the 70's, Majors' second tenure was a complete disaster. Things were so bad by 1996, it was even suggested by a local columnist or two that Pitt consider downgrading their program to division II.

Harris came in, and in his first year, took the program to its first bowl game since 1989.

By the time he left for Stanford in 2005, the Panthers were a perennial bowl team, and Harris coached them in the Fiesta Bowl in his last game.

Back to Graham. I wouldn't of had any problem with him leaving after a few years if he had elevated the program to that of an annual top ten team, groomed a successor on his staff to continue on the high octane tradition that he established, and left the program better off than where it was when he took over; that would have been an example of a stepping stone that Pitt fans could have eventually accepted.

Sadly, Graham just saw the Pitt job as another car on the highway that he would eventually leave behind, and when the opportunity presented itself, he got in the left lane and put the hammer down all the way to Arizona.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Bye Octane. Todd Graham resigns as head coach of Pitt after 11 months and takes same job at Arizona State

As a pretty frequent sports blogger, I tend to follow a lot of differnt sports sites and listen to a lot of sports talk radio, so it's pretty rare for me to be floored by something that happens in the sports world these days, especially when it pertains to news involving local Pittsburgh sports.

Well, by the time I found out about Todd Graham's decision to resign his position as Pitt head coach and take the same job at Arizona State, Graham was already in Arizona talking contract particulars with Sun Devil officials.

If you think you're stunned as a fan, I'll bet the Pitt administrators and players are just about floored.

I don't follow twitter much, but apparently, Graham's name is being dragged through the mud by the Pitt football players, some of whom are saying that their former coach just told them recently that he was in it for the long-haul.

This is just insane. I didn't think it could ever get any worse for the Panthers football program than the Mike Haywood fiasco in January.

Now, Pitt will have to begin the search for their fourth head coach since December of last year.

James Harrison suspended for one game for hit on Colt McCoy

It is the first time in 25 years that a player has been suspended for a whistle to whistle play. Here is a great piece from Steel Curtain Rising comparing Harrison's hit to the last such play that the league felt warranted a suspension--Charles Martin of the Green Bay Packers body-slamming the Bears Jim Mcmahon in 1986.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

The Incredible Hulk Breaks the Pittsburgh Steelers

It seems like any other week in Steelers land. The team is preparing for their big showdown the following Monday night in Candlestick Park against the San Francisco 49ers. But there is a new man in Steelers headquarters. It's not a player or coach, he's kind of a mystery man, David Becker, the new assistant to the equipment manager that the team just hired.

But David isn't just your ordinary, everyday assistant to the equipment manager. He's a very intelligent and well-groomed assistant to the equipment manager, and people soon take to him and enjoy his presence and wisdom, much like they always do, like, for instance, when he's an intelligent and well-groomed janitor, or an intelligent and well-groomed farm-hand, or an intelligent and well-groomed groundskeeper, or an intelligent and well-groomed bartender, etc, etc. Everyone can see that David is a very well-educated and bright man, but most don't know that his real name is Dr. David Banner--a man who spent many years as a successful research scientist and physician before having his world altered forever by a gamma radiation experiment gone awry. Now, whenever Dr. Banner becomes angry or outraged, he changes into a seven foot tall, green creature capable of great feats of strength. Believed to be dead, David must assume many identities as he travels the country searching for a cure or a way to control the beast that dwells within him. As fate would have it, he now finds himself in the presence of the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

David Banner is a man who always touches the lives of the people he comes in contact with.

One of those people, on this particular part of the journey, is safety Troy Polamalu, the superstar of the Steelers defense. Troy suffered a hamstring injury in the Thursday night game against the Browns and is trying to find a way to get his leg as close to 100% as possible before the big contest Monday night against the 49ers. Troy and David get to know each other and soon become fast friends. David secretly admires Troy's ability to play with such reckless abandon on the field while being so peaceful and respectful off of it, and Troy is impressed with how charismatic and dynamic David is for being just an assistant to the equipment manager.

Troy is anxious to get out on the field and lead the defense to victory on Monday, but his hamstring just isn't healing fast enough. He doesn't know what to do, that is until the assistant to the team trainer boasts that he can heal Troy's injury and get him ready to play in Monday's game. You see, he knows of a remedy--a rarely used horse serum that he says has many benefits, including the ability to heal strained hamstrings. David overhears this conversation, and sure, maybe this rarely used horse serum can cure Troy's injury, but David is concerned with the possible complications. He warns Troy that he could be putting his life in danger. David knows what he's talking about, obviously, and puts some doubt into Troy's mind about using this very rare horse serum.

Not every player is quick to welcome David into their world, especially James Harrison and Brett Keisel, and after overhearing a conversation between David and Troy at practice that morning, they tell him to mind his own business, that they really need Troy to play in the big game against the 49ers. "What do you know?" they ask. As far as they can tell, David just your average, everyday assistant to the equipment manager; they are completely unaware of his secret past. They start to taunt David and laugh in his face, but David will have none of it. After all, he's just worried about Troy's condition. He knows he could be endangering his life by taking such a risky drug. "Is that what you want?" he asks both Brett and James. Eventually, this taunting escalates and the two players grab David by the arms and throw him into one of those equipment chests full of bandages and footballs and stuff like that. The two burly football players walk away laughing. Suddenly, a giant, green monster comes bursting out of this chest and looking menacingly in Brett and James' direction. They can't believe their eyes, but they're football players, and their instincts take over. Brett takes a run at the creature and attempts to tackle him, but the Hulk just grabs him by the beard and then picks him up and throws him over the goal posts. Harrison tries to sack the Hulk from behind, but the seven foot green monster doesn't go down as easily as your average quarterback does. The Hulk just grabs a barbell and wraps it around Harrison, leaving him trapped. The Hulk soon flees the scene, and everyone is in complete shock from what just happened. Troy sees the whole thing and, naturally, is stunned to have witnessed such a scary creature. However, he can't help but wonder what happened to his friend David and where he might have gone after being thrown into that storage chest.

Later that afternoon, at the Tuesday press conference, Coach Tomlin is answering the standard questions about the team when he is suddenly interrupted by tabloid reporter and David Banner nemesis, Jack Mcgee. It's no surprise that Mcgee is at this press conference. Whenever you see the Hulk, Mcgee is soon to follow close behind. He's very persistent, you know. Mcgee asks Tomlin if he's heard the rumors about the big, hulking creature that was seen at his practice facility earlier in the morning. "I'm not going to sit here and comment on any big, green monster," Tomlin says. "That's an unfounded rumor and to make any comment on that would be pure speculation. I'm not in the business of speculating. The only monsters I'm worried about, at this point, are the monsters that are going to be lining up for the 49ers this coming Monday. Those guys are scarier than any 7 foot tall green creature." "Surely you must know something," Mcgee retorts. "There had to be 53 eyewitnesses."

Wednesday morning, Troy finds David lacing some shoulder pads in the locker room and asks him where he ran off to after being harassed by Brett and James and if he saw or heard anything about the big, giant creature. David doesn't skip a beat as he asks Troy if he's still considering the use of that rare horse serum for his injured hamstring. He tells Troy that he's worried about his well-being. Troy seems more determined than ever to get in the game against San Fran no matter what.

The following Monday, hours before the big game against the 49ers, a very concerned David approaches Coach Tomlin and warns him about the lengths that Troy is willing to go to in order to play in the big game. He tells him that if Troy injects that rarely used horse serum into his injured leg he could be endangering his own life. "I'm not going to comment on any player who's life may or may not be in danger because of some rarely used horse serum," says Tomlin. "That's just pure speculation, and I'm not in the business of speculating. The only horses I'm worried about are the ones who will be lining up against us for the San Fransisco 49ers tonight."

David leaves Tomlin's office feeling pretty disgusted and once again runs into Harrison and Keisel. They ask him if he's still going to be butting into the team's business, and David tells them that he's only worried about his friend's welfare, and that if they were his friends, too, they wouldn't let him inject that rarely used horse serum into his injured hamstring. They tell David that if Troy doesn't volunteer to inject himself with that rarely used horse serum, they will do it for him. They then show off a syringe full of it to prove their point.

David sees this and immediately protests and then unsuccessfully tries to grab the drug from the huge defenders. Harrison and Keisel grab David by the arms and throw him into a storage closest where they feel he can't interfere any longer. They then go to get Troy so they can inject him with this rarely used horse serum.

David starts to scream, "NOOOOOOOOO! Troy! Don't do it! You don't know what you're taking! STOP!!!!!!! Troy! TRRROOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!" I think you know what happens next. Sure, David has only known Polamalu for a short time, but damn it, that doesn't stop him from being so concerned for his friend's health, and so emotionally committed that he turns into the big, hulking creature for a second time.

James and Brett think they're going to have their way with Troy until they hear this huge roar and then stand stunned in amazement as the double-doors of the storage closet come flying off the hinges. Standing there, once again, is that big, green monster who growls at James and Brett. Brett tries to take a run at the Hulk, but the monster just flings him into the air with one arm. Harrison also goes flying as he once again misses a sack on the big guy. The Hulk then realizes it's game-time and picks up Troy and runs him out to the field just before the opening kickoff.

The many thousands of fans in attendance are shocked to see this big, green creature running down the field with Troy Polamalu in his arms.

The fans, mostly 49ers faithful, start cheering loudly because they think the Hulk is a new free agent signing for their team. The cheers startle the green monster, and he turns around and roars at the crowd before running off into the night.

Jack Mcgee, who of course bought a ticket from a scalper before the game, knows the creature isn't some new 49er player, and he runs onto the field trying to catch the Hulk. "Stop John! Come back!" Unfortunately for Mcgee, security guards quickly grab him and just assume that he's a drunk and escort him out of Candlestick Park.

Standing in the huddle with his teammates, Troy realizes that he doesn't need that rarely used horse serum and goes on to have a big game and helps lead the Steelers to a huge victory.

The next day, Troy notices that David is packing up his things. He asks David where he's going. David tells Troy that he must leave; he can't explain why. Troy thanks David for his friendship and for his concern, and he says that the big green creature got him out of a jam and asks David where he was during all the commotion and if he saw the green thing, too. Troy says he's going to do his best to unite the entire group, including James and Brett, and he vows to lead them all the way to the Super Bowl. He asks David to please stay, but David tells him that he just can't, he must get out of town immediately. Troy asks David to promise to stop by and cheer the team on in the playoffs. David tells him that they'll do just fine without him and then walks off, never to be seen again.

My fantasy football team endures another season of heartbreak

I had a chance to clinch a very rare playoff berth for yours truly with a win this weekend in the last regular season game in my fantasy league.

Sadly, however, I fell four points short (113-109), and I will be on the outside looking in, yet again.

In terms of fantasy teams, my 2011 version, Horrible Losses, was actually pretty good. They averaged 99.9 points a game, and I had a stud stable of running backs in Arian Foster, Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch and Shonn Greene. The only problem I had from week to week was figuring out what combination of backs to start--I normally started a third back in the wr/r slot because my receivers weren't the greatest this year.

What did me in this week was my decision to not start Greene. Foster and Lynch have been my horses all year, so it came down to Gore and Greene. I took a chance and went with Gore, who was going up against the Cardinals defense. Gore actually had a pretty decent game, it was Foster who failed to perform this week, only putting up five points against the Bengals. But what can you do? No way was I not starting Foster, he was my bread and butter all season.

Speaking of failing to perform, it didn't matter who I started at tight end this week--Jermichael Finley and Heath Miller combined to score -1 points. For the record, I started Finley (0 points), so I guess I made the right call there.

Oh well, 109 is pretty good. I just fell victim to the poor luck I've been experiencing for the better part of a decade.

The 99.9 points per game that my team averaged would be good enough to clinch a playoff spot without even breaking a sweat in most leagues, but unfortunately, my opponents averaged 97 points against me this season. Nothing anyone can do about that.

I scored the third most points in my league this season, but my points against was the second highest in the league. That's the kind of stuff that's been happening to me for the nine years I've been playing fantasy football. Back in 2007, I scored the second most points in my league but missed out on the playoffs because I had the most points scored against, by far.

In nine years, I've never lost fewer than six games in a season and never won more than seven. I've missed the playoffs 8 out of 9 years in my fantasy "career." That's pretty remarkable when you think about it. I figured out my all-time fantasy record (yes, I have that kind of time), and it's 50-71.

It's not like I don't know the game. My knowledge is pretty decent, and I always put effort into my teams. In all the years I've been playing, I think I've started a player that was on a bye once or twice. That's not bad, considering people neglect their teams in leagues all over the place.

My stupid brother is just the opposite. He ALWAYS wins in fantasy football. Just the other night, he called me at midnight, ecstatic, because the result of the Cowboys/Giants clash led to him winning his first round playoff game. If he wins his league this year, it would be the 3rd or 4th time for him. Jerk!

When it comes right down to it, I must be one of the unluckiest fantasy football players of all time.

Maybe I was involved in some points shaving scandal in a former life for something.

Let's just hope I never get a job in the Steelers scouting department.

Ryan Braun was obviously another victim of the "take these steroids without realizing it" guy

As most baseball fans know by now, Milwaukee Brewers slugger and reigning NL MVP Ryan Braun tested positive for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and faces a 50 game suspension.

However, Braun denies the validity of the test and says he never knowingly took PEDs. "Knowingly." Get it? Don't you see what's going on here?

I don't have all the facts yet, but Braun's agent did say that there are "unusual circumstances" in this case. You add that to Braun saying he never knowingly took any banned substances and, well, it can only lead me to one conclusion: Ryan Braun is the latest victim of the guy who has been preying on professional athletes for decades. I don't know his name, but he's that guy that always seems to find a way to get these high-profile athletes to take steroids (or other illegal substances) without really knowing what they're taking.

This guy has a history of ruining the reputations of great athletes. He got Barry Bonds to rub performance enhancing cream on his body many years ago.

This guy, this DEMON, must really hate professional cyclists because he's been getting them suspended for years at the Tour de France.

I don't know how this person does it, but apparently, his technique is pretty good. It's not always easy to get athletes to sign autographs or answer questions in the locker room, but this man has perfected the art of just handing them illegal or banned substances and persuading these people to take them without asking any questions.

I'm glad I've never had any contact with this man. Just the other day, my back was hurting me and I asked my friend for ibuprofen. If my friend was that monster, he may have given me a couple of Tylenol PMs and I would have been totally useless at work. Forget suspended, I would have been fired.

I think sports commissioners are looking in the wrong places and targeting the wrong people. Instead of testing these athletes, the innocent victims in all of this, they need to try to stop the "take these steroids without realizing it" guy.

You catch him, urine samples everywhere will be clean forever.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Pirates sign Nate Mclouth. What's the point?

Last week, during the Winter baseball meetings, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Nate Mclouth to a one year contract for $1.75 million. Mclouth, a former All Star outfielder who the team traded to the Atlanta Braves in '09, will be a reserve outfielder for the team this time around.

The team also announced the signing of starting pitcher Erik Bedard to a one-year $4.5 million deal. Bedard was 5-9 last year with a 3.62 ERA with both the Mariners and Red Sox.

Is anyone excited about either move? I know I'm not.

This is why I laugh when people say the team needs to spend more money on salary. You know why? This is what they get. Players like this. Mclouth is a broken down version of his former self, and Bedard is Paul Maholm without the $9.75 million option; a pitcher who missed the 2010 season with an injury.

The Pirates also signed 36 year old catcher Rob Barajas to a one year, $4 million contract last month to be their catcher.

Doesn't this stuff sound familiar? It's scraps. Other people's scraps. These are the kinds of players that may be able to contribute a key start or an at-bat on a pennant contending team, but on a young time still trying to find its way, they are a waste of time and money.

This is why I laugh when anyone suggests that the answer for the team is to bolster their payroll.

Developing their minor league system through the draft is what's going to turn the Pittsburgh Pirates into contenders someday, not signing these guys.

So, next time you want to complain about the payroll, think about the type of free agent the Pirates normally sign, and instead of worrying about the payroll, worry about what the young players are doing both in the Majors and in the minor league system.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

I'd like to thank the Pittsburgh Steelers for making my Sunday workdays virtually stress-free this season

My job requires me to work Sundays on an average of one time a month. Not bad, I suppose. Of course, it sucks during football season, especially when both of my bosses go to a lot of games and request that I work an extra Sunday or two; chances are, when the Steelers are playing a 1pm game at Heinz Field, it's a pretty safe bet that I'll be working.

In past years, I would tune the game in on the game on the radio at work. That wasn't too bad. I would listen to Billy, Tunch and Wolf describe every detail of the action while I went about performing my duties, and I wasn't very distracted.

Last season, however, my boss made the mistake of putting a television in the office. It was a whole new ballgame for me.

While radio guys like Bill Hillgrove describe everything in great detail, television broadcasters usually let the live action do most of the talking, and rightfully so. Why describe something that we are already seeing for ourselves?

That's why you'll often hear television broadcasters like Al Michaels call plays this way: "He was a quarterback in college and now he's thrown a touchdown in the Super Bowl."

That's a fine description if you're sitting in front of the television watching the action, but if you're busy working, well, it can turn a person into a very bad supervisor.

There were a lot of close Steelers games in 2010, and most of the really intense battles happened during my Sunday workdays.

There was the week one game against the Falcons when Dennis Dixon started for the suspended Ben Roethlisberger--my first workday Steelers game with the office television. The contest was a nail-biter that Pittsburgh had to pull out in overtime. I kept neglecting my duties all day because everytime I heard the crowd roar, I had to stop what I was doing and run to the television. Remember, tv calls like "he was a quarterback in college and now he's thrown a touchdown in the Super Bowl" are very confusing if you're not seeing the action.

There was the 2010 version of the Ravens last-second victory at Heinz Field where Joe Flacco hit TJ Houshmandzadeh with the game-winner and Ray Lewis picked off a Charlie Batch last-ditch pass with seconds remaining. Boy was I angry that day. I'm surprised I didn't make people stay late and do extra work.

Heck, even the 35-3 blow-out of the Raiders was pretty annoying to watch while at work. That was the game where Richard Seymour decked Roethlisberger for apparently no reason, the Steelers had something like 160 yards in penalties called against them, and Ike Taylor had a pick six that was so rare, the officials decided to nullify it by calling James Harrison for maybe the worst roughing the passer penalty in the history of the NFL, CFL, USFL and even the WFL.

And, then, of course, there was that exciting playoff win vs. the Ravens in January. No, it wasn't a Sunday, but I ALWAYS work on Saturdays, and the first two quarters overlapped with the last two hours of work. As you may remember, it was a tale of two halves. Unfortunately, for my nerves, the crappy half was played while I worked. I'm surprised that tv was still in one piece after Shaun Suisham missed a field goal to end a miserable first half that saw the Steelers head to the locker room trailing, 21-7.

That brings me to the 2011 season. There has been much talk about how many close games the team has played in recent years (no kidding, Tony. You've been basing most of your recent posts on that subject), but, for whatever reason, every Steelers lopsided victory has occurred on the Sundays that I had to work.

There was the 24-0 victory over the Seahawks a week after the Steelers lost the season-opener in Baltimore, 35-7, and we were all on edge wondering what would become of the season.

There was the 38-17 pasting of the Titans in week 5 seven days after the Steelers were outclassed by the Texans.

And, finally, the 35-7 demolition of the Bengals this past Sunday a week after that little scare against the Chiefs.

That's a combined score of 97-24 in games played on the Sundays that I've had to work this season. Thank you, Steelers. Thank you for allowing me to tend to my duties and not have to blurt out stuff like "what the f***, refs!" in front of people who may not be familiar with "Tony, the crazed Steelers fan."

Yes, there has been no swearing, and unlike last year, I'm at rest on Sundays.....even though I'm at work.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Why do college football fans even care if their team is screwed out of a BCS bowl game?

With the final BCS Standings in, and the BCS bowl games set, naturally, there are some teams that got screwed out of a BCS bowl, and fans who are more than upset about it.

I can see why, I suppose. Playing in a BCS game is a very big deal--I know, as a Pitt fan, I've been more than disappointed with the football program's recent failures to secure an automatic berth from the mediocre Big East conference--but at the end of the day, unless your team is playing in the actual BCS title game, what does it matter what bowl game they're in?

I know there is the prestige and money that goes along with a Sugar Bowl berth as opposed to, say, a berth in the BBVA Compass Bowl, but, as fans, we don't get to share in the money or prestige, and when all is said and done, both bowls are nothing but glorified exhibition games.

Sure, it's going to be pretty awesome to see 3rd ranked Oklahoma State take on 4th ranked Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl, but the only thing either team can hope for is to finish 3rd in the country. I would think that would be more frustrating than it would be satisfying.

But, that's the problem with big time college football. It's so unbelievably awesome every season. The ratings are high all year, the games are exciting and compelling, the rivalries are intense and full of history, the passion is more than palpable among the loyal followers of their teams, but at the end of each season, fans are always left asking "what if?"

This year, we're going to see the top ranked LSU Tigers take on the 2nd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Nationa....whoops, BCS National Title Game on January 9th.

As far as match-ups go, it's pretty darn good, and it's a re-match of a pretty hyped 1-2 match-up from earlier in the season (LSU won, 9-6). But like I said, Stanford and Okla. St. aren't too far removed from being in that game--Oklahoma State finished something like .0009 points behind Alabama in the final standings.

Alabama couldn't even beat out LSU in their section of the SEC conference, yet, they get to play them for a National Championship.

I'm not saying LSU and Alabama aren't the two best teams in the country, but with 100-plus schools playing division one college football, you'd think they'd eventually get around to having more than two teams playing for the right to call themselves "number one."

Oh well, I suppose this is another in a long line of blogs complaining about the BCS system. I guess you can call me a sorry cliche.

With most things in life, when a lot of people are pretty vocal about something being wrong, it almost always is.

We live in a sports world where, theoretically, the 68th best division I Men's college basketball team has a chance to win a National Championship each and every season, but the 4th best college football team in the land has no chance at all.

Seems like something is wrong there.

This is a huge week for Horrible Losses. My fantasy team is one win away from a rare playoff berth

I'll admit it, I got into my current fantasy football league just so I could show off the clever team name that I came up with--Horrible Losses. I conceived the idea for the name when I was watching the movie "Horrible Bosses" earlier in the summer.

I've never had great luck with my fantasy football teams. I started playing in 2003, and I've only made the playoffs one time ever.

Whatever hope I had to do well this season was quickly diminished in week one when Tony Romo (that's right, he's my starting quarterback) fumbled away the football on his way to a touchdown in a Sunday night game in New York. The touchdown would have clinched a victory for me, but instead, the minus-two that I earned for that play led to a loss; a Horrible loss, if you will.

It was the same old story. I didn't care. I was like Walter Mathau's character in "The Bad News Bears." I wasn't drunk (as far as you know), but I was indifferent. I started out 0-2 and had already decided to just play out the string.

But then something happened. I started winning some games. I picked up Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and that seemed to make a difference in my September and October games. And Arian Foster, who was hurt the first week or two, started going nuts for me, and he's been on a tear pretty much every week since. I also made maybe the greatest fantasy free agent pick up of my entire life the week that the Jaguars knocked off the Ravens. I needed a kicker for that week since mine was on a bye and could have easily just taken the top ranked guy. However, I scrolled down the list and spotted Josh Scobee of the Jaguars. I thought, "Hmmmmmm, the Jaguars will be lucky to score a touchdown against the Ravens, but I'll bet Scobee kicks a few field goals." Sure enough, not only did Scobee kick a few field goals (four), but three of them were from outside of 50 yards. It was ultimately the difference in an early victory for me.

Unfortunately, I still kept experiencing the kind of Horrible Losses that seem to keep me out of the playoffs every year.

I had rebounded from my 0-2 start and was 2-2 heading into week five. But just when it looked like I might actually improve to 3-2--a rare winning record for me--I suffered a horrible tie in week five and then a horrible one point loss in week six. Talk about deflating.

But, for whatever reason, I never gave up.

My team started picking up some steam, and I was 5-5-1 and only one game out of a playoff spot heading into last week's match ups. After the Sunday afternoon games were completed, I thought I had won my game, 96-93. I was super excited. However, when I logged onto NFL.com (my league's site) last Tuesday morning to see what place I was in, I was shocked to discover that I was 5-6-1. What the hell happened? Well, while evaluating my opponent's team last weekend, I failed to scroll down far enough to see that her team still had a kicker in play on Monday Night Football.

It wasn't like I could control it or anything, but it was still a pretty stiff blow to my confidence.

"Would I ever have any luck in fantasy football?" I thought heading into this week's game.

Well, my team put up a pretty high octane-like 130 points this week, and I won my game rather easily. And I got some help in the standings. The 4th place team lost it's game, and thanks to that tie, my 6-6-1 record is good enough for the 4th and last playoff spot as things stand right now.

There is one week left, and Horrible Losses control their own destiny. If I win, I'm win. It's as simple as that.

Heck, even if I lose, I can still get in if Chuckie's Bastards--the team in 5th place--loses their last regular season game.

But I don't want to leave anything up to chance, no, not with my fantasy football history.

I think I'd have a great shot of winning the whole thing if I can just somehow make the playoffs. As I said, Foster has been going nuts all year, and Marshawn Lynch has been a beast for me as of late. I also have Frank Gore and Shonn Greene to choose from in my running back stable. Tony Romo is playing better, and I also picked up Santonio Holmes because of his late-season touchdown scoring prowess--he has two since I acquired him last week. I think my team is pretty loaded.

This is Horrible Losses time to shine. Where would I rather be than right here, right now!

Go Horrible Losses!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Pitt to play in the BBVA Compass bowl......again

The Pitt Panthers will be playing in their second straight BBVA Compass bowl. The Panthers opponent this time will be from Conference USA, the SMU Mustangs.

The Panthers played the Mustangs back in the 1983 Cotton Bowl, but there won't be any Eric Dickersons or Dan Marinos in this game.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

I think Joe Kapp is kind of a jerk now

I've spent literally thousands of hours of my life watching old NFL footage. I absolutely love the old stuff, and I've always enjoyed the features I've seen on former Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp.

He was about as tough as a quarterback could be. He led the Vikings to Super Bowl IV against the Chiefs in 1969, and in one piece of film that I remember, he refused a team MVP award given to him and walked off stage saying, "There is no one most valuable Viking. There are 40." How can you not admire a guy like that?

However, whatever respect for Kapp that I had before, I do not have anymore, or it's lessened a bit, anyway.

There's a video circulating around the Internet of an altercation between Kapp and a rival from his days in the Canadian Football League, Angelo Mosca. The fight happened at some Grey Cup luncheon recently.

Apparently, the grudge between the two stems from an incident in a Grey Cup game back in 1963, when Kapp's BC Lions took on Mosca's Hamilton Tiger Cats. During the contest, a Hamilton 21-10 victory, Mosca, a former defensive lineman, evidently delivered a cheap shot on one of Kapp's teammates out of bounds. Obviously, Kapp hasn't let it go just yet.

I don't know anything about Mosca, but this video is pretty sufficient evidence that Kapp went looking for a fight. Maybe Mosca was a jerk back during his playing days, but why hold onto so much hate for something that happened 48 years ago?

Any cheap shot that Mosca may have delivered back in '63 was outdone by Kapp's cheap-shot in this video. Yes, I know Mosca whacked Kapp with his cane, but Kapp provoked him, and besides, it was pretty obvious that Mosca was in no condition to fight. Kapp should have realized he was in the wrong for shoving the flower in Mosca's face and just walked away after being hit with the cane. You don't punch someone in Mosca's condition, especially when you were the one who started the fight.

Any Steelers fan that thinks that Kapp was justified in his animosity after all these years, imagine how you'd feel if Joe Greene was at some NFL banquet ten years from now and got knocked out by an old Browns' player who was angry over one of Mean Joe's borderline hits back in the 70's. I know I wouldn't like it very much.

A lot of people think this stuff is funny, I don't. I put myself in Mosca's shoes. We're all going to get old someday(hopefully), but some of us aren't going to age as well as others.

I guess Joe Kapp finally got even. He got even by sinking to a new low.

Kind of sad all the way around.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Pitt fans who come down on Penn State because of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. According to some people, it's just for spite

I've always been a University of Pittsburgh football and basketball fan. On the football side of things, that, of course, means having a bit of sports hatred for Penn State football. Pitt and Penn State were huge rivals for years before the series stopped being an annual event sometime back in the 90's.

There is still a bit of a rivalry between the two programs, at least when it comes to fans and alumni.

I'd be naive if I didn't think that a certain segment of Pitt fans have gotten a bit of perverted (excuse the poor choice of word) pleasure out of the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault allegations and how it's tainted the PSU image.

However, I don't consider myself one of those fans. Yes, I am not big on Penn State football, and yes, I'm more than disappointed with what went on with Sandusky and his alleged conduct with young boys over an extended period of time, but because I'm a Pitt fan, I'm not allowed to voice my displeasure with Penn State?

I was listening to talk radio on my way to work this morning, and a few PSU alumni and supporters were insinuating that a lot of the people who have trashed the program over the past few weeks are doing so because they never liked Penn State in the first place (Pitt alumni and supporters) and are just using the unfortunate scandal as a reason to pile on.

I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be guilted into that kind of nonsense. If that scandal happened anywhere at any program, I would be acting the same way and saying the same things with regards to what went on. What happened was not right. A lot of people did a lot of things wrong, and yes, Jerry Sandusky is the real monster, but that doesn't mean that Joe Paterno, his regime and the entire Penn State administration do not deserve their share of the criticism.

As far as I'm concerned, the Penn State supporters who are saying this crap are part of the problem and not part of the solution.

State College has been closed off to the world for long enough. Well, now, because of this, it's going to be under the microscope for a very long time. Penn State supporters better get used to it, and they need to focus their anger in other places.

Leave the football rivalries on the field.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Why Tom Bradley shouldn't be named next Head Coach at Penn State

Still trying to get back on track after the very tragic Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal that rocked their university last month, Penn State officials are in the beginning stages finding a replacement for legendary coach Joe Paterno, who was fired last month for, perhaps, not doing enough when he learned of possible inappropriate behavior by Sandusky and a young boy back in 2002.

Long-time assistant coach and defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was named interim head coach after Paterno's dismissal, and it has been reported that Penn State may, in fact, interview Bradley for the position.

Bradley has been wanting to be a head coach for quite some time, and there's no doubt that being the head man at State College would be a dream come true for him.

Bradley is certainly more than qualified. He's been an assistant coach with the Nittany Lions since the late 70's and their defensive coordinator since 1999 when Sandusky stepped down from that position.

Bradley is also a great recruiter.

Still, though, I do not think Bradley should be named the next coach at Penn State. Don't get me wrong, I think the world of Bradley, and there is no doubt that he's a great guy and a very loyal Penn State soldier, but I think the Powers that Be at Penn State should just wipe the slate clean of any reminders of the old regime, and that includes Tom Bradley.

This Sandusky case is far from over. What happens if new allegations come out, and it is discovered that Bradley, too, was aware of Sandusky's inappropriate behavior?

He'd be on the same hot-seat as Joe Pa, and Penn State officials would be back to square one, probably forced to fire another coach.

No, Bradley cannot be the new man. It's paramount that Penn State goes in an entirely new direction.