Monday, January 31, 2011

This Super Bowl hype is kind of weird

The first week of Super Bowl hype is in the books, and so far, it's a bit surreal. For starters, the opposing fan bases have been mostly respectful of one another.

There hasn't been any kind of fighting or "we have more championships than you" back and forth that you would expect from fans, especially in the Internet age. Maybe I'm just reading the wrong blogs and message boards.

As far as Steeler fans are concerned, the biggest villain from last week was some guy named Clay Aiken or Chet Atkins or Randy Travis or something like that. Anyway, he was the guy who dissed the Terrible Towel, but more importantly, Myron Cope and the city of Pittsburgh. I guess when you're in SEC country and your football and men's basketball teams are bit players in a pretty strong conference, you tend to lash out at success.

Also, the Steelers are actually underdogs for this game, which really isn't an indication that they're in trouble since the spread was only 2-points last time I checked. It's just weird that they're not expected to automatically have their way with the Packers because, other than Super Bowl XXX, the Steelers have always been the favorite in Super Bowls.

I like that, by the way. The last two times they were in the Big Dance, they were expected to win, but this game is a toss-up. I think it's going to be a classic.

I don't know if it's just me, but the mood seems more festive leading up to the game than even two years ago. People are just happy and everyone is smiling. I don't remember that as much heading into Super Bowl XLIII. Steelers fans are pretty intelligent and even though we ALWAYS expect success, I think most of us know that this latest Super Bowl appearance is quite an accomplishment considering everything that happened in the 2010 season starting way back in March.

I know I'm happy and fortunate and very appreciative that I get to witness something like a 3rd trip to the Super Bowl in 6 seasons. I'm not as excited as I was for Super Bowl XL, but that's to be expected because they hadn't been to the big game in a decade. It's just a different kind of excitement because I'm witnessing history.


Well, week 1 of the Super Bowl hype is in the books. What will week 2 bring? Will the intensity between the fans heat up? Will some player or players from either team break the seal and talk some trash? Will Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger ever meet face to face? Will Maurkice Pouncey make a Dwight White-esque recovery and somehow play in the Super Bowl?

Friday, January 28, 2011

A series of questions for Clay Travis, the guy who dissed the Terrible Towel

Hi Clay,

I read your NFL fanhouse article the other day regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers' famous Terrible Towel. The flag, if you will, of the Steeler Nation created by the late, great Myron Cope.

The general sentiment of your article was that you thought people twirling around a black and gold towel was a dumb concept and that it didn't really do much to represent the city. You also went on to say that the city of Pittsburgh should use these towels to clean up our dirty town and maybe mop up our crappy rivers.

This morning, I heard a radio interview you did with a local personality regarding your article and in the interview you not only echoed your original views in the article, but you went on to brag about your home state of Tennessee and basically said it was great and awesome and that Pittsburgh and Western, Pa. couldn't really compare to it.

Regarding your thoughts on the Towel. There is no point really trying to explain its significance to you because unless you're from an area where your professional sports teams win on a consistent basis, you'd never really understand such a tradition.

But I do want to ask you some questions about your lovely state of Tennessee because, as a native Pittsburgher, I want my region to be as awesome and progessive as yours and maybe I can gather some ideas from you.

Ok, onto the questions:

During your interview, you said that you wake up next to a Tennessee Titans' cheerleader every morning. Is this something Titans' cheerleaders feel they have to do in-order to supplement their income because their team misses the playoffs more often than not? Just curious.

Since you do not like the Terrible Towel, do the Titans have something superior that they use as their symbol and as a way to fire up their fans or since they don't make the playoffs that often, do they feel it's not worth the time and effort to come up with anything?

Back in the 90's, there was a Denver media outlet that had an "Elway-watch" where they would report on the daily activities of former Denver Broncos legendary quarterback John Elway. Do they have something similar in Nashville for Dolly Parton? Like a "Daily-Dolly" where they keep the locals up-to-date on Dolly's every move?

How many times a year do they play a marathon of Parton's 1980 hit-movie, 9 to 5?

In your article, you said that Steelers fans often get offended if someone disrespects the Terrible Towel. In Nashville, do they get offended and start fights if someone makes fun of "Rhinestone" in which Dolly starred alongside Sylvester Stallone?

If Dollywood were to close down, would that cripple the economy of the entire state of Tennessee?

During your radio interview, you bragged about the many national titles the Tennessee Lady Vols have won over the years. Congratulations on that. Now, if I wanted to watch a Lady Vols basketball game, would I find it on ESPN2, ESPNU, or local public access television? And would the game be live or on tape-delay?

What do they cherish more in Tennessee: The 8 National titles won by the Women's college basketball team, or the 28 USWA World Heavyweight pro-wrestling titles won by the Memphis legend, Jerry "The King" Lawler?

How many times has Lawler been the Grand Marshall at a Memphis parade?

Speaking of parades in Tennessee, is it typical for there to be a "Beverly Hillbillies"-themed float with people dressed as Jed and Ellie Mae Clampett and do they wave to the crowd and does the crowd always get excited? And do parents insist that their children get their pictures taken with them?

Is there a museum anywhere in Tennessee named "The Cement Pond" that honors the great cast of the "Beverly Hillbillies?"

Speaking of the King, how many "Is Elvis Presley still alive" specials have they aired in Memphis since 1977?

When was the last official Elvis sighting? Was it as recently as last week?

How many rotary phones are currently still in use in the entire state of Tennessee?

If someone were to lose a cell phone in Tennessee and one of the locals found it, would they be frightened and think that it might be a device that was left behind by aliens?

Do Tennessee Volunteer football fans lie and say that Peyton Manning was still the quarterback of the Vols in 1998 just to add even a shred of relevance to their otherwise forgettable 1998 National Championship?

In 2009, did the Titans' organization release a DVD commemorating the ten year anniversary of the greatest victory in the history of the franchise? It was a wildcard playoff victory over the Buffalo Bills. I believe you all refer to it as "The Music City Miracle." And did the DVDs sell-out within minutes?

And my last question, when the Titans lost that heart breaker in their lone Super Bowl appearance against the Rams, did the Tennessee faithful hold out hope that the Titans would still be voted number 1 in the USA Today/Coaches poll and thus be named co-Super Bowl Champions?

Please, Clay, if you would get back to me with the answers to these questions as soon as possible, I will then pass them on to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and other local civic leaders and they could begin working on trying to bring the Greater Pittsburgh area up to par with your great state of Tennessee.

Sincerely,

Tony Defeo

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

I know there's one huge chapter still remaining in the 2010 Steeler season, but is this the greatest coaching job in franchise history?

It has been said many times that Steelers legendary coach Chuck Noll did his best coaching job in the 1989 season, leading the Steelers out of an embarrassing 0-2 start in-which they were outscored, 92-10, to a 9-7 finish, an AFC Wildcard berth, an upset over the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs, and to within 2 points of the AFC Championship game.

Well, that certainly might have been Chuck's best coaching job, but I think Mike Tomlin is in the midst of performing the greatest coaching job in the history of the franchise.

The 2010 Steelers were facing a stacked deck from the beginning. The organization knew they would start the year without Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended the first 4-games due to his off the field behavior. The team also traded away their number 1 receiver in Santonio Holmes. And before training camp even started, they lost Willie Colon, their starting right tackle, for the entire season with an Achilles tendon injury.

This Steeler team was a mostly veteran group that had recently won a couple of Super Bowls. Coming off of a year in-which they didn't make the playoffs, it would have been very easy for them to say, "you know what. It's pretty obvious that we're facing an uphill battle. This isn't going to be our year. What's the point of paying the price? Let's just go through the motions."

Yes, much credit has to be given to the players for maintaining a business-like approach even though they were facing an uphill climb from the start, but that all begins with the coach.

You ever been in a work-situation where your boss overreacts to a problem? How do the employees usually respond? They often overreact as well. But if the person in-charge maintains a cool, calm presence, and assures everyone that things will be okay, the problem gets resolved, usually in a cool, calm manner.

I believe the number 1 job of a head coach or manager is to deal with problems. The X's and O's are important, but there are only so many ways to run a play, it's up to the players to execute.

But when it comes to dealing with a problem, not every person in authority is equipped to handle it. Mike Tomlin sure seems equipped.

The problems just never stopped for Mike Tomlin this year. Even after Roethlisberger returned and that problem was solved, he immediately had to deal with "fine-gate" that led to James Harrison threatening retirement. That could have turned into one huge circus, but it never really did.

And then they lost Aaron Smith, the man the defense can never seem to perform well without. However, after a rough beginning, Ziggy Hood has steadily developed over the course of the season and is now playing at such a high-level, the defense has been able to maintain its dominance.

And they handled the Colon injury quite nicely by signing Flozell Adams, but by mid-season, it was announced that left tackle Max Starks was done for the year with a neck injury.

There is only so much a coach should be asked to handle and still have his team performing at a high level. This team is not only performing at a high level, they're in the Super Bowl.

It seemed like the players really appreciated this latest AFC crown. You could see not only jubilation, but relief on the faces of a lot of those guys. Especially Troy Polamalu, who certainly wasn't 100% coming down the stretch.

I am really impressed with this berth in the Super Bowl. I know the expectations of Steeler fans are pretty high, but regardless of what happens on February 6th, the coaching job that Mike Tomlin has done this year cannot be underestimated.

You can give credit to the front office, the assistant coaches and to the players for performing under so much adversity, but Tomlin deserves a lot of credit for keeping the team together and for helping navigate the ship through maybe the roughest patch in the history of the franchise all the way to the doorstep of its 7th championship.

Monday, January 24, 2011

A dream matchup

I'm so excited for the Super Bowl. Not just that the Steelers made it, but that they'll be playing the Packers, a team with a similar tradition.

I was super-excited for Super Bowls XL and XLIII, but Pittsburgh's opponents in each game weren't exactly the marquee franchises of the NFL: The Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals respectively.

Don't get me wrong, they were both very memorable games for different reasons, but the Steelers really had to carry the hype for the two weeks leading into the games.

It's going to be different with the Packers.

Like the Steelers, the Packers are cherished by the city they represent and they also have a national following established by years of winning and by having some of the greatest coaches and players in the history of the NFL.

You have tradition vs. tradition.

The Terrible Towel vs. the Cheesehead.

The team of the 70's vs. the team of the 60's.

A record 6 Super Bowl titles vs. excuse me, but I didn't know they only started awarding NFL championships in 1966. We have 12 titles, thank you very much.

When the Steelers made Super Bowl XXX, it was a dream matchup, at least in name, since Pittsburgh's opponent was their their long-time Super Bowl rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. But the AFC was totally inferior to the NFC during that period and the Cowboys had already won 2 Super Bowls in the early 90's. The Steelers were huge underdogs for the game.

Super Bowl XLV is different. At least on paper, anyway. This looks to be the most evenly matched Super Bowl the Steelers have been involved in since Super Bowl XIII against those Cowboys. Both teams have great quarterbacks, dominant defenses, decent running attacks, and good-to-great coaching staffs.

Green Bay took the same road to the Super Bowl as the '05 Steelers, making it as the 6th seed out of the NFC. And just like the 2005 Steelers, the Packers have been established as early favorites over the Steelers, who are the number 2 seed from the AFC side of the bracket.

Being a Steeler fan, I'm obviously pretty confident that Pittsburgh will find a way to win this game. And if it's anything like Pittsburgh's last-second, come-from-behind, heart-stopping, 37-36, victory over Green Bay towards the end of the '09 season, Super Bowl XLV could be a gem.

Who knows, maybe Super Bowl XLV won't be a great game, but I do know this: Steeler Nation and the Cheeseheads will converge on the House that Jerry Built and Christen it like he never would have imagined when the Cowboys' owner petitioned the league to hold the Super Bowl there.

You better get ready, Jerry. It's time to party!

I've got a feeling......well, you know how it ends

The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to the Super Bowl for the eighth time in franchise history with their 24-19 win over the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game last night at Heinz Field.

Pittsburgh will meet the Green Bay Packers in two weeks in Dallas in what should be one of the most hyped Super Bowls in recent memory.

Pittsburgh jumped out to a 24-0 first half lead and the game looked to be a rout, but to New York's credit, they came back strong in the second half and had the Steelers on the ropes at one point before finally fading at the end.

The Steelers took the opening kickoff and marched down field largely on the legs of Rashard Mendenhall. Roethlisberger scrambled to pick up an important first down on 3rd and 12 and Mendenhall punched it in from the 1. It was a 15 play, 66 yard drive that ate up 9 minutes and set the tone for the first two quarters.

The Jets could do nothing on offense for nearly the entire first half and Pittsburgh scored ten more points on a short Suisham field goal and then on a Roethlisberger quarterback keeper to make it 17-0 with two minutes to go in the half.

And then the most important play of the game: Sanchez went back to pass on 3rd and 17and was hit by a blitzing Ike Taylor just before he could get rid of the ball and Willie Gay scooped it up and ran it in for another score. Since it was under 2-minutes, there was a booth review, but the call was upheld and it was like a dream as the Steelers were up 24-0.

The Jets got some momentum when they drove down and kicked a field goal just before the half, but I don't think too many people were worried at that point.

I think most fans and players would take a 24-3 halftime lead in the AFC Championship Game.

In many way's, last night's game was eerily similar to the 2005 AFC Championship Game.

Much like the '05 game, the Steelers controlled most of the first half and scored two touchdowns in stunning fashion near the end of the 2nd quarter with Ike Taylor figuring heavily into the 2nd touchdown.

The similarities continued in the second half when Mark Sanchez hit a wide-open Santonio Holmes for a 45 yard touchdown to open the 3rd quarter and suddenly it was 24-10.

When Pittsburgh got the ball back, Roethlsiberger was intercepted trying to hit Emmanuel Sanders down field.

The Steelers offense did very little in the second half. That might have been due to the cold weather. It could have been the result of losing Maurkice Pouncey early in the game with a high ankle sprain. It's hard to say, but Pittsburgh certainly didn't have the same kind of success in the second half that it did in the first two quarters.

The defense stepped up to the challenge and when they stopped New York on an awesome goalline stand with just under 8-minutes remaining, I know I breathed a little easier.

Unforunately, with the offense in the shadows of its own goalline, Roethlisberger and back up center Doug Legursky had a problem with the snap and Roethlsiberger was tackled in the endzone for a safety. So for the second time in two games against the Jets, the Steelers gave up a safety.

After the free kick, New York mounted another drive and scored when Sanchez hit Jerricho Cotchery on a touchdown pass to make it 24-19 with 3:06 remaining.

Now those 2 points really looked crucial.

However, New York never got the ball back. Much to their credit, the Steelers' offense forced New York to use all three of their time outs, and after the two minute warning, facing a 3rd and 6, the much maligned Bruce Arians gambled on a pass and when Roethlisberger hit Mr. Clutch, Antonio Brown, for a first down, it was lights out for the Jets.

Roethlisberger didn't have the greatest of games, but once again, with everything on the line, he came through.

The Steelers defense was also pretty spectatular for most of the night.

However, the story of this game was the running of Rashard Mendenhall. It was a coming out party for Mendenhall. Even though he rushed for over a 1000 yards for the second consecutive year, he isn't thought of as an elite back, but in the most important game of his career, he came up big with 121 yards and a touchdown against a stingy Jets' run defense.

It was a great victory for the Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.

Now it's off to Dallas where the team will try to win its 2nd Lombardi Trophy in 3 seasons, its 3rd in 6 seasons and it's 7th over all.

Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

It's a lock. The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl. Why? Cowher picked the Jets

While doing an interview with a New York radio station, former Steelers' head coach Bill Cowher had this to say when asked what he thought of the upcoming AFC Championship Game between the Jets and Steelers:

“I’ll tell you what, Pittsburgh may have some issues this weekend. The way the Jets are playing, I’m telling you this is going to be a game, I think it will be a classic game, and I like the Jets. They made believers out of me with what they did. They match up well, I think it’s going to be a tough ballgame, but they certainly have all the ingredients to go to the Super Bowl.”

This should be good news for any Steeler fan. The last time a Pittsburgh professional sports team was in a conference final, it was the Penguins who were playing the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2009 NHL Eastern Conference Finals.

During that series, Cowher infuriated a lot of folks in his former hometown by coming out in support of the Hurricanes. Cowher has lived in North Carolina for years now and I guess grew to appreciate the Hurricanes because of his friendship with Ron Francis.

Anyway, before game 4, with the Pens up 3-0 in the series and on the brink of clinching a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals, Cowher further annoyed and disappointed many Pittsburghers by cranking some siren that they use to fire the crowd up in the Hurricanes' arena.

It really didn't work. The Penguins finished off the Canes that night and went onto win the Stanley Cup against Detroit in 7 games.

So, Steeler fans, you can rest easy now that you know that Cowher has picked against his former team.

I personally don't care that he picked the Jets. I mean, the only people he owes anything to now are his current employers, CBS sports, and really, in his current role as NFL analyst, he should be objective and if he thinks New York is going to win, fine.

I'm just happy that he picked the Jets because, as I've said before, I'm very superstitious and I think this is a good omen.

Thanks, Chin.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A trip to the dentist or a Steelers playoff game. What causes more stress?

We're about 96 hours away from the Steelers/Jets clash in the AFC Championship Game and I'm pretty calm. You want to know why? Because we're still 96 hours away.

Every time the Steelers go on a run like this deep into the playoffs, I always catch myself wondering why something that I don't have any direct involvement in can stir my emotions so much. But I don't let myself think about it too much because if I did, that might put a damper on things.

I think it's a beautiful thing that an entire community can care about something like a sports team. It might seem trivial to some people, but when you think about it, we spend most of our lives pretty much worrying about ourselves and a nice little playoff run like the Steelers are on is one of the few times people actually root for and care about the interests of other people. Pretty neat.

That being said, I really can't wait for Sunday night to be over. "But the playoffs are fun, Tony. How can you say such a thing?"

Yes, the playoffs are fun, but they're not. Anyone who passionately follows a team knows what I'm talking about. You sit there right before a big game like Sunday's and you think to yourself, "Man, I can't believe I have to put myself through this for the next three hours."

As a sports fan, you always want to see your teams make the playoffs. I know last year, when the Steelers missed out on the postseason, I was sad. I mean, it really sucked.

And this year, when they put together a pretty consistent regular season and eventually clinched a playoff spot, I was happy. Heck, they even managed to earn a bye. Great!

But when you think about that playoff game, even a few days away, you get kind of nervous. And the closer you get to that game, the more you just want it to be over with. Yes, you're excited. You're looking forward to it......kind of.

This last playoff encounter was especially hard on the nerves. For one thing, it was the damn Ravens. The Steelers can't lose to Baltimore in the playoffs. That would just suck. Ray Lewis, John Harbaugh. No way. And the game didn't start out especially well, as we all remember. The Steelers were trailing, 21-7, at halftime. What a nightmare!

Yes, the game turned out in the Steelers' favor. It was a pretty memorable night at Heinz Field, but I don't want to be too entertained in the postseason. I'm always looking for a blow out. To me, that's ideal.

Whenever I predict a score of a Steelers playoff game, it's always a blowout in Pittsburgh's favor. Why? Because even the thought of a nail-biter in the postseason gives me chills. "What if it comes down to a field goal at the end?" Just typing that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Yeah, sure, the epic battle between the Steelers and Ravens this past Saturday was entertaining and highly enjoyable, but that's because Pittsburgh won. Had they lost that game, I wouldn't have thought of it as entertaining. It would have been heartbreaking, and certainly not something I'd want to re-live.

The round coming up is always the worst: The AFC Championship. I just want it to be over. They're so tantalizingly close to the Super Bowl. One game away.

I compare the AFC title game to going to the dentist. Just knock me out and wake me up when it's over. I don't want to feel anything. I just hope it goes well.

The Super Bowl is a whole other animal. I am extremely nervous for that game, just like the other rounds of the playoffs, but seeing your team in the Super Bowl is something that just doesn't happen very often and I want to enjoy every moment of it. I've said this many times, losing the Super Bowl sucks, but seeing them lose the game before the Super Bowl is the worst.

Anyone else feel that way about the postseason? As a fan, are you looking for a close, exciting game or do you wish for a blowout? Like me, do you sometimes find it hard to sit through and just wish you could fast-forward to the end and hope things go well?

Anyway, my prediction for this Sunday's game: Steelers 45 Jets 3.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

There is one person probably praying the Steelers don't make it to Dallas for the Super Bowl

There is a pretty good chance the Steelers will make it to Super Bowl XLV on February 6th. If you ask any Steeler fan, they'll tell you that the chances are 100%. If you ask any Jets fan, they'll tell you that Pittsburgh's chances of being in Dallas for the Super Bowl are 0%. But, in reality, their chances are officially 50%.

Not bad. It's a coin flip, sure, but still, out of 32 teams, having a 50% chance of making it to the Super Bowl are odds that any team would take.

However, if I'm Terry Bradshaw right now, I'm dreading the prospect of Pittsburgh making it to the Super Bowl. If I were him, I wouldn't like those odds.

Why, you ask? Why would the Steeler legend not want his former team to make it to Dallas?

Because Bradshaw isn't just a former Pittsburgh Steeler who was responsible for so many great memories for Steeler Nation, he's also the star of the FOX NFL studio shows and FOX will be broadcasting the Super Bowl this year.

Have you seen the network's commercials promoting the event? Pretty funny: Rings

And here's another one, my personal favorite: drphil

Hilarious!

Okay, big deal. Still, why wouldn't Bradshaw not want his former team to make it to Dallas?

Well, here's one reason why: Bradshaw1

That was a response to a question shortly after Ben Roethlisberger's troubles in Georgia last March.

Here's another reason: Bradshaw2

That was from FOX's week 1 pregame show.

At that very moment, with Roethlisberger beginning a 4 game suspension for his off-the-field behavior, what odds do you think Bradshaw would have given the Steelers to make it to Dallas this year? And now they're in the AFC Championship game.

If the Steelers do make it to Dallas, you just know there will be some sort of interview with the two men. There almost has to be. Talk about an awkward moment.

And what if the Steelers win it all? Isn't Bradshaw the guy who does the Lombardi presentation when the Super Bowl is on the FOX network? I believe he is. So even if he avoids Big Ben for two weeks, how's he going to get out of that one?

Bradshaw always said he wasn't nervous in big games. He enjoyed them. He could focus. Well, if the Steelers make it this year, we might get to finally see Bradshaw have a case of the nerves in the biggest game of the season.

Monday, January 17, 2011

I won't lie. I'm a little concerned

The thought of the Steelers playing at Heinz Field for the right to go to the Super Bowl really seemed almost impossible 24 hours ago. Despite all their bravado and trash-talking, I didn't think the New York Jets would be able to go to Foxboro and manhandle the Patriots the way they did yesterday with their 28-21 victory over New England that ended another shot at the Super Bowl for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

Now that it's a reality and the Jets will be coming to Heinz Field next Sunday evening to take on the Steelers with the AFC crown as the prize, I'm a bit concerned.

Not because I don't think it's a great matchup for the Steelers, I do. It's because I've seen this so many times before with them at home in the AFC championship game.

They get that premium matchup at home against a team that most expect them to handle and they go out there and lay an egg. It's happened so many times over the past 17 seasons.

I really shouldn't be worried about this game because the Steelers have long since slayed their AFC Championship dragon with two trips to the Super Bowl since 2005. Heck, one of them was even at home against their most hated rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. And they won those two Super Bowls they advanced to. Why so worried?

Well, I'm very superstitious, and this little run the Jets are on reminds me an awful lot of the Steelers' 2005 run. It's almost like New York stole the script.

They have a second year quarterback that nobody really takes seriously in Mark Sanchez. People look at him as just a game-manager who relies on a great running attack and a dominant defense. Remind anyone of Roethisberger's first few years in the league? Plus, Sanchez took his team to the AFC Championship Game as a rookie and he's back again to try and take them to the next level. Spooky.

The Jets also have a veteran running back who's not the player he used to be and isn't really among the elite backs anymore, but is still an inspirational figure for his teammates and is looking to get a crack at a ring before he calls it a day. Sound familiar? Doesn't it remind you of a former legendary Steelers' running back?

Also, the Jets were simply throttled by the Patriots in a Monday Night game towards the end of the year. The Patriots were considered almost unstoppable heading into the playoffs.

The Colts embarrassed the Steelers on a Monday night back in '05 when Indianapolis was trying for an undefeated season, and even though perfection didn't happen, the Colts were the unanimous pick to win it all heading into the postseason.

The Jets finished the regular season 11-5 and made the playoffs as the 6th seed in the AFC. They went into Indianapolis and defeated a fairly mediocre Colts team in the first round of the playoffs and headed to New England for a probable beatdown at the hands of the Patriots.

The Steelers took the same route in '05. They were 11-5 and made the playoffs as the 6th seed and went to Cincinnati and showed them who the true kings of the AFC North were and shuffled off to Indianapolis for what everyone assumed would be a blow out loss to the Colts.

Yesterday, the Jets completely took Tom Brady out of his game, sacking him numerous times and making the entire offense look out of sync the entire day. The Jets' offense didn't look dominant, but they did just enough to take advantage of a dominant performance by their defense.

Sound familiar? It should. It's exactly what the Steelers did to Peyton Manning and the Colts back in the '05 playoffs. The defense totally outclassed the Colts' offensive line the entire day and had Manning hearing footsteps. He was completely out of sorts for most of the game.

My God, even yesterday's halftime score was the same as the Steelers/Colts score back in '05: 14-3, Jets.

And the final thing that has me a little worried is our reaction to the great news that the Jets knocked off the Patriots and now the AFC Championship Game will be played right here in Pittsburgh.

I remember back in 2005, the Broncos fans were simply ecstatic that the Steelers went into Indy and knocked off the Colts. The AFC Championship game was going to be in Denver and it was going to be a victory party for the Broncos who were the number 2 seed that year. Their fans were actually thanking the Steelers for bringing the game to their house. Sound familiar?

But, if you take away that little bit of superstition and sense of deja vu that I have (I mean, after all, who am I?) the Steelers really should win this game going away.

Did you see the Jets reactions after their game yesterday? They acted like they just won the Super Bowl, like they used every bit of emotion to take out the Patriots.

Maybe they're spent.

Besides, in '05, Peyton Manning and the Colts weren't two-time Super Bowl champions like the Steelers are now. Manning was still looked at as a guy who couldn't win the big games. And the Broncos were a team that probably wasn't as good as their record and seed would have people believe, and they were led by a quarterback in Jake Plummer who certainly played well over his head that year before finally crashing to earth in the biggest game of the year.

Unlike recent Steelers' teams that had yet to get over that elusive hump, these Steelers know what it takes to win games like this Sunday's. They've succeeded under the biggest pressure possible.

No reason why January 23rd shouldn't be a great day for Steeler Nation.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The Steelers comeback to defeat Ravens in thriller at Heinz Field and advance to the AFC Championship Game

So that's why a lot of people were leery of Baltimore. I stated last week that I wasn't afraid of Baltimore even though they seemed like the least attractive playoff match-up of Pittsburgh's possible opponents from the Wildcard Weekend. Maybe I was just acting cocky to cover up a hidden layer of concern, but I was confident that the Steelers would win yesterday's divisional playoff game by at least two scores.

Well, I guess I was half-right. They won, but it sure was a memorable battle. One we'll be talking about around here for decades.

From the opening kickoff, it was entertaining, and the entertainment never stopped until the final whistle.

Speaking of that opening kickoff, the Steelers won the coin toss but elected to defer. And Baltimore's return man appeared to have an opening, but out of nowhere, Steelers' kicker Shaun Suisham, the anti-Jeff Reed, made a perfect form tackle and the Ravens would have to start at their own 34 yard line. Except, the play wasn't blown dead because none of the ball-carrier's body touched the grass, or at least it seemed that way, and he kept going for an additional 14 yards. So Mike Tomlin had to use one of his challenges on the very first play of the game. Initially, it looked like another one of his futile, unnecessary challenges, but after further review, the runner's elbow actually touched the ground and the Ravens really did have to start at their own 34.

On the very first play of Pittsburgh's initial possession, Hines Ward was flagged for an unnecessary roughness penalty after a scuffle with Ed Reed and the Steelers were backed up near the 10 yard line. But thanks to a 37 yard defensive pass interference call on a pass attempt to Mike Wallace, the Steelers were able to drive down field and scored the first points of the game on Rashard Mendenhall's 1 yard touchdown run.

I was at work for the first half of the game and was feeling really good after this. I had visions of Pittsburgh's 2001 demolition of Baltimore in the divisional round dancing in my head

But that all changed when the Ravens got the ball back. Baltimore was facing a 3rd and 15 from midfield when Steelers' safety Anthony Madison was flagged for defensive pass interference after running into Derek Mason. In my opinion, this changed the entire complexion of the first half. I really do believe that if Baltimore was forced to punt right there, we would have had that blow out I spent the entire week boldy predicting. Just a couple of plays later, Ray Rice scored on a 16 yard draw play right up the middle to tie the score at 7.

And, shortly after that, it was shades of Super Bowl XIII as the Ravens scored their 2nd touchdown in a span of 25 seconds.

Roethlisberger went back to pass and pumped two or three times trying to find an open man, and just when he was about to unleash a pass, he was hit by Terrell Suggs and the ball popped forward. Everyone just stood around. Steelers' offensive lineman Ramon Foster was standing right in front of the ball. Three or four Ravens were standing around the ball. I was watching it on the television at work and turned away to make a comment to someone because I thought the play was over. Everyone thought it was an incomplete pass, that is, except Ravens' defensive lineman Cory Redding, who scooped up the ball and ran it into the endzone. The referee never blew the whistle and when Redding crossed the goalline, the ref signaled touchdown.

Mike Tomlin opted to use his second challenge. On replay, there was no doubt it was a fumble, but since Roethlisberger pumped a couple of times, I was hoping that infamous "tuck rule" would come into play, but as everyone knows, that rule only gets enforced on special occasions. The ruling on the field was confirmed, and Tomlin was out of challenges the remainder of the game.

More importantly, the Ravens were up, 14-7, and instead of feeling confident, I was thinking, "Is this Jacksonville all over again?" The last time the Steelers lost in the postseason, it was a wildcard game at Heinz Field against the Jaguars following the 2007 season. In that game, a Saturday evening contest, mind you, the Steelers started out strong when they took the opening kickoff and drove right down the field and made it, 7-0, on Najeh Davenport's touchdown run. But thanks to many miscues by the Steelers' special teams and a few interceptions by Roethlisberger, the Jaguars would go on to score 21 unanswered points and led, 21-7, at the half.

Just moments later, my fears appeared to be realized when Rashard Mendenhall fumbled at the Steelers' 16 yardline after the ball was dislodged by his own teammate, Chris Kemoeatu. Shortly after that, Joe Flacco hit Todd Heap in the endzone, and the Ravens were ahead, 21-7. Shades of Jacksonville, indeed.

And to add to my misery, Suisham missed a field at the end of the first half and I turned the television off and closed up shop. I just wanted to go home and watch the rest of the debacle in peace.

As I was heading to my car, I thought, "well, if this is another Jacksonville, maybe the second half will be pretty entertaining and the Steelers will come back and make a game of it much like they did three years ago before falling in the final moments to the Jaguars."

And when I got into my car, my cell phone was blowing up. My girlfriend texted, "babe, I don't like this." My brother's text said, "I'm sick right now. Wow."

And for some reason, at that moment, I decided to text "Cleveland 2002" to both my brother and my girlfriend. I was determined that it wasn't over, damn it! The Steelers would come back like they did in the 2002 postseason when they were down by 17 points to the Browns.

Neither one of them knew what the hell I was talking about. And to further confuse my girlfriend, I added another text: "San Diego 2008." You see, the last time the Steelers were in the divisional playoffs, I was leaving work right as their game against the Chargers was starting. I was really nervous on the way home, and decided I didn't want to listen to it on the radio. I wanted to wait until I got home and turned on my television. And last night, I took the exact route home that I did two years ago, and again, I didn't turn on Hillgrove, Wolf and Tunch.

On my way home, my brother called me, I ignored the call because I didn't want to hear any bad news, but then he texted me and said, "finally a break!" And just a few minutes later, my girlfriend texted, "touchdown!!!!!!!!!" I knew it had to be good news because of all the exclamation points.

What sent those texts into motion was a Ray Rice fumble on a 3rd down screen pass early in the second half that the Steelers recovered at the Ravens' 23. Just a few plays later, they capitalized on that mistake when Roethlisberger hit Heath Miller on a 9-yard touchdown pass.

So, there it was, just like two years ago, right as I arrived home from work, the Steelers were down by a touchdown in their divisional playoff game. Only, this time, I was pretty happy about that. Two years ago, the first text I got regarding Pittsburgh's game against San Diego was my girlfriend telling me the Steelers were down, 7-0, very early in the first quarter. But I knew how that game had turned out and I was hoping it would be deja vu last night.

Boy was it ever! Later in the 3rd quarter, Flacco threw a horrible pass that was picked off by safety Ryan Clark (who also caused the Rice fumble) and returned it to the Ravens' 25 yard line. Moments later, on 3rd and goal from the 8, Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward on a little slant pass at the goalline, and suddenly, it was a ballgame, 21-21!

The next time the Ravens had the ball, there was a fumbled snap and Pittsburgh had it at the 23 again! It really was like the San Diego game from two years ago. I don't think the Ravens had a first down the entire 3rd quarter. I'm not sure if they had more than 2 or 3 the entire second half. It was quite a meltdown by the "road warriors."

After a curious Roethlisberger sneak on 4th and 1, the Steelers' drive stalled and they had to settle for a Suisham field goal, and took the lead, 24-21. But hey, after trailing by two touchdowns, being up by even a point would have been okay.

However, with about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Ladarius Webb appeared to give the Ravens the lead when he returned a punt for a touchdown, but thankfully, Baltimore was called for holding on the play. Still, though, the Ravens had the ball at the Pittsburgh 29, and eventually, first and goal inside the 10. Fortunately, on 3rd down, Anquan Boldin dropped a touchdown pass and the Ravens had to settle for three. It was 24-24 with less than 4 minutes remaining.

When Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward near mid-field to convert on 3rd down, I was feeling pretty good. But on the next play, Roethlsiberger was sacked and it was 2nd and 19. He hit rookie receiver Emmanuel Sanders on the next play that would have gone for a first down, but Ed Reed and company knocked the ball out of his hands before he could secure the catch and it was 3rd and 19 with only 2:07 remaining.

I really had a bad feeling at that point. I won't lie. I feared it really was going to be like Jacksonville all over again. The Steelers had made a furious comeback and had all the momentum, but the early mistakes that they made would be too much to overcome and the Ravens were going to find a way to pull this damn game out after all.

But that's when Roethlsiberger made a pass that should once and for all put him up their with the current greats of the game. He unleashed a 58 yard bomb to rookie Antonio Brown and he couldn't have placed it any better. The ball hit Brown right in stride, but since he's a rookie and he was running wide open down the field in a playoff game against the Ravens, he had trouble with it. But unlike Limas Sweed two seasons ago, Antonio secured the ball with the help of his helmet and the Steelers had it first and goal inside the five yard line at the two-minute warning.

Pittsburgh would get five cracks at the touchdown thanks to a defensive holding call that gave the Steelers an automatic first down, and on 3rd down from the 2, Mendenhall scratched and clawed his way into the endzone, and Pittsburgh led, 31-24, with 1:33 left.

Unfortunately, Kemoeatu made a bone-head play when he dove into the pile after the touchdown and was flagged for unnecessary roughness and Pittsburgh had to kick off from their 15 yard line and the Ravens would have excellent field position near the 50. But the Steelers brought the pressure and Flacco was sacked by James Harrison, and on 4th and 18, TJ Houshmandzadeh dropped what would have been a first down and the Steelers survived and advanced!

It's amazing how quickly things turned around in the 2nd half. The Ravens defense wasn't horrible, but their offense really let them down. Baltimore only had 28 yards the entire second half, and those three quick 3rd quarter turnovers were killers. Pittsburgh only had to drive about 70 yard to score 17 of their points. I guess they beat the Ravens at their own game. The Baltimore faithful won't be forgetting about that meltdown anytime soon.

I think it's safe to say that the Steelers will have bragging rights over the Ravens for many, many years, and the entire city of Baltimore will be having nightmares about Ben Roethlisberger forever. He's to the Ravens what Elway was to the Browns. And we all know that the Ravens are the old Browns. Weird.

Interestingly, the Steelers have hosted nine playoff games at Heinz Field and in five of those games, Pittsburgh trailed by at least two touchdowns at some point. So much for homefield advantage providing a strong, dominating start.

With the win over the Ravens, Pittsburgh improves their postseason record against divisional opponents to a perfect 9-0.

Now it's onto the AFC Championship Game for the 15th time in team history, the 8th time since 1994 and the 5th time in the last 10 seasons.

I'm sure everyone will be tuning into today's big matchup between the Patriots and the Jets to see who and where the Steelers play next weekend. If the Patriots win, the Steelers will travel to Foxboro to play the Patriots for the third time in the AFC title game. If the Jets win, New York will come to Heinz Field.

Even my own personal schedule will be altered because of the playoffs. I am in a Sunday bowling league and my games always start at 7pm. Next week's AFC title game is scheduled for 6:30 and I just know my match is either going to be canceled or changed to the afternoon because everyone will want to watch the Steelers.

Also, if the Patriots win today, I'll be off next Sunday and probably have a bowling match early in the day as I nervously countdown the hours to the big playoff game.

If the Jets win today, I'll almost certainly have to work because my bosses will have tickets for the game. Not only that, but if my bowling match is set for the early afternoon, that means I'll have to pick an alternate day to "roll off" as they say in bowling.

But it's okay because I'm so happy that the Steelers won. And I'll bet the Steelers are feeling pretty good right now and probably don't care about where they play next Sunday. The way that first half went, they're all probably just happy to still be alive.

Just like George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful life," some of them may even be running down the streets of Pittsburgh wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Road to Super Bowl XL. The Greatest Nine Weeks ever! (The Conclusion)

This has been two years in the making, but I've finally decided to finish this long journey I started back in 2008. The journey of chronicling the best time I've ever had as a sports fan. A little nine week period between December of 2005 and February of 2006 that I like to call "The Greatest Nine Weeks Ever!"

I hope you enjoy.

The Steelers had just advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time in a decade and the first memory that comes to mind from the two weeks leading up to Super Bowl XL was the final time I attended a taping of the Joey Porter show. I didn't realize it would be the last time I would get to attend the show, but it turned out to be because there was no Joey Porter Show in 2006 and Porter was out of Pittsburgh by '07.

Anyway, the show, as always, was taped on Tuesday night from the Firehouse Lounge in the Strip District.

The Lounge was really crowded this night. As I said before, the first time I attended a taping of this show, it was right after the Steelers defeated the Bears and started their drive to the playoffs and the crowd was pretty sparse. However, on this night, my aunt and I could barely see the taping of the show because we were back by the entrance. The place was packed. Steeler fans came out strong to celebrate their team's AFC crown.

Porter was trying to do a "The Rock"-style wrestling promo about the Steelers journey through the playoffs and how they conquered the Bengals, the Colts, and finally the Broncos on the way to the Big Game. Joey was having problems with his funny little rant and he had to do several takes before he finally got it right. Peezy was known for many re-dos each and every show and this one really took the cake. It must have taken him five or six tries.

This show was particularly interesting because Jerome Bettis was the special guest and many Steeler players showed up to honor The Bus. Bettis would be returning home to Detroit for Super Bowl XL and it would also be the last game of his remarkable career. I don't remember all the players that showed up that night, but Casey Hampton was one of them and I smacked him on the back as he walked by and my hand just about disappeared. It was like touching a big, soft pillow.

Funny story: I was in the bathroom taking care of business when a huge African American man came in and said, "Hey, have you seen my man's phone?" And I said, "who?" The guy, a Lounge bouncer, was referring to Jerome Bettis, who had misplaced his cell phone somewhere in the bar. I told him I didn't know Bettis was missing a phone. To this day, I wonder if they thought I found Bettis' phone in the bathroom and kept it.

I didn't, in case anyone is wondering.

It really was a memorable "final show." I had a great time attending it every Tuesday and trying to get on camera so I could see myself when it aired the following Friday or Saturday night on WBGN.

I was excited about the Super Bowl, but it was kind of weird that Pittsburgh's opponent was Seattle. Don't get me wrong, the Seahwawks were the number 1 seed in the NFC in 2005 but it just wasn't the sexiest of matchups. When you thought of the Steelers in the Super Bowl, you thought of their legendary battles with the Dallas Cowboys and even the Minnesota Vikings, but the Seahawks? But beggars can't be choosers and I was excited about the Super Bowl regardless of the opponent.

The bookmakers must not have been too impressed with the Seahawks or the NFC because they installed the Steelers, the 6th seed from the AFC, as 4 point favorites if my memory serves me right. It may even have been as high as 6 points.

The Seahawks fans didn't take too kindly to their team's lack of respect in this matchup and they were actually pretty vocal on the message boards, especially craigslist, my message board of choice at the time.

According to them, Pittsburgh was just a working class town with very little to be happy about other than our Steelers and they were going to destroy the Black and Gold and we could go back to living our miserable lives in our dreary city. Does the sun ever shine in Seattle? I digress.

As far as the trash talk from the participants, the only player from the Seahawks that made any noise was tight end Jerramy Stevens. He basically said that the heartwarming story of Bettis returning to his hometown to play in the Super Bowl would have a sad ending. Joey Porter didn't take too kindly to this and used it for motivation.

Steeler Nation was concerned about the injury status of Troy Polamalu. He had an ankle sprain and there was much speculation as to whether or not he would play in the game. He did play, in case you were wondering.

As far as the game itself, the Seahawks controlled the tempo for most of the first half using underneath routes to wide receiver Darrell Jackson, who tied a Super Bowl record with 5 receptions in the first quarter. However, there would not be a sixth first quarter catch since Jackson was called for pushing off of safety Chris Hope in the back of the end zone on what would have been the first touchdown of the game. The Seahawks had to settle for 3 instead of 7. And yes, Jackson did push off.

As for the Steelers, they did very little on offense, going 3 and out on their first three possessions. They didn't record their first 1st down of the game until early in the 2nd quarter and even that drive ended poorly as Roethlisberger was intercepted on a deep ball to Antwaan Randle El.

Their next possession, however, proved to be pivotal. Pittsburgh moved into Seattle territory but were facing a 3rd and 28, when Roethlisberger made, in my opinion, the most important play of the game when he scrambled around and hit Hines Ward inside the 5 yard line to set up Pittsburgh's first touchdown.

They eventually scored on Roethlisberger's controversial quarterback keeper. Everyone knows the story behind that play so I won't get into it. I'll just say that only the nose of the football must cross the plane of the goalline. Nothing more. The end.

Halftime score: Steelers 7 Seahawks 3.

The Rolling Stones performed the halftime show, but I didn't watch it. I never do. Instead, my uncle and I had started on the beer that he had out on his back porch. We would not stop drinking for many hours.

And we were feeling pretty good by the time Fast Willie Parker ran almost untouched for a super Bowl record 75 yard touchdown on the second play of the 3rd quarter. It really was a thing of beauty with perfect blocks by Alan Faneca and crew. Pittsburgh was now ahead, 14-3.

The Seahawks tried to answer but came away with no points after a missed field goal.

Pittsburgh looked to put the nail in the coffin as they drove down inside Seattle's 10-yardline. However, on 3rd down, Roethlisberger's very poorly thrown pass was intercepted and returned deep inside Steeler territory. Fittingly, Matt Hasselbeck hit Jerramy Stevens for a touchdown and we still had a ball game at 14-10.

In the 4th quarter, the Seahawks appeared poised to take the lead when it looked like they would have it 1st and goal after Hasselbeck hit Stevens inside the 5 yardline. But in yet another controversial call, Seattle tackle Sean Locklear was called for holding Clark Haggans and the Seahawks were pushed back. And a few plays later, Ike Taylor came up with another one of his big postseason interceptions.

The Steelers capitalized when Antwaan Randle El hit Hines Ward with a wide receiver option pass and Pittsburgh was up two scores, once again, 21-10.

The Seahawks never really mounted another serious threat the rest of the game and Bill Cowher got the Gatorade bath.

For the first time in 26 seasons, the Steelers were World Champions and finally had that "One For The Thumb."

The streets of Pittsburgh were crazy that night. The South Side was jammed with Pittsburghers partying it up. I remember wanting to go out and drive around honking my horn but was also very drunk and before I could do something really stupid, I thankfully fell asleep on my uncle's couch and woke up the next day. I was feeling kind of crappy physically, but my heart was filled with joy. It was a feeling that lasted for many weeks and months.

The Steelers would go on to miss the playoffs the following season and many were calling their Super Bowl XL championship a fluke. However, that 2005 team was very strong. Sure, they were a wildcard entrant, but they weren't your average, everyday wildcard team. Many people forget that Roethlisberger missed several games that season after undergoing knee surgery and they were also without tackle Marvel Smith for several weeks. Pittsburgh was 11-5, a pretty strong wildcard record, but if not for those injuries, they probably would have won 13 games and the AFC North that year.

That Steelers championship team was far from a fluke. They were 15-1 in 2004 and made it to the AFC championship game. And they also had very strong playoff teams in '01 and '02. They could just never get over the hump. 2005 just happened to be the year that they finally achieved glory. The fact that they were a wildcard team shouldn't tarnish what they accomplished. And I think winning another Super Bowl just two seasons ago should put to rest any notion that the '05 team was a fluke.

As for me, those nine weeks defined what being a fan was all about. I was 33 years old at the time but I felt like a little kid.

Everything about it was special.

For years, I wondered if the Steelers would ever bring the city another trophy. They frustrated us so many times with great seeds and home playoffs games, and for them to finally bring home the Lombardi the hardest way possible just made it that much sweeter . The Steelers had to scratch and claw their way into the postseason and if the official had kept his flag in his back pocket and not called holding on the Chiefs in Kansas City's late-season loss to the Cowboys, Pittsburgh wouldn't even have made the playoffs and history would have been much different. Everytime I think about that, it gives me goosebumps.

It's a time in my life that I'll always cherish and I don't know if I'll ever have that much fun following a team. It really was a wonderful time and something I'll never forget.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Pitt post

*Todd Graham will officially be named head coach of the PITT football program today and will put to rest (hopefully) one of the most bizarre periods in PITT football history. I don't know much about Graham, but he was 36-17 at Tulsa and will reportedly bring a spread offense to the program. All I can go by is what everyone says about him, and on paper, he looks like the right hire. We'll see.

*I'm a little disappointed that Tom Bradley didn't get the job. Not because I necessarily think he's the best guy for the job, I just wanted to see if he was the one. He's supposedly wanted the job since 1997, and at age 54, this was undoubtedly his last shot at the position.

*I'll admit I bought into the whole notion that Bradley could go into any high school in Western, Pa. and recruit a kid. That's what he's been doing at Penn State for years. But the more I think about it, would he be as successful a recruiter without Joe Paterno as a selling point? I guess we'll never know. He is a really good guy. I'd like to see him get a job somewhere. Maybe UConn.

*Speaking of Bradley, the Rooneys apparently highly recommended that he be the guy or at least get an interview. The sentiment I heard from more than one person last week was how disappointed the Steelers were with the job Steve Pederson was doing with the coaching search and how embarrassed they were with the Haywood fiasco. They weren't happy at all with everything that transpired. With all due respect to the Rooneys and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will always be number one in my heart, but in my opinion, it's none of the Rooney family's business how the PITT administration conducts their business. Aren't they equal partners at Heinz Field and the South Side facilities? Even if PITT is a tenant of the Steelers, what are the Rooneys going to do? Kick out PITT and bring in the Duquesne football program to make up for 6 or 7 revenue-generating home games? If I was PITT chancellor Mark Nordenberg and the Rooneys were sticking their noses in my business, I would tell them to go fly a kite (or a plane because Dan knows how to do that.)

*PItt athletic director Steve Pederson has been under a lot of scrutiny for how he handled the Mike Haywood hire and a lot of PITT alumni and fans want him gone and are speculating on whether or not Nordenberg will now send him packing. I say, no way. There is no way Nordenberg would allow Pederson to be in charge of such an important process as hiring the football head coach and then fire him as soon as the process is complete. But whether or not Pederson remains athletic director will be determined by how the program responds under Graham.

*PITT won the BBVA Compass bowl against Kentucky, 27-10, and from the highlights that I saw, they looked pretty impressive, but after watching those highlights, I now know what people mean when they say PITT doesn't travel well. I didn't see very many PITT fans in the stands. I did see a ton of Kentucky blue, however. But I don't blame PITT fans for not going to Birmingham to watch that game. There was so much promise before the season started and they had that BCS trip right in their grasps and they let it slip away. Fans spent the majority of the season dreaming of a trip to Arizona and Birmingham, Alabama isn't a great consolation prize.

*Finally, the ratings for the BBVA Compass bowl are in and the number of televisions tuned in to watch the game were the ones in Mike Strejcek's house.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Time to talk some trash about the Ravens

Nobody wanted the Steelers to play the Ravens next week in the divisional match up. Most wanted the Chiefs. Even the Colts would have been acceptable, but not the Ravens. They're just so big and bad and they are road warriors! Would the football gods smile down upon the Steelers and smite the Ravens? No. I mean, did you expect anything less? Of course, they're playing the Ravens in the divisional playoff game next Saturday afternoon at Heinz Field.

It's going to be a fierce battle. It's going to be a bloodbath. Some people are a little scared of the Ravens, but I'm not. I've seen this act before.

The Baltimore Ravens have been putting on this same show since they won the Super Bowl in 2000.

In 2000, they made the playoffs as a wildcard entrant. They were a 4th seed and they defeated the Denver Broncos at home in the first round before going on the road to upset the Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders and advance to Super Bowl XXXV. They then destroyed the New York Giants and completed one of the greatest Super Bowl runs in NFL history.

It really was quite impressive. Ray Lewis and the rest of the Baltimore defense were never more dominant.

They somehow managed to get Trent Dilfer a Super Bowl ring. Now that's what I call a dominant defense.

But ever since that year, the Ravens have been trying to take the same route to the Super Bowl and have come up short each time.

You know why? Because byes are important!

Someone needs to tell these big, bad Ravens that the best road to the "The Show" is by only playing two games, both, preferably, at home.

Did you know that the Baltimore Ravens have only earned a bye in the playoffs once in their entire history? That was back in 2006 when they finished 13-3 and were the 2nd seed in the AFC. They were one and done that season, losing to the Indianapolis Colts, 15-6.

The Ravens have only won two division championships since moving to Baltimore in 1996 and their last title was way back in 2006 (Cincinnati has won two division titles since 2005 to give you some perspective.) And they've only hosted three playoff games: 2000, 2003, and 2006.


So the Baltimore Ravens might be big and bad, but they need to learn a little about winning key regular season games in-order to give themselves the best chance to make it to the Super Bowl.

I wasn't surprised by Baltimore's masterful, 30-7, win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead stadium yesterday.

It was Ravens 101.

Open up on the road against an upstart team that doesn't have much playoff experience and make them look silly.

They did the same thing two years ago when they went into Miami and had a field day with Chad Pennington and the rest of a Dolphins team that was 1-15 just a year prior.

It was almost a carbon copy of what they did in the 2001 playoffs when they played Miami on the road in the first round and made their quarterback, Jay Fiedler, look like Jay Fiedler.

It's always the same thing with them. Even last year when they went up to Foxboro and blew out Tom Brady and the Patriots in the first round of the playoffs. That might seem impressive at first glance, but the Patriots were without Wes Welker in that game and Tom Brady was only in his first season back after missing the entire 2008 campaign with a knee injury.

And every time the Ravens open up with that impressive road win in the playoffs, the experts gush over how great Baltimore looks and that they have the kind of team built to go to the Super Bowl.

But these "road warriors" have only advanced to the AFC championship game once since 2000.

Why? Because the 2nd round of the playoffs usually isn't inhabited by the likes of Jay Fiedler, Chad Pennington, and Matt Cassel. The 2nd round is usually the residence of guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Big Ben Roethlisberger.

I will give Baltimore credit this season. They certainly do look like a team capable of doing damage with some weapons on offense. And they did finish the regular season with the same 12-4 record as the Steelers.

But again, they couldn't win a key game down the stretch that would have given them a bye week and a home game in the 2nd round. Troy Polamalu made sure of that with one swift chop.

So, Ravens, you're in comfortable surroundings: On the road in the playoffs. And everyone will spend the week singing your praises because you're just so damn tough.

But are you really that tough? Are you Chuck Norris tough? Or are you the guy that beats up some little geeks at the beginning of a Chuck Norris movie only to get taken out pretty easily by Chuck before the opening credits are even done?

Using your recent playoff history as a barometer, I'd say you're the latter.

I'm predicting a pretty easy win this week for the Steelers because the stars always beat the uncredited "bad guys" in the movies.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

I guess the Saints were the team that didn't deserve to make the playoffs

I've seen a lot of things in my years as a sports spectator, but just when you think you've seen everything, not only do you see an actual NFL team make the playoffs with a losing record, but you witness that same team knock off the defending Super Bowl champions in the first round.

The Seattle Seahawks just upset the New Orleans Saints, 41-36, in the opening game of Wildcard Weekend and I still can't believe it.

Of the eight teams playing this weekend, if I had to pick the one with the most favorable draw, it would have been the Saints.

Sure, they had to go on the road to play Seattle, but the Seahawks were just awful this year. That's what having a 7-9 record usually means. If not awful, then certainly below average.

At 11-5, New Orleans was still a pretty strong favorite to get back to the Super Bowl in spite of being a wildcard entrant and now this happened?

You really have to feel sorry for the Saints and their fans. It took about twenty seasons for the Saints to record their first ever winning season. And it wasn't until 2000 that they finally won their first postseason game. Then there was the Katrina tragedy where the franchise was uprooted and had to play their home games on the road. And there were even rumors they would move to San Antonio. But then they rebounded to become one of the best teams in the NFL and they topped it off by winning the Super Bowl last season.

What do they do for an encore?

They lose to the only team to ever make the playoffs with a losing record.

Now THAT'S what you call a Super Bowl hangover.

What does Chris Berman always say? "That's why they play the games."

Friday, January 7, 2011

When it comes to who you want the Steelers to face in the postseason, I've learned that you should be careful what you wish for

The Wildcard Weekend is about to begin in the NFL playoffs and everyone around here is wondering who the Steelers will face next Saturday at Heinz Field in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs.

If the Colts defeat the Jets tomorrow night, Peyton Manning and his crew will be coming to town. If the overrated Jets with their loud-mouthed coach go into Indy and mildly upset the Colts, then the winner of the Chiefs/Ravens Sunday afternoon wildcard game will be taking on the Steelers.

I have my preferences. I'd like to see the Jets defeat the Colts and the Chiefs take out the Ravens because I think that would be Pittsburgh's best shot at getting to the AFC title game in two weeks. This isn't to say that the Steelers couldn't defeat the Colts or Ravens, I just like the path of least resistance when it comes to the playoffs. I know some people are adrenaline junkies who always want the epic match ups, but there aren't extra points awarded for who your team defeats along the way to a championship.

Yes, maybe 20 years from now, NFL Films will do a "Greatest Teams of the First Three Decades of the New Millennium" list and the fact that Pittsburgh never had to go through the Patriots along the way to their 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th (one can hope) Super Bowl titles might sway some opinions that the Patriots had the stronger legacy.

But I'm not worried about legacies twenty years from now. I'm worried about Super Bowl titles right now, damn it! And in my opinion, the Chiefs coming to Heinz Field next week at 4:30 would be the most beneficial thing for Steeler Nation.........................Or would it?

I can think of a few occasions when I sat and rooted for one team to win a playoff game because that's who I wanted the Steelers to play the following week. And the following week I was totally blindsided by Pittsburgh's opponent.

The first one that comes to mind was a divisional playoff game between the Chargers and Dolphins in the 1994 AFC playoffs. This game was played the day after the Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns, 29-9, to advance to the AFC Championship game for the first time in 10 seasons.

The Steelers were the number 1 seed that year so no matter who won the game between San Diego and Miami, they would have to come to Three Rivers Stadium for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

The Chargers defeated the Dolphins in an exciting game and my uncle and I, and just about everyone else I could think of, were ecstatic. You see, the Dolphins had Marino, you know, the PITT legend that the Steelers passed on in the '83 draft, and he was still searching for that elusive championship ring. Everyone feared that he would come to Three Rivers Stadium and pass all over Blitzburgh and go on to finally win his trophy.

San Diego wasn't given a chance by hardly anyone in this game. They were the number two seed in the AFC, but they clinched their seed in the last regular season game against the Steelers, ironically enough, who had already wrapped up homefield advantage and had nothing to play for. Cowher rested most of his starters and the Steelers still took San Diego down to the wire on the road in a game the Chargers absolutely had to win. How could they possibly come into Three Rivers stadium and upset the Steelers with their full starting roster?

The city of San Diego wasn't even optimistic. And we all know about that Super Bowl Rap video that the Steelers did the week leading up to the game.

It was going to be a glorious day for the Steelers. Well, we were all taught a very valuable lesson that day.

San Diego went on to face the 49ers in the Super Bowl and the Steelers had to wait another year.

Another one that comes to mind was in the 1997 playoffs. The Steelers were the number 2 seed and outlasted the Patriots, 7-6, in a divisional playoff game and if the Broncos could go into Arrowhead stadium and defeat the Chiefs, who had homefield advantage, the Steelers would host the AFC title game for the 3rd time in 4 seasons. The Broncos, a wildcard team that year, did indeed knock off the Chiefs and the Steelers were sitting pretty. At least I thought so.

The Broncos could never get over the championship hump. Elway was 37 years old and he had already been to the Super bowl three other times and failed miserably. The Steelers were going to their 2nd Super Bowl in 3 seasons, right? Wrong! The Broncos came into Three Rivers and gave Pittsburgh another heartbreaking AFC championship home loss and went onto win their first Super Bowl.

And that brings me to the 2001 AFC Playoffs. The "tuck rule" divisional playoff game between the Patriots and Raiders. My other uncle and I were rooting hard for the Patriots in that game. I know that's hard for anyone to imagine now, but this was before Belichick was a genius. At that point, he was the mediocre coach who was sent packing from Cleveland. Tom Brady was just the surprising 6th round draft pick who had replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe earlier in the year. Nobody knew he would someday become the "model-marrying, best damn-quarterback in the universe!" The Steelers had homefield advantage and hadn't even played their divisional playoff game against the Ravens yet. That would be Sunday, but my uncle and I were both pretty happy and relieved that Saturday evening when the Patriots came back to knock off the Raiders in overtime thanks to that controversial call that overturned a fumble. We didn't want any parts of Oakland. I mean, these were the Raiders! All the history. All those tough AFC championship games in the 70's. Well, now that they were out of the way, the Steelers could concentrate on taking care of their bitter division rivals.

They did, outclassing the defending Super Bowl champions, 27-10.

Now it was onto the AFC Championship game against those upstart New England Patriots. Pittsburgh was a double-digit favorite for this game, and just like with the Chargers, nobody gave the Patriots a chance. The Steelers were going to go on and face the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl.

Kordell Stewart was going to become a star. Bill Cowher would get another shot at a ring. It was going to be great.....that is until the game started.

Little did we know that when that referee overturned that fumble the previous week, he unleashed a Hell that has been with us for almost a decade now. The New England Patriots came into Heinz Field and took care of the Steelers pretty easily. Once again, the city of Pittsburgh had to suffer through another home loss in the AFC Championship game. That elusive trip to the Super Bowl slipped through their grasps, yet again. New England went on to claim their first of three Super Bowl crowns.

So, even if the perfect scenario presents itself to us after this weekend's playoff match ups, don't assume that it will be a piece of cake and Pittsburgh will have earned another bye into the next round.

But on the flip side, even if the worst possible opponent punches a ticket to Heinz Field this weekend, it won't necessarily spell gloom and doom.

Back to that '94 season. The Browns were the 4th seed in the AFC, but they were considered by most to be the 2nd best team in the conference. They just had the misfortune of being in the same division as Pittsburgh. The Steelers swept the Browns that year in the regular season, but both games were pretty tight. Many predicted a Browns' victory if they were to meet the Steelers for a third time. You know, the whole, "it's tough to beat a team three times in one season" theory. Anyway, I wanted the Patriots to upset the Browns in the Wildcard game, but it didn't happen. Cleveland was coming to town for the most anticipated and hyped playoff game since the 70's.

I think I heard "It's hard to defeat a team three times in one season" 1000 times that week. Well, not only did Pittsburgh win for a third time, but they did so going away.

In 2001, the Ravens were the defending Super Bowl Champions, but they were a wildcard and Pittsburgh was the number 1 seed in the AFC. A Ravens' victory over the Dolphins would earn them a trip to Heinz Field. The Ravens won pretty easily in Miami and the World Champs had their "swagger" back.

That's all I heard all week was how the Ravens recaptured their "swagger" and were going to swagger all the way to another Super Bowl trophy. Well, nobody told them that you need some offense to go along with that defensive swagger, and as I said above, the Steelers won by three scores.

Even two years ago, I secretly rooted for the number 1 seeded Titans to defeat the wildcard Ravens because I didn't want to face the possibility of Baltimore coming to Heinz Field for the right to go to the Super Bowl and upsetting the Steelers. I know that's crazy, but I just couldn't handle that. In my head, I thought it would be "less hazardous" to have to go on the road for the AFC championship game than to face the possibilities of Ray Lewis "swaggin'" on his way out of Heinz Field with the AFC crown.

The Ravens upset the Titans and were coming to Pittsburgh with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Just like with the Browns in '94, the Steelers defeated the Ravens twice in '08, but they were both really close games, and that whole "hard to beat a team three times in one season" phrase was thrown around ad nauseum leading up to the showdown.

But, as it turned out, the game was the easiest of the three and the Steelers went on to capture another Super Bowl title.

So it does work both ways.

Anyway, no matter what happens this weekend, there will be a playoff team coming to Heinz Field next Saturday and there might not be a "best case" or "worst case" playoff scenario. It's probably just in our heads.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

It will be interesting to see if the NFL overreacts to the NFC West "situation"

We live in a society that tends to overreact. Anytime something out of the ordinary happens, say for example, a child gets on the wrong bus after school and gets lost for a few hours, there is a huge uproar and everyone wants to know how this could have possibly happened and what could be done about it.

My old job at PITT was like that. Anytime an error occurred, there had to be a meeting to figure out why it happened and how to prevent it from ever happening again. Instead of just chalking it up to human error, we always had to make new policies and constantly change protocol.

Human error was certainly on display this NFL season in the NFC West. Teams with losing records were in contention the entire year and the division came down to the last regular season game with the Seahawks at 6-9 hosting the St. Louis Rams at 7-8 for the division title and the right to host a postseason game.

I know the Powers That Be in the NFL had to be secretly rooting for the Rams to win. A team entering the playoffs with an 8-8 record wouldn't be unprecedented, but a sub-.500 team had never made the playoffs. That is until the Seattle Seahawks knocked off the Rams, 16-6, to claim the NFC West crown. At 7-9, they are the 4th seed in the NFC and will host the 11-5 New Orleans Saints this weekend in the first round of the playoffs.

Last I checked, the Saints were 10 1/2 point favorites as the road team. I wonder if a home-team has ever been a double-digit underdog for a postseason game.

Anyway, there have been some complaints over the Seahawks getting into the postseason with a losing record and some have wondered if the NFL should do something to tweak the playoff format to prevent it from happening again.

I've heard people say that maybe they could change it to where a team with a losing record will miss the playoffs even if they win the division like the Seahawks, and they would be replaced with the team with the most wins of the remaining playoff contenders.

If that were the case this season, the Giants would have qualified for the playoffs at 10-6.

I hope they don't do something like that. If they do that, why even have divisions?

I mean, teams with poor records have been making it to the playoffs for years. Is there really much of a difference between 9-7 and 7-9? Not really. The only difference is 9-7 looks passable. Kind of like the difference between a D and an F on a term paper.

Heck, you can go all the way back to the late 70's when the Los Angeles Rams made it all the way to the Super Bowl with a 9-7 record. Just two seasons ago, the 9-7 Arizona Cardinals also made it to the Super Bowl.

When I was a kid, back in the mid-80's, there wasn't a more mediocre division in all of professional sports than the old AFC Central. In 1983, the Steelers won the division with a 10-6 record. Not bad, right? Well, in 1984, they won the division again, but with a 9-7 record, and they somehow managed to make it all the way to the AFC championship game in Miami against the Dolphins. And the very next year, the Cleveland Browns won the division with an 8-8 mark, and they were about a minute away from hosting the AFC championship game before losing in the last seconds in Miami.

I was only about 12 or 13 back then so if there was a lot of controversy over the AFC Central teams getting into the playoffs with such poor records, I don't remember.

But I do know there wasn't an overhaul in the playoff format. Not until 1990 when a 6th seed was added in each conference.

That all but eliminated division winners with mediocre records from having a bye in the wildcard round. Back in 1979, when the Rams made it to the Super Bowl with their 9-7 record, they had to go on the road, but at least they only had to play two games. Clearly an advantage.

Same thing with the Steelers in 1984. They were on the road throughout the playoffs, but they only had to play two games, because, back then, all division winners had byes.

Starting in 1990, only the top two division winners in each conference received byes. The division winner with the third best record earned the 3rd seed but had to play in the wildcard round. There were three wildcard teams with the 6th seed playing at the 3rd seed and the 4th seed hosting the 5th seed.

After the league realigned in 2002 and added a 4th division in each conference, the playoff format was essentially the same, only the 4th seed was a divisional winner and not an at-large wildcard team. Only the 5th and 6th seeds were true wildcards.

If they do decide to tweak the system this time around, I fear their solution would be to add two more teams in each conference. That would be nice for the Giants and Buccaneers this season, who both missed out on the playoffs with 10-6 records, but what about years when there aren't teams with 10-6 records fighting for those last playoff spots? The likely hood is teams making the playoffs with losing records would become more common. And also, with 8 teams, there is no way the NFL could still have bye weeks unless it added two more weeks to the playoffs and we'd be hosting Super Bowl parties at the end of February.

A bye is a nice little carrot to dangle in front of a team at the end of the year. If you eliminate the possibility of earning a bye, you might have even more meaningless games at the end of the regular season.

Personally, I don't think they should change anything, but if they do decide to make a change, in my opinion, the only logical solution would be to change the seeding process. Instead of a division winner earning a specific seed, the seeds are awarded based on records and tiebreakers.

For example, this season, in the AFC, the Patriots and Steelers would still be the top 2 seeds, but the Ravens would get the 3rd seed because of their 12-4 record and would host the 6th seeded Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs. The Chiefs would still be division winners, but they'd be on the road. Same with the Colts. They'd still be AFC South Champions, but they'd be the 5th seed and would have to go on the road and play the 4th seeded Jets, who at 11-5, have a better record than both the Colts and Chiefs and thus would get the better seed despite being a wildcard team.

In the NFC, the Seahawks wouldn't get any home games at all throughout the playoffs because they would be the 6th seed rather than the 4th seed.

So, in my format, winning the division still gets you an automatic berth in the playoffs, but not necessarily a home game.

Anyone else have an opinion on this? What do you think of my proposed format?

Anyway, NFL, if you're going to make changes, please, don't overreact and do something stupid.

Monday, January 3, 2011

If recent history is any judge, if Pittsburgh makes it to the Super Bowl, their opponent will probably be a rare-bird

Well, it's certainly that time of year again. The NFL playoffs are about to begin!

The Steelers are off next week, and in my opinion, there isn't a more enjoyable scenario for me than when Pittsburgh earns a bye in the playoffs and I can just sit back and enjoy the heck out of the Wildcard weekend. Four games, no strings attached.

It goes without saying that I'll have some rooting interests. There are teams I'd like to see the Steelers avoid in that divisional round: The Ravens and Colts in that order, but make no mistake, I can't wait to watch some exciting playoff football this coming weekend.

Speaking of the Steelers. I made a comment in a recent post that the Steelers were a class above the Cleveland Browns and with everything they had on the line going into their regular season finale in Cleveland (division title, 2nd seed and first round bye) the Steelers should go into Cleveland and defeat the Brownies by three scores. At least one person told me I was dreaming.

Well, yesterday's 41-9 thrashing of the Browns sure felt like a dream. It's been literally years since they've looked that good. You might have to go back four for five seasons to find a more dominant performance.

The one thing that stood out to me was how well the offensive line protected Roethlisberger. He wasn't sacked the whole day and I don't even remember him getting knocked down or even hurried.

And call me crazy, but were the Steelers using a lot of quick-passes out in the flat to the tight ends and the running backs? It felt like I was watching the New England Patriots on offense. Anyway, if that's a new wrinkle Arians has employed for the playoffs, I'm impressed and excited about the possibilities. I've been saying all year that the best way to protect an average offensive line and to negate a pass rush is to get the ball out quickly.

Don't get me wrong, I actually think the offensive line has played tremendously starting with the Jets game. But they looked their best yesterday and that's encouraging.

Mendenhall didn't have a great day running the ball, but he did score two short-yardage touchdowns. That was great to see because I don't think it's important for the Steelers to rush for 230 yards a game like a lot of Steeler fans do, but I do think it's important for them to run the ball effectively at key times. You have to be able to punch it in inside the five yard line. That doesn't mean you have to run it every time in that situation, but when you do, you should be successful more times than not.

As far as the playoffs, I was thinking about who I'd like to see the Steelers face in the divisional round, and the obvious choice is Kansas City. Naturally, they'd be the ideal first opponent because of their lack of experience. I'd least like to see the Ravens come to town, not because I don't think the Steelers can beat them, but because whenever these two teams come together, it's such a close, hard-fought battle, and it always comes down to the last few minutes. It's anyone's game, and that's kind of scary.

My ideal scenario for the playoffs would be for the Jets to defeat the Colts in the first round and the Chiefs to knock off the Ravens. Then the Chiefs would come to Heinz Field and Pittsburgh would have their way with them and the Jets would go up to Foxboro and defeat their division rivals.

If you give me the Jets at Heinz Field for the AFC title game right now, I'd sign on the dotted line.

But realistically, I think the Colts will be coming here in two weeks. Of course, I'd be nervous about that. Peyton Manning is a legend, but this Indianapolis team is a far cry from recent Colts' editions and I think the Steelers could handle them.

And I think it's a safe bet they'll have to go to New England for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

Right now, New England looks unstoppable and that got me to thinking about how much this Steelers season feels like a hybrid of the 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl seasons. It feels like 2008 because, at 12-4, they were pretty consistent the entire year and never really had a rough patch. But it also feels a lot like the 2005 season because of the adversity they faced before the 2010 season even started with the Roethlisberger 4-game suspension. People were picking them third in the division and most had them finishing at 8-8 or 9-7. And of course, they had to overcome a lot of key injuries this year losing Willie Colon and Max Starks from the offensive line, Aaron Smith from the defensive line, and Troy Polamalu for a few games towards the end of the season. And then there was the controversy over the "illegal" hits and the fines that went along with them. James Harrison threatened to retire. It could have gotten really ugly, yet, they were able to keep their heads and not only win the division, but earn a bye and set themselves up for a legitimate Super Bowl run. I know we have high-expectations around here, but I think the Steelers should be applauded for accomplishing as much as they have so far this year.

And as I said, the Patriots are pretty dominant right now, just like the Colts were in '05. Everyone is fearful of the Steelers having to go to New England in the playoffs, especially with how easily they defeated Pittsburgh on Sunday Night football back in November. But if you use 2005 as a judge, then the Steelers could certainly turn the tables.

It will be interesting to see how this weekend's games shake out and who the team will face in the divisional round.

No matter who they have to face, it's not going to be easy. Will I be nervous? Will you be nervous? Yes on both counts, but that's what makes it so awesome!

As far as the NFC goes, if the Steelers do make it to Dallas, I have some ideal matchups. The first that comes to mind would be the Packers.

Can you imagine Pittsburgh playing Green Bay for the Super Bowl in Dallas? That scenario would be so awesome, I think I would ask it to marry me.

A second dream match-up would be the Saints. I think it would be a tremendous story.

But if history is any indication, if the Steelers are fortunate enough to make it to the Super Bowl, their opponent will be a rare bird.

It wouldn't be the Eagles because they're not a rare bird, they're one of the marquee teams in the league so you can forget about them.

And it sure wouldn't be the Seahawks. If a 7-9 team makes it out of the NFC this year, they should implode the conference and start over.

That leaves the Falcons. Atlanta is the number 1 seed in the NFC and it would obviously be no surprise if they made it.

That would be an epic matchup because I think both teams are evenly matched and it would be a great game, but it wouldn't necessarily be a "sexy" matchup and most of the focus would be on the Steelers. Just like with their last two Super Bowl trips.

So that's my prediction. The Steelers will face off against the Falcons in the Super Bowl on February 6th.

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The aftermath of the Penguins' loss in the Winter Classic

January 1st, 2011.

Penguins fans file out of Heinz field dejected over the Pens' 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals in the 2011 Winter Classic.

Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby talks to reporters at the postgame press conference.

John Shumway: "Sid, how will you and your teammates move on after such a devastating loss? What's next for the Pittsburgh Penguins?"

Crosby: "Well, it is disappointing, but at the end of the day, it's just one game and it's only worth 2-points and we're still in first place in the division and the Eastern conference. We're just looking ahead to our next game and the rest of the season."

John Shumway: "Just one game? Like how do you mean? It was outdoors. It was special."

Crosby: "Don't talk to me."

Meanwhile, WPXI's Julie Fine interviews people over at Heinz after the loss.

Fine: "I'm here with Judy from Mckeesport. Judy, did you have a good time at the Winter Classic despite the loss?"

Judy from Mckeesport: "I don't think we'll ever get over it. I mean, this was the Winter Classic. Pittsburgh was supposed to win. How am I going to explain this to my kids?"

Fine: "You do realize it was just one game, right?"

Judy from Mckeesport: "Like how do you mean?"

January 2nd, 2011.

Vinnie Richichi of 93.7 The Fan fields calls on the subject of the 2011 Winter Classic.

Richichi: "I know last night's loss was disappointing, but wasn't it fun? Wasn't it a magical time?"

Tom from Mcdonald, Pa: "Yeah, Vinnie, thanks for taking my call. I think Bylsma has to go. He just can't win the big game."

Richichi: "Whoa, Tom, slow down! It's just one game. Besides, last time I checked, Blysma led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup just two seasons ago. I'd say game 7 in Detroit was pretty big."

Tom from Mcdonald, Pa: "Just one game? Vinnie, it was outside. It really took me back, ya know? I mean, there's nothing like playing hockey with your buddies out on the frozen pond. I never got to do that when I was a kid, but I heard it was pretty cool. For the Pens to lose this game......I'll never get over it."

January 1st, 2012.

Pens and Caps fans argue on the NHL message boards.

Ovechkinisgod: "Hahahahahaha! We beat you guys in the Winter Classic last year. You guys are totally lame!"

Penguinsmama: "It was just one game, and we beat you guys in the Eastern Conference Finals and went on to win our 2nd Stanley Cup in the last three seasons. Have fun with your Winter Classic "championship." Hahahahahaha!"

Ovechkinisgod: "Just one game? It was the Winter Classic. It was outdoors. Like how do you mean?"

Meanwhile, WTAE's Sally Wiggin interviews a local psychologist on the one year annisversary of the Penguins' Winter Classic loss.

Wiggin: "Doctor, what advice would you give to fans of the Penguins who are still coping with the loss at the Winter Classic on this day, the one year annisversary of the tragedy?"

Psychologist: "You do realize it was just one game and only worth 2 points, right? Aren't the Penguins the defending Stanley Cup Champions?"

Wiggin: "Just one game? Doctor, it was outdoors."

Psychologist: "Why am I here?"

July 17th, 2016, Penguins' legendary coach Dan Bylsma announces he is stepping down after 7 seasons as head coach. Bylsma cites health reasons for his decision to walk away. He helped lead the Penguins to three Stanley Cup championships during his tenure and may go down as the greatest coach in franchise history.

Meanwhile, Mark Madden of ESPN The Fan takes calls regarding Disco Dan's surprising announcement.

Dave from Ross Park: "Yeah, Double M, I think it was time for Blysma to leave. He just couldn't win the big games. The ones that really mattered."

Madden: "Are you stupid? He led them to three Stanley Cup championships, including one this past season. He may go down as the greatest coach in team history. Heck, in the history of Pittsburgh sports."

Dave From Ross Park: "Oh, how can you say that, Mark? He couldn't win the Winter Classic in 2011. It was outdoors!"

Madden: "BORING! BORING! BORING! BORING! BORING! Not to be critical."

January 1st, 2021.

The mayor of Pittsburgh is holding a press conference in front of Heinz Field.

Mayor: Thank you all for coming. I just wanted to take this time, on the ten year annivesary of the 2011 Winter Classic, to dedicate this statue to the brave young men who valiantly fought a good fight and gave their blood, sweat, and tears that night in front of 70,000 fans. Let us never forget those warriors."

Max Talbot (interrupting the mayor): "Excuse me, mayor, but we're not dead. In fact, most of us are still playing hockey. You asked us to come here, remember? Anyway, we've won the Stanley Cup five times since 2009. Four times since the 2011 Winter Classic. Don't you remember the parades? It was just one game many years ago, sir."

Mayor: "Just a game? It was outdoors. It really took me back, ya know?"

Talbot: "Yeah, you're stupid."

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Mike Haywood arrested for domestic abuse.

I was driving home from unsuccessfully trying to go to "First Night" with my girlfriend last evening when she informed me that PITT's new head coach Mike Haywood had been arrested in Indiana for domestic abuse.

I laughed, of course, because the football team just can't seem to get anything right in its quest to climb back up that mountain to where it was nearly 30 seasons ago.

People will be critical of athletic director Steve Pederson for hiring a guy like this, but how could anyone have seen this coming?

I understand that a person's character is very important, especially for a job where one has to be a role model for young men, but I heard no such issues about his character before the incident.

The only thing I knew about the guy was that he took Miami of Ohio from the basement to the penthouse in the MAC conference.

I now know that he fathered a child to a woman out of wedlock and the incident that he was arrested for had to do with that, but just because someone has a child outside of marriage doesn't mean they're going to physically abuse the mother of their baby. So, even if Pederson knew about Haywood's child, that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't qualified to be PITT's new head coach.

So, there is really no way to be critical of Pederson for the choice he made. However, that doesn't mean Haywood should be retained as head coach of the Panthers.

He almost certainly should be let go. There is no way a guy can lead a group of young men and have any kind of credibility after something like this.

I know all the facts aren't out and Haywood could fully be cleared of everything, but that doesn't mean there isn't irreversible damage done to the football program.

So if they do decide to cut ties with Haywood, who will they name as coach?

The bowl season isn't over yet, but it's probably too late to really get a viable candidate to come in and interview for the job.

Every time the PITT head coaching job is open, people always bring up Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley as the most desired choice.

It's no real secret that Bradley's been the de facto head coach at PSU in recent years with Paterno's age preventing him from doing the job to its fullest capacity.

But it's also no real secret that the person that replaces JoePa when he finally decides to retire will almost certainly not be Bradley.

If that's the case, and if Bradley still wants to be a head coach, PITT should make an emergency phone call to him asap.

He's a great recruiter and very popular with the high school coaches in Western, Pa. I know Bradley would probably lure some potential PSU recruits to PITT.

However, if Bradley is as loyal to Paterno as he seems and is unwilling to make the move, where else can PITT turn in-order to save this situation from turning into a total train-wreck?

The answer is quite simple: Dave Wannstedt.

I know that sounds crazy, and I know I was all for his firing when it happened a month ago.

But there really aren't many other alternatives at this point.

There are many ideal scenarios for the PITT head coaching job, but right now, we have to deal in realities, and Wannstedt is probably the best choice to keep things stable.

Of course, there is the problem of most of Wannstedt's assistants being let go, but I'm sure he could convince at least some of them to come back.

I'm pretty sure Wannstedt would return as head coach if Pederson asked him to. Even though he said he was resigning during his final press conference, he didn't look like a man ready to go. He was forced out.

And I know the players would certainly rally around him if he were to come back.

You can say a lot of things about Wannstedt, but he'll never personally embarrass the program.

Haywood already has and he hasn't even coached his first game.