Tuesday Tomczak's

Did you know that Mike Tomczak won a Super Bowl in his rookie year with the Monsters of Midway, that he actually got to take a few snaps during that game (SB XX), and that he got to play air-guitar for the Shuffling Crew in their hit song, "The Super Bowl Shuffle." Yeah, neither did I.

All I remember was Tomczak's medicore quarterback play on those post-Neil O'Donnell teams. Tomczak actually started 15 games for the Steelers in 1996, leading us to a 10-5 record in his regular season starts. He started the Wild Card playoff game against the Colts at Three Rivers Stadium, and despite his woeful line (13-21, 176 Yds, 2 INT), the Steelers won 42-14 (another fine example of how awesome our running game/defense was back in those years). The Steelers got blown out the next week at Foxboro against Drew Bledsoe and the Pats to a final score of 28-3, a game I only remember for the fact that the entire stadium was cloaked in fog. Tomczak played a few more seasons for the Steelers (until age 37) and then retired into a life of commentary (including a stint on FSNP, if you remember) and sports management. Good for him, plus one of the top Google searches under his name is "Mike Tomczak Wife." So that has to be a good sign.

Pitt won last night, beating the vaunted Colonials of BoMoU. RMU stayed in the game for most of the first half by knocking down shots and forcing the Panthers into taking three-pointers, but Pitt pulled away in the second half. I'd like to say Ashton Gibbs is back, because he shot 4-10 from behind the three-point line, although he didn't attempt another shot inside the arc. But really, we should not be complaining when a guy gets 20 points on ten shots, no matter where they come from. Dante "The Myth" Taylor got some solid minutes and took advantage of them by doing exactly what he should have been doing the whole time, rebounding. Unfortunately he missed both shots he took, along with both freebies, and coughed the ball up twice as well... Baby steps?

I thought this Fanpost from BTSC summed up the current state of the NFL pretty well. It's a passing league, so Jerome doesn't really know what he's talking about. There's some other pretty good stuff over at BTSC, such as a congratulations to coach Lebeau on his HOF induction, and a continuation of their positional reviews.

Matt Bandi over at Pittsburgh Lumber Co. has just the post I'm looking for, a comprehensive look at the players who have been traded by the Bucs over the past 17 years, and how they have performed after they left. Just goes to show that the Pirates problem all along has been talent, not trades. Although that still doesn't excuse previous management at all. My main point is that if you are going to attack the Pirates, at least do it for the correct reasons (there are plenty, but providing the rest of the league with talent is not one of them). Also, Jay Bell... I'm gonna want to see a urine sample from your Diamondback years.

Soccernet has a good look at the US's biggest issue for the upcoming WC, striker depth. I still think that Charlie Davies will be back in time (miraculously) to play alongside Jozy up top, but behind that, I wouldn't mind seeing a safe target forward like Brian Ching (no Conner Casey, please), a speedy guy like Eddie Johnson or Robbie Findlay, and then, if he gets enough playing time from his club team (Plymouth Argyle, who play in the English Championship) in the run-up to the WC, Kenny Cooper. I've always liked Cooper, because he's an incredible combination of size and skill (a poor-man's Ibrahimovic, if you will), and he's got a canon of a shot from distance (something that is lacking from any current Yank). Also, the guy has scored 4 goals in just 10 appearances with the National team.

Also, SoccerByIves has a much more eloquent reaction to Jozy's first goal in the EPL than I did just a day ago, and he connects it to the striker's recent experience in Haiti (both of Jozy's parents are from Haiti).

CofC dropped another game, this time to rival The Citadel. Again, all that matters is the SoCon tournament, but it would be nice to see them handle a team like The Citadel (7-6 in conference), especially at home. The Cougars are still leading in the conference standings, but they have the same amount of losses as Wofford, which should make their match up with the Terriers on the 25th quite pivotal. This is probably the best CofC team they've had since I first went to the school, but they are too dependent on the three and don't get to the line nearly enough, which makes any game losable.