No More Game at Mellon for Me

I am now 0-2 in this years playoffs, which is quite the opposite of where I was last May when I brought the Cup home with me from Detroit. Despite my lackluster record in the past week, I'm pretty sure Thursday was my last game at the Igloo either way. We've had some good times, and what better way to go out than a triple overtime game, which ended up being the second longest game in Igloo history. Although, it would have been nice to get a W. I don't think there is anything more deflating than losing a multiple overtime game at home; it's such a bummer. But we did get our money's worth.

Recap here, here, and here; my own thoughts boil down to one thing, Leclaire stole this one from us. It happens every now and then in the playoffs when a no-name goalie plays the game(s) of their life and stave off elimination ferrabit. Lets hope in this case that it was just one game. Game 6 is tonight at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa (7/FSN). Let's end it tonight and once again avoid seeing a handshake at home for the first time since Marian Hossa was a Pen.

I haven't commented on the Buccos since the Earth Day Massacre. Pat at WHYGAVS kind of sums it up for me; I know that's lazy, but if my comments from the last post (which was written while I was watching that game) can be taken as anything, I really don't want to bring this up again. I had the same reaction for about 24 hours after the game. I was going to the Pens game, so I had something to keep my mind off of it, but everybody going to the game with me, along with a few of my friends who texted me had the same thing to say, "20-0?"

See, most people whp know me, don't know anybody else who follows the Bucs this closely, so I'm sort of the go-to-guy for all things Buccos. I'm not trying to brag about this, if you think about it, it's pretty pathetic. But I'm that guy. So when I was being given the business about this historic loss, I wanted to say all the right things (it's just one game, it's a long season, this is an evaluation year, the Brewers are a really good team, etc...), but all I could do was shake my head and say, "I don't wanna talk about it." Yeah, it was a lame answer, but it was actually how I felt. I just didn't wanna talk about it. Best to give me a few days to think about what this really meant.

I had been wavering back and forth between posting how disappointing these first few weeks have been for the Pirates. It sort of boiled over in that italicized rant during the massacre. The pitching has been terrible, the offense has been just as bad, and fundamentally, they've lost any semblance of concentration (Delwyn Young is an absolute mess over at third base). But as much as I want to abandon ship, the more I thought about it, the less it mattered. It is just one game (or one series, because it was a terrible three games), I'm not expecting great things from this season, and things are bound to turn around. If the Buccos continue at this pace (run differential wise) until game 50, then it's time to hit the panic button. But we're still in April, so relax, and just hope things turn around.

Although last night was a kick in the nuts, as we finally lost a close game mostly due to luck. The Pirates pitched better and hit better, but sometimes they fall and sometimes they don't, which is why one run games even out over the season. Tonight could get worse as Chris Jako goes to the mound to face Wandy Rodriguez, who usually mows down the Bucs.

The Steelers did what they always do during the draft, nothing exciting but always solid. Anything I say will just be upchuck from the words they produced over at BTSC. The most important points that I took from this draft which make me happy; special teams was seen as a priority and addressed as so, and the Steelers didn't panic into drafting a ton of secondary players (despite what many Steelers fans have been screaming, the secondary is not as bad as people say, especially with Troy back). I say this a lot when it comes to the Pirates FO, but it makes even more sense for the Steelers; Trust the Process.

One last link; I need to start taking anger management classes so that I may avoid this fate ten years down the road.

When the Steelers Mattered

As I'm watching this terrible, terrible team called the Pirates get blown out at home for the third straight day by my least favorite team the Brewers (I didn't get to watch much of the series sweep of the Reds, but I've watched most of this series and a lot of the West Coast trip in which they looked pretty terrible as well; all I know is that I am slowly losing any optimism I had for this team to win 60 games. You can't continue to win half your games by two runs or less and lose the other half by 5+ runs; it just doesn't work that way in baseball. As much as I've seen, this team is horrendous in all facets. I'm trying to stay optimistic, if you ask anybody who knows me I am the most optimistic Bucco fan out there; but this team hurts to watch. To loosely quote Bull Durham, how this team has won 7 games... It's a miracle), I've realized what little interest I have in the NFL now-a-days.

The realization has been sneaking up on me for quite some time, but it really bubbled over in a conversation I had with a friend earlier today. He brought up the draft, which I thought was this upcoming weekend as it has always been. Little did I know that the draft is now a three day event starting tonight and ending on Saturday. Not only do I think this is a terrible idea because it ruins one of the best loafing/drinking Saturdays of the year (many a beautiful Saturdays I have spent watching Mel Kiper's hair as opposed to enjoying the great outdoors), but what really shocked me was my complete ignorance to this change.

Maybe you've noticed my lack of links or posts regarding the Steelers off-season even though it's been one of the busiest in memory, but it's quite obvious that I just don't care as much anymore. When I left for college in the far away ass-backwards land of South Carolina, I followed the Steelers religiously, much more so than when I was in High School.

I didn't think about it then, but I look back at it now as one of the only means of keeping some sort of continual connection to the city of Pittsburgh. Every Sunday I would don my Steelers jersey and sit in front of a TV at a sports bar for three and a half hours. Ironically, I think part of the enthusiasm came from the Steelers drafting a QB in the first round for the first time since I started supporting them. I got a Ben Roethlisberger jersey for my birthday on 9/7/04; Ben would make his first start just 19 days later. Plus I was in college, and everybody remembers how much free time we had in college; lot's of procrastination to look at every Steelers blog and article on the internet.

But since I've moved back to Pittsburgh, not only have the Steelers played like garbage (my first weekend back was the beginning of the five-game losing streak), but my enthusiasm has waned considerably. I'd like to think the reason isn't due to the Steelers play; after all, I watched the games just as intensely as ever and even spent my own money to attend the Green Bay game. I do have a few theories though.

I think being around people that are Steelers crazy (and no matter what people tell you, the Steelers still run this town no matter how good the Pens are) has turned me off. It's so irrational, fanatical, and non-stop. All people have been able to talk about the past few days is Ben Roethlisberger despite our defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins playing meaningful playoff games in pursuit of their second straight championship.

Maybe this is why I gravitated towards the Pirates while I was growing up. They were such an afterthought, constantly flying under the radar, and the butt of every joke. Maybe it's the natural inclination of a future yuppie white guy; I can only enjoy things that others don't, I just have to be different.

I know it's definitely because of the Tall Guy, who could give a rats ass about the Steelers for the most part. I think part of that has rubbed off on me.

My final theory doesn't make as much sense because I still think that I enjoy watching football, but maybe I don't. I was watching The Colbert Report yesterday and they had on George Will who was promoting the reissuing of his classic baseball book Men at Work, and he brought up an interesting study that concluded that there is only 11 minutes of real action in an NFL football game. Now he was using this fact as a way to say that baseball is more exciting, which is definitely debatable (for my money, hockey and soccer are the best sports to watch on TV or in person), but I think the fact definitely points towards something I've noticed as I got older. NFL games are boring.

Can you justify spending 3-4 hours a Sunday in order to catch 11 minutes of action? I can't. Yet I still watch the Steelers, and I will continue to watch the Steelers (although I am considering using a DVR more often). But I don't think I will ever be as fanatical as I was for the five years I was in Charleston. I do think that's the reason; a sort of absence makes the heart grow fonder type of thing. My friends, who are still pretty Steelers-crazy, all live fairly far away from Pittsburgh. And who knows, maybe when I move away I'll catch the fever again. But as of right now, I could give a shit what happens tonight on the South Side or on ESPN; my attention is right where it should be for all Pittsburgh sports fans... The Igloo.

(Quick update in the Pirates game. When I started this post, the Brewers were up 4-0 in the second inning and are now up 10-0 in the top of the fifth; I've already told my Milwaukee buddy, "You're my Daddy"; Andrew McCutchen, my only really hope for a Pirate superstar, completely failed to do his job with a runner on third and less than two outs by tapping a meatball of a fastball back to the pitcher; Ryan Church looked at a fastball right down the pipe with two strikes and the bases loaded; and Ryan Braun, the biggest doucher in baseball but an incredibly hitter-- he's the Ovechkin to Pirates baseball, stole third while up six runs... what a douche. It's probably best if I just take a deep breath and stop watching this game, but I probably won't.)

Quick Notes

Most of the people that pay attention to this blog, I was with this weekend; they were able to get the GNJB podcast in person. But I do have a few things to say that were either left out of the podcast, or for the two other people that read this site.

GNJB - It's absolutely absurd that Andy Sutton is still playing in these playoffs. He didn't leave his feet and he didn't have his elbow extended (which I don't think should matter at all, an elbow is an elbow); but immediately following the Matt Cooke hit, the NHL changed the rules mid-season to make sure that there is some sort of punishment for hits to the head. What the 'F was that that happened to Jordan Leopold? He should be banned for at least two games. And I don't even have to mention his douchiness to Ray Fittipaldo regarding a fairly simple question... Talk about not following the player conduct rules.

GNJB - I don't know why everybody is making this big deal about the Bronx cheer the Flower got following his first save in game two (which followed him giving up a soft goal on the first shot of the game). Bronx cheers are for the most part, fairly harmless; and a professional athlete should not care or get raddled following receiving one. But at the same time, since the Pens went to the Cup Finals a few years back, Pens fans (especially at the games) have come to feel like they are owed something. If we let up a goal, or are not dominating a game, our crowd seems to sit back on their seats and expect the Pens to do something in order to get them in the game. That's not how it works; it's gotta be a two-way street, sometimes the team needs to energize the crowd, but most of the time, it has to be the other way around. And it's only going to get worse when they move into that fancy new place across the street (a lot more clients, a lot less fans).

GNJB - Ben's penalty comes down on Wednesday. OFTOT has a good look at the issue here. My thoughts; he's completely innocent of any crime, and therefore really doesn't deserve any punishment per how the NFL traditionally works... But he is definitely a huge scumbag, so I can't really defend him. Two games would work for me; and it's not like we're forfeiting two games, we'll still have a team out there, with a competent QB whether that be Dennis Dixon or Chas Batch.

GNJB - WHYGAVS sums it up best; I don't know what to think about this Pirate team. Due to their run differential, you have to say they are very lucky to be 7-5, and a lot of the question marks are still question marks. But I don't want to come down too hard on this team this early. I'll let everybody enjoy it for now, but this upcoming series between the Bucs and Brewers is going to be huge.

I'll have more later, probably following the games. Got stuff to do.

What?

Before I say anything I have to ask just one question: Why oh why, did Ben not get his haircut just two days earlier?

I had to send this along. It's a story from Channel 11 regarding the demise of Big Ben Jerky and the relief of a police dog Ben helped pay for.

The most disturbing part is towards the end:

The dog's handler will be given the option of buying him for $1 and keeping him as a pet. If the officer passes, others will get a chance to buy the dog for $1. Township officials say the dog will not be destroyed.

I think the word the author was looking for was "euthanized" or even "put to sleep." Destroyed?

The PensBlog has their playoff preview up, check it out.

I really liked how Tangradi handled himself in the season finale. Here's the recap of that game from PensBurgh.

The Bucco's were forced into starting Brain Burres last night, and so I didn't really even need to watch the game, you just knew they were gonna lose. And they did. Tonight should be better with Paul Maholm on the mound, although the Bucs lineup is going against a pretty good pitcher in Matt Cain (10/FSN).

WHYGAVS has a look back on the first week. The only thing I can definitely agree with is that this is not a 110-loss team... so, deal with that.

BuccoFans has a recap of how the draft prospects did this past week. I got to watch a little bit of Drew Pomeranz's start against Georgia on Friday night (Update: I have no life). He looked really good against some pretty solid competition, my only concern would be his fastball; it doesn't have great velocity (sits in the low-90s and peaks at about 93) and it doesn't generate ground balls. But he's got a smooth delivery, he's a big boy (6'5), and he's got a nice change up and breaking pitch to accommodate his fastball. I tried to think of a good comparison, and the best I could do is Ted Lilly, as he throws across his body a little bit, lands on a stiff front leg, and has a pretty fluid motion.

I would love for some position player to make a move in the next two months and establish themselves as a solid option at #2, but until that happens, we'll have to settle for a much more risky pitcher, and right now for me it would be between Pomeranz and HS RHP Jameson Tailon. Pomeranz doesn't have ace stuff, while Tailon does but is a much riskier pick. Here's a good recap of the Georgia/Miss game from Andy Seiler, who runs a pretty solid draft blog.

The Cost of Class

A lot of people were questioning the Steelers in the past few months because of Ben's assault case and all of Santonio's issues. The Steelers were better than that; they had too much class. Had the "Steelers way" really fallen to the wayside that quickly? A lot of people point back to the James Harrison situation; when the Steelers made a lame excuse as to why they didn't draw the same hard line with Harrison as they had with others. Some other people, including me, questioned the legitimacy of the notion at all; Steelers Way: myth or reality?

Well, now at least we know there's still some sense of dignity left in the Steelers organization. The 'Lers sent Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth round pick.

My initial thought was, "What the F?" A fifth round pick is all we can get for a former number 1 who is also a Super Bowl MVP? But the more I thought about, the more it made sense. Holmes will be gone after this season, he's already going to be suspended for four games this upcoming season, and the guy is a pretty big question mark (he's a very talented wide receiver, but he's obviously not that smart, and has yet to really put it together). Maybe I'm just trying to talk myself into the move, but it's not like the offense is going to go straight down the tube without Tone. They signed Randle-El who is a capable 3rd WR and they have Mike Wallace who seems more than capable to step into the same role that Holmes played.

I don't know, I probably need more time to think about this move, and it will help when I hear what other people (whose opinions I value) have to say. But the only logical reason for this type of move has to be for the face of the franchise, because it definitely needed a little rhytidectomy.

Non-Rape Steelers News

So while we wait for the whole Velvet Elvis incident to unravel (the alleged assault didn't even take place at the Velvet Elvis, but I like the name of the club, so that's what I'm calling it), the Steelers have made some big moves in the past few days.

First, they signed Will Allen and Arnez Battle each to three year contracts, and then later in the day, signed Ryan Clark and Antwaan Randle-El. I like the signings of Battle and Allen, who have a good reputation as solid special teams players; if there was one thing more disappointing than the secondary last year, it was the special teams.

Allen will also be the primary backup safety, which pushes Ryan Mundy down the line (as he should be) and also probably spells the end to the Tyrone Carter era. I loved Ty Carter not only because of his kid's names (Tyrone Jr., Tyron, Tristan, twins Tyshantay and Ty, and his one daughter Tyra; God help her first boyfriend) but also the story of his brother Tank. He played hard and reckless, but he'll be 34 next season and already looked 38 this past season. Tyanks for the memories, buddy.

I also like the signing of Randle El, who has actually been a fairly serviceable WR with the Redskins since he left the Steelers, but like the idiots they are, the 'skins signed him to be a top two wide receiver, which he clearly is not. I still can't find out how much money the Steelers will be giving the El, but I doubt it's all that much. This of course probably means the end of the Limas Sweed era in Pittsburgh; until it happens, I'm not going to write his obit, but most of you who know me also know that I have a soft spot for Limey (and I think there are some personal issues we don't know about as well).

The only signing I don't like is Ryan Clark to four years at $14 million. That's a lot of money to give a guy who is already 30, plays a style that certainly has aged him more than others, looked pretty bad last year, and is fairly dependent on Polamalu being on the field as well. Despite his absurd letter to the fans this past season, Clark has been a model citizen since he came to the Steelers and is a pretty sharp guy (something that we must take into account since Milledgeville). I hope he proves me wrong, and it's not just this contract that bugs me, it's the contracts the Steelers have continued to hand out to aging veterans that concerns me (I'm looking at you, James Harrison).

The Steelers also signed former Bills' offensive tackle Jonathan Scott, which seems like pretty good insurance on the ends, and also leads me to think the Steelers will go with a more interior lineman in the draft (I guess that only means offensive guard).

Another thing to think about is that all of these signings have some connection to the organization and current/new coaches; Battle worked with new special teams coordinator Al Everest in San Fran, Allen worked with Tomlin in Tampa Bay, and Scott worked with new O-line coordinator Sean Kugler in Buffalo. Presumably, that can only be a good thing.

More importantly, you can dust off that old '05 Randle El jersey.

New Name of the Blog

Velvet Elvis...

So I promise that this week will be chalk full of posts, but I'm gonna start with what everybody has been talking about recently. Oh, Benjamin...

I'm lazy, so I'm gonna go ahead and say exactly what everybody else has said, Ben is only guilty of poor judgment. That seems to be the prevailing thought from everybody out there, except for the guys who are already jumping off bridges and calling him Ben Rapelisberger. Although I did appreciate Mark Madden's defense of Ben as having too good of character to do anything like this (nice way to turn the issue into the Steelers' problem as well, Super Genius).

I still don't know any of the details, but if he was really in the women's bathroom trying to make a move, then yes, he was definitely using poor judgment. But until I know the full details, I'm gonna withhold my final opinion. But that doesn't mean I still don't have some things to ask and say.

Why does Ben have a house in Georgia? I just couldn't come up with a reasonable answer for this question. Unless there is something we really don't know about that area, like it's a Roethlisberger family vacation spot or he saw it as an investment... I just don't understand why that's his off-season home (I mean, I get why he's not in Pittsburgh, but why not Florida, where you know it's almost always warm, or even closer to Athens, GA where you can get all the college atmosphere you want?)

I brought this up before when I heard BB was partying at the Foggy Goggle/Matterhorn in January a few days before I was up there (apparently, it's a popular place for Steelers personnel as my sister told me she saw Tomlin up there this past weekend as well), but why does Ben party in lame places? This goes all the way back to when I actually met Ben at a bar in Charleston. The bar was called O'Malley's and is a well known college bar (that's codeword for underage bar). Dude's got a million dollars, hang out someplace cool.

Which get's me back to one of my original thoughts, Ben has what I like to call, "Micheal Phelps' Disease." He's extremely popular but has no idea how to handle it, and in turn, is just not cool. As I've said, I've met the guy once just to thank him for everything he's done as a Steeler, but it was in a loud/crowded college bar; hardly a 60 minutes sit-down. He seemed welcoming and nice... yatta, yatta, yatta. But I think we can all agree that he certainly isn't cool. Look at that f'n shirt he was wearing! He's 28 and bar hopping in a college town. Just not very cool.

But that's not a crime. Although it does connect to my final thought, which is his mind frame that possibly led to the incident. Ben is a young, rich celebrity, and I would say a majority of women find him attractive because of those reasons, but there's still a minority who don't. But Ben just doesn't understand that; not every woman wants to sleep with him... I won't get into whether or not Ben is good looking, and when alcohol's involved you can throw everything out the window, but a large majority of the girls I know are a little bit repulsed by him (the whole rape/sexual assault thing probably did not help). Ben, you are not Brad Pitt and you most certainly are not the reincarnation of Casanova. The sooner he get's that through his head, the better off he will be. Unfortunately, it looks like it may be too late.

I'm sure there's more to talk about, like his hiring of Ed Garland, the ridiculous press conference today from Woodrow Blue (not a good showing from the people of the rural south), and the more news that will come flowing in. But in the meantime, good hunting.

Also, I should have some Pirates, Toffee, US Soccer, non-assault Steelers news, and of course the Pens going on their annual March roll (and Matt Cooke's hit).

Arians Still In

According to the PG, Bruce Arians is coming back.

Well, I know what most people think, and I can't totally disagree with them.

But it is not the end of the world, things could be much worse. If you want to know why it's a good idea to keep him, just go and read Ron Cook's article that is linked to the earlier post. We won a SB with him and we set statistical records this year with him. But you have to look past statistics to understand why so many people want him out.

I said earlier that my two biggest beefs with BA is the complete lack of screen passes (and not WR screen passes, those plays are only to further Hines catch-record) and the consistent 2nd/3rd and long plays. As far as I can remember, the Steelers ran one RB screen pass, and it worked pretty well (Miami game). They run WR screen all the time, and we know how those always work out (0-8 yards), they're not terrible plays, but they don't effect the way the defense will play. RB screens do, and as do RB draws, and the only one the Steelers run is that terrible drop back, slide step hand off- I've never seen any other team run a draw like that, and it never works.

But worse than that is how the Steelers consistently run into 2nd/3rd and long plays because of continual pass plays on running downs. Solutions would be firing the OL coach (done), teaching Ben to throw passes away (not gonna happen), or... um... running on running downs! You know what my favorite game of the season was? It was the Ravens game in Baltimore, because they took the ball out of the QB's hands and ran the ball consistently on 1st and 2nd down. I'm starting to sound like a Yinzer in the sense that I'm yammering about running the ball. I don't think we need to run the ball 60% of the time, but we need to figure out how to get out of these terrible down situations, and short of getting Ben to throw the ball early or revamping the OL, it's to run the ball.

But there are many other problems people have with BA. Our offense is terrible in the red zone, it's inconsistent at different times of the game, it's vanilla and predictable... The list goes on, not to mention the fact that BA might have leeked the whole firing thing himself! And some people question Tomlin's ability to reign him in. BA's just a frustrating figure.

Although I think I already know what they may be, what are your thoughts?