Saturday, December 22, 2007

Big Ben sings AND dances!

Ben Roethlisberger: NFL Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl winning QB, 2007 Pro Bowl Quarterback
and Air Guitar Specialist.


Click here to watch Ben, Keisel, Cedrick and the boys...



Friday, December 21, 2007

Good Friday

The top three most followed teams in Pittsburgh went three for three last night. Steelers defeated the Rams in St Louis, Pitt beat Duke in OT at Madison Square Garden and the Pens still beat the Boston Bruins in a shootout after blowing a 4-0 lead in regulation. Let's get started...



STEELERS - 41 RAMS- 24



THE GOOD


  • Ben - He played a great game despite, as usual, running for his life. Only the third QB this season to have a perfect passer rating. As I have stated before, I have no idea where we would be without him.



  • Najeh - The Dumptruck filled in quite well for Willie last night and really pounded out some yardage which is something that I don't think is Willie's forte. Obviously his role will change and he can disassociate himself with our very special, special teams.



  • We are now a half of a game ahead of the Browns in the division.



THE BAD



  • Willie's done for the season. Despite my lack of Willie love I acknowledge the tremendous loss of the league's leading rusher from the roster. Our RB depth is pretty sketchy so I will be curious to see who they pick up in the next week. I'm sure Verron will get a look. That guy is in line to become the new Brian St. Pierre of the Steelers. What a shame that Willie will miss out on playing in his first Pro Bowl. Now Freddy T is replacing him...that should appease Jags fans that are riding the "no respect" train.

  • O-line - Keeping Ben healthy is critical right now which means it would be really nice if these guys got off the block faster than senior citizens. Ben is the second most sacked QB in the league...there something Tomlin should throw into his "news" come next Wednesday.

  • Special Teams continuing to be anything but. Can we sign Ron Zook on a game by game basis?

THE UGLY
  • Deion, Marshall and Gumbel in the booth. Do you feel dumber today or is it just me?


  • IF we make the playoffs, our two likely opponents? Jags or the Browns....not happy about this...



Moving on...big ups to Pitt basketball for winning probably one of the biggest non-conference games they have played in a very long time. I have always rode the line between wondering if they have been overrated in the past or just the epitome of underachievers. They came back from a 16-point deficit at half time to force OT. Unfortunately, Mike Cook suffered what appeared to be, a significant knee injury but it certainly lit a fire under Fields rear end who scored the game winning 3-pointer with seconds left to secure the win.


It always feels good to beat a great time but seriously...is there a more hated team in college basketball than Duke? (Shout out to Natalie....might be time to put JJ back on the myspace layout!)


Congrats to Coach Dixon, Blair, Fields, Sam Young and the rest of the Pitt Panthers. Pretty good time to be a Pitt fan, eh?





The Penguins capped off the night with a shoot out victory in Boston. I didn't see any of the game but from what I understand Conklin wasn't too bad. He did after all, stop two penalty shots to secure the win. The Pens are now 17-15 and three points out of first place in Atlantic Division. But more importantly Sid the Kid got in his first fight last night! Woo hoo! It was against Andrew Ference who I read used to be a Penguin. But the way they move around in the NHL it can be easy to forget players. Outside of the marquis guys, the average number of teams played for is probably at least 6.

Anyhoo, if you want to watch video of Sid's first throw down click here: http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/39333 (Thanks to Mondesi's House for leading me to a website that archives hockey fights....how great is that!)



All in all, it was a good night for Pittsburgh and congrats all around. The Steelers finish up the regular season in Baltimore on the 30th so my blood pressure should stay at healthy levels through Christmas.


Here's some other fun links to send you into the weekend!


  • Not sure who it would be worse to be right now...Tony Romo or Jessica Simpson? http://www.ruinromo.com/ (Thanks Bob!)


  • Ike Turner died recently. Apparently enough people care that TMZ.com felt it it necessitated a live stream on their website. I'm sure Tina is all over that.





  • Time to check in on Winehouse....let's see...just leaving jail, riding with a sketchy looking bloke and doing her best to look wacked out. Nothing new to report then....



That's it for now. I wish you all a very happy Friday and a great weekend ahead. Please try and not kill anyone while last minute shopping....okay, I was talking to myself there. Have a good one!

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Big Game Thursday for Pittsburgh

I better see A LOT of this tonight!


We have Steelers at Rams, Pitt playing Duke and the Pens at Boston all happening tonight. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I will only be able to catch Pitt on ESPN and the Steelers on America's favorite channel, the NFL Network, so my remote control should not implode from the channel surfing.

The Steelers have to win tonight...have to. Steven Jackson has returned to his form over the last few weeks (good for my fantasy team, bad for the Steelers) and our run defense has been a bit suspect as of late. And I think we can all agree that he is a better back than Freddy T. Hopefully two consecutive losses and the division hanging in the balance will motivate these guys to lock it up tonight. Plus it would really suck for my sister-in-law to have to return to work with Bulger's pops next week. So what if Marc's from the 'burgh...he went to WVU for God's sake!



By the way, enjoying every moment of the train wreck that is the West Virginia football program right now. From the death threats to the kicker, to the bolting of Rodriguez (what a punk!), to the mayor of Rich's hometown taking down "Home of Rich Rodriguez" signs. You stay classy West Virginia!

The Pens have Conklin making his first start in goal tonight after the injury bug has run rampant. Hopefully the Pens can get one in the win column after getting shutout by the Rangers on Tuesday. Plus, it's always nice to beat a Boston team.

Speaking of beating a Boston team, kudos the DEEEEEtroit Pistons for coming up with a win against the almighty Celts last night. I watched quite a bit of that game and Boston gave their last possesion of the game to Paul Pierce who really was not on his game all night long. The Pistons hung with them all game but really didn't take control until the 4th quarter. A lot of big names in the game but I'm not sure there is a more underrated defender or outside shooter in the league than Tayshaun Prince.

In other news, here is the obligatory Tim Tebow shout out: Tim was named AP Player of the Year yesterday. Seriously, he could probably run for governer in Florida and win right now.











Some Thursday newslinks for you:


  • My husband Ben stopped by the WDVE Xmas party to sing about balls. Of course the Mayor (A.K.A. The biggest jock sniffer in the 'burgh) managed to get a picture with Benny.


Click here to watch the video: http://www.dve.com/pages/xmas07.html?feed=237117&article=3048625


Noooooooo FIDO!

I'm off for the day. I have to swing by church to light a quick candle for my boys tonight. Have a good one!

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Hump Day Highlights...or should I say lowlights?

STEELERS-22
JAGOFFS- 29

Well, here I am, back from the 'burgh. Obviously a disappointing game on many levels. Mostly because I live in Jacksonville and all the Jags "fans" love to crawl out of the woodwork about now. Honestly, I wish I could give a great game summary but here's what I remember....it was freakin cold. I mean COLD! As soon as Chris Kirkpatrick (I heart *N'Sync!) belted out the first line of the National Anthem the skies opened up and the snow and wind was swirling around like crazy. Seriously though...huge drops by just about everyone, bad run defense and Ben running for his life. You know, what feels to be a typical game the last few weeks.

Now we need to beat St. Louis in yet another trap game for us. And do it on a short week of preparation. I hate these Thursday Night games but that's for another post. Everyone hates the term "must win" but no doubt this game qaulifies as such for the Steelers. The last thing we need is to have to walk into Baltimore in order to clinch the division.

Another thought on the game....what's up with the Steelers' fans on Sunday? I know that the games have been sold out since 1970 and all that but what happened to actually going to the games? I mean...in YOUR SEAT! That means that just because you got shitfaced and ate a pound of pierogies at your tailgate doesn't mean you were actually at the game, you know supporting your team and helping with that thing called home field advantage. I have lived in Florida for 10 years and I sat my ass there for the entire game. Stop taking it for granted 'burghers! Besides, it makes it kind of hard for me to make fun of other team's fans. Insert a cringing emoticon here.

On a much happier note I was so glad to see Ben make the Pro Bowl. He certainly doesn't have the flashy stats as Wonder Boy or Peyton year in and year out but let's get real here...without him I'm not sure what our record is right now. Also congrats in order for Willie, Silverback, Faneca and Troy. I read that Ben plans to take his o-line with him to Hawaii...he never stops trying to motivate them to you know....DO THEIR JOB!




Other than the game, I had a blast as I always do when I go home. Only one thing I missed....didn't get my roast beef and cheese from Primanti's. Fortunately I leave for home again next week so I won't have to wait long!

More stuff:

Here's some super fun news! Jamie Lynn Spears is preggers! Yes, Brit's little sister apparently also wants to be a young mom just like her big sis did. Hey ya'll...they're country!


Amy Winehouse Update: Arrested and released on bail for obstructing justice. She has already canceled her European Tour, snorted enough coke to kill a horse and has had her mother publicly plead through a long ass letter to encourage her to get her act together. 2007 has not been her year. Looky here...I found a picture of her without her trademark beehive. If she kepts her mouth closed she might actually not look that bad.

Dadgummit! Those boys in Tallahassee just can't get their learn on! Look on the bright side, Bobby, they only caught half your team! http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3159534

I'm still getting back into the swing of things so I apologize for the short post today. I will strive to get my priorities straight this week....no beer, just blogging! I appreciate coming home to my inbox full of e-mails asking where I've been! Thanks to all my peeps for continuing to read!

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Mitchell Report

It's Come to Jesus day for Major League Baseball and Bud Selig. Senator George Mitchell released his 409-page report implicating dozens of players including Barry, Giambi, Clemens, Tejada, Pettite (way to sneak in that one-year deal!) and Troy Glaus. Some former players such as David Justice, Lenny Dykstra and my personal favorite, John Rocker were also named. Now that he is engaged to a black woman I suppose we can chalk up the racism to steroids, eh? I wish I had more to comment on but watching Mitchell's press conference was painful. He may need to think about Public Speaking 101. Selig is responding as I type....if you have the desire the entire report can be found here.

I am more annoyed about who's not on the list. Why in the hell is Ivan "I used to be Pudge until I gave up the 'roids" Rodriguez never brought up....I mean ever? That guy dropped about 40 pounds between '04 and '06. I guess he paid in cash.


Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Bad Newz for Vick...


  • As I am sure you already know from ESPN's round-the-clock coverage Michael Vick has been sentenced to 23 months in a Virginia prison for his participation in a dog fighting operations. Is he the worse criminal we have ever seen come through the NFL? No, but since I am a person who prefers dogs to people I am one of the last people he can expect sympathy from. But there is something so pathetic about the whole situation: his rise and fall, going broke and tarnished reputation. This guy had the #1 selling jersey in the league at one time. Money gets you a lot in this world but certainly it can't be substituted for good sense.

    Another comment regarding Vick....on the various displays of "support" his teammates displayed during their Monday Night Football loss last night. I can understand that they can still be his friend while not condoning his actions. However, the "FREE MIKE VICK" T-shirt receiver Roddy White was sporting underneath his jersey was a bit much to stomach. Look, I don't know what Joe Regular would have gotten as punishment but I know that choosing to be a public figure has it's pitfalls. Welcome back to reality Mike.


  • Here's a artcle by ESPN's John Clayton on what this means for Vick's future with the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=3148767

  • One last thing...Vick's stats on CBSSportsline.com are presented by Jameson Whiskey. Seriously.


  • Speaking of dumb, rich people...it must be nice to have the kind of money where you can drop hundreds of dollars on boots like this because, does it really matter if you ever wear them?


  • The Hills had it's third season finale last night. Miss LC was hosting a viewing party at Area Nightclub in Hollywood. There was supposed to be some big announcement which I didn't catch on the After Show but of course I did learn earlier yesterday about the demise of Speidi but wait, now I hear they are still together and were having dinner together at Koi. Supposedly Speidi are shopping their own show. Word on the street: Teen Vogue no longer wants to be associated with the show. I guess the mag is finally doing well. What are they going to do about Whitney and LC's fake jobs?

  • And seriously...these games between Lauren and Brody are getting tired. Make a move somebody! I have to tell you...that Brody has really grown on me this season. And you know it will be great drama next season when Brody cheats on her with "Britany Canada Whore" or someone else off his contact list after about 3 weeks of "being exclusive".

  • Good news....ESPN's Gene Wojciehowski suggests Bradyisms to honor Tommy Butt Chin...sorry Gene, Stetson smells good on no one. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3149274&sportCat=nfl&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2


  • I'm calling shenanigans on Campbell's Chunky Soup. Somehow ,for their Click for Cans promotion, the Packers have over 2 million votes. Last year Green Bay won with 958,023 votes with Indy and Pittsburgh not far behind. I think some people in Wisconsin have been messing with their cookies. Stop cheating....you're stealing from homeless shelters. Only a few days left to vote....oh and thanks to the lady in my office who sends out an e-mail asking "Are you feeling Chunky?" to encourage all 5 of the Jags fans in this place. It would probably be rude to thank her for reminding me to vote for my own team, huh? http://www.chunky.com/ClickForCansVote.aspx


  • Is Katie, excuse me Tom, KATE Holmes the oldest looking 28-year-old in the world or what? The Scientolotot is a cute though.



Monday, December 10, 2007

...Mondays suck...particularly this one.


GOOD - 13 EVIL - 34
Well, that game went downhill in a hurry. I was very pleased at half time with the score and didn't have much to complain about. Ben was looking good, the Dumptruck had a TD and Slippery Arms Willie was hanging on to the ball. Then of course the Patriots showed that they had just been toying with us. I really have no desire to dissect the Steelers' performance but I will say this: The turnover on special teams and the stop on Hines on 4th and goal (a play call that I HATED!) felt like the plays that really shifted the game to become a blowout. What can I say, they're the best team in the league and they were favored by double digits.

On paper it appears the Patriots are in great shape to go 16-0 this season in case you didn't know. Woop de doo! I could care less and not just because it's the Pats and I hate them, but really it could be the Bears, Packers, Cowboys or Giants for all I care. Outside of the the fans of New England, ESPN and Don Shula does it really matter to anyone? I'm not diminishing the accomplishment that it would be but seriously...I wish they would get it over with already. Supposedly ESPN's bottom line on Friday read NFL...NBA...PATRIOTS.

On a side note, I have been reading a lot of complaints about late hits and trash talk from the Pats' fan persective. To be honest, watching the game with about 40 other people around, combined with not catching every word out of the announcer's mouths, makes it hard to really focus on everything that is happening in between plays. I'm sure there was plenty of trash talk going on from both sides. Didn't witty Rodney Harrison just get fined for his own trash talking skills?

Lastly, maybe we have the opportunity to meet them again in the playoffs and win when it really matters. Then the people of New England can go back to being who they really are....Red Sox fans.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

...Super Sophomore!

Congratulations to Tim Tebow on his historic Heisman Trophy win last night. Well deserved. If you didn't catch it last night, he loves being a Gator!






Floyd Mayweather continues his undefeated record after his 10th round knock out of Ricky Hatton. To be honest I was very surpirsed when I heard this after watching two pretty non-impressive showings from Floyd in his last two fights. Not to mention he was very busy training for Dancing with the Stars during his fight training. Best fight highlight: Mayweather's entrance with his DWTS compadres...Mark Cuban, Helio Castroneves and Wayne Newton. Hilarious....but what's Las Vegas without some Wayne in the house!


Just when I thought we couldn't see anything worse out of Amy Winehouse. 'Nuff said. It's time to say yes, yes, yes to rehab lady before you lose it all.



Who looks in the mirror looking like this and says, "Damn...I look suhweeet today!" And those little bazillionaire Olsen twins have the audacity to complain about being recognized? Honey, it's hard to miss a train wreck!





Almost game time. No one is picking the Steelers although, the last I heard the spread was down to 10.5 points. Dick LeBeau is going to have his hands full this afternoon as the league's #1 defense squares off against the #1 offense.




The Steelers have had some slow starts this season and we absolutely have no chance if the Pats get up early. Hopefully, the special teams will get their ass in gear today after some horrific performances this season. Or else we will be the folks eating humble pie.

I'm out...a happy Sunday Funday to all!

Friday, December 7, 2007

...good sports weekend upon us!

  • Big fight this weekend...Hatton vs. Mayweather. So who do you go for? The asshole Brit or the asshole American?
BFF's!!!!!!!!!


  • Heisman presentation tomorrow night at 8:00 from NYC. Do the right thing voters. Don't make Jesus mad.



And I'm off the blog for the day! A happy Friday to all and have a drink for me since I"ll be stuck at work this evening.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Seriously...

  • ....the just Shut Up! award goes to Anthony Smith. Unless you are Joe Namath shut the hell up!http://www6.comcast.net/sports/articles/nfl/2007/12/05/Patriots-Steelers.Guarantee/
  • When asked about Smith's guarantee, Patriots player Rodney Harrison responded by asking "who?" Who's Rodney Harrison...oh yeah...that guy who missed 4 games this year for taking HGH.
  • Allegheny County figured out a quick way to make a lot of money....upcharge the drinkers! That includes about 75% of the local population. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07339/839200-85.stm
  • Guess who's a top Grammy nominee...nasty Amy Winehouse. What a great story...become a drug addict, marry a drug addict, refuse to go to rehab, sing some songs about being stoned, make the Billboard Hot 100 AND get nominated for Album of the Year. I love America!
  • Seriously...is anyone more pretentious at 70 years old than Babwa Walters?
  • How many people work in the petri dishes known as cubicles? When are employers going to figure out that cubes are bad for productivity? Yeah okay... I just want an office....it's a status thing!http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/worklife/12/05/coworkers.sick/index.html
  • Timmy T is already starting to collect some awards...seems some don't care that he's only a sophomore. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3144727
  • This just in....the blackout on the Jaguars vs. Panthers game had been lifted. The team sold just enough tickets to have the game shown locally. What's more annoying, fans of a team like the Patriots...just because they're the Patriots? OR fans like the Jaguars fans who won't even buy tickets???

Happy Friday all!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

...Peter King says

I have a love/hate relationship with SI's Peter King. Definitely knows the game of football but usually undermines his intelligence by making statements like this:


"I think the only quarterbacks, long-term, I'd take over Romo right now are
Brady and Peyton Manning. Romo doesn't have the deep arm of Carson
Palmer or Roethlisberger, but he has the improvisational ability equal to,
or better than, anyone beyond the top two."
He then goes on to name Roethlisberger one of his Offensive Players of the Weeks and calls his performance against Miami "heroic" and his performance against Cincinnati in another rain storm "virtuoso". See what I'm saying with the love/hate thing?
First of all, Ben doesn't improvise as well as the "elite" QB's in the NFL??? I don't want to say that Ben doesn't get any respect because he certainly is morea and more as this season has progressed. After getting off to a much better start this season he is beginning to wash away memories of his horrific season in '06. But Peter, throw away Romo's flashy stats for a moment. You mean to tell me that you would take Tony Romo as a long term option over Roethlisberger at this point? Ben, who was thrown in to a game in Baltimore, goes 15-1, wins Rookie of the Year and the very next year gets his team to, and wins, Super Bowl XL! Ummm, fill me in on Romo's outstanding resume to this point of his career? He hasn't even started a full season yet AND was responsible for the Cowboy's early exit from last season's playoffs with that memorable botched snap Now I know they're are intangibles to consider but let's watch Tony play a couple more years before we throw his name up on the Ring of Honor at Texas Stadium.


Hump Day News:

  • So Jacksonville finally made national news for something other than Jaguars blackouts and poor ticket sales. I saw this on CNN...hey, I didn't say it was good news! http://www.news4jax.com/news/14747996/detail.html


  • Brit-Brit takes home $47k a month and homegirl can't get a decent weave to celebrate her 26th b-day last weekend? At least she got her nails done for a change.


  • Inspiring Story of the Day: I went to middle school with this guy. The last time I saw him was in Mr. Monsch's music room practicing a dramatic interpretation for the Forensics team. Now he is on NBC every Monday night and will play Dr. Spock in the upcoming Star Trek remake. Nice to see if you work hard enough you can make it....(tear, sniffle). Damn I should have been nicer to him...lol!
  • The spread on Patriots vs. Steelers on Sunday stands at 14. Guess who's favored?
  • Heisman Presentation this Saturday night. So, who's going to come in 2nd? Tebow for President!
  • Bad feet spotting: Lindsay Lohan. Her big toe is the same size as her head!
  • For real...is there anyone more gross these days than Amy Winehouse? And I think she dressed up here. http://www.tmz.com/2007/12/05/wino-busts-out/

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

....Tuesday Tidbits



  • Jennifer Love Hewitt doesn't appreciate photogs taking her pictures from "bad angles" and also wants to let the world know that "a size 2 is not fat". Errr...ummm okay.

http://www.tmz.com/


Monday, December 3, 2007

...whew! I have lots to cover!

I have been out of commission the last few weeks and I don't even have a very good excuse why. Anyhoo, lots to talk about so let's get to it!


The writer's strike = a big poop sammich! The new television season seems to start later and later every year and it annoys me to no end when I have some time off, turn on the DVR only to see a repeat. For those of you who don't know, basically the writer's guild wants to re-structure their deal. With everything going techno these days the writer's want to ensure that with all shows being available for purchase and download and DVD sales remaining pretty high they want to get a bigger piece of the pie. Really who can blame them. All I know is LOST finally got good again last season and if I have to wait another year to see what happens to crazy John Locke and the apparently drug addicted Dr. Jack I'm going to be peesed off.

Now let's get to the really important stuff...SPORTS! Lots of good, well maybe not good, but at least interesting things happening. You know, like the already embattled BCS system taking a huge hit with the craziness that this college football season has produced. Now we have LSU leap frogging over 3 other teams to take a spot in the championship game in January. Yes, I am one of those people who preaches to anyone who will listen the need for a play off system. I also am one of those people that believes greedy corporate American will probably keep it from happening.

I'm sure everyone has their own personal favorite upset from this season but nothing was sweeter for me than watching Pitt beat WVU in the Backyard Brawl. This is the college rivalry I grew up even though it really doesn't compare to most rivalries here in the South. That is what happens when rivalries go completely one-sided for quite awhile. The refs did their damndest to keep the folks in charge of the BCS from combusting by calling two horrific penalties on Oderick Turner which could have been game killers for Pitt. To tell you the truth I was thinking they would be but Pat White wasn't any better in the 4th quarter than he was in the 1st sans injury. Kudos the the 'stache and LeSean McCoy and the rest of the Panthers for putting up a big win against huge odds (29-point underdogs) on national television. Just a few months shy of signing day...



Now on to the NFL or at least to the NFL team that counts....and nooooooo, I'm not referring to Satan and his pack of devils otherwise known as the Patriots. I meant the Steelers. Okay, stop laughing. I'll be the first to admit, at times I think our record makes us appear to be a better team than maybe we are, at least on paper. Decent showing last night but what is with the fumbling Willie? Truth be told I am not the biggest Willie fan. Or maybe I should say I am still not completely sold on him just yet. Yeah I know, he the second leading rusher in the league and he's "Fast Willie" and all that. He sure seems like a nice enough guy too but he's not exactly the best at finding the hole or the end zone. He is never going to pound out tough yardage and if I continue to find myself holding my breath whenever the ball is pitched his way I can only imagine what the more, shall we say "less sensitive" Steelers fans are going to start saying. No one turns faster on their own like Steelers fans.

Overall, it was a big win and an important one. Especially since we walk into the Hell Hole known as Foxborough next weekend. Remember 21 and done two years ago? Well, 12 and done might not be as catchy but it sure would be nice.