November 2009
11/24/09Steelers, Roethlisberger Playing a Dangerous GameOfficial word from the Steelers on Tuesday is that Ben Roethlisberger “got his bell rung” and, pending daily testing, will likely play in Sunday night’s crucial game against the Baltimore Ravens. A bell ringing is Pittsburghese for “concussion.” Aside from the typical blue collar, walk-it-off sentiment used to describe Roethlisberger’s injury – no doubt to downplay the severity to the aggressive Ravens – the prognosis is a red flag. I don’t like it one bit. Roethlisberger should not play in this game. Doctors are calling the concussion mild, but it’s his fourth concussion since 2006, and second in less than a year. He needs only to look across the I-76 to see what recurring concussions did to the career... |
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11/18/09How to Debunk a Misguided Yinzer Yapper, or: What's Really Wrong With the SteelersPittsburgh is atwitter with allegations of ineptitude following Sunday’s mildly surprising loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, who, with all apologies to the late Mr. Cope, no longer appear to be bungling anything.Steeler Nation quickly raced to their telephones to drown their sorrows in an all-day talk radio Blame Game party that wasn’t broken up until a whambulance had to be dispatched for a Penn Hills man who nearly died of pessimism.Thankfully, YOU, sensible Pittsburgher, are in luck, because Pulling No Punches came to work this morning wearing its pocket protector. Let’s get nerdy and go inside the numbers to see what precisely is ailing the 6-3 Men of Steel.Yinzer assertion #1: "Kicker Jeff Reed is the problem. Cut him!"The statistics: 81.3% - Reed’s... Posted at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments: 3 |
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11/12/09Remembering a Madden Legend, Pfc. Steven FreundEvery Pittsburgher has their own weekend ritual during football season. On Friday nights in Oakland, Pitt students mix up vats of electric blue mystery punch (spoiler: the mystery is bargain bin vodka) and play real-life Tetris by figuring out ways to fit multiple kegs into hand-me-down hatchbacks for the next morning’s tailgate.On Saturday nights in Wexford and Ambridge and everywhere, Hall of Fame tailgaters marinate steaks and clean the soot out of their hibachi grills. Some even adorn their houses with black-and-gold Christmas lights. Others drape Terrible Towels over their televisions and go to sleep with a smiling Heinz Ward bobblehead on the nightstand.In high school, my friends and I had a rather embarrassing ritual on Saturday nights. We couldn’t wait for real... Posted at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments: 12 |
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11/04/09A Lesson From Mad Man JackSteelers Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Lambert once sat dourly at his locker before a game wearing a Johnny Cash Stetson and a matching black t-shirt that said, succinctly, in cartoonish orange bubble letters: I’m a F-----' Maniac.It wasn’t irony. It was a warning.Toothless. Mustached. Menacing. Before being drafted by the Steelers in 1974, the scouting report on Lambert, a marginal talent from Kent State, said that while he didn't have ideal size for a linebacker, he had a “lust for contact.”It’s not difficult to imagine Steelers patriarch Art Rooney Sr. reading the report, biting down hard on his cigar, eyes bulging from behind his black Wayfarer frames, thinking – we gotta’ get this kid.If an Uzbekistani immigrant... Posted at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments: 37 |
Jack Lambert. Iron City. Sophie Masloff. Civic Arena nachos.
