Steelers Win The Super Bowl

Wow. That's really the best that I can muster right now after that once in a lifetime game last night. It's hard to say exactly where that game last night ranks in the history of Super Bowls, but it's safe to say it has to go down as one of the top few ever. The first 55 minutes or so were good, but it was the incredible last 3 minutes that made it great. You just knew that Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston weren't going to go down without a fight, and that's what those last few minutes were.

After that highly questionable holding call (in a night filled with highly questionable penalties) in the end zone that caused a safety and cut the lead to 20-16, I think everyone in Pittsburgh stopped breathing for a few minutes. I mean, after the Cardinals O finally looked like they were getting their swagger back (either that or they were stealing Ike Taylor's much alluded to swagger) on the previous drive, the last thing in the world we needed to see was that Cardinal O get the back again with a shot to take a lead. And of course they didn't disappoint, doing their part to set the stage with a bullet pass to Larry Fitz that the former Pitt legend housed with speed that I don't think anyone knew he had.

For a brief instant Steeler fans everywhere were hanging their heads. Not in defeat, of course, just in frustration and worry. But hope was not far off. Almost immediately after the score the camera shot to our two-time Super Bowl winning QB and he gave a look like, "Alright these idiots scored too soon, we're going out there and there is no god damned way they are going to stop us." That look gave me and everyone else who witnessed it a renewed sense of hope and confidence.

The work by Ben on that final drive was the stuff of legend. The pass to Santonio was one that only the most elite players can make. And I really believe that no other QB in football could have run that two minute drill as well given this personnel. No one could have bought time like that with his struggling offensive line. No one could have had the balls to check down to their third and fourth options with defenders closing in on him. Simply an amazing job in an amazing game by an amazing player.

Some random thoughts:
-Breakout game for Santonio. I know he's had games like this before, of course, but after stepping up like he did last night with Hines Ward struggling to get anything going because of his injury, I think the torch has at least partially been passed from Ward to Holmes.

-As great as Santonio was, that MVP trophy belonged to Ben Roethlisberger. Santonio had one of the 3 or 4 greatest games for a receiver in Super Bowl history, but like I said, no other player in football could have performed like Large Benjamin last night. His amazing improvisation, his ability to easily fend off blitzers, his big arm and pinpoint accuracy, and his ability to lead the best two-minute drill in football. The guy is the most unique QB I've ever seen and might be the most unique player I've ever seen.

-As far as the reason for the MVP goes, I think the award going to Santonio is another example of Ben being underappreciated. If that had been Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Brett Favre (Peter King just genuflected at the mention of His name) we'd be subject to 4.3 million bland columns by geezer columnists the nation over about the legend of these guys. But Ben is such a different animal at QB that no one who doesn't watch the Steelers every week seems to understand Roethlisberger's importance. And even as people still sing the praises of Peyton "over-the-hill" Manning, Tom "the gimp" Brady, and Brett "I've been a terrible QB for 3 years now" Favre, Big Ben won't be able to hear them anyway because he has two Super Bowl rings plugging his ears.

-How about James Harrison? I mean are you kidding me? Santonio's catch figures to go down as the legendary moment of this game, but that only counted for 7 points. Harrison's counted for 14, because there's no way you can tell me that the Cardinals wouldn't have scored a TD from inside the 5 with the greatest red zone weapon in football at their disposal.

-Kurt Warner's a Hall of Famer. There, I said it. He's not gonna be a first ballot guy, but he deserve to go to Canton.

-I absolutely love this city. After the game we sat around and watched trophy presentation and what not and by the time we headed out to the streets of Oakland to celebrate the place was already absolutely insane. The streets were all closed off throughout Oakland, fires were everywhere, and thousands upon thousands of rowdy students were covering the streets. Just an amazing scene and it couldn't have been any more enjoyable. That's also the reason that there is no conceivable way I was going to make it my 9:30 class this morning as putting together this blog post starting at about 10:45 was the first thing I did all morning besides downing an energy drink to try and combat a hangover. College is the best.

-I absolutely love this franchise. Is there any question that the Rooneys are the best and most effective owners in all of sports? I can't see how that can be debated. The biggest test of owners like the Rooneys is there ability to develop a culture in their organization and to hire the right staff. No one's been better. Chuck Noll is one of the 3 best coaches in NFL history. Bill Cowher was the ultimate player's coach and is a definite Hall of Famer whenever he retires again from his next job. Mike Tomlin has cemented himself as the best young coach in the NFL, and is quickly making a case as the best game coach in all of football. He doesn't have the front office pull of a Belichick (yet) and he doesn't have the league-wide respect factor of a Dungy just yet (though he definitely will) but on game day I don't know that there is anyone better at pushing the right buttons and unleashing things at the right time, even if he may be too aggressive or rash at some times. Plus, the Rooneys are great because of that culture they have built. I don't think anyone these days can argue the Steelers are America's team. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys may have started the moniker for themselves, but as an organization they pale in comparison to the Steelers.-I don't think NBC had enough people covering this thing. Peter King, Jerome Bettis, Tiki Barber, Andrea Kramer, Dan Patrick, Keith Olbermann, Cris Collinsworth, Bob Costas, Matt Millen, (how are we supposed to take anything this guy says seriously?), Mike Holmgrem, Tony Dungy and the foxy newcomer Alex Flanagan. And then we had the two man booth of John Madden and Al Michaels. That's 14 people!!! And there's a definite chance that I forgot someone. Really, NBC, we don't need that many people. Give me more Costas, more Collinsworth, MORE Alex Flanagan, and more Peter King. Give me less Keith Olbermann, less Tiki Barber, and absolutely no Matt Millen and things would be a lot better. Although, if NBC takes Bill Simmons up on his suggestion of a Hollywood Squares style set, then I rescind my complaints.

-I've said it before and I'll say it again: Ben Roethlisberger is a better playcaller than Bruce Arians. Hey, I know the players (especially Ben) seem to love Arians and he may very well be a very good coach and teacher but I'd much rather see Big Ben out there calling plays in a no huddle offense than looking at the wrist band and taking sideline signals. I'm not saying the O should turn into an early 90's Jim Kelly Buffalo Bills style offense, but that no-huddle, hurry up is so damn effective I'd love to see it more.

-Hines Ward, despite not getting much attention in the passing game, was his usual gritty self. It was apparent to anyone who has watched over the years that he was badly hurt. He is normally so effective because of the superb cuts he can make in his routes but I don't think I saw him make one of those trademark cuts yesterday. Still, he was blocking downfield on several plays, was constantly talking and being chippy and getting under Zona's skin, and did have a big play on the first drive of the game that helped get us 3 points.

That's all I can muster for now folks. I think I'm headed back to bed. Until next time, let's all revel in our franchise's record 6th Super Bowl Championship.

Diary of a Crazy Sunday

What do you get when you combine 5 hours of sleep, a nasty hangover, the number 1 basketball team in the NCAA, Steelers-Chargers, and the return of Jack Bauer? A Three River Sports running diary of course! What follows spans a hectic 13 1/2 hours for yours truly.

8:30 (beep, beep, Beep, Beep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...)"ugh, stupid alarm" (pressing sleep button)
8:37 (beep, beep, Beep, Beep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...) "NO! There is no way it's time to get up yet (pressing sleep button)
8:44 (beep, beep, Beep, Beep, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP...) "crap" I finally stumble out of bed cursing those extra drinks I insisted on last night at Peter's Pub.
8:46 Trying to shower myself awake
9:30 Only about 25% awake, I embark through the frigid Oakland weather up the large hill in front of the Petersen Events Center that feels roughly like Mount Everest right now. Why did I leave at 9:30 AM for a noon game you ask? Because these are the sacrifices necessary when you are a student fan on the number 1 basketball team in the land. If you don't get to the Pete a minimum 2 1/2 hours early for Big East games, you're seat in the Oakland Zoo just isn't good enough. Plus, it's sort of like a badge of honor. "Oh yeah, well I got up here at 9:30 and I was still a little bit drunk!" Damn I'm going to miss college.
10:20 They finally let us into the Zoo a little before the designated 10:30 time, and everyone rushes inside, only 100 minutes now until the game gets under way! It's always a little weird to look around the Zoo and see it about 80-90% full and see no more than a couple dozen people in the rest of the arena this early.
10:50 Me and my buddies spend the first half hour of the pre-game time discussing the Steelers-Chargers game at every single position. Yeah, we're kind of fans. We're getting a little tired of that discussion, and, distracted by the warming-up Panthers we decide to discuss how far we think each player on the Pitt roster will go with basketball
11:30 Our Consensus: Sam Young hangs around the NBA for about 6 or 7 years as a borderline rotation guy on bad teams or a 10th/ 11th man on good teams. DeJuan Blair has a 10+ year career and spends the majority of that time starting. We also decide he gets badly overpaid at least once in his career. He ends up being about a 15-and-8 guy for his career. Levance Fields goes the Jaron Brown/Julius Page/ Antonio Graves/ Carl Krauser route and plays in the CBA or something weird like that for a couple yers and eventually ends up coaching somewhere before long. Tyrell Biggs does similarly for a year or two and then leaves the sport behind. Jermaine Dixon is a D-Leaguer or something, partially because of name recognition, and kicks around Europe for a while. Gil Brown matures into a stud at Pitt and plays in the NBA, Brad Wanamaker becomes a better Antonio Graves and is a CBA/ D-League type player, as well. Nas Robinson turns into a good player and gets a brief shot at the NBA that doesn't last long. Ashton Gibbs is a CBAer, as is Tra Woodall.
11:47 HERE COME THE PANTHERS!
12:00 Tip-off gets under way with DeJuan losing the tip to a guy wearing a freaking Rip Hamilton schnozzo mask.
12:20 St. John's is a frisky bunch. DJ Kennedy is playing well. Pitt really isn't. Just a sloppy start to this one.
12:56 Halftime. Pitt pulled ahead 41-36 late in the first half. D.J. Kennedy is a hell of a player. I think he was fouled somewhere between 4 and 3,000 times in the first half. Like a poor man's poor man's poor man's Dwyane Wade. Why didn't Pitt go hard after this kid? DeJuan got in foul trouble with 4 minutes to go in the first half. No good Blair, we need you to be nice and available in the second half. Gil Brown, Sam Young not looking good at all. Jermaine Dixon had a decent half as did Levance. Should be an interesting second. Let's hope they remember they need to play defense.
1:19 Just got word from my buddy watching at home that I made an appearance on the tube. Bad-ass-ness. I freakin' love being in the Zoo.
1:30 Things looking much more comfortable, Pitt up double digits. DeJuan has taken control underneath, and I can't be positive, but there is at least a 10% chance that Juan Dixon stole his little bro's body for this game because Jermaine is lighting the stuff up out there.1:35 Forgot to mention, there are all sorts of recruits for the football squad hanging out here today. A few have come over, including QB Kolby Gray, who is not exactly an imposing figure, but at least he can't be any worse than Billy Stull right? I've got to say, Cam Saddler, if he doesn't recover from the torn ACL, has a serious future as a recruiter. He was encouraging the youngsters to come over to the Oakland Zoo and hang out with us and cheer and sign their name on the little white boards the Zoo guys bring along. Even the guys who haven't committed yet are over here basically saying their gonna be Panthers. This comes a year after Saddler helped us land his buddy Shayne Hale in an absolute coup. He just seems like a real cool guy. I wish I was good at football so he could recruit me.
2:05 Panthers win! 90-67 over the Johnnies, pulling away at the very end. Even Tiesi and Sean Brown make an appearance at the end of the game. Jermaine Dixon had a great game, as did Blair and Fieldsy. Sam I Am was okay, but it was obvious that the Storm game planned to keep him in check, so you've got to give him credit for that.
2:18 I finally get the heck out of the Pete. I mean I love that place and all, but it is freaking impossible to get out of there when a packed house attends a game and hardly anyone leaves early. I'm absolutely starving now, having overcoming my earlier nausea and nasty hangover. Time for a Wendy's run.
2:25 Turns out we weren't the only ones feeling some Wendy's. A minimum 15 consecutive people in front of us on the street turn in to Wendy's. I consider other alternatives, but I've already begun salivating over a Spicy Chicken sandwich and a chocolate frosty.
2:35 Mmmmm....Spicy Chicken...2:55 I'm finally back to my apartment with less than two hours until game time. I'm real tired all of a sudden. Thinking about a nap...
3:15 Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
4:15 Woken up yet again by that damn alarm. Better get another shower before the game starts.
4:30 Heading over to my buddy's house for the game. Luckily he only lives about 2 minutes away.
4:45 HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO! clap clap4:50 Crap! Phil Rivers drills Vinny Jackson for a touchdown. Jackson celebrates by pretending to walk a straight line, then falling off like he's drunk. Just kidding. But how funny would that have been? I'd be laughing even if the Bolts go on to win this thing 70-0. Anywho, the Bolts are off to a cookin' start, 7-0. Our D was having some serious struggles on that one. Bad news bears.
4:56 Steelers going for it on fourth down?!?! Really Mike Tomlin? One of my buddies, who is no Mike Tomlin fan, is quickly irritated and says Tomlin doesn't know how to coach in the playoffs. But Wait! Big Ben with the quick kick! My buddy quickly sits down and doesn't say anything more. That was a bold strategy Cotton, definitely paid off though, as its downed at the 9. Okay Mikey Thomlin, I'm with you on that one. I like the creativity, anyway. Plus, anything that keeps Mitch Berger off the field can't be all bad.
5:09 SANTONIO! Our beleaguered wide receiver HOUSES a punt return from the Mike "Jesus Christ" Scifres. All week long I heard people yelping about Scifres being the ultimate difference maker for the Bolts, including Bill Simmons' ludicrous picking of the Chargers because of Scifres, yet no one mentioned that booming kicks that don't land near the goal line too often out-kick their coverage, which is exactly what happened now. Suck on that Sports Guy.
5:49 The aforementioned friend who doesn't like Tomlin is borderline homicidal right now after a bizarre fake punt that was so bad it looked like it was drawn up by Matt Cavanugh. That's just a ridiculous decision there considering how wonderful our D has been since the opening drive. This game has turned into a field-position battle, and this isn't helping us.
5:58 Field Goal Nate Kaeding. This one's on you Mike Tomlin. You'd best more than make up for it as the game progresses.
6:07 Steelers run a spectacular 2 minute drill with Willie Parker scooting in to the end zone from 3 yards out. Hines Ward made the critical play on this drive on a deep ball from Giant Ben.6:14 We are at the half. 14-10 Stillers. The Yinzers are loving it. Ben is showing almost no ill effects of that concussion, and is doing an excellent job of not risking mistakes or getting hit. The key has been Willie being incredibly effective running the football. And of course, the D has really clamped down after an unusually lackluster opening drive effort. Should be a heck of a second half.
6:34 The Steelers absolutely dominate the opening drive, holding the ball for nearly 8 minutes to start the third quarter. Ben hits Heath for 8 yards for a score. That was old school, Bill Cowher era clock control. Nice mixture of runs and passes on the drive, with Heath being a popular target at thend of the drive. That was a statement drive. 21-10 Steelers.
6:41 After a long kick runback, the Chargers run exactly 1 (one) offensive play and it is... INTERCEPTED by Larry Foote, who apparently stole it from James Harrison on the ground. That was HUGE!
6:45 No Brain Norv spends his last challenge despite absolutely no evidence that the pick was even remotely in doubt.
6:46 AHHH! Ben just made me nearly soil myself throwing a crazy block on a Santonio Holmes end around. Listen, Ben, the extra couple yards gained by you throwing that block wasn't even remotely worth the injury risk. Thankfully he's okay. And by the way... it was a SICK block for what it's worth.
6:52 Holy friggin crap! Mitch Berger's punt smacks off the top of some Chargers doofus and is piicked up by William Gay and run into the end zone! Of course, you can't advance a muff in what is a truly strange rule, but still, the Steelers get the ball on what was basically a long offensive play downfield. Crazy day, eh? Ben knocking a punt inside the 10, Mitch Berger turning into an offensive weapon and Ryan Clark taking the snap on a punt. Just weird all around, but the Steelers have a chance to put this game almost on ice here.
7:01 Fourth and goal at the 6 inch line, and the play goes to... Carey Davis?!? He would have been my 8th guess. It goes mostly without saying this didn't work. The Bolts take over. Let's hope for some more Jimmy Harrison end zone magic.
7:08 The Steelers get the ball back with great field position and march down the field thanks to an Eric Weddle PI call. I think that was the same guy who Pele'd that punt to William Gay before. I think he may have money on the Steelers. Ball at the 1 and... Gary Russell into the end zone! Touchdown!
7:24 Chargers strike back for a touchdown, 28-17. This sucker isn't over yet folks. Hold on!
7:41 Okay NOW it's over. Slick Willie caps off a fantastic day by housing a 16 yard run. 35-17 Men of Steel. Okay, this puppy IS over.
7:58 Let's call it a day. 35-17 Steelers win. And with just 2 minutes to spare until the return of the one, the only, the immortal Jack Bauer!
8:00 Beep...Beep...Beep...BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. (Nothing sends chills through my spine like the "24" clock).
Jack's Back! I'm not going to blog this because, well, it just means too much to me to be distracted. If you want a blog for 24, go here.
10:00 That was so good I think I might smoke a cigarette. Good night all.

The Weekend Recap

I wrote about half of what follows on the way back from the city of Queens...err the Queen City, Cincinnati, this morning following a wildly disappointing Saturday night performance from my beloved Pitt Panthers football squad. The remainder was pieced together in the waning minutes before the Sunday night return of the one and only Jack Bauer and on Monday afternoon.

It was a very erratic weekend in sports for us Pittsburghers. We reached a nice little peak Thursday, and it had the makings of a spectacular weekend if some things broke right Saturday, but that wasn't in the cards. What follows are the usual impressions from the weekend that was in Pittsburgh sports, with this particular weekend recap spanning a fourth day in Thursday.

-As I said, we hit a nice and easy high Thursday night with a pair of wins by our pro teams as the Steelers dispatched the Bengals in a pretty comfortable win. Though it wasn't the sexiest or most impressive win I've ever seen, they made few mistakes and the defense looks downright terrifying right now. The Pens were going at it with the Thrashers at the same time, and they put together a nice 3-2 win, with Sid the Kid piling up 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) and Dany Sabourin continued his solid, steady play of late. Friday night continued the upward trend, as the Pitt basketball team coasted past Akron in an 86-67 romp. Sure, the score was a little close for a game against a MAC team, but from the first-hand accounts I've received and the info on the stat sheets, it wasn't anywhere near 19 points type close. Sam Young had a solid 26 point effort and DeJuan Blair added the first of two weekend double-doubles. All day Saturday saw the traditional annual WPIAL Championship games at Heinz Field that bring with them a second tradition, the destroying of the already crappy Heinz Field surface. Saturday afternoon brought the Pittsburgh weekend to a crescendo with a very predictable walloping of IUP by the Pitt basketball team. From there, though, it was all downhill. The Penguins dropped a tough game against the frisky Vancouver Canucks, 3-1. And then of course, Saturday night saw the Cincinnati Bearcats take control of the Big East Championship race in a 28-21 win over our Pitt Panthers in one of the biggest games in recent school history. The final result did not give a good enough indication of the game, though, as Cincy was clearly the better team on that field, as the Panthers were outplayed, outcoached and outmaneuvered in a disappointing finish to the Pittsburgh games for the weekend.

Steelers
-I predicted in this space last week that the Steelers would crush the Bengals, and while the score certainly wasn't close, the Steelers didn't put together quite the performance that I was expecting. Sure, the defense looked pretty darn good, but even though everyone is laying accolades all over them for winning that game, I personally wasn't satisfied. They clamped down on the Bengals' ability to move the ball, but one sack is pretty weak considering they were going against one of the worst offensive lines in football. But the D isn't what worries me.

-Nope, it's the O that is really vexing me these days. Big Ben was reasonably efficient, and Mewelde and Willie combined for nearly 100 yards, but this group is nowhere near in sync right now. Parker and Moore both broke off a couple of longer runs that boosted their numbers, but neither one was nearly effective enough running the ball, and while Gary Russell looks like an okay short-yardage back, he looks incapable of going any further then about 3-4 yards on a carry. Meanwhile, Ben still looked like he was having issues with getting the ball downfield and stretching the defense. The short yardage passing game was mildly effective though, and I think that we will see more of the underneath stuff to Mewelde Moore, as he was most dangerous in these types of plays.

-It was encouraging to see Santonio start making a difference out there. It was one of the best games he has had all season, and refreshses the hope I have in him becoming a legit offensive focal point. Of course, he did come down with a concussion from a ridiculously vicious hit by Chris Crocker to potentially further damage what has been something of a disappointing season from our young wideout.

-A few weeks ago in my live blog of the Steelers-Redskins game, I called for a new punter to replace Mitch Berger because of the two bad hamstrings that were causing him to shank far too many punts. This was not quite what I had in mind, though. I don't think I have ever seen a punter with such a bad performance at any level of football. I've seen numerous high school punters who can routinely boot it at least 35 or so yards, so I find it awfully difficult to accept that Paul Ermster is really the best that the Steelers can do. I mean that guy is indescribably bad. If he is still on the active roster for this Sunday's game in New England, I'm calling for an immediate coup d'etat against Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert (sorry, I added this reference after watching 24: Redemption and just couldn't help myself). I mean I love what those guys have done here and think they are both among the best around, but at some point, you've just got to cut your losses and move on.

-I like Marvin Lewis, he seems like a pretty nice guy, he has a solid (but overrated thanks to Ray Lewis' greatness) defensive mind, and could be one of the better defensive coordinators in football, but he is no head coach in this league. That ridiculous decision to kick a field goal when down 20-7 was one of the most boneheaded decisions you will ever see a coach make. After their first possession, it took them all game to get back to that point, and Lewis' decision meant that they were going to have to do it two more times after the field goal to get into the game. If the Bengals are going to get their organization going in the right direction again, they are going to have to get rid of Lewis and soon.

-Much has been made of the different style the offense has taken the past few games, and almost all of it has been criticism, and most of that has fallen on the broad shoulders of Ben Roethlisberger. I think that is mostly unfair. Certainly, he has not been the force he once was due to injury, but on Thursday night I thought he demonstrated a new kind of efficiency and effectiveness that we had not really seen previously in the mastery of the underneath stuff. Really, the big issue facing the Steelers now is not that Roethlisberger's shoulder is keeping them from playing their usual style of offense. The problem as I see it is that while the passing game can adapt, the running game cannot. The two most talented players at the running back position are both juking, jiving speedsters who work well in space and at making people miss 1 on 1, yet the Steelers continue to plunge both forward into the line hoping that the maulers on the O-Line can open a hole for them to scurry through. Moore and Parker are never going to be consistently effective runners right at opposing defenses, and yet this is the strategy that is continually employed.

Pitt Football
-Well, Saturday night was about as crappy as it gets for me. Sitting in the icy cold at that dump that the University of Cincinnati calls a stadium watching my team get outplayed all over the field while 30,000 idiot Cincinnatians (is that the right word? Ehh I don't really care enough to look it up) scream in excitement. And then, having to trudge back to your car through the frigid temperatures while people all around you taunt you for wearing Pitt clothing. It's a miracle I'm not writing this from the computers at an Ohio prison right now.

-Bill Stull is just totally and completely underwhelming, isn't he? He does just enough to make you say, "Yeah okay I guess he's better than Bostick" but he might be throw the worst deep ball that I have ever seen. It's not even consistently bad. By that I mean that sometimes he'll under throw Jonathan Baldwin by 10 yards, causing him to slow up and get hacked like Shaquille O'Neal as he tries to make a Larry Fitzgerald-esque catch, and then sometimes he'll throw it 20 yards over poor Baldwin's head, and sometimes he'll even throw it to a guy along the sidelines but throw it to far to the outside and it will be uncatchable out of bounds. You know the old addage applied to fast receivers about how you can't overthrow them? I think Bill Stull could find a way, and his arm isn't even that strong!

-It also remains a mystery to me as to why the Panthers don't utilize Nate Byham and Dorin Dickerson more underneath and why they don't send Derek Kinder and Oderick Turner and whoever else more underneath as well. They throw WAAAAAAAAAAAY too many deep balls (for the obvious reason given directly above any number of deep balls is probably too many) and Byham was open on a number of plays 5-8 yards from the line of scrimmage in front of Stull and they just didn't want to look his way. It's completely insane. And Derek Kinder should not be trying to out-run one-legged people at this point he's lost so much speed from his ACL surgery, but he has very good hands and would make for an excellent option going across the middle, but he seldom does.

-I have become convinced this season that Dave Wannstedt can definitely be a success on the college level, but I remain very much unconvinced by Matt Cavanaugh. He had a very good game plan against Notre Dame when they had to throw Bostick out there and he has done a decent job in some other games as well, but he was a mess early in the season, and just when I thought maybe he was figuring it out, he goes and calls a game like he did last night. I mean, look at the way the Bearcats attacked Pitt's defense with the quick screen type stuff early on in the game because they knew Pitt's D-Line would rush upfield. In his four years here, has Cavanaugh ever come up with that kind of creative game plan? Hell no. He doesn't play to his strengths enough, and seldom seems to tailor a game plan according to a defense's weaknesses, and while those are common things to see at the NFL level, it's next to impossible to have a consistently dangerous offense when you operate that way in college football. I'm not calling for Cavanaugh's head (yet) as many folks have over the past few seasons, but I think the one thing standing between the Wanny era and consistent success is the lack of an imaginative offensive coordinator.

Pitt Basketball
-DeJuan Blair continued his declaration of war on all small schools, as his monster season continued to march onward with back to back dominating performances Friday and Saturday. A friend of mine who went to the IUP game said it was one of the most dominating 21 minutes he had ever seen a college player put together. As he put it "The IUP guys looked like they were going to (soil) themselves every time DeJuan crashed the boards." Only he didn't use the word soil. You figure it out.

-Sam Young's play at the small forward continues to be, as I put it last week, a work in progress. He is still downright lethal when he gets around the paint, and he is obliterating everything in sight defensively, but he is doing an awful lot of lurking out on the perimeter right now. His three point shot looks like it is slowly coming around, but give me the ticked-off, driving to the hoop, crashing the boards Sam Young any day of the week, even if it means we are basically playing three power forwards at the same time.

-Jermaine Dixon spent most of the weekend cooling off as he had just 9 points in 2 games after pouring in 20 in the first two. I think this puts his starting job very much in doubt for whenever Gil Brown gets back to 100%, but Dixon figures to have at least a few more games to prove himself before that happens.

-I am very much looking forward to that Pitt game on Friday, and no I am not referring to the Backyard Brawl (though of course I am looking forward to that one as well), but instead I'm talking about the Pitt-Texas Tech basketball game Friday night in the finale of the Legends Classic. The Red Raiders run a run and gun style of offense, and were involved in a ridiculous 167-115 win over some school called East Central that set back defense in the game of basketball by about 15 years.

-It was also just announced that the Panthers cracked the top 5, slipping past Duke and UCLA and into the number 4 spot in this week's poll. That gives the Big East the numbers 2,3,and 4 ranked teams in the country. Care to debate that ACC?

Penguins
-It's a little hard to believe that the Pens are already at the quarter pole of their 2008/09 season isn't it? I think that's because it feels so much like this team is still trying to find a definite identity and still trying to round itself into shape with so many new pieces.

-Your NHL Goals against Average Leader right now? Mr. Dany Sabourin!
Of course by the time someone clicks on this, that could easily change, but there's no denying Sabo has been a very nice surprise this season, and yet again Ray Shero is justified in a highly questioned move by trusting in Sabo to be the backup this season.

-I know it's not Friday yet for links, but I just wanted to post another link to update you on the NHL All-Star Balloting race. At last check about a week ago, Sidney Crosby was in 4th place and Geno in 5th place for the forward spot behind those three Canadiens who are completely undeserving. Sid was trailing 3rd place by about 111,000 votes and Geno was trailing 3rd by about 140,000 votes. The latest results show some progress though. Sid is trailing 3rd by about 80,000 votes and Geno is trailing by 122,000. Still, though we can do better Pens fans. Sid and Geno both deserve this All-Star game start, and let's show these Montreal losers what real fans are. I'm not asking for much just a few votes a day here.

-It's looking like Ryan Whitney may be getting back into the lineup sooner than most people expected, as he has begun practicing with the Pens. It will be VERRRRRRRRY interesting to see what Ray Shero and company decide to do with the suddenly overcrowded blue line that we have known was coming for months. Originally the conventional wisdom was the Goligoski would be up here only until he didn't have to be anymore, but he has been very, very good, and I think it would be a huge surprise to see him sent down at this point in the season. Still, Shero has known this day was on the horizon for some time now, and I'm sure he has an idea crafted in his head. I expect Whitters to be brought along slowly though even when he does return to the ice, as a foot injury can be a tough one for a skater to overcome, especially a Pens defenseman, with all the shot blocking that they do. I expect he will need some nights off early in his return.

Steelers Live Blog for MNF!

8:27 Here we go Steeler fanatics, my first live blog in my revival of the Three River Sports Blog. The game is just about to get underway, and I'll be coming at you with the Live Blog of my evening watching the game in my apartment with some of my thoughts and (hopefully) humorous anecdotes on tonight's festivities. The ESPN "Experts" pick slightly in favor of the Steelers, with 48 of their in-house panelists favoring the Steelers and 47 with the 'Skins. Just kidding of course, it was actually 4-3 Steelers but approximately 12 different people spoke on ESPN in some sort of panel fashion. I will never understand why they hire so many different people. Just baffling. Oh, and by the way, Chris Berman just reminded us for approximately the 59th time in the last half hour that his interviews with Barack Obama and John McCain will be airing at half-time.

8:32 Thankfully, we have a very solid crew doing our announcing. I truly enjoy the MNF booth of Tirico, Jaws, and Kornheiser. Tirico pointedly mentions that the NFC East has been a house of horrors for the Steelers, Kornheiser pointedly makes observations about Ben Roethlisberger being the breaking-the-mold guy from the traditional Steelers image, and Jaws pointedly mentions that Redskins blitz like no one's business and Ben could take another beating this evening. Just a very pointed start, apparently.

8:39 Say did you know that there is an election tomorrow? Apparently there is, as Kornheiser and Tirico have spent the vast majority of their pregame talk with weird little tidbits about elections from the past, a weird little history of the Redskins for the candidates, all while poor Jaws sat quietly. The wheels are hurtling off of a promising booth in a hurry. I'm not sure I'm prepared for 214 different Tony Kornheiser/ election jokes tonight. Guys, seriously, I have to get up at 8:00 AM tomorrow, can we get this thing moving? I was promised an 8:30 start.

8:41 Finally! Kickoff! And it's an onside kickoff? Uhmm... what the hell Mike Tomlin? Are we really in full-on desperation mode before the game even starts?

8:45 The defense does their job and only gives up 9 yards to force a 3 and out and a pu... oh wait that's right, we tried a friggin' onside kick and the Skins are in good enough field position to kick a field goal. 3-zip Washington. This one's squarely on you there, Tomlin.

8:49 Oh boy, Large Benjamin throws a pick after his pass at the line is batted, and Max Starks, apparently under the impression that the ball is an icky vegetable, does his best to avoid touching it, only to have it bounce off his clumsy self and get picked. Ugh.

8:51 The Steelers defense very, very quickly forces another three and out and a pu... whoops my bad again, this time the offense screws them as the Skins are already in field goal range a second time and take a 6-0 lead. This one's on you Large Benjamin and even Larger Max Starks

8:59 Critical third down for the Stillers, and a backbreaker of a sack on 'berger as the Skins bring the damn house and take down the Large One as he tried to escape pressure and ended up running right the hell into it.

9:02 Definitely no 3 and out for the Steelers D on this drive, as Portis goes off for 22 yards, apparently the longest run of the season against the Steelers D. I think everyone missed that damn tackle.

9:04 Two interesting headlines just ran by the bottom of my screen... hold on while I double check what I just saw. Yup, the Brownies are starting Brady Quinn this weekend. In a game that takes place in 3 days. So he gets short rest to start for the first time in his career. Nothing like putting your hopeful franchise QB in a position to potentially fail miserably. The other headline? Well it's a little deceiving. I could have sworn ESPN's crawl thingy said Matt Schaub had a torn MCL and will only miss 2-4 weeks, an annoucement that nearly made my jaw hit the floor, as those are usually season ending. However, ESPN's website says it's only an MCL injury and the 2-4 weeks injury number is correct. How about a little consistency folks?

9:07 As mentioned, for the first time all night, the Steelers don't force a 3 and out... and get their first punt of the evening. Seems like we may be in for a weird one. Let's see what the Big 'berger can do out there.

9:11 Two drops for Santonio already. I thought about a few different jokes here, but none could live up to the hype. Give me time, though, I'll get a good one before the night's up.

9:13 Mitch Berger's second gawd-awful punt of the night. Mike Tirico mentions that Mitch Berger has not one, but TWO injured hamstrings. Uhmmm....maybe we should have looked into getting a new punter for this week. I mean I have buddies that can kick it more than the 28 yards Berger just pooched out. Tony Kornheiser wisely points out that having two injured hamstrings means that Berger (not Big Ben 'berger, Mitch Berger) has 100% of his hamstrings injured. Good call.

9:19 Nate Washington drops a pass! Since when does that happen? Mitch Berger out to punt, and after Mike Tirico makes a "hamstrung" joke, Berger puts together a serviceable 40 yard punt. At least we're not losing yards on our punts this week.

9:24 We just had a Jason and James sandwich, with the Jameses Farrior and Harrison being the bread and Jason Campbell being our meat. Ouch.

9:25 Good news, Santonio Holmes hangs onto the ball, ending his dropsies streak of two balls and one dooby into the ash tray when the 5-0 showed up.

9:25 Okay, so that wasn't exactly a good Santonio joke. Don't worry, it's still coming. I have faith.

9:28 Yet another atrocious punt by Mitch Berger. I've got to believe that Jeff Reed could probably punt the ball further than this bum right now. Now, if the Steelers are at the Redskins 35 and need to pin the Skins at the goal line, Berger is their man. I mean they can just tell him to go in their and kick it as hard as possible and they should be good.

9:31 Large Benjamin's numbers thus far: 1/9 9 yards. I hope you're not relying on him for a W in fantasy this week.

9:40 You need a 3rd down conversion, you go to Hines Ward. I'm not sure how we (especially the coaches) haven't learned this yet. The guy is just downright tough and a real horse out there.

9:43 Strangely, the Redskins aren't fooled by Roethlisberger's 8 different pump fakes and as he tries to escape on a crucial third down... he gets sacked... again... despite having ample time... again. Still, Jeff Reed drills a field goal, and this sucker is 6-3 and the Steelers offense finally developed a pulse.

9:51 Ron Jaworski refers to Ben Roethlisberger only as "Ben" four times in about 20 seconds, a trend that has become increasingly common for announcers to drop our beloved number 7's last name. Not sure why or how this happened.

9:52 YIKES! Near pick for Ben, and Slick Willie (not sure if he's fast but he is Slick right now) rips off a nice little run and is having a nice night with 10 carries for 45 yards despite a little gimpiness when he walks off the field.

9:54 Remember what I said about going to Hines Ward on 3rd down? Yeahhhhhhhhhh, maybe that was a misprint as he gets absolutely lit up and drops a crucial third down pass. Mitch Berger is carted onto the field to punt and is carted back off.

9:56 HUGE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY!!!! Andre Frazier storms in and blocks a punt as Mike "Miss Cleo" Tirico says the words "maybe we'll need to see a big special teams play" and Ike Taylor bumbles over it immediately after and William Gay ends up with it as the Steelers have a golden opportunity.

9;57 Sensing the importance of the moment, getting-smaller-by-the-moment Benjamin is promptly sacked as we head to 2 minute warning.

9:59 Okay here's a question for you: How are they still making Transporter movies? I have absolutely no recollection of the first one being released, I heard the second one was terrible and did rather mediocrely (is that a word?) at the box office. And can we officially end the Jason Statham as a leading man movement? Hey, I like the guy as a supporting badass (like in the Italian Job) but he's no star. And what's up with him always being involved in driving? Talk about a bizarre typecast. I half-expected him to be in the new The Fast and the Furious movie.

10:02 Direct quote from yours truly- "TOU-OHHHHHHHHhhhhh...." I thought Hinesy had it, but he was literally millimeters away, if not micrometers. Steelers should just have Ben fall forward on this one.

10:06 TOUCHDOWN!!! Ben uses his infamously large stature to surge into the end zone and just like that, despite a miserable start to the game, the Steelers are up 10-6 as we near the half, very encouraging last several minutes for a team that clearly got off to possibly the worst start that they could have imagined.

10:09 Okay folks we've reached the half and managed to set the game of football back 40 years in the process. I'm not blogging the half, as I need to focus both on this presidential interview nonsense and on some finance homework. Back in a bit.

10:23 Aaaaand we're back. Aaaand Mickey Tafoya is reporting that Ben is injured and is in the locker room getting X-rays and that Byron Leftwich will open the second half. Roethlisberger is infamous for exaggerating injuries on the field, but it's incredibly rare when he misses time due to injury, so you know this must be semi-serious. We'll see.

10:25 One other update: Not surprisingly, the halftime interviews were lame and pointless and told us absolutely nothing about the candidates except that they are both infinitely more intelligent then our current president.

10:26 Roethlisberger is bak on the side line, no helmet on or anything though. We'll see what happens....

10:27 The Dump Truck (Najeh Davenport, emphasis on the first word) enters the game and gets a 3rd and 1 conversion. Also, Heath Miller is injured. By the way, they tossed it to Tafoya for an update on Roethlisberger and she gave us nothing.

10:28 Byron Leftwich tosses a gorgeous pass to Nate Washington for 50 yards. Huge play for the Steelers.

10:29 Tafoya now reports that Ben's right shoulder is the injury and that he is questionable. He has the backwards cap on though, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

10:29 I hate to keep blogging so frequently, but Tony Kornheiser just made a vague reference to the Bengals being a Super Bowl contender prior the season. It's worth noting that this must be the most insane statement of the season.

10:31 TOUCHDOWN STEELERS!!!! Slick Willie Parker from a yard out. This guy looks real good today, and Byron does a real nice job managing things. And by the way, 'berger's shoulder is being held almost like it is in a sling. Not such a good sign.

10:32 Uhmm.... Jeff Reed just missed a PAT! Quick, sign Conor Lee!!! He never misses!

10:37 It's been open season on Jason Campbell tonight. LaMarr Woodley is absolutely untouched and obliterates poor Campbell for the Steelers' 5th sack of the night.

10:46 The one thing you've got to love about Tony Kornheiser: Just when you hear the subject of a mildly inappropriate joke being discussed, the Korn man comes through with the obligatory joke you'd make with your friends. Just delightful. In this case, it was Mike Singletary's struggle to stay fully clothed.

10:50 A pick by Deshea Townsend! Jason Campbell's first I-N-T of the season. Of course, Townsend promptly fumbles it, and while he does recover, a potential question (though I don't see the validity) is raised by Jaws as to whether or not it was a pick. We'll see.

10:52 Yep the Skins are going to challenge it. It really, really looks to me like Deshea Towsend has it. Jaws doesn't think so but Deshea does the old "football move" and I'd be stunned (and very pissed) if this sucker gets overturned.

10:55 Take THAT Jaws! Townsend's pick is upheld, Steeler ball! They could make things awfully tough on the skins with a nice long scoring drive here.

10:58 Michelle Tafoya claims to have a "source" that told her Ben felt his shoulder pop out in the first half. I wonder if this is the same soure that butchered Roethlisberger's injury report when NBC came to town and had all sorts of false injury info for Messrs. Michaels and MAdden.

11:00 Another nice third down conversion for the righty Leftwich, that's two in a row in this drive.

11:06 Tony Kornheiser makes another mention of the Steelers fans there, as if this somehow surprises him. Hey Tony, the Steelers fans travel better than anyone. Yet this is roughly his 30th reference of the evening.

11:08 Apparently Leftwich is a little banged up after getting lit up a few moments ago, but he's not leaving the field it appears. Nonetheless, Dennis Dixon is warming up. It'd be interesting to see him out there to see what he can do.

11:09 TOUCHDOWN!!!! Byron Leftwich to Santonio Holmes and the Steelers are on an absolute roll right now. Jeff Reed's PAT is good this time and it's 23-6 Steelers and they have now scored all 23 unanswered by the suddenly hapless Redskins.

11:17 James Farrior gets docked for the helmet-to-helmet hit on Jason Campbell and you can be darn sure that he will be having a little something deducted from his paycheck this week for that one.

11:23 Jason Campbell gets in for a touchdown, but call me skeptical. I think I'd challenge it, as it appeared as though he was pushed down before the goal line and stumbled into the end zone.

11:23 Yep, Tomlin challenges.

11:26 Yep, it's overturned

11:28 The Redskins are going to go for it here on fourth down from the 1 yard line and.... it's stopped! They tried a weird play action pass to... a defensive tackle??? What? Naturally when the game is on the line on offense you want to throw it to an awkward overweight defender with no experience catching the ball. That's right, ignore your steady and reliable tight end and your league leading running back to throw to a defensive tackle. That's the NFL in 2008 for you. Always overthinking things.

11:31 Woah Willie! Slick Willie nearly gets safetied in the end zone.

11:33 Mitch Berger's hamstrings collapse underneath him as he attempts to punt. I think someone needs to take poor Mitch out back and shoot him just to put the guy out of his misery.

11:37 On another fourth down, the Redskins bizarrely refuse to kick a field goal even though it would have gotten them within two scores and they could have tried the onside kick. Instead, they go for it, and Lawrence Timmons comes up with a big sack. And MAN is that guy fast. He runs like a defensive back, and is going to be one heck of a weapon when he finally takes Larry Foote's job.

11:44 Two minutes until we lock up that first NFC East W.

11:50 And that will do it from my apartment and from Washington. I hope you enjoyed our festivities this evening, and don't forget folks, it's imperative that you vote tomorrow.