Champions Once Again

A "Super" wish for 3 friends

You know you are getting old when some of your friends don’t even remember the last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl.....three of my friends (the 3 Js), are huge Steeler fans....the last time the city of Pittsburgh celebrated a Super Bowl title, these guys were still wearing diapers....(not to say that one of them still doesn’t wear a diaper every now and then – but that is another story)....

Like I have written before, Bill Cowher deserves to win this game.....and it would be nice to see a class-act like Jerome Bettis leave with a Super Bowl ring.....but on a personal note, these three buddies of mine also deserve to see their Steelers win the Super Bowl....

Over the last two weeks I have seen many Browns fans oozing with jealousy and trying to take any cheap shot they can at the Steelers.....The Vindicator’s Joe Scalzo acted like a first-grader when he predicted the Seahawks to win by the score of 637 gazillion to 0.....(grow up already!!!).....and of course The Plain Dealer took their cheap shots at the city of Pittsburgh which I thought was strange being that Cleveland has been rated one of the worst cities in the nation and a city who’s river caught on fire many years ago....Yeh, the Browns fans have been very sore losers.....even if Pittsbugh loses today, the Browns fans should still keep their traps shut....remember, the Steelers waxed the Browns twice this year including a 41-0 drubbing at Steelers Field....errrr, I mean Cleveland Browns Stadium....

So yes it would be nice to see the Steelers win because these three friends are class individuals.....they love their Steelers but they are not obnoxious or arrogant....they love their Iron City Beer and Black and Gold....they may often sleep with their Terrible Towel....they have come so close to glory only to be disappointed by losing to the Chargers and Patriots....and having Bill Romanowski talk trash at Three Rivers.....who can forget the 15-1 record only to fall short....and the name Larry Brown still haunts them....they made it through Neil and Kordell....and how can we forget Tommy Gun....there was Barry and Bam....and thank God there is now Bettis....and where is Yancey??.....and to them Myron Cope is a God.....

Hopefully around 10:30 p.m. today, they can crack open an Iron City and have a toast to their team -- Double Yoi!!! -- the World Champions!!!!

Super Bowl Memory - Dallas' misfortune

The Steelers third Super Bowl victory may have been their most fortunate....Super Bowl XIII, pitted the first ever re-match of a prior Super Bowl game....

In Super Bowl X, the Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Miami....three years later the two foes would meet again in the same place - the Miami Orange Bowl....

Prior to the game, Dallas linebacker Hollywood Henderson berated Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw by saying that Bradshaw was so dumb that he could not spell "cat" if you spotted him the "c" and "a".....Henderson’s rants only added fuel to the game’s fire....

After a dead even first quarter (7-7), Dallas jumped to a 14-7 lead early in quarter two when Henderson sacked Bradshaw and Larry Hegman stripped the ball from Bradshaw and ran 37-yards for a touchdown.....that lead last only 1:43 as Bradshaw struck back with a 75-yard pass to John Stallworth to tie the game.....

The Cowboys were marching deep into Steeler territory late in the half when Mel Blount killed the Dallas rally with an interception of Roger Staubach....with less than two minutes left, Bradshaw led the Steelers to a 21-14 halftime lead in just six plays....

Most of the third quarter was a series of punts....however, late in the quarter Dallas began marching toward a game tying touchdown.....with the ball third and three at the Steeler nine-yard line, Staubach hit a wide open Jackie Smith in the middle of the endzone, only to see Smith drop a guaranteed touchdown....Smith managed to get behind the Pittsburgh defense, but this future Hall of Famer who was acquired late in the year from the St. Louis Cardinals quickly became a goat....but the Cowboys misfortune was just beginning....

With the scoreboard showing a narrow Steeler lead at 21-17, Pittsburgh knew they had to score more points....with a drive going, Bradshaw threw a pass deep toward Lynn Swann, however, his legs got tied up with Dallas cornerback Benny Barnes.....at the very least it was incidental contact....but more than likely the official would say the ball was not catchable.....inexplicably, a flag was thrown – and it was called pass interference on Barnes....that would be the second bad break for the Cowboys, but not the last on this drive....

Four plays later, the Steelers had a third and nine at the Dallas 22 when Franco Harris galloped right through the middle of the Dallas defense for a touchdown.....but replays showed that Harris would have been stopped short of the first down as Cowboy safety Charlie Waters had a clear beat on Harris....however, the umpire got in Waters way which allowed Harris a clean alley toward the endzone....this was the third bad break....

The fourth bad break came on the ensuing kick-off when Roy Gerala slipped on his kick-off attempt and booted it right to Dallas’ Randy White....however, White was playing with a cast on his one hand and was unable to handle the kick....with the ball loose on the ground, the Steelers recovered....

And once again, Bradshaw wasted no time as he hit Swann in the back of the endzone on a sliding 18-yard touchdown to make it 35-17....

Any lesser team would have caved in, but behind the arm and spirit of Staubach, the Cowboys scored twice to make it 35-31 with 22 seconds left.....however the Steelers recovered the onside kick to seal the victory....

Within a nine minute span, the Cowboys watched a Super Bowl win slip through their hands because of four unfortunate plays....

Super Bowl Memory - The Chief finally wins

The Steelers first Super Bowl appearance came in Super Bowl IX at a windy and wet Tulane Stadium in New Orleans against the Minnesota Vikings....

And on this day, the Steel Curtain was tightly closed.....the Pittsburgh defense held the Vikings to 17 yards rushing on 21 attempts for a feeble 0.8 yard average....Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton didn’t fare much better through the air as he passed for 102 yards....

On offense, the Steelers attack was simple – run, run, run.....they ran the ball 57 times for 249 yards.....Super Bowl MVP Franco Harris contributed to that total by rushing 34 times for a then Super Bowl record 158 yards.....Terry Bradshaw only had to complete nine passes for 96 yards with one of those passes going for a touchdown....

Despite the Steelers dominance, Minnesota was only down 9-6 with 10 minutes left in the game.....but the only score the Vikings could muster came on special teams when Terry Brown blocked a Bobby Walden punt.....

Throughout the game, whenever the Vikings were in scoring position, they would turn the ball over which would snuff out any momentum....there was no way Minnesota could beat this Steelers defense by committing five turnovers.....

Right before half, Minnesota penetrated to the Steeler 25-yard line only to have a deflected pass get intercepted by Mel Blount....the Vikings collapsed again at the very start of the half when they fumbled the second half kick-off....four plays later Harris scored for the Steelers.....

The best part of the game took place in the locker room when commissioner Pete Rozelle presented The Chief, Art Rooney, Sr., with the Vince Lombardi Trophy....after owning the Steelers for almost 45 years, Rooney was finally a champion.....

Super Bowl Memory - Detroit's first big game

Next Sunday’s Super Bowl game will not be the first in Detroit....in 1982, Super Bowl XVI was played at the Pontiac Silverdome....it was the first time the Super Bowl was played in the northern half of the country....

It was also the first of four Super Bowl titles for San Francisco’s Joe Montana....two weeks earlier Montana’s waved his magic wand for the first time with his unforgettable touchdown pass to Dwight Clark with less than a minute left giving San Francisco the victory over Dallas....

On Super Bowl Sunday, the 49ers took advantage of the Cincinnati Bengals slow start and a great defensive stand en route to a 26-21 win....

Throughout the first half, the Bengals had chances to score, only to watch these opportunities fade away....after the 49ers fumbled the opening kick, Cincinnati moved to the San Fran five-yard line only to have Ken Anderson throw an interception.....at the beginning of the second quarter, the Bengals were driving again, but this time Cris Collinsworth fumbled at the 49er 27-yard line.....at halftime Cincinnati found themselves down 20-0....

In the third quarter the Bengals had another opportunity to cut into the 49ers lead....trailing 20-7, the Bengals had the ball first and goal on the 49ers three-yard line....with their backs to the wall and momentum hanging in the balance, the 49ers defense made the greatest goal line stand in Super Bowl history....

After Pete Johnson picked up two yards on the first play, the Niners held him to no gain on second down.....with third down and goal from the one-yard line, the Bengals opted for a pass play.....but running back Charles Alexander cut off his route short of the end zone and 49ers linebacker Dan Bunz made a spectacular solo tackle holding the Bengals from paydirt....with fourth down looming, the Bengals sent big ole Pete Johnson into the middle of the line once again, only to get stuffed as the 49ers front line penetrated into the backfield and linebacker Jack Reynolds ended the play.....

The Bengals would close to within 26-21 but it was a day of lost opportunities for Cincinnati....

Despite an average game, by his standards, Montana won his first of three Super Bowl MVPs.....and head coach Bill Walsh was annoited a "genius" with his new style of offense....

Super Bowl Memory - Super Bowl V

Before Adam Vinatieri there was Jim O’Brien.....O’Brien may be the most forgotten player in Super Bowl history....but it was his 32-yard field goal with five seconds left that gave the Baltimore Colts a 16-13 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V....

O’Brien’s clutch kick is overshadowed because Super Bowl V may have been one of the worst played Super Bowls of all time.....Super Bowl V was the first Super Bowl game since the AFL and NFL merged, but it is the Super Bowl that people forgot about despite some other distinctions....

It was the first Super Bowl decided in the last few plays.....and it also produced the first defensive player to be named Super Bowl MVP and the only MVP from the losing team....Chuck Howley had two interceptions in the game, with one of the interceptions coming in the end zone denying Baltimore points.....

The Colts were quarterbacked by Johnny Unitas and Earl Morral who combined for three interceptions.....the Cowboys were led by Craig Morton who threw three picks all by himself and totaled only 127 yards through the air....on the bench sat a young leader named Roger Staubach who, in later years, would atone for the Cowboys ineptness on this day....

The Cowboys defense stifled the Colts on the ground....Baltimore managed only 69 rushing yards and fumbled the ball five times – losing four of them....

Despite committing seven turnovers, the Colts, who were coached by Don McCafferty, were never out of the game....50 seconds into the second quarter, the Colts tight end John Mackey caught a deflected pass from Unitas and went 75 yards for a touchdown....but even the extra point was blocked on this day....

However, at the start of the final quarter Dallas only held a 13-6 lead.....and in the end Jim O’Brien helped the great Johnny Unitas get his only Super Bowl ring.....

O’Brien, who also subbed as a wide receiver, played only four years in the NFL....in his rookie season of 1970, he made only 19 of 34 field goals.....in 1972, his last with the Colts, he converted on 13 of 31 field goals...and .in 1973, he ended his career with the Detroit Lions....but in those four putrid seasons, O’Brien had one shining moment – even if it is often forgotten.....

Tennis player makes Cypriots proud

My yia yia and papou would be proud....

For those of you who are not Greek, yia yia means grandma and papou means grandpa.....and they both would be proud of what could happen in Saturday’s Australian Open tennis championship.....

They didn’t know a tennis ball from a basketball, but they would have been paying attention to the kid named Marcos Baghdatis....

What makes Baghdatis special to my family is that he is not just Greek....but he is actually a Cypriot – from Cyprus – the birthplace of my father’s family....

Greek athletes usually don’t do well in the worldwide sports scene....and Cypriots hardly ever do well.....the most well known Cypriot athlete is most famous for his blundering attempt at passing the ball in the Super Bowl than for his kicking ability – Garo Yepremian of the Miami Dolphins....

So on Saturday I will sit back and watch the kid from my yia yia’s island take on Roger Federer.....this is like the Columbus Clippers taking on the New York Yankees in baseball.....or Youngstown State playing Ohio State in college football....

More than likely Baghdatis will not prevail against maybe the greatest tennis player of all-time....he is 0-3 lifetime against Federer.....yeh, I know he beat Andy Roddick earlier in the week, but Roddick has been punked by just about anyone of late....

Win or lose, Baghdatis at least he made his native Cypriots proud....Yasou!!!!

The match is Sunday morning at 3:30 a.m. on ESPN2
The following article appeared on ESPN.com
MELBOURNE, Australia -- The village in Cyprus from which 20-year-old Marcos Baghdatis hails is called Paramytha. Loosely translated, it means "fairy tale." It's near the resort city of Limassol, on the southern coast of the island nation, at the edge of the crystal-blue waters of Akrotiri Bay.

When Baghdatis left home at 13 to go train at the Mouratoglou/Brett Tennis Academy near Paris, there was no way of knowing how his story would turn out.

Multitudes of other ambitious young players make similar journeys, and for every one that manages to make a living playing professionally, thousands end up taking court reservations and teaching the finer aspects of the backhand volley to grateful hackers at the Club Meds and tennis resorts of the world.

While Baghdatis enjoyed a large measure of success as a junior player, winning the junior Australian Open title in 2003 and ending the year as the top-ranked junior in the world, his professional career has been slow to take flight.

Until late in 2005 at any rate, when he began working again with coach Guillaume Payre (who incidentally is the stepfather of Baghdatis' girlfriend, Camille Nevieve) and then reached his first tour final in October in Basel, Switzerland, where he lost in four sets to Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

Now, on the eve of the biggest match of his career, an Australian Open final Sunday evening against top seed Roger Federer, Baghdatis' rise to prominence is being celebrated not as a solo act but as a shared community triumph.

Melbourne has the third-largest Greek community in the world, after Athens and Thessaloniki, and Baghdatis has been cheered on by an armada of chanting, flag-waving supporters, including nine of his uncles and 21 cousins. This has put a strain on his ability to come through with enough tickets for his gang, as players are typically allocated six tickets for each match they play.
"They helped me a lot throughout these two weeks, especially the Greek Army, like you call them," Baghdatis said. "They're fantastic, just amazing. They are [making] the atmosphere, like, amazing."

The Cypriot government has also gotten into the act, deciding after its new-found favorite-son's semifinal victory Thursday night to fly Baghdatis' parents to Melbourne in time to watch their son play in the final and to pick up all their expenses in Australia.

Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos saluted Baghdatis after his 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded David Nalbandian.

"I warmly congratulate our compatriot for his impressive advance to the Australian Open final," he said in a statement. "His fighting spirit, patience, strength of character with which he competed today provides a shining example for all those young men and women of our country."

Ironically, not a single Greek or Cypriot journalist is among the more than 1,300 accredited media here in Melbourne, though word is a couple of them are scrambling to make it down for Sunday.

Up until now, tennis just hasn't been a big deal in Cyprus, where it is largely viewed as an elitist sport in a nation not renowned for its physical fitness.

Charlie Charalambous, a columnist for The Cyprus Weekly, wrote: "How a Cypriot got to be ranked among the world's best [tennis players] defies logic on an island where we eat ourselves fitter."

It all makes for heady stuff for an emotional player barely out of his teens, ranked No. 54 coming into the tournament. His fourth-round showing here last year had stood as his best performance at a major.

He had earned just shy of $400,000 as a professional before this tournament began, and is assured of at least $600,000 simply for advancing to Sunday night's final. He'll double that paycheck with a win, potentially tripling his career earnings.
Not a bad day's work.

He's got some history with the previously invincible-looking Federer, extending the Swiss to four sets in the second round of the 2004 U.S. Open and losing to him again in straight sets in the quarterfinals in Doha, Qatar, earlier this month.
But Federer has shown flashes of appearing mortal in Melbourne, ever since he let Germany's Tommy Haas climb back from a two-set deficit to make things interesting for the top seed in the fourth round.

Then Nikolay Davydenko held six set points to take a two-sets-to-one lead on Federer in the quarterfinals, but the six-time major winner beat back the challenge and advanced in four tough sets.

And while Federer has a charming cow named Juliette back home in Switzerland, Baghdatis has an entire country and a proud culture firmly behind him.

It's been Greek Pride week the past few days at Melbourne Park, with the atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena when Baghdatis plays befitting a World Cup soccer contest more than a genteel tennis match.

After his five-set win over seventh-seeded Ivan Ljubicic in the quarterfinals, Baghdatis said, "Everybody [is] in the streets right now [in Cyprus]. Everybody, they're having fun, today stopped working to see my match, or took a television at work. I mean it's just an amazing day for Cyprus, for me, for my family."

There are times when the most dangerous opponent is one who has nothing to lose, who can swing from the heels and aim for the stars. One who's too young to be jaded by the oncoming freight train of fame and notoriety that is many a prominent athlete's eventual destiny.

For a slew of seeded men in Melbourne, that opponent has been Baghdatis. He's mowed down, in short order, No. 17 Radek Stepanek, No. 2 Andy Roddick, No. 7 Ljubicic and No. 4 Nalbandian on his way to the final.

If Baghdatis is to become the most improbable men's Grand Slam winner since unseeded Gustavo Kuerten won the French Open in 1997 (while ranked No. 66), he'll need to continue to ride the wave of emotion, skill and serendipity that has seen him through to the final two. Because this affable Cypriot is not long for scouting his opponents.

Asked whether he had seen any of Federer's matches in Melbourne, Baghdatis answered: "No, no. Don't like watching tennis."

Super Bowl Memory - XI

Super Bowl XI would be ranked low when listing the all-time great Super Bowls....and honestly, rightfully so.....the Oakland Raiders dismantled the Minnesota Vikings 32-14.....interestingly, people don’t realize that this was the last Super Bowl played entirely in daylight....the game was played before 103,438 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.....nowadays the Super Bowl has become a prime time event with hours upon hours of pregame hype leading up to the 6:21 p.m. kick-off....back in 1977, it was simply a game.....

This Raider team was one of the greatest teams of all-time as they finished the 1976 season with a 13-1 mark....their only blemish came in week four when the New England Patriots waxed them 48-17 in Foxboro....the Patriots almost got the Raiders twice that year, but Oakland prevailed 24-21 in the playoff game....

After three straight years of losing in the AFC title game, head coach John Madden finally got to the Super Bowl by beating his nemesis, the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-7.....the Steelers were a beat-up team for that game....but the fact is, Oakland was heading to the Super Bowl to play an 11-2-1 Minnesota team....

After a scoreless first quarter, Oakland racked up 16 points in the second quarter and the onslaught began.....the Vikings were held to a paltry 71 yards rushing on the day while the Raiders pounded out 266 yards on the ground.....however, the MVP was Oakland wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff.....

All day long the Raiders defense harassed Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton and terrorized his receivers which was best exemplified when the Raiders Jack Tatum put a devastating hit on wide out Sammy White which left White helmet-less and motion-less on the ground for many minutes....

This game also produced some memorable photos, most notably of a dirty riddle, stickum layered Biletnikoff....

Yeh this game was not a classic....but most people forget that the 1976 Raiders were.....

Thank you Mario!!!

It looks like the time has finally come to say good-bye to seeing Mario Lemieux on the ice....one of the greatest, if not the greatest, hockey player of all-time retired today from the Pittsburgh Penguins after a 22-year career....I was in the 11th grade when Super Mario came on the scene.....I am now 37-years old....

In his youth, Lemieux was just as dominant as Wayne Gretzky.....he helped bring back-to-back Stanley Cup titles to the Steel City....and he personally took it upon himself to keep the Penguins afloat when it looked for certain that the team would go bankrupt and end up elsewhere....

As great a player as he was, we will never really know how much more he could have done because of injuries and Hodgkin’s Disease....Lemieux was plagued with an assortment of ailments including a bad back.....but the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Disease stripped away his best years....and in the end, a heart ailment led to him leaving the game for good....

Unfortunately for Lemieux, he also had to play at the same time as Gretzky’s career was winding down.....and being that Gretzky was the elderstateman, Lemieux had to share the spotlight....

No one knows if the Penguins will be in Pittsburgh in the near future despite having a young and up and coming star in Sidney Crosby......but no matter where the franchise goes or how well Crosby does, Lemieux has left his mark with the city of Pittsburgh and its fans -- and a statue of him should stand in the center of the city....

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, I will be reliving some of my favorite Super Bowl games......

Quick Hits

- The oddest, but neatest, shaped stadium in the league has to be in Seattle....

- Since 1969, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had just 2 head coaches while the Cleveland Browns have had 13.....

- With a win today against Carolina, Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren would become the fifth coach to lead different teams to the Super Bowl....the other four were: Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves, Don Shula, and Dick Vermeil....Holmgren took the Packers to the Super Bowl in 1996 and 1997....

- This week the New York Jets hired Eric Mangini as their head coach....Mangini was 34 years, 11 months, and 29 days old.....he is the 15th youngest head coach ever in the NFL.....the youngest head coach ever was Harland Svare who was 31 years, 11 months old when the Los Angeles Rams hired him in 1962.....

- With a win over Denver, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be the second youngest starting quarterback to play in the Super Bowl.....Big Ben will be 23 years, 340 days old on the day of the Super Bowl....Dan Marino was the youngest at 23 years, 127 days when he led the Dolphins to the big game in 1984.....

- Denver owns a 3-2 edge over the Steelers when they meet in the playoffs....

- On a quick political note, has-been performer Harry Belafonte lashed out at the Office of Homeland Security during a speech last night....the 78-year-old Belafonte said "We've come to this dark time in which the new Gestapo of Homeland Security lurks here, where citizens are having their rights suspended.".....first off, just by him making that statement shows his ignorance.....if Homeland Security was like the Gestapo, Belafonte’s old ass would have been dragged to some secret prison camp.....I really believe some of these left-wing entertainers make these ridiculous statements just to make the news.....

Conference Title Games

At the beginning of the year who would have thought Denver, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Carolina would make it to the final four....well, maybe Carolina.....

But think about it, there were grumblings that Denver’s Mike Shanahan and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren may be on the way out as head coaches.....and some thought the Steelers were getting a bit long in the tooth.....but here we are....

Carolina @ Seattle (-3.5) - the Panthers are the NFL’s true road warriors.....two years ago they went into St. Louis and Philly on their way to the Super Bowl.....if they want to make a reservation to another Super Bowl, the Panthers will have gone through New York, Chicago, and Seattle – all on the road....quarterback Jake Delhomme loves playing on the road....and he has that "it" that Peyton Manning lacks, so far, when big games roll around.....

The Panthers got beaten up in the Chicago game....running back DeShawn Foster is out with a broken ankle and stud defensive end Julius Peppers may be limited.....but this team is kind of like the New England Patriots, when someone goes down, they stick in the next guy....

Seattle was not impressive in its win over Washington last week....sure league MVP Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion early in the game, but even before that injury, the Seahawks did not look like the team they were a month ago....and even before his injury, Alexander did not look like a league MVP.....the only reason Seattle advanced is because of Matt Hasselbeck.....

Okay, the Seahawks are undefeated at home this year....but that stat is a bit deceiving....this team should have lost twice at home.....Dallas’ Drew Bledsoe handed them a game by throwing an interception with 10 seconds left that set up the winning kick for Seattle.....the Seahawks then survived Russian roulette against the Giants as Jay Feely missed three make able field goals....this is a tough call, but I am going with Carolina because I think they are a mentally tougher team – Carolina 23-17.....

Pittsburgh @ Denver (-3.5) - the Steelers can be the first ever sixth seeded team (the lowest seed in the playoffs) to make it to the Super Bowl.....both teams are very similar in their style of play – good offensive line, strong defense, non-flashy running backs and wide receivers.....

Yes, I know the Broncos are undefeated at home in AFC title games, but there is always a first time for anything....but here is a stat to counter Denver’s home record -- the road team has won the AFC title four out of the last six years....

Pittsburgh has been at this same spot too many times before only to stall out....and for some reason I think this team is not going to lose....and they don’t want to lose for number 36 – Jerome Bettis – Pittsburgh 24-14

Quick Hits

It’s that time of year, Mel Kiper released his first mock draft of the season....Kiper has the Texans taking Reggie Bush, the Saints nabbing Matt Leinart, and the Titans taking Vincent Young....A.J. Hawk is penciled in at number six to Oakland....with his long hair and last name, the Raiders would be a good fit....

- Kiper has the Browns, at number 12, taking Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway.....

- According to Kiper, the Joey Harrington experiment is over in Detroit, he also has the Lions, at number 9, taking quarterback Jay Cutler from Vanderbilt.....

- Kiper also has Dallas taking defensive back Jimmy Williams from Virginia Tech.....

- College basketball fans are in for a treat this Monday night when number one ranked Tennessee Lady Vols deal with the Cameron Crazies and take on the Duke Lady Blue Devils....the Dukies are ranked number two in the nation.....

- ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrew is hot....

- Why weren't there more African-American coaches hired in the NFL this off-season?.....

- The New York Times was not high on the Jets hiring of Eric Mangini....it wasn’t anything against Mangini.....the Times just felt that he would also be on that revolving door of head coaches that the Jets cannot hold onto.....

- It took two months, but finally Alex Rodriguez decided to represent the United States in the World Baseball Class.....A. Rod needs to quit worrying about his image and what people think.....

- I was disappointed that Shaq and Kobe have kissed and made up.....it was good drama to have a heated rivalry.....

- Where does New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin get off saying that New Orleans will always be a "chocolate city"......if New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the Big Apple would always be a "vanilla city," he would have Jesse Jackson asking for his head.....

Maybe the idiot kicker was liquored up

A few years back, Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning and Mike Vanderjagt were at a war of words when the season ended....Vanderjagt questioned Manning’s leadership.....then on national television at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, Manning called Vanderjagt "the idiot kicker who was liquored up".....I believe both comments come into question after the Colts debacle at the Hoosier Dome (I still call it the Hoosier Dome).....

As anyone could see, the Colts were flat from the start....which brings into obvious question about coach Tony Dungy resting his players the final two weeks of the regular season and then having a bye week.....hopefully this is a lesson that all coaches learned – play your players the entire way no matter if you have the playoff locked up....

Look at Cincinnati.....the Bengals rested quarterback Carson Palmer for most of the last game of the year against Kansas City only to watch his season, and maybe career, go down the drain on a freak accident hit on the Bengals second play of the game last week....

About five weeks ago, the Colts were a well oiled machine.....I don’t care how the Colts players and coaches spin it, they lost that timing with all the rest over the last few weeks...

Second, credit should be given to the Steelers....they did exactly what any team needs to do in order to beat the Colts – force Manning to have happy feet....the Steelers came with the heat throughout the game....a defense cannot, and I repeat, cannot let Manning just sit back there and pick a defense apart....the Steelers got an A+ on defense and preparation.....

With that loss, Manning is now 3-6 in the playoffs....going back to his college days at Tennessee, Manning always came up short in the big games.....arch-rival Florida beat him four straight years....

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing Manning at all.....he is the finest and smartest quarterback in the game today.....however, under the playoff pressure, he often times plays down to his opponent or lets the pressure get to him.....

Another observation from yesterday’s game is why did Nick Harper run right into Ben Roethlisberger after scooping up Jerome Bettis’ fumble.....I watched three replays of that play and each time I cannot fathom why Harper chose to run right at Big Ben instead of up the right sideline....there was NO ONE behind Ben.....I can’t understand it.... what was Harper thinking?!?!?!

Finally it brings up Vanderjagt's choke....what the hell was that?!?!?!....that was one of the worst field goal attempts I have ever seen....Vanderjagt is one of the leagues highest paid kickers and he flat out choked under the pressure....that kick was no good from the nanosecond that it left his foot....

I know all the blame should not be placed on him, but I am sorry, NFL kickers, who are well-paid, are expected to make 46-yard field goals when the game is on the line....general manager Bill Polian needs to cut Vanderjagt and save cap room.....who knows, maybe he was liquored up at the time of the kick....

But in the end, all the credit should go to Bill Cowher and the Steelers....they flat-out whooped the Colts in every facet of the game and deserve the victory....

Who's in and who's not

On February 4th, the NFL will announce the 2006 Class to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.....the finalists are as follows: Troy Aikman, Harry Carson, LC Greenwood, Russ Grimm, Claude Humphrey, Michael Irvin, Bob Kuchenberg, John Madden, Art Monk, Warren Moon, Derrick Thomas, Thurman Thomas, Reggie White, Rayfield Wright, and Gary Zimmerman.....

The 39 member selection committee is comprised of sports journalists throughout the nation....a minimum of three and a maximum of six former players/coaches could be inducted....a candidate must get 80 percent of the vote and must be judged by what they did on the playing field and not off it....

If I were a voting member, to start out with, there are three obvious choices – Troy Aikman, Reggie White and John Madden.....both Aikman and White are eligible for the first time....

Aikman quarterbacked Dallas to three Super Bowl titles in a four year period.....White, who died last year of sleep apnea, was the most dominant defensive player during his prime.....and yes kids, there is more to John Madden than just video games....Madden was one of the finest coaches during the 1970s as he led Oakland to a Super Bowl and numerous divisional titles.....Madden should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at least 15-20 years ago....this is long overdue....

That leaves at least three more openings left....and this year, I believe there are at least six more players who are worthy of filling those three spots: Carson, Greenwood, Grimm, Irvin, Moon, and D. Thomas.....

Let’s get Irvin out of the way first....is he worthy of being in the Hall based on what he did on the playing field – yes!!.....however, as much as it is preached, the voters will take into consideration his recent issue with a crackpipe found in his car....eventually Irvin will get into the Hall, but not this year....

I like to recognize the old-timers who have waited each year for the call, letting them know they have been selected.....and the first one on that list is Harry Carson.....Lawrence Taylor was the force behind those great NY Giants defenses in the mid to late 1980s....but it was Carson who was the anchor of those defenses....Carson did not get the media attention, but he was one of the most solid linebackers during his playing time (1976-88)....

My second vote would go to another player who was very similar to Carson – L.C. Greenwood....Greenwood is easily forgotten among those great players, Greene, Lambert, Ham, Blount, etc, that comprised the Steelers Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s.....from 1969-81, Greenwood was an exceptional talent at the defensive end position....

My last choice comes down among Grimm, Moon, and Derrick Thomas.....as most know, Thomas would be the sentimental choice after dying of a stroke due to complications from an automobile accident.....and Moon has the an impressive loot of quarterbacking numbers.....but if I had to choose, the only choice should be Russ Grimm.....during the 1980s the Washington Redskin offensive line was known as The Hogs – and Grimm was the leader of this group....this was the first time the NFL saw offensive linemen who were just flat out big.....

In the end, players like Moon, Thomas, Irvin, Zimmerman, Wright, etc all should eventually be in the Hall of Fame....but this year my nod goes to these six: Aikman, White, Madden, Carson, Greenwood, and Grimm

Divisional Predictions

Hopefully this weekend’s playoff games are better than last weekend....the only game that was close throughout was the Washington-Tampa Bay game.....

Washington @ Seattle (-9.5) - the Redskins are the hottest team in the league right now despite racking up only 128 yards of total offense against the Bucs last weekend....the Skins are heading into hostile territory today....those people up in Starbucks land can really make some noise....Washington should be commended for not quitting during the year which resulted in a playoff berth....but they are up against too much today....the Seahawks will not lose this game - Seattle 27-13

New England @ Denver (-3.5) - this is an even game....the Broncos are favorite because of the homefield advantage....the Patriots are playing good ball right now....and honestly, I would like to see them win and play either the Colts or Steelers next week.....look for New England to have this game in hand, but somehow the Broncos will win it in the end - Denver 21-20

Pittsburgh @ Indianapolis (-9.5) - if there is any upset this weekend, I could see the Steelers being the team to do it because of their defense....if that upset is going to happen, the defense has to be physical and knock around Peyton Manning and throw Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne off their routes....the Steelers will need to disrupt the timing of the Colts well-oiled offense....and I think it could happen – but in the end it won’t happen - Colts 27-16

Carolina @ Chicago (-2.5) - about five years ago, the Bears had a home playoff game against the Eagles only to lay an egg.....something tells me this could happen again because they are relying on their defense so much.....the Panthers offense can put points on the board a little better than the Bears offense....I think the first team to score 17 points will win this game - Chicago 20-14

It's time to wake up!!!

A few years back basketball analyst Dick Vitale did a commercial for Pizza Hut in which he would say, "it’s time to wake up and smell the pizza baby!!!".....

I believe that time has come for former Ohio high school golden boy quarterback Justin Zwick....since donning the scarlet and gray at Ohio State, the high school prodigy was redshirted a season, then sat behind Craig Krenzel for another season.....

Now over the last two seasons, Zwick has watched as Troy Smith has taken control of the Buckeye offense.....instead of being the one to lead Ohio State to a national title, Zwick has been relegated to holding the clipboard....in the past two seasons, Zwick has started a handful of games and has thrown only seven touchdown to go along with seven interceptions....

How time changes things....when coming out of Massillon Washington, Zwick was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in high school....he was head coach Jim Tressel’s first big prize recruit when he committed prior to his senior season to Ohio State over Michigan....

With Zwick out of the picture, the Wolverines set their sights on California stud quarterback Matt Gutierrez....he never lost a game while running the offense for DeLasalle.....

It looked like Gutierrez and Zwick would be matching up at least three times as the starting quarterbacks for both Michigan and Ohio State...but it never happened....

Like Zwick, Gutierrez was redshirted his first year then served as a protege to John Navarre....then came an injury to his shoulder and in came a hot shot freshman named Chad Henne.....that’s all she wrote for Gutierrez in Ann Arbor....

After pulling a Justin Zwick in Ann Arbor for the last two seasons, Gutierrez finally woke up and decided this week to transfer to Division I-AA Idaho State for his senior season....it’s his last chance to show the NFL scouts his ability....

But while Gutierrez made his move, Zwick continues to sit and wait and steam....at this year’s Fiesta Bowl, Zwick told the Ohio media that he was frustrated that he lost his job to Troy Smith.....Zwick said he felt he did nothing wrong to actually lose his job....

Even though thoughts of transferring have danced in his head, Zwick, so far, has decided to be loyal to Ohio State and serve as the mop-up boy in blowout games....as each week goes by, Zwick is slowly watching his chance to play in the NFL slip away....

More than likely no NFL team will draft Zwick because of his limited experience....for a "can’t miss" kid when coming out of high school, Zwick has decided to trade away his dream of playing in the NFL for being loyal to Ohio State....

And if that is his choice, so be it, but hopefully 10 years from now he doesn’t regret following Gutierrez’s decision and transferring to a I-AA program to showcase his talent....if Zwick does wise up and leave, I think he can rest easy knowing that THE Ohio State will not have a problem finding another clipboard holder and mop-up boy.....

Taking a real stand

It’s a tale of two football programs....

Virginia Tech head football coach Frank Beamer should be commended for taking a stand and dismissing his starting quarterback, and now former Hokie, Marcus Vick from the team after Vick’s deplorable act of spiking Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil in Monday’s Gator Bowl....

Think about it, how many head coaches would take such a stand....one thing for sure, a coach along the Olentangy River in Columbus is not one of them...and there is proof to that claim....

Many Buckeye faithful like to forget about the unsportsmanlike act by former Buckeye linebacker Robert Reynolds in the 2003 game against Wisconsin....to refresh some memories, the defending national champion Buckeyes were playing at Wisconsin on ESPN’s Saturday Night Game of the Week on national television....
With the Badgers taking control of the game behind the play of quarterback Jim Sorgi, Reynolds took it upon himself to try and slow down the Wisky offense....after hitting Sorgi on a play, Reynolds deliberately and blatantly tried to choke Sorgi by sticking his fingers into Sorgi’s windpipe and throat....ultimately, Reynolds succeeded as Sorgi was knocked out of the game....in the end, Wisconsin won the game....

The national media were in an uproar about this classless, thuglike act.....after the game OSU head coach Jim Tressel smoothly said he had to review the tape because he did not see the play....as the media criticism did not stop in the days following the game, Tressel decided to take a hard stand and show the nation that this was unacceptable for anyone wearing the scarlet and gray of THE Ohio State University....

Tressel gave his starting linebacker a one game suspension.....yes, one game!!!!.....

Tressel said, "However, after getting a firsthand look at the tape and seeing what took place, I feel that the apology by itself is not enough. Robert's conduct was totally unacceptable and has no place in intercollegiate athletics."

Then to add insult, the "classy" Ohio State football players used Reynolds’ one game suspension as motivation for their next game against Iowa.....they wanted to win for their hoodlum teammate who had to sit out one stinking game....

Thank goodness some coaches like Frank Beamer will not stand for this thuglike behavior on the playing field....Vick was planning on coming back for his senior season and was a possible candidate for the Heisman Trophy....so it is not like Beamer bounced some bench warmer..... at least he had the guts to do the right thing.....