I wasn't around much over the weekend and can't really comment on Pitt's embarrassing 34-10 loss at Rutgers on Saturday. Therefore, I'll just let John Steigerwald of the blog Just Watch the Game do the talking for me.
Yeah, what he said.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What does a combined $528,000,000 in payroll get you? Not the playoffs. Not the World Series. Not this year, anyway
I was super busy the past four or five days and didn't get to pay much attention to the baseball playoffs, but I was extremely happy to see that the three-highest spending baseball organizations will be watching the remainder of the playoffs on tv with the rest of us.
The team that spent $160,000,000 on salary, the Boston Red Sox, blew their huge lead in the wild card standings and didn't even make the postseason.
The team that paid their players $172,000,000 in 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies, lost the NLDS in five-games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
And, of course, every season's payroll champions, the $200,000,000 New York Yankees, lost the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers in five-games.
This brought me joy and gave me a good laugh. I mean, you spend all that money and can't even make the playoffs, Boston? The backlash was so severe in Red Sox Nation that Terry Francona, the man who helped lead the long-suffering Red Sox fans out of World Series hell with two World Championships, was fired as manager.
And, of course, the Phillies fans are probably beside themselves. After winning the World Series in 2008 and at least making it there in 2009, this will make two-straight years that their team failed to make it to the Fall Classic. Those poor babies. Well, at least they have the Dream Team Eagles.....oh right, sorry.
And, I'm glad that I'm not a radio talk show host in the Big Apple right now. There may not be a more arrogant fanbase in all of sports than New York Yankees fans. And that's saying something coming from me, I mean, I'm a Steelers fan. Anyway, Yankees fans don't care that the main reason their team has been able to sustain success for so long is because they can out-spend most of the competition. They could care less about any of that. To them, their team always wins because God said so. Or is that Cowboys fans? But the Cowboys haven't been winning, and the fans down there must have committed a huge sin because He gave them Tony Romo. But I digress.
Maybe the fanbases of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies can form an online support group and console one another as they watch the remaining playoff teams battle it out for a title that they don't deserve because none of those teams are from New York, Boston or Philadelphia.
Man, what about the Fox network? They're in serious danger of broadcasting a World Series involving the cities of Detroit and Milwaukee. What will they do if that happens? Can they cancel it?
Do you think Fox will just try to arrange a Yankees/Red Sox seven-game series, anyway? I know the Yankees and Red Sox can never officially play in the World Series, but as everyone knows, any time those two teams get together for anything, it's the biggest thing ever and the whole world will pay attention.
Well, the sad part in all of this is I've been happy about this kind of thing before, and I'll probably have many more years to be thrilled about the BIG BOYS missing-out on a chance to win the World Series because the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies (and all the major market teams) will always have a chance to win. It's not about winning the World Series, it's about having a chance to compete every year.
And when the fans of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies get together and console each other in that support group, they should be comforted in knowing that their teams will be back next year with another chance to win.
As for me, I'm just a Pirates fan who doesn't have a warm place to sleep at night, and I just get the occasional thrill from watching the rich boys stumble every now and then.
It might be an empty thrill, but it's all I've got.
The team that spent $160,000,000 on salary, the Boston Red Sox, blew their huge lead in the wild card standings and didn't even make the postseason.
The team that paid their players $172,000,000 in 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies, lost the NLDS in five-games to the St. Louis Cardinals.
And, of course, every season's payroll champions, the $200,000,000 New York Yankees, lost the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers in five-games.
This brought me joy and gave me a good laugh. I mean, you spend all that money and can't even make the playoffs, Boston? The backlash was so severe in Red Sox Nation that Terry Francona, the man who helped lead the long-suffering Red Sox fans out of World Series hell with two World Championships, was fired as manager.
And, of course, the Phillies fans are probably beside themselves. After winning the World Series in 2008 and at least making it there in 2009, this will make two-straight years that their team failed to make it to the Fall Classic. Those poor babies. Well, at least they have the Dream Team Eagles.....oh right, sorry.
And, I'm glad that I'm not a radio talk show host in the Big Apple right now. There may not be a more arrogant fanbase in all of sports than New York Yankees fans. And that's saying something coming from me, I mean, I'm a Steelers fan. Anyway, Yankees fans don't care that the main reason their team has been able to sustain success for so long is because they can out-spend most of the competition. They could care less about any of that. To them, their team always wins because God said so. Or is that Cowboys fans? But the Cowboys haven't been winning, and the fans down there must have committed a huge sin because He gave them Tony Romo. But I digress.
Maybe the fanbases of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies can form an online support group and console one another as they watch the remaining playoff teams battle it out for a title that they don't deserve because none of those teams are from New York, Boston or Philadelphia.
Man, what about the Fox network? They're in serious danger of broadcasting a World Series involving the cities of Detroit and Milwaukee. What will they do if that happens? Can they cancel it?
Do you think Fox will just try to arrange a Yankees/Red Sox seven-game series, anyway? I know the Yankees and Red Sox can never officially play in the World Series, but as everyone knows, any time those two teams get together for anything, it's the biggest thing ever and the whole world will pay attention.
Well, the sad part in all of this is I've been happy about this kind of thing before, and I'll probably have many more years to be thrilled about the BIG BOYS missing-out on a chance to win the World Series because the Yankees, Red Sox, Phillies (and all the major market teams) will always have a chance to win. It's not about winning the World Series, it's about having a chance to compete every year.
And when the fans of the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies get together and console each other in that support group, they should be comforted in knowing that their teams will be back next year with another chance to win.
As for me, I'm just a Pirates fan who doesn't have a warm place to sleep at night, and I just get the occasional thrill from watching the rich boys stumble every now and then.
It might be an empty thrill, but it's all I've got.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Al Davis: The baddest Raider of them all
As with most Steelers fans, I grew up hating the Oakland Raiders and their owner, Al Davis. With Davis' passing this past weekend, I can't help but find it ironic that I actually gained a measure of respect for him right before he died.
Back in August, I went to the local library and found a book written by Peter Richmond entitled: BADASSES: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, And John Madden's Oakland Raiders.
The book is a tribute to the Raiders of the 70's and their unique cast of characters and the years of struggles they went through chasing that elusive World Championship before finally defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
I don't remember every little detail about the book, but I do know that Davis personified being a Raider more than any player or coach who ever worked for him.
He was the classic outsider, seemingly always at odds with other owners, their teams on the field, and the commissioner's office.
If he felt his franchise was on the wrong end of an injustice, he never let it go. I remember seeing a special in the mid-90's about the Immaculate Reception play that his Raiders were the victims of. This was obviously over two-decades after the controversial play that occurred at Three Rivers Stadium on December 23rd, 1972, but even after the tremendous success that his teams had in the 70's and 80's, you could tell Davis was still pretty bitter when he discussed the play.
I heard a lot of stories about Davis being intimidating, vindictive and very hard to deal with if you weren't on his side. After reading the book, there is probably some level of truth to all of those character traits.
But I did come away impressed with how much he lived and breathed football and how dedicated he was to winning. Former Raider coach John Madden said about Davis: "If you cut him open, he's total football."
As much as he loved to "Just Win, Baby," Davis probably hated to lose even more.
The last decade of his life had to be pretty difficult for him as his Raiders were one of the worst teams in the NFL over that period, but he never got away from his core philosophies and remained true to who he was and what he wanted his organization to be.
No owner ever set the tone for his entire franchise and molded it in his image the way Al Davis did with his Oakland Raiders.
Whether you loved him or hated him, you must admit, there was nobody like him.
Al Davis, the baddest Raider who ever lived.
Back in August, I went to the local library and found a book written by Peter Richmond entitled: BADASSES: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, And John Madden's Oakland Raiders.
The book is a tribute to the Raiders of the 70's and their unique cast of characters and the years of struggles they went through chasing that elusive World Championship before finally defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI.
I don't remember every little detail about the book, but I do know that Davis personified being a Raider more than any player or coach who ever worked for him.
He was the classic outsider, seemingly always at odds with other owners, their teams on the field, and the commissioner's office.
If he felt his franchise was on the wrong end of an injustice, he never let it go. I remember seeing a special in the mid-90's about the Immaculate Reception play that his Raiders were the victims of. This was obviously over two-decades after the controversial play that occurred at Three Rivers Stadium on December 23rd, 1972, but even after the tremendous success that his teams had in the 70's and 80's, you could tell Davis was still pretty bitter when he discussed the play.
I heard a lot of stories about Davis being intimidating, vindictive and very hard to deal with if you weren't on his side. After reading the book, there is probably some level of truth to all of those character traits.
But I did come away impressed with how much he lived and breathed football and how dedicated he was to winning. Former Raider coach John Madden said about Davis: "If you cut him open, he's total football."
As much as he loved to "Just Win, Baby," Davis probably hated to lose even more.
The last decade of his life had to be pretty difficult for him as his Raiders were one of the worst teams in the NFL over that period, but he never got away from his core philosophies and remained true to who he was and what he wanted his organization to be.
No owner ever set the tone for his entire franchise and molded it in his image the way Al Davis did with his Oakland Raiders.
Whether you loved him or hated him, you must admit, there was nobody like him.
Al Davis, the baddest Raider who ever lived.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Monday Night Football Will No Longer Be Rowdy (At Least Not The Intro). Hank Williams Jr. Officially Axed by ESPN
Well, just the other day, I sort of hinted at the possibility of Hank Williams Jr. being permanently let go by ESPN after his controversial remarks comparing President Obama to Hitler, and after temporarily removing Williams' intro from this past Monday's Tampa/Indy contest, the network has made it official. ABC/ESPN has decided to part ways with the country legend, who began doing the intro to their Monday Night package in 1989.
If you click on the second link in this post, you'll see that Williams tried to put a "you can't fire me, I quit!" spin on the whole situation on his website and cited ESPN's infringement on his first amendment rights as one of the reasons. Well, I thought Joe Bendel of ESPN 970am brought up a good point yesterday about the freedom of speech. It works both ways. If a person is going to say something inflammatory, they better expect harsh reactions in return. And in the case of Williams, the harsh reactions came from his employer.
It's really not smart business to mix entertainment and politics, especially when you're entertaining a mainstream football audience that has varied political views.
Oh well, at any rate, thanks for helping us get rowdy all these years, Hank.
If you click on the second link in this post, you'll see that Williams tried to put a "you can't fire me, I quit!" spin on the whole situation on his website and cited ESPN's infringement on his first amendment rights as one of the reasons. Well, I thought Joe Bendel of ESPN 970am brought up a good point yesterday about the freedom of speech. It works both ways. If a person is going to say something inflammatory, they better expect harsh reactions in return. And in the case of Williams, the harsh reactions came from his employer.
It's really not smart business to mix entertainment and politics, especially when you're entertaining a mainstream football audience that has varied political views.
Oh well, at any rate, thanks for helping us get rowdy all these years, Hank.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Are you ready for some football? Well, you may no longer have Hank Williams Jr. to help you get ready
In football, one of the lasting traditions over the past two-decades has been seeing country music legend Hank William's Jr. do his tailored rendition of "All My Rowdy Friends" for the Monday Night Football intro. I mean, who doesn't get pumped up when they hear Hank scream "Are you Ready For Some Football!"?
It's always kind of funny hearing Hank update the words to include the two teams that are playing that week.
Now, sadly, Hank may not get to do that any longer. His intro was pulled from the Tampa Bay/Indianapolis game last night for some comments he made comparing President Obama to Hitler.
It remains to be seen whether or not the decision by Disney/ABC/ESPN will be permanent, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Network execs like to keep things as mainstream and vanilla as possible. And you just know the last thing the folks at Disney need is a controversial political figure leading the intro to their Monday Night Football package.
It's funny calling Hank Williams' Jr. a political figure, but it's 2011, and the way people overreact these days, I wouldn't be shocked if we had someone else doing the intro for Monday Night Football in the future, maybe even Justin Bieber.
Oh my God, Hank! What did you do?
Come on, Hank! Leave the political opinions to the folks on CNN and Fox and stick with what you do best, getting rowdy with some cheerleaders, and getting us ready for some football!
It's always kind of funny hearing Hank update the words to include the two teams that are playing that week.
Now, sadly, Hank may not get to do that any longer. His intro was pulled from the Tampa Bay/Indianapolis game last night for some comments he made comparing President Obama to Hitler.
It remains to be seen whether or not the decision by Disney/ABC/ESPN will be permanent, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Network execs like to keep things as mainstream and vanilla as possible. And you just know the last thing the folks at Disney need is a controversial political figure leading the intro to their Monday Night Football package.
It's funny calling Hank Williams' Jr. a political figure, but it's 2011, and the way people overreact these days, I wouldn't be shocked if we had someone else doing the intro for Monday Night Football in the future, maybe even Justin Bieber.
Oh my God, Hank! What did you do?
Come on, Hank! Leave the political opinions to the folks on CNN and Fox and stick with what you do best, getting rowdy with some cheerleaders, and getting us ready for some football!
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sometimes fantasy football can be very bittersweet. Horrible Losses puts up 131 points, but at what cost?
If you know anything about me, you know that I have always had poor luck in fantasy football. For instance, this season, I landed Reggie Wayne as one of my receivers, but I'll be damned if Peyton Manning picked this year to get injured. With Kerry Collins and Curtis Painter throwing Wayne the football, I might as well have Terrell Owens as one of my starters.
And, just like in past years, I got off to my usual 0-2 start this season. But I won last week, and this week, I actually crushed my opponent, 131-97.
Normally, I would be pretty estatic about this, but sadly, I am left with the same feelings that Geena Davis' character in "A League of Their Own" must have felt when she beat her sister in the big game at the end.
The draft for my league was autopick, and I don't know what my draft position was, but I landed Texans' running back Arian Foster with the first pick.
Since I have the worst luck in fantasy football, Foster was pretty much non-existent in the first three games of the season because of a hamstring injury. I didn't even start him for a couple of games because his status was always a "game-time decision", and you just can't take a chance that the coach will decide to sit a guy right before kick-off. As a fantasy owner, you're pretty much screwed when that happens.
However, Foster was cleared to play in yesterday's game against my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.
I normally don't have any problems starting a fantasy player against the Steelers. A lot of fans won't, and it's funny, because they act like not starting one of their guys will actually help the Steelers win. I don't know if they know this or not, but whether they start them in their league or not, the player will still play in the actual game.
However, starting a running back against the Steelers defense is another matter. It's not usually wise to do that, but Foster was my number one pick. I had to start him, right?
Even though the Steelers defense has been struggling against the run (at least by their standards), I didn't think Foster would earn me many points yesterday. Well, he rushed for 155 yards and one touchdown. In my league, that amounted to 22 points.
That wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the fact that the Texans defeated the Steelers, and Foster's touchdown was the difference in the game.
Now, if that wasn't bittersweet enough, I also have the Ravens' defense. I despise the Ravens, but since I wound up with their defense in the draft, I have to start them every week. I don't know the details of Baltimore's game against the Jets last night, but I do know that Baltimore's defense did enough to give me 32 points for my fantasy team.
Since I won by 34 points, one could say that Foster and Baltimore's defense were the difference.
I don't think I'll cry like Dottie Hinson did when she beat her sister, but I sure do feel bad.
So, even when I win, I can't really enjoy it. Congratulations, fantasy football universe. You win!
And, just like in past years, I got off to my usual 0-2 start this season. But I won last week, and this week, I actually crushed my opponent, 131-97.
Normally, I would be pretty estatic about this, but sadly, I am left with the same feelings that Geena Davis' character in "A League of Their Own" must have felt when she beat her sister in the big game at the end.
The draft for my league was autopick, and I don't know what my draft position was, but I landed Texans' running back Arian Foster with the first pick.
Since I have the worst luck in fantasy football, Foster was pretty much non-existent in the first three games of the season because of a hamstring injury. I didn't even start him for a couple of games because his status was always a "game-time decision", and you just can't take a chance that the coach will decide to sit a guy right before kick-off. As a fantasy owner, you're pretty much screwed when that happens.
However, Foster was cleared to play in yesterday's game against my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers.
I normally don't have any problems starting a fantasy player against the Steelers. A lot of fans won't, and it's funny, because they act like not starting one of their guys will actually help the Steelers win. I don't know if they know this or not, but whether they start them in their league or not, the player will still play in the actual game.
However, starting a running back against the Steelers defense is another matter. It's not usually wise to do that, but Foster was my number one pick. I had to start him, right?
Even though the Steelers defense has been struggling against the run (at least by their standards), I didn't think Foster would earn me many points yesterday. Well, he rushed for 155 yards and one touchdown. In my league, that amounted to 22 points.
That wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the fact that the Texans defeated the Steelers, and Foster's touchdown was the difference in the game.
Now, if that wasn't bittersweet enough, I also have the Ravens' defense. I despise the Ravens, but since I wound up with their defense in the draft, I have to start them every week. I don't know the details of Baltimore's game against the Jets last night, but I do know that Baltimore's defense did enough to give me 32 points for my fantasy team.
Since I won by 34 points, one could say that Foster and Baltimore's defense were the difference.
I don't think I'll cry like Dottie Hinson did when she beat her sister, but I sure do feel bad.
So, even when I win, I can't really enjoy it. Congratulations, fantasy football universe. You win!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Pitt looks impressive in its high octane coming out party with win over South Florida
I'd say 523 total yards and 44 points is a pretty good demonstration of the high octane approach new Pitt head coach Todd Graham has been preaching since the day he was hired back in January.
The Pitt Panthers, coming off of frustrating and heartbreaking losses to Iowa and Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks, opened their Big East schedule Thursday evening with a very impressive 44-17 victory over 16th ranked South Florida at Heinz Field.
The game was back and forth in the first half, with Pitt leading, 20-17, at halftime, but then the Panthers scored 24 unanswered points in the second-half and won going away.
Running back Ray Graham was the star of the evening, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. With 734 yards through five games, Graham is off to the best start by a running back in school history.
As for quarterback Tino Sunseri, he wasn't spectacular, but he was pretty efficient, going 22/33 for 216 yards and a touchdown pass to go along with a rushing touchdown of his own.
On defense, the Panthers did give-up 425 yards, but they held South Florida scoreless in the second half, and after giving away fourth quarter leads in the last two games, that was certainly a welcome sight.
With the victory over the 16th ranked Bulls, the Panthers defeated their first ranked opponent since knocking off South Florida in 2008.
So, just like last season, the Panthers stumble through a frustrating non-conference debut but look extremely dominant in their first Big East game. If you remember last season, Pitt, ranked 15th in the preseason poll, lost in overtime at Utah, were crushed by Miami at Heinz Field, and lost a close game to the Irish in South Bend. The Panthers were 2-3 heading into the Big East portion of their schedule but throttled their first three conference opponents by a combined score of 106-38.
I don't know if the Panthers dominant performance is an indication that they're a serious threat in the Big East, and I certainly won't be getting my hopes up for a BCS bid (we Panthers fans know how that can go), but it was an awesome way to open-up conference play. Maybe there's something to this high octane philosophy, after all.
Hail to Pitt!
The Pitt Panthers, coming off of frustrating and heartbreaking losses to Iowa and Notre Dame in back-to-back weeks, opened their Big East schedule Thursday evening with a very impressive 44-17 victory over 16th ranked South Florida at Heinz Field.
The game was back and forth in the first half, with Pitt leading, 20-17, at halftime, but then the Panthers scored 24 unanswered points in the second-half and won going away.
Running back Ray Graham was the star of the evening, rushing for 226 yards and two touchdowns. With 734 yards through five games, Graham is off to the best start by a running back in school history.
As for quarterback Tino Sunseri, he wasn't spectacular, but he was pretty efficient, going 22/33 for 216 yards and a touchdown pass to go along with a rushing touchdown of his own.
On defense, the Panthers did give-up 425 yards, but they held South Florida scoreless in the second half, and after giving away fourth quarter leads in the last two games, that was certainly a welcome sight.
With the victory over the 16th ranked Bulls, the Panthers defeated their first ranked opponent since knocking off South Florida in 2008.
So, just like last season, the Panthers stumble through a frustrating non-conference debut but look extremely dominant in their first Big East game. If you remember last season, Pitt, ranked 15th in the preseason poll, lost in overtime at Utah, were crushed by Miami at Heinz Field, and lost a close game to the Irish in South Bend. The Panthers were 2-3 heading into the Big East portion of their schedule but throttled their first three conference opponents by a combined score of 106-38.
I don't know if the Panthers dominant performance is an indication that they're a serious threat in the Big East, and I certainly won't be getting my hopes up for a BCS bid (we Panthers fans know how that can go), but it was an awesome way to open-up conference play. Maybe there's something to this high octane philosophy, after all.
Hail to Pitt!
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