Who Dey? WE DEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, maybe in the grand scheme of things there is no real difference between finishing 7-9 and 8-8.

But you know what?

That. Was. Awesome.

The Steelers dominated early, tried to give it away late and crushed the Bengals faint playoff hopes with a 67 yard Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes (get used to it folks) strike.

Marvin Lewis finishes 8-8 again, Willie Parker tops 1450 yards and the Steelers manage to finish 6-2 after a nightmare of a start while the Bengals completely tanked the final month of the season in Bungal like fashion.

Please Bill, Make It Stop; News, Notes and Rumblings

According to Mark Curnutte of the Cincinnati Enquirer, there is a rumor swirling around Cincinnati that Marvin Lewis could leave the Bengals following this season to take over for Bill Cowher here in Pittsburgh. Here is the comment from the article:

RUMOR MILL: A popular rumor going through town: Lewis will leave the Bengals to replace Bill Cowher as Steelers coach.

Cowher is expected to announce his retirement after the season finale Sunday in Cincinnati. The Steelers were eliminated last week from playoff contention.

Lewis is under contract with the Bengals through the 2010 season but was a member of Cowher's first Steelers staff (1992-95) as linebackers coach. Lewis also is a Pittsburgh native.

There are a number of reasons why I think this is bogus, the biggest one being I can't see the Steelers giving up draft picks or players (which they would have to do since Lewis is signed in Cincinnati through 2010 - unless of course, he gets fired after this season) to bring in Marvin Lewis.

I realize Marvin Lewis is beloved around the league for turning around the Bengals, but all he has really done is taken them from a laughing stock to simply mediocre. While that is considered progress and improvement, it's not worth the kool-aid the NFL is trying to serve me when it comes to Lewis as a head coach. During his watch the Bengals have had three mediocre seasons and one first round playoff exit in which his team had not one - but two - ten point leads at home. And it should be worth noting that his interest in player character has led to this years version of the Bengals ending up in the police blotter more than they've ended up in the win column.

---

Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Romeo Crennell will return as head coach of the Browns in 2007 unless one of these things happens: He fails to follow ownerships orders to dismiss several assistant coaches...Or...a head coach like Bill Cowher shows interest in the job.

This is even more unlikely than Marvin Lewis coaching in Pittsburgh, but seeing the idea of Bill Cowher coaching the Browns in print leaves me with a sick feeling in my stomach.

---

According to the Baltimore Sun the Orioles are close to signing free agent Aubrey Huff to a three year deal worth about $20 million. Should this happen that will leave the Pirates with the option of signing Trot Nixon or overpaying in a trade for a guy like Adam Laroche to satisfy their need for a left handed bat in the lineup.. I would actually prefer Nixon to Huff, so thats not all that bad, but should they fail to sign him things will look even worse than they do now.

Steelers Season In Review

Even though the Steelers have one game remaining on the schedule they are finished with any meaningful ones. While it is true that Sundays game could have some sort of meaning for the Bengals, it really won't since their playoff chances will be crushed once the Jets take care of the fighting Shells. Or when Brad St. Louis messes up another long snap. Whatever comes first.

So with that being said, I figured now would be a good time to take a quick look back on the season that wasn't for the 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was a difficult year to watch and not really because of the obvious poor play we were treated to. The Steelers have been competitive quite a bit in my time as a fan, and a bad season every now and again isn't as big of a deal as a bad season by say...the Pirates. This season was painful to watch because of all the side stories and drama.

From Ben Roethlisberger crashing his bike, to Ben Roethlisberger having his appendix removed to Ben Roethlisberger being attacked by a wooly mammoth on the mexican war streets ...it was enough to drive you bonkers.

And that doesn't even include the Bill Cowher soap opera. Like most people, I am completely oblivious to his plans. Speculating on it is futile. Will he retire? Will he return to his alma mater and coach the NC State Wolfpack? Will he buy the Penguins and move them to Kansas city? Or will he make everyone look like a flaming moron and re-up his contract with the Steelers for another ten years? Personally, i'm hoping for the latter if for no other reason than to spite everyone that had written him off to North Carolina or wherever they had him written to.

Well...spite, and the fact he's a really good coach and the Steelers are better with him than they are without him.

I refuse to accept the argument that "new blood is needed." What is needed is a good coach and the Steelers have one, and when you have one in the NFL you need to hang onto him for as long as humanly possible because there are a lot more Dave Shulas', Nick Sabans', Butch Davis' and Mike Shermans than there are Bill Cowhers.

I also refuse to accept that he has "lost his fire." Just because he isn't running up and down the sidelines spitting and shoving pictures in referees pockets does not mean he does not give a damn anymore. My response to that is as people get older and mature...they change. Bill Cowher is no longer a 30 year old wide eyed young NFL coach. He is a seasoned coach. A grizzled veteran. He has hardware on his hand. He has moxie. He is a middle aged man for crying out loud.

Regardless of what he decides, we will probably know by next Tuesday and then the real fun will begin.

---

As for the play on the field a lot of guys had bad seasons. Ben. Ike Taylor. The starting offensive lineman. Most of the linebackers....actually.....it might be easier to list the guys who did not have bad seasons.

Willie Parker
The defensive line
And an argument could be made for Bryant Mcfadden when he was actually allowed on the field.

Thats simply not enough to win.

Willie Parker is one of the few guys that actually improved on what he did last season, and a lot of people are still trying to find ways to replace him because he only weighs 212 pounds. I don't get it. Parker didn't always have good games, but you never had to question his effort, and like the rest of the offense he will be greatly aided by improved play on the offensive line.

Somewhere this offseason - the draft or free agency - the Steelers will need to find another good running back, not because Willie Parker is not good enough or is to small or...whatever...but because as Bill likes to say, "It's a two back league." And it doesn't even have to be a big back. It could be a small back, a big back, a power back, a scat back, a hunchback....it doesn't really matter. Just so he's good.

Last year the Steelers had three different running backs run the ball over 70 times. This year? One. And unless Najeh Davenport gets 16 carries in the season finale that number will stay at one. The next closest running back after Davenport? Verron Haynes with 15.

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Ben Roethlisberger, just mere months after winning the Super Bowl (and after he survived a great white attack in the Mon) has drawn the ire of the Pittsburgh (un)faithful. Over at the wasteland that is stillers.com somebody posed the question: "Would you trade Ben Roethlisberger for Vince Young straight up?"

About halfway down the first page some guy under the alias "BadAss" had this to say...

vince is bigger, stronger, faster, and has a much stronger arm with more accuracy. He's a proven winner. It's a no-brainer.

Yes, it is a no-brainer and this guy would agree.
Over the years I have become fully convinced that stillers.com is nothing but a bunch of Browns fans that created a website - posing as Steelers fans -with the agenda: "Make Steelers fans look like idiots." With every thread that I read I become more and more convinced of the tease and I gain a little more respect for the Browns faithful in the process. It's a rare moment of genius for them and one they should cling to. If they really are Steelers fans then God help us all. Hopefully our friend "Badass" was the guy that was sitting five rows behind me on Sunday that was coldclocked early in the first quarter.

Whats lost on such a debate is trying to make a final call on either guy (Young after 8 games or Roethlisberger after three years) is simply unfair to both players. Ben Roethlisberger struggled this season, no question about it. He was good at times, dynamic at times, bad at times and dreadful at others. But do yourself a favor, take a look at Ben Roethlisbergers first three NFL seasons...and then look at guys like John Elway, Troy Aikman, Brett Favre, Steve Young, Jim Kelly and Drew Brees in their first three NFL seasons.

This just in: Young quarterbacks struggle.

I think we look at the rapid success that Roethlisberger had and forget that he is still one of the youngest starting quarterbacks in the NFL. Struggles should be expected at some point and just because they happened does not mean that he should instantly be yanked for Charlie Batch at the first sign of said struggles.

The boiling point of Ben Roethlisberger criticism this season was the infamous and unfortunately unforgettable Oakland game. I remember Chris Carr running 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. And I remember Nmandi Ashoumonga (or whatever his name is) going 36 yards the other way as well. But I also remember the Nmandi pick being tipped at the line, and instead of going 10 yards downfield to a wide open Cedric Wilson, it ended up going 20 yards down the field to a wide open Ashoumonga. I remember the other three picks in that game...and I also remember Derrick Burrgess spending more time in the Steelers backfield that day than Willie Parker. I remember Alan Faneca getting eaten alive by a washed up Warren Sapp. When Sapp was in his prime the Steelers dominated him, now that Sapp had been rode hard and put away wet he was disrupting the run and sacking Ben Roethlisberger.

As bad as Ben was in that game (and he was dreadful) Max Starks may have been even worse (as he was all season).

The Steelers were flagged for four personal foul penalties in that game - two of them on back to back plays by Joey Porter. As a team they collectively sucked in a game they should have been desperate in. They played a sloppy, undisciplined, turnover filled disaster of a game...much like most of the first half of the season.

This was the low point of the season for everybody. Not just Ben Roethlisberger.

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Hopefully this off-season the future of Bill Cowher has a happy ending and we address our most glaring needs.

1. Offensive line
2. Offensive line
3. Offensive line
4. Offensive line
5. Offensive line

10. Linebackers

Joey Porter and Clark Haggans seem to be losing it and James Harrison is a freak when he's on the field. Which is never, since he is always doubtful with an ankle or out with a hip. James Farrior is still good but he's the oldest of the bunch and Larry Foote can't do everything. I don't care if it's Lamar Woodley from Michigan, Paul Posluznsy from Penn State or a big time free agent like Lance Briggs the Steelers need to address the linebacker position this off-season...right after they address the offensive line.

Other highlights from the season:

- Willie Parker becomes the first Steeler to ever run for two 200 yard games in a career, let alone a one month span.

- Joey Porter didn't mean to offend anyone but Kellen Winslow.

- Willie Parker went from bench warmer at North Carolina to Pro Bowl player.

- The Cincinnati Bengals sucked just as bad as us.

- We swept Cleveland again.

- Thats about it.

Ending It With A Clunker

I'm not sure what is more frustrating right now. The fact we not only lost, but lost badly? Or the fact that everything that we needed to have happen....actually happened? Even to the point where the Cincinnati Bengals yet again found a way to become the Bungals. If nothing else the look of complete horror and shock on Carson Palmers face at the end of the Bengals game was enough to remove some of the sting from todays beating.

- I would just like to say that when the clock hit 0:00 I was still sitting high atop section 522 and I am quite proud of that. It stinks the season ended up this way, but it happens. I've had a lot of fun the last two years and if I can't get through a 7-9 or 8-8 season after all of that...then we've got some problems.

- It's amazing that in the two seasons prior to this one the Steelers went 30-7, played in an AFC title game, won a Super Bowl.......and now we're not only talking about replacing our head coach and benching our 24 year old Quarterback......but we have some people that are actually screaming for both to happen. It's at this point where Steelers fans begin to remind me of those damned Yankees fans who think it's their God given right to win a championship every single season, and if they don't, they scream for everyone to be fired or benched or traded or released or fed to the Lions to satisfy Nero's thirst for blood.

Ah...blood.

Some people deserve a full year of Charlie Batch at QB with Marty Moerningwhig (I think I butchered that spelling) coaching him.

PA Gaming Board Takes A Dump On Pittsburgh; Other Things

So today a bunch of goons and stuff shirts that I never heard of awarded the Pittsburgh slots license to some Casino that I never heard of instead of two other casinos that I never heard of. Only trouble is one of those two that lost was going to build the city of Pittsburgh a multi-purpose sports arena.

FOR FREE!

Well, free to you and me, it would have actually cost them about $290 million dollars, but you get the idea.

This now leaves a gigantic black cloud over the future of the Pittsburgh Penguins and that really sucks. On the plus side, atleast we were able to save the Hill District from the ungodly world of legalized gambling because lord knows it would have corrupted everything in the neighborhood. Residents of the "uptown" section of Pittsburgh may now resume their regularly scheduled crack deals, prostitution and murder activities without fear of having a few blue haired old ladies damaging the neighborhoods sparkling image with their renegade ways.

I for one, am relieved.

Personally, I think the whole gambling thing is a big sham anyway. There isn't one of these casinos thats going to do a damn bit of good for the city, unless you want to look at a city like, oh, I don't know....Wheeling...as a good example of what a boon to the economy such an establishment is.

The only real positive any of these three brought to the city was the fact that Isle of Capri was going to sign a check for $290 million dollars over to the city of Pittsburgh with the memo: "Build. New. Arena."

But even beyond that, lets say by some miracle of God this casino did actually make things better in Pittsburgh. What part of town do you think needs an improvement more? The North Shore? Which currently has two sparkling new stadiums, a ton of new businesses and nightspots.....or the Hill District?

The North Shore is already developed and it will continue to develop regardless of whether or not there is a casino there. The Hill District however is in dire need of anything that could be considered even remotely positive. Have you taken a drive down Forbes Avenue lately? The phrase "public urinal" comes to mind.

mvk112 had this to say over at MGS:

nice to know all of the property tax money we plan on saving will go right back to the government to pay for the new arena.

this is a case where they could have had their cake and eaten it too.

does anybody in pittsburgh really win here?

the only person i can think of that will look good in all of this is jerome bettis, if he does indeed head the lower hill development. which will ultimately fail because why would you go to the hill district to shop when you could go to the malls closer to home?

within 10 years there will be a dollar general, a cvs, a nail salon, a wig shop, a cellular phone store, and maybe a foodland in the lower hill.

Zing.

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- Chidi Iwouma played two games for the Steelers and is now on IR.


- The Pirates finally signed Yoslan Herrera (I honestly thought they would blow it) and also inked a deal with a 38 year old pitcher from Japan who hasn't had a productive season in the Japanese leagues in five seasons. It's nice to dip into the foreign talent pool....but 38 years old?

- From what I gather the Pirates signed Einar Diaz to a minor league contract today....just weeks after they tendered a contract offer to Humberto Cota who for all intents and purposes is Einar Diaz....only younger. One should eliminate the need for the other.

You would think.

- So far this off-season the Pirates have signed one potentially legitimate player (Herrera), the Japanese version of Bob Kipper (By that I mean, what Bob Kipper would be today if he were still playing) and ninr minor league free agents - including Einar Diaz, Michael Ryan, Don Kelly and John "way back" Wasdin.

Nice.

Lets Finish Strong

Regardless of what happens the rest of the way it's nice to see the Steelers go down fighting, and as we sit right now....we're still in this thing. Somehow.

If nothing else, I can head to Heinz Field on Sunday and still have a meaningful football game to watch.


Lets do this thing.......

Allow Me To Ask This Question

The Pirates obviously want Jeff Suppan, and according to Ken Rosenthal the Pirates and Royals are prepared to make significant offers to him in the coming days. If the Royals sign him then they are clearly ruining baseball with their free spending ways. The jerks. If the Pirates sign him he'll likely - based on the current market - become the highest paid Pirate in franchise history. Which is kind of sad.

Right now the Pirates (if we are to believe published reports) have somewhere around $18 million dollars to spend this off-season. Of course they have spent none of it. If they don't sign Jeff Suppan they'll likely spend it on no one, or they'll likely spend it on someone completely useless. See Chacon, Shawn.

Earlier this week Dave Littlefield came out and said he was "concerned" about the 2009 payroll situation. Mainly because so many players on the current roster would be up for arbitration and would be getting hefty raises in pay. Not to mention the $7.5 million mark that Jason Bay will be pulling in - a $2 million increase from his '08 number - plus the $7 million that Jack Wilson will be making that season.

This would obviously make a three or four year deal to Suppan a risky proposition. With so many guys up for arbitration and Jason Bay and Jack Wilson making close to $15 million do you really want to be paying a 35 year old Jeff Suppan $10 million in 2009? Especially when your boss that signs the checks doesn't like to spend any more than he has to?

The answer of course is a resounding no.

So this brings me to my question. Why couldn't the Pirates do this....

Sign Jeff Suppan to a deal that is extremely front loaded this season.

Nobody does this and i'm not really sure why. The Pirates have some money to spend this year and nobody to spend it on. Jeff Suppan, while not Barry Zito or Jason Schmidt, is still a very useful starter and would obviously make the Pirates a better team. On top of that, I have a little better idea of what Jeff Suppan is going to do this season as opposed to what he may do three of four years from now when he will be 34 or 35...so why not spend the most money on him this season?

Usually contracts get bigger year by year as opposed to smaller...but why couldn't the Pirates do this? It makes more sense for them given the current (and future) situation. Right? I don't know. Thats why i'm asking.

Also of note today John Perrotto reports the Pirates are close to signing this guy. Seriously, if my options are Jeff Suppan, that guy, or SFC ("Shawn Fucking Chacon") i'm taking Jeff Suppan.

And lets sign Yoslan Herrera already. Please?

A Weekend Of Football

On Saturday night Ohio State Quarterback Troy Smith took home the Heisman Trophy in what continues to be yet another sham in college football. Nothing against Troy Smith, he very well could have been the best player in the country. Probably. But I doubt it. Were any of those three guys among the best players in college football? Maybe. But was Darren Mcfadden that much better than Steve Slaton or Ray Rice? Is Joe Thomas not among the best players in college football? What about Colt Brennan of Hawaii who led the nation in every single passing category? Not even worth an invite to the ceremony?

My biggest problem with this is The Heisman Trophy is now simply an award for the most well known Quarterback or Running back on the best team in the most popular conference. How else do you explain Gino Torretta, Charlie Ward or that forgettable year when Jason White took it home over Larry Fitzgerald? Jason White? He wasn't even close to being the best player on his own team. Only once has the best player been a defensive player (Charles Woodson), never an offensive lineman and rarely a wide reciever or tight end... and it's always a Junior or Senior.


- Pitt linebacker H.B. Blades was named as a first team all-american this weekend, he becomes the first player to take the honor since Larry fitzgerald. Aside from losing him, Pitt will also most likely be losing Darrelle Revis to the NFL and Tyler Palko...it could be a long season next year.

As for Sundays action........

- So you think that David Littlefield is the worst executive in sports? Atleast he can hang his hat on Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez and maybe Andrew McCutcheon....what can Matt Millen hang his hat on?

- During the Eagles-Redskins game FOX showed a loyal Eagles fan in the stands of Fed-Ex field who sported a "36" Brian Westbrook jersey when the offense was on the field, and quickly switched over to a "20" Brian Dawkins jersey when the defense was on the field. Thats dedication.

- The Indianapolis Colts are starting their annual late season collapse a little earlier than normal as they appear to be headed for yet another one and done trip to the post season. Yesterday the Jaguars managed to ransack and pillage their way through the Colts defense for 251 yards rushing.......in the first half. I was following this game on gamecast and I couldn't believe what I was not watching. At one point the Jaguars had four straight rushing plays of 17 yards or more. Fred Taylor had a 76 yard run. Maurice Jones-Drew had a 54 yard touchdown run before the end of the first half. Some guy named Alvin Pearman had 71 yards on 14 carries. In the end the Jaguars put up 375 yards rushing on 42 carries...thats almost nine yards per carry. Perhaps this off season the Colts might look into finding some front seven guys on defense that weigh more than 220 pounds. Just a thought. Everyone loves Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis because they rack up a lot of sacks but they are completely useless against the run. Mainly because they simply put their heads down and sprint up field at the quarterback on every single snap, leaving them naked to draw plays, screen passes and basically any play that involves a running back touching the football. I'm sure this is Peyton Mannings fault somehow, after all, he should be able to will his defense to make plays like gutsy leaders and winners do...you know...like Tony Romo.

- It must suck to be Mario Williams or David Carr and know that the fans in your home stadium are rooting against you. Atleast thats what it seemed like yesterday when Houstons own Vince Young led Houstons former football team to victory over Houstons new football team...or something like that. When Vince Young (He plays for Tennessee) scrambled 39 yards for the game winning touchdown in overtime Reliant Stadium (Thats in Houston) was full of cheering and jubilation. The Tennessee Titans don't really strike me as the type of team that would have a strong road following and I doubt fans in Houston give two craps about them (seeing as how they moved from there and when they were there nobody really cared anyway) so the only other explination is Houston fans really like Vince Young. I'm not sure I understand this, but whatever. That would be like me, as a Steelers fan, cheering for Curtis Martin when he scores a touchdown against the Steelers simply because he's from Pittsburgh and played his college ball in Pittsburgh. Charlie Batch once commented that when he played the Steelers for the first time his family made some remark about how "We hope you do well, but you know who we're rooting for in the game."

Hint: It wasn't Charlies team.

- Ladanian Tomlinson scored three more touchdowns yesterday, giving him 29 on the season and a new single season NFL record. Could he get to 35 before the season ends? That might be pushing it, but 30 seems to be a stone cold lock.

They Said It

"Reggie Bush is just making this whole league look to simple." - John Madden, following a Reggie Bush touchdown last night.

Yes John, he is. He entered last nights game averaging about three yards per carry and had one of the lowest yards per catch numbers in the league. This is the type of stuff that drives me to hating players that I should like, Bush has an absurd level of physical talent, he can be fun to watch in the open field, and he is making some plays this year...but this non-stop hype machine is just to much. Lets let him actually become a great player before we start talking about him as one. And a screen pass that is perfectally set up with excellent downfield blocking does not make him a great player.

"Every Houston Texans fan is saying, 'What in the hell did we do?" - Al Michaels, following the same REggie Bush touchdown last night.

"The Gold Zone" - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, everytime the San Diego Chargers were inside the 20 yard line.

I guess the Chargers call the "Red Zone" the "Gold Zone" and Nantz and Simms found about this and ran with it. They said "Gold Zone" more than John Mellencamp said "this is our country" yesterday.

"This right here is the speed of Jay Cutlers patience." - Phil Simms, during the Chargers-Broncos game.

"What are they going to tell us next, that there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny," said a chuckling Dan Dierdorf during the Chiefs-Ravens game.

Willie Parker Is Good And All.....BUT HE'S NOT VERY BIG!

That seems to be the only criticism left on Willie Parker, the fact that he is not built like a bowling ball that is designed to plow over people. I've heard a lot of analysts talk about how the Steelers miss Jerome Bettis and his grind it out short yardage style. Maybe they do, but it's not because Willie Parker can't handle those "tough" carries. I've also heard a lot of fans ask for more Najeh Davenport in short yardage situations. I like Davenport and I think he should get a few more carries thrown his way, but he's been absolutely abysmal this year on short yardage plays.

------

So far this year (Including Thursday Nights game) Willie is 6 for 9 converting his third down runs into first downs. 2 for 2 on 4th downs, thats 8 for 11 on 3rd and 4th down conversions. Davenport? 1 for 7 on third downs. 1 for 1 on 4th downs (a 4th and goal plunge from the 1 in garbage time against Kansas City).

Here is the complete list for Davenport on third downs:

3rd and 1 at SD 21 (-1 Yards)
3rd and 6 at TB 12 (-2 Yards)
3rd and 3 at TB 20 (-1 Yards)
3rd and 15 at PIT 30 (13 Yards)
3rd and 1 at PIT 49 (6 Yards)
3rd and 1 at Clev 9 (-1 Yards)
3rd and 15 at PIT 26 (4 yards)

Thats four carries of 3rd and 3 or less...and three carries for negative yardage. And it should be noted that two of those carries came against Tampa Bay and Cleveland, less than stellar opponents.

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Inside the redzone Parker has carried 46 times for 137 yards...including 10 TD's and 4 first downs. Davenport? 15 carries for 14 yards...1 TD and 0 first downs.

Jerome Bettis he is not.

Of course, this may mean nothing due to some relatively small sample sizes, I just wanted to point out that so far this season the "small back" has been far more successful than the "big back" at churning out those tough short yardage runs.

I used the FO game charting data to get this information which made it really easy to find and put together. I originally wanted to compare Parker in those situations to other backs around the NFL, but even with all the information already there it was still to much of a task to tackle.

News And Notes

- It's been a while since I wrote anything for MGS so I decided to turn my experiences last night into an article. Check it out, and join the fun on the message board.

- Browns fans over at Dawg Bones aren't very happy today.

Some guy named "Zac" had this to say in a post titled "I'd give up my left nut for a pass rush"...

What the hell, I don't need anymore kids. This pass rush is terrible. Big homo ben had hours to throw in the pocket tonight. Wimbley needs to add a few moves to his repitrour to be a real pass rush specialist. He can't just keep running upfield. We need an inside pass rusher. Where the hell is Chaun Thompson rushing the QB? He did a great job of getting to the quarterback last year but is non-existent in this year's defense. Just another example of RAC fucking up

- Patrick McManoman of the Akron Beacon Journal breaks down last nights game.

- Joe Starkey of the Tribune Review spent last night sitting in row LL of section 541 asking people what in the hell they were thinking and turned it into one of his better columns.

I especially like the story of the guys who ditched their car in Edgewood.

WELCOME TO PITTSBURGH ADAM LA-errr....Nevermind

The off again, on again Mike Gonzalez for Adam Laroche trade is officially in the crapper. I was never really ecstatic about the deal - mainly because I felt the Pirates were giving up the better player, and most of the time when you do that, you lose the deal - so i'm not going to yell and swear and throw things at the wall.

I'm not against trading Mike Gonzalez, I actually think they should seriously explore it since he's one of their most valuable chips, I just think they can do better than Adam Laroche for him. Laroche had a really good season last year but his first two years he was nothing more than a left handed Xavier Nady, and thats not all that great. And that BB/K ratio scares me as well.

All that being said, I was somewhat encouraged about the Pirates maybe making a move that was baseball related as opposed to making a move to improve Ogden Nuttings monthly bank statement. As it stands now the Pirates are likely to leave the winter meetings the same as they were when they went in. And that my friends, is what Pirates baseball is all about.

The resulting meltdown that is about to take over the Pirates blogosphere and message boards is going to be nothing short of comedic gold. I was going to head to bed early tonight since I have to be at work insanely early so I can leave early to "get my drink on" at Heinz Field...but the temptation to stay up and watch this baseball three mile island is far to much.

A Weekend Of Football

Remember when the ACC went in and raided the Big East by swooping away Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech to create the mother of all football conferences? Yeah. Apparently that hasn't exactly gone as planned. The only thing worse than the ACC this season was the ACC championship game on Saturday between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest - which was played before a sparce gathering in Jacksonville.

Meanwhile, UCLA threw a giant wrench into the BCS by upsetting USC, Florida beat Arkansas in the SEC title game and Boise State remains the only unbeaten team in the country outside of Ohio State. Add it all up and we have a giant quagmire on our hands. The only thing that could make it better is if Florida upsets Ohio State, Boise State beats Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, and Michigan beats USC in the Rose Bowl. Since I have no rooting interest in any of these teams this is the scenario that I am pulling for. Mainly because it might be the end of college football as we know it.

I have to admit that it is kind of fun to watch schools like Boise State and Wake Forest crash the big schools yearly money grab party - also known as the College Bowl Season.

And nothing screams College Football like "The San Diego Credit Union Pointsietta Bowl."

On Sunday a lot of crazy stuff went down.

- For the 2nd straight week the Chicago Bears were involved in a game that featured atleast nine turnovers. As TMQ would say, "We're all professionals here." Rex Grossman was booed loudly and Brian Griese still remains the most popular guy in Chicago, that is until Lovie Smith actually puts him into a game and everyone realizes that he is still Brian Griese. At which point Kyle Orton will become the most popular guy in Chicago simply by default.

Even more infuriating than fans screaming for a QB change when their team is 10-2 is the fact that Brian Urlacher was flagged for roughing the passer in this game for, and I quote: "Extending his arms and flexing his muscles," as the referee put it. Yeah, we need to protect the QB's a little bit more.

Also of hilarious note in this game were the ramblings of sideline reporter Tony Siragusa...who like most NFL sideline reporters got the job for one reason and one reason only - extremely large breasts.

This was actually one of the first times I saw a game on FOX that featured Siragusa and it was mildly entertaining. Mainly because Dick Stockton and Daryl Johnston would be trying to talk about the game and out of nowhere Siragusa would start randomly screaming into his microphone (ie: "HERE IT IS! or"TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!").

Every once in a while they would give Siragusa camera time and on two different occasions he pulled some random sound guy into the shot and started using him to demonstrate offensive and defensive line technique. The guy looked like he was terrified beyond belief because Siragusa seemed extremely agitated during the demonstrations... and he was looking at the sound guy like he was a hot hamburger.

Still, it was better than Daryl Johnston criticizing Rex Grossman for having the audacity to actually show up on the the field. On one play where Grossman was intercepted deep down the sidelines by Vikings defensive back Antoine Winfield, Johnston went on for several minutes about how horrible a choice this was by Grossman. Winfield was one on one with Bernard Berrian and Grossman took a shot, it wasn't so much that it was a bad pass by Grossman (or a bad choice), but it was more a great play by Winfield (and a so-so effort by Berrian to actually go up and get the ball). Johnston was furious with the throw and pointed out that he should have checked down to Tight End Desmond Clark, who was not only not open...but had two Vikings defenders within 5 yards of him to either side.

The heat on Grossman right now is hotter than the fire of a thousand suns and this is the same QB that everyone was proclaiming as "One of the best quarterbacks in the NFC" after week 4. See what small sample sizes can do to you? Watch out Tony Romo, currently "one of the best Quarterbacks in the NFC."

- The Houston Texans defeated the Oakland Raiders despite having -5 net passing yards. I will repeat that. The Houston Texans defeated the Oakland Raiders with -5 net passing yards. David Carr actually threw for 32 yards but when you factor in everything else...it still added up to -5 net passing yards. This is actually the 2nd time in Carrs career that his team has won a game in which he threw for under 40 yards. Steeler fans will surely never forget the infamous Tommy Maddox game during the 2002 season in which Carr threw for 33 yards (and the Texans had 47 yards of total offense) yet still won because of three defensive touchdowns. This game is not to be confused with the Steelers-Raiders game earlier this season in which the Raiders won despite only getting 52 yards passing from Andrew Walter... All of that is enough to leave Art Shell speechless.

- Jay Cutler had a so-so debut for the Broncos and Mike Shanahan pulled off the most bizarre series of plays on the day. Late in the 2nd quarter Shanahan sent out the Broncos field goal team for a 47 yard field goal attempt. Instead of kicking the field goal with 20 seconds left, Shanahan elected to use a fake field in which holder Jake Plummer tossed the ball over his head to Jason Elam who ran for his life for a first down - Watching a kicker run is like watching a puppy try to get his footing on a freshly waxed floor - anyway, after the play Shanahan lets the game clock tick down to 1 second before he calls a timeout...so he can send Jason Elam out to kick a 42 yard field goal. Elam made the kick, but in the process injured his hamstring (perhaps a result of running more than he's ever run in his entire life on the play before?) and it could impact his ability to kick this week.

The most incredible part of this game had nothing to do with the game itself, it was at halftime when Bob Costas was interviewing Chad Johnson who looked like he might have been under the influence of.........something. Costas kept trying to get Johnson to open up and kept calling him "Ocho Cinco" and basically called him a deadbeat for sticking Sean Payton for $1,600 bucks worth of Saints tickets (a really stupid story that is sure to get far to much air time now)...after Costas beat the issue Johnson looked into the camera with glassy eyes and said, "Oh, I sent the money."

To which Costas responded, "Oh, so the checks in the mail, right Ocho?"

Johnson sat in silence, Costas looked around like he was completely confused, and you could hear a pin drop on the NBC set for atleast 30 seconds before Costas finished the interview by saying something about how Johnson was unusually quiet tonight. Perhaps the most amazing interview ever.

They Said It

- "It's hard to play Quarterback in the NFL." - John Madden, during the 2nd half of the Seahawks-Broncos game.

Well shit. There goes my fallback career.

- "Thats the type of spark you can get from a Charlie Frye to Braylon Edwards pass." - Randy Cross, during the first half of the Chiefs-Browns game.

Perhaps the first - and maybe only - time such a statement has been made.

- "The Georgia Tech offense has two Johnsons and only one ball." - Courtesy of the Hugh Johnson Project at Deadspin.com.

- "I don't know if you can listen to quiet, but if you could, this is what it would sound like." - John Madden, right after Josh Browns game winning field goal in the Seahawks-Broncos game.

- On 3rd and 8 from their own 4 yard line, Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson runs around the left end for 16 yards which prompts this comment from the booth:

"You know how they call Willie Parker, Fast Willie, in Pittsburgh? Well i'd like to see these two guys in a foot race." - Randy Cross, in the 3rd quarter of the Chiefs-Browns game.

At first, I thought that comment was a little bizarre, but I never really gave it another thought until someone in the comment section over at Heels Sox & Steelers commented on it as well. Not only was it a completely random comparison, but it really wasn't that great of a run by Johnson...he ran 16 yards behind some decent blocking and was even run down from behind.

A Prediction For Tonight

I say the Monday Night booth interview for tonights Eagles-Panthers game will be none other than Rocky freakin' Balboa. And if it's not, i'll be somewhat disappointed.

GLORY BE!

On Friday, Seton Le-Salle High School had a pep rally to honor Bruce Gradkowski on his return trip to Pittsburgh. Everyone was there. Family. Friends. Well wishers. Students. Teachers.

Everyone.

Everyone except for Bruce Gradkowski. And as luck should have it, he didn't show up on Sunday either.

A great win for the Steelers that could have much been better had Jon Gruden not gone bush league on us with that field goal attempt as time ran out in a 20-0 game. But who cares, we'll take it how we can get it.

Baseballs Winter Meetings

The past two years the winter meetings have meant relatively little to me, mainly because the Steelers were in the process of winning a lot of football games and the Pirates were a rare afterthought on my mind at that given time. Since that isn't happening this year, this should be a nice little distraction - Assuming the Pirates don't do anything stupid, which is assuming a lot.

I used to look forward to this week as the idea of my team getting new players would give me new hope for the new season.

Now it just scares the hell out of me. A quick review as to why:

Back in 2001 Dave Littlefield used the winter meetings to make one of his best moves as Pirates GM when he traded his top starting pitcher in Todd Ritchie (which was a testament to how bad that pitching staff was) to the Chicago White Sox for a trio of Right Handers - Kip Wells, Josh Fogg, and Sean Lowe.

It was one of his finest moments as a General Manager, and at the same time one of Kenny Williams worst.

Ritchie went on to have one of the worst seasons of his career for Chicago and spent the next couple of years bouncing around the league. Kip Wells on the other hand gave the Pirates two top of the rotation seasons in 2002 and 2003 before his right arm ended up falling off in the seasons to follow. None of those players remain with the Pirates today and they only have Jesse Chavez - a right handed reliever who they acquired this past summer for Wells - to show for it.

Despite all of that, it was still a fantastic trade.

Ritchie was a former first round washout with the Twins and he had signed a minor league deal with the Pirates prior to the 1999 season. He was given a chance early that year after Francisco Cordova went on the DL with another yet shoulder injury, and he ended up having a fantastic season posting an ERA+ of 131...his next two seasons were slightly below average and he never once threw more than 200 innings with the Pirates. Williams still gave up his top prospect in Wells, and two serviceable righties in Fogg and Lowe for him.

The 2002 meetings saw the Pirates bring in free agent outfielder/first basemen Matt Stairs who was one of their best hitters in '03 before leaving as a free agent the following season. Also that year the Pirates lost three players in the Major League portion of the rule 5 draft - Pitchers Chris Spurling and DJ Carrasco, and catcher Ronny Paulino.

Paulino was taken by the Royals and returned back to the Pirates before the season - he's now their starting catcher - while Carrasco and Spurling have failed to do anything of note.

2003 was the so-called "Rule 5 disaster." Personally, I thought this was a big ruckus about nothing. But for those of you that were living under a rock on Mars with your fingers in your ears and your eyes closed...the Pirates went into the meetings that year with 37 guys on their 40 man roster. Among those unprotected were Chris Shelton, Jose Bautista, and a couple other guys of little meaning.

Four of the first five players taken in the rule 5 draft were Pirates (Shelton, Frank Brooks, Rich Thompson, and Jose Bautista) which led to people climbing buildings and bridges and leaping without hesitation.

Bautista to me was a very surprising pick by Baltimore, mainly because he was still in low A-ball and missed the majority of the previous season because he broke his hand when he punched an inanimate object (I think it was a wall) in the dugout after striking out. He played for half of the league that year before ending up back with the Pirates in July as part of the Kris Benson trade.

Chris Shelton is the most well known casualty of this. Shelton barely made the Tigers roster out of spring training and there were rumors coming out of Detriot that they were set to return him to the Pirates before deciding not to at the last minute. They hid him on the roster for a while and then used an injury and resulting rehab assignment to play him in AAA for a portion of 2004. He came back in 2005 and had a strong season with an OPS+ of 131...more people began to climb buildings and blindly leap and then came 2005. For the first month and a half of the season Chris Shelton was Albert Pujols and Manny Ramirez all rolled into one. No one could get him out and everything he hit was going out of the ballpark. Everyone who hadn't jumped the first two times took part in the mass suicide this time around.

And then something happened.

Chris Shelton stopped hitting. Everything.

The rest of his '06 season was so bad that he not only got dropped to 8th in the Tigers lineup, he was eventually demoted to AAA and replaced by Sean Casey in a trade from the Pirates, the very guy Pirates fans loathed because the loss of Chris Shelton forced the Pirates to trade for Sean Casey.

The Tigers already re-signed Casey this off-season and it's unlikely Shelton will play a major role on this years Tigers team. Barring injury of course.

Should the Pirates have lost Shelton? No. There is no excuse for it. Are the Pirates going to regret losing him? No.

During the 2004 meetings the Pirates swapped Leo Nunez for Benito Santiago and traded one broken down old guy (Arthur Rhodes) for a slightly better broken down old guy (Matt Lawton). Rhodes was acquired as part of the Jason Kendall trade along with Mark Redman...Lawton was a pretty solid leadoff hitter for the Bucs until he was traded to the Cubs for Jody Gerut...who has yet to be healthy.

Last year Littlefield seemed to be a little more active as he acquired Sean Casey for Dave Williams, picked Victor Santos in the rule V draft, and completed two earlier trades by bringing in Chad Blackwell from Kansas City (as part of the Mark Redman trade) and Clayton Hamilton from San Diego (As part of the David Ross trade).

Heading into this year, Littlefield has said he would like to add a right handed starting pitcher via free agency, and a left handed hitter for first base or right field through a trade. Some of the names mentioned recently for the pitching spot are Tomo Ohka, Jeff Suppan, and Tony Armas Jr.

Suppan already spent one stint with the Pirates and pitched quite well - actually it was his best season ever - the fact he has the reputation as being an "innings eater" and was nothing short of dominating late last year and through the playoffs for the Cardinals is likely to jack up his salary demands to unreasonable territory. Atleast as far as the Pirates are concerned. Chance of signing with the Bucs: Poor.

Of the options in the Pirates price range, Ohka seems to be the best option both in terms of production and money. He's actually had a very underated career and could be had for $6 or $7 million per season.

I have no idea who to expect for the hitter. There were rumors of Brad Hawpe from Colorado or Mike Jacobs from Florida. The Rockies say they won't deal Hawpe and a Florida newspaper reported that Littlefield rejected the idea of a Mike Jacobs for Chris Duffy trade. Neither name excites me all that much.

Dejan Kovacevic of the Post-Gazette said that the Pirates had internal discussions about Adam Dunn (which would be amazing) while Aubrey Huff - who is a free agent - is a popular name to throw about among fans.

If recent history is any indication of what is going to happen we will probably end up with Ryan Klesko. Which would not be a good thing.

Complicating things even more is Littlefields reluctance to part with one of his starting pitchers in a trade. Honestly, i'm not sure I disagree with him here. The Pirates pitching depth isn't really all that it's cracked up to be and trading any of them would put a significant dent in what little they actually have, and on top of that the Pirates simply MUST develop their own starting pitchers.

So who does that leave to trade?

Mike Gonzalez.

They just re-signed Damaso Marte to an extension and they still have the frustrating - yet surprisingly decent - John Grabow from the left side. A trade of Gonzalez would set up a chain reaction in the bullpen that could possibly see the rubber armed Solomon Torres slide into the closers role and the young Matt Capps dropped into the right handed set-up role.

Outside of Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez, Gonzalez probably has the highest trade value of anyone on the Major League roster and unlike Bay and Sanchez...Gonzalez, as good as he is, would be relatively easy to replace.

Elsewhere around the league

Theo Epstein still appears determined to trade Manny Ramirez and i'm still not sure why. The only reason that makes even the slightest bit of sense is to get out from under Ramirez' contract...which really isn't that bad anymore. Heres how the rest of it sets up for Ramirez:

2007: 18 Million
2008: 20 Million
2009: 20 Million - Option Year
2010: 20 Million - Option Year

So lets look at it this way, lets say for example the Red Sox (or whatever team trades for him) picks up both of the option years on Ramirez' contract. You're looking at 78 million dollars over four years.

Yeah, thats a lot of money. But we are in a market today where 100 million over 6 years only gets you Carlos Lee. And a market where 138 million over 8 years only gets you Alfonso Soriano. The once enourmous contract of Manny Ramirez is now a relative bargain for the Red Sox...or whoever trades for him.

The Red Sox were supposedly close to a contract with free agent outfielder JD Drew. The rumored deal?

4 Years...75 Million.

Fascinating.

Not only is Drew nowhere near the player that Ramirez is, but they are supposedly willing to pay him an almost identical amount of money to play 100 games a year before he pulls his hamstring again and sits out the next 62. It's baffling. And if you do trade Ramirez there is no way that you can get anything close to a compareable talent back in return...unless of course you trade for Alex Rodriguez or Albert Pujols.

Of course, this will all probably be for nothing as he'll probably stay in Boston much like he does every other time his name comes up in trade rumors. Or that time Theo Epstein tried to give him away on waivers. How stupid do all of those teams that passed on him then look now?

Ramirez is still one of the most dangerous run producers in the league and contrary to ESPN belief, is still the most important player on the Red Sox team.

- The Giants already signed Dave Roberts to a three year deal and re-signed Ray Durham to a two year deal. And they're expected to sign Rich Aurilla in the coming days. All of this is likely to leave Pedro Feliz as by far the youngest player in their opening day lineup and he is 31. God Bless Brian Sabean.

- The Cubs off-season of signing checks with a stamp looks to continue as they are reported to have made contract offers to both Ted Lilly and Jason Schmidt.