Pittsburgh

knows?  Who cares?  While Ben may not be the most glamorous QB in the league, he fits the Pittsburgh mantra perfectly, he takes his licks all game, and in the end he finds a way to ge

Continue reading "Why Ben Roethlisberger Will be the ..."

Coming off a super bowl victory last season, hopes couldn't be higher for the 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers, as they should be.  While the team is returning 20 out of 22 starters from that super bowl run (only losing Larry Foote and Bryant Mcfadden), things begin to look bleak as we look at the possible roster a year from now.  In 2010, the Steelers will have an alarming number of key players that will be free agents if these players do not re-sign.

Continue reading "Trouble Ahead for the Steelers"

weeks, and that was a satisfying win.  But what comes next will make or break the year.  Pittsburgh.

D-Ware and the Barbarian had a few scares, but are tough as nails.  They were held out of practice on Monday as a precaution, and are listed as Day-to-Day.  I expect them to be in uniform at

Continue reading "Cowboy Nation"

This week it was the University of South Florida in its dramatic 26-21 loss to unranked Pittsburgh. USF, at the time, had risen to the #10 spot in the polls and appeared to be the Big East’s savior. Not anymore, chop! This is the second consecutive year that the Bulls have had their hopes (and heads?) slashed on a Thursday. In the tumultuous anarchy that was last year’s polls, USF had reached the #2 spot in the country before losing on a Thursday to an unranked Rutgers team 30-27. I’m not making this stuff up, I promise. In the five games that have featured ranked teams on a Thursday this year, the aforementioned schools are a combined 1-4. #24 South Carolina? Chop, courtesy of Vanderbilt. #21 West Virginia? Chop, courtesy of Colorado. #1 Southern Cal? Chop, courtesy of Oregon State. In fact, before Utah's win last night, one had to go all the way back to November 15 of 2007 to find a higher-ranked school that survived the dreaded Thursday night game (#7 WVU beating Louisville 38-31). In last year’s football season, a higher ranked team lost 6 times on Thursdays. In 2006, 7 were upset.  What are we to make of this scary trend? Does the shorter week and, thus, less prep time really play that large of a part in these matches? Do the underdogs play their hearts out because many of them know this will be the only time they’ll be on ESPN? Or, in the spirit of October, is Thursday night just cursed? Whatever the case, this is a trend that has reached a point where it can no longer be ignored. Want a BCS sleeper? Look for a team that sticks to Saturdays.

Continue reading "Thursday Night Plights"

Louis(6) Pittsburgh

EAST(1) Mets(2) Phillies(3) Atlanta(4) Florida(5) Washington

WEST(1) Colorado(2) San Diego(3) Arizona(4) LA Dodgers(5) San Francisco Giants

WILD CARD

San Diego Padres

Continue reading "2008 Baseball Preview: Final Standings"