Welcome to Pittsburgh
31 July 2006 at 3.27 pm | In Steelers, current events, sports | 4 CommentsCheck out the Post-Gazette homepage. No fewer than six stories/multimedia presentations about the Steelers and training camp are linked towards the top of the page. The headline about Israel resuming jet attacks on southern Lebanon sort of blends into the the header, huh? No wonder I laughed so hard when I saw this satiric post on Carbolic Smoke Ball… It’s the truth, damnit. Now that training camp has officially started I honestly don’t think most Burghers would know, or really care, if World War III broke out. We have something much more important upon which to concentrate- the 2006-2007 Steelers football season.
The only time all season we’ll see such unguarded emotion on Bill ‘The Chin’ Cowher’s face.
Benny, looking quite fit despite his motorcycle accident earlier this summer.
Look how skinny these boys look without all their gear. Crazy!
Oh, and this girl is clearly mistaken. I’m Ben’s future wife.
We suck. A lot.
28 June 2006 at 5.54 pm | In home, sports, wtf? | 1 Comment
Even the players know it. Look at that first picture. Head in hands, probably crying his eyes out after their 12th consecutive loss. I know I would be. I don’t even know why I’m writing this post, considering I don’t even like baseball all that much. Perhaps I feel compelled as a Pittsburgher to take notice of my town’s sports teams. If that’s the case, then let me just say thank goodness for the Steelers (cause the Penguins certainly aren’t doing us too proud, either)!
At the end of this season the Pirates will have notched up 14 losing seasons in a row. That’s more than half my life that this team has been losing and doing it in spectacular fashion. I vaguely remember the good old days of Andy Van Slyke, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Sid Bream, Jay Bell and Doug Drabek with Manager Jim Leyland. Those were the days when we won 3 divison titles in 3 years, though we never made it to the World Series… I loved Andy Van Slyke, number 18. I had a little-girl crush on him and was convinced he was going to be a Pirate forever, so that when I was older we could get married and live in Pittsburgh. With the benefit of hindsight I realize he was a tad too old for me (being that he was born in 1960 and I was born 22 years later…)
I have a few memories of going to Pirates games with my parents and sister, and I remember being extremely excited by the prospect of going to Three Rivers to see the Buccos play. Not anymore. Last summer I probably went to more games in 3 months than I’d been to in my whole life, but the only time I ever got excited was when the game had ended and the fireworks started (amazing views over the rivers!).
An enterprising group of Pirate fans have formed an internet group called Iratefans.com to show their displeasure with the direction of our baseball team. Check out the second picture at the top of this post or go to this article to see an example of their stellar shirts… At this point it’s useless to even hope. Our only chance is to sell the team to Mark Cuban (actually it would probably make more sense to pay him to take over) and while we’re at it, we should give him the Penguins, too.
You know what? We should just have Mark Cuban take over the entire city in order to rescue us from our financially distressed status. After all he says, “I’m a Pittsburgh fan.” And he’s a local. We should start a petition. Someone get on that.
Oh, Benny!
13 June 2006 at 2.54 pm | In Steelers, sports, wtf? | 1 Comment 
The first picture is the car windshield off which Ben apparently bounced when he was involved in a motorcycle crash yesterday morning. The second is his smashed up motorcycle. Damn.
First, thank God Benny’s going to be OK. I really don’t know what Steelers Nation would have done if Ben had been injured more seriously or even died. Granted, we still don’t know everything that happened, but the reports from Mercy Hospital after seven hours of surgery are that Ben is in serious but stable condition, which is encouraging. We love you, Big Ben!!
Second, Mr. Youngest-Quarterback-to-Win-the-Super-Bowl Roethlisberger wasn’t wearing a helmet, which isn’t against the law in Pennsylvania or prohibited by his contract, so it wasn’t illegal or a breach of contract, just bad judgement. Really bad judgement. Perhaps we shouldn’t be asking why he felt the need to tempt Fate by riding helmetless. The time for that can come once he’s well on his way to recovery. Perhaps the question we ought to be asking is this one, posed by Gene Collier in today’s Post-Gazette: ‘How long does it take to repair a quarterback who hits a windshield, spider-webs it like a 240-pound brick, and then bounces off the pavement?’
Until we have any more information, let’s just keep Ben and his family in our thoughts. Get well quick, Benny!
Czech-mate
13 June 2006 at 2.25 pm | In World Cup, sports | Leave a Comment
Despite a pregame phone call from President Bush wishing them luck and dominating possession in the first half, Team USA failed to score even once against the Czech Republic in their group opener yesterday. A dejected team left the field to Coach Bruce Arena's criticism of the performances turned in by almost every player. It only took five minutes for the Czechs to score against US keeper Kasey Keller and it just went downhill from there. By the end of play the Czech Republic, ranked number 2 in the world, was up 3-0.
Here's hoping that Team USA follow Arena's advice and don't let the Czechs beat them twice by taking their embarrassment at this loss into Saturday's match against Italy.
Say it ain’t so!
9 June 2006 at 12.01 pm | In Steelers, sports | Leave a Comment
Apparently there's speculation that my beloved Coach Bill Cowher won't be coaching my beloved Super Bowl XL World Champions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, after the next two seasons. This is terrible! Part of the Steelers experience is watching 'The Chin' on field and trying to decide whether his scowl means he's happy or pissed off. In my lifetime the Steelers have only had two coaches, Chuck Noll (from 1969-1991) and now Coach Cowher. Obviously, he was going to have to retire at some point, but I (along with vast majority of Pittsburghers) have been hoping that point was sometime in the not-too-near future. Like maybe 2020 or so. By that time I'll be 38 and have had ample time with which to come to grips with the impending departure of my favorite Burgher as Steelers head coach (in case you missed it- I don't tend to like change I can't control). So, if everybody could send an email (or 5, but from different addresses and names, of course) to Bill telling him to stay I bet we can change his mind. Well, maybe not, but it would be fun to see if it works, right? Am I the only one who thinks it would be fun? Oh, ok…
Do the Crouch?!
5 June 2006 at 5.54 pm | In World Cup, sports | 3 Comments
As much as I'm going to be supporting the good old US of A in the upcoming World Cup I have to admit to quite a fondness for a certain lurpy Liverpool and England striker. Even before the t.v. advent of his Robot Dance (click here to see video of the goal and dance at YouTube) in the friendly against Hungary, I enjoyed watching Peter Crouch. Perhaps it's the fact that he's 6'7" and is so skinny he looks like he'll snap in half if someone runs into him… or maybe it's just that he's actually really good at what he does. Either way, I love his dance and hope he gets the chance to perform it a few times during the World Cup.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
2 June 2006 at 12.38 am | In World Cup, sports | 1 Comment
It's that time again- the World Cup is going to start soon. Many of you are reading this and asking yourselves what exactly I mean when I say 'World Cup'. Obviously it doesn't relate to football, baseball, hockey, basketball or even golf, so what could it possibly be? Say it with me, people: soccer. Or, as it's called in the rest of the world: football. Yes, the United States has a national soccer team and we're even ranked fairly high in the world standings (word of advice- don't ask a non-American about our high ranking because they'll go on about how it's ridiculous to put the US above teams like Italy, blah, blah, blah… I say who cares? We're ranked 5th, so let's take advantage of it!)
The US team's first World Cup match is 12 June 2006 against Czech Republic. I admit that I'm a newbie supporter of our soccer studs (oh, how I love alliteration!), but that won't stop me from throwing myself into cheering them on. Granted I live in London and this entire city is going to be consumed with England World Cup fever, but I'm willing to risk bodily harm in support of the good old US of A. It's practically my patriotic duty!
And don't forget to chant as loudly as possible, particularly if you're in the company of non-Americans while watching a game, "U-S-A! U-S-A!" It really pisses off everyone else. 
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