Monday, February 28, 2011

2011 Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament: Final Four

Welcome to the Final Four round of the 3rd annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament! Just reaching this portion of the tournament is a huge accomplishment, and I hope that Pirates Prospects, Raise the Jolly Roger, PensBurgh and Steelers Depot enjoyed cutting down the nets.



Voting for the final four round begins now and will run until 9:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow (3/1).

Johnny Ray Division Champion: Pirates Prospects vs. John Cullen Division Champion: Raise the Jolly Roger




Carlton Haselrig Division Champion: PensBurgh vs. Jerome Lane Division Champion: Steelers Depot





Once again, thanks to Cotter for designing the fantastic logo.



Thanks for voting and for supporting all of the great blogs in this tournament! Oh, the Championship will be a special three day event running on Wednesday, 3/2 through Friday, 3/4. Mark your calendars!

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Geogre Mason Wins the CAA

Congratulations to the George Mason men's basketball team for winning the Colonial Athletic Association's regular season championship by going 15-2 in conference. George Mason has now won 15 straight games, the longest current winning streak in college basketball. Even if they lose in the CAA conference tournament, George Mason is in the NCAA Tournament.

So to celebrate George Mason's achievement, I am proud to present Doc Nix and the Green Machine performing a mix of Rage Against the Machine songs. I think this is better live.



A few quick comments:

Dan Steinberg's DC Sports Bog has more about the video. Check out all of the comments about the girl in red.

It's nice to see Doc Nix in casual wear.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Sean Helps The Economy

(If you're looking for the Elite Eight round of the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, please scroll down to the next post.)

It's a tough economy out there these days. The unemployment rate remains high, and gas prices will likely increase significantly due to unrest in the Middle East. Therefore, I thought I would do my part to help those of you looking for jobs.

Partner Activation Specialist (Part-time) - Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh, PA)

You may have the opportunity to meet new Pirates Kevin Correia AND Lyle Overbay!

Firestarters In-Game Entertainment Crew - Chicago Fire Soccer Club (Bridgeview, IL)

This is the job the band Prodigy envisioned when it wrote this song 15 years ago.



New York Mets Pepsi Party Patrol 2011 - New York Mets (Flushing, NY)

Don't even think about applying if you prefer Coke over Pepsi.

Promotions and Entertainment Manager - The New York Mets / The Brooklyn Cyclones (Brooklyn, NY)

I love any job in which the position description starts with this:

The Brooklyn Cyclones, the brains behind nationally acclaimed promotional ideas like “Jersey? Sure! Night,” “The Baracklyn Cyclones” and “Christina Aguilera Do-Over Night” are currently hiring a Promotions and Entertainment Manager for the 2011 season.

Usher - Kansas City Royals (Kansas City, MO)

You can impersonate the pop superstar during every Royals home game. YEAH!



Adult Soccer Blogger - FC Dallas and Pizza Hut Park (Frisco, TX)

Sadly, this blog is not eligible for the best Pittsburgh sports blog tournament.

2011 Promo Team, Major Molly's Army - Philadelphia Union (Philadelphia, PA)

It's probably not a good sign when the job description begins with an explanation about the story of Molly Pitcher.

D-backs Legends Racing Mascots - Arizona Diamondbacks (Phoenix, AZ)

We already have racing Presidents in Washington, racing pierogis in Pittsburgh and racing sausages in Milwaukee, so naturally, racing D-backs legends makes perfect sense for a franchise that started in 1998. I can't wait to see mascot Craig Counsell race the real Craig Counsell!

Portland Timbers Street Team - Portland Timbers (Portland, OR)

People walking the streets of Portland with axes can't turn out well.

Clubhouse Manager - Washington Wild Things (Washington, PA)

I don't think I have anything witty to say here. Oh, how about this position also gives you control over the intersection of Interstates 70 & 79?

Please make sure that you click on the links for more information about these jobs and how to apply.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

2011 PSB: Elite Eight Round

We have quite an interesting tournament here, don’t we? As we begin the elite eight round of the third annual best Pittsburgh sports blog tournament, only two #1 seeds remain while three #2 seeds have been eliminated. We also have two #6 seeds and a #8 seed still alive. You just can’t get this type of detailed analysis of this tournament anywhere else!

Voting for the elite eight round begins now and will run until 10:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow (2/24). You may notice that I’m using different polling software, so I added a few extra hours to this round just in case there are some user errors in setting this up. (Please leave a comment if you have any issues voting.)

I think that’s it. Here’s your updated bracket:



Johnny Ray Division



#1 Mondesi’s House vs. #3 Pirates Prospects




John Cullen Division



#4 Raise the Jolly Roger vs. #6 Faceoff Factor




CARLTON HASELRIG DIVISION



#2 PensBurgh vs. #8 Pitt Script




JEROME LANE DIVISION



#1 Steelers Depot vs. #6 Rum Bunter



Once again, thanks to Cotter for designing the fantastic logo.



Thanks for voting and for supporting all of the great blogs in this tournament!

UPDATE: Voting for the elite eight round is now complete. The final four voting will begin on Monday, 2/28 at 9:00 AM and run until Tuesday evening. The championship will take place from Wednesday 3/2 through Friday 3/4.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Trivia Tuesday

For those of you looking for the Sweet 16 round of the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, please scroll down to the post below. To my regular readers (all six of you), I apologize for not having Trivia Tuesday last week. That will never happen again, unless it does.

Your challenge this week is to identify the field in the awards/trophies listed below are given.

1. Fields Medal

2. LEAF Award

3. Oscar

4. Hugo Award

5. Heisman Memorial Trophy

6. Davis Cup

7. Green Jacket

8. Obie Award

9. Clio Award

10. The Hart Memorial Award

As always please leave your answers in the comments section below and do not use the internet for assistance. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.

Monday, February 21, 2011

2011 Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament: Sweet 16 Round

Despite some very questionable voting that took place in several match-ups on Friday afternoon, we're now at the Sweet 16 round of the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament. If this type of voting continues, we're going to stop the car, turn around and take the tournament back home.

Therefore, let me restate this again. The voting software isn't all the sophisticated, and I'm sure that savvy computer folks can (and possibly did in the last round) rig the voting to go a certain way. The winner of this tournament doesn't get a cash prize or even a trophy. This tournament is for fun to highlight and celebrate some of the best blogs that cover Pittsburgh sports. Let's keep it this way.

Voting for the Sweet 16 round begins now and will run until 8:00 PM Eastern time tomorrow (Tuesday, 2/22).

Your updated bracket...



Good luck to the remaining 16 blogs!

Johnny Ray Division



#1 Mondesi’s House vs. #5 The Confluence




#3 Pirates Prospects vs. #7 Steelers Today



John Cullen Division



#1 Empty Netters vs. #4 Raise the Jolly Roger



#2 Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies (PSAMP) vs. #6 Faceoff Factor



CARLETON HASELRIG DIVISION



#4 Bob Smizik's Blog vs. #8 Pitt Script



#2 PensBurgh vs. #6 Blitzburgh Blog



JEROME LANE DIVISION



#1 Steelers Depot vs. #5 The Steelers 'N At



#2 Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke (WHYGAVS) vs. #6 Rum Bunter




Once again, thanks to Cotter for designing the fantastic logo.



Finally, I'm testing out some new voting websites, so let's see if this works.




Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.


UPDATE: Voting for the Sweet 16 round is now complete. The Elite 8 round begins tomorrow (2/23) at 9:00 AM Eastern time. Thanks again for voting and supporting these great blogs!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Yinz Luv Da Guins

Does Jim Shearer ever rest? Although the Steelers season is over, he's back with Yinz Luv Da Guins. His field trip to see the Penguins practice in Central Park turned out great. Must see video (starting around the 12:30 mark).

Friday, February 18, 2011

DeJuan Blair vs Hasheem Thabeet

If you're looking for the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, please scroll down to the post below.

Growing up in Pittsburgh as a sports fan, we had the Pirates, Penguins, Steelers, and Panthers, and for brief periods of time, the USFL’s Maulers, arena football’s Gladiators, indoor soccer’s Spirit and the Pittsburgh Bulls indoor lacrosse team (featuring #66 Butch Marino). As you can tell, none of these are NBA teams. Without a local team in the pre-internet (how did we live without internet casinos?) and pre-SportsCenter era (there probably was SportsCenter but I don’t remember watching it until later), my friends and I never followed the NBA and naturally were not big NBA fans. Sure we watched the Lakers and Celtics championships, but otherwise, I don’t even remember the NBA being on television.

These days, I check the box scores of nearly every NBA game played by the San Antonio Spurs, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets to see how former Pitt players DeJuan Blair, Sam Young and Aaron Gray are doing. All three are currently starting on their respective teams, though DeJuan Blair is the player of this group who really stands out. Although Blair benefits from playing on team with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, Bill Simmons included him at #50 in his NBA trade value column since he puts up double-doubles regularly. Anyone who watched him at Pitt knew what a great player he was, though there was a question about how his size (6’7”) would translate in the NBA. Of course, some doubts may have been alleviated from his match-up with 7’3” Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut. Let’s go back to February 16, 2009, shall we.





While the videos illustrate that Blair dominated Thabeet in this game, the box score shows it even more.

Blair: 22 points; 23 rebounds; 2 assists and 1 block.
Thabeet: 5 points; 4 rebounds; 2 steals and 2 blocks (fouled out).

So here's what I don't understand about the NBA. Although Blair dominated Thabeet, the UConn center was drafted 2nd overall and earned a very nice payday. Meanwhile, Blair wasn't drafted until the 2nd round at 37th overall. I understand that you can't look at the one aforementioned game in a vacuum, but it turned out to be accurate.

Not including last night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Blair is averaging 8.6 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in only 22+ minutes per game. Meanwhile, Thabeet plays only about 8 minutes per game and averages 1.1 points and 1.6 rebounds. If you’re 7’3” how don’t you get at least 2 rebounds a game just by standing under the basket? Thabeet was listed as a DNP (did not play): Coach's Decision in Memphis' last two games. Therefore, Thabeet had the same impact on these games as if he was sitting home playing video poker online.

This post isn't to discredit Thabeet. Enough people in hindsight criticize Thabeet and Memphis for drafting him 2nd overall. It seems to me that NBA teams are scared to pass on what they feel might be a dominant center since this is rare to find. This post is just to point out that I don't understand how so many teams passed on DeJuan Blair, and to show appreciation for how well he is doing in the NBA.

Plus, I like seeing the video of Blair slamming Thabeet again!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament Round One (Part Two)

We're on to the second part of round one. Before we begin voting in the Carlton Haselrig and Jerome Lane division, let's take a quick look at the Johnny Ray and John Cullen divisions. There was a major upset in the Johnny Ray division where seventh-seeded Steelers Today defeated That's Church. Perhaps, there was a minor backlash since That's Church isn't a 100% sports blog. Probably not. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins related blogs fared well with The Confluence, Empty Netters and Faceoff Factor all advancing. In addition, Raise the Jolly Roger and Pirates Prospects both scored impressive victories. All of the eight blogs that won their first round match-ups now get to rest until Monday.

Here is the updated bracket:



I mentioned this before, but I ask that you only vote once per match-up. This is not the most sophisticated voting software, so I’m sure that savvy computer folks can set up a way to rig the voting. Please don’t. This is designed to be a fun tournament, so let’s keep it this way. If you want to campaign for a certain blog, please feel free to do so, but do not disparage or insult other blogs.

If this is the first time you've heard of the Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, please scroll down to posts over the past week or so for more information including the rules.

Voting for this portion begins now and concludes tomorrow (Friday) at 8:00 PM Eastern time.

CARLETON HASELRIG DIVISION



Behind the Steel Curtain vs. Pitt Script



Bob Smizik's Blog vs. Three Rivers Burgh Blog



One For The Other Thumb vs. Blitzburgh Blog



PensBurgh vs. Hands off my Pirates Booty



JEROME LANE DIVISION



Steelers Depot vs. Hyzdu Headquarters



Puck Huffers vs. The Steelers 'N At



Pitt Blather vs. Rum Bunter



Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke (WHYGAVS) vs Igloo Dreams



Good luck to all of the blogs, and thanks for voting and visiting all of these great sites!

Thanks again to Cotter for designing the fantastic logo.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament Round One (Part One)

Welcome to the third annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament. If you are new to this tournament, I encourage you to check out the rules and the very special selection show. We’ll begin the first round momentarily, but there’s a minor change this year. Instead of having voting for all 16 match-ups take place at one time, I’m dividing the first round into two. Voting for the Johnny Ray and John Cullen divisions begins now and will run until 8:00 PM on Wednesday. The first round for the Carlton Haselrig and Jerome Lane divisions will take place on Thursday and Friday.

Before we begin, there has been a last-minute change in the tournament. Pittsburgh Lumber Co. announced yesterday that the blog is inactive as the authors are joining Pirates Prospects. Instead of re-seeding the entire bracket or even just the Carlton Haselrig division, I simply replaced Pittsburgh Lumber Co. with Blitzburgh Blog as the #6 seed. The reason is simple: creating the voting questions is much harder than it looks, and I already set this up for the first round. That's probably a bad answer, but it's the truth. I may need to find a new way to vote next year.

Anyway, here's the updated bracket:



I didn’t mention this earlier, but I ask that you only vote once per match-up. This is not the most sophisticated voting software (see above), so I’m sure that savvy computer folks can set up a way to rig the voting a certain way. Please don’t. This is designed to be a fun tournament, so let’s keep it this way. If you want to campaign for a certain blog, please feel free to do so, but do not disparage or insult other blogs. The people who write these blogs spend hundreds of hours doing so and generally for little or no money.

With that, let the games begin!

Johnny Ray Division



#1 Mondesi’s House vs. #8 Post Game Heroes



#4 Blog ‘N’ Gold vs. #5 The Confluence



#3 Pirates Prospects vs. #6 Nice Pick Cowher



#2 That’s Church vs. #7 Steelers Today



John Cullen Division



#1 Empty Netters vs. #8 This Is Getting Old



#4 Raise the Jolly Roger vs. #5 DC Steeler Nation



#3 Steelers Gab vs. #6 Faceoff Factor



#2 Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies (PSAMP) vs. #7 Cardiac Hill



Good luck to all of these blogs, and thank you for voting and for visiting these sites!

In addition, thanks again to Cotter for designing the fantastic logo.



Update: Voting for these match-ups is now complete. Voting for the remaining first round match-ups will begin tomorrow (Thursday) at 9:00 AM Eastern time. Thanks again for participating!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament Selection Show

Greg Gumbel: Welcome to 3rd Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament. I'm Greg Gumbel. For something special this year, your host of this tournament, Sean of Sean’s Ramblings, hired us to present the 32 blogs competing for the title of best Pittsburgh sports blog. I’m amazed that this low-budget blogger was able to raise enough money to hire us. As always, I’m joined today by Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. Welcome gentlemen. Before we release the bracket, what are your thoughts on the tournament?



Clark Kellogg: I'm excited to be here, Greg. This is a wide-open tournament. With the rule that a blog that has previously won the tournament is ineligible to participate, that means no PensBlog and no Bucs Dugout. Any of the 32 blogs in this tournament can win.

Seth Davis: It has truly been a great year in the Pittsburgh sports blog community. So many sports stories from Steelers’ run to the Super Bowl to the University of Pittsburgh's football coaching situation. The Penguins continue to be one of the best teams in the NHL, and the John Russell era for the Pirates is over. So many great blogs. I’m really excited Greg.

Greg: If you’re not familiar with the rules, I encourage you to click on this link for more information. I should also mention that this tournament is for entertainment only. The tournament was designed to highlight some of the great Pittsburgh sports blogs and to encourage collaboration between bloggers. We have four divisions based on great Pittsburgh athletes from the past. Let’s look at the top seeds. We begin with the Johnny Ray division where the number #1 seed is (dramatic pause) Mondesi’s House. Mondesi’s House has been around since June 2006 and discusses all Pittsburgh sports.

Clark: No surprise here. Mondesi’s House has been one of the best Pittsburgh sports blogs for some time.

Greg: In the John Cullen division, the top seed is Empty Netters. Seth writes about the Penguins on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette web site and may be best known as the originator of the Jersey Foul.

Seth: This was a remarkable year for Empty Netters. There was a scare that the blog’s future was in jeopardy, and the blog’s fans came out in full support of the author. A well-deserved #1 seed.

Greg: Let’s move to the Carlton Haselrig division. Your top seed is Behind the Steel Curtain.

Clark: Behind the Steel Curtain is probably the most respected Steelers blog out there. Multiple authors, great posts; they have it all.

Greg: And finally, the top seed in the Jerome Lane division is Steelers Depot. A second Steelers-related blog to earn a #1 seed.

Seth: I’m a little surprised about this selection. I figured a Pittsburgh Pirates blog or another blog that discusses all Pittsburgh sports would earn the fourth top seed. Not a bad pick but there are others just as deserving.

Greg: Let’s take a look at the complete 32-blog bracket. Apparently, Sean’s Ramblings spent all of his money on us and not on graphics.



Greg: The first round match-ups in the Johnny Ray and John Cullen divisions will run on Tuesday and Wednesday. The first round for the Carlton Haselrig and Jerome Lane divisions will take place on Thursday and Friday. Let's discuss some of these match-ups.

(Via phone) Billy Packer: Greg, this bracket is a disaster. How can you have a Pittsburgh sports blog tournament without The Pensblog?



Greg: Billy, The Pensblog won in the first year of this tournament and are not eligible. We said this at the beginning of this post. By the way, how did you get this number?

Billy: Where is Duke? How are they not here? What’s with all of these small market blogs? What’s a blog anyway? (Phone disconnected.)

Greg: Um, always nice to hear from Billy Packer.

Seth: Greg, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just got a call from my bank. Apparently, the check Sean sent me bounced.

Clark: My check too, Seth. I just stayed on since Sean and I both have degrees from Ohio State.

Greg: I’m out of here. What kind of dumb idea is a Pittsburgh sports blog tournament?

Seth: At least the logo is cool.



(Thanks to Cotter for making the logo.)

Friday, February 11, 2011

Friday Videos

The end of the Steelers season brings us one last Yinz Luv Da Stillers. Jim Shearer does/did an amazing job of putting these videos together each week.



With the football season complete, we now turn our attention in the sports world to college basketball. Quietly, George Mason has a very good team this year. This video attempts to make the season a little louder. Go Mason!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

3rd Annual Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament: Call For Nominations

For those of you unfamiliar with the best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, or even for those few of you who have some vague recollection about this event, I started this little extravaganza in 2009 as a way to highlight the best blogs that cover and discuss Pittsburgh sports. As I've mentioned previously, there is a special Pittsburgh sports blog community that is unmatched by any other city in the country. This tournament was designed to highlight some of these blogs and bloggers and to encourage collaboration between very talented writers.



While I plan on starting the third annual tournament next week, I first wanted to set the ground rules and get some feedback about who should be included in this year's tournament.

1. The blog must be in existence for at least one year as the bloggers in this tournament have paid their dues. While it’s easy to start a blog, it’s not as easy to stick with it. This is not to discourage the new bloggers out there. There are some great blogs that have only been around for a few months that should make the cut next year. (ex. Steelers Lounge)

2. The blog must discuss Pittsburgh sports at least half of the time. Close counts. The perfect example of this is a new entrant into the tournament this year, That’s Church. Ginny regularly writes recaps after Steelers games, had a bet involving the Pirates reaching .500 and helped raise money for the Mario Lemieux Foundation’s Make Room For Kids campaign. Anything Mario Lemieux related counts as sports.

3. The blog must be active and updated regularly. I don’t have a specific definition of regularly; however, if a blogs follows a specific team during the season but has a three-month gap in posts during the off-season, it is not eligible.

4. The blog’s primary author cannot regularly write and get published in a newspaper. This is the Dejan Kovacevic Rule. I don’t want to diminish all of the work that Dejan and other writers/bloggers at the Post-Gazette, the Tribune-Review and other publications do but they also have much greater access to players, executives, etc. as well as resources for in-depth stories.

5. At least for now, when a blog wins once, it can’t win again. The Pensblog cruised to a relatively easy victory to become the first ever Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament Champion. Last year, Bucs Dugout edged out a victory to become the second champion. I like giving other blogs chances to win, so don’t freak out when you scan through the list of Pittsburgh sports blogs, and The Pensblog and Bucs Dugout are missing. If there's a 10th annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament, maybe we'll bring back all the former champions.

Here’s the part where I ask for help. There will be 32 blogs in the tournament. The following blogs are definitely entered:

Behind the Steel Curtain
Blog 'n' Gold
Bob Smizik's Blog (see note below)
DC Steeler Nation
Empty Netters
Faceoff Factor
Mondesi's House
Nice Pick, Cowher
One for the Other Thumb
PensBurgh
Pirates Prospects
Pitt Blather
Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies
Puck Huffers
Raise the Jolly Roger
Steelers Depot
Steelers Gab
Steelers Today
That's Church
The Confluence
The Steelers N' At
Three Rivers Burgh Blog
Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?

As you can tell, this is only 23 blogs. I have an idea about the remaining spots, but I’d like to hear who you think should be included. Please leave your suggestions in the comments section below or e-mail me at seanramblings at yahoo [dot] com.

Notes:

- I know that many people don’t like Bob Smizik, but he meets all of the eligibility qualifications. Plus, his posts generate more feedback and comments than nearly any other Pittsburgh sports blog. Yes, most of these posts focus on criticizing Smizik, and he’ll probably get knocked out in the first round due to the anti-Smizik vote, but his blog is in.

- I included Black Shoe Diaries, a blog dedicated to Penn State sports, as part of the tournament last year because of the large number of Penn State fans in Western Pennsylvania. Upon further review (and lots of comments saying that State College does not equal Pittsburgh), BSD is out for now.

- Finally, this tournament was (and is) for entertainment only. This is all for fun, so please don't take this too seriously.


Thanks for reading and supporting the Pittsburgh sports blog community! In addition, thanks to Cotter for designing the incredible logo.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Watch Bravo at 8 (Express Fail)

Did you witness television history last night? Although I missed it, Bravo apparently aired four shows at the same time Tuesday evening and none of them features chefs or housewives. According to Express, Bravo showed Pioneers of Television, Cupcake Wars, Raising Hope and Parenthood all at 8:00pm. Incredible!



If anyone watched Bravo, was it picture-in-picture-in-picture-in-picture? How did they have the sound on all four shows at the same time? How did Bravo even get the rights to all of these shows since many of them do not usually appear on their network?

If you'd like to see more instances of Express fail, please click here.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Trivia Tuesday: Name That Tune Edition (Plus Jeopardy Info)

Before we get to Trivia Tuesday, I’d first like to congratulate LaCochran’s Evil Twin for winning last week’s giveaway. She was comment #7 as selected by random.org. Thanks again to everyone who entered and to CSNStores.com for providing the prize.



Your challenge this week is to identify the song title and/or artist based on the lyrics below. These are the top 10 songs from Billboard’s 2010 year-end Hot 100 singles chart.

1. There’s no point trying to hide it/no point trying to evade it

2. You gave my life direction/a game show love connection we can’t deny

3. If she ever tries to leave again, Im ‘a tie her to the bed/and set this house on fire

4. Picture perfect memories/scattered all around the floor

5. I want your horror, I want your design/’cause you’re a criminal as long as you’re mine

6. I’m talking about everybody getting crunk, crunk/boys tryin’ to touch my junk, junk

7. Yeah I could use a dream or a genie or a wish/To go back to a place much simpler that this

8. You could travel the world/But nothing comes close to the Golden Coast

9. Honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow/honey got some boobies like wow, oh, wow

10. I came to move, move, move, move/Get out the way of me and my crew, crew, crew, crew

As always please leave your answers in the comments section below and do not use the internet for assistance. Good luck!

This quiz is courtesy of the fine folks at Stump Trivia.


Finally, I hope that the Trivia Tuesday regulars (and non-regulars) sign-up for the Jeopardy! online test. The adult tests are this week (see below), but make sure to register before the test begins.

Eastern time zone: Tuesday, February 8th at 8pm ET
Central/Mountain time zone: Wednesday, February 9th at 8pm CT / 7pm MT
Pacific time zone: Thursday, February 10th at 8pm PT / 7pm Alaska / 6pm Hawaii

The teen and college tests are in March. Visit the Jeopardy! website for more information. If you make it all the way to being on the show with Alex Trebek, please make sure that you mentioned that you learned of the test through Sean’s Ramblings!

Monday, February 07, 2011

We Could Have Had It All

So close to a seventh Super Bowl, but three turnovers were too much for the Steelers to overcome. Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers for playing a great game and earning the Super Bowl Championship.

I may or may not write more about Super Bowl XLV later this week, but I don't feel like it right now. Instead, I'll share a good new song by Adele that expresses my feelings right now.



(I have no idea what "Rolling in the Deep" means or any explanation about what the video represents. Very good song though.)

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Super Bowl Game Day Links & Videos for Steelers Fans

Are you spending the day just sitting in front of your computer and television waiting for Super Bowl XLV to begin? I'm here to provide some assistance to help you pass some of the time until kick-off:

Cotter put together an epic preview. [One For The Other Thumb]

You need some Myron Cope sound bites to get you pumped up.



There is an incredible list of Steelers fight songs on the Steelers in Hoboken website.

While I approve of the Troy Polamalu tribute, why a Florida State license plate? [Yahoo]



Great pictures of the Terrible Towel all over the world. [Mondesi's House]

Need a recipe for today? Check out the "ltimate Football Foodie Super Bowl Recipe Guide for Steelers-Packers Party 2011." [Sarah Sprague]

The DC Fox station visited the Steelers and Packers bars that are only feet away from each other. DC Steeler Nation came across much better in the video. When asked what the Packers need to do to beat the Steelers, the Packers fan (at just after the 2:30 mark of the video) replied, "Packer Nation is going to forget about Brett Favre." Um, that wasn't the question! In addition, the Packers fans won't even be at the Packer bar on Sunday. BOOOOOOO!

Steelers and Packers Fans Make Super Bowl Destinations in DC: MyFoxDC.com



If you enter #steelernation of Twitter, you can make a Terrible Towel wave [Twerrible Towel]



A little self-promotion. If you didn't see my interview with Steeler Nation: Israel or the panel of Steelers superstitions, you should. You can also read them again!

Finally, watch the video for Wiz Khalifa's Black and Yellow over and over.

Friday, February 04, 2011

Swaggin Tallit

A tallit is a Jewish prayer shawl worn during some services. This may be the greatest tallit I've ever seen. I shall call this the Terrible Tallit!



Although I've never met him, I consider Steve Braband my friend since we are both fellow Steelers fans with an internet presence. Of course, he's using his internet presence at ESPN asking Ike Taylor about SwagginU. Hopefully, my friend Steve will include me next time!



Find me another blog that combines Ike Taylor and a tallit in the same post!

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Steelers Superstitions

The Super Bowl is now only a few days away. While many of us probably believe the success of the Steelers on Sunday comes down to Ben Roethlisberger, the performance of the offensive line and the team’s ability to contain Aaron Rodgers and the Packers wide receivers, some of us think differently. Whether it is wearing a specific item of clothing, shaving or not shaving, or watching the game at a certain location, if you’re a superstitious person, the Steelers winning the Super Bowl is up to you/us.

I asked a select group of Steelers fans to share their superstitions. Enjoy!

Gobo (@immaterialevent)

Our living room has shutters on the interior windows. Two Terrible Towels, one black, one gold, hang on the shutters nearest to the TV. The year we moved into the house was 2005, and of course the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The towels have not moved since.

Also, just after halftime of the playoff game against the Ravens, I took off my old Steelers sweatshirt (I was wearing a Steelers T-shirt underneath), just before the Ray Rice fumble that started the comeback. Needless to say, the sweatshirt is in exactly the place I discarded it that night, and if they win the Superbowl, I will throw it away and never wear it again. I kept the T-shirt on for the Ravens comeback, and also wore it during the Jets game. I will obviously wear it on Sunday.

Nick

This is not so much a superstition as it is a courtesy gesture, but I NEVER call my dad while the Steeler game is on for fear of influencing the outcome in an unpleasant way.

Ngewo of Ngewo's World

I really do not have any superstitions except for the jersey I wear to watch the game. If the Steelers lose with a certain jersey, I do not wear it again. I have not touched my Heath Miller jersey since the Saints game...I will be wearing my Timmons jersey for the Super Bowl because that is the one I wore for the Jets and Ravens playoff games.

Kipper of Pittsburgh Sports Tavern

I have a few superstitions and usually they vary from year to year. One of the main constants has been watching the game alone. I can’t watch a Steelers game with someone else without the Steelers losing. We are 0-5 when I do this since 2008. This Sunday, I’ll be watching it by myself. I have a particular long sleeved Superbowl XL shirt that I’ve worn most of the season and am undefeated in. That shirt will be worn proudly on Sunday. My wife isn’t permitted to watch the game. She started watching the Jets game after half time and then stopped watching it mid way through the 4th Quarter.

That is it. I tried to be inconsistent with things regarding time, drink and food so I wouldn’t kill myself with repetition this year and got lucky for a change, especially compared to 2008, where I had a about a dozen game and pre-game rituals.

(Pearls Before Swine = Best Current Comic Strip)

Donald of Steelers Today

I definitely believe that fans can influence the outcome of the game. Some may call it "superstition", but I'm certain that my actions have the potential to jinx the Steelers. Therefore, I follow a very specific routine to give the Steelers the greatest chance of winning.

I don't shower or bathe during the week of a Steelers' game. Back in 1993 I took a shower right before a Steelers' game, and they ended up losing the game. I'm certain that my shower caused the loss. So I stopped showering on the day of games. Then in 1995, I took a shower 2 days before a Steelers game, and they lost. Since then, I just decided to avoid showering or bathing during the entire week prior to a Steelers game.

I get a bit malodorous during the season, but it's a small sacrifice to make for the Steelers. (Sean’s Note: I really hope this isn’t true.)

Rob

I have crazy long hair for me (longest I've ever had it), I badly need a haircut, and I will not get my hair cut until after the superbowl. I am afraid to jinx the Steelers and most importantly Polamalu's play.

Dan of DanNation

During the Divisional game against the Ravens, I had my football on the couch with me, but I wasn't holding it during the first half. At the start of the second half, with the Steelers trailing by 14, I started holding the football in my lap. As the Steelers mounted their furious comeback, I was told by others in the room that I wasn't allowed to move it. I held it in the same position for the rest of that game, and during the bulk of the AFC Championship game. No reason to stop now.

Sean of Sean’s Ramblings

I always wear my Louis Lipps jersey and Heinz pickle watch and have my Terrible Towel with me for any big Steeler game. This has worked well over the years. I also generally wear a different watch during the week using the Heinz pickle watch for game days. The battery of the other watch died last month, so I’ve been wearing the pickle watch everyday. I refuse to replace the battery of the other watch since the Steelers have been on a roll since I started wearing the pickle watch daily. Some may call this laziness; I call it good luck for the Steelers!

I also plan on watching the game at our friends’ house. I watched the last two Steelers Super Bowls with them as well as game 7 of the Pens-Red Wings Stanley Cup finals. As soon as the Steelers won the AFC Championship game, it was a given that I would watch the game at their house.

Christmas Ape of D.C. Steeler Nation

Sorry, part of the superstition is not telling what the superstitions are until after the season is over.


Feel free to share your own superstitions in the comments section below. Go Steelers!