Steelers Fans Don't Wear Green

I received an e-mail from the NFL promoting Pittsburgh Steelers St. Patrick's Day gear with the following picture.

Although green is my favorite color, if you're a Steelers fan, the only acceptable colors to wear featuring the Steelers logo is black and gold. I'm sure some people might argue that pink is okay since proceeds help fight breast cancer, but take a look at the Steelers Apparel for Woman page on the Steelers store website. Not much pink gear since female Steelers fans wear black and gold.

Therefore, don't give in to this clear marketing gimmick by the Steelers (and more likely the NFL) to sell you green team merchandise.




I also received an e-mail from the Penguins selling St. Patrick's Day items. I'll pass on this too.

Trivia Tuesday: Movie Edition

Since the Oscars just occurred on Sunday, I feel like folks are still thinking a lot about movies. Therefore, your challenge is to name the movie based on the romantic quotes below:

1. This is true love – you think this happens every day?

2. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.

3. I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.

4. Love it too weak a word for what I feel – I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you.

5. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

6. I wish I didn’t love you so much.

7. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies to make people feel like crap.

8. I wish I knew how to quit you.

9. You’re kind to strangers and children, and when you stand in the snow, you look like an angel.

10. I’ll just be hanging around the mistletoe, hoping to be kissed.

This could be difficult, so I’ll see how everyone does before adding the movie names and making this a multiple choice game.

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.

News From the Home Front

I have two stories to share with you today.

Story #1:

I’m in desperate need for a new winter coat since my current coat is getting old and the zipper only works on rare occasions. This often results in me putting the coat on over my head and taking it off by letting the coat fall to the ground. You can see why this may not go over well in many social and professional situations. Last month, I went to Burlington Coat Factory to search for the perfect watermelon. (Just making sure you’re paying attention.) After a nearly hour-long search, I made my selection. When I returned home, I modeled the coat for my wife.

My wife: Is that a woman’s coat?
Me: No, it’s a long overcoat.
Wife: Are you sure?
Me: Yes.
Wife: It looks like a woman’s coat.

I returned the coat several days later and still don’t have a new coat.

(This was not the coat.)

Story #2:

I feel like I can now share this story since the statute of limitations has expired. About two months ago, I cleaned the kitchen including running the dishwasher before I went to sleep. The next morning, my wife started putting dishes away and noticed that some of the plates, cups and silverware weren’t clean. She asked if I ran the dishwasher, and I replied yes. While she put some of the dishes away, many more items went back into the sink to clean again. Since we have a fairly new dishwasher, I said that I would call Sears to see if something was wrong. That evening, I loaded the dishwasher and found that there was detergent in the detergent compartment. (I’m sure that there’s a technical term for this, but detergent compartment works for me.) I asked my wife if she already added the detergent, but she did not. Fortunately, I did not call Sears since the problem with the dishwasher from the previous evening/ the morning was that I never actually turned it on.

Friday Video: Another Ziggy

I've probably mentioned that I often fall asleep on the couch. By often, I mean at least four times per week. After my child goes to sleep, I just want to sit on the couch, catch up on shows saved on the DVR and check e-mail, write blog posts, etc. Therefore, I find myself fighting sleep while wanting to have this time for myself. Anyway, the other night while half-asleep, I heard "When Ziggy the cat appeared at their door" on TV. I thought I was dreaming, but there was a cat on my television in this commercial:



I've said for years that my Ziggy needs to earn his keep. Unfortunately, it looks like there is another Ziggy out there doing commercials. Clearly, Ziggy is not impressed by the other Ziggy.

I look forward to hearing from Meow Mix to cast my Ziggy in their next advertisement.

Good Night Pittsburgh Resolution

Remember last month when I claimed that authors Adam Gamble and Mark Jasper utilized my idea for their Good Night Pittsburgh book? Well, I contacted the Our World of Books folks with an ultimatum: pay me an undisclosed amount of money or allow me to share some pictures of the book. After intense negotiations, involving mediators and even Judge Judy, Our World of Books granted me permission to use the following images:

This is clearly a game between the Steelers and their heated rivals, the Montreal Alouettes. Plus, why are Ben Roethlisberger and Keenan Lewis on the field at the same time?

Since Paul Martin and Deryk Engelland rarely play together, I'd like to think this picture is a tribute to Joe Mullen and Ulf Samuelsson. The only unrealistic part of this page is that none of the fans are wearing Penguins gear.

Overall, I highly recommend Good Night Pittsburgh. Since I no longer live in Pittsburgh, I try to read this to my son as often as I can so that he can become familiar with Pittsburgh landmarks and venues like Kennywood and the Carnegie Museum. In addition, thanks to Adam Gamble for being a good sport about my e-mails.

Trivia Wednesday

Trivia Wednesday just doesn't sound as good as Trivia Tuesday. I wasn't able to get this together yesterday, so that's why we're having trivia today. Your challenge is to identify the individuals in the pictures below who were born on February 14th.

As always please leave your answers in the comments section below and do not use the internet for assistance. I think this is one of the more difficult quizzes we've had lately, so good luck!

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

Apply To Be A Racing President

Have you always (or at least since 2006) dreamed about being one of the Washington Nationals Racing Presidents? Now is your chance to be Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln (or pretend to be Daniel Day-Lewis), Roosevelt or Taft! There's more information about the tryouts on the Nationals website, and here is a job description from TeamWork Online.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Take on the person of the Racing President you encompass.
• Greet fans during pre-game.
• Race in the mid-4th President's Race.
• Participate in the GEICO photo station following the end of the race until bottom of the 5th inning.
• Take part in the 7th Inning Stretch.
• Take part in outside appearances as needed
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements
• Must be 18 year or older.
• Previous mascot experience is preferred, but not required.
• Take part in the annual tryout (tryouts are by invitation only)

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Necessary to perform Essential Functions
• Ability to run from centerfield to first base (approximately 200 yards) in a 50 pound costume.
• Ability to properly function in while wearing a 50 pound costume.
• Availability from March 2013- November 2013 as well as other appearances as needed.

Physical / Environmental Requirements
• Must be between 5'7" and 6'6" in height
• Gameday Seasonal: Job requires employee to function in high activity and heavily crowded outdoor professional sports venue. May work at heights. Employee will be exposed to inclement weather of varying degrees. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand for long periods of time, walk long distances, and climb up/ down stairs. The employee is required to stoop, kneel, crouch, or sit and must lift and/or move up to 45 pounds.

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Do you live in the DC, Maryland, or Virginia area?
2. Are you available from March 2013 - November 2013?
3. Are you between 5'7" and 6'6" in height?

I could be the perfect candidate. My driver's license officially shows that I am 5'7" and I have previous mascot experience serving as Celebrate Fairfax's retired mascot, CHIP.

Monday Links

If you're working on this Presidents Day, it has to be quiet in the office, right? Therefore, take a few minutes to check out the links below. If you're not working today, enjoy the day off by taking a few minutes to check out the links below.

I live by a golf course where there are constantly geese on one of the holes. However, to my knowledge, this has never happened on the local course. [Deadspin]

Yes, those are kangaroos!

One of my recent Tweets made last week's The Week in Tweets! [Everybody Loves You]

Next Valentine's Day, get your significant other a compass. [Mr. Brame's Blog]

Robert Chew, who played Proposition Joe on The Wire, passed away a few weeks ago. [A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago]

MC Hammer was at a Caps game. [DC Sports Bog]

I like Fallingwater. I also like cake. Therefore, what could be better than a Fallingwater Cake? [That's Church]

PSAMP has some nominations for the new Pope. Spoiler alert: most of the candidates have ties to Pittsburgh sports. [PSAMP]

Remember the amazing map of NFL fans across America from last month? Here's some more information about the results. [Deadspin]

A Minnesota high school goalie scores a goal on himself and then flips off his coach. That's going to be an awkward bus ride back to the high school. [Puck Daddy]

Enjoy your day and week!

The Search For Swiss Miss Butterscotch Pudding

If you started reading this blog at its inception, you probably remember several posts about former West Virginia University basketball player Kevin Pittsnogle. You may also remember my quest to help my dad find the Rice Oriental flavor of Hamburger Helper. Unfortunately, unless there are thousands of boxes stored in nuclear bunkers, it appears that this flavor is now extinct. Meanwhile, there is another grocery product that I haven't seen in years: Swiss Miss Butterscotch Pudding.

This tasty and delightful snack seems to have vanished several years ago. Oh how I miss the butterscotch flavor. I dream of that smooth taste. Excuse me for a few minutes as I imagine a butterscotch world. (You only need to see the first 30 seconds and last 20 seconds of this video.)



Anyway, I need your help. When you go grocery shopping this weekend or anytime in the future, go to the refrigerated pudding section to see if they sell Swiss Miss Classic Butterscotch pudding. If the store sells this perfect product, please leave a comment below. Together, we can find this flavor and make the world a better place.

(Update February 2017 - The video in the original post "is no longer available due to a copyright claim." Problem solved with the new video.)

Major Announcement

Breaking news from Sean's Ramblings headquarters: The 5th Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament will not be annual. Perhaps a better way to write this is that the 5th Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament isn't happening this year...at least for now. Please put your pitchforks down and let me explain. Although I enjoy this event and it's a great way to support and celebrate the Pittsburgh sports blog community, the tournament is a lot of work. As you can tell by the amount I blog these days compared to past years, I simply don't have the time. Another reason is that I'm not sure there are 32 eligible blogs this year particularly since many Pittsburgh Penguins blogs stopped writing during the lockout. Overall (and I could be wrong about this), I just don't see an overall interest in the tournament this year. I certainly may reconsider this next year or even later this year, but for now, the tournament is taking a break.



In the meantime, over the next few weeks or months, I hope to interview some of my favorite current and former Pittsburgh sports bloggers. Stay tuned for more details!

We now return to your regularly scheduled programming.


Thanks to Cotter for the incredible logo.

Top Box Office Movies of 2012

Although this isn't technically Trivia Tuesday, I have a question for you. Listed below are the top 50 movies of 2012 based on box office numbers. How many of these movies did you see?

1. Marvel's The Avengers
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. The Hunger Games
4. Skyfall
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
7. The Amazing Spider-Man
8. Brave
9. Ted
10. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

11. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
12. Wreck-It Ralph
13. MIB 3
14. Lincoln
15. Ice Age: Continental Drift
16. Snow White and the Huntsman
17. Django Unchained
18. Hotel Transylvania
19. Les Miserables (2012)
20. Taken 2

21. 21 Jump Street
22. Prometheus
23. Safe House
24. The Vow
25. Argo
26. Magic Mike
27. The Bourne Legacy
28. Life of Pi
29. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
30. Rise of the Guardians

31. Flight
32. Think Like a Man
33. Silver Linings Playbook
34. The Campaign
35. The Expendables 2
36. Wrath of the Titans
37. Zero Dark Thirty
38. Dark Shadows
39. Jack Reacher
40. Parental Guidance

41. John Carter
42. Act of Valor
43. This Is 40
44. Contraband
45. Looper
46. Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection
47. Battleship
48. Pitch Perfect
49. Mirror Mirror
50. Chronicle (2012)

I saw a grand total of only 4 of these movies: The Dark Knight Rises, Argo, The Campaign and The Amazing Spider-Man (viewed on an airplane). This is even worse than last year when I saw only five of the top 50 movies. Does it count that I read The Hunger Games and Life of Pi? I really need to get out more in 2013!

Correction: As MCole pointed out in the comments, I missed The Expendables 2. Therefore, I actually saw 5 of these movies. Yay me!

So how many movies did you see? Please leave your answer and any thoughts about the films in the comments section below.


This list is courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

Jewish Pittsburgh Penguins

When it comes to Jews in the National Hockey League, there’s retired defenseman Mathieu Schneider and, um, other people. Actually, The Jewish Daily Forward recently published the 5 Jewish Players To Watch as Hockey Season Starts profiling Jeff Halpern of the Rangers; Mike Brown of the Maple Leafs; Eric Nystrom of Dallas; David Warsofsky of the Bruins; and Mike Cammalleri of Calgary. (Besides Christensen and Muhammad, is there a least sounding Jewish name than Cammalleri?) The Jewish Sports Review also includes several minor league players in addition to these players. Well, you can now include Pittsburgh native Dylan Reese to this list. Reese was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and played for the Penguins against the Capitals on Thursday night.

This got me thinking: is Reese the first Jewish player on the Penguins? My non-scientific search found that Justin Duberman is Jewish based on a reference to his birth date in Day By Day in Jewish Sports History by Bob Wechsler. Here’s Duberman’s biography from the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Right-winger Justin Duberman played four games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1993-94. He was a solid playmaker and scorer who won more battles than he lost along the boards. Most of his success as a pro came in the minors and the British league.

Born in New Have, Connecticut, Duberman was a scoring star on Tier II Detroit Compuware in 1987-88. He was chosen 230th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in 1989 after his freshman year at the University of North Dakota. Duberman was a diligent worker for three more years with the Fighting Sioux then signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins in November, 1992.

The young winger scored 29 goals as a rookie pro with the IHL's Cleveland Lumberjacks in 1992-93 then saw brief duty in the NHL the next year. After spending most of two years in the IHL and ECHL, Duberman sat out the 1995-96 season then played two years with Britain' Newcastle Cobras before retiring in 1998.

Only four games with the Penguins? Duberman is like Moonlight Graham from Field of Dreams. I hope that Reese’s career with the Pens lasts significantly longer.

Sonic To Northern Virginia Update

Remember in December when I shared my quest to bring Sonic to Northern Virginia? Thanks to your help, we received over 10 signatures (there are currently 11 signatures) on this Change.org petition! Based on these results, I contacted Lori Osley, the Sr. Director Franchise Sales & Credit at Sonic:

Dear Ms. Osley,

I am a big fan of Sonic, but don't understand why there are none in Fairfax County, Virginia, just outside Washington DC, home of over 1 million residents. I wrote more about this on my blog and also created a petition to hopefully make this happen. There are now 10 signatures to get Sonic here, and I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hopefully, this will help encourage Sonic to open in Northern Virginia.

Thank you for your time, and please let me know when you plan on opening in Northern Virginia.

Sean

Lori was gracious enough to reply:

What a nice compliment!

I currently have several existing and new franchisees looking at the market for development. Because of the cost and timeframe involved in developing the market it has produced some challenges. If you know of anyone who would be interested in becoming a franchisee, please share my information with them.

Hang in there; we will be there soon!

I think we can count this petition a success. Of course, Sonic isn't actually in Fairfax County yet, but that's just a minor detail.

Trivia Tuesday: Picture Edition

I think you'll enjoy this week's Trivia Tuesday (though you enjoy EVERY week's Trivia Tuesday, right?). Your challenge is to name the individual with plants or animals in their name.

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.

Call Him Maybe

With the Super Bowl over, it's time to turn our attention to hockey, college basketball and even baseball's Spring Training. Dan, who formally announced his retirement from blogging and one of the people who inspired me to start Sean's Ramblings, passed on this story from last week:

Anaheim, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Angels and reliever Kevin Jepsen have agreed to a one-year contract worth $1,181,000, avoiding arbitration with the hard-throwing right-hander.

The Angels announced the deal Tuesday night.

Jepsen went 3-2 with a 3.02 ERA last year, returning to an important role in the Angels' bullpen after missing much of the 2011 season with a knee injury. He has been a steady presence in Los Angeles' bullpen for the past four seasons.

It's too bad that Jepsen didn't sign with another team. He could have easily said to the prospective team, "Hey I just met you. And this is crazy. But here's my number. So call me maybe."

I really hope "Call Me Maybe" ia played when Jepsen comes into the game from the bullpen.