Jason Rollison (1980-2019)

Although it doesn't appear that he was the first to say it, General Douglas MacArthur is often credited with the quote, "Old soldiers never die, they just fade away." It seems some a silly comparison, but I think the same of bloggers. Many bloggers stop writing, but generally, their work lives on and stays online forever. I mean bloggers don’t actually die, right? You don’t interact with someone on Twitter only to learn that they passed away. That just doesn’t happen. Until it actually does.

Those in the Pittsburgh sports community learned that Jason Rollison passed away from cancer earlier this week at the age of 38. 38! Jason wrote for and/or ran several Pirates blogs over the years such as Rumbunter, Pirates Breakdown, and Bucs Dugout. He most recently wrote for DK Pittsburgh Sports.

I talked to Jason once. Ron, author of Steelers Takeaways, organized a Pittsburgh sports blogger conference call a few years back with the purpose of helping create a closer-knit community and to share some ideas. While not much occurred after conversation, it was cool talking with Jason and the other Pittsburgh sports bloggers. I didn’t interact with Jason much since then though I certainly read his work over the years. Still, it’s shocking seeing someone that you read or see tweet, even within the last few weeks, pass away at such a young age.

Jason's obituary via Koch Funeral Home is here (I copied the text below), and Dejan Kovacevic wrote a really good piece about Jason. (The picture above is from the article.)

The Pirates also did this:

Thank you, Pittsburgh Pirates, for this. It was beautiful. I can’t even imagine how much Jason would’ve appreciate it. #DKPS #Pirates pic.twitter.com/6iK6AH2SQa

— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) September 24, 2019

Jason Craig Rollison, 38, of Uniontown, died September 23, 2019 after a brief but commanding battle with cancer. He was born December 7, 1980 in Uniontown. He will be remembered as a gentle giant with a heart of gold.

He attended Uniontown schools and graduated from Brownsville High School in 1999, where he was a member of the basketball team. He went on to receive his Associates Degrees from Laurel Business Institute and Duquesne University. He then pursued a career in information technology. He was employed by ACPI in Thompsontown. Jason was a member of St John Evangelist Catholic Church in Bellefonte, PA.

Jason started his journalism career in the early 2000s providing coverage for high school sports in local newspapers. His passion for writing and sports continued throughout his life as he contributed to the Pirates blog, Rumbunter, eventually as editor-in-chief, which he held until 2015. He is the proud author of two books to include PiratesGuide 2019: A Field Guide to the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates. He also served as the analyst on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Major League Baseball for DKPittsburghSports.com, editor at SB Nation's Bucs Dugout and the enthusiastic voice of the 'Buccocast' podcast.

Jason leaves behind his wife of 9 years, Jessica, in what he described as "domestic bliss" and a Hollywood type of love with their pup Tippy Tumbles. Jason would want it noted that he had no say in what to name her. They filled their spare time by exploring, dancing and finding new adventures. Jason loved to find new places and experiences at every turn.

He was pre-deceased by grandfather Wendell Rollison, who raised him as his own. To carry on his memory, he leaves behind his mother Joyce, brother Corey Rollison (Ashley) and many friends both personal and professional.

There will be a viewing at Koch Funeral Home on Thursday September 26, 2019 from 4pm to 7pm. On Friday, September 27, 2019 a funeral service will be held at St John Evangelist Catholic Church at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, request donations be made in Jason's name to The American Cancer Society as a thank you to Hope Lodge for their support in the fight.

Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com or visit us on Facebook.

Jason will certainly be missed.

This Blog Is Old (Random Ramblings)

When you write over 2,800 blog posts in nearly 13 years, you tend to have some overlapping topics. Therefore, some of this post expands on previous posts though I have some thoughts/notes on fatherhood, Pittsburgh sports media, and Ithaca College too.

1. Young children completely ignore daylight savings. (I wrote about abolishing daylight savings here.) You know who else has no interest in this outdated and silly ritual? Pets. Your dog and cat aren't setting their clocks forward or back an hour.

2. The tooth fairy certainly has an added degree of difficulty when her work involves retrieving a tooth from the top bunk of a bunk bed. Even The Rock didn't have to deal with this!

3. Last week, eight people were killed in New York City when a terrorist drove a truck through a bike path. Immediately after the incident, there were calls to more thoroughly vet immigrants and New York added barriers to prevent cars from accessing the bike path. Meanwhile, there was another major shooting spree in America on Sunday where 26 people were killed at a Sutherland Springs, Texas church. Yet, all you see from our political leaders in power are thoughts and prayers and no action. President Trump in Japan said "I think that mental health is your problem here. Based on preliminary reports, a very deranged individual, a lot of problems for a long period of time." He also added that "this isn’t a guns situation." If this isn't a "guns situation," I expect that the President and Congress will introduce immediate legislation to ensure that more resources go towards mental health, right? Please let me know when that happens. And yes, I wrote about gun legislation and frustration that there won't be any gun legislation last month.

4. Luigi makes squeaking sounds sometimes when he's in a state between being awake and asleep and even sometimes when he is awake. He sounds like he could be from the Upside Down of Stranger Things!

5. While I didn't attend my 20th year college reunion this weekend, a friend took a picture of the building where I lived for two years. The room was so small, but I loved it for those two years.

6. Finally, I was an early subscriber to DK Pittsburgh Sports since I enjoyed Dejan Kovacevic's work, particularly on the Pittsburgh Pirates beat with the Post-Gazette. I re-upped to the "Lunatic Level" because of his work and the addition of really good writers like Josh Yohe and Matt Gajtka. With that written, there's something not right there. I get that Josh Yohe and Mark Kaboly left for more money at The Athletic. However, the site has gone through so many writers/staff (Neal Coolong, Alan Saunders, Dustin Dopirak, Tim Benz, etc.) in its short history* that there are certainly some red flags, particularly regarding the allegations by Alan earlier this year of the site accessing his Twitter direct messages. (I'm Team Alan in this case as I don't see any reason for him to make this up and he has always been straightforward with me in any correspondence.) Over the weekend, Sara Civian and DK apparently parted ways as her profile has been scrubbed from the website after only a few months there. I'm still a subscriber and I feel like I get my money's worth (and for a whole lot less than if I subscribed to the P-G online), but again something is not right there.


* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat writer position in particular is like the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position in the Harry Potter books. There's a new one every year!

Steelers-Browns Recap

Can we pretend that the second half didn't happen? Wouldn't you feel so much better about the Steelers if this game ended after 30 minutes? Let's start with the fact that the Steelers defeated the Browns and are now 1-0. This is also the first time since the 2010 season that the Steelers started 1-0. In the big picture, the Steelers are 1-0 and have a win against a division opponent. Woo!

Now, here are my notes from the game:

- The Steelers led Cleveland 27-3 at halftime and outgained Cleveland 364-101 yards and had five plays of 30+ yards. Wow!

- To paraphrase Meatloaf, Antonio Brown would do anything to win a football game, but he won't do that (well he shouldn't have done this):



I was all prepared to compare Antonio Brown's kick to The Karate Kid, but nearly everyone on the internet already beat me to this observation.

- For the second half, I feel like the Steelers coaches probably told the players simply to keep doing what you're doing while the Browns actually made adjustments. Meanwhile, did the Steelers players think the game was over at the half? I feel like the players and coaches were equally responsible for the poor second half performance.

- How much did Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey make for the Lincoln MKC commercial? It has to be 7-figures, right? Unfortunately, he didn't end the commercial by saying, "I get older, they stay the same age."



- Steelers RS Le'veon Bell is good.

- I love the fact that announcer Ian Eagle stated that the Steelers avoided testing Cleveland all-pro cornerback Joe Haden, and then as soon as he stopped talking and the play started, Brown beat Haden for a touchdown.

- I was impressed by Steelers wide receivers Markus Wheaton & Justin Brown. I had low expectations for both of them, but they certainly looked like they belong in the NFL.

- The Steelers offense allowed 4 sacks while the defense gave up 183 rushing yards. Browns rookie RB Terrance West had 100 yards. The team needs to allow less sacks and rushing yards if they want to be successful this season.

- Am I the only one who thinks of the song Broken Wings by Mr. Mister whenever new Steelers punter Brad Wing takes the field?



- I've been a big Ike Taylor defender over the years. Sure, he has trouble catching the ball, but throughout his career, he generally prevents opponents' top wide receivers from having big games. Taylor didn't look good against a Browns team on Sunday without Josh Gordon or any other "scary" wide receivers.

- Good luck to Ithaca College graduate CCH Pounder on her new show CSI: New Orleans. I just wish CBS would promote the show more and give it some exposure.

The Steelers play again in 3 days against the Ravens. 3 days!

P.S. Quote of the day about the Steelers game goes to the terrific writer/reporter Dejan Kovacevic: I’ll repeat my summer-long plea for more Gay. Yes, I'm still 12 sometimes.

h/t Mikey for the video.

Randomness

- A friend wrote on Facebook that celebrity passings normally don't get to him, but Tony Gwynn's did. I completely agree with him. I wrote a post about Tony Gwynn seven years ago (this blog is way too old) and wanted to share it again today. I had the privilege of seeing Gwynn play probably two dozen times when I lived in San Diego. What's funny is that there's not a specific game or moment that I remember of him and that sort of matches his career. He just consistently got hits. Off the field, he was loved in San Diego and did so much in the community and at San Diego State. He passed away way too soon.

This is Keith Olbermann on Gwynn:



- Here's something I never thought I would say: Dude, you are dominating that prune juice.

- Dejan Kovacevic has an awesome piece about the late Steelers head coach, Chuck Noll.

- There is a sign on 95 North just south of Baltimore that indicates that 695 West is in 1.5 miles. It is wrong and always bothers me. The exit is about 1.25 miles from that sign and nearly .75 miles after the 2 miles sign.

- I'm not sure if anyone tracks this, but I'm convinced there are more tattoos among World Cup players this year than in any other year. Italy is my unofficial top seed for the team with the most players with tattoos. Greece ranks fairly high too.

- Adenoids would be cooler if they were called asteroids. Seriously, wouldn't it be more fun to tell people that you had your asteroids taken out?

- Finally, go to Puck Daddy to see a video of Vin Scully with the Stanley Cup.

Friday Links

Tonight is the first night my son will spend in a big boy bed. Wish him (and us) luck! I may give a full report next week. In the meantime, here are some good links whether you are stuck in snow, stuck at work or not stuck at all.

Mr. Brame asked some of his favorite Twitter celebrities, including Ashley Judd & Christina Applegate, to identify their favorite poem. Dale Murphy gave a dumb answer. [Mr. Brame's Blog]

Dejan Kovacevic found a Pittsburgh bar in Sochi. Not a Steelers bar, a Pittsburgh bar. [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Awesome story by Douglas seeing and hearing his late father on a Pittsburgh Pirates YouTube video. [My Blog N'At]

Japan's women's hockey team is awesome. [Deadspin]

Former Steelers offensive lineman Alan Faneca ran a marathon in under four hours. Under four hours! [Behind the Steel Curtain]

Cool article about the Olympic hockey players in their 40s. [New York Times]

A Parks & Rec outtake of Chris Pratt singing about Sudden Death. [PSAMP]

Have a nice weekend!

Friday Links & Videos

If you're looking for something to pass the time before the Puppy Bowl and Super Bowl, I think you'll enjoy these articles and videos below.

I was asked to share my 12-song mixtape playlist. Enjoy possibly the greatest mixtape ever! [Everybody Loves You]

An oral history of the awesome movie Swingers. And yes I have seen Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in concert a few times. [Grantland]

Josh Noel of the Chicago Tribune visited Pittsburgh and loved it. [Chicago Tribune]

Debbie Gibson celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Electric Youth release. Please remember that the future is Electric Youth! [Billboard]

This may look like a normal hockey fight, but check out Mike Green of the Caps and Erik Karlsson of Ottawa at around the 1:15 mark. Makes you feel good about the world. [Deadspin]



Dejan Kovacevic wrote a nice tribute to the late Curtis Bray who passed away way too young. Bray attended Gateway High School and the University of Pittsburgh and leaves behind a wife and child. [Pittsburgh Tribune Review]

Puppy Bowl Camera! [Animal Planet]

Pittsburgh Sports Daily Bulletin seems to be invading on my Pittsburgh Sports Blogger Interview Series territory by having interviews with Dave Bryan of Steelers Depot, Neal Coolong of Behind The Steel Curtain & Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects. [PSDB]

The end of Steely McGnome. [Steely McGnome]

Finally, Yakkin' With Ya Jagoff! featured an interview with Norman Childs of Eyetique. I babysat for Mr. Childs many, many years ago. [Ya Jagoff]

Friday Links

Before I share some great links below, I wanted to share this e-mail I received from Caralyn of Pittsburgh's Heinz History Center.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, the History Center has begun a "Francoing" photo contest. Y'know, like, Tebowing, but more secular and easier on the knees.

Fans can submit photos of themselves Francoing via Facebook, Twitter or Instragram. One winner will receive a prize package that includes 2 tickets to the Steelers vs. Bengals game; a behind-the-scenes tour of the Gridiron Glory: The Best of the Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibition; a VIP experience at the History Center's “Immaculate Reception Memories” event; and VIP privileges at the Immaculate Reception monument unveiling at Heinz Field. So far we've already received photos from Machu Picchu, Aruba, Prague, and Seattle – but we'd love to see more of Steelers Nation have a shot at this great prize — and participate in honoring the greatest play in NFL history.

Go to the History Center's Facebook page for more information.

On to the links:

An oral history of Cheers. [GQ]

With college majors in theater and dance, why not a major in sports for athletes? [Chronicle of Higher Education]

Neal Coolong, the terrific writer at Behind the Steel Curtain, compares the naming of Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace as a co-starter to his first assignment as a journalist with co-coaches. [Behind the Steel Curtain]

An incredible gallery of vintage pictures of Joe Namath, the pride of Beaver Falls, PA. [Kissing Suzy Kolber]

A day in the life of a Pittsburgh columnist. [Dejan Kovacevic's Blog]

Tim Grierson & Will Leitch list the top 28 Steven Spielberg films. He's made a ton of good movies. [Vulture]

This will happen to you if you don't recycle in Canada: [h/t Puck Daddy]



Enjoy your Friday and weekend!

Second Annual Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament

The Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament went well last year, so I thought I would bring it back as an annual event. As I explained last year, my main motivation behind this tournament was to create a thorough list of the best blogs that cover and discuss Pittsburgh sports. There is a special Pittsburgh sports blog community that is unmatched by any other city in the country. That’s probably not surprising to Pittsburgh sports fans simply based on the huge percentage of households that watched the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup finals, all of the sports talk radio stations in Pittsburgh, and the success of the Pens, Steelers and Pitt over the past 12-13 months. Obviously, this translates to the significant number of blogs out there. This tournament is designed to highlight some of these blogs and bloggers and to encourage collaboration between very talented writers.



The tournament will begin next week, but I want to set the ground rules now 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. The bloggers in this tournament must 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.

2. The blog must discuss Pittsburgh sports at least half of the time. Close counts.

3. The blog must be active and updated regularly. I know that I should have a specific definition for regular, but I don’t. For example, Heels, Sox & Steelers, which was one of the top seeds last year, only had two total posts in May and June 2009. I’m considering this blog as out for this year.

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

5. At least for now, once your blog wins once, you can’t win again. The PensBlog cruised to a relatively easy victory to become the first ever Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog. They would likely repeat so let’s give some other blogs a chance. 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
Bucs Dugout
DC Steeler Nation
Empty Netters
Faceoff Factor
Mondesi's House
Nice Pick, Cowher
One for the Other Thumb
PensBurgh
Pitt Blather
Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies
Post Game Heroes
Raise the Jolly Roger
Steelers Gab
Steelers Today
The Confluence
The Sidney Crosby Show
Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?

That is only 18 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.

Finally, I have three other questions for you to consider.

1. Should Black Shoe Diaries, a blog dedicated to Penn State, be a part of the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament? State College is certainly not Pittsburgh, but there are a lot of Penn State fans in Western PA.

2. Should Bob Smizik’s blog be included in this year’s tournament? I’m leaning towards yes since he no longer writes for the print edition of the Post-Gazette, he blogs regularly and his blog has been around for at least one year.

3. Should Sean's Ramblings be part of the tournament? Please be honest with me. I feel like I have a decent following but I'm not sure if I write about Pittsburgh sports at least half of the time. Plus, even though I would be a #7 or #8 seed, this is a bit of a home-field advantage.

Thanks for reading and supporting the Pittsburgh sports blog community! In addition, thanks to Cotter for designing the logo which is especially appropriate with the upcoming Winter Olympics.


Update: The first round of the tournament will begin on Wednesday, February 10th.

Friday Links

It's a sad day in the blog world as Arjewtino retires. He had one of the most consistently funny blogs out there and will certainly be missed.

Washington City Paper presents the Best of DC 2009. In a shocking development, Jose Theodore did not win the Best Caps Player. (Have I already mentioned that the Caps won’t win a Stanley Cup with Theodore in goal?)

Congrats to the P-G’s Dejan Kovacevic for winning two AP Sports Editors’ Best Writing of 2008 awards. That’s another reason why he was not allowed in the Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament! (Bucs Dugout)

This Is Getting Old made a fascinating discovery. Chocolate milk must be sold in New York City 3 days earlier than anywhere else.

Metro set a weekend ridership record last weekend. I was one of the riders; it was an awful and crowded trip and then I had to fight to get out of the train. (DCist)

Gilahi can help you get a degree in public speach. Not speech, speach.

I predicted a 76-86 record for the Pirates this season on RizzoSports Blog. At the current pace (the team is 2-2), I'll be off by five games.

PSAMP always seems to find the best YouTube videos. This week's video features a baby impersonating what his Steeler fan dad does when upset.

HHR interviews Bruce Weber, author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires.

Jason prepared his annual Steelers mock draft. (Jason Christ Superstar)

Ithaca College is closing the Tower Club. (Bluey Blog)

Behind the Steel Curtain chatted with Steelers Analyst Craig Wolfley. Here's the money quote:

WOLFLEY: Tunch Ilkin used to get anxiety attacks where he would throw up alot. You never knew when they would happen. Even in training camp, he would throw up at any time. Anyhow, we're playing the Browns in a preseason game in the early 80s. Tunch is standing next to me in the huddle and I notice vomit on my foot. Tunch is gurgling. We broke for the line and I could hear his stomach. I'm thinking, this could be great. On that particular play, I was assigned to help Tunch double-team their defensive tackle, Ron Simmons. Right at the snap, as if it were choreographed, we both lunge at Simmons and Tunch lets it loose. I'm not talking about a dribbler, I'm talking about a gusher. He heaves right in Simmons' face and the guy goes crazy. We didn't need to block him. He was PO'd beyond belief, Tunch is sick and I'm laughing hysterically. The next play he still has chunks on his face and he lines up four yards behind the ball. Tunch didn't have to block him the rest of the game. I'm still laughing.

Finally, don't forget to check out my interview with Beyond Heaving Bosoms author Sarah Wendell (or just buy the book!).

The Jody Gerut Experience

The few Pittsburgh Pirates fans out there that read this probably already know that the team cut outfielder Jody Gerut. Gerut was a bust since joining the Pirates in 2005 from the Cubs in exchange for Matt Lawton and cash. Although he hit 22 home runs as a rookie for Cleveland, Gerut only had 18 at-bats with the Pirates due to knee injuries.

While Gerut did absolutely nothing on the field as a Pirate, I do want to thank him for his book selection. In a recent Q&A (half-way through the article) with the Post-Gazette’s Dejan Kovacevic, Gerut talked about the book “The United States of Europe” by T.R. Reid. I was looking for a book when I saw the article and am currently reading Reid’s book courtesy because of Gerut’s comments.