Random Ramblings

* The Moose just started his second semester of 7th grade and is taking Family & Consumer Science. Part of this class is a cooking unit, and after watching the first two seasons of The Bear, I fully expect him to swear a lot and start yelling "Yes Chef" at all times. 

* I started wearing contact lenses in 9th grade and while I don't wear them everyday like I used to in my teens and 20s, I still wear them more than my glasses. That ended recently. I started getting headaches if I wore them too long, so I haven't worn my contacts since January 1st. That needs to change. 

* While The Moose doesn't do this, there is a high percentage of middle schoolers (both boys and girls) that wear pajama pants to school. I don't get it.

* We won at trivia a few weeks ago, and one of the prizes was the socks pictured below. Most of my socks are black or brown or your standard Nike or Adidas socks. I want to become a fun sock guy. These socks will start it all!

* When I look at myself in the mirror, I see only brown hair. I mean, I'm mostly bald at this point, but the hair that I have is brown. However, at a recent haircut, there seemed to be a lot of gray on the cape.I think (or at least hope) that all the gray is from my sideburns.

* I didn't shave for several days, and I only shaved my neck so I didn't look like former quarterback Kyle Orton. When I picked up Pedro Tulo and Luigi, the after-school teacher complimented me on my beard. While I already shaved and aren't planning on growing a beard soon, it's nice to know I can grow a good-looking beard almost instantly.

* Over the last few months, I've binge-watched Yellowstone. While I'm almost done with season 4 and overall enjoyed the show, I'm getting a little tired of the messaging that cities, government, environmentalism, and in some cases education (for Jamie but not Beth) are bad and just living as a cowboy and vigilante justice solves everything.

* The other show I'm watching is Only Murders In The Building. I'm in the middle of season two and love it. So much fun!

* Finally, Pedro Tulo and Luigi wanted to watch the NFL Pro Bowl on Sunday, so I watched it with them. Anyone complaining about the amount of airtime Taylor Swift gets during Kansas City football games must also be going crazy about how much Peyton and Eli Manning appeared on the ESPN telecast. Yes, they were the coaches in the game, but ESPN showed one or both of them after EVERY SINGLE PLAY and sometimes even during the play on a split-screen. When they weren't on the screen, ESPN showed Ray Lewis instead. Would have been nice to spend more time with current players.

If You Can Dodge A Beer Can, You Can Dodge A Ball

Watching football recently, I saw this Bud Light commercial several times featuring NFL Hall-of Famers Peyton Manning and Emmitt Smith.

At first glance, it’s nice that Peyton Manning bought a round of Bud Light cans for everyone.  Seems rather convenient that the bar has cases of beer rather than kegs, but maybe cans work better for this particular establishment.

Here’s my issue with the commercial. Smith and Manning are retired professional athletes and both (particularly Peyton) appear to have great arms. At the end of the commercial, they give each other a look. They aren’t going to gently distribute beers to the bar patrons. They are going to fire the cans like it’s a dodgeball game.

Look, I understand this is a commercial, but let's try a little experiment. Go to a bar with a friend and buy a round of Bud Light cans. Then, as hard as the two of you can, start throwing them at people or just anywhere around the place. Let's see how long it takes before someone fights you or the police get called!

My World Cup Broadcasting Application

A friend recently texted me from his son’s soccer game asking for clarification about a call made by the referee. The defending player passed the ball directly to his goalie who picked the ball up within the penalty area. The referee correctly stopped play and awarded a free kick to the attacking team. He incorrectly gave the team a direct free kick from within the penalty area when it should have been an indirect free kick. Any direct free kick within the penalty area would be a penalty kick, but a pass back to the keeper would never result in a penalty kick.

I understand that I’m really getting into soccer rules/laws here and probably lost many of you. However, my friend asking for a rules clarification gave me an idea. NFL games always have officials available to discuss rules or provide opinions on certain calls. Dr. Joe Machnik has done this for World Cup matches too. Maybe Dr. Joe needs some help for the upcoming World Cup. Therefore, I am here to offer my services. Here are my credentials:

* I’ve been a certified United States Soccer Federation referee since 1990. 

* I’ve served as a referee or assistant referee in hundreds of games.

* I received high praise for my work as the center referee for three Under-9 tournament games this summer.

* I showed restraint in not issuing a yellow card on Sunday to an Under-13 boy who tried to block a goalie's punt. While I gave him a stern talking to, I probably should have issued a card proving that I constantly evaluate my performance.

Sure, I've never worked as a referee for a professional match, but do casual soccer fans really want that? Why not have your "Average Joe" ref discuss calls? Actually, I have an ever better idea. My brother has probably worked more games than me as a soccer referee including many college games. Put the two of us on TV together. There will be lots of inside jokes that no one will understand as we make fun of each other. It will basically be the Manning-cast but without anyone knowing us or with any broadcasting experience. What could go wrong? I look forward to hearing from you, FOX Sports! 

The photo above is from a friend who shared this picture on a kid getting a yellow card for fouling her son. I hope there's a picture somewhere of me issuing a card taken by a satisfied parent!

George Floyd, Mike Pence, and The State of The Country

On Saturday night, I turned on the TV expecting to watch a movie or show. Instead, I watched coverage of protests occurring throughout the country. A few minutes later, 9 year old The Moose, who I thought was asleep, came downstairs and wanted to see what I was watching. His immediate response to what was on the screen was questioning why people weren’t social distancing or wearing masks. I tried to explain the death of George Floyd and the reason behind the protests, but he really didn’t fully grasp what was happening. While it’s good that he understands the seriousness of the coronavirus, he’s still a fairly sheltered white kid living in the suburbs.

On Sunday morning, The Moose in turn tried to explain the protests to 6 year old Pedro Tulo, who was much more interested in breakfast and didn’t listen to his brother. That was probably for the best since I know that Pedro Tulo wouldn't understand anything.

I don’t have much to add to what’s happening across the country. The protests are happening for the right reason to fight injustice. Meanwhile, the looting and destruction appear to be done by people just to create chaos and harm. It seems to have little or nothing to do with the reasons behind the protests.

I’m going on a brief tangent here, and I know that I’m not the first person to mention this. On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence posted this tweet.

I think the vast majority of people are for peaceful protests. This would include the VP, right?

So much has happened in the last few years that it’s really easy to forget this. Mike Pence travelled to Indianapolis to participate in a jersey retirement ceremony for Peyton Manning and to make a scene at a Colts-49ers football game. Everyone knew that players on the 49ers would take a knee during the national anthem. Pence and President Trump came up with a plan that if any player kneeled during the anthem, Pence would leave. How much money did it cost or security was needed for Pence to pull off this stunt? Anyway, he clearly didn't like a peaceful protest then and essentially took the ball and went home.

Anyway, I'm just frustrated with the direction of this country right now. There is no leadership or empathy in the executive office. We're at over 100,000 COV-19 deaths right now and sky-high unemployment rates. To The Moose's point at the beginning of this post, there definitely hasn't been social distancing during these protests. There have also been plenty of pictures and videos in places like the Ozarks and Florida and Texas beaches where people are crowded together like nothing was out of the ordinary. Is there any reason to believe that we won't be at 150,000-200,000 deaths by the November election or that the economy will dramatically improve? So if we didn't make America great again over the last 3.5 years, how are we now supposed to re-elect the current leader and believe that we're going to "Transition to Greatness" after November?

While Joe Biden is not my first (or second or third) choice to be President, my hope is that this country will elect him, so that we can have a grown-up in charge. Someone with empathy. Not someone who urges governors to use force against unruly protesters. We don't need a Tiananmen Square in America! Not someone who will pick fights with anyone who disagrees with him or yell LAW & ORDER or CHINA on Twitter. The only time where it's appropriate to use phrases like this on Twitter is while watching a sporting event and tweeting GOAL or TOUCHDOWN STEELERS! Seriously, if one of your friends or parents did this, you would think they were crazy and probably unfollow them.

I have no grand conclusion here. Our country needs to be better. To care more for each other and to demand justice when needed and necessary.

A Reason To Root Against Peyton Manning

During last year's football season, we established that Peyton Manning dresses terribly. He is probably the only person to tuck a football jersey into his jeans. Now, Manning is at it again. Hanging out at the gym with J.J. Watt and Papa John, Manning tucks his T-shirt into his gym shorts.



Again, is Manning the only person to tuck in his shirt at the gym? I can't tell what he's doing with his football jersey at the end of the video either. It may not be tucked in, but it doesn't look right.

Anyway, if you're not sure who to support in Sunday's big game, I doubt you'll see any member of the Carolina Panthers tucking their football jerseys into jeans or T-shirt into shorts at the gym.

Asking For Forgiveness

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, begins on Tuesday evening. I'll spend much of the Tuesday evening and Wednesday at synagogue praying for forgiveness while also trying not to think about the fact that I'm not eating or drinking. However, another important part of this holiday is asking those you have wronged over the past year for forgiveness. While I still need to contact several people, in looking at my blog posts, I think there's some atoning I have to do.

I apologize to Chicago Cubs OF Chris Coghlan for essentially calling him a racist. That wasn't fair. He might be a dirty baseball player, but I crossed the line.

I'm sorry for criticizing the grammar used by Dale Lolley, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat reporter for the Observer-Reporter of Washington (PA)

I'm sorry for using Sir Mix-a-Lot's Baby Got Back to describe the 2015 Pittsburgh Penguins draft class.

I'm sorry for making fun of Parents Magazine. I may even read one of the last two or three editions that are sitting in a pile under the newspapers.

I'm sorry that we didn't get Jagoff in the dictionary. That would have been cool.

I'm definitely not sorry for winning free burritos for a year again. They are quite tasty.

I'm sorry for criticizing how Peyton Manning dresses. I mean, you would think with the amount of money he makes, he could dress better. I'm going on a tangent here. Sorry for the tangent and sorry Peyton.


For those of you observing Yom Kippur, have an easy and meaningful fast and day. Now, do I need to look at my Twitter posts from the past year to see what I wrote there?

Peyton Manning's New Job

Peyton Manning, quarterback for the Denver Broncos, turned 39 in March and is likely close to retirement. It's quite possible that this will be his final season in the NFL. While Manning can certainly fall back on appearing in television commercials (even if he dresses terribly in them), I found the perfect job for him if he's willing to start now.

Yes, Manning would need to move to Northern Virginia for this job, but I think he can do it.

Peyton Manning Dresses Terribly

While much of the sports world is praising Peyton Manning today for breaking the NFL record for most career touchdown passes and for leading the Denver Broncos in an impressive win over the San Francisco 49ers, I find it necessary to bring up something no one wants to discuss. Why is Manning wearing a jersey tucked into jeans?



Is this how Peyton Manning dresses or was this the idea of someone at Papa John's? I also question wearing a black belt with an orange jersey and jeans. A brown belt may be more appropriate, though it might depend on the type of shoes he is wearing. A tucked in football jersey, jeans and black shoes doesn't seem like a good outfit.

This has been another edition of Sean on Fashion!

You can also "Like" Sean's Ramblings on Facebook.

Update: The video above doesn't seem to work anymore, so here's another Papa John's commercial showing Manning with his jersey tucked in.

Sean's Week One NFL Picks

For the 2012 NFL season, I want to see how smart I really am.



While I spend significant time each fall watching football and following my fantasy football teams, I wonder how I would pick football games against the spread. This could be a running set of posts throughout the NFL season or it could turn into my irregularly scheduled Found In My Basement series. Anyway, let’s start by focusing on three games although you can click here for all of this week's odds.

Miami Dolphins (+12.5) at Houston Texans

Houston is coming off a season featuring an AFC South division title and has a healthy Matt Schaub and the consensus #1 fantasy draft pick, Arian Foster. Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins are coming off a successful training camp thanks to HBO’s Hard Knocks and with new coach Joe Philbin, who may or may not one day reclaim his family seat on Live with Regis and Kelly and Michael Strahan. Here’s an inside statistic that you may not know: The Texans are 0-0 against the spread in week one home games versus a starting rookie QB that appeared on Hard Knocks with a very attractive wife and does not know the NFL divisions.



The Dolphins had the 15th ranked defense last season, so they’re not terrible. Plus, I’m likely watching this game with a Dolphins fan meaning that I’m choosing Miami to make things more fun.

Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints (-7)

ABC’s Washington affiliate aired a special on Tuesday evening about the Redskins. The show started with a several-minute video featuring still pictures of new QB Robert Griffin III set to inspiring music. You can see a similar video at many Bar Mitzvahs or retirement ceremonies. Anyway, I worried that something tragic happened to RG3 and that the station aired some type of tribute. Fortunately, RG3 is fine. Unfortunately, he doesn’t play cornerback or safety because the Redskins secondary without Brandon Meriweather is not a good match-up against New Orleans.

Inside statistic: New Orleans is 17-1 against the spread in week one home games with an Interim Interim head coach. (This stat may not be accurate.) My pick: New Orleans

Pittsburgh Steelers (+1) at Denver Broncos

There’s a lot of talk about this being a rematch of last year’s Wild Card game. Although true, both teams are completely different from last season. Peyton Manning, Tim Tebow, Todd Haley, Bruce Arians...you get the idea. I haven’t heard much discussion this week about the fact that nearly the entire Steelers defensive line was injured during the Wild Card game. At one point, the Steelers played Joe Greene and L.C. Greenwood who are both in their 60s.

Inside statistic: The Broncos are 0-0 in games started by Peyton Manning.

I’m a homer, so I’m going with the Steelers.

Here are my other picks (in bold) for this week:
Indianapolis at Chicago (-9.5)
Philadelphia (-9.5) at Cleveland
Buffalo at N.Y. Jets (-2.5)
New England (-5) vs. Tennessee
Jacksonville at Minnesota (-3.5)
St. Louis at Detroit (-7.5)
Atlanta (-2.5) at Kansas City
San Francisco vs. Green Bay (-4.5)
Carolina (-1) at Tampa Bay
Seattle at Arizona (+3)
Cincinnati (+6) at Baltimore
San Diego at Oakland (-1)

Feel free to make your own picks in the comments section below and check out all of this week's odds here. Enjoy the first week of the NFL season!

Where In The World Is Jerome Bettis?

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis retired from the NFL after winning Super Bowl XL in February 2006. Although he worked on NBC’s Football Night in America for a few years, have you wondered what Bettis is up to these days? Let’s take a look:

For starters, Jerome Bettis remains on the small screen by helping sell Papa John’s pizza with Peyton Manning. [The Business Journal]



Bettis will appear on NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are,” a show that traces the family trees of celebrities including Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, and (what do you know) Jerome Bettis! Season three debuts in February. [NBC]

He also continued to star in the Jerome Bettis Show during the NFL season on Pittsburgh’s NBC station. [WPXI]

Plus, it looks like Bettis promotes Orient Watches (like me) [PSAMP]



Bettis became involved in health issues and politics over the past year. First, he worked with Dick’s Sporting Goods to promote concussion tests for youth athletes. [ABC News]

Recently, Bettis visited DC (he didn’t call me!) and met with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Representatives Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania and John Dingell and John Conyers of Michigan regarding clear air and the EPA’s Maximum Achievable Control Technology rule to enact strict clear air requirements. However, we learned that he’s not going to run for office. [Politico]

“I’ve never gotten the request to run,” Bettis said. “I don’t know if I could do it. I think it’s difficult, and I applaud the job that they do, because obviously it’s not easy. You have your constituents to reach out to and be accountable. … For me, the problem is, with football, it’s easy: You win or you lose. You give 110 percent every time, and that’s it. But in politics, sometimes there’s not a clear winner and not a clear loser. There’s a lot of gray. So I’ve lived in a world of black and white, and politics, unfortunately, there’s a give and a take. … It’s just an interesting dynamic that I’m not used to.”

Through this work, he filmed this commercial [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]



The Bus has traveled the world during this football season. He went to London to promote the NFL game there in October. [ESPN]

He also traveled to Aledo, Texas to deliver the 2011-12 Gatorade National Football Player of the Year trophy to RB Johnathan Gray, a University of Texas recruit. I’m not sure why Bettis felt the need to tackle Gray though. [ESPN] (The video didn't seem to work here, so you'll have to click on the ESPN link to see what I'm writing about.)

He also went all the way to Panera in Wilkins and the Homestead Waterfront as part of a meet-and-greet. Panera donated $5 to The Bus Stops Here Foundation in the names of those who attended. [Peters Patch]

When I started the “Where is Jerome Bettis” posts a few years ago, I noted the numerous comparisons made to Bettis. Since he’s been out of the league, for about six years, though, these comparisons aren’t as frequent.

With that written, Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio compared Iowa RB Marcus Coker to Bettis. [Grand Rapids Press]

Plus, CBS’ Gary Danielson referred to Alabama RB Trent Richardson as a faster Jerome Bettis. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Bettis still makes the media rounds too. He participated in an online chat on ESPN. Dan Gigler of Blog ‘N’ Gold scored an interview with The Bus as did Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times. Maybe next year, I'll score an interview!

Oh, Bettis also stays busy with his foundation and was recently named an NFL Hall of Fame finalist.

For more of the annual Where is Jerome Bettis series, click here.

Jerome Bettis Update

Welcome to third annual “What is Jerome Bettis doing” post. You remember Bettis as an NFL superstar with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then part of NBC’s Football Night in America in retirement. While Bettis is no longer part of the NBC team, he keeps busier than just about anyone (just look at the 2008 and 2009 versions of this). So let’s take a magical tour to see where in the world is Jerome Bettis.

- The Bus participated in Peyton Manning's annual bowling tournament along with Kurt Warner; Franco Harris; "former Pacers star Reggie Miller and first-round NBA draft pick Gordon Hayward; college basketball coaches Tom Crean, Matt Painter and Brad Stevens; former Purdue coach Gene Keady; Manning's wife, Ashley; his father, Archie and more than a dozen of Manning's teammates." I wonder if Bettis and Manning talked about the January 15, 2006 divisional playoff game. [NBC Sports]

- Bettis served as the commentator in the “Hoopin’ for Health” charity basketball game in Orlando between NBA Moms like Dwight Howard’s mother Sheryl Howard and mothers of NFL players. Orlando Magic players Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis along with former pro football stars Eddie George and Kenard Lang. “The NBA mothers easily downed the NFL moms 24-12 and Flo Allen-Hopson, mother of Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen, took home MVP honors.” Bettis also almost started a bench-clearing brawl. [WDBO & Orlando Sentinel]

 

- Gansevoort, NY resident Nancy Needham was the national winner of the DiGiorno Pizza "You Bettis Believe" sweepstakes where she and her fantasy football league received an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas. Bettis coached Nancy in selecting the winning picks for her Fantasy Football Draft Party. [Digital Journal]

- The Berardi family of Irwin, PA won the Bus' Backyard BBQ Sweepstakes sponsored by S&T Bank to have Bettis host a cookout at their house. (WPXI]

- Bettis and Tony Dungy teamed up with Campbell's Chunky Soup to get Dads off the couch and on the field. [Chunky Soup's Facebook page and MarketWatch]



- Guinness teamed up with Bettis where you can win a chance to go to compete against The Bus in the perfect pint pouring contest. To enter, let Guinness know about a moment where you boldly stepped up and faced a sports or athletic-related challenge, mental or physical, and ultimately persevered. [Guinness]

(The Wall Street Journal noticed this contest too and discussed the Guinness advertising in America angle.)

Even though he's been out of football since Super Bowl 40, people still admire The Bus.

- Oakland Raiders RB Darren McFadden admired Jerome Bettis' full-steam-ahead style. [Sacramento Bee]

- University of Central Florida RB Jeff Brinson, diagnosed with asthma, considers Jerome Bettis his hero. "Jerome Bettis was because he had asthma and he did the things he did with asthma." [Orlando Sentinel]

- When asked what football player Gainesville, Florida's Keystone Heights RB/DB Zack Lambert pretended to be when he was younger, he replied, "I always tried to be Ray Lewis. Him and Jerome Bettis were always my favorites." [Gainesville Sun]

Newspapers and websites continue to try to compare current football players to Bettis:

- San Diego Chargers RB Mike Tolbert [SB Nation]

- "The Bus" is the new nickname for Vernon Hills, Illinois Cougars senior running back Brian Palmer. It was given to the stout 5-foot-9 Palmer due to his striking resemblance to former NFL star Jerome Bettis. Palmer also earned the title due in large part to his bus-like running style. [Daily Herald]

- Cleveland Browns’ RB Peyton Hillis runs like Jerome Bettis. [Canton Rep]

Bettis also stays busy writing for Sports Illustrated, hosting WPXI’s Jerome Bettis Show and owning Jerome Bettis’ Grille 36.

While all of this is impressive, I saved the best for last. Bettis hung out with Cotter of One For The Other Thumb, Tecmo of PSAMP and Ryan of Steelers Lounge among several bloggers. Yes, I am jealous.





Oh, I forgot to mention that The Bus has been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Not too shabby! [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Which One Doesn't Belong?*

I received an e-mail from the NFL encouraging me to vote for the 2010 Pro Bowl. The e-mail featured this picture:



In looking at the three players featured, two are MVP candidates; two are leading undefeated teams; and one is a member of a 5-5 team. One of these guys is not like the others!

Maybe I'm being unfair to poor Ray Lewis. He is tied for 8th in the NFL in tackles with 83 and has 2 sacks (tied for 96th along with Detroit's Larry Foote and Pittsburgh's Aaron Smith who has been out for several weeks), 5 passes defended and 2 forced fumbles.

I guess we should be happy that the NFL is promoting a player on a mediocre team. However, perhaps the Jets' David Harris (88 tackles; 3.5 sacks; 1 INT; 1 forced fumble) San Francisco's Patrick Willis (96 tackles; 2.5 sacks; 2 interceptions) or Kirk Morrison of the Raiders (84 tackles) weren’t exciting enough and don't yell and do silly dances prior to games. Heaven forbid the NFL should highlight Denver's Elvis Dumervil (12 sacks); Minnesota's Jared Allen (10.5 sacks) or even the 2008 Defensive MVP James Harrison (10 sacks; 4 forced fumbles) over Ray-Ray.

You can vote for Ray Lewis or anyone else at NFL.com.

* Let's call this an extension of Trivia Tuesday!

Greg Lloyd Redux

You may remember the ebay auction several months ago where you could bid on the opportunity to have former Pittsburgh Steeler great Greg Lloyd come to your home to watch the Steelers-Browns game with you and a group of friends. Since the game took place this past Sunday, I thought I would contact of Josh Korb of Steel-Town Memorabilia, the person who posted this auction, to see the results.

I'm curious as to how the idea to have Greg Lloyd watch the Steelers-Browns game at someone's house was created. Was this your idea?

It was mine. I first thought of the idea after seeing that Peyton Manning direct tv add for NFL Sunday season ticket which got me thinking. Then after watching one of the Penguins playoffs game they showed Sidney Crosby hand delivering someones season tickets and knocking on there door. I saw the excitment on there face's thought what a great idea. I just put 2 and 2 together.

Was Greg Lloyd easily willing to participate?

Yes that was easy. I have been working with Greg for years. He thought it was a great idea. He even told me a story about a similar experience back from his playing days. It was a spend the day with Greg type deal and the family had him in a back room and just pop out into the kitchen for this kids birthday. He said little guy allmost had a heart attack right there.

I'll take a little credit for posting the ebay auction on my blog (thanks to the DC Steeler Nation group) and then it got picked all over the place by sites such as Yahoo, Deadspin and The Burgh Blog. What kind of response did you and the auction receive?

Just for the record we are not part of dc steeler nation. I don’t approve of the nasty language they post on the internet. (Sean's note: I think Josh may be thinking of a different website.) The auction didn’t get noticed for 2 days then one morining I get into the office with the phone ringing off the hook, all voice mails full etc. It was nothing but radio stations calling for interviews about the auction. I ended up doing 17 total interviews including Mike & Mike, Pittsburgh ESPN, Fox Sports. It hit just about any sports football blog on the net and also the major providers like ESPN, Yahoo sports, AOL sports. I was also featured in ESPN the magazine in a interview about the auction. With all the extra traffic into my ebay store there was a few extra 1000's in sales during a week or so. I think Jim Rome put this over the top with a 30 miniute rant about the auction.



So I guess the big question is this: Where did Greg Lloyd watch the Steelers-Browns game this past Sunday?

He watched it at his home. I was able to sell the auction however the buyer wanted him for a different game later this season. I’m going to have him back up on ebay to auction him off for the next browns game 12/28/08 (pending the ok from #95)

What was the winning bid to have Greg Lloyd watch the game at someone's house? Are you willing to let us know the location (city or state) of the winner?

It sold for 7 grand. (Sean's note: WOW!) Buyer asked to remain private with all the media attention.

What is Greg Lloyd up to these days? He was definitely a fan favorite when he played in Pittsburgh, so I'm sure a lot of people are wondering what he's doing now.

He is doing great. He is married with a beautiful family living right outside of Atlanta, GA where he owns his own Taekwondo school where he teachs kids and adults. He is a 19 year 3 degree black belt. He is now known as "Master Lloyd". When he is not with the family or teaching you can most likely find Greg up in a tree stand hunting or on the golf course. That pretty sums up the 4 things that are major parts of his post football life. A lot of people wonder about Greg taking in account his "just plain nasty" style of football he played. You can aruge he is the most feared linebacker in Steeler history right there with Lambert with his brutal & ever imtimadating style of play. Combine that with the legal issues he had shortly after football it made a lot of fans wonder what kind of person he is. I can say without doubt Greg is nothing like that man they watched on Sunday. He is a very laid back person really in tune to the martial arts lifestyle living a very clam and peaceful life now. Some of his former teamates that we helped reconnect with him through apperences tell him thats not the same guy I played football with. Greg took the game so seriously that I don’t think he was able to turn a switch on & off at game time. Even the local long time media guys I talk to in Pittsburgh tell me stories about how they hated to interview Greg after the Steelers lost, not that he was a jerk but they were afriad of him. That football player image he created on the field seem to follow him around no matter what he was doing. Like his shirt said "he wasn't hired for his dispostion"



Do you have any other unique or interesting auctions or events at this time?

Well were going to be auctioning off other former Steeler players in the future. Probably just Levon Kirkland will be the only one this season due to limited time however I’m going to have a full lineup of guys for next season. Also will be doing same style concept but replacing football game with shooting a round of golf with a former Steeler. We arrange or can just about anything within reason. I love to hear new ideas so if anybody has any let me know.

We do have a big event setup in Pittsburgh for the Steelers bye weekend at Monroeville Mall 10/11 called return to the burgh. (Sean's note: I spent hours in my teenage years at Monroeville Mall.) Proceeds benifit Super Bowl XL champion Willie Williams foundation that helps kids. Our event we wanted to bring back some of the fan favorites to Pittsburgh that have disappeared over the years. Some of the names attending include Barry Foster, Bam Morris, Erric Pegram, Tim Lester, Brentson Buckner, Lee Flowers, John Jackson, Norm Johnson, Neil O’Donnell, Rick Moser, J.T. Thomas, John Banasazk and top pick Rashard Mendenhall. (Sean's note: Mendenhall certainly disappeared from the Steelers offense last week.)


You can find out more about Josh's items for sale at Steel-Town Memorabilia and his ebay store.

Greg Lloyd Will Watch the Steelers-Browns Game at Your House

As part of the DC Steeler Nation listserv, I received an e-mail on Wednesday with the following offer, which is currently listed on eBay:

THIS IS A ONCE IN A LIFETIME CHANCE THAT YOU WILL NEVER FORGET!!! GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE TO WATCH THE STEELERS DESTROY THE BROWNS SEPTEMBER 14TH 2008!!! PLEASE READ ALL THE DETAILS BELOW OR CALL US AT 864-517-7799 WITH ANY QUESTIONS.



WHERE AT: YOUR HOUSE ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES. IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT STATE YOUR IN JUST AS LONG AS ITS IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY DONT CALL IT "STEELER NATION" FOR NO REASON! WE ARE EVERYWHERE!! HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!

Does that mean that Toronto or Montreal is out even though they are much closer to where Lloyd lives (I believe near Atlanta according to a recent PSAMP post) then say Walla Walla, Washington?

WHEN: 8:15 PM KICKOFF STEELERS VS BROWNS SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

Please stop with the CAPS!

DETAILS:

GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE TO WATCH THE ENTIRE GAME WITH YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS. ITS A SIMPLE AS THAT. WE MAKE ALL THE ARRANGMENTS FOR GREG TO ARRIVE IN YOUR CITY AND TO YOUR HOUSE. JUST LIKE THE DIRECT TV NFL SUNDAY SEASON TICKET COMMERICAL WITH PEYTON MANNING SHOWING UP IN SOME GUYS LIVING ROOM, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FOR YOU.IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT GIFT IDEA FOR YOUR HUSBAND, KIDS OR A CLOSE FRIEND. WANNA IMPRESS YOUR BOSS?? INVITE HIM OVER TOO?

Yes, just like Peyton Manning on the commercial.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: SO WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THIS WHOLE DEAL??

A: GREG LLOYD WILL COME TO YOUR HOUSE FOR THE GAME. HE WILL BE THERE BY KICKOFF AND LEAVE WHEN THE GAME IS OVER.YOU WILL ALSO RECIVE A GREG LLOYD FAN PACKAGE THAT WILL INCLUDE A AUTHENTIC JERSEY, 2 16x20 PHOTOS, 2 8x10 PHOTOS AND A MINI HELMET ALL SIGNED BY YOURS TRULEY GREG LLOYD.

I have never claimed to be a master of the English language, but it’s OK to use spell-check. Recive? Truley?

Q: HOW MANY PEOPLE CAN I INVITE? IS THERE A LIMIT?

A:YOU MAY HAVE UP TO 25 PEOPLE THERE.THE LESS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE THERE THE BETTER FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU WILL GET A BETTER EXPERIENCE WITH A SMALLER AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THERE.YOU ONLY WANT TO INVITE YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS AND DONT WANT TO RISK SOME STRANGER MESSING UP THIS WHOLE THING. GREG LOVES TO TALK AND WHO ELSE HAS BETTER "WAR" STORIES THEN GREG WHEN IT COMES TO STEELERS FOOTBALL AND THE STEELERS BROWNS RIVALY

James Harrison may have better stories about the time he tackled the Browns fan. Bill Cowher and Joey Porter probably have some good tales too.



Q: WILL GREG BE BRINGING ANYBODY WITH HIM?

A: YES GREG WILL HAVE ONE OR 2 PEOPLE WITH HIM

Any chance he’ll bring fellow linebacker Jerry Olsavsky. What’s Joel Steed up to these days? Does he accompany Greg on these visits?

Q: WILL YOU BE SUPPLYING FOOD FOR THIS OR BEVERAGES?

A: NO THAT IS YOUR CHOICE IF YOU WANT FOOD, SNACKS ETC YOU WILL NEED TO SUPPLY THAT YOURSELF.

If you want food? You better have food if you’re going to have a party of 25 people plus Greg Lloyd and possibly Jerry Olsavsky and/or Joel Steed.

Q: ARE WE ALLOWED TO DRINK ALCOHOL?

A: YES HOWEVER WE ASK THIS IF YOU DO DRINK ADULT BEVERAGES THAT EVERYONE THERE STAYS SOBBER. WE WILL NOT TOLERATE DRUNKEN BEHAVIOR.THAT IS WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE YOU BRING AT A LIMITED AMOUNT AND DO NOT ALLOW FRIENDS TO BRING FRIENDS ETC ETC. IF GREG LLOYD FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE AT ANY TIME HE MAY GET UP AND LEAVE AND THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS GIVEN.WE SIMPLY ASK THAT YOU BEEN RESPECTFUL AT ALL TIMES.

C’mon Greg. If Ben Roethlisberger came to the party, there would definitely be many adult beverages.



Q: I WANT TO DO THIS IN A SUPRISE WAY FOR A GIFT TO MY HUSBAND, KIDS, FRIEND ETC. CAN YOU MAKE THIS A SUPRISE OR SOME TYPE OF SPECIAL REQUEST

A: SURE WE CAN. YOU WANT US TO SNEAK HIM IN THE BACK DOOR? HAVE HIM RING YOUR DOORBELL AND YOUR HUSBAND GO TO THE DOOR HAVING NO CLUE GREG IS COMING? WE CAN HANDLE ALL THE LITTLE DETAILS TO MAKE THIS A TRUE ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE

This is my favorite part. To quote Jon on of the DC Steeler Nation:

Husband: "Honey, there's a very large man outside on our patio that looks like he could rip our hearts out and feed them to his children."

Wife: "It's ok dear, I won him in an online auction."

You can “Buy It Now” to have Greg Lloyd sit on your couch for the low price of $10,000. Otherwise, make your best offer. The auction expires in 28 days, so get your bid in quickly!

Super Bowl XLII Notes

Everything has already been said and written about this year's New York Giants-New England Patriots Super Bowl, but I want to add my two cents anyway.

If you were tired of Peyton Manning commercials, prepare yourself for many Eli Manning commercials or more advertisements featuring both Manning brothers.

David Tyree's amazing catch was Swann-esque. (Swann as a wide reciever; not as a candidate for Pennsylvania's Governor.)

In the third quarter, the Patriots had a 4th and 13 from the Giants 32 and decided to go for it. Why not try for a 49 or 50-yard field goal? If you have that little confidence that your 2nd year kicker can't make a field goal from that distance in a dome, you need to get a new kicker.

Bill Belichick's short-sleeve sweatshirt looked silly.

Earlier this week, Plaxico Burress predicted a 23-17 victory for his Giants. Tom Brady's response: "We're only going to score 17 points?" No, you only scored 14 points.

When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came to the podium to present the Vince Lombardi trophy, I thought he was going to say, "To Arlen Specter, I'll call you in a few days. Please get off my back."

Congratulations to the New York Giants! A nation is extremely happy that you defeated the Patriots!

Super Bowl Notes

Congratulations to Tony Dungy and Bob Sanders. I am very happy for both of them. I’m guessing that Erie, Pennsylvania will not only have a Bob Sanders Day, but probably a Bob Sanders Month.

I personally thought that Colts running back Dominic Rhodes deserved the MVP award more than Peyton Manning. I think Manning won because he is Peyton Manning. I guess this means even more Peyton Manning commercials (including the one where he’s going to Disney World) over the next few months.

Prince has hundreds of songs, so why did he perform covers of other songs?

While it may have had no effect on the result of the game, why didn’t Chicago call a timeout at the end of the first half? The Colts had fourth and two at the Chicago 17 with just over 30 seconds left. Instead of calling a timeout to ensure that they would get the ball back to end the half, the Bears let the clock run down to two seconds when the Colts took a timeout. Vinatieri ended up missing the field goal and the half ended. If the Bears called a timeout, they would have had the ball with about 25 seconds left and two timeouts. Even if Vinatieri would have made the kick, the Colts would have had to kickoff, and as we saw, the Bears have Devin Hester returning kicks.