On Sunday, I watched the Pittsburgh Penguins face the New York Islanders live from Nassau Coliseum. Instead of describing the game and my trip, I thought I would share my Ansel Adams skills.
Sidney Crosby takes a faceoff. An overlooked part of Crosby's game is his ability taking and winning faceoffs. Did you know that Crosby took the most faceoffs in the league this season (1791; Paul Stastny of Colorado was 2nd with 1703) winning 55.9% of them?
Not overlooked is the fact the Crosby scored 51 goals this season. Here is Sid celebrating goal #50 with Sergei Gonchar, Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin. Apparently, Alex Goligoski is taking his time to join the fun.
Eric Godard scored his first goal of the season in the final regular season game. I don't have a picture of that. Instead, I have a picture of him fighting Joel Rechlicz.
My first hockey memories consisted of watching the Pittsburgh Penguins on WPGH-Channel 53. It seems like Rick Kehoe and the Pens faced the New York Islanders every game and always lost handedly as guys like Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Billy Smith dominated. Of course, those guys dominated the league for four straight years!
Fortunately, I have much better memories of Trottier from the end of his career.
The Pens led 5-2 after two periods, but the Islanders stormed back to force overtime. Jordan Leopold scored the game-winner and there was great celebration throughout the land (except from some Islanders fans; others didn't mind the loss since winning would have hurt the team's drafting status). By the way, what is Bill Guerin doing?
Finally, why would someone wear a Limas Sweed jersey to a Pittsburgh PENGUINS game? Perhaps this guy knew the Steelers would trade Santonio Holmes later in the evening meaning Sweed may have an increased role in the 2010 season.
I have two other non-picture highlights from the game. First, I met Tecmo of PSAMP (Pittsburgh Sports & Mini Ponies). I've admired his work for several years and it was nice meeting a fellow Pittsburgh blogger in person. Cool guy!
Second, near the end of the first period, we learned that the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers were in the shootout to determine who would advance to the playoffs. Nearly our entire section attempted to watch a television approximately a mile away and then tried to guess whether or not the team scored based on the reaction. Islanders fans were pleased with the result of the Rangers sitting home or golfing this week.
For more about the game, visit NHL.com, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and/or ESPN.
Plus, please click here for the Boston portion of Hockey Road Trip 2010.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Penguins-Islanders Pictures (Hockey Road Trip 2010)
Posted by
Sean
at
9:20 AM
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comments
Labels: Alex Goligoski, Bill Guerin, Bryan Trottier, Eric Godard, Hockey Road Trip, Limas Sweed, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Santonio Holmes, Sidney Crosby
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Santonio Holmes' Hyperbaric Chamber*
The big discussion surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers this week is whether or not Ryan Clark will play in Denver against the Broncos. Without going into the entire story here (since many of you probably already know about this), Clark nearly died from a reaction in his blood to the sickle cell caused by playing in the high elevation. The Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette asked WR Santonio Holmes about this since he also has the sickle-cell trait. While Holmes said that he'll be fine, this quote stood out for me:
"I have an oxygen chamber at home, a hyperbaric chamber at home, so I'll definitely, probably spend the rest of this week sleeping in it to get a feel for how it will be."
We'll skip the definitely, probably portion of the quote to focus on the hyperbaric chamber. Where does someone get one of these? If I installed a hyperbaric chamber in my condo and had it convey, could I significantly increase the asking price? 
This doesn't look very comfortable, but perhaps Holmes has the best hyperbaric chamber on the market. He probably has a king-size version of the hyperbaric chamber with a built-in speaker system. I know that I would!
* This title could make for an excellent blog name.
Posted by
Sean
at
12:45 PM
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Labels: Ed Bouchette, Hyperbaric Chamber, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ryan Clark, Santonio Holmes
Monday, October 19, 2009
Good Weekend (Steelers-Browns Recap)
Let's start with the big picture. The Steelers defeated Cleveland 27-14 while both the Bengals and the Ravens lost. As a result, the Steelers are tied with Cincinnati for the division lead at 4-2 and one game ahead of Baltimore. In addition, the Penguins and the Pitt, Ithaca College and Woodland Hills High School football teams were all victorious, plus two, and possibly three of my fantasy football teams won. (The fourth one lost badly thanks to Mark Sanchez filling in for Peyton Manning on his bye week. That didn't work out very well.)
Back to the Steelers, the passing game looks great. Ben Roethlisberger had 417 yards passing; Hines had a monster game with 159 yards and a TD; and Santonio Holmes (104 yards) and Heath Miller (80 yards and a TD) also put together excellent games. Even though Roethlisberger was sacked three times, I thought the line protected him well.
Here are my thoughts on the game:
- On Hines' TD catch, Rashard Mendenhall did a nice job picking up Cleveland's blitz.
- After attending the Steelers-Browns game at Heinz Field in 2007, I wrote, "In my opinion, Joshua Cribbs has now replaced Eric Metcalf as the scariest Steelers' opponent." Why do the Steelers still kick the ball to Cribbs?
- What happened to Browns' QB Derek Anderson? I remember attending that Steelers-Browns and although Anderson didn't put up big passing numbers, he did throw 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He even made the Pro Bowl that season (2007)!
- Did Ziggy Hood play on Sunday?
- I think it's telling that Mewelde Moore was the RB when the Steelers were running out the clock. Mendenhall and (not as) Fast (with turf toe) Willie Parker both fumbled earlier in the second half, so maybe Tomlin trusts Mewelde more than the others in that situation.
- Speaking of Moore, why was he returning punts instead of Stefan Logan?
- Browns' head coach Eric Mangini and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan are not fitness role models. 

- Mike Wallace continues to be fast.
- It is so much fun watching Santonio Holmes run in the open field after making a catch.
- Should we be concerned that the Steelers wins are against mostly terrible teams? Here are the records of the teams the Steelers defeated:
Browns - 1-5
Titans - 0-6
Lions - 1-5
Chargers - 2-2
Personally, I say no. Tennessee has completely fallen apart, but we (and they) didn't know they would be that bad after the first week. As for the other teams, the Steelers may be playing down to its competition particularly in the fourth quarter. I think next week's game against Minnesota could tell us a lot about the Steelers.
Posted by
Sean
at
9:48 AM
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Labels: Ben Roethlisberger, Cleveland Browns, Derek Anderson, Eric Mangini, Joshua Cribbs, Mewelde Moore, Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rashard Mendenhall, Rob Ryan, Santonio Holmes, Willie Parker
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Post-Super Bowl Thoughts (and a Hair Story)
I may have received the quickest haircut in history Tuesday evening. I asked for a trim and the woman basically shaved the back of my neck and shortened my sideburns. She barely touched the rest of my hair. (Naturally, since it is Hair Cuttery, she did have enough time to try and sell me Nioxin, a thickening shampoo.) I’m not sure if I’ve reached the point where I have so little hair that all of my haircuts will only last 4 minutes or if the hairdresser was just lazy. Could I have lost that much hair since my last haircut? If so, the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl may have contributed to hair loss.
Here’s a fun hypothetical question: Let’s say that instead of the final Roethlisberger-to-Holmes touchdown, Mewelde Moore had a touchdown run for the winning score. In that case, who would have been the Super Bowl MVP? If your answer is either Ben or Holmes, has there ever been a case where the offensive player won the MVP without scoring a touchdown?
Inspired by my interview of him, Brian St. Pierre provided one last blog post about his Super Bowl experience. (Congrats to St. Pierre on the upcoming birth of his first child.)
Ziggy had no interest in watching the kitty halftime portion of the Puppy Bowl.
Steelers Today has a video of Ben’s appearance on Monday's David Letterman.
Yahoo presented a terrific photo gallery of the Steelers Super Bowl parade and celebration. Why is Casey Hampton sans shirt?
Yes, I realize that I’m now going to get Google searches for Casey Hampton shirtless in addition to the people already searching for Richard Ruccolo shirtless and Antonio Holmes shirtless (or worse).
Some joke of a newspaper called the Phoenix New Times paid someone to write and actually published a hateful article about Pittsburgh and the Steelers (the negative stuff starts on page three). There are some ugly R-rated language in the comments but most of the comments are thoughful and represent Pittsburgh well.
Finally, I apologize for not updating everyone on the Rock of Love 3 fantasy league. laclips of This is Getting Old is currently in the lead. By the way, it’s not too late to join.
Posted by
Sean
at
9:50 AM
2
comments
Labels: Ben Roethlisberger, Brian St. Pierre, Casey Hampton, Mewelde Moore, Richard Ruccolo, Santonio Holmes
Monday, February 02, 2009
Super Bowl Champions!
Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers for winning their sixth Super Bowl Championship by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. I recommend visiting the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette for full coverage of the game as well as any and all of the blogs listed in the links sections on the right for other takes on the game. While I remain amazed by the James Harrison interception and touchdown return and the Santonio Holmes winning catch, for now, I want to write about the Steelers in general as opposed to the specifics of the game. (I may write more about the specifics later today or sometime over the next few days.)
I feel extremely lucky to have been born in Pittsburgh and to be a Steelers fan. I was too young to remember the first four Super Bowl titles, but learned all about the Steelers history from my dad and great uncle. Six Super Bowl championships are unprecedented and the tradition of excellence starts with the Rooney family. The Rooneys are model owners in the NFL as demonstrated by the continuity in the organization. How else can you explain the fact that there have only been three head coaches since 1969? Coach Mike Tomlin is an excellent leader and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau may be the most respected coach in the league.
I linked to two stories yesterday about the legacy and history of The Terrible Towel and how all of the proceeds from each towel purchased go to the Allegheny Valley School. Every sports team seems to distribute towels or pom-poms for meaningful games, but, to my knowledge, the Steelers were the first major team to have this. I don’t think there is a curse involved with the towel, but bad things happen when you disrespect it. Did you hear that T.J. Houshmandzadeh and mayor of Phoenix?
Being a Steelers fan is easy. The team isn’t flashy and is known for tough defense and grind-it-out running game (though not so much with the running game this season). You generally don’t hear about Steelers players getting arrested or causing problems. Instead, you get great players and people like James Farrior, Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward. The Steelers work ethic reflects the city and vice versa. The Steelers are Pittsburgh. I am extremely proud of the Steelers and congratulate the team and the city of Pittsburgh on number six! Way to go Steelers!
P.S. I hope I didn't ruin this post by including a Bubby Brister picture. He was #6!
Posted by
Sean
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9:07 AM
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Labels: Dan Rooney, Dick LeBeau, Hines Ward, James Farrior, James Harrison, Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers, Santonio Holmes, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Terrible Towel, Troy Polamalu
Friday, January 30, 2009
What Are You Wearing for the Super Bowl (and Predictions)
I contacted some of my favorite Pittsburgh Steelers bloggers* and asked them what they are wearing for the Super Bowl. Then I realized that the question sounded a little inappropriate at best and creepy at worst, so I rephrased the question to this: Is there something that you will wear or have near you, not including a Terrible Towel which is a given, on Sunday? This question was especially geared for the superstitious folks out there like me. There was also an option to submit predictions about the game and a final score.
Tecmo of PSAMP:
I'm gross. I have three pairs of Steelers socks. I wore a pair for the San Diego game, then took 'em off right after we were done, knowing I'd need 'em, unwashed, again. I wore the same pair for the Baltimore game, and immediately took them off once we won. They're still not washed, but I've only worn them during game-time, and I'll do the same Sunday.
This is in addition to my Hines Ward jersey and two Bettis Foundation wristbands. And my Terrible Towel that helped Doug Brien miss those FGs into the closed end of the stadium.
17-14 Steelers. We're trained to win games like that. They're not.
Judge Rufus Peckham of Carbolic Smoke Ball:
I will drape around my shoulders one of the original Terrible Towels that I have worn for every post-season game since 1975. I am assured that the smallpox that somehow had infested the cloth last season was driven off at precisely the time that President Obama took the presidential oath (the second time -- the first time didn't take).
Gobo of White Nerdy Wonks:
I’ll be wearing a Max Starks game-worn thong that I purchased on eBay, and nothing else.
As for predictions, I’m too superstitious to actually predict the final score, but I will predict that Roethlisberger will have a better QB rating than he did in Superbowl XL. I realize I’m setting the bar pretty low here. I’ll also predict that Lawrence Timmons will have at least one sack or near-sack. I think LeBeau will use Timmons instead of Foote more often than usual, to give the Steelers more pass-rushing options up the middle, so Warner won’t be able to know where the rush is coming from.
Cotter of One For The Other Thumb:
Depends who’s asking there, big guy? No, seriously though. I shall be donning my usual pair of jeans, same black studded "look at how punk rock I am" belt, the same Myron Cope Yoi (double Yoi on back) t-shirt (hmmmmhahh!), the same long sleeved black t-shirt with "Steelers" looking all mean across the front, the same Casey Hampton jersey that’s about three sizes too large, the same old raggedy ass hat from like 1985, the same fleece polo for before the game starts, and the same towel I brought to the Burgh for Super Bowl XL! Oh, and my Steelers socks and Nikes with black and gold trim. I haven’t been able to find contacts that have the Steelers logo in them, but I’m searching Google hard.
Prediction? There will be a game. Two teams will play. One from Pittsburgh, calling themselves the Steelers. The other from Glendale, calling themselves the Cardinals. The game will last for 60 minutes. (Sean's note: Apparently, Cotter does note see this game going into overtime.) Both teams will score points. One team will score more points. That team will win. Hopefully it will be the Steelers. Seriously, do it, Tomlin. Get ‘em in line!
Matt of Steelers Gab:
I'll be at the game covering, so question one probably won't apply since I'll have to dress professional.
As far as predictions, here's a couple to chew on:
Steelers will have 4 sacks of Kurt Warner. Lamarr Woodley will have two, and James Harrison one. Brett Keisel will also have one.
Willie Parker will score on a two-yard run, Santonio Holmes will have a 15-yard TD catch, and Heath Miller will pull in a 6-yard TD. Ben Roethlisberger will throw 19-for-27 for 289 yards with two TD's and no picks. He will be sacked twice.
The Steelers will lead 17-7 at the half, then the Cards will make it 17-14, but Roethlisberger's TD pass to Miller with 12 min left will make it 24-14, and a field goal from Jeff Reed will make it 27-14 with 6 min left. Arizona will get a TD with 3:35 left, but the Steelers will have enough to run out the clock and win 27-21.
(Sean's note: I wish Matt was more specific with his predictions!)
Jason of Jason Christ Superstar:
I'll be wearing my Tomlin "Yes We Can" T-shirt underneath my Miller (Heath not Jeff) Jersey. As for a score: Steelers 24 - Cards 17. Parker will have 67 yds no TDs, Moore, 75 total yds, Russell 14 yds 1 TD. Ben will throw for 230 yds, 1 TD, roughly 23-31. The D will have one TD. Warner will throw for 175 2 TDs, 3 INTs.
Mike of Steelahs.com
Attached is a photo of what I'll be wearing when I watch the Super Bowl. (Sean's note: The picture is below.) Plain old Steelers T-shirt on the left. Reebok Steelers hoodie on the right. Steelers cap on top of T-shirt.
It's important to not wear anything indicating past Steelers championships. Bad luck. The only thing in the photo I won't be wearing is the cap on the right. I had been wearing it for a few years and retired it after the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. It was the official good-luck cap of 2005. The cap on the left would earn the same status if the Steelers win Sunday.
Not pictured is the Rolling Rock I will drink. I'll be enjoying the taste of Old Latrobe in New York or Massachusetts. Not sure yet where I'll be watching the game.
Prediction: Steelers 33, Cardinals 31
MVP: Santonio Holmes
Other stuff that will happen: Troy Polamalu will get an interception. Limas Sweed will make a key third-down catch. 
The Starter Wife of Black and Gold Tchotchkes:
Not sure what I am wearing, but I might just have a diaper on underneath it, just in case things go great... or poorly.
Ryan of Three River Sports
-Like you I'm also very superstitious. I'll be wearing my autographed, very well-worn Hines Ward jersey that has been around since about 2001, but now sees action only for very important games, like playoff games. In addition I'll be bringing along my Troy Polamalu bobblehead to a Super Bowl party of at least 20+ people and insisting that each and every one of them give him a bobble before game time.
A Serious Prediction: Santonio Holmes goes over 100 yards receiving for the Steelers and scores a TD on a deep ball.
A Not So Serious Prediction: The Refs actually call a penalty on one of the Arizona linemen for holding James Harrison. This is obviously a joke prediction though, because judging by the past several Steeler games, the NFL's holding rules only apply to offensive linemen if you aren't matched up against Harrison.
To wrap things up: HERE WE GO STEELERS!
Brenton from I Bleed Black 'n Gold:
I will have my usual Sunday debate: Ward or Roethlisberger jersey. Then consume frothy beverages from the Steelers mug I got from CVS in Wexford. It came with a crappy shirt in it, but I drink out of it every game.
Final Score: Pittsburgh:31 Arizona:24
Gameday Prediction: Lamar Woodley will kill two Cardinals, on accident.
(Sean's note: I think two dead Cardinals would taint and overshadow a Steelers win.)
Messiah of White Nerdy Wonks:
I'll be wearing a Troy jersey, but nothing all that superstitious. [My wife] has a Ben jersey, [child #1] has a Hines jersey, and one lucky triplet gets [child #1's] old Hines jersey. The other triplets will probably be in black onesies. I've ordered a dozen smiley cookies and we're ordering pizza from a place that's run by former Mineo's employees and supposedly uses the same recipe.
I predict Warner to have 175 yards passing in the first half, and Willie to have 53 yards in the first half. Then the second half will be brutal (D will be king on both sides), with the Steelers ekeing out a 7-point victory.
Mike of Have a Good Sandwich:
I'll be wearing a Hines Ward Super Bowl XL jersey to the Super Bowl. I'll also have a Terrible Towel in my possession.
I'd say that Ike Taylor will drop precisely one potential interception.
I won't make a prediction because I won't jinx the team.
Donald of Steelers Today:
I will be watching the game naked. The nice people here at the institution don't allow me to have any sharp objects in my room. And during Steelers games, they remove anything that I could use to hang myself should the Steelers lose. Thus, no clothes allowed during Steelers games. The latest medications that they've put me on seem to be working well. The doctors say that if I continue to take my meds, I MIGHT be allowed to wear clothes while I watch Steelers games next season. As far as predictions, the Steelers are going to win. The voices in my head told me so.
Sean of Sean's Ramblings (no link necessary since you're already here!):
I will wear my Louis Lipps jersey which has been much more successful than the Kendrell Bell and Kordell Stewart jerseys. I also have my Heinz pickle watch.
My prediction: Limas Sweed will do something good. Even if Sweed does nothing, by his standards, I count that as good.
Steelers 27 - Cardinals - 17
Thanks to all of my guests for participating! If you made it this far, thanks to you for reading. Feel free to share your own answers in the comments below.
Programming note: There will be multiple posts over the weekend including an exclusive interview that I may not be able to write up today. I'm sure that I'll mention the Puppy Bowl at some point too!
* Since this is Super Bowl week, anyone who is from Pittsburgh or writes any type of blog that mention the team is a Steelers blogger.
Posted by
Sean
at
9:15 AM
4
comments
Labels: Ben Roethlisberger, Casey Hampton, Doug Brien, Hines Ward, Limas Sweed, Louis Lipps, Max Starks, Myron Cope, Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl XLIII, Terrible Towel, Troy Polamalu
Monday, January 12, 2009
Monday Morning Thoughts
While I must mention yesterday's Steelers game, I also have some thoughts on other topics below.
After seeing every road team win during this playoff weekend, the Steelers looked really good Sunday afternoon in comparison. Willie Parker had his best game of the season running for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 181 yards and a touchdown, but more importantly, had no interceptions or fumbles and was only sacked once. Santonio Holmes had a huge punt return for a touchdown, and the Steelers defense did a great job shutting down Darren Sproles who was held to 15 yards rushing and 91 yards receiving, 62 of which came on a late touchdown when the game was out of reach.
Next up is the Baltimore Ravens: Round 3. Remember how Baltimore Ravens fans complained after Santonio Holmes’ catch was ruled a touchdown on December 14? Well, they’re still bitter. Jamison Hensley of the Baltimore Sun wrote the following after Saturday's Ravens win, "These Ravens won with some help from the officials. In a season in which it seemed as if they never got a break from the officiating crew, the Ravens got a big one yesterday: no penalty when the play clock expired before Flacco's 23-yard pass to Heap on the game-winning drive." I really hate the Ravens and Ravens fans.
I highly recommend Slumdog Millionaire, which I saw this weekend. Just a great story based around a game show, a scary childhood and a bit of a love story.
I watched part of the Golden Globes last night and felt bad when they introduced the star of Hotel for Dogs, Don Cheadle. Cheadle is an amazing actor from Hotel Rwanda, the Ocean 11 films, and Crash but because Hotel for Dogs comes out soon, he has to be attached to that film when presented?
The high in Montreal on Thursday is going to be -4 and then -3 on Friday. That’s the high! I can’t wait!
Based on this forecast, I’m not sure if my Louis Lipps jersey will make the hockey road trip as I may need to the room in my suitcase for multiple parkas.
Oh, I'm still looking for recommendations of things to do on my Canadian road trip, but I'm now looking primarily for indoor activities. Thanks.
Posted by
Sean
at
9:25 AM
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Labels: Baltimore Ravens, Darren Sproles, Don Cheadle, Jamison Hensley, Montreal, Santonio Holmes, Slumdog Millionaire, Willie Parker
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Steelers-Jaguars Recap
I’ll preface this post by writing that I have no idea what Al Michaels or John Madden said during Sunday night’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Jacksonville Jaguars game. I have not read recaps of the game by Pittsburgh newspapers, national sports websites or the Pittsburgh sports related blogs listed on my links list. The following are my comments, thoughts and pictures from attending the game live.
This picture was taken a half hour before game time. Notice the large banner covering two sections on the top left and the Jaguars banner behind the end zone. Apparently, these seats and several other sections throughout the stadium are completely covered during the entire season to help the team avoid blackouts. That would never happen for the Steelers. Oh, Jacksonville has no problem selling these seats for the Florida-Georgia college football game.
I really don’t know what to write about these guys. They were loud and somewhat annoying, but overall, pretty cool. Of course, I was not sitting directly next to them unlike the guy on the left wearing a white shirt. His sleeve ended up being mostly black from the body paint. He wasn't too happy being next to them.
The Steelers with an empty backfield, which they used more on Sunday than during the last 75 years combined. Did Mike Tomlin or Bruce Arians mention anywhere why used this set so often? Did it force the Jaguars to have more defenders in coverage instead of blitzing?
When the Steelers used this set, it seemed like the receivers were Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Nate Washington, Heath Miller and Mewelde Moore. Do the Steelers have a fourth WR?
Occasionally, the Steelers really did run the ball. I think this was one such case. Moore was definitely more effective on the outside as opposed to between the tackles.
Your halftime entertainment was a fireworks/laser show. The smoke was a little overwhelming after it ended. Maybe that’s why Fred Taylor had trouble picking up yards in the second half.
This picture was taken at the end of the game and did not come out well. The guy in the center had green hair and was an obnoxious Jaguars fan. To quote the Pensblog, STUNNED!
Other notes:
- Washington Capitals’ Sergei Federov’s brother Anthony sang the national anthem. Apparently, he was on American Idol.
- After a first down, the Jags fans cheer "Move Them Chains, Move Them Chains, Move Them Chains, Huh." Seemed kind of silly.
- I’m sure that everyone is saying and writing that Ben Roethlisberger is amazing in his ability to make plays after avoiding the pass rush. While he did make a great pass to Hines Ward late in the fourth quarter, he really needs to throw the ball away once in a while. On that particular play, he could (should) have been sacked, which may have knocked the Steelers out of field goal range. He probably did take 3 sacks during the game when he could have thrown it away. Yes, I’m nitpicking, but it really is OK to throw it away once in a while.
- "Welcome to Teal Town" is not very intimidating.
- Although Crazy Train is a great song, the Jaguars played it on three separate occasions (not including the fourth time when they played the Lil’ John version). I’m sure there are other songs out there that could be used to excite the crowd.
- My guess is that 25% of the fans supported the Steelers.
- I probably received a dozen compliments on the Louis Lipps jersey.
- I wanted to take a picture of the final score, but as soon as the game ended the team removed the score from the scoreboard. Did the Jaguars think their fans would forget that the team lost?
Most importantly, the Steelers won 26-21 and are now 4-1 heading into the bye week.
Posted by
Sean
at
9:17 AM
5
comments
Labels: Anthony Federov, Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Arians, Heath Miller, Hines Ward, Jacksonville Jaguars, Mewelde Moore, Mike Tomlin, Nate Washington, Pittsburgh Steelers, Santonio Holmes
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Steelers-Ravens Recap
First, I would like to thank the fine folks at Dulles Airport for ensuring that I missed the first quarter and half of the second quarter of Monday night’s Steelers-Ravens game. While my flight actually arrived on time, I waited at baggage claim at least 15 minutes before receiving my luggage and this is after taking the people-mover thing to the main terminal. Why does it always take so long to get your bags at Dulles airport? I know it’s a big airport, but only once can I remember luggage arriving within a few minutes. After finally getting my bag, there were 15+ people waiting for a taxi. I silently (and not so silently) said c’mon, c’mon, c’mon, c’mon…well, you get the point.
By the time I walked through the front door, the Steelers were already up 21-0. While I would love to talk about James Harrison’s incredible performance, I did not see the three forced fumbles and two of his 3.5 sacks. I also missed seeing Ben’s first three touchdown passes including Nate Washington’s first TD of the season. It may finally be time for Tivo. So this is what I did see live on television:
- Hines Ward blocking. It was great seeing him level Ed Reed. How do fans of other teams feel about Hines Ward? Is he seen as a dirty player? I can guarantee that every fan would love to have Hines on their team.
- Santonio Holmes burned the Ravens secondary on several occasions. It’s hard to believe that he’s only played in 24 NFL games.
- If you are a Ravens fan (or player), you had to be embarrassed by linebacker Terrell Suggs. Down 35-7 late in the first half, Suggs sacked Ben proceeded to celebrate. Losing by 28 points is no reason to celebrate!
- I know it has been written and discussed in many places, but I hated seeing Ben return to the game in the fourth quarter. There was no reason for him to re-enter the game after being injured earlier.
- Harrison’s performance reminded me of several dominant games by defensive players. I watched Osi Umenyiora record six sacks against the Eagles earlier this season and remember Derrick Thomas and Jason Taylor causing havoc with multi-sack games.
The comments on the Baltimore Sun message board are fun. Billick must go; McNair must go; “Stick a fork in them. THEY'RE DONE! I don't see them winning one more game this season.” Naturally, some Steeler fans living in Baltimore are happy and share their comments; Raven fans reply; hilarity ensues.
I’m getting really excited about attending the Steelers-Browns game on Sunday! I will not forget the tickets in Virginia!
P.S. The picture is by Peter Diana of the Post-Gazette.
Posted by
Sean
at
8:52 PM
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comments
Labels: Dulles Airport, Hines Ward, Nate Washington, Santonio Holmes, Terrell Suggs

