For what it's worth....

...here is my opinion on the sports topics of the day. To clarify, I am as un-athletic as they come, but I watch a lot of sports and listen to lost of sports talk. Disclaimer: Most of my facts/understanding of football terminology is probably erroneous. I'm no journalist. But I enjoy talking about sports, and felt like weighing in. What else is a blog for?

First of all, I would like to address the Terrell Owens situation. The facts are that he has just been released by the Dallas Cowboys one year into a four year contract, which means that the Cowboys can no longer use the 9 million left on that contract to pay another player. Silly? Maybe. Terrell Owens is an incredible football player and leads the league in touchdown receptions in a career. He also has put himself in a situation where no one will throw him any passes so that he can make more touchdown receptions. Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia, and Donovan McNabb - all great quarterbacks - are on the list of people who will never throw to #81. The issue? No, not TO's ridiculous off-the-field lifestyle or outrageous comments to the media, but the fact that he can't handle sharing the spotlight. His latest issue is with tight end Jason Witten, whom he suspects has been secretly meeting with Tony Romo to create plays that exclude Owens. This claim has spilled over into discontent among other players, concern among the coaching staff, and enough locker-room drama that even Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is willing to eat his words and send Terrell Owens back into the world of un-signed receivers. This might be a terrible thing to say, but I really hope no one takes on TO for 2009. I think it is important to show that unlike many professional sports, the NFL is not willing to sacrifice the quality of the team in order to let a superstar have his show.
Secondly, and this is just something I noticed on Mike & Mike this morning, the NFL needs to keep the salary cap. This past year, a collective bargaining agreement was not reached between the NFL players union and the organization, which means (I think) that in 2010, it's sort of a free-for-all. Right now, the salary cap in the NFL provides a sense of equality among all teams because even if you have more money, you can't use it to recruit players over a certain amount. Then I saw this about baseball's recent salary spending:
The New York Yankees budgeted $441 million for this year to sign 5 PLAYERS. The next closest team spent about $127 million dollars for 8 players. Is it any wonder that the Yankees are the "winningest" franchise in baseball history where World Championships are concerned?
Based on this, in my honest opinion, the NFL needs to keep the salary cap. Also, selfishly, I love my Steelers, and the Rooneys are notoriously frugal. On the other hand, you can afford to be frugal when you build your team through the draft!
This whole post probably bored many of you. But I had fun writing it. ;)

Sixburgh

This is one of my favorite photos from Super Bowl XLIII. I watched the game over at Hot Metal Church in the South Side, and it was wild. My parents even drove up from Florida to watch the game in da 'Burgh - and it was worth every minute of the tedious drive! The church recently acquired a new building - formerly a bar - so it had the feel of watching at a bar without all the drinking. The place went nuts from the moment the guys came onto the field until the final turnover with 14 seconds remaining. I spent the last 3 minutes of that game in a true panic - which was nothing compared to one of the boys at the church who had to walk back and forth, in and out of the room. But I should have known that Big Ben would carry us through! It certainly was a Super Bowl to remember - and I sure will remember it, judging by all the Steelers memorabilia I am suckered into on a daily basis. Don't worry - I'm not too crazy, but I did just get a shirt that says, "got six?" on the front and "da burgh does" on the back.
Anyway, I really like winning the Super Bowl because it means that there's Steelers talk all off-season, wondering about the draft, and the future of the team. Plus, the game has been re-aired three times so far, with a fourth on Thursday night, so it's almost like the season hasn't ended. Mike & Mike bring up the team at least once daily, and usually more.
I can't wait until it's out on DVD! And I wonder if they'll include it on the "America's Game" list soon?

Also..

The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to the Super Bowl.

My pledge: wear at least one piece of Steelers bling/flair each day leading up to Super Bowl XLIII.

Zayn, a free t-shirt is coming your way. And it's good...very good.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Because of this song. Every year, the holiday season brings the advent of Jesus, and on a humorous note, this song by Johnny Angel & The Halos. Enjoy.

Santa Claus is Comin' Dahntahn
Yinz better watch aht,
Yinz better not paht,
Yinz better not cry,
I’m tellin yinz hauscome,
Santa Claus is comin’ dahntahn.

He’s makin’ a list,
He’s checkin’ it aht,
He’s gonna find aht who’s nebby an ‘at,
Santa Claus is comin’ dahntahn.

He knows if yinz is a jagoff,
He can see inside yinz haus,
He knows if yinz been workin’ hard,
Or just sittin’ on yur caach (caach, caach, caach).

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle All the Way...
Lookin' from Mahnt Worshington,
Down where the Stillers.....are at. (Aw, C'mon guys...)

Yinz better watch aht,
Yinz better not paht,
Yinz better not cry,
I’m tellin yinz hauscome.
Santa Claus is comin’ dahntahn!…..

He sees yinz on the Nor'side
In 'Sliberty and Sahside, too.
He don't want yinz to be ascared
Just do what yer asposed ta do. (Doo Doo Doo)

Yinz better watch aht,
Yinz better not paht,
Yinz better not cry,
I’m tellin yinz hauscome.
Santa Claus is comin’ dahntahn!

Check out the Steeltown Sports blog for the audio.

For those of you not familiar with the Pittsburgh (or Pixburg) dialect will probably not understand this. Make it your goal to visit Pittsburgh, and some of these things will be brought to light!

The Raiders

Something has been bothering me. In the big picture of life, it's not that big of a deal. But in the world of football, it really gets on my nerves. Here it is: why is Lane Kiffin being fired? I know his team, the Oakland Raiders, are not playing well. They haven't been playing well for many, many years and Coach Kiffin has only been there for a year, yet he is expected to be fired today in the middle of the season because his team has gone 0-4. That's just ridiculous. And here's why. Lane Kiffin (or any head coach, for that matter) is not the problem with the Oakland Raiders. They could hire Bill Belichick and nothing would get better because the problem is Al Davis, the owner of the team. He is too involved in the day-to-day coaching decisions that should be the responsibility of the head coach, in this case, Lane Kiffin. It is impossible to run a team (or any organization) with the confusion that the staff and players have to deal with. Who's really in charge? Do I listen to the coach or the owner during practice? The coach has no choice, really, about what the owner says and he can't overstep his bounds in that situation. So the team members don't have a clear leader, the coach can't garner any respect from them, and the lines of communication are a mess. No wonder the team is falling apart, and no wonder Lane Kiffin is being fired. If the owner of a team isn't willing to let the coach do his job, then the team will never be functional, much less sucessful.
Al Davis is the problem at Oakland. I'm sure Coach Kiffin has made mistakes, but I think he could be a good head coach in the NFL if he were actually allowed to be one. How frustrating for the players and fans of that team. Even with our terrible offensive play last night, I'm thankful that I was born a Steelers fan! The Rooneys have done a terrific job and I am confident they will continue to operate that way, regardless of ownership.