The Daily Bongo

Pittsburgh Steelers: 2005 Season

2005 Super Bowl Winners

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Monday, February 27, 2006 -- Evening

The Steelers Super Bowl DVD is going to be released tonight at midnight. Starting tomorrow, there will be a flurry of activities scheduled around the release. Tomorrow from noon until 1:30 p.m., Joey Porter and Antwaan Randle El will be giving autographs at the Wal-Mart in Robinson. Tomorrow evening from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., Hines Ward will be at Dick's also in Robinson at the Mall. On Wednesday from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m., Jerome Bettis will be signing autographs at the Robinson Best Buy. Finally, all four will be at Loew's Theater at the Waterfront at 7:00 p.m. for a VIP screening of the DVD.

Friday, February 24, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Ike Taylor, cornerback for the Steelers has a website to sale t-shirts that he designs. During one of the many interviews of the team members after the Super Bowl, Ike had his teammates wearing some of his designs to promote his business.

Monday, February 20, 2006 -- Morning

Jerome Bettis has been signed by NBC as a sports analyst. He will be working with Bob Costas on the Sunday night game that used to be on ESPN.

Sunday, February 19, 2006 -- Early Afternoon

Tommy Maddox says that he will be happy with whatever happens with the Steelers. It does not seem likely that the team will resign Maddox. His future in the NFL is uncertain because it's not likely that any other team will want him. Now how about that trash story from October. The story was that trash was thrown all over Maddox's lawn and his children were being terrorized. Now the story came from Maddox's agent. Maddox's wife denied that there was any truth to the story, but Maddox kept quiet. Why? I said to ellict sympathy because he is a whiny, baby loser. Well, it turns out that Maddox now admits that the story wasn't true. Now he says that he had to pick up a piece or two of trash, but that the whole thing was blown out of proportion. What an ass--because he was the one who allowed it to be blown out of proportion! I have no respect for Maddox at all, and hope the door doesn't whack his butt too hard on the way out of town.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006 -- Evening

The Steelers are going to play in the first game of the 2006 season. The game will be nationally televised on Thursday, Sept. 7 and will be played here in Pittsburgh.

Saturday, February 11, 2006 -- Late Evening

The Steelers are probably going to have some problems in the coming season due to the money that has to be paid out to several players as bonuses for the team winning the Super Bowl. The money will go against the coming season which might make it difficult to sign some of the players who will be free agents, such as Antwaan Randle El. Fortunately, the offensive line and most of the defensive line is firm for the coming year, so there is some hope that next year can be a repeat. We'll have to see how things turn out.

Friday, February 10, 2006 -- Evening

The Steelers are working on the design for their Super Bowl rings. Dan Rooney said that the current players on the team with have some say in the design of the rings, especially Jerome Bettis. There might be some reference to the past four Super Bowls, but as Rooney said, this team doesn't have a tie to the past wins, and the ring is for them.

Meanwhile some of the players have been hitting it big on television since the Super Bowl. Ben Roethlisberger has been getting around alot with a stint on David Letterman and on the Grammys last night. Hines Ward and Jerome Bettis have also been making the talk show rounds.

Thursday, February 9, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Big news for Steelers fans. Ken Whisenhunt, Steelers offensive coordinator, has withdrawn his name from consideration for the head coaching job with the Oakland Raiders. It seems that Whisenhunt loves his job with the Steelers, and even visions of mucho dinero couldn't sway him to take on the Raiders and Al Davis, whose picture is in the dictionary next to tyrant.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 -- Evening

I have some more pictures from the Steelers parade yesterday. These photos were taken by a friend, Sunny Ng.

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 -- Early Afternoon

There have been alot of grumblings about the officiating at some of the NFL games of late, and it extends to the Super Bowl. One of the most blantant errors was when the official overturned the interception made by Troy Polamalu. In that case, the NFL admitted that the overturning of the call on the field was in error. Now the Seattle Seahawks are claiming that they lost the Super Bowl because of the officials. The three calls in particular that get everyone's goat are the Seattle touchdown that was not a touchdown because of passer interference, the touchdown that Ben Roethlisberger made, and the tackle on Ike Taylor after the interception. The thing that I have to say is that Seattle should not have been in a situation where a few calls would make a difference. I thought the same thing in the Steeler - colts playoff game. It should never have come down to the colts being able to take the game with a field goal. Seattle should look at some of the missed opportunities and work on that.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 -- Evening

I am watching the taped Steelers parade and rally. It was amazing to see all the people! 250,000 and it is amazing to see the masses of people in the streets. My boyfriend said that the crowds were immense, but very orderly. People were running up to the cars as the Steelers went by, and were getting autographs and pictures. I have a selection of pictures that my boyfriend took. Some are good and some are a tad fuzzy, but you can get the feeling of the atmosphere. I love the picture of Willie Parker taking a picture of my boyfriend taking a picture of him. Also, my boyfriend went out of his way to get a picture of Antwaan Randle El, my favorite, even practically getting on top of the car to get a good picture.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 -- Afternoon

It was estimated that over 250,000 fans showed up for the Steelers rally today. My boyfriend said that it looked like several thousand people were in the area where he saw the parade of cars headed to the stage. He took some pictures, and if the quality is good, I will post them later this evening.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006 -- Late Morning

The streets of downtown Pittsburgh are packed with fans who are attending the Steelers rally this morning. WTAE has a live webcast of the event for those of us who are stuck at work. Unfortunately, I can watch the video, but I have no speakers for sound, so it isn't much fun. I am recording the event at home so I can watch it this evening. My boyfriend has gone downtown, and I am hoping for some pictures from him which I will post.

Monday, February 6, 2006 -- Early Evening

The talk around town, and on the news, has been nothing but Steelers all day today. Tomorrow at 11 am, there is to be a victory parade through the Downtown area. The parade will start at the Mellon Arena and ending in Point State Park. Meanwhile various Steelers have been making appearances everywhere. Ben Roethlisberger is going to appear on the David Letterman show. The big news about the appearance is that Roethlisberger shaved his beard on the show. Hines Ward was elected the game's MVP, and that means that he spent the day at Disney World. Ward was part of the Disney parade, and kept to his promise to take Jerome Bettis with him.

I noticed yesterday that Terry Bradshaw did not show up with the other past MVPs that paraded into Ford Field in Detroit. The rumor that was spreading is that Bradshaw had some beefs about the money that was given to those appearing. All were given $1,000, and rumor has it that he wanted more. However, Bradshaw says that he just decided to stay at home. Another missing MVP was Joe Montana. Montana was the only three time MVP, but supposedly wanted $100,000 to appear. Of course, Montana is saying that's not the case. Montana's story is that he wanted to be at home to watch his son's basketball game. I would hope that the absence was not due to financial reasons. I know that I missed Bradshaw in the game.

Monday, February 6, 2006 -- After midnight

I forgot to mention that Jerome Bettis announced on the stand as the Vince Lombardi Trophy was being handed around that Detroit would be his last stop. So the Bus stops here and is retiring. It's not something that was unexpected. Everyone has been talking about it for the entire year, and that's why the trip to Detroit seemed like such a fairy tale ending. Thankfully it was a happy ending for Bettis and for the Steelers.

Sunday, February 5, 2006 -- Super Bowl game

Teams

Seahawks

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Super Bowl Sunday! What I will do is give the hightlights of some of the moments of the game and of the few commercials that I saw. I wound up missing most of the commercials because of talk or fast forwarding. However, there are sites that have all of the Super Bowl commercials. Of the few that I did see, I liked Ameriquest commercial that was set in the hospital. The doctor used the electric heart paddles that are used on people suffering from a heart attach to kill a fly. As he is looking at the dead fly that is now lying on the patient's chest, the doctor says "that killed him". Meanwhile the guy's wife and little daughter walk into the room to hear it. It was the funniest. The other commerical that I liked was for Budweiser titled the Streaker. This one had a sheared sheep that broke into the football game between the Budweiser Clydesdales. My third favorite was shown in the third quarter and was for Careerbuilder. The guy is talking to someone on the phone and is explaining that he is having problems because he works with a bunch of monkeys (as monkeys cavot all around him). On the other end of the phone is a girl who says she understands because she works with a bunch of jackasses (as donkeys go walk around her). So those were the three funniest of the few that I saw.

Also before I go over the game, let me comment on the musical entertainment. The Motown tribute was interesting with some good musical bits in it. The national anthem was a different story. Aaron Neville, of the big black mole on his forehead, started singing first. All I have to say is that he would have failed an American Idol audition. Aretha Franklin came after him and did a better job. The half time show was the Rolling Stones. They did a very nice job. It was surprising that they are as old as they are. Mick Jagger does not look like a 62 year old man was he swiveled his hips, pranced and sang like someone half his age. There were no garment malfunctions this year. I don't think you would want to see Aretha Franklin's hefty, naked breast.

Now on to the game. As most people probably already know the Steelers won the Super Bowl. The final score was 21-10, but the game was much closer and nerve-wracking. The Seattle Seahawks were their own worst enemy. There were many opportunities for the Seahawks, and they would get a stupid penalty that would take the play away. For example at the end of the first quarter, it looked like Seattle had a touchdown, but it was called off because of passer interference by the Seattle receiver. Then there were a few missed field goal attempts. Meanwhile the Steelers seemed to be unable to make a first down for most of the first half. Seattle only managed to get a field goal in the first half, and the Steelers had a touchdown that was Ben Roethlisberger made that was questionable. The first series of plays by the Steelers after half time were great. The Steelers lost the coin toss, but Seattle elected to receive the ball in the first half. Willie Parker got the ball, and instead of being stopped by a mass of men, broke through and ran 75 yards for a touchdown. The score was now 14-3. Seattle had the ball and couldn't do much with it, and the Steelers got it back. We were yards from a touchdown when Roethlisberger threw an interception that got run down the field. Although the team managed to stop the runner, Seattle went on to score a touchdown. The fourth quarter started with a scorew of 14-10. The Steelers got an interception that lead to one of the best plays of the game. That's when the Steelers brought on one of their infamous gadget plays. This time Roethlisberger gave the ball to Parker who then passed the ball to Antwaan Randle El who ran with it abit, and then gave his cute little leap to throw the ball for a touchdown to Hines Ward. The score was now 21-10. At this point, the Steelers did everything they could to run out the clock and Seattle tried all they could to stop the clock and make a score. Seattle was not successful and the Steelers were. Personally, I didn't think that any one player on either team really stood out, but Hines Ward was granted the Super Bowl MVP. I think that I would have given it to Randle El because he got a first down for the team at a crucial period and threw the touchdown pass. On to the celebration. The kids in Oakland are going crazy and lighting fires and overturning cars. Other than that, the rest of the city seems to be sane, probably because the roads are icy and snow is coming down.

Thursday, February 2, 2006 -- Evening

Hold onto your horses! Troy Polamalu injured himself in practice today, and is listed as probable for the Super Bowl. Probable means that there's a 75% chance that Polamalu will play. The only word on the injury is that it is a tweaked ankle.

Thursday, February 2, 2006 -- Morning

A group of five students from Pitt have a website in support of Ben Roethlisberger's beard. The site contains a petition that men and women can both sign. The men pledge that they will not shave their face hair until Ben shaves his.

Friday, January 27, 2006 -- Evening

I'm at home right now, but 20,000 to 30,000 people are at Heinz Field for a Super Bowl rally. The city has been going crazy with Super Bowl fever. Parties are being scheduled everywhere. At work, I have two separate parties that I am invited to at work on Friday. There are tons of songs out there too. My favorite is Puhlamahlu. It is very catchy, and I find myself playing it over and over again and singing it when I'm not playing it. Listen closely and see how many Steelers names you hear. The group who wrote and performs the song is Mr. Devious. Steelergridiron.com and Steelers in Hoboken are two sites that have collections of Steeler songs. One mother even named her son, who was born in Oct. 2004, Seven. Of course, she says that it isn't in honor of Ben Roethlisberger, but now Seven is a huge Steeler fan.

Max Starks gave four Super Bowl tickets to a West Virginia family that was affected by the Sago mine disaster, which I thought was a very nice gesture. Starks didn't want to make a big deal of it, and just wanted to help out the family which has not been identified.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Bill Cowher cares more about maintaining momentum than following tradition. The Steelers will be wearing their away uniforms even though the AFC Champions are considered the home team in this year's Super Bowl. Since the team has been winning in the playoffs with the white jerseys, it would be a smack in the face of superstition to move to the black, home jerseys. Cowher's comment was "We're not playing at Heinz Field so, in my mind, it's an away game."

Monday, January 23, 2006 -- Afternoon

With a smidge over 9500 votes cast, Troy Polamalu was voted the hottiest Steeler. Polamalu had 36% of the vote. Hines Ward was second with 20% of the vote and Ben Roethlisberger was third with 19% of the vote. I think that women really like Polamalu's hair and think that his hippy demeanor off the field/killer on the field is attractive.

Across the city yesterday evening, fans went crazy. People were crowding in the street, and on the local news last night, a film clip was shown of the students from Pitt crowding Forbes Ave. in Oakland. It was so bad that police were called to the scene and the street had to be closed. Just imagine what this city will be like if the team actually wins the Super Bowl!

Sunday, January 22, 2006 -- AFC Championship game

Teams

Steelers

Broncos

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger
First half: The Steelers are kicking off first to the Broncos. The Broncos have to punt the ball after just being able to move the ball past the 50 yard line. Ben Roethlisberger threw a nice pass to Antwaan Randle El and then Hines Ward made the first down after catching a ball that bounced off a Broncos defensive back's chest into the air. A tense moment occurs when Willie Parker looks like he fumbles the ball and it is recovered by the Broncos. Bill Cowher challenges the play and the officials determine that Parker's forearm was on the ground and it was not a fumble. So Pittburgh won the challenge. A long throw to the end zone is almost intercepted, and the Steelers have to settle for a 47 yard field goal. Score is 3-0. The Broncos get the ball. Jake Plummer gets sacked and the ball is fumbled. The Steelers recover as the first quarter ends. A beautiful 12 yard pass to Cedrick Wilson results in a touchdown. Score is now 10-0. The Steelers defensive line is really putting pressure on Plummer. The Broncos take a timeout and manage to get the ball into the red zone. However, they can't convert it into a touchdown and have to settle for a field goal. The score is now 10-3. Roethlisberger almost fumbles the ball, but manages to fall on it, and it is called an incomplete pass. Wilson gets a few more passes and the Broncos call another time out. The Steelers are moving the ball down the field, and Roethlisberger is obviously using Wilson alot because Ward and Randle El are being covered alot. Finally Ward gets a pass and takes the ball down to the Denver 25. Randle El gets another first down and the team is on the 13 yard line. Parker really doesn't seem to be getting any yardage and the running game doesn't seem to be making much yardage. Third down and nine to go on the 11 yard line. Verron Haynes catches a pass for the first down. Jerome Bettis takes the ball in for a touchdown and the score is now 17-3. The Broncos have the ball, but not for long. Ike Taylor intercepts a pass from Plummer and the Steelers have the ball again at the Denver 39 yard line. Willie Parker finally manages to get a good run of 14 yards in and Bettis adds a few more. Then it looks like Bettis runs the ball in 12 yards for another touchdown, but there is a flag on the play for an illegal formation. Hines Ward was in a blocking position on the line. In the next play though, Roethlisberger throws the ball to Ward for a touchdown. Score is 24-3. The half ends with the Steelers ahead.
Second half: The Broncos kick off. The first series of plays manages to take over five minutes off the clock. The Steelers aren't able to get the ball into scoring range however and are forced to punt the ball. Special teams does a good job and stops the ball on the 2 yard line. The defensive line again puts alot of pressure on Plummer and the Broncos are forced to kick off again. This time Randle El returns the ball to the Denver 40 yard line. Again, we wear down the clock some more, but we can't get the ball into scoring range and have to settle for another punt. This time it looks like the ball is stopped on the third yard, but it seems that the Steeler that stopped the ball, Chidi Iwuoma, stepped on the endzone line so the ball and Denver wins the coach's challenge and gets the ball on the 20 yard line. Phil Simms who is announcing the game comments that in the past 20 minutes, Plummer has not gotten a first down. After that is said, the Broncos seem to wake up abit and after taking a time out manage to get the ball down for a touchdown. The score is now 24-10. The Steelers get the ball and manage to run down the clock for the end of the third quarter. The first play of the fourth quarter has Bettis running for seven yards. Roethlisberger gets sacked after that, and the Steelers go for a 42 yard field goal which they make. The scoer is now 27-10. Things are starting to look good, and my thoughts that we are actually going to win this one are firming. There is 13:38 left in the game. Kickoff return by the Broncos gets them to the Steeler 41 yard line. Plummer throws a long pass and it is intercepted by Larry Foote. We only have the ball for three downs and the Steelers have to punt again. Broncos now have the ball on the 15 yard line. Plummer seems to have found a way to evade the sack, and he has run out of several close calls. The Broncos manage to get the ball down the field with alot of help from the Steelers with penalities. The Broncos do manage to get a touchdown, and the others in the room who are watching the game with me get nervous, but I don't think that the Broncos can make such a major comeback with only eight minutes left in the game. The score though is now 27-17. The Broncos kickoff goes out of bounds and we then get the ball on the 40 yard line. Scary moment when Roethlisberger almost throws an interception, but fortunately the Bronco isn't able to hold onto the ball. The Steelers aren't able to do much with the ball and have to punt. The time is now 6:12. The Broncos have the ball on the 19 yard line and work up to a third down with three yards. Plummer gets sacked and fumbles the ball, and the Steelers recover it. Bettis runs the ball a few times and gets a first down. The Steelers are now on the seven yard line and the Broncos use their last time out. There is now 3:50 left in the game. Bettis runs the ball for another two yards and then Roethlisberger runs the ball in for a touchdown. Score is 34-17 and for all intents and purposes the game is over since there is only 2;50 left to play in the game and 17 points difference. The Broncos have the ball, but they are slow in getting to the line and waste time. with 1:01 left in the game, Roethlisberger and others start putting on the AFC Championship hats. A bucket of ice water is thrown on Cowher and the game is over. The Steelers are the 2005 AFC Champions and Pittsburgh's going to the Super Bowl!

Sunday, January 22, 2006 -- Morning

The AFC Championship is this afternoon. The Steelers will be competing for the title against the Denver Broncos. I think that the game is going to be a toss up. Both teams were doing well at the end of the year. It will be close and stressful.

Thursday, January 19, 2006 -- Early Evening

Joey Porter did not get fined by the NFL for his comments about the officials cheating for the Colts. Obviously, it was a case of the truth being told, and the NFL couldn't fine someone who had a point.

Monday, January 16, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Mike Pereira, the NFL senior director of officiating, said that the call made by Pete Morelli in yesterday's game that overturned the Troy Polamalu interception was an error. As one of the announcers said on the NFL Network just now, it would have been a crime if the colts had one the game based on this call. In fact, it is a crime that they were basically given the eight points that made the game so close that a field goal might have tied it. At this point, the NFL isn't commenting on Joey Porter's comments about the refs trying to steal the game for the Colts. I would say at this point, they would have a hard time fining Porter for speaking the truth when even the head of NFL officiating agrees that a grievous error was made.

Monday, January 16, 2006 -- Afternoon

Yes Virgina, there is news other than football and hockey. It's just that at this time of the year, it tends to dominate the hearts and minds of all Pittsburgh fans. Joey Porter might be getting a fine from the NFL because he spoke the truth about the officiating in yesterday's playoff game. It was quite obvious that the refs and officials made several calls in favor of the colts. There were no calls for some obvious passer interferences by the Colts. Then there was a time when the Colts had a false start and the refs so--"oh, um, do over! No penalty!". Finally there was that interception call that was overturned and led Shannon Sharpe to call the official Archie Manning. As the Colts themselves said after the game, they had this game on a platter for them--thanks to the officials, and yet still weren't able to take it. I think if the Colts had won it would have left a very bitter taste in the mouth of everyone except the Colts fans because the game would have gone to them based on thievery.

Sunday, January 15, 2006 -- AFC Playoff game

Teams

Steelers

Colts

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger -- for making that tackle in the 4th quarter

The Steelers and Colts are playing in a playoff game this afternoon.
First half: I missed the first few minutes of the game because I was out doing some food shopping, so I missed some of the beautiful passes to Heath Miller that got the ball down the field and resulted in a touchdown catch for Antwaan Randle El. Fortunately, I got home in time to see the touchdown. The Steeler defense was able to stop the Colts, but then Ben Roethlisberger got a hit as he was throwing the ball that resulted in an interception. Unfortunately, we had the ball down on the Colt 35 yard line, so we were close to another score. The defense seem to be doing a good job of shutting down Peyton Manning. So far the Colts haven't been able to get a first down offensively. Even the announcers are remarking that the offense seems to have some rust. That's the problem with the slack off that the team did at the end of the regular season and having a bye week. Of course, the announcers are doing the usual job of making statistics say whatever they want. One of the comments that Phil Sims was making was that Roethlisberger has good stats at the beginning of the game that dwindle towards the end. Perhaps that might be due to the fact that when the Steelers have the lead, they spend the end of the game running out the clock and not really trying to score or make the big plays. Statistics can be manipulated to prove any point, and for the most part as I said yesterday, really only tell you how things have played out in the past and have no real bearing on the present. Great play! Roethlisberger threw the ball down to Hines Ward caught the ball and took off. There was some mutual face mask grabbing between Ward and the Colts, but the call went against the Colts defense and the Steelers got the ball half the distance to the goal and a first down. Another touchdown pass to Heath Miller! The Steelers are leading in the first quarter--14-0. As the announcers are saying, Manning has yet to complete a pass. The Steelers are doing good. Let's hope they can keep it up. Sack of Manning! Boy, this is exciting but nerve wracking. I know that the Steelers came into this game on a high while the Colts were on a low and that does have a physical and psychological impact on a team. Manning just made a complete pass. Another sack on Manning. The Colts offense is really having trouble getting their act together. That's the problem when you rest your players for a few weeks. They lose the playing edge. It's a fine line to walk between rest and rust. No scoring in the second quarter, but both defenses have stepped it up. The Colts now have the ball on their two yard line. The Colts finally get a first down running the ball on their second try. Another pass that is complete and the Colts have another first down. Darn, three first downs in a row. This is not good. We have to shut them down. Another first down! The crowd is getting louder. An interception would be good around now. The Colts now have the ball around the 8 yard line. Edgerrin James got the ball to the one yard line. Then the Colts had a false start and are back on the 6 yard line. Now the Steelers went offside. Darn! Two minute warning before the end of the half. Third down and goal. Now it is fourth and goal at the 2 yard line, so they are going to go for the field goal. That has to be hard psychologically--to get the ball so close--on the one yard line and have to settle for a field goal.
Second half: The Colts have come back in the second half making first downs. It looked like Troy Polamalu had the interception, but the refs didn't call that. The Colts aren't able to do anything with the ball and the Steelers get it, and Willie Parker is getting some nice runs. Folks were worried about Roethlisberger being hurt on a hit, and it looks like he got a good whack with a helmet just above his elbow. Hopefully he will be okay. The refs are biased. Manning was tackled in the endzone and that should have been a safety. Now they are saying that Mannings feet were on the line so it is not a safety. The Steelers have the ball again, and folks are worried about Roethlisberger's arm because it supposedly has a welt on it. Roethlisberger is in the game. Parker just got a good 11 yard run, and now Jerome Bettis is getting some runs in. He wasn't able to get a first down and we now have a third down with two yard for a first. Bettis almost got a touchdown, but got tripped on the 3 yard line. The Colts are looking dejected. Bettis took a flying leap and made a touchdown! The score is 21-3 and we are moving into the fourth quarter in a minute. Polamalu almost had another interception. He dived in front of the ball and almost caught it. Peyton Manning wants to go on fourth and 2. He waved the punt team off the field and is going to go for it. Darn! They got first down. The third quarter is over. Darn! The Colts come back with a touchdown to start the fourth quarter. The score is now 21-10. The Steelers need to make an answering score and not give up the ball. It's bad enough that we have let the Colts get into the game with this touchdown. The Steelers have a fourth down and inches. It seems that they are going to go for it. Quarterback sneak and they get it. This is so nerve wracking because I want them to win, and there are so many close calls here. Another fourth down, and they go for it again, and Bettis comes up with another first down. They are eating up the clock, and Manning is on the sideline shaking his head over the Steelers good fortune so far with the fourth down. Manning got the ball, and threw it and it was intercepted by Polamalu. He almost fumbled the ball, but fell on it, and the Steelers have the ball. The Colts are having a review of the play. The announcers say that it clearly looks like an interception and that Polamalu kicked the ball out of this hands with his knee while getting up to make some yardage. Manning just looks sick. Darn! The refs are calling in an incomplete pass. There have been some questionable calls by the ref this week, and even the announcers are questioning this call. It is obvious that the officials are trying everything in their power to help the Colts get back into this game. It is unbelieveable that the play was overturned. It looks like the colts are going to take advantage of it and get a score that they don't deserve. Darn! They scored! There is a question about whether they will go for two points now. It is just shocking that the interception was not called. If only Polamalu stayed down there would have been no question. False start. Five yard penalty for the Colts. Damn--they made the two points. My boyfriend is disgusted because he keeps on saying that the officials gave the game to the Colts. The Steelers can't do anything and have to punt. My boyfriend is pacing and so upset over that call now. This is really going to be bad because if the Steelers lose because of the bad call, it would suck. The Colts have the ball, and Joey Porter sacked Manning. Then Manning over threw the ball. Then on fourth down, they went again, and Porter sacked Manning again. We get the ball at the two yard line. Darn! They don't take the knee, and Bettis fumbles the ball, and the Colts get it and run it down the field. The Colts are on the 42 yard line. Good thing that Roethlisberger sacked him. The Colts have the ball on 37 yard line. 31 seconds left in the game and it looks like the Colts are either going to win or tie the game. The Colts go for a field goal and MISS. Deja vu of the last year's playoff game. Bettis has to be so relieved. The kicker got a penalty for taking off his helmet and slamming it on the ground. Now--take the darn knee!!! Eleven seconds and the Colts take a timeout when the Steelers take the knee. They should just let the clock run out but since the officials have been on their side, they are hoping for the best. The colts us another time out, but we have two more downs so when we take the next knee, the time should run out. The Steelers are going to the AFC championship! Bettis is smiling now because he almost cost us the game. This is the first time that a sixth seed got to the Championship.

Saturday, January 14, 2006 -- Morning

Jerome Bettis is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated. Bettis doesn't believe in the SI cover jinx which is that someone who appears on the cover winds up having bad luck afterwards. The thing is that good things and bad things happen all the time. Of course there will be bad things that happen to everyone and the timing is just coincidence. I haven't seen the article yet, and I hope to check it out this afternoon.

Thursday, January 12, 2006 -- Evening

This weekend is the Steelers versus the Indianapolis Colts playoff game. The Colts are taking a page from the Cincinnati Bengals book, and are telling ticket sellers to not sell tickets to Steelers fans. I think that the rational is sorry. Obviously the Colts can't stand to have some Steeler fans in the arena shouting out for their team. Or maybe it is because they don't want any pesky Steelers fans out there scoping out the arena for microphones that are funneling noise back onto the field in the favor of the Colts. It should be a good game, and I am predicting that the Steelers will win this one. Of course, I could be wrong just as I was wrong that the Steelers would have a losing season this year.

Sunday, January 8, 2006 -- Wildcard AFC Playoff game

Teams

Steelers

Bengals

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger

Steelers - Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC Wildcard playoff game.
First half: The Steelers received the first kickoff. Not much happened in the first possession by the Steelers except for possession of the ball for four and a half minutes. The Bengals had a great second play. Carson Palmer threw the ball 66 yards to Chris Henry. Bad thing is that Palmer was hurt on the play and had to be carted off the field for further evaluation. It looked like Kimo von Oelhoffen was blocked into Palmer and caught him around the ankle/knee of his left foot. Let's hope that Palmer is okay. Right now Jon Kitna is in for Palmer. There is alot of pushing and shoving going on with each play now because some of the players think that the Steelers might have purposefully taken out their quarterback. However from the replays, it is very obvious that it was just an accident and that von Oelhoffen was knocked into Palmer by a Bengal. The thing that concerns me from the activity that is going on is that the Bengals might come out to hurt Ben Roethlisberger. The Bengals aren't able to do anything with the ball even though it is in the red zone and have to settle for a field goal. They score first and it's now 3-0. After the commercial break, the footage that we see on television of the Bengals shows us a picture of dispair and heartbreak. They look as if it is the fourth quarter with one minute left and they are twenty points behind. Chris Henry is now also injured and will be out of the game it appears. So far, the Steelers have now had three false starts in seven plays. Bill Cowher is yelling up a storm on the sidelines. So now the Steelers have a first and 20. Meanwhile the team just can't seem to get anything moving. The issue appears to be the high crowd noise. This week, there was a big push by the Bengals ticket sellers to NOT sell tickets to Steeler fans. So if someone called from the 412 area code, you were unable to purchase tickets in Cincinnati. The Steelers have to kick off again. The Bengals have moved the ball down the field and have gotten a touchdown. Even with a backup quarterback, they are whooping out butts. Score now is 10-0. Ike Taylor had a nice punt return, but now we have a third down with five yards. Roethlisberger got us the first down by running the ball himself. The Steelers have gotten the ball down into the red zone and Roethlisberger tossed the ball to Willie Parker who runs the ball in for a touchdown. Score is 10-7. The problem is that the Bengals seem to be doing a good job of getting the ball down the field. Chad Johnson just had a nice catch to move the ball down the field in to the red zone. The Bengals are really close to scoring again. It looked like Troy Polamalu recovered the ball from a fumble, but wasn't given it, and he threw the ball at a Bengal and it cost us an unsportsmanlike penalty. The Bengals are now on third and goal and got the ball down near the goal line. There was a flag though and it was a penalty against the Steelers and an automatic first down. Bengals get a touchdown with a pass from Kitna to TJ Houshmandzadeh. Score is now 17-7. Roethlisberger just threw a 54 yard pass to Cedric Wilson. Now another fifteen yard pass to Antwaan Randle El. Jerome Bettis is in the game, and they tried to do one of those fancy moves from Roethlisberger to Bettis to someone in the end zone. He missed, but the Roethlisberger came back to toss one in to Hines Ward for a touchdown. Now the defense needs to step it up! They do, and the offense gets the ball. Roethlisberger is under attack for all the plays and the half ends with a score of 17-14.
Second half: The Bengals get the ball first and right away, Bill Cowher challenges a call of a completion to Chad Johnson. The ruling on the field that it was complete is overturned and the Steelers don't lose a time out. The Bengals get the ball down the field and then try for a field goal, and botch it. Something bad happens on the snap and the Steelers now have the ball. The Steelers are trying to march the ball down the field and Jerome Bettis got them a first down. They are the 44 yard line. Roethlisberger throws the ball down to Randle El, and he almost had the ball although the Bengal defenseman was all over him. It resulted in a penalty. Woo-hoo! They give the ball to Bettis and he ran it in for a touchdown! Finally! The Steelers have pulled ahead for the first time in the game. Score is now 21-17 in favor of the Steelers. Larry Foote just sacked Kitna. The Steeler defense needs to step it up even more to keep the lead. The Steelers get the ball back. Great play coming up! Randle El gets called over by Roethlisberger. The ball gets snapped to Randle El. He starts running, then throws it to Roethlisberger who then throws it down to Wilson for a touchdown! Score is now 28-17. That play was just great. They keep on showing it over and over. Now for news about Palmer is that he has a torn ligament in his knee and is out for the season. James Farrior just picked off the ball from a Kitna pass. The Steelers have the ball again on the Cincinnati 40 yard line. Willie Parker almost got a first down on the next play. Then the ball was given to Bettis, and he just dragged three Bengals down the field with him to the five yard line. Now we are third and goal and on the three yard line. The Steelers try another trick play that doesn't work, and have to settle for a field goal. Score is now 31-17. The Steelers have 24 unanswered points. The Bengals couldn't do anything with the ball, and the Steelers have it back. The Steelers are basically runing the ball now because it will run down the clock. Polamalu intercepted Kitna and started running. As he was getting tackled, he threw the ball back to Chris Hope who ran the ball somewhat farther down the field. The throw was a stupid move because what if the ball had gone back to the Bengals with a fumble? Cowher talked to Polamalu for abit on the sidelines, then smiled and whacked him on the head with some papers. It doesn't even look like the Steelers are going to try for a touchdown. They have the ball on the 20 yard line and are just taking the knee. I guess that they are just going to run down the clock and then the game will be over. Final score is 31-17.

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Evening

The New England Patriots lost today, so the Steelers will be playing the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday at 4:30 in the first round of the playoffs.

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Sixteenth game of the season

Teams

Lions

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Jerome Bettis

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Afternoon

Steelers versus the Detroit Lions.
First half: The Steelers kick off to the Lions, and they aren't able to do much. When the Lions punt, Antwaan Randle El ran the ball down the field for 80 yards for a touchdown. It was a great run! Randle El is my favorite player because he's always so chipper and happy. Oh, and he's a cutie! Score is 7-0. The Steelers have to win this game to get into the playoffs, so it is looking good so far. The Lions get the ball back, and manage to get the ball down the field enough for a touchdown. The score is now tied 7-7. Now for the first time in the game, the Steeler offense is on the field. Willie Parker did the first run with the ball. I gather that means that even though Jerome Bettis is the starter, Willie Parker can be the first person to run in the game. The Steelers couldn't do much and have to punt. This is not looking good. The Lions got a long throw down the field, and then a penalty in their favor, and they get another touchdown. Score is 14-7. The Steelers get the punt and get another long run of 63 yards, this time from Ricardo Colclough. We have the ball around the 20 yard line, and Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball to Heath Miller on the 10 yard line. Bettis then rund the ball in a few yards but still short of a touchdown. Then Hines Ward misses a throw, and Verron Haynes gets it to the one yard line. It's fourth down. They go for it, and of course, give it to the Bus, and Bettis runs it in for a touchdown. Extra point is good and the score is tied again. First quarter ends with the tie. The Lions aren't able to do much with the ball, and it goes back to the Steelers. So far, there have been several missed interception opportunities on the part of the Steelers. Still not able to do anything and the Steelers have to punt again. There was almost an interception on Roethlisberger. The announcers are commenting on how Ward has not had a catch yet today. Right after that, Roethlisberger trips over his own player and they call it a sack. It's third and thirteen and Roethlisberger is under attack. He manages to throw the ball to Haynes which was risky because two other Lion guys were there. It wasn't enough to get a first down though. We have to punt and the Lions are trying to get up the field when the runner gets tackled, drops the ball, and the Steelers recover. Willie Parker gets a couple of good runs and we are in the red zone at the two minute warning. Parker ran the ball a few more yards. Then they handed the ball to the Bus, and he ran it in for a touchdown. So far in this game, Bettis has three carries for eight yards and two touchdowns. Score is now 21-14. Troy Polamalu manages to strip the ball, and the Steelers recover. Roethlisberger overthrew Ward, and then Randle El couldn't hold onto the next pass and the Lions intercepted, but as the guy was getting tackled, he tried to toss the ball forward which was an illegal move. So the half ended.
Second half: The Steelers get the ball first and Willie Parker ran it a few yards, then Ward got a good catch in his 119th consecutive game. The ball is down on the four yard line, and they gave the ball to the Bus who gets yet another touchdown. Score is 28-14. Unfortunately, the Lions seem to have some answers, and they ran the ball down the field to score a touchdown. Score is now 28-21. So far, the 21 points that the Lions have scored in this game are the most that they have scored on a road game this season. We had a third down and one yard and the announcers were talking about how the Steelers haven't converted on third down alot. So they put in the Bus who got the down. Then they got a nice good throw and run from Heath Miller, and with only a few yards to go, Roethlisberger ran the ball in for a touchdown. Extra point is good and the score is 35-21. We are now in the fourth quarter and there are abit over eleven minutes left in the game. can we hold on to win and get into the playoffs? Bettis just ran the ball for a first down again. He is doing a great job in what may be his last home game. I think that the Steelers are going to try to run the ball now and just run down the clock. Roethlisberger was just intercepted. I think that the Steelers might have been thinking this week that they might easily beat the Lions, even though they kept on claiming that wasn't the case. Fortunately, the Lions don't score and are forced to punt. Time left? 4:56. They did a "Thank You!" for Bettis and ran it on the Jumbo-tron and the crowd went crazy. Less than three minutes now, so I think that it is obvious that we are moving on to the playoffs. The announcers weren't even showing the last few minutes of the game. Instead they were showing their crew because this will be one of the last games televised this season. The Steelers won, and are going on to the Playoffs. Who will they play? That has yet to be determined.

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Late Morning

This afternoon's Steelers game against the Detroit Lions might be the last home game for Jerome Bettis. I think that it probably will be. Last night on the Jerome Bettis Show which is shown on KDKA, they presented Bettis with a jacket that had the show logo on it. Even though Bettis isn't officially admitting to it, it seems that this will be the end. Willie Parker went to Bill Cowher and told him that Bettis should be the starter of the game. So when the game starts, Bettis' name will be called and he will come running down the tunnel onto the field probably for the last time. It is sad. If the Steelers win today, they will be one of the wildcard entries to the playoffs.

Thursday, December 29, 2005 -- Afternoon

Over in the Steelers camp, Hines Ward and Casey Hampton were voted the MVPs of the team by their teammates.

Monday, December 26, 2005 -- Evening

One of the items that didn't get a big mention on the national broadcast of the Steelers game was the fan who got on the field. The guy got all the way onto the field without anyone appearing to challenge him. Verron Haynes ran away from the guy, and appears to the butt of some of his fellow players' jokes. Cleveland Browns player, Kenard Lang shoved the fan out of the way. While the stupid fan was jumping up and down, and losing his pants, James Harrison took matters into his own hands. As he said later, it looked like no one else was doing anything about the guy, and the guy did have his back to Harrison. So Harrison grabbed the guy from behind, body slammed him to the ground, and held him there until the security guys came over. All the players told Harrison that if the NFL fines him for grabbing the fan, they will contribute to the fine.

Saturday, December 24, 2005 -- Fifteenth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Browns

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Willie Parker

The Steelers are playing the Cleveland Browns this afternoon in Cleveland. The game is being played on Saturday because tomorrow is Christmas.
First half: Cleveland had the ball first, but they really didn't do anything with it. So far, we have had some good passes from Ben Roethlisberger to the receivers, and we now have the ball down in the red zone. Jerome Bettis got the ball for three carries, and scored a touchdown. For the third game in a row, the team has scored on its opening drive. The kick was good, so the score is now 7-0. This is Bettis' sixth touchdown run of the season, and 88th for his career. On the kickoff, the Browns fumbled the ball, and the Steelers almost recovered the ball, but it squirted out of Ricardo Colclough's hands and was recovered by the Browns. Hines Ward has two really good receptions, and the ball is in the red zone again. Roethlisberger throws the ball beautifully to Ward in the endzone and it's another touchdown. The score is now 14-0. Joey Porter just got his ninth sack of the season. The Browns had to kick off, and Antwaan Randle El was returning the punt, and lost the ball when he was tackled. The Browns recovered it. Fortunately, it was back at their own 20 yard line. My boyfriend put the whammy on Randle El because it looked like he was going to run it in for a touchdown, and my boyfriend has Randle El benched on his fantasy team. The Browns couldn't keep the ball, and had to punt again. For the last play of the first period was a 47 yard throw that Roethlisberger made to Cedrick Wilson. Start of the second quarter has the Steelers down on the 13 yard line. Bettis is back in the game, and powering the ball down to the first down yard line. Bettis is someone who can just drag defenders with him. We were't able to make a first down, and it looks like we might go for a field goal of 26 yards. It's good. The Steelers are up 17-0. The Browns had the ball and did nothing, and the Steelers got it back. For the first time in the game, Roethlisberger was sacked, and just now Willie Parker was held without any yardage. We weren't able to do anything with this drive and have to punt. Porter just got his second sack of the game. The Steelers' Bryant McFadden blocked the punt and got the ball at the 50 yard line. It won't be an official blocked punt because it bounced past the line of scrimmage. Another nice 21 yard throw to Ward. We are down at the 30 yard line. Parker had a few nice runs, but we weren't able to get the first down, and are going to attempt a 31 yard field goal. It's good. With 2:17, we are ahead 20-0. The Browns can't do anything offensively, and the Steelers get the ball back and just run down the clock. It's now half-time.
Second half: The start of the second half is not very exciting. A few yards here and there and then punting to the other side. Just as I say that something exciting happened. Roethlisberger handed the ball off to Fast Willie Parker at the 20 yard line, and Parker ran the ball 80 yards down the field for a touchdown. With this run he gets his 1000 yard in a season mark. Congratulations Willie! The Steelers are now ahead by 27-0. The Browns got the ball, and managed to get it down the field. Porter got his third sack of the day, and the Browns decided to go on a 4th and 13. The ball was overthrown, and the Steelers get the ball on the 29 yard line. The Browns should have gone for a field goal so at least they would have some score as opposed to a big old goose egg. Bill Cowher challenged a call of an incomplete pass to Wilson, but the refs threw it out. The Browns got the ball, and Verron Haynes ran the ball 11 yards into the endzone for a touchdown. Extra point is good and the score is now 34-0. There is still a minute left in the quarter and another quarter to play, but the game already has a feel of being over for all intents and purposes. By the fourth quarter, Cowher pulled some of the starters, and Charlie Batch is in as quarterback. At this point, it is just running down the clock, and the final score is made with a 31 yard pass to Quincy Morgan. The extra point was good, and the score is 41-0. There are 6:12 left in the game. Cleveland keeps the ball for the rest of the game, but doesn't really do much with it. The game ends with a final score of 41-0.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 -- Afternoon

Last year nine Steelers made it to the Pro Bowl. This year, the Steelers haven't been playing as well, and only four players were named to the Pro Bowl. They are Alan Faneca, Jeff Hartings, Joey Porter, and Troy Polamalu. Notable abscences are Hines Ward, who has gone to the Pro Bowl for four years in a row previous to this year, and Ben Roethlisberger who has had a pretty good year statistically. The teams who have the heaviest representation are those that are doing well, such as the Colts, Bears, Chargers and Falcons.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers are eigth in the NFL in bonuses. The Steelers have so far this season paid out $41 million dollars in signing bonuses. The Steelers had to resign alot of players this past season and accounts for a good portion of the payments. One bonus that is not likely to be paid is to Tommy Maddox. If he is still on the roster in March, he will receive a $100,000 roster bonus. So it is probably very likely that he won't be around by that time.

Sunday, December 18, 2005 -- Fourteenth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Vikings

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: The Steeler Defense

Sunday, December 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

Steelers game today. We will be playing the Minnesota Vikings. Since the Steelers had alot of problems with the noise level (real or manufactured) playing against Indianapolis Colts, they played some practices with manufactured noise to prepare for another game in a domed stadium.
First half: The Steelers got the ball first, and are moving the ball down the field. We are yards from a touchdown now based on a throw by Ben Roethlisberger to Heath Miller with a good block by Hines Ward. Now we are down to fourth down and couldn't convert a touchdown. We went for the field and Jeff Reed kicked it in for three points. The ball was going back and forth and the Steelers had it again, and Antwaan Randle El signalled for a fair catch, but then didn't catch the ball. There was a fumble and it looked like the Vikings got the ball. There was a review, and the ball was given to the Vikings because Randle El didn't catch the ball. It seems that Randle El's goal was to signal for a catch and then to get the heck out of there when it looked like he wasn't going to get it. While trying to get out, he was tackled and the ball bounced off him and the vikings recovered. The bad thing is that the Vikings are on the three yard line. The Vikings throw the ball. It looks like an incomplete pass, but they are challenging because it looks like the guy came down with two feet and then lost the ball. The Vikings lose the challenge and a timeout. They are unable to get a touchdown and have to settle for a field goal. Score is now tied at 3-3. The Steelers have the ball again. The second quarter starts, and it looked like a fumble, but the Steelers were offside. The vikings had the ball, but fumbled a catch, and Joey Porter recovered the ball. Neither team seems to be taking advantage of any opportunities. Randle El just returned a punt for 72 yards. We are down now around the 14 yard line. They gave Jerome Bettis the ball three times, and he got the first down. The Steelers are at the four yard line. The Steelers are third and goal at the three yard. Roethlisberger was under pressure, and he ran and got the ball in for a touchdown. Randle El put in a hit for him. The extra point was good. Score is 10-3. The ball got thrown down by the vikings for a possible touchdown and it was intercepted in the endzone by Deshea Townsend. The Steelers take the knee for the final 18 seconds and we go to halftime.
Second half: The Vikings had the ball, but couldn't make a touchdown, so they tried for a field goal. The Steelers blocked the ball, so there was no score and it was now our ball. Our offensive line is holding up very well, and Roethlisberger was sacked for the third time today. The ball was thrown to Cedric Wilson and the officials said it did not make a first down. Bill Cowher challenged the placement of the ball, and the official review put it down further on the field and we got the first down. Then a hand off to Willie Parker that got them 49 yards. The Vikings got a penalty for holding on Ward, and that got us to a first down on the 14 yard line. Roethlisberger got sacked for the fourth time with a loss of five yards. We couldn't get a touchdown, and had to settle for a Reed field goal. Score is 13-3. At the kickoff, the Vikings fumble, and the Steelers recover at the 30 yard line. Again we aren't able to get a touchdown and have to settle for a field goal which is good. Score is 16-3. The vikings had the ball, then we did, then we had to kick off to them. They had the ball in their end zone, and we tackled the runner and got a safety. So the score is now 18-3. And we get the ball again. Randle El ran the ball for a first down. He has been doing well this game even though he did have the screw up with the punt and fumble in the first half. Larry Foote got a sack on the Vikings quarterback, and with abit over five minutes left in the game, the Steelers have the ball again. The game is winding down, and it looks like the Steelers are going to win. The Steeler take the knee to win the game. Final score is 18-3.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 -- Evening

Some good news for Pittsburgh sports fans: Jerome Bettis was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week award. Bettis rushed for 101 yards and got two touchdowns which were reasons for him to get the award. It's ironic in a way because Bettis is seen as an elder statesman on the team, ready for retirement, and then he just goes and show you that he has it it him. Maybe not every day, but when push comes to shove, you know that you can count on Bettis.

Bettis' teammate, Ben Roethlisberger, has been creating alot of controversy over his thumb. Roethlisberger has been commenting on how his thumb is broken and how he is having problems throwing the ball. At his press conference yesterday, Bill Cowher was getting pressed by one of the regular news guys at KDKA about the issue. It finally reached the point where Cowher gave the guy his scary stare and said to just drop it and that he had answered the question. It seems that in the NFL the teams don't like information about injuries to get out. There are two ways that you could look at this, either the injury is not that serious, or it is serious and Cowher just wants to keep it underwraps. This is the second time Roethlisberger has made a big deal about an injury that Cowher wanted kept quiet. The other time was after the playoffs last season when Roethlisberger kept on talking about having broken toes.

Sunday, December 11, 2005 -- Thirteenth game of the season

Teams

Bears

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Jerome Bettis

The Steelers are playing the Chicago Bears today.
First half: The Bears have the ball first. Chicago has another of my favorite players, Muhsin Muhammad. The Bears don't have the ball for long, and have to punt. Willie Parker just ran the ball down the field for 45 yards to get 22 yards from a touchdown. He seems to be doing well so far with another carry right after that long one for another eight yards. Hines Ward just got a short pass and ran it in for a touchdown. The score is now 7-0. chicago answers by bringing the ball down the field and within a few yards of the end zone. Inside the five yard line, and theh Bears blow three downs, and have to settle for a field goal, which they get. The score is now 7-3. There are snow flurries in the air, but nothing is supposed to accumulate so it shouldn't affect the game. The Steelers are running the ball alot and eating up the clock. We are halfway through the second quarter and the Steelers have a first down on the 12 yard line. Willie Parker has just run the ball down to the 1 yard line and are poised to make another touchdown. They give the ball to Jerome Bettis who shoves himself over the line and scores a touchdown. Score is now 14-3, and Ben Roethlisberger is doing well considering he has a broken thumb. The Chicago defense is not doing as great as their reputation this season would warrant. The half ends with the Steelers leading, 14-3.
Second half: The snow is coming down now in big, thicky, fluffy flakes. I don't think it is going to accumulate, but it does looks nice as I watch the game from inside where it is warm and dry. The Steelers aren't able to do much on their first try with the ball, and have to punt. It is really coming down now, and the Steelers have the ball back and are methodically running it down the field. Bettis took the ball in for a touchdown, and the Steelers are now leading 21-3. It's snowing so hard now that it is hard to see what is happening. The Bears have the ball, and do a fake field goal attempt and punt the ball. The Steelers are onto the subterfuge and go after the ball and get it. Bettis got the ball, and just ran the ball up the middle. He gets tripped abit, but keeps on running and ran the ball around 40 yards up the field. it's amazing how you can barely see anything with all the snow. The ball went flying into the air, like water spouting out of a geyser. The Steelers managed to recover it. It seems that things are just going the Steelers way today and the announcers even commented on that fact. Just as the fourth quarter starts, the Bears are able to throw the ball down the field and it gets caught on the first yard line. The Bears then get the touchdown and miss the extra point kick. So the score is now 21-9. Bettis is having a great game so far, and my boyfriend isn't playing him in the fantasy team. Sometimes you just never know which player is going to do well in a particular game, and today seems to be Bettis' day. Bettis has come out of the game now, and is having his knee looked at so he might not be back in the game. Nope. Bettis is back in the game, and making good yardage. With 1:45 left in the game, Bettis is trying to get over 100 yards in the game, and now has 102 yards. The Steelers have won, breaking their three game losing streak and the Bears eight game winning streak. Final score was 21-9.

Monday, December 5, 2005 -- Afternoon

The big question here in Steeler nation is whether the Steelers have blown a chance at the Super Bowl this year or even the playoffs. There has been alot of talk over the summer about how the Steelers were going to make a real run for the Super Bowl this year. The thing is that last year was the year for them. A team doesn't often go 15-1 and then play as poorly as we did in the playoffs last year. Last year was our year, and they blew it. This year the team has been saddled with injuries and poor play. In my prediction at the beginning of the season, I had the Steelers doing alittle bit worse then they actually have been doing, although if they totally crap out, my prediction of a 7-9 season might not be too far off. I also thought that the Cincinnati Bengals would take the division this year, and they do seem on track for that. Right now the Indianapolis Colts look like they are on their way to a possible win in the Super Bowl with their win yesterday. Right now, the Colts are undefeated at 12-0. Of course, all bets are off once the playoffs start and every team starts at 0-0.

Sunday, December 4, 2005 -- Twelfth game of the season

Teams

Bengals

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Time for the Steelers game.
First half: It was starting to look like a boring start to the game. Ben Roethlisberger came out with a couple of good throws, but nothing went anywhere and we had to punt. The Bengals were having the same luck. But then the Steelers got the ball, and with a few good throws to Heath Miller we got it down to the goalline. Jerome Bettis ran the ball in for a touchdown. Score is now 7-0. The Bengals came back though with some good throws to Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh scored the tieing touchdown. Score is 7-7 with abit over three minutes left in the game. With seconds left in the first quarter, Roethlisberger managed to get the ball down the field and throw a 25 yard touchdown reception to Quincy Morgan. Score is now 14-7 Steelers. The Bengals have come back in the second quarter with an answering touchdown. The touchdown was scored by Reggie Kelly and the game is now 14-14. The Bengals have gotten an interception. It happened right after Roethlisberger was tackled and fell on his injured right hand. Then the ball was thrown all the way down the field and that was intercepted. Carson Palmer got the ball down the field and threw another touchdown pass to Houshmandzadeh. Score is now 14-21. Roethlisberger had a late hit on him that was directed at his knees. The Bengals were penalized for it, but it was a low blow. Fortunately Roethlisberger appears to be okay. Then Hines Ward was running with the ball when he was tackled and fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by the Bengals who now have the ball again. Fortunately, they weren't able to score and had to punt the ball. There were some issues with the first kickoff, so the Bengals had to do it again. It was good news for the Steelers because we got 20 extra yards out of it. A bomb was thrown down to Cedrick Wilson who came down with that ball in double coverage on the 30 yard line. We still have two minutes left in the game to tie things up. We weren't able to get a touchdown and had to settle for a field goal. Score at the half is 17-21 with the Bengals leading.
Second half: In their first series of plays, the Bengals get the ball down the field, but they can't score a touchdown and have to settle for a field goal. Score is now 17-24, We got the ball back, and took the ball down the field, and Roethlisberger threw another touchdown pass to Ward. Score is now tied 24-24. On the kickoff return, the Bengals returned the ball 93 yards, and was stopped four yards short of a touchdown. The Bengals ran in the ball for a touchdown. Score is now 24-31. Not alot going on with neither able to produce anything. Roethlisberger just threw an interception in the fourth quarter with abit under 9 minutes left in the game. The Bengals have just scored another touchdown off of that interception. The score is now 24-38. Finally! I was in the kitchen making a roast turkey when I heard that Roethlisberger had moved the ball down the field and threw a touchdown pass to Ward. The score is now 31-38. There are 2:59 minutes left in the game. can we come back to win or tie the game? We have less than two minutes, and we are now on third down with 24 yards to go. If we win up punting again, we might not get the ball back. Fourth down: will they go for it? It appears that they will and we are in the 20 yard line, and Roethlisberger is sacked, throwing the ball as he goes down, almost costing an interception and further score on the part of the Bengals. It seems that the Bengals are just going to take the knew and run down the clock. The question that the game announcers have is what went wrong with a team that was 7-2 and is now 7-5?

Sunday, December 4, 2005 -- Late Morning

I was just watching a pregame show for the Steelers game this afternoon. It seems that Ben Roethlisberger has been having some problems with his thumb. Supposedly as he was coming off the field from practice he was telling people that his thumb was really hurting him. This has been a season plagued with injury for Roethlisberger. It appears that the thumb may actually be broken because when he was asked by someone if the thumb was broken, Roethlisberger said "I don't know if I can disclose that." Interesting, but that's how the NFL is about injuries--very secretive. Charlie Batch is dressing as a third quarterback choice--meaning, you got it--Tommy Maddox might be playing today. Just in general, it's not looking good for the Steelers because we have so many injured players and the Cincinnati Bengals have been playing well. Chad Johnson is one of my favorite players and has been a steady producer on my fantasy team.

Thursday, December 1, 2005 -- Evening

News on the Steelers front is a controversy over the sound in the Colts stadium. It seems that the story is that the Colts put microphones around the stadium and then ran it through the speakers to intensify the sound while the Steelers had the ball. That would explain why we had so many false starts, and why the center and the guards couldn't hear the quarterback. If the Colts did that, it is illegal, and they should be fined, but neither the Steelers or the NFL is going to investigate the matter. I believe they should because this is really offensive behavior and if it did happen the team should be fined.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 -- Morning

The Indianapolis Colts scored another field goal last night, and won the game with a final score of 26-7. The Colts are undefeated for the season at 11-0. This is not looking good for our Super Bowl hopes. The Steelers have been talking about making a run at it since we lost in the playoffs last year. I just don't think that this year is our year though. I may be wrong because the season isn't over, and I have been wrong in the past. We will just have to wait and see.

Monday, November 28, 2005 -- Eleventh game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Colts

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Monday, November 28, 2005 -- Evening

Steelers game tonight. I'm not sure that I'll be able to stay up till the end because I have to work tomorrow, and have a Pens game tomorrow. The Steelers are playing the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are undefeated so far this season, and it's not looking good for the Steelers tonight. However, you never know. We'll have to see what the game brings.
First Half: We won the coin toss, but we only had the ball for a little over a minute before we had to kick off. on the first play, the Colts scored. Peyton Manning threw an 80 yard touchdown pass. 1:44 into the game, and the score is 7-0 with the Colts leading. The Steelers weren't able to do anything with the ball, but then our defense held off the Colts, and they were forced to go for a 49 yard field goal. They got it and the score is now 10-0. Our offense is getting a royal ass whooping. But thank goodness for the defense. Troy Polamalu intercepted the ball and ran it down to the 7 yard line. Will we score and start to get things abit closer? They did it. Ben Roethlisberger threw the ball in to Hines Ward on the third down for a touchdown. The score is now 10-7. Maybe it won't be that bad after all. Damn! We got the ball in field goal range and could have tied things up when Jeff Reed missed the mark. Wow! So the score is still 10-7. There has been alot of back and forthing with the Colts making a field goal at the beginning of the second quarter. More back and forthing. Manning was just sacked with 2:38 left in the half by Joey Porter. The Steelers got the ball back, and then Roethlisberger was intercepted with less than 30 seconds lefft in the game. The Colts were able to score another field goal before the half ended. Score at the halfway mark is 16-7 in favor of the Colts.
Second half: The Steelers, bravely or stupidly, did an onside kick to start off the half, and it was recovered by Indianapolis on the 37 yard line. Manning and crew managed to come down and score a touchdown 3:15 into the half. The score is now 23-7. I have to admit that I haven't been paying as much attention to the game as I probably should because our offense seems incapable of doing anything against the Colts defense. Not only that but we have been killing ourselves with penalties, especially offside and false start because they can't seem to hear themselves in the stadium. There are only a few minutes left in the game, and the Colts have intercepted the ball. The game is over for all intents and purposes, so I am going to sleep and will confirm the final score tomorrow morning.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 -- Afternoon

At his weekly press conference today, Bill Cowher listed Ben Roethlisberger as probable. That should mean that he will be starting next Monday barring any unforseen circumstances.

Two former Steelers players and a coach have made the semifinal list for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The players are Dermontti Dawson and L.C. Greenwood. The coach is Russ Grimm. The semifinal list for the next induction into the Hall of Fame has 25 names, and that will be narrowed down to 13 candidates in January from which three to four will be selected for the Hall of Fame in February. Good luck guys!

Sunday, November 20, 2005 -- Tenth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Ravens

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Overtime

Final

Daily Bongo Loser of the Game: Tommy Maddox

Sunday, November 20, 2005 -- Afternoon

The Steelers are playing the Baltimore Ravens this afternoon. Originally the game was scheduled for 4 pm, but since the Ravens have been playing very poorly this year, the league moved the game up to 1 pm, and put the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals.
First half: Tommy Maddox is starting the game. The Ravens had the ball first, but they weren't able to do anything with it, so now we have the ball. we weren't able to do anything with it either. Deshea Townsend intercepted the ball, but the offense wasn't able to do a thing, so we wound up punting the ball. Maddox sucks! He just had the ball, looked like he was going to throw the ball forward, and then just dropped it to the ground. The Ravens pounced on it because Maddox sucks when it comes to taking care of his fumbles. The guy is as stiff as if he has a long broomstick shoved up his butt, and it makes him incapable of falling on the ball. Fortunaately, they considered it an incompletion and we just had to punt off. We are now into the second quarter and neither side has shown much going on. Tommy Maddox sucks, and can't do anything. The Ravens weren't able to get a touchdown, but were just able to get a 47 yard field goal. The score is now 3-0. Finally! It's about time. After a ton of ineffectual attempts by Maddox to make plays, he finally tossed the ball off to Heath Miller. We have finally made a move. Then another long pass to Hines Ward. It could have been a touchdown if Ward didn't have to wait for Maddox to throw the ball. Poor timing on Maddox's part, but at least the play happened. We are in the red zone, but Maddox just got sacked. Maddox just stood there and waited to get sacked because he is unable to move. So we got so close again, and Maddox wasn't able to get anything done. Jeff Reed had a 44 yard field goal, so the game is now tied at 3-3. The Ravens just got a touchdown. The extra point was good. The score is now 10-3 in the Ravens' favor. We just got the ball, and Maddox had a very poor pass that was almost intercepted. Maddox threw another that was dropped. The ball was underthrown according to the announcers. Maddox threw another and it wasn't much of anything. Maddox was yelling at the ref, like the ref is responsible for Maddox being a Hoover and sucking up the field. The ball was punted to the Ravens and Jamal Lewis fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Townsend. Maddox is back to throwing the ball ineffectually. There were the standard dropped passes or passes to the air and a sack, and now we are stuck with settling for a 37 yard field goal. It's good. Score is now 10-6. The Ravens managed to get the ball down the field but weren't able to get a touchdown. They did a field goal though, and the score is now 13-6. We need a touchdown to tie things up. There are only 21 seconds left in the half, so I doubt that any scoring will be done with Maddox at the reins. First half is over now with nothing happening.
Second half: If anything Maddox is even worse in the second half. Maddox has a blind side with encompasses him by 360 degrees. So he got charges on his "blind side" which was face on towards the defensive back, and the ball got tipped and intercepted and almost run into a touchdown. Fortunately, the defense was offside so we got the ball back. Maddox just really looks awful and the thing is that we are pretty much stuck with him. Maddox just really seems to be having trouble throwing the ball and making a connection with anything except the ground or to bounce off someone in a purple uniform. Unfortunately, our only option at this point is Antwaan Randle El, and he isn't seen as a really viable option because he's on the short side for a quarterback. Randle El just had a play as quarterback where he tossed the ball off to Willie Parker. We now are 4th and inches, and we are going to go for it. Unfortunately, Maddox just called his second time out within a few plays of each other. Is it because Maddow is totally incompentent and an idiot and should not be on the field, but should be selling third rate insurance? Well, after wasting another time out, Maddox got sacked. The thing that really sucks is that if Maddox just didn't take a few steps back from the line of scrimmage and stand there like he was planted into the ground looking at the defensive guys rushing at him, he wouldn't get sacked. Put Randle El in! It's not like Randle El will blow a lead. We are losing to one of the worse teams in our division, and Randle El definitely couldn't be worse than Maddox. The Ravens have the ball now where they sacked Maddox. Randle El got to be quarterback again. He threw the ball to Willie Parker for a first down. Then Maddox came back in, got sacked and threw the ball up into air blindly, and now we are at 3rd and 16. Maddow called another timeout. What the heck is his problem? Well, we know what it is--incompetence. Ravens had the ball, but couldn't do anything. We get the ball, Maddox tries to throw and lost the ball. The Ravens recovered, and because we don't have any timeouts because Maddox ate them all up in five minutes, we can't challenge it because it seems it was a questionable call. As the announcers were saying, all Maddox had to do was play smart and not have turnovers. So what did Maddox do? He played like an idiot and turned the ball over. Finally! With 5:15 left in the game, the Steelers managed to get down the field with some help from Randle El and Hines Ward to get a touchdown run in by Willie Parker. The extra point is good, and the game is now tied, 13-13. Two minutes are left in the game, and the Steelers have just gotten the ball. We now have to get the ball down to score a field goal at least. We have no timeouts so we have to hurry up and do things. Maddox throw the ball poorly, and it got knocked off of Ward and recovered by the Ravens. The officials are reviewing the play. The Ravens have it and are trying to get the ball down within field goal distance. Fortunately, the Ravens weren't able to anywhere and time ran out. There were flags on the final play with Kyle Boller missing a Hail Mary pass. We now go into overtime.
Overtime: Joey Porter called heads and we get the ball first. It's sudden death. Maddox managed to throw a 25 yard pass to Cedrick Wilson. After gaining some yardage, Maddox couldn't get any first downs, and then got sacked so the Steelers have to punt. The Ravens weren't able to do anything, and we got the ball back. Unfortunately, Maddox is still getting sacked. Right after that, Maddox threw the ball right at one of the Baltimore players. There wasn't even a Steeler in sight. Bill Cowher was just left to shake his head. The Ravens have the ball again. The Ravens got a first down in Steeler territory. They are on the 44 yard line. Boller almost threw a touchdown pass, but it just got dropped. The Ravens now have the ball around the 30 yard line. They are going to try to get even closer to give their kicker a chance. The Ravens have their field goal team on the field. If the Steelers lose, it is because of Maddox and his numerous incompletions and standing rooted to the spot when under siege. The Ravens made it and they won the game. 16-13.

Friday, November 18, 2005 -- Evening

Antwaan Randle El is one of my favorite players. This past Tuesday, Randle El went to school with a local boy, Robert "Schwartzie" Schwartz, as part of the NFL and JC Penney's Take a Player to School program. Children can enter their names into the contest, and the winning child gets to take a player to school on Tuesdays, which are typically off days for the players. Randle El showed up at Schwartie's house in a limo and went to school with him at Jefferson Elementary School. At the end of the event, Randle El put Schwartie's phone number in his cell phone so they could keep in touch. It seems that Randle El told the kids that his favorite position is quarterback. There has been alot of talk about whether having Randle El be quarterback would be a bad or good idea. Randle El has alot of confidence in his abilities. Although Randle El was a good quarterback during his college years at Indiana, he's really on the small side (5 ft. 10 in and 192 pounds) which would make it difficult for him to play the position in the NFL. Bill Cowher has commented that he wasn't so sure about Randle El having a good line of sight over the large linebackers to thrown the ball. The only way that Randle El will be called into action is if Tommy Maddox is injured and Charlie Batch can't go in for him.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 -- Evening

Cedric Wilson is not very happy with the amount of playing time and throws that he has been getting since he has been with the Steelers. As Wilson said, he should have checked out the situation before he decided to come to the Steelers so he would have had a better idea of what to expect. Surprisingly, Wilson seemed ignorant of the fact that this is a running team, which I thought was common knowledge.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 -- Afternoon

Charlie Batch is definitely out for this Sunday's game. Ben Roethlisberger is still listed as questionable, but things are looking like it is going to be Tommy Maddox starting the game. This isn't necessarily good news because the team had some issues with Baltimore Ravens the last time that we played them.

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 -- Morning

It seems that the Steelers may be planning on playing Ben Roethlisberger this coming Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. Even if they don't, they might possibly go with Charlie Batch who has a broken pinky finger on his right hand (which is his throwing hand). There's also the horrible Tommy Maddox and Antwaan Randle El, the college quarterback with the 51 yard pass this past Sunday. All will be decided based on how much practice Roethlisberger does and how he bears up under the practice.

Monday, November 14, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

Some people really irk me, and I have to admit that my biggest source of irkdom is the person who sits next to me in the cube farm where I work. This person insists that fan threw trash on Tommy Maddox's lawn and harrassed his children in school. Granted, part of the problem is that the true story did not get reported to the extent that the rumor was reported. However, if Maddox's wife denies that it happened, and there is no police report, I have to say that it didn't happen. Now maybe Maddox spread that story around at first until he realized that he was caught in a lie, but the fact of the matter is that it did not happen! Well, the person in the cube next to me (boy, I can't stand him) refuses to acknowledge the stories that are out that prove that the fans are innocent of charges. I don't understand someone who is unwilling to accept facts because they heard a rumor and the rumor must be true. What an irritating putz! What do you do about people who are closed minded? The obvious answer is to ignore him, but the fact that this untrue rumor continues to besmirch the reputation of the Steelers fan gets my goat.

Interesting side note on the Hines Ward reception statistics. Although Ward has more receptions than John Stallworth, Stallworth has almost 2,000 more yards from scrimmage, and 63 touchdowns compared to Ward's 42. This is not to lessen Ward's accomplishment because we also have to understand that the Steelers are not necessarily a throwing team, and they do tend to rely more on the running game.

Sunday, November 13, 2005 -- Ninth game of the season

Teams

Browns

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Sunday, November 13, 2005 -- Evening

The Steelers played the Cleveland Browns this evening. We used to have a real rivalry with the Browns, but that pretty much ended when the Browns were moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens. Charlie Batch is starting for the Steelers.
First half: The Browns had the ball first. They had possession for 5:07 and wound up with a touchdown at the end. Score is 6-0, but the Steelers should get the ball now. So far, the Steeler defense is not doing the best job. Batch has been throwing the ball down the field and threw a nice one to Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El. Ward then caught a bobbling ball in the end zone that went under review to see if he really had control over the ball and if he was in bounds. The announcers don't think that the review will change the play on the field, but we shall see. If Ward has three receptions tonight, he will break John Stallworth's record for number of receptions for the team. The touchdown pass was ruled incomplete. We weren't able to capitalize in the redzone, and the team went on the fourth down, and wound up giving the ball back to Cleveland. So we are scoreless and it's 7-0. The Browns have held the Steelers to a scoreless first quarter, and so far, our defense is really having issues in stopping the rush of the Browns. Finally! Batch has gotten the ball down the field, and he handed it off to Jerome Bettis who ran the ball in on the second attempt for a touchdown. The score is now tied. With 3:58 seconds left in the third quarter, Ward made his third reception and passed Stallworth's record. Ward now has 538 receptions which is the new club record. The Steelers are not able to make a touchdown, so they had to settle for a field goal. The score is now 10-7 with the Steelers ahead. The Browns got the ball back and had four plays before Joey Porter intercepted the ball. We now have the ball with less than a minute left in the half, and Charlie Batch is doing a great job with throwing the ball and directing the team. It is a difference between night and day in comparison with Tommy Maddox. Again, we get it down to the end zone. It looked like Ward got the touchdown, but he was put at the one inch line. Batch then did a quarterback sneek and got the touchdown. This was purely a decision made by Batch because there wasn't time to tell anyone what to do. Batch is doing a great job. We also got the extra point, and the Steelers are ahead 17-7. Go Charlie Batch!
Second half: Damn! Charlie Batch broke his hand and won't be back. Well, he might be back in case of emergency like Tommy Maddox sucking, maybe. So Maddox is on the field and hopefully he won't disgrace himself as he did before. I say if anything, bring in Randle El. He can't be worse than Maddox. What a great play! Maddox tossed the ball to Duce Staley who then tossed the ball to Randle El, and then Randle El threw the ball down the field for 51 yards to Ward who made a touchdown. I watched the play over and over. It was really great. Ward was beaming on the sidelines, and I'm sure that Randle El can't be contained! We now lead 24-7. Porter just got another sack. The team is really rallying now. The Browns are starting to make some yardage now, but hopefully that won't continue. Randel El also made a nice play by getting the ball passed to him and made a first down. So now Maddox thought that he could throw the ball because he threw one ball for three yards. Well, he threw an interception! Thank goodness there was a personal foul with a face mask that took the ball out of the hands of the Browns. We all know now that Maddox won't be throwing so the Browns are on to the run. Bettis got creamed. We are now at the point where we are taking a penalty and doing a punt because the coaching staff has no confidence in Maddox. What does Maddox do? He walks off the field with a big, broad smile on his face. As the announcers said, Maddox should not be smiling because he is a total putz on the field. They did mention the story about fans throwing garbage on Maddox's lawn which was a total lie that was perpetrated by Maddox to gain sympathy for himself with the team and the fan base at large. Because Maddox has never admitted that he lied and that the story was totally bogus, I lost all respect for him. And here we still see it being bandied about as if it were truth because the national media picked up on the lie and ran with it. I find Maddox's actions extremely offensive. People hate Maddox because he is incompetent on the field and a liar. The Browns had the ball, and then it looks like they fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Steelers. It looks like it was a completion that was dropped. The Browns challenged the call and it was ruled that the call was right on the field. It is now the fourth quarter. Maddox is back on the field and we are running the ball again. Maddox threw the ball again, and totally overshot the player. Maddox can not throw, so that was a wasted down. We wound up getting a field goal. The Browns aren't able to do much, and we have the ball again. Maddox was finally able to make a completion throw to Ward. The fans applauded because it is about time. Maddox wasn't able to get a touchdown, so we are going for another field goal. Most of the talk during the game has been Maddox's poor quality of play and how the Steelers are probably going to be stuck with him in the future. With 4:23 to go, the Browns blocked the field goal and ran the ball down the field to get a touchdown. The extra point is good, and it is now 27-14. We had a good punt return, and now have the ball with in the 10 yard line and are on the way to another touchdown. Verron Haynes ran the ball in for a touchdown, and we now lead 34-14. With 27 seconds left in the game, the Browns are trying to score. It was caught by Antonio Bryant and the extra point is also good. The score is now 34-21. With only 21 seconds left, we take the knee and the game is over.

Thursday, November 10, 2005 -- Afternoon

On the Steelers front, it seems that James Farrior is hoping to be back on the field this coming weekend, and Ben Roethlisberger is hoping to be back by the Nov. 20 game.

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 -- Morning

Charlie Batch will be the starter this coming weekend against the Cleveland Browns who suck. I'm not so worried about Batch not giving a stellar performance because he did what was needed. He didn't lose the game.

Sunday, November 6, 2005 -- Eighth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Packers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Brett Favre -- for being a great player even when he loses

The Steelers are playing the Green Bay Packers this afternoon. Even though I still need to lose the few pounds that I gained during my foot surgery this summer, I'm planning an eating fest. That's how it should be sometimes. Eat, drink, and be merry!
First half: Charlie Batch is starting the game, and has already gotten the Steelers into the red zone in the first three minutes of the game. He dropped the ball at one point, but recovered it himself. The only thing we were able to do is to get three points from a field goal. Green Bay had the ball, but ReShard Lee fumbled, and it was recovered by Troy Polamalu. Again we got it into the red zone, but couldn't do better than another field goal. Score is now 6-0. The Packers put up an fight to get some points and wound up with a field goal. Score is now 6-3. One minute is left in the first quarter. The first quarter ended with a near fumble by the Steelers, which only became worse in the second quarter when Batch threw an interception. Thank goodness the Packers suck! We just had a fumble by the Packers that Polamalu picked up. He ran it for 77 yards and got a touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Steelers lead 13-3. Things are not going wel for either team, and we haven't been making any scores. With 30 seconds left in the half, the Packers missed a field goal attempt from the 30 yard line.
Second half: The Packers had the ball for a total of 25 minutes in the second and third quarters, and had a seven and a half minute drive that resulted in a touchdown. The score is now 13-10. We really do miss Ben Roethlisberger, and it's obvious at times like this. charlie Batch just screwed up a snap and go sacked. Now they are trying a field goal from the 50 yard line, and it was blocked. The score is still 13-10. I admit that before the season started, I thought Roethlisberger was going to suck this season, but I was wrong. There, I admitted it. The guy really seems to know how to get things going in a game, and he's a real trooper he plays hurt. I think that the fans are noticing it more just as I am when Roethlisberger is not playing. Yeah, he may not be the best in the pre-season, but Roethlisberger knows how to put it together when it counts. Great news! Eight minutes left in the game, and the Steelers have intercepted the ball. We have the ball down to our 10 yard line. Hopefully we can get this in for a touchdown just to make things a bit more secure. Duce Staley was playing in this game, and he just ran the ball in for a touchdown from the three yard line. He got me abit irritated because he did a slow little prance at the two yard line. I hate stuff like that because that's when you get tackled by your opponent. Anyway, now the score is 20-10. A few plays later and there we are punting again, and the Packers almost brought it all the way back. They are now 35 yards from a touchdown. There are less than three minutes left in the game. Fortunately, the Packers were able to get a first down, and we have the ball again with two minutes left in the game. The Steelers are now taking the knee and wearing down the clock. We won the game, 20-10.

Thursday, November 3, 2005 -- Afternoon

Ben Roethlisberger had arthroscopic knee surgery today, and should be out for the next week to two weeks. That means that Charlie Batch will be starting until Roethlisberger comes back.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that Ben Roethlisberger was hurt in yesterday's game. So far, the official word is that it is a posterior capsule strain in the right knee. They are doing an MRI, and there should be more information later along with the time frame that he might be out.

Tuesday, November 1, 2005 -- Early Morning

I missed the ending of a close game last night. The Steelers managed to pull out a win last night. The final score was 20-19 which is alot closer that anyone had expected. The question is what does this mean. One thing that I noted is that the Steelers weren't playing very well last night. The defense was letting the ball move down the field, and Ben Roethlisberger didn't seem to be playing at his best. It may be that Roethlisberger was playing hurt, but I think that Bill Cowher was hesitant to put someone else in after the Tommy Maddox debacle. Heath Miller did a great job in the game, and is a bright spot for the future.

Monday, October 31, 2005 -- Seventh game of the season

Teams

Ravens

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Heath Miller
First half
The Steelers have a Monday night football game this evening. I'm hoping that I can stay awake for the entire game because I am feeling a cold come on. The Steelers got the ball first and ate up almost nine minutes on plays that resulted in a touchdown. Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass to Heath Miller. They lead now 7-0. The announcers are talking about how we should all worry about Roethlisberger's injury status because he had some strong hits. The only response that I have is that Roethlisberger is a tough boy, and I'm sure that he will be fine. Right now, he is in the locker room, but I'm sure that he's just getting some wrapping. our defense is not really doing as well as I would like, and the Baltimore Ravens came back to tie things up in the last two minutes of the first period. The score is now 7-7. Roethlisberger is back on the field and it looks as if his right knee has been taped. Originally a few weeks ago, Roethlisberger had hurt his left knee, so the right knee is something new. With the start of the second period, the Steelers aren't being as dominant as we all thought considering how poorly the Ravens have been doing this season. The offense is having trouble getting the ball off, and Roethlisberger has been sacked a few times. He punted the ball off (he's a multi-tasker), and Cedrick Wilson caught the ball on the one yard line, so that's where the Ravens got the ball. Jamal Lewis fumbled the ball, and we recovered it. We weren't able to get a touchdown even though we were ten yards out at first. Roethlisberger got sacked, and we had to settle for a 41 yard field goal attempt. Roethlisberger got intercepted at 9:19, and the Ravens have the ball. Fortunately, they aren't able to get a touchdown and have to settle for a field goal. the score is tied: 10-10. This is really sucking! We just got the ball and fumbled! The Ravens have the ball again. We really aren't doing too well in this half. It's surprising because I don't think anyone was anticipating this. Thank goodness, the Ravens went for a field goal and missed. Great play! Roethlisberger threw the ball to Hines Ward. The ball bounced up into the air off of Ward, and he tracked it and came down with it to only get a really hard hit. But Ward kept hold of the ball. It was a great play. There are 2:26 left in the half. Roethlisberger is having a problem with throwing the ball, and really doesn't seem to be making his passes. The Ravens have the ball and are trying to get the ball down the field so they can get another score before the end of the half and pull ahead of the Steelers. The Steelers are doing what they can to stop them. Right now, it is fourth down and only five seconds. Pittsburgh did a stupid thing and took a time out with only five second left. The Ravens didn't have a time out, and couldn't spike because they were at fourth down. Makes you wonder if someone on the Steelers side is pro-Raven. Fortunately nothing came of it all, and the score is tied as we go to half time.

Second half
The second half started with an interception by the Steelers. Chris Hope intercepted the ball, but got his ankle caught by one of the Ravens, so he threw a lateral pass to Ike Taylor. It was beautiful. The Ravens are challenging that Hope was down by contact. The Ravens won the challenge and said that Hope was done by contact. Roethlisberger moved the ball down the field and Miller scored again. The score is now 17-10. The Ravens got the ball back, and took over eight minutes to get a field goal. The score is now 17-13 in the fourth quarter. The Ravens got the ball again and scored another field goal. The game is close now 17-16. The Steelers are definitely not playing very well. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling very well right now, so I think I'm going to bed, and will catch up on the last few minutes of the game tomorrow.

Monday, October 31, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers are playing tonight against the Baltimore Ravens. It should be a good game for us because Baltimore has not been playing well of late. There is a great rivalry with the team, so it should be entertaining to watch. It's going to be hard to come into work tomorrow because the game is going to start at 9 pm, and will run until after midnight. It seems that 9% of employees wind up calling off sick after sporting events that happen the previous evening. It's perfectly understandable because you want to enjoy yourself, and getting up for work the next morning just puts a crimp in the fun.

Monday, October 24, 2005 -- Evening

The sports reporters on the Showdown also brought up the story about Tommy Maddox and the trashing of his lawn. The thing that is disturbing about this story is that Maddox and his agent have spread the rumor that folks threw things on Maddox's lawn, even though Maddox's wife denies it. I think that in this case, Maddox has really tried to generate sympathy for himself, and what I don't understand is that obviously the story was either fabricated or exaggerated, and Maddox is doing nothing to clear up the story. He is just going to let the story put a black eye on the Pittsburgh fan because his fragile little ego was hurt by the booing of his subpar performance.

Sunday, October 23, 2005 -- Sixth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Bengals

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Heath Miller

Another Steelers game this afternoon. Today we are playing the Cincinnati Bengals.
First half of the game: The Bengals seem to be controlling the ball alot. Chad Johnson almost made a touchdown for the Bengals, but he was out of bounds. Then the Bengals weren't able to convert on a touchdown afterwards, and missed a field goal attempt. We had the ball for a short period of time before it went back to the Bengals. The Bengals are making another scoring drive attempt, but it seems that they have had the ball for the majority of time so far in the first period. At the beginning of the season (on Sept. 5), my prediction was that Cincinnati would be leading the division, and so far they are. The Bengals had the ball for 10:50 with 23 plays, and the Steelers for 1:33 with three plays in the first period. The Bengals are having trouble making touchdowns when they are in their red zone. They did just score a field goal, and the Steelers now have the ball. For some reason, I'm not seeing Jerome Bettis playing. Ben Roethlisberger was just sacked, but fortunately the defense was offside, so we got the first down. The Bengals really seem to have the answer to our offense, but at least our defense has been keeping the Bengals out of the end zone even though they haven't been cutting down the amount of time the Bengals have the ball. Finally, they brought Bettis into the game, and he's been running the ball down the field, and has the team just yards from the end zone. That's what Bettis is good for. Roethlisberger was able to toss the ball in to Heath Miller. Everyone thought it was going to be Bettis running the ball in. The Steelers are now ahead 7-3. The Bengals have had to punt for the first time in the game at 10:06 in the second quarter. For some reason, Bill Cowher seems to want to give the ball to Willie Parker instead of Bettis. The thing is that Parker had two good games, but lately he hasn't been going anywhere. Give the ball to Bettis, and he can plow through folks and it takes a few people to bring him down. Roethlisberger just got sacked and that removed all the gain that Bettis just made on third down. Another comment that the announcers are making is that Roethlisberger is the only quarterback who hasn't been intercepted yet, and he was almost picked of a couple of times. The defense of both teams are doing a great job, and we have to punt off again. Two minutes left in the game, and the Bengals are trying to score. The Bengals can't make a touchdown, but they do get a field goal. The score with 28 seconds left in the half is 7-6 with the Steelers ahead one point. The half ends as Roethlisberger takes the knee. Score is 7-6.

Second half of the game: What excitment! Roethlisberger's first play wound up in an interception. Then it looked like the Bengals fumbled and the Steelers recovered, but it doesn't appear that the officials are calling it that wa. So the Bengals have the ball at the 49 yard line. We got it right back though. chris Hope intercepted the ball back, and ran the ball down to the 15 yard line. The Steelers weren't able to get a touchdown, and we had to settle for a field goal. The score is now 10-6. The Steelers got another fumble recovery and we have the ball again. Parker managed to break out, and ran the ball in for a touchdown. The score is now 17-6. Roethlisberger managed to evade a tackle, and threw the ball down the field. Hines Ward leaped up to catch it, and came down and dropped it and hurt his hip. It was quite a play, and it's so sad that Ward dropped the ball as he was coming down, but it's probably because he hit the ground so hard. There was a penalty on the play for the defense being too rough on Ward. It seems that the injury was just minor because he came back into the game to make a play that brings the team at the 4 yard line. Ward even managed to make a touchdown catch, and did an Irish jig to celebrate. I think that means that the injury to the hip just a few minutes earlier was nothing. The score is now 24-6. Fourth quarter is now starting. For a comparison of position, in the first half, the Steelers only had the ball 13:31 minutes while the Bengals had it for 16:29 minutes. So far in the second quarter, the Steelers have had the ball 14:36 while the Bengals had it for 6:25. The Bengals aren't putting up much of a fight, and the Steelers with 5 minutes left in the game got another field goal. The score is 27-6. Right now, we have the ball, and we're just running down the clock. With 2 minutes on the clock, Carson Palmer ran the ball in for a touchdown. The score is now 27-13.

Friday, October 21, 2005 -- Late Evening

What is not getting alot of press, but is being talked about on some of the local sports shows is the fact that the Tommy Maddox may not have experienced the harrassment that has been making the rounds of the national media. It appears that it may have been a fabrication. The question is who was the originator of the fabrication? Right now, Maddox and his wife are denying the stories, and the agent commented yesterday that he was unaware of such stories. It does make you wonder if the stories were fabricated to generate sympathy for Maddox since he has been getting so much flack for his performance last Sunday. I suspect that it comes from the Maddox camp, and that now the individual regrets it.

Friday, October 21, 2005 -- Morning

Tommy Maddox has been telling others that he is getting harrassed by fans over his loss in last Sunday's game. Supposedly, people are throwing things on his lawn and harrassing his kids as they go to school. However, last night on the sports call in show, the sports announcers were saying that Maddox's wife and agent did not know about the issues when questioned by reporters. Actually when questioned, Maddox's agent said that he was caught offguard. So I'm not sure what the real story is here, and if Maddox is just trying to drum up sympathy. If the stories are true, it's very sad that fans would go to such low levels as to harass someone's family. It's perfectly fine to boo Maddox at the stadium, but another to terrorize his family. Of course, if the stories aren't true, shame on Maddox!

Wednesday, October 19, 2005 -- Evening

There's plenty of news in Steelers country. First is that Jerome Bettis was not happy with the way that the game progressed on Sunday. As he was saying on a local news show today, the role that Bettis is supposed to play is to come into the game during the clutch times and to get the ball either into the endzone or into field goal range. That's what he is being paid to do. So he was very disappointed when he was called on in the second half or the overtime. Of course, Bill Cowher is taking responsibility for all the mistakes of the game. One does wonder what he was thinking though as the game was playing out. Yes, anyone can make mistakes, but this whole game was a series of endless mistakes. Hopefully this weekend's game will be better, but there are already several players who might not play in it like Cedrick Wilson, Antwaan Randle El, and Joey Porter.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005 -- Morning

Ben Roethlisberger will be starting this coming Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. What's funny is that the Bengals refer to this week as Steeler week. The team used to suck before this year, and the big game in town was always when the Steelers came to town. That has to have a psychological effect on the team, and we are hoping that the Steelers will win. Cincinnati has been good this year, so it will be a difficult matchup.

Monday, October 17, 2005 -- Morning

It seems that Tommy Maddox doesn't understand why he was being booed by Steelers fans yesterday. As was evident from Maddox's post game interview yesterday, he is totally clueless about what happened. Maddox blames the wind for all his problems. It must have been the wind that held him up and prevented him from falling on the ball that he fumbled in overtime. Or maybe he just didn't want to get grass stains on his uniform. Maddox also claimed that he had a great view of the field and all that was going on. So that must mean that he was purposefully throwing consistently into double and triple coverage. Yeah right! As Maddox said, for all that he has done for this city, he just didn't deserve to be booed. So what has he done for the city? His quarterback rating since the 2002 season has been consistenly below 100. In 2002 it was 85.2, 2003 75.3, 2004 58.3, and 2005 30.1. Check out Maddox's complete stats. I think that he should be glad that he was saved from being an insurance salesman, and should seriously consider returning to it. After all, the consensus is that Maddow handed the Jaguars the game yesterday with a bow wrapped around it.

Sunday, October 16, 2005 -- Fifth game of the season

Teams

Jaguars

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Overtime

Final

Daily Bongo Worst Player of the Game: Tommy Maddox

First half of the game: The Steelers are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars this afternoon. Tommy Maddox is starting for the Steelers. Maddox sucks. In the first four plays, Maddox threw an interception. Maddox is not very good at seeing what is going on. The play before the interception, Maddox was almost sacked as he just stood there waiting for the guys to come at him. Maddox couldn't scamper if someone gave him an electrical jolt and set his shoes on fire. This was the first interception of the season for the Steelers. with 2:30 left in the first quarter, the Jaguars decided to go for the fourth down, and wound up turning over the ball to the Steelers because they couldn't make the yardage. Jaguars were on the 23 yard line, and could have easily made a field goal. Of course, they may have been worried about the wind, but I would have gone for it. Maddox just threw another interception! Put in Charlie Batch. Maddox just doesn't have it. What sucks is that on the very next play, the Jaguars run the ball in for a touchdown. Score is now 7-0. Only 20 seconds are left in the first quarter, but Maddox can't seem to connect with any receiver. Fortunately there was passer interference, but Maddox didn't even throw the ball anywhere near the intended receiver, Antwaan Randle El. We are now starting the second quarter. Go Heath Miller. Maddox managed to finally throw the ball properly. Miller caught it and barreled through some defensive guys to make a touchdown. The score is now tied seconds into the second quarter. Randle El is the man! He just caught the punt around the 20 yard line, and ran it in for a touchdown! With one minute and 10 seconds in the second quarter, we have scored 14 points! Maddox is really having problems throwing the ball. He still is having alot of trouble connecting with his receivers. The only thing that he seems good at is a short pass. Maddox just did another stupid move. He threw a ball to Randle El when Randle El was in quadruple coverage. Yep, four guys on Randle El, and Maddox throws it right into the muck, and fortunately, just missed having yet another interception. Someone really needs to take Maddox off the field and send him back to selling insurance. Hopefully he is better at than he is at football. Even the announcers are commenting on how everyone is wondering what Maddox is looking at as he threw the ball to no one again. With just 1:43 left in the half, the Jaguars just blocked a punt and have the ball at the 16 yard line. So far the Steelers are blocking the Jaguars so they can't get into the endzone. The Jaguars are at fourth down with three seconds left. Will they go for it or take a field goal? They go for it. Offense had a false start. They are now moved from the 1/2 yard line to the 5 1/2 yard line. So they are going for the field goal. They barely make it through. Score at the half is Steelers 14, Jaguars 10.

Second half of the game: The Jaguars just appeared to make a touchdown pass, but Bill Cowher is challenging the call because he seems to think that the receiver might not have had possession of the ball while in the end zone. From looking at the replays, it looked good to me. The Steelers are charged with a time out, and the Jaguars now pull ahead. The score is Jaguars 17, Steelers 10. The Steelers are really not gelling with anything on the offensive side. Maddox has thrown 17 times and only had 5 completions. That's nothing to brag about. Another problem has been that Troy Polamalu has been called on a few personal fouls in the third quarter for throwing a receiver to the grounds when they were out of bounds and for hitting Byron Leftwich. Fortunately, the only thing that keeps on helping us out is that the Jaguars keep on making third down penalities. Rignt now, we are on the 20 yard line and hoping to get another touchdown. We couldn't do anything to convert, and had to settle for a field goal. The game is now tied. The fourth quarter is moving quickly, and the Steelers are still having issues. Maddox is still throwing incompletions, and just got sacked. Jeff Reed tried a 46 yard field goal attempt, and missed. He usuallyl doens't, but this time it was wide. You can't blame Reed too much because it has been very windy here in Pittsburgh today. The score is still tied with 3:22. Leftwich just got sacked and the ball will be going to the Steelers. There are two minutes left in the game. The Jaguars are slowing moving down the front and are really getting into field goal range with 30 seconds left. Ike Taylor just managed to stop a sure touchdown by knocking the ball from a receiver. On the second throw, the Steelers got an interception in the endzone for a touchback. The guy who got the interception is Bryant McFadden. Maddox took the knee and we are going into overtime. We just won the coin toss and will go first in the sudden death overtime.

Overtime: Why the heck did they give the ball to Tommy Maddox? He fumbled the ball, and didn't fall on it. No! As the announcer just said, Maddox put the ball on the ground and said, "here take it", and the Jaguars did. The Steelers had the ball in field goal range off of punt return, and then made the stupid mistake of giving the ball to Maddox. As my boyfriend said, he just wants to break Maddox's arm so he can give the ball to someone other than Maddox. My gosh, what a crap player Maddox is? So then the Jaguars can't do anything, and crap Maddox gets the ball again, throws into triple coverage, and the Jaguars run the ball in for a touchdown. As the announcers said, Maddox had the worst day that a quarterback could have. So do we think now that Cowher is ruing the fact that he ever put Maddox on the field? Maddox stunk up the field so bad that the only thing I can say is that this loss is totally Maddox's fault, and he should be hanging his head in shame and go back to selling insurance. Final score 23-17.

Saturday, October 15, 2005 -- Afternoon

Ben Roethlisberger has returned to practice, but it seems that Tommy Maddox will start the game this coming Sunday. What I think is funny is that Maddox had hurt his calf a couple of weeks ago, and was expected to be out for three to four weeks. But since the opportunity arose to actually play, he miraculously became better and will be able to start. It was amazing to hear last Sunday that he would be out for awhile, and then to hear on Monday, oops, sorry, all better now.

It also seems that Hines Ward might not play this Sunday after injuring his hamstring last week. It seems that he hasn't been practicing this week. If Ward misses the game, it will be the first time that he missed a game since joining the Steelers in 1998. Yep, he has been playing 122 games straight, and has started in 89 consecutive games. That is impressive for a football player.

Friday, October 14, 2005 -- Afternoon

No news on the Steelers front on who will be starting as quarterback on Sunday. At this point, it is a game time decision. Meanwhile Ben Roethlisberger has been jogging and doing everything in his power to be the person who starts the game. The official word is that Bill Cowher has not made a decision and will not until Sunday.

Thursday, October 13, 2005 -- Early Evening

Ben Roethlisberger was off his crutches yesterday and is hoping to practice some throws today. It seems that Roethlisberger is like the Timex watch from the old commercials that would take a licking and keep on ticking. He does seem to have the ability to rebound quickly.

Hines Ward was mayor of Washington, Pa. today. He received the key to the city at 5 pm. Ward says that he does not harbor any future political asperations.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005 -- Afternoon

Something of interest to Pittsburgh Panthers fans is that Rod Rutherford, who played for Pitt a couple of seasons ago, signed as up for the Steelers practice squad. Rutherford really hasn't made it in the NFL.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that Ben Roethlisberger may not have a serious knee problem after all. The MRI confirmed the doctor's original diagnosis that the knee was hyperextended (meaning bent the wrong way) and bruised. In fact, Roethlisberger may even play this coming week. The way it stands right now is that it will be a matter of wait and see. If Roethlisberger has a good week, he will play.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005 -- Morning

So far, the initial report on Ben Roethlisberger's injury is that the knee was hyperextended. Ben isn't too concerned because he thinks that he is a tough guy and will be fine. He's on his way back to Pittsburgh and will have an MRI of the knee to determine the full extent of the damage. This is, in a way, all good news for Charlie Batch. Of course, he doesn't want his teammates to be injured, but now Batch will have to take the lead role in next week's game. Tommy Maddox is also out for the next three to four weeks with an injured calf muscle. It's amazing how quickly things change. There was a time when folks were seeing Batch as totally expendable because he was the third string guy. How likely was it to have both quarterbacks injured? Not only that, but in a pitch we could use one of our slash players, like Antwaan Randle El. Fortunately for the Steelers, they kept Batch.

Sunday, October 10, 2005 -- Fourth game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Chargers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Ben Roethlisberger

First half of the Steeler game: We are playing the San Diego Chargers. I was paying more attention to the Pens game because at 9:28 it was headed to overtime. Ben Roethlisberger just fumbled the ball as we switched back to the Steelers game. There are only seconds left in the first quarter. Now we are on to the second quarter. Jerome Bettis is playing, and has actually been out for a few plays. Hines Ward just made a great play. He caught the ball, went down, got up, kept on running, and barreled his way through some players to the endzone for a touchdown. The Chargers are challenging the play and saying that Ward was down by contact. From looking at the replays, it did not look like Ward was touched though. We were robbed! The officials said that Ward was touched on the foot and he was not. So the touchdown was removed. We have the ball on the 35 yard line. By a series of moves, they got it to the seven yard line, the blitz was on, and Roethlisberger ran it in for a touchdown. The extra point is good. Score is 7-0. Nothing much was going on until James Harrison intercepted the ball. We have the ball around the 50 yard line. Then the Chargers got a penalty for a personal foul for unnecessary roughness after the play. Bettis brought the ball in for a touchdown from a few yards out. The score is now 14-0. Then Chris Hope grabbed a player by the shoulder pads and the facemask, and got a huge penalty. The Chargers get the ball at the 11 yard line. The Chargers get a touchdown. The score is now 14-7 and there is only 34 seconds left in the half.

Second half of the Steeler game: Roethlisberger just got sacked and they had to punt, but during the punt return, the receiver let the ball hit him, and Chidi Iwumoma came up with the ball. I never heard of Iwumoma before. There was a flag on the play. The officials says that the receiver was not given a fair opportunity to catch the ball. It seems that we are really getting sucker punched by the officials in this game. The Chargers brought the ball down the field and scored a field goal. Score is now 14-10. The Steelers are starting to lose their edge. With less than four minutes in the third quarter, the Chargers just made another field goal. The score is now 14-13. Roethlisberger just got sacked on a third down and that just took them out of field goal range and the Steelers had to punt. They have not been doing well since the second quarter. The third is now over and 15 minutes of the game are left. The Chargers got within field goal range again, and pulled ahead 14-16. As an answer, Hines Ward got a reception and got us to the 26 yard line. Then he got another reception for another first down. The Steelers are on the 16 yard line. Another throw to Heath Miller for a touchdown. Score is now 21-16. That was a very quick answer to the Chargers taking the lead! Five minutes left in the game and the Chargers on the 2 yard line with a first down. So they have a few chances to score a touchdown. LeDainian Tomlinson has been having a wonderful night, and just scored a touchdown. The Chargers chose to go for a two point conversion and failed so the score is now 21-22. The Steelers still have a chance. We were going down the field, and we got to the 29 yard line when Roethlisberger was hit in the knee by one of the defensive guys helmets. It looked like Roethlisberger's knee went the wrong way. He was lying on the ground, writhing around, but is now up, and appears to be walking off the field. So maybe it isn't as bad as it looks. Charlie Batch is now in for Roethlisberger. Bettis just got us a first down. We are on the 27 yard line, and the Chargers have had to take their time out. The thought is that they will try to run the ball down the field abit and then try for the field goal. Ten seconds remain in the game and we are on the 22 yard line. The Steelers have taken a time out. It was perfect, and Jeff Reed made the field goal. The score is 24-22. The chargers have 6 seconds to score. They aren't able to do anything though, and the game ends with the Steelers winning and Roethlisberger being taken off the field on a cart.

Thursday, October 6, 2005 -- Afternoon

Some folks here think Hines Ward is benefiting from Plaxico Burress not being in Pittsburgh. The most obvious benefit is that Ward can make more money, and the other is that he is going to get the ball more. Right now, he is benefiting by having more touchdowns (four in the past three games). Personally, I think that he is also going to have the negative of more doubleteaming. I'm just waiting for the Steelers to face tougher competition, and to see the whole season's stats.

Thursday, September 29, 2005 -- Late Evening

After having the best game of his career, Clark Haggins is going to be out for five weeks after surgery on his groin. It seemed that Haggans injured himself during Sunday's game, but he continued to play.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005 -- Afternoon

I thought that Bill Belichick was rude when he told the Steelers doctor to get lost. Well, it seems that others agree with me. The president of the pro football athletic trainers said that it was not the usual sort of thing that would happen. The home team doctors usually offer as much assistance as possible. I wonder if Belichick was having a bad day.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005 -- Afternoon

Don't you just wish sometimes that you can turn the clock back? I'm sure that the Steelers would love to do that. It appears that the press box operator made a mistake with the clock that resulted in the game being 52 seconds longer than it should have been. Now the game winning field goal was scored in the last few seconds on the clock. IF the time had been correct, the game would have gone into overtime, and who knows what would have happened? Cowher is being diplomatic and says that it would not have made a difference and that New England won fair and square. You just have to wonder. Granted there is nothing that can be done now, but the mistake should have been caught and fixed at the time.

The other Steeler story deals with Bill Belichick turning down help from the Steelers' doctor. When Matt Light was injured, with what turned out to be a broken leg, the Steeler doctor ran out to help him, and was told to get lost. John Norwig, the Steeler doctor thought it was funny because he was just going out to help someone in need. I guess that Belichick just thought that Norwig was going to turn the screws on Light to get team secrets.

Monday, September 26, 2005 -- Afternoon

I do have some additional notes about the Steelers loss yesterday. The one comment that I didn't like was made by Hines Ward in explaining how New England won. His comment was "They're the Patriots. That's why they're champions." The reason that I don't like it is that in a way it excuses bad performance on the team's part because they were just playing a better opponent. At the NFL level though, I think that the players should be more level. Besides, the Steelers had many opportunities that they just blew.

All is forgiven with Antwaan Randle El. Even Cowher told him that he should just let it go. He understood that Randle El was trying to make a play, but that you just can't do that with a team like the Patriots. I would feel really bad if I were Randle El, but you can't let it eat at you. Just realize what you did wrong and move on with life. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum, Clark Haggans had one of the best games of his career.

Sunday, September 25, 2005 -- Third game of the season

Teams

Patriots

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Hines Ward
For making two huge plays that resulted in touchdowns and playing even with a sore hamstring
Daily Bongo Stupid Move of the Game: Antwaan Randle El
For the attempt to make a play yards from the end zone that gave the ball to the Patriots in the second quarter

Sunday, September 25, 2005 -- Evening

Second Half
In the first few plays of the half, New England was still having problems. Brady was sacked, and they were just not moving the ball. Adam Vinatieri missed a 53 yard field goal attempt. That was a quandry for me because I have vinatieri on my fantasy team, but of course want him to do poorly in this game. Roethlisberger is on the field.

The audience found out that the way that Brady communicates to his snapper in noisy places is by tapping him on the butt. The announcers didn't know what the scheme was, but it was probably a pat on the butt, the linesman says something and then off they go. It didn't work for Brady because he was sacked as they were saying it. Then Haggans caused Faulk for the second time in the game to fumble, and it was recovered by the Steelers.

I just realized that I didn't see Staley play. I can't tell if he is suited up and just on the sidelines, but he hasn't made it into the game yet. Reed just scored a 24 yard field goal, so the Steelers are ahead 13-7.

Brady can't seem to get anything going, but fortunately for them, our special teams let them get close to the endzone. Vinatieri wound up capitalizing on it and making a field goal. The score is now Steelers 13-Patriots 10 with seconds left in the third quarter.

Things are not looking good for the Steelers. Corey Dillon just scored a touchdown and the Patriots now have the lead. The score is 17-13 in the Patriots favor.

Roethlisberger was under attack in the end zone, but he managed to get a pass off to Verron Haynes for a first down. In the very next player, Roethlisberger got sacked. The Steelers just seem sort of out of it. Duce Staley is playing now. The ball wasn't passed to him, but he was on the field.

The Patriots seem to have something going for them that the Steelers are lacking. The Patriots have suffered some injuries in the game, and yet are still plugging away. Meanwhile the Steelers just seem to be out there on the field doing nothing much of anything. What is sad about it is that the Steelers had the momentum in the first half, and it just seems to be totally gone. There is less than four minutes left in the game. vinatieri just scored another field goal for the Patriots, and the score is now 20-13.

Ricardo Colclough, from Special Teams, got the ball to the 50 yard line. A pass to Cedrick Wilson has us to the 40 yard line. We have to score a touchdown here to stay in the game. Ward got another first down just as we reach the 2 minute warning. Ward got his leg wrapped because he was having hamstring problems. We lost yards with two holding calls, and are at second down and 11. Now it is third down and 11 because Randle El wasn't able to hold onto the ball. This is not looking good because we have to score a touchdown to tie. On the third down, Roethlisberger was tackled as he tried to run with the ball. Now the question is what will we do with the fourth and 11. We have a timeout now, and the guys on the Steeler sideline look down. Pass interference called on the Patriots and it is a 23 yard penalty and a first down. We are on the five yard line, and Roethlisberger just threw a nice pass to Hines Ward who scored the touchdown, the extra point is good, and the game is now tied! There is still 1:21 left in the game. This is nerve wracking.

The defense seems to be having problems, and it really sort of sucks because we are so close. There have been plenty of opportunities though that the Steelers had but didn't take advantage of. We should have had a touchdown with the Randle El mistake that caused a turnover. Vinatari just scored a 43 yard field goal with one minute left in the game. New England wins and Roethlisberger has his loss in the regular season. He's 15-1. This was really disappointing. Final score is 23-20.

Sunday, September 25, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

First Half
The Steelers game has just started. The Steelers won the coin toss and elected to receive first. We didn't have the ball for very long before we had to punt. The New England Patriots have the ball and are in the red zone with their first sets of moves. The Steeler defense doesn't seem to be stopping or blitzing Tom Brady, and Corey Dillon just ran the ball in for a touchdown. The Patriots have scored first. 0-7.

Not to worry though! Ben Roethlisberger is hell bent to prove me a bad predictor and I love it. He threw a pass to Hines Ward who ran the ball in for an 85 yard touchdown, and the game is now tied. 7-7. The fans are psyched now. I have to admit that I didn't think much of Roethlisberger based on his pre-season, and I'm all for putting someone in his place, but Roethlisberger is proving me wrong. He has been consistently good in the regular season, and really seems to want to work. So he may be a jerk in real life, but he is a good player.

New England has the ball, and James Farrior just sacked Brady. Bad news in the first quarter with 7:32 left to play. Rodney Harrison was badly injured on the field, They had to bring out the cart to take him off the field, and it looks like he really hurt his left leg somehow. Earlier in the week, Harrison was trash talking the Pittsburgh fans in a way by saying that all they could do is make noise. As Harrison said: ``It's just fans yelling. I don't care how loud it is. It's just fans, It's people sitting on their butts, standing up, yelling and screaming. That's all it is. They can't do anything. They can't throw, they can't catch. All they can do is yell, scream, swear at you, maybe give you the finger, and those type of things. But they can't do anything. They're fans, sitting down, drinking beer, eating popcorn and pizza, and you respect that."

Roethlisberger did something unusual. He was underattack, and ran with the ball, and took a tackle. Usually he, and other quarterbacks, slide to avoid the hit, but he plowed right in. I was surprised. Of course, you don't want your quarterback taking risks like that because you don't want him to be injured.

The Steelers weren't able to convert on their next move, but we did manage to get it within field goal range. We now lead 10-7.

In the second quarter, New England had the ball but Clark Haggans caused Kevin Faulk to fumble. Larry Foote recovered and we are on the 35 yard line. Roethlisberger threw a long pass to Antwaan Randle El who was running, and almost tackled. Randle El, threw the ball to Ward, and the ball was fumbled and New England recovered it. Boy, what a stupid move on Randle El's part.

New England had the ball, couldn't do anything and had to punt. We tried to make some moves, but then Roethlisberger was trying to throw to Randle El and the ball was intercepted with 7:23 on the clock. The Steelers challenged it, and it is being reviewed now. It looks like it is going to be ruled an incompletion, and it was. The Steelers are not charged with an interception. It was fourth down though, and we just basically wound up throwing the ball away. New England wasn't able to do anything and had to punt. It doesn't seem that either team really has things going right. I am really surprised because New England is really seeming lackluster this season. Right now, they are 1-1 for the season.

Roethlisberger was injured with 2:37 left in the first half. He was rolling on the ground and it is not clear right now what the issue is, and there isn't an instant replay on the tv. one guy was holding onto him and Roethlisberger threw the ball, and the guy still dragged him down and fell on him. Jeff Reed tried a 47 yard field goal, and it was good, but there were whistles before the snap. We had a false start, and it is now a five yard penalty, and it is a 50 yard attempt. The second attempt was blocked though, and we make no score. It is still 10-7. Roethlisberger hurt his left shoulder, and it's not known yet if he will come back into the game.

Chris Hope intercepted the ball within yards of the endzone. Rothlisberger is on the field, but he took a knee, and the teams are going to the locker room.

Friday, September 23, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that there is a chance that Duce Staley might play in this Sunday's game against the New England Patriots. It seems that Staley has been practicing with the team for the past couple of weeks and Bill Cowher thinks that Staley might be able to play a role in the game. I'm thinking that Staley won't be a starter, but will see some action in the game. We'll have to see how he does. I'm not a big fan of Staley's because to me it seems that he has always had some sort of physical issue over the past two years. What gets to me is that for all the time we have had him, he hasn't really produced what we had hoped for.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that Ben Roethlisberger hurt his back with a hit that he received in Sunday's game. That didn't prevent him from soldiering on. Roethlisberger should be proud of his 15-0 record in regular season games. The first loss will be hard, but hopefully, he will bounce back with another win. He is impressing me because I have to admit that I was writing him off after his pre-season performance. It just goes to show that you shouldn't judge someone too much on their performance when it really doesn't count.

Monday, September 19, 2005 -- Afternoon

The official word from Bill Cowher is that Willie Parker will be starting for the Steelers next week. This past game was Parker's third consecutive game where he managed to get over 100 yards so for now, he is the man. Another high note from the game yesterday was Troy Polamalu, the Daily Bongo player of the game yesterday. He has been getting alot of kudos for his three sacks yesterday. It appears that three sacks set an NFL record for the most sacks in a game by a safety. Polamalu well deserves all the recognition that he is getting because he is a play maker who can always be counted on to make something happen in the game. Also, he is just a nice person off the field. Hines Ward also had a notable game with six catches and two touchdowns. All in all, there is alot to be happy about with yesterday's game.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 -- Second game of the season

Teams

Steelers

Texans

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Offense: Ben Roethlisberger Defense: Troy Polamalu
Roethlisberger was selected for his 14/21 passes for 254 yards and 2 touchdowns. Polamalu for his 6 tackles and 3 sacks.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

Second Half
The Texans got the ball first in this half, and they actually managed to make a play, and got short pass that gave them a long gain. Polamalu just sacked Carr with abit over 12 minutes left in the third quarter. Polamalu is a great player. I love him because he does interceptions, sacks, and just general play making. You have to love a guy like that. He is one of the folks on my fantasy team, and even if he doesn't score points, I would keep him because he is entertaining. Carr just missed a tackle and ran for 19 yards to make first down. Houston is doig a good job of moving the ball down the field and have gotten down to their own 10 yard line. It looks like they might actually get a score of some sort. With a short pass, the Texans were finally able to score on their first drive of the half. They got the extra point and the game is now 20-7.

The temperature on the field is now 108 degrees, down from near 120 degrees at kickoff. Boy, this was quite a play. Roethlisberger had the ball on a third down with 5 yards to go. Roethlisberger was under siege, but he kept on running and evading, and made a 40 yard completion to Cedrick Wilson. It was something else. We got the ball down close to the end zone and Parker ran it in for a touchdown! Reed made the extra point, and the score is now 27-7.

It seems that there have been moments during this second half were the Steeler defense just falls apart. With around 11 minutes left in the game, the Texans were able to throw the ball and get a first down when they were at 2nd down and 24. It's not that the defense is doing poorly, it just seems that there are times when things just aren't meshing. It's probably because of the heat on the field. It was all okay because Polamalu sacked Carr yet again for his third sack of the day. It's amazing to see svelte Polamalu fling Carr around like a baby. The guy is amazing.

The game feels like it is winding down even though there are 7:54 minutes left to play. We were just going to punt, but the Texans roughed our kicker, so we have the ball again for a few more minutes. Even the announcers seem to be talking about personal stories of the people on the team and showing folks on the sidelines.

Two minute warning. The Steelers have the ball. It looks like another win. One of the local sportscasters was claiming that the Steelers would lose today which seemed like a stupid choice to me because the Texans aren't a good team. Roethlisberger is still playing which is surprising considering the fact that he had the bone bruise in his left knee earlier. There is 1:10 left in the game, and we are at 4th and 6 on the 22 yard line. We just ran the ball and didn't make the down, but the game ran out of time. It finished with Carr getting sacked yet again. The feed cut to another game quickly, but it was a sack by James Harrison. Anyway, the game is now, and the Steelers have won.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

First Half
The temperature on the field was nearing 102 degrees. That is going to be a problem for the Steelers because of their black uniforms, but right now, we are lucky because the sidelines for the Steelers is in the shade. We received the first kickoff, and Ben Roethlisberger did play. The first play was a handoff to Willie Parker who got 18 yards on the initial run. The announcers are commenting on the fact that Roethlisberger had a perfect passer rating in last week's game. Nice play just now with Roethlisberger evading a tackle and throwing a ball to Antwaan Randle El who caught it just inside the line. So far with 5 rushes, Parker has 39 yards. He can wiggle through some tight spots. Hines Ward just dropped a pass, and now we are at third down on the twenty yard line, and then Roethlisberger missed another throw. Jeff Reed just made a 37 yard field goal for the first score of the game. Steelers have 3.

Clark Haggans just knocked the ball out of the hands of the Texans quarterback, David Carr, and Joey Porter grabbed the ball. Our ball. Now with the offense on the field, Roethlisberger threw a 16 yard pass to Ward for a touchdown. Jeff Reed made the extra point, and it is Steelers 10, Texans 0 with 8:04 left in the first quarter.

The Steelers have the ball again with 20 seconds left in the first quarter and we are within field goal range. Parker was tackled and we didn't get anywhere, and then a holding offense on our offense put us on the 14 yard line, and so the first quarter ends. The very first play of the second quarter was a touchdown pass to Ward. The Steelers had a false start penalty that moved them back for the extra point, but Jeff Reed was able to come through. Steelers lead 17 to 0. Roethlisberger is 8 for 11 with 135 yards and 2 touchdowns

Troy Polamalu is making life suck for the quarterback, Carr. That's good news for us because Carr is having difficulty getting his act together. We challenged the spot of the ball on a throw that was completed, and lost the challenge so we got charged with a timeout. The Texans are really not doing very well, and so far, they really aren't providing the Steelers with alot of competition. Polamalu just sacked Carr when they are trying to get close enough to get a field goal with 8:20 left in the game. So we get the ball back again. Roethlisberger threw a 54 yard pass to Randle El for a completion. One of the Houston defensemen, Robaire Smith, got injured, and Roethlisberger called over the trainers for him. Parker is not getting alot of yardage at this point. The fans aren't too happy and I can understand why. It must be as hot as hell there because the Texans are trying to affect the Steelers with the heat. Unfortunately, it has to suck for the fans too. Willie Parker just got a first down for us, and we are on the 15 yard line. There are abit over 5 minutes left in the game, and it looks like we are trying to use up some time before making our next score. We couldn't capitalized because of some penalities, but Reed scored another field goal. It's now 20-0.

Carr got sacked just after the 2 minute warning in the game by Ike Taylor. We got the ball and on the first play, Roethlisberger got sacked. He didn't even see the defense guy coming because Roethlisberger was trying to run with the ball. We almost made the down, but it didn't matter because it was the end of the first half.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 -- Late Morning

The Steelers are warming up in Houston right now, and it looks as if Ben Roethlisberger will be playing today. At least he is practicing more with the team than Tommy Maddox is. There are alot of comments about how Roethlisberger's right leg is wrapped but that it's his left leg that was injured. I guess that the thing that the Steelers are trying to attempt to do is to confuse Texans to attack him from the side they think is injured but that in reality isn't.

Friday, September 16, 2005 -- Morning

The big news here in Steelers country is that Ben Roethlisberger has a bruised knee and is questionable for the game this coming Sunday. That means that there is a 50-50 chance that he will be playing. On KDKA they have a segment Monday through Friday at 5:45 pm with a Steeler, and yesterday was Antwaan Randle El's time. The sportscaster asked Randle El if he thought that Bill Cowher would have Roethlisberger play, and Randle El just said, if coach says 50-50, it's 50=50. I thought that was funny. There isn't alot of concern on the players part in having Tommy Maddox play because he has played with them in the pre-season and did well, by the way. Also, Maddox used to be the starting quarterback. The injury to Roethlisberger is one that he suffered in the opening game. Now if you talk to Roethlisberger, he thinks that he will be playing on Sunday, but coaches are notorious for thinking about the whole season, not just one game. So I expect that we will see Maddox starting on Sunday.

Congratulations to Randle El! He and his wife had a baby girl on Saturday and named her Ana Lauren. The baby was seven pounds 15 ounces and is Randle El's third child. I really like Randle El. He has a great personality with a huge bubbly smile that lights his whole face. I love the way his eyes crinkle up when he smiles--he's a whole face smiler and those are my favorite people because you know that they are basically fun and good people. It's especially true if they smile that way alot, which Randle El does.

There's alot of controversy here in Pittsburgh over a former Steeler who died a few months ago. The coroner's office has said that Terry Long died of swelling of the brain that is consistent with the person receiving multiple traumatic events to his head--which is the sort of thing that happens to lots of football players. Since the coroner here is none other than Cyril Wecht, I would be tempted to believe that he's right. The Steelers doctor is disagreeing though and saying that Long didn't have any concussions on the field while playing. The doctor wound up with egg on his face when some notes surfaced about Long getting hit one time on the field and not being able to walk steadily, being light headed and not being able to concentrate and having to sit out for a week. Sounds like a concussion even to me, and I'm not a doctor. I think that the Steelers doctor just doesn't want folks to think that football is dangerous. Come on, any of us would have to admit that the repeated damage that is done to the body has to have some long term effects. Perhaps in Long's case, the blows to the head just brought out an inherient problem that might have remained hidden without the blows.

Thursday, September 15, 2005 -- Afternoon

Duce Staley practiced with the Steelers yesterday, but probably won't be starting this coming Sunday. Bill Cowher has said that he wants to play it safe and use Staley for third down situations when he first comes back from his injury. That means that Willie Parker will be starting on Sunday. Meanwhile Ben Roethlisberger didn't practice, but folks aren't thinking too much about that one. Roethlisberger got banged up abit in the game last week, and the team is just taking procautions with him. His status is listed as probable.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005 -- Late Morning

> The Steelers have re-signed Charlie Batch and have let Nate Washington go. Washington is an interesting story. He is an undrafted player from a small school in Ohio who tried out for the team, made it, and performed decently in the pre-season. If Washington is not signed by another team today, the Steelers will sign him up for their practice squad. I think that will be good for Nate because he really seems like a hard worker, and I wish the best for him.

Bill Cowher has been taking things slowly this year as he did last year. His attitude is to take each game at a time and not look too far down the road. Yesterday at his press conference, reporters tried to get him to comment about playing the Patriots in a few weeks time and Cowher refused. He also wasn't too excited about the win this past weekend. As Cowher said, he knew there were things that the defense and offense needed to work on, and things weren't quite where he wanted them. I can see what he means about the defense because there were some first downs that were made that the defense should have held up. Yes we won, but it might be different if we played a stronger offense. Anything thing that I think folks here in Pittsburgh are getting carried away with is Willie Parker's performance in the first game. One game does not make a champion. Let's see how he does all season before we start calling him the greatest player. Folks are so quick to throw someone up on a pedestal and just as quick in ripping the guy down. Let's take a deep breath and follow Cowher's suggestion to take the games one at a time and slowly build a season.

Monday, September 12, 2005 -- Late Morning

Fans are really excited over the Steelers' win yesterday. The offense did a great job that was totally unexpected based on the performances in the pre-season. The defense looked shaky at first allowing a touchdown, but managed to get their act together and hold the Titans to a big goose egg after that. Everyone, both locally and nationally, have been enthusing over Willie Parker. He got 161 yards rushing which puts Parker at number 12 for the most ever rushing yards in a game by a Steeler. In addition to that he also got another 48 yards from the screen pass. Parker didn't even play the entire game, so goodness knows what he could have done. There was no need to risk injuring him though when we were so far ahead.

Sunday, September 11, 2005 -- First game of the season

Teams

Titans

Steelers

1st quarter

2nd quarter

3rd quarter

4th quarter

Final

Daily Bongo Player of the Game: Willie Parker

Sunday, September 11, 2005 -- Afternoon

Roethlisberger wasn't able to convert so we had to resort to a field goal. Fortunately, Jeff Reed was able to make the score a 44 yard field goal and we now lead by a score of 10-7.

Thank goodness! The Titans weren't able to convert either, and their kicker, Bironas, was not able to score a field goal. For some reason, kickers have trouble making the mark in Heinz Field. Folks claim that it is because there are swirling winds in the field because of the one end being open to give a good view of the point. I have to admit that the field is a gorgeous one, and the view is terrific. It just sucks if you are a kicker.

Shocker! On the first play after the missed kick, Roethlisberger threw a 63 yard pass to Antwaan Randle El who ran it in for a touchdown. Score in the second quarter is now 17-7. Roethlisberger has had two touchdown passes in the game. Well, it just goes to show that pre-season means nothing.

Troy Polamalu just made an interception with 5:40 left in the second quarter. The guy is a real play maker. The interception was in the Titans red zone. The Steelers are really doing well. Willie Parker is also doing well with 10 carries for 48 yards.

Again, we got down within touchdown range, but couldn't convert. Jeff Reed just scored a 27 yard field goal, and we lead 20-7 at halftime.

After the half time, the Steelers came back, and Willie Parker ran in another touchdown. This time it was for 11 yards, and so far for the day, Parker has 100 yards. Jeff Reed made the extra point.

Willie Parker is doing an excellent job this game. He has 161 yards so far this game, and there are still abit over three minutes left in the third quarter. Right now, we are down by six yard line, and close to another touchdown. Verron Haynes just ran the ball in for a touchdown. The score is 34-7. So far, the Steelers offense has scored in one fashion or another every time they had the ball. That's pretty good. This particular run was a total of 80 yards.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger was sitting on the sidelines with some ice on his left hand. The sports announcers don't know what is up. They think that it was because of a bad snap that caused Roethlisberger to go down with the ball and have folks pile up on him from the left side.

Joey Porter just sacked Steve McNair, and the ball came loose and the Steelers recovered. I've never seen so many defense guys charge a quarterback. You know that McNair had no chance.

We didn't score off of the other interception, but we just had another interception by Ricardo Colclough. It's his first career interception. Tommy Maddox is now playing in the game. I think they want to make sure that Roethlisberger doesn't get too hurt and since we have such a larger lead with less than three minutes to play, they are giving Maddox some time. Two minute warning.

The game is over and the Steelers have won with a final score of 34-7. This was quite a surprising game for me and showed how little you can tell by the pre-season performance. Roethlisberger was on the mark this afternoon, and the offense played like a well oiled machine. The defense did a great job of putting pressure on the Titans, and they made some good plays with the interceptions. I think that my player of the game was Willie Parker who really showed that he has the stuff. I was quite pleasantly surprised by the performance of the team as a whole. Of course, the Titans really don't have a very good team this year. In two weeks time, we will be playing the New England Patriots. I'd like to see how we do then before I start revising my predictions for the year.

Sunday, September 11, 2005 -- Early Afternoon

Today is the Steelers first game of the season. They are playing the Tennessee Titans. The Titans have the ball first and drew first blood by scoring a touchdown. The score is now 7-0 with the first 6 minutes of the game gone. I'll have periodic updates on the game throughout the afternoon. One news item on the Steelers front is that Charlie Batch was released to make room for a rookie replacement for Clark Haggans who is injured. I think that the release of Batch was a big mistake because you know that one of the teams who don't have a quarterback of note will pick him up. We shouldn't put all of our eggs in the Tommy Maddox basket because I don't think that Ben Roethlisberger will be doing well. One of the local sportscasters has commented on Bill Cowher isn't known for having good opener games. It seems that he has a history of losing the first game of the season--we are 6-7 in opening games.

The Steelers just scored a touchdown. Heath Miller caught a pass in the end zone. The game is now tied at 7-7.

There was a turnover in the Steeler game, and we got the ball from the Titans. Maybe the team will show me and have a much better year than I thought they would. I hope that they do because I would love to be proved wrong!

Friday, September 9, 2005 -- Evening

Joey Porter has been moved from doubtful to questionable. That means that Porter is likely to play this coming Sunday. On the other hand, Duce Staley has been downgraded, and won't be playing. The Steelers have also released the captains for the 2005 season. The offensive captains are Hines Ward and Alan Faneca. Defensive captains are Joey Porter and James Farrior.

Wednesday, September 7, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers have released Lee Mays yesterday and signed Quincy Morgan. Mays will be out for a few weeks with a hamstring injury, and Morgan will be used to boost the wide receiver section of the team. At yesterday's press conference, Bill Cowher said that his only concern is with the out of sync passing. At this point, I don't think Cowher is concerned enough to not have Ben Roethlisberger start. I guess that he will wait until we lose a few games before he makes a change. It will be interesting to see how the team does this coming Sunday.

Hines Ward showed up an autograph session yesterday, and was greeted by some folks who were gathering money to help evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. They told Ward that they had gathered abit over $10,000, and Ward said that he was so proud of them that he would match the donation. That was really a nice thing to do.

Tuesday, September 6, 2005 -- Morning

It seems that Joey Porter might be playing this coming Sunday. He was practicing with the team yesterday. Porter hasn't been playing since his August 10 knee surgery, and there is no official word on whether he will be playing on Sunday. Sunday's game is the first of the regular season, and will be played at 1 pm against the Tennessee Titans.

Monday, September 5, 2005 -- Evening

There's more news on the Hines Ward contract. It appears that the deal is worth a total of $27.5 million dollars and includes a $9 million dollar signing bonus and a $1 million dollar roster bonus. His salary is $17 million for the next four years. It seems that Ward's mother was crying at the news that her son had managed to get such a huge financial boost.

Monday, September 5, 2005 -- Afternoon

Hines Ward has finally gotten his contract extension from the Steelers. It seems that the extension will be for the next four years and the rumor has it that Ward will get $17 to 18 million over three years and a base salary of $1.669 million a year. There isn't an official word on the amount though. There's supposed to be a press conference later on today. I wonder if folks will be complaining about the amount at the end of the season if Ward doesn't do very well, and we don't make it to the playoffs.

I have a bet with my boyfriend on how well the Steelers will do this year. I don't think that we will have a winning season, and I told him that I believe the final result will be 7 wins and 9 loses. I think that our offense is going to be subpar this year, but that our defense is going to be superb as it was last year. The only thing is that I don't think that we can count on our defense being our sole producer on the field. Last year we won a few games because our defense held back the other team and scored points off of interceptions. We should not count on the Steelers having a winning season based solely on the efforts of our defense. I also think that Hines Ward will not have the stats that he has had in previous years. Now Ward has never been a stats heavy player which is why I question labeling him as an elite receiver. He's a well rounded receiver, but as part of a core of receivers not as a standalone. I think that ward will not hold up well with double teaming, especially if Ben Roethlisberger is throwing the ball to him. I also think that Roethlisberger will not perform well this year, and that Tommy Maddox should be the starter. Cowher is going to go with Roethlisberger though. My final prediction is that we won't make the playoffs this year. I think that we might be second in our division, perhaps third. I think that Cincinatti will be first in the division with the competition for second going between Baltimore and the Steelers. As for my boyfriend, he thinks that the Steelers will have 12 wins and 4 loses and make it to the AFC Championship. Our bet is for $5. I would hope to be wrong because I would like the Steelers to do well this year, I just don't think that it will happen.

Sunday, September 4, 2005 -- Evening

Brian St. Pierre was one of twelve people who were released by the Steelers today. Meanwhile, the local newspaper, the Post-Gazette has some stories that we should keep our eyes on this coming season. The first thing that we have to keep our eyes on is the running game for the Steelers. With Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley injured, we will have to rely on some untried players and hope for the best. Other things to keep our eyes on are the offensive line, not having Plaxico Burress and the secondary lines.

Saturday, September 3, 2005 -- Morning

There is alot of discussion about the Steelers first line offense. According to the folks at the team, the fans are overreacting. The first line really hasn't had a chance to play much in the preseason games to get any sort of rhythm going. Then what is the point of the preseason games? If the players that need the experience don't get the practice in the games because the coaches are afraid that they will get hurt, why have the games? Supposedly alot of teams are out there stinking up the place. I think that the only thing that concerns me is that we have seen nothing in the practice sessions that were open to the public and the media or the preseason games to recommend Ben Roethlisberger as a starter this year. It seems that the best quarterback in practices has been Tommy Maddox. I say that he should get the starting position (even though I am not a fan of his) because the position should go to the person who is performing the best at that time. You don't let your second year quarterback be the starter even though he isn't performing because you have sentimental reasons to keep him in that position. That's the only thing that I can thing is happening in this case. If the Steelers start with Roethlisberger and he plays as poorly as he has in the preseason, I will have no respect for Bill Cowher. Take emotions out of it and use your head. I was reading an article in a magazine a few months ago about this kid who makes predictions about how the football teams will do. He said that he didn't think the Steelers would do well this year because Bill Cowher was unable to put together two winning seasons in a row. Meanwhile, it seems that Brian St. Pierre will be cut from the team today. Charlie Batch, on the other hand, has shown that he is someone that we should keep, and maybe alternate in starting with Maddox. I would bench Roethlisberger for now because the important thing is win games, not to make players feel good.

Friday, September 2, 2005 -- Afternoon

The Steelers cut six players today, and still have to cut twelve more by tomorrow at 6 pm. The guys who were let go today were not any names that I recognized.

Friday, September 2, 2005 -- Morning

Now for a note about the football game yesterday. The Steelers wound up winning 21-17. But it had nothing to do with the first team. Roethlisberger sucked, and the hero of the game was Charlie Batch. I wonder if anyone on the coaching staff is concerned about Roethlisberger's performance because they should be. I don't know if I would be getting rid of Batch which was the rumor from a few weeks ago. I think that I would keep him because he has been doing a good job in the preseason.

Thursday, September 1, 2005 -- Evening

The reason that Big Brother isn't on at its usual time tonight is because the Steelers are playing Carolina this evening, and doing a horrible job. Ben Roethlisberger made some really bad throws in the little bit that he played. It's the first time that I saw a football thrown by a professional quarterback where the ball flew through the air end over end. It was the type of throw that an unathletic girl (like me) would make. In fact, I think that I've thrown the ball better than that. I think that we are in for a long season. This is probably not the politically correct thing to say in this city, but I wonder if Roethlisberger should be our starting quarterback. I don't think so, and I think that if he starts the season that way, we will see a quick change later on.

Thursday, September 1, 2005 -- Morning

Tonight is another preseason game for the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger is saying that he can handle the pressure. As Roethlisberger says, he puts pressure on himself because he wants to perform his best. Coach Cowher, however, doesn't want the pressure to get out of hand. Cowher knows that fans are looking at every interception and failed pass that Roethlisberger throws, and he doesn't want Roethlisberger to crack under the strain and do an ever worse job. It's not such a bad thing to have a bad preseason. After all, the preseason doesn't count in any rankings, and it is just an opportunity for the team to get some practice, identify weak and strong points, and to work on those elements.

Wednesday, August 31, 2005 -- Morning

Even though the Steelers offense really needs some work, the starters won't be playing more than a quarter of the game tomorrow. The rationale is that the coaches don't want the starters to get injured. Considering the injuries that we already have with running bacsk, it does make sense. However, this really does make you wonder what is the point behind the preseason games. If you don't use the preseason games to get your starters syncing with each other, why have so many? One sports announcer here in Pittsburgh said that we should only have two games since that might be all that the players can handle, and maybe extend the regular season to 18 games instead of 16.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 -- Afternoon

Four inexperienced players were released by the Steelers today to get the team down to 71 players for the final week of the preseason. None of the names sounds familiar to me, and three of the players are rookies.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005 -- Late Morning

Hines ward still hasn't gotten very far in his contract proceedings with the Steelers. The regular season starts on September 11, and everyone is hoping that the matter is settled by then. Meanwhile Ward responded to some comments that Plaxico Burress made about the Steelers fans. Burress claims that the fans had a downer on him because he was black and had cornrows. Ward said that the only thing Steelers fans have a downer on is poor performance. I agree with that statement 100%. The reason that I didn't like Burress is because he could be counted on in moments of pressure to drop the damn ball. It's all fine and dandy that you are tall, but if you can't come down with the ball, it means diddly squat. Burress is one of those people who is inconsistent and arrogant about his ability. Another point that Ward makes is that he saw alot of fans out there wearing Burress shirts. Burress was a loser, and his comments just illustrate that. The only comment Burress made that made sense was that the fans wouldn't let him forget the dropped three yard touchdown pass that probably cost us the AFC Championship. All I have to say is that if you are a highly paid wide receiver, and you drop a simple pass like that one, you deserve the wrath of the fans!

Monday, August 29, 2005 -- Afternoon

The Steelers cut ten players today. Eight of them were rookies and two were veterans. They were Matt Cushing and Chris Doering. The Steelers will have to cut four more people by tomorrow at 4 pm. Right now the roster is at 75. The question is what will they do with the quarterbacks that they have. We have four now. How many will we have tomorrow at 4:01 pm?

Monday, August 29, 2005 -- Morning

It seems that Jerome Bettis will be out for two weeks. The injury to his calf isn't thought to be serious, and the MRI was inconclusive. So at this point, Bettis will be missing the season opener, but hopes are good that he will be back after that. It seems that Willie Parker might not play in Thursday game, but the last thing that Bill Cowher will want to do is risk the only other first line running back that he has.

There is also a nice article on one of my favorite players, Troy Polamalu. Polamalu is someone who plays whatever position is needed on the defense, and he always does the best that he can. Polamalu is a dervish on the field with his hair flapping freely from under his helmet and a perpetual smile on his face. Some folks call Polamalu the Tasmanian Devil after the whirling Looney Tunes character. The Steeler defense is really something to get excited about. Too bad the offense sucks--or at least appears to be sucky at this point.

Sunday, August 28, 2005 -- Afternoon

Although the fans are nervous about the Steelers offensive line, and the fact that the first string offense hasn't scored a goal, the players themselves are confident and optimistic. They would have to be. We have another preseason game this coming Thursday at 8 pm. and we can only hope that the first string offense will final score some points.

Saturday, August 27, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers played another preseason game last night and it was a disappointment offensively. The touchdown that the Steelers made last night was an interception by Troy Polamalu and run in for a touchdown. The final score was 17-10. The most disappointing moment was when Ben Roethlisberger got the team down into the red zone and couldn't convert because he couldn't see open players. The announcers for the show (from FOX even showed the clip when Roethlisberger had open players to his right, but he was staring steadily to his left, and never say the guys on the right, and then finally after several wasted precioius seconds had to scramble because he was under attack from the offense. Bill Cowher said that the offense just didn't seem to be synced. That's true. The throws seem to be too short or too long. The other bad news of the evening was the Jerome Bettis strained his right calf and was pulled from the game because of the injury. Hopefully it won't be that bad, and Bettis will be back. I am not going to expect much for the Steelers this year. Of course, the preseason doesn't mean anything because it is a practice and lots of other teams are stinking up the place. The thing that I think is of concern is the lack of rhythm with the offense. As John Steigerwald said in the nightly sports call-in show last night, if Roethlisberger did not play last year, and you saw his performance so far in the preseason, you wouldn't be very excited or thrilled thinking that he would be your starter. That's the thing that I think is happening here. We are thinking that in the regular season, Roethlisberger will step up and start winning. He has a double whammy on him. Expectations are high for him to perform on one hand and on the other hand is the group just waiting to jump on every mistake. His performance so far, in my opinion, has been lackluster. I'm not saying that the guy doesn't have the potential to be really good, but to expect two winning seasons in a row from this young quarterback is expecting too much. I am expecting an average season, and no post season for us. We'll have to see if I am right. I would love to be proved wrong, but I am afraid that won't be the case.

Friday, August 26, 2005 -- Late Morning

It seems that Tommy Maddox wants to be a starter again. He claims that he will not ask to be traded, but that when he watches some teams competing who really don't have a strong lead quarterback, he wishes that he had the opportunity to play for them. Maddox says that he loves playing for the Steelers though, and it is nothing against the team, management organization, or the fans. It's just something that he wants to do. I can understand that. If you have the ability, you want to do something with it. I just don't think that Maddox had the ability, and that's why Roethlisberger was able to keep the number one spot. Yeah, Maddox is capable of throwing the ball and handing it off to a back. The problem comes when he can't stand like a statue to do it. The guy has no manuvering ability and just looks like a garden gnome waiting for the dog to pee on it. As you can tell, I'm not a big Maddox fan. I don't think that he is the pits, but he's definitely not the heights either.

Thursday, August 25, 2005 -- Morning

I was watching the nightly sports call-in show last night, and the guys brought up an interesting story that I can't find on the Internet. It seems that there have been rumors that Ben Roethlisberger isn't very well liked by his teammates. John Steigerwald and Bob Smizik were talking about someone who brought the rumor up yesterday. It seems that Roethlisberger does have a problem (if you want to call it that) with arrogance, and he does not get along well with the media. Leaving before meeting with the media after last Saturday's game did not go over well. The question is if Roethlisberger can handle having people asking him the hard questions when his performance isn't up to par. It doesn't seem at this point that he can, and he better start learning. I hate to tell Roethlisberger this, but he's going to have some crappy games. No one is great in all of their games, and since the end of last season he has been on the borderline between good and bad. Officially, Roethlisberger is saying that he feels confident this year because he is starting the season as the starter, and has had some good practice sessions with the other players. Roethlisberger says that he doesn't screw up the huddle calls as much as he used to last year. That's good to know.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005 -- Late Morning

The Steelers are doing some thinking about the third quarterback situation. It seems that they may decide not to fill the position, and may utilize Randle El. Randle El is one of those slash folks. So he plays the wide receiver/special teams role and now it seems that he may add quarterback. It seems that in his college years he did get some quarterback experience. It will be interesting to see what decision the Steelers make. I'm sure that money will be a factor because they will probably need to get rid of someone to make up for signing Hines Ward. This wouldn't be the first time that the Steelers went with two quarterbacks. They did the same thing in 2004. Roethlisberger and Tommy Maddox were the one and two with Charlie Batch on the injury list. Brian St. Pierre was brought on at the last minute when Maddox got hurt.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Late Morning

Casey Hampton signed a new contract with the Steelers. He got a $6.975 signing bonus which is the third highest in team history, and a total salary of $22.775 million through 2009. The Steelers have always made sure to take care of their defensive players. Hampton was in the same situation as Hines Ward because his current contract was up next year. we are still waiting on word about Ward's contract.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005 -- Morning

It seems that Madden Football 06 don't think much of Ben Roethlisberger this year. Roethlisberger was given ranking of 12th best quarterback in the game and is referred to a slight above average quarterback. I don't think that folks should get too upset about this ranking because for one its a game. For another, I don't think that having one good year makes someone a great quarterback. Roethlisberger is going to have to prove himself over time. The one thing that the producers of Madden Football say is that usually it takes a few years for a quarterback to gain awareness of his surroundings and considering the fact that Roethlisberger has thrown a few interceptions and incompletions towards the end of the season and in the pre-season games gives some support to the lack of awareness through lack of experience. That should improve with time--hopefully. Last night as I was watching the local sports call-in show, Bob Smizik was talking about Roethlisberger's attitude, and it seems that it leaves something to be desired. Roethlisberger is gaining a reputation as a bit of a jerk especially when it comes to dealing with the media. It appears that after the Miami game on Saturday, Roethlisberger left and did not make himself available for the usual post-game interview. Speculation is that he may not have wanted to be around for questions about his less than stellar performance. As Smizik said Cordell Stewart used to stay around for the interviews even when Stewart did a bad job.

Monday, August 22, 2005 -- Early Afternoon

Hines Ward is saying that he and the Steelers are close to making a deal. Other sources are not able to confirm this information, but that's what Ward says that his agent is telling him. Ward wants a guaranteed sum somewhere between $16 and 18 million.

Folks are concerned about Ben Roethlisberger's performance in the past two pre-season games, but the team isn't as concerned as the fans are. The claim is that the problem is just timing issues between Roethlisberger and his receivers. Hopefully by the time the season starts the timing issues will be resolved.

Sunday, August 21, 2005 -- Afternoon

The Steelers won a pre-season game against the Miami Dolphins last night. The final score was 17-3. There were some good moments in the game, and some others that made you thankful that it was only a pre-season game. One of the latter moments was when one of the special teams guys touched the football on the kickoff, but didn't grab it and hold it, so the other team wound up with the ball. The game was postponed for abit over an hour because of some violent thunderstorms that came through the area around an hour before start time. The rain was done by the time the game would have started, but the teams needed to get a warm up, and the officials had to be assured that another storm wouldn't whip through. The problem was that it was a lightening storm, so you can't have people out on the field playing in those conditions. Ben Roethlisberger did not play a very good game. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't good--average would be an accurate description. I think that the fans have to remember that it is only his second year in the NFL, and that he is definitely not going to have as good a season as he did last year. It was amazing for a team to be 15-1 in the regular season, and we are going to have to expect some loses.

Saturday, August 20, 2005 -- Afternoon

There's a Steelers game tonight, and it may be the last chance for Charlie Batch to show that he should be the number three quarterback. Right now, Tommy Maddox is a sure bet for the second position, and it's down to Batch and Brian St. Pierre. Right now, the money is on St. Pierre because he is the younger player.

Thursday, August 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

Over in training camp yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger had his foot stepped on. I know how much it can hurt to have someone trod on your foot. The team doctor looked at this foot, and it looks like it will be a-okay for practice today. Hines Ward is getting back into the swing of things in training camp. The first thing he did is go around to his teammates and apologize for any disruption that he may have caused. That was a classy thing to do. I've always liked Ward. I just didn't agree with the salary demands and everyone insisting that we had to pay Ward whatever he wanted or else we wouldn't win the Super Bowl. That's not how business works, and football is a business. Also, I don't like the psychological ransom/threat--pay him or we win. Come on! Ward may play and we won't win! Or he may get injured and we still win. Who knows about these things.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005 -- Early Afternoon

Ben Roethlisberger caused a scene at the filming of the ESPN reality series at the Montour school district. He stopped by to say hello to Dick Butkus and to give the players some words of encouragement to go for an undefeated season. Bound for Glory is scheduled to start on ESPN on September 20.

On the Steeler front, there is some concern about the running game. With Duce Staley out for awhile, and Jerome Bettis really not meant to be playing all the time because we don't want to have him get injured and be out for a portion of the season, we have to rely on others. So far in the first pre-season game, those others weren't really pulling their weight. This does not bode well for a team that bases itself on its running game. Meanwhile, our defense wasn't too good in the red zone and let in four touchdowns and a field goal the five times Philadelphia got into the zone. That's not very promising but hopefully some work can be done to improve it. We do know that special teams is doing well since they brought in two touchdowns. Three standouts for the team were Nate Washington who had four receptions for 76 yards, Ike Taylor who had the 100 yard touchdown return, and Larry Foote who did his usual good job with two tackles that resulted in losses for Philadelphia.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers won the game last night with a final score of 38-31. The big news though, was the return of Hines Ward to the team and the sidelines. The players are excited to have back a player who is known to be a team motivator. It seems that there are players who are talkers on the field and during practice and Ward is one of them. You need a talker on the team to rouse the rabble into fighting the other side, and Ward and Joey Porter are two guys who do that. With Ward holding out and Porter out with an injury, the practices have been quiet and there hasn't been a good motivating force among the other players.

Monday, August 15, 2005 -- Later Evening

We are nearing the end of the third quarter in the Steeler game and the score is 31 to 17 with the Steelers leading. The team is doing really well. I love the way the NFL shows the live games with a field and down lines.

Monday, August 15, 2005 -- Evening

The Steelers have been doing very good so far, and we just started the second quarter. Right now the score is 21-7. The Steelers made their scores with an interception and two kickoff returns for touchdowns. In fact the second one was a 100 yard return by Ike Taylor. The special teams players are doing really well, and the defensive players are doing well too. We really haven't seen much of the offense to make any decisions. Hines Ward is on the sidelines, and right now, is being interviewed by a sportscaster. Here's a play-by-play of the game.

Monday, August 15, 2005 -- Early Evening

Breaking news! It is an hour before the game tonight and Hines Ward is having a press conference right now stating that he has ended the hold out. He talked to Bill Cowher last night, and decided to come back to work and restart the negotiations. Hines has said repeatedly that he needed to hear from Cowher that he was a valued player and that he was wanted back on the team. Obviously cowher had the right words and Ward is back. Ward is saying that his agent has given him options of what he can do, but Ward is the one who calls the shots. Ward said that he wants to retire as a Steeler, so he wants whatever needs to be done to actually be done. So, let the negotiations begin. Ward was already offered the best deal in Steeler history, so it's not to surprising to think that it will happen in actuality.

Monday, August 15, 2005 -- Morning

There is a Steelers pre-season game tonight. It's going to be held here in Heinz Field, and will be against the Philadelphia Eagles. It will be interesting to see how the team does although pre-season games don't really mean much. You can have a bad pre-season and a great season and vice versa.

Sunday, August 14, 2005 -- Evening

ESPN has an analysis of the Steelers training camp. The first item that Michael Smith mentions is the Hines Ward situation. This writer refers to Ward as an elite receiver and the best complete receiver in the league. However, he does mention the point that I have made--that Ward has NOT been the victim of double teaming. Surprisingly, the competing teams don't see this elite receiver as someone worthy of double teaming. It's probably because they were double teaming Plaxico Burress. Some of the local media are making a big deal out of Ward completing 75% of the passes thrown to him. I think that the only reason for that is because he has not been double teamed, and I think his stats will fall when that does happen. Right now, his number of touchdowns don't match the other "elite" receivers, and I shutter to think what it will be like when he is the only game in town for the opposing defense. Being offered the largest salary/bonus package in Steeler history isn't the slap in the face that Ward believes it is. I say to Ward--play, show us what you have, and see if you get better offers next year.

Saturday, August 13, 2005 -- Morning

The Steelers are still having discussions with the agents for Hines Wards, but it appears that there is a rumor that the Ward might come back, play out the season, and then become an unrestricted free agent in the following year. That would mean that he could be picked up by another team at the salary and bonus that he wants. The thing that I think would be interesting is if there is a fall in his statistics this year because he will be THE prime wide receiver for the team. It might prove my point that he is a good, serviceable, workhorse of a player, and that the Steelers offering him the biggest deal ever by the club was nothing to sneeze at. we'll have to see how the season plays out though, and it Ward returns. I used to be a big fan of Ward, but I have to admit that I am turned off by his attitude this season.

Friday, August 12, 2005 -- Evening

I was just listening to the local sports show, and they were saying that there was a report in the Pro Football Prospectus 2005 that said that Hines Wards was one of the most complete wide receivers and that he was an elite wide receiver. That doesn't really fit in with the statistical comparison that I did the other day, and it doesn't fit in with this analysis of the wide receivers that USA Today had. That report referred to Ward as a notch below the elites. Even looking at the ESPN statistics provided for all wide receivers in the NFL doesn't put Ward at the top of the pack. Some even say that Ward is a consistent Pro Bowl receiver. This past year, Ward was on the reserve list. Chad Johnson made the starting line of the Pro Bowl, averaged 2.6 yards more per reception, and had five more touchdowns in 2004 (9 for Chad to 4 for Hines). Chad is also looking for more money, but isn't a holdout. Don't get me wrong in this situation. I'm not saying that Ward is not a decent and very good player. I'm just saying that I think he was given a fair and reasonable offer by the Steelers. In the stats from the Prospectus, it is mentioned that Ward makes 75% of the passes thrown to him. I would love to see if this statistic continues in the upcoming year, if Ward plays. Why? Because last year, Burress was getting double coverage while Ward did not. What will his stats be, if like the "elite" quarterbacks, he has to receive with constant double coverage? All of the good and decent quarterbacks want more money and more money. The thing is that someone needs to set a cap so the monetary expectations don't get out of hand and wind up crippling a team because the plethora of good players want elite salaries.

Friday, August 12, 2005 -- Early Morning

The Steelers have brought back Alonzo Jackson to replace Joey Porter. Poor Jackson! Last year, he was asked to gain weight to play for the team, and this year, the position they want him to play would require a weight loss. Meanwhile training camp was a changed place yesterday. The field is quiet because the noise makers are all injured and not playing. You have the noisy folks who encourage others, and those who just quietly go about their jobs. You need the noisy guys because they are the ones who really set the tone for the team.

Thursday, August 11, 2005 -- Morning

At Steeler training camp yesterday, we had another injury. This time Joey Porter hyperextended his knee and had some cartilage removed yesterday. Porter should be out for a month.

Tuesday, August 9, 2005 -- Morning

Jerome Bettis is going to be taking the lead role as running back because Duce Staley will be out for the next month. It seems that during yesterday's surgery it was found that Staley had a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee. This episode has to have the Steelers thinking because last year, Staley was out for most of the last half of the season, and still isn't at 100% at the beginning of this season.

Some dodo has a petition that folks can sign if they want Hines Ward to get the money that he wants from the Steeler management without any compromise on Ward's part. Over the past week or so, I have really changed my mind over Ward's no show at training camp. I believe that based on what I have heard of the offer, the Steelers made a good offer to Ward. It was the best offer that the Steelers have ever made to anyone in a Steeler uniform. Of course, what Ward wants it the type of salary that the elite wide receivers of the league receive. That would mean a signing bonus over $10 million and obviously a fairly decent yearly salary. What folks don't appear to realize is that the Steelers have made an offer that they believe is fair. Ward can turn it down. Currently he is still under contract to the Steelers for another year. Next year, if he thinks that he can get the money, then he can go to another team. The Steelers really aren't a passing team, but a running team, so maybe Ward can get the money that he believes he deserves from a passing team. Personally, I don't think that Ward deserves the money that an elite wide receiver would make. If you do a comparison of the career statistics of Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward, you will note that the average of yards per reception are lower for Hines that for either of the other three (Moss has 15.9 yards, Owens has 14.6 yards, Burress has 16.9 and Ward has 12). In fact a comparison between the career stats of Moss and Ward is probably more telling because the number of years in the league are the same. The difference in the number of receptions is in Moss' favor--he has 69 more receptions than Ward, but Moss has 49 more touchdowns. Now there can be any number of factors that might account for the difference is average yards per reception and the number of touchdowns, but I would say that at this point, I don't see Ward worth the same amount that Moss, Owens, and maybe even Burress is worth based on statistics. I'm not saying that Ward is not a good player, or that he would not be an excellent player. I'm just saying that maybe his monetary expectations skewed. Ward should reconsider his stubbornness and show up at training camp.

Monday, August 8, 2005 -- Afternoon

The MRI that Duce Staley had yesterday was inconclusive, so they are going to do arthroscopic surgery on his knee to find out what is wrong. I know what the problem is with Staley. I think that he is injury-prone and that is a problem for us. I'm not the only one who is concerned about the fact that Staley is injury-prone. It seems that he has a history of not being fit to play. I don't know why we picked him up last year. I guess that the management thought that he would be fit enough to give Jerome some down time.

Sunday, August 7, 2005 -- Morning

There is abit of concern about the physical well-being of Duce Staley. Since training camp has started, Staley has been complaining about his knee and not playing very much. The Steeler managment don't think there is a major problem, but Staley is going to have an MRI taken of his knee today to confirm whether there is a more serious problem with the knee.

Friday, August 5, 2005 -- Morning

Jerome Bettis ran over Ben Roethlisberger yesterday during practice. This lead to some slight injury and bruising on Roethlisberger's part, but as he said, for Bettis, it was just like "going over a speed bump". Because of the slight injury, Roethlisberger had some ice on his leg and right hand for abit, and stopped practice for abit. He did return to practice later on in the day. The bigger concern was that Duce Staley did not practice for the second day in a row, and he had some fluid removed from his knee on Wednesday.

Thursday, August 4, 2005 -- Morning

Terry Bradshaw was at the Steelers training camp yesterday. Bradshaw had something to say about Ben Roethlisberger. As Terry said, Ben should wait until he retires to ride his motorcycle. The other thing he commented on was the Hines Ward situation. As Terry said, you have to do what you have to do. Terry never was a holdout because he thought that you should play. When I saw the interview with Terry on television, I got the feeling that he didn't really like Ward being a hold out, but that he understood why he was doing it. As Terry said though, you can't let this disrupt the team too much.

Tuesday, August 2, 2005 -- Morning

Ben Roethlisberger has a new buddy who has been giving him advice and support. That buddy is none other than Dan Marino. It seems that the pair have been talking regularly on the phone for the past month. Roethlisberger is interested in picking Marino's brain to figure out how to be a winning quarterback. The one thing that he doesn't want to repeat is Marino's lack of winning a Super Bowl.

In the meantime, Bill Cowher has been saying that no calls have been made Hines Ward. So far, there is no word on what is going on with Ward, and no comment has been made on whether Ward will be fined $6000 a day for not showing up to camp. That is the fine that is levied on players who don't appear to training camp. I think at this point, they don't want to be hostile. However, it is equally obvious that no negotiations will be proceed as long as Ward isn't at camp.

Monday, August 1, 2005 -- Morning

There is a standoff in Latrobe this morning. That's where the Steelers have their training camp. Hines Ward did not show up for training camp as he promised, and the Steelers have announced that they will not negotiate with anyone who is not at training camp. Now we should be clear that the offer that Ward was given would have made Ward the highest paid player in club history. So the offer was not a shabby one. Ward wants more though because he believes that the overall price that other teams are willing to pay for the work that he does is higher. This is the first major holdout that the Steelers have experienced since 1993. In that year, Barry Foster returned to training camp and negotiations. In 1988, Mike Merriweather sat out the season because of stubborness. We'll have to see which route Ward chooses.

Sunday, July 31, 2005 -- Afternoon

Training camp for the Steelers starts today, and there are alot of expectations on the Steelers this time. Last year, expectations weren't very high because we really didn't have a very good record in the previous season. This year, of course, expectations are out of the roof because of the 15-1 regular season, and the fact that we got to the AFC Championship. There are a variety of items that are of concern. First there is the fact that Plaxico Burress is no longer with us and Hines Ward is a hold out. That puts a hole in our wide receivers section that could cause problems. Personally, I don't think the loss of Burress is of much concern, but not having Hines Ward also would put a crimp in the Steelers' style. There's also some question about whether Ben Roethlisberger will sink under the pressure of trying to be good. After all, it would be something of a stretch to think that Ben could go undefeated again this year. We are going to have to expect some losses and not jump all over the kid. Last year our offense line held up well under pressure, but it wasn't that good the year before. Which offensive line will we have this year? when you throw all these items and more into the pot and give it a good stir, it's potluck. We might have a good bouillabaisse or an inferior clam chowder. We'll have to wait to see how the pre-season games go.

Friday, July 29, 2005 -- Morning

There is still alot of talk about the negotiations between the Steelers and Hines Ward. As the Steelers management says, they have made a "healthy" offer of approximately $8 million dollars. The Steelers do have a reputation of making fair offers to their players, and it seems that in the case with Hines, they actually made a very good offer that is one of the best ever offered by the Steelers, but Hines wants more. I think that what has to happen here is that both sides need to compromise, and that means that Hines needs to give abit too. Alot of football fans in the city are saying that the Steelers should do everything possible to make Hines happy. The issue though is that Hines already has a year left on his contract, and is obligated to play. We'll have to see what happens, although at this point, it is obvious that Hines will be missing the start of training camp.

Thursday, July 28, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

Hines Ward has said that he definitely will not attend the Steelers training camp on Sunday unless he has a deal with the team. As Hines said, "You said you want to make me first priority, now here it is a couple days from training camp and we're still negotiating." Everything should work out, but I think the stumbling block is on what is fair market value.

Thursday, July 28, 2005 -- Afternoon

Hines Ward has turned down an over $7 million dollar signing bonus with the Steelers yesterday. Negotiations are still on, and things will be worked out, at least according to the local sports analysts. The Steelers really do want to sign Hines, and it's probably just going to take some compromise on both sides to make it happen. Training camp starts this Sunday so we will have to see if Hines shows up for it, or if he will be a hold out.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 -- Morning

So far, Hines Ward still has not signed a contract deal with the Steelers. It's not clear what the hold up is, or if Hines Ward will report to training camp this coming Sunday. From what I have heard from the local sports reporters, the Steelers are going to sign Hines, so I'm imagining that the hold up must be how much money Hines will get.

Monday, July 11, 2005 -- Afternoon

Jerome Bettis won the football writers' Good Guy Award. It's the first offering of the award, and Bettis won it because of his good interactions with professional football writers. I think that Bettis should get it because of his friendly ways with the fans. Although I don't have personal experience with him, I have heard stories about how nice and approachable Bettis is.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005 -- Afternoon

Myron Cope is retiring as a Steelers broadcaster. Myron is 76 years old, and missed a game last year because he fell and banged his head pretty badly. I suppose there always comes a time when someone needs to realize that the strain of doing things can't continue because of age or health concerns, but it's still a sad moment. I wish Myron the best, and will miss his squeeky voice. Double yoi!

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 -- Evening

Jerome Bettis was named the YMCA Person of the Year. He was given the honor because of his willingness to take a paycut and to take a role as the second string running back. Also, Jerome has given alot of time, energy and money to charitable causes, especially asthma awareness. Not only that, but he always does everything with a huge smile and happiness. The guy really deserves the award!

The Steelers aren't planning on cutting or adding someone when the NFL free agency offerings start tomorrow. Unless someone really impressive comes along, there's no movement expected.

Saturday, May 28, 2005 -- Evening

Plaxico Burress's agent is saying that Burress does not owe any back taxes in the Pittsburgh area. His claim is that Burress was a Florida resident since he has been Steelers drafted him in 2000. The tax claim goes back supposedly to 1998. I don't know how this all works because Burress owns the property in Moon Township, but he won't have to pay taxes because he was a resident in Florida which makes him a non-resident here, and he paid taxes in the city of Pittsburgh because that's where he worked. I have to admit that I am confused about it. I mean, I thought that if you owned property, you still had to pay the appropriate taxes regardless of where you resided because you still own the property. Moon Township authorities, however, say that if Burress proves that he was a resident of another area, they will waive the charges. So, as of now, it seems as if Burress is in the clear.

Friday, May 27, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that Plaxico Burress may owe some back taxes to the local municipality that he lived in while here in Pittsburgh. It seems that an arrest warrant has been issued for Burress after he failed to attend a deliquent tax hearing. It seems that Burress could be arrested when he next steps foot in Pennsylvania, and will even have to pay a $2500 fine. So far, there has been no comment from Burress about the issue.

It is now official. Kellen Winslow will miss the entire season due to his injury. I saw some video on one of the news shows this morning where they showed Winslow attempting wheelies in a parking lot. They didn't show the accident, just prior attempts. It looked scary. Why someone would do something that stupid is beyond my understanding. The Browns are seeking an adjustment to his salary as they should since Winslow won't be playing for them.

Thursday, May 26, 2005 -- Afternoon

Hines Ward is still discussing his contract extension with the Steelers. So far, there are six other players who also need contract extensions, but the Steelers are only talking to Ward right now. The others will have to wait until a deal is made with Ward, and then their contracts will be discussed. The others on the block are Casey Hampton, Deshea Townsend, Antwaan Randle El, Kimo von Oelhoffen, Jerame Tuman, and Chris Hope.

Friday, May 20, 2005 -- Afternoon

Kellen Winslow may have torn his ACL in his motorcycle accident from a couple of weeks ago. The story is not being reported by Winslow or the team, but it is the strong rumor. What does that mean for Kellen? An extended recovery period. Not only will he be out for the next season with a 10 to 12 month recovery period, but he is also going to be charged with disregarding safety. The police are going to issue a citation which has a fine of $150. The Cleveland Browns may be looking into trying to recover some of the money that they put into Kellen, but are proceeding with caution until the official word is out on his injury.

If you are interested in working at Heinz Field during some of the events, such as Steelers or Pitt football games, there will be a job fair there next Tuesday. Of course, you won't be watching the games, but you might get a chance if you are a seat attendant. It is something to consider, isn't it?

Wednesday, May 18, 2005 -- Evening

Ben Roethlisberger isn't the only Steeler quarterback who rides a motorcycle without a helmet. It appears that Tommy Maddox has been riding a motorcycle for the past four years without a helmet. It appears that it wasn't such a big deal until Kellen Winslow had his motorcycle accident.

Thursday, May 12, 2005 -- Evening

People are still talking about Ben Roethlisberger and the motorcycle. Today we heard from Drew Brees who cautioned players against doing things that are risky. Brees, for example, does some things like diving off the Great Barrier Reef, but he doesn't sky dive or do any downhill skiing. It seems those two items are on Drew Brees' wish list of things to do, but he thinks they are too liable to injure him. I know that walking for me can be risk inducing. Ever since I tripped over uneven pavement two months ago, I have had a sore foot. So, I can just imagine the type of recovery time if you hurt yourself sky diving! Brees and Roethlisberger were both in south Florida for the NFL annual Quarterback Challenge.

Saturday, May 7, 2005 -- Evening

The big controversy here in Pittsburgh is about Ben Roethlisberger driving a motorcycle. It seems that he was called into Bill Cowher's office yesterday to get a lecture about riding the bike without a helmet. Now, personally, I think that riding a motorcycle is not the best idea, especially without a helmet. That's just plain suicidal, and definitely not something that I would be doing. with that said, it is Ben's decision. I mean, he could seriously injury himself in any number of ways. Do we wrap him up in cotton except when he is on the playing field? And what if he gets injured during practice or on the field? Ben has to live his life the way he sees fit.

Saturday, April 23, 2005 -- Evening

The Steelers picked Heath Miller, a tight end from Virginia in the NFL Draft today.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005 -- Evening

The Steelers have released their schedule for the coming season. There are four prime time games: one on a Sunday and three Monday night games. The Monday night games are: Oct 10 at San Diego, Oct 31 in Pittsburgh against Baltimore, and Nov 28 at Indianapolis. The Sunday game is Nov 13 in Pittsburgh against Cleveland.

Saturday, April 9, 2005 -- Late Evening

Jerome Bettis is expected to show up to the Steeler training camp this coming Monday.

Friday, April 8, 2005 -- Late Evening

Jerome Bettis may be returning to the Steelers next season. Jerome said that he was just feeling worn out and sore after last season and that made him just feel down. It seems that if Jerome shows up for training on Monday, he'll get a $100,000 practice bonus if he shows up to practice. So we will know by Monday we might have a better idea of what his plans might be for the next season.

Friday, April 1, 2005 -- Morning

Plaxico Burress has responded to comments that Jerome Bettis made about Burress. It seems that Jerome commented that the NY Giants coach and Burress would probably be "butting heads" because of Burress' attitude off the field. Jerome even commented that Burress had a habit of showing up late to work, and just got away with it at the Steelers because Bill Cowher didn't like to fine folks. Burress, of course, refutes the claims. Hmmm, would I believe the guy who didn't show up for one of his interviews with the Giants and was late for another? Sure. Of course, Burress doesn't have issues off the field.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 -- Evening

Ben Roethlisberger has been hard at work studying and working out for the next season. It seems that this is the earliest that a quarterback has ever shown up for off season training. This is very promising. It's giving me some high hopes for Roethlisberger having a good season.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that some NFL owners tend to get the raw end of the deal in treatment from agents of players, and supposedly, the Giants had enough with the recent Plaxico Burress dealings, and told Burress' agent to take a hike. It seemed that it really got the Giants' goat that Burress didn't show up for one meeting and showed up late for a second. To top it off, Burress wanted to not give serious consideration to negotiations until he heard more from the Vikings. The article gives a very nice illustration of how free agents and their representatives do business.

Sunday, March 13, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

The most interesting story of the day, in my opinion is the one about Plaxico Burress. It seems that he has fired his agent. Well, geeze, what would you do if you were Burress? Obviously he is having trouble finding a team who is willing to pay his high price because of a problem with his agent. The problem couldn't possibly be anything with Burress. There are obviously no problems with Burress' consistency, quality of play, or his attitude toward working for his team. Doesn't everybody go through three agents in one year? The agent that Burress is going to sign with (he has to wait five days because of NFL rules) is Drew Rosenhaus. Rosenhaus is a high profile agent, and Burress is hoping that Rosenhaus can get him signed with a team at the price that Burress wants. We shall see.

Saturday, March 12, 2005 -- Evening

Plaxico Burress is still looking for a home. He toured the Viking facilities on Friday, but didn't have a contract offer by the time he left. It seems that the vikings are unwilling to give him the amount of money that he thinks he deserves. Rumor now has it that he maybe considering Philadelphia as a new home. Since Burress wasn't too happy with sharing receiver duties in Pittsburgh, I can't imagine that he will be happy playing second fiddle to Terrell Owens, and I can't imagine Philadelphia paying him an enormous sum to be that second fiddle.

Thursday, March 10, 2005 -- Evening

The New York Giants have withdrawn their offer to Plaxico Burress. Rumor has it that the team wasn't offering Burress the monety that he wanted, and he turned down their latest offer. So the Giants are looking elsewhere. Burress is sill in talks with the Minnesota Vikings, and I guess he is hoping they will pay what he wants. In the meantime, Burress' agent said that Burress would accept a one year contract if Burress' price couldn't be matched, but then the agent backed away from that story.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 -- Afternoon

More news on the Plaxico Burress front. He didn't show up for his meeting with the NY Giants yesterday because of the flu. No one seems to know when he actually will meet with the Giants, or if there is some interest now from another team. I think that Plaxico is trying all sorts of ploys to up the price that he will receive. We'll have to see if it works.

Meanwhile the Steelers have been signing their players. They signed Jeff Reed and willie Williams, and have just today signed Cedric Wilson for wide receiver. Wilson had a good year last year with San Francisco, and he might be an adequate replacement for Burress.

Chevy Troutman was nominated to the first string of the Big East All Star Team. Carl Krauser was nominated to the second team. Chris Taft had an honorable mention and Ronald Ramon was named to the rookie team.

Monday, March 7, 2005 -- Afternoon

Plaxico Burress is hoping for a good deal from the NY Giants. His hope is to get an offer better than Muhsin Muhammad got with the Chicago Bears. The difference here is that I saw some of the marvelous plays that Muhammad made, and the mediocre ones that Burress made. Believe me, Muhammad is worth $30 million, Burress isn't.

Sunday, March 6, 2005 -- Afternoon

It seems that poor Plaxico Burress is not getting the salary responses that he feels he is worth. Personally, my opinion of Burress is that he is not that great of a wide receiver. He made alot of bobbles of balls during the past season, and he made some nice catches too. The thing is that you couldn't count on him to make the play when it was needed. According to the local sports guys on the Nightly Sports Call, the Giants have expressed some interest, but not with the level of money that Burress wants. At the New York Post, they have some insight on why that is the case. It seems that others in the league have also picked up on Burress' lack of consistency, and his attitude problems. When you combine this with the fact that Burress ain't that bright, and according to a source, needs to have his playbook pared down so he can learn the plays, you have someone with a whammy on him.

Thursday, March 3, 2005 -- Evening

The Post Gazette has some details from Jerome Bettis' interview with Bob Pompeani yesterday. It seems that the interview with Pompeani was an exclusive.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 -- Evening

Today on KDKA news, Bob Pompeani talked to Jerome Bettis about his plans for the coming year in a special report on the news today at 5:45 pm. Jerome said that there is still a 50/50 chance that he might retire. He did make a deal with the Steelers to restructure his salary so the team would be under the salary cap. As Jerome said, he is happy with his salary and incentive plan, and he did not want any of his demands to be a "deal breaker". Because they came to this agreement, it gives Jerome until June to actually announce his plans for the future. Jerome's plan for the coming months is to start his exercise regiment as he usually does, and see how he feels. The main reason that he hasn't really decided yet is because Jerome likes the makeup of the team, and thinks that the Steelers could make it to the Super Bowl, which is going to be held this coming year in Jerome's hometown of Detroit. Jerome said that whatever his role is with the team, he will be happy. He doesn't need to be a starter, he just wants to be a contributing member. Now Jerome has also been talking to some network guys, and it seems he is getting an offer to be an announcer for either CBS or ESPN.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 -- Evening

Larry Foote signed with the Steelers today. The deal is for five years, but no other details have been released.

Sunday, February 27, 2005- Late Afternoon

Jerome Bettis will be back with the Steelers next year. He will have abit of a pay raise, going from one million dollars to one and a half million dollars. This is alot less than he is owed. This coming year, he should be making almost four and a half million dollars. What Jerome has said is that he would like to go to the Super Bowl this coming year because it will be played in this hometown of Detroit. I really admire Jerome. He saw the benefit in getting an education, and completed his degree when he was having issues with the St. Louis Rams, and he encourages young people to put education first. When you add that in with his friendly and pleasant demeanor to fans and teammates, his skill, and his loyalty to the Steelers and Pittsburgh, you see a person who is worthy of admiration.

Rumor has it that Tommy Maddox is being shopped around by the Steelers. I can understand that because I think that he is a mediocre quarterback who is making a pretty penny. If you want to replace him, you can replace him with a quarterback with similar skills and pay less. We should be seeing a much changed Steeler team next year because Plaxico Burress will be gone--he wasn't franchised this year so that means byebye Plaxico--and chad Scott and Jay Riemersma will also not be back.

Sunday, February 13, 2005 -- Late Evening

The AFC won the Pro Bowl. The final score was 38-27. The last half actually seemed pretty boring. That may have been because the ESPN announcers weren't even discussing the game. They were busy talking about the past and future seasons and the players themselves.

Sunday, February 13, 2005 -- Evening

They are just into the second quarter of the Pro Bowl. Hines Ward just made a spectacular catch on an onside kick and took it in for his second touchdown of the game. Hines is one of those people who just always seems to be having a good time, and he always puts his all into every game that he plays--even if it is just an exhibition type game like the Pro Bowl. Right now the AFC is kicking the NFC's butt. The score is 21-7 and the AFC just intercepted the ball.

Sunday, February 13, 2005 -- Afternoon

This evening is the Pro Bowl. I'll be watching it because there is some question about whether this might be Jerome Bettis' last appearance in a football game.

Thursday, February 3, 2005 -- Evening

What was the NFL Play of the Year? Jerome Bettis's touchdown pass against the New York Jets in Week 14.

Wednesday, January 26, 2005 -- Evening

Ben Roethlisberger commented to the media yesterday that he has been worn out by the season. The interesting thing is that he commented on having some broken toes. The problem is that in Bill cowher's press conference, Cowher said that Roethlisberger does not have broken toes. Probably what happened is that Roethlisberger just bruised his toes, and is exaggerating the extent of the injury. I know when I had bruised toes I always refered to them as broken.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005 -- Morning

There were clips all over local television yesterday of Hines Ward's emotional outburst over losing the game yesterday. It was very touching because the outporing of emotion was not for himself, but for the lost opportunities of those who might not be back (such as Jerome Bettis). Very sad, indeed.

Monday, January 24, 2005 -- Morning

The fans here in Pittsburgh are numbed over the Steelers' loss last night. I know that it is very hard to take because the team was doing so well during the regular season, but I think that the nerves of possibly losing did them in. This isn't an excuse for the loss of the game. The players should have overcome the nerves and moved on. They didn't though. It has to be very tough on Ben Roethlisberger. What he needs to realize is that he has a great future ahead of himself.

I also feel for Jerome Bettis. I think that he is ready for retirement, but would like to go out with a Super Bowl ring. If he is doing well physically, he can come back next year. Jerome is a nice person, and a good football player. Even if he doesn't win a Super Bowl, he deserves kudos for a job well done in how he handles himself professional and with the fans.

Plaxico Burress, however, is Mr. Sour Grapes. He is already commenting on not coming back to the Steelers next year because he will be a free agent. That's because the Steelers see more value in a real player who works hard to make plays like Hines Ward instead of whiners like Plaxico. The thing is that Plaxico was bobbling the ball and missing catches, but looks like he wants to lay the blame elsewhere for his bad performance.

Sunday, January 23, 2005 -- Later Evening

The Steelers lost the game today. The final score was 41-27. We scored the final touchdown in the last two minutes because New England just basically let us score. It was a very pitiful game to watch, and very distressing. The thing that really sucks is that the celebration for the AFC Championship is going to be on our field. What sports will my boyfriend and I watch now? We used to watch football, then hockey, and then because it would be summer time, we would just be outside. This winter is going to be hard with no sports to watch.

Sunday, January 23, 2005 -- Evening

We are just in the second quarter of the AFC Championship, and the Steelers are losing. I didn't have a good feeling after the first score, a field goal after an interception. Now the score is 10-3. Well, we did have a good season, and even though there is still half of the game to go, I am not seeing anything that is promising. Fortunately, we are still only one touchdown away, so it isn't hopeless yet.

Just right after I finished the comment above, the Patriots scored again, and the score is now 17-3. Well, at least as my boyfriend just commented, all the Steeler merchandise will be on sale.

It's now worse. Roethlisberger threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and the score is now 24-3. We are at the two minute warning before the half.

Saturday, January 22, 2005 -- Evening

They won't be selling beer after the third quarter of the game at Heinz Field tomorrow. The food vendor, Aramark, is the same one who was sued because of an auto accident caused by a drunk fan who had just left Giants Stadium.

Thursday, January 20, 2005 -- Evening

Ben Roethlisberger is not letting last week's game bother him. Hopefully, that is true, and he will not let the nerves get to him on Sunday evening.

There's a nice article about Troy Polamalu in the New York Times. It seems that his uncle used to be a dancer with Don Ho.

Thursday, January 20, 2005 -- Afternoon

Tomorrow is another Black & Gold day here in Allegheny County and Pittsburgh. If the Steelers win this week, this place will be crazy at Super Bowl time.

There are alot of folks out there who are just crazy because of the Steelers. Here is a sampling of Steeler songs. There is also a Steeler Baby who says all the Steeler chants.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

Ben Roethlisberger's teammates are supporting him as the starting quarterback for the game this coming Sunday. The folks on the sports call-in shows are suggesting that Tommy Maddox start the game, and that if Ben plays that he doesn't wear the infamous gloves. Obviously, Ben wasn't the only one who was having problems in the last game. The whole offense seemed to have problems--Jerome Bettis fumbled a ball, and the special teams allowed a touchdown on kick off.

Sunday, January 16, 2005 -- Evening

The New England Patriots are leading the Indianapolis Colts with less than seven minutes left in the game. It appears that we will be playing the Patriots next week in the AFC championship. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Granted, we did beat the Patriots earlier this year, but this is a whole new ball game.

The one thing that you should know about Steeler fans is that not only do they love to support winners, but if there is even a hint of someone not playing to expectations, the fans are quick to turn with all their fury. Now, folks are calling for the head of Ben Roethlisberger. I think that Ben did show a strong case of nerves yesterday. That could be a problem, but I don't know that Tommy Maddox would be better. Tommy is a crappy thrower, and he really can't run around either.

Saturday, January 15, 2005 -- Evening

My gosh was the Steeler game today a nail biter! In the first half of the game, even though we were ahead 10-0, I noticed that the statistics were showing that the New York Jets had position of the ball alot more than we did. By the middle of the fourth quarter, I was resigning myself to the end of Steeler football this season. Well, I was wrong. The kicker for the Jet, Doug Brien, missed two field goal attempts. The game went into overtime, and somehow, we managed to win the game. The final score was 20-17. The next game is going to be pretty exciting, but I'm not holding out much hope to win next week. The team in general, just didn't seem to be playing well at all.

I had a nice time watching the game. My boyfriend and I went to a friend's house and watched the game in high definition. It actually seemed like we were there watching the game. It really does make me interested in getting a high definition television.

Doug Brien should check out this information on how to kicking a football. But wait! It seems that Doug Brien is the author. Maybe then he should practice visualization as he tells others. Visualize the field goal. :-)

Thursday, January 13, 2005 -- Morning

I did not know what was involved with the Super Bowl rings. For some reason, I thought that it was a generic ring that was just supposed to symbolize the bowl game itself. It seems, however, that the ring is customized for the team that wins it. The maximum standards that each ring has is that it must be 10K gold and weigh no more than 30 pennyweight (1 pennyweight = 1.55517384 grams). In the Post Gazette article, they show the pictures of the four Steeler rings.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 -- Afternoon

There's alot of talk around town about the Steelers this week. There is even a main page article on ESPN about various myths that folks have about what it takes to win the Superbowl. One of the myths is about rookie quarterbacks not winning the Superbowl. I am hoping that Roethlisberger can prove them wrong.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 -- Evening

Ben Roethlisberger did a very nice thing today. He is going to donate his first playoff check to tsunami victims.

Thursday, January 6, 2005 -- Evening

Not only did Jerome Bettis win the Toughman Award yesterday, but Ben Roethlisberger also received an award. He received a $125,000 bonus for the work that he did this past year. You can also buy "Big Ben Beef Jerky". It's going to be released in local stores in Pittsburgh and comes in original and teryaki flavors.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005 -- Evening

Jerome Bettis was given the Howie Long Toughman Award. The local station, KDKA has a weekly segment with Jerome called the Bus Stop. The award was mentioned during the segment. Howie gives the Toughman Award to the player he thinks played the hardest and showed up to play every game. That definitely describes Jerome. He always puts his all into his work. The award was a black truck of some sort. I really don't know trucks that well. One pretty much looks like another to me.

Ben Roethlisberger was named the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year. It seems that a quarterback hasn't won this award since its inception. The reason why I think Ben deserves this award is because I've noticed that while he has been the quarterback everyone seems to be scrambling around trying to make plays. It seems that others seem to think that Ben will try to avoid the sack, and all the others have to do is get open to get the ball. The only thing that concerns me is that with all the hype, there's no where to go but down. I can just hear the Pittsburgh fans now getting on Ben's case when he loses his first game. It will either be "he choked in the playoffs" or "he didn't lose a game in his rookie season". You can't tell much from a person's first year in a sport like football. It's the record over time that really counts. It will be exciting to see how Ben's career progresses and how it helps the Steelers.

Monday, January 3, 2005 -- Evening

Back to football--it seems that the Buffalo Bills were really shocked that they lost. As Drew Bledsoe said that if they couldn't beat the Steeler backups, the Bills didn't deserve to be in the playoffs. Funny because without beating the Steelers, they couldn't get into the playoffs.

Sunday, January 2, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

The Steelers won today. They finish the season 15-1. It was really amazing because for a good percentage of the game the starters weren't playing. In the second half, Brian St. Pierre even got to play. The rumors all week were that the Steelers wouldn't be playing, and that Buffalo had so much to gain by winning that they would be going all out. There was so much talk of the Steelers losing momentum because they were going to lose the game, and that Buffalo would have our number in the playoffs. Then the Steelers came in and won by a score of 29 to 24. It was a great game, and the backups (both second and third stringers) did a fabulous job.

Sunday, January 2, 2005 -- Early Afternoon

The Steelers just started the game against the Buffalo Bills. So far in the first quarter, we took advantage of a fumble to score a field goal, and Buffalo answered by taking advantage of a fumble of ours to score a touchdown. The score is 7-3 with six minutes left in the first quarter.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004 -- Evening

James Farrior was named Steeler MVP. He has been doing a great job defensively this year, and he really deserves this award.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -- Late Afternoon

Bill Cowher had his press conference today, and it appears that Ben Roethlisberger's problem was indeed a minor one. It appears the injury was bruised rib cartilage. That's good news because it means that Roethlisberger will be ready for the playoffs.

Tuesday, December 28, 2004 -- Afternoon

So far no official word yet on Ben Roethlisberger, but it seems that it is not a serious problem. At most it appears to be bruised ribs, and Roethlisberger will rest this week and not play. However, it does seem that he will be ready for the playoffs.

Now the big question is who should play on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Since the Buffalo game really won't affect us for the playoffs since we already have the home field advantage and the bye, should we send out players who might get hurt in the game and therefore not be available for the post-season? I understand that Paul Tagliabue doesn't want the teams to stop playing as soon as their spots are assured because they could be playing teams that are battling for a wildcard. I heard one of the Pittsburgh sportscasters yesterday give an opinion that maybe the schedule shouldn't be set in stone so wildcard teams could play against each other. This way, in the case of Buffalo against Pittsburgh, you won't have to worry about Buffalo getting a win because the Steelers might not have had all their starters playing.

Monday, December 27, 2004 -- Morning

So far there is no update on the condition of Ben Roethlisberger. The story still is that he has hurt his ribs. Hopefully there will be an update today so we will know his status for the playoff games.

Sunday, December 26, 2004 -- Afternoon

Well, that krytonite must have been wrapped in lead! The Steelers won the game 20 to 7. The Ravens may be out of the playoffs because of the loss. It doesn't seem from hearing the Bill cowher press conference after the game that it is too bad. It does hurt Roethlisberger to throw the bal, but with three weeks of rest, I'm sure that he will be up to par. The Steelers were just beaming in the last few minutes of the game. It's great that they have home field advantage throughout the playoffs and the bye because they are the number one seed in the AFC.

Ben Roethlisberger has an injured rib, and is now out of the game. It is just a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger was injured with a hard hit at the end of the third quarter by Terrell Suggs, the guy how made the kryptonite comment on Thursday. I don't understand why players try to purposefully hurt the opponent. That is such a low thing to do. Now, I'm sure that Suggs would say that he didn't do anything like that, but Suggs really drove Roethlisberger into the ground AFTER Roethlisberger threw the ball. Hopefully the injury isn't a bad one. Roethlisberger did make a few plays the next time the Steelers had the ball offensively. He just couldn't throw it properly. The score is now Steelers 20 - Ravens 7 and there are nine and a half minutes left in the game. I'm not a huge Tommy Maddox fan. I think that he looks too much like a deer in the headlights, and he just really isn't a play maker. So, here's hoping that Roethlisberger will be back for the playoffs.

It is now half-time for the game. The score so far is Steelers 10 - Ravens 7. ESPN has the box score, play by play, and the game update. Roethlisberger has made some really good plays with Plaxico Burress and Antwaan Randel El. Granted there have also been some bad moves like poor Randel El fumbling the ball in the last minute of the half after making a spectacular one handed catch for a first down.

The first quarter of the Steeler game is almost over. I have to admit that I really have a hard time watching some of the games because I get so nervous. This is such an important game to win, so more is at stake. Roethlisberger threw an interception just abit ago, and I almost chewed my fingers to nubs. Fortunately, Joey Porter picked the ball off from the Ravens. We have the ball now at the start of the second quarter, and Jerome Bettis is doing a great job picking up yards. The score so far is 7-7.

Friday, December 24, 2004 -- Afternoon

The Baltimore Ravens Terrell Suggs said yesterday that the Ravens are the Steelers kryptonite. Suggs went on to suggest that some teams just can't beat Balitmore, and Pittsburgh is one of those teams. Well, yesterday Hines Ward was on the local KDKA sport news. They have a segment called "Hines Sight" on Mondays and Thursdays. The sportscaster showed Ward the click of Suggs and asked what Ward thought. Ward said, "If they're our Kryptonite, we must be Superman." I thought that was hilarious! Just because we lost to the Ravens in the second game of the season doesn't mean that they have our number. That doesn't mean that the game won't be a hard fought one. Usually a matchup between the Ravens and Steelers is a good one. I'm hoping the Steelers come out winners because that would seal home field advantage and the bye.

Wednesday, December 22, 2004 -- Evening

Six Steelers were selected to be in the 2005 Pro Bowl. The six are Alan Faneca, James Farrior, Jeff Hastings, Troy Polamalu, Joey Porter, and Hines Ward. Troy Polamalu has been being doing very well this year. It's his second year with the Steelers, and he really wasn't doing very well in his rookie year. I remember hearing folks talking about it on the Pittsburgh sports call-in shows, like Nightly Sports Call. Since Troy was a first round pick, it's obvious that folks would expect more from him, but it just took him a bit of time to get into the swing of the NFL.

I do like the Nightly Sports Call. They get a variety of Post Gazette sports writers, like Ron Cook, Bob Smizik, and Dejan Kovacevic. I love the interactions and the opposing viewpoints. Dejan Kovacevic used to write about the Penguins, but since the strike has been on, he has moved over to be the Pirates writer.

Sunday, December 19, 2004 -- Evening

The Steelers are doing very well. The game yesterday was quite a nail biter. Thanks to the offense for doing their jobs, and getting the points scored. The defense was abit weak, but it's probably due to the lateness of the season. Here's the ESPN recap of the game.

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Monday, February 20, 2006 -- Morning

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Tuesday, February 7, 2006 -- Evening

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Monday, February 6, 2006 -- Early Evening

Monday, February 6, 2006 -- After midnight

Sunday, February 5, 2006 -- Super Bowl game

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Thursday, February 2, 2006 -- Morning

Friday, January 27, 2006 -- Evening

Wednesday, January 25, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Monday, January 23, 2006 -- Afternoon

Sunday, January 22, 2006 -- AFC Championship game

Sunday, January 22, 2006 -- Morning

Thursday, January 19, 2006 -- Early Evening

Monday, January 16, 2006 -- Late Afternoon

Monday, January 16, 2006 -- Afternoon

Sunday, January 15, 2006 -- AFC Playoff game

Saturday, January 14, 2006 -- Morning

Thursday, January 12, 2006 -- Evening

Sunday, January 8, 2006 -- Wildcard AFC Playoff game

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Evening

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Sixteenth game of the season

Sunday, January 1, 2006 -- Afternoon

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Thursday, December 29, 2005 -- Afternoon

Monday, December 26, 2005 -- Evening

Saturday, December 24, 2005 -- Fifteenth game of the season

Wednesday, December 21, 2005 -- Afternoon

Tuesday, December 20, 2005 -- Morning

Sunday, December 18, 2005 -- Fourteenth game of the season

Sunday, December 18, 2005 -- Afternoon

Wednesday, December 14, 2005 -- Evening

Sunday, December 11, 2005 -- Thirteenth game of the season

Monday, December 5, 2005 -- Afternoon

Sunday, December 4, 2005 -- Twelfth game of the season

Sunday, December 4, 2005 -- Late Morning

Thursday, December 1, 2005 -- Evening

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 -- Morning

Monday, November 28, 2005 -- Eleventh game of the season

Monday, November 28, 2005 -- Evening

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 -- Afternoon

Sunday, November 20, 2005 -- Tenth game of the season

Sunday, November 20, 2005 -- Afternoon

Friday, November 18, 2005 -- Evening

Wednesday, November 16, 2005 -- Evening

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 -- Afternoon

Tuesday, November 15, 2005 -- Morning

Monday, November 14, 2005 -- Late Afternoon

Sunday, November 13, 2005 -- Ninth game of the season

Sunday, November 13, 2005 -- Evening

Thursday, November 10, 2005 -- Afternoon

Tuesday, November 8, 2005 -- Morning

Sunday, November 6, 2005 -- Eighth game of the season

Thursday, November 3, 2005 -- Afternoon

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Monday, October 31, 2005 -- Seventh game of the season

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Friday, October 21, 2005 -- Late Evening

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