Quick Opinion on Steeler Draft/ Big Ben Roethlisberger

I personally believe we had a decent draft. I'm glad to see we addressed some of our needs. Pouncey was a good pick for us. I'm glad we didn't get Claussen or McCoy. Bradford's gonna be a bust. Tebow was probably the best QB this year. To me, the best pick up was this Dwyer kid outta Ga Tech. Believe me, he is going to be OUTSTANDING. He should be moved to WR and would be a threat if the Steelers would ever cave in and use the "Wildcat" formation. He is a smart, all around offensive gem for the Steelers...

Nice to see Bryant McFadden, Byron Leftwich, and Antwaan Randle El rejoining the team. I hear this Faneca kid is now available from the Jets....

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2010 DRAFT PICKS
No. in
Rnd. Overall Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Age College
1. Maurkice Pouncey C 6-4 304 20 Florida
2. Jason Worilds LB 6-2 262 22 Virginia Tech
3. Emmanuel Sanders WR 5-11 180 23 SMU
4. Thaddeus Gibson LB 6-2 243 22 Ohio State
5a. Chris Scott OT 6-4 319 22 Tennessee
5b. Crezdon Butler CB 6-0 191 22 Clemson
5c. Stevenson Sylvester LB 6-2 231 21 Utah
6a. Jonathan Dwyer RB 5-11 229 20 Georgia Tech
6b. Antonio Brown WR 5-10 186 21 Central Michigan
7. Doug Worthington DT 6-5 292 22 Ohio State

PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2010 ROOKIE FREE AGENTS
Player Pos. Ht. Wt. College
Dorrian Brooks OG 6-2 306 James Madison
Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith S 6-2 210 UTEP
Kyle Jolly OT 6-6 300 North Carolina
Demetrius Taylor FB 6-0 273 Virginia Tech
Cordarrow Thompson DT 6-2 301 Virginia Tech
Justin Thornton S 6-1 213 Kansas
A.J. Trump C/G 6-3 300 Miami (Fla.)


On the Big Ben "thing" - he's been a naughty, bad kid. I personally would give him 3 strikes before he's out. It would be SO easy to jump on the anti-Ben bandwagon or blindly support him. All I have is my opinion. I personally wasn't a big believer in or a Ben Roethlisberger fan until he got his 2nd Super Bowl ring. I do know that in the litigious society we live in, if there was a slight chance of criminal or civil charges to be brought about against a young millionaire athlete, there would have been. I cite the Duke Lacrosse players as a prime example. In today's publicity hound climate with people who are desperate for their 15+ minutes of fame, there is no way this can go unfounded. According to the police report, Ben is guilty putting himself in a "he said/she said" situation and of using poor judgement. How many times each week does Ben's situation occur? Too many times. But Ben is an NFL QB and unlike the NBA, the NFL at least ties to maintain some higher standards of behavior. Losing a month and a half of playing time, nearly half of his salary, and the trust of his teamates, coaches, trainers and fans will also affect him greatly. Most of us could easily live off of near a fifth if his annual salary, so the anti-rich stigma will haunt him here as well as "the rich always get outta trouble" label. No, I won't cry for Ben at all. I too have made mistakes in my life I'm still paying for. I believe he deserves a chance to earn back what he's lost, even if he never wins the Steelers another game.

MIGHTY TARHEEL SCHEDULE!!

9/4/2010 @ LSU
9/18/2010 vs. Georgia Tech
9/25/2010 @ Rutgers
10/2/2010 vs. East Carolina
10/9/2010 vs. Clemson
10/16/2010 @ Virginia
10/23/2010 @ Miami
10/30/2010 vs. William & Mary
11/6/2010 @ Florida State
11/13/2010 vs. Virginia Tech
11/20/2010 vs. N.C. State
11/27/2010 @ Duke

from the AP

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

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Happy Friday!!
Happy 75 years young to the late (?) Elvis Presley

Looks like we've escaped the worse of the winter weather here in GreenVegas, SC. Still though, I cannot remember this many consecutive days where the low temperature was in the teens or twenties. Although this morning, the low only dipped down into the mid 20's, it's only expected to get as high as 33 degrees today. Better than wind chills hitting 35 below in eastern Nebraska, minus 45 in parts of South Dakota and negative 50 in North Dakota. Is it cold where you are?

There's a new movie opening this weekend I'd like to see. "Daybreakers" is not the usual vampire movie that's flooding the public consciousness nowadays. This story depicts a future world dominated by vampires. No longer shadowy outcasts, vampire cops try to control vampire riots when the blood supply falters. Vampire scientists work in vampire-run labs. Homeless vampires live beneath city streets and devolve into something far worse than hungry hobos when they can’t find food. Damn interesting to me. Will you see this movie? Are you sick of the recent vampire TV shows, books, and movies?

What's up with the whole Jay Leno thing at NBC. This really doesn't look good for the network as it seems they want to have their Conan and Jay Leno too. NBC executives on Thursday discussed a scenario that would include a half-hour Leno show at 11:35 p.m. EST, sending "Tonight" with Conan O'Brien to 12:05 a.m. and Jimmy Fallon's "Late Night" to 1:05 a.m., according to the infamous "unnamed source" at NBC. Leno even joked about it last (Thursday) night saying "if it's true it will give us time to do some traveling. I understand that (the) Fox (network) is beautiful this time of year."- hahahahaha! No one's mentioned Conan it seems. Sad...What do YOU think? Do you care?

Some good news out of Cleveland football fans. Eric Mangini will return for a second season as Cleveland Browns coach after capping a losing campaign with their longest winning streak since 1994, the NFL team said on Thursday. I believe the "Man-Genius" (thanks Terry) has got a good thing going now and the fickle fans, not only in Cleveland but elsewhere, need to suck it up for at least another 2 or 3 years. GIve the coach and team management a chance to build something successful and long lasting. Cleveland has a tremendous opportunity to reverse the current climate of "win or go away" that pervades sports. Just my opinion, what say you?

Let's see what else I saw on the ol interweb today....


A study of 10 chain restaurants, including Wendy's and Ruby Tuesday, found that the number of calories in 29 meals or other menu items was an average of 18 percent higher than listed. And frozen supermarket meals from Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living had 8 percent more calories than the labels said, according to the study, published in this month's Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The researchers and other experts aren't accusing restaurants and food companies of trying to deceive customers. They said most of the discrepancies can be explained by variations in ingredients, portion sizes and testing methods. For example, the teenager behind the counter might have put too much mayonnaise on one sandwich.

Shooter Jennings Recruits Stephen King For Concept Album | Billboard.com click for entire story

Yemen has rejected direct U.S. intervention in its crackdown on al Qaeda. Where's "W" and the evil Cheney boys when you need them.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has told his Japanese counterpart that he is open to games between the World Series and Japan Series champions, but no steps have been taken for such a matchup. Now THIS would be cool- an ACTUAL World Series...

Floyd Mayweather Jr spoke to journalists today about the on again off again talks for a possible matchup against all world champ Manny Pacquiao. "First and foremost, not only do I want to fight Manny Pacquiao, I want to whip his punk ass."

A new Harvard medical study says men with restless leg syndrome are more likely to have erectile dysfunction, new research suggests, but it's not clear how the two conditions are related.

A sequel to Nicolas Cage's Ghost Rider movie is in the works. The film is tentatively titled Ghost Rider: The Spirit of Vengeance, and De Luca confirmed that director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil) and Eva Mendes won’t be returning. The Producers are looking at the film as a reboot for the franchise (a la Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk), it’s currently set in Europe, and there’s a possibility it may get the 3D treatment. De Luca also mentioned that he’s open to Goyer directing the film, it’s all dependent on his schedule.

Good news for cell phone carrying mice- a study in mice suggests using cellphones may help prevent some of the brain-wasting effects of Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. After long-term exposure to electromagnetic waves such as those used in cell phones, mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's performed as well on memory and thinking skill tests as healthy mice. The results were a major surprise and open the possibility of developing a noninvasive, drug-free treatment for Alzheimer's, said lead author Gary Arendash of the University of South Florida.

Looks like doctors aren't the only ones who should scrub before surgery. Bathing patients with an antiseptic and squirting medicated ointment up their noses dramatically cut the rate of dangerous staph infections afterward, researchers found. A second study found the antiseptic did a better job of preventing infections than the reddish-brown iodine solution that's been used for decades to swab the skin before an operation. Infections are a vexing problem for hospitals. Some 30 million surgical procedures are done each year, and up to a half million Americans develop surgical-site infections, mostly from staph bacteria.

Steeler Playoff Scenarios!!

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oh, my aching head! There are only three paths that the Steelers can take to the postseason:

Beat Miami, plus losses or ties by the Houston Texans at home against the New England Patriots and the New York Jets at home against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Beat Miami, plus losses or ties by the Texans and the Baltimore Ravens on the road against the Oakland Raiders.

Beat Miami, plus losses or ties by the Jets, the Ravens and the Denver Broncos at home against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Steeler/ AFC Playoff Scenarios

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Though only two weeks are left in the season, there still are countless scenarios that could play out for the AFC playoffs. The Steelers may be the biggest wild card in what has become a muddled race for the two wild-card playoff berths in the AFC. The reason: they have been harder to figure out than the tax code.

The Steelers have beaten the Vikings, Packers and Chargers, who have won nine consecutive games. They also have lost to the Browns, Raiders and Chiefs, who have a combined record of 11-31.

If the 7-7 Steelers beat the 8-6 Ravens this Sunday at Heinz Field, they may actually control their playoff destiny heading into their regular-season finale Jan. 3 in Miami.

For that to happen, the Jets, Jaguars, Broncos and Texans have to lose this Sunday; all are underdogs in those games.

If such a scenario transpires, the Jets, Jaguars and Texans could finish no better than 8-8 and the Broncos would do no better than 9-7.

If the Steelers win out, the Dolphins would finish 8-8 at best, and the Ravens would finish no better than 9-7.

One plausible scenario given the remaining schedules of the teams in playoff contention would be the Steelers, Ravens and Broncos all finishing 9-7 and vying for the two AFC wild-card berths.

Under NFL guidelines for wild-card tiebreakers, the Ravens would eliminate the Steelers based on a better division record and get the No. 5 seed over the Broncos since they beat Denver earlier this season.

The final spot in the playoffs would come down to the Steelers and Broncos, and the defending Super Bowl champions would get in based on their 28-10 win Nov. 9 in Denver.

If the Titans would happen to win their remaining two games -- they play host to red-hot San Diego on Christmas -- and join the Steelers, Ravens and Broncos at 9-7, the Ravens and Steelers would still get the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds. The Steelers would get in because they have beaten the Broncos and Titans this season.

A lot has to happen, and if the Steelers don't win their last two games, all of the scenarios for them to make the playoffs are moot. But the team that won its last four games in 2005 and became the first sixth seed in NFL history to capture the Super Bowl title isn't out of postseason contention.

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Here are the teams that are bunched together in the battle for the two AFC wild-card spots:

Broncos (8-6) -- Play at Philadelphia on Sunday, and the Eagles clinch the NFC East with a win over Denver and a Cowboys loss.

Ravens (8-6) -- They needed OT to beat the Steelers in Baltimore, and the Steelers didn't have Ben Roethlisberger that game.

Steelers (7-7) -- If they beat the Ravens, their playoff chances drastically improve.

Dolphins (7-7) -- Could be a de facto playoff game when they play host to the Steelers on Jan. 3.

Jaguars (7-7) -- Play at New England on Sunday, and the Patriots clinch the AFC East title with a victory over Jacksonville.

Jets (7-7) -- Visit the undefeated Colts on Sunday and finish the season by playing host to the Bengals.

Texans (7-7) -- Visit Miami on Sunday and play host to the Patriots the following week.

Titans (7-7) -- They probably turn back into a Christmas pumpkin when they play the visiting Chargers.

Poised to clinch

The following is a list of AFC teams that can clinch playoff berths this week. The Colts (AFC South) and Chargers (AFC West) already have clinched division titles:

Patriots (9-5)

Clinches AFC East with:

• New England win or tie OR

• Miami loss or tie

Bengals(9-5)

Clinches AFC North with:

• Cincinnati win OR

• Cincinnati tie PLUS Baltimore loss or tie OR

• Baltimore loss

Clinches a playoff spot with:

• Cincinnati tie OR

• Jacksonville loss or tie PLUS New York Jets loss or tie PLUS Houston/Miami game ends in a tie

Ravens (8-6)

Clinches a playoff spot with:

• Baltimore win PLUS Jacksonville loss or tie PLUS New York Jets loss or tie OR

• Baltimore win PLUS Jacksonville loss or tie PLUS Denver loss OR

• Baltimore win PLUS Miami loss or tie PLUS New York Jets loss or tie PLUS Denver loss OR

• Baltimore tie PLUS New York Jets loss PLUS Jacksonville loss PLUS Tennessee loss or tie PLUS Houston/Miami game ends in a tie

Broncos (8-6)

Clinches a playoff spot with:

• Denver win PLUS Jacksonville loss or tie PLUS Miami loss or tie PLUS New York Jets loss or TIE plus Steelers loss or tie

Tiebreaker procedure

With a handful of teams, including the Steelers, in contention for a wild-card berth in the AFC playoffs, here's how the NFL breaks ties:

Two teams

1. Head-to-head, if applicable.

2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.

4. Strength of victory.

5. Strength of schedule.

6. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.

Three or more teams

Apply division tie breaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tie breaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.

1. Head-to-head sweep. (Applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others.)

2. Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference.

3. Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four.

4. Strength of victory.

5. Strength of schedule.

6. Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed.

all above from : http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/s_658881.html

Bengals Receiver Chris Henry Has Died

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has died, one day after suffering serious injuries upon falling out of the back of a pickup truck in what authorities describe as a domestic dispute with his fiancee.

Police say Henry died at 6:36 a.m. Thursday. Henry was 26.

'Just another Tuesday (9/15/09)' or "Patrick Swayze is dead and I don't feel so well myself!!"

Because Patrick Swayze is dead, I've been reading many references to "baby in the corner" (Dirty Dancing) and some "Rumble Fish", "Red Dawn" movie quotes. I really liked him in "Too Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" with Wesley Snipes, John Luguizamo, Stockard Channing, et al. Who can forget the skit with the late Chris Farley on SNL - the Chippendales Dancer Tryouts? You fought long and hard, now you can rest. See ya Patrick!!

Taking 9-1-1 calls today. The usual types of calls. Cloudy/rainy weather usually means more traffic accidents, etc. Sitting back, cruising the internet, sipping coffee between emergencies. Occasionally providing levity to my co-workers. I'm known for that I guess. I'm scheduled to train someone on taking 9-1-1 calls the second half of my day. God help them....

Fooled around with my fantasy football leagues a little- I'm DFL (dead freaking last) in the one I care about, 1-0 in head-to-head matchup in my paid one. I'm cruising along to victory in my fantasy baseball league, holding on tightly to a slim lead.

Cleaned up my Yahoo! email accounts. I really don't know why I have so many. For SOME reason, I thought it was a good idea to create a new one every year using the reverse of my initials (tcj)then designating the year as 2k'x'(2k8, 2k9, etc). My other email addresses are usually former past names I've used in radio, reporting, etc (adamharper, dochaprer). Some are just for fun (misterslapnuts,emsjohnny, FreaknikJohn). Continuing proof that ANY psychologist would have a field day with me.

My pomeranian Nikki is SO FREAKING HUGE! She's due to give birth the last week of September- my wife insists on or around the 28th- I believe the 24th.

well ENOUGH about me, let's see what I have found interesting on the internet this morning..

Harrison Ford is ready for another Indiana Jones movie- he tells a French newspaper - "The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I'll be very happy to put the costume on again."

The 25th anniversary of U2s 1984 album, "The Unforgettable Fire" will be celebrated with a host of reissue configurations. Due October 27 from Island/Universal, four options will be available that include B-sides, rarities, alternate versions, and previously unreleased songs including "Disappearing Act" (a.k.a. "White City").The four versions will include a 180 gram vinyl album version, a standard re-mastered CD version, a deluxe double version with a 36 page bound book and a limited edition super deluxe box set, which includes the 2 CD version, a 56 page bound book, 5 portfolio prints and a DVD that will feature rare videos, concert footage and a "Making of" documentary of the album.


A new animated movie featuring Batman and Superman entitled "Public Enemies" is due out in a couple of weeks. It features a couple of scenes form the soon-to-be-finished animated DVD movie about the Justice League and an alternate earth where the good guys are bad and bad guys are good entitled "Crisis on Two Earths" According to the description, voice cast is led by Mark Harmon (NCIS) as Superman, James Woods (Ghosts of Mississippi) as Owlman, Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law & Order) as Lex Luthor, William Baldwin (Dirty Sexy Money) as Batman, Gina Torres (Serenity, Firefly) as Super Woman and Bruce Davison (X-Men) as the President.

The NBC series "Heroes" is scheduled to begin soo. Whoopty doo!! I'm really not interested. I dont' like shows like this and "Lost" who produce new material every 3 to 4 years or so. If i want this, I'll read books!! (LOL!)

Saw the 'Jay Leno Show' last night. It's a 10pm version of the 'Tonight Show' without the desk to sit behind and different music, different graphics. Even Jerry Seinfeld commented on how unusual is was that there was a big to do about his 'final show' leaving the Tonight Show and now months later basically doing the same show an hour and a half earlier than usual. He said "When we quit (the Seinfeld Show) in teh 90's, we stayed gone!" Kanye West did multiple imitations of SC Senator Joe Wilson (apologizing) and declared he was going to 'take some time off' from the business. Jay made him cry when he asked if Kanye's mother would approve of his antics. MAN!!
I still believe the annual Kanye West act is just that: an act. It's a classic thing you'd see in WWE wrestling.

A 107-year-old Malaysian woman says she is ready to marry for the 23rd time because she fears her current drug addict husband might leave her for a younger woman.

Swimming in chlorinated pools may increase the risk of a child getting asthma and respiratory allergies like hay fever, according to a Belgian study

The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former President George W. Bush was released Tuesday after nine months in prison and in a defiant address, he accused Iraqi security forces of torturing him with beatings, whippings and electric shocks. This makes me smile.

A NASA rocket experiment set to launch Tuesday aims to create artificial clouds at the outermost layers of Earth's atmosphere.

I've jsut read where the US Open was marred by profanity laced tirades by both Serena Williams and Roger Fererererererererererer.. My brother Terry Self made the comment about Serena:" I don't blame the line judge for fearing for their life, I would too if som DUDE came at me cussin' with a tennis racket!"

Disney is making another Winnie the Pooh movie.

The trailer for A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey is online. http://movies.yahoo.com/premieres/15536466/standardformat

Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman are gearing up to reunite for the sequel to Columbia Pictures' "Hancock," with Peter Berg set to helm the action-comedy. Berg disclosed the news at the Toronto Film Festival where he said, "Everybody's going to come back for a sequel."

The upcoming "Forrest Gump: The Chocolate Box Giftset" actually comes in a real box of chocolates.

and finally,

A group of British schoolchildren who reared a lamb from birth and named it Marcus have voted to send the animal to slaughter. The 14-member group of children aged 6 to 11 -- voted 13-1 to have him killed yesterday. The decision has provoked fury among animal-loving celebrities, animal and human rights campaigners and the parents of some of the children, and led to threats against Lydd primary school and its teachers, according to a member of staff.

Have a good day!!