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.

Marching for right to bare breasts, women faced with sea of cameras | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Marching for right to bare breasts, women faced with sea of cameras | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

what an indiot the "spokesperson" is. WHat a stereotypical idiot. What did she EXPECT would happen?

They should hopefully inspire women here in Greenville to do the same!!

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Marching for right to bare breasts, women faced with sea of cameras
The picture-taking bothers the event's organizer, who says partial female nudity shouldn't be remarkable.

By Edward D. Murphy emurphy@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer


PORTLAND - About two dozen women took a walk down Congress Street topless Saturday, attracting a large crowd as they tried to preach that partial female nudity is not worthy of attracting a crowd.

The point of the march was that a topless woman out in public should attract no more attention than a man walking around without a shirt on, said Ty MacDowell, 20, of Westbrook, who organized Saturday's event and promoted it on Facebook.

But as the event got under way in Longfellow Square, the marchers were soon outnumbered by scores of onlookers -- mostly young men eagerly snapping away with cameras and cell phones.

MacDowell said she was surprised by the turnout of those interested less in challenging societal convention than in seeing partially undressed women.

"I'm amazed," she said, and "enraged (at) the fact that there's a wall of men watching."

MacDowell said she understood that for women, going topless in public "is not socially acceptable yet, and obviously there's going to be a reaction to something that breaks the norm."

But, she said, the picture-taking was particularly upsetting.

"A lot of people were taking pictures without even asking," she said. "Even if you're somewhere where people are fully clothed, you should ask."

One of the marchers said she wasn't surprised by all the attention because partially nude women in public "is so taboo."

But Adrianna Tibkey, who recently moved to Portland, said the march "was really, really fun, and it's nice to know it (going topless) is legal here."

Most of the onlookers were men -- but not all of them.

Tammy Walker said she shared the marchers' viewpoint, even if she wasn't prepared to join them in going topless.

"I think it's great," she said. "You (men) can let it all out -- why can't we?"

Some of the men in the crowd thought the marchers were naive to think women going topless would ever be commonplace.

"If they were looking for no reaction -- that's just crazy," said James Gilley of Gorham.

As the march started toward Tommy's Park in the Old Port, it picked up more onlookers and the curious. Through Monument Square, there were more than 500 people -- a mix of marchers, picture-snappers, oglers and people just out enjoying a sunny, warm day.

Laurie Francis of Livingston, Mont., was enjoying the sun and a cup of coffee in Tommy's Park with her family, in Maine for a vacation, when the boisterous group swung into view.

She said the event led her to conclude that Maine -- where nudity is not illegal as long as genitals aren't on display -- is more progressive than her home state.

"You don't see this" in Montana, she said. "Everyone's wearing a lot of layers in Montana at this time of year -- including bras."

But Francis said she thought women promoting the concept of going topless as no big deal "is a nice idea."

Police said there were no incidents or arrests. Officers said their only concern was that the marchers stay on the sidewalk, since they hadn't gotten a permit that would allow them to walk in the street.

MacDowell said many of the marchers encouraged her to continue her efforts to promote public toplessness, but she said she will try to avoid a repeat of what occurred Saturday.

"We'll have a topless adventure," she said. "Go fly a kite or something."



Staff Writer Edward D. Murphy can be contacted at 791-6465 or at:

emurphy@pressherald.com