Still crazy after all these years

… many reasons to emulate Many contemporary young fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers do not know the story of Rocky Bleier. He is not a member of the NFL Hall of Fame, so his inspiring story is often lost four decades later. It should not be forgotten. Most do, however, understand the inspiring story of James Conner, the former running back from Erie McDowell High School and the University of Pittsburgh. Despite about a half-century difference in their ages, the two running backs have some striking similarities in their lives — and some interesting differences. First, one similarity is the fact that both are/were running backs for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Second, the most striking one is that they both understand the meaning of adversity, and they demonstrated tremendous fortitude in confronting that. In either case, their lives are worth exploring. Rocky, the Fighting Irishman from Appleton, Wisconsin Rocky Bleier grew up above his parent’s bar in Appleton, a city of about 75,000 pe

... Wolverines now key to Big Ten hopes The college football championship looks again like an SEC-ACC rematch — at least in late October. Right now, the top four teams are Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and LSU. What is now clear is that the Big Ten is likely to be excluded again, something that will make Jim Delany move into apoplexy. And, it was not just an upset that did this. Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes did not just lose to a team that fell in its first three games of the season. It was annihilated, 49-20, just like it lost to Iowa by 31 points last year for loss number two. Which brings us back to the huge win that the Buckeyes pulled off a few weeks ago, a one-point win over Penn State. After the game, PSU Coach James Franklin said that his team was on the verge of becoming what Ohio State already is: An “elite” team. Franklin then said that his team was “great,” but had to win games like OSU in order to become elite. After a loss to Michigan State, the Nittany Lions h

… abysmal record in final minutes David Jones of the Patriot-News made his point very succinctly after Penn State had lost its second consecutive game in the final minutes, basically taking themselves out of the national playoff hunt. “In every one of Penn State's last five losses dating back to the 52-49 Rose Bowl defeat to Southern California, the Nittany Lions have had the lead with 5:00 remaining on the clock. That's how you come up with five losses by a total of 12 points during that 20-game stretch. You don't see that every day. And a team has to be pretty damn competitive to win all the other games in the span, not to mention 8 prior to it. That is, after all, a 23-5 stretch.” David Jones, Oct. 14, PennLive.com Coach James Franklin has brought back the Penn State football program from the abyss of reduced scholarship and embarrassment from the Jerry Sandusky scandal. However, he seemingly cannot bring them over the top of the national rankings. Jones clearly poin

… Conner making him expendable The sports media are attempting to make a soap opera of the tale, “Will Le’Veon show or won’t he?” However, what is clear, is that the Steelers have been trying to peddle Bell for weeks. The question is where he is going to land. One of the more interesting narratives is whether or not the NFL coach who believes that he can resurrect the careers of any player. In addition, he desperately wants to win another Super Bowl, so maybe he might be willing to sign Bell for half a season. That, of course, is Bill Belllichick, the coach of the New England Patriots. The Pats have struggled a great deal this year, now tied with the Miami Dolphins with a 4-2 record in the AFC-North. However, Bellichick believes that with two consecutive wins, he now has his team headed for another shot at Super Bowl gold. Bell would be a great addition for Tom Brady and the NE offense. Is this far-fetched? Steelers should simply forget Bell Bellichick picking up Bell may be somewhat

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… and Chris Archer is a great replacement for Gerrit Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutcheon should letters of thanks to Neil Huntingdon and Bob Nutting. Nutting was too cheap to keep them with the Pirates, and as a result, they both are experiencing something that they would never have done if they had stayed with the Pirates: An opportunity to play in the MLB playoffs and perhaps the World Series. Cole was simply dominant for the Houston Astros in a 3-1 win over them in game two of the ALDS. Cole allowed just three hits to the Cleveland Indians and struck out 12 in seven innings, simply dominating them to raise their record to 2-0. They ultimately won the third game to advance to the AL finals against either the Red Sox or Yankees. And, it appears that Cole learned from his experience in not being able to enter the NL series. According to an MLB writer, John Perrotto, Cole vowed in 2015 that it would not happen again. In a tweet, the writer said, After losing in the 2015 NL Wild Card g

… finding few takers ESPN has been reporting that the Steelers have been trying to shop Le’Veon Bell before the Oct. 30 trade deadline, but they are finding no takers thus far. The Steelers know that in a year in which they now need cohesiveness, Bell will be a tremendous distraction. However, what is outrageous is that Bell thinks that he can just waltz into the locker room and the reception will be “welcome home.” Ian Rapoport reported this on NFL GameDay Morning: "My understanding is that Le'Veon Bell is expected to come back in a few weeks, and his focus right now is coming back for the Steelers and putting up numbers for them rather than another team," Rapoport said. "The Steelers have openly been trying to trade him. They've been receiving some phone calls, they've also been making some phone calls. No firm offers yet, but they have had some conversations. "For Le'Veon Bell there would be some negatives there. He'd have to come in, le

… defense is still a concern despite great show Sunday Steeler fans finally had some reason to feel that maybe their team will be able to make some noise this season. A 41-17 win over Atlanta gave the fans some solace after losing two games thus far at home. I could proudly wear my Troy Polamalu Steelers jersey without fear of embarrassing myself, like after the tie with the Browns. It was a nice feeling. The question now is whether or not it will be illusory. Is this an occasional game or will they now elevate their caliber of play? What is clear to me is that for the Steelers to succeed in 2018, they will have to rely on the arm of 36-year-old Ben Roethlisberger. They will go as far as he can carry them because the defense still has so many holes — despite a decent performance against the Falcons, like essentially shutting down the Falcons premiere receiver Julio Jones and sacking quarterback Matt Ryan six times. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler said that about the win: “The Steelers put toget

… has mellowed over the years "We're the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're supposed to be the intimidators." As a father, Jack Lambert was a person who stressed the academics of his four children over athletics. However, when he was on the football field, arguably the greatest middle linebacker of all time, Lambert was the epitome of intensity and passion. He was a linebacker’s linebacker, one of the best in NFL history. The NFL Hall of Fame called him the premier linebacker of his period. He was a man who took no guff, who played with intensity every minute that he was on the field. To understand how good he was, look at his accomplishments in his 11 years as a Steeler. He was a starter on all Steeler Super Bowl teams of the 1970s and thus has four rings. He also made the pro bowl nine times. A second-round pick in 1974 out of Kent State, he was voted as NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year that season. He was voted to the first team all-pro six times and twice to the sec

… did they pick up these guys on Monster.com? Many years ago, some of us used to complain about Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football. However, while he was often wrong and controversial, it was still entertaining … and he was knowledgeable. How far MNF has fallen. The current group has to be the worst ever. Joe Tessitore is the play by play man, Jason Witten is the color man, and Booger McFarland is the “field analyst and consultant.” When Jon Gruden left MNF to take over the coaching duties of the Oakland Raiders, and ABC/ESPN decided to not continue with Sean McDonough, which was a good team, they chose a path that is certain to drive away fans. It is the weirdest attempt at covering football. Witten should know football, but being paired with the other two does not help him. Their analysis is just pathetic. Thankfully, when the Steelers are on MNF, I go to the Steelers’ radio broadcast. It is on a slight delay, so it is a play late, but that is actually good. At least the guys

… great recruiter, mediocre coach “It seemed a cruel prank that McSorley ran for 175 yards and threw for 286, amassing the greatest total-offense figure (461) in Penn State history (surpassing Christian Hackenberg in the Ireland game against Central Florida), all in front of a record crowd of 110,889.” — David Jones, the Patriot-News He is being hammered online after his fourth-down call with the clock winding down in a major battle against the nefarious Ohio State Buckeyes. However, is James Franklin being tarnished unfairly by Penn State fans? The question was punctuated by an encounter with a fan that Franklin had when he was leaving the field at Beaver Stadium after his second consecutive one-point loss to the Buckeyes. But, the play that outraged Penn State football fans was one in which Franklin did not allow McSorley to carry the ball or to throw the ball on a fourth-and-5 from the Ohio State 42 with two minutes left. Franklin burned a timeout, the so did OSU’s ethically-cha