Still crazy after all these years

,,, “clueless and classless” One of the things that coaches tell players before an interview is this: Don’t give them any bulletin board ammunition. That message is simple: Say nice things about your opponent even if you do not feel that way.  However, some coaches’ egos are so great that they cannot resist doing it themselves.  Enter Dabo Swinney, arguably one of the weirdest coaches’ names in history. Who would call themselves Dabo instead of his Christian name, William, or Bill? Nevertheless, he became a hero in the eyes of many football fans when the Clemson coach defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide twice for the national title in the past five years.  Now, the negatives are starting to pile up against Swinney, and he has made one of the stupidest moves in history.  Perhaps he is right. I have argued for years that Ohio State is consistently overrated in the national polls.  However, my saying it and a coaching saying this prior to the nation...

JuJu's antics led to a superb hit and a fumble that led to a Bengals' TD on Monday.  … he has paid dearly for his disrespect The Steelers started 11-0, and now have lost their last three. However, they have lost three of their starting linebackers along with others during this spree, so fans should understand losing three in a row, right? Well, not if you are a Steelers fans, and particularly if you are not a fan of Coach Mike Tomlin. Fans on the team’s blogs are upset with the coaching, and they are particularly upset after losing to a Cincinnati Bengals team that had won just two games entering the Monday Night Football special.  However, many of the complaints centered around the embarrassing TikToking that wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster has done to denigrate the opposing teams. He does it to keep raising his number of social media fans, but some fans would prefer that he end games with better stats than three catches for 15 yards.  Tomlin may have finally laid down the l...

Tunch Ilkin during his playing days: Getty Image s … battling same disease as Lou Gehrig Sometimes we have to ask why the good guys are often chosen for a tough journey.  That is the case with former Steelers tackle Tunch Ilkin who has been broadcasting the games on radio for the past 23 years.  A native of Turkey, the only one from that country to play in the NFL, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease after the late New York Yankees hitter who was one of the first famous people to contract it back in the 1930s.  From Islam to Christian pastor Ilkin made the announcement from his church in Pittsburgh in early October, n a video released by The Bible Chapel, a non-denominational church in Pittsburgh where Ilkin is the Pastor Men’s Ministry, Ilkin confirmed the diagnosis. “I was diagnosed with ALS from UPMC Presby,” Ilkin said to Ron Moore, the Senior Pastor. “The doctor said go to Cleveland Clinic to c...

Sorry that I did not have an action shot. Have to take the iPad next time.  Great clutch performance. The best is yet to come! Keep working hard — and hope you will have a travel ball season to continue your work — and the success of your team — next year.  Hitting back-to-back deuces with just a two-point lead followed by a layup were definitely classy work! Keep it up!

Mark Madden from 2015 … “How would that performance fare against Kansas City?” Steelers fans are ecstatic about an 11-0 start, yet they are antsy. That means that they are “ agitated, impatient, or restless,” according to the dictionary definition of “antsy/“ Yet, while performances like the one against he Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday and that against the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the season making them restless, many are outraged at the lack of respect being given to the team. For instance, there is this radio host named Colin Cowherd who is on Fox with a program called “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” Hard to think that the fans would take seriously a man with a name like Cow-herd, but such is life in the 21st Century, They overwhelmed Cleveland and they get up for big games, but I’ve fallen for this a half dozen times in the last decade, where they’re really good in the regular season, they kind of play to their competition, and then they get to the postseason and you got an Andy Rei...

Pinterest "Health and medical decisions have and always will take precedence over competitive considerations and business interest.” Roger Goodell as Pinocchio So, from Thursday to Sunday to Tuesday to Wednesday, the Ravens at Steelers game has been a veritable carousel. If the Steelers had a tough owner/president, he would have insisted on a forfeit since more than 20 Baltimore Ravens players had tested positive for Covid-19.  Instead, Goodell is just gleeful that the Steelers have to be playing against a team that has had an infestation of the virus, Commissioner Roger Goodell, meanwhile, called it a "remarkable achievement" for the league to have made it through 12 of its 17 regular-season weeks without canceling a game. He said the league's "collective goal" is to complete the season and added "we are on a path to do that" despite rising infection rates around the country. The league continues to discuss its options for the playoffs, ...