Still crazy after all these years

This is what they needed; Alan Faneca, first round pick, 2021 NFL Hall of Fame inductee … the next Rashard Mendenhall? In 1972, the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted running back Franco Harris to be the key running back in what Coach Chuck Noll built into a trapping offense that highlighted the guy who always found himself in Joe Paterno’s doghouse.  Steeler fans who watched the team draft Mean Joe Greene and Terry Bradshaw in Noll’s first two years, guys who found their way into the NFL Hall of Fame, were incredulous. Penn State’s premiere running back was Lydell Mitchell.  Shortly after that, my high school friend and teammate, Danny Bender, who was living and working in Pittsburgh, asked me during a break in our playground basketball, “Why didn’t they draft Lydell Mitchell?” I simply said, “Just you wait.” And Franco was worth the wait. Franco is still the greatest running back in Steelers history with four Super Bowl rings and a membership in the NFL Hall of Fame....

… “Can you imagine Dan Rooney saying that?” Sometimes, sons are a “chip off the old block.” In the case of Art Rooney, II, he is a block, but certainly not a chip.  His father took a woeful franchise and built it into one that in just over a decade, had won four Super Bowls in just six years — after having never even reached the playoffs for almost 40 years.  That was due to hiring a superb coach, one whom fans derided as “Chuck Who?” when he was named as the mentor of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The team built off that Noll legacy for two more Super Bowls, but today, winning that ultimate prize is not the goal of the franchise.  Or at least that appears to be the case after 13 years in the hinterlands — though the coach let one get away a decade ago.  I have been a Steelers fan since 1955 when I was first old enough to understand what that meant.  But, achieving another Super Bowl in my lifetime? “ The substandard is the standard ” When...

Trying to hide after falling behind 28-0 in first quarter of 2020 playoff game … have not won a playoff game in four years Make no doubt about it. Mike Tomlin has the best regular-season won-loss record in history [65 percent].  And make no doubt about it: Mike Tomlin’s playoff record in the past ten years is woeful, just 3-6 [33 percent]] And make no doubt about it: Mike Tomlin is no Chuck Noll [4 Super Bowls to 1]. And make no doubt about it: Coaches are paid to win in the postseason, to reach the Super Bowl.  And make no doubt about it: The Steelers have been embarrassing in many postseason appearances over the past decade.  And make no doubt about it: The Steelers have not won a playoff game in four years.  And make no doubt about it: The Steelers have collapsed in the late season [11-0 to 12-4] with a disgusting degree of regularity; And make no doubt about it: The Steelers have lost their first round playoff game after compiling a 13-3 record ...

Why isn't he in the Hall of Fame? … the numbers tell the tale The reaction of “Yinzer Nation” was one that should have been anticipated, Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward isn't in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is a fact that's considered ridiculous to many football fans, let alone those in Western Pennsylvania. But it may have come as a surprise to many prior to it trending on social media this week. Ward, the all-time leading receiver in Steelers franchise history, has been brought up amid discussions of fellow former wide receiver Julian Edelman 's recent retirement and potential Hall of Fame candidacy. Football fans and analysts, including 105.9 The X's Mark Madden , have used Ward's absence from the Pro Football Hall as an argument against Edelman's chances for enshrinement. Jason Hall, “ Here is Why Hines Ward is Trending Amid Julian  Edelman's Retirement,” Fox Sports Radio, Apr 14, 2021 Madden’s argument Mark Madden sho...

  Michigan loss to 11th-seed caps off a woeful 2021 tournament for conference … History: Only one national basketball title in past 30 years, only 3 in football in 53 years The Big Ten should rename itself as The Big Flop. So many fans said that 2021 would be the year in basketball for the conference with it receiving two number 1 seeds. It was ranked first in the country in the Sagarin Power Rankings at the end of the regular season.  Lo and behold, once again, no Big Ten team in the Final Four, with only one national title in the past 30 years.  Number one seed Michigan was upset by 11th-seed UCLA in the Elite Eight to be the latest casualty of the conference.  Terribly overrated in football and basketball? The conference just seems to fall apart in the playoffs whether in football or basketball. Since 1968, the Big Ten has won just three national championships in football, and one of them was shared.  And, the only national title in men’s basketball was in th...

… remembering the awesome record from 57 years ago [This note is printed exactly like it was written to make a point, so please excuse the hatred, which is not the way I feel.] [May 25, 1973] Dear Mr. Nigger, I hope you con’t break the Babe’s record. How do I tell my kids that a nigger did it. But it took, more at bats, live ball, and other nigger tricks. I wish you the worst at anything you do “Nigger!” (KKK Forever) CNN, April 2014 The day that Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s record of 714 home runs — April 8, 1974 — was truly the “best of times, the worst of times” for one of the best baseball players of all time. Aaron etched his way into the record book by breaking a record that had stood for about a half-century. Yet, the hatred that he had to endure for surpassing a white man’s record to reach that point had him thinking whether or not it was all worth it.  The note above is just one example of this. From the time that he started his career in the minor leag...