Being that it's Friday, and July 3 at that, I don't very well expect too many of you to be reading this today.
Nevertheless, MPIE is here, it's queer, and it's all about America this week.
In honor of tomorrow, July 4th, the day we celebrate freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the pursuit of happiness and of course, indoor plumbing, I've put together several questions related to Independence Day for our esteemed panel. Questions which they all answered admirably.
But before you get to the grid, I thought I'd compile all of our participants' Favorite songs about or involving America. So I've done that below.
Wow, you know, just when I thought I might take another day off, a bunch of stuff happens. Nothing important, of course. Just several items of note that I figured you might not mind touching on...not unlike Brady Quinn's junk...
But that, obviously, is another story altogether.
First up -- apparently, Troy Polamalu was voted "Smartest Player" in the division by a majority of the 32 anonymous AFC North players, eight from each team, polled by ESPN's AFC North blogger, James Walker.
Which is fair and deserved.
I mean, he does play with his head an awful lot...
...the terrible jokes never end, guys.
Anyways, I'm sure Troy would be honored to know that 32 anonymous "players" from the AFC North think so highly of him.
Naturally, as anonymity would demand, there's no word on who these individuals might/might not be. For all we know, James Walker could've polled these dudes...
Not to mention the fact that can we really trust the opinion of any Bengal on who is the SMARTEST player in the division?
But either way, congratulations Troy. I think...?
Anyways, while Troy was revered as the division's "Smartest Player" (whatever that means), the jagoff in the AFC North who he is most often compared to took the "Best All Around Player" award.
That jagoff being Ed Reed, of course.
Surprisingly or not, I think it's a fair and possibly even deserving designation.
After all, like him or not, the guy is 31 and still holds it down at Safety while also returning punts for the HIV birds.
Plus, we all know he can take a hit...
PS - To me, there are few things more annoying than amateurs putting music to football highlights. Seriously, what are you jokers doing? Please.
But I digress.
Unofficial awards are a bigger joke than the fact that "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" is still on the air. So really, whatevs.
Because at the NFL Rookie Symposium yesterday, he called Oher's ass out.
And rightfully so.
Innocuous comment or not, and however admirable it may be that Oher wants to help the Ravens try and avoid being embarrassed with another series sweep in '09, Tomlin's message (with which you know I agree) was clear - you should probably at least sign a contract before saying anything about beating the defending Super Bowl champs.
I doubt Tomlin really cared, though.
He's much too busy being a hard ass to be bothered with Noobs...
And finally, I missed this the other day, but the Fifth Down blog over at the NY Times pontificated about why the Steelers probably should not be "underrated" defending Super Bowl champs (as they currently are, apparently).
In doing so, they go through a number of reasons - like the fact that our D is nastier than Perez Hilton's face, and that our schedule is softer than Miroslav Satan - most of which I think we already know. Which, hey, I'll take it every day of the week (the Steelers love, that is). So if you wanna read it for yourself, that's the type of thing you can expect.
Either way, I have a few thoughts about this (shocking, I know)...
#1 - It's July 1
#2 - Vegas odds are all "educated" speculation
#3 - Who cares?
The bottom line is - I don't care if we're underrated, overrated, or rated at all. The Steelers have to work just as hard every year to have a shot at some new bling. Whether Vegas has them underrated or not or whether some writer thinks they shouldn't be has no bearing on how anything is going to play out between September and January.
I've got some odds for you, though.
The odds of me pillaging Trader Joes today are 2 to 1.
But as the true Chief passed on a couple of decades ago, Dan Rooney is the closest we've got. Plus, I thought that might make for a clever post title. So lay off me, ok?!?!
Anyways, here's video of Dan Rooney being sworn in (or whatever you call it) as the new US Ambassador to Ireland. I could not be prouder that the new liasion to my country of ancestry (one of them at least) is also the head of my favorite football team.
Congratulations, again, Mr. Rooney. You are a true diplomat in all that you do.
Go get 'em, tiger!
On a separate note - If anything important happens for the Steelers in the next 24 hours, you know I'll be on it. Short of that, tomorrow is Meeting People Is Easy day. So if you want to be in on that action, email me and let me know. Questions are crafted and responses are needed by later this evening.
Word on the street is that Santonio's packed it up on some pounds for 2009.
The street being the Trib, of course.
So, naturally I thought that a Photoshop of what his "workout" might look like was in order.
Here's a question: Who/what is more responsible for Santonio's weight gain - the gym or taco bell?
Discuss.
PS - I thought I could do strikethrough text in the post title, but apparently the new platform doesn't recognize code in titles. So I had to go with the old bracket routine.
I guess that makes the score Blogger - 1, New Site - 8,237...
[click the link below for the image necessary to understand that title...but you should probably read up to the link first. Whatever. Do what you want.]
We had a Gibson SG and Tommy Gun party at Delaware one time.
Hey, remember last Wednesday when I told you I didn't have time to post then, but I'd get something up later on?
Guess what?
Now is later on.
Sorry about that. I had some serious heavy lifting to do at the end of last week, and let's face it, all I missed were some unfortunate celebrity deaths anyhow, right?
So it all works out.
The good news is, I plan to atone for the significant lag in posting by offering you plenty of crap you've probably already seen this morning.
Here's how this is going to go - sad news, awesome memories, random hilarity. In that order.
Got it?
So, the sad news...
As you've undoubtedly already heard, legendary TV pitchman and McKees Rocks native Billy Mays died yesterday. Of course, this, coupled with the recent deaths of Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson has left everyone wondering which celebrity will be next. My hope is that it's Paris Hilton. But that's neither here nor there.
Billy Mays was a hell of a spokesman. If you don't remember, he was perhaps most famously the personality who endorsed OxiClean. But he was also involved with the Zorbeez and my personal favorite, the Awesome Auger (among others)...
Mikey and Big Bob from the Morning Freakshow have started a petition to get Billy onto the Primanti's Wall of Fame - thus immortalizing him properly at a legendary Pittsburgh mainstay. I have already signed, and I urge you all to do the same...that is, if the spirit moves you.
RIP Billy. It should've been ShamWow Vince...
Anyways, now that you've all dried your tears, it's on to the awesome memories.
For some reason, I stumbled upon some message board on CBS Sportsline talking about the top 10 moments from the Steelers 2008-2009 season. At first I thought, "man, this dude really nailed it" (followed shortly thereafter by, "what the hell am I doing on a message board?"). Then I realized he was just reposting the text from Gerry Dulac's article back in February. Not that it really mattered, because either way, an idea was spawned...
So because, A) Who doesn't wanna relive all that glory, and B) I have nothing better planned, below are videos of as many of the top 10 moments as I could find.
Not a bad trip down memory lane on a Monday morning.
Am I wrong?
Here you go...
10. Troy Polamalu's one-handed interception Nov. 16 vs. San Diego
Personally, I would've thought this would rank higher. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen anyone make a grab like that. But then, I guess it didn't mean as much to the outcome of that game as some of these other moments did.
9. Hines Ward's 8-yard TD catch with 1:53 left Oct. 5 in Jacksonville Couldn't find any video of this one, but if you do, leave that shit in the comments.
8. Ben Roethlisberger 6 for 6 on final drive to beat San Diego Nov. 16 See #9
7. Five takeaways on five consecutive possessions Nov. 30 in New England It's tough to really find one video showing five consecutive turnovers. So instead, perhaps an even more memorable moment from that Patriots game...
6. Holmes' 67-yard TD punt return vs. San Diego in AFC playoffs
I kind of wish this one was higher on the list due to its sheer degree of awesomeness. But frankly, does it really matter where any of these rank? They're all pretty much of equal bad assedness in my mind.
How sick was it to watch Deshea's old balls snatch that rock out of the air and return it for six and the win, right after Big Ben connected with Heath Miller for a game tying TD? I'll answer my own question - it was swine flu level sickening.
4. Troy Polamalu's 40-yard TD interception return in AFC championship game
What can I say about this that the video doesn't already say for me?
I love you, Troy Polamalu.
3. Holmes' 4-yard TD catch to clinch division title Dec. 14 in Baltimore
Ravens fans are undoubtedly still menstrual over this. Of course now that the Steelers beat the Ravens for the AFC Championship and went on to win the Super Bowl, it no longer should matter. And yet...we all know the pissy demeanor of Ravens fans just won't allow that to happen. Whatevs.
Too bad I couldn't find a better video of that catch.
Maybe if the camera hadn't caught SARS from being in Baltimore...anyways.
2. James Harrison's 100-yard TD interception return in Super Bowl XLIII
Well, it was either going to be #1 or #2 and seeing as how the #1 moment is well, you damn well know what the #1 moments is, so...
1. Santonio Holmes' 6-yard touchdown catch in Super Bowl XLIII
There are probably still people in America (read: Seacocks fans) who think this wasn't a TD. Let it go, guys. Let it go.
Santonio Holmes is my hero.
And that does it for Gerry's top 10 moments list, although I think he may have missed this one below for whatever reason. So, for your own edification...
I think that's one of my all time favs.
Now, before I get to the final YouTube of the day, I figured I'd do something positive around this place and give you some links to explore...
I trust you'll give them the proper 5-10 second read they all deserve...
The internets latest gimmick site - E-mails from an Asshole. Big h/t to Marc for bringing this one to my attention! [E-mails from an Asshole]
And finally, for some reason I was recently reminded of this YouTube gem that you may or may not have seen before. If you've never seen it, all I can tell you is potheads have really gotten enterprising in the 21st century. That and you probably want to listen to this one using headphones or at a low volume. They say bad words, **GASP**...
![[Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show](/images/stories/menu33.png)
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