SB Nation User Blog: Alba

See "The Chief"

Alba — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:37:14 -0000

"The Chief" is a one-man show about Art Rooney. If you also live in Pittsburgh, check out this last opportunity to see a live performance (for free), after the jump.

THE CHIEF, a one-man show about Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, is being retired after several hit seasons of presentation at the Pittsburgh Public Theater.

A commemorative DVD, to be sold by the Pittsburgh Steelers at various venues, is being taped on November 12th at Shadyside Academy, and they are looking for audience members. Audiences will see a full production of the show and be provided with refreshments. Participants will be required to wear clothing appropriate for a night at the theater, be available to stay through the estimated 5 hours of taping, and will act as extras, filling various areas of the theater and recreating reaction shots.

There is no charge, but all audience members must be confirmed to attend. Spaces are limited, and will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

To begin the confirmation process, please send an e-mail with name, phone number, and recent photograph to fourthrivercasting@yahoo.com as soon as possible. Details on time and location will be sent when registration is confirmed.

Note to Bruce Arians: There is no "I" in "team"

Alba — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:01:57 -0000

I'm not a fan of Bruce Arians -- miss the Whiz and all that. Also, I'm an academic and tend to parse words. So maybe I'm reading too much into how Bruce Arians speaks when he says:

I don't have a fullback. There's no fullback in my offense, there's never going to be one.

I have several problems with this quote:

1) We don't have a fullback. Our main running back wants one, and last month Bring Back Dan Kreider's post convinced me we run better with a fullback, so I think it's reasonable to question Arians' judgment. However, this isn't actually my main complaint, because as bad as Bruce Arians is, he has more football knowledge in his little pinky than I do in my entire body. And I'd need to recommend someone to come off the 53-man roster so that we can have a fullback, and this post isn't about the roster: it's about Bruce Arians.

2) He said: I don't have a fullback. Not: we don't have a fullback, our offense doesn't have a fullback, or the team doesn't have a fullback. And he said: my offense. To me this suggests that Arians, on some basic emotional level, doesn't work well with others. If I were reading this ungenerously, I'd say he's an egomaniac.

3) He said: there's never going to be one. To me this displays a distinct lack of flexibility in his thinking, the same lack of flexibility we see in his situational play calling. Never? Really? Even if the best available player when we draft happens to be someone we think would make a great fullback?

Now maybe BA is getting sensitive about people questioning his judgment, so he wants to emphasize that this is his team, not the reporter's, and by saying never he hopes to shut down further inquiry. But I can't imagine Tomlin or Lebeau talking about the team in the same way (if anything, Tomlin is overly fond of using "we"). If BA can't take some public criticism or if he is unwilling to admit when he has made mistakes, how will this offense improve?

By the way, the quote in context can be found here.

fun times around Latrobe

Alba — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 13:54:49 -0000

Being blessed to live in Pittsburgh, I'll be heading out to Latrobe for training camp. Because of my work schedule and other commitments, I'll probably go during a weekday during the first full week, stacking the trip with a visit to Idlewild.

Last year when we went, we couldn't find a place to eat. Or rather, we couldn't agree on a restaurant for two adults, a toddler, and an infant that provided better value than simply driving home and making a home-cooked meal, or going to a restaurant back in the city.

Any suggestions for restaurants and other fun places for families around Latrobe, besides training camp and Idlewild?