Like most kids, I participated in a lot of sports growing up, and as is pretty common when you're playing sports in your formative years, I often fantasized that I was one of my professional sports heroes that I watched on television. If I was playing a game of pick-up basketball, I was Magic Johnson; if I was pitching in a baseball game, I was Nolan Ryan; and if I was running with a football, I was Eric Dickerson, John Riggins or Walter Payton.

I don't know how I looked when playing those sports, but I sure felt like I was one of those very talented athletes.

They were fun times, and I often wish that I could turn back the clock and revisit them. Fortunately, I'm still ambitious and athletic enough to participate in a lot sports even at the age of 40. However, my thought process today vs. 25 years ago is a little different. Looking back, I realize that I was never the most talented athlete in the group, and I sure didn't have the skills of any of the Hall of Fame athletes that I often emulated.

I could never make the no-look pass like a Magic Johnson; I didn't have a 100mph fastball like a Nolan Ryan; and I sure didn't have the speed and shiftiness of running backs like Eric Dickerson and Walter Payton.

The reason why I know this is because I was never the first kid picked when it came time to make up teams. I was almost always one of the last players "drafted", and that was usually after the other kids huddled up and asked, "Can't we just play with one less player?"

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As most Pirates fans probably know, the Zoltan sign has become sort of a rallying symbol for the 2012 squad. I personally first started noticing it a couple of weeks ago when Rod Barajas hit a walk-off home run and flashed the sign as he rounded the bases.

From what I've read, the idea to start flashing the sign was conceived by Barajas and Neil Walker.

Now it's catching on to the point that even radio stations are starting to pick up on the phenomenon, and t-shirts have been made with the Zoltan symbol on the front.

That's pretty awesome, and it's nice that the players have adopted a way to unify as a team, even if they did get the idea from watching the movie, "Dude, where's my car?"

From what I've witnessed so far, it's mostly the hitters who have been flashing that sign--Walker, Barajas, Josh Harrison, etc.--but the problem with that, as you probably know, is that the Pirates hitters have been so pedestrian in 2012, many of the players might eventually forget how to flash "Zoltan" after a big hit because they have been few and far between.

The team's offense is ranked dead-last in the National League in both runs scored and batting average.

On the flip side, the pitching staff has been so good this season, they are third in the National League in team ERA. Unfortunately, because of the horrible offense, guys like James McDonald (2.51 ERA) and Erik Bedard (3.52 ERA)haven't been able to benefit that much in terms of their win/loss record. McDonald is having his best season, but he's still only 3-2. Bedard was a pretty hard-luck pitcher early on, losing many low-scoring decisions, and because of that, his record sits at 2-5. I'm not saying Bedard and McDonald and the other starters haven't struggled at times, but a few of them certainly deserve better fates in terms of their records.

The team, overall, has struggled because of the lack of offense, and instead of that great pitching leading to a winning record, the Pirates are still only 21-24.

This is why my sources tell me that the pitchers have adopted a sign of their own. It's called the "FU" sign.

It's a rather universal hand-gesture that involves curling four of your fingers and the thumb and leaving the middle finger extended and pointed upward.

Perhaps, you've seen it.

Anytime a Pirates starter has a quality outing and still loses, "FU!"

Anytime, the offense makes it damn-near impossible to get away with giving up more than two runs, "FU!"

From what I understand, if the Pirates current .217 batting average slips below the Mendoza line, the pitchers will then adopt the double-fisted "FU" sign that wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin made popular back in the 90's.

Bedard seems like the kind of guy who would get behind such a symbol, and I could see him even designing a t-shirt to commemorate it. Be on the look out for a t-shirt that shows the "FU!" sign directed at Pedro Alvarez as he strikes out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th inning with the Pirates behind, 2-1.

People would buy that shirt. Well, at least the Pirates pitchers, anyway. Maybe Clint Hurdle, too.

"FU!"

I just turned 40 recently (brief self-serving pause for "Happy Birthday" wishes), and it's a weird feeling. To paraphrase comedian Louis C.K., you're older, but you're not really old. And you're still youthful, but you're not really young anymore.

Turning 80 is an even bigger milestone, and 2012 just so happens to be the 80th year anniversary season of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that was founded in 1933 by the late Arthur J. Rooney.

The good thing about being a 40 year old Steelers fan is that I wasn't around for a lot of the tough times that the franchise experienced in its first four decades of existence. I came on board just when the team started to turn the corner and become what it is today.

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Tomorrow, the Steelers begin their OTA's, and for die-hard fans, it's at least a little taste of football, so to speak. We'll get to see our boys in action again, albeit only in shorts, and we'll get another glimpse of the new rookie crop...........well, except for DeCastro and Adams.

Speaking of that, Mike Wallace also won't be there because of his contract dispute, and his absence will probably dominate much of the talk. Coach Mike Tomlin will more than likely have to spend the majority of his time with the media deflecting questions about his speedy receiver.

I don't think that will be the only news. I'm sure there will be some "OTA Wonders" that really look good in their helmets and shorts, and we'll marvel at their sheer athleticism.

Although, I'm pretty sure we won't be allowed to marvel because I don't think OTA's are open to the general public.

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Back in February, when the Pirates and Yankees consummated a trade that sent veteran starting pitcher A.J. Burnett to the Pirates in exchange for prospects and money, I came on this blog and expressed my displeasure with the trade not once, but twice. Actually, I expressed my displeasure quite a bit, and this led to a two or three week blood-bath between myself and everyone else on Bucsdugout.

There were many bench-clearing incidents as several pitches came up and in from both teams as neither side was willing to back down.

It got so bad at one point that I had Burger King in a headlock and repeatedly pummeled him in a fashion similar to what former Pirates catcher Jason Kendall did in his fight with Gary Sheffield way back when.

Cocktailsfor2 and I had several face-to-face confrontations after things started heating up over the Burnett trade, and I got so frustrated and mad at him that I spit right in his face. That's just classless. You never spit in another guy's face. You punch him; you talk about his woman; but you never spit in his face.

My grudge over the arguments about the Burnett trade got so bad that, at one point, I even wrote a spoof on the top five Pirates prospects in 2012 where I suggested that Chase d'Arnaud was the second best prospect in the Pirates' entire organization.

Joking or not, that was just uncalled for--although, my pick of Brad Lincoln at number 4 is looking better and better with each passing start.

However, even though Burnett is only six starts into his Pirates career, I must admit that I was probably wrong about the deal. As of this posting, Burnett is 2-2 with a 4.78 ERA. The ERA might look bad on the surface, but that's mainly due to his 12 run disaster in St. Louis recently. In his other five starts, Burnett has given up two runs or less. Also, his whip (see, I kind of know what that means now) is less than it was over his previous four seasons. Most of the people on this blog argued that Burnett was going to be better simply because he would be pitching in a weaker NL Central after spending years in the tough AL East.

So far, that sentiment is proving to be accurate.

Also, after I lamented on the thought of bringing in another washed-up veteran pitcher, most of you countered with the argument that Burnett would be a great influence on the Pirates young staff.

Well, as far as James McDonald is concerned, that was another accurate sentiment. Burnett and McDonald reportedly became fast friends in spring training, and now McDonald is having a break-out year and is among the league leaders in strikeouts in the National League.

I don't know if Burnett's addition will help lead the team to their first winning season in two decades, but it's apparent that his addition to the 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates was a good one.

It takes a big man to admit that he was wrong, and I am that big man.

It's pretty safe to say that a huge segment of Steeler Nation still loves the running game. It's Steelers football. It's our identity. If you make any case for why franchise quarterbacks and passing the football are the way to win in today's NFL, you'd probably get five counter-arguments from Steelers fans emphatically stating that a good ground attack is always the best way to win a football game.

"Forget about the trends! It doesn't matter what the rest of the NFL is doing! This is Steelers Country, and here, we run the ball!"

However, it's kind of hard to ignore trends in sports because they usually tell a pretty good story.

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As someone who follows the NFL Draft on a casual-to-serious level, I always find it funny how quickly I can become enamored with a certain player based on just reading a review of his measurements and skill-set, even if I didn't know that player existed all throughout his college career. I soon become convinced that this is the player that the Steelers MUST take with their first round selection. If they don't, I know I'll be severely disappointed.

It's sort of like how a little kid acts when he's at a department store with his parents and he spots a new toy out of the corner of his eye. This kid wasn't even thinking about that toy when he got up that morning, but now, that toy is the only thing that will bring him happiness. When Mom grabs him by the arm and whisks him away so she can finish the rest of her shopping, the kid loses it and causes a scene right in the middle of the store.

The 2012 draft season was no exception as I quickly became enamored with Memphis nose tackle Dontari Poe after his more than impressive showing at the NFL Combine. I didn't know who Poe was during his college career, but I was certain that the 340plus pound specimen would be the Steelers answer to the next Casey Hampton. Poe became that new toy that I hoped and prayed would fall to the Steelers had 24. Unfortunately, he was picked by the Chiefs at 11.

Thankfully, Stanford guard David DeCastro was an even shinier new toy that caught my eye as the draft progressed, and when he fell all the way to the Steelers, I soon forgot about Poe.

My brother, on the other hand, wasn't so happy about the Steelers, maybe, finding the next Alan Faneca. Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower was his shiny new toy, and when the Steelers passed on him, my brother called me up to complain about it. "I can't believe they passed on Hightower. He's going to be the next James Farrior. The Steelers will be sorry!"

Talk about a temper tantrum.

It's obviously too soon to know whether or not the Steelers will be sorry that they passed on Hightower, or if Poe will be the next great 3/4 nose tackle, or if DeCastro will be the next Alan Faneca.

One thing I do know is that every draft is a crap-shoot, and there will always be "what ifs" and "why didn't theys" when player A is picked instead of player B.

After the jump, I'll give you a brief review of some of my favorite "why didn't they" moments in Steelers drafts gone by, and how things turned out for all parties involved.

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There is nothing quite like a baseball team that's on a roll. I mean, a big roll where they win eight or nine games straight. If you're a fan of the team, you can't wait to turn on the television or head to the ballpark, because you know there's a pretty good chance that you'll be seeing a team that can do no wrong.

Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Pirates, long-winning streaks have proven to be quite elusive over the past season and a half or so. In-fact, you have to go all the way back to September 17th-22nd of 2010, to find the last time Pittsburgh won at least five games in a row.

And forget about the Buccos sweeping a three for four games series. You have to go back to June 14th-16th of 2011, when the Pirates swept the Astros in a three-game series down in Houston, to find the last time the team accomplished that feat.

For my money, there is nothing that makes a statement to an opponent better than sweeping them right out of the ballpark. Outside of the sweep in Houston, the Pirates had several chances to do that last year--most notably against the Phillies, Tigers and Red Sox at PNC Park--but they almost always found a way to let the last game of a series slip away.

Overall, the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates managed to win at least three games in a row six times and four games in a row three times.

So, why is it so hard for the Clint Hurdle-led Buccos to put lengthy winning-streaks together?

The most obvious answer, of course, is the deficient offense. Once again, the Pirates had a chance to finish off a three-game sweep tonight at PNC Park when they took on Stephen Strasburg and the National League East-leading Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, the Pirates could only muster a couple of runs in a 4-2 defeat.

Sure, it's no crime being out-pitched by a talent like Strasburg, but the Pirates offense is going to need to start solving pitchers like Strasburg if they're ever going to become a true contender in the NL Central.

I know the Pirates have a pretty decent pitching staff, but even a team with five dominant starting pitchers would have a hard time winning games with such a pedestrian offense.

That's the tangible reason--the lack of offense--but maybe there's an intangible reason at play here, too.

The Pirates, under Hurdle, talk an awful lot about winning series. "Hey, we took two out of three, and that's the most important thing." Maybe they relax a little once they take the first two games of a series. It is true that winning two out of every three games that you play will probably get you into the postseason, but realistically, these Pirates(14-17 after tonight's latest failure with broom in hand) are going to have to learn how to go for the throat whenever they have a chance to sweep a team.

It's good for the maturation of a young baseball team.

It's also good for building long winning-streaks.

A good friend of mine hosts a really rockin' party at his home twice a year, and dozens of people show up to have a great time and mingle. Beings that I'm a newly single man, I was really looking forward to doing some mingling of my own and just having some fun. Unfortunately, instead of any of that, I had one too many rum and (whatever cola drink may sponsor this site), and I barely remembered anything about the night, except feeling kind of sick. The fact that I let too much alcohol consumption stand in the way of me having a really great time brought back memories of the time too much tailgating made me "miss" a perfectly fine Steelers' victory at Heinz Field. Join me as I sort of re-live that day.

The 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers, defending Super Bowl champions, suffered through the classic "Super Bowl hangover" by opening the year 2-6, and ultimately missing the playoffs with an 8-8 record.

That was rather unfortunate. However, for someone like me, who doesn't get to go to very many Steelers games, it proved to be somewhat beneficial as I was offered a ticket to the team's week 13 game vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Heinz Field on December 3rd, 2006.

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I've been following the game of football since I was 7 years old, and it's a sport that brings out more joy and passion in me than just about anything outside of my friends and family.

There's quite nothing like the game of football in my eyes--for my money, it's the best sport in the world--but even the most die-hard and passionate football fan has to be at least a little disturbed by the problems that so many former NFL players have had to deal with due to concussions and repeated head trauma that they suffered during their football careers.

It's an unavoidable topic for sure, as there are currently over 1500 former players suing the NFL over this issue. The number of players alone tells me that it's a very critical issue, and it won't be going away anytime soon.

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When the Pittsburgh Steelers followed up on their 1st round selection of Stanford guard David DeCastro by selecting Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams in the 2nd round last Friday, a lot of fans and media members around Steeler Nation were quite concerned. The concern had nothing to do with the team using a 2nd straight draft pick to select an offensive lineman. No, the concern came from the fact that the Steelers selected a player with such a checkered past.

As most Steelers fans probably know by now, Adams made some questionable decisions while in college by accepting illegal benefits and was suspended for five games last season. He further cemented his reputation as a flawed figure by testing positive for marijuana at the NFL combine just two months before the 2012 NFL Draft.

Adams would surely have been a first round prospect if not for the character issues, so the talent was obviously there. But was it worth the risk for the Steelers, a team that has seen its image as a first-class organization get tarnished a bit in recent years by some of its players not necessarily representing themselves in the "Steeler Way," to take such a player?

It's hard to say. But there's one thing I know for sure: I wouldn't want to be a person in the public eye with any sort of mistake on his or her resume. People never forget when you're a celebrity of any kind. And the mistake, even one from the distant past, can follow a person around forever.

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Before the start of the 2011 Steelers season, there was great optimism that the offense could be one of the most dynamic and explosive in franchise history. Ben Roethlisberger had long established himself as a legitimate franchise quarterback, and there was great excitement about the plethora of weapons that he had at his disposal.

Mike Wallace was quickly emerging as the best deep threat in the NFL, and there was a lot to like about 2nd year wide-outs--the final 2/3 of the Young Money trio--Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown. And when you factored in all-time Steeler Hines Ward, the underrated Heath Miller, and the newly acquired Jerricho Cotchery, one wondered if there would be enough passes to go around to keep everyone happy.

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In the weeks and months leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft, the general consensus among people in the know (or at least in the opinion) was that the Steelers were going to use the 24th pick in the first round to select inside linebacker Dont'a Hightower from Alabama.

With the departing James Farrior, Hightower would be a natural choice to eventually step in and take over the role as quarterback of the defense.

Inside linebacker was obviously a need, and why not go with Hightower? He's a good character guy, and a fairly safe pick despite the concern over his major knee injury from a few years back.

However, the offensive line was also a major need for the Steelers going into this year's draft (specifically guard), and there was some talk of maybe going with Cordy Glenn of Georgia or Kevin Zeitler of Wisconsin. They were among the top ranked guards in this year's crop, but they weren't David DeCastro from Stanford. He was the highest ranked guard, and as Neal Coolong suggests, maybe one the best overall prospects in the entire draft. He was projected to go in the top 10 or 15, no way would the Steelers have a shot at him, right?

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A few weeks ago, our very own Ivan Cole wrote a piece about the month of April, and how it's a time of hope, anticipation, renewal and even a bit of withdrawal what with any real football still many months away. When I read that, I thought, "Amen, Sir." That's how I feel.

As a die-hard football fan, I can certainly relate. Right around that same time, the Pittsburgh Penguins were winding-down their regular season by engaging in a blood-bath with their heated rivals and soon-to-be first round playoff opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers. During the game, there were many fights, cheap shots and even opposing coaches screaming at each other. The next day, I was reading an article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the series of events that occurred in the game, and there was a quote from one of the Penguins players. I don't remember the player or the exact quote, but he mentioned something about it being April, and April is playoff time, so therefore, the intensity is magnified.

Right then is when it hit me: I guess I'm not a hockey fan because I cannot relate to April playoff intensity.

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Last week, it was reported that Mike Wallace, a restricted free agent, had decided that he wasn't going to sign the Steelers $2.7 million one year tender. This indicated that Wallace's intention was to draw a line in the sand and enter into a battle of wills with the Pittsburgh Steelers. You knew that already, of course. Neal Coolong summarized that quite succinctly last week when the news first broke.

That's old news.

What's even older news is that it's almost impossible to win a staring contest with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Wallace doesn't know this, his agent should, and they should probably try to come up with a better plan if they're going to get what they want.

More highly decorated Steelers than Mike Wallace have tried this tactic in the past, and they have failed.

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The upcoming NFL Draft is just over a week away. And that means the speculation and rumors will soon come to an end as we put away the mock drafts and make way for the real one.

I'm not much of an expert when it comes to the draft. I can't tell you if a player isn't getting his pads low enough or whatever. But I've been watching the draft since I was 14 years old, and I'm pretty sure I can predict almost exactly how this year's version will unfold. Why? Am I a prophet? No, but you might say I'm a scout of the NFL Draft itself, and I've picked up on some tendencies over the last 25 years or so.

Join me below as I give you a precap of this year's NFL Draft.

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The Pittsburgh Power knocked off the Orlando Predators, 57-54, last night before a crowd of just over 4400 at the Consol Energy Center. I was one of the 4400-plus in attendance, and I got to witness the biggest comeback in Arena Football League history, as the Power stormed back from a 31-point second half deficit to win in overtime.

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This past weekend saw the Phillies in town to take on the Pirates in the first series of the 2012 baseball season. The Flyers were also in Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins Saturday afternoon in a season finale that was more a preview of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs that will commence this Wednesday night at the Consol Energy Center.

It was nice to see the Penguins take out the Flyers Saturday, even if the game was meaningless in the standings.

It was also pretty satisfying to see the Pirates take two out of three from the Phillies at PNC over the weekend for the second year in a row.

The reason why the weekend results were so rewarding for me is because of how Philadelphia fans act. Flyers and Phillies fans were everywhere in town this weekend, and from what I understand, they were acting like the stereotypical Philadelphia fans. In other words, they were loud, obnoxious and entitled.

The entitled part about Philadelphia fans has always made me chuckle a bit because I've been following sports since a 7 year old in 1980, and in that entire time, the City of Philadelphia has been able to truly claim "we're number one!" in a major professional sport three times--two World Series titles and an NBA crown.

That's not a lot of championships for a city full of fans who act the way those people do.

In fact, for all of the bravado and boasts, Philadelphia fans had a 25 year drought in the World Championship department. The 76ers won the NBA Finals in 1983, and that was the last title until the Phillies defeated the Tampa Rays in the 2008 World Series.

I'm not saying three world titles isn't impressive, but it's not really that great for a city that claims to be on par with the New Yorks, Chicagos, Bostons and LAs of the sports world.

And it's not as if Philadelphia teams haven't had a chance to win more titles. The Flyers have been in five Stanley Cup Finals since the '79-'80 season, but they've come up short each time; you have to go back to the "Broad Street Bullies" days of the mid-70's to find the last time the Flyers were able to parade around the ice with the Stanley Cup in hand. The Eagles made Super Bowl XV in 1980 and Super Bowl XXXIX in 2004 but lost both, and you have to go back to 1960 to find the last NFL Championship for the City of Brotherly Love. The 76ers have been to the NBA Finals four times, but they only have the one title. And, of course, the Phillies have been to the World Series five times since 1980 and have won two titles.

If my math is correct, that's 16 finals appearances since 1980 and only three titles. It's not a very good percentage.

In that same time span, New York area teams have won 15 championships, Boston teams have won 10, Chicago teams have claimed eight World titles, and Los Angeles area teams have boasted 14 titles since 1980.

If you're a Philadelphia fan, you might think that's unfair. The New York metro area, for example, has two baseball teams to draw from, two football teams, two hockey teams (three if you count the New Jersey Devils), and an NBA team (two if you count the New Jersey Nets).

Okay, fair enough, but the Spurs have won four NBA Championships since 1999, and they're the only major professional sports team in San Antonio, Texas.

Speaking of having teams to draw from, as a fan who comes from a city with only three professional sports teams, I'm proud to say that the City of Pittsburgh has been able to claim seven World titles since October of 1979 when the Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series (yes, I know, it's probably unfair to dip into the late 70's, but what the hell. I like to play dirty). Even if you take away the '79 World Series and the Steelers Super Bowl XIV title following the '79 season, Pittsburgh still has claimed five World Championships to Philadelphia's three over the past three-plus decades--the Penguins have won three Stanley Cups and the Steelers have won two Super Bowls.

I'm not saying Philadelphia isn't a great sports town, and 16 championship appearances in three decades is something to be proud of. But if you're going to act obnoxious and entitled, realize that people are going to give you crap over just winning the three championships.

Also, next time you want to boast about being the equals to the New Yorks and LAs of the sports world, remember that you're not even the most successful sports town in the state of Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh Steelers uniform is one of the most recognizable in all of sports and has remained relatively unchanged for decades. Sure, there have been some minor tweaks here and there, but the design hasn't changed since at least the late 60's.

Nike recently took over the rights to design and manufacture NFL uniforms, and last week, they unveiled each team's new duds. Thankfully, the Steelers uniforms didn't see any major changes. Most teams didn't radically alter their uniforms, either. The only major difference is a lighter fabric that Nike will use.

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Yesterday on Behind The Steel Curtain, I wrote a piece about NFL teams who were never able to get over the hump and win a Super Bowl despite coming close several times. I concluded the piece by talking about the Buffalo Bills of the early 90's and their four Super Bowl appearances without a victory.

Towards the end of the article, I got to thinking, and I posed a question to Steelers fans: Would they rather see the team win one Super Bowl or make it to several without achieving ultimate victory?

Being a life-long Steelers fan, I'm pretty torn over the scenario. Is it great to see your favorite football team win a Super Bowl? You better believe it. However, I think seeing your team make four-straight even if they all ended in losses would be a pretty memorable ride as well.

But when it comes to the Pirates, I wouldn't even have to think about it. The Buccos have had such a tough time over the past two decades, and the finances of the game have been stacked so high against them and other small market teams, I would sign on the dotted line if some omnipotent figure presented me with the opportunity to see the Pirates appear in several World Series, even if they lost every single one.

Heck, I'd sign my name in blood for that opportunity. I'd sell the naming rights of my future first born just to observe that. I'd get a tattoo on my left.....well, anyway, you get the idea.

What about you? As a Pirates fan, would you rather see the Pirates win just one World Series or appear in several?

Any Texas Rangers fans out there, by chance? They were on the losing end of the last two World Series. Did you consider that a pretty awesome accomplishment, or were you extremely frustrated and heartbroken over it?

I've always been fascinated by the stories of NFL teams that finally reached the top of the mountain after so many futile attempts. One team that comes to mind is the Oakland Raiders of the late 60's and early 70's. They came up short in the postseason time and time again--most notably three times to the Steelers--before finally exorcising their demons and knocking off Pittsburgh on the way to winning Super Bowl XI following the 1976 season.

Other examples include the '71 Dallas Cowboys, who finally won Super Bowl VI after many years of being called "Next Year's Champions"; the Denver Broncos of the John Elway era, who upset the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII to claim their first World title after many sub-par Super Bowl performances in the 80's; and most recently, the 2006 Indianapolis Colts, who were finally able to slay the New England Patriots on the way to winning Super Bowl XLI after so many years of coming up short to the Pats in the big games.

These are fascinating stories because as fans, I think we can identify with the struggle of a team finally getting that monkey off of its back. In the 2010 book "Badasses" that chronicles the Oakland Raiders of the John Madden era and their quest to finally get a ring, the players from those teams talk about how relieved they were to finally get over the hump and win a championship. One has to wonder what their lives would be like today had they not been able to win a Super Bowl.

Winning a Super Bowl does so much for the legacies of certain players and teams. The Steelers are now an institution in Pittsburgh, and it's based solely on winning those four Super Bowls in the 1970's. In an interview with Steve Sabol back in 2003, Terry Bradshaw said that the only thing that mattered to him, and the thing that he was most proud of, was that he never lost a Super Bowl in his career.

Joe Namath has said that he probably wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame today if it wasn't for the Jets upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

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It is being reported on Profootballtalk.com that the USFL, the pro football league from the 1980's that unsuccessfully tried to compete with the NFL, is coming back and will act more as a minor league for the NFL this time around. The new USFL is going to have teams in cities that do not have pro football or baseball, and according to their website, they will be competing in the spring, starting in 2013.

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The Steelers said goodbye to a number of long-time veteran players in recent weeks, but other than sentimental value, players like Hines Ward and Aaron Smith didn't figure to have much of an impact or make much of a difference in wins and losses starting next season. One might say that James Farrior is going to be hard to replace as a leader and the inside linebacker. There is some merit to that, obviously, but Farrior is also 37 years old, and his replacement will more than likely be Larry Foote, a player who has started in two Super Bowls and played in a third. Is Foote James Farrior? No, but he's serviceable.

That brings me to William Gay. Gay became another veteran to leave the Steelers when he signed a two-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals yesterday.

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I've never been to a Steelers playoff game. For that matter, despite living in Pittsburgh my entire life and being a rabid Steelers fan since the age of 7, I haven't been to very many Steelers games at all over the years. It's not that I have a problem with Heinz Field or anything, it's just that the tickets are so hard to come by, and they're just so darn expensive.

Fortunately for me, in late 2008, I started dating my lovely girlfriend. Unlike me, she's more of an "in the moment" kind of person and doesn't have to think every little thing through like I do. She's also extremely generous. And one night in the late summer of 2009, my girlfriend called me to surprise me with the news that she had purchased two tickets online for the NFL Kickoff game between the Steelers and Titans on Thursday, September 10th at Heinz Field.

I was very happy. As I said, I have never been to a postseason game, but seeing the Steelers open up the NFL season as defending Super Bowl Champions is the next best thing, in my opinion.

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Saints head coach Sean Payton was suspended for one season without pay by the NFL for his role in a team bounty system that financially rewarded its players for knocking opponents out of games.

Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who was said to be the mastermind of this system, was banned indefinitely for his part. Team general manager Mickey Loomis was also suspended for the first eight games of the regular season.

The team was also fined $500,000 and will have to give up its second round draft pick for this season and next.

With the safety of the game of football coming under fire in recent years, the last thing the NFL needed was a scandal that made an inherently violent sport even more dangerous.

The NFL had no choice but to act quickly and harshly. With the league facing current and possible future litigation from former players regarding concussions, the NFL needed to nip this in the bud before it started to mushroom.

Williams coached for several teams throughout his career, so this thing might not be nipped in the bud just yet.

Two days after word broke that the Denver Broncos had landed the services of legendary free agent quarterback Peyton Manning, the team traded last year's late season phenom, Tim Tebow, to the New York Jets. In exchange, the Broncos will get the Jets' 4th and 6th round picks in this year's draft, and New York will receive Denver's 7th round pick to complete the deal.

Tebow, a surprise number one pick by the Broncos in 2010, was never considered a traditional drop pack passer due to his quirky throwing motion and willingness to run with the football.

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A couple of years ago, during a radio show about the NFL Draft, one of the hosts said that he enjoyed the draft more than the Super Bowl. I found that to be pretty peculiar because isn't the draft just a means to the ultimate goal of winning a championship?

But I know where that person was coming from; some people are just simply enamored with draft talk.

I used to be that way. Heck, when I was a kid, I couldn't get enough of the draft, and I thought every player the Steelers picked was going to make the team and be an All-Pro for 10 straight seasons.

The height of my obsession was probably around 1989, which just so happened to be one of the rare occasions that the Steelers had two first round draft picks. Mike Merriweather, the team's disgruntled Pro Bowl linebacker, sat out the entire '88 season in a contract dispute, and the Steelers eventually shipped him off to the Vikings in exchange for their first round draft choice.

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Wide receiver Desean Jackson signed a pretty hefty new contract earlier this week that will alow him to stay with the Eagles for the next five years. When you add that deal to the one that Marques Colston signed with the Saints--five years, $40 million--it might have increased Mike Wallace's value (at least in his eyes) and made it a little more difficult for the Steelers to sign him.

Even though team general manager Kevin Colbert insisted that the Steelers wanted to do everything in their power to keep Wallace, would the team be willing to offer the speedster a contract that averages in the $8-$10 million range annually? The Steelers had to cut a few veterans and asked a couple of other players to restructure their deals just so the team would be in compliance with the NFL's salary cap for 2012. Beings that the team declined to make Wallace a franchise player and pay him roughly $9 million next season, it seems unlikely that they would be willing to pay Wallace an annual salary that would even approach that.

However, will the Steelers even have to worry about it?

Did the new deals for Jackson and Colston give Wallace leverage, or did they take it away?

Wallace is a restricted free agent, and the Steelers have the right to match any offer sheet that Wallace would receive from another club. Since the Steelers offered Wallace a first round tender of $2.7 million for next season, if Wallace signs an offer sheet with another club, and the Steelers decline to match the deal, Pittsburgh would receive that team's 2012 first round draft choice as compensation.

The question is: Does Mike Wallace think he's worth $8-$10 million annually? If he does think that, is there a club out there willing to pay him that kind of money plus lose their first round draft choice?

$8 million plus your first round draft choice is a lot to give up, especially for a wide receiver.

I know Wallace is good, but he might not be deemed as valuable outside of Pittsburgh as he is here.

It'll be interesting to see how valuable teams think Mike Wallace really is, and if the Steelers agree.

It appears that legendary quarterback Peyton Manning, who was cut by the Colts last week after 14 years, is nearing a decision on a new team. Where will the future Hall of Fame quarterback finish his career?

Will the 35 year old Manning head to Denver and, at least temporarily, put an end to Tebowmania? Will he follow in Kurt Warner's footsteps and head to the desert to play pitch-and-catch with Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals? Or will he stay close to his condo in South Florida and give the Dolphins the first glimpse of a legitimate quarterback since the days of Dan Marino?

It's still anyone's guess at this point.

Manning won't be the first quarterback of his stature to end his career with another team. In-fact, several come to mind. Below, I will give a brief review of how each quarterback's careers ended after they left their signature teams.

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It's a moment frozen in time. Maybe the last real iconic moment in recent Pirates history. It was Game 7 of the 1979 World Series, and the Pirates found themselves trailing, 1-0, with two outs in the top of the 6th inning. Bill Robinson was on first base after a single. Willie Stargell, the heart and soul of the '79 Pirates, stood in the batters box, winding his bat in his familiar clock-wise manner. Orioles starter Scott Mcgregor unloaded a pitch, and much like he often did during his MVP '79 season, "Pops" brought his team from behind as he deposited the pitch over the right field wall and into the Pirates bullpen to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead that they would never relinquish. The Pirates went on to win, 4-1, and capture their fifth World Series title.

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