Mike Tomlin is sitting in his office with Big Ben playing poker. Phone rings and coach answers. "Yes, Todd. It's me. Who the F you think it was gonna be. Yes Todd, I think it's a good idea"

While Tomlin is answering the phone Ben changes his hand from the deck.

After ending the conversation, Tomlin looks at Ben and says: Well Ben, I think its time for me to inroduce you to Todd. He's gonna be in a couple of minutes. Ben after reraising Tomlin's bet, casually says All right coach T. Whatever you say.

MT: "hmmm.... are you sure what you're doing by reraising me? I wouldn't mind taking your cash though. I call. Full house baby, gimme ma money."

Big Ben showing his straight flush: "Sorry coach. I'd rather take yours."

MT: "Oh well, here's your 59 cents. But I'll get back to you"

There is a knock at the door. Haley enters.

MT: Ben, I formally introduce you to Mr. Haley. Your new offensive coordinator.

TH: Hi Ben, nice to see you.

BB in a passive angry voice: Hello.

MT: Ben, I think, its best if you two will get to know each other well. So, I'll leave you guys here. I think it's best if you guys come to an agreement on our offensive philosophy and we'll move forward from there. How's that sound?

BB: Whatever you say coach.

Tomlin leaves the office and at the door says to Haley: Todd, don't play poker with Ben.

TH: Ben, I think we can talk a lot of things about football. But I wanted to start our relations in a cordial way.

BB: Ok Mr Haley, let's see if the media was right about your people skills.

TH: You don't wanna go there Ben. I wouldn't wanna talk about your raping skills. See, it's already getting messed up. Let's start over. Ben, my name is Todd Haley. And I'm your new offensive coordinator. I know a cure for 2 things which media talks about you, number one being - You are not a true passer, and number two being - You are not a true role model. The cure for these talks to stop is to win Superbowl and MVP of the league award. And I'll do my best to help you get those babies. How's that sound to you?

BB after thinking it over: Ok Sir, I think we can screw BA if we'll be able to do that.

Blessing in disguise

Today's loss was a very tough one to swallow. A lot of people are going to be heartbroken in Steel City for sure. But I want to let you guys look at this loss from different perspective. It was a GOOD loss in my books. I'm a die hard Steelers fan like you all are, but I think this loss was the best thing which could happen to us. Why? Well, there are many reasons for this and I'm going to list them all. First though, I want to ask a simple question. If you had a choice of winning this Superbowl at the cost of Big Ben's and Pouncey's career ending injuries in the process, what would you choose? My answer is -- No thanks.

Considering all the injuries in our beloved team, I look at this game as follows: If my team can't score a figgy in high altitude stadium withtin 2 minutes against 3 loss in a row team , it doesn't belong in the hunt this year. It's as simple as that. If we won today, we'd have put Pouncey, Big Ben and Woodley and many other banged up players to aggrevate their injuries and Big Ben and Pouncey to possibly career ending injuries. I do not want to take that chance. I know it was a heart breaking loss, but please guys, try to look at the bright side. Contrary to 70s team, this team has a chance to get younger and better after winning two trophies. We have young cogs in Ben, Pouncey, Woudley, Hood, Heyward, Wallace, Brown, Sanders, Miller, Worilds, and many others while 70s team were old and gone after their ride. We can add several pieces with the next draft and have a shot at it many more times.

God bless you all and Go Steelers !!!

Dear friends,

It was a tough loss. But please don't fall from the roof of your houses just yet.
S##t happens. And please, don't try to over analyze why we lost. It meant to be.
It is what it is. No time for blame games. Look at the bright side. Big Ben
still keeps true to his progression. During the regular season I predicted
playoffs loss as per Big Ben's cycles.
So here it is once again:

2004 Playoffs loss
2005 SB win
2006 No Playoffs

2007 Playoffs loss
2008 SB win
2009 No Playoffs

2010 Playoffs loss
2011 --> hopefully SB win

See, its Big Ben's cycles. And nothing can be about it. Besides, Take a lesson
from John Elway. He lost his first 3 trips to SB and won the last 2 trips. So,
Elway visited the playing grounds of Superbowl 5 times. Big Ben is not 30 yet.
So plenty of times to repeat in SB wins, hopefully.

Another bright side would be, next year (if there will be a next year) our
offensive line would be better as we'll get Pouncey's brother. Our wide
receivers will be more mature etc. etc.

The third bright side is - our team wasn't blown out in the Superbowl as many
teams do. We had a strong and resilient team this year.

So please, with sugar on top, don't jump from the roof just yet.

With best regards,

Bonek

History is a beautiful thing that can set a lot of perspectives straight. After seemingly horrible 2009th season let's take a look at Big Ben's cycles. Cycle is by definition - an interval of time during which a characteristic, often regularly repeated event or sequence of events occurs. So what do we have in Big Ben's 6 year career as an NFL quaterback?

2004 Playoff loss, 2005 SB Win, 2006 No Playoffs

2007 Playoff loss, 2008 SB Win, 2009 No Playoffs

Seems like pretty cyclic, no?

So, if you think that we had a horrible year in 2009... think again. It's just a cycle.

2010 Playoff loss, 2011 SB Win, 2012 No Playoffs

If you still want something good to ease the pain of missing the playoffs, here is a comparison of the achievements of Big Ben with the stats of immortals like Joe Cool,  John Elway, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and current great QBs like Drew Brees, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers. Noone had more victories than Big Ben's 60. And only Peyton Maniac has more passing yards than Ben.

Here is a table which I made:

via i913.photobucket.com

There is something more to Big Ben's cycles. We have to give to "the One and Only One" who sits up above and controls Football fates a big sacrifice. As history shows, after Ben's first cycle, Rooneys sacrificed Cowher in "His" honor and it worked pretty well.

Now, it's Big Arian's turn to be sacrificed and we'll add a little more Ligasheski sauce to it. Hopefully Rooneys will see that we have to sacrifice one of the BEST offensive coordinators in the League in order to keep cycles going.

Now, on to random thoughts:

- Can anyone tell me if Aaron Smith is able to fill Big Casey's shoes? This way, we'll have best 3 down lineup in Ziggy, Smith and Keisel.

- Anyone knows if Sonny Harris had actually played in games this year as a part of Defensive line rotation? If he did played and played well, we can handle Hampton's absence.

Reasonable Best case scenario for Steelers

via i913.photobucket.com

NFL tiebreaking procedures are here:

http://www.nfl.com/standings/tiebreakingprocedures

Can anyone translate that for ordinary fans?

If we win out, are we in or we're out as Broncos and Ravens will also have 9-7 records and as with three or more tied teams scenario, head to head case won't work?

Furthermore, there is a chance that Jacksonville Jaguars may win two more games and they also will be at 9-7.

What a beautiful day in China :-)

This game, unfortunately I was unable to watch the game here in China. But I listened to a radio and followed the game through NFL.com and at BTSC until 04:35 in the morning :-)

When I woke up, the first thing coming to my mind was Big Ben and Hines Ward are leading the league in passing and receiving :-)

The game was absolute beauty :-) as long as We have "W" and all three of our division opponents have "L"s for the week it's a great game.

The only bad experience for me was the fact that lots of people here unfortunately forgot to appreciate the "True games of a Dynasty". Yes, I do think that we all are experiencing the Steelers' second Dynasty, but a lot of wussies keep complaining about little things like fumbles and interceptions and mistakes. I don't give a sh#t to them as long as Big Ben is healthy. Yes, Big Ben is  a cornerstone of our success!

We have to appreciate the beautiful games our boys are showing us... "win" or "lose". Some people just cannot do that. The only thing they do - is complain.

So, here is a little something to all those wussies:
- It was decades ago when Steelers fans had head coach haters among them lurking out of woodwork asking for his head. (Look at San Diego, Washington, Buffalo etc.) Tomlin is  Henry Kissinger of NFL!
- We have one of the greatest Franchise QBs in the League in Big Ben. No description necessary. The guy's is accurate and hell of a competitor. Just remember the days with Maddox, Kordell, Neil O'Donnell, and all the others after Terry... Remember the days? So, enjoy the games while you can!!!
- We have two Superbowl MVPs among our WRs. One is a future Hall of Famer who's got his name in an NFL Rule and who thinks: "A wide receiver being dirty - I take that as a compliment."
- We have All Pro safety who struck fear to opposing teams and their fans throughout NFL.
- We have the best pass rushing tandem in Silverback and Woodley. Linebacking tradition continues with Timmons, Deebo, Farrior and Woodley.

- Our Offensive line is improving daily. How do you think Big Ben is leading the league in passing?

So people, please try to enjoy the games and look for positives instead of dwelling on negatives!

1) This was another come from behind victory for Big Ben. Guys, this is a true franchise QB. The guy never quits. Never gets nervous. Plays tough, hard and physical football. He was an MVP of this game. I remember Kordell and Maddox times... when the game got heated they failed big time, but never this guy. Truly beautiful game from Big Ben.

2) Hope Troy's and Woodley's injuries are not serious. But those two played lights out, especially Troy. What a magnificent interception. And the penalty against him was "a no penalty".

3) Ike and Gay needs to focus on game not on their celebrations after tackles. On Tennnessee TD drive, after celebrating his tackle "Face me Ike" style, Ike got burned for a big gain, while at the same time, Ryan Clark couldn't finish his tackle and Kenny Brit got 57 yards on the play. 

4) Keyaron Fox was in the heat of the battle and around the ball every snap! The guy can play.

5) A note to Tomlin: Activate Redzone Redman. And please make M.Moore as our 1st or 2nd running back. When he plays, our screens are more effective.

6) Rushing statistics: Pittsburgh gained a total of 36 yards on 23 carries.

7) A note to Arians: Taking into account our crappy O-line, from now on run West coast offense. WE CANNOT RUN, MAN! Instead of establishing pass with the run do it vice versa. Establish run with passing game! 

8) Thanks to K.Collins for losing OT coin toss. 

9) Our guys bailed out Hines Ward just like they did Bettis in Indy. Hats off to them.

10) When was the last time 2 of the Steelers WRs gained 100 yards both in the same game? Our Superbowl MVPs Ward and Holmes got 103 and 131 yards this game.

11) It was a shame we tosses hail mary at the end of the 1st half. Ben doesn't need these Int-s for his resume.

12) Defense and Special teams were two Monsters out there today. Blocked field goal and consistent punting for special teams. Great play by defense even though our offense was 3 and out most of the game. And the defense played without Timmons, Troy and Woodley in the second half.
 

Pittsburgh, Pen. -- Bruce Arians was fired Friday as offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been very happy with the progress of their offensive line and running play. He is the fourth offensive coordinator fired this week in the NFL joining the Chiefs' Chan Gailey, Bucs' Jagodzinski and Bills' Schonert.

Quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson was promoted to Arians' former role on the eve of the Steelers' regular season game against the Titans and will take over play-calling duties. Anderson previously held offensive coordinator position with the mighty Bengals of 1990's.

"I have a lot of respect for coach Arians, and what he did, and the effort he put into his work," steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, "but at the end of the day we mean what we say when we say the standard of expectation doesn’t change from coaches to players. For the last two years unfortunately for Arians he over-promised and under-delivered in terms of play calling and protecting our QB. Actually we won Superbowl 43 inspite of him not because of him."

Arians installed an offense featuring a zone-blocking running scheme and a passing attack that encourages the quarterback to aggressively get sacked behind the line of scrimmage. Tomlin stressed that philosophy should change as they need to protect Steelers' 100 million dollar investment in Ben Roethlisberger. 

The Steelers offered Arians a demotion to waterboys' coach, which he graciously accepted.

1. Ryan Mundy opened a lot of eyes with his dominating performance.

2. K. Lewis is here for a long long time.

3. J. Burnett needs to learn how to finish off his tackles.

4. Redman's 10 yard TD run was one for the preseason ages...

5. 2 penalties from D. Johnson didn't help his cause today.

6. Anyone can tell me what the heck was J.Vincent doing in there today? He robbed good boys (Summers and Redman) off carries.

7. Harris had a sack and definitely wouldn't clear waivers.

Sexual assault is the ultimate LOW pit to which a person can fall to. A person comitting sexual assault destroys any differences between him/her and an animal or a beast. It is a tragic and traumatic event to a victim, who suffers emotionally, mentally, physically and psychologically. Sexual assault victims will have psychological scars for most of their lives.
However, unfortunately at the same time, sexual assault charge also can be used as a WEAPON for laundering money from rich and famous individuals. A lot of people after having consensual sex with a famous celebrity or a rich person use false accusations to get rich.  

Just take a look at some data:
- Craig Silverman, a former Colorado prosecutor known for his zealous prosecution of rapists during his 16-year career, says that false rape accusations occur with "scary frequency." As a regular commentator on the Bryant trial for Denver’s ABC affiliate, Silverman noted that "any honest veteran sex assault investigator will tell you that rape is one of the most falsely reported crimes." According to Silverman, a Denver sex-assault unit commander estimates that nearly 50% of all reported rape claims are false.
- Linda Fairstein, who heads the New York County District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Unit. Fairstein, the author of Sexual Violence: Our War Against Rape, says, "there are about 4,000 reports of rape each year in Manhattan. Of these, about 50% simply did not happen."
- 1996 Department of Justice Report, of the roughly 10,000 sexual assault cases analyzed with DNA evidence over the previous seven years, 2,000 excluded the primary suspect, and another 2,000 were inconclusive.
- 1985 the Air Force conducted a study of 556 rape accusations. Over 25% of the accusers admitted, either just before they took a lie detector test or after they had failed it, that no rape occurred.
- Purdue sociologist Eugene J. Kanin, in over 40% of the cases reviewed, the complainants eventually admitted that no rape had occurred (Archives of Sexual Behavior, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1994).
- The National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers says around 600 teachers a year are falsely accused - a trebling since the 1989 Children’s Act.
- According to the FBI, one of every 12 claims of rape filed in the United States are later deemed ‘unfounded,’ meaning the case was closed because the alleged victim recanted or because investigators found no evidence of a crime.
- Several independent surveys reveal that 42% to approximately half of all rape accusations made are false. Most cases involve divorce battles involving the custody of children, some for revenge for withdraw of affection, monetary gains, an excuse for infidelity, or misidentification.
- BJS report NCJ-151658 notes that there are 2 rapes or attempted rapes reported per 1,000 US citizens, which is 530,000 reports of rape per year. There are 15,000 rape convictions annually. Based on new DNA tests, a third of those convictions are now found to be false. Therefore, there are potentially 520,000 false rape allegations a year.

************************************************************************************************

Considering this post by newcastle,pa-gal where she states:

While anything is possible, the stories I have read today just sounded so ridiculous to me. First, I would never blame the victim in a rape case, I am usually on the woman’s side since I am a female, but give me a break…
1.) When a man asks you to go his hotel room to fix his TV, unless you are a complete moron you know this has an "alternate" meaning. You can’t tell me this women lives in Las Vegas and is that naive.
2.) If your boss expects you to show important celebrities a "good time" and you are worried about being fired…then you really need to realize that you either quit this job and/or sue your employer for sexual harassment. You don’t just say okay, boss, anything you say. She was the one that went to his room. If she didn’t feel comfortable with that she should have expressed her concern and asked for someone else to be present in the room.
3.) When something is not working in your room they usually send someone from maintenance, not some concierge. I don’t know too many women who rewire TV’s, but whatever.
4.) If you get raped, God forbid, why would you stay around and clean up in this man’s room? Most woman would be running out of the room. Why would you assume telling your boss= telling the police and going to the ER?
Something like this usually leaves some bruises, I think with that and DNA evidence that Harrah’s would have one heck of a time firing her, which I understand was her reason for holding onto this information for an entire year.
5.) If you are in therapy and the hospital for post-traumatic stress disorder, don’t you think they would encourage you to come forward regarding the person that attacked you much earlier?
I hope Ben has a good lawyer and goes after her. She should be fired for accusing someone like this.

And taking into account:

- that McNulty has psychiatric problems which arose from a bizarre situation involving McNulty and another man's wife,

- that McNulty didn't press criminal charges right after the incident and didn't even file a complaint with police,

- that McNulty and her lawyer came up with a real good scheme and filed a civil lawsuit right when Big Ben was in the state of Nevada,

We can conclude that McNulty is a scam artist!

via argville.com

Recently, NFL.com's Jamie Dukes rated his best NFL fans. Of course Steelers were #1. I checked ESPN and found out that they rated Steelers as #1 in August 2008. So, there is a consensus in media that we are the BEST :) fans in NFL.

 Found this ancient post from the year 2000 where an author includes Steelers to the dishonorable mention of worst fans by attitude category. Overall I found his story interesting as there are some funny quotes like this one: "... ANY TEAM WHOSE FANS GANG UP ON TWO STEELERS FANS AND SEND THEM BOTH TO THE HOSPITAL LOSES 100 POINTS!!!"

So my question is:

Dear Steelers fans, please take off your black and gold colored glasses, and try to remember if you witnessed any anti-social or vulgar behavior by Steelers fans during the games?

If so,

Considering the fact that many people go to games with their children, is there a way to minimize the so called anti-social behavior during and after the games?

1. I wish we had a Links library in BTSC, where fans could find great Steelers related sites. This is a very interesting site: http://www.artrooneyjr.com/

2. Does anyone know how many times a year Big Ben donates police and fire fighters for care of dogs?

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_633564.html

First I thought that $8000 is not so much money for him, but then I realized that at least he's not spending this money on his flower planters as Tom Brady :-)