This looks like the best pledge class in years, and we can't wait to see them in Black and Gold. We also can't wait to see them carrying the veterans pads and doing the things that pledges do. But they have to have Steeler names, and since Pledgemaster Ward has graduated, Homer has taken it upon himself to come up with the names they will carry as they pledge Black and Gold House, which is, as we all know, the best house on campus. Here goes:

Continue reading this post »

Branch Rickey is rightly famous for a lot of things. First among them, bringing Jackie Robinson into Major League Baseball. Second, the establishment of baseball's first truly successful minor league farm system. But he is also found in Bartlett's and most other books and lists of famous quotes for something he said about luck. He said it more than once, but this 1952 quote, in its entirety, explains it best...

“Things worthwhile generally don’t just happen. Luck is a fact, but should not be a factor. Good luck is what is left over after intelligence and effort have combined at their best. Negligence or indifference are usually reviewed from an unlucky seat. The law of cause and effect and causality both work the same with inexorable exactitudes. Luck is the residue of design.”

Branch Rickey died long before Mike Tomlin was born, but the Great Mahatma could have been talking about the Steeler coach, his staff, the front office and scouting department.

Continue reading this post »

It was like watching that Oprah Winfrey lady screaming, "everybody gets a pony! Everybody gets a pony!"

Thursday was Homer's birthday, and we all got a pony. Santa Claus is real. But don't you believe for one minute that he only comes once a year. He hung around for Friday and Saturday, too.

For the Steelers, the draft was like a trip down to the Wal-Mart Supercenter. They put together a list, drove down, grabbed a cart, and headed down the aisles. Offensive guard? Check. Tide liquid detergent? Check. Offensive tackle? Check. Milk? Check. Orange juice? Check. Inside linebacker? Check. Sargento string cheese? Check. Nose tackle? Check. White Castle Frozen Sliders? Check. Jack-of-all trades speed merchant? Check. Little Debbie Brownies? Check. Mmmm. Little Debbie. Get another one of those. We got everything we needed, with no rain checks, and when we were ready to leave, somebody opened up a new checkout aisle, and we didn't even have to wait in line among the Wal-Martians!

Now that we're home, let's open up those plastic bags and see what we got....

Continue reading this post »

Okay, gang. Christmas has come early this year. We got the pony! We got the Official Red Ryder Dual Action B-B gun!

Santa has really delivered the goods, including Mr Plow, that Adams guy, that guided missile from Miami, Plate Lunch, and that blur from Florida.

Homer would be happy if all we got in the seventh round was some socks, some underwear, and school supplies. This has been the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!

But we have FOUR picks in the seventh round, and it's always good to be greeedy!!!

Seventh round open thread.......

The Immaculate Reception actually saved his life 39 years ago. Les Banos was one of the most beloved and unforgettable characters in Pittsburgh sports and television history. Les died this past week at age 88 of heart failure.

Known affectionately as the "Little Hungarian" or the "Little Magyar," Banos spent most of his life behind a camera. He was photographer and cameraman for the Pirates and Steelers in the 1960's and 1970's, and - before that - he helped put WQED on the air in the early 1950's, and also worked at WTAE-TV. Nearly all the precious video that still exists of the Great Clemente was taken - and preserved - by Les.

Continue reading this post »

This says it all, and it's clearly from the heart.

******

Dear Steelers Fans,

As of today, I am no longer a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I leave the field and Steelers with no regrets, and am grateful to have played for such a tremendous organization. I feel truly blessed to have spent my entire professional career in the best town, playing for the most loyal fans who have loved and supported myself and my family.

The last 13 years of our lives have been special because of the people who cheered me on, and I am truly fortunate to have been a part of the Steelers, the City of Pittsburgh and the Steelers Nation. You have opened your arms and your hearts to us as a family and we will never forget that. Your support, enthusiasm, love and dedication are gifts I will carry with me my entire life.

I may no longer be on the Steelers active roster, but I will always be a Steeler and will never forget the people who made it all worthwhile -- the fans, the Rooneys, the front office, the equipment guys and trainers, my teammates and family. Thank you for supporting me over the last 13 years, and I hope you will support me in whatever future path life will take me on.

We plan on making Pittsburgh our home and I will endeavor for the rest of my days to find a way to thank each and every one of you personally for all that you have done and meant for me and my family. You cheered for me for 13 years and now I cheer for you for the rest of my life. You will always be in my heart, thoughts and prayers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to have the job of a lifetime. You will always be in my heart.

Your friend always,

Aaron Smith and Family, No. 91

****

Thank YOU, Aaron. May God continue to bless you and your family. Godspeed.

Editor's note: We found the picture, and we were so struck by Homer's fashion sense as well as the hat (just an awesome trench coat), we figured we had to post the picture and bump this to the front. - nc

So Homer got back from taking Santa's Little Helper (real name Katie) to the dog park this morning, and sat down with his Kwik-E-Mart coffee to take a look at the Washington Post, only to find Homer's picture in the middle of the front page, in full color, complete with Steeler cap and hypocycloids!

Homer is crouched over a bit in the photo, along with a number of other self-styled dignitaries, seemingly listening for a weather prediction from a dead, stuffed groundhog. The other dignitaries are wearing black top hats. Homer is wearing a suit, tie, dark coat, and repping the Stillers with the hat.

From The Washington Post

A bit of 'splainin' may be in order.

Continue reading this post »

In 1862, a reporter asked President Lincoln how he felt about the results of the election in New York, where a Democrat had just been elected Governor. Lincoln famously responded, “Somewhat like that boy in Kentucky, who stubbed his toe while running to see his sweetheart. The boy said he was too big to cry, and far too badly hurt to laugh.”

Well, that's how Homer feels the morning after. Except he's still immensely proud of the team he loves, and the character they showed yesterday.

Continue reading this post »

I'm sure the sportwriters and know-it-alls will find some reason to overlook Mike Tomlin and give the Coach of the Year honors to somebody else. Tomlin will be an afterthought, and will get few - if any - votes, and fewer mentions. But that's okay. When Steeler Nation's fearless and beloved young leader walks into work, he walks past six Lombardi Trophies, not six Coach of the Year Trophies. Hopefully, seven soon. And Mike Tomlin has more job security than the guy who won the COY last year and just got fired. In fact, given the history, he has more job security than any NFL Coach and maybe more job security than anybody you know.

Continue reading this post »

Well, it certainly has been a fun holiday season, with the Steelers in the thick of the playoff chase. Homer has been busy celebrating and wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and Happy New Year. He wanted to wish everybody a joyous Ramadan, until someone told him that they switched it to August this year, probably to keep the infidels on their toes. So he's left with Chinese New Year, the MLK holiday, and Mormon Kwanzaa, and whatever. It's all very confusing to me and the guys down at Moe's. So Happy (fill in the blank), everybody!

I hope everybody has a happy and safe holiday season

Continue reading this post »

One of the great things about the Steeler team and organization is the way they give back to our community. And one of the best traditions is the Christmas blood drive. There's always a need for blood to save lives, and at Christmastime, there's often a shortage of blood. This year, the drive will be held December 26th and 27th, and there are some wonderful incentives for those who participate.

Continue reading this post »

The last time Homer felt compelled to write something half an hour before kickoff was just prior to the opening game of the season. At that time, he wrote that he had a strong feeling that the Steelers simply weren't ready. That they hadn't controlled the line of scrimmage in any of their pre-season games and the offensive line hadn't impressed at all. He was worried to death. Sadly, he was right.

Continue reading this post »

So with the Lions trailing the Packers, 7-0, and the Packers deep in the red zone in the third quarter, Aaron Rogers throws an incompletion on third down at the three yard line. Unfortunately for Detroit, that Jerk named Suh was blocked on the play and ended up on the ground with a Packer offensive lineman. Suh grabbed the guy by his hat and seemed to slam it into the ground two or three times. Then, as he was pulled up off the lineman, Suh kicked him in the arm. What would have been a Green Bay FG attempt would soon be a GB touchdown. 

The official threw the flag, tossed Suh out of the game, and it was half the distance and first down for the Pack. Two plays later, Kuhn took it in from the one. Instead of 10-0, it was 14-0.

Continue reading this post »

Rebecca Rollett often references her organizational experiences in her posts here. Well, the Pittsburgh Camerata, which she directs, gave a performance Saturday night that got quite the review in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Andrew Druckenbrod called it remarkable. Kudos, Momma!  Read on, everyone.....

Pittsburgh Camerata concert remarkable Concert review 

Tuesday, November 01, 2011 By Andrew Druckenbrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Arrangements of African-American spirituals have been a part of the art chorus tradition for so long that they have attained their own genre status.

Even when watered down in cheesy arrangements, spirituals are among the most potent and compelling music an American chorus can sing. Yet, most professional choirs are content to plug in a set of two or three in a concert. Not that this is lip -- or vocal cord -- service. It's just that more context is available if a choir opts for it as the Pittsburgh Camerata has done in its "Out of Africa" concerts.

Based on the concert I attended Saturday night at Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church, I believe this is the most remarkable program that artistic director Rebecca Rollett has created in her 13-year tenure of, well, remarkable programming.

Read rest of review at PG.  

Wow. I think he liked what he heard. 

After such a satisfying win, Homer is confused. Who should get the mythical BTSC game ball? The offense was better than it's been all year. The OL gave Ben lots of time and opened holes for the running backs. Heath Miller was All-World. The wide receivers were all over the place, making key catches, especially on third down. Ben was terrific, hitting 72% of his passes for 350 yards. And the running backs made some huge plays and protected Ben against the blitz.

Continue reading this post »

Homer sees where Lord God King Roger Goodell fined that bad man Robison of the Minnesota Vikings 20-thousand dollars for kicking that guy on the Vikings in his groin.  Apparently, the Viking guy and his package were not injured.

That's twice what Goodell fined Troy Polamalu, for using a cell phone to tell his wife that he was okay - after Polamalu suffered a head injury and had concussion-like symptoms.

Continue reading this post »

It is often played on bagpipes at police and military funerals. It has become a traditional song of parting, a song of farewell.

Mad Jack Churchill, the only known British soldier to have felled an enemy with a longbow in the course of World War II, picked up his bagpipes and played it to keep his men in battle during a raid in the Balkans. Out of ammunition, he played on until knocked unconscious by an enemy grenade. The Germans captured him and took him to a POW camp. He escaped, of course. 

Continue reading this post »

This one takes the cake. Lord God King Roger Goodell has fined A. J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers ten thousand dollars for giving the finger during last week's game. Guess the aforementioned Hawk simply forgot that the games are televised, and millions of people could see his rigid digit.

Oh, and he levied a fine against Troy Polamalu. After suffering concussion-like symptoms, Polamalu was handed a cell phone and was seen speaking into the phone while sitting on the bench. From what I've read and heard, he was telling his wife he was okay. Talking into a cell phone is also a no-no.

Polamalu was fined ten thousand dollars.....the same as Hawk.

Okay, gang. Let's light into Goodell. And don't be gentle.

On another thread on this blog, someone wrote that Al Davis, who died today, would likely soon be playing a spirited game of poker with the Chief. I'm not so sure the sainted Mr. Rooney would find time to play cards with Mr. Davis, even if we're talking all eternity. 

There is no question that Al Davis was a towering figure in NFL history. He was one of two or three people who should be given the most credit for the AFL-NFL merger. He built a franchise that was the powerhouse of the AFC West for more than a decade. His hiring of Black and Latino coaches paved the way for the league. 

But Al Davis and his team hated the Steelers, and the Steelers hated them. And it was far more than gamesmanship. 

Like John Madden, Al Davis never got over the Immaculate Reception. And, like Madden, Davis believed Steelers' groundskeeper Dirt DeNardo soaked the field at TRS before one playoff game, and allowed the field to turn to ice, thus negating the speed advantage of Oakland's wide receivers. But those were just the preliminaries..

Continue reading this post »

It was the greatest American short story writer who first used the phrase. Erstwhile Pittsburgher William Sydney Porter, better known as O. Henry, wrote in "The Heart of the West," that "I looked around and found a proposition that exactly cut the mustard." That was in 1907, when "the mustard," was slang for "the genuine article."

It became part of the American language, and eventually part of the timeless C&W classic made famous by Ernest Tubb, among others. "You're a-gettin' too old to cut the mustard anymore." Google it. You'll love it, if there's even the smallest dash of country music in your soul. 

Continue reading this post »

There are many ways to put together a line. You can actually do it almost overnight. Bobby Beathard did just that in April, 1981 for the Washington Redskins. 

The previous season, the Redskins OL was simply awful. The offense consisted of Benny Malone running into a brick wall for minus one yard on first down, and then Joe Theismann running for his life on second and third. Then, if Theismann hadn't turned the ball over, they brought in some guy to kick it away. The 1980 Redskins offensive line was like Xavier Cugat's  conga line, one-two-three-kick. But that all changed in two days.

Continue reading this post »

Every coach's nightmare is where your opponent's strong point matches up directly against your weakest point. And that's exactly what happened Sunday night.

Indy's two fabulous trench warriors, Freeney and Mathis, were matched against Jonathan Scott and Marcus Gilbert. It wasn't pretty from the beginning, and got downright ugly.

Continue reading this post »

The lockout was supposed to play to the Steelers' advantage in the early season. After all, they were returning 20 or 21 starters, so they didn't need all that prep time. In fact, they didn't turn the ball over even once in the pre-season. That was the conventional wisdom. That, plus the fact that Flacco would never have a decent game against the Steelers. 

Of course, those who manufacture and dispense CW chose to overlook the first quarters of pre-season games, when the Steelers' first team defense was getting pushed off the line of scrimmage, and when the offensive line was having trouble establishing the foundation of a running game. 

And when the Steelers had to take the field in an actual game, they stunk worse than Herr's Island on a hot August afternoon. They had more turnovers than Entenman's. And the defense couldn't stop anybody. How'd that CW work for you?

Continue reading this post »

The most miserable guy in the Bible was Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet." He knew that his people were headed for disaster, he warned them, but there wasn't sweet diddley he could do about it. And his people hated him for his warnings. 

I was scared to death of what I had - and hadn't seen - in the pre-season games. I talked to Michael Bean about my concerns earlier in the week, and told him I'd write about them. I got cold feet, not wanting to post a "Here's How the Ravens Can Beat the Steelers" post a week ahead of the game. Hell, I even took the points and chose the Steelers in the pick 'em. 

But then, twenty-five minutes before kick-off, I posted my pre-game analysis, which we switched to the first half thread when the original first half thread broke down. If you think I take any joy out of saying, "I told you so," you're nuts. I hated Sunday's game. It was like watching a nightmare come true, and, like Jeremiah, there wasn't sweet diddley I could do about it. 

It's a good place to start the analysis of what went wrong. Here's what I wrote and posted at 12:40pm.....

Continue reading this post »

It's 21-7 at the half, and the Steelers have had more than their share of problems on both sides of the ball.

They Ravens have controlled the line of scrimmage both on offense and on defense, and the defense has been particularly out of sync. Flacco has looked like Joe Montana.

Let's hope the second half is the opposite of the first.

Here's your second half thread....

I wrote some reasons why I'm concerned about the Ravens, but Beanie's gameday thread is broken.

So forget your cares, and mine......let's use this as the gameday thread.

I've been very quiet about this game, and there are several reasons. I've shared the reasons with Michael Bean, and want to share them with you....moments before kick-off.

Continue reading this post »

Steelers Depot reports that former Pitt Panther Dorin Dickerson - who was cut by the Houston Texans - has been scheduled for a workout with the Steelers on Monday.

Continue reading this post »

Homer narrowly averted a couple of bad days, Hurricane Irene shut down the bakery used by the nearby Kwik-E-Mart, so they don't have any Sprink-a-licious Donuts at all. D'oh! Luckily, there's a special on pizza at a dollar a slice, and that seems to go well with the Mocha Iced Coffee at 8am, right after Santa's Little Helper goes for her morning walk. 

With that crisis averted, we can move on to the final pre-season game, and the things we'll be watching.

Continue reading this post »

Homer has been known to worry about many things. Like whether he'll run out of cold, delicious Duff beer before the game is over. Or if he'll get up too late to get the many-colored Sprink-a-licious donuts at the Kwik-E-Mart.  And after watching parts of the Falcons game on NFL-TV Saturday night, and the game in its entirety on the rebroadcast on Sunday, he would like to share his Steeler worries with you.

Continue reading this post »

Steelers and Falcons!

Continue reading this post »