Obama, Smooth?

You know, I thought Barack Obama was supposed to be a smooth dynamic speaker. Well, he may be when delivering a speech that he has memorized and has delivered it 100 times before....but off the cuff at the first debate, I was shocked. He stammered and stuttered and sometimes sounded like a motorboat trying to start. I thought McCain was going to look old a feeble compared to the vibrant Obama but I couldn't have been more wrong. I saw McCain's speech at the convention and I cringed about what would happen come debate time. I cringe no more. I am voting for McCain as my political slider is more to the right than the left. The Bush administration got away from the core Republican beliefs that I tend to side with about taxes and spending. I triust McCain to bring that wagon back around, not Obama to add more spending to it. I always say to throw away the 20% fanatical ends of the political spectrum. That leaves 60% in the middle from 21 Left to 79 right with 50 in the middle. My gauge is pinned at about 67 these days. People like to talk about Palin's lack of experience because she's the governor of an "insignificant" state. Hmmmm, was Bill Clinton the governor of New York, Pennsylvania or California? I didn't think so....and he wasn't even the VP candidate.

Turnpike? More Like Turnstile....

Well, the Steelers suffered their first defeat of the season yesterday in magnificent fashion. A lot of people were saying the offensive line problems were fixed. Right, and Mike Tyson is now a babysitter. Much like Tyson would eat the small children, the Steelers offensive line looked a little like Niagra Falls yesterday. Defenders were rushing in and putting him on the carpet before he finished his backdrop. Phil Freakin' Simms was saying after the 4th or 5th sack that he should start thinking about getting rid of the ball instead of taking the sacks. Are you kidding me? Was he watching the same game we were? Ben had ZERO chance to get rid of those balls. Maybe on a few of them, but not when Phil suggested it. So, what was it? What was the cause? Let's assume they change nothing before halftime and try to make the adjustments there. Did they try to give him help? Yes. Did it help? No. Why didn't it help? Because they rushed from every angle possible and always seemed to bring someone free. I don't know how you're supposed to drop back to pass when a guy that is starting out 8 feet from you is running forward full speed without a guy even touching him at you. You can't do it. Had we been able to run the ball, it would have helped, but we couldn't do that either. Draws to slow it down? No way. No time. They would have taken the handoff themselves. Our defense played well also, but it's been a long time since I've seen our offense so handcuffed. Ben got hit often, but I still think we hit McNabb harder. So, we had the entire halftime to adjust and we really didn't. Their defensive line is about twice as talented as our offensive line plus they had better schemes. I saw a guy run right past Hartwig (who full on blocked another guy) but what I saw was a lack of communication before the snap where he didn't point to him or scream out "who has this F'er right here?" before snapping the ball. These are things our centers of the past did. Anyway.....other things I noticed...... Anthony Smith should just be cut. He's a low class idiot and we don't need players like him. At some point he's going to cost us the ball and/or 15 yards at a critical juncture. The Eagles punter took the wind out of our sails at least 3 times, maybe 4. When kicking from the endzone, I got excited as I thought the prospect of getting the ball on the 50 might spark the offense. Not. I think he kicked it to the 28 or something. Nate Washington could have caught a pass that he had 2 hands on to sustain a drive after halftime. Jeff Reed showed me distance I didn't know he had. The announcers were crucifying the Steelers for not kicking the FG late needing two scores, but what they failed to point out in their enjoyment of pointing it out - was that the clock was running and we were out of timeouts. It would have taken a lot of time to run the offense off.....bring the FG unit out.....set....kick...... I think in effect he was licking his wounds and already thinking about The Ravens. I'm not faulting him for not kicking the FG in that situation. I think at minimum 20-30 seconds would have been needed....IF they even got it off before being called for delay of game. Oh, I also think Ben did not ground that ball. He had a guy in the area and it was batted without a chance to get to the line. However, his knee was hitting at the same exact time so you have to think Fatboy Reid would have seen that and challenged it as well. I was glad to see the teams talk after the game. It seemed to me they had a lot of respect for each other. I don't mind losing a close game to a good team on the road. We just need to get our heads out of our asses and fix the O-Line problem for the Ravens and Giants and other teams with a rush.

Rats

Well, for the second year in a row, I have a very "MySpace Like" photo in a bathroom mirror from a cell phone camera following my half marathon. I am actually quite disgusted with myself over my time. It's 15 minutes over what it was just last November. That's more than a minute per mile, but most of that has to do with me slowing down to a crawl after mile 8. For one thing, it's much hotter today than normal for this time of year and that equates to about 25 degrees warmer than when I ran last November. It's crazy that weather can affect you that much, but it does. Second....I had more stomach issues today after taking gel. I slowed down to walk at a water stop and took the gel and water while walking then started to run again immediately. All of a sudden I felt like I ate 12 tacos at Taco Bell and wasked it down with 10 Iron Cities! My stomach felt loose and queasy for the remainder of the race. I'm really disappointed, but it will help me train for my next one. I think I need to take the advice of what I read about not trying to do anything special about food the day before. Just do what you do. In retrospect, I don't do anything special the nigth before a training run of 10 miles so why do anything different for this race? Phooey. Oh well, even though I finish at the back of the pack for my age group....I have to keep telling myself that: A. not too many casual runners even run half marathons, and B. over 16,000 people entered the race and only a little over 13,100 even finished. The far left of the road had golf carts with runners going back to the start all day. I really wish they would include the people that didnt finish in the age placements......but I don't know why I care.

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Mother Nature Hates Fan

When I ran my first half marathon at the Philadelphia Distance Run two years ago, there wasn't a cloud in the sky and we suffered like crazy out there as it neared 80 with some heavy humidity. My second half last fall was a dreary day in November where we fought rain clouds most of the day. I debated which race to run this year, the September version or the November one - and I chose the September one after rereading the average start and finish temperatures for the PDR. Well, the forecast for Sunday is a balmy 78 and sunny in the city. SHUCK! I've been doing all my long training runs at 6:00 in temperatures between 57-64 starting out. This race starts at 7:45 which is around the time I'm normally finishing. I'm screwed. Goodbye 2:10, Hello 2:20.

Cuckoo Catchoo

Which photo is of Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid? Which is of Seattle Seachickens coach Mike Holmgren? And which is of a sad, brooding, real walrus?

Keisel, Here We Go Again

Just like last year, we're losing a quality starter early. Like Aaron Smith last year, we will now be without Brett Keisel for up to two months. Does this mean McBean is in or will Orpheus Roye move into the starters role? Who knows. Get healthy, Deisel.....we'll need you for the playoff run.

Boring NFL Clips

When Football Night In America started, I thought I would enjoy it, although I knew I would miss Chris Berman and Tom Jackson doing the highlights on ESPN. I'm thinking ABC should have trucked those guys in for their prime time show. Bringing back Dan Patrick is horrible. Teaming him with former partner and bleeding heart liberal puke Keith Olbermann is even worse. They think it's 1990 and it's still cute to try to outwit each other during highlights. Putting these two with Bob Costas makes for three idiots trying to outsmart each other. I used to hate Colinsworth back when he first started announcing in the early 90's, but now he's clearly the smartest football guy in the room. Barber and Bettis, try as they may, cannot even begin to compete with Chris. They never say anything that wasn't totally obvious to even the most casual of football fans. What it comes down to is that I want to watch the clips and hear nothing else. I might have to start going online to find them or check out NFL Network to see who does them there. I think Dion Sanders might help so I probably can't watch that either. How the heck hard is it to find two people to read clips who don't annoy me? I swear Olbermann and Patrick are so smug they must gloat at each other's lines during commercial breaks. What a pair of losers. God, I hate announcers.

Crown Their Ass

The Browns are who we thought they were. If you want to go ahead and crown their ass, then go ahead....crown them. At 0-2, Winslow is still talking about winning the division but at least he called our defense "great" not "good". Romeo said his team is inches from beating us. Well, that counts, dude....maybe we should just go ahead and give them the win? Steeler football is Willie Parker running, Ben throwing a minimum number of passes and the other team rarely crossing midfield. The Browns? They're who we thought they were......the same old Browns.

Happy Birthday Ruby Suckay's

So Princess turned nine today...I can't believe it. Although her big party for her friends was Saturday, we took her out for dinner tonight. She likes to have the wait staff sing to her on her birthday and last year at Texas Roadhouse she sat in a saddle while they sang to her. We gave her her choice tonight and she chose Ruby Tuesday's as she likes the salad bar. When Mom took her to the salad bar, I went over and told the hostess it was her birthday and we'd like them to sing to her. She informed me they don't sing anymore but she could bring a sundae for her and we could sing if we wanted to. I thanked her and went back to my table. As she was finishing her dinner, she wondered out loud if they were going to sing to her and asked me if I told anyone it was her birthday. I broke it to her that they wouldn't be singing but she was getting a birthday sundae. It was small, but nice. When the check came....they charged us for the sundae as well. I couldn't believe it. If I would have known we were paying for the sundae, I would have let her pick whichever dessert she wanted! One year at Houlihan's, they asked if we wanted their birthday dessert when they came over to sing. When they found out it was for a child they said the cake was too big and instead brought a small sundae piled high with whipped cream for no charge....before I even had a chance to turn down the cake. I wondered why RT would stop singing and I thought maybe people were getting annoyed with 2-3 interruptions per meal eaten out....but if they allow the table to sing, isn't it the same thing? Oh well......

With Friends Like This

The Jag's Richard Collier was shot recently and I think he's still in pretty bad shape. The police are now saying he was targeted. Luckily for him, friends and teammates have added $10,000 to the normal $1,000 offered for tips leading to the arrest of the perps. Um, this may speak to how well his friends and teammates like him. I just Googled it, and the average NFL salary for this year is $1,169,470. Each team has 53 players. The salary cap per team is $116 million dollars. Now think about it.....a teammate is shot point blank and critically wounded. The salary and bonus together as total compensation in the locker room is $116 million dollars. They raised $10k for this guy. That's like me tossing a quarter out the wondow on my way to work in the morning. I'd rather have nothing than that if I was poor Richard. If each teammate gave $10k, that would be worth noting. Sad.....but funny.

Tom Brady: Blame Belichick

Hey, Tom! How's your knee? Isn't Karma a bitch? Remember last year when Belichick had you in games with a 24 point lead late? When the backup could have been in learning the system and getting some "real speed" snaps? Remember sitting with Belichick in his secret lab going over all the defensive calls of your next opponent that he got from illegal tapings? You don't? Do you know that AFC fans (and probably NFC fans) have been waiting for Belichick to prove he's a genius without you? Waiting so long..... You see, Tom, Bill Belichick wasn't a genius with Cleveland. He sucked with the Browns. Cowher was like 8-1 against him then. He wasn't a genius with Drew Bledsoe at the helm either. No, I think Bill has been riding your coat tails for some time now and I've said it before in the past. Now we're going to see how he does when his star player goes down which hasn't happened to him in a long time. I see the end of a self proclaimed "dynasty" coming. They have stopped drafting well and started hiring mercenaries like Seau and Lynch to name a few....stars in the twilight of their careers. He's done it more and more the past few seasons. I can't wait for Moss to go back to the huddle and chirp at the new guy (who is so nameless I can't remember his name). Oh the bliss in watching Randy yell at him as the team implodes. Sorry Chrissy Twocoats, I don't wish for anyone to get hurt, but that's different from enjoying what may happen now that he has already been hurt. The smugness was gone from his press conference. He looked like a deer in headlights. Now let's see him coach and manage Moss with a QB who won't be asked to win games. I can't wait. And, I hope once other teams get up on them, they continue to pile on the points....and I will love every minute of it. Every second of every minute.....

Disclaimer: If Belichick does coach out his ass and they make the playoffs and win a game, I will be deleting this post from the archives. Nyah!

One Down, Fifteen To Go

Ok, so I borrowed the image from Pittgirl.......sue me. I know it was the Texans, but my God. We looked unstoppable. Ben was 13 of 14 and sat out the 4th quarter. Nice game. Fast Willie Parker was fast, and a little beefier(?) on the power runs. I'm not sure what I was disappointed about, but this is what I liked in no particular order. I liked Ben getting the ball out quickly. He was quick and decisive. I liked seeing Willie take the corner a few times....he didn't lose the speed when he got hurt last year. I like seeing Lamar Woodley doing his best Greg Lloyd impersonation. I liked seeing Timmons getting in there as well. We have six LBs who can start on any team in the league. I liked the spot on the 4th and 1 on the Shaub sneak (he he). I liked Tomlin's reaction to that play as well. He reminded me of a young Bill Cowher. I think I fell asleep in the 4th quarter at some point due to waking up at 5 AM and running 11 miles starting at the ass crack of dawn, then laying in a hot tub for an hour followed by cleaning out a flat stone patio in preperation for re-sanding it after the game.....why do I mention that? I'm wondering if I missed Limas Sweed? I wanted to see him and I didn't. To continue - I loved the kick coverage. Gay and that other running back did a wonderful job getting down and not allowing the guy to make a move on them.

What didn't I like? The announcers. Randy Cross is horrible. I swear he called Ben "Roethlisberg" a few times. They also say things out their asses that Steeler fans know to be untrue. In a nutshell, they suck. I didn't like seeing Ike Taylor get picked on early. I don't think he's the shut down corner we thought we had a few years ago. He's solid, no more, no less. I wasn't crazy about Anthony Smith making the team this year. Maybe he'll wise up and be more of a thinker this year. Other than that, you can't find many bad things to say. Take it in stride, it was the Texans, but it sure feels good to get week 1 out of the way with a win. Cowher had a knack for slow starts and I hated that aspect of his tenure. Maybe we can get out 2-0 with the Brown Underwear Stains next week.

Palin Protected By Fox

US Weekly might want to pick a different individual to go on news shows to defend their stories. This dude got hammered.

Is There A Stronger Term Than Tree Hugger?

For the love of God, this is funny. I'll be the first to admit that when I see a cool looking tree, I can really appreciate it and stare at it and find it amazing. In that same breath - if you cut it down and use it for firewood....fine by me!

Palin, Sign Me Up

So, where can I pick up a McCain/Palin sign to plant in my yard?

SI's Dr. Z Hits Nail On Head

Preseason polls suck, all of them. Let me get that out of the way first. Magazines come out in April picking the SB winner. Stupid. People write about who will be MVP or this or that. Crap. You know what I'm really sick of? The talk of The Browns. Blah Blah Blah. A one-year-wonder QB (most likely), a coach who rode the coattails of Bill Belimort who continues to ride the coattails of Tom Brady.....and a slew of suspect free agent signings. Why the love? No idea. People like to pick a team that's 9-7 or 8-8 and on the upswing. I'm not sure they're on the upswing. I could go on and on about all the Brown's press. WHat I do know, is the same thing Dr. Z knows in his preseason rankings. Check it out:

He has them at #14 and says "Everyone loves them, including the guys who set the preseason Super Bowl odds. Me? I say beat Pittsburgh, then I'll get interested. They've lost to the Steelers nine-straight times."

Amen.

Palindrone

Holy Cow. Not used to having a female politician that's a looker. Is she, or am I just getting older? I dig the glasses. Big Time. I can't wait to hear her speak tonight as I have yet to even see a news clip of her in action. Depending on what you read, the move to name her is either genius or idiotic. Howard Stern was leaning towards voting for McCain until now. He thinks it's totally irresponsible to have a woman who was just the mayor of a 6,000 person town 2 years ago a heartbeat away from leading the country. He also wonders how she has time to manage all of this with her family and her son with Down Syndrome. Who knows? If a woman with a DS child can be a lawyer or a CEO and work 14 hour days, I suppose one can also be Vice President or President. It's a weird question really. Why should we assume she should be home with her son when we wouldn't if it was the child's dad running for office? I guess it's really the preconception that the mom should be home with the kids, especially a special needs kid. Why is that? I don't know but I have to admit, on the surface Stern's argument holds some water with me. Heck I don't even aspire to be a VP of a company because of the time it would take to put in. I would miss my kid growing up to some degree but I'm a very involved parent. If Dad is home every night at 5-6, why can't Mom hold whatever job she wants? Celebrities always have other people and nannies raise their kids. The real question is, is it any of our business anyway? For all I know, other governors and other VPs have had special needs kids and it's only an issue now because of the 24/7 media. I'm more concerned with her experience. I hear she hates corruption and wants to fight it, yet the case against her for wanting someone fired looks bad. There is talk her daughter was pressured into saying she is going to marry the father of her unborn baby. Again, I'm not sure what this has to do with her ability to lead. What one person believes or follows is hard to push off on their children. Look at it this way......how many politicians that preach family values have children under 18 that are sexually active? Right. All of them that have children under 18! It's only bad if they get pregnant because then everyone knows. In today's age, how can you pick a candidate that doesn't have things you don't want to disclose? You can be the most conservative person on the planet and try to raise your kids to make good choices.....but short of chaining up a 17 year old in their room, how do you stop them from getting pregnant? If she makes a bad choice at 17, is it the Mom's fault? If she failed to use birth control just that once....does it make her mom any less worthy? Think about it....this woman is being judged because her daughter may have had sex one time out of 100 without making sure that jimmy was wrapped. What does one have to do with the other? All of the negative media attention may actually end up working in her favor. I know all the liberal Hollywood types that hate the tabloids are probably enjoying this episode yet they rail about it when it happens to them. I don't know how I feel about it. I want to judge her solely on her record, but her record is more like a vinyl 45 right now. I think if the McCain people think Hilary voters will move towards Palin, they are wrong. Romney or Huckabee would have been safe picks. Tom Ridge was a safe pick. Joe Lieberman would have been a safer pick, but still rebellious. This pick is way the heck out there and like I said in the beginning, it's either brilliant or a brilliant mistake. Time will tell. It's just hard for me to imagine looking at this woman who could be Vice Frickin President of the United States and saying to myself, "Hmmmm, I'd like to see her in her knickers....with her glasses still on".

Mahan Experiment Over

Wow. That was fast. One year. In my opinion, it was about 10 starts too long as well at seventeen. Listen, when you have Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermonti Dawson and Jeff Hartings starting exclusively at center since the late 60's, if you play center for this team, you've got Paul Bunyan type shoes to fill, you feel me? The offensive line is the heart and soul of the Stillers and it always has been. Is Sean Mahan a scapegoat? Possibly. Maybe Grimmy bolting to be with his lover The Whiz is the real reason for the poor line play. Maybe the new coach doesn't know dick about OL play. Maybe Colon, Kemo Eat You, Starks and Essex were all just bad picks and now we;re stuck for a few years with them....or, maybe.....just maybe.....the center is the most integral offensive position on our team and Mahan just wasn't up to the task. How many times did Ben take the snap and take off running? Too many to remember. That pressure wasn't normally coming from the sides - it was too fast. It was coming right up the gut. Either Mahan was blocking the wrong guy or not blocking at all. I'm not a coach, I don't know what his assignments are, but I know that Ben leaving pocket before he can say "Oh Shit!" is not how it is supposed to go. I thought Mahan had enough experience to challenge for a guard spot or at minimum add depth to the line as a backup, but I guess not. I'm guessing he just didn't take his demotion well so we cut our losses. I'll tell you one thing, there have been more suspect personnel moves in Tomlin's first year and a half than Cowher's last five years combined.

John Kuhn Still A Packer

I see that John Kuhn ended up playing for the Pack last year and got a new $455,ooo contract in March of '08 to play this year. Good for him. He was a feel good story from The Shipw ho impressed a lot of Steeler fans during camp last year. I really thought he would make the team. He's listed as a FB but with all their injuries over there to the ballcarriers, I bet he may see a decent number of touches this year. Wouldn't it be cool if he broke out into a poor man's Mike Alstott? I hope he kicks tail over there in the NFC.