FAN: Hunger in America

I know I don't talk about American Idol at all anymore (mainly because it sucks this year) but I did watch Idol Gives Back last week. Besides giving money to Africa which Dog pointed out a few years ago is almost worthless as the local strongmen take everything for themselves anyway......they started giving some money to an organization which feeds hungry Americans.

Do I doubt there are hungry Americans? God, no. I know there are and I feel very badly for them. What I take offense at are over-inflated statistics and people who take advantage of the charity of others.

There was a produced piece with a food bank that featured David Cox. The piece stated that one in eight Americans go to bed hungry every night due to monetary issues. Bull Freaking Shit. I don't believe that for a second. I scoff at your silly numbers. One in eight? Come on. Just for giggles I Googled a few items to see what I could find. I found a site which had similar statistics which didn't call you "hungry" it called you "food inadequate"....lol. I submit that this isn't funny at all and I totally get that it's a real problem, but "food inadequate"? Anyway, to classify as food inadequate, you have to go to bed hungry ONE TIME DUE TO MONEY ISSUES in the last calendar year. I had trouble nailing down how many people are in a constant fear every day of not having enough to eat. One site can be drastically different from another. I understand why they do it. Who is going to donate money to a charity who represents 1 out of every 98 Americans when 1 in 8 sounds so much more drastic. I hope the CEO's of these places aren't drawing huge paychecks.

As far as taking advantage of the charity of others is concerned.....a Math teacher was on with his family of 4. They go to the food bank. There they are given 90 pounds of food for $10. Don't get me wrong - this is super for people who need it. But I'm like, WTF, the guy is a teacher, they interviewed him in his house and the inside did not look modest at all and all 4 were dressed in a manner which suggested to me they weren't buying their clothes at Wal-Mart. I apologize if you buy your clothes at Wal-Mart. I don't mean anything by it other than to suggest that Wal-Mart probably has the lowest prices you can find on new clothing. I understand they are way better now than 20 years ago and even have big name celebrities working with them on some lines. I went for the name grabbing effect since it sounded funnier than "Bobs House Of Clothing".

Anyway, what I REALLY wanted to see was their family car, or cars. Do they have cell phones? How many cellphones? How many televisions? I'm tired of going over this as I sound like a broken record every year or so when I see something like this. What cable package do they have? It puts a bee in my bonnet that this family is using a foodbank when there are people out there who are literally starving! Heck, what do you have to do to qualify for the food bank? Maybe I'll roll up and drop a ten spot and take 90 pounds of groceries home. If that guy or his wife smokes, I'd be on the phone with that company tomorrow asking for my money back (if I gave them any). Now I want to see what I need to do to qualify.

I don't want this place to not exist and I don't want people to not give, I just want the money spent on those who truly need it. Not those that have their priorities all effed up.

DOG: New Guys 2010

Jonathan Dwyer, RB (formerly) Georgia Tech

Here's the Slant on the Steelers 2010 draftees and free agent signings who are the "new guys," or in military terms the "FNGs," on the Steelers.

Maurkice Pouncey, C, Florida. I saw this one coming once Rolando McClain was off the board. And it's a damn good thing we got this guy. Not only do we need a top-quality center desperately, but with the Shitbirds selecting that fat bastard, Terrance "Mount" Cody, we are going to need somebody to neutralize him and Haloti Ngata twice a year (sometimes more). That's a tall order but I feel a man like Maurkice is up to the challenge.

Jason Worilds, DE/LB, Virginia Polytechnic. I'll tell you right now, I know who this guy is but I don't know enough about him to have an opinion. He's a junior at VA Tech who is too light in the pants for DE in the NFL. That makes him an outside linebacker. As an underclassman, he's a "project" for the Stillers. Why we'd draft a "project" player in the second round is a mystery to me... except for one thing. This guy can play special teams like a demon. You'll see this is a common theme for players we selected in this draft. "Beamer Ball" that they play at VA Tech is rooted deeply in superior special teams play and this guy was their ST captain last year. Tomlin was one pissed off dude with special teams play last year and seemingly has taken the bull by the horns in this area.

Manny Sanders, WR, Southern Methodist. I saw this guy play in 1 game last year. SMU-Navy. I recall he caught more balls than the entire Navy team. But Navy doesn't throw much. I don't recall that he was outstanding. Don't hold out much hope for this guy. He can't return punts any better than Randle-el or Logan, and I'll be surprised if he's any better than Tyler Grisham at WR, who made the team last year but may not make it again this season. He's got an opportunity, let's hope he can do something with it.

Thad Gibson, DE/LB, Ohio State. Almost a carbon copy of Jason Worilds. An underclassman college DE too light to play DE in the pros. Took over for Vernon Ghoulston at Ohio State and didn't really set the world on fire in Columbus. Ghoulston, on the other hand, has had trouble transitioning to the NFL game from that same college position. He's reputed to be good on special teams but if he's not, he's going to be a camp casualty. Practice squad is his only hope.

Chris Scott, OT, Tennessee. This guy has a real chance to make the team. Partly due to the general sucktitude of our offensive line and partly due to the fact that he is a good football player who can play either Tackle position on the o-line. Played next to Steeler guard/tackle Ramon Foster at Tennessee but was nearly eaten alive by Jason Worilds in the Chick-Filet Bowl.

Crez Butler, CB, Clemson. Here's the CB that Fan was clamoring for. I think he has a reasonable shot at making the team again due to the immense sucktitude in our defensive secondary, as well as the departure of DeShea Townsend. I cannot really speak to his college career much. I'm sure I saw him play a game or two but if I did, nothing jumped out at me enough to make a mental note of it. Practice squad most likely.

Sylvester Stevenson, LB, Utah. Another linebacker who is good on special teams. I like the Utes program (Chris Kemoeatu is an alumni) but I know nothing about this dude. It appears that Stevenson, Worilds, and Gibson will be competing for linebacker spots with Andre Frazier and Patrick Bailey. And making the team will depend on their abilities to "run and hit" as Tomlin puts it.

Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Georgia Tech. I do know this guy and he is a beast! I follow GT football pretty well because I love the offense that Paul Johnson runs down there. In the NFL they'd call it a Wildcat. But it's more of a double wing option or a variant of the old single wing. Anywho, Jon Dwyer ran wild in that offense and he is more than capable of producing in a conventional offensive set. He is a powerful runner with a nasty stiff arm. Not great speed but he's broken a ton of long runs for a guy with marginal speed for a RB. I think this guy is going to come in and fill the shoes that Willie Parker left when he departed for DC. Beside Pouncey, this is the best pick in our draft!!

Antonio Brown, WR, Central Michigan. Another underclassman. Caught a ton of balls at Central Michigan. But he's going to get caught up in a numbers game as a slot receiver in Pittsburgh. If somebody gets injured he possibly could make the practice squad. But he'll have to stand out from day 1 for a real chance to play NFL football. Could happen, highly unlikely.

Doug Worthington, DT, Ohio State. Don't know anything about this guy. He'll have to learn fast, bust his ass, and make a strong impression among a pack of guys trying to do the same thing. Only an injury to someone ahead of him on the depth chart will save his ass from The Turk.

Signed Free Agents:

• Damon Cromarite-Smith, S, Texas El-Paso. We need help at safety. Why not?
• AJ Trump, OT, Miami. Another body for the new O-line coach to evaluate.
• Cordarrow Thompson, DE, VA Tech. Wedgebuster? See "Beamer Ball" special teams above.
• Andre Dixon, RB, Connecticut. Donald Brown's replacement at UConn. Played well vs. Pitt.
• Daryll Clark, QB, Penn State. Sucks at QB. He's athletic. Maybe they can make a safety out of him??

In summary, we got 2 guys who can come in and help right off the bat, Pouncey and Dwyer. We got a bunch of guys supposedly good at special teams. Some of them will be riding the "special" bus back home from Latrobe. We usually have one UDFA who makes the team. I can't possibly see who that might be this year. At this stage I'd give Cromartie Smith the best chance... but it's a slim one.

Not to be overlooked is the return of Bryant McFadden at CB in this draft. Coupled with the trade for Byron Leftwich, this makes our draft successful if not glamorous.

The only question in my head is: Given our recent penchant for bringing ex-Steelers back into the fold (McFadden, Leftwich, Randle-El, Foote) is it unreasonable to expect the return of Santonio Holmes next year after he has served his suspension as a Jet?

FAN: Bret Michaels Brain Hemorrhage Cause

People have such short memories. They will eventually forget about Ben's suspension. Bret Michaels apparently suffered a massive brain hemorrhage. Nobody knows why. I do! Click Here. How fast people forget. Maybe Trump made him think too hard on Celebrity Apprentice. I shouldn't make fun of this as it's pretty serious - but that's what we do here isn't it? The man is not very smart. I watched one episode and stamped him with an IQ of about 87. Just sing Bret, the good Lord did not put you on the planet to think.

FAN: Where's Our Corner?

So in the second and third rounds we still stayed away from cornerbacks. Not quite sure why. Yes, Santonio Holmes was cut so he could go bake somewhere else but I seriosuly don't think a slot receiver is more important to the team right now than trying to find an NFL caliber corner. Emmanuel Sanders was projected to be a 4th round pick and several receivers projected to be 3rd rounders were still on the board. I would think if he was drafted solely to play the slot then it could be justified taking him over other receivers, but with Randle El back I think CB is more important right now. We must really have high hopes for Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett from last year.

I realize I skipped over the second pick. I just wanted to bitch and moan and I figured Dog would do some analysis on him since he's our college football expert.

FAN: 50,000th Visitor

We had our 50,000th hit about 10 minutes ago! Wooo Hoooo. I wish I knew who it was but I think it was a random visitor, not a regular. It's funny how they found us....they found the image from Google Images of the Steelers Motivation Poster I put together I guess about 7 months ago. The hit came from Chester, Virgina.

I don't know Dog, there are days I really feel like pulling the plug on this. I never feel like I have the time I want to do it right. Isn't it hilarious that some sites get this many hits before 8 AM and it's taken YEARS to get here. I feel good on days where we get a decent amount of hits thinking a lot of people sent a link to it - then I read the stats and see that 12 of them landed on our site simply from an image search.

If I had to guess, from the research I do, I think we have about 30 regular readers out of our 50 or so hits a day. To those loyal few, if you read something you like - forward the link to some friends. Thanks!

DOG: So Far, So Good

Stiller's #1 Draft Choice, Maurkice Pouncey

So far, so good for the Stillers 2010 draft. It's only one round and I think it's pretty ridiculous to assess the quality of the draft the day after. But I'm happy with Maurkice Pouncey as our #1 pick and I have to believe most of Steeler Nation agrees.

As I predicted in my pre-draft post, with Rolando McClain gone to the Raiders early on, our choice would be Pouncey, and it was. Earl Thomas was gone too. After the Pouncey selection was announced I texted Fan that I hoped that Kareem Jackson would be available to get in round two. But alas, 'twas wishful thinking. And I was right on my assessment of Jackson too. For by the time Fan got my text, Jackson was snatched up by the Texans at #20.

I'm not sure what to expect tonight. Probably a couple of defensive players. A defensive back and a linebacker are my guesses. I won't be around to see what transpires on Saturday and I'll miss the early part of tonight's draft action too due to having to mow my lawn once I get home from work. Maybe I'll get a chance for a recap of the draft on Sunday night unless Fan beats me to the punch.

You know what else I learned from watching the draft last night? Well, I already had strong suspicions on these anyway, but... Mel Kiper is an idiot, Steve Young is a dumbass, Chris Berman is a complete asshole, and thank goodness for John Gruden and to a lesser degree Tom Jackson. Also, Adam Schefter is a complete Disney tool. He has no value whatsoever. The funniest thing? Mel's Best Player Available from pick 5 on was Jimmy Clausen. Well, we're starting tonight at pick 33 and Jimmy Clausen is still BPA?? I did get a good laugh out of that. I found that even more humorous than the Broncos picking Tim Tebow in round 1. But hey, working hard and having a big heart worked out pretty well for Hines Ward and Rocky Bleier. Maybe Tebow can make it work for him too. Of course neither Hines nor Rocky were #1 picks either.

FAN: Roger Goodell Suspensions

Since not everyone knows all the players ever suspended by Roger Goodell, I thought I would post them here. Some people said he had to suspend Roethlisberger or it would be racism. Hmmmm. Let's look at the data first.

Roethlisberger 4-6 games Never charged with a crime

Vick went to prison for 21 months and only served a 2 game suspension as he was re-instated for the third game of the season after being released.

Chris Henry 8 games - arrested 4 times in 3 states including drug charges and one felony gun possession.

Marshawn Lynch 3 games for pleading guilty to misdemeanor gun possession shortly after being nabbed for a hit-n-run.

Tank Johnson 8 games for probation violation of a weapons charge

Pac-Man Jones 16 and 4 games Brawl and shootings at strip bar and fight with body guard

Donte Stallworth 16 games for DUI Manslaughter

Larry Johnson 1 game for hocking loogey on female in a club

Brandon Marshall 3 games for DUI and arrest for domestic violence

Bryant McKinnie 4 games for aggravated battery, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest

Fabian Washington 1 game for domestic battery

Fred Evans 2 games after while on probation already, battery of a POLICE OFFICER

Jerramy Stevens 1 game for extreme DUI 3x limit

Odell Thurman 4 and 16 and then some for various substance abuse and assault charges.

I don't know about you, but I think the suspension was a bit much and I am planning on doing one last post about it. The guy who went to prison for 21 months got reinstated after missing 2 games when he got out. Also notice Ben is the only person suspended without being charged of anything. How it would have been racist to only give him 2 games is beyond me. I think 2 games would have been more in line when you read these other suspensions. Get yourself on probation and then physically assault a police officer gets you two weeks. Nice. Now, the people all fired up about Ben (and I am mad myself, trust me, but I want fairness) got their suspension. I would now like every one of them to comment on the fairness of 4-6 games based on the list above.

Donte Stallworth got drunk and killed somebody behind the wheel of a car and he got 16 games. Ben wasn't even charged with a crime and got 25-38% of that. Let's be honest, if he jumped out of the bushes with a hood on at night and absolutely raped somebody - I'm still not convinced the punishment for that should be 38% of killing somebody. The fact that no charges were brought and they were both hammered and we don't know for sure WHAT happened leads me to believe as a logical person that it did not equal 38% of killing somebody.

I would barely have batted an eye had it been 2 games. If it's 4, OK, Roger, you made your statement. If it's 6, I think it's unjust compared to the previous suspensions. In fact, he may have been a victim of being overpunished just so it didn't seem like racism since the word was brought into the discussion before Roger ruled.

First it was a huge debate over whether he would even be suspended or should he be suspended. I don't hear a lot of people saying this was too little or too much. I hope the intent was to always back it down to 4 but to come strong with the potential 6 out of the gate.

FAN: Did You Ever Wonder.....

Why take your kid to work day is during the last grading period of the school year instead of during the summer when they wouldn't have to miss school?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

FAN: Like He Never Left

The Steelers made a very smart move today resigning Byron Leftwich to cover any suspension Ben Roethlisberger faces to start the season. Look for Batch to retire after not making the team after serving as another arm in camp and instantly being hired as a coach. I worry about one thing....his slow delivery and our offensive line. Ben is always able to make one move that buys him a little time and then he stays upright when touched the first time to deliver. I feel Batch will crumble like a graham cracker crust if the O line doesn't step up.

What will help? A running game obviously! While Leftwich is in we need to become a run first team to take the heat off the rush. If we can run, we can win. If we can't run, Arians better have a TON of 3 step drop routes in. I feel much better with Byron in there than Dennis Dixon. This is most likely a blow to Double D's confidence but it shouldn't be. If the Steelers didn't have Super Bowl aspirations they could afford to let Dixon grow in the role as backup. However, the Stillers have as good a chance as any to win it all this year being only a year removed from their last trophy.

DOG: They Came From Alabama ...2010 Slanted Draft Analysis

Alabama's Rolando McClain

As you know, we're gonna slant this toward the Stiller point of view. But we're also going to take a look at some other folks who are going to make a pro roster next year somewhere. Because who knows, they might end up wearing the Black & Gold too.

First of all let me get this out of the way. I think the best professional prospect in this upcoming draft is without a doubt, Ndamukong Suh, the Defensive Tackle from Nebraska. He's probably not going to get drafted first but he should be among the first 3 picks. He can take over a game like young Joe Greene. Whoever gets him is going to have the middle of the field controlled for the next 10 years. That said, he ain't going to the Stillers.

So who are the Stillers going to take at the #18 slot? I think there is a slight possibility that the Stillers could move up a few positions, perhaps as high as 11th, if the situation presents itself and there's a player they want badly (like when they drafted Polamalu). I'm not sure the opportunity will be there. But I'm not ruling it out on account of how many 5th round choices they have to use as bargaining chips. And how they lost out on Eric Wood last year when the Bills beat them to him. So let's say they stand pat at 18 anyway.

My choice and my prediction is ILB Rolando McClain of Alabama. At 6-4 and 255 he's the perfect eventual replacement for James Farrior, who he'd learn from his first year. He's been compared to Patrick Willis of the 49ers, Takeo Spikes, and Ray Lewis. If we get him and he plays like any of those guys we should be happy. It's been said the Broncos have their eye on McClain at 11 so I don't know how bad we want him. But what if we don't get him?

Then perhaps Markice Pouncey, a 6-5, 318, center from Florida? It's rare to draft a center this high. But we missed out on all the good centers last year and Pouncey is perhaps even better than anyone in last year's Center class. And he also has playing experience at RG and RT. Knowing how important position flexibility is to Mike Tomlin, Pouncey could be our man if McClain is gone at 18.

An outside shot as our #1 pick is cornerback Kareem Jackson, (pictured below) also of Alabama . Most project him as a second round choice and that's entirely possible. But cornerback is definitely a position of need. And you can never have too many good CBs. So we might go fishing at #18 and draft Jackson. Although I believe this will only happen if both Pouncey and McClain are both taken before we go on the clock. All I can tell you about Kareem Jackson is every time I watched Alabama play last fall this guy #3 kept making play after play. Passes broken up. Open field tackles. Tackles in the backfield. Interceptions. The dude can just play football. I would be happy to see what he could do in Black & Gold. Has to be at least better than William Gay.

So who else looks good? At this point I usually just list a bunch of players I'm rooting for to become Stillers and the reasons why. They're either some of my favorites from watching college football or I sincerely believe the Stillers have an interest in them and there's a possibility we could wind up drafting them. This draft is deep in talent all the way around. So teams like us holding a high number of mid-late round picks can use them to get bona fide pro players or trade them to get a player they covet.

At Safety, another position we need help at, the two top candidates are Eric Berry from Tennessee, and Earl Thomas from Texas. Berry is too highly rated to last 18 picks in my opinion. It's possible Earl Thomas might be there if we want him. If we don't go Safety early then a later round selection could be either Myron Rolle, the Rhodes Scholar out of Florida State or Kam Chancellor a big hitter from Virginia Tech.

If we miss out on McClain we'll still be looking at an early round choice at ILB. And my guess is we've targeted Kentucky LB Micah Johnson at 6-2 258 as our man. I hear Tomlin likes him and that's good enough for me.

Another intriguing guy for the later rounds at linebacker is A.J. Edds from Iowa. He's an outside linebacker though. Silverback is beginning to get long in the tooth now himself and we need depth at OLB as well (since so many of our OLB draft picks do not seem to have panned out recently). This guy also doubles as a long snapper. Again, position flexibility.

Along the Defensive Line I think we'll be looking at a replacement for Chris Hoke and the eventual replacement for Casey Hampton. It's not a priority in this draft, but there are two guys who will be there in the mid-rounds that I think we should consider. The first is Arthur Jones (6-4 295) from Syracuse and the other is Clarence Geathers (6-8 300) from South Carolina. Jones is coming off a knee injury but was highly regarded before that. Geathers is a huge man who would also be a huge "project" if we drafted him.

On the offensive line, I still hold out hope we can get Maurkice Pouncey. If not then lets look at our other options. Jon Asamoah was an interior force at Illinois. If he's there in the 4th I'd get him. Another guy I like but he's strictly a LT is Miami, FL's Jason Fox. Both guys have injury issues though.

At WR, with Santonio Holmes gone, the Stillers might look to add some talent here. We've signed some free agents and nobody knows quite what to make of Limas Sweed after 2 years. So I wouldn't be surprised to the the Stillers roll the dice with a WR pick again this year. I'm going to guess they're looking at Arrelious Benn from Illinois, Marty Gilliard from Cincinnati, and in the 5th or 6th round, Jordan Shipley from Texas (who could be the next Hines Ward!).

For the replacement for Willie Parker, I just don't know. I'm sure we'll draft a RB. Not sure how high because I don't have a feel for how much the organization feels they have remaining since Frank Summers is coming back. There's much speculation that Mike Tomlin likes Ole Miss RB Dexter McCluster who was surely a productive college RB. But he's very small. I'm wondering if you're going small then why not use Stephan Logan. The other back I like for us but I doubt we'll get is from Mississippi State and he's a 245lb bruiser named Anthony Dixon. Stanford TD machine, Toby Gerhart, is one of my favorites too.

I'm going to skip TEs because I think they're off the board for us this year as are punters and placekickers. But I still have to cover QBs. Up until recently I would have thought they might be off the board too. But something is going to happen to Ben Roethlisberger. So we need to be looking at a QB from somewhere. If it's the draft then there's two guys we can get in later rounds who might work. First is Dan LeFevour from Central Michigan. I've seen him play and he's decent. Deserves a chance at a #3 spot or a practice squad role. Plus he's from the MAC. And we've had pretty good success with MAC QBs... Roethlisberger, Miami,O; Batch, E. Michigan; Leftwich, Marshall (I know Marshall's not in the MAC anymore. But they were when Lefty played there). And second is West Virginia's Jarrett Brown. He played behind Pat White his whole career. His skill set is more for a pro offense than the spread he ran at WVU and I think he'd thrive under Charlie Batch in a pro offense.

So that's my take on the Stillers 2010 draft. I guess we'll all tune in at 7:30 Thursday to see if I know any more than Deion Sanders. And Fan will still text "WTF??" to me no matter who we draft!

DOG: Final Word on Big Ben

I have officially had it up to my neck in Ben Roethlisberger stories and speculation. That's both about what happened in that Georgia bar, and what's going to happen to him now that my own speculation has come pretty darn close to the facts as we know them from police reports.

So this is one last post on this subject and then we're moving on, OK? We got a hugely important draft coming up this week. And it's a very deep draft with lots of good players to be found even in later rounds. So let's wrap up the Big Ben keep him/trade him/suspend him/banish him talk and get down to football business. I have been attempting to assemble data for a coherent pre-draft post like last year but this incessant Big Ben bullshit keeps clogging my pipes.

First of all, we need Big Ben quarterbacking our team. We can win games with Dixon but we can only win championships with Ben. It's not for me to say whether he should be suspended or not. Frankly, I don't care one way or the other. And I can see both sides of that argument. If he's suspsended for 2 games or 8 games or whatever, then Dixon needs to step in and win those games. If he's not suspended, that's OK too.

But what Ben needs more than anything is alcohol counseling. I have a saying "When the cops enter your life, something bad has happened. Keep the cops out of your life." Either you did something wrong and they're coming for you. Or someone has done something bad to you. But any way you slice it, when you encounter the cops it's always bad news. When it is necessary to hire cops to escort you, you damn well are looking for trouble or you're being stalked by trouble. Ben needs to eradicate the need for cops to be with him. And the first thing to do is stop drinking!!

Most of the bad stories both on and off the record we hear about Ben occur when he's in a bar or otherwise had a few drinks. That's the cornerstone of his trouble. He undoubtedly has personality flaws too. We all do. But adding alcohol to a flawed personality trait is like pouring gasoline on smouldering embers. What this boils down to in the vernacular of the layman is: It's OK if you're 28 and single to be trolling for pussy. It's not OK to let the alcohol in your motorycyle-accident-crushed brain take over and force yourself on someone to get some. I submit to you that we'd be better off if Ben was the one smoking weed and Santonio was the one with an acohol problem! What the hell, Santonio's gone now anyway.

So what we need to do is help Big Ben with his alcohol and personality issues before he self-destructs to the detriment of the Steelers, NFL, and most importantly himself. In the meantime we need him to play QB for our team. If you thought trading Santonio was a stupid move football-wise, trading Ben is completely off the charts of stupidity. Let's send him a message and punish him in a way he understands and get him some help. The Rooney's did the same for "Tunpike Ernie" Holmes when he shot at cops on the Ohio Turnpike with a shotgun and I believe Ben deserves the same opportunity at rehabilitation.

That's my two cents and my final word on this subject. Now I got to go get my head and arms around this draft analysis, or you 5 or 6 loyal readers won't know what to look for when the NFL Draft goes primetime this week! Actually, this is a hard year, I don't know what to look for either.

FAN: James Cotton & Slam Allen

I went to see James Cotton tonight at the Sellersville Theater, a small local venue that hosts a number of concerts per week. Opening up for James was Mad Dog and Blues Night Out from Allentown PA. They say they have been touring the East Coast for 20+ years. It's almost wrong to have a harp band open for a living legend on harp but whatcha gonna do? I took at break in between bands and they were in the lobby taking pictures so I got a handshake from Mad Dog and told him it was a good set.
Cotton came out after his band played a few songs first. His band is incredible. Slam Allen on vocals and lead guitar was extremely entertaining. Just an awesome entertainer. It's hard to describe but he's like most blues guys I've been made aware of.....they are much better live than on wax. He didn't stop smiling the entire show and gave 110%. The bass player was also kick ass. I caught up with him after the show and told him it's the best live bass I've heard in 10 years (which coincides with the last time I saw Geddy Lee probably). He was walkin', poppin' and slappin' all over the place. They turned him and the drummer loose before Cotton came out and it was faster and cleaner than any bass solo I've ever heard like that. I thought Parliament was in the hizzy. It flat out rocked. His name is Noel Neal. Maybe Dog can tell us something about him. Not only was his playing tight....he was a master showman. He told me it's the gospel in him. Very friendly and approachable. Cotton can still blow, man. He held some notes really long and played a lot of extended solos. He can barely talk and I didn't catch everything he said. As much as I knew I was watching a legend, I was still every bit as impressed with Allen and Neal. I could have listened to Allen all night. He was especially good when he went off mic and off the electric and brought it down to barely audible before roaring back to hoots and hollers. Good stuff! They also had another guitar player Tom Holland who was tough to figure out. He could solo and he was very technical but didn't have anywhere near the showmanship Slam Allen or Noel Neal had. He sang one song and it reminded me a lot of Eric Clapton's tonality and depth. I thought he didn't fit in well with the others style-wise but he did compliment Allen on guitar. While Cotton was signing autographs and selling CDs after the show I saw Slam on stage and went over to tell him how much I enjoyed his performance. I got my picture with him and I felt like a dwarf when he put his arm around me. He's on the stage there bending over.

I love Buddy Guy and he's my favorite Blue's musician but I got an education tonight. From what I listened to of Cotton today at work I thought I was in for more of a "listening" event instead of a raucous head bobbin' foot tapping time. I was W-R-O-N-G. I was into this show from note one till I left. Very, very, VERY, entertaining. All for $25 and free parking. Crazy. A Lady Ga Ga ticket is probably $60 and gets scalped for $300. Cotton was $25 and couldn't sell out a 400 person theater. It's embarrassing.

FAN: Language At Games Is Totally Out of Line

We were so close at the game tonight it was like being on the field. We saw a lot of runs scored and I think it was 7-7 after 3 innings which took FOREVER. I thought sitting that close we would be immune to language but Gen Now or whatever just don't care. We had 4 mid 20's "kids" one row back and a few seats down and the one guy starts screaming "EAT SHIT KENDRICK" as he's walking off the mount after the first inning. 2 guys 2 girls in the group. It only got worse from there. I heard most of what they said but Stroke was too focused on the game and her food since she just got her expander cemented in today. Finally a mother said something to him around inning 6 and he started to point and get angry at the mom and he stood up for emphasis. Not a single guy around us backed up the mom. The tool was probably 6'2" and pretty solid. This was a job for Still A Fan. Still A's Dad, Dog and Sis have probably all seen me go off. I yelled at him to get his attention off the woman who went to get security. He turned around real slow to stare at me and looked like he wanted to kill me. He was wearing a big cap that fit over his ears and he should have his ass kicked just for wearing it like that. Ear rings...tats....low jeans...... "Sit down and shut up" came out of my mouth as he was looking at me. Silence. "I have a 10 year old with me, this kid is younger than her (pointing at lil dude in front of me) and these kids are ALL younger than her (pointing to kids by Stroke). Sit down and shut up, we're all sick of it." "Yeah? Are you sick of it?" That was the tool talking. "Daddy stop it, let's go." That was Stroke talking. "Shut up and sit down, I'm not kidding." That was me talking. Finally other people got a little brave and started yelling "Yeah, sit down" and "Yeah, shut up". Security showed up to loud applause. He sat down, shut up and disappeared at the next half inning. The mom in front of us thanked me and Stroke actually said she was proud of me but I scared her.

Truth is, this guy would have probably taken my lunch money. I knew though that we're in a public place with adults all around us and everyone was sick of him and his group. I knew he couldn't get to me unless he followed me out and I had a little girl with me. PLUS, it was 2 guys and 2 girls and the girls looked mortified and probably made them leave. It's probably the 10th time I've complained about language around my daughter in 10 years. I have to be really pushed and this guy was getting aggressive with another mom. Still A Dad will remember a time at Idlewild Park when I lost my shit on an extremely rude woman who was trying to get to someone else in the line and put her hands on my daughter to move her arm bar which was blocking her from proceeding. Her husband walked over to assess the situation and assessed it correctly and walked away.

People are pretty mild-mannered until you mess with their kids. Then it's on like ketchup on kielbasi.

With superb superb luck, I caught Shane Victorino's home run swing! I probably only took 10 pictures of people batting and if you look at the raw version and blow it up this is a real keeper.

...and yes, I looked over my shoulder 5 times while walking out and going to my car and I know I have to be more careful when she's with me. Mouthing off to 2 males mid 20 wanna be's when you are 41 and don't even like to get your hands dirty makes you wish you would get your head examined every once in a while to determine why you act out.

FAN: Goofy Hat From Hershey

There has to be a perfect time and place to wear this hat, but when it presents itself - I'll be ready! Wasn't that her code word for "the perfect man"?
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DOG: Pork Loin Over Charcoal

Mrs. Dog demanded Pork Loin on the grill last weekend. So she went out and bought 4 pork loins at the meat market to make her point. I had planned to do yardwork yet I had little choice but to make some pork instead.

My 6 year old gas grill is just about shot. It is so far gone that I fear for my own and my neighbors safety when using it. In 2005 I cooked for my entire family (which was bigger back then) on that grill for 7 months straight while my asshole contractor remodeled my kitchen and I had no stove nor no oven. It's seen heavy use and I have no complaints. But it's got rusty pipes and makes a hiss when operating. I've seen first hand the damage that can be done when propane gas ignites unexpectedly. So in order to keep having birthdays, I elected to try my hand a cooking these pork loins over charcoal.

Here comes the disclaimer. I am an experienced outdoor cook. I've cooked using all kinds of heat and cooking contraptions. But it's been a while since I used charcoal for direct heat cooking. Last time was up at Still A. Fan's house when he first built his "pit." We did pork loin that day too. That came out real good and the corn we did that day spawned the phrase now known worldwide as a "corngasm." But I lack the proper experience to be any kind of master using direct charcoal. Here's where I started:

The Cook's Enclave

You will notice I have got everything you need all lined up. Charcoal grill/smoker. Cowboy lump charcoal for quick start and immediate heat, and Wicked Good Competition Blend (from the Amazon hardwoods of Brazil) for a long steady burn. Then you'll notice a pruning saw to shorten a limb on my lilac bush to use as a paper towel dispenser, a hose for putting out a possible fire, a bucket for soaking wood chips when I'm smoking something, and a towel for keeping my hands clean and dry. Somewhere under that vintage 1984 umbrella there are a pair of welders gloves for handling hot surfaces, a can of Pam for cleaning and oiling the grates, and a can of Stoney's beer... just cause it's the weekend. That's where it all starts.

Before

Here are my two pork loins all seasoned up with Grecian Garlic and embedded with slivers of real garlic cloves and a few thin slices of clove on top for garnish. This is when they first hit the grates. You'll notice the charcoal is already white and giving off some serious heat.

After

After 3 hours and one turn on the grates, here is the finished product. Some perfectly done juicy pig meat with just a hint of charring on the surface seasoning. I don't think this was anywhere near as good as what we did at Still A. Fan's place. But up there we started out with a truly superior cut of meat to begin with. Anyway, everybody was happy with these results. I must admit, the next time I do pork loin (and there's two more in the freezer) I'll probably charcoal grill them. The meat had those wonderful pink smoke rings and it did indeed have a hint of charcoal flavor that many prefer over meat done on a gas grill.

FAN: Roethlisberger Not Charged

Benny dodged a big fat bullet today. He's lucky his fat ass isn't going on trial...criminal trial.

I don't think he followed that gril to the restroom unannounced and pounced on her against her will.

I also think somewhere in the back of my head that something he did while in the restroom was probably way out of line - but not illegal. I don't even know what that means really.....but it's somewhere in the middle. Something along the lines of what Dog first raised. They started doing something consentual, he wanted more or "freakier", she didn't, he got pissed....verbally abused her....she felt cheap and used.....

I want these idiots acting like choir boys this year. I'm really getting sick of it. The only thing bringing back my interest in baseball is the Phillies rise to prominence and even that isn't enough to make me watch anywhere near regularly. Stroke and I have 11th row seats on the first base side Wednesday night so that's the first game I'll see this year. I swear if much more happens to the Steelers players - or should I say if the players continue to DO things - I'm out. I'll take my expendable income and spend it elsewhere. My NFL ticket package. My yearly pilgrimage with Stilladog to a game. My jerseys. My autographs. My dollies, er I mean my bobbleheads. I'll chuck it all and read more books.

A friend of mine at work who is a huge hockey fan made a good point today about Holmes. He said people like Holmes just take a spot at a college that a real student deserved and for what? It seems like every day on the si.com NFL blotter there is a player in trouble. Why not in hockey? Maybe the money is just too out of control for these thugs to handle. I know one thing right now. Write it down.....20 years from now in 2030, I will have more net worth than Santonio Holmes. When he signs his new deal it will be in the area of 5-7 million per year and it could have been much higher without the antics. My household makes less than 5% of that a year. I know in my BONES I will have more than him in 20 years. I know it.

DOG: Santonio Trade Analysis

In this the age of television, one nation controlled by the media, you are undoubtedly hearing and seeing the Steeler front office getting blasted broadside for trading Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a 5th round draft pick and a roll of Lifesavers. In the famous words of Lee Corso, "Not so fast, my friend." This is not anywhere near the worst trade the Steelers ever made.

Here’s a trade that really went bad. In 1964 the Steelers traded their best receiver Buddy Dial to the Dallas Cowboys for the Cowboys #1 pick, a DT out of Texas named Scott Appleton. The Cowboys had their eye on a WR from Ohio State but drafted Appleton at the request of the Steelers in exchange for Dial.

As the trade turned out, Scott Appleton signed with the Houston Oilers of the AFL and never played a single down for the Steelers or in the NFL for that matter! The Steelers got exactly nothing, not even a 5th round pick for Dial.

The Cowboys fared only slightly better. Dial was injured early in his Cowboy career and never was as effective for Dallas as he had been in Pittsburgh. He retired at age 30 after 3 years in Dallas. And the player from Ohio State Tom Landry had initially targeted as his #1 pick in 1964? Hall of Fame WR, Paul Warfield.

Maybe that's why we don't make more trades, we suck at it.

OK, it was still a lopsided trade, no doubt. But here's the deal. What do you think the going rate is for a dope-smoker who is a 12 game rental because his contract is up at the end of the year? On top of that he's facing a 4 game suspension, a possible lawsuit, and 2010 playing time is in serious question. You try selling that.

Sometimes less is more. We don't know what's gone on inside the organization. What conversations have been had between Mike Tomlin and Santonio Holmes. What promises were made. But I'll bet Mike sat Tone down and explained to him how irresponsible he was being. And when Tone tweeted that he was going to "wake and bake" in Orlando. Mike said, "We don't need that shit. See what we can get for him. The train is leaving the station and he's obviously not on board. "

This also sends a very clear message to Mr. Ben Roethlisberger that the organization has put up with about as much of this crap as they intend to and he needs to settle his whore-mongering ass down too. And it sends a message to the rest of the team that you can catch a last minute Super Bowl pass to win the game. But if you fuck up too bad, you are gone. If you want to be Snoop Dogg then be a rapper not an NFL wideout. And with Roethlisberger I imagine Roger Goddell will say, "Ben, your choice. Do you want to be an amateur porn star or a professional football player? You can't have it both ways."

The possibility exists that we have not heard the last of this trade either. There may be an under the table, handshake deal between us and the Jets on draft day too. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a little additional compensation that's not being made public yet due to the secrecy of draft day intentions for all concerned parties.

And lastly, maybe the organization sees that Mike Wallace is ready for that move to the #1 slot. And we can only pray that the light comes on for Limas Sweed who now has one last great opportunity to prove he has what it takes. Still, a deal for another veteran WR is a possibility. As is drafting an WR in rounds 1-3 as Fan suggested.

Tone, thanks for the Super Bowl win. Starting with that catch on the goal line in Baltimore continuing with the punt return for a TD vs. the Chargers, and on through the last minute TD vs. the Cardinals in the Super Bowl, you were the single most important Steeler in that Super Bowl run. That's how you "be great." Wake and bake, brother... in New Jersey.

FAN: Holmes Traded For Bag of Balls

Well the Rooneys got a little respect back by trading repeat offender Santonio Holmes to the Jets. Holmes got the NFL equivalent of one US dollar in trade value by garnering a 5th round pick in this year's draft.

The Steelers solved multiple problems with this move. First, rumor has it that he was busted for drugs again and will be suspended for the first four games this season. Second, he is in the last year of his rookie contract and had little chance of being resigned by the Steelers. He will want crazy money and you never know what this loose cannon will do.

Instead of allowing him to play 12 games and walk, the Steelers thought the pricetag of getting some respect back was right at a 5th rounder. Management has been getiing killed in the blogosphere and sports websites for allowing better players to slide on conduct issues. Saying buh bye to Holmes was going to happen next February anyway so they jsu speeded up the process.

Now we will absolutely draft a receiver in the first 3 picks and Mike Wallace just got his chance to shine.
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FAN: Still A Fan The Early Years VII

Well, the cool toy posts are slowing down as this is the only pic of a few holidays I could find with toys in it that I remember. The Karate Men, Chutes Away which I loved, 3 Revel models, a Star Wars puzzle and Hit 'n Run. Chutes Away the plane moved back and forth on a lever and you looked through a target and released yellow plastic paratroopers by trigger. The object was to land them in the cups on the plate which rotated. It was cool. Hit and run was a lame version of pinball where you simply shot the ball out of a pinball type starter and it would bounce off of one bumper and then go into slots for outs, single, double, triple, etc. The diamond would rotate and you put a plastic player in the batter's box to start. A bar knocked them off into a scoring tray if they made it home on a hit. Another picture from this year showed the Star Wars score LP by John Williams which I actually listened to a lot.
This was my one and only appearance on the mound. I was never made to be a pitcher. I only played organized baseball for 4 years and I mostly played second base, center field or right field. If memory serves me correctly, there was a rule about how many innings a kid could pitch a week and we had a monster week coming up and I was simply eating innings to free up our real pitchers for other games. I didn't hit anybody. Can't remember the outcome of the game at all. My form doesn't look too bad. As I've stated in other posts, I could play each sport enough to not be embarrassed, but even at that age I had no illusions that I was an integral part of the team. The only year I was a starter was when I was 11 and on the minors when a lot of 11 year-olds were already in the majors. I had a good year that year.
This must have struck fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers.....me calling for time in the batter's box! This particular at bat was either a walk or a hit as the next picture in the series shows me on third base. I don't ever recall a triple so I assume the picture was not taken right after. I wish I started playing tennis or golf around this time which would have put me further ahead at the games I do much better at than baseball or basketball. I was too small to even think about playing football. I guess I could have punted?
My first real drum! This is a steel Premier snare drum that had to do until I purchased a used set which will be coming up shortly. All I could do was practice rudiments on this thing. RLRR LRLL......lol.
I was in 5th grade here and Still A Sis was in 8th. We were both in the Memorial Day Parade. This wasn't my first parade as I played cymbals as a 4th grader but skipped that picture as it was blurry. You can't tell here but I'm wearing those cool 70's flip up clip on shades. Very cool. To this day I still remember the cadence we used in elementary school. I was in 4 different marching bands and we'll talk about more later as The Dog will have better stories than me about one of them, but I remember every single cadence I've ever played. I even wrote one that the high school used and continued to use for a while at least after I was gone. That's nice validity I guess that it was catchy. I did steal the bass line for it though although I can't remember from where.

FAN: Still A Fan - Roadtrip

I went on a field trip today with Stroke's 5th grade class. I actually volunteered to go. We left at 7 am and got back around 7:30 pm. I had 3 girls in my group and I couldn't have asked for better girls to lead around. They were quiet and respectful and still had boatloads of fun.

We started off at the Capital in Harrisburg, PA. I had no idea how nice this building was. If you have never been there or taken the tour, I highly recommend it. The artwork in the dome is really something to see. Having a tour guide point things out made the dome that much better. I could tell the kids really didn't appreciate how intricate it was or how expansive - but the parents simply couldn't believe it. I could have spent 30 more minutes just walking around it and looking in every nook and crannie. Cranny? Crannie. Who knows?

We saw the Representative's room and again was blown away by the architecture and art. The marble that made up the room was mined in France and the mine was shut down after filling the order for the room. The paintings were very detailed here as well. A Representative who knows Still A Stroke's teacher met us there and told us a little about the room. From there we went to the Senate's room. While still nice, I thought the Representative's room was a bit more stately. We left there and went to the state Supreme Court. Really nice paintings there and one of the 200 grandfather clocks in the building.

After leaving there we went to the Governor's mansion. We got to see his office and dining room and a few other rooms in the hizzy. I also got to answer two questions that the kids didn't know the answers to. There was a grandfather clock there and Harrisburg was spelled Harrisburgh on it. The guide said the "H" was dropped on several PA burgh's at the same time but one kept it.....did the kids know? No....I wish Stroke knew but she didn't so I spoke up and said "of course the great city of Pittsburgh". I also knew the mine that sent an oil lamp to the governor after the 9 for 9 rescue. Quecreek. How couldn't I know....Still A Dad freakin lives right around there.

I have Ed Rendell's pic on here for a reason. I'm not a fan as you know which way I sway and I worked for the city as a consultant while he was in office here. I heard a lot of chatter about the career politician and such but I just didn't always agree with the politics and he seemed like a bully from what you read. I actually rode in an elevator with him once while he was mayor and shook his hand and said "hello". A few years later I rode the train into the city while Mrs Fan was on jury duty and I no longer worked there just to hang out for the day. I went to an old lunch haunt where I used to (cough) place bets (cough) on football as well. I had a great rapport with the owners over 5 years of eating there and I wanted to say "Hi". When I got there Ed was talking to them. He had an office there as the head of Democratic party. This time I actually spoke to him as well asking about a girl I used to know who quit her job to go work for his campaign as he wasn't the governor yet. He told me he spoke to her recently and really liked her and that she was really sharp. He was very friendly and had the ability to make me feel like I knew him, but I am always cautious of that trait in people who want something from me...my vote!

Well today he scored more points from me but I'll still never vote for him. The entire 5th grade was split into 4 groups as we toured the mansion. We were last and were put in a holding tank outside by Barney Fife and Andy. As the first 2 groups came out they told us they got to meet the Governor. We toured the building and were told we had to be quiet near the end of one hallway as he was hosting the Div II Champ Men's BB Team inside.....from IUP. "Booooooo". Ok, so I went to CUP. We used to own them back in the day when I was there at hoops. I was there while Kenny Toomer and Ric Hill were blowing up. Ric used to come to our house parties. Anyway, the ballroom door was cracked open and we got a peak at the Gov at the head table. Kids were waving but he was engaged in conversation. We went out to tour the garden and one mom was upset that other classes met him and ours did not. She was Hell bent on her daughter saying Hi to the Governor.

We walked past a gardener and she asked him if he had any pull to get Ed to come outside to say hello. He said he would go tell the butler. At that moment, the governor and IUP's team came out to tour the garden as well. The went in a different direction and line up for a picture. The butler walked up to Rendell, told him about our class and Ed waved us over. He was very gracious, thanked us for coming, introduced us to the IUP team and us to them. Talked a little about our home town which he knows very well and then made small talk for a few minutes. Our guide said something to him and he commented on the groups outstanding behavior. The guide did tell us parents how well behaved our kids were and that she really appreciated it as not all groups are. Ed even told the kids how much he liked their uniforms and wondered why all the kids didnt have on the optional shorts.

I posted the pic above because that's how I remembered Ed from our meeting at lunch. Comb Over Hello? A little pudgy. Sloppy dress a little. Today he was tan, thinner and wearing a very very sharp suit and tie. I have to say he looked way better today than I remembered him. Also, while entertaining the team he really didn't have to have us over but he did and didn't blow us off at all. He made the kids feel welcome and I appreciated that. Good job, Ed, but you still don't have my vote.

Afterwards, we went to Hershey for the 4D movie and tour but I am so tired from the trip that I have to cut that part short. It suffices to say that my group was so good I treated them out of my pocket to $4.25 milkshakes which made us all bloated for the ride home!

DOG: My Balls Are Smokin'!

"Before"

We haven't had any grilling, smoking, or otherwise outdoor cooking posts in quite a few inches of snow. So with 90 degree heat already clobbering us on the East Coast it's time to clean up the grills and get out on the decks, back porches, patios, and backyards of America and start cooking!

Normally I don't let snow stop me from outdoor cooking. I've grilled T-bone steaks in 8" of snow and smoked trout in January temps in single digits. But this year I just spent way too much time just clearing a path for us to walk and my dogs to pee (to say nothing of 10 hours of shoveling off my freaking roof!) that I had nothing left for outdoor cooking. But I got off to a roaring start last Saturday.

I had my in-laws over and my son's family and we blew it out on our patio on a beautiful weekend. The main course was two smoked whole chickens. I roasted broccoli with garlic and made a big pot of haluski. Mrs. Dog made some homemade mac & cheese. But I always have to try some crazy shit when the in-laws are my taste testers. So for an appetizer I made Portobello Pizzas which are portobello mushrooms roasted then spread with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and whatever you like to top them with and cooked 10 min. more until the cheese melts. I used red peppers and Italian seasoning but you could use any topping you like. And... because I had room on the smoker grid for them, I whipped up a dozen meatballs with my secret ingredient. Well, it's not really a secret cause I posted it on this blog a long time ago (click here to go back in time). But it's Billy Bee Honey Mustard.

I wrapped my balls in apple smoked bacon which was appropriate cause I was using apple wood to smoke the chickens. Apple chips work really good for smoking poultry. And I put them in with my chickens.

For some reason I had a devil of a time keeping the smoker temperature between 200-220. It kept dipping below 200 even when I added more charcoal. But I allowed for this possibility by putting the chickens on half an hour before I originally planned and that was a blessing. I never opened the lid one time in 4 hours for fear of losing heat. 'Cause you always know what I say about opening the smoker lid. And if you get nothing more from this post, know this: "When you're lookin' you're not cookin'."

Temperature regulation challenges aside, my birds and my balls were done right on time at 3:45pm. I served the mushroom pizzas and meatballs to everyone for their appetizers and both were real good. But my in-laws were doing somersaults on the lawn for the smoked meatballs. Shit, my 70-something year old father-in-law asked if I had a ring of fire he could jump through for the recipe!! But sadly, I explained that I had given my ring of fire to Johnny Cash some years back.

We had a great meal and a real nice family gathering. And the star of the day was the bacon wrapped smoked meatballs. This is evidenced by the after picture. I set a dozen meatballs on the table, went in the house for my camera, and by the time I returned probably 60 seconds later only 4 meatballs were left for my "after" photo.

My 6 year old grill is about shot so I'll probably be doing most of my outdoor cooking on the smoker... unless King Obama gives me some of my income tax money back to me to buy a new grill. So when I come up with another smoker story I'll post it here.

* I apologize for the title. Yinz probly thought it was another Ben Roethlisberger story.

"After" with a couple Portobello Pizzas

FAN: Bulger Is Available

Well, for everyone saying we may need a bridge if something happens to Ben's legal situation - Marc Bulger was released by the Rams today. Not sure he'd do any better than Batch since Bath has been in the system forever, but he has more skill than Batch. He certainly would do better with a veteran team than Dennis Dixon even though DD looked promising last year. The good news is that I don't think any charges will even be brought against Ben. Maybe a civil case, but no criminal. Anyway, any thoughts on Bulger being Steeler if the price is right?

FAN: It's Hard Damn Work...

...being right all of the time. It's exhausting. People begin to expect it, and then you have to be perfect. It was April 10 1979 Spring of my 4th grade year when Still A Dad made us two of the happiest kids on the planet and built a pool. Check the Cliff's notes below for one of the shortest descriptions on any of the pictures I own. Mom had writer's block that day.

FAN: Still A Fan The Early Years VI

This is Muffins on Nov 18th, 1974. This is the dog that made it 17 years even though our first two never made it to one. Muffins was a great family dog...mostly some type of spaniel but still some mutt in her. I'll have more pictures of her as she gets older. When she finally had to be put to sleep, neither myself or Still A Dad could do it. Still A Sis was already living in Florida and my mom had passed. Still A Unc ended up taking her to the vet. It was circa 1991 because I know where I was working at the time and it was shortly before I moved to Philly area. How about that couch with those curtains! 1974 indeed.
This picture is blurry from Christmas day 1974 but I wanted to include it because of the toy to see if any of you owned it as well. I wasn't sure of the name my mom wrote it on the back of the picture, Road King Mountain. It was awesome! The road had what I'll call a continuous string of plastic with yellow BB's on it and the trucks clipped to the BB's. You turned a crank and the entire loop turned making it look like the truck was moving. Very cool stuff.
This picture rocks for several reasons. First, Still A Dad's shirt is priceless. This is 1975. I turned 7 that day. All my friends had the Steve Austin Bionic Man "figure" (not a doll). Funny thing is, they also had the spaceship which opened up into an operating table. I didn't have that so I made my own....out of a Pringle's can...lol. I cut a hole for the face where the window was on the real ship. One day while playing at our great aunt's house in Somerset PA, Still A Colt and I decided Steve had died (for whatever reason) and we buried him. I pretty much remember the spot we did it and I would LOVE to go to that house and try to dig him up 35 years later. I'm sure being made of plastic from the 70's he will last in the Earth about 1,782 years. I wouldn't be surprised though if my aunt dug him up after we left that day and cleaned him back up.....and sold him at the Comet Drive In flea market. This picture also features has Still A Pap - one of the greatest human beings I've ever known in my life.
Ok, for the regular readers here who know this girl, please don't mention any names in the comments. I don't want people looking for her on Google to land here. I included this one to be a little funny and point out that on August 14th, 1976, Still A Fan was already enrolled in the school of the hound. I think I said before I had numerous neighborhood crushes one I hit a certain age, but there were three girls on my side of the street all on the same 6 house block who were close to my age and very cute! One moved away around this time but the other two continued to "torment" me until they got to high school and moved on to older boys because they were both a year or two older than me. Let me state for the record that there is NOTHING better for a young man's confidence and knowledge about how to act with women than growing up and interacting with them every day. Seriously. Look at the shit eating grin I'm wearing! I clearly remember Still A Sis being a cheerleader or something for a local youth football team and having the crew over to our house the first year we had our pool. I think I was in 4th grade and she was in 6th. Those girls flirted and teased me all day and I even remember a few of them kissing me. To this day I remember some of their names. My daughter is in 5th grade and we all know if a boy kissed her now the little son of bitch would come up missing from his backyard. This is my 8th birthday. Again, even though Still A Dad didn't hunt or own guns (then), look at my gifts....an army truck, handcuffs and another assault rifle. Same couch, new curtains? I would venture a guess that Still A Colt, his younger brother and myself spent more hours over our childhoods playing with guns more than with whiffle balls. The basketball hoop was a failed sequel to that plastic field goal kicker. They still sell the kicker today. Makes sense as the football just needs brute force, no touch. How can you hit a basketball player on the head shooting a plastic basketball against a plastic backboard and expect it to go in. I remember playing with this for a day and then forgetting about it. Pretty snazzy slippers, huh?

DOG: Happy Easter From Dog

Last year I greeted everyone with a picture of Jesus breaking out of a chocolate Easter egg on Easter morning. This year I'm going after the Easter Bunny who brought me so much candy on Easter throughout my life I can't feel my feet anymore due to diabetic neuropathy. So that bastard rabbit gets a little payback from The Dog.

FAN: Suicide IS The Answer

I don't feel passionately about suicide one way or the other. I don't think you should do it over a member of the opposite sex, but if you want to whack yourself...who am I to say you shouldn't? HOWEVER, if anyone on the planet should commit suicide....it's this guy.

FAN: Still A Fan The Early Years V

This is from Christmas 1973. It looks like the big gifts that year were the GI Joe Camper/RV and the Verti Bird. The camper wasn't made out of plastic either. That's metal. Most likely it had some lead in it too. They were indestructible as I recall. I had this one too, but I liked the metal one better. Even though it was for Big Jim, we considered it a Joe toy. I can't remember if the RV was Tonka or not or if it was for GI Joe specifically. One year my neighbor and I got reamed by his Dad because we both drove our campers through his new tomato plants (the jungle!). His garden was his life and he didn't appreciate it at all. I thought the helicopter toy was called "whirly bird" instead of Verti but another picture showed the box. That toy was badass.
Here we see yet another precursor into adulthood as I rock this 3 piece kit. I wonder how long it lasted before I broke those heads? I'm guessing you can't buy toy drum heads after you crack one. The cymbals look like recycled pie pans. Am I crazy or is that a little wood block or cowbell on top? I need MORE COWBELL!
There's nothing significant about this picture at Niagara Falls from 1974. That's me, Still A Sis and Still A Dad on the Canadian side, eh. The thing that caught my attention was the railing. Was it really below the waist of a 6 year old or is this somehow trick photography from a weird angle? I remember going to the museums up there with all the barrel people and I thought a lot about falling over those falls as a kid. I didn't even want to take the cable car ride across because I was sure it would fall. That railing looks like it is WAY too easy to just topple over. If you could get your wife to turn her head for just a second you could give her a little bump. If there is nothing right below that I can't believe Still A Dad allowed us up on it.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a poor man's Batman costume. This was taken in our house but I clearly remember putting this outfit together at my Aunt Laverne's. Batman's getup was mostly black and dark blue so of course I chose green pajamas to start. No boots? No problem. Just give me some Wonder white bread bags and two "gumbands". Yes, I used to say "gumbands" and it was a hard habit to break when I moved east. Nevermind that it cut off my circulation, I was Batman! For a mask I chose a modified grocery bag. Most likely an A&P since she worked there. So there I am with a bag on my head. For a cape we used a towel with a safety pin right on my adam's apple. Today that might be considered dangerous. In 1974, wearing extremely slippery bread bags on your feet with a safety pin on your throat was child's play. The chest symbol is the most authenticate looking piece to this kit. I wonder if I was the dark brooding Batman or the campy Adam West version? I'm guessing campy.