Those of us that follow Pitt football with any verve this time of year regularly check in on Paul Zeise’s Redshirt Diaries blog for the Post-Gazette, as well as Kevin Gorman’s Sitting Ringside blog for the Tribune-Review.Through these blogs, the authors offer loads of observations and insights on the team in these preseason camps and continue, though somewhat abated, into the regular season practices, and much of what they write about in the blogs doesn’t make it into features or other stories for the paper.Each is an essential stop off for the Pitt fan looking for football info, and we should count ourselves lucky to have both to follow.
Slap Fight!
That being said, their current spat (whether it’s real or not) is laughable and arguably unprofessional (says the part time sports blog that once devoted 3000 words to a fake date with Rihanna). It all started when Gorman posted a slightly enigmatic entry about Monday morning’s practice:
“The Panthers conducted perhaps their most entertaining and exciting offensive practice of training camp this afternoon.
Sorry I can’t tell you about it.
There are certain things we are privy to watching in practice but are not permitted to report, and offensive formations and gimmick plays are primary among them. So, I can’t share what I saw. Please forgive the tease.”
“Well I never”, said Paul Zeise to himself and then proceeded to write this scathing attack:
“The practice yesterday, for instance, was in shorts and shoulder pads, meaning there was no hitting and not much activity for the defense.
And because of that, one could say the practice was designed to make the offensive players smile, the defensive players scowl and the heat was enough to make tears well up in the eyes of one player who got sick.I suppose I could say something clever like "I know something you don't know, nah, nah, nah" but that would be silly and immature and I for one cannot imagine an adult taking that kind of approach with other adults......”
Zeise going low with the ‘act your age’ reprimand.I, for one, would like to know which player was crying because of the heat and would request he not be allowed to play the physically painful sport of football for my favorite team.Maybe he should take hints from Wanny on how to stay cool…the man has the mustache of a walrus, but doesn’t seem to complain about the heat.So because Zeise apparently felt that the practice was useless, he decided to list a bunch of asinine lists instead (10 MVPs for Pitt this year, 10 best players, 10 best athletes, etc…).
Anyway, today’s Sitting Ringside was Goreman’s Revenge!!!!!!
“If I was writing in my diary while wearing a red shirt (I prefer blue) [because I need to inject a reference to the fact that I graduated from Penn State into my Pitt Football blog…I’m an asshole], I could fill this space by giving you countless top-10 lists involving the same 10 players, just in a different order under different categories.
"...hasn't helped that first round choice Darrius Heyward-Bey continues to struggle catching the ball. The seventh pick in the draft drops a pass or two or three at each practice. Part of it might be that he is pressing. Part of it might be his style of catching. He's more of a body catcher than a hands catcher, a technique he must fix."
~ESPN's John Clayton, Aug 23rd
Oakland signed this joke to a 5-year contract with a base salary of $38.25 million along with $23.5 million in guaranteed money. I have been watching football closely for nearly 20 years now and I have never heard of a WR that "isn't a hands catcher"...what in the hell does that mean? If the bar is so low, then make Sebastian Janikowski a friggin' WR.
Just when you thought I’d retired from the blogosphere, never to write again for the Fifth…I’m back baby. You know, I just couldn't stay away from the game I love so much *tear*. I spent many long nights just talking it over for my family and decided that I still have something left in the tank. I just can't leave the game thinking I have anything left to give, thinking I have any fight in me. I just want to go out and compete...I mean blog.
My hero and role model as a blogger.
Anyway, we’re about a week and a half into preseason practices, so let’s talk some Pitt football.Going down the list position by position, it’s clear that this team is not shy on storylines this year, so let’s get to it.
Defense
The boys on this side of the ball are primed to have a big year.Returning most of the starters (ignoring one glaring exception) from a unit that was very good last year is always a good thing.Lots of ‘Top 10 in the nation’ and ‘dominant’ and ‘scary’ being tossed around to describe it.I obviously hope so, but let’s just see how it all shakes out this season before we make such proclamations.
DE:The position that I (and every other Panther fan out there) am least worried about.Greg Romeus is on the Bednarik watch list, and by many accounts, he isn’t even as good as his counterpart, Jabaal Sheard.Throwing standout reserves Tony Tucker, Brandon Lindsay and Shayne Hale into the mix, this group of DEs is certainly the deepest in the Big East and even stacks up nicely against the best in the nation.
Bad mofos
DT:Let’s begin with the best.For the second straight year, the beat writers have singled out Mick Williams as ‘unstoppable’ and a ‘wrecking ball’ in preseason camp.He no longer has the benefit of playing next to Rashaad Duncan, so he’s going to have to step it up as the man in the middle this year.It appears that Duncan’s role will be filled primarily by Gus Mustakus, a favorite of this particular Fifth writer ever since his pick 6 during his sophomore year.You gotta love a defensive tackle capable of that.Again, the backup situation looks good, with both Goreman and Zeise praising the likes of Caragein, Hargrove, and the easily pronounced Tkach.
OLB:It seems that linebacker depth has been a fairly constant concern these last few years, and it’s really no different this year.Greg Williams, an athletically gifted if inexperienced player, returns to strong side linebacker this year.He should be a year older and wiser, which is a good thing because he made some ridiculous plays last year, but also made some boneheaded mistakes.Max Gruder seems to be tabbed by those in the know as the favorite to start on the weak side.I haven’t ever seen him play, so all I can go by is others’ observations that he’s a disciplined, hard working player, which is fine by me.Manny Williams and Shane Murray (a former starter, plagued by a knee injury) seem to be the only names that are popping up as far as the backups go.
MLB:Here’s the big if, and it’s arguably the worst defensive position you can possibly have an if.We all know what we lost in Scott McKillop, who’s probably going to find a place with the Niners.It now falls on his best friend Adam Gunn, who broke his neck after a collision with McKillop last year, to take the reigns on a position with strong recent heritage (Hayes, Blades, McKillop, all in the NFL).Actually before you ponder that leap of faith we're making as Pitt fans, ponder the fact that Gunn BROKE HIS F'ING NECK last year and is returning to the field to play one of the hardest hitting positions this year.That’s a man.At least we know the position won’t be lacking toughness.Dan Mason is making a lot of noise, but knowing Wanny’s propensity to stick with experienced seniors, I doubt he’ll be supplanting Gunn.
CB:Aaron Berry was one of last year’s punching bags following the Rutgers debacle (speaking of which, I’m headed to the Seahawks preseason game this weekend and get to see Mike Teel, whom the Seattle fans have to be excited about…wait, he didn’t throw for 400 yards and 5 touchdowns against every team he played last year?Really?Because he looked great against us).I keep reading about his renewed focus and his willingness to accept his role as a leader this year.Maybe.All I’m going to say is that, in my experience, leadership, as a quality in an individual, reveals itself early on and doesn’t need to be coaxed out by a coach.As long as he plays well, I’ll gladly eat my words, but let’s just say I’m a doubter on this one, and I don’t think we’ve heard the last of Berry’s immaturity.The rest of the CB field will be filled out by undersized but uber-athletic options (Ricky Gary, Jovani Chappel), with a strong push for PT being made by Jared Holly.
S:Dom DeCicco has a strangle hold on free safety, as well as the coolest name on the field by far.Elijah Fields is another of the disappointing, but extremely gifted, players on this team.Unfortunately for Fields, he’s competing against a young man who not only seems to want it more, but has his poop together.Andrew “Tags” Taglianetti plays like he’s the son of a former hockey player, and like he has a serious chip on his shoulder after not being recruited by anyone but Pitt.His effort on special teams (475 blocked kicks last year, seriously) made him impossible to sit, and it’s really paying off for him this year. Plus playing Taglianetti and DeCicco together gives us the most Italian sounding defensive backfield in D1, which I'm all for. Fields remains a capable (and potentially outstanding) backup at both positions, but I doubt that the coaches are going to trust him as a starter.
Offense
The adage that defense wins championships seems to have gone by the wayside in college football the last few years. Oh, would that it were the olden days, Wannstedt would be considered a genius.New offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Frank Cignetti doesn’t promise to install a new system as he’s another pro-style guy, but does bring in an apparently new philosophy that it’s important to put the ball in the hands of your best players. Why this is new or worth commenting on is another in a long line of baffling things about previous OC Matt Cavanaugh (now QB coach for the Jets, look out Mark Sanchez). Does that mean Cavanaugh didn't believe in that it was important to get the ball to your best players? Did Wannstedt know that? I don't even want to think about this anymore.
Let’s hope the O isn’t as stagnant as last year, because they certainly have a lot of weapons. Let's take a look.
OL:Another of the perpetual question marks for this team.Wanny’s been recruiting this area pretty hard the last few years, but it just hasn’t shown yet on the field.There have certainly been good players here and there (for example Jeff Otah was first rounder and steady contributor to the NFL Panthers last year), but as a unit they have largely been a disappointment. OL depth is another area where this team is concerned, as "plagued by injuries" doesn't really begin to describe the chaos that ensues when a starter goes down.Pinkston will start at LT and by all accounts is poised to do very well, as he’s been battling with, and occasionally coming out on top of, the aforementioned Bednarik finalist, Romeus.Lucas Nix will apparently take over at RT, he’s young, but was highly regarded coming out of school and will likely grow into an excellent lineman.Joe Thomas and another highly regarded recruit, Chris Jacobsen, are fighting for LG, and either are capable, which means we’ll have decent depth at guard.John Malecki, a former DL recruit is highly praised at RG.Center seems to be going to Houser, but if he gets hurt again, who steps in?CJ Davis did well last year, but there isn’t a player with his flexibility on this year’s squad.Again, it all comes down to how well they perform as a unit.
TE: Another position with little concern. Nate Byham is widely considered the among the class of the Big East in terms of both blocking and pass catching.Dorin Dickerson can and will create loads of matchup problems for opposing linebackers and safeties all year long.This is another deep position (current minor injuries notwithstanding) with Devlin, Cruz, and Brock DeCicco ready to take up the reigns when the starters graduate.
WR:Jonathan Baldwin!This is the reason to get excited this year (well offensively anyway).He exploded onto the scene in last years USF game with a long TD, but was quickly exposed as a one trick pony as he was apparently unable to run routes that couldn’t be described as “run as fast as you can straight up the field”.Now, reports out of camp are of long nights studying film, extra work running routes and catching passes from Stull and groping girls on the late night upper campus shuttle.I, for one, couldn’t be more excited.The group rounds out with some combination of the physical McGee, the speedy Aundre Wright, and the newcomer Mike Shannahan.Look for Cam Saddler returning kicks as well.
One touchdown, two drawn interference calls, all kinds of unstoppable. Not a bad freshman debut.
RB:The second of the two huge voids left behind from last year’s squad.First and foremost, none of us should expect the team to be able to replace McCoy’s production, it’s just not going to happen.That being said, there’s a lot of positive energy around the new group.Back in the spring, there just weren’t enough positive words in the English lexicon for writers to describe how exciting Dion Lewis was.Now, though Lewis seems to have the job pretty well in hand, it appears he isn’t even as good as fellow Jersey native Ray Graham, who unfortunately seems to be having some trouble holding onto the football lately.These two true freshman seem to put the team’s rushing in good hands for years to come.Oh yeah, don’t forget about the bruising Shariff Harris or last year’s training camp hero, Chris Burns.
QB:Now we come to the big kahuna.The most important player on any given football team.A position that has not been filled admirably since a certain loose lipped southpaw from Western PA was slinging touchdowns and hurdling future felons.Let’s leave this to John (the Fifth’s better half) to comment on:
"...considering that Stull has struggled during camp and appeared to be losing ground in recent days to Sunseri, who has begun to get first-team reps in every practice. Bostick, however, again worked only with the second team, which seems to indicate that he is headed for a role as backup or, perhaps, even a redshirt." ~Post Gazette, PittsburghPa
Perhaps it is premature then that Bill Stull was named by Dave Wann-stache as the starting QB for Pitt. Some may speculate that this move is to avoid any controversy or mixed messages sent to the rest of the team. I say that's crap. Pitt went 9-4 last season despite Stull's horrible play. The fifth-year senior is incapable of reading defenses, making quick decisions or making all the necessary throws.
I'm not saying that the other two guys would be better than Stull...because the thought of Pat Bostick starting makes me wish Jason Voorhees was my next door neighbor. However, there should not be a clear declaration that Bill is the starter. Let's review the options...
Pitt's poor excuse for a QB depth chart (w/'08 stats) reads:
Bill Stull - 12 games played, 188-330 for 2,356 yds with 9 TDs and 10 Ints.
Pat Bostik - 6 games played, 22-41 for 270 yds with 1 TD and 4 Ints.
Tino Sunseri - (Redshirt Freshman) Lead Central Catholic to 16-0 record and a Class AAAA Championship. 110-200 for 1,960 yds with 23 TDs and 4 Ints.
Additional info: Santino Sunseri's parents, Sal and Roxann Sunseri are Pitt products and former standout athletes for the Panthers. Sal was an All-America linebacker at Pitt, lettering from 1979-81. Roxann was an All-East gymnast at Pitt and a high school state champion.
"Stull was 9-14 for 57 yards and no touchdowns, but 1 interception by red-shirt freshman cornerback, Jarred Holley that he returned for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. Stull said that the defense put in a new scheme that he had not seen, and that led to the pick." ~ Patriot News, HarrisburgPa
Are we to assume that Bill Stull can only read defenses that he has seen before? Even the 64% completion stat is skewed considering that all of them were short, safe passes. Does this sound like a QB of a team trying to compete for a Big East Championship? Even more, if the quarterback position continues to suffer, how can Pitt's offense improve from last year without LeSean McCoy??
Needless to say, questions abound in John's, my own, and many a Panther fan’s mind about the quarterback position.By nearly every account, Sunseri has been the better QB throughout practice and in the scrimmage (Ron Cook even wrote that 'the best balls were coming out his right hand'...come on, I couldn't resist that quote), but again, Wanny is nothing if not loyal to his seniors.All I can say is, if Stull remains the starter throughout the year look for "Stull said that the defense put in a new scheme that he had not seen" in the write up after every game and look for new OC Cignetti in a hospital for the criminally insane.
Thank you, Thank you very much. Thank you. That's the lowest I've ever seen Dick Vitale since the owner of the Detroit Pistons called him in and told him he should go into broadcasting.
The I can't tell you what an honor it is, to even be mentioned in the same breath with Arthur Ashe. This is something I certainly will treasure forever. But, as it was said on the tape, and I also don't have one of those things going with the cue cards, so I'm going to speak longer than anybody else has spoken tonight. That's the way it goes. Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left and I have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully, at the end, I will have said something that will be important to other people too.
But, I can't help it. Now I'm fighting cancer, everybody knows that. People ask me all the time about how you go through your life and how's your day, and nothing is changed for me. As Dick said, I'm a very emotional and passionate man. I can't help it. That's being the son of Rocco and Angelina Valvano. It comes with the territory. We hug, we kiss, we love. When people say to me howdo you get through life or each day, it's the same thing. To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.
I rode on the plane up today with Mike Krzyzewski, my good friend and wonderful coach. People don't realize he's ten times a better person than he is a coach, and we know he's a great coach. He's meant a lot to me in these last five or six months with my battle. But when I look at Mike, I think, we competed against each other as players. I coached against him for fifteen years, and I always have to think about what's important in life to me are these three things. Where you started, where you are and where you're going to be. Those are the three things that I try to do every day. When I think about getting up and giving a speech, I can't help it. I have to remember the first speech I ever gave.
I was coaching at Rutgers University, that was my first job, oh that's wonderful (reaction to applause), and I was the freshman coach. That's when freshmen played on freshman teams, and I was so fired up about my first job. I see Lou Holtz here. Coach Holtz, who doesn't like the very first job you had? The very first time you stood in the locker room to give a pep talk. That's a special place, the locker room, for a coach to give a talk. So my idol as a coach was Vince Lombardi, and I read this book called "Commitment To Excellence" by Vince Lombardi. And in the book, Lombardi talked about the fist time he spoke before his Green Bay Packers team in the locker room, and they were perennial losers. I'm reading this and Lombardi said he was thinking should it be a long talk, or a short talk? But he wanted it to be emotional, so it would be brief. So here's what I did. Normally you get in the locker room, I don't know, twenty-five minutes, a half hour before the team takes the field, you do your little x and o's, and then you give the great Knute Rockne talk. We all do. Speech number eight-four. You pull them right out, you get ready. You get your squad ready. Well, this is the first one I ever gave and I read this thing. Lombardi, what he said was he didn't go in, he waited. His team wondering, where is he? Where is this great coach? He's not there. Ten minutes he's still not there. Three minutes before they could take the field Lombardi comes in, bangs the door open, and I think you all remember what great presence he had, great presence. He walked in and he walked back and forth, like this, just walked, staring at the players. He said, "All eyes on me." I'm reading this in this book. I'm getting this picture of Lombardi before his first game and he said "Gentlemen, we will be successful this year, if you can focus on three things, and three things only. Your family, your religion and the Green Bay Packers." They knocked the walls down and the rest was history. I said, that's beautiful. I'm going to do that. Your family, your religion and Rutgers basketball. That's it. I had it. Listen, I'm twenty-one years old. The kids I'm coaching are nineteen, and I'm going to be the greatest coach in the world, the next Lombardi. I'm practicing outside of the locker room and the managers tell me you got to go in. Not yet, not yet, family, religion, Rutgers Basketball. All eyes on me. I got it, I got it. Then finally he said, three minutes, I said fine. True story. I go to knock the doors open just like Lombardi. Boom! They don't open. I almost broke my arm. Now I was down, the players were looking. Help the coach out, help him out. Now I did like Lombardi, I walked back and forth, and I was going like that with my arm getting the feeling back in it. Finally I said, "Gentlemen, all eyes on me." These kids wanted to play, they're nineteen. "Let's go," I said. "Gentlemen, we'll be successful this year if you can focus on three things, and three things only. Your family, your religion and the Green Bay Packers," I told them. I did that. I remember that. I remember where I came from.
It's so important to know where you are. I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. You have to be willing to work for it.
I talked about my family, my family's so important. People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, who's right here too..... That screen is flashing up there "thirty seconds" like I care about that screen right now, huh? I got tumors all over my body. I'm worried about some guy in the back going thirty seconds? You got a lot, hey va fa napoli, buddy. You got a lot.
I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm," to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality.
Now I look at where I am now and I know what I want to do. What I would like to be able to do is spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe, some hope to others. Arthur Ashe Foundation is a wonderful thing, and AIDS, the amount of money pouring in for AIDS is not enough, but is significant. But if I told you it's ten times the amount that goes in for cancer research. I also told you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. I also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background. I want to bring it back on the front table. We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children's lives. It may save someone you love. And ESPN has been so kind to support me in this endeavor and allow me to announce tonight, that with ESPN's support, which means what? Their money and their dollars and they're helping me-we are starting the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. And it's motto is "Don't give up, don't ever give up." That's what I'm going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the moment I have. If you see me, smile and give me a hug. That's important to me too. But try if you can to support, whether it's AIDS or the cancer foundation, so that someone else might survive, might prosper and might actually be cured of this dreaded disease. I can't thank ESPN enough for allowing this to happen. I'm going to work as hard as I can for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we'll have some cures and some breakthroughs. I'd like to think, I'm going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!
I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I want to say it again. Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.
New England Patriots - an 11-5 record without Tom Brady. 1 year of resting and impregnating super models proves to be the "Juvie Juice" needed to make a SuperBowl run.
New York Jets - Look for Mark "Dirty" Sanchez to wipe his...um..."talent" all over the division. The players relate to Rex Ryan and reward him with a playoff berth.
Miami Dolphins - Sorry Tuna, the wildcat offense has a sophmore slump.
Buffalo Bills - T.O. is a joke and so is the offense in Buffalo.
AFC WEST
San Diego Chargers - L.T.'s wheels fell off last year, but with a strong D & help from Sproles, the bolts win a completely anemic AFC West.
Oakland Raiders - better doesn't mean good.
Kansas City Chiefs - a little better doesnt mean they still won't suck. Let's see Cassell throw to someone not named Welker or Moss.
Denver Broncos - wow, what a shitty mess. watching Kyle Orton play QB is as comfortable as watching Michael Richards' standup act.
AFC NORTH
Pittsburgh Steelers - The team to beat....if they stay healthy and Hines Ward remains serviceable. If not... watch out for the Ravens.
Baltimore Ravens - Flacco is impressive but his uni-brow annoys me, so they get 2nd place.
Cleveland Browns - The Dog Pound has bark but no bite. Hey it could be worse, you could be playing in Detroit.
Cincinnati Bengals - OchoStinko has a meltdown by week 4. The team ends up with a 3-13 record.
AFC SOUTH
Houston Texans - The young talent finally breaks through. Slaton has a pro-bowl year.
Tennessee Titans - Too much drama hovers after McNair dies & Vince Young wishing he was dead.
Indianapolis Colts - Colts stumble and miss the playoffs. Peyton trade rumors circulate after he voices his displeasure with the new coaching staff.
Jacksonville Jaguars - Del Rio is fired halfway through the season for not being able to win with a team that is without a QB, WR or both offensive or defensive lines.
NFC EAST
Philadelphia Eagles - Hide your Beagle, Vick's an Eagle. Much to the chagrin of PETA, they go 13-3 and are poised for a SuperBowl run.
Dallas Cowboys - Cowboys excel behind a great roster and new stadium, but in the end Romo holds them back yet again. Mark my words, he will be on Dancing with the Stars in the next 2 years.
Washington Redskins - Don't expect much from Daniel Snyder's overpriced-underachievers.
New York Giants - Eli is going to wish it was McNabb who shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in a city that has a zero tolerance law on carrying firearms. His new $97 mil contract proves to be a bad omen after having a sub-par year without Plaxico & Derrick Ward.
NFC WEST
Arizona Cardinals - If Leinhert plays, they lose. If Warner plays, they win. It's that simple. Hightower is a beast and they have the best receiving core in the league.
St. Louis Rams - Assuming Bulger's pinkey is ok, the Most Improved Team award goes to the Rams. They have a solid year and barely miss the playoffs.
San Francisco 49ners - I want Singletary to succeed so much it hurts but i dont think he has the talent, even in a weak division. Consolation? hopefully another post-game speech that makes me want to run through a wall. (fingers crossed)
Seattle Seahawks - Everytime I think of Hasselbeck, bright green gloves and rain...I want to kick myself in the groin. 4-12 sounds about right.
NFC NORTH
Minnesota Vikings - Although I can't stand Favre, he is the missing piece on a very good team.
Green Bay Packers - mmm...cheesy, but not good.
Chicago Bears - Da Bears will be about as consistent as Cutler's blood sugar count.
Detroit Lions - 0-16? not quite, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Even with significant improvement they can only be as good as the Rams and Bengals were last year.
NFC SOUTH
New Orleans Saints - For the first year since Katrina, these guys will fly under the radar, plus no more Kim Kardashian to hold down Reggie. If their defense can play well enough, their offense can beat anyone.
Atlanta Falcons - Should challenge New Orleans. The offense should open up and Matt Ryan's game should flourish with Tony Gonzalez, but last time i checked having Tony on your roster didn't necessarily make your team good.
Carolina Panthers - Delhomme is finished, Peppers doesn't want to be there, John Fox just laughed after that ridiculous pre-season loss to NYG. Not a good start.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Chucky trades a headset on the sidelines for a headset in the booth. Buccaneers play will look a lot like the guys up north in Jacksonville, so don't expect to hear too many cannon balls being fired during their home games.
Winning is not a sometimes thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.
Every time a football player goes to ply his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. you've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.
It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.
And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
I don't say these things because I believe in the "brute" nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.
This week I am ashamed of being a sports fan. This week was supposed to be THE week. The week I study for my live NFL Fantasy Draft. The week I watch Tiger and Padraig again battling on the links, this time for the PGA Championship. The week I get my Pitt Football season tickets.
Meanwhile the NFL season is upon us. The MLB playoff picture is forming as teams are separating themselves in the Pennant races and the NBA & NHL seasons are chomping at the bit to start in only a couple months. Come to think of it, there are 2 great months in sports; October and May. The 5-10 weeks leading up to those months are so great, they make me want to scream, “BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!” (www.youtube.com/watch?v=W45DRy7M1no)
Alas, instead of this being THE week, I was forced to live through with the joke that is the current state of sports. Allow me to recreate the headlines.
Bottom of the Fifth – Headline News:
Michael Vick signs with the Eagles. > Well ain’t this just the garbage man drowning in his own refuse. This acquisition stinks worse than the hobos on Broad St. You know, they say that animal abusers and child molesters are 2 criminals incapable of rehabilitation. Oops! I think William Penn just jumped off City Hall’s roof.
Rick Pitino tells police he did not rape the whore, but gave her $3,000 for abortion. >What the hell would possess a man who should be on college basketball’s “Mount Rushmore” of coaches, a millionaire with a family and a successful Louisville program, to bang the team’s equipment manager’s wife on the floor of a restaurant? Then after claiming she was with child, but without health insurance, Pitino handed her money to terminate the pregnancy. So am I to assume that the position of Equipment Manager for the University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Team does not come with the benefit of health insurance for you and your wife?
A-Rod and Kate Hudson’s relationship is steaming, but did she get a cold shoulder? PLUS: A-Rod & Jeter girlfriends in the middle of a catfight. >Jesus H. Christ I am sick of baseball. Can't we clone Albert Pujols 288 times and give him his own league?
Donte Stallworth gets 1-year suspension without pay. >1 year without pay? Aww…That means he won’t have any money to pay off the families of people he kills with his car.
Michael Phelps gets in car wreck. >(speaking through a mega-phone) Attention Mr. Phelps, you need to start ‘gellin. You are one gun-toting entourage and one strip club incident away from being the white version of Pac-Man Jones. Get your ass a Prius and change the prescription on your goggles.
PS: just checked the mail....no Pitt Football season tickets.
