I’ve always felt that if you can’t own your faults and accept the criticism that come with them then you’re probably not on the road to forgiveness.
Ben posing with the cop who 'investigated' the latest assault charge
Roethlisberger now lists Corey Rawson, Ohio as his hometown. Unfortunately for Roethlisberger, just like his alibis, Corey Rawson, Ohio doesn’t exist, strengthening my argument that you don’t have to be smart to be an NFL quarterback, just arrogant.
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Where was my favorite player(s) drafted? What team drafted Tim Tebow? How about Colt McCoy? How far did Jimmy Clausen drop in the draft? After the first round of the NFL draft, only Bradford and Tebow knew of their NFL destination.
Tim Tebow taken 25th by the Denver Broncos
1. St. Louis Rams – Sam Bradford, Quarterback, Oklahoma
2. Detroit Lions – Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle, Nebraska
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Gerald McCoy, Defensive Tackle, Oklahoma
4. Washington Redskins – Trent Williams, Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma
5. Kansas City Chiefs – Eric Berry, Safety, Tennessee
6. Seattle Seahawks – Russell Okung, Offensive Tackle, Oklahoma State
7. Cleveland Browns – Joe Haden, Cornerback, Florida
8. Oakland Raiders – Rolando McClain, Linebacker, Alabama
9. Buffalo Bills – C.J. Spiller, Running Back, Clemson
10. Jacksonville Jaguars – Tyson Alualu, Defensive Tackle, California
11. San Francisco 49ers – Anthony Davis, Offensive Tackle, Rutgers
12. San Diego Chargers – Ryan Mathews, Running Back, Fresno State
13. Philadelphia Eagles – Brandon Graham, Linebacker, Michigan
14. Seattle Seahawks – Earl Thomas, Safety, Texas
15. New York Giants – Jason Pierre-Paul, Defensive End, South Florida
16. Tennessee Titans – Derrick Morgan, Defensive End, Georgia Tech
17. San Francisco 49ers – Mike Iupati, Offensive Guard, Idaho
18. Pittsburgh Steelers – Maurkice Pouncy, Center, Florida
19. Atlanta Falcons – Sean Weatherspoon, Linebacker, Missouri
20. Houston Texans – Kareem Jackson, Cornerback, Alabama
21. Cincinnati Bengals – Jermaine Gresham, Tight End, Oklahoma
22. Denver Broncos – Demaryius Thomas, Wide Receiver, Georgia Tech
23. Green Bay Packers – Bryan Bulaga, Offensive Tackle, Iowa
24. Dallas Cowboys – Dez Bryant, Wide Receiver, Oklahoma State
25. Denver Broncos – Tim Tebow, Quarterback, Florida
26. Arizona Cardinals – Dan Williams, Defensive Tackle, Tennessee
27. New England Patriots – Devin McCourty, Cornerback, Rutgers
28. Miami Dolphins – Jared Odrick, Defensive Tackle, Penn State
29. New York Jets – Kyle Wilson, Cornerback, Boise State
30. Detroit Lions – Jahvid Best, Running Back, California
31. Indianapolis Colts – Jerry Hughes, Linebacker, TCU
32. New Orleans Saints – Patrick Robinson, Cornerback, Florida State
In Demand:
Kudos to the Oklahoma Sooners for turning out 5 out of the top 21 picks.
I realize I don’t have much say in what’s going on with Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, but I figured I could email the organization to get my thoughts on the record.
Another off season, another round of denials from Ben.
So here’s my email to the owners, Art and Dan Rooney.
Art and Dan Rooney,
Gentlemen, as a lifelong supporter of the PIttsburgh Steelers, I want you to know how tough it is for me to write this letter, regarding the status of starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. I realize an emotional investment often clouds one’s judgement, but I can say with clarity, that I no longer respect or admire Roethlisberger.
I realize your hands are somewhat tied, and, after the trade of Santonio Holmes, other teams probably smell blood in the waters’ surrounding Heinz Field. Yet, now is not the time for inaction, but action. It’s not the time for indecision, but decision. It’s time to act, with a clear conscious, it’s time to trade Ben Roethlisberger.
Ben no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt. His reckless behavior and willful disregard leads me to a sobering and sad conclusion; regardless of his guilt or innocence, regardless of his on-the-field accomplishments, I no longer wish for Roethlisberger to be the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
For as big as he is physically, mentally speaking, he’s a midget. The self-awareness to take stock of the consequences of his actions, and how they not only impact himself, but his teammates and others, just isn’t there.
At a minimum, his actions must make you question his decision making ability, and with a public feud growing between the ghost of Steelers’ past, Terry Bradshaw, and Roethlisberger, your nightmare scenario is this: Steeler fans being put in the precarious position of choosing sides. Put me in the Bradshaw camp.
Cheers,
thesportsfag
PS. Feel free to draft Colt McCoy, but if you do please switch to the see-through football pants used by the Texas Longhorns. I’ve included a picture that you can forward to your uniform department.
Trade Ben and draft that ass!
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Rothlisberger
What’s known right now is that police in Milledgeville, GA are investigating a complaint from a female college student, who claims Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her. Witness reports place Roethlisberger in the same club as the woman and claim that he appeared to be inviting females into a private VIP area of the club.
Unfortunately for Roethlisberger, this news comes while he’s facing a civil charge of sexual assault in Nevada.
Sports Hypocrites
This is hard for me cause I’m a huge Steelers and Roethlisberger fan, but I can’t be a sports hypocrite.
I hate when sports fans cast aspersions on rival teams or players when questionable behavior surfaces, but justify, downplay or outright defend similar behavior from their own team. Roethlisberger’s track record and actions demonstrate a pattern of reckless behavior and poor decision making, making it hard for me to believe in him.
Emotional Investment in Athletes
Like most sports fans I really want to believe that the guys who play for my favorite teams are beyond reproach; it’s not realistic but it’s a fact. Like it or not, we emotionally invest in the teams and athletes we pull for, it’s not the right thing to do but it happens. Anyone who says they can completely separate the two is a straight-up liar.
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt until they’ve proven themselves to be less than trustworthy or credible, and for me there’s a level of disappointment involved when I realize someone I’ve emotionally invested in no longer deserves the benefit of doubt. That’s where I am with Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger’s WTF Moment
So in an attempt to separate my emotions from the story, I have to ask myself how would I react if the quarterback of my most-hated rival was facing charges of sexual assault. I’d like to believe that although I hate the Cowboys and Crimson Tide, if Dallas QB Tony Romo or Alabama QB Greg McElroy were facing a single sexual assault allegation, I would give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, if either Romo or McElroy put themselves in the same situation Roethlisberger did — going out to clubs, drinking and inviting girls back to a VIP area, all while facing allegations of sexual assault in Nevada — I wouldn’t hold back much. If this had been any other quarterback without Auburn or Pittsburgh ties, I’m certain I would begin associating their poor decision making with a lack of self control which could easily lead to something like this.
I’m not making a call on his guilt or innocence, yet, in my opinion, Roethlisberger no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt, and we must now seriously question his maturity and intelligence. Although the Steelers won’t say it publicly, Roethlisberger’s stupid-ass decisions will force the organization to consider the franchise risk Roethlisberger brings to the Steelers.
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On a growing list of overused and under-deserved sports cliches, no single cliche chaps my ass more than when schools, players or fans over inflate their team’s importance by attaching ‘nation’ after the team’s mascot.
The latest examples of this phenomenon have come from Tim Tebow and Craig James describing the Florida and Texas Tech fan base as ‘Gator Nation’ and ‘Red Raider Nation’ respectively. I’ve had the privilege to live in the Northwest, Southwest and Southeastern parts of this great country, and I can guarantee you there is no Gator or Red Raider ‘nation’ out there.
Simply stated, it’s a crutch used by fans to validate their loyalty, and is strikingly similar to the ego-centric world view of adolescence.
Is that a circuit party or soccer game?
We can’t have several ‘nations’ of fans within this one nation of ours so there must be some set of criteria used to define what a ‘nation’ of fans looks and feels like. And so, I volunteer the SportsFags.com criteria used to determine which teams truly have a ‘nation of fans’.
Note: No straight people were harmed or used for research purposes when developing this list.
Criteria for a ‘fan nation’
1. National fan base - I’m an Auburn graduate and so when I see another Auburn fan outside of the Southeast I get excited. I realize this excitement automatically excludes Auburn from using the term ‘nation’, because if we were truly a ‘nation’ of fans, seeing an Auburn fan in Boise would be common and not out of the ordinary. Part of having a national fan base means there’s a good chance that you see a fan of your school or team regularly, no matter where you live.
Red Wings fans can out number home crowds when on the road
3. Sustained success - a ‘nation’ of fans takes time to develop and those fans have stuck with the team through both the good times and the bad.
4. Success not attributed to money - if your team is able to outspend everyone else, there will be many people who identify with your team, but who will quickly disown your team when adversity strikes. We all know the person who pulls for the Cowboys, Yankees, Lakers, Manchester United and Florida Gators, they are front runners not fans.
5. One per sport.
Using the criteria above SportsFags.com has vetted all of the fan bases, both college and pro, and determined the only schools or organizations who can lay claim to having a ‘fan nation’.
Baseball – Boston Red Sox
Football – Pittsburgh Steelers
Hockey – Detroit Red Wings
Basketball – University of North Carolina Tarheels
NASCAR – Dale Earnhardt Junior tip of the hat to twitter friend @jch68
There’s so much parity in the NFL these days one could argue that every team is just a player or two away from being mediocre or just plain bad. Such is the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2009.
En route to their .500 record this season the Steelers have led in the fourth quarter of all six losses. This past Sunday Raiders QB Bruce Gradkowski led the Raiders on three touchdown drives against Pittsburgh in the fourth.
So what’s the difference between the Steelers of 2008 who routinely put teams away in the fourth quarter and this year? It’s quite simple really, due to injuries the Steelers have played seven games without the greatness of safety Troy Polamalu this year, in his absence Pittsburgh has realized just how integral his role is to the success of the entire organization.
Troy Polamalu's injury is the main reason for the Steelers sub par record. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
The numbers make the case for Troy’s greatness but ask any Steeler and they’ll tell you it’s his leadership and experience the struggling Steelers’ secondary misses the most.
Opposing quarterbacks fear Polamalu sneaking up to the line before a snap as much as they do watching him drop back into coverage, that’s what the Steelers really miss.
The one thing I am certain about this year is that the Steelers will either face New England or San Diego in the AFC championship game. San Diego is the chic pick to win the AFC and the Chargers will probably win home field advantage because they play in the weak ass AFC West. Yet, the Chargers are too inconsistent and haven’t proven they can win the big game. The Patriots can’t match the Steelers defensively and when you play defense like they do in Steeltown you put yourself in position to win a lot of football games. Pittsburgh is my pick to win the AFC.
A tumultuous NFL offseason that included head coaching changes, TO to Buffalo, Cutler to Chicago and quarterback controversies has been relatively quiet in the little hamlet of Pittsburgh. And that’s the way they like it in Western PA. The Steelers are the model franchise for the NFL and with improved health at the running back position and 18 of 22 starters returning they appear primed to defend their Super Bowl crown. Some have compared the Steelers to the Yankees. Yet these franchises have drastically different approaches to success. The Yankees have the funds to acquire the best free agents in baseball. The Steelers? Well, they unload veterans who are too expensive in favor of younger players who they acquire through the draft.
Over a period of 30 years the Steelers have established a brand of winning football that only the Patriots are close to emulating. Let’s play word association. When I say Steelers, what comes to mind? Defense, running game, power, fear or stability. OK, next word. When I say Cowboys, what comes to mind? Jerry Jones, Tony Romo or Cowboys stadium? Do you see the difference? The Steelers have a winning system, into which, the players fit. While teams like the Cowboys and Redskins follow the Yankees’ roadmap to success.
What do you know the Steelers are going to do this year? Play tough defense and run the ball, right? What do you know about the Cowboys this year? You know they’re changing their offensive scheme to account for the loss of TO, unproven wide receivers and the addition of Marty B at tight end. Anyone really thinking the Boys are gonna be there to meet the Steelers in January? I’ll have my NFC prediction tomorrow.
