Monday, September 28, 2009

The Steelers fly out of the gate 3-0

Wait, what? You're telling me the Steelers blew two fourth quarter leads, allowing inferior offenses to shred through last year's #1 overall defense, in the games waning seconds? No way Jeff Reed misses two lead changing field goals, right? Hard as it may be to believe, the defending champions have started out their super bowl defense with a disappointing effort, landing them in 3rd place in the AFC North with a record of 1-2.

As rough as it has been on the Steeler faithful these past two weeks, there is absolutely no reason for any one to panic unless, of course you're one of the teams on the Steelers' remaining schedule. Listen, I've heard it all in the past two weeks; The Steelers have no run game, the defense isn't making big plays, Tomlin and Arians have been making careless decisions, Holmes is dropping passes , Reed has lost his edge oh and my personal favorite; the O-line is weak! OK, everybody calm down now A: Didn't the Steelers win the Super Bowl with no offensive line and a below average run game? B: Anyone who doesn't trust that this defense will work out the kinks should consider picking up a new hobby, because clearly football is not you're forte. C: The return of troy Polamalu lingers and D: Big Ben "nuff said."

There is no excuse for dropping games to the Chicago Bears and the Cincinnati Bengals in consecutive weeks, but there is good news. During this flat stretch, 'flat' has been the only issue. This is a group loaded with talent that has won two of the last four super bowls. Time to panic? No. Time to buckle down? Yes. As for now the Steelers will be focusing on evening their record at 2-2 with a win over the also struggling Chargers, after which they will get Detroit and Cleveland back to back. If the Steelers keep making the little mistakes and failing to finish, it will be a long season, but the chances of that are about as slim as Brady Quinn winning MVP. To wrap things up; if it makes you feel better to panic, by all means, panic away as for me I'm going to trust the Champs.

Monday, September 21, 2009

The time is now for the Pirates

The time is now for the Pittsburgh Pirates, no it's not what you think, in fact it's time for the Pirates to do what they do best...lose. For the major league teams who have been out of the playoff picture since the 233rd anniversary of our nation's birth it has become a race for the worst record in baseball, which this year comes along with the drafting rights to who SI has already deemed baseball's "chosen one," Bryce Harper.

This is my first post and yes it is about the pirates, but I look at it like this; we only have to endure it for another 2 weeks and then it'll be all Steelers and Penguins. Back to Mr. Bryce Harper, or do you have to wait until a boy has turned eighteen in order to address him as Mr. That's right, this kid is only sixteen years old yet he stands at 6'3" and weighs 205 lbs. Not only is his size impressive but try these numbers on for size; in 2008 harper batted .690 with 21 homers and 77 RBIs in just 38 games for Las Vegas High School and in 2009 he batted .756 along with 28 homers and 85 RBIs. This guy is the first sure bet in a long time and has often been compared to the man who was last considered a sure bet, Alex Rodriguez, and as we all know, he worked out pretty well for a number of years. (Lets hope that Harper can stay away from the needle ehem.)

Harper is a catcher by trade but also excels at shortstop, third base and as a pitcher, now all this sounds pretty promising but there is one thing standing in the buccos way; the Washington Nationals. As good as the Pirates have been at losing in the past decade and a half, since the addition of the Nationals the Pirates have been bested in their own game including this year. Currently the Pirates sit securely in last place of the National League Central with a record of 56-91, but the Nationals are leading the race with a record of 51-98. This will certainly be a race to remember. Lets Go Bu.... wait scratch that.