I Am Burning

Check out this cool stuff.

Yesterday, my post about Hines Ward and his gift of Crown Royal premium whiskey made it all the way from the dregs of the Internet to ESPN. A producer for Jim Rome is Burning asked permission to use the image and my website's url on the show. Rome used the pic and story as his Final Burn.

I give ESPN a lot of flak, but sometimes, they do the right thing. It woulda been way easy (and it has happened) for someone with their kinda pull to just rip something straight off the Internet and claim it was theirs, but the producer and show were classy enough to give credit where credit was due. When I started this site almost 2 years ago, there wasn't nearly this kind of communication between the blogosphere and major entities like ESPN.

Much love goes out to my buddy Brian at Awful Announcing for preserving the clip and sending it to me. Also, thanks to Cotter for getting a backup file of the clip. I owe you both majorly.

So yeah, this post is a bit self-serving, but it's nice to get recognized. So back off.

BREAKING NEWS: Don Cherry Continues Beef With Sidney Crosby, Rest of World Yawns

From the Globe and Mail, via my buddy BP at Awful Announcing, comes news that Don Cherry snubbed Sidney Crosby.

Wow. I didn't see that coming.

Anyone who knows Sid and knows Don Cherry were not taken by surprise at this. Cherry is unique to listen to, and must be respected for all he's done for the game. However, he's had a history of berating Sid, mostly stemming from Cherry despising the now-famous lacrosse-style goal Sid scored in juniors.

So after the Game 3 win, Cherry gave tons of love to most of the Pens, including Gary Roberts (not that there's anything wrong with that), but seemed to miss Sid's contributions. I mean, its gotta be easy to forget the guy who scored the first two Penguins goals. Especially right after the game.

Here's the money quote:


When Cherry did his postgame spot for ESPN, he continued to ignore Crosby and wax lyrical about Roberts. Finally, ESPN commentator Barry Melrose said, “What about the Crosby kid?”

“Oh,” Cherry said. “I forgot. Yeah, he played a great game.”


Typical Cherry. I'd be more pissed if it was someone other than Don Cherry. I've come to expect nothing less, although he did wear Penguins colors earlier in the playoffs (above picture taken from that link).

Whatever. Drop the puck for Game 4, already.

Go Pens.

Sean Taylor Was Human, The MSM Wasn't Aware

(Pic ripped from the dominating BP at AA. Read his take on this as well.)

I briefly mentioned my distaste for the mainstream media's handling of the Sean Taylor tragedy in my MMCNY post (its at the very bottom). Before I ever got a chance to follow up my comment, Will at Deadspin beat me to the punch. He's right on with the argument. Read and learn.

I'm absolutely sick over the way the MSM is constantly bringing up every past wrong in Taylor's life, as if all his problems contributed to his death. Do we really need to be talking about his prior DUI, or his legal battles?

Here's an excerpt from ESPN's report about Taylor's passing:

[Taylor] had a drunken driving charge that was later dismissed. He skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium. He fired two agents. He didn't like his contract. He refused to return Gibbs' calls during the offseason. And he was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other on-field infractions.

In 2005, he was accused of pointing a gun during a fight over all-terrain vehicles near his Miami home, a legal battle that ended a year later when he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to probation.

Why the need to mention this? If something tragic happened to anyone of us, I'm sure our families would be devastated if the local newspapers peppered our obituaries with a bulleted list of every traffic ticket, college-party infraction or minor squabbles with the law. This is a time to reflect on Taylor's life, not a vehicle to point out that he wasn't perfect.

However, kudos to Jeff Chadiha for only briefly mentioning Taylor's early immaturity as a way to show how much he grew in the past few years. Articles like this show that you can mention Taylor's problems without reading off a laundry list of offenses and altercations.

And I'm not just picking at ESPN. Every news source felt the need to mention every run-in with the law or questionable decision.

Taylor wasn't perfect. I challenge anyone to prove that they are.

The MSM handled this poorly. To say the very least.

R.I.P. to Sean Taylor, the human.

PSaMP's Halfie Birthday Extravaganza: Awful Announcing

(To commemorate the 6 month anniversary of PSaMP, I invited some of my favorite bloggers to take over PSaMP for a week. I'm calling it, PSaMP's Halfie Birthday Extravaganza. Well, its been extended to an obnoxiously long two week blogapalooza, per se. Several kickass local and national blogs agreed to share their feelings on Pittsburgh sports. Hopefully, some will also provide a Mini Pony of the Day. In my mind, it will rule. I hope you enjoy it. Thursday's blogger is BP, the creative voice behind Awful Announcing. AA is one of the best all-around sportsblogs out there on the interwebs. If you don't read it everyday, you are stupid. BP is here to let you Pens fans know why the team lost to the Caps in 1994 in the playoffs. Unbelievable stuff.)
-

I wanted to take this space to bash everything that is the Steelers, but really what is there to bash as of late? They have a pretty great team, and now that Joey Porter is gone (BEEYAH!) you can't really make fun of them anymore. Well at least until I see their fans come out of the coal mines to make the trip down to Baltimore in December and experience yet another clash of Puke Yellow versus Purple Camo.

But no, I'd like to share another story that few have heard me tell. The year was 1994 and the Pittsburgh Penguins were staying in the hotel I was working at because they were in a heated playoff tilt with the Washington Capitals. The Caps were up 3-2 in the series and had a chance to close out the Pens the next night in a game I was going to. The Penguins had an entire floor and I was in charge of Room Service for the night. I had about 60 or so trays to deliver throughout the night and ended up meeting just about everyone on the team, but Mario Lemieux. Most of the guys were foreign and I couldn't remember who any of them were, but the last room I delivered to at around 9pm I recognized the players right away.

The very last room on the hall had three of the Penguins' best players in it just hanging out. Tom Barasso, Kevin Stevens, and in full mullet...Jaromir Jagr. Stevens told me to come in and roll the cart with the tray on it into the corner. As I did I noticed that they looked like they were getting ready for a night on the town. I asked where in Annapolis (MD) they were thinking about heading to thinking they'd grab a cab and make the 10 minute trip. Stevens relayed that they weren't allowed to leave the hotel room because they had a game the next day and that they were going to hang out in the hotel bar Secrets.

Now what you have to understand about Secrets was that it was single guy heaven. Before the term "Cougar" was invented this was their den. I bid adieu to the guys and as they took the elevator down to the lobby, I headed back to the Kitchen. My Manager (a 40 something year-old woman from New York) and the Assistant Manager (a gorgeous 30 something year-old woman from L.A.) were there to ask me how it went. I said fine and that some of the players were going to be hanging out in the bar. For some reason the two of them just started giggling and asked who was in there partying. I relayed that it was Stevens, Jagr, and Barasso and within seconds they were posted up at the bar with the trio.

I was only 15 at the time, but I was in good with the bartenders so they let me sit next to the bar and watch whatever sporting event was on at the time while I waited for my Mom to pick me up (it's actually where I saw Joe Carter's walk-off homer against the Phillies in the WS). I had never seen my two Managers act like this and at about 10pm I left to one of them sitting on Kevin Stevens' lap.

Fast Forward to the next day Thursday, April 28th. My mom was taking me to the game that day and I told her that I needed to stop by work to pick up a paycheck to cash so I could get some garb at the game. I walk through the empty bar at around 3pm and in to the Kitchen to find my boss telling a story to two other female employees. I asked her for my check and she tells me to hang on for a second. I make small talk with the dishwashers, but quickly grow impatient as she's whispering this story across the room. I walk behind her to hear her say the funniest and most shocking thing my 15-year old ears had ever heard.

"Kevin and I were up until 5am at my place just going at it. I've never been that wet in my life."- Manager Lady

She spun around to see me standing there, and immediately did the "you didn't hear anything" routine and to "never repeat what I had heard". I was a late-bloomer so I really didn't even know what she was referring to anyway. Well to make a long-story short it turned out that she and the assistant manager took all three players to her house and had an all-nighter that only her, the Penguins, and God know the details of.

Of course the Capitals won the game that night and eliminated the favorites to win the Stanley Cup from the playoffs. I don't know what they did to him but somehow Tom Barasso gave up six goals (one empty netter) in defeat. And I saw it all go down. It's moments like that I wish I had started my blog in the early 90s.

- BP, Awful Announcing

Want To Win An IPhone?

My blogging compatriot BP at Awful Announcing asked for a link, and those that ask shall receive.

AA is hosting an ESPN Pigskin Pick Em' Challenge, where the winner shall receive one ultra super cool IPhone. To play along, follow this link:

http://games.espn.go.com/pigskin/group?groupID=12963

AA's post is here. Read that if you want to learn more about the contest.

If you decide to play, be sure to let me know your team name either in the comments or at psampmail@gmail.com. Due to name-length constrictions, I am playing as PghSports&MiniPonies. I left the fabulous team name The Mini Ponies on the table for whoever wants to snatch it up.

Enter. Win. Let me know how you're doing. Its very easy. And you can win a phone. Win/win all around.

$21k and PSaMP Is Yours

My blog is worth $20,887.98.
How much is your blog worth?

Very interesting read, here. OMDQ, weekend editor at Awful Announcing, brought this stunning news to my attention. Quailman took the idea from The 26th Man, so they also get a link.

Anyway, this site analyzes how much your blog is worth. I'll mess it up if I try to explain, so here's what the site says.

Inspired by Tristan Louis's research into the value of each link to Weblogs Inc, I've created this little applet using Technorati's API which computes and displays your blog's worth using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.

Pretty solid.

And if you happen to have a spare $21,000 laying around and want complete control of a cool site dedicated to sports and little horses, email me and we can set the whole deal up.

Illegal Immigrants Are Bandwagon Steelers Fans

I laughed too hard at this gallery of criminals who were busted in their favorite team's gear at The Smoking Gun.

Sports franchises love nothing more than fans shelling out for a replica of their favorite player's jersey. Of course, seeing the garments on a perp when he/she is posing for a mug shot, well, that's the kind of marketing no team desires. On the following 18 pages, recent arrestees show their allegiance to the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix Suns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Toronto Raptors, Denver Nuggets, and other clubs.

The article was brought to my attention yesterday by Will at Deadspin, and Awful Announcing also has a funny take today.

Of course, there had to be someone wearing the black and gold.

Honestly, couldn't ese dish out a few more bucks for the authentic jersey? This one looks like it was made in art class. In 1986.

At least dude is showing his allegiance. I guess any press is good press.

Oh God! The Night Terrors Are Starting Again!

Leave it to Will to bring up the bad memories.

Jeff Reed is at it again (More pics if you dare follow the link). No, no privates were involved this time, but he is shirtless, which is nearly as bad. Jeff's still a fan of the manscaping, as the Deadspin pictorial clearly shows.

I justified my reasons for picking a kicker in round 2 of Awful Announcing's Sportsbloggers Mock Draft. The first round of pictures were reason enough. After seeing these pics, I don't think PSaMP's pick of Mason Crosby was unjust at all.

Reed has a way of standing out. Unfortunately, it usually involves a naked part of his body.

I'm gonna go wash my brain. Let me know if anything (that's not terrifying) happens while I'm gone.

4th Round, Steelers Select Daniel Sepulveda

Yesterday, PSaMP brought you unprecedented (note: "unprecedented" doesn't necessarily mean "good") access to all of the Steelers' first day selections. Today, PSaMP will look to continue this fine tradition.

In the 4th round, with the 112 overall pick, the Steelers selected Daniel Sepulveda, Punter from Baylor. Honestly, when I chose Mason Crosby in the Sports Blogger's Mock Draft, I looked into taking Sepulvelda. The 4th round is kinda high for a punter, but it is a position that the Steelers needed to address.

And Crosby has yet to be picked. Great job calling him a sure-fire first day pick, Mel Kiper.

More "unprecedented" coverage as the picks filter in.

Let Me Explain...

Awful Announcing's Round 2 of The Complete Sports Bloggers Mock Draft Version 1.0 is complete, and the picks are posted. PSaMP used the Steelers' 2nd round pick on Mason Crosby, kicker from the University of Colorado. This is my reasoning, in its entirety:

I guess I’ll be that guy…

With the 14th pick in the 2nd round, and 46th overall pick, the Pittsburgh Steelers and PSaMP select not to fill the glaring needs at DE, Linebacker, DB, or the cool-name category, but instead draft to fill the need of never, ever seeing the top of a player’s dong again. Taking a page from Dan Shanoff, PSaMP will pass up a need to take the best available player in the draft. Except in this instance, it’s the best available kicker in the draft.

So I bring you, the Steelers’ 2nd rounder, Colorado K Mason Crosby. Before the heckling, here are some reasons:

Jeff Reed connected on only 74% of his fgs last year, and was 8/11 between 35 and 39. Before last year, he only missed 2 fgs from that distance for his career. Plus the whole “taking a picture of the top of your shaft and your exquisite manscaping with your Motorola razor"-thing completely scarred me, and I couldn’t look at Jeff the same way again.

Now on to Crosby. He’s been called the best kicker in the draft since Sebastian Janikowski, only without the distractions. He has his own cartoon-superhero depiction (search "Mason Crosby" on google images), and was an equal to/better than kicker than Mike Nugent, a 1st rounder, in 2005, when the Cleated Crusher was only a sophomore. Crosby also survived playing a non-contact position (punter, kicker, etc.) in the state of Colorado without having his jealous backup stabbing him in the leg. Plus, the name Crosby just seems to fit on a Pittsburgh jersey for some reason. Also, the last three players the Steelers drafted from the state of Colorado, Clark Haggans, Aaron Smith and Joey Porter, have all been solid contributors. I would’ve included the last 5 players from the state, but #4 was some dude named Ryan Olson (?) and #5 was Kordell Stewart.

(This pick was made for the sole reason that kickers should never take pictures of the tops of their poles. I won’t accept it, and this type of behavior is grounds for a 4-6 game suspension from Goodell. The Steelers already got rid of one player that could be punished by the personal conduct policy in the future, so getting rid of Jeff is the next logical step. Anyone want a manscaped kicker for young, unproven DE?)

Oh, and for the ladies… out there, Crosby has an 8 ½ inch hand. He’s more restrained in dropping hints about his crotch size, rather than blatantly displaying it like our good friend Mr. Reed.

You may begin to make fun now…

So there's my reasoning. The pick was made in good fun, and I can't thank AA enough for inviting me to draft. If the Steelers actually take Mason Crosby with the 46th overall pick, I might lose my mind. He's a projected first-day pick, and I do want to see which team actually gambles on him. He could be legit. Just not legit enough for the 46th overall pick...

UPDATE...

The Pirates lead the 'Stros 3-1 in the 6th. But you already knew that:

• Cool interview with Zach Landres-Schnur of The Big Picture.
• Some maniac wants more flesh among televised college cheerleaders. And I give my full support to this so-called "psycho."
• Sidney Crosby (remember him?) is among Time's 100 most influential people. Finally, someone else has heard of this kid.
• Rich-ass, gap-toothed Michael Strahan likens the NFL to having a dull, rusty blade twisted in your body. Poor people everywhere begin dulling up their blades...
• The best Little League Concession Stand items. No arguments here.
• The Dugout is back! I about died at this part:

MannyThe Torpedoes: /hits ball over Green Monster, plods around bases and
back to dugout

hey guys gues wha i foun out

MyNameIsSlimJD : Yes. We know. The bases are like pillows.

• Conquer Fort Boyard. Worst. Show. Ever.
• Don't understand today's "Marmaduke?" Joe Mathlete will help you out. Side-splitting fun.

Its the 8th inning now, and the Buccos are still up 3-1. Big Country took one deep. The Pirates are trying to win their 3rd in a row, and 5th straight over the 'Stros this season. Plus, a 9-10 record look so much sexier than 8-11.

Sorry for the lack of domination today. I had a rough paper due about global terrorism, and that pretty much consumed most of my life today. Oh, and Awful Announcing posted an article regarding a typo on espn.com's front page. In an related instance, I wrote "message" the exact same way (meassage) in my paper shortly after reading that article. Thanks AA, for crushing what otherwise would have been a fairly decent paper regarding the contributions to modern global terrorism by the Islamic Assassins.

"UPDATE..." Update: The score is tied at 3 in the top of the 9th. That sucks the wind outta everything. Oh, and if I have to see that horrible Shop N Save commercial where they have the customers singing the theme song (I guess) one more time, I'm gonna snap. "Shop N Save's the just right place for me!!!" How about use some proper grammar, and some proper singers, you SnS toolbags.

Some Hints To My Pick

So I'm not allowed to reveal my pick for Awful Announcing's Complete Sports Blogger's NFL Mock Draft Version 1.0. I can, however, reveal that my pick has been made. Here are some of the reasons for my pick.

With the 14th pick in the 2nd round, and 46th overall pick, the Pittsburgh
Steelers and PSaMP select not to fill the glaring needs at DE, Linebacker, DB,
or the cool-name category, but instead...will pass up a need to take the best
available player in the draft.

Furthermore, my pick:

...also survived playing...in the state of Colorado. The last three players
the Steelers drafted from the state of Colorado, Clark Haggans, Aaron Smith and
Joey Porter, have all been solid contributors. I would’ve included the last 5
players from the state, but #4 was some dude named Ryan Olson (?) and #5 was
Kordell Stewart.

So that's probably all the information I can give you. Check out AA's round 2 of the Complete Sport's Blogger's NFL Mock Draft Version 1.0. The picks should be up before the end of the work week. I'll re-print my full pick once the 2nd round finds its way to AA.

And before any feelings are hurt, I just want to say that my pick in no way reflects who the Steelers should actually take with the 46th overall pick. It was made in good fun. You may disagree mightily.

Hey Steelers, You Paying Attention?

Check it out! (Whoa, I capitalized a letter to start a paragraph, what's up with that? Get used to it.) PSaMP has been officially asked to participate in Awful Announcing's Complete Sports Blogger's NFL Mock Draft Version 1.0! Your's truly gets to handle the Steelers' 2nd round pick, so if you have an idea, drop me a line. Simply put, bloggers from around the nation will be taking control of their favorite teams during a mock draft at AA, and our picks will be criticized, analyzed and made fun of by anyone who so chooses. For a complete rundown of what's going on, check out the link i provided up above, and AA will fill you in with the rest. The 14th pick of the round, aka the 46th overall pick in the draft, is completely up to PSaMP's choosing, so the Steelers better be watching.

Now its all in good fun, so I could pick, I don't know, Tyler Palko if I wanted, or maybe even some sweet mini pony. I'm hoping Ted Ginn Jr. is still around, that way TGjr and Santonio Holmes can use that tOSU foundation to seriously help our receiving corps (tongue-in-cheek, for those who can't take a joke).

Either way, it should be a great experience (well...an experience nonetheless). So any recommendations are welcomed.