Carl Joseph Rules

I guess this is "Endorse Other People Day" at PSaMP. What with HHR before and Carl Joseph now.

I recently exchanged notes with Carl, a man you probably have never heard about. Unless you saw him on sites like Deadspin and With Leather back in November. Carl is an amazing athlete that you need to know about.


"Born into poverty on a north Florida tobacco farm in 1961, Carl Joseph didn't stand much of a chance in life, even if he'd had a left leg. But through strength in God and unyielding perseverance, he led not only a normal life, but an extraordinary one.

When he removed his bulky prosthesis or dropped his crutches to play sports, he morphed from a gimp into a powerful competitor. In going where no one-legged human had gone before, he sacked quarterbacks, dunked basketballs and soared to victories in the high jump...by hopping on one leg!

In his heroic journey, he transformed himself from the object of pity and ridicule as a child to one of respect and awe in high school, winning over incredulous couches at each hop along the way.

The improbable athletic exploits of this bashful honor student were credited with bringing Madison's black and white communities together during the tense early years of forced integration."


It's not everyday that you hear inspirational stories of one-legged athletes defying the odds. It's even rarer when the story actually relates to Pittsburgh.

In the early 80s, Pitt football coach Jackie Sherrill brought Carl in for a tryout. I asked Carl to recall his time in Pittsburgh for use here. The following is from Carl himself:


"I first met Coach Sherrill, Mark May and Dan Marino when they unexpectedly showed up in my little hometown of Madison, FL, to take part in "Carl Joseph Appreciation Day" in May of 1980. Coach Sherrill then invited me to fall football camp to be a member of the team and inspire his players.

I was at Pitt for about five weeks. I was allowed to suit up and take part in exercises, warmups and drills, but no contact. I was treated as part of the team and had the same rules as the players. The player I was closest with at that time was Rickey Jackson. He showed me a lot of Pittsburgh and he gave me the name "Jackie Sherrill's Boy" because he felt Coach gave me more freedom. That may have been true, but I really couldn't do anything with that freedom. My mobility at Pitt was severely limited by the hills. I wore an artificial leg on campus and had several falls, which was a humiliating thing for me.

So while I loved my time with the Panthers, I was glad to get back to the flat farmland of northern Florida. I don't know how much my presence at Pitt inspired the players, but they did have an 11-1 season."


Sherrill was touched by Carl enough to write a letter of recommendation for the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, for which Carl was recently nominated. Hopefully, the love Carl has recently gotten from the blogosphere will help in the selection process. Carl and the other nominees should find out the results next month.

Below is video of Carl. PSaMP endorses Carl's selection into the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame!

Dude, Check Out Pitt

So check it. It's the new year, which means football is finishing up and 90% of my blog content will be leaving me within the month. So this is about the time my mind starts shifting to hockey and Pitt basketball.

The Penguins suck fiercely right now, so I wanna take a look at what Pitt's doing. And boy, my timing couldn't be better.

Pitt is about to assume its first #1 overall ranking in school history. That's right, the team that's been playing for over 100 years with especially ridiculous teams over the last 10 or so is finally about to stand atop the nation. Yeah, it's no national championship, but who can argue with a number 1 ranking halfway through the regular season?

We've gotten close like 14 different times it feels like, only to lose some meaningless game that pushes us closer to the lower rankings. This time, Pitt took care of business BEFORE UNC shat the bed. And by took care of business, I mean held Georgetown to 54 points in a 16 point win over the other Big East power.

Since Pitt is about to get some national exposure over the unbeaten record and top ranking, I feel its time to say it right now:

IF YOU'RE A PITT FAN, STOP MENTIONING HOW TEAMS IN YEARS PAST COULDN'T GET PAST THE SWEET SIXTEEN!

Really, that argument makes about as much sense as saying the Chargers are gonna beat the Steelers on Sunday because San Diego beat Pittsburgh in the playoffs in 94. Look, Pitt has had a bitch of a time in March, seemingly struggling to get past the round of 16. I'll be the first to tell you all about tourney loss after tourney loss, but not now. Not as if it pertains to THIS Pitt team. Dejuan Blair and Sam Young had nothing to do with the 02 Sweet 16 loss.

To become a true elite team, the loser stigma needs to go out the door with the cake non-conference schedule. Someone is always complaining about Pitt, whether it be about the tourney losses or that the team seems to always play gravy opponents at home to start the season. Well, the non-conference schedule is over, pushed away by clutch wins over Rutgers and G-town. And Pitt has used the always-there defense (Rutgers posted a Pitt-opponent season record 72 points) to compliment 3 guys averaging double figures.

So just as Pitt quieted the critics regarding their easy early-season schedule, so too must this team quiet the idiots who probably picked Pitt to go far in a number of past tourneys. And it starts with the fans leaving the past, and never using the former failures to justify any future struggles.

What A Comeback

Big ups to my blogging friend BP at AA for the video.

I hope you happened to catch Pitt's win over Syracuse yesterday. I didn't catch the entire game, but I turned it on as we were down 11 with about 2 and a half minutes remaining. Turns out, Pitt ended the game on an 18-2 run. Ridiculous.

That makes 3 crazy finishes for Pitt this season. Syracuse, Duke and West Virginia. Those videos are below.





Now, if only we could, you know, grab an early lead and put teams away. That'd be great.

Pittsburgh Rules

I already told you that the Steelers won.

Also, despite blowing a 4-goal lead (damn you, Ty Conklin), the Penguins won.

And Pitt beat Duke. At Madison Square Garden. Video of Levance "Don't Tase Me, Bro" Fields hitting the winning 3 in overtime is provided above.

Solid night.

Pitt Sold Their Soul To The Devil...

...And I approve of this transaction.

What a win. Despite the refs' best efforts to give the game to WVU, Pitt prevailed...but it seems like they, too, had some help.

Look at those stats from last night's game. Pitt was obviously runnin' with someone else other than just Lesean McCoy.

Sorry

That's LeSean McCoy carrying Pitt (as was the case on Saturday), in case you wanted to know. MS Paint limits my capabilities. I apologize heartily.

And I tagged it. Its a PSaMP A+ MS Paint Original. That enough letters for ya?

LeSean McCoy is a Beast

Pitt is currently down, 14-13, but they should be happy with where they sit considering how shaky the passing game has been. I just wanted to make a comment that Pitt RB LeSean McCoy (I've also seen Lesean and L'esean) is a nut.

He's only a freshman, and at one point in the third quarter of today's game, he had 143 of Pitt's 193 total yards. To this point, he has 25 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown. His longest run was 64 yards.

Dude has some moves, and was looking like a Reggie Bush with power. If he'd learn to throw, he could probably have 10 or so completions, seeing as how Pitt keeps lining QB Kevan Smith as a WR, with direct snaps just going to McCoy. Even though Michigan State knew he was getting the ball every time, He still found a way to gain yards. I'm excited about his potential.

If you're wondering about that stellar picture, I found it here. There's a bunch more (1, 2, 3), including one of current sideline prowler, Pat Bostick. They are ripe for the Photoshopping, but the best I can do is MS Paint. We'll see if that happens.

Wannstedt needed to put Bostick in to start the second half, and Smith's best throw was dropped by Oderick Turner.

UPDATE: Michigan State is up 17-13. There's about 2 and a half minutes left. Kevan Smith is still looking uncomfortable.

UPDATE again: 35 seconds left, 4th and way long. McCoy is on the bench. Completion! Wow.

Haily Mary and its incomplete. 17-14, Michigan State wins. McCoy finished with the above stats.

If you're wondering about the picture below, it tuned up when I Google image-searched for "Lesean McCoy." Great movie.

Pitt or Pittsburgh? Either Way, Its Money Down the Drain

Remember back in 1997, when then-Athletic Director Steve Pedersen decided to change the PITT name to Pittsburgh, to show the school's affiliation with the city? Well, 10 years of affiliation is obviously enough.

The school is tearing up the tile Pittsburgh floor logo (above) in order to replace it with a PITT moniker.

The old tile floor was installed for $100k (damn), and the new one will cost $25k, with an additional $50k going to updating banners to reflect the change back to PITT. That's a lot of dough.

AD Jeff Long wants to bring back the classic PITT name that never really disappeared from most Pitt fans' minds.

"It's our image. It's our brand and certainly a statement about the University of Pittsburgh and Pitt athletics," he said. "It's important in a place as highly visible as the Petersen for us to have our primary logo."

Furthermore:

"Pitt never really did leave the minds or the lips of people living within the region," he said.

And apparently, the new design will reflect the sleeker logo that everyone hates. I mean, it does look like a labrador.

And I could probably do the job for a lot less. I'm no tiling expert, but $25k to replace a $100k job? That's a lot of money just to switch a name on the floor. I was always mad when my school, St. Vincent College, dropped $50k on Zambelli fireworks for Founder's Day, all while raising tuition every year.

I know the dollars are coming out of Long's Athletic Department annual operating fund, but couldn't that money go to a better endeavor? And if the logo is getting replaced, how about going back to the plain script. Do we really need a panther (labrador) disembodied head? I think I speak for a good number of Pitt fans who would rather see the old PITT script replace any other logo.

But that's just me...

Marshall Trying to Make Hometown Team

Does this guy look familiar? Pitt fans probably know him. WVU fans definitely know him. Rasheed Marshall is hoping that all Steelers fans will get to know him in the upcoming season.

Scott Brown of the Tribune-Review reminds readers of the former Big East Player of the Year, as he tries to make a Steelers team that presumably can't use another wideout.

Pittsburgh has proven vets in Hines Ward and Cedrick Wilson, and used their first round selection last year on speedy Santonio Holmes. Dallas Baker the Touchdown Maker was drafted in the final round of this year's draft out of national champion Florida. Plus, Willie Reid is hoping to make an impact after a season-ending foot injury in his rookie campaign. PSaMP is also hoping that this is the year Walter Young, a talented wideout with great size, comes into his own. He has a T.O. build, and displayed some good hands during last year's preseason.

Where does Marshall fit in? He spent his rookie season in San Fransisco, where he racked up 575 yards primarily as a return specialist. Reid seems destined for that role this season, but Marshall could be an insurance plan if Reid's foot decides to fail him again. I sure as hell don't want to see Holmes waiting for kicks anymore. Sure, the guy started to show some progress at WR towards the end of the season, and even had that longass touchdown to beat the Bungles in overtime, but as a kick returner, Holmes might make me pull out all of my hair. He excelled at tOSU at the position, but doesn't have the quickness or the moves to run back kicks in the NFL. And I'm not even going to mention the fumbles.

Unfortunately for Marshall, he spent 12 games as a 49er, which is too many to be considered for any professional practice squad. He needs to display his skills quickly, or fear getting axed into free agency.

Will Marshall make the club? Only time will tell. Reid has yet to fully prove himself, so maybe Marshall can create a niche for himself in the Steelers' '07-'08 roster.

Uh...You Sure Ben?

ben roethlisberger doesnt want to blame his injuries from the past offseason (and at the beginning of the season, for those who forget an unblocked adalius thomas), as the reason he struggled to a 7-8 record as a starter in 06. i understand wanting to put the past behind you, and there could be other reasons that ben threw 23 interceptions as compared to only 18 touchdowns. but ive seen the pictures. im sure the accident (among the appendectomy and adalius thomas) had a dramatic effect on why ben was bad all year.

its hard to look at these pictures and not blame them for everything that went wrong last year. i guess bens a better person (and by better, i mean the person with the fakest face).

Roethlisberger also told the newspaper he was able to put last season in
perspective with the help of Hall of Fame quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Dan Marino.

great choices, ben. you officially have more super bowl rings than both men combined. im surprised he didnt look to akili smith and jeff george for advice as well.

devils lost. to the leafs. thats good for the pens, who dont lose any ground to the atlantic-leading devils by way of their loss to the rangers two nights ago. wade belak fought cam janssen, obvious retaliation for janssen's hit on tomas kaberle that has caused the talented maple leaf to miss the past 8 games in a crucial push for the final playoff spot in the east.

pens dont play till tomorrow, when they travel to long island to meet "the rick dipietros."

still waiting for the sweet 16. i know i have the panthers losing in the sweet 16 (those who picked pitt to keep going obviously havent watched pitt basketball for the past 10 years or so,) but it would be cool to actually see them advance to the elite 8.

mpotd later...

got some stuff to do

UPDATE...

some things have happened while you were busy weeping over the departure of tommy amaker.

• tennessee won what turned out to be a close one over uva.
• steelers resigned chidi iwuoma. one of these times, chidis gonna tackle a hole in some return man
• andrew mccutchen is lookin good. real good.
• ben roethlisberger hosted camp ben-e-fit, teaching kids about sports and overcoming adversity. ben has overcome a lot of adversity. and by adversity, i mean a buick.
• here's some video documentation of pitt's win. watch levance fields get mad. at his headband.
• i cant stand ohio state. in any sport. it might be because, as a penn state fan, i cant take the thought of a better big 10 school. and old lebron james, i mean greg oden, is mean.
• mondesis house got a new logo. check out the sweet lemieux artwork here as well. its cool.

19 POINT LEAD WITH ONLY MINUTES TO GO...(breathe, breathe)

what the hell. iunderstand that eric maynor is a good point guard. i understand that he creates shots for other people when hes not scoring points himself. but a 19 point lead, in the 2nd half, should at least let your fans breathe. as soon as the lead dipped to 17, i was like "oh no." honestly, those words went through my mind. pitt seems to get caught up in snowball-games like the one on display last night, where they look like an elite 8 team, maybe even final 4 (dare i say)! but as soon as another team hits one big shot, or pitt misses that one easy shot (or free throw, levance fields, ill get to you later), then my mouth goes dry and i think, "we're going to blow a 19 point, 2nd half lead." i really thought pitt was gonna lose. minutes 5 through 2 in the 2nd half seemed to drag on forever, and watching pitt became frustrating.

but even if you blow a lead that large, you should be able to make, i don't know, at least 1 of 2 free throws with 2.1 seconds left. HOW MUCH ARC do you need to put on a shot? really? i played basketball in 3rd grade and that was it, but i understand the ball will go in the rim with much less arc than what levance fields puts on his shots. and then he throws his headband off like its the headbands fault for spending more eating than practicing his free throw.

pitt won however, and will face ucla, and former coach ben howland in the sweet 16. i had this part of my bracket highlighted, and hoped both pitt and ucla would make it. its just another mentor/protege game, tom izzo/tom crean, and thad matta going up against a stout xavier team that he left for ohio state. but its bs if the players get caught up in it, because there is little to no howland-era fingerprints on this team, save for say jamie dixon. jamie needs to forget about vcu, and focus real hard, on ucla. pitt must jump out early, and can ill afford to blow any lead to ucla.

hats off to eric maynor and vcu, though. they were a fun team to watch. everyone at the arena wanted pitt to lose once vcu started their run. their ability to force overtime is truly commendable. i expect the same, or more, in coming tournaments. yet a win, any type of win, still allows you to move on. pitt lives to fight another day. hopefully they can conjure up some of that "first-half magic" for more than 20 minutes versus ucla.

Pitt's Grand Entrance to the Dance

pitt plays tonite. its the first round of the tourney. we're playing wright state. they are the raiders. (i didnt know that). they play in ohio, meaning each player must have a minimum of 3 arrests. dashaun wood, the horizon league player of the year, is averaging 19.8 ppg, and is what espn.com calls a "blur." im not 100% about what that means. im sure hes quick, but i think espn just used a word that can be construed as a compliment, but really is vague enough to not be wrong. the school was founded in 1964, and the team plays at the ervin j. nutter center (sweet). i only put ronald ramon in the picture because its an excuse for everyone to check out his locks, and hes tryin so hard to look like a badass in this pic.

even if pitt loses today, which i dont see happening, they will still find a way to lose again in the sweet 16.

game is at 9:40 P.M.