I Love You, Becky And Ashley

If you need a place for a wide range of Pittsburgh Internet links, TAE's Links N'@ is always a good place to start. I only say this now because they picked up on one of my stories today.

I'm always up front with you when I'm shamelessly self-promoting. This is no different. Look, I've gotten links from sweet places like Deadspin, The Big Lead, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Mag, Yahoo!, ESPN's Jim Rome is Burning, the Post Gazette and so on...but a local news station might tickle me moreso. It might not bring in the same level of traffic, but come on, I definitely watched TAE, KDKA and those guys long before I knew what sports were. And yes, I'm talking about my infancy.

TAE scratched my back, so I give 'em a link in return. Don't hate. You'd do the same.

/ends shameless self promotion

ESPN's Mount Rushmore Of Sports For Pennsylvania Includes 3 Guys That Weren't Born In The State

ESPN just announced their Mount Rushmore of Sports for Pennsylvania. And it's just another weird way to get weird Rick Reilly to justify his weirdly huge contract.

The legends are Joe Paterno, Wilt Chamberlain, Mario Lemieux and Roberto Clemente.

I have no idea what criteria was used to determine these "faces," but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't confused. Here we have guys born in Brooklyn (Paterno), Philly (Chamberlain), Montreal (Lemieux) and Puerto Rico (Clemente).

All of 'em are guys that represented the places where they coached/played, so I guess that was the basis for their inclusion? I'm kinda lost at this point and haven't seen any of the other Rushmores...would Joe Montana be a nominee in California? 'Cos we lay claim to him in SW PA.

Whatever, I'm over it.

Rick Reilly is weird.

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.

Chris Berman Sucks

...but Mike Tomlin rules.

Best. Picture. Ever?

h/t Wingman Blog and Deadspin

I'm Next

Big thanks to my buddy Eric, formerly of one of my favorite, now-defunct sites, Extrapolater and now of the fantastic Storming the Floor for tipping me off about my inclusion in ESPN the Mag's "The Next: Site to Bookmark" thingy.

This doesn't change things, ESPN. One link won't redeem the entire company. But it is a nice gesture. I certainly didn't expect it.

So I'm Next, fools. I guess soon, I'll be Now, and in a few years, Forgotten.

ESPN is Dead to Me

ESPN has sucked for awhile, but I've still gone to it as a somewhat-reliable sports-news source.

Heh.

Right now, the lead story on the .com is some bullshit, factless piece of turd article about former Steelers doctor Richard Rydze and his connection with HGH. A year and a half after the story's been dead. And 3 days before the Steelers play in the AFC Championship game.

And in the middle of the article is a reminder to watch the Outside the Lines report on Rydze. I hope Bob Ley skips that taping out of protest.

You self-serving assholes at ESPN have completely corrupted the entity that had such a high ceiling back in 1979.

How can anyone in their right minds read such an obvious shit-stirring article and come off believing that ESPN is still an impartial third party? Tomorrow, will we all be subjected to more stories about Ray Lewis stabbing someone? Saturday will be the reminder that Dan Rooney's other brothers are into gambling. And right before the game, we'll learn that James Harrison was arrested for assault!

When does it stop? When does ESPN stop these blatantly pathetic stories to push pageviews? The blogosphere gets way too much credit for being the bad guys that are cluttering up the tubes with nonsense. Maybe we learned it from from someone even worse.

If you want to believe that Richard Rydze somehow helped this #1 ranked defense, then go right ahead. But to have it as the lead story with no more evidence than a hunch...that's just downright despicable. Don't look at the other side, where a proactive owner parted ways with a doctor before any asinine allegations like these could float around. We heard your disgusting take 2 years ago, and again when the issue proved to have no significance a year and a half ago.

I allege that Rodney Harrison was selling HGH to all of his Patriots teammates before he served his 4-game suspension for the drug. Not really, but I basically just gave you what you'll get from bullshit ESPN.com writer Mike Fish in that article.

Sorry if I'm not really staying on topic or anything, but there's only so much a man can write with a certain level of rage flowing through his veins. How about stick to the sports, ESPN, instead of the nonsense.

Or just go away.

Matt Mosley is Bitter

One more little bit from me regarding the Cowboys game, then all my attention is going to the upcoming game in Baltimore.

I've given ESPN "blogger" Matt Mosley a decent amount of grief. Right after he launched espn.com's first blog, Hashmarks, I tore apart the notion that he was, in fact, starting a blog. And I think I just used up my comma quota in that last sentence.

Whatever your feelings are regarding that little nugget, check out what Mosley had to say about Deshea's game-winning pick-6. Remember that Mosley writes the NFC East blog on the dot com, and was an award winning writer for the DALLAS Morning News.


The Steelers also hated the fact that Witten suggested that his slip led to the game-winning interception. Townsend wanted everyone to know that defensive coordinator Dick LaBeau knew the exact play the Cowboys were going to run when they lined up with trips to the right side. Well, I highly doubt that. That's the type of things players say when they return a touchdown to win the game.


Highly doubt? That's the type of things bitter Cowboys homers say when their team collapses.

And its LeBeau. Get to know his name before you knock his genius.

What's Up, ESPN?

From ESPN.com's wrap-up of last night's game.

Solid win, though. Great game by Car Ramrod Scuderi, I guess.

ESPN HATES THE STEELERS! OMG! WTF!?

Dude, ESPN, at least use newer stock photography. You did fine with Romo, so why the old pic of Ben?

Sure, your power rankings have the Steelers at #2, but I need to keep up the Joey Porter mentality of motivation through disrespect. With Tom Brady out, every "expert" is slobbering over the Steelers. I'll take any little disrespect I can find to keep this team focused.

If you still don't know what I mean, look at the 75th season patch. That was worn last season. This is what Ben looked like on Sunday:



It's not too hard ESPN. I stole that image right off your website.

I'm Putting Peter King On Blast

You heard me. I'm calling out Peter King, and you can blame ESPN for it.

Now that your minds are completely blown, let me explain. I know King, Sports Illustrated's football guru, and ESPN have nothing in common other than a shared spot in the mainstream media, but there's reason for my rage. King is a fine writer in small doses, he's respected in the football community and my Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker column (which will return at the start of the regular season) plays off the title of his Monday Morning Quarterback column. But I have to get pissed off for something that he wrote like two weeks ago, a blatant falsity that was reinforced by ESPN today.

I like to criticize the MSM here at PSaMP, but I'm a perfectly respectful person in everyday life. I'm no Smizik fan, and I've said so in as many words, but our conversation/interview was as cordial as possible. Now, back to King. In a recent column at SI, King had the following to say about Quarterbacks and the AFC North:


[I'm] not sure if the team with the best quarterback in the division is automatically favored. Carson Palmer's the best in the AFC North, and the Bengals are the third- or fourth-best team in that division.


Ah the old "Carson Palmer is an elite quarterback argument." I wrote to King, knowing full well that he gets more email than I could ever imagine, but my question was legit. Here it is in it's entirety:


Mr. King,

I have a question, if I may. It doesn't have to be included in any mailbag or anything, but a response would be greatly appreciated. In your most recent mailbag, you reference Carson Palmer as the top QB in the AFC North. Can I please ask what information you use to grade quarterbacks? As a Steelers fan and blogger, I...and I think I speak for a majority of Steelers fans...find myself scratching my head when Palmer is constantly alluded to as a better quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger. I could ask how many rings Palmer has won, or how many wins both QBs had in their respective rookie seasons, but those are somewhat topical and overused. Last season alone, however, Ben had 6 more touchdowns and 9 fewer interceptions than Palmer, all while posting the second best QB rating in the league behind Tom Brady. I'm sure I don't need to remind you, but Ben's rating was 104.1. Carson struggled to get to 86.7. Sure, Carson threw for more total yards, but yards do not equal wins, as seen in both teams' respective records. Ben managed to get his team into the playoffs via winning the division despite being sacked 30 more times than Palmer. There's no real reason to believe that Ben, his offensive weapons and O-Line won't all improve on last season, so why the love for Palmer? You aren't the first and certainly won't be the last writer to praise Palmer over his Steelers counterpart, but it's troubling to see the same trends over and over in today's sports media landscape. Palmer has done little more than prove to be a vertical passer who can easily rack up the yards, but his resume is dwarfed by that of Roethlisberger. I hope to hear from you soon, as this is something that never seems to have a legitimate answer, and Steelers fans deserve a break from this baffling misconception.

Yours in Big Ben,

Nicholas
psampmail@gmail.com
Editor and Sole Writer at Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies


Am I incorrect in any way? I laid out nothing but solid, known facts about the two QBs, and most everything seems to go against the winless-in-the-postseason Palmer.

So, I didn't get an email back, something I was completely prepared for. I was ready to forget all about it and let Ben prove himself...AGAIN...this season as Palmer's superior. But ESPN had to go and bring it up again. tWWL has team-by-team previews up today on their website. Here's the one for the Steelers. James Walker, a .com writer I've never heard of, brought up the same Palmer-lauding. Take a look at this bs:


Best offensive player: QB Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger had 3,154 yards passing and 32 touchdowns in '07. He is close to joining the NFL's elite quarterbacks and could solidify his spot next to Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer with an even bigger year in 2008.


Please, someone tell me how Carson Palmer is compared to Peyton and Tom? I'm no fan of Manning or Brady, but I respect what they've done in their careers. Hell, they both have rings. So does Big Ben. So does Trent Dilfer. And Brad Johnson. Palmer's hand is naked (a visual that made me throw up slightly). So Palmer can throw for a great number of yards when healthy...big deal. He can also throw an assload of interceptions. I guess I'm just happy fellow postseason-loser Tony Romo wasn't referenced by Walker.

So I'm calling you out, Peter King. Go ahead, Google your name and find this post. Or better yet, someone email this post to King on any of his contact sheets in his columns at SI. Steelers Nation deserves an answer.

Pesonen Signing Finally Reported?

The news of Janne Pesonen's signing has finally been mentioned. What the hell took so long?

Is the Finnish-English divide that great when it comes to signing hockey players? I know we had a bitch of a time with Russia and Geno, but we knew this on Friday.

Awesome Penguins blog Faceoff Factor had the news before the weekend. TSN's UFA tracker finally has the news today. And FF's tracker was pretty much just as reliable as TSN's at the onset of free agency. Its still nowhere to be found on ESPN. Or did Shero just not want to announce it?

I don't know transfer agreements or that shit, I've just been waiting for someone of significance to report on the signing since I originally heard of Shero scouting Pesonen.

Oh, and Janne's my guy going into the season. I say he lights it up in the NHL. Write that down...July 7th.

Find The ESPN Mistake

(click for larger view)

This is a hard one. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't find it.

Its from this Scott Burnside piece.

Why is Georges Lara...

...I'm gonna stop.



UPDATE: Took less than 10 minutes to fix.

Steelers Select Bruce Davis

In the 3rd Round, Pittsburgh selected Bruce Davis, DE/OLB from UCLA.

To be honest, I don't know much about Davis.

From what I've heard, he was a DE/linebacker at UCLA, but could play linebacker in the bigs if he gains some weight. The "experts" are saying outside linebacker, but who is the logical heir to Farrior and Foote in the inside?

Last season, Davis:

...started all 13 games and finished the season with 47 tackles (17.5 for losses), 12.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups.

I'm for it.

His "callout" of ESPN in the above video could have been phrased better.

Steelers Select Limas Sweed

In the 2nd Round, Pittsburgh drafted a decent sized receiver in Texas' Limas Sweed.

ESPN lists him at 6 foot 5, 219 pounds while the draft tracker has him at only6 foot 3 (and 7/8) and 215 pounds.

Either way...Big Ben, you got your wish.

Mario Lemieux Is Black

I truly apologize about overloading you with Youtube videos, but some of these rarely-viewed clips need to be seen.

Like in a hockey game from about a minute ago, Mario Lemieux was visited by a distant (to say the least) relative. Looks like Mario's ancestors were bitten with a Thomas Jefferson-esque bug.

And how do I know its old? Well, Mario's playing, so are Aleksey Morozov and Alexei Kovalev...Zdeno Chara is playing for the Senators, and the game is on...wait for it...ESPN!

Those were the good old days.

I miss NHL 2Night.

The X Games Are Totally Ripping Off Cloverfield

I know I'm not the only blogger who's hyped for Cloverfield.

Which is why I'm way disappointed that Winter X Games 12 is blatantly using the buzz created by Cloverfield to help publicize the upcoming event in Aspen. Fake rumor alerts and Youtube videos clearly outline a viral campaign of event promotion. Hell, ESPN even got help from competitor Chris Burandt to breed intrigue (click NEWS and look at the 12.14.2007 entry).

Now, that is a complete non-issue until you see the commercials for this thing. Wobbly camera views and static let the audience know they are looking through a handheld camcorder. A monster is seen just outside the Superpipe. Imminent danger is felt within an iconic landscape.

When I first saw the commercial, I thought to myself, "Oh no, did Cloverfield sell out to Disney in some cross-promotional stunt a la Led Zeppelin?" Nope, just an advertising scheme that is clearly in place due to the months of discussion that Cloverfield has created.

The picture above is the best I could do with a shoddy cell phone and the Winter X commercial. Plus, none of you dorks have uploaded the video of it to Youtube yet. Don't be askin' me to do that stuff. Its beyond me.

Conclusion - Weak ripoff.

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.

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.

ESPN Sucks At Covering Hockey

Strugglin'.

Espn.com has had its share of realtime stats troubles, but this is just getting ridiculous.

Here is a screenshot from 9:51 P.M. on Friday night ( my life is mucho exciting), roughly 20+ minutes after the completion of the Pens/Canes game. According to Espn.com, only 2 minutes and 6 seconds has gone by in the game, and the puck currently sits in the crowd. As you can see through my MS Painting (click on the picture for a bigger, clearer view), I'm concerned as to why the crowd won't give the puck back. I've also highlighted the actual time of night, which drastically conflicts with Espn's take on the game.

I know tWWL is trying to kill hockey, but this is just ridiculous. And no, I wasn't relying on the big E for game coverage. I watched it with my eyes on the godsend that is FSN Pittsburgh. I only came across this tidbit through the comments section of Pensblog. If you click on the pic, you can see that I've got Pensblog opened as well.

We don't need no steenking Espn hockey coverage. Give me FSN Pittsburgh and Pensblog all night.

P.S. Ducks are going down tomorrow.

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.