HOLYCRAPTHAT'SALOTOFLEGOS!

Props to Jason Burik, who created a to-scale model of PNC Park...with Legos.

I was a huge Lego fan back in the day. I'm also a huge Pirates fan, so right now, I'm drifting back to a time when the Pirates were still good, and Lego-building consumed most of my day. We visited the Lego phenomenon back during the toy's 50th birthday. My thoughts:


I grew outta Legos when they started making those massive sets where you could build like a castle or interactive building of some sort. I was used to the simple sets where your imagination dictated what you built. I could build a ridiculous stick/tower.


Yeah, I think it would be safe to say that I wouldn't have the energy to build a scale model of PNC Park, even though the stadium is superbly badass.

You can check out more of Jason's Lego creations, including Heinz Field (!) here.

Do It

The Steelers need O-Line help, and a bunch of mock drafts have a guy like Cal C Alex Mack still available at pick 32. Apparently, winning the Super Bowl totally screws with your draft position.

Look, I don't put a whole bunch of stock into mock drafts 2 months before the ACTUAL draft, but Mack's name keeps popping up as a potential Black and Gold prospect. Its no secret that the team will look for depth on both the O and D Lines, and this was pretty much confrimed when Tomlin used his first two picks on highest-talent-available skill guys like Mendenhall and Sweed last year. We made do with our terrible O-Line this past year enough to win the damn Super Bowl, but I'd have to believe that circumstance was the exception, and not the rule.

So in order for the team to continue to be successful and vie for Lombardi Trophies, its clear that we need some linemen. The D-Line needs depth, but with staples like Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton along with venerable backup vets like Chris Hoke, we can afford to put off high draft picks on this side of the line til maybe next year.

Which is why a guy like Mack could make an immediate impact.

It seems like the team is going to keep Kemoeatu as the LG, which is a move I fully support so long as we rid ourselves of Willie Colon. Drafting Mack could expedite this process. By drafting Mack, you have one of two scenarios. The Steelers could hold onto Hartwig for another year, and let Mack play RG in place of Colon. This would let Mack get valuable playing time, all while he readies himself to be the C of the future. Or, should the Steelers like Mack over Hartwig, you have your C of the future already in place. I like option number 1 better, although Mack would be game-ready from the get-go.

PS...totally forgot that Jessica Alba was on The Secret World of Alex Mack. What's Alex been up to?

I'm Cool With Jeff Reed, Pogo Balls

For awhile now, I've been saying that when the weather gets nicer, I want to get a Pogo Ball and take it to Union Square and show up the skateboarders. You know, with Extreme Pogo Balling!

So when I see pictures of Jeff Reed wearing a Pogo Ball shirt, I just nod my head and approve.

h/t Deadspin and Busted Coverage...and whoops, didn't see that Mondesi had it up, too

These Animals Look Thrilled

Maybe it's the Super Bowl hangover. Maybe it's that I'm swamped at work. But dammit if I'm going to let you come to PSAMP and go away empty handed.

These are pretty much the animal eqivalents of me right now. Thank you, Cute Overload.

And thanks to my sister Kate for sending them to me.

WHO IS THIS GUY?!?!?!

MJD does the Lord's work, and had this posted on Friday. I was too busy bowing to my own greatness and ridiculing Mike Tomlin to squeeze this in. But now seems about right.

This guy is apparently a Steelers mascot from the 1995 Pro Bowl. We all shat on Steely McBeam when he was introduced in the offseason of '07, but little did we know that the Steelers were all about mascots back in '95! And I'm not talking about The Terrible Fan or Stevie Steeler. From MJD:


This appears to be Steely McBeam's long lost cousin, Aluminum McSoiledHisPants. Why he looks so afraid, I have no idea. The Steelers are named after local steel workers, not local people made of low-grade, easily-frightened tin.


Right? I never thought I'd laud Steely over any other mascot, but at least McBeam has a damn scowl. This Tin Man-looking fool appears to have dookied in his pants while trying to pump up the Steelers faithful. Total fail.

However, Steely said he'd be interested in "teaching" this joke his secrets. And by teaching, I mean he probably wants to date him.

Black and Golddust is not amused.

Let's Embarrass Mike Tomlin Some More!

By now, you've probably seen the awesome picture of Mike Tomlin's flattop fade in his college identification picture (through either OFTOT, Deadspin or the P-G). But now, after showing a little blogger initiative, I've come across a few more younger-Mike pics that we can all laugh at in one way or another.

The College Athlete:


Where's the mini-fro, Mike? What, you didn't want it to get dented in your helmet like it repeatedly does now with your headset?

The...uh...Ugly Jeans, Thin Belt, Awesome Shirt Combo:


Man, I know you were in school during the early 90s, but did you really have to dress the part? Props for standing next to a kid wearing Back and Gold, though.

Disgusting, Mike. Be glad you won the Super Bowl...not everyone gets a free pass on multi-colored vertical stripes.

Steelers Fans With Walkers Rule

I got nothing right now. If I was in town for the parade, and I had a walker with me, I'd probably do the exact same thing.

Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire Is The Man

Look, I'm not going to get into any great detail about his policies or anything like that, but Jason Altmire is now the man.

He's a congressman from the Fourth Congressional District in Southwest PA, mainly covering Beaver, Mercer and Lawrence Counties.

The second-term Congressman used time on the US House of Representatives floor to praise the Steelers for winning their unprecedented 6th Super Bowl ring.

As Jason says, there are 31 teams in the NFL...and then there are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Go Politics!

[Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show. Super Bowl Episode Outtakes

So this is the final installment of the show's outtakes reel for this season. Awesome.

Cotter gives you all the info on how exhausting this thing is. Plus, the set is in a different state than me, which really adds to the tiring-ness (not a word).

Maybe we'll get at you with a show for something big, like the draft or training camp, but for now, I'm going to enjoy not having to do this for awhile.

Enjoy, and watch again over at OFTOT.

Hines Ward Is Giving Crown Royal Cask No. 16 To His Teammates

Thanks to my buddy Rich for the tip.

Hines Ward was so happy about winning his second Super Bowl ring that he decided to give a badass gift to each of his teammates. Crown Royal Cask No. 16, since he's a fan of the drink. Also, because Cask No. 16 shares the best color combination in the world, Black and Gold.

Hines had this to say about the gift:


"I’m so grateful to put on the Steelers uniform and call these guys my teammates. Each one has a special place in my heart, so I arranged to give each teammate a bottle of Crown Royal Cask No. 16 that has a specially embroidered message from me in honor of our win. I’m a Crown Royal fan and this particular edition is super-smooth, plus the black and gold packaging matches our colors."


Hines knows what's up. Why not give something classy like premium whiskey rather than money, or more jewelry, or anything else that rich, privileged athletes wouldn't care about. Hines took the time to think of all the guys on the team, and was able to relate the team with one of his favorite drinks.

Hey Hines, I blogged about the Steelers all season...you mind tossing a custom bottle this way? I wouldn't mind a bottle of Crown premium for my troubles.

The Ballad of Black and Golddust

Let me tell you a story about a man named Black and Golddust.

The idea of Black and Golddust came about during taping for the first regular-season installment of the [Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show. The Steelers were about to play the Texans, and Cotter and I were just starting up our Youtube venture. One way or another, I mentioned that Black and Golddust would be the Steelers' unofficial mascot for the rest of the season.

Black and Golddust was posted here before (almost) every game this season. He missed the season-opening win...since he didn't materialize until week 2, and sat out the Christmas-weekend win over the Browns. He had gifts to give, asshole.

Despite missing two wins, Black and Golddust ran up a regular season record of 10-4 with the Steelers, helping Mike Tomlin to his 2nd straight AFC North title and a first-round bye. He was all business in the post-season, too, going a perfect 3-0 in bringing home Pittsburgh's 6th Lombardi Trophy.

Now, thanks to my buds over at Gunaxin, we see that Black and Golddust made it all the way to Tampa to party with the team in the locker room following the win! And he was probably less interested in the athletes than say, Steely McBeam.

You're welcome for the championship, Pittsburgh...courtesy of Black and Golddust!

Monday Morning Chrysler New Yorker

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!

Just wanted to say that again. I woke up this morning to find out that the absolute elation of a Super Bowl-winning touchdown drive in the closing seconds was no dream. Big Ben was good Big Ben in those final minutes, and Santonio came up huge, seemingly making all the tough catches look easy.

A lot of people are complaining about the lack of replay on that final Warner fumble. Sure, it could've been reviewed, but I still don't think the outcome would've changed. Since there was no replay, the aggravated fans who didn't have a team in the Super Bowl are all ripe for trying to discount our win. "Ooooh, Arizona would've gotten the ball at the 30 and Warner would complete a jump ball to Larry Fitzgerald and all would be right in the world. Screw Steelers fans. The refs give them everything!" Shut up.

Your speculation doesn't change the outcome. Fans are almost getting to the point where they want replay after every snap, it seems like. Fumble?!?!?!?!? NO, IT CAN'T BE!?!?!?! CHECK THAT SHIT AGAIN!!!! The rule on the field was a fumble, and there was nothing to show that it was a forward pass. Inconclusive evidence? Nope. If it was an incomplete pass, why wasn't Warner pleading that he was throwing the ball like he did on a similar play earlier in the game? I'd almost expect more outta Warner in that situation. But you know why he didn't? Because he knew he fumbled.

So quit over-analyzing just to piss off a bunch of happy fans. Your team didn't make it, so quit trying to bring us down with your meandering bullshit.

Now, I just spent the entire beginning of a SUPER BOWL RECAP IN WHICH MY TEAM WON discussing how obnoxious other fans can be. The Cardinals, Whis and the staff were all respectful after the game, focusing on their positives and how they can improve their team in the future. Warner wasn't running after the officials, screaming for Goodell to fine him. These idiots fans are doing the same thing Baltimore fans did after the Santonio "was-he-over-the-line" touchdown in the regular season. How about, don't surrender the lead on an 80+ yard drive in the closing seconds. The Cards, just like the Ravens, let that happen, and one non-replay doesn't change the outcome.

But now that that's outta the way, how about our team? Mike Tomlin, as improbable as it may have seemed, won a Super Bowl in his second year, easily eclipsing the time lengths set forth by legends Noll and Cowher. Ben has two rings, and must be applauded for leading a run-first team to multiple Super Bowls in which a WR wins MVP. Someone needs to throw to those wideouts, so Ben should take some sort of pride in being a part or two MVP performances in the past 3 years (4 seasons).

The run game didn't hit like we wanted, but that's a non-story if you hoist a trophy after the game. In my mind, the game was perfect in all aspects. If I was giving ratings like I do during the regular season, every facet of this team would get 5 of 5 motorcycle helmets. Sure, I wanted to punch Chris Kemoeatu if he false-started or held one more time, but since he just won a ring, I'll echo Big Ben and say "Who's laughing now, O-Line?"

Enough can't be said about James Harrison and the defense he leads. Much was made about all the other regular-season-award-winners bowing out of the playoffs early. Manning was MVP, Ryan was RotY, and both exited early. Brees was offensive player of the year and didn't even make the playoffs. James Harrison was the top defensive player in the league, and made the longest play, defensive OR offensive, in Super Bowl history. Backed up to his own goal line, Harrison potentially created a 14 point swing with his 100 yard INT return TD. People aren't lying when they say defense wins championships.

There's way too many people I'm forgetting, but you know the facts. There were no truly weak performances last night, and the end-result was the best we could've hoped for. Every negative from the preseason was addressed throughout these grueling past 5 months, from the O-Line, to Ben's decision-making, to the schedule and Mike Tomlin's justification.

At the end of the day, an inconclusive non-replay won't take away our record 6th Lombardi Trophy, one that was earned, not given, on a legendary, game-winning drive. Party hard and burn another couch, Pittsburgh fans.

Hope you're proud, Myron.

SUPER BOWL XLIII CHAMPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SUPER BOWL CHAMPS!!!!!!!

What an amazing win!

First team to win 6 rings. Pick-6 came through, literally AND figuratively.



Santonio's game-winning TD is below.

ON METH

Remember when I said Pick-6 was my tagline for the drive for 6 Lombardi Trophies?

Silverback is doing everything he can to make it happen!

Go Steelers! Not a bad first half.

Video of the amazing play is below.

[Unnamed] Steelers Pregame Show. Super Bowl

Not even typing anything substantial here. Too anxious.

Go Steelers!

Watch it over at OFTOT.

For All The Marbles

Black and Golddust makes himself known for the final time this season. He's going...ahem...balls out against the Cards.

Time to leave it all out there, fellas. We're playing for a ring.

Go Steelers!

How Do You Spell ROETHLISBERGER?

h/t Yardbarker

This Chick Is Totally Ready For The Super Bowl

Big props to the incomparable twoeightnine for finding this awesome Steelers fan. With the big game only days away, she's about to work the shit outta those pom-poms.

From her Pogo (really?) profile:


BottledBlonde822

Age: 48

Gender: all woman

Location: Would you know if I said Luv ya Black and Gold?

Occupation: Pretty good (ed. - ?)

Relationship: In LOVE with a wonderful younger man!!! :)


ALL woman, hmm? And loves younger dudes? From Pittsburgh?

/logs off internet
/makes way from manhattan back to pittsburgh
/holds up sign saying "i love older women who play word whomp"

Chris Berman Sucks

...but Mike Tomlin rules.

Best. Picture. Ever?

h/t Wingman Blog and Deadspin

Melodicas Are Great For The Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Steelers Polka

With all the weird Steelers parody songs you've probably heard the past week or so, it's nice to go back to basics. On the Melodica.

Try and hate on that instrument. That takes some serious skill and lung power.

Jeez, I'm not gonna make it to Sunday. I'm starting to get all anxious and shit.

GO STEELERS!