Great to be at the game yesterday.  It was the first time I really wished my seats were behind the visitor's bench.  It had to be 12 degress warmer in the sun all day while those of us on the other side were in the shade all game...Oh, well...

1)  Great meeting Acrollet...He strolled by while we were tailgating...Rebecca did a great job with the choir before the game....Always nice to place a friendly face with all of our BTSC names...The wind was blowing my tailgate away so Maryrose stayed in the car...I wish we had more time and the wind wasn't making me preoccupied...

2)  Those of you who have kids will especially get this next one...Occasionally they will do something wrong that needs scolding, but deep inside you love it...Troy P sneaked back into the game after Tomlin told him he was through...Tomlin  gave him a scolding on the sidelines, but how can you blame a guy for wanting to play football...NO TROY! (atta boy)...

3)  All four of the road teams this playoff week are slight favorites.  Interesting when a home team is a slight dog, everybody thinks the visiting team is going to roll.  Baltimore and Indy are the sexy picks in the AFC this weekend.  Eight days ago the Sexy Steelers, being a slight road favorite, were supposed to roll over Tennessee...Hmmm...

4)  For the third game in a row the Steelers spiked the ball, taking away a valuable snap.  Fortunately, Byron scampered into the end zone and they didn't need it.  The score was only 7-0 at the time...I am going to break a blood vessel the next time this happens.  How can an NFL team that has nothing else to do in life but prepare for these situations not have a couple "spike plays" in the plan?  You need to get all your guys set anyway.  At that point wouldn't it make infinite more sense to run a quick post pass?  If it's there, TD, if not, heave it into the Monongahela.  You had almost a whole minute left in the half.  Aren't five seconds a good price to pay for using one of three chances to score? (assuming a FG on fourth)...I'd have three "spike plays."...Spike One is a post, Spike Two is a quick out  and Spike Three is a sideline fly, all three of which are quick and easy to throw away...I swear one of these times we are going to pay dearly for not having another down left.  The only time to spike the ball is when you do not have time to run a couple more plays anyway, which hasn't been the case for us the last three games...

5)  I have no problem whatsoever with Ben being in the game the entire first half, especially when we didn't score for the first one and two-thirds quarters.  The bye is next week, not yesterday.  Play football for a half, especially the Steelers offense, which needed to and did gain some momentum...

6)  Speaking of the Steelers offense, don't get tempered because they played the Browns.  The Great Peyton scored precisely three points against the Browns defense.  The Steelers scored 10.  In half of their games, the Browns gave up less than 20 points, including 17 to the Manning Brothers COMBINED.  This was a great game for our offense yesterday.

7)  Our 2009 schedule features the Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Bears, Vikings, Packers, Lions, Titans and Dolphins, in addition to the usual suspects in our division...

8)  I'm glad Cowher is out of the running for the Browns job.  I know it would make great theater if Cowher heated up the rivalry, but I don't need heat.  The Browns need to hire a future loser, not bill Cowher.  My chants for "four more years Romeo" did not go over well with the handful of incognito Browns fans at the game yesterday...

9)  For the second straight year, the Steelers have reached three of my four stated goals.  First, beat Cleveland.  Second, beat Cleveland again.  Third, go to a home playoff game.  Fourth, win the Super Bowl.  It's been 30 years since all four happened.  I'm due for all four again, but really, three out of four is awefully sweet.