BTSC Steelers Daily Six Pack- More News In The Big Ben Trial Edition
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 19, 2009 3:39 PM EDT
Email
PrintIX-Casey Hampton has been one of the top players at his position for the better part of this decade so when he compliments an offensive lineman I tend to take notice. Take for instance Hamptons' endorsement of former swing tackle and possible future starting right guard, Trai Essex. In an article with Gary Dulac from the Post Gazette Hampton and offensive line coach Larry Zierlein have both been very impressed with Essex throughout camp and the preseason, especially considering his switch from the left side of the line to the right.
X-I had never heard of the magazine "WHIRL" before today, but perhaps some of you who live in the Pittsburgh area might be more familiar with the style and arts magazine for the greater Pittsburgh area. They did a really well written profile on Hines Ward, and according to their website they will be doing additional profiles for other Steeler players. Probably the coolest thing is this picture of Hines wearing both Super Bowl rings.
XIII-AOL Fanhouse has some excerpts from emails that were sent by Andrea McNulty the accuser of Ben Roethlisberger in his civil trial. Roethlisberger's defense team is releasing these emails and chat sessions as an attempt to have McNulty's case dropped. This whole case is bizarre and seems like it could be a made-for-tv-movie.
X-The guys over at IHeartPGH are trying to raise funds for a Steelers bar tour across the country to meet and interact with Steeler fans throughout the nation. It sounds like a wonderful Idea and I will probably throw them a few bucks just to help the cause, you can donate money to their cause yourself by clicking here. Someday when I have no family or work responsibilities I will have to organize a BTSC version of the Steelers bar crawl.
XL-I personally think the NBC production of Sunday Night Football is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the networks. It looks like the NFL owners like something about it too, as they have extended the contract of NBC by an additional two years according to a report from Profootballtalk. Although NBC may want to watch out as I think the ESPN production was immediately improved 100% with the addition of John Gruden who has been great in both of the games I watched him do color commentary for.
XLIII-James Walker of ESPN AFC Northh wrote an entry on the Steelers patience in developing Limas Sweed and William Gay. Mike Tomlin has the best qoute in the article, which is probably no surprise to anyone reading this as my man-crush for Mike Tomlin makes me a sucker for his lingo. Here Goes:
"Really, it's what we expect from him, we're not going to be pleasantly surprised by production from that young man or any of them for that matter. There's a standard of expectation that we have and we expect them to exceed it. I thought (Sweed) did a pretty good job."
72 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Those E-mails will doom her case. She has to have solid evidence on her side or it’s going to be bad for her. Hopefully Ben learns from this and stays away from the emotionally unstable girls.
It’s great hearing good reports on Essex, maybe he can boost the line this year, and some of the young guys can do the same in the next couple.
Quick
Picture 10 hot girls in your mind.
Now separate the emotionally unstable ones out.
Got any left?
My main point is that emotional stability cannot be known from a look, or a quick chat, or even a prolonged discussion or multiple dates. There’s just no way to tell before the damn bomb goes off.
Guns don't kill people. Lamar Woodley kills people. (mattyc_77 on twitter)
listen to her for about 10 minutes Wahoo. You can usually tell.
In Ben’s case I wouldn’t date anyone with less money than I have. Romo is an idiot and distracted and has no rings, but at least J Simpson wasn’t gonna sue him for assault. Giselle either…
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
Neat theory.. never thought of that.
Kinda limits his selection though. He should be allowed to do what he wants and not have to deal with bullshit.
May limit the selection Mechem, but think about the quality of talent you can amass when you are a star athlete. Jessica Simpson? Giselle? E Longoria?
On the other hand Ben got himself involved with a girl 5 years older (31) and not so hot who obviously has some deep seeded mental issues. IMO better to deal with Giselle’s mental issues than this chick.
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
K well Simpson is the dumbest brick ever and even I dont think I could enjoy that relationship… shallow and good looking as I am.
Giselle got knocked up so there ya go. Thats worse than a rape case with no merit.
And Longoria only digs french basketball players
I mean idk Ben hit up some celebs before and they obviously didnt quite cut it. He likes adventure man. Its like a scramble out of the pocket to get the Harrahs chick.
by Mechem on Aug 20, 2009 1:09 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Agree To Disagree
on this one Mechem.
Realistically, you and I both know anyone on this site would bang Jessica no matter how dumb she is. Giselle getting knocked up is bad? She wants to have a kid and picks out a successful and good looking rich athlete. That’s bad? I’d say she is pretty smart as opposed to the teenager that gets knocked up by some dumb 20 something jobless loser who will be an irresponsible parent.
So, in the end, Ben doesn’t follow my advice of dating rich celeb girls. He follows your advice and “does what he wants to do.” As 99 says below “Sacked by the Skank!” Get ready for more headlines…
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
Hey its cool man
I pointed out he dated celebs before too. I personally try to be liberal on this one.
Obviously it has the potential to get you in trouble either way. Brady has a baby momma he aint with anymore. Sometimes its a distraction in the Romo case.
I think the thing is these cases are rare, but they get a lot of attention. Its like car accidents, I drive my car even though I know I could get T-boned by a drunk. Shit happens. Cant live your life in fear.
Maybe
But when an attorney says that he has a “good faith basis” for believing that the e-mails were written by McNulty, that means he has a smidgeon of questionable evidence that they were written by her, but they probably weren’t. I would wait to see how that plays out before coming to any conclusions.
by LeBeau-a-Constrictor on Aug 19, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions
The admissibility of emails probably depends on the state. That the emails were sent by her could be very close to guaranteed with enough access to servers, personnel of mail company / internet provider, and computer.
Willie Colon doesn’t get flagged because he has long arms; he gets flagged because he sucks. - cliff harris is still a punk!
I’m sure all of that will be explored in discovery. All I’m saying is that all a “good faith basis” means is that the lawyer doesn’t think he’ll get disbarred for making the claim. It does not indicate high degree of confidence in the evidence.
I think that what is going on here is that Ben’s attorney is trying not only to win, or at least resolve, the case, but he is trying to salvage Ben’s reputation as well. Normally, attorneys don’t issue press releases every time the discover a new piece of evidence, even in high profile cases. Ben’s attorney is doing that here, with the obvious intent of making the public believe that Ben did not do it. That way, even if this case is settled, a highly likely outcome since litigation always has risk, the public will not be left with a strong impression that Ben did the deed.
by LeBeau-a-Constrictor on Aug 20, 2009 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions
I expressed this same concern earlier: What if Cornwell’s quotations are not quite accurate? Or what if the messages weren’t really sent by McNulty? However, I’m somewhat encouraged by the fact that McNulty and her attorney haven’t responded yet with a denial that she never sent those messages, you would think this is something that she should have been able to confirm quickly (although it was only yesterday that this news broke). If significantly more time passes by without denial that McNulty sent those messages then it would sure seem legit.
When this all came out originallly a few weeks ago
I stood very much to the side and had absolutely no opinion whether he did or did not do it. I don’t know him personally. How could I possibly know? And I do have to say, I am extremely relieved so far to hear what I am hearing.
Never heard of WHIRL before?
I could’ve sworn I got the link to this article written by Jeff Reed himself in WHIRL from somewhere on this site.
http://www.whirlmagazine.com/current_month/2009/8_august_09/jeff_reed_pittsburgh_steelers.php
ha, I’m an idiot…i linked that article myself….
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 19, 2009 4:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Nice try to throw up a smokescreen and dance around how you have a subscription to WHIRL. I’m on to you now…
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions
the NBC production of Sunday Night Football is clearly head and shoulders above the rest of the networks
I think that used to be the case, but just as ESPN’s MNF will greatly improve with Gruden, SNF’s quality will likely suffer on replacing Madden with Collinsworth. I also have to say that I really liked the SNF pre-game show a lot better when it was Costas, Bettis, Sharpe, and Collinsworth (although I can’t stand Collinsworth). As much as I loved Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann on SportsCenter together, I’m getting tired of them on Football Night in America. Not to mention the fact that they have something like 20 people on the show, which gets tiresome. Give me some good old Terry, Howie, and Jimmy for pre-game and I’m good.
For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 19, 2009 4:09 PM EDT reply actions
I like COllinsworth, more than Madden probably.
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 19, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Makes sense
Their styles are so different, if you like Collinsworth, I would expect that you prefer him over Madden. I prefer the humorous approach of Madden. Collinsworth just seems obnoxious to me.
For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 19, 2009 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Funny, I never thought of Madden as obnoxious
He may have been over the top, and sometimes talk about silly things, but I liked that humor. Kind of like Chevy Chase or Bill Murray style. I guess that is kind of obnoxious now that I think about it. But, since I thought it was funny, I didn’t care. :)
For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 20, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Link issue
The James Walker ESPN AFC North blog link is also going to the Fanhouse article on Roethlisberger and McNulty instead of where it should be going.
should be fixed thanks for the heads up
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 19, 2009 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Since Essex moved right to find his spot...
.
might Urbik might move further right to find his? (Excited laughter ensues)
Who knew?
Eh...
If we wanted a guard to move to tackle, and get beat due to limited athleticism on almost every play against a speed rusher… we’d start Willie Colon. It’s a nice thought, but it’s not what we need at RT.
by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 20, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions
Hey All…
Be sure to check back tomorrow as I believe MaryRose is going to be posting an amazing piece. (I think it might be one of his best).
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 19, 2009 5:45 PM EDT reply actions
good lord
His best? That’s saying something.
by Chicago Steeler on Aug 19, 2009 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions
I really like adding Essex to the line...
I don’t think this solves all of our O-Line stuff but Essex is a definite upgrade over Stapleton. I don’t know how he got beat out by Stapleton in the first place. I’m glad he’s back, though. In the little I’ve seen of him he seems smart and dependable. And seriously, don’t we need some smart and dependable in that group right now? Colon and Kemo might be physical but they ain’t exactly big thinkers (dumb-ass penalties, anyone?). So this is good. I’m sorry Stapleton had to get hurt for it to play out. But it’s still good.
by cliff harris is still a punk! on Aug 19, 2009 5:55 PM EDT reply actions
P.S. -
I’m with you on the Urbik joke. That dude is a long way from seeing the field…
by cliff harris is still a punk! on Aug 19, 2009 5:56 PM EDT reply actions
Diggin the rings shot
Man that shot of Hines makes that #5 ring look so lame… But then again, the only ring that should top it is a #6 ring.
Essex
If Essex was the back up a LT, LG, RT and Stapleton was a backup at C and RG and both on the bench, couldn’t the Steelers go into a game day with seven OL. They would have every position covered with a backup without having to move multiple players if one goes down. Of course Starks, Kemo, Hartwig, ?/Colon, Colon/Hills/Capi make up the starting line. The ? at RG is of course the $60,000 question.
Opens up a spot on the 43 for game day.
You mean $102 million question
Since Big Ben’s life is on the line
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 9:09 PM EDT up reply actions
7 is the likely game day number
They played the SB with 7 OL, the backups being Parquet and Essex. I’m really not sure how many OL they dressed last year each game (maybe someone out there has those numbers, which would be useful) but I expect them to have 7 OL active on game days this year unless there are some lingering injury questions to one of the 7 that require an extra body just in case. Stapleton if he’s healthy will be the C/G backup. The only battle for the game-day roster is at backup T between Capizzi, Hills and perhaps Foster.
by steeler.lifer on Aug 19, 2009 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions
It would have to be a LT
I don’t want to see Essex at RG having to move to LT and Stapleton going in for him at RG if Starks get nicked. Changing one guy is bad enough in a game.
If two go down, well your kind of screwed anyway.
It could go either way
Ideally, the backup tackle would step in for either injured tackle starter. With Capizzi, Hills and Foster as the backup tackle candidates, the best move if one of the starting tackles got hurt might very well be Essex to tackle and Stapleton to guard. That’s the problem with our lack of depth on the OL, and why the team might still be in the market for a veteran OL. If either Starks or Colon suffer a serious injury, it puts the team and most importantly No. 7 in a very bad spot.
by steeler.lifer on Aug 20, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Gruden
He’s going to have to not strongly imply that the Ref’s or Rules blow or Goodel is going to make him go bye bye.
As much as I like him in the booth (so, so, so, so, so much better than Kornheiser), I think Gruden’s gone after this season anyway because someone will offer him a coaching job.
Ugh, I hate that the commish is on such a power trip.
My "game-manager" QB just won the Super Bowl, while your stat-whore of a quarterback sat on his couch and watched!
I still have my doubts that Kornheiser asked out of the gig on his prerogative and wasn’t strongly advised to come down with a debilitating fear of flying.
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 9:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Kornheiser was worse than worthless
supposedly he actually knows something about sports. I was very hard to tell that on MNF.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
He was a basketball writer...
He was not added to MNF to bring an in depth knowledge of the game remember. He was the entertainment guy ala Dennis Miller. I’m of the opinion the entertainment is on the field and there is no need for an entertainment guy in the booth. He never should have been there, it was a bad fit from the start. But insulting his sports knowledge is a bit unnecessary, the man has been a sports writer longer than I’ve been alive, he knows sports.
by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 20, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions
like I said he never proved it in the booth, he deserves to be insulted for all the games he ruined with his nonsense
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
I guess...
If that’s how you feel. No prob, just saying he was a bad choice. I can’t see how any commentator could ruin a game, but that’s just me. To each his own.
by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 21, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I respect your opinion but will offer one example of announcers ruining a game
remember when, gumble I think it was, said it was only “fair” for FWP to break his leg in the NFL network game against the Rams in 07 so that fred taylor could go to the pro-bowl? That ruined the game.
Kornhieser is the other one. Heck even Aikman calling the Steelers/Cowboys game last year wasn’t as disruptive.
All joking aside, I haven’t heard/read much of korny’s other work so maybe he is good. I really don’t know.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
I was so upset about that Gumbel comment I registered on BTSC and made my first comment!
When You Run The Ball Good Things Happen
well I guess there's a silver lining since you're one of the better posters here
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
Kornhieser isn’t bad on the radio and PTI is usually somewhat entertaining but he never really fit on MNF
I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!
by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Aug 25, 2009 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions
One good thing about Kornheiser
He’s a newspaperman first, so his natural inclination is to look for a story. The booth for play by play analysis was not really a good fit for him. He basically became a court jester type, poking fun at himself, trying to come up with funny asides, asking Jaws frequently inane stories. His writing ability showed in the essays he would do at the start of games. I believe it was the MNF game in 2007 vs. Baltimore when he did a pregame essay on Pittsburgh and the Steelers that was outstanding. It sent chills down my spine.
by steeler.lifer on Aug 21, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed...
Good writer, funny guy, not a commentator. Never was a good fit.
by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 21, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions
How quickly we forgot Joe Theisman.
"I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play." Jack Lambert
by LongTimeSteelersFan on Aug 26, 2009 10:20 PM EDT up reply actions
sorry
I thought the Theisman reference would fall just beneath achon095’s comment that
Anyone is better then Kornheiser
"I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play." Jack Lambert
by LongTimeSteelersFan on Aug 26, 2009 10:26 PM EDT up reply actions
It would be awesome...
.
if we could get by with 7 offensive linemen. There’s a lot of talent at some other positions (and a lot of age at others). I’d like to see 7 defensive linemen…but maybe that’s just because I really want Sonny Harris to stick. But the DL is getting so old, it seems prudent to have some promising kids around until things shake out in a couple years.
On a different note, I think that the great outcry for keeping extra running backs somewhat misses a more important issue. FWP, Mendenhall, Moore. That is one heck of a depth chart. RB is not the problem. It’s QB. Without Ben, the Steelers will not win the SB this year. Davis and Summers and Redman should all be secondary to getting a solid blocking h-back who is better in that role than the other three can be, given that Johnson was listed at 6-2 and nearly 270 pounds and that none of the others were listed above 6-0 and 235. That size is handy when wrestling with DEs and LBs. So it might be worth it to keep just 7 offensive linemen in order to keep two h-backs (McHugh and Johnson), just in case Johnson really does prove to be superior to McHugh.
Who knew?
We could also just post an ad on craigslist asking for an O-line that can block
Short yardage and goal line packages are a problem though, and with the exception of Mendenhall – giving him a pass since he was out for most of last year – Parker and Moore couldn’t reliably convert those plays running behind the sieve that we’ve got. If Redman can seriously score against our 1st string defense running behind our 3rd rate 1st string OL, I think the argument to get the kid a roster spot holds plenty of water. By the way we can have more than 7 OL-men and still have Redman and be 7 deep along the DL, it’s not an either/or. In some ways we need even more depth at the positions where we’re most lacking in talent.
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 9:29 PM EDT up reply actions
But if you just meant 7 as a game day number then nevermind.
by barnerburner on Aug 20, 2009 12:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Steeler Bar Nation
Thank you so much for including our project in your list! We are really excited about heading out to meet the Steeler nation across this country. Please stop by IheartPGH and share you favorite Steelers Bars and fanclubs. Support the trip and get your link added to our blog roll or an IheartPGH t-shirt.
I don't dislike Costas
I’d just rather he stay in hibernation between Olympics.
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 10:27 PM EDT up reply actions
I just find him too dorky. And I’m not the coolest person in the world, but Costas seems likes he was the type of child who wore a suit to elementary school…..
It just bothers me………..I can’t explain why. I feel similar about Collinsworth. I think I just don’t like announcers at all. Except Jim Nanzt (sp?), hes legit.
I don’t know about suits but I can picture him back in 1st grade, just a couple of inches shorter than he is now, wearing a sweater vest with a bow tie.
I have to admit that I like Collinsworth when he sticks to football (though I got really sick of NBC having him run around and try to cover all sorts of random crap that he knew nothing about during the Olympics). He does a good job of what Madden seemed to be doing less and less of as he got older – providing clear and informative drawing board explanations of plays. I stopped getting anything new out of Madden a few years ago because he tended to just do the obvious stuff, but Collinsworth will sometimes go back and highlight something interesting that happened away from the ball that most viewers (including me) would never have seen if it wasn’t pointed out to them.
by barnerburner on Aug 19, 2009 11:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Can't stand Collinsworth
He’s just too slick and smarmy for my tastes. Obviously he knows what he’s talking about but it doesn’t across as just football, it comes across as the Cris Collinsworth version of football. Give me Madden any day over him. Gruden is great. He has a passion for good football plays and players that shows up in everything he analyzes.
by steeler.lifer on Aug 20, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Gruden
I loved his passionate defense of Hines Ward’s playing style that Jaws was absolutely appalled by.
by barnerburner on Aug 20, 2009 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions
+1
For ideas on statistical analyses, email me at wolfpacksteelersfan@gmail.com.
by WolfpackSteelersFan on Aug 20, 2009 12:28 PM EDT up reply actions
subjective
this conversation about analysts and play-by-play guys shows that it is ultimately a subjective matter of taste. sometimes it just comes down to taste or speech patterns. sometimes it is vocabulary. or knowledge of the sport. and so on.
i personally love al michaels and jim nantz. i can’t stand phil simms, though. no one will ever ever ever be as perfect as myron cope. ever.
...die trying
http://www.agentorangerecords.blogspot.com
Yes Michaels is great
Age is starting to catch up to Al a little bit but he is still great. I know a lot of people dislike Mike Tirico, maybe he is overexposed and he does tend to natter on, but I think he is better prepared and offers more good insight than any other play by play man. When he makes a mistake he doesn’t pretend it didn’t happen, usually correcting himself within a few seconds.
by steeler.lifer on Aug 20, 2009 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
"Thoughtful discussion with a sense of history."
Art Rooney Jr.
"Level-headed thinking." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
