Streams of Consciousness

Here we are on the doorstep of Spring, and I haven't yet written about the Steelers magical 2008-2009 season. Of course, one glance at Streams of Consciousness will reveal that I haven't written much of anything lately. What better way to break out of a slump than to summarize the surreal season of the Steelers march to their 6 th championship. Yes, that's me there at the right, playoff beard and all, standing in section 527 of Heinz Field, after the presentation of the Lamar Hunt trophy to the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers . Through some divine stroke of fortune, Sharon and I were able to attend the AFC Championship game in Pittsburgh on January 18, 2009, against the rival Baltimore Ravens. I am on the Steelers season ticket waiting list (approx. 20 years out), which gives me the opportunity to try to buy playoff tickets each year through a special pre -sale. So, this year in early December, when the letter came in the mail with my special Ticketmaster code,

Project 2008 begins tomorrow. Two goals: 1) The Steelers win the Super Bowl 2) The Patriots lose a game

I learned this evening that Myron Cope had passed away earlier today at the age of 79. It is possible that Myron was as responsible as anyone for the creation of the post-1970 Pittsburgh Steelers identity. His unique voice and mannerisms are embedded within Steelers lore. He was as recognized, if not more so, than any player in Pittsburgh. And, he was responsible for the genesis of a little yellow cloth that you might have seen. Growing up in Iowa, I never had the opportunity to listen to Myron call Steelers games. However, as a Steelers fan, I was acutely familiar with his persona and his legendary nicknames. He seemed like a representation of an earlier, more innocent, time. A sportswriter who stumbled upon broadcasting. His was true color commentary. It's hard to imagine the Steelers without phrases such as "The Immaculate Reception" or "The Bus." Many outside of the Pittsburgh area found him quirky, even annoying. However, his dedication was to enter

It's been nearly three weeks since the New York Giants saved NFL football by beating the 18-0 New England Patriots in a game for the ages. I've been trying to get my thoughts typed out and posted for the record, but just haven't been able to get around to it. The lustre seems to have worn off a little bit, but this was perhaps the most exciting superbowl I've ever watched! How many superbowls include 4 lead changes, 21 4 th quarter points, an excellent defensive battle, and relatively few penalties or mistakes? It was simply a classic game, played well by both teams. I think I have to admit that it would have been a great game even had the despised Patriots won (especially since I've never seen so many grass stains on pretty-boy Brady.) But, they didn't! Therefore, I enjoyed this game nearly as much as I did the Steelers superbowl victory from a few years ago. Alas, here are my final thoughts on the 2008 superbowl , and then I'm on to hoping that the

A collection of links to chronicle the downfall of the New England Patriots: Yahoo!News: Giants Stun Pats in Super Bowl Yahoo!News: Brady and Moss Pull Out of Pro-Bowl a Day After Loss to Giants in Superbowl Yahoo!News: Giants Parade Through Manhattan (almost looks like a Steelers parade :)) AP: Tyree Makes Catch of a Lifetime in Superbowl Michael Silver's Morning Rush: Giants Stand Up To Bullies Charles Robinson: Pats Dream Season Ends With Nightmare Mike Florio: Spygate Could Spark Espionage Investigation Dan Wetzel: Super Winners and Losers ESPN: Brady: Plax Prediction on Pats Points Puzzling ESPN.COM: Belichick Has Left the Building...A Second Early MSNBC: NFL Wants to Meet with Ex-Pats Video Man Tom Curran: Belichick Storms Off; Moss Questions Pats' Gameplan AP: Authorities Prepare for Disappointed Pats Fans Tim Dahlberg: Perfect Quarterback is no Longer so Perfect Bill Simmons (Patriot hack): Free fallin' Out Into Nothing ESPN.COM: Giants Leave Brady Dazed and Confus

All is right with the world! Thanks to Eli Manning, and the NY Giants for saving football last evening with their thrilling upset of the despised cry-babies from New England. A great game in its own right, especially as far as superbowls go, but an unbelievably outstanding finish to a team that was on the cusp of history, only to see it slip through their fingers into the dustbin of history. I'm sure Patriots fans will disagree, but most of the rest of the world just witnessed a team go from immortal greatness to infamous chokers. I had never been a huge Giants fan, mostly because I never liked Parcells, and I was rooting for the Bills in 1991. However, the G-men have now carved out a small place in my heart forever. Neeless to say, I would have been rooting even for the Cowboys to beat the Patriots, but thanks to the Giants, I didn't have to worry about that sad possibility. It's hard to explain, but I feel nearly as gleeful as if the Steelers had won the superbowl-

Things that are completely outside of my control did not go to my liking this past weekend. First, just as the Pens were getting hot and looking like they were going to take control of the Atlantic Division prior to next week's All Star Game, Sid the Kid slides into the boards on Friday and suffers a high ankle sprain . He is now on I.R., will miss the All Star Game for sure, and is likely out for at least a month. I guess we are getting some carryover factor from 2007--the year of the injured Pittsburgh athlete. Saturday brought some interesting political contests, with the Nevada caucuses for both parties and the South Carolina primary for Republicans. I was marginally happy that McCain won South Carolina, just so I could see a large percentage of the Republican establishment uncomfortably squirming. Tom Delay actually gave an interview in which he said that McCain has done more damage to the Republican party than any other elected official. I'll presume he was not looking in

Well, neither team that I was half- heartedly rooting for today came away with a victory, but I think the Super Bowl match up is decent: New England Patriots vs. New York Giants. These teams met in Week 17, and the Giants gave them a run for their money. Even though the game was in New York, and pre -playoffs, I think the weather was good and the Patriots were definitely playing to win and make history. So, I think it was a pretty good predictor of a potentially good game in the Super Bowl. I don't care for Eli Manning all that much, but I'm willing to root for him for a day. I'm beginning to come to terms with the Patriots being undefeated anyway. I'll still be rooting for them to lose, but I don't think I will be all that upset if they win. It's about time for a team to go undefeated anyway, so we can stop hearing about it. Teams have been flirting with it the past few years anyway--Indy was supposed to do it in 2005, until they ran into their neme

The 2007 Steelers season came to an end this past Saturday night at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags are a team that I am really starting to dislike due to their continual thrashing of the Steelers . I believe that this is now 4 in a row, with three of them in Pittsburgh. Other than that, I kind of like the Jags. It's my guilty pleasure. They are probably my second favorite team in the AFC. Although a young franchise, they are relatively similar to the Steelers in many respects. I liked Jack Del Rio the first time I saw him coach, and I knew there would be several times I would be crying into my beer due to his teams. On the final game: The Steelers were out-coached Saturday. Plain and simple. Of course, as always, there were other factors contributing to the demise. However, critical in-game decisions looked like the results of somebody rolling the magic 8-ball. The most egregious of these bone-headed errors was the decision to run some type of quarterback sweep