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by **Casati** on 21 Jan 2005, 08:49

dezzi

I plan on taping the J. Johnson documentary on Saturday.

I have alot on my plate tommorrow: visit the parents early before the storm hits, then around 2pm go a train show at the local HS w/my son (he's dying to see it), then go to Costco to pick up a case of Blue Point India Pale Ale, soda and water and hopefully find a gift for a friend's bday. He's a Yankee fan so it shouldn't be that hard to find him something.

That Blue Point India Pale Ale rules. But ya gotta like a hopsy brew because it's very hopsy. They don't call it the Hoptical Illusion for nothing.

by **pramzan** on 21 Jan 2005, 10:43

On ESPN Classic two nights ago I once again caught Clay-Cooper from London in July of 1963.

I still can't believe how Clay cut him to ribbonsin the sixth round, after Cooper sent him flying with a that awesome left hook ending the 5th round.

No one ever had the class of Cassius Clay. I still enjoy watching him in his first title fight with Liston as I caught that again last week. Liston just could NOT hit him.

by **dezzi** on 21 Jan 2005, 14:20

Casati

Blue Point India Pale Ale

Am I just smoking too much weed, or is this a new beer (and why don't I know about it?).

Where do they make it?

Is it similar to Sierra Nevada, or Bass?

by **'Uaglio** on 21 Jan 2005, 18:02

2 more days til the big game. I can't wait!

Of course I'm predicting a Steelers win, but then again I'm just a little bit bias

Have a great weekend everyone...and GO STEELERS!!!!

by **dezzi** on 24 Jan 2005, 02:04

Sorry Piero

The Pats did exactly what I said they would do in containing Betis and the running game. They forced Roth' into 3 pics', and on the other side of the field, Brady's first half performance was all the Patriots really needed to secure the win. The game was over at half time.

Cowher's play-calling down 10 points in the first half was horrible. 3 times straight he ran on first and 10 setting up 2nd and longs and 3rd and longs. You're down 10 points in a Championship game - you need to take better shots than that. Actually, on Pittsburgh's only first half scoring drive - Rothlisberger threw on first down, and it was one of the Steelers biggest plays of the day.

I think Cowher really must see the light and understand that this great organization needs another voice. With so much on the line - I think he blew it by playing so close to the vest.

When Roth threw the pic' that ws returned for a TD in the 2nd, just before he threw it, I told my brother - "he's gonna throw a pic'." I was half serious, and mouth agape as Henderson returned it 87 yards for the back-breaker.

Superbowl looks good. 2 real good defenses - probably the best defenses in their respective conferences. I like Brady's Big Game mentality, and the schemes of Belicheck. The Pats are a Dynasty no matter what happens in Jacksonville.

They just walked into a 15-1 team's home-field and man-handled them. I'm impressed - those guys continue to make plays.

by **pramzan** on 24 Jan 2005, 05:06

Sorry Piero but I'm glad to see Pittspuke go down, especially Bill Coward.

I wasn't surprised at Roth's performance either. You just don't see rookie QBs playing well in big games that often. He was no exception.

The post season is a different animal and Pittsburgh's performance in the playoffs didn't come close to what they were used to doing in the regular season.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:13

Piero

Sorry buddy. I know it can be tough on any fan.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:16

dezzi

Blue Point Brewery is based in Blue Point, Suffolk County, Long Island. The nearest town is Patchogue which is situated on the South Shore not far from Fire Island and Islip.

Blue Point has a whole slew of brews and I believe it's the oldest brewery on Long Island.

Check out their link: http://www.bluepointbrewing.com/

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:22

The games

Well, there were absolutely no surprises on my end. I told everyone and their mother to take the favorites and give the points. The Eagles did what they had to do: win at home against a team with limited offensive resources.

The Steelers-Pats... well.... as I always say... BIG Players Make BIG Plays in BIG Games. Tom Brady was...... well.... Tom Brady. He made the big plays when he had to and Rothelisberger did not. Therein lyed the difference between these 2 teams. A rookie QB can't and won't matchup to a young, in his prime, 2-time Super Bowl winner. It's just not happening. Plus the Pats defense was it's old, usual self. When there's a game to be won, they step up and do it. Bill Bellichick is a genius.

And guess who's winning the Super Bowl?

If the Patriots win this Super Bowl it will be 3 in 4 years and IMO it will put Tom Brady in the immortals of Super Bowl QBs like Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:31

Bill Cowher

He's following right in the footsteps of Marty Shottenheimer, isn't he? I mean, the Steelers were down 10-0 at the end of the quarter and 24-3 at H/T in your own house. Talk about a team that wasn't prepared enough.

by **pramzan** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:57

I read with sadness this morning that the great Johnny Carson died yesterday.

He truely was the king of late night TV. What class. He made it look so easy. His monologues were great and his interviews with guests were second to none.

I like both Leno and Letterman but they have got nothing on Carson especially when it comes to talking with the guests. At times both Leno and Letterman look uncomfortable while Carson was so smooth.

by **pramzan** on 24 Jan 2005, 09:59

Casati - Well at least Bill Coward made it to the Super Bowl once. That's something Marty Shottenheimer never did.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 10:08

Pram

Carson was the king and the rest are pretenders. Letterman stated that yesterday eulogizing Carson.

Whenever I'm up late at night I watch Leno and only watch Letterman when Leno has a repeat. But they both suck compared to Carson.

One thing that I didn't like about Carson was how he treated young comics on the show. He would only let them come out and do their 3 minute schtick and then give them a thumbs up and it was over. Rarely did he ever ask one to sit down and have a chat. He really treated them like minor-leaguers.

by **bineaz** on 24 Jan 2005, 10:45

Piero, Windy,

Tough game to watch.

Casati,

Tom Brady in the same sentence as Montana and Bradshaw, not in my opinion. Now if you were to put Bill Bellichick in the same sentence as Bill Walsh or Chuck Knoll then I have no problem.

RIP Johnny Carson: A very charitable man.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:06

bineaz

If Brady leads his team to another Super Bowl victory, then it will be 3 in his last 4 years.

Remember that Brady has already won 2 Super Bowl MVPs and could make it 3 Super Bowl MVPs. For the record Montana and Bradshaw won 2 Super Bowl MVPs.

I watch the games with a HUGE 49er fan and his favorite players were Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott. Even he agreed w/me when I made that same statement yesterday.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:10

dezzi

Good point re the Pats D forcing Roethlisberger to throw. But another downfall to Cowher was that he really wasn't pressuring Brady enough. He chose to one man blitz most of the game. That's not enough.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:19

Joe Montana won 3 Super Bowl MVPs, not two.

by **bineaz** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:29

Casati,

I'm not into the NFL as much as I used to be, so I'll defer to your opinion, but I believe Joe Montana was the best there was ever.

Brady was a 6th round pick so you can't argue with his results thus far. I'm pulling for the Eagles.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:38

bineaz

Well, I'm not going to touch that. Montana was Montana. He was the greatest QB ever. But if Tom Brady wins a 3rd Super Bowl and gets an MVP for his troubles I could understand how many would start comparing him to Montana.

by **bineaz** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:42

Yeah, but has Brady ever had a mowhawk or mooned TV cameras?

Well he's no Jin McMahon then....

:roll:

by **'Uaglio** on 24 Jan 2005, 11:57

FCK the PATRIOTS and their classless organization. You run a fckin trick play (reverse) up by 2 TD's with 2 minutes left?? They are going to fckin pay next year when they visit Heinz again.

I hope the Eagles stomp their asses in Jacksonville.

Re the Game:

What utter bullsh*t. To piss away a 16 win season with that kind of performance is unacceptable. You can blame Ben all you want and say he's a rookie, but the Steelers put up 27 points on the board and that should have been more than enough to win comfortably.

Instead, our defense decided to play their worst game of the year. Blown coverages....no fckin pressure on Brady....killer penalties on third down...no forced turnovers. That was a shocker to me. You can't let ANY NFL QB sit back and sip tea back there...let alone Brady. They should have blitzed his ass til there is no tomorrow and instead they laid back. Ridiculous.

Ben had some flashes of brilliance (the third quarter was awesome) and no rookie QB has ever come this far this fast. The future is bright.

by **'Uaglio** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:06

RE: Cowher---He's a tremendous regular season coach, but he's got to become more aggressive in the playoffs. He plays it too tight to the vest.

However, he is not all to blame. He didn't throw the pics or blow coverages. He didn't take the stupid penalties.

Still, he failed in a few key areas. NE had fckin NINE men at the line of scrimmage on first down. You've got to pass the ball some and loosen them up. We didn't do enough of that.

____

The play that killed me was the beginning of the 4th quarter. We were steamrolling and driven the ball easily down to the 4 yrd line. A TD would have cut the lead to SEVEN with a full quarter to play. On 4th and 2 he kicks a FG!!! The game was over at that point. The crowd starting booing and it took all the energy out of the game. You have to gamble in big games like these and he didn't.

-------

That said, he shouldn't be fired. The team is young and he guided them all this way with tons of injuries and a rookie QB. He'll be back, but the Rooneys won't give him too many more chances.

by **bineaz** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:09

Tough loss Piero. But that stupid late hit on that overturned fumble recovery seemed to be indicative of the Steelers' day.

Dan Marino, made it to the Super Bowl in his second season, but was the first rookie to start a pro bowl.

Big Ben has to be weary of that sophomore jinx.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:36

Piero

You bring up some good points but the H/T score was 24-3. In the 2nd half the NE defense gave up a little on the pressure since there was more room for error. And once they saw Pitt come back, Brady responded.

But the Steelers made too many mistakes both offensively and defensively. Turnovers, penalities, bad defense and bad play calling: that all adds up to poor preparation and a good part of the blame goes to Cowher. When a team turnsover the ball and commits penalties it all goes to preparation and lack thereof.

My pals all game long were asking: Why aren't they blitzing Brady? The fact is they were but only with one man. In other words when they blitzed it was a 5 man rush. That's not enough.

As good as Roethlisberger looked in the 3rd quarter he was still way too inconsistent. He looked bad out there. The stats shown during the game showed his performance in his last 5 or 6 games. He was not the same QB from weeks 2-10.

Will Roethlisberger flourish? Maybe. To be honest with all of you I saw his regular season stats and quite frankly, I'm not impressed. He didn't even throw for 3k yards. We'll see.[/i]

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:40

Piero

BTW... you're right about that 4th and 2 call on the 4 yard line. The way the offensive was going that day Cowher was better off taking a chance. But if you think about what may have stopped Cowher from going for it was that Bettis was getting shut down. Remember the 4th and 1 back in the 1st half when not only did Bettis get stopped in his tracks but he also fumbled the ball?

I'm sure that was fresh on Cowher's mind because he wasn't going to have Ben throw the ball.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:47

Big Ben's Numbers

196 completions, 295 attempts, 66.4 pct, 2621 yards, 187.2 ypg, 17 TDs and 11 INTS

Don't get me wrong. For a rookie, they're good numbers.

by **'Uaglio** on 24 Jan 2005, 12:53

Casati--Ben didn't throw for 3,000 yards because the Steelers mostly run the ball. He still had a 99 passer rating which is even better than Marino as a rookie.

That said, his play did tail off over the last month. Everyone is speculating that his thumb was injured, but the Steelers denied it all. Yet, during the game, trainers were pouring cold water on it! If you can't grip the football properly with your thumb, it causes you to shotput the ball at times and it sails.

I think Ben was playing hurt, and the Steelers were hiding it. Ben has it all to be a great one. Now, he's going to have to take the next step. He needs to learn the full playbook (he was only using half this year). He also needs to continue to study defenses so that he can make quicker reads.

------
As for the 4th and goal call, that was a killer. NE was stopping Bettis because they were selling out on the run blitz. All Pittsburgh had to do was fake to Bettis and Ben could have walked in on a bootleg. The playcalling was way too damn predictable. It's going to be a VERY long offseason.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 13:07

Piero

Ben may have been playing hurt. We'll find out in the next couple of weeks. We found out yesterday that Chad Pennington was throwing with a torn rotator cuff.

I like NE to win the Super Bowl but I don't think they'll cover.

by **'Uaglio** on 24 Jan 2005, 13:15

Casati--I'll be cheering for the Eagles big time. They have a chance IF they can avoid turnovers. That's what NE feeds off of. We outgained NE in every category yesterday but it didn't matter because turnovers kill u.

McNabb has to be smart with the ball and Westbrook needs a big game. Philly LOVES to blitz and they are good at pressuring the QB...they'll have to in order to rattle Brady. Philly's secondary is also a lot better than Pittsburghs. They have 3 pro-bowlers back there....so Brady won't have much space to throw the ball.

Aside from the 2 meaningless losses at the end of the year, the Eagles only lost one game (to the Steelers)...so they are a pretty good football team.

Nothing would make me happier on Feb 6th than to see Brady and BB cry.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 14:38

Piero

Something tells me this game will be close. NE's other 2 SB wins were close. Plus, Philly's a tough team with or w/o TO.

by **dezzi** on 24 Jan 2005, 14:50

Well,

The 49ers were a MUCH better team than the Patriots...they had all star recievers and backs, all star defensemen besides Montana....if the Pats win another....Brady belongs in that short list of all time greats.

Why not?

Piero

Cowher's conservative play-calling forced Rothlisberger into must-pass situations that the Patriots (as well as every other human watching the game) KNEW were coming.

Roth's fitness:

I mentoned it earlier in the season. The most games he's ever played in a season before this one was 10 or 11....he just played 17, and I have heard reports that his arm was weak even before the Jets game.

4th and goal.

It doesn't matter what happened in the first quarter.....you GOTTA go for it there, as a field goal doesn't change the fact that your team is still behind 2 scores....they drive - they kick....what's the worst that can happen should they go for it? Pats balll on the 2? It's STILL a 2-score game regardless!

It was fitting considering the way Cowher called plays in the first half.

I throw alot of the blame at the coach. It's sucks too, because he's one of my favorite personalities in the game.

27 points is misleading...the last TD was garbage-time. I know Belicheck didn't want to concede it, but the game was over.

20 points is NOT enough to beat the defending Superbowl champions.

I blame the offense, weak play-calling, and poor execution more than I would ever blame the defense.

The Pats scored 21 off of Steeler turn-overs. It wasn't their defense that lost it for them...

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 15:09

dezzi

True that the Niners were a better team, but we haven't seen the last of the Patriots yet. If they win this one we're looking at dynasty. This day and age that is so hard to come by.

Montana had Rice and before Rice he had Taylor. Rice is the greatest of all time and Taylor was no slouch either.

Brady has Branch, Patton, Givens. Hardly Rice and Taylor so I think Tom Brady is pretty underrated.

by **Falc** on 24 Jan 2005, 15:20

Steelers Quit

I only saw bits and pieces of the game as I was flipping back and forth with Fiorentina-Roma. One play that I did see was the interception that New England took back for a touchdown. IMO, that play looked like the Steelers just quit. Rothlisberger slowed down the Pats player and was blocked from making a tackle. But how come no one else among the Steelers players were coming back to make a play? Once Rothlisberger got pushed to his ass, the Pat's defender practically walked in with the touchdown. Rothlisberger made a mistake with his pass but his teammates let him and the rest of the team down.

by **Casati** on 24 Jan 2005, 15:38

Falc

Good question. I think the Steelers were in shock because at that point they were about to go down 23-3.

by **Falc** on 24 Jan 2005, 17:19

Making of a champion

Casati - They may have been in shock but the making of a true champion is one who does not quit. On that play, they just threw in the towel and gave away the 7 points. I have seen speedy receivers come back and make plays. Even linesmen. But on that play, they let NE have it easy. And it was not a short run on the interception. Those 7 points were costly.

BTW, I was surprised when I flicked back into the 4th quarter that Pittsburgh only got 3 points. Since I no longer follow football that closely, have the rules changed when a player goes out of bounds? The clock does not stop anymore. At the end of the 3rd quarter, a Steelers receiver was making a run and dove into the end zone. He was called out on the 4 yard line. Why did the clock continue to run if he was out? I thought for sure the Steelers would come away with 7. They had the momentum and looked to come back. I don't know what lead to the field goal but from what you guys have said and from what I have heard on the radio, it looks to have killed that momentum. Steelers may need to have a better offensive coordinator.

by **'Uaglio** on 24 Jan 2005, 17:47

Falc...I agree. The Steelers Offense made no attempt to chase down Harrison. It was ridiculous.

Last week was even worse. Reggie Tongue of the Jets picked one off and ran through the whole team untouched.

Maybe our offense needs to practice how to tackle

------------

Dezzi...I don't think Ben's arm was tired. He had two weeks off before the playoffs. I think he screwed up his thumb somehow and the Steelers are keeping it a secret.

by **Falc** on 24 Jan 2005, 18:54

'Uaglio wrote:Falc...I agree. The Steelers Offense made no attempt to chase down Harrison. It was ridiculous.

Last week was even worse. Reggie Tongue of the Jets picked one off and ran through the whole team untouched.

Maybe our offense needs to practice how to tackle

Practice would help. What shocked me was the lack of any desire to even attempting to tackle. I thought Big Ben did a good job on that play to slow it down but Harrison had a blocker to take care of him. Still, Ben gave the team enough time for someone to at least make an attempt. If I was him, I would have been pretty pissed that no one tried. Yes, he screwed up with the interception but this is still a team game. The effort should have been there and it was not, which I am guessing is how the game went for the most part.

by **Falc** on 24 Jan 2005, 18:56

Now this would have been really funny!

Owens was second choice in MNF towel skit
David Bauder / Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) - ABC's first choice for the infamous "Monday Night Football" dropped towel episode wasn't Terrell Owens - it was announcer John Madden.

For reasons that are unclear, Madden couldn't find the time to perform for the skit. Owens, the Philadelphia Eagles receiver, filled in for him in the steamy sketch that drew viewer protests and a network apology, said ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson on Sunday.

In the spoof that preceded the football game Nov. 15, "Desperate Housewives" actress Nicollette Sheridan persuaded Owens to skip the game by dropping the towel wrapped around her and jumping into his arms.

ABC initially thought it would be funny to have the, uh, less attractive heavyset Madden as the subject of Sheridan's ardor, McPherson said.

The towel-dropping was another last-minute addition to the script that plainly backfired, said Marc Cherry, executive producer of "Desperate Housewives," who helped write it.

Cherry said it was all a mistake. But he and McPherson both said they were surprised at the reaction.

"I feel really bad about it," Cherry said. "I didn't want to upset people. I didn't realize that 'Monday Night Football' was such a family viewing experience. I wouldn't let my 5-year-old watch beer commercials with big-busted cheerleaders, but that's just me."

Sheridan, appearing before television writers Sunday, said the purpose was simply to amuse people.

"Taking a pop culture incident like that and having it take precedence over the underlying problems of the world was absurd," Sheridan said.

by **pramzan** on 25 Jan 2005, 09:03

Casati - I think you are being a bit hard on Carson. He gave many young comedians a chance and they are ALL greatful for that opportunity.

by **Casati** on 25 Jan 2005, 12:33

Pram

If my only complaint on Carson is the way he treated young comics, then he got off easy. Many remember the good compliments that he paid to Bette Midler, Joan Rivers and David Letterman where he actually invited them to sit them down at the famous chair beside his desk and complimented them. That was rare and it signmified that you made it.

But the other 99% he was less amicable. He would tell them good job and that's it. He wouldn't invite them to sit down and just chat for 30-60 seconds and I thought it it was a bit cold. But that was Carson.

He was great on the TV. I'm hearing all this crap about him now about what a nasty drunk he became after he retired.

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