I WAS ANNOYED when the Patriots fans stole my Hines Ward car magnet. But thanks to some recent news about the New England Patriots' conduct over the years, now I'm really annoyed.
According to no less a source than Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the shameless Patriots filmed the glorious Pittsburgh Steelers at least four times over the years, including in two AFC Championship games. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports this has Sen Specter, who is wisely a fan of the Black and Gold, upset:
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter said yesterday that he has a list of witnesses and will pursue the "Spygate" case against the New England Patriots that he said involved four games against the Steelers, including two AFC championship games."I think Steelers fans have a lot to be concerned about this and I'm one of them,'' Mr. Specter told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an interview yesterday, adding that "maybe Steelers ownership should think about it a little."
Specter met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for more than an hour Wednesday to discuss why evidence turned over by the Patriots that documented their illegal videotaping of opposing coaches' signals was destroyed. He said he was not satisfied with Mr. Goodell's explanation.
The story also quotes former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher, who says any taping would have given the Patriots an advantage, although it didn't impact the outcomes of the games in question. Right. Sure.
Still, it seems clear to me the best revenge is for the Steelers to utterly crush the Patriots, thus restoring themselves to their rightful place on top the American Football Conference. Especially because Mr Rooney basically said, "Drop all this taping talk." Yessir.
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IT WOULD BE EASIER for the Steelers to utterly crush the Patriots if Randy Moss went away and played for Buffalo or something. That could just happen, according to published reports. Meanwhile, The Boston Herald had a story about the teams to whom Mr Moss might jump if contract issues can't be resolved.
Oddly, Team No. 3 on this list is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clearly there was some sort of typo, because the Steelers would be No. 30 on any realistic list of the teams to which Mr Moss would jump. Let us remember the Steelers are run by Mr Rooney, the son of the original Mr Rooney, and as such would never sign a player with Mr Moss' troubled history. Also, the Steelers are notoriously cheap. The team never pays top dollar for good players from outside; instead, it develops its own players from within (e.g. James Harrison) while replacing veterans who have become too expensive to keep around (e.g. Alan Faneca). Speaking of Mr Faneca, he has gone to the New York Jets and they could well have a very impressive offensive line this year. Good.
It seems clear Mr Moss would most likely end up with the Dallas Cowboys (because they are scoundrels) or the Philadelphia Eagles (because they're masochists).
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DEAR GOD, IT'S ME, Ben Kepple. PLEASE give the Pittsburgh Steelers decent special teams players this year. I'll be good, really I will! Please please please ...
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I WOULD BE REMISS if I did not note the death of Pittsburgh sports legend Myron Cope, the team's longtime radio announcer who invented the Terrible Towel. However, I hope -- as a one-time journalist -- Mr Cope found humor in his obituary, as written by The New York Times.
Here's the Times on Mr Cope:
Myron Cope, the longtime broadcaster for the N.F.L’s Steelers who became a sports treasure in Pittsburgh with his distinctive vocabulary and his creation of the fans’ Terrible Towel, died Wednesday in Mount Lebanon, Pa. He was 79.
At the end of the story, here's Cope on Cope:
Notwithstanding his enormous popularity as a broadcaster, Mr Cope took pride in his years as a writer.“I’ve often thought that when I kick the bucket, there’d be a story that said, ‘Creator of towel, dead,’ " he remarked upon retiring from his broadcast work for the Steelers. “I would like to be remembered as a pretty decent writer.”
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AS MUCH AS I hate to admit it, I am somewhat concerned about the Cleveland Browns this year. After all, think of all the improvements they made during the 2007 season. They discovered their backup (later, starting) quarterback could throw the ball. Braylon Edwards relearned how to catch the ball. Now, they've acquired Donte Stallworth from the Patriots, who is a pretty decent wide receiver and should help free up Mr Edwards. Also, they acquired Shaun Rogers from the Detroit Lions and the Lions got Leigh Bodden ...
... which may or may not be a good thing for the Browns.
Mr Bodden was a sharp cornerback, and as one who watched Browns games pretty frequently during 2007, I thought he really improved over the year. True, Cleveland's defense stunk up the joint overall, but I thought he was a good player and so I'm surprised Cleveland let him go. Mr Rogers is a great defensive tackle but from everything I have read, he is undisciplined. So it seems Cleveland is taking a chance on this one. But it could pay off.
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THIS WEEKEND, as I always do when I get out of work on Saturday, I called my parents at home. Mom informed me about all of Cleveland's personnel moves and we got to talking about Brady Quinn. My mother and I have different views on whether Cleveland should keep him around. Mom pointed out that Cleveland doesn't have a decent backup quarterback, and also noted Mr Quinn is a fan favorite. I think the guy's trade bait and should get sent along to the highest bidder. Surely there are teams out there who need a good quarterback, and the Browns could get some much-needed defensive help through trading Mr Quinn.
As for my father, he and I discussed Browns' fans irrational hatred for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which Steelers fans don't really share for the Browns. True, the Browns have not managed to beat the Steelers since Oct. 5, 2003, and so far this decade Pittsburgh leads the rivalry 15-2. I would like to think this year would make it 17-2, but I'm not nearly as confident as I was in years past. Who knows? Perhaps the Brownies will make up for their past humiliations at the Steelers' hands -- humiliations like that Dec. 24, 2005, game which is still famous in Kepple family lore. *cough* 41-0 *cough*
Posted by Benjamin Kepple at March 2, 2008 07:26 PM | TrackBack