A Little Pre-Draft Chat...

To be fair, I did have a plan for a podcast today, with a little bit of draft talk, but since we didn't get to it... with T-minus three hours until the first pick - and an interminable amount of time before the next one - let's talk Stillers:

First off, the most ridiculous quote I've heard yet about the 2010 draft... just before signing off of NFL Live this afternoon on the Mothership, Herm Edwards dropped this 'bomb':

"Tim Tebow? A Pittsburgh Steeler."

To which Jeff in Delaware responded: "Thankfully, [Herm Edwards] is an idiot."

Now to the main matter at hand: BIG BEN IS OUT AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS... and possibly six, if he slips up again between now and the start of the season... aaaand I wouldn't exactly rule that out just yet... yesterday, ESPN's Adam Schefter was reporting that the Steelers are actively courting trade offers for Roethlisberger, so the question becomes... what SHOULD they do?... is this rumor of a possible trade, if it's true... a classic case of overreaction?

Yes, Big Ben, according to unprovable accusations deemed unfit to prosecute, is a drunken slob who may or may not know the meaning of the word "no".... but again, I point to Ray Lewis in this situation. Ray-Ray... was not just charged in relation to a murder, he WENT ON TRIAL... in relation to a murder... and B-More was cool with that.... you can still hang, Ray-Ray.... "I didn't staaaaab noboooody"... allegedly... the Ravens were cool with that.

Now, Schefter said the Steelers may be willing to deal Roethlisberger in some sort of trade that involves a top-13 draft pick.... but... the Steelers are only five slots below that right NOW.... Schefter also said the Rams and Bills both said no to possible trades.... the Rams, that's a little surprising... I mean, that team is going NOWHERE, in a BIG hurry... two-time Superbowl winner at QB? That doesn't appeal over taking a big, big chance on Sam Bradford?

WHAT IF... the Steelers swapped Roethlisberger and their #13 pick... for Donovan McNabb and the Skins #4 pick?... now, this is so off-the-charts it's almost too ridiculous to bring up... then again, that would put it right in Dan Snyder's wheelhouse... that's right up Dan Snyder's alley... Skins already snagged Fast Willie Pee, and we got Randle El... why not keep swapping squads? What do YOU think the Steelers should do?

Gayle in Pittsburgh wrote to the program yesterday:

"Troubled and talented sounds like Oakland would be a great place for the jackhole."

But that's already out... and again, my personal opinion? You know, I'm honestly not sure how I feel about a possible Big Ben trade... does he fit with the quote, Steelers ethic?... I guess not... then again, the Steelers aren't exactly the most squeaky-clean team in the league... see... James Harrison, involved in an alleged domestic altercation... see also, recently-canned, Santonio Holmes... oh, you can SAY he was traded... fifth-round draft pick... a trade that Warren Sapp described as swapping Holmes for, quote, "a jawbreaker and a gum wrapper"?... he was fired.

We can keep going... in fact... when it comes to... rockin' the ganj?.... when it comes to... smokin' the dojja?... see Bam Morris... "What's that officer? There's a key of chron in my trunk? Well I don't know how THAT got there." And let's not forget problem child... erstwhile kicker and a man who strikes fear into Sheetz bathrooms everywhere... Skippy Reed.

Are they the Mugshot Extravanganza that was... the Cincinnati Bengals of the 1990s? No... but players getting in trouble is not really strange in just about every NFL locker room... guys get in trouble.... Big Ben's trouble is admittedly more serious... than gripping and ripping in a Sheetz men's room... it's more serious even, than a key of chron in your trunk... then again, it wasn't serious enough for him to get arrested... or charged... you know, we're not talking about an OJ situation where he's gone through a trial, been found not guilty, and now he's being hit with a civil suit... no, the first of these cases went straight to the civil suit... a year after the, alleged, fact....

This second alleged incident was brought to the authorities' attention with the speed and the quickness... in plenty of time to investigate and collect evidence for a prosecutable sexual assault case... and thus far, nothing has come of it... but then you go on Deadspin.com, or any other sports-rumor-mill website, and there are countless of stories of Big Ben being a Big Jerk... all over the Pittsburgh bar and club scene... no one officially on the record, of course... again, I don't really want to get into guilt or innocence... From a Steelers standpoint, for me, it comes down to this: Is Roethlisberger still capable of leading that team? Will those guys get behind him? So far, no one on the squad is comin' out and backing him... Is this a case where winning is enough, when it comes to the fans? Let me state this again: RAY LEWIS WAS ON TRIAL FOR HIS PART IN A MURDER.... A MURDER.... If the Steelers move Roethlisberger - and let's not forget about the clear, proven facts on the NFL side.. two Super Bowls... easily one of the top 10, if not top five, quarterbacks in the league... if they move him, then what? You gotta get a top 10 draft pick for him... gotta get a quarterback, right? I love me some Byron Leftwich... greatest backup in the NFL... but are you gonna run him and Dennis Dixon in the competition for 2011 starter?... I don't think you are... gotta get a quarterback... then again, you HAVE a quarterback... two-time Superbowl winner... top 10, elite NFL QB... possibly a drunken scumbag...

Big Ben came out in the same draft class, 2004, as Philip Rivers and Eli Manning, a fantastic draft for QBs by all accounts.. when's the last time that happened?... 1995 was the most recent time it was even CLOSE... Air McNair and Kerry Collins went top 5 that year... and you can go back past 1985 without seeing another QB draft class like that... 1983, maybe... Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Ken O'Brien, there you go... a great QB class happens about... once every 20 years... it just happened six years ago.... Sam Bradford? Colt McCoy? Jimmy Clausen?

I don't know if that's worth giving up your two-time Superbowl-winning drunken scumbag quarterback.... allegedly.

Our Famous Friends

Check out friend of the program, Celeste Lyn Paul, on the PBS News Hour from this week (around the 7:00 mark):

THE MADNESS: Vol. 2

SHPLA-DOW!

McGhee, Dixon and the boys held it down. Pitt is usually one of the teams having a 'Nova/Bobby Mo-like finish during this first weekend. Now they look like they might be right up there with the 'Cuse and WVU as the class of the Big East.

As of dinnertime, no huge surprises today. For the first time that I can remember, I have at least one full perfect bracket thus far (the East), and my Thursday game record was better than Dan Patrick's, so that's something. Cornell over Temple, okay, but if half of us bracketeers have that game going to Cornell, is it really an upset?

For the evening games, I don't really have any upsets, except by seeding... I like Louisville and Georgia Tech. How can you not like Louisville, especially on the experience end? I swear, that Sosa kid has been a Cardinal for like, seven years now.

THE MADNESS: Vol. 1

"Feel the sting... of the Monarch's wiiiiiing!"

Thus far...

• Mike Bray should have kept a tighter lid on the Guinness consumption last night... OLD DOM, BABY! GO MONARCHS! It's not often that I get one of the first-round upsets correct, so I can't help but think this is a good omen to kick off my bracket.

• (2:35 p.m.) Bobby Mo... about to ruin EVERYONE'S bracket, though it's still way too early to call... (2:48 p.m.) Didn't think 'Nova was going to stay down the entire game. Scottie Reynolds is turning it on now, but it's surprising how bad the Wildcats have looked... still, can't discount Bobby Mo keeping the pressure on 'em... (2:51 p.m.) Ohh, OT. Nice.... (2:55 p.m.) 3:06 left in overtime... this game is over. It's all 'Nova... (3:13 p.m.) Okay, so once again I've spoken too soon... but Scottie Reynolds just stroked another free throw... lookin' rough... (3:15 p.m.) Aaaaand it's all sewn up.

• How can there be a channel called CBS College... AND IT ISN'T SHOWING ANY NCAA GAMES? Oh, wait... they're gonna show the Butler/UTEP game... then it's back to "NCAA March Madness Central," a.k.a. The Wally Sczerbiak Show (more on that in Friday's podcast)

• Favorite moment of the first round of games: Bill Raftery, making a pointed observation about 'Nova's Yaphtou Marou at the free-throw line... "He has stroked it admirably."



Why is ESPN Racist?

Eat it, ESPN...


So multiple personalities on ESPN have taken the opportunity to ridicule Michael Vick's decision to announce he wants to play for the Carolina Panthers on the Gangsta Grillz radio show, with Dan LeBatard making fun of the name and Cryin' Bob Ryan basically just being a bigot on "Around the Horn" about it, acting like it's not a legitimate radio show. As if Mike & Mike are anything but the most boring, vanilla, take-no-interesting-position toolbox pair of talking heads on morning sports radio.

Look, ESPN, I know you get pissy when someone decides they don't want to give their exclusive to John Clayton and his rat-tail, but do you have to be tacitly racist about it?

On the Road in Orlando: Day 3

That's right... there are live ducks at the bar in my hotel. They may even be treated better than the guests, which would be pretty impressive, considering the level of service here...

A few interesting scenes from the last day or so:

• The chairman for my committee trying desperately to keep himself awake (unsuccessfully) throughout the course of Tuesday afternoon, topped by the journalist sleep-drooling on his conference badge in the middle of the press room.
• The reporter who wanted a new "Media" ribbon because she got food on hers. Say it with me now: "Maybe next time you could perhaps be less of a slob."
• The massive, seven-foot "Lego woman" mascot for ThermoFisher, who was walking through their press-conference line touching people's backs and generally creeping out the foreign journalists.
• The PR lady who just can't understand why things aren't exactly the way she wants, when she wants, despite her terminally-vague "instructions."

More to come...

On the Road in Orlando, Pt. 1

So I've made it sunny Florida, although at present it's not exactly sunny and warm. It's been in the low 60s, which is a little chilly for this time of year, but I'll definitely take it over dirty snow piles and 30-degree weather back up north.

Met a very nice lady on the plane and our chat helped distract me from the brat a dozen rows behind us, who had to have screamed "I DON'T WANT TO!" about six bazillion times between Philly and Florida. I now have a strong feeling that children should be stowed with the luggage.

For anyone who doesn't know, I am down here as part of the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy. But fret not, Faithful Listeners. I won't be trading in the podcast microphone for a pocket protector anytime soon. My father has been one of the conference organizers since '93, so I get to tag along, volunteer for a few hours a day and then spend the rest of my time doing whatever I want...

...which yesterday included watching the US/Canada gold-medal hockey game...

I gotta say, all in all, it was a fantastic game. When the US was down 2-0, I was taking comfort in the knowledge that, if Canada lost, the entire nation would crumble, but if the US lost, I would feel bad for about 10 minutes and then forget all about it as I look forward to NCAA conference tourneys and March Madness. But then Zach Parise had to go and tie it with 23 seconds left, and of course I jumped up off the couch screaming and clapping.

So it was a real letdown when Crosby slipped the game-winner past Ryan Miller. And even though it's rolled off my back by now, it was great to see the US boosting their international hockey profile and giving the Canadians a real run for their money.

I'll also say that it was kind of liberating to be able to hate on Sidney Crosby for a couple of weeks. I defend him to just about every NHL fan, but to be perfectly honest, if he wasn't on the Penguins, I'd probably be on the "whiner" bandwagon as well. However, it's hard to by anything but happy for Sid the Kid, having lifted the weight of an entire nation on his squad's collective shoulders. But just as I was starting to feel good for him, the post-game interview came on:

"It wasn't as easy as we had expected."

Why you gotta be a dick about it, Crosby?