THE PITTSBURGH Sports CHATTER

[Von Halen]

I'm kinda proud of myself that I've "matured" enough not to take these losses poorly, like I used to....

Come on Va. How the fuck am I supposed to bait you, with this new and improved attitude?

[Kristy]

Shall always stop short of sexual assault by holding up around sexual misconduct

Much in the way both the NFL and Steelers organization played that one in front of the press.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Come on Va. How the fuck am I supposed to bait you, with this new and improved attitude?

I'm telling ya Von, 20 years ago I would have been throwing the remote through the TV last night....

Just ain't worth it nowadays....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Sad...

Back in 1981, the Pirates had an American Legion team called the "Little Pirates"... Roberto Clemente Jr. played for them, and they came to my hometown for a doubleheader....

Of course, they stomped our ass in both games, although I struck out Clemente Jr. (qualifies for my 15 minutes of fame, I believe....).....

But Chuck Tanner came with them.... He asked for a left-handed volunteer, I jumped in and took a few swings...

He told me I had a great swing, then did a hitting demonstration with me.... I will never forget that for as long as I live....

RIP Chuck....

Former Bucs’ manager Chuck Tanner dies

http://www.ncnewsonline.com/current/x532734811/Former-Bucs-manager-Chuck-Tanner-dies

Former Bucs’ manager Chuck Tanner dies
By Staff
New Castle News

NEW CASTLE — Former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Chuck Tanner has died.

Tanner, 82, a lifelong New Castle resident, led the Pirates to the World Series championship in 1979.

Tanner also managed the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s and Atlanta Braves and had a successful playing career of his own. He most recently has served as a senior adviser to current Pirates general manager Neal Huntington and remains a fan favorite when he attends games in Pittsburgh.

Please see the Weekend edition of the New Castle News for complete details.

[chefcraig]

Harrison calls Goodell 'a crook and a puppet'

The Miami Herald /The Sports Network

Steelers linebacker James Harrison calls NFL commissioner Roger Goodell "a crook and a puppet" and criticizes Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during an explosive interview that will hit newsstands Friday.

In excerpts posted online Wednesday by Men's Journal magazine, Harrison criticizes Goodell and the league for the way it hands out fines for hard hits.

The outspoken linebacker was docked $100,000 by the NFL last season, including $75,000 for hits on Browns receivers Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi.

On the issue, Harrison told the magazine:

"What I tried to explain to Goodell, but he was too stupid to understand, is that dudes crouch when you go to hit them. With Massaquoi, my target area was his waist and chest, but he lowered himself at the last possible second and I couldn't adjust to his adjustment. But Goodell, who's a devil, ain't hearing that. Where's the damn discretion, the common sense?"

He added: "My rep is James Harrison, mean son of a [expletive] who loves hitting the hell out of people. But up until last year, there was no word of me being dirty -- till Roger Goodell, who's a crook and a puppet, said I was the dirtiest player in the league. If that man was on fire and I had to [urinate] to put him out, I wouldn't do it. I hate him and will never respect him."

The comments come at a time when the NFL and its locked-out players seem close to signing a new collective bargaining agreement that should lead to a full 2011 season.

Harrison appears shirtless in the magazine and is holding two pistols in a crossed-arms pose reminiscent of a popular video game cover. According to the excerpts, he also criticizes Roethlisberger's performance in the latest Super Bowl.

The Steelers quarterback threw two interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown, and Pittsburgh lost to the Green Bay Packers, 31-25.

Both Roethlisberger and Harrison have won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers.

About the interceptions Roethlisberger threw against the Packers, Harrison said: "Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the [defense] to bail you out again. Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain't that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does."

Harrison, who has undergone two back surgeries this offseason, also told the magazine he "should have another ring."

"We were the best team in football in 2004, but the Patriots, who we beat during the regular season, stole our signals and picked up 90 percent of our blitzes (in the AFC title game). They got busted for it later, but, hey, they're Goodell's boys, so he slapped 'em $500,000 and burned the tapes. Was he going to rescind their Super Bowls? Man, hell no!"

Harrison criticized Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall for fumbling too much, while praising safety Troy Polamalu for his spirituality and style of play.

"You know, he gets more flags than anyone on our team but never gets fined for nothin," Harrison said. "He's so polite and talks so softly that he could tell Goodell to kiss his [butt], and Goodell would smile and say thank you."

Mendenhall tweeted a link Wednesday to NFL rushing statistics that showed he fumbled just twice in 324 rushing attempts last season. He also said on Twitter: "I don't have a problem with what [Harrison] said because I know him."

Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement that he hasn't seen the Men's Journal article and hasn't spoken to Harrison.

"We will discuss the situation at the appropriate time, when permitted once the labor situation is resolved," Rooney said in the statement.

[fifth element]

Also read that Harrison gets away w/ this sort of behavior because everyone knows how ridiculous he can be.

unfortunately, no one will ever take him seriously again

also unfortunately....crap like this is making headlines because the football gods have YET to sign an agreement about the 2011 season.....

bleh. here is the version of the story that I caught.....

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-steelers-harrisonarticle

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Meh...

That will all be forgotten once the deal is signed next week.....

[chefcraig]

Yeah, since the story broke, the players themselves seem to have just tossed it off as a "Harrison being Harrison" type of deal. The real sticking point seems to be him posing with guns and calling the commissioner an anti-gay slur. After Kobe Bryant's recent fining for the same thing, you have to figure the league will do something similar.

[Romeo Delight]

Can you fine a player for something he said while locked out? I don't think that would stick if it happened.

Apparently this interview took place at lease a month or more ago and the publication was waiting for this time (near a deal) for maximum impact

[Nickdfresh]

Sullivan's comments are dead-on here....

Harrison sets new low with remarks about Goodell
'Maybe athletes aren't role models. But they can choose to be better than this. Kids look up to them.'

By Jerry Sullivan

Buffalo News Senior Sports Columnist

Updated: July 17, 2011, 7:46 AM

Evidently, the NFL owners and players are on the brink of a settlement that will end the lockout and bring labor peace to America's favorite sport. That's great news for those of us who spend our autumns wondering just how long it will take for the Bills to achieve a meaningful level of competence on the playing field.

The owners, no doubt, are exultant because they won't have to forfeit revenue from those precious preseason games. It will be perceived as a triumphant compromise for Roger Goodell, the commissioner, and DeMaurice Smith, the head of the players union. Really, how can there be losers when you're cutting a $9 billion pie two ways?

Goodell will emerge from his first major negotiation with his reputation intact. And once he's done with all the necessary paperwork, the commissioner ought to turn his attention to the Steelers' James Harrison, whose insulting and divisive comments in Men's Journal should earn him a hefty fine and suspension from the league.

I'd go with $250,000 and four games as a starting point for Harrison, a star linebacker who became the NFL poster boy for illegal hits last season. Harrison is clearly resentful at Goodell, who fined him $100,000 last season. But the magazine article went over the line. In most normal lines of work, Harrison would have been fired on the spot for his remarks.

He called Goodell a "crook," a "devil" and "stupid." Harrison said he wouldn't urinate on Goodell if he were on fire. He took shots at his teammates, ripping Ben Roethlisberger for throwing two interceptions and Rashard Mendenhall for fumbling in the Super Bowl. Harrison had one tackle in the game.

Harrison used a gay slur to describe Goodell, joining a recent parade of pro athletes who have uttered such crude phrases. It's a troubling pattern, which makes you wonder how far we've come in our acceptance of homosexuals in this society.

In April, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant used the same phrase against a referee after a technical foul. In May, the Bulls' Joakim Noah did it during an exchange with a fan. In a June radio interview, Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson uttered a stream of gay insults to a confrontational caller. Last week, White Sox infielder Gordon Beckham scribbled the message "Getz is Gay" in the dirt for his second base counterpart, the Royals' Chris Getz.

Harrison apologized, of course. There's always an accompanying apology, invariably more well-written and thoughtful than the original rant, thanks to the wonder of agents.

Jackson said he "meant no disrespect to the gay and lesbian community." Bryant apologized. It wasn't like him, you see. Beckham called his message a joke. He and Getz are friends! Ha ha. At least he didn't say he would stab his own son in the heart if he were gay, as comedian Tracy Morgan did recently. Yes, Morgan apologized, too.

Harrison performed the usual athlete's backpedal, claiming his words were "misquoted and taken out of context." Really? In what context is it acceptable to call the boss of your company a devil and a crook, a homosexual and a punk?

Goodell is not above criticism. Harrison had some valid points in the interview. There are inconsistencies in the NFL's legislation against hits to the head. The league did appear to target Harrison last season. But his salient points get lost in the cheap outrage. It didn't help to pose with two handguns across his bare chest, either.

Harrison gave some lame explanation about the right to bear arms in this country. I'm sure the cover won't be any comfort to the thousands of people in America who have been victimized by senseless gun violence. The families of Sean Taylor and Darrent Williams, NFL stars who were shot to death, likely won't be amused.

Maybe athletes aren't role models. But they can choose to be better than this. Kids look up to them. Athletes are their physical ideal. They can have a positive impact in a society where the bullying of gay youths is an epidemic, and where you can still be fired for being gay in 29 states.

It's not only jocks. It's everywhere. I've heard young males in my immediate family use "gay" as a pejorative. "That's so gay!" What adjective does "gay" replace? Does it become a synonym for "weak?" "Stupid?" "Cowardly?" "Non-masculine?" Let's not even get into the regrettable return of "retarded" as a negative descriptor.

What are these young males afraid of? How can elite athletes be so physically gifted and yet so disdainful of people they perceive as less masculine? Harrison said he needed "a better choice of words." But when men spew gay slurs in a moment of anger, it suggests that homophobia is deeply ingrained in our culture.

There are too many stories about athletes who abuse women, or who have children with multiple women and don't fulfill their roles as fathers. Maybe they hide behind the guns and the gay slurs and the macho posturing because they have no idea what it really means to be a man.

jsullivan@buffnews.com

[Va Beach VH Fan]

This was hilarious....

[Va Beach VH Fan]

"Dream Team", my ass....

Preseason, granted, but the Steelers absolutely dominated the Eagles last night with the 1st teams playing....

[POJO_Risin]

I wonder where Lou is these days?

[POJO_Risin]

I'd love to discuss how the Iggles coach can't win a big one...with his pop offense...

[TFM_Dale]

From The Onion Sports Network

Ben Roethlisberger Close To Completing Offseason Without Committing Sex Crime