So, I Was Wonderin...

• ...is it actually a better idea to take your chances on the roads of Pittsburgh after closing time than it is to try to walk home? And yes, Mr. Thomas W. Brown, unless they're teaching alcoholic arrogance and self-entitlement at Carlynton these days, connecting these two events is nothing but irresponsible sensationalism.
• ...where is it cooler to party these days? Da Strip or the Sahside?
• ...is anyone who thought #7 had a shot at a reduction to 3 games reeeaaally  that much more out of touch with reality than those who thought he'd get a 6 game suspension?
• ...can you say WTF? From the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit:
  
  
  

  you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway — and no reasonable expectation that the government isn't tracking your movements.

• ...what can be better than this for your Labor Day entertaining? (h/t Bluzdude)

Burgers, Dogs, Bacon, Cheese. The 4 Basic Food Groups. Covered

Mr. Ben-isan Goes To Tokyo

• Just for giggles, what do you think the caption says?
• Why didn't someone tell me there's scammers on the web? Seriously, check this out for some laughs. The Trophy Room is hilarious
• I wonder if the Ambassador has the new Eminem on his I-pod.

"F**k that, I'd rather turn this club into a bar room brawl.
Get as rowdy as Roethlisberger in a bathroom stall"

•  Pens and Canadiens in Round 2. F-Ovechkin. It says here he never gets his name on the Cup (nice photoshop)
• OBLIGATORY PIRATES NOTE AHEAD: The Buccos stretched their win streak to TWO yesterday. They beat the Brewers,1-0, in Milwaukee no less. And took 14 innings to do it. Just a note to those who say each game is just 1 game, that winning by one or losing by 20 aside, it's just 1 game: 9-12 (W/L) is not the same as 78-155. Take a look at those numbers... 78 Runs Scored, 155 Runs Against. Now, say you're in a fight. You punch the other guy in the face 9 times and he gets 12 shots in on you. Next day, same guy, you get in 78 to his 155. Still think the numbers are the same?
• How far wrong has an interview gone when "Is your Mom a prostitute?" seems like the next logical question?

"My job is to find out as much information as possible about a player that I'm considering drafting. Sometimes that leads to asking in-depth questions,"

WTF

UPDATE

The latest Big Ben news...

While I'm Thinking About It...

• First, obviously, Ben Roethlisberger: I am absolutely astounded at the number of people out there who were surprised that Big Ben got a suspension for his antics. Personally, I wouldn't have objected to a season off for the idiot. I also believe that any "stern talking to" he was going to receive was given after the alleged Nevada incident. (Side note- remember all the interviews, news conferences, denials, etc, after Lake Tahoe? Pretty silent this time, huh?)

I also think that a suspension, by the Steelers at least, became inevitable right after the "Don't make me
come over there" call came from Dublin.

And to the "it's just not fair, he wasn't convicted of anything" crowd- Nowhere in anything that I've read,
have I seen that the dumbass was suspended for rape, assault , or any other crime. He's not going to jail,
just getting some time off from work. Think about your job. I'm betting you could probably be suspended
for violating policy without being convicted, right? Also, how 'bout this simple exercise- take a couple of
minutes to read this, only substitute Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, or Peyton Manning wherever you read
Ben Roethlisberger. How do you feel about suspension now?

All of this is not to say he should or will be traded. Floating his name during Draft Week, I think hope was
just the final piece in "Message.Sent." Trading him just doesn't make good sense. I don't think that moral
high ground will mean much in December when the team needs an MIT professor to explain what needs
to happen to get a Wild Card berth.

......M-O-U-S-E!!

Ben-a-palooza????   OMFG!!!!

So, I'm a two-time, two-time, TWO-TIME Super Bowl winning quarterback. While I may not have more money than God, I have more money than I can possibly spend in five lifetimes. While it's commonly held that I'm a total jackass (their word, not mine) in public, as long as I'm the starting QB for da Pixburg Stillers I pretty much can do no wrong.

So, what do I do to celebrate my 28th birthday? I hook-up my whole crew gang 50's tv cast posse with matching t-shirts (dude, we da bomb, yo!), pile 'em all on to the palooza party liner bus, and road-trip it to Hazzard County. Yep- me, Big Cat, Ez, Coop-A-Loop and the rest of the fellas headin' down the road on a booze bus just like adults do and then........

And then, just when you think this whole story can't get any funnier (and by funnier I surely mean more pathetic) we get a look at this....

Ninja Ben Seven-san

Remember, for up to the minute news:   Sid the Kid= Sports Illustrated,   Big Ben= TMZ

                  

                  

Ben,Ben,Ben

With apologies to CSNY...

• From Macyapper 
• The PDF

Where have I read this before??????

Seriously, not to spend a lot of time on this:

• Guilty or innocent, at what point do you quit putting yourself in these situations? Face it, big guy, your an effing target. Perhaps a little more acting like a grown-up and a little less Girls-Gone-Wild. You're getting a little bit old for this dontcha think?
• Why do I get no comfort from hiring Ed Garland to defend? Apparently, a very good attorney, but with a client list that includes Ray Lewis, Jamal Lewis and PacMan Jones, just doesn't look good, knowwhatImean? Don't get me wrong, if Jim Ecker's not available you might as well go for Andy Griffith.
• At what point did Greensboro, Ga become a summer vacation spot? Mayberry must have been all booked up. 
• With March Madness coming up, it's the time of year when the little schools, that you don't usually hear about, get a shot at the national spotlight. But seriously.....Georgia College & State University?

Not to be critical.

(h/t PSAMP)

I've been wandering around in my mind, for the last week or so, trying to decide whether or not the obsession I'm feeling about Hizzoner Boy Mayor Where's Waldo?'s handling of our recent inclemency is worth all the headaches.

I mean, hell, I don't live or work in the city. I wasn't affected in any way by the antics and missteps of the Birthday Boy and his posse. Before the snow started to fall, I'd never heard of Curtis Mitchell. And, there's a loooong time to forget stuff before the next election. As I've said- as long as Lukey has "D-Norside" after his name, lemmings will be lemmings.

Then, I read this piece at Infinonymous and I think I'm starting to accept.......this city is screwed.

(Sensing a theme)

• Switzerland company offers young boys extra-small condom, the Hotshot
  

  A Switzerland-based company is manufacturing extra-small condoms for the 12- to 14-year-old set.

  WTF?
  
  

  The Hotshot measures 1.7 inches in diameter (as opposed to 2 inches found with regular ones), and 7.4 inches in length.

  Go ahead, get the jokes out of your system. We'll wait.
  
  

• (CA State)Senator Roy Ashburn arrested on DUI charges

 Sources told the CBS affiliate KOVR in Sacramento Ashburn was seen leaving Faces, a gay nightclub in midtown Sacramento.

According to Project Vote Smart, Ashburn's voting record shows he has voted against every gay rights measure in the State Senate since taking office including Recognizing Out-Of-State Same-Sex Marriages, Harvey Milk Day and Expanding Anti-Discrimination Laws.

Hypocrite douchebag.

• And from the "Karn Evil 9" file: Roethlisberger accused of sexual assault
 

It might be time for Benny to trade in the "7" for a bullseye. Twice in a year or so? Not a good pattern. "The show that never ends" indeed. 

Maybe it's just me.

What Would the Chief Say?

From PSAMP

"This is officially the most of Casey we've seen, even without the head and lower body. And I think it's safe to assume that this is more of our massive nose tackle than we've ever hoped to take in. A little too much hip/thigh/groin for me, even though very little of it is shown."

First "Raw"-thlisberger (or do you prefer De-"Ben"-eration X) is on 'rasslin, now this?

The Steeler organization in general, and the Rooney family in particular are clearly much brighter than I when it comes to the whole football business thing, but is this REEEAAAALLLY a good idea?

There are those that worried about the reaction to the WWE appearance after a loss to San Diego. Personally, I'm now worried about what happens should the Black and Gold lose to Detroit.

**************************************

In the pool this week:

Dall -8.5, SF -2.5, NE -3, Ind -4, Hou +5.5, Jax +.5

Just askin'-

1. Is anyone comfortable with da Stillers givin' more than 10 to anyone at this point? Even Detroit?

2. If da Raida-s are indeed 16 worse than the New York Football Giants, do you think they could beat the Pirates?

Steeler Football: Troubling, Just Troubling

Troubling, just troubling. Via PSAMP:

• From Mondesi's House: Yes, Ben Roethlisberger Will Host WWE RAW

And for extra theatrics, he will be flanked by his entire offensive line, which will be trying to successfully block someone for the first time this year.
And
One thing I know for sure: I don't even want to think about a world in which they lose to San Diego, hold a 1-3 record, and follow that with a scripted wrestling appearance by a half-dozen of their players. It may get uglier than the G-20 protests in Pittsburgh.
Scary thought, indeed.
I was going to jot something down, earlier this week, to this effect...
"blah, blah, blah... Though I don't necessarily agree with President Savior's policies and politics, I must thank him for one thing- since his arrival on the national political scene, not only has the Rev. Jesse Jackson all but become invisible, but the Rev. Al Sharpton is becoming more and more irrelevant. This seems to be borne out by Sharpton's hosting of WWE RAW. What could possibly better signify comic book irrelevance than hosting RAW blah, blah, blah...."
I had all the facts and figures and comebacks ready for the attacks from the "You Redneck, Racist, Right-Wing Bastard!" crowd, but now with the Roethlisberger announcement, do I tempt the wrath of Stiller Nation by using "Roethlisberger", "(truly)Offensive Line", and "comic book irrelevance" in the same sentence? Well, like they say, I may have been born during the day....., troubling, just troubling.

• Willie "Pink Shoes" Parker- Pink shoes for a good cause, to be sure, but the pink toe inside the shoe is troubling, just troubling. Welcome back, Carey Davis.
• Troy Polamalu- With all due respect, Troy is probably the best safety in the league, but, if missing one player can make as much of a difference to a defending Super Bowl Champion, as it appears Troy's has, methinks something else is afoot. Complacency, anyone? Troubling, just troubling.
• Casey Hampton nekkid- Hey ESPN The Magazine- WTF???? Troub,er, GROSS JUST GROSS.

****************************************
For the football pool last week- 5 WINS, 1 LOSS (55% for the season). I'm a genius I tell ya'. Hey Cleveland, you can't find a way to stay within 2 effin' touchdowns????? It's official- you do truly suck.
This week for all you smart bandwagon jumpers....
Hou -9.5, Tenn -3, Dal -3, NO -6.5, NYG -9, Ind -6.5
Come to poppa, golden goose.

(in the) Sacked?

• There's no way I can cover this any better than Macyapper. I don't generally agree with Mr. McIntire on many things, but he's spot on with this. First he's right on Cyril Wecht and now Big Ben? I may have some rethinking to do.
• For some really exciting reading, read the Civil Complaint (pdf) from the PG.
• I do think the Bens enjoyed a little romp in that room. I do think it was consensual. I do think Ms. Executive Casino Host lady is gonna get paid.
• I don't think this was a Bettis-like situation (after all, we're talkin Lake Tahoe, Nevada not LAYtrobe, Yinzervania.). I don't think Ben takes a hit in the eyes of Stiller Nation. I don't this lasts in the media past the day before training camp starts.

But, what do I know?