And with that, Jen's jersey is out of date

Matt Jones was cut by the Jaguars today

This means the M. Jones No. 18 jersey I bought for her years ago will be shipped off to Goodwill, I guess. After all, you can't wear a jersey of somebody who was cut by that team.

(Unless, of course, you're a Cowboys fan who bought a TO jersey. Those people should be forced to wear those jerseys 24/7, so the rest of us can point and laugh at them.)

Matt Jones to jail

Seems the former Razorback had a few beers while playing golf last Thursday. No big deal, right? I mean, the boys and I have done the same thing several times. Of course, we never did it while being in a Drug Court Program after being caught with cocaine.

So Jones will go to jail for a week.

Jones to jail

What I should have blogged about

Here are the top 5 things I should have been blogging about during my hiatus ...

5. Goofy things I find on the Internet

Like sweet-tea flavored vodka. Or the coyote who got on an airport light rail shuttle. 

4. The economy

And how newspapers are cratering around the nation. Every other industry is getting federal bailout funds, why not newspapers?

3. The Steelers

Another Super Bowl victory should have given me license for dozens of posts about the Black & Gold.

2. My grandmother

Her death was pretty traumatic for me. Not because it was unexpected, she'd been in poor health for years and years. Instead, it was because I'd gone so long without a death in my immediate family. My paternal grandfather died before I was born. My paternal grandmother died in 1992. Both maternal grandfathers (biological and step) are still alive. A couple of uncles died in the meantime, but it was nearly 17 years between deaths in my direct bloodline.

On top of that, my grandmother helped raise me. I spent a lot of time at her house when I was a kid. Summers and after school and every Sunday after church for more years than I can remember. She was a constant in my life.

I'm glad she held on until Paige was born. I'd have been heartbroken if she didn't get to see her great-granddaughter. 

1. Paige

OK, I know I said I don't want to become one of those parents who talk about their kid constantly. But, seriously, she's the No. 1 thing in my and Jen's life right now. Everything else fades into the background thanks to her.

We Are Everywhere

We've seen Terrible Towels at the Olympics in Beijing, so why not at Obama's Inauguration?

Nash, get to the newsstand again!

At this point, I'm worried about the SI cover jinx coming into play. Especially after that headline of "Who Can Stop The Steelers?"

Nash, hit the newstand ASAP

Why didn't I find these shirts sooner!?!

https://www.compressmerch.com/merch/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=46

Hooray Joe Barton

SB's boss makes headlines today

WASHINGTON - Taking aim at a BCS system he said "consistently misfires,'' a member of Congress planned to introduce legislation Wednesday that would force college football to adopt a playoff to determine the national champion.

Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, didn't specify what sort of playoff he wants — only that the BCS should go.

"In some years the sport's national championship winner was left unsettled, and at least one school was left out of the many millions of dollars in revenue that accompany the title,'' Barton said in a statement released ahead of the bill's introduction. "Despite repeated efforts to improve the system, the controversy rages on.''

He said the bill — being co-sponsored by Reps. Bobby Rush, an Illinois Democrat, and Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican — "will prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason game as a 'national championship' football game, unless it is the result of a playoff system. Violations of the prohibition will be treated as violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act as an unfair or deceptive act or practice.''

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28161939/

Steelers 20, Cowboys 13

Deshea Townsend scores the game-winning TD against the Cowboys ... sending Scott and Nash into delirium and making Brownie and Steve C. curse in disgust, realize the inferiority of their favorite NFL team and acknowledge the superiority of the Black & Gold.

Sunday's biggest hit

Wes Welker, meet Ryan Clark of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

This one's for Brownie

Drinking the Dallas Cowby Kool-Aid ...

Further proof of the best fans in the NFL

"It was one of the pointers of the game, like, 'Damn, are we giving away free towels tonight or something?' " Thomas said. "It was something we discussed on the sidelines....For a [rival] team like that to be able to get a hold of tickets? I mean, how can you do that?"

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2008/11/redskins_on_the_fan_turnout_di.html

Sacked by the Market

OK, this left an empty feeling in my stomach ...

An adviser says Dan and Art Rooney are making progress. But even if they do manage to cobble together a deal, hurdles remain. Three-quarters of the league’s 32 teams would have to approve a transaction. While every owner admires the Rooneys, not every one is likely to back a highly leveraged sale of a Rust Belt franchise in the teeth of a recession in advance of an expected labor showdown in 2011.

So the Steelers and the league are left attempting, in the words of one lawyer involved, “a high-wire act in an alternative universe.” There are the N.F.L.’s rules. There’s the economy. There’s the powerful history. And there’s the family itself. The five Rooney brothers have 29 children to account for, not to mention an identity wrapped up in the franchise. For proof, try lifting “Ruanaidh” (Gaelic for Rooney), a family memoir that Art Jr. self-published earlier this year. The book runs 483 pages, or some 400,000 words.

“Your emotions are, You never want to get out of the Steelers,” Art Jr. told me a few weeks after the September conference call. “But you know the facts. The grim reaper is right down the street.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/sports/playmagazine/112colbiz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=sports&pagewanted=all

Ah, geez, don't get my hopes up

On Thursday, an ESPN.com writer who covers the AFC North has picked Pittsburgh to make the Super Bowl this season ...

Big Ben-led Steelers won't be stopped in weakened AFC

Don't they know I'll have a newborn in the house by then? I can't be yelling and screaming during a Super Bowl this year!

I heart Hines Ward

Once again, Steelers > Cowboys

Once again, the mighty Steelers have bested the dirty, loathsome Cowboys. This time, it's in Sports Illustrated's stadium rankings. Pittsburgh's Heinz Field was rated second-best in the NFL, behind Green Bay's Lambeau Field.

Oh, what's that Cowboys fans? You say the Cowboys will move to No. 1 when when that affront to good taste that Jerry Jones is building opens next season? Not so fast.

According to the survey, Cowboys fans themselves said Dallas fans aren't that smart when it comes to football. A whopping 6.8 percent said their fellow Dallas fans had "Poor" or "Below Average" football IQs. That's compared to just 3.9 percent of Steelers fans.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/specials/fansurvey/2008/index.html?bcnn=yes

Things I think I think (CFB version)

1. Do you ever think Tim Tebow's older siblings just get sick and tired of him? I mean, they've got to right? It's just natural. Especially when they see signs like this ...



2. Speaking of Tebow, if everybody in the stadium and watching at home knows he's going to run a shotgun sneak to the right side of the line, then Houston Nutt can probably cipher it out as well. Urban Meyer = fail on that play call.

3. While Ole Miss fans are probably still celebrating, they fail to realize this is Classic Nutt. His teams always manage to beat a team it shouldn't, but also lose to a team it shouldn't. We've seen this with OM already. Lost to Vandy, but beat Florida. (And you can point to Vandy's record all you want, but it's still Vandy.)

4. Forget the AP, USA Today or any other poll you see. The best CFB poll comes to us via SportsJournalists.com ... click here . If nothing else, it's the funniest to read each week.

5. Georgia's shellacking at the hands of Alabama should put an end to all the ridiculous (Insert random color here)outs. If you have to schedule a whiteout, blackout or redout to get your team and fans excited, something is fundamentally wrong with both. This rule would not apply to something truly original, like if Cal-Berkeley scheduled a tiedyeout or a rural school had a camouflageout. Those would be awesome.

Magic 8 Ball Prediction
Will Arkansas cover the spread (currently 24.5) against Florida this Saturday?

(Views expressed by the Magic 8 Ball do not necessarily reflect the views of this blog, the blog owner nor this post's author. Advice from the Magic 8 Ball is for entertainment purposes only and not for actual wagering.)

Bonus Drink of the Week — With an 11:30 a.m. kick in Fayetteville following two skullcrushings, I'm sure some Arkansas fans are worried the "atmosphere" for this Saturday. As we all know, "atmosphere" is code for "number of rowdy drunks in the stands." Not to worry, we're here to help. Get a red plastic cup, fill it with ice. Pour DeKuyper Peach Tree Schnapps over the ice until the cup is half full. Top with Sunny D. Drink. Repeat until you feel atmospheric.

Can I get this on a shirt?

I might need to order this

Found this logo at an online tee shirt shop ...

We Are Everywhere II

No matter which party wins the November election, a Steelers fan will be VP.

That's right, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin both share a rooting interest in the mighty Pittsburgh Steelers.

Palin ...

She relishes moose burgers because "they taste better than beef with no chemicals, steroids or hormones." She adopted the Pittsburgh Steelers because of the team's success in the 1970s and because there are no major professional teams in her state.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/columnists/vassilaros/s_517252.html

Biden ...

On Friday night, when Obama and Biden met Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, Biden recounted how "Old Mr. Rooney" -- Steelers owner Dan Rooney -- dispatched some players from his championship team to the hospital room in Wilmington where Biden's two toddler sons, Beau and Hunter, were recovering from the accident. They brought the boys an autographed football as a Christmas present.

"And I have been a Steelers fan since that day," Biden told Tomlin.

"Not much has changed," Tomlin responded.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/31/AR2008083101954_2.html?referrer=emailarticle

Who says there isn't common ground between the two parties!?!