The Steelers placed seven players and coach Chuck Noll on the NFL's Super Bowl 50 Golden Team, and that seems about right.
The timeframe was the 50 years of the Super Bowl era, and the voting was done by the Hall of Fame selectors.
Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert and Mel Blount were the defensive choices. Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and Mike Webster represented the offense.
That makes sense, too. There are players from the defensive line, linebackers and secondary, along with a running back, receiver and lineman. Just about every position group is represented, and that reflects the Steelers' dominance in the 1970s.
Although there are people in these parts who think that run of four championships in six seasons happened the day before yesterday, it was a long time ago. It's a much different game.
Defensive backs aren't allow to engage receivers five yards beyond the line of scrimmage. No pass rusher specializes in the head slap that made Deacon Jones so fearsome.
Most teams now pass first, then run as an afterthought. Quarterbacks don't have to call plays, they just have to listen to the radio signals from the sideline.
Noll had six assistants covering football matters in the first Super Bowl season, three for offense and three for defense. (There were also coaches for weight training and flexibility). Last season Mike Tomlin had 14 assistants.
Ben Roethlisberger is bigger than most of the linemen who blocked for Terry Bradshaw and Harris in 1974.
So gimmicks like this all-time exist mostly to create conversation and keep the focus on the NFL in the slow week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. From the league's point of view, this is a better topic than concussions or whatever pharmaceuticals the FedEx driver may have delivered to Peyton Manning's door.
And even though it's an impossible task, given the amount of time covered, the voters did a pretty good job.
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--STAYING PUT
Seven NFL teams hired new head coaches, and Bill Cowher wasn't linked to any of the vacancies.
Maybe people will now believe it's unlikely Cowher will coach again.
When he left the Steelers nine years ago, there was a presumption that he was either chasing a bigger contract or just taking a year's sabbatical.
Instead, he's built a new life for himself. Cowher makes more than $1 million a year for his work at CBS. The high profile keeps him viable for commercials and other ancillary work.
He's remarried and now lives on Manhattan's Upper East Side with his wife, who is a musician and fashion designer.
Cowher turns 59 this year. He's a grandfather. Steelers spies report that he had grown weary of the long hours associated with coaching and was happy to delegate responsibility in his last years.
He has a solid income, a happy life and maybe this is the best thing: Since he handed in his resignation to the Steelers in January, 2007, he hasn't had to explain any losses.
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--ON THE MARKET?
The Pirates could face an interesting free agent situation after this season.
Pitching coach Ray Searage's contract expires when the season ends. If Searage wants to shop around, he'll probably find multiple offers for his services. Everyone in baseball has noticed that a part of the Pirates' success over the last three years has come from getting more than expected out of retread pitchers who nobody else wanted.
Searage's partner in magic, Jim Benedict, left the organization last year for a job with the Miami Marlins.
Could there be greener grass somewhere for Searage, too?
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