Whoops! Sorry about that.
That's the sort of thing you might say when you accidentally bump someone's cart while you're checking the price of the Ritz crackers in the supermarket.
No harm, no big deal.
Those words don't seem adequate when the stakes are higher.
No doubt the people of New Orleans and fans of the Saints understand how that works.
They got an apology from the NFL over a blown call that may well have cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Rams are representing the NFC instead, thanks to a non-call on a play that should have drawn two penalty flags.
You've probably seen the replay. The Saints' had the ball on a third down and receiver Tommylee Lewis was in position to make a catch that would continue the possession. But he was blasted by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman and never had a chance to get the ball.
It was blatant pass interference and should have been a first down. On top of that, it was also a helmet-to-helmet hit that should have drawn a flag.
Neither penalty was called. There was no second chance with replay because it was not a play that qualified for a review.
Whoops! Sorry about that.
So the game ended with the Rams celebrating and the Saints grumbling.
No one play ever decides a game. There were probably calls that went in the Saints' favor. New Orleans had plenty of opportunities, given that the score was 20-20 at the time and the Saints were playing on their home turf.
It didn't happen, though. The reaction was predictable. If the Steelers had been on the receiving end of a bad call, it would live on for generations.
When it's someone else's team, it's much easier to be rational.
It would be interesting to see what kind of ratings the Super Bowl draws in the New Orleans market. There will undoubtedly be Saints fans who refuse to watch. Others probably can't bring themselves to watch the Rams.
There's an obscure rule on the books that gives the NFL commissioner authority to pick up the game at the spot of the disputed call and order a new completion.
That was never going to happen. It seems like the policy was written in to guard against a possible fixed game. Do-overs are for "Dancing With The Stars," not the NFC Championship Game.
This one wasn't fixed. It was just officiated with a lack of competence, as so many were this season.
So what can you do? Shrug and apologize?
Does Hallmark have a card that says, "Whoops! Sorry about that?"
---
The 50th anniversary of Joe Greene's being drafted by the Steelers was earlier this week.
That was the first step in changing everything. In addition to being a monster on the field, Greene set a tone that let everyone know losing wasn't OK any more.
That wouldn't have mattered if the front office didn't follow up with five more years of incredible drafting success. Greene was soon surrounded by superior talent, and the Steelers of that era practically have their own wing at the Hall of Fame.
That all started with the guy Chuck Noll described as, "a fort on foot."
---
Just about every workplace has some sort of Super Bowl wagering pool.
Wonder how many people will stop at their local casino this year and make an official bet on the outcome?
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 23, 2019
If you can pardon the mixed metaphor, the NFL hit it out of the park with Conference Championship weekend.
In other words, it was a real slam dunk.
In other words, it was a real slam dunk.
The games were fabulous, the drama was compelling, the
outcomes were in doubt until overtime, and there was even some
controversy to carry over into the new week.
It’s the New England Patriots, perfect villains, in the
Super Bowl again, cast against the upstart Los Angeles Rams. It’s senior
quarterback Tom Brady against trainee Jared Goff. East coast vs. west.
Cranky old Bill Belichick vs. ebullient young Sean McVay.
The controversy came when officials missed a blatant pass
interference penalty that could have affected the outcome of the game.
Saints fans will be a long time getting over this. It’s spurred debate
about the quality of officiating (these are “all-star” crews in the postseason) and exposed the flaws in a replay system that is supposed to correct the worst mistakes.
It may not shine a positive light on the league, but it has
people talking about football in the blah week with nothing but the
useless Pro Bowl. As long as they’re talking about you, that has to be
good, right? Or have we all been corrupted by Antonio Brown?
Some other scattered thoughts from the weekend:
* Tony Romo is drawing much praise for his work as a CBS analyst. It’s well deserved.
Romo is smart, well-prepared and enthusiastic. He’s also
only two years removed from the field, so he’s up to speed on the
current personnel and trends.
* The Patriots didn’t have a great regular season by their
standards, but they know how to gear up when it matters. Their
consistent success in the salary cap era is amazing.
* Of course, the regular season is a formality for the
Patriots because they play in a weak division. Then again, the Steelers
weren’t exactly in a powerful AFC North this season, and look what
happened.
* Poor Andy Reid. What is it about the postseason that makes
him look so bad. It wasn’t his fault that a player lined up in the
neutral zone, but that mindless gaffe contributes to Reid’s lousy
postseason record.
* Wonder how St. Louis, the city the Rams abandoned, feels about seeing them in the Super Bowl?
* A 57-yard field goal to win a conference title in overtime
on the road? That’s clutch. Or maybe it seems extra impressive after
watching Chris Boswell miss so many “routine” extra points.
---
The report that the Pirates were willing to trade Starling
Marte to the Dodgers has been discredited. It didn’t make sense from the
start, unless the Pirates were going to acquire someone to play center
field this season. With Austin Meadows gone, there is no logical
in-house replacement.
---
There was debate about whether Pitt fans should storm the court with an upset of No. 2 Duke.
Last year the issue was storming the exits at halftime.
John Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com
Thursday, January 24, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 20, 2019
Art Rooney II spent a good part of last week evading questions about the suddenly tumultuous Steelers.
He's his father's son, so he comes by that skill naturally. It was further sharpened when he studied law and learned that expansive candor is rarely a conduit to anything good.
So he spoke in the most vague terms about a team that needs to have a big off-season after a lousy end to the real season.
The Steelers have more holes than they have draft picks. They've known for a while that they need help at linebacker (both inside and outside) and cornerback.
But thanks to Le'Veon Bell's season-long holdout and Antonio Brown's bizarre late-season mutiny, they've also sprung significant leaks on offense.
They need a running back to complement James Conner. They need a legitimate receiving threat so that defenses can't just load up against JuJu Smith-Schuster and dare James Washington and Eli Rogers to make plays.
Some depth on the offensive line would help, too, as free agent issues loom.
The Steelers generally don't shop the free agent market, but they may not have a choice this time. The AFC North is changing. Baltimore won the division by a half game, and the Cleveland Browns (yes, the Cleveland Browns) may no longer be the punching bag they've been for more than a decade.
Now is the time for Rooney to sit down with Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert and demand more substantial answers than the ones he was giving the media last week.
---
No doubt you'll hear discussions about Tom Brady's legacy during today's AFC Championship game.
Here's his legacy: He made enough money to fill two warehouses and he married a super model.
It's been a wonderful life and will remain so, no matter whether the New England Patriots win today or not.
---
Bob Costas wrapped up more than 40 years at NBC last week with negotiations that ended his last contract with the network.
He and NBC, once synonymous, are no longer much of a fit. NBC doesn't have baseball. It does have the NFL, but Costas has distanced himself from the league as the long-term health risks of pro football have become known.
He no longer wants the massive workload of hosting the Olympics coverage. So it's a clean break by mutual consent, which doesn't often happen in the broadcasting business.
With the help of some hair coloring, Costas may still look like an intern, but he's actually due to turn 67 in March.
---
This comes to mind as the Antonio Brown circus continues to unfold:
Sidney Crosby first arrived in Pittsburgh as an 18-year old in 2005. In all the time he's been here, he's yet to have one public misstep or done anything to embarrass himself or his team.
Like Brown, Crosby was handed a pile of money and plenty of attention at a young age. Unlike Brown, he's been able to manage things in a responsible manner.
He's never been accused of throwing furniture off a balcony or driving at more 100 miles per hour down a busy highway during the day, and he's never skipped a practice or meeting because he just didn't feel like going.
It's not just a hockey vs. football thing, either. A long time ago, young Pierre Larouche was such a handful for the Penguins that he ultimately forced them to give him away in a trade.
Pretty amazing, eh?
---
TV weather people have the ability to frighten us in a way that "Chiller Theater" never could.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehno@gmail.com)
He's his father's son, so he comes by that skill naturally. It was further sharpened when he studied law and learned that expansive candor is rarely a conduit to anything good.
So he spoke in the most vague terms about a team that needs to have a big off-season after a lousy end to the real season.
The Steelers have more holes than they have draft picks. They've known for a while that they need help at linebacker (both inside and outside) and cornerback.
But thanks to Le'Veon Bell's season-long holdout and Antonio Brown's bizarre late-season mutiny, they've also sprung significant leaks on offense.
They need a running back to complement James Conner. They need a legitimate receiving threat so that defenses can't just load up against JuJu Smith-Schuster and dare James Washington and Eli Rogers to make plays.
Some depth on the offensive line would help, too, as free agent issues loom.
The Steelers generally don't shop the free agent market, but they may not have a choice this time. The AFC North is changing. Baltimore won the division by a half game, and the Cleveland Browns (yes, the Cleveland Browns) may no longer be the punching bag they've been for more than a decade.
Now is the time for Rooney to sit down with Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert and demand more substantial answers than the ones he was giving the media last week.
---
No doubt you'll hear discussions about Tom Brady's legacy during today's AFC Championship game.
Here's his legacy: He made enough money to fill two warehouses and he married a super model.
It's been a wonderful life and will remain so, no matter whether the New England Patriots win today or not.
---
Bob Costas wrapped up more than 40 years at NBC last week with negotiations that ended his last contract with the network.
He and NBC, once synonymous, are no longer much of a fit. NBC doesn't have baseball. It does have the NFL, but Costas has distanced himself from the league as the long-term health risks of pro football have become known.
He no longer wants the massive workload of hosting the Olympics coverage. So it's a clean break by mutual consent, which doesn't often happen in the broadcasting business.
With the help of some hair coloring, Costas may still look like an intern, but he's actually due to turn 67 in March.
---
This comes to mind as the Antonio Brown circus continues to unfold:
Sidney Crosby first arrived in Pittsburgh as an 18-year old in 2005. In all the time he's been here, he's yet to have one public misstep or done anything to embarrass himself or his team.
Like Brown, Crosby was handed a pile of money and plenty of attention at a young age. Unlike Brown, he's been able to manage things in a responsible manner.
He's never been accused of throwing furniture off a balcony or driving at more 100 miles per hour down a busy highway during the day, and he's never skipped a practice or meeting because he just didn't feel like going.
It's not just a hockey vs. football thing, either. A long time ago, young Pierre Larouche was such a handful for the Penguins that he ultimately forced them to give him away in a trade.
Pretty amazing, eh?
---
TV weather people have the ability to frighten us in a way that "Chiller Theater" never could.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehno@gmail.com)
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 16, 2019
Steve Blass didn't get to end his pitching career on his own terms.
He will get that privilege in closing out his broadcasting career, though.
Blass announced Tuesday morning that his 34th season in the Pirates' booth will be his last. He will continue to be associated with the Pirates as a goodwill ambassador and through the team's alumni association.
Blass, 76, has been gearing slowly toward retirement. He has been working a schedule limited to home games since 2004, and he has been spending most of the winter in Florida for about a decade.
Blass first signed with the Pirates out of high school in 1960. That was before the draft. The Pittsburgh organization has been the only one he's ever known.
His loyalty has been unquestioned. Although he generally avoids conflict, he cornered a writer in the press box last summer and took him to task over what Blass felt was inadequate Pirates coverage by the writer's newspaper.
People who know Blass only as the guy who tells funny stories about the good old days may not realize how good a pitcher he was. Because of his self-deprecating style, they may not realize he was a staff leader on championship teams.
He pitched two complete game victories in the 1971 World Series -- the tide-turning third game and the deciding seventh game.
He was even better in 1972, winning 19 games, making the All-Star team and leaving the deciding game of the playoffs with the lead.
The bullpen lost that game, and nobody realized it was the start of a calamitous time for the Pirates.
Roberto Clemente died in a New Year's Eve plane crash. Blass struggled through the opener in 1973, although it didn't set off any alarms. That would change quickly enough.
Blass, whose calling card was pinpoint control, suddenly couldn't throw strikes. Worse, he didn't know why that skill had abruptly deserted him. There was no injury issue. He put in extra work. He studied films. He saw a psychologist. Nothing helped.
He worried that he'd injure someone with an errant pitch. He admitted there were nights when he'd sit in his back yard with a drink and wonder "why me" as tears streamed down his face. The season was a disaster. The next season wasn't any better. Blass pitched in one April game, walked seven in five innings and went to the minor leagues by mutual agreement.
The Pirates brought him back in September, but he didn't pitch. He sat on the floor of the clubhouse and wistfully watched his teammates celebrate the divisional title they'd won without him.
He gave it one last shot in spring training of 1975. That failed, and he announced his retirement from baseball weeks short of his 33rd birthday. Ballplayers didn't have million dollar salaries then, so he got a job selling class rings to high schools. The hero of the 1971 World Series was setting the alarm for 5 a.m. to make a sales call in Oil City.
Blass drifted back to baseball in 1983 when the Pirates started doing cable games on a limited basis. He worked with Bob Prince, who was then well past his prime.
Eventually Blass was added to the regular broadcast team, and that's the job from which he retired on a frosty Tuesday morning. The announcement came at the third ballpark he's known in his time with the Pirates.
Not counting spring training, he has 81 games left to tell how Billy Williams and Willie McCovey used to murder his pitches, and what a luxury it was to find a carpeted clubhouse at Three Rivers and reminisce about Clemente.
"My career record is 74-2," Blass said. "I'm 76 years old and I had 74 good years and two really bad ones. I'll take 74-2."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
He will get that privilege in closing out his broadcasting career, though.
Blass announced Tuesday morning that his 34th season in the Pirates' booth will be his last. He will continue to be associated with the Pirates as a goodwill ambassador and through the team's alumni association.
Blass, 76, has been gearing slowly toward retirement. He has been working a schedule limited to home games since 2004, and he has been spending most of the winter in Florida for about a decade.
Blass first signed with the Pirates out of high school in 1960. That was before the draft. The Pittsburgh organization has been the only one he's ever known.
His loyalty has been unquestioned. Although he generally avoids conflict, he cornered a writer in the press box last summer and took him to task over what Blass felt was inadequate Pirates coverage by the writer's newspaper.
People who know Blass only as the guy who tells funny stories about the good old days may not realize how good a pitcher he was. Because of his self-deprecating style, they may not realize he was a staff leader on championship teams.
He pitched two complete game victories in the 1971 World Series -- the tide-turning third game and the deciding seventh game.
He was even better in 1972, winning 19 games, making the All-Star team and leaving the deciding game of the playoffs with the lead.
The bullpen lost that game, and nobody realized it was the start of a calamitous time for the Pirates.
Roberto Clemente died in a New Year's Eve plane crash. Blass struggled through the opener in 1973, although it didn't set off any alarms. That would change quickly enough.
Blass, whose calling card was pinpoint control, suddenly couldn't throw strikes. Worse, he didn't know why that skill had abruptly deserted him. There was no injury issue. He put in extra work. He studied films. He saw a psychologist. Nothing helped.
He worried that he'd injure someone with an errant pitch. He admitted there were nights when he'd sit in his back yard with a drink and wonder "why me" as tears streamed down his face. The season was a disaster. The next season wasn't any better. Blass pitched in one April game, walked seven in five innings and went to the minor leagues by mutual agreement.
The Pirates brought him back in September, but he didn't pitch. He sat on the floor of the clubhouse and wistfully watched his teammates celebrate the divisional title they'd won without him.
He gave it one last shot in spring training of 1975. That failed, and he announced his retirement from baseball weeks short of his 33rd birthday. Ballplayers didn't have million dollar salaries then, so he got a job selling class rings to high schools. The hero of the 1971 World Series was setting the alarm for 5 a.m. to make a sales call in Oil City.
Blass drifted back to baseball in 1983 when the Pirates started doing cable games on a limited basis. He worked with Bob Prince, who was then well past his prime.
Eventually Blass was added to the regular broadcast team, and that's the job from which he retired on a frosty Tuesday morning. The announcement came at the third ballpark he's known in his time with the Pirates.
Not counting spring training, he has 81 games left to tell how Billy Williams and Willie McCovey used to murder his pitches, and what a luxury it was to find a carpeted clubhouse at Three Rivers and reminisce about Clemente.
"My career record is 74-2," Blass said. "I'm 76 years old and I had 74 good years and two really bad ones. I'll take 74-2."
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, January 13, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 13, 2019
Ben Roethlisberger's weekly radio show is on an FM station, but it's still generating static.
Roethlisberger makes himself available for an exclusive interview on KDKA-FM (93.7 The Fan) every Tuesday during the regular season. The session lasts about 15 or 20 minutes.
(The Roethlisberger shows are archived at 937thefan.com).
It's become enough of a news source that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assigns a staffer to monitor the Roethlisberger show and immediately post a summary on the paper's website.
The quarterback almost always does the show by phone, often while he's driving to other errands. Because of that, he's admitted sometimes he forgets he's on the air. It seems like a regular conversation.
That can be good for listeners because Roethlisberger lets his guard down, at least a little. His show runs less than an hour before coach Mike Tomlin holds his weekly briefing in the media room at the Steelers' compound.
Sometimes Tomlin is asked about things Roethlisberger has said, much to the chagrin of the coach. One week Tomlin was frustrated enough to announce he didn't intend to address things Roethlisberger had discussed on his radio show.
It's not like Roethlisberger drops state secrets every week, but he is sometimes candid enough to make the show worth checking.
It's a win for the station, which charges advertisers a premium to be involved. It's also a secret delight in the hallways there because this slice of prime ancillary Steelers programming is not on the station that pays for the game broadcast rights.
Roethlisberger donates his fee to charity, so that's good.
Is it good for the Steelers, though? Tomlin is clearly annoyed with his quarterback's sidelight job. Last week longtime NFL media insider Peter King suggested the Steelers ask Roethlisberger to drop the show.
A few weeks ago, Roethlisberger used his radio platform to castigate rookie receiver James Washington. Roethlisberger said the message was the same one he's delivered in person to Washington, but it's different when that criticism is literally broadcast.
As the Steelers try to get control of the team's culture, will management ask Roethlisberger to retire from broadcasting? They don't have much leverage. Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks call their own shots.
The Green Bay Packers just fired a Super Bowl-winning coach because quarterback Aaron Rodgers was fed up with him.
But maybe the Steelers can put the request this way: Look, we've traded Antonio Brown to try and regain some semblance of sanity. Can you dump the radio show?
Putting it that way might work. Besides, if Roethlisberger feels a need to deliver a message, there's always social media.
---
When NFL TV ratings were down at the start of last season, there was an abundance of theories about what went wrong.
Turns out most of them were wrong. Last week's wild-card playoff round did record-setting business in the ratings. With part of the country socked in by snow, this week also figures to be huge.
The formula isn't complicated: Keep the stars on the field, score lots of points and have competitive games. It's still the favorite TV show for a lot of people.
---
In a league fascinated by young head coaches, it was a surprise to see 66-year-old Bruce Arians hired in Tampa Bay.
It was an even bigger surprise to see Arians, the former Steelers assistant, give up a comfortable seat in the CBS broadcast booth after just one season.
Then again, Arians' outsized personality and sense of humor didn't seem to translate well to TV.
---
Just when you think nobody wastes money on bad contracts the way sports teams do, you read that NBC is paying failed talk show host Megyn Kelly $69 million to go away.
---
Antonio Brown has identified Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson as one of his mentors. That may explain a lot.
---
(Birthday boy John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Roethlisberger makes himself available for an exclusive interview on KDKA-FM (93.7 The Fan) every Tuesday during the regular season. The session lasts about 15 or 20 minutes.
(The Roethlisberger shows are archived at 937thefan.com).
It's become enough of a news source that the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette assigns a staffer to monitor the Roethlisberger show and immediately post a summary on the paper's website.
The quarterback almost always does the show by phone, often while he's driving to other errands. Because of that, he's admitted sometimes he forgets he's on the air. It seems like a regular conversation.
That can be good for listeners because Roethlisberger lets his guard down, at least a little. His show runs less than an hour before coach Mike Tomlin holds his weekly briefing in the media room at the Steelers' compound.
Sometimes Tomlin is asked about things Roethlisberger has said, much to the chagrin of the coach. One week Tomlin was frustrated enough to announce he didn't intend to address things Roethlisberger had discussed on his radio show.
It's not like Roethlisberger drops state secrets every week, but he is sometimes candid enough to make the show worth checking.
It's a win for the station, which charges advertisers a premium to be involved. It's also a secret delight in the hallways there because this slice of prime ancillary Steelers programming is not on the station that pays for the game broadcast rights.
Roethlisberger donates his fee to charity, so that's good.
Is it good for the Steelers, though? Tomlin is clearly annoyed with his quarterback's sidelight job. Last week longtime NFL media insider Peter King suggested the Steelers ask Roethlisberger to drop the show.
A few weeks ago, Roethlisberger used his radio platform to castigate rookie receiver James Washington. Roethlisberger said the message was the same one he's delivered in person to Washington, but it's different when that criticism is literally broadcast.
As the Steelers try to get control of the team's culture, will management ask Roethlisberger to retire from broadcasting? They don't have much leverage. Hall of Fame-caliber quarterbacks call their own shots.
The Green Bay Packers just fired a Super Bowl-winning coach because quarterback Aaron Rodgers was fed up with him.
But maybe the Steelers can put the request this way: Look, we've traded Antonio Brown to try and regain some semblance of sanity. Can you dump the radio show?
Putting it that way might work. Besides, if Roethlisberger feels a need to deliver a message, there's always social media.
---
When NFL TV ratings were down at the start of last season, there was an abundance of theories about what went wrong.
Turns out most of them were wrong. Last week's wild-card playoff round did record-setting business in the ratings. With part of the country socked in by snow, this week also figures to be huge.
The formula isn't complicated: Keep the stars on the field, score lots of points and have competitive games. It's still the favorite TV show for a lot of people.
---
In a league fascinated by young head coaches, it was a surprise to see 66-year-old Bruce Arians hired in Tampa Bay.
It was an even bigger surprise to see Arians, the former Steelers assistant, give up a comfortable seat in the CBS broadcast booth after just one season.
Then again, Arians' outsized personality and sense of humor didn't seem to translate well to TV.
---
Just when you think nobody wastes money on bad contracts the way sports teams do, you read that NBC is paying failed talk show host Megyn Kelly $69 million to go away.
---
Antonio Brown has identified Chad (Ochocinco) Johnson as one of his mentors. That may explain a lot.
---
(Birthday boy John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Friday, January 11, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 9, 2019
Are you sick of the whole Antonio Brown story?
Have you OD 'd on AB?
Too bad, because it doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon.
The new NFL "year" doesn't start for another nine weeks, so it's not possible to trade him. Since a trade is still the most likely course of action, that means there probably won't be a resolution to this for a while.
So sit tight and get used to the idea that you'll probably still be hearing (and reading) about this story for a while.
---
The Steelers were absent, but it was an interesting weekend of NFL action nonetheless.
Can you imagine being a Chicago Bears fan and watching your postseason double doink off the goal posts? Kicker Cody Parkey banged a potential game-winning 43-yard field goal attempt off the upright and then off the cross bar. And even after all that adventure, it still had a chance of falling through the right way.
What's amazing is Parkey hit the upright six times during the regular season. When you're watching games this weekend. take a look at the goalposts. Note how narrow the uprights are. Then look at the space between them, which is wide enough to let a Subaru through.
A really skilled kicker probably couldn't hit an upright four times if he tried. Parkey did it by accident.
None of that is any consolation to Parkey. Some Bears followers rewarded him by sending in death threats. That says something about the undue importance we put on sports.
--Meanwhile in the booth, CBS analyst Tony Romo ruffled some feathers by using a mildly bad word to express that one of the players was "miffed." It didn't belong on the broadcast, but in the dictionary of locker room language, this one barely registered.
Romo probably got away with just getting a reminder from network headquarters.
--Sometimes timing is everything. The 2005 Steelers were having a so-so season until they caught fire in December and rolled all the way to the franchise's fifth Super Bowl trophy.
Is Indianapolis on the same kind of course? The Colts looked good in winning at Houston, continuing the stretch that closed the regular season.
The Colts started the season 1-5, then ended 10-6 with a playoff spot. They've been boosted by the return of quarterback Andrew Luck, and they look solid on both sides of the ball.
They have a big task this week playing at Kansas City, but they knocked off Houston and Dallas in December.
--The Baltimore Ravens are done, but they threw a scare into the Los Angeles Chargers before they left.
Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens are finished with quarterback Joe Flacco and will switch to Lamar Jackson.
That will mean a whole new offense for the Ravens, and present a new challenge for the Steelers.
Depending on what the Cincinnati Bengals decide to do post-Marvin Lewis, the AFC North could have three teams pointing up at a time when the Steelers are looking to replace Le'Veon Bell and Brown from their offense.
--This is the last great football weekend of the season with four games. Enjoy it.
---
Nice move by the Pirates to add Jeff Banister to the front office staff.
A lot of people think Banister will be the heir apparent to Clint Hurdle, but that's not necessarily so. Bob Skinner joined the Pirates' coaching staff in 1974, and everyone figured he was brought on board to eventually replace Danny Murtaugh.
It's 2019 and Skinner, now 87, still hasn't managed the Pirates.
Another good baseball mind can always help, and that's what Banister will bring to an organization he's already served for 29 years.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Have you OD 'd on AB?
Too bad, because it doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon.
The new NFL "year" doesn't start for another nine weeks, so it's not possible to trade him. Since a trade is still the most likely course of action, that means there probably won't be a resolution to this for a while.
So sit tight and get used to the idea that you'll probably still be hearing (and reading) about this story for a while.
---
The Steelers were absent, but it was an interesting weekend of NFL action nonetheless.
Can you imagine being a Chicago Bears fan and watching your postseason double doink off the goal posts? Kicker Cody Parkey banged a potential game-winning 43-yard field goal attempt off the upright and then off the cross bar. And even after all that adventure, it still had a chance of falling through the right way.
What's amazing is Parkey hit the upright six times during the regular season. When you're watching games this weekend. take a look at the goalposts. Note how narrow the uprights are. Then look at the space between them, which is wide enough to let a Subaru through.
A really skilled kicker probably couldn't hit an upright four times if he tried. Parkey did it by accident.
None of that is any consolation to Parkey. Some Bears followers rewarded him by sending in death threats. That says something about the undue importance we put on sports.
--Meanwhile in the booth, CBS analyst Tony Romo ruffled some feathers by using a mildly bad word to express that one of the players was "miffed." It didn't belong on the broadcast, but in the dictionary of locker room language, this one barely registered.
Romo probably got away with just getting a reminder from network headquarters.
--Sometimes timing is everything. The 2005 Steelers were having a so-so season until they caught fire in December and rolled all the way to the franchise's fifth Super Bowl trophy.
Is Indianapolis on the same kind of course? The Colts looked good in winning at Houston, continuing the stretch that closed the regular season.
The Colts started the season 1-5, then ended 10-6 with a playoff spot. They've been boosted by the return of quarterback Andrew Luck, and they look solid on both sides of the ball.
They have a big task this week playing at Kansas City, but they knocked off Houston and Dallas in December.
--The Baltimore Ravens are done, but they threw a scare into the Los Angeles Chargers before they left.
Coach John Harbaugh said the Ravens are finished with quarterback Joe Flacco and will switch to Lamar Jackson.
That will mean a whole new offense for the Ravens, and present a new challenge for the Steelers.
Depending on what the Cincinnati Bengals decide to do post-Marvin Lewis, the AFC North could have three teams pointing up at a time when the Steelers are looking to replace Le'Veon Bell and Brown from their offense.
--This is the last great football weekend of the season with four games. Enjoy it.
---
Nice move by the Pirates to add Jeff Banister to the front office staff.
A lot of people think Banister will be the heir apparent to Clint Hurdle, but that's not necessarily so. Bob Skinner joined the Pirates' coaching staff in 1974, and everyone figured he was brought on board to eventually replace Danny Murtaugh.
It's 2019 and Skinner, now 87, still hasn't managed the Pirates.
Another good baseball mind can always help, and that's what Banister will bring to an organization he's already served for 29 years.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 6, 2019
It has now been one week since our lives were irretrievably changed by the Antonio Brown saga.
The Steelers have done nothing about it since then, and that's exactly what they should have done.
Take some time, weigh the options, let things settle a bit. Let logic replace emotion. Then make the correct decision.
The right move in this case is to part company with Brown. Breaking up is hard to do, but its the only thing that makes sense here.
Bringing Brown back would reinforce the idea that a player with enough talent is above the rules. The Steelers have already made that mistake, and there's no reason to repeat or reinforce it.
They let James Harrison hang around even after his usefulness had disappeared. Harrison rewarded the Steelers by supposedly falling asleep in meetings and leaving the stadium on game days after it was established he wouldn't be playing.
Harrison at that point was a marginal player at best. But he got away with it. The Steelers didn't cut him until the last week of the season.
So if you're Antonio Brown and you've just watched that scenario unfold, what are you thinking? You're probably thinking, "If they put up with that nonsense from an end of the line player, imagine what a star can get away with."
So here the Steelers are, deciding on a course of action for Brown, who was truant from practices after an apparent practice field blowup with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
It looks like Brown thought he could fix all that by showing up on game day. The Steelers had another idea. They didn't let him suit up, and then they struggled to beat the lowly Cincinnati Bengals.
They shouldn't let Brown suit up for them any more. He had his chance, and he rejected it. See you later. Skydive into someone else's training camp this summer.
Brown's exit will hurt the Steelers. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a good receiver, but he's not as good as Brown. More importantly, the backups behind him aren't as good as Smith-Schuster was in a supporting role behind Brown.
But Brown has forced their hand. This isn't a time to let bygones be bygones. Don't hold a grudge -- build a shelf for it in the trophy case so everyone can see it.
That sends the opposite message that the Harrison case did. Hey, they got rid of their best receiver. What does mean for a lesser player?
It's going to hurt. However, the Steelers need to reclaim control of their team for a bigger purpose.
Trade Brown. Get what's available and move on. No other option makes sense.
---
Speaking of Harrison, the fans who cheered him at last season's Super Bowl reunion may want to reconsider that support.
Harrison has a major beef with Mike Tomlin, and he's apparently looking to launch a broadcast career. That combination has evidently led the once anti-social linebacker to the TV cameras like a moth to a night light. His selling point is dishing dirt on his old team.
Wonder how he would have felt had an ex-player done that when Harrison was still playing for the Steelers?
---
You can almost guarantee the decision to fire assistant coach Joey Porter came from the ownership level.
Nothing gets a head coach's attention like an order to fire the aide he regards as his closest associate.
Head coaching opportunities are too scarce and lucrative for someone to fall on his sword for an assistant.
---
While so much is uncertain, you can pretty much guarantee this: Tomlin hasn't had many more miserable weeks as Steelers coach.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
The Steelers have done nothing about it since then, and that's exactly what they should have done.
Take some time, weigh the options, let things settle a bit. Let logic replace emotion. Then make the correct decision.
The right move in this case is to part company with Brown. Breaking up is hard to do, but its the only thing that makes sense here.
Bringing Brown back would reinforce the idea that a player with enough talent is above the rules. The Steelers have already made that mistake, and there's no reason to repeat or reinforce it.
They let James Harrison hang around even after his usefulness had disappeared. Harrison rewarded the Steelers by supposedly falling asleep in meetings and leaving the stadium on game days after it was established he wouldn't be playing.
Harrison at that point was a marginal player at best. But he got away with it. The Steelers didn't cut him until the last week of the season.
So if you're Antonio Brown and you've just watched that scenario unfold, what are you thinking? You're probably thinking, "If they put up with that nonsense from an end of the line player, imagine what a star can get away with."
So here the Steelers are, deciding on a course of action for Brown, who was truant from practices after an apparent practice field blowup with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
It looks like Brown thought he could fix all that by showing up on game day. The Steelers had another idea. They didn't let him suit up, and then they struggled to beat the lowly Cincinnati Bengals.
They shouldn't let Brown suit up for them any more. He had his chance, and he rejected it. See you later. Skydive into someone else's training camp this summer.
Brown's exit will hurt the Steelers. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a good receiver, but he's not as good as Brown. More importantly, the backups behind him aren't as good as Smith-Schuster was in a supporting role behind Brown.
But Brown has forced their hand. This isn't a time to let bygones be bygones. Don't hold a grudge -- build a shelf for it in the trophy case so everyone can see it.
That sends the opposite message that the Harrison case did. Hey, they got rid of their best receiver. What does mean for a lesser player?
It's going to hurt. However, the Steelers need to reclaim control of their team for a bigger purpose.
Trade Brown. Get what's available and move on. No other option makes sense.
---
Speaking of Harrison, the fans who cheered him at last season's Super Bowl reunion may want to reconsider that support.
Harrison has a major beef with Mike Tomlin, and he's apparently looking to launch a broadcast career. That combination has evidently led the once anti-social linebacker to the TV cameras like a moth to a night light. His selling point is dishing dirt on his old team.
Wonder how he would have felt had an ex-player done that when Harrison was still playing for the Steelers?
---
You can almost guarantee the decision to fire assistant coach Joey Porter came from the ownership level.
Nothing gets a head coach's attention like an order to fire the aide he regards as his closest associate.
Head coaching opportunities are too scarce and lucrative for someone to fall on his sword for an assistant.
---
While so much is uncertain, you can pretty much guarantee this: Tomlin hasn't had many more miserable weeks as Steelers coach.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
Altoona Mirror, January 2, 2019
Is this any way to run a football team?
That's the question Steelers owner Art Rooney II must confront as he holds meetings to determine why the Steelers aren't in the playoffs and what they must do to correct that situation.
Since the season ended on Sunday, it has come to light that receiver Antonio Brown blew off meetings and practices late last week. When he showed up to play on Sunday against Cincinnati, he was apparently told be wouldn't be suiting up.
Let's remember something here: The Steelers were not playing out the string in their last game of the season. They still had a chance to make the playoffs.
The Bengals may not have been the most formidable opponent, but the game wound up being decided by a field goal. The passing game struggled without Brown.
For the faults he has and the drama he creates, Brown is still one of the NFL's most skilled receivers.
While the question of what happened is being sorted out, the real issue is what happens now?
Do the Steelers try to part company with Brown? Releasing him would make a big negative impact on their salary cap number, so that doesn't seem to be a realistic option. Trade him? They won't get anything close to value for him because every other team knows about the significant baggage that Brown carries.
Brown likes attention, and he's not the only NFL player who does. Some of the stuff he does is harmless, like this year's entry to training camp in a helicopter. Same thing when he brings his kids to sit at the podium for a post-game press conference.
But when you broadcast on Facebook Live from the locker room during a coach's post-game talk with the team, you've betrayed teammates. When you skip practices, you bail out on the team.
The hard cases would demand that Mike Tomlin sit Brown out of games to show him who's boss. Tomlin did that Sunday, and the Steelers came within three points of losing a game they had to win.
There's no easy answer here. Get rid of Brown and the Steelers might not finish as high as this year's second place. Keep him, and risk further self-centered shenanigans which have already worn thin with the rest of the team.
Can Tomlin reason with him? Or is Brown so deeply into himself that it's impossible for him to see the foolishness of his ways? Would Rooney hold Tomlin responsible for Brown's behavior? Or does he recognize that there are players who are consistently a huge pain in the neck? The Steelers have had them before.
A lesser player would be gone. The Steelers showed that in 2008 when they almost instantly cut backup receiver Cedrick Wilson after he was accused of domestic violence.
Antonio Brown isn't Cedrick Wilson. The Steelers have a star player who is also a royal pain.
What they do about this will be the first big decision in an off-season that figures to be filled with them.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
That's the question Steelers owner Art Rooney II must confront as he holds meetings to determine why the Steelers aren't in the playoffs and what they must do to correct that situation.
Since the season ended on Sunday, it has come to light that receiver Antonio Brown blew off meetings and practices late last week. When he showed up to play on Sunday against Cincinnati, he was apparently told be wouldn't be suiting up.
Let's remember something here: The Steelers were not playing out the string in their last game of the season. They still had a chance to make the playoffs.
The Bengals may not have been the most formidable opponent, but the game wound up being decided by a field goal. The passing game struggled without Brown.
For the faults he has and the drama he creates, Brown is still one of the NFL's most skilled receivers.
While the question of what happened is being sorted out, the real issue is what happens now?
Do the Steelers try to part company with Brown? Releasing him would make a big negative impact on their salary cap number, so that doesn't seem to be a realistic option. Trade him? They won't get anything close to value for him because every other team knows about the significant baggage that Brown carries.
Brown likes attention, and he's not the only NFL player who does. Some of the stuff he does is harmless, like this year's entry to training camp in a helicopter. Same thing when he brings his kids to sit at the podium for a post-game press conference.
But when you broadcast on Facebook Live from the locker room during a coach's post-game talk with the team, you've betrayed teammates. When you skip practices, you bail out on the team.
The hard cases would demand that Mike Tomlin sit Brown out of games to show him who's boss. Tomlin did that Sunday, and the Steelers came within three points of losing a game they had to win.
There's no easy answer here. Get rid of Brown and the Steelers might not finish as high as this year's second place. Keep him, and risk further self-centered shenanigans which have already worn thin with the rest of the team.
Can Tomlin reason with him? Or is Brown so deeply into himself that it's impossible for him to see the foolishness of his ways? Would Rooney hold Tomlin responsible for Brown's behavior? Or does he recognize that there are players who are consistently a huge pain in the neck? The Steelers have had them before.
A lesser player would be gone. The Steelers showed that in 2008 when they almost instantly cut backup receiver Cedrick Wilson after he was accused of domestic violence.
Antonio Brown isn't Cedrick Wilson. The Steelers have a star player who is also a royal pain.
What they do about this will be the first big decision in an off-season that figures to be filled with them.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
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