The Sports/Excercise Tab

Here it is: post about sports you're playing, watching, or controlling via video game. For me, it's Madden 2002 on the GameCube (awesome game), but most of all, it's watching the Pittsburgh Steelers this year...they're 11-2 and, even if the Rams win tonight, they'll still be tied for the best record in the NFL. If the Rams lose, they'll own the title outright.

This has been an amazing year. They lost their opener badly, won 5 in a row, then lost a VERY close game because their kicker missed 4 field goals (almost unheard of in the NFL), then reeled off 6 in a row, which is where they now stand. If their kicker had been half-competent in that game, they'd, hypothetically be 12-1 with 12 straight wins. As it stands now, they have 3 games left, all against sub-par opponents...the next against a 1-12 team.

I thought they'd lose at least one of their last two games (against the Jets and Ravens...two good teams), but they've won them both, even with Jerome Bettis sitting them both out. I figured them to go 12-4 a couple of weeks ago, but 13-3 seems likely, and maybe even 14-2, if they keep up this torrid pace. Amazing! What a year...

Anyway, they won 26-21 last night against Baltimore, the defending champs. Great, great game...the score is misleading, however; the Steelers pushed them around all d*mn day.

Hard to root for the Steelers knowing that at least two of their five Super Bowl appearances came through cheating.

I haven't been watching NFL football since Nashville stole my team.

I'd have to say two things to that: 1) I think that's fairly subjective, and 2) it's not cheating when the official makes a bad call. Cheating implies an intent along with the result. Being lucky is not the same as being a cheater.

Anyway, regardless of what has happened with radically different versions of this team in the past, this team, this year, is amazing. Most of the players' only connection is that they wear the same shirts.

It's more fun to call it cheating rather than bad calls, though.

The Steelers were the divisional rival of the Oilers (my team), and they were the team that was dominant during the time that the Oilers put up their best teams (until the early '90s when the Oilers got good again but still couldn't get over the hump). I just hated the Steelers because they really were all that was standing in the way of the Oilers going to the Super Bowl on more than one occasion.

I will say one thing for the Steelers, though, or for Dan Rooney, the current owner. During the last expansion debate when Los Angeles was pitted against Houston for the 32nd team, I wote letters to all the NFL owners talking about how Houston should get the expansion team. Out of the 31 owners, only four wrote back to me. And of those four, two were obviously form letters (from the Bills and Jaguars). Rooney's letter addressed my letter specifically (Granted, it was probably only a staffer who wrote it, but still.....). Only Carolina's Jerry Richardson went further than that (he called my apartment to explain the NFL's position). Rooney championed the Houston bid for a while (as did Richardson). If not for Rooney, Houston might not have gotten the Texans.

Rooney also went out of his way to help the Patriots stay in Foxboro (rather than moving to Connecticut) as well as getting Resolution G3 passed that puts NFL money toward stadium projects (which means less having to come from taxpayers), helping to stem the tide of franchise relocation.

But still, the Steelers are like the Cincinnati Reds of the NFL. There just aren't many teams I dislike more. But the Steelers won't be a divisional opponent anymore, so I suspect my dislike for them will fade (and I was rooting for them during that last Super Bowl when they played the Cowboys, especially since Texas Tech's Bam Morris was on the team).

And it isn't subjective. Replays showed that the calls themselves were incorrect. The fact is that they were bad calls, and the Steelers would not have gone to two of their Super Bowls had those calls been made correctly. There was just over a minute left to play when the Steelers got credit for the touchdown that wasn't in the game against the Colts.

The other one? Well, they probably would've won that one against the Oilers anyway even if Mike Renfro would've been rightfully called in-bounds (because he was). The Steelers won by more than that touchdown, though (the final score was 27-13, so Renfro's TD would've only made it 27-20).

Well, I can understand the rival mentality...but I never let it go too far. I hate the Browns. Hate 'em! Doesn't mean I wish them harm or anything...ya' know. It's just an artifical way for me to get all pysched up for my team.

And yeah, it IS subjective. For one, in the Colts game, do we KNOW that the Steelers would have lost if not for that? And, like you yourself said, the other one likely didn't give them an undeserved pass to the Super Bowl...so that's one call, not two...and even that is one we may never know the truth about (I don't remember the specifics of the play, however).

Anyway, regardless of all that, I'm very into it all this year. 11-2! I kept telling myself we'd split the next two games with the Jets & Ravens, and maybe even lose both...but I really wouldn't have put more than $1 on them winning both.

More: Steelers won 47-14 today...it's the third highest score of any NFL team this season (the Rams and Bucs boast 48-point totals)...BUT, it would have been the highest (54), if our kicker had not missed two field goals, and an extra point attempt. We've really got to get rid of him. We've got 7 straight wins now...would've been 13 straight if not for that loss against the Ravens, where Brown missed 4 of 5 field goals. Freaky, huh? We've won three in a row without our star running back, too.

Looks like Tyson and Lewis is more or less done. I like Tyson in this... that's if he can reach Lewis' jaw.

Saw the Steelers game today: they lost 26-23 in overtime to the Cincinnati Bengals. Man, that p*sses me off. It was a completely crazy game, and the Bengals, admittedly, played better than we did...but a lot of that came late in the game, and if it were not for a really, really bad call concerning an onside kick with about 2 and a half minuts to go in regulation (the replays make it clear as day, but the weird challenge rule doesn't allow for challenges on such a play), we'd likely be 13-2 right now.

The Steelers have home field throughout the playoffs, though. Don't they? If not, they should wrap that up with their next game.

Well, they didn't before...but I think Oakland lost a game later that day, so yeah, they should now. I'm still ticked, though...I really wanted a statement to be made at 14-2.

Went cross-country skiing yesterday. It was my first time, so I didn't go too far. Wasn't too bad. Only fell once...which I'm told is less than most of the other members of my family. Going even a little downhill was tricky, though. It was decent excercise, though.

I tried skiing once. ONCE. my legs did that seperating thing and my groin has never been the same

Ugh, I'll never try skiing...just cross-country. I couldn't ever go flying down a hill on those things...just some light gliding...which isn't too bad. It looks easier than it is, though.

I love downhill skiing. I've been skiing since I was about 7 (though I haven't been in a while).

I might as well make a prediction: the winner of the Ravens-Steelers game will advance to the Super Bowl. Ditto for the winner of the Packers-Rams game. If I'm right, well, we'll have our championship matchup decided by tomorrow night.

go packers, go packers, go packers!!
being a cheesehead, i will be rootin for the green and gold.

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on dance seul, on dance seul.....

Me too...if the Steelers make it to the Super Bowl, I sure as hell don't want the Rams waiting for them.

Well, today is one of the few days I'm rooting for the Steelers. I just dislike the Ratbirds so much more. And actually, of all the teams in the playoffs, the Steelers are the one I'd most like to see hoisting the Lombardi Trophy at season's end.

Glad to have you on board, Ryan. They're up 10-0 early...interception on the Raven's "drive" to open the game, and then 3-and-out...resulting in a FG, and a TD, respectively. Let's hope this is the name of the game of the rest of the way. Oh, and Bettis hasn't played yet.

GO STEELERS!