Los That Links: T'was the Night Before Super Bowl

How do you come up with something creative, original, and though-provoking for a sports website during Super Bowl season? The NFL season finale is upon us, and the one sport that can legitimately claim to be ruler over all things sport in America, has been impossibly dissected, scrutinized, examined, and any other word you would use to express those sentiments.

So what do you do if you're in our shoes, and are looking to provide our own proverbial log to accelerate the Super Bowl fire? Links, baby. Interesting, made-to-order, mother-lovin' links.

Los That Super Bowl Links (Super Bowl story lines)

- EA Sports has already decided the winner to Super Bowl XLV. That should free up your Sunday to do those chores your wife/mom has for you.




- When stat geeks put their powers to good use, stuff like this happens. The Pac-10 is well represented in Super Bowl history.

- PORN! So, remember the last time the Steelers made the Super Bowl, and folks in Arizona had their game interrupted with 37-seconds of porn? Well...

- A two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, an accused rapist, and an image-rehabbing NFL star go to a bar. Stop me if you've heard this one before.

- Personally, I love Buzz Bissenger because he's such a chap-ass. Here he is with his curmudgeonly hype on the Super Bowl hype.

- Jason Whitlock with his take on the 2011 NFL Hall of Fame class, and why denying entry to a fellow fat man will make him cry.

- Bill Romanowski picks the Packers to win. More importantly, now is a good time to appreciate that Romanowski is the only linebacker to start in five Super Bowls, winning four times. See what steroids can do for you?

- Get your Super Bowl XLV gamble on (where it's legal).

- Lil Wayne versus Wiz Khalifa. Loser has to get a face-tattoo. (Wait a minute...)

Non-Super Bowl, but still NFL-related links

- Mark Sanchez may have a Long Island Lolita.

- Michael Vick never wanted to go to that party that bore his name (and Roger Goodell asked him not to attend) in the first place. (Yeah baby, I really don't want to go to the strip club with the homies. I just wanna stay here with you tonight and watch "Real Housewives of Atlanta".)

- It's fun to play like Chad Ochocinco-Johnson is unintelligent, but really, we know he's not.

- Google "Goodell, Labor issues", and you get about 5,832,964,897,692 articles. Some positive, mostly not. Here's a negative piece worth reading.

- Dave McKenna of the Washington City Paper listened to "Hit Em Up", "Takeover" and "Ether" for 72-consecutive hours, then wrote this piece on Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder back in November. Now Snyder wants to sue for libel.

Lil Wayne Green And Yellow Remix

With the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers set to meet Sunday in the Super Bowl, rapper Lil Wayne released a remixed version to the popular Pittsburgh street anthem, Wiz Khalifa's "Black andYellow". Check it out after the jump:



Lil Wayne - Green And Yellow
Shouts to thefader.com and weezythanx.com for the link. Catchy, but personally I was already growing tired of the original version. Should be a good game nonetheless. The Super Bowl will air on Fox Sunday Feb. 6th and coverage is an all day event so tune in like everyone else in the world. You don't want to be the only one without something to offer to the water cooler conversations come Monday morning.

-ALR

Troy Polamalu Wins NFL Defensive Player Of The Year

The Pittsburgh Steelers just keep winning. Earlier today, the NFL announced that Steelers safety and fan favorite Troy Polamalu has won the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year award in a close vote over his Super Bowl opponent Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers. Polamalu edged Matthews by only two votes, receiving 17 out of a possible 50 (Matthews got 15 votes).

While the 2010 season was not his best statistically, Polamalu's impact on defense was huge for the Steelers. He made a number of big plays to spark victories while racking up 63 tackles and 7 interceptions. He also make a key tackle causing a fumble against the Ravens that helped the Steelers win their division. Polamalu also had the NFL's highest selling jersey this season, which is another testament to his popularity around the NFL.

An argument can be made that Matthews also deserved to win the award as he had a monster season in his own right (60 tackles and 13.5 sacks) but that is a debate for another day. For now we will give Troy Polamalu his shine until the two teams face off on Super Bowl Sunday.

Troy also has an edge on Matthews in the endorsement game as his locks are insured for a reported one million bucks while Clay just recently secured a hair endorsement of his own. Is this what sports has come to? I digress.

-ALR

Pittsburgh Steelers Rashard Mendenhall A "Dancing Machine"?

Here's a quick post to lighten up your Tuesday morning (or afternoon for you east coasters). A few weeks ago there was a feature on espn about Steelers starting RB Rashard Mendenhall taking dance lessons at the Bella School of Dance in Wexford back when a hit from Ray Lewis ended his rookie season. Mendenhall has said that the dancing has helped his balance and conditioning and he even participated in a large performance in front of 1,000 people.

Imagine seeing a 220+ pound NFL running back dancing on stage to pop music. And he's dead serious. Here's video evidence of Mendenhall's 'moves'...





You can't make this type of stuff up, people.

Maybe this explains Mendenhall's ability to stay on his toes after contact. So far this season Mendenhall is fifth in the AFC in rushing yards so maybe more running backs should look into adding "Dance Dance Revolution" to their off season workouts? Whatever works, right?

-ALR

NFL Trimester Report: AFC North "Contender or Pretender"

So what makes a team a "contender"? It takes more than a collection of big names and a lot of so-called talent. While those factors do help, having the ability to pull together as a team and finding ways to win in the face of adversity is the key quality of a "contender". With that said, let's get into the profiles of the AFC North...

Pittsburgh (4-1)
It was difficult to predict how the Steelers would look going into the season as their franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for the first four games for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The Steelers managed to jump out to a nice start by utilizing a ball control offense behind RB Rashard Mendenhall and a stingy defense. The defense is only giving up an amazingly low 63 rushing yards per game, rank fourth in total defense and allow the fewest points in the NFL (12 per game). The Steel Curtain is legit. With Roethlisberger back under center (he looked very good in his first game back) this gives the Steelers offense that big play element that could possibly put them over the top. Here's one for you Steelers fans w/ the terrible towels (Pittsburgh representer Wiz Khalifa's "Black & Yellow") Contender

Baltimore (4-2)
The Ravens have already notched a couple of nice victories so far, having issued to serious contenders their only losses early in the season (beating the Jets 10-9 in the season opener and and a 17-14 victory over the Steelers sans Roethlisberger). Joe Flacco seems to have already developed nice chemistry with Anquan Boldin as the two look like they have been playing together for years. The offense is still waiting for RB Ray Rice to get going but they still are able to move the ball. The defense,still led by intense LB Ray Lewis, has been excellent against the pass early on as well, and will be getting S Ed Reed back this week. The Ravens are definitely a team to be reckoned with the rest of the season. Contender

Cincinnatti (2-3)
2010 was supposed to be the season that the Bengals turned the page and became one of the best teams in the league but something seems to be lacking. QB Carson Palmer has been erratic so far which has limited the play making ability of boistrous wide receiver tandom Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco (both who appear to be more concerned with their off the field personas instead of on the grid iron). We won't even talk about their show together. Their remaining schedule looks pretty tough, so it may be time for the aging Bengals to start rebuilding for the future as their window is quickly closing. Pretender

Cleveland (1-5)
The Browns went into this season in full rebuild mode afer drafting Colt McCoy to be their eventual starter and signing vet Jake Delhomme to hold down the spot until McCoy was ready. We all know Delhomme is not very good. At all. Injuries to Delhomme and back up Seneca Wallace forced the Browns to go to McCoy a little earlier than expected so fans are getting a glimpse of the future right now. The Browns won't win many games this year, but given the right weapons and McCoy might finally be the quarterback they have been looking for. If they can keep him upright, of course. Pretender

-ALR

Ante Up! (Yap That Fool)

Rodney Harrison would have you think that he was the most untamed of gorillas during his 16 seasons in the NFL. Twice during his playing career, he was voted by his peers as the leagues dirtiest player. He won a similar award on a poll of NFL coaches done by ESPN. Over his career, he racked up over $200,000
in fines and was once suspended for using HGH.
Currently, Harrison is an analyst on NBC's Football Night in America. He plays up that tough guy persona when on TV. He will often speak against players, coaches, and even the league itself in a matter of fact way, as though objectors must be willing to meet him in a dark alley to discuss the situation further.
This past Sunday, Harrison addressed the NFL topic du jour: illegal hits to the head and neck. Dan Patrick asked if he thought the league should increase the fines for those kinds of plays, and Harrison responded by saying that he would set aside $50,000 each season to pay for fines he planned on getting. He said he did so because he wanted the players to know just what kind of a player they were facing.
Translation, he fully intended on hitting people illegaly.
(Cue Gangstarr's "Just To Get A Rep")
Harrison said the only thing that would resonate with him as a player would be a one-game suspension, or longer. Not just for the money, but the regret from letting his teammates down. According to him, he would feel guilty knowing he missed time because of one unnecessarily violent hit.
As if on cue, the NFL has come out publicly and said all helmet-to-helmet hits in the future would be subject to suspensions and increased fines. This weekend, three players (Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, and New England Patriots safety Brandon Merriweather) were fined a combined $175 for helmet-to-helmet hits.
The NFL's public position is they want to put the safety of the players ahead of the highlight reel potential of the hit. Of course cynics like me will assume they are publicly saying one thing, while privately hoping the other thing continues.
The defensive players position is... well... I'll let James Harrison (no blood relation to Rodney, but just as gangsta) speak for himself.
"I try to hurt people."
He said some other stuff too: "Blah, blah, blah, there's a difference... Blah, blah, blah when you're injured you can't play, but when you're hurt you can shake it off and come back, blah, blah, blah..."
Meanwhile, offensive players don't say much.
There are generally three camps of offensive players on this subject. The first camp is the vocal minority. They speak out, complain loudly that the hits were uncalled for.
Cleveland Browns tight end Ben Watson said of Harrison's two helmet-to-helmet hits that occurred when the Browns played the Pittsburgh Steelers this past weekend, "I hope the NFL takes care of him with the max, whatever the max is, I hope they give it to him."
The second camp is the group more reluctant to cast aspersions, but speak anyway. Watson's teammate, running back Peyton Hillis, said, "I don't think (Harrison) should get suspended... I don't think he meant to hurt two people like everyone thinks he did."
The third camp is the dead silent majority of offensive players who don't say anything. It could be out of fear, respect, or even acknowledgement that football is an insanely violent sport. Whatever the case may be, you'll rarely hear the majority of offensive players speak on being hit.
So what do we make of it all? Is it the goal of all hard-hitting defenders out to "hurt" players? (Kinda.) Should fines be levied against defenders for essentially doing what they are being paid to do? (Maybe.) Is the NFL simply choosing to enforce a rule it had already had in the books for years because 11 concussions were documented this weekend alone? (Probably.) Hasn't the NFL encouraged this kind of play throughout its existence? (Most definitely.)
Would you watch a game of eleven on eleven flag-football every Sunday? (Hell to the nah.)
So what's the endgame? I'm no future teller on the caliber of Nostradamus or Ms. Cleo, but I can see a few more players being made into examples. Probably some questionable suspensions and hefty fines. Then, a game will be decided by a questionable hit, and another media driven uproar, this time pushing the pendelum back the other way. Lastly, a Super Bowl, a long offseason, minus the head hitting talk, and the 2011 season will start anew, and we will all have forgotten about how much we cared.
Almost like we got hit in the head.

Roethlisberger Suspension Reduced

Per this report of ESPN, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has had his initial 6 game suspension reduced to 4 games. He was suspended for violating the NFL's conduct policy when he was accused of sexual assault by a 20-yr-old woman from an incident at a local bar. He is also being sued by a woman in Nevada from a claim from back in 2008.

This is good news for Steeler fans as fil-in starter Byron Leftwich suffered a strained MCL in their preseason finale last night and will most likely be out for a few weeks. The Steelers have a fairly soft schedule to begin the season so they should be able to keep it together and at the worst be 2-2 with Dennis Dixon filling in until Roethlisberger returns October 17th at home against The Cleveland Browns.

Now Ben, please, STAY AWAY FROM THE BARS!!! Youa re clearly a target now. Patron and beer are not your friends. Stick to vitamin water & gatorade.

-ALR

2010 Pittsburgh Steelers Preview

Expectations are always high for a team coming off a championship season. After winning the Super Bowl in 2008, The Pittsburgh Steelers had an up and down season in 2009 but still managed to finish with a respectful 9-7 record. Controversy hit the team in the offseason, as franchise QB Ben Roesthlisberger being suspended for the first 6 games due to violating the NFL's conduct policy and the team also traded troubled receiver Santonio Holmes to the Jets (as he was also facing a suspension to begin the 2010 campaign). The Steelers are hoping head coach Mike Tomlin can keep the team together and make a return to the playoffs.

Offense
The Steelers have always had the identity of a hard-nosed team that relies heavily on the running game, but that trend has shifted over the last couple of seasons with Roethlisberger under center. Roethlisberger's strong arm and accuracy has allowed the offense to incorporate more of a vertical attack and they have been quite successful with this strategy. With "Big Ben" missing the first 4-6 games, look for third year RB Rashard Mendenhall to see a lot action early & often. After sitting on the sideline for most of his rookie season Mendenhall was made the starter for '09 and responded with over 1100 yards rushing. He's a solid back with good speed and the power to move the pile so another 1,000 yard season should not be a problem.

With journeyman back up QB Byron Leftwich holding down the starting QB spot in Roethlisberger's absence, the passing game will take on a low-risk, low reward focus. Expect a ton of short passes to reliable veteran WR Hines Ward and TE Heath Miller. Despite just average speed, Ward continues to be productive with precise route running and great hands. He's also known as the best blocking wide out in the NFL. Now that Holmes is no longer in Pittsburgh, speedster Mike Wallace will start opposite Ward and it looks like he is more than capable of handling the responsibility. Wallace runs a 4.3 40 and is a deep threat on just about any down. His value should skyrocket once Roethlisberger is back on the field. The offensive line is massive and should provide good protection for whoever is under center.

Defense
The "Steel Curtain" runs a classic 3-4 defensive scheme, with their defensive ends & massive DT Casey Hampton occupying blockers and allowing their spectacular linebackers to make plays all over the field. LB LaMarr Woodley is a terror on opposing quarterbacks and finished last season with 13.5 sacks, while 2008 Defensive POY James Harrison brought pressure from the other side to account for 10 sacks himself. Middle linebackers James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons are reliable tacklers and able to get to the ball carrier in a hurry. When healthy, perennial Pro-Bowl SS Troy Polamalu technically plays like a fifth linebacker, as he is always around the line of scrimmage and in the backfield causing havoc. He has the speed to cover slot receivers, a knack for making big plays in the clutch and is still one of the most feared hitters in the game. CBs Bryant McFadden & Ike Taylor are decent in coverage and capable of getting the job done. The Steelers should again rank among the league leaders in total defense in 2010.

Prediction
9-7

Even with Ben Roethlisberger missing the beginning of the season, the Steelers still have a defense that is strong enough to carry them to a few victories early. Mike Tomlin and staff seem to always do an excellent job of motivating the players and you can never count out that Steeler pride. Expect the Terrible Towels to be waving in excitement all season as the Steelers attempt to make a return to the playoffs and another run at a title. Just make sure to keep Big Ben out of the bars, clubs, family barbeques... hell, anywhere there are women present.

-ALR