Thoughts on Week 5

Steelers

• Big Ben made his much anticipated come back yesterday. He went 16/37 for 257 yards and finished with a 112.7 QB rating as the Steelers clobbered the Browns 28-10. It was great to hear the crowd cheer Ben when he came out onto the field. He looked a little rusty in the first half, but really opened up the offense in the second half. All in all, he had a great day.

• Steelers Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians actually called more running plays than passing plays on Sunday. Let's see how often that happens this season.

• James Harrison single handily knocked Browns wide receivers Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi out of the game. Harrison was a raging beast on Sunday afternoon with 10 solo tackles and 1.5 sacks. It will be interesting to see if he receives a fine for the hit on Cribbs. Both hits were legal, but there was helmet to helmet contact with Cribbs.

• Lawrence Timmons had 9 solo tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception. Just to give credit where it is due.

• I was going to comment on all the pink I saw on the field yesterday. But then I read the post game analysis on Stillers.com this morning by Still Mill. I don't usually quote other bloggers, but I think he makes the point quite well: "OK, I tolerated the pink shoes, gloves, wrist bands, and jock straps a couple of weeks ago. We had to endure it again yesterday. I think the country is well aware of breast cancer, and this is a classic case of going to the well once too often. Enough, already. Once per season is more than enough to send the message. Beyond that, it becomes an absurd charade". - Still Mill. One of my best friends is a breast cancer survivor. I am a big supporter of the cause. And I think it is great that the NFL has become involved. But I agree with Still Mill, pink on a football field once a season is enough.

NFL

• The Seahawks beat the Bears. The Rams beat the Chargers. Did anyone outside of a blinded by love Seahawks or Rams fan see either of these wins coming? This season is weird. I'll stick with the Bears, but Phil Rivers and the Chargers suck.

• The Ravens lost to the Patriots, which is great for Steeler Nation. I just hate being put into a situation where I have to root for Tom Brady.

• The 1-4 Cowboys are sitting at the bottom of the NFC Least. (snicker, snicker).

• The Lions have covered the spread 3 out of the last 4 weeks. This team isn't as bad as Las Vegas thinks it is.

• The Eagles are 4-2 with Vick coming back next week. Things in Philadelphia could get interesting over the next few weeks.

Quote of the Week: "I don't want to see anyone injured. But I am not opposed to hurting anyone. There's a difference. When you're injured, you can't play. But when you're hurt, you can shake it off and come back. I try to hurt people." - Steelers Linebacker James Harrison.

Puck Bunnies

Hockey is upon us my friends. And as always, I am looking forward to this season. Even though our beloved Penguins are off to an inauspicious start. They are 1-3-0 so far this season. And 0-3-0 in their new arena. However, I have every bit of confidence that they will pull it together sometime during the next 78 games. Trust me, living here in the Washington D.C. area, I heard it from my friendly neighborhood Capitals fans when the Penguins lost their opening game at their new arena. The Facebook razing was instantaneous, as were the text messages. You would have thought we had lost to the Capitals, not the Fliers.

Hockey makes living here in DC a never boring life. I am a die hard Penguins fan in the middle of Capitals country. It's always been fun. And now in the era of Crosby/Ovechkin, it has gotten to be very interesting. The difference when you go from football to hockey down here is amazing. As I stated in my blog post on Sept. 13, 2010 titled "Those annoying Steelers Fans" the Redskins fans don't hate the Steelers fans. They just find us annoying. Naturally, the majority of the Redskins fan base and the Capitals fan base are the same people. But when you start talking hockey, the feelings are very different. Capitals fans hate the Penguins with a passion. I would even use the word loath, especially when you mention Sidney Crosby. It's understandable. It's similar to the hatred the Browns fans have for the Steelers. The Capitals have suffered 7 defeats in 8 playoff appearances against the Penguins. The worst being a 6-3 defeat on May13th, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Game 7 in the second round of the playoffs. They then had to watch the Penguins go on to hoist the Stanley Cup. If you are a Capitals fan, that is a bitter pill to swallow. I imagine Steelers fans living in Cleveland experience the same loathing that I do here.

Since I live here, many of my friends are naturally Capitals fans. We go at it rather often about the Pens and Caps, or about Crosby and Ovechkin. It's nice that the Pens have 3 Stanley Cups and a winning playoff record against the Capitals. The Capitals have only been to one Stanley Cup, and lost. I like having an edge. However, one of the beauties of hockey is that it can make strange bedfellows. Most hockey fans love the game itself. And that is the case with three good friends of mine. Three lovely ladies whom I refer to as my Hockey Chicks. One of the unique aspects of the NHL is that 33% of it's fan base is female. And I have seen estimates as high as 50%. The fact that there are so many female fans makes being a hockey fan that much more fun for a guy. I have found that women who are into hockey tend to be rabid fans, and very knowledgeable of the game.

However, a word of warning. Don't call them Puck Bunnies. I was told this by one of my Hockey Chicks. "Really?" I asked. "You hate being called a Puck Bunny?" She replied that the term was degrading. Then I jokingly said, "How about Hockey Whores?". The response surprised me. "I would prefer Hockey Whore over Puck Bunny". Wow. You would rather be called a whore? Puck Bunny must really be bad. I actually find the name Puck Bunny kind of cute. But obviously, I am wrong. Some battles you just don't fight. So suffice it to say, I will stick with Hockey Chicks when referring to my three lovely ladies.

Because we watch a lot of sports together, I will mention my Hockey Chicks periodically in this blog. And since I do not want to use their real names, they will be forever referred to as: The Irish Girl, The Girl with the Curly Hair, and Darla.

The Irish Girl: I have known the Irish Girl the longest. She and I have been watching hockey together for years. We have spent many an evening in a pub or at her house watching games. Both of us are of Irish descent, so she loves a good pint as much as I do. She is a die hard Capitals fan, so she of course hates the Penguins. But she loves the game and respects good hockey when she sees it. Therefore I can watch a Pens game with her and receive minimal abuse.

The Girl with the Curly Hair: This one is both a Rangers and a Capitals fan. Which means double trouble for me. She naturally hates the Penguins, and don't even mention the name Sidney Crosby in front of her. She really loves hockey, and can spot a player walking down the street 200 yards away. The Girl with the Curly Hair is the one that tries to keep me in check, which is probably a good thing. I piss her off so often that I sometimes wonder why she hangs out with me. The funny part is, I don't even have to try. I am prone to offering brash and bold opinions during any sporting event. And if one of my statements is at the expense of the Capitals, she gets pissed. I don't even have to remember what I said, she has it all memorized. "You called Alex Ovechkin an ugly Russian figure skater on April 14th, 2008 at Indigo Landing. It was 9:30pm." Date, time, place; it's pretty impressive. One night at one of our local watering holes, she turned to me, phone in hand and said "Hey Timmy, I just googled Crosby and Cry Baby and got 350,000 hits!" "Really." I replied, "Try Ovechkin and Dirty Player." She did, 1,000,000 hits. I was then told I was a jerk.

Darla: Darla isn't this girls real name. Darla is the name of her alter ego. The other two girls gave her this nickname. Whenever she says or does anything even slightly ditsy, it is Darla's fault. This one is a real sweet heart. She is a Capitals and Canadians fan. However, she doesn't hate the Penguins. She doesn't hate period. Even if she tries to be mean, she fails miserably. When the Girl with the Curly Hair goes on one of her Sidney Crosby rants. Darla will lean over and whisper in my ear, "I think he's really good." Just like the other two, she really knows her hockey. She loves a good pint and it is very fun to watch a game with her. It was Darla who informed me not to use the term Puck Bunnies.

My suggestion to you, if you are not a hockey chick, is that you find some hockey chicks of your own. Girls who love hockey are nothing but fun. The female fans make hockey the great game it is. But remember, don't call them Puck Bunnies. You will pay the price if you do. You know who coined that term don't you. That's right. Evil Spock!!

Oh, and by the way, Go Pens!!!!

Was Jeff Reed hung Over? Thoughts on Week 4

Steelers

• Two missed field goals? Reed missed two, one from 49 yards and one from 45 yards. Really? Look, I know those are not short kicks, but this is Jeff Reed. One the Steelers' huge advantages at home is Reed's ability to kick field goals in the swirling winds of Heinz Field. The two missed kicks came back to haunt the Steelers at the end of the game. It makes one wonder, was he hung over? We know he likes to party. By the way, that's really him in the picture above. Just picture him without the bib. There you go.

• Mendenhall is defending the decision to run the ball three times at the end of the game in an attempt to get a much needed first down. Defend all you want Rashard, but Arians is a terrible play caller. I could tell that you were going to run the ball. And I was watching from a bar stool in Virginia. Trust me, if I figured it out, I know the #1 ranked Ravens defense figured it out. The Steelers gave the ball back with 1:08 left to play, and the Ravens pulled off a miracle win. Thanks Bruce.

• Ravens tight end Todd Heap called it a "huge win". From the Ravens perspective, he is right. The Steelers would have been leading the division by two games if they had won. It amazes me how this guy dominates every time he plays the Steelers.

• OK, this loss sucks. Know one wants to lose, and especially not to the old Browns. Yeah, they are still the Browns to me. But all in all, the Steelers are looking fine. They almost won this game without Big Ben, who is back as of today. I would have been happy with a 2-2 start. The Steelers are 3-1 and tied for the division lead.

• Flacco got his first win in Pittsburgh. Not to take away from his accomplishment, but does it really count without Roethlisberger on the field? OK, I am taking away from his accomplishment. It's a paper thin win. The Ravens barely pulled it out against the Steelers 4th string QB. Sorry Joe.

• Some idiot at the bar yesterday was rooting for the Lions at the top of his lungs. They were playing the Packers. I usually would not judge anyone in this situation, since I am known for being quite loud during Steelers games. However, he then proceeded to also root for the Ravens just as loudly. I held my composure. I only called him a bastard and told him to shut up once. After the Steelers game ended, he had the audacity to ask me to root for the Lions. I declined.

NFL

• The Redskins are at the top of the NFC Least. Yeah, that's how bad that division is.

• After the Bills gave the Patriots a game last week. I picked them getting 5 1/2 against the Jets. Bad choice.

• The Bengals lost to the Browns. Thank God they have T.O. and Ocho Cinco on that team. (Hee Hee)

• T.O. had 222 yards yesterday and the Bengals still lost. I love it.

• To the loud guy at Southside yesterday, I am glad your Lions are 0-4. Bastard.

• The Jaguars stepped up and beat the Colts yesterday. Good job guys. Maybe Peyton & Co. aren't that dominate this year. That would be nice.

• The Bears QB Jay Cutler sustained a concussion in their game against the Giants. I lived in Chicago for two years. They are a great fan base and the Bears are off to a great start. I hope he is back soon.