Monday Sports Recap

Steelers:

1. First quarter - At first I thought we were coming to play, but after the first series we just got lazy. Not sure if we thought this would be a breeze like the Seahawks game or what. They certainly didn't expect the defense that Indy brought to the game.

2. Peyton Manning - I heard before the game that Manning was going to be in the booth with Indy's quarterback coach as a "resource". I had hoped the Steelers took that seriously because I did. If Manning never comes back as a player, I'd snap him up as a coach of some sort.

3. Sportscasters - What was up with Al Michaels starting off telling a story or statistic and then saying, "Take it from there Chris"? Did he not know the story? Does he feel Chris tells a story better? Is he just speechless?  I found it weird.

4. Troy Polamalu & James Harrison - Without these two we wouldn't have won the game.  Troy was playing one of his covering and running all over the field game.  Harrison at one point was holding off two people at one time with his body.  Harrison forced the fumble that Polamalu picked up and ran into the end zone.  What we need is these two men to start ranting and raving on the sidelines to fire up the rest of  Dick LeBeau's defense.  And no I don't believe the defense is too old and too slow as Warren Sapp keeps spouting.  I think we just aren't fired up this year.

5. Curtis Painter - Well, if I were Colts fans this is the guy I would want running my offense.  He wasn't perfect, but he didn't really practice this week with the team, but as Tony Dungy noted after the game this guy knows the offense.  I don't think Colts fans should be so down quite yet.  With Manning upstairs, a defense that stopped the Steelers, and Painter they just might surprise everyone next week.

6.  Shaun Suisham - The Steelers kicker seems to be the one guy that comes out to play every week. 

7.  Just glad it is over and that we have a win.  We have two tough games coming up, the Texans and the Titans, and I'm going to be at Heinz Field for the Titans game and I do not want to travel all that way to watch them play the way they played today.  They need some motivation.  Maybe I'll tweet to each one of my guys I follow and rant and rave at them to fire them up.  Jeez.  Let's not have this season, as strange as it has been with all the will we or won't we nonsense, begin and continue in this crappy vein.  I don't like losing, but I'd rather lose while putting forth some effort.

Other:

1. Go Rays! Go Rays! Go Rays!  The Sox are still ahead, but the Rays are hanging tough.  After 14 innings the Sox beat the Yankees to stay ahead, but I'm not giving up on our boys just yet. 

2. Deion Sanders - He is divorcing his wife because she cares more about being on television then cleaning the television. According to him he just wanted, "a housewife". Hey, Deion, a little advice: Stop looking at beautiful, skinny, model beauties if that's what you're looking for. Oh, and this housewife would like it if you flew into her home and used your magic wings to put Direct TV on my television.

3. Michael Vick & the Eagles - All week long I've said to various people in various sports in various arenas, "Don't get cocky, there is still a long way to go." While I don't have any problem with enjoying the moment or giving a little smack, football season has just started. We're only in week 3 and already people were saying Cam Newton sucked and the Eagles were the team to beat. Vick signed a huge deal with tons of money and now he will take that to the bank while sitting on the sidelines with his newly broken hand. Last week he had a concussion. This week he played, seven days after that concussion, which is another whole story in itself, and sigh, now he is out and suddenly the Eagles are not looking like the team to beat, but instead just look lost. The Eagles have got to protect their quarterback, and if Vick ever returns he has got to be a quarterback who stays a little longer in the pocket.

4. Eli Manning - Meanwhile on the other side of the Eagles' field was the other half of the Manning bros showing fans what it means to be a quarterback, steadily coming through in the heat, throwing 4 touchdowns, and taking his team into the W column.

5. Frank Caliendo on Fox's NFL Sunday - Hilarious segment this week as David Letterman and his sidekick Paul Shaffer. Frank had both men's' mannerisms and nightly act down to a T. The top ten list was as good as Letterman's staff could have done.

6. Pats & Bills - Another reason not to do something rash when angry...Bill Belichick's calling a time out for no apparent reason after the Bills went ahead by 7. Tony Dungy later said it was the right call and Belichick himself said he knows what he is doing, but you won't convince me he didn't do it because he was pissed at the moment and not thinking. Mute point, however. The booth later overturned the ruling on the field, which turned out to be better for the Bills in the end. There was still over one minute left on the clock at that point and chances are Tom Brady, despite his four interceptions, would have come charging down the field to go ahead with that much time on the clock. The Bills had come back from a 21-0 score at that point and, while I disagreed with the Bills' coach's decision to run the ball, they lucked out with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from the Pats. Then the Bills just took a knee to run down the clock, to keep Brady off the field, and relied on Rian Lindell's foot to win the game.

7. Vikings - Someone needs to remind Minnesota that the game of football lasts 4 quarters and not 2. How many more leads are they planning on giving up?

8. Cam Newton - Got his first win as a Carolina Panther and he didn't have to throw over 400 yards to do it.

9. Tony Stewart in 1st place - The Hoosier is in control of the Chase after winning for the second week in a row. Nothing like winning when it matters. And he took my advice and told people not to get too excited, "Got 8 long weeks left still, man. It's way too early to start counting chickens."

10. Swimmers - What is with Olympic swimmers leaving the sport for several years and then coming back to try again? First Dara Torres and now Janet Evans. Makes you wonder why they left in the first place.

11. Josh Ripley - Never heard of him? Me either, but I read about him on the web last night. He is a high school cross country runner from Minnesota who was participating in an invitational when he heard another runner screaming. The kid screaming was from another team, but Ripley went back to help him, saw that the kid was bleeding from the ankle, picked up the kid and carried him a half a mile to help. The injured kid had been spiked by another runner's shoe and needed 20 stitches to close the wound. And Ripley? He dropped off the kid and continued TO FINISH THE RACE! Amazing story.

12. Troy Aikman & Joe Buck - My favorite broadcaster in the booth calling games is still Chris Collinsworth, but I have to say that Troy Aikman and Joe Buck work well together and make sense doing it. Joe Buck is classy every time, but Aikman is learning well from him.