Rejuvenated Jagr Poses Huge Problems For Pens Tonight

Monday, November 07, 2005
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More Coverage:
Penguins Notebook: Lemieux's goal to play full year

NEW YORK -- He is beginning to look awfully familiar, that guy in the New York Rangers' sweater who has been tormenting NHL goaltenders since the earliest moments of this season.
And not just because of the unusual figure -- No. 68 -- on the back of that jersey.

That number still triggers instant recognition, but the most striking thing about Jaromir Jagr these days is the way he has been dominating games, overpowering opponents with his muscle and overwhelming them with his talent.

Just as he did for much of his 11-year run with the Penguins, who drafted him in 1990 and watched him grow -- although, some in the organization will tell you, not grow up -- into the NHL's premier offensive force.

While his attitude and intangibles became an issue his final years with the Penguins, who finally traded him to Washington in 2001, Jagr's talent never was questioned. That might have changed a bit during three mostly forgettable seasons with the Capitals and Rangers, but the idea that his game has slipped doesn't get mentioned much anymore.

Mostly because the numbers he has put up -- 14 goals and nine assists in 15 games -- are enough to refute any words.

Jagr enters the Rangers' game against the Penguins at 7:08 p.m. today at Madison Square Garden with a 12-game scoring streak -- he has 12 goals and seven assists during that stretch -- and a legitimate shot at becoming just the sixth NHL player to score 50 goals in his team's first 50 games.

The last player to do it was Brett Hull of St. Louis in 1991-92; he also did it a year earlier. Other members of that most exclusive club are Wayne Gretzky (three times), Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

The same Mario Lemieux who was Jagr's hero when he was growing up in Czechoslovakia and his mentor while they were teammates with the Penguins. The same Mario Lemieux who believes Jagr has a realistic shot at 50 in 50, in part because of the league's crackdown on obstruction-related infractions.

"I think he does," Lemieux said. "The way the game is now, and they're setting him up on the power play from what I've seen, I think he's got a good shot."

A lot of people do -- "With where he is right now, yeah," Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk said -- but Jagr insisted during a recent conference call that he doesn't see himself as much of a threat to pull it off.

"It's very tough for any player, and I don't think I am a goal-scorer," he said. "It's tough to score 50 in 82 games. Fifty in 50, I don't know if anybody can do it, even though the rules have changed, that's tough."

And maybe he has a point about not really being a goal-scorer. After all, the guy only has 551 of them; only 18 players in NHL history have scored more.

Precedent suggests the best way to neutralize Jagr is to catch him when he's in a funk; no checking line or game plan can shut him down as effectively as Jagr can himself.

The bad news for the Penguins is that Jagr seems happy and highly motivated these days, so the onus of limiting the damage he does will fall on them.

"It [takes] a total team effort, the five guys on the ice knowing where he is, to [prevent] him from getting the puck," Olczyk said. "Try to put yourself in position to not get beat by him."
Nice idea. Making it happen is a whole lot tougher than devising the strategy.

"With his strength, his speed and the talent that he has, he's going to get his points every night," Lemieux said.

So far, Jagr has been shut out once in 15 games. He is thriving on a line with Michael Nylander and longtime Penguins teammate Martin Straka, the latter of whom is one of six Czechs on New York's roster since the start of the season.

New York's management made a point of bringing in players from Jagr's homeland to make him comfortable, and his play is validating that decision.

"Of course, it helps you," Jagr said. "It helps anybody. Don't forget, we are from different countries, and everything is different. Even if we like it here in America, it is still a different country.

"If you have a guy from the same country we can speak the same language, I think, it is more comfortable. You feel a lot better, and it's better for the hockey.

"I don't know if it's helped my game, but I have a lot of fun. One reason why is because I can speak my own language and I can joke around, and that's always better for the hockey."

Jagr isn't the only reason New York -- an almost-universal choice in the preseason to miss the playoffs for the eighth year in a row -- is leading the Atlantic Division. The Rangers have enjoyed excellent goaltending, solid team defense and good special-teams play.

"They made some moves this summer, got some experienced players in there, so I'm not surprised they're doing that well," Lemieux said. "Especially when Jagr's playing great."

(Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.)

Ron Cook: Forgotten Man Steps Up For Steelers

Monday, November 07, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Who do you think Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb wishes he had as a teammate these days?

Terrell Owens or his old pal Duce Staley?

Owens and Staley represent, in order, the worst and best pro sports have to offer.

Owens shamefully missed the Eagles' game against the Washington Redskins last night, suspended for publicly slamming team management again, slandering McNabb in an unconscionable attack and generally pouting because he doesn't believe the zillions the Eagles are paying him are enough.

Staley, on the other hand, largely a forgotten man this season for the Steelers as Willie Parker, then Jerome Bettis, then Parker again shined at running back, showed up big time at Lambeau Field yesterday and helped the Steelers to a 20-10 win against the Green Bay Packers, a game that easily could have been a momentum-zapping loss to a hapless 1-6 team.

How unfortunate McNabb is to have T.O. poisoning what should be the best season of his career.
How regretful the Eagles -- who, at least before last night's game, couldn't run the ball if coach Andy Reid's life depended on it -- must be for letting Staley go after the 2003 season, after he spent seven seasons with them.

How lucky the Steelers are to have Staley.

"He exemplifies the unselfishness of this football team," Bill Cowher said.

It shouldn't have surprised anyone that Staley -- a proven, productive veteran -- didn't go in the tank after the Steelers deactivated him for the previous four games even though he was healthy. If he were a sulker, we would have known it last season when he did much of the team's dirty work, running the ball up and down the field and cranking out four 100-yard games in his first seven starts, then being asked to step aside near the goal line for Bettis, the Steelers' designated touchdown maker. But he never uttered so much as a peep about it.

"That truly didn't bother me," Staley said last night. "My feelings about Jerome and this team are genuine. It comes from my heart. It's me."

That's why Staley was ready -- not just physically but mentally and emotionally -- when the Steelers needed him. It was bad enough that Bettis couldn't go against the Packers because of the lingering effects of a quadricep injury from the Cincinnati game two weeks earlier. Then Parker went out with an ankle sprain midway through the third quarter.

Suddenly, Staley was it.

This was a day when quarterback Charlie Batch -- in for injured Ben Roethlisberger -- struggled to shake off four years of rust, when the Steelers' passing game produced just 59 yards, when Hines Ward had one catch for 12 yards, when Heath Miller -- the team's new designated touchdown maker -- had two catches for 11 yards and didn't find the end zone.
Staley's timing couldn't have been better.

On his first carry of the third quarter, Staley broke over right tackle for 7 yards. He ended up with four carries for 23 yards on that drive, which ended with a Jeff Reed field-goal try being blocked.

On the Steelers' next possession, Staley had gains of 5 and 9 yards -- impressively slithering through a tiny hole on the second -- before being forced out for a few plays after taking a shot to the groin. That drive ended in a punt, but it enabled the Steelers to keep a field-position edge in what was a 13-10 game at the time.

Staley's work the next time the Steelers had the ball secured the win. He had runs of 2 and 6 yards before stepping out of a tackle by linebacker Nick Barnett to score a 3-yard touchdown around left end that made it 20-10. It was just his second touchdown in two years with the Steelers.

"Duce ran really hard against a pretty good football team," Cowher said.

Staley immediately praised his blockers. "They were putting eight or nine people in the box and those guys still created holes." Just as quickly, he put an end to any budding running back controversy. "If I have to step aside for Jerome again, that's fine. Whatever I have to do for this team, I'll do. We're all like one heartbeat on this team."

Could T.O. learn a little something from that guy or what?

"I'm just happy to be back in the rotation again," Staley said, grinning.

The Steelers are glad to have him.

How envious McNabb and the Eagles must be.

(Post-Gazette sports columnist Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)

More T.O.
NFL Notebook: Owens was involved in fight before being suspended

Steelers, Packers Rich In Tradition

Few teams can match aura that surrounds Steelers and Packers
Both with rich traditions, enormous fan bases and most memorable dynasties in league history
Sunday, November 06, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

More Coverage:
Bouchette's NFL Notebook: Packers failed to support Favre in offseason

Leave it to the Packers and Steelers, perhaps the most beloved franchises that produced the most memorable dynasties in NFL history, to each have their own stories about Johnny (Blood) McNally, former NFL player, coach and carouser.

Before there were the Steelers, McNally played for the Pottsville Maroons of the NFL in 1928. Packers coach Curly Lambeau coveted Blood's services and wrote him a letter.
Let Lee Remmel, a Packers employee for 60 years, explain the contents.

"Dear Johnny, if you will join the Packers after the 1928 season, I will pay you $100."
Added Remmel, "Johnny was a bit of a lush, a ladies man, so Curly Lambeau added, 'If you don't drink after Wednesday night before each game, I'll pay you $110.' "
Lambeau waited for a reply and one finally came from Blood: "I'll take the $100."

The Steelers listed him as John Blood when he was their player-coach in '37, '38 and part of '39. He took that name when he was still playing college ball at St. John's in Minnesota as John McNally so he could pick up extra cash playing in the pros.
As the Steelers coach, Blood was in Chicago scouting the Bears one Sunday, according to Dan Rooney.

"Someone in the press box said to him, 'Johnny, how come you're not with your team?' He said, 'They're not playing today, we have a bye.' And the guy said, 'Look at the scoreboard, you're team's down 7 points!' "

There may be no such colorful player as Blood when the Steelers kick off in Green Bay at 4:15 p.m. today, but the lore and aura that cloak these two old-line NFL franchises persist. The Packers may be 1-6, but they will sell out Lambeau Field, something they've done every game since 1960.
There are 16,000 people on the waiting list for Packers tickets. The Steelers, who have sold out every non-strike game since 1972, have 14,000 on theirs.

The Steelers have not played in Green Bay in 10 years, which is the previous time they made it to a Super Bowl. They last won a Super Bowl in the 1970s, when they took home four Vince Lombardi trophies in six years. The Packers won the first two Super Bowls, and eventually the winner's trophy was named after their coach. But the Packers also won NFL titles in '61, '62 and '65 before claiming the first Super Bowls after the '66 and '67 seasons.

So, who had the better dynasty, Green Bay's five titles in seven years or Pittsburgh's four Super Bowl wins in six years?

"Us," said Rooney.

"My answer is Green Bay, but I certainly give due credit to the Steelers' domination of the '70s," said Remmel, long the team's public relations man and now their official historian. "I was a great admirer of Art Rooney as there have been many before me. But the Packers won five championships in seven years, which no other team has ever done. On that basis, numerical superiority, I'd vote for the Packers, in addition to being a homer."

Each team wears a traditional uniform with the striped sleeves they've sported for years, and each consistently is among the top five in jersey sales in the NFL. The Packers go farther back, to the day in 1919 that Lambeau organized a team in the news room of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. They won three NFL championships before Art Rooney plunked down $2,500 to enter his team into the NFL in 1933. The Packers have 12 NFL titles, more than any other team and most recently when they won Super Bowl XXXI.

It took Art Rooney's team 42 seasons before it won its first championship.

"He was such a likeable guy," said Arthur Daley, 89, who covered the Packers for years and still writes a weekly column for Packers Report. "But they were losing for so damn long. Then Terry Bradshaw came along and they won. I said to Art, 'What are you going to do with yourself now that you're winning?' "

They won some more and, even though the Steelers haven't won another Super Bowl in 25 years, they have one of the largest fan bases in the country, right up there next to the Packers.
Charlie Batch grew up in Homestead and has played in Lambeau Field as the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions. He will make his first start for the Steelers today and knows what the allure of the Packers and Steelers means -- a rich tradition without the bling.
"Nothing too fancy, you know what you get: always great defense, run the ball and the uniforms stayed the same for years.

"Before you even get here, you know what the Steelers are about. You hear a lot of stories, then you see guys coming back -- you stand on the sideline and go 'Wow!' You've always seen the name, but now you're seeing the person. And once you're here, you're considered a part of the family."

Steelers linebacker Clint Kriewaldt grew up not far from Green Bay in the tiny town of Shiocton, Wis. Not a Packers fan, Kriewaldt nevertheless appreciates what the Packers mean to the people of Wisconsin; they mean the same as do the Steelers here.

"I go back home and everyone asks me how it is around here," Kriewaldt said. "The easiest way to explain it is like being in Green Bay playing for the Packers.
"Our fans are diehards and live and die football around here, and that's the way it is in Green Bay."

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)

Ed Bouchette: Comebacks Are Becoming Roethlisberger's Signature

Be it in the form of fourth-quarter rallies or battling back from injuries
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Related Stories:
Big Ben's status in doubt
Steelers Notebook: Steelers finish with rush Monday


Call it Big Ben Redux.

While the Steelers' one-point victory Monday night came as a surprise to many because they were such heavy favorites to beat the Baltimore Ravens in Heinz Field, the way they accomplished it was not.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger pulled out another game in the fourth quarter, leading the Steelers from behind to a 20-19 victory when Jeff Reed kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:45 left.

The scenario has become almost routine for the second-year quarterback. He ran his personal record to 19-2, including playoffs, and eight of those victories came with the Steelers trailing in the second half, seven in the fourth quarter.

It's the kind of work John Elway made famous in Denver and Arnold Palmer turned into a trademark on the golf course. Crunch time has become Big Ben time.

"You know, we've done that pretty often with Ben as quarterback," center Jeff Hartings said.
Quarterbacks are fortunate to have one or two fourth-quarter comeback victories in a season, yet less than 11/2 seasons into his career Roethlisberger has seven. The Denver Broncos credit Elway with 46 game-winning drives and one that ended in a tie over the course of his 16 seasons, an average of nearly three per season.
As with Elway, Roethlisberger has developed a reputation as a quarterback who can pull a game out of the fire.

"He's a very poised quarterback. That's the only way I can put it," coach Bill Cowher said yesterday. "He has a feel for the game, an understanding of what the scenario is in terms of the time. He's a very competitive, confident individual in those situations. You never sense the guy overreacting. You can relate it to a lot of things, but he's like that guy in basketball who wants the ball in his hands with the game on the line. I would equate that to our quarterback at the end of a game."

Roethlisberger did it through another knee injury, only this one came on the first series and he played through it.

"He gutted it out. He was hurt," Cowher said. "After they came in and looked at it and taped it up, he told me at halftime, 'I'm going to give it a shot, but, if I feel like I'm hurting this team, I'm going to take myself out.' I told him, 'You know where you're at with it.' "
It's at least the third time he has had a knee injury this season. His right knee was bruised in the opener and his left knee was hyperextended Oct. 10 in San Diego.

"I've got a lot of respect for Ben. He's a competitive guy, he's a tough guy," Cowher said. "Our doctors have done a good job communicating with him and him with them in regards to the risks of putting him back out there. Like I said, I think it was painful and, hopefully, it's something he can work through. But we'll rest him and see where he is at the end of the week."

Roethlisberger has made the comeback famous in his short term as the Steelers' quarterback, both personally from injuries and from deficits in the fourth quarter. It was the second time in three games he led the Steelers to a comeback victory.

In San Diego, the Steelers trailed twice in the fourth quarter and twice he put them back on top with scoring drives. He guided them into position to win the game when he was injured with a minute left, and then Reed kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 22-21 victory.

It all began with Cincinnati in the fourth game last season, Roethlisberger's second pro start. Trailing, 17-14, in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger took the Steelers 89 yards on 13 plays that ended with a 1-yard run by Jerome Bettis and a 17-14 victory.

It was the first of five fourth-quarter comeback victories last season to go with another in Cincinnati in which the Steelers trailed, 14-10, in the third quarter, winning, 19-14, after Roethlisberger threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Dan Kreider.

There could have been another this season when, trailing the Patriots , 20-13, Roethlisberger led a 51-yard drive in nine plays to tie the score with 1:58 on his 4-yard pass to Hines Ward. But the Patriots drove to the winning field goal with one second left.

"You look back and not just at the games we've won, but some of the games we've lost," Cowher said. "Against New England, we drove back down and tied that football game up. Unfortunately, we weren't the last ones with the ball in our hands.

"I think there's no question that you gain confidence, not just with your offense but with your whole football team, because you have a chance to come back and win a game at the end. Obviously, the more you're able to do that, when those situations arise, the more confidence it gives the team."


Seeding a legacy

A look at Ben Roethlisberger's comebacks in his brief career (all fourth quarter unless noted):

2004

1. Cincinnati:
Down, 17-14, he guides the Steelers 89 yards on 13 plays, Jerome Bettis scores from 1 out. Result: 21-17.

2. at Dallas:
Down, 20-10, he drives the team 74 yards on 11 plays and passes to Jerame Tuman for 7-yard TD, then drives 24 yards on five plays (following Dallas fumble) for Bettis 2-yard run. Result: 24-20.

3. at Cincinnati:
Down, 14-10, in the third quarter, Roethlisberger drives the team 53 yards on six plays, with 8-yard pass to Dan Kreider for TD. Result: 19-14.

4. at Jacksonville:
Down, 16-14 and with no timeouts, he drives the offense 56 yards on six plays to set up a Reed FG with 18 seconds left. Result: 17-16.

5. at New York Giants:
Down, 30-26, he leads the offense 67 yards on seven plays. Bettis scores on 1-yard run. Result: 33-30.

6. Jets (playoff):
Down, 17-10, Roethlisberger drives the offense 66 yards on 12 plays and throws tying 4-yard pass to Hines Ward. Result: 20-17 in overtime.

2005

7. at San Diego:
Down, 16-14, he takes the team 62 yards on three plays and passes 16 yards to Heath Miller for score with 10:30 left. Later, trailing, 22-21, he moves them 40 yards on 11 plays, all but three with him at quarterback, to set up Reed's 40-yard field goal with six seconds left. Result: 24-22.

8. Baltimore:
Down, 19-17, he moves them 60 yards on eight plays to put Reed in position to kick a go-ahead 37-yard FG. Result: 20-19.

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)

Bob Smizik: Steelers Need to Pay Closer Attention

Steelers kicker Jeff Reed celebrates his game-winning 37-yard field goal.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers blew it. They should have capitalized on Myron Cope Night by having the diminutive broadcaster lead the team onto the field frantically waving his Terrible Towel. Cope would have had the fans in a frenzy. Heinz Field would have gone wild.

And maybe the Steelers wouldn't have been so flat.

Cope, who retired this season after 35 years as color analyst for Steelers radio broadcasts, got to twirl his towel last night, but only to fire up the crowd for the ABC sign-on to "Monday Night Football." The fans responded with the kind of enthusiasm the Steelers could not muster. The Steelers sleepwalked through the first half, barely playing even with a team that shouldn't be in their class.

The came alive long enough in the second half to eke out a 20-19 victory that was not pretty. Hard to believe this was the same team that slapped Cincinnati, a 6-2 team, silly eight days earlier.

"We did not play our best football game," coach Bill Cowher said. "But we won the game. There's a lot to be said for that."

The Steelers had said all week they respected the Ravens. They said they would not be lulled into complacency by the Ravens' 2-4 record. They maintained the injuries that took All-Pros Ray Lewis and Ed Reed out of the lineup, and which should have ripped the heart out of the Baltimore defense, would not make them lose their focus. They insisted the apparent demise of the once-great running back Jamal Lewis would not affect their concentration.

They lied.

Not even a vintage Steelers drive to start the game -- 15 plays and 79 yards in 8 minutes, 15 seconds -- could inspire this team. Or maybe they thought the rest of the game would be that easy. It wasn't.

What was most galling about the Steelers' struggles was that Anthony Wright was the Baltimore quarterback. Wright was an undrafted free agent who made the Steelers in 1999. He had a strong arm but soon went the way of most No. 3 quarterbacks. He bounced around the league for years and became the Baltimore starter only after Kyle Boller was injured. He wasn't reminding anyone of a Pro Bowl quarterback, but for much of the game he was pretty much matching Ben Roethlisberger.

The only thing that might have hurt more was if a certain Ravens backup came on to play quarterback. That really would have rocked Heinz Field. But it never happened. Kordell Stewart watched the entire game from the sideline.

The difference between Wright and Roethlisberger was this: Wright couldn't take his team in for a score on his final drive and Roethlisberger did.

How bad was it?

Consider:

On the second play of the second quarter, with the Ravens backed up to their 1 after a Roethlisberger punt, Lewis ran for 7 yards and fumbled. The Steelers recovered and had a first-and-10 on the Baltimore 12. But on a third-and-10 Roethlisberger was sacked for a 12-yard loss. What looked to be an easy touchdown, turned into only three points as Jeff Reed kicked a 42-yard field goal.

Holding a one-point lead with about six minutes remaining, the snap intended for punter Chris Gardocki dribbled off the leg up upback Sean Morey when long snapper Greg Warren misunderstood a verbal signal. The miscue led to a 47-yard field goal that gave the Ravens the lead.

The Steelers' game plan was unusual and, in fact, was a reversal of the very strategy that has been the hallmark of Cowher's success. Instead of the run, the Steelers emphasized the pass, particularly early in the game.

"We knew they'd have eight men in the box and we wanted to loosen them up," Cowher said.
So while Willie Parker was averaging 5 yards a carry in the first half, the focus of the offense was Roethlisberger, who threw 17 times.

"It worked on the first drive," Cowher said. Roethlisberger completed 6 of 7 on that drive but hit on only three of his next 10.

For the game, Roethlisberger completed 18 of 30 for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He was brilliant on a third-quarter drive when he threw six consecutive completions, the final one of which was good for 8 yards and a touchdown to Heath Miller.

He was almost as good on the final drive, passing 14 yards to Antwaan Randle El and 23 to Quincy Morgan to help set up Reed's 37-yard winner.

The Steelers play hapless Green Bay Sunday. They would be wise to pay closer attention than they apparently did to Baltimore.

(Post-Gazette sports columnist Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)

Ron Cook: Steelers Learn Nothing Comes Easy in NFL

Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

This one had a horrible feel to it from the start and quickly got worse. It was so bad into the fourth quarter that it was fair to wonder if Myron's Terrible Towels were going to be enough to save the Steelers.

They were, barely.

Maybe the Baltimore Ravens came into Heinz Field ticked that no one gave them a prayer of winning. Or maybe the Steelers -- a whopping 11-point favorite -- thought the Ravens had no chance. The reason really doesn't matter. The Steelers' 20-19 victory on Myron Cope Night was much more difficult than anyone could have imagined.

Not that your favorite team was complaining.

"I'll take a one-point win against those guys any day, all day, including holidays," Jerome Bettis said.

Well, it was Halloween.

The bottom line is the Steelers got a win that bumped their record to 5-2. That didn't just keep them breathing heavy on the Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) in the AFC North Division. It set them up for a big stretch run with a schedule that, at this point, looks ridiculously easy.

Not that the Steelers want to hear about easy games this morning.

"Nothing is easy about the National Football League," coach Bill Cowher said, fairly growling.
The Steelers certainly were thrilled to say goodbye to the Ravens.

In the NFL, games that are supposed to be pushovers almost always turn out to be hair-pulls. On paper, the Ravens were badly overmatched. They didn't just come in with a 2-4 record. They were without six starters, including quarterback Kyle Boller, linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed.

So what were the Ravens doing with a 19-17 lead with 2 minutes to go?
Blame the Steelers. Hines Ward had talked about their need to bring their "A" game to play the wounded, prideful Ravens, their most hated rival. As it turned out, they showed up with their "D+" game.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was magnificent on the Steelers' opening drive, ending it with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller. After that, he was mostly mediocre, at least until the final, winning drive.

The Steelers never really got their running game going against that shell of a Baltimore defense. "Eight men in the box," center Jeff Hartings said, shrugging.

Then, there were the many mistakes, almost too many to count.

A holding penalty by cornerback Deshea Townsend on a third-down incompletion kept alive a Ravens' drive that ended in a touchdown.

The Steelers wasted a 59-yard kickoff return by Quincy Morgan when a sack of Roethlisberger took them out of field-goal range.

The Steelers wasted an Ike Taylor fumble recovery at the Ravens' 12 when Roethlisberger took another sack, forcing them to settle for a Jeff Reed field goal.

Roethlisberger set up a Ravens' field goal by throwing an interception to defensive end Adalus Thomas.

Ricardo Colclough fumbled on a kickoff return at the Steelers' 29. The Steelers got lucky soon after when Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal attempt hit the right upright.

Then, there was what should have been the worst mistake. Punt snapper Greg Warren clanged the ball off upback Sean Morey's leg, giving the Ravens possession at the Steelers' 45 with 5:48 left. That set up Stover's 47-yard field goal for that 19-17 lead.

"At that point, I was thinking, 'If we're as good as we think we are, we'll pull this thing out,' " Hartings said. "Good teams find a way to survive."

And so the Steelers did.

Roethlisberger completed a 14-yard pass to Antwaan Randle El and a 23-yard throw to Morgan. After that, it was time for Reed, who kicked the winning 37-yard field goal with 1:36 left.
That sound you heard early this morning was the big Heinz Field crowd finally exhaling.
Or maybe it was Cowher.

The game at Green Bay Sunday against the Packers (1-6) and over-the-hill Brett Favre can't possibly be so excruciating, although don't try telling that to Cowher. "It'll be another dogfight," he all but promised. "That team has its back against the wall and the quarterback is one of the best of all time."

Six of the Steelers' remaining nine games are against teams with losing records. There are two against the woeful Cleveland Browns. There's another against the Minnesota Vikings, whose season has sunk along with their Love Boat. The road game at Indianapolis looks tough, but the rematch against the Bengals will be at Heinz Field Dec. 4.

It almost looks too easy for the Steelers.

Except for that game at Baltimore Nov. 20, of course.

(Post-Gazette sports columnist Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)

Robert Dvorchak: Cope Officially Throws In Towel

Says goodbye to Steelers fans in Heinz Field ceremony

Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Joe Ferrante wasn't born when the Terrible Towel made its debut. But in the parking lot before last night's game, he proudly wore a gold jersey made of six towels that were hand-stitched together by his grandmother, Jane.

"A lot of teams have copied them, but this towel is the only towel in sports," said Ferrante, 21, of Oakmont. "I'm going to wear this at every game from here on out."

If last night's game served as a tribute and official farewell to longtime Steelers color analyst Myron Cope, it also was symbolic of how the towel has been passed on from generation to generation and will live on in the hands and hearts of fans. Jane Ferrante, a retired seamstress at 74, made sure of that with a seamless creation that her grandson will treasure.

"I've listened to Myron my whole life. To me, he's the only guy in the business," Joe Ferrante said. "I used a towel to wipe away tears in the playoffs, and I'm going to wave it triumph someday, just like grandma did."

Towels were twirled en masse at Heinz Field and by far-flung fans from Nome to the North Shore, from Baghdad to Brentwood, to honor its creator -- a raspy-voiced mischief-maker who introduced the towel 30 years ago before a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts and provided the Steeler Nation with its unifying flag.

The Colts subsequently moved to Indianapolis and Art Modell relocated his Cleveland franchise to Baltimore to be reborn as the Ravens. But the towel has remained a Steelers fixture, and last night's gilt-edged moment was only enhanced by the fact that the ceremony last night honoring Cope's 35 years behind the microphone came against the Ravens on a Monday night on Halloween.

"I never dreamed it would come to this. Who could?" said Cope, looking and sounding markedly healthier than he did at his retirement news conference before the start of training camp. "Since its beginnings, it's been waved by fans and players. And in more recent days, it's been waved by Air Force pilots, soldiers in the desert and Marines who were in Fallujah. Incredible."

An honorary co-captain, Cope looked like a gnome in a trench coat while participating in the pregame coin toss with Hines Ward, Joey Porter, James Farrior, Allen Faneca, Chidi Iwuoma and Sean Morey. Lest anyone doubt the power of the towel, the Steelers won the toss and marched 79 yards for the game's first touchdown.

But before leaving the sideline, Cope seized the opportunity to whip the crowd into a fabric-waving frenzy and accepted a congratulatory hug from Tommy Maddox.

At halftime, Dan and Art Rooney gave Cope a jersey with the No. 35, representing his years of service in the radio booth. He was flanked by towel-waving giants from the Super Bowl years -- John Banaszak, Robin Cole, Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Jon Kolb, Gerry Mullins, J.T. Thomas, Mike Wagner, Dwight White, Dwayne Woodruff and Ernie Holmes.

Video tributes were shown on the big-screen scoreboard throughout the game. Cope's final words to the organization and the fans were a resounding, "Thank you very much," followed by a fireworks display.

The towel is exhibited in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Cope will be part of an enshrinement Saturday by the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago, with Franco Harris presenting him to master of ceremonies Regis Philbin. Among those already enshrined are Bob Hope, Orson Welles and Edward R. Murrow, with Cope being the first football announcer to join that hallowed company.

"It's the highest recognition I've ever gotten," said Cope.

The Steelers honored Cope with a private dinner Sunday night. Legions of admirers paid tribute in smaller but equally passionate ways.

At one tailgate party, Connie Lee Walsh of Lawrenceville, a season-ticket holder for 26 years, handed out a homemade craft. It was a grinning ghost wearing a Terrible Towel and bedecked in black and gold ribbons.

"Everyone else has tried to copy Myron's creation, but there is only one," she said. "There's a towel that fans bring to every game, and a playoff towel that they drape over the TV if they can't get to the games."

And as if to prove that the towel has impressive staying power, Linda Maus of Forest Hills bought one for her friend, Cortney DiVito of Trafford, just last night.

"I brought it for her to help honor Myron," Maus said.

"It's a legacy. It will live on forever," said DiVito, dressed in witch's garb embroidered with the words "Curse the Ravens."

Evermore.

(Bob Dvorchak can be reached at bdvorchak@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1959.)

Craig Wolfley: Club Kimo

SteelersLIVE Xtra
Sunday, October 30, 2005

It’s not a place, destination or an ultra-chic night club that’s opened. It happens to be the favorite pass rushing technique of a man that Bill Cowher described in his Tuesday press conference as “playing at a Pro Bowl level.

"He is having a heck of a year.”

The man Bill Cowher was referring to was Steelers defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen. He is having one heck of a year, and the circumstances under which he performed on Sunday are worthy of a closer look.

The club technique is used on pass rushes where you sell a move up-field to your opponent, then club back to the inside swinging your forearm like a Barry Bonds homerun swing. Usually Kimo connects and like McCovey Cove where many of Bonds’ HRs have landed, many Kimo opponents have splashed down on the seat of their pants.

Kimo hurt his shoulder when a Bengal O lineman drilled him in the back of the shoulder while throwing the club in the first series or two of the game. The arm dangled lifelessly by his body as he trotted off the field, his face contorted with pain. Docs gave him the once-over with what I call the circuitry test. This consists of a series of pushes and pulls testing the muscular strength of the arm. Back in, Kimo whacks a few opponents, knocks down a couple of others, then zappo! Out he comes again. Same pit stop action with the Docs, back in, make some plays, and off to see the Docs. This happened again, and again, all through the first half.

Kimo comes out in the second half sporting a new look, a harness on his shoulder and arm to keep it from being able to stretch behind his chest. When his shoulder and arm start searing with pain from another hit, instead of coming out, he gets teammate Joey Porter to pull on his wrist in the huddle in between plays to stretch out the nerves in his shoulder and douse the flambé action going on in his shoulder. Or Aaron Smith. Whoever and whatever it took to clock-out with the rest of the boys at the end of the game.

Kimo finished with a sack and a deflected pass that boomeranged to Aaron Smith. That kicked off the stampede of Steeler scoring three plays later as Willie and his jets cashed in from 37, crushing Cincinnati’s hope of a win.

Just thinking out loud here, but that was one of the greatest tough guy performances I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I’ve been fortunate to play alongside the likes of guys such as Jon Kolb, Joe Green, Mike Webster and Larry Brown, to name just a few. Guys that really put the “tuff” in toughness.

Understandably so, due to free agency and wanting to protect their investment in themselves, many players will take a seat rather than chance further injury to themselves by playing through the pain. Kimo played that game hacking, whacking, and sacking all the while doing a great imitation of a one-armed bandit. Tip of the cap to you Kimo, from the brotherhood of old retired guys.

Old School lives.

Craig is co-host of "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf" which can be heard weekdays from 7-10 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio 970. Wolf is also the sideline reporter for the Steelers Radio Network and played for the Steelers from 1980-89.

Craig Wolfley: Tricks and Treats

Ravens running back Jamal Lewis is dropped for an 8-yard loss in the second quarter by Steelers defenders James Harrison (92) and Joey Porter (12/6/04).

SteelersLIVE Xtra

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Monday, October 31, 2005

The Steelers come into the Monday night Halloween clash with the Ravens at just about full strength. The same can't be said of the Ravens. Ray Lewis is out, same for Ed Reed, and Jamal Lewis might as well be too. Anthony Wright, a Steeler send off, is quarterbacking this outfit and despite the addition of a very good Derrick Mason at wide receiver, the results are the same. No offense, good defense, and a bad record at 2-4.

Halloween is based on the theme "trick or treat" which always implies the threat of some sort of nastiness. As the Steelers prepare to take on the Ravens on Halloween night, the nastiness factor should be evident from the coin toss on, based on Joey Porter's decision not to shake the hand of the opposing team's captains after the coin toss, and the Todd Heap episode to which Brian Billick threw back onto the stage in his press conference, seeming to again make something out of nothing.

Over the years Billick has lauded his won-loss record in Pittsburgh, rumors of Ravens players "marking their territory" on the Heinz Field playing surface have circulated, Joey Porter-Ray Lewis have a running feud that escalated at one point to post-game bus area madness and every game between these two clubs has that good o'l down home feeling of a backyard brawl. There is no love lost between these two clubs. Add the national stage of Monday Night Football, and the zaniness of a home crowd who've been trick, or treating themselves to tailgating for hours. Top it off with Myron Cope in the house for a big halftime celebration and Pittsburgh's seemingly favorite guy to boo, Kordell Stewart making a return appearance and I'd say the nutzo factor took quite a jump.

But here's the real challenge to this game. Focus. The only way you can be Super Bowl champs is to beat the chumps. In a long 16-game season, not to throw in the meaningless four game pre-season game schedule that really are meaningful, just not for won-loss purposes, highs and lows are inevitable. Every year teams win games they should have lost, and lose games they should have won. One test for every Super Bowl hopeful lies in the "beating up the stiff" litmus test. Admittedly, it's a less than scientific approach to predicting Super Bowl worthiness, yet it's a truism I subscribe too.

Actually it's an expansion of another theory which I believe in that you can't play in the NFL if you can't lump up the stiffs on a player versus player level. This comes into play most prominently in training camp, when high draft choices lock up with low-enders or campers (player slang for guys in camp that don't have a chance to make the team) and wind up on the losing end of camp battles in one on one drills, and game situations. If you can't whack the low-enders, then the high rent guys are gonna smoke you.

This is where my "rubber meets the road" theory wise. The 2005 Ravens edition is far from the Super Bowl version of 2000, but nonetheless they present a challenge to the Steelers of 2005 simply because they're breathing. Halloween brings out the whackiness in people. Players, believe it or not, are people too. Whacky people doing whacky things on a whacky night. Added up, that's an awful lot of whackiness. That is exactly what the Steelers have to guard against on this Halloween night. To make sure the trick is on the Ravens and the treat is given to the fans.
By the way, and I'm just thinking out loud here, I'm going to go trick or treating as a vegetarian-type skinny guy. The trick is getting into the costume. The treat is a nice 32 ounce porterhouse for dinner. Talk about whacky.

Craig is co-host of "In The Locker Room with Tunch and Wolf" which can be heard weekdays from 7-10 a.m. on Fox Sports Radio 970. Wolf is also the sideline reporter for the Steelers Radio Network and played for the Steelers from 1980-89.

Ron Cook: No Love Lost Between Steelers, Ravens

Players have changed, and Baltimore is in disarray. But here's the bottom line: They are still the Ravens.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It won't be nearly as much fun tonight without Plaxico Burress. He didn't just battle the Baltimore Ravens on the field, he took 'em on off the field. Do you remember how he welcomed ancient Ravens safety Deion Sanders to the rivalry last season? "His day is gone," Burress pronounced, all but suggesting "Past Time" as Sanders' new nickname. Oh, that was priceless.

It also won't be as much fun without Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. The guy is supposed to be Superman, but he's not going to play because of a measly thigh injury. That prompts two questions. Are Lewis' days as the NFL's toughest player over? And how is Joey Porter going to entertain himself?

It really won't be as much fun because the Ravens -- how do you say this delicately. -- stink. They aren't just 2-4, they're in disarray. Lewis will be joined on the sideline by All-Pro safety Ed Reed. "That's like Farrior and Polamalu not playing for us," Porter said, sniffing. The Ravens' offense is abysmal and ranks last in the NFL in points per game. Their star running back, Jamal Lewis, looks as if he spent the offseason in prison. Their quarterback, Anthony Wright, couldn't even beat out Kordell here.

But let's be real.

It's still the Steelers and Ravens, on a Monday night, on Halloween no less.

Thank goodness Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister will play. He called Porter a "bleep" last season after Porter shoved down injured Ravens tight end Todd Heap. Or maybe it was after Porter went to the Ravens' team bus after a game in 2003 to challenge Lewis. Porter didn't even dress for that game so maybe there's still hope for him and Lewis tonight. If not, Porter might have to settle for renewing acquaintances with Heap.

And who's going to give Ravens defensive end Terrell Suggs a nice Heinz Field welcome? He made no friends here in December when he talked about the Ravens being Kryptonite because they were the only team to beat the Steelers in the regular season. The Steelers got even in the rematch, but Suggs nearly had the last laugh when his late hit left Ben Roethlisberger with bruised ribs and could have knocked Big Ben out of the playoffs. "I'm pretty sure it was a cheap shot," assumed Burress.

The Ravens figure Hines Ward knows all about cheap shots. Keep your eye on him and McAlister tonight. McAlister also called Ward a "bleep" last season just for general principle. "It's funny," Ward said, grinning, "he told me he was glad I was on his side when we were at the Pro Bowl."

Ward, probably more than Burress, Lewis and Porter, is responsible for making the Steelers-Ravens game what it is. In 2001, he popped Ravens safety Rod Woodson and bloodied his nose. Woodson didn't just promise to get even. He put the kibosh on a planned deal for Ward to be a pitchman for one of his Pittsburgh automobile dealerships, thereby violating life's No. 1 rule: Don't let hard feelings ever get in the way of business.

Ward and Woodson later made their peace, but it probably will be awhile before Ward and McAlister kiss and make up.

"Do I recognize that he's a great cornerback? Yes I do," Ward said. "Do I particularly like him? No I don't."

Even the two coaches aren't especially fond of each other. It's safe to assume the Ravens' Brian Billick has moved up to No. 2 on Bill Cowher's spit list, right behind Buffalo general manager Tom Donahoe, now that "Davis up there in Cleveland" -- Cowher's derogatory reference to former Browns coach Butch Davis a few years ago -- is out of the league. Part of it is the same reason a lot of people in the NFL dislike Billick and won't shed a tear if he's fired after the season; he's arrogant and condescending and acts as if he invented football. But a bigger part of it was Billick's brag in 2001 that he had never lost a game in Pittsburgh. He was 3-0 here against the Steelers at the time. He's 3-4 here now.

Does that Cowher up there in Pittsburgh know how to carry a grudge or what?

Still, it's Billick who has the power to turn tonight's game from merely entertaining into must-see theater. He could decide Wright isn't his answer, which really wouldn't be much of a reach considering Wright has led zero, one, two, one and one touchdown drives in the past five games. He also could determine Kyle Boller isn't ready to play because of a bum toe. That would leave Kordell Stewart to play quarterback for the Ravens in front of all of his old friends in Pittsburgh.

Who needs Plaxico and Superman when you have Kordell?


(Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1525.)

Ed Bouchette: Steelers Can Help End Billick Era With Win Tonight

Ravens' coach has lost control of team

Monday, October 31, 2005

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's time for Bill Cowher and the Steelers to put Brian Billick and the Baltimore Ravens into their misery.

Today, I believe the Steelers will deliver the kind of knockout blow that will help end the Billick era in Baltimore. It was a nice run that included a Super Bowl victory, but it's over.

Billick has lost control of his players in Baltimore. He allowed it to happen the old-fashioned way: Too many arrests, too many convictions, too many penalties, not enough accountability.

The new owner, Steve Bisciotti, won't stand for it any more. This was a team that was actually favored to win the AFC North Division, slightly, over the Steelers. Many were calling it a Super Bowl team. Did anyone look at their quarterback or offensive line? Perhaps when Billick won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback it convinced everyone he could do it again with any quarterback. But Dilfer played like Bart Starr compared to these guys.

There's only one or two ways the Ravens can avoid humiliation tonight, if they can run the ball with Chester Taylor or if the Steelers commit a ton of turnovers. Since Tommy Maddox is safely ensconced as the No. 3 quarterback, there should not be an inordinate amount of turnovers by the Steelers. And Billick may be too stubborn to bench Jamal Lewis and go the whole way with the more dangerous Chester Taylor.

The Steelers should be able to run and pass against the Ravens' depleted defense, playing without Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and end Anthony Weaver. Tommy Polley, their weakside linebacker, moves to the middle to replace Lewis and he is not a stout middle linebacker.

Baltimore also is without their excellent blocking fullback, Alan Ricard, and his backup, Ovie Mughelli has an ankle injury. The Ravens may have to either use a tight end in their backfield or go with a one-back lineup. They have strong but scatter-armed Anthony Wright at quarterback, who easily will be confused by the Steelers' defense. He's been sacked 14 times in six games and thrown seven interceptions and just five touchdown passes. Those sacks will jump by four or more tonight, and he'll throw at least two interceptions, if they let him throw much.

The best thing the Ravens have going for them is Chester Taylor. He averaged 4.5 yards a carry last season and had 714 yards rushing to 1,006 for Lewis. Taylor has a 6.0-yard average this season but they've given him the ball only 37 times while Lewis has 113 carries and a 2.9-yard average.

That should be a no-brainer and Steelers fans should hope Billick keeps using his backs the same way because he's loyal to his boys to a fault, and it's going to bring him down at the end of the season.

The Baltimore Ravens are a team in need of some good old-fashioned discipline and housecleaning. The Steelers will help motivate the owner to do so but unfortunately they also may help provide the broom for him at the end of the season in the form of assistant head coach Russ Grimm, who will be a candidate in Baltimore.

I'll break my own three-game losing streak on this one: Steelers 27, Ravens 10.

Peter King: The Bus is Still Rolling

Peter King, SI.com

CINCINNATI -- Here I am, in the locker room of another stadium, looking at Jerome Bettis, resplendent in his black velvet sweatsuit, wondering: How many more times am I going to be standing here, talking to Bettis after he was the big factor in his team winning? The big factor, really.

I think back. I remember a game in 2001 in Tampa, Bettis going for 143 yards and outrunning the secondary. Literally. People think of Bettis as a big back with stodgy wheels. Wrong. He's a big back with quick feet. He outran John Lynch that day in Tampa, and the towel-wavers who travel the country to support this team were going nuts.

I saw him twice last year, in two Bettis instant classics. Steelers 27, Eagles 3: "Pennsylvania Super Bowl.'' The Eagles put seven, eight men on the line. No help. Bettis: 33-for-149. A ridiculously dominant game. "If I come back next year,'' he told me after that game, "there's no way I can come back in this role. It'll kill me.''

Then the Ben Roethlisberger-Eli Manning showdown on a Saturday in New Jersey. Great, great football game. Back and forth, forth and back. He lugs it 36 times -- 36 times, at the age of 32! -- for 140 grinding yards, and carries the Steelers to another survival-of-the-fittest win, 33-30. Then the playoffs. The Jets outplayed Pittsburgh, Bettis fumbled once -- a key fumble. But he stuck his nose in there 27 times for 101 bruising, clock-eating yards. Duce Staley spelled him in the second half, and the Steelers survived.

Sunday in Cincinnati, Bettis had the role he should have at this point of his life -- relief pitcher. You'll open your paper and see the numbers: 13 carries, 56 yards. You won't be impressed. Well, Bettis was the key to the game. With the Bengals concentrating on stopping him on Pittsburgh's first scoring drive in the red zone, tight end Heath Miller roamed free in the back of the end zone for an easy touchdown catch.

With the Bengals last-gasping in the third quarter, needing a stop at the Cincinnati 25, down 17-6, Pittsburgh had a third-and-3. Bettis is usually the third-and-1 type, maybe third-and-2. But here he came, trying to get three behind the Steeler mules, especially right guard Kendall Simmons. Cincinnati rookie linebacker Odell Thurman grabbed him and tried to hold him. It looked like the play would be whistled dead because the scrum was almost at a complete halt. But there was Bettis churning and churning. The side judge looked like he was going to raise his arm and blow his whistle, but he didn't. Bettis, two seconds later, burrowed for the last two yards of an incredible four-yard gain and the drive was sustained. Four plays later, Roethlisberger threw to Hines Ward for the insurance touchdown.
"One of the best runs of my life,'' Bettis said later.

Score one for brute force over Cincinnati finesse. The Bengals do not have the defensive spine to stop Bettis, and so they can't beat the Steelers right now. Steelers 27, Bengals 13. And it wasn't that close. A week after Bill Cowher forgot to call Bettis' number (four carries, four yards in the loss to Jacksonville) down the stretch, the Steelers

"If we wanted to control this division again,'' Bettis said later, "this was a game we had to have. We're not a pretty offense, but when we're running the ball, I think we can beat anyone.''
The numbers support him. Pittsburgh is 19-3 since opening day 2004 in the regular season.
"I thought you were retired,'' I said to Bettis after the crowd around his locker thinned out.
"They tried to put me out to pasture,'' he said, then laughed. "I'm not quite ready.''
Then someone said he was amazed that Bettis still had the ability to make people 10 years younger and much faster miss. He answered the question politely, then turned to me and quietly said: "I never get enough credit for that.''

Well, in a few years, I'll give him his credit, if I'm still sitting in the Hall of Fame selection meetings at the Super Bowl. Bettis is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Among the players I've covered in 22 seasons, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Lawrence Taylor, Brett Favre and Anthony Munoz should get to the Hall before Bettis. That's it. Seven players. Then Bettis. How many running backs are beating stacked defenses at 32 and 33 years old? Sunday in Philadelphia, the Eagles said: We're going to stop LaDainian Tomlinson. He got seven yards. A year ago, I'm sure the Eagles said: We're going to stop Bettis. And he got 149. (I give massive props to the Smith-Faneca-Hartings-led offensive line. He can't do it without those five guys. But the San Diego line is pretty good too.)

Enjoy him while you can, folks. This rodeo won't be in town much longer.

Joe Bendel: No-name D-line a Huge Success

Kimo von Oelhoffen and Brett Keisel greet fans as they leave Heinz Field after the Steelers won their home opener, beating the Tennessee Titans, 34-7.

Joe Bendel

TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Sunday, October 30, 2005

The Steelers defensive line lacks a catchy nickname, such as the Steel Curtain, but all six members sport a snappy individual moniker.

Casey Hampton is "Big Snack" or "Hampburger."

Kimo von Oelhoffen is "Scooby."

Aaron Smith is "Slim."

Travis Kirschke is "Chubs."

Brett Keisel is "Chubs Jr," or "Diesel."

Put them all together, and you come up with a universal description: Successful.

"It's six guys from six different backgrounds, different places around the world," Keisel said. "And the best thing is, we all have a great time together."

Hampton, a 2003 Pro Bowler who is back to form after missing the final 10 games last season due to ACL surgery, considers himself the oddity of the bunch. He's the only one who isn't married, the only one who tips the scales at over 300 pounds (hence the nickname "Big Snack) and the only one with fashion sense, or so he claims.

"They all act like old men," the big nose guard said, laughing. "You would think Kimo's the old guy of the group (which he is, at 34), but Aaron acts like the old one. He always tries to be perfect about everything. Kimo's real laid-back. He thinks he's hip and stuff like that, but he's not at all. He thinks he can dress, but he's old school. I'm the young guy."

Hampton is also the anchor of a three-man front that sets the tone for a defense that ranks eighth overall in the NFL, including sixth against the run at 90 yards allowed per game. Smith and von Oelhoffen flank Hampton as the starting defensive ends, while Keisel and Kirschke backup the ends, and Hoke backs up Hampton.

On Monday night at Heinz Field, all six of those players could be needed against a Baltimore Ravens team that likes to pound though the ball, even though the Ravens' offense has struggled (11.5 points per game) and former 2,000-yard rusher Jamal Lewis (2.9 rushing average) is shell of himself.

"I think the key for us is having everybody fresh against these power teams -- and making sure there isn't a dropoff," Hoke said. "You want to be solid on every snap, no matter who's out there."

The term "solid" aptly describes how the Steelers have played against the run the past two seasons. No running back has eclipsed 100 rushing yards against them in 18 games; and only one team (Houston, 113 yards) has eclipsed 100 rushing yards this season.

Last Sunday at Cincinnati, tailback Rudi Johnson appeared to be on his way to ending the 100-yard, run-stopping streak when he popped loose for 46 yards in the first quarter. But the Steelers made adjustments, in addition to being more aware of the draw play, and he finished with 65 yards, albeit on just 12 attempts.

Ironically, Johnson was the last running back to rush for 100 against the Steelers in October 2004.

"Cincinnati hit us with some big plays early," said Smith, who leads the defensive line with 19 tackles, to go with a sack and an interception. "But we settled down and started making plays."

The big three of Smith, Hampton and von Oelhoffen often fly under the radar because the Steelers defense features its four linebackers. That means they must put aside their egos and understand their work might go unnoticed, at least by the casual observer.

"You might not see what they do, but they're the ones battling up there, taking on double teams, so we can make plays," linebacker Larry Foote said. "Our front has been dominant since the day I came here. That's the way it is with the Pittsburgh Steelers."

"We're blue-collar," said Kirschke, 31, a former star at UCLA who had his first sack of the season last Sunday in Cincinnati.

Smith, who led the team in sacks and went to his first Pro Bowl in '04, von Oelhoffen, who had a sack and tipped a pass that led to an interception by Smith last week, and Hampton have been setting the tone of late.

"In the last three weeks, those three have been pretty impressive," coach Bill Cowher said. "They've played at a very high level, as well as the people coming in behind them."

Joe Bendel can be reached at joecbendel@aol.com or (412) 320-7811.

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Dawson, Greenwood on Hall of Fame Ballot

BGI News: Ex-Steelers Dawson, Greenwood on Hall of Fame ballot

Friday, October 28, 2005
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Dermontti Dawson gets his first chance at election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and L.C. Greenwood gets his last as a whopping 112 candidates grace this year's modern-era ballot for induction in Canton, Ohio.

Greeenwood, one of 15 finalists for the Hall, will be among the modern-era nominees for the final time. If the former Steel Curtain defensive end is not elected when the selectors meet in Detroit on Feb. 4 he would then have to be included among the senior nominees, a much more difficult path to selection.

Dawson, who succeeded Hall of Famer Mike Webster as the Steelers' starting center in his second season with them in 1989, retired after the 2000 season because of a lingering hamstring injury. During his career, he was favorably compared to both Webster and former Dolphins center Dwight Stephenson, a contemporary who also is in the Hall of Fame.

This year's nominees are headed by three others eligible for the first time: the late Reggie White, who played defensive end for several teams and won a Super Bowl with Green Bay, and quarterbacks Troy Aikman and Warren Moon, along with two former stars from the Buffalo Bills' four-time Super Bowl teams, halfback Thurman Thomas and receiver Andre Reed.

Players must be retired at least five years before they can become eligible.

Other candidates returning to the ballot from last year:

Steelers assistant coach Russ Grimm, a former Pitt and Washington Redskins guard who was a finalist last year.

Donnie Shell, the Steelers' strong safety during their Super Bowl years and a previous finalist.

Tackle Jim Covert, Grimm's teammate at Pitt.

Former Pitt linebacker Chris Doleman.

Former Steelers linebacker Kevin Greene.

Former WVU linebacker Darryl Talley.

Chuck Knox, longtime NFL coach and a native of Sewickley.

Former 49ers owner Ed DeBartolo, Jr., from Boardman, Ohio, whose family also owned the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The preliminary list announced yesterday will be pared to 25 candidates by next month. Those will then be reduced to a list of 13 finalists who will join the two seniors candidates, former Raiders head coach John Madden and former Cowboys tackle Rayfield Wright, to be considered for election on Feb. 4, when between three and six will be chosen for induction.

Ed Bouchette: The Growth of a Secondary

The rebuilt defensive backfield is beginning to stir comparisons to the terrific quartet of the 1990s that featured Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Related Stories:
Ed Bouchette's NFL Notebook: Trouble ahead?
Injury Report: 10/30/05

The Steelers' secondary had the look of a barn on fire, only those weren't horses back there, they were hens, seemingly running around with their heads cut off. The joke was that old horse Mel Blount, despite his age, still could line up wearing his 10-gallon cowboy hat and start at cornerback for these modern-day Steelers.
They weren't all bad in the secondary, but collectively it was all bad.

So the Steelers did something about it. They flooded their secondary with draft picks. High ones and middle ones. Cornerbacks and safeties. They built one of the best young secondaries in the league with depth to boot.

The current Steelers hope history repeats itself after rebuilding their secondary the past few years because the one they remade in the late 1980s that featured Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake eventually helped get them to their only Super Bowl in the past 25 years.

"Those two were pretty special, now," said Steelers coordinator Dick LeBeau, who inherited Woodson and Lake when he became their secondary coach on Bill Cowher's first staff in 1992.
His current secondary might not have a Woodson at cornerback, but LeBeau acknowledges it as the best young group since the Steelers rebuilt their porous secondary in the late '80s and early '90s through the draft.

Strong safety Troy Polamalu made the Pro Bowl last year, his first season as a starter. Free safety Chris Hope, also in his second season as a starter, is making the kind of big plays expected of his position. Cornerback Ike Taylor, in his third season and first as a starter, is playing like a Pro Bowler. Veteran Deshea Townsend remains the other starting cornerback, but two others, Ricardo Colclough and rookie Bryant McFadden, the team's second-round picks in each of the past two years, are making their moves.

"Right now, I do see a comparison to when I was playing with Rod Woodson, Carnell and those guys," said cornerback Willie Williams, who is in his second tour with the Steelers after joining them as a rookie in 1993. "It's starting to develop as a good secondary.
"We had some Pro Bowlers back then. Right now, we have some Pro Bowl potential in these young guys."

Woodson is headed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Lake was the best safety in the league for a number of years and played a good cornerback in 1995 when Woodson missed virtually all of the season with a knee injury.

The Steelers had another good free safety join them in '92 as a rookie, and he now serves as the new breed's secondary coach.
"When I first came here?" Darren Perry wonders. "We were pretty good. That was probably the best group we had right there. We had two Hall of Famers out there."

Woodson and Lake were the constants with several cornerbacks passing through such as Delton Hall, Deon Figures and D.J. Johnson. Perry brought the whole group together.
"They loved Darren Perry," said Tom Modrak, Buffalo's assistant general manager and longtime Steelers personnel man. "He just ran the show, and all they had to do was play. He was one of those guys who could take charge."

Perry believes his current group has that kind of potential.
"Maybe from a talent standpoint, yes," Perry said. "The mental part of it, I wouldn't go with it just yet because of their youth. Rod was in a class of his own, but, as a whole, group, yes, the potential is there."

The Steelers' secondary in the mid-1980s was so bad that one starting cornerback is still known by his nickname.
"Harvey 'Toast' Clayton," Modrak said without prompting.

Coach Chuck Noll once told Modrak to "get him out of here," and they did in short order. They also showed the same kind of determination to correct their secondary problem the way the Steelers did starting in 2002. In 1987, they drafted Woodson in the first round, Hall in the second and safety Thomas Everett in the fourth. All became starters. They picked up Lake in the second round in '89 to solidify matters, and Perry (8th round) joined them in '92, Figures (1st) and Williams (6th) in '93.

"The secondary got fixed to a high degree in a rather short period of time," Modrak said.
There was luck involved in the Steelers getting Woodson because two teams drafting ahead of them made grievous mistakes, allowing them to steal him with the 10th pick.

Cowher and Kevin Colbert, the team's director of football operations, made their own luck in 2003 when they traded their third-round pick to move 11 spots higher in the first round and draft Polamalu with the 16th pick. They made what appears to be another great choice in the fourth round when they drafted Taylor, who had size, speed and raw talent but played cornerback only one season at Louisiana-Lafayette.

They forced the issue again in 2004 when they traded their fourth pick to move higher in the second round to draft Colclough from Division II Tusculum and added Florida State's McFadden in the second round this year.

"God forbid any of us gets hurt or has serious injuries, but we have an opportunity to be one of the best secondaries in that we're all still young, all still learning," Hope said.
"The athletic ability is there and all of us tackle, all of us are aggressive, all of us are willing to learn. There's no guy in our secondary who has the big head or thinks he's bigger than the group. If we keep that same attitude and continue to work hard and keep up the level of competitiveness, we'll be tough."

(Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3878.)

Mario Leads Pens To First Win

Six power-play goals lead to Penguins' win

Seven consecutive goals overcome Atlanta's early 4-0 lead, net 7-5 victory

Friday, October 28, 2005
By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Banks will be open for business today. Same with liquor stores, courts and government offices. Mail will be delivered, just like always. Mass transit will operate on the normal schedule. Garbage collection will proceed as planned.

Apparently, there hasn't been a holiday declared just because the Penguins won a hockey game last night. Perhaps that means the people in charge of such things are hoping it will become more than a once-a-year event.

But even if it does -- and no one should be taking anything for granted at this point -- it's unlikely the Penguins will do it in a more spectacular, improbable fashion than they did last night, when they spotted Atlanta a 4-0 lead before running off seven unanswered goals in a 7-5 victory at Mellon Arena.

"It was scary early in the game," said Mario Lemieux, who put on a pretty frightening show himself, piling up two goals and three assists.

"Mario led the way for us," winger Ryan Malone said. "It was awesome."

The victory was the first of the season for the Penguins (1-4-5), whose power play had one of the most productive nights in franchise history. It scored six times to tie a team record set in an 8-3 victory against Toronto Dec. 12, 1986.

"We've been working on it every day," said defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who scored two of the Penguins' man-advantage goals and assisted on another. "Finally, it paid off."

The Penguins not only got a victory, but some new-look lines. Lemieux played with Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi, Rico Fata was between Malone and Ziggy Palffy, Lasse Pirjeta centered John LeClair and Konstantin Koltsov and Maxime Talbot was with Matt Murley and Ryan VandenBussche.

Lemieux endorsed having Crosby for a linemate -- "He's fun to play with. With the speed that he has, for me, that's something I need now" -- and liked the looks of the remaining three units, too.

"I thought the other lines were pretty good, as well," Lemieux said. "We'll see what happens."

Critical as this victory was, the Penguins sustained a significant loss: Defenseman Dick Tarnstrom injured the medial collateral ligament in his left knee when his skate stuck in the ice after he was hit from the side during the first period.

Although there was no formal report on the severity of his injury, preliminary indications are that he could be out 6-8 weeks.

The game attracted a crowd of 14,009, 14,008 of whom did not wear a paper bag over their head while sitting behind the Atlanta penalty box. Midway through the opening period, though, most of those fans probably wished they had brought one because the Penguins opened the game with some of their poorest work of the season.

Peter Diana, Post-GazetteThe Penguins' Sidney Crosby watches his shot miss as the puck gets behind the Thrashers' goalie last night at Mellon Arena.

They allowed Atlanta, which has lost six of its past seven games, to get not only the first 10 shots of the game, but also the first four goals.

Ilya Kovalchuk put Atlanta up, 1-0, at 3:18 of the opening period, and that triggered a deluge of offense from the Thrashers.

Before it stopped, Patrik Stefan (8:32), Peter Bondra (9:00) and Niclas Havelid (9:50) deposited pucks behind Penguins goalie Sebastien Caron.

"Out of that whole stretch of games, that was probably the worst of the worst," Malone said. "Four-nothing was probably the bottom of the barrel."

Penguins coach Eddie Olczyk used his timeout at that point -- perhaps to consider what it would be like to hold a less stressful job, like air-traffic controller in a war zone -- and it actually served the intended purpose of allowing his team to regroup.

"We reacted to the timeout pretty well," LeClair said. In large part, it seems, because of an inspirational message from LeClair.

He would say only that "everybody just realized that we had to play a lot better, play a lot smarter," but LeClair's teammates credited him with helping them focus on the task at hand.
"He showed a lot of leadership," Lemieux said.

Lemieux did a little leading, too, pointing his team down the path that led to its first victory by converting a Ric Jackman rebound at 10:03, then getting another power-play goal 21.8 seconds before the first intermission.

Gonchar pulled the Penguins within one when he knuckled a shot past Thrashers goalie Steve Shields from inside the right circle at 11:56 and tied the score by taking a cross-ice feed from Crosby and throwing the puck inside the left post at 14:50.

Thirty-one seconds later, LeClair backhanded a Palffy leftover into the net at 15:21 for what proved to be the winner. Jackman (16:06) and LeClair (14:10 of the third) added some insurance before Atlanta's Slava Kozlov closed out the scoring at 15:43.

While winning one game doesn't wipe out all the frustrations and failures of the past three weeks, it provides a bit of a respite from the pressure that had been building by the day.

"It feels good," Malone said. "We can breathe a little bit."

(Dave Molinari can be reached at 412-263-1144.)

Joe Bendel: There's A Lot To Like About Ike

Ike Taylor swats away a Steve McNair pass intended for Titans receiver Drew Bennett in the season opener.

Joe Bendel

PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Before there was the lockdown of Chad Johnson and the knockdown of a sure touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars, there was the tire, the rabbit and Deion Sanders for Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor.

"He's done a lot and been through a lot to get where he is today," said Taylor's uncle, Herman Francois, who raised Ike on the outskirts of New Orleans since the seventh grade. "It's been a long road."
And a road less traveled.

Francois assisted in developing Taylor into the speedster (clocked at 4.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash) he is today with, arguably, the most unconventional workout program in modern history.
To build power in Taylor's thighs, hips and hamstrings, Francois sat in a truck tire each night and had a pre-teenage Taylor pull him with a rope wrapped around his waist for 2-3 miles. Francois wouldn't let Taylor quit until he was on the verge of passing out.

"Then, I would give him some water and tell him, 'Son, it's the fourth quarter now, so you have to keep on going,'" Francois said. "It'd be 2 in the morning and we'd be out there doing this."
But the training didn't end there.

To give Taylor an understanding of the dimensions of a regulation football field, Francois would line the ground near his home with baking flour at 5-yard increments.
"I didn't know how else to make the stripes. I didn't know where to buy the stuff they use on real football fields," Francois said. "But it worked. I had him stride those lines. I'd say, 'Son, if you can stretch along those lines, you're going to be faster.'"

Before long, Francois' nephew was the fastest kid in Harvey, La. But there was still one more challenge.

The rabbit.

To find out how swift Taylor was, Francois oversaw Taylor-and-the-hare races. He would have Taylor line up in a three-point stance on one side and have the rabbit in the cage on the other.
"I won't tell you if he ever caught that rabbit," Francois said, slyly. "You can be the judge."
Taylor claims the rabbit always got away, but just by a hare, er, hair.
"Almost got him a few times," Taylor said.

Hanging Chad

There was no "almost" about it when it came to covering the talented Johnson in a 27-13 win over the Bengals last Sunday in Cincinnati. The star wideout finished with four receptions for 94 yards, a total that included a meaningless 47-yard catch in the waning moments.
Coach Bill Cowher raved about his third-year cornerback moments after the game, as did Johnson, who said, "Ike Taylor is very good. I came into the game thinking it would be very easy, to tell you the truth. And he made me go into my bag of tricks, which is a good thing for the opponent. Therefore, he's in a class of his own."

And to think, when the Steelers used a fourth-round draft pick on Taylor, they had no idea what they were getting from the former Louisiana-Lafayette star.

Today, he's seen himself go from project to potential performer to possible Pro Bowler.
"I don't want to think about anything other than our next game against Baltimore," said Taylor, who interacts with his fans on his Web site, facemeike.com. "That's where my focus has to be. I haven't done anything yet."

Humility, thy name is Ike Taylor.

"That's the way he was - and he always will be," Francois said.

Eye opener

Once Taylor proved he could survive Francois' unconventional workout methods, he was free to train in the conventional world.

That's where renowned speed and agility trainer Tom Shaw entered the picture. Francois read an article about the New Orleans-based Shaw, who's trained 76 first-round NFL draft picks, and soon introduced him to Taylor.

"He was a sophomore in high school when he came here, and we timed Ike in the 40," said Shaw, who counts Eli and Peyton Manning among the countless NFL stars who swear by his methods. "He ran a 4.38. Jaws dropped. I just said, 'This kid is going to be blazing fast.'"

The next thing Taylor knew, he was training with and around some of the top players in the NFL, including Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders, who will be on the opposite sideline against the Steelers on Monday night at Heinz Field.

It was Sanders who gave Taylor a window into pro football, of how his work ethic and attention to detail separated him from so many others.

"He'd start off some of the drills I was in, and I'd just watch, see what he was doing," Taylor said. "I was just trying to learn what I could from him."

But it's not like Taylor needed many lessons in the areas of work and sacrifice. He left his mother, Cora, who was raising three children on her own in Raleigh, N.C., and moved to Louisiana with his aunt and uncle.

It was a difficult decision for a seventh-grader, but one that had a two-pronged effect: It would ease the financial burden for Cora, a licensed cosmetologist; and it would reunite Taylor with an abundance of family members in his birthplace of New Orleans.

Cora, though, remained -- and still remains -- a guiding influence in her son's life. "Ike's a very quiet, determined and optimistic kid," Cora Taylor said. "And he knew what he wanted to do at the age of 5, which is, play football."

Heavy hitter, playmaker

Taylor, 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, is playing well on a Super Bowl contender. He emerged from training camp as the clear-cut starter at left cornerback, and is making the Steelers scouting department look like geniuses every time he sets foot on the field.
He hits, evidenced by his 44 tackles in six games.

He makes big plays, evidenced by his touchdown-saving deflection of a 32-yard pass to Jaguars wideout Jimmy Smith in an eventual overtime loss at Heinz Field.

The play displayed Taylor's closing speed and field presence.

But he still has a lot to learn, evidenced by the unnecessary roughness penalty in Sunday's game for body-slamming Johnson.
Taylor, however, has made great strides, considering he played only one season of defensive back in college.

"Ike has had to work to get to this point," Cowher said Tuesday. "There are still times that I feel like he relaxes. In this business, you can't relax on any one play."
Taylor realizes that.
"You keep working, keep trying to get better," he said. "I want to be the best football player I can be."

Life and football

Francois always kept the football dream alive for Taylor, while also teaching Taylor about life outside of the game.

The two worked overnight shifts for Francois' maintenance business. That meant being at a job site at 10 p.m. and working until 5 a.m. Taylor did everything from janitorial services to painting, to carpentry, until he eventually became a foreman, who oversaw up to 15 workers.
"And he never complained. He just did his work, went to school, played his sports," Francois said. "It wasn't always easy, but he wouldn't let you know it."

In between cleaning restaurant bathrooms and going to class, there was football. Taylor loved football.

"He went to the library one time, picked up a Sports Illustrated and said, 'Mom, you just might see me on the cover of this magazine one day,'" Cora Taylor said. "I told him, 'Son, I know you can do it.'"

At Abramson High, Taylor played nearly every position. He had 18 sacks as a senior defensive end and ran roughshod as a halfback in the Wing-T offense. He also played kicker and receiver.
But he rarely played defensive back.

He played football at tiny Division I-A Louisiana-Lafayette University, but only for two seasons. He sat out his first two years to focus on academics before joining the team and playing tailback as a junior. He ran for 323 yards on 70 carries.

Then, in his only year as a cornerback, he paired with Charles Tillman, an eventual second-round pick by the Bears in 2002, and scouts began to take notice.

Most Louisiana-Lafayette opponents threw away from Tillman and toward Taylor, who was typically up for the task.

"I think that was the best thing for his NFL future," Shaw said. "People saw what this kid could do."

Next came a number of eye-opening workouts for NFL scouts at Louisiana-Lafayette, and the rest is history. Well, almost.

"People haven't come close to seeing what he can do," Francois said. "They've got one of the hardest working kids around there in Pittsburgh. Ike doesn't take vacations. He stays up there and works and he comes here and works with Tom Shaw. He doesn't need a vacation; he has too much work to do.

"The Pittsburgh Steelers got a special young man there. Ike comes home to this day and tells me, 'You need a break. I'm going out and working for you today.' And he does. It's all just beginning for him. There's a lot more Ike's going to do, believe it."

Joe Bendel can be reached at joecbendel@aol.com or (412) 320-7811.

Karen Price: Lemieux Speaks Out Over "Bad Call"

Karen Price
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, October 27, 2005

Mario Lemieux was back to his typical reserved self Wednesday morning, addressing reporters calmly and matter-of-factly about the penalty that pushed him over the edge the night before.

"It was just a bad call," he said of the interference penalty that put the Florida Panthers on the power play with 18 seconds left in a tie game. "The guy was skating backwards, and I was coming back in the zone, we collided, we both went down, I get the penalty. Especially with 18 seconds, the puck was going out of the zone, why would I knock somebody down? The puck's going the other way. It's just. ... frustrating."

That statement applies to a lot more than just the penalty.

The overtime loss brought the Penguins' record to nine games with no wins and the fewest points (five) in the Eastern Conference. They play again tonight against the also-struggling Atlanta Thrashers, losers of five of six games.

Throughout the slump -- even with rumors of organizational meetings and canceled team photos swirling through the media yesterday -- many of the players have talked about it still being early in the season, needing to stay positive, etc.

Lemieux's reaction told a different story Tuesday night.

He came out of the penalty box after the Panthers' game-winning goal, made a beeline for referee Stephane Auger and gave him an earful. If it weren't for the linesmen intercepting him like an opponent picking off a Penguins' outlet pass, Auger probably would have ended up on the business end of Lemieux's frustration.

"It's frustrating for everyone, but when you see Mario, the captain of the team and the best player in the NHL, losing it like that, it makes you want to go out there and just win because you know he wants to win," rookie center Maxime Talbot said. "He's (ticked) off, I guess. He's frustrated the way things are going right now."

One team staff member said he'd never seen Lemieux, who finished with just over 21 minutes of ice time, six shots, four missed shots and no points, so upset after a game. Declining to speak to reporters, Lemieux sat at his stall in the Penguins' private dressing area for at least 15 minutes after the game ended and after some teammates had already showered, dressed and gone home.
Yesterday, the man who for years has lobbied for a crackdown on interference and obstruction still had issue with the particular call that ultimately cost them the game.
"As soon as somebody falls down, it's a penalty," Lemieux said. "They've been told to call everything, and that's what they're doing, which is pretty good. But you have to pay a little more attention to your work, I guess."

Officiating is probably the least of Lemieux's worries right now, though.

"I don't know," he said when asked what needs to be done to correct occasionally trigger-happy officiating. "I've got enough problems."

Sidney Crosby, whom Lemieux yesterday said has been the team's best player "by far" this season, said that Lemieux's reaction after Tuesday's loss didn't necessarily send a message, but that it wasn't fun to watch, either.

"For me, you never like to see a teammate that emotional, that fired up," Crosby said. "And especially Mario. He doesn't do that unless there's something really wrong there. I really felt for him there because I know what it's like to be in situations like that where he wants to win so bad. To be put in a situation like that, it's not fun. It's just unfortunate that that's the way it was."

Karen Price can be reached at kprice@tribweb.com.