Bettis book riveting, brutally honest

By Joe Starkey
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 26, 2007

OK, so Jerome Bettis throws some folks under The Bus in his soon-to-be-released book.

So what?

That is part of what makes for a riveting read, and those who feel the need to defend themselves -- perhaps including Bill Cowher, whom Bettis says lied to him more than once -- will have ample opportunity.

"The Bus: My Life in and Out of a Helmet," co-written with Gene Wojciechowski, is chock full of controversial opinion, and judging by the reaction to excerpts published this past week, it should enjoy a lengthy shelf life.

Let's pluck some passages for further review:

• In training camp of 2000, Bettis, fearing he would be cut, faked a knee injury in a goal-line drill. He'd come to camp with an injured knee, so he knew the Steelers would find something on an MRI. "Man, did I do a nice job of acting," he writes.

Review: Teams can tear up a contract any time they want. Bettis was simply protecting himself. No shame there. It's not as if he quit on his teammates in the middle of a game.

• Bettis aggravated a groin injury early in the 2001 AFC Championship against New England. "I knew I couldn't run, but I gutted it out," he writes.

Review: If he knew he couldn't run, he was selfish to stay on the field.

• Bettis admits to selling drugs when he was 16, growing up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit. "Not a lot of drugs, and not for long, but I did sell them."

Review: Credit him for having the courage to tell the sordid parts of his story.

• Bettis says the Steelers set up Kordell Stewart to fail in 2002 because they did not want to have to lavish him with a second consecutive mega contract. "I can't prove it, but in my heart I really believe Kordell was set up for failure that season."

Review: One could argue Stewart was set up for failure in multiple years, given his multiple coordinators and lack of firepower at receiver, but 2002 was not one of them. He was plain bad early that year, presiding over a team that was about to go 0-3, and backup Tommy Maddox played well in his place.

• Bettis describes going from "a high school that had barely any white students" to "prestigious, world-renowned, predominantly white, Catholic, affluent Notre Dame." His first roommate was white and had a habit of hanging his shorts and underwear on his bed. Bettis, accustomed to using "street tactics" to solve disputes, did not know how to broach the subject. "I was so conditioned to confront people that I didn't know how to just talk to somebody about a situation."

Review: The most poignant section of the book, aside from Bettis' tribute to his late father, Johnnie.

• Bettis says the Steelers pushed his close friend and blocking back, Tim Lester, aside in 1999 because running backs coach Dick Hoak, a Penn State grad, wanted Penn State product Jon Witman at the position.

Review: Ridiculous. Witman was a good player. Lester was five games from the end of his career.

• On the play call that resulted in Bettis' infamous fumble against the Indianapolis Colts, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is quoted as saying to Cowher, "You give the ball to Jerome because Jerome doesn't fumble."

Review: The notion that Bettis rarely fumbled is one of the great frauds perpetrated on mankind. In fact, he'd lost fumbles in two of his previous three playoff games, including one that nearly led to a loss against the Jets.

• In describing the fumble against the Colts, Bettis subtly mentions that guard Alan Faneca went off script and thus contributed to the big hit by Gary Brackett. Bettis also claims he was adequately protecting the ball.

Review: It's terrible form to implicate anyone but himself on that play -- and he should've been protecting the ball with two hands, not one.

Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com

Bob Smizik: Why raise low payroll for Pirates?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday, August 26, 2007

A major complaint of Pirates fans concerns the fact owner Bob Nutting keeps the team's payroll among the lowest in baseball. At the start of the season, the Pirates' payroll was $30 million less than any other team in the Central Division, an enormous gap. What's more, annually, the team's payroll is at or near the bottom of the Central Division.

Since it has been reported the team is turning a significant profit, it's understandable fans want more money put into player salaries. After all, the common wisdom is the higher the payroll, the better the chance of winning.

As the result of this and the fact the team is in the midst of a 15th-consecutive losing season, Nutting is regularly skewered by fans and the media.

Allow me, for a minute or two, to play Nutting's Advocate.

Why should he raise payroll? What's in it for him?

By most indicators, the ticket-buying public -- as opposed to the whining Pirates-obsessed public -- is content with the product Nutting puts on the field at PNC Park. The team's attendance is close to what it was last year, when the All-Star Game was a lure for season-ticket buyers. Without the All-Star Game as a carrot, attendance is down less than 600 a game.

In July, a well-organized protest asked fans to leave their seats after the third inning of a home game as a show of discontent. There were about 27,000 fans at the game. About 5 percent of the fans joined in the protest. That means about 95 percent of the fans were signaling, if not their approval of the way the team was being run, at least their acceptance.

In an astonishing display of product approval, 142,948 tickets were sold for four home games between Aug. 16-19. Three of those games featured fireworks and concerts. Some say such promotions cheapens the attendance figures. They're missing the point. The Pirates, through expert marketing, have developed a fan base that likes baseball but loves the extra promotions the team regularly has -- be it fireworks, bobbleheads or other giveaways.

There are other reasons why Nutting should be slow to increase payroll.

Although increasing payroll might give a team a better chance of winning, it is by no means a guarantee. For example, the Houston Astros entered the season with a payroll of $87.7 million, almost $50 million more than the Pirates. Going into the weekend the Astros had two more wins than the Pirates. That means the Astros, compared to the Pirates, are paying about $25 million for each additional win. The Cincinnati Reds have a payroll that was $31 million higher than the Pirates. They also had more wins than the Pirates.

So when Nutting ponders increasing payroll, sure he sees what Arizona is doing with a $53 million payroll and what Cleveland is doing with a $61 million payroll, but he also sees Houston and Cincinnati.

But here's what might be the clincher for Nutting. Suppose he does increase payroll and suppose, unlike Cincinnati, the Pirates get appreciably better. Suppose they are flirting with or are above .500 and it's not utterly ridiculous to mention the Pirates and wild card in the same sentence. Let's say the excitement this amount of winning generates raises attendance to an average of 30,000. That would be an increase of about 7,500. At, roughly, $30 a paying customer over the course of the season, that would translate into about $18 million in additional concession and ticket revenue.

You don't get good players for $18 million. Sure, that more than covers a season salary for one player. But the good players, the ones who can change the fortunes of a team, want four- and five-year contracts. Who's to say the additional player or players will make a difference? And if they do, can they maintain that difference for the life of that particular contract?

The Pirates' steady losing has been accepted by the ticket-buying public. But what happens if the team gets decent or even good for a year or two? Maybe the taste of success will turn them into baseball fans who want more than gimmicks? Maybe if the team goes bad again they'll no longer be happy with just promotions and stop coming to games.

In effect, it could be counterproductive -- in terms of profit -- to increase payroll.

Nutting is a bottom-line guy, not a baseball guy. From the little we know of him, profit trumps victory. Fans might not like that, but it's his team and he has the right to set payroll where he wants. That's particularly true if increased payroll does not necessarily increase chances of victory.


First published at PG NOW on August 25, 2007 at 8:03 pm

Ron Cook: And the leaders are ...

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sunday, August 26, 2007

First, there was Jerome Bettis, who ranks with Joe Greene as one of the great leaders in Steelers history. His former teammates don't care that he faked an injury in the 2000 training camp so he wouldn't be released. Every time they think back to Feb. 5, 2006 -- to the night they hoisted the Super Bowl trophy in Detroit -- they're thankful he did.

Then, there was Joey Porter. "There will never be another one like him," Steelers linebacker Larry Foote was saying last week. "He was one of kind in what he brought to this team. He opened his door to everyone. We were his guys. He didn't listen to his own hype. He was just a real person."

And now there is?

"Oh, we have enough chiefs," Foote said. "You don't have to worry about that. That isn't a problem."

The Steelers' locker room still is strong despite the losses of Bettis and Kimo von Oelhoffen after the Super Bowl season of '05 and Porter and Jeff Hartings after last season. There isn't the dominant personality of a Bettis or a Porter, but there will be plenty of options for new coach Mike Tomlin when he picks his team captains before the opener in Cleveland Sept. 9.

Ben Roethlisberger drew several votes in my exhaustive poll of the players. (OK, I talked to more than just Foote). It's not so much because he's a wise old veteran; in some ways, at 25 and entering his fourth NFL season, he's still a big goofy kid. "He's the quarterback. That automatically makes him our leader," wide receiver Hines Ward said.

Defensive end Aaron Smith also was mentioned by numerous sources. That might surprise you because he doesn't get a lot of press. "I really don't like the attention." But he's huge among his teammates. "I don't think he's ever had a bad game," Foote said.

It was Smith whom former coach Bill Cowher chose to speak to the squad the morning of the New Orleans game last season when the Steelers were 2-6 and fading fast. Smith got so emotional during that meeting that he cried. Who knows what impact it had on the 38-31 win later that day or the Steelers' 6-2 finish to the season? But this much is certain: "Aaron doesn't say much, but when he does, everybody listens," nose tackle Chris Hoke said.

It must be a defensive lineman thing.

Cowher asked von Oelhoffen -- an enormous presence in the locker room -- to speak to the team the night before the Steelers played the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game after the '05 season.

Talk about speaking softly and carrying a big stick.

Guard Alan Faneca -- the Steelers' most decorated player, at least in terms of Pro Bowls -- knows all about that. He was the players' choice as an offensive captain the past three seasons under Cowher, when the voting was more of a democratic process, and, he, ordinarily, would be an easy choice for Tomlin, as well. But these aren't ordinary times for Faneca. He's bitter toward management about his contract status as he heads into his final season before free agency. He said in the spring during his explosive minicamp rant that he couldn't imagine being a captain for an organization that no longer wants him.

"It doesn't matter. Alan will always be a captain to us if he has the title or not," Ward said. "That's how much the guys respect him."

Ward is certain to be one of Tomlin's picks, which is only appropriate, Hoke said. "Hines is the one guy who always seems to be speaking up for us. He has our backs."

Ward also had the second-most votes in our survey.

"It's one thing to talk," Hoke said. "Hines backs it up every day in practice and the games by how hard he plays."

That leaves just one player, the winner of our little poll.

Would you believe a "Potsie" is going to lead the Steelers this season?

"Definitely, Potsie," Ward said.

"Easily, Potsie, no question," cornerback Deshea Townsend said.

It's a role linebacker James Farrior takes seriously.

Yes, he's Potsie, nicknamed after the character from the old "Happy Days" television show.

"It's important because there are a lot of young guys looking up to you and following your example," Farrior said, quietly, which is how he says just about everything.

The man definitely isn't as loud as Porter was. Nor is he as popular with the media as Bettis was. But maybe those are two reasons he's so admired by his teammates. How do you not admire quiet strength? The players are suckers for it. They voted Farrior one of their defensive captains the past three seasons.

"The coaches can only tell you so much," Townsend said. "James shows you. 'This is how we do it here. This is the right way.' If you're a young guy and you watch James, you learn quick."

"They should be watching his every move," safety Troy Polamalu said. "Same thing with Hines and Alan. They've been very successful for this team in this city for a long time."

You should have seen a clearly moved Farrior blush.

"I guess this means I must be the oldest guy on the team," he said.

No, just the most respected.


First published at PG NOW on August 25, 2007 at 7:42 pm
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.

Steelers' Timmons proves to be quick study

Saturday, August 25, 2007
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Coach Mike Tomlin cautioned several weeks ago not to give up on Lawrence Timmons, and he wasn't just feigning optimism or sympathy for the Steelers' No. 1 draft pick.

Despite missing the entire offseason conditioning program and more than the first two weeks of training camp, Timmons is doing a good job of playing catch-up at outside linebacker in the Steelers' defense -- so much so his coaches have not ruled out the possibility of him playing every bit as much this season as the team's other rookie outside linebacker, LaMarr Woodley.

"We're seeing him catch up, but that's pretty much what we expected," Tomlin said. "He's a sharp guy, a very talented guy. All he needed to do is get back on the field."

In his first preseason game against the Washington Redskins, Timmons did not have to wait long to get on the field, being inserted in the nickel defense on the first defensive series and rushing the passer.

In the fourth quarter, when the Redskins were trying to rally for a late score, Timmons was dropping into coverage downfield and running with tight ends, running backs and, yes, wide receivers.

"I'm getting there," said Timmons, the 15th overall selection in the NFL draft. "I'm glad they give me an opportunity like that. I'm trying to help them out and live up to the aspirations they have for me in this defense."

He will get more playing time tomorrow night when the Steelers (2-1) face the Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) in a preseason game at Heinz Field, but his role will be slightly different. Timmons will continue to get some snaps in the nickel defense, but Tomlin said he will get a more extensive look in the base defense with the second unit.

"Last week, we played him in packages where we wanted him to get out there and play and not worry too much about situational things, assignment things," Tomlin said. "We cut some of those things down so he could turn it loose and play. This week, we're going to take the training wheels off him, and he's going to play in all phases of the defense with the second group."

Timmons' chances of being a contributor this season appeared to diminish when, three days into training camp, he aggravated the same groin injury that caused him to miss nearly the entire offseason program.

After missing the next two weeks of camp, Timmons went to Dr. William Meyers, a noted groin and abdominal specialist based in Philadelphia, and was diagnosed with an inflammatory condition known as osteitis pubis -- the same diagnosis he received from the Steelers. Timmons received an anti-inflammatory injection designed to expedite his return to the practice field.

Less than a week later, he was back on the practice field and back in the Steelers' plans for the regular season. So far, they have not been disappointed by what they've seen.

"He's got the explosiveness we saw in college," said linebackers coach Keith Butler. "Once he figures everything out, he'll be quicker in his play. Right now, he's slowed down because he's thinking a lot. Once he gets the feel of the defense, he'll be all right."

"He's definitely got the tools," said inside linebacker James Farrior. "The coaches wouldn't have picked him that high if he didn't. You definitely see the burst here and there, and he's supposed to be good off the edge. They'll find some way to put him on the field."

While Woodley, a converted defensive end, is used primarily as a pass-rush specialist in the nickel and dime defense, Timmons will be used in more varied roles in the sub packages because he is more accustomed to playing the outside position.

Butler said Timmons can blitz, cover running backs and tight ends, and, on occasion, run with wide receivers.

"I'm trying to be used as many places as possible," Timmons said. "I'm trying to concentrate on third-down packages and, hopefully do more in the base stuff.

"I'm definitely making progress, without a doubt. When I was out [with injury], I was still paying attention and being in meetings like everybody else. I think I'll be fine."

"When I was out [with injury], I was still paying attention and being in meetings like everybody else. I think I'll be fine."

First published at PG NOW on August 24, 2007 at 11:08 pm

Gerry Dulac can be reached gdulac@post-gazette.com.

Pirates' Clemente makes all-time Gold Glove team

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DENVER -- Roberto Clemente was the only member of the Pirates to make the all-time Rawlings Gold Glove team announced today, joining Willie Mays and Ken Griffey Jr. in the outfield.

Clemente took 21 percent of the votes -- close to 1 million cast by fans at national sporting goods stores and online -- and finished just behind Mays (23 percent), with those two well above the pack. Griffey had 9 percent.

Bill Mazeroski, the only other Pirates representative on the ballot, finished fourth among second basemen with 19 percent of the vote behind the winner Joe Morgan (27 percent), Roberto Alomar (22 percent) and Ryne Sandberg (21 percent).

The rest of the team had pitcher Greg Maddux, catcher Johnny Bench, first baseman Wes Parker, shortstop Ozzie Smith and third baseman Brooks Robinson.

Former Steelers star Bettis mum on book details

By Mike Prisuta
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, August 24, 2007


Jerome Bettis, presumably, wasn't faking it when he said during a Thursday afternoon visit to Wilkinsburg that he's prevented by his publisher from discussing his controversial new book until it's released to the public next month.

"The one thing I'm going to say about it -- I really can't talk about it -- is that I want everybody to get an opportunity to read it," Bettis said. "Nobody's been able to read it except in excerpts. You really need to read it.

"When the book is released, I'll kind of explain my thoughts. At the end of the day it's my opinion, what I feel. I want to explain it, and if there are any questions from a public standpoint I want to address them."

"The Bus: My Life In and Out of a Helmet" will be available on Sept. 4.

The book includes a revelation that Bettis faked sustaining an injury to avoid being released by the Steelers in training camp prior to the 2000 season.
His enthusiasm seemed most genuine during a Thursday visit to Hosanna House, a community service center in Wilkinsburg.

Bettis arrived unannounced to check on the progress of children in the process of building computers through The Jerome Bettis Cyberbus Computer Engineering Program, an offshoot of The Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation.

The children didn't finish their computer construction yesterday, but when they do they'll get to take the fruits of their educational labor home with them.

"We try to bring kids in and get them involved in computers by first teaching them how to build a computer," Bettis said. "And then once they build a computer, now they learn how to actually use that computer and they get to take that computer home.

"It takes kids from learning about computers to getting vested in the sense that, 'I built this computer, I have ownership in this computer and I want to learn about this computer.' I think that's a great way to teach kids about computers and computer literacy."

Bettis' foundation is sponsoring the program here and in his hometown of Detroit, with plans to "at some point, possibly" introduce it in Atlanta.

"When you build something, it's yours," Bettis said. "It's like anything else: If you've worked on something long enough, you feel the ownership and you want to do everything you can to try to get all the benefits from it.

"I really believe it closes the digital divide that we see sometimes in the inner cities."

Mike Prisuta can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.

Bettis said he faked injury to keep Steelers from cutting him

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By The Associated Press
Thursday, August 23, 2007

Jerome Bettis, the No. 5 rusher in NFL history, claims in a new book that he faked a knee injury during training camp in 2000 so the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn't cut him and install Richard Huntley as the starter.

Bettis was worried offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride favored Huntley over him and the Steelers were ready to let Bettis go, partly so they wouldn't have to give him a new contract. Huntley had just signed a $4 million, three-year contract.

"Man, did I do a nice job of acting," Bettis wrote in the book, "The Bus: My Life in and Out of a Helmet." "The thing is, I wasn't faking that I had an injury. I was just faking that the injury happened on that short-yardage play. I had to fool the coaches and the team's medical department into thinking the injury had occurred on that play. Otherwise, the Steelers would have had their reason to cut me and my salary."

Teams cannot cut an injured player during camp unless they reach an injury settlement with him.

"I effectively negated any funny business they were trying to pull on me," Bettis wrote in the book. "I took the pressure off a head coach (Bill Cowher) who was probably trying to get rid of me."
Bettis' recollection may be more anecdotal than fact-based.

While Bettis was held out early in that 2000 camp because of a hip injury, his knee injury -- the one Bettis said he faked -- was not revealed until later in camp. Huntley had a hamstring injury at the time and played in only one preseason game, gaining 13 yards.

Bettis didn't disclose how a player who was so injured that he missed all but a few days of camp could beat Bettis out of a job and force the Steelers to release him.

An MRI test by the Steelers during that camp revealed Bettis, who had undergone knee surgery the year before, had blood swelling behind his kneecap as a result of a hit during practice.

Bettis did not write in the book, co-written with Gene Wojciechowski, how a fresh injury that supposedly didn't occur could cause such test results. He did write that he showed up to camp with a knee problem that had occurred the season before.

Bettis, who had worked out extensively during the offseason before that camp, said at the time he was very relieved the injury wasn't worse.

"I was worried about it initially. The MRI showed a bone bruise," Bettis said. "That's when the blood came in. That was refreshing for me because whenever you're dealing with a knee and swelling, you always assume the worst. I assumed the worst, but it tuned out not to be the case."

Bettis would go on to rush for 1,341 yards that season and later signed a $30 million contract with the Steelers. Huntley gained only 217 yards and was cut after that season, hooking on with Carolina in 2001.

Bettis also wrote that the Steelers were never sold on Kordell Stewart as their quarterback -- despite giving him a $27 million, five-year contract before they moved into Heinz Field in 2001 -- and did everything possible to hand the job to Tommy Maddox.

In the book, Bettis said Stewart had become too rich for them as he entered the last year of his contract in 2002 and they wanted him out.

"Anybody who tells you money isn't a factor in personnel decisions doesn't know the NFL," Bettis wrote. "I can't prove it, but in my heart I really believe that Kordell was set up for failure that season."

Bettis was incorrect in writing that Stewart's contract was up that season; the deal ran through 2003.

Stewart had led the Steelers to a 13-3 record the season before and was chosen as the team MVP but played poorly in the playoffs, and that sub-par play and a visible lack of confidence carried into the 2002 season.

With Stewart at quarterback, the Steelers lost their first two games to New England (30-14) and Oakland (30-17) and were on the verge of losing a third, to Cleveland, when Cowher inserted Maddox late in the second half with Pittsburgh down 13-6. Maddox rallied the Steelers to a 16-13 overtime victory and would go on to start the rest of that season and in 2003, except for several games when he was hurt.

Stewart played so poorly at the start of 2002 that some teammates felt the team's season would be lost if he remained the starter. After Stewart was benched, there was no visible sentiment on that team that he should be reinstated.

Bettis also wrote that the Steelers became too reliant on the pass with Maddox, one reason they didn't go further in the 2002 playoffs; that he had an undisclosed appendectomy before the 1999 season; and that he became incensed when Steelers fans booed him early in the 2004 season for replacing Duce Staley in goal-line situations.

Bettis' book full of surprises

Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Long before the fairy-tale ending to his career on the floor of the Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit, Jerome Bettis says the Steelers wanted to release him in the summer of 2000 -- and would have had he not faked a training camp injury.

That and several other surprising revelations are contained in "The Bus. My Life in and out of a Helmet," an autobiography by Bettis with co-author Gene Wojciechowski set for its release in bookstores in a few weeks.

Among the stories told by Bettis is an accusation that former coach Bill Cowher conspired with Steelers management to run quarterback Kordell Stewart out of Pittsburgh because he was due for another big contract after his 2001 Pro Bowl season.

Bettis said he avoided being run out as well because of the injury to his left knee. The Steelers, he wrote, wanted to turn his job over to Richard Huntley in 2000 and noted that Huntley turned down a $2 million signing bonus from the Miami Dolphins as a free agent to remain with the Steelers.

Bettis cited a Post-Gazette story that Huntley told his agent that Bettis would be released and that coordinator Kevin Gilbride "loved Huntley."

Bettis entered that training camp with an injured left knee that he said never was right after surgery the previous summer. He kept quiet about the injury, thinking the Steelers would release him right then had they known about it.

Instead, he waited for a chance in practice to fake it. He went down in a short-yardage drill, yelled and grabbed his left knee.

"Man, did I do a nice job of acting,'' Bettis wrote. "The thing is, I wasn't faking that I had an injury. I was just faking that the injury happened on that short-yardage play. I had to fool the coaches and the team's medical department into thinking the injury had occurred on that play. Otherwise, the Steelers would have had their reason to cut me and my salary."

Once hurt in camp, the Steelers could not release him.

"I effectively negated any funny business they were trying to pull on me," Bettis wrote. "I took the pressure off a head coach who was probably trying to get rid of me.

"In my mind," Bettis continued, "what I did was justifiable because the original injury occurred while I was playing for the Steelers."

Bettis ran for 1,341 yards that season and left the game after the 2005 Super Bowl on his own terms.

It did not happen that way for Stewart, the team's MVP in 2001.

"For some reason, Coach would never really commit fully to Kordell ... and because of that, we had no consistent leadership from the quarterback position," Bettis wrote of Stewart's on-and-off stay as starting quarterback from 1997 until Tommy Maddox replaced him in the third game of the 2002 season.

Bettis blames Cowher for not knowing what to do with Stewart and for affecting his development as a quarterback.

"Nothing against Tommy, but I always had my doubts that he won the job fair and square."

He said Stewart was too rich for them as he entered the last year of his contract in 2002. Actually, his contract ran through 2003.

"Anybody who tells you money isn't a factor in personnel decisions doesn't know the NFL," Bettis wrote. "I can't prove it, but in my heart I really believe that Kordell was set up for failure that season."

The Steelers did not discuss a contract extension after Stewart's Pro Bowl 2001 season, something they always had done previously when he had two years to go. Then, he was benched quickly in 2002 in favor of Maddox.

"You bench your Pro Bowl quarterback for a guy who had been out of football for years, who hadn't started an NFL game in 10 seasons?" Bettis wonders in his book. "That just doesn't happen by accident.

"I think they pulled Kordell partly because they didn't want to pay him a big salary and signing bonus. It was cheaper for them if he didn't have success. If he recovered and had a huge year, then the public sentiment would be, 'Hey, you've got to re-sign him for whatever it costs.' I'm telling you, it was a monetary decision. The Steelers had no interest in paying Kordell his market value."

Among other revelations in the book:

* Bettis wrote that relying more on the passing game in 2002 rather than the running game is why the Steelers came up short in the playoffs behind Maddox.

* He was not happy when the team cut fullback Tim Lester before the 1999 season.

"I even told the Steelers I'd give part of my salary to keep him. But they had no intention of keeping Tim. It wasn't about money [they never offered him a contract]; it was about wanting to give the job to Jon Witman. Witman was a Penn State guy handpicked by another Penn State guy, Coach [Dick] Hoak. ... Without Lester, there's no question my rushing numbers wouldn't have been as good as they were."

* Bettis had a secret appendectomy before the 1999 season.

"The funny thing is, the Steelers didn't want the media to know about the surgery. So, when I went to the hospital, someone told me to register under the name Tex Goldstein. That was my alias. Do I look like a Tex Goldstein?"

* He called Denver linebacker Bill Romanowski "a coward" for grabbing his ankle and twisting it.

* He said halfback Amos Zereoue "wasn't the hardest-working guy in practice" and he told him so. "Amos listened, but he didn't take it to heart."

* On being booed at home for replacing Duce Staley near the goal line in 2004 and scoring a touchdown: "Steelers fans -- at my home stadium -- were booing me for scoring a touchdown. I was so angry that you could have grilled a hamburger on my forehead."

* He felt ashamed when Notre Dame fired its first black head coach, Tyrone Willingham, after just three years.

* The White House staff misspelled Cowher's name on the Steelers' visit to meet President Bush as "Cower" on the stage floor where the coach was to stand.

Ron Cook: Standing on the corner

Despite frequent challenges, Deshea Townsend remains a starter

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OK, so maybe it's corny.

Corny, but meaningful.

"Look at this shirt. This is my motto," Steelers receiver Hines Ward was saying yesterday, pulling a yellow jersey out of his locker.

HARD WORK BEATS TALENT WHEN TALENT DOESN'T WORK HARD.

"That's been me my whole career," Ward said, "and that's him," pointing at the man in the next locker.

Deshea Townsend.

"To me, he's still our best corner," Ward said. "Maybe he isn't the tallest in the NFL and maybe he isn't the most talented, but you need more than physical tools and talent to make it in this league. You have to be smart and you have to know the game. He does. That's why he's lasted so long with this team."

Ten seasons and counting, making Townsend, along with Ward and guard Alan Faneca, the most-tenured Steelers' players.

They came in together in the 1998 draft class -- Faneca, the can't-miss No. 1 pick who has become the most-decorated guard in franchise history, Ward, a third-rounder now the team's all-time leading receiver in catches who was a Super Bowl MVP, and Townsend, who, as a fourth-round choice ...

Hey, he's still starting.

No one can beat him out.

Not that they haven't tried.

It was supposed to happen at training camp last season. Bryant McFadden was going to be The Man. He had done a nice job as a rookie in '05, giving the Steelers a big push toward Super Bowl XL by knocking away a late pass in the end zone against the Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning in the AFC playoffs.



Townsend held him off.

Skip ahead to this camp. Again, McFadden was supposed to win the starting job. He played well in nine starts last season when the Steelers' big-money cornerback, Ike Taylor, was in coach Bill Cowher's doghouse. He had three interceptions, matching Troy Polamalu for the team lead.

But guess who was running with the first defense at practice yesterday opposite Taylor, who has re-emerged as a key player for new coach Mike Tomlin?

Guess who has been there all summer?

Yep, Townsend.

He had a nice game at Washington the other night. In one three-play sequence in the second quarter, he chased down Redskins back Derrick Blaylock from behind for a 1-yard loss, closed quickly to tackle wide receiver Brandon Lloyd after a 2-yard catch and sacked quarterback Todd Collins for a 9-yard loss.

"I can still run with people out there," Townsend said.

But there's so much more to it.

Ward was absolutely right.

"The mental part of the game allows me to slow things down," Townsend said.

Townsend never stops working at his trade, never stops studying it.

"I don't take anything for granted," he said. "I take the same notes now that I did as a rookie. In our meetings, I always write down every player's assignment. That helps me to be better prepared to do my job.

"I learned that from coach [Bill] Cowher. He always said, 'Nothing is etched in stone. When you come to camp, be prepared to win your job.' That's what I've done every year since I've been here."

Even Townsend thought he might be finished with the Steelers after the '05 season. He did the NFL tour as an unrestricted free agent and was at New England Patriots headquarters, ready to sign a deal, when Cowher got him on his cell phone. He sheepishly excused himself from that meeting with the Patriots and wound up signing a four-year, $8 million contract with the Steelers through the '09 season.

Now, who's to say Townsend -- 32 on Sept. 8, the day before the opener in Cleveland -- won't last long enough to play it out?

"People always put so much emphasis into age, but I don't think you can do that nowadays," he said. "The way we train year round, the medical staff we have ... It's easy to keep playing at a high level as you get older."

That's if you consider hard work easy.

"It's never been easy for me and Deshea," Ward said. "It seems like they're always bringing in someone to replace us ...

"Go back to that '98 draft. If you would have asked then what players would still be with the Steelers 10 years later, I guarantee no one would have said me and Deshea."

Sometimes, it's nice to be wrong.

For Pittsburgh's Tomlin, it's all about the details

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walks on the field before before a preseason game against the Packers earlier this month. Tomlin will hope to be on the Pittsburgh sidelines for a long time, like his predecessors Bill Cowher and Chuck Knoll.

By Chris Colston, USA TODAY

August/21/2007

LATROBE, Pa. — The bass thumped from a portable stereo, a cool rap groove, when Mike Tomlin entered the room the morning of Oct. 30, 2002.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were in the middle of their Super Bowl season. Coach Jon Gruden likes to split the 16-game schedule into quarters, and for each quarter he assigns an assistant as "head coach" for the big Wednesday team meeting that sets the tone for the week.

BLOG: Read Chris Colston's entries from Steelers training camp
GALLERY: Scenes from Pittsburgh's training camp

Tomlin and linebackers coach Joe Barry drew the third quarter. So with the music blasting, they and their "posse" — assistant coaches Raheem Morris and Joe Woods — burst in wearing matching black T-shirts riffing off the "third quarter" theme. "Something the players could relate to," Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber says.

The entrance grabbed players' attention. Tomlin, then 30, spoke and his confidence proved rapturous.

"Some guys can have that kind of presence in a meeting room, with his positional players," says Denver Broncos safety John Lynch, a member of that Bucs team. "But when Mike stepped in front of everybody his thoughts were precise, succinct, and he never faltered in his delivery. It's a talent and he pulled it off. That was the first time I thought, 'Wow, this guy is going to be a special head coach one day.' "

FIND MORE STORIES IN: NFL Super Bowl Pittsburgh Steelers Tampa Bay Buccaneers LOVIE SMITH Bill Cowher John Lynch Mike Tomlin Ronde Barber Art Rooney

But the ranks are filled with qualified assistants. For Tomlin, 35, to leapfrog them and become coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers fascinates many who follow the NFL. One reason he commands the respect: Every detail matters.

It also helps explain why, for the love of Art Rooney Sr., Tomlin wears a long-sleeved shirt and black pants in the stifling August heat of training camp. "The man in black," cornerback Deshea Townsend says. "He's a cool cat."

So much interest in his wardrobe perplexes Tomlin, who says he always has dressed this way.

"All of a sudden, it's newsworthy," he says. "That's been the most surprising thing about the job for me at this point — that it's a big deal what clothes I choose to work in."

But Tomlin's style has a purpose: to create consistency. "It's a little mental warfare on my part," he says, then cracks a smile. "All I have to do is get through training camp. After that, this is appropriate wear."

Such thinking might explain how Tomlin landed one of the NFL's most prestigious jobs. Low-profile stops at Virginia Military Institute, Memphis, Arkansas State and the University of Cincinnati and one year as an NFL coordinator exposed him to many situations; he held six jobs in his first seven years of coaching.

But during that NFL championship season, working with players such as Barber, Lynch, Brian Kelly and Super Bowl XXXVII MVP Dexter Jackson, Tomlin began to get a better sense of his destiny.

"I had a great room, but it was a hard room to coach," Tomlin says. "If you stand in front of Lynch and Barber and Kelly every day, it doesn't matter if there are 50 other guys in the room. That's a tough crowd.

"They had a desire to be great, and they demanded that you deliver for them. That's when I realized I might be capable of doing something like this."

Tomlin's authenticity won over Barber.

"He wasn't phony, and some coaches don't have that quality," Barber says. "Mike always seemed like he loved what he was doing and loved the guys he worked with. Some part of him rubbed off on us.

"To me, that's a great head coach's quality, and you could see that in him from the very beginning."

Having said that, even Barber raised his eyebrows when Tomlin landed the Steelers job.

"Surprise is the wrong word because I knew he'd be there at a young age," Barber says. "But this year? No. Next year, I thought maybe."

Rising to the top

When Steelers coach Bill Cowher left after 15 years, the franchise had two good candidates on staff to replace him: offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and offensive line coach Russ Grimm.

But if one team does due diligence in the hiring process, it is the Steelers. The Rooney Rule, which forces teams to interview minorities for head coaching vacancies, is named after Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney.

"Let's bring Tomlin in and see how he looks," Rooney said.

Steelers players were watching the hiring process.

"It wasn't like we were going to go on strike if he didn't get the job," safety Ryan Clark says. "But the majority of players are of African-American descent, so it's something we looked at."

Tomlin, who keeps boxes loaded with old coaching planners and notebooks and has a log of every practice, impressed the Rooneys enough to reach the second round as one of five finalists.

"The second interview did it," Rooney says. "He was prepared and understood what we were saying. He just really sold us."

Although he had been the Minnesota Vikings' defensive coordinator for only one season, Tomlin felt confident.

"But I didn't know about the landscape of getting a head job," Tomlin says. "I didn't know if it was politics. And if that was the case, I didn't know how to play those politics."

With the Rooneys, it was all about competence; that Tomlin was then 34 didn't bother them.

"We don't have a prohibition against hiring young coaches," Rooney says. "Chuck Noll was 35, Bill was 34. Mike fell into the same age bracket they did. But that's not why you hire somebody, because they can relate to younger players. You hire them because they can do the job regardless of age."

Then Rooney adds, "If we didn't hire him this year, somebody else would soon."

On Jan. 22, Tomlin joined Romeo Crennel, Tony Dungy, Herman Edwards, Marvin Lewis and Lovie Smith as the NFL's African-American head coaches. Whisenhunt landed in Arizona, bringing Grimm with him.

Transition has bumpy moments

Tomlin's two-a-day schedule with first-week contact was different from how Cowher ran the show. The transition took some adjustment for many Steelers veterans.

"We're still feeling each other out, still learning the process, the schedule," says Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, who favored Whisenhunt or Grimm for the job. "For a while there, it was like, 'What are we going to do today?' So many guys had been doing the same thing day in and day out."

Tomlin acknowledged some bumpy moments: "It's human nature to resist change. We're all creatures of habit."

But the Rooney stamp of approval lent credence to the movement.

"The Rooneys are smart. In the last (40) years, they've had three coaches," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel says. "You have to trust them. The decision shocked a lot of guys. … But this was the direction they wanted to go in, and I don't think there is a soul on this team who will question the Rooneys' opinion on this."

Clark says the Steelers have someone "who understands where we are in life. Sometimes, with older coaches, they're far removed from being 26, 27 and having to deal with the things we deal with. But he also has the expertise of a guy who's been in the league for 20, 30 years. I think it was a hire based on merit, not on color."

Starring role

The Steelers are beginning to see what the Rooneys saw in the coach and what his William & Mary teammates saw when Tomlin played wide receiver from 1990-94: a facile mind, attention to detail, his ability to relate to people of different ages and backgrounds. He is a fit 6-2, with a beard trimmed along his jaw, a stylish mustache, twinkling eyes behind Versace sunglasses.

"I worked side-by-side with him for five straight years in Tampa," says Barry, now the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator and a rising star himself. "In that situation, you see people's moods, their good days and bad. And every single day, I knew what I was getting with Mike Tomlin: someone who is smart, tough and consistent."

In an alternate life, Clark sees Tomlin running a Fortune 500 company.

"Some people are better at giving orders than taking them," Clark says. "And it seems like he's pretty good at giving them. If he wasn't a football coach, he'd have to be somewhere, bossing somebody around."

But the most striking thing about Tomlin is… what, exactly?

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger nodded when posed this question.

"He has a presence, without being boisterous," Roethlisberger says. "There is something about him that makes you want to know what he's thinking."

William & Mary teammate and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brother Terry Hammons sensed something, too.

"You can feel his presence when he walks into a room," Hammons says. "You might not know who he is or what he does, but you get the sense he's special. … I don't want to sound too cheesy, but he has an aura about him.

"How do I explain this? Some coaches feel they need to control situations by screaming. Mike doesn't need to do that. There might be a gymnastics meet going on inside his body, but you wouldn't be able to tell by the look on his face."

Townsend senses it, too. He says Tomlin has the charisma of an actor — "A Denzel Washington type."

"An actor? Yeah — I think so," tight end Heath Miller says. "That's actually pretty good. … I think he'd do well."

Tomlin laughs when he hears this. He considers himself "nerdy" because he loves crossword puzzles.

But in Pittsburgh, he has achieved celebrity status. When movie star Will Smith accompanied Tomlin to dinner at a local restaurant, fans mobbed their table — to meet Tomlin. According to Hammons, Smith told Tomlin it was the first time in 20 years he had eaten in a restaurant and hadn't been asked for his autograph.

"The irony is, Mike had been to the restaurant once before but couldn't enjoy it because fans kept interrupting him," Hammons says. "He figured if he took Will Smith, he'd have a peaceful meal."

Bob Smizik: For Pirates, ridiculous is always possible

Would Ryan Howard have won the Home Run Derby in his "home park" in 2006 if not for Brad Eldred?

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sunday, August 19, 2007

We open today with an apology. To the readers who told us via e-mail over the past couple of years that the Pirates turned down an opportunity to acquire Ryan Howard in exchange for Kris Benson, we're sorry. We deeply regret that we told you this information was incorrect based on our belief it was too ridiculous to be true.

We should have known better. We should have known that in terms of evaluation of player talent nothing is too ridiculous for the Dave Littlefield regime.

Based on a scenario documented by Dejan Kovacevic, the Post-Gazette's Pirates beat writer, there is ample reason to believe in 2004 the Pirates could have had Howard, arguably the best player in baseball today, but turned down the deal because they felt that in Brad Eldred they had a similar player.

Howard hit 58 homers and drove in 149 runs last season when he was the National League Most Valuable Player. This season, despite spending time on the disabled list, he has 33 homers, second in the National League. Going into the weekend, Eldred has 15 homers, two with the Pirates and 13 with Indianapolis, where he is batting .215. In his brief time with the Pirates he batted .109.

There is a good chance Eldred, 27, will not make it back to the majors. Howard, who will be 28 in November, has the look of an elite, dominating player for the next decade.

There's no smoking gun to prove this scenario conclusively. The Phillies aren't stupid enough to admit they made such an offer, and the Pirates aren't stupid enough to admit they rejected it. But, based on the evidence at hand, it is entirely believable.

That evidence would be the information provided by Kovacevic and the history of Littlefield as general manager of the Pirates. When you sit back and consider all the incredibly bad player personnel decisions made by Littlefield and his advisers, rejecting Howard isn't that far-fetched.

After all, this is the organization that was blind to the talent of Chris Young, who today might be the best starting pitcher in baseball, and traded him for a journeyman reliever. That being the case, why wouldn't Littlefield and his lieutenants take a look at Howard, who might be the best hitter in baseball, and pronounce themselves not interested because they thought they had a player just as good?

Here are some of Littlefield's more startling player personnel decisions.

In December 2002, he traded Young to Montreal for Matt Herges. Forget that Herges was cut in spring training. Young, who is 9-4 with the San Diego Padres and outpitching his celebrated teammate Jake Peavy, leads the majors in earned run average, opponent's batting average, opponent's on-base percentage, opponent's slugging percentage and walks and hits per inning. In most categories he leads by a wide margin.

In November 2003, Littlefield removed from the 40-man roster Duaner Sanchez and Matt Guerrier and allowed them to be claimed on waivers. As a setup man for the New York Mets last season, Sanchez was 5-1 with a 2.60 ERA. He has missed all of this season with an injury. Guerrier is in his third season as a dependable reliever for the Minnesota Twins. This year, he truly has blossomed. His ERA is 1.77. Opponents are batting .193 against him. While not protecting Sanchez and Guerrier, Littlefield did protect the futureless Carlos Rivera, Tony Alvarez, Jason Boyd and Mark Corey.

In December 2004, he traded hard-throwing prospect Leo Nunez to Kansas City for washed-up catcher Benito Santiago. Santiago was released a month into the season and never played again in the majors. Nunez, who turned 24 last week, is 2-0 in five games and four starts with the Royals. His ERA is 1.96. Opponents are batting .207 against him.

In December 2005 (December is not a good month for Littlefield), Ty Wigginton was dropped from the 40-man roster while Yurendell DeCaster and Javier Guzman were kept. Wigginton has 17 home runs this season. Last year, he hit 24.

Clearly, this is an organization that has no eye for talent. It routinely makes the kinds of decisions we have documented above.

So could it have passed on Ryan Howard? Absolutely.

Again, my sincere apologies to those people who recognized that in terms of player evaluation anything is possible with the Pirates.

Could Toronto be a future port of call for Pirates' Bay?

Toronto Star
August 16, 2007

PITTSBURGH

If professional athletes whine and think they're underexposed in Canada, they clearly haven't been paying attention to the plight of the Pirates. Mainstream America does not know these guys exist. Which allows Canadian outfielder Jason Bay to play out the early portion of his career in obscurity on the banks of the Allegheny River.

"I actually enjoy being out of the public eye," the 29-year-old native of Trail, B.C. said. "I like the market here. It's just a little under the radar. That would all change if we started winning a little bit."

Therein lies the small-market Catch-22. In order for the Pirates to win more games, management needs a major influx of fan dollars to invest in payroll. But, in order to receive an influx of dollars from turned-on Pirates fans, they need to win more games.

"It is definitely frustrating," Bay admitted. "It wears on you after a while. You can only hear, `We're looking forward to next year,' so many times. The fans get agitated and it starts up in here. No one in here enjoys losing and that's the thing."

Bay is having an off year, judged against the standard he set for himself in his first three seasons in the majors. He entered last night's game with a .251 average, 18 homers and 73 RBIs. He has two more seasons after this before he is eligible for free agency.

"I like it here," Bay shrugged. "I like the direction. I like the guys and all that, but time will tell. I would definitely not be reluctant to sign a long-term deal. I'm a big fan of Pittsburgh, but it also boils down to getting the ship pointed in the right direction.

"Some people are looking for the quick fix, pull the switch and boom you're a contender. The reality is that doesn't happen for a team in our (financial) situation. ... I like it here. It's really beautiful. At some point it's definitely going to be about winning ballgames, not just putting on the uniform."

Meanwhile, Bay is proud of the progress Canadian players have made even since his own rookie season in 2004, when, with Larry Walker's career winding down, he was the beacon for Canadian baseball development. Now, it's at the point where there are Canadians everywhere and the need to label Justin Morneau, Russell Martin, Jeff Francis and Bay by country no longer seems necessary.

"People always ask what does it mean for baseball in Canada?" Bay said. "It's a lot better for Canadian baseball when you have 20 guys and you have a choice rather than, `Hey, there's two. Pick one.' It helps branch out a little bit and touch more people."

Bay credits the World Baseball Classic in March of '06 for the camaraderie that permeates the Canadians around the majors. More than ever, Canadians search out other Canadians as they forge ahead through the daily grind.

"It's kind of like an English-speaking guy playing (Caribbean) winter ball," Bay explained. "Whether you know the guy or not, you go over and say hi. There's a lot of guys that are Canadian that I've never met, but it's the one thing you have in common."

In the winter of 2009-10, if the Pirates do not turn things around, Bay will have a decision to make on free agency and his tranquil existence of peaceful anonymity may be shattered forever. With Troy Glaus and Frank Thomas's deals expiring that winter, would the Jays ever be interested in a star Canadian outfielder? Hmm.

A place that touches all the bases

Friday, August 17, 2007

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gushing isn't the most becoming attribute for a writer.

That's too bad.

You're going to get some gushing.

No rants.

No nitpicking.

Nothing negative, except for this admonishment: If you haven't discovered the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum, you've been missing out.

No matter your age, you can find something that moves you to laugh, think or remember. Or even learn.

That might be a display on Doug Opperman, a 1940 national marbles champion. Bet you didn't know Western Pennsylvania has a well-rounded marbles history.

Or it might be watching rare color footage of Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series-winning home run at Forbes Field. That will change the moment in your mind's eye.

There's the miniature golf hole you can play featuring a scaled-down version of Oakmont's famous church pew bunkers.

There's the chance to step between a life-size cutout of goaltender Tom Barrasso and a net in front of a mural of the Mellon Arena end zone and perhaps pretend to stop that David Volek shot.

And who can pass up the chance to watch the implosion of Three Rivers Stadium on a large screen as many times as you want?

Not to mention things related to Pittsburgh's beloved Steelers.

A first visit to the museum, which is housed on the second and third floors of the Heinz History Center in the Strip District, will easily surpass your expectations, even if, ahem, it takes nearly three years since the place opened in November 2004 to get around to visiting.

If you're really lucky, you'll get a guided tour with curator Anne Madarasz.

Madarasz has been on staff at the history center for 15 years, the first several of which she spent longing for the time she could put together a sports museum.

She started with nothing and began collecting from teams, celebrities and fans. Now there are rooms and rooms of artifacts, displays and interactive attractions, all well placed and thoughtfully organized.

Even if Madarasz isn't beside you, you're getting the benefit of her passion and hard work.

The sports museum will draw you in whether you're a trivia buff who notices all the little things, or a nostalgia nut who admires the information on the four Olympians who came out of the pool in the basement of the Carnegie Library branch in Homestead between 1928-36, or a history nut who appreciates the roots of sports going back to fox hunting and lawn tennis, or an academic who soaks in the advances in sports medicine made in this region, or simply a blue-collar fan of the big moments that include World Series, Super Bowls and Stanley Cups.

It would take several trips to drink it all in, and there are always new arrivals, including a recent display honoring Pitt Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett.

The videos shown in the entry theater and the displays in the hockey area will have to be updated to include Sidney Crosby and the rest of the new generation of Penguins.

"One of our biggest comments is we don't have enough hockey stuff," Madarasz said. "We're working on it."

The Steelers display doesn't yet reflect their fifth Super Bowl win, in 2006, or much of the Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin era.

Speaking of the Steelers, they're at least halfway through your journey. You first must navigate through the theater, an historical hall, a large room dedicated to all types of racing, the golf area, the baseball area and, once up on the third floor, the high school, college and even women's football area.

"I put football in the middle so people would have to work for it a little bit," Madarasz said with a smile.

Smart lady.

In addition to what you will see at the museum, you never know who you might see.

Roethlisberger has been there with a date.

Former Pitt coach Johnny Majors has shown off the place to his buddies many times.

A tournament of past marbles champions was staged there recently.

You could turn a corner and find Franco Harris filming a commercial, perhaps just a ricochet away from the case displaying his Immaculate Conception shoes.

Pirates announcer Steve Blass, who is involved with the museum, could be walking through.

The Penguins and public officials picked the main lobby of the building to hold a news conference and announce a deal for a new arena that will keep the team in town.

Fittingly, an exhibit celebrating the Steelers' 75th anniversary opens later this year.

There's something wrong if this doesn't become a well-known focal point and gathering spot for area sports, a place where everyone affiliated with sports feels connected.

The most amazing thing about the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum is that it took so long for an area this steeped in its games to have a place like this.


Shelly Anderson can be reached at sanderson@post-gazette.com.

LaRoche-Bay duo finally delivers for Pirates

Six hits, five RBIs overcome five-run deficit to topple Mets, 10-7

Friday, August 17, 2007

By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

For one steamy but sizzling night at PNC Park, everything was as the Pirates must have envisioned it would be in 2007.

Packed house.

Competing with a contender.



Matt Freed, Post-Gazette,
Freddy Sanchez scores in front of Mets catcher Mike DeFelice on a hit by Adam LaRoche in the eighth inning last night.

And Adam LaRoche and Jason Bay coming through as the team's big bats in the middle of the order.

"You know what? I think that's how things will be," LaRoche would say after a 10-7 toppling of the New York Mets tickled an overflow crowd of 36,447 last night. "I know there's a lot of disappointment with how things have gone so far, and I know nobody wants to hear about next year. But I think this is what you're going to see."

So, for one night, never mind the standings.

Never mind that the season's third sellout was lured largely by a fireworks show and Styx concert.

And never mind that LaRoche and Bay had matching .255 averages even after each had three hits. That marked only the seventh time both had multiple hits in the same game, perhaps the most remarkable statistic of the season.

All that mattered for these few hours was that each had a run-scoring single to snap an eighth-inning tie, Bay finishing with three RBIs and LaRoche two to account for half the offense.

Oh, and LaRoche hit a ball out of the stadium, too.

"What a difference it makes when we have those guys going, huh?" manager Jim Tracy said. "Everything about us takes on a different look."

To be sure, this ending had a different look.

The score was 7-7 entering the eighth, and the stage seemed set for the Pirates to fall short again, as they had in losing the first two games of this series.

New York reliever Aaron Heilman got two quick outs, and Freddy Sanchez grounded meekly to third baseman David Wright. But Wright's throw to first sailed into right field, and the uh-oh factor was in play for the Mets.

LaRoche rapped the first pitch he saw into right, and a potentially close play at the plate with Sanchez sprinting home was nullified when catcher Mike DiFelice dropped Marlon Anderson's one-hop throw. DiFelice was charged with an error.

Then, Bay and Jose Bautista delivered RBI singles to left to make it 10-7.

Closer Matt Capps finally recorded his 11th save, his first since July 5, with a scoreless ninth in which he looked determined to throw the ball through Paulino's mitt.

"Lots of fastballs," Capps said, grinning.

Tony Armas spotted New York a 5-0 lead before getting the hook through 2 2/3 innings, a start reminiscent of his miserable first half. The Mets tagged him for six hits, five walks and a two-run home run by Carlos Beltran as his command was nowhere to be found.

"I struggled," Armas said. "But my teammates battled back."



Matt Freed, Post-Gazette,
First baseman Adam LaRoche drives in Freddy Sanchez in the eighth as Pirates rally for a win against the Mets last night before third sellout crowd of season at PNC Park.

LaRoche started that with a monster two-run shot in the fourth, a 431-footer off a flat Brian Lawrence fastball that settled in the landscaping by the Allegheny River's edge. Ronny Paulino's RBI double later that inning cut the Pirates' deficit to 5-3.

"We're not lying down," LaRoche said. "We're not quitting, and you can see it in everybody's eyes."

In the fifth, Bay's two-out single pulled the Pirates within 7-4.

In the sixth, back-to-back doubles by Nate McLouth and Paulino made it 7-5.

They tied it in the seventh on Bay's RBI single and, after Bautista's bunt loaded the bases, Jose Castillo looped a single over shortstop Jose Reyes to bring one of the loudest roars of the year at the Pirates' usually dormant home.

"Great crowd," LaRoche said. "That makes a difference."

Not nearly as much as LaRoche and Bay, the Pirates' only two proven power-hitters, performing to their capabilities.

"It's no secret that we've struggled, both of us, a lot longer than we would have liked," Bay said. "Look at me and what I've gone through these two months. But you know, I think that's true of our whole team. You've seen glimpses, but we've never really put it all together. Hopefully, we can see some more of this as we go along."

Shortstop Jack Wilson exited in the fourth inning because of asthma symptoms. Tracy said it was possible that Wilson had some heat exhaustion, too, as the first-pitch temperature was 82 degrees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com

Tomlin's first camp was tough on the players

Tomlin has a good feeling and plenty of questions to answer as he closes out his first camp at Saint Vincent

Friday, August 17, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mike Tomlin wrapped up the final practice of his first training camp yesterday afternoon with many questions remaining about his football team, but with more insight about what he has.


Peter Diana, Post-Gazette

First-year Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe was everything he hoped it would be.
Click photo for larger version

"It's been as good as could be expected," the Steelers new coach said. "You always come in prepared for the worst and hopeful for the best. I think it's been more toward my hopes; it's been awesome."

Tomlin leaves Saint Vincent College believing he has a team that can compete for a Super Bowl. Like many NFL teams, injuries or the lack of them will decide how serious a bid the Steelers make.

That was the good news coming from his first training camp: No serious injuries. Halfback Willie Parker, perhaps the player the Steelers least can afford to lose, missed a few weeks and two games with what was called slight inflammation of his left knee, but he returned to practice and will start tomorrow night against the Washington Redskins in the third preseason game.

"We have to get Willie P going," Tomlin said.

Tomlin still has not determined the backs he will keep behind Parker and whether he will go young with Carey Davis and Gary Russell, keep veterans Verron Haynes and Dan Kreider or go with a mix.

Decisions must be made everywhere, particularly along the starting offensive line. Tomlin has to decide how many wide receivers/tight ends to keep, which backup defensive linemen after Chris Hoke to maintain, who will fill two starting spots in the defensive backfield and what backup outside linebackers will stay.

Yet, three preseason games remain and the first cutdown does not happen until Aug. 28, when teams reduce their rosters to 75. The tougher cut happens Sept. 1, when teams get down to 53. Teams can add eight practice squad players Sept. 2, after they clear waivers.

Tomlin often used a phrase for the work that took place at camp the past 3 1/2 weeks, and the work that's left before the regular-season opener Sept. 9 in Cleveland. He calls it "team building."

"It's an ongoing process," he said. "I like where we are. I like our skill development. I don't think we're a finished product in that area, but that's why we're here."

Players groaned a little when they first saw Tomlin's training camp schedule, which included no days off the first two weeks and 15 scheduled two-a-day practices. He canceled several of those, however, and some others were rained out.

Still, players considered it a tougher training camp than they have had before.

"He put us through a hard camp," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I think coming in as a first-year coach you kind of need to do that and see which guys you have on board and which guys are going to fall by the wayside. It was a tough camp, but we made it."

Keisel also saw Tomlin evolve the past month.

"I think he's getting more comfortable. This was his first time up here and when you come up here it's different. He did a good job. We made it through camp without any severe injuries, which is great."

Tomlin's camp may have been different from those run the previous 15 summers by Bill Cowher, yet most NFL training camps look alike. Tomlin held practices at the same time in the afternoon as in previous camps, and for all the talk about there being more hitting, there really was not. He often cut afternoon practices shorter than the scheduled two hours, sometimes by as much as 30 minutes. Cowher often went the entire two hours in the afternoon.

Tomlin held more one-hour special teams practices in the morning, along with the occasional two-hour morning practice. But the morning special-teams drills were more laid back and most of the starters were dismissed from them early.

Curfew was still set at 11 p.m., there was family night and a night off, and movie day, just as there were under Cowher. Camp also lasted about the same length, although they reported earlier because of the extra preseason game.

Still, "they resisted the change," Tomlin said. "But I think they did a nice job of dealing with it and not letting it affect their quality of play.

"It's funny, we're all creatures of habit, particularly the guys that have been here a long time. Guys who were drafted here, they know one way. When you know what's going on, you never have to look at the schedule. You can kind of get on autopilot. That's what we crave. We like to be on autopilot and know what lies ahead.

"But sometimes it's good to get out of your comfort zone a little bit and have to read an itinerary, have to keep up with the schedule and don't really know what's going on next. That's how this process has been for some people."

"It's been as good as could be expected. You always come in prepared for the worst and hopeful for the best. I think it's been more toward my hopes; IT'S BEEN AWESOME."

-- Mike Tomlin


Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.

Bonds takes a curtain call

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
Barry Bonds, the newly crowned home run king who might be the most reviled athlete in Pittsburgh sports history, gets a classy reception from most of the 25,434 fans at PNC Park yesterday.

There were no signs of asterisks, syringes or steroids at PNC Park last night, only a solitary banner in the left-field bleachers that somehow seemed appropriate on this surprisingly feel-good summer evening of baseball.

PITTSBURGH STILL BACKS BARRY.

Honest.

Pirates fans, perhaps following the lead of sporting icons Henry Aaron, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali, paid tribute to the new home run king, Barry Bonds, with standing ovations when he took the field with the San Francisco Giants for the first game of a doubleheader, then again when Pirates management honored him with a brief scoreboard video tribute between games that brought a grateful Mr. Bonds out of the dugout to tip his cap and wave to the paying customers.

Classy gestures all around considering that Mr. Bonds has been, arguably, the most reviled athlete in Pittsburgh sports history, going back to his postseason failures with the Pirates in the early 1990s, long before he was linked to the BALCO scandal and baseball's steroids controversy. The few, inevitable boos from the crowd of 25,434 couldn't come close to drowning out the night's overriding message: Steroids or not, 758 home runs are a lot of home runs.

"It was nice," Mr. Bonds said of the tribute after going 1 for 3 with a single in the first game, a 3-1 Pirates win, in what could have been his final appearance as a player in Pittsburgh. "That just goes to show Pittsburgh people understand the game."

Mr. Bonds won two National League MVP awards during his days with the Pirates from 1986-92 and led the team to three consecutive division championships from 1990-92. Not coincidentally, the franchise has not had a winning season since he left for the Giants as a free agent after the '92 playoffs.

The scoreboard tribute highlighted a couple of Mr. Bonds' marvelous accomplishments with the Pirates. It's probably just as well that it lasted only 90 seconds. There was no time to show Mr. Bonds' infamous spring training run-in with Pirates manager Jim Leyland in '91 or his throw from left field to the plate, too late to get the Atlanta Braves' Sid Bream, in Game 7 of the '92 National League Championship Series. Pirates fans forgave him for his petulance with Mr. Leyland, but many never will forgive him for that throw after watching Mr. Bream score the winning run to send the Braves, not the Pirates, to the World Series.

"I had to come over toward my left, then cross-fire it," Mr. Bonds said yesterday, shrugging.

On this night, Pirates management wisely stuck to the positives. A younger, much leaner Mr. Bonds was shown hitting his first big-league home run off Atlanta's Craig McMurtry on June 4, 1986. There also were snippets from his MVP season in '90 when he became baseball's second 30-home-run, 50-stolen-base man. An interview with Mr. Bonds after that monstrous season was replayed with him looking into the camera and saying he didn't feel "complete" as a player, that he still had bigger goals to accomplish.

Pretty prophetic, huh?

Would you believe five more MVP awards with the Giants for a career total of seven, four more than anyone in baseball history? His record 73 home runs in the '01 season? And, of course, his record 756th career home run last week, an astonishing number he pushed to 758 with a home run Friday night off the Pirates' Matt Morris?

It was after Mr. Bonds hit No. 756 off the Washington Nationals' Mike Bacsik Tuesday night that Mr. Jordan, Mr. Gretzky, Mr. Ali and, most significantly, Mr. Aaron, whose 33-year-old home run record was eclipsed, appeared on tape on the AT&T Park scoreboard in San Francisco to offer their congratulations. Asked yesterday if he ever dreamed of being the home run champ, Mr. Bonds shook his head and said, "No, never. Never in a lifetime. You never think of those things. You try to just do the best you can. You reach for the stars, knowing you can't jump that high, but you just keep going."

It's fair to wonder how much different the past 15 seasons would have been for the Pirates if Mr. Bonds had stayed with the organization. He says not to waste your time thinking about it. There never was any chance.

"There was never even an offer," Mr. Bonds said. "It was the same situation with Bobby [Bonilla] and Dougie [Drabek]. The great thing is the way [Leyland] handled it. He said, 'It's not going to happen here for you guys. It's time you guys just move on. I want the best for you.' He's the one who made it easy for us because he said, 'Your talent is just exceeding what they actually want to do here. Good luck to you guys. It was an honor for me to have the opportunity to manage you guys.' "

Mr. Bonds, 43, said he plans on playing one more season, then retiring. "I need to win a championship, get 3,000 hits." He has 2,919 after his single last night.

Mr. Bonds could be back with the Giants next season, although that seems unlikely now that he has broken the home run record. It's more likely he'll be with an American League club as a designated hitter.

Only one thing is certain:

Mr. Bonds won't be playing for the Pirates.

"No," he said, quietly, "my days here are gone. I had fun, but ..."


Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.

Parker says he's willing and able to get back into action

Monday, August 13, 2007

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Willie Parker itches to return to the flow of the Steelers' offense and it could happen this week. Or not.

Parker resumed practice Thursday when thunderstorms forced the Steelers indoors on the South Side. He says he's ready to take his position at halfback Saturday in Washington against the Redskins in the team's third preseason game. He's just not sure if the coaches are ready to put him in.

"I'm going to give it a little more [today]," Parker said. "I'm all right now."



Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
Steelers running back Willie Parker jokes on the sideline before the Hall of Fame game against the Saints.
Click photo for larger image.

Parker was held out for two weeks of practices at Saint Vincent College after coach Mike Tomlin said he had slight swelling and pain in his left knee.

Parker said the swelling isn't the issue as much as something else. He was vague on what that might be.

"That wasn't really the main thing. It was something else. That wasn't the main thing, inflammation. I was just hurting a little bit. I needed some rest, basically."

Parker said he does not think he'll need to have surgery on his knee after the season.

Parker rushed for 1,494 yards last season, third most in franchise history. His 337 carries were fourth most by a Steelers back. He and the coaches talked about using him even more this season, particularly on third downs. Parker said he not only wanted to be like LaDainian Tomlinson, the league MVP last season, but even better.

Then came the injury and everything has been on hold.

On one hand, Parker said the way he feels now "there's a good chance I'll play" against the Redskins. However, he believes the coaches might hold him back another game, with two left in the preseason after Saturday.

"I don't think they'll play me next week, in my opinion from talking to them and stuff," Parker said.

Sitting out the preseason did not hurt Tomlinson last year. He did not play in an exhibition game after a slight neck injury in early August. He then carried 31 times in the regular-season opener for 131 yards on his way to 1,815 yards rushing last season.

Parker said he does not feel a real need to play in the preseason, but that it's frustrating to watch teammates play while he's dressed in street clothes on the sideline.

"The only reason why I need to is because my teammates are out there, they're busting their [behinds], they're out there playing. That's why I need to be out there playing.

"I know that I'm no one-man army. I'm a team player and I know that's my goal. If they're playing, I'm playing."

In his absence, Parker talked highly of undrafted rookie tailback Gary Russell and fullback-tailback Carey Davis, who is trying to make it with his fifth NFL team.

"Y'all seen them, the boys are out there playing hard," Parker said. "Especially Russell -- Carey too."

Russell and Davis have said Parker is an inspiration to them. Parker said he hasn't forgotten what it was like to try to make the team's roster after he was an undrafted rookie in 2004.

"I'm competing too; I'm always going to have that mind-set," Parker said. "When I stop that, that's when I'm going to be gone. I know how it is and I have to keep that same mentality."



NOTES -- C Chukky Okobi appeared to be OK as he walked the sideline during the game Saturday night. Okobi's lower back was injured in practice Wednesday. ... The Steelers' afternoon practice, from 3-5 p.m., is open to the public.


Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.

Big Ben's goal: Five Super Bowls

By Joe Starkey
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Sunday, August 12, 2007



Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talks with Ben Roethlisberger during the first quarter of the Packers game.

Ben Roethlisberger doesn't think small. Never has. Never will.
Latest example: In a recent interview with Steelers Digest, the Steelers' fourth-year quarterback said his goal is to win five Super Bowls.

Four's no good. Other guys have done that.

"They asked me my dream," Roethlisberger said, "and I said it would be to get five, because that's one more than (Terry) Bradshaw, and, you know, one more than most other quarterbacks."

Actually, the only other quarterback to win four was Joe Montana. Roethlisberger's smile indicated he knows as much.
His dream, to be sure, is not terribly realistic. To some, it might seem as delusional as Kordell Stewart's long-ago guarantee that he would wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But in Roethlisberger's case, there is nothing wrong with setting the bar at a record height. He has earned the right to do so publicly.

Remember, Roethlisberger already has visited places no quarterback had gone before.

Nobody in the 87-year history of the NFL had a higher rookie completion percentage (66.4).

Nobody had ever gone 13-0 until Roethlisberger did so in 2004.



And only Montana, Phil Simms and Troy Aikman had better three-game playoff passer ratings than the 125.8 mark Roethlisberger posted two years ago, when the Steelers won at Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Denver on their way to Super Bowl XL.

Then, amid a flurry of extenuating circumstances, he had a bad year.

Opinions of him changed.

Sports Illustrated's Peter King, for example, recently ranked Roethlisberger 17th among NFL quarterbacks, behind the likes of Jon Kitna, Jay Cutler, Chad Pennington, Jake Delhomme and 37-year-old Brett Favre, who apparently wants to play longer than George Blanda.

Roethlisberger insists stuff like that doesn't motivate him. The bad year apparently did, though. During the offseason, he added a film room to his house.

"One, it's because I'd like to go home and be in my element, where I can sit down there in the movie room and eat dinner while I watch it; it's always going," Roethlisberger said. "And, two, it doubles as a movie room, so I can watch movies."

The video of Saturday's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers won't make for pleasant viewing. Roethlisberger came out running the no-huddle offense -- the offense he has lobbied for -- and accomplished virtually nothing on two series.

The first ended with a Roethlisberger fumble on the third play, when Packers defensive end Cullen Jenkins beat Marvel Smith and knocked the ball from the quarterback's grasp.

The second ended on the fifth play when Najeh Davenport -- who is built like a short-yardage back but has shown little proclivity for the job -- was stuffed on third-and-1.

That was it for Big Ben. He finished 2 for 2 for 14 yards behind a re-shuffled offensive line that was missing guard Alan Faneca.

Nothing gained. Nothing lost. No need to worry. Remember how well the no-huddle worked in a preseason game against Minnesota last year? That didn't exactly translate.

The Steelers have given Roethlisberger everything he needs to succeed -- continuity, in the form of offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, ample weaponry and the keys to the offense.

The rest is up to him. And at this point in his still-young career, all things remain possible.


Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com