Stupid Steelers

The ''S'' stands for something other than ''Super''. (Photo creds to www.moncityapparel.com)

I'm going to go against the beliefs of the rest of our city and take this time to thank Le'veon Bell. First, I want to thank Le'veon because he has given me something to write about in late July, which is a dull time for sports (especially with a boring baseball season in progress). Second, I'd like to thank Mr. Bell for allowing me to redeem myself for a missed opportunity. When the NFL suspended Martavis Bryant for the entire 2016 season in March, I wanted to do a post on how the so-called "Steeler Way" died along with Chuck Noll. But, because of the NCAA tournament, I just couldn't find time in my life to do such a post. But now, four months later;  Bell has given me that opportunity again, and I am going to cash in.

As we all should know, Bell is currently facing a 4-game suspension to start out the upcoming season. The reason for this is that he missed a drug test. Bell served a 2-gamer last season for the McNight Road incident in August of 2014, so one would think he would be cautious of his love of the greens. But he wasn't (at least presumably), and he is paying the price (at least presumably). But the purpose of this article is less about Bell in general and more about how the so-called "Steeler Way" is dead.

If you live in the Steel City, you know that the Steelers are religion. Not only have they developed a reputation as being arguably the most successful franchise of the Super Bowl era, but they also are perceived to conduct themselves in a manner that puts the lesser organizations to shame off the field. The first part is still accurate. The second part no longer is.

From a football standpoint, this hurts the Steelers, but it won't be fatal. DeAngleo Williams is a fantastic backup option to have, and he should hold down the fort well. Williams isn't as good as Bell, who is the best all-around running back in the league, but he is good enough. The Steelers first four games (at Washington, vs. Cincy, at Philly, and vs. Kansas City) aren't cake, but they are winnable. I see 3-1 as likely, 2-2 as a worst case scenario.

So what is the "Steeler Way" as far as noble behavior goes? Is it Bell and Martavis Bryant getting stoned at every chance and missing games because of it?

Could it be promising special teams player Chirs Rainey beating his woman, and his subsequent dismissal from the team?

Is it Vince Williams threatening somebody over Twitter? 

Speaking of Twitter, maybe the "Steeler Way" is creating drama through social media with the rival Cincinnati Bengals. I'm sure Chuck Noll would be so proud to see Marcus Gilbert running his mouth through a keyboard like a pissed off teenager. 

Maybe the Steeler way is DeAngleo Williams, a "good" running back with a superstar attitude.Remember when Williams insulted Peyton Manning through Twitter on the day of his retirement for no apparent reason. How about when he stirred the pot with Cincinnati's Vontez Burfict, instead of being the bigger man and ignoring Burfict's ill- advised Twitter jab? Williams is a great success story on the field, but an attention whore off of it, and for that, he is my personal least favorite Steeler.

How about Joey Porter? Can somebody tell this guy that he is an assistant coach who doesn't play the game anymore? As dumb as Pacman Jones was in that January fiasco at Paul Brown Stadium, a linebackers coach has no place antagonizing an opposing player. I don't believe Porter is malicious, but I do think he is immature and is living ten years in the past. Speaking of Porter, does anybody know if his dogs are still murdering other animals?

The greatest example of what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler in 2016 is Free Saftey Mike Mitchell. Like Williams, Mitchell is a success story on the field. But he is nothing short of a punk and has shown signs of that off the field as well. Witness him knock Cincy's receiver Marvin Jones unconscious and then celebrate like he just won "Survivor". How about the time he celebrated in a game against the Raiders after forcing a fumble...... while the ball was still on the ground. Worst of all, witness a fan who dared to criticize his poor play after a game in 2014 that he should "kill himself", and then justify his actions. Mitchell is the most immature veteran on the planet, and his attitude on the field is unbecoming of the Steelers eagle scout perception.

All of this brings me back to the Mike Vick signing. You all know that there was plenty of outrage from fans about bringing in a man with such a dubious record. But you might not take into account what many said they were pissed off about. They didn't say it was that Vick was out of prison. It didn't bother them that he was still in the NFL. No, what got them was that he was paying for our perfect team. Playing in our perfect city. Because the wonderful Steelers are far too classy to bring in such a vile criminal. We aren't like the rest of the NFL. We are Pittsburgh. We do things the right way.

Well, I got news for you readers who still might have your head in the sand on what the Steelers are. The Steelers are like the rest of the NFL as far as conducting themselves goes. They have their good guys, such as defensive end Cameron Heyward. But they have their questionable characters, such as Vince Williams and Mike Mitchell. The Steelers are no different than the rest of the league as far as behavior goes. That's not the worst thing in the world, but it's also something that the arrogance of many fans will never wrap their heads around.

I watched all 16 games last season. The Steelers are a reality show, filled with zany celebrations and not a lot of the act-like-you've-been-there-before mentality. I don't have a problem with the Steelers showboating, in fact, I find it entertaining as hell. But it is just another example of how the Steeler standard of excellence established by Chuck Noll ain't what it once was. Maybe ''the Steeler way'' was always a myth. Maybe bad behavior from players is just magnified now. Whatever the case may be, the Steelers have no more or less class than what is the NFL status quo.

The Steelers may be an elite organization regarding wins and losses. But as far as how they conduct themselves on and off the field, they are just another team that falls in the line of the circus that is the National Football League. I still love the Pittsburgh Steelers, and you should too. But you, the reader, also should take in the account that the Steelers are not Eagle Scouts anymore. Welcome to 2016. The Pittsburgh Steelers are just blending with the times.

Euro 2016: Breakdown/prediction for the final.

The bad news: In less than 24 hours, Euro 2016 will be over. And we will have to wait another four years to see it again. The good news: we still got one more game, baby. Let's get into who Joseph Arthur Smeltzer thinks has the edge between Portugal and France.


Back Line

Patrice Evra

Portugal has Pepe on defense, but they have had their struggles (see: 3 goals allowed against Hungary). France, meanwhile, has a solid back line led by Patrice Evra and featuring Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna and holding midfielder Blaise Matuidi. Combine this defense with the goaltending brilliance of Hugo Lloris, and it's no contest.

Edge: France. 

Midfield

Paul Pobga

You got the best midfielder in the world in Paul Pogba. You've got one of the best free-kick takers in the world in Dimitri Payet. You've got the most dominant player of the whole tournament in Antione Griezmann (assuming manager Didier Deschamps sticks with the 4-2-3-1 formation).

With all due respect to Nani, France has the edge in the midfield.

Edge: France 

Front Line

It's hard to break this down since France will likely play with one player in the front while Portugal will probably play with 2. Portugal has Christiano Ronaldo, so they have the edge here

Edge: Porto

Goaltending 

Lloris is a winner. (Photo creds to www.express.co.uk

If you've watched France this summer, and if you follow Tottmahm Hotspur every other month of the year, you know that Hugo Lloris is special. He is world class, and best of all, he makes the big save when he is needed most. Rui has done well at times for the other side, but Loris is a superstar.

Edge: France

Prediction 

I'd like to tell you that this will be a great game and will be what soccer is all about and all that jazz, but in this case, I cannot. France is a better team than Portugal. They have better players, a better manager and are playing as the host nation. The fact that Portugal is in the final at all exposes a problem with the tournament format, that problem being that most of the top teams are on one side of the bracket. That's no knock on the Portuguese side; you can't control your hand,  but beating Croatia, Poland and Wales (two of those in extra time) should not make you one of the top 2 teams in Europe.

The France-Germany semifinal meeting should have been the final. That matched dripped of intensity, and I highly doubt that today's final tops that. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe France will be reckless and take their foot off the pedal. Maybe Ronaldo will score more than once (he's done it plenty before). These things could happen, but I don't think they will. France is too good and too motivated. They don't want to let the home fans down. One thing is a guarantee: whatever happens, there will be riots in the streets of Paris.


France 3, Portugal 1

No need to look down on Durant

Photo creds to www.sportingnews.com

Is this article biased? Maybe a little bit. But I am going to try my best to put the Kevin Durant situation into perspective.

I'll start by saying that I feel for the basketball fans of Oklahoma City. It's never fun losing a local hero, and the Thunder fan base has a right to be disappointed. That said, the hate that Durant has been receiving (Burning jerseys, shoes, etc.) is out of bounds. Not only is it uncalled for but it is also hypocritical.

In case you have been living under a rock, Kevin Durant will play basketball for the Golden State Warriors next season. On our countries birthday, KD signed a 2-year, $54.3 million contract with Curry and the boys. It was a shock to most people, as Durant's friends assured the public that their buddy boy was ''about 90% likely'' to come back to OKC. But that's not what happened. Durant is with the Warriors and not the team that blew a 3-1 series lead against them in the Western Conference Finals.

Now, let's talk about what it means for both the Thunder and Warriors. For the Warriors, a great team got better. Yes, Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezili, and Harrison Barnes are all gone, but if getting rid of those role players means bringing aboard one of the 5 best players in the world, you take that every time. As for the Thunder, there is still hope. This is not like the Cleveland Cavaliers when Lebron James left for South Beach in 2010. OKC still has a talented group of players led by point guard Russel Westbrook, who is my early pick to win league MVP next season. It's Westbrooks team now, so let's see what he can do.

Although the Thunder still have a solid team, the Warriors are better than them, as well as everybody else in the league. Games are not played on paper, but if they were, the Warriors would be champs again. Time will tell how this plays out, but for now, Golden State fans should be stoked.

The two major issues, aside from possible injury, that I see for the Warriors are;
1. Durant won't fit into the Warriors system
2. Chemistry and what not

It is hard to say whether or not Durant will fit into the Warriors style of play. However, I feel that a player of KD's caliber will excel no matter what. As for the chemistry issue, I do not see Kevin Durant being a cancer. He is not Dwight Howard. Durant is a good teammate, and all he wants to do is get a ring. Nothing will get in his way.

Has KD taken a bit of a shortcut to winning an NBA Championship? You could argue. But I think it was time to move on. Durant gave everything he had to the Oklahoma City Thunder for nine seasons, and it's time for him to try something else. Durant owes Oklahoma City nothing, as he gave them everything, and considering that he did not leave Oklahoma on any disrespectful terms, there should be no animosity. The hate of Durant is hypocritical. As sports fans, we often complain about athletes putting money ahead of glory and winning. Durant is doing the opposite of that here, which means that the hate that he is getting is a contradiction. To make things real simple, Durant went to where he feels he has the best chance to win a ring that has eluded him for so long. What's wrong with that?

Summit not only ruled the sport; she built it

In sports, plenty of players and coaches have played significant roles in the history of their game. Many dominate. Some transcend their athletic field. But few come into their field in its infancy and manage to play the central part in  lifting it off the ground. On Tuesday, we lost a woman who did all of that and then some.

In 1974, sports were just two years removed from Title IX, so women still had a long way to climb in their athletic endeavors. The fact that the University of Tennessee put their faith in a woman who was just 22 years young shows how little the interest was in woman's sports. But thank god that UT gave that job to said 22-year-old, or else who knows where her sport would be today. Pat Summit was her name.

Born Patrica Head, Summit grew up a tough, athletic farm girl in the state of Tennessee. She played basketball at the University of Tennessee-Martin, and two years after beginning her legendary career at UT was a member of the first U.S. Woman's basketball team to compete in the Olympics. Pat did what she always did, which was win, and the Stars and Stripes earned a gold medal. But her legend was just growing

Over the next 38 years, Summit's Vols became the class of Woman's colligate sports. The numbers speak for themselves; 8 national titles, 16 SEC championships (32 if you combine regular season and tournament) and 1,098 victories. But to me, the most impressive thing about Summit's coaching was not what she won, but rather her style. She commanded respect, and could get to her players just by staring at them. I believe that had Summit wanted to challenge herself further, she could have not
only held her own coaching in the Men's game; she would have excelled.


It's easy to be skeptical of wheather or not Annika Sorenstam would have won the Masters, if Serena
Williams could beat Roger Federer, or if Lisa Leslie could have won an NBA Scoring Title. But if you followed Pat Summit even sporadically throughout her career, you know that she could motivate anybody. Combine that with her knowledge of the game of basketball, and there's no telling what she would have brought to the men's game. It's hard to explain, but Summit had that "it" that all coaches strive for, regardless of sex.



Summit's greatest achievement in her storied career was that she was part of women's basketball from almost literally its inception, and was the central figure in putting the sport on the map. Pro baseball was popular before Babe Ruth came along , neither did pro football with Jim Brown, hockey with Wayne Gretzky or basketball with Michael Jordan (get over it, MJ blowhards). What Summit did for women's  basketball is more comparable to what Red Grange did for football.


Before "The Galloping Ghost", pro football wasn't on the map. But the iconic Chicago Bears owner, George Halas, brought the Illinois hero to the professional game by signing him for the Bears. Crowds got bigger and so did the money. Grange was far from the greatest running back in history, but he was the pioneer of pioneers as far as pro football goes. The difference between Pat Summit and Red Grange is that Grange's statistics and accomplishments grow less and less impressive as the year's go by. Pat Summit will not have that happen to her.

Sure, her eight national title wins have been eclipsed by Uconn's Geno Auriemma. But it could be quite a while before any other women's coach gets to 8. Geno might eventually eclipse Pat's win total, but again, nobody else will. In short, the top 3 women's basketball coaches of all time ever shall be

Geno Auriemma
 Pat Summit
Somebody else.

Now some people reading this could feel that I'm overstating the popularity of woman's basketball. All I can say in return is that you should have been at the women's  NCAA Tournament at the Petersen Events Center in 2007 (naturally, they won the title that year; Summit's 7th). I was there, and so was Tennessee. Believe me, the Lady Vols are a big deal. There was orange everywhere, and they were loud. I don't know how the fans of the Lady Vols are in Knoxville nowadays, as Summit is gone and, for now, so are the championships. But at least when UT was at its peak, it's fair to say that, next to Phil Fulmer's football team, the Lady Vols were the biggest thing there was.



Sure, women's basketball may not have near the popularity of the major male college sports, but it is a hell of a lot better than it would be had Pat Summit never coached a game. Summit was the one figure in women's basketball that every sports fan knew of. She transcended her sport, and that is something special. But as much as she did on the court and for her players off the court, she still had something greater yet to show; courage.


I know first hand how horrible Alzheimer's disease is. My grandmother passed away after a 5 year battle with the disease in December of 2012. So, when Summit decided to keep on coaching after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's in August of 2011, it was nothing less than astonishing. Summit soon retired, but she had nothing left to prove. Because of her, a little more exposure has been added to a horrible condition, and that means more than winning basketball games.

As tough as it is for the Summit family that the legend is gone, I'm sure they are relieved to see the dementia die along with Pat. If you have ever had to deal in any way with Alzheimers, you know how it feels. If you haven't... consider yourself lucky. It is a monster that needs to be taken down, and hopefully Pat Summit's battle will help conquer the beast around the world.

Rest easy Pat. The nightmares of dementia are behind you. You are in heaven what you were on earth; a winner.

Euro 2016: The best and worst of the group stages

Hello, friends. Well, the group stages of Euro 2016 are history, and they did not disappoint. There was plenty of drama, agony, pleasure, and triumph. Here are some of the best, and worst things that have transpired over the past two weeks in France.

The best
Player: Gareth Bale

If going 58 years without playing in an international tournament is any indication, Wales is not a football power, which makes their unexpected rise to the top of group B ever so inspiring. At the heart of this is Gareth Bale. Not only has Bale had a great individual tournament (3 goals in 3 group games) he has raised his teammates level of play to the point where the fighting Welshmen are a dangerous side going forward. Players like Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey are also in fantastic form, but the captain deserves the lion's share of the credit for this feel good story.

The Worst
Underperformer: Christiano Ronaldo

As overwhelming as Wales have been this summer, that's how underwhelming Portugal has been. Much like Gareth Bale deserves the most credit for Wales's performance, Christiano Ronald deserves the blame for Portugal's. Sure, Ronaldo has had a respectable performance by an ordinary man's standards, and his two goals against Hungary saved his country from elimination. But Ronaldo is not a regular player. He regards himself as the best in the world, and many share his opinion, which is why his inability to lead his country to a single win in the group stages is terribly frustrating. A quiet game against Iceland, followed by a missed penalty from Ronaldo against Austria put the overwhelming favorites in Group F on the brink of elimination. Luckily, Portugal was able to salvage a 3-3 draw against Hungary in the final group game. Nonetheless, when you think of how talented the Portuguese are compared to the other Group F nations and combine that with the fact that, if not for the expanded tournament field from 16 to 24 teams, Ronaldo's troops would be out of the tournament entirely, there is no question who the biggest flops in France have been so far.

At 29, Ronaldo is not a young athlete anymore, and it's time to wonder if he will ever have a signature summer on the international stage. If things keep going at this rate, CR7 will have to wait another two years.

The Best 
Team: Nobody 
One thing that has made the first two weeks of tournament competition fun is that we still have no idea who is going to win the competition. Plenty of teams have played well, but none has marked their territory as the top dog. France, Belgium, Germany, and Spain were all looked at as possible favorites coming in, but of those four, only France and Germany managed to top their group, neither of which looked particularly impressive doing it. There have been pleasant surprises (Wales, Italy, Iceland), and there have been disappointments (Portugal, England, Belgium), but no dominant team has emerged for Euro 2016.

The Worst
Most Underwhelming: Portugal  

As much as we here in America will hear about the underachieving of the English national team, no country was more underwhelming in the group stages than Portugal. At least England won a game. All the Portuguese could manage were three draws against sides that they were considerably better then. Portugal should have shown themselves to be men among boys in Group F. Instead they finished 3rd. Yes, they managed to qualify for the round of 16, but that does little to excuse the mediocrity. Hopefully, CR7 can lead his troops to a decent run in the knockout stages. If not, this will just be another summer of underachieving, which Portugal's fans have become accustomed to over the past decade.

The Best 
Most surprising side: Italy

There were a lot of teams that have a case for being the tournament's biggest surprise, and I was quite tempted to give this honor to an underdog like Wales or Iceland. But neither one of those countries had as much pressure on them coming into the Euros as the Italian side. One of world football's most historic and successful teams, Italy is not what they used to be. In fact, coming in, some Italian fans and journalists had blessed this club as the worst in Italy's long and storied history. But so far, Italy is putting the doubters to shame. It was apparent from their 2-0 victory over Belgium in the Group E opener that the Italians had come to play, and the beat went on in their next outing, a 1-0 triumph over Sweden. Sure, Italy experienced a bit of a let down in the group finale, losing 1-0 to Ireland, but that was largely a product of head man Victor Conte resting most of his starters for the next round, as his men had already secured the top spot in their group.

It's one thing for a ''rah-rah, let's show em who we are'' country with nothing to lose making a run, but it does my heart good to see a nation that has a lot to live up to come through under scrutiny. Take notes, England.

The Worst 
Fans: Hooligans 

It's what a lot of misguided Americans think about when they think of football. Russia, England, and Croatia fans all behaved outrageously at some point during this tournament. As a result, Russia and England were both threatened expulsion from the tournament should this behavior keep up. It's a shame. Just a shame.

The best
Fans: Iceland

I have to talk about Iceland in this post. Just couldn't leave them out. They play football with such energy and have somehow made their way to the knockout stage in their first ever tournament. As for the Iceland fans? 8% of the country is in France. Nuff said. With all due respect to the great fans of Ireland and Northern Ireland; Iceland takes the cake.

The Best 
Game: Hungary 3, Portugal 3

As good as the games in France have been this summer, there hasn't been a whole lot of scoring, which made Wednesday's group D finale so refreshing to the casual fan. Football can be beautiful regardless of the scoreline, but as fans, we like goals. Goals are fun. Goals are cool. The more goals, the better. Add all the goals to the drama of group favorites Portugal almost being knocked out of the tournament, and you had one hell of a game.

The Worst
Game: Anything involving Russia
They sucked.

Euro 2016 has been great, and here's hoping the best is yet to come.

Choke Nation: Why Warriors? Why?

Let me clarify something. Just because I root for the Golden State Warriors does not make me a bandwagon fan. Here's a little story.

In October of 2014, I decided that I was tired of not having an NBA team to root for. Pittsburgh is where I live, and naturally, we do not have a team (and we never will; get over it). My cousin, Alex Gordon, who has contributed to this sports blog in the past, lives near San Fransisco and is a big time Warriors fan. Alex and I already had a bond over sports, and I figured it would strengthen that bond if I started following his beloved Warriors. So that's  what I did. I had no idea that who I chose to follow would become one of the biggest bandwagon teams in all of sports over the next year and 1/2.

As all sports fans know, between 2014 and 2016, the Warriors ruled the NBA, going a combined 140-24 over 164 regular season games. The won the title in 2015, but the joy was tampered due to whiny Cleveland Caviler fans complaining about Kevin Scrub and Kyrie Irving's injuries. Nonetheless, the Warriors were the best team in the NBA that season, and they deserved to be the champs. The next season, however, should have cemented Golden State as a dominant dynasty worthy of being discussed with the greatest teams in NBA history. They won 73 games (a new world record)! And were one win away from completing what would have been, record wise, the greatest season ever. Then, the choking began.

It started out looking like a slaughter. In the series first four games, Golden State was in command. They were up 3-1. They were already the better team. All they had to do was win one of a possible two more games on their home court, where they didn't lose until early April. They had all the firepower and all the momentum. Then they blew it.

As the Neon Trees song says; "It started with a whisper.'' A whisper, in this case, was the suspension of Golden States All-Star forward, Draymond Green, for Game 5 at Oracle Arena. The whisper led to an eruption from Cleveland's two stars, Lebron James and Kyrie Irving, combining for 82 points, allowing Cleveland to stay alive for another game. Green's suspension was for a very strange reason, and there is no telling what he would have contributed had he been active. It's  possible that the Warriors would have won game 5 and, thus, the title. But he wasn't active, and the Warriors weren't champs.

As the opening line from Ben Harper's hit "Amen Omen" reads; "What started as a whisper, slowly turned into a scream". "The Scream" started in Game 6 when a fired up Cleveland team pounded Golden State by a score of 115-101. The Warriors showed signs of falling apart that night, particularly when superstar Steph Curry threw his mouthpiece into the crowd after fouling out of the contest. The momentum had shifted. But, Cleveland still had to win another game in Oakland.

No problem. Sure, Cleveland had the momentum. Sure, Golden State's center, Andrew Bogut, suffered a nasty knee injury in Game 5 and would not be available. Sure, Cleveland clearly frustrated and flustered Golden State in Game 6. But who could be against the home team in a series deciding game, especially when the home team had the greatest home-court advantage in the NBA, possibly of all time? Well, Lebron James happened.



Before I explode on Golden State, I have to give credit where credit is due. The Clevland Cavaliers deserve all the credit in the world, and Lebron James deserves all the credit in every other Galaxy. The Cavs were determined. The had an entire city on their backs, and they would not throw in the towel. Kyrie Irving was fantastic, Lebron James was godly, and his performance in game 7 was the greatest Game 7 performance in the history of the game, as was his performance throughout the series. Without saying a word, James told his critics to know their role and shut their mouths. Regardless of what happens in the future, Lebron has cemented his legacy, and may one day surprise Michael Jordan as the greatest player of all time, much to the dismay of all the MJ blowhards who may or may not have ever watched Jordan play. So, congrats to the Cavs, and congrats to the city of Cleveland. Party on.

As for Golden State, here is the best analogy I could conjure. Say Leanardo da Vinci started painting what would become his signature masterpiece, "The Mona Lisa.'' Leanardo works hard on it for some time. Then, when he is about 95% done with the painting, he takes the board, brakes it over his knee, and destroys the entire thing. That's what the Warriors did with the 2015-16 season.



All they had to do was not lose 3 in a row. That's it. With all do respect to Cleveland, the team that was better overall lost, and no Cavs blowhard could ever argue that. The Warriors were a historically great team. The Cavs were just a good team that won 18 fewer games in the regular season, all the while playing in the Mickey Mouse eastern conference.  It was annoying that the Warriors let the series go six games. It was embarrassing that they let it go seven games. It was shameful that they lost the whole damn thing. If I had been wearing a gold shirt in Oracle on Sunday night, I'd have thrown it in
the direction of the Warriors bench. In fact, I'm surprised that fans didn't do that. A gesture of that nature would have been fitting, almost appropriate for the circumstances.

Is winning 73 games still one hell of an accomplishment? Yes. Do the Warriors still have a good shot at winning a championship or three in shortly? Of course. But the sad reality is that because Golden State could not close the deal on what should have been "the year of good feelings", this season should be remembered as a failure. If nothing else, I'll get to prove that I am not a bandwagon fan by sticking with Golden State and not shifting to Cleveland ("because they are the team closest to Pittsburgh"!) I will leave you all with a Facebook post courtesy of my cousin Alex himself.

I don't normally post long ranty things (or much of anything really), and almost never about sports, because I know that bothers a lot of people. With real world problems that need to be addressed I definitely understand why its petty to complain about a professional sports team losing that I am in no way directly involved in. 
I just wanted to say this Warriors team meant a lot to me. Having loved this team since it was starting Curry, Monte Ellis, Dorrell Wright, David Lee and Andris Biedrins (never forget) they got here through building chemistry and trust. No matter what you think of them, overrated, incredible, lucky, they played basketball the way it was supposed to be played at the games highest level. That's something that only a few teams in the history of the NBA can claim. They were totally unselfish, they played for each other, and everyone contributed. It was beautiful to watch, and I loved that so many people got a chance to see that through the course of the regular season and became fans. 
In the end they didn't lose because they chased 73. They didn't lose because Curry is playing hurt (the Warriors are too smart of an organization to play him if there was long term injury risk. The fact he missed three weeks of playoff intensity basketball is significant though). They didn't lose because Draymond got suspended, but I felt that the league had two different standards in the Oklahoma series and the finals. His suspension was definitely the turning point in the series. Its hard to play with a guy then without a guy then with a guy again at the highest possible level. I honestly think it cost them two games. That all being said to me they lost this series when Festus Ezeli went in with about five minutes left in the game. I love Festus, he's played great for the Warriors his whole career, but he wasn't being given the time or producing enough these playoffs to warrant having him out there at the biggest possible moment. I love Kerr's "stay ready" mindset coaching and I think its how you should do it, but it graphically backfired in these minutes, this was not the time or the place for it. The Cavs ran two straight pick and roles to get Festus switched on Lebron and he got fouled shooting a three and made a three. Six points right there. The final margin of victory was four. Who knows if the Warriors would have pulled it out had he not been in, but I'm sure they would have had a better chance. If Barnes needed a rest fine, put in Livingston, even Brandon Rush, but somebody that can switch without letting Lebron have whatever he wants. 
The NBA is a predictable league, and over the course of seven games the better team almost always wins. I didn't feel like that was the case this series, and though I'm obviously biased, but as someone who spends way to much time watching basketball, it bothers me that a team that played basketball so beautifully will be penalized historically because of all these fluke things that made it so they couldn't win a championship. 
(On a side note though, if it had to be against anyone im glad it was Lebron. If this finally makes people stop saying his finals record is trash, or he's never carried a team, and all this other junk on the internet I'm grateful. He plays basketball the way it was supposed to be played and should be talked about as one of the best to ever do it). sorry again about all this. Just needed to put it somewhere.

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The man in charge (photo creds to nhl.nbcsports.com

The Pittsburgh Penguins are the champions of the world. Those nine words fill our city with great pride, as they damn well should. An unlikely team with unlikely heroes were as cohesive of a group as any I have seen; in any sport, in all my years as a fan. It's a damn good feeling, and if anything negative comes out of this, it's that we don't know when we will see it again.

As the Penguins victory drew near, I had a hard time thinking about what I would write if they won. I knew I couldn't talk about the players, as I did that when they won the Eastern Conference Finals. I knew I couldn't stress too much how this is my favorite Penguins team of all time, as I did that in the same article. Finally, as time dwindled down on Game 6 in San Jose, I settled on writing about the uncertainty of when we will be able to have this euphoric joy again. My message to all Pens fans that are assuming that the Penguins will win multiple cups within the next decade; don't be so sure.

The Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Detroit Redwings, Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leafs make up the "original six", as between 1942 and 1967, they were all there was in the National Hockey League. In 1940, the Rangers defeated the Mapleleafs in the Stanley Cup Finals.  As one of the NHL's flagship franchises, fans expected many more titles to come New York's way. In the 76 years since the New York Rangers have won but one Stanley Cup (1994). You think fans will savor it if the Rangers brought another cup to the garden?

In 1967, the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated Montreal to win their 13th Stanley Cup. What would the rabid fans of hockey's capital have thought if you told them they'd go 50 years before winning another? They probably wouldn't have wanted to live on the planet anymore. Another flagship franchise. Another long ass drought. The way the Maple Leafs are going, another half-century could very well go by without a title for the Leafers.

In 1955, the Detroit Redwings defeated Montreal in seven games to win their 7th Stanley Cup. It would be 42 years before they would win another. An image that I still think about is from the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. That image is a Redwings fan pressing his face against the glass and breaking down crying tears of joy as his beloved Wings finished off the Philadelphia Flyers in 4 games. That's how championships affect people, and that's why no Penguin fan should take this for granted. It's cliche as all hell, but it's also accurate as all hell. You just don't know when it will happen again.

And if it does happen again, I don't think we will ever see another postseason in Pittsburgh quite like this one. Usually, over the course of a two-month NHL postseason, some series will be snoozers. For example, in 2009, the Penguins swept the Carolina Hurricanes in a forgettable four-game set. In 1991, the Penguins beat the Washington Capitals and an unremarkable 5-game series. The 1992 Penguins swept two teams on their way to winning the cup. 2016 was different.

There were no sweeps this time around, and only the opening series went less than six games. Even that 5-game set with the New York Rangers was a thrill ride (what's more exciting than knocking one of the best goalies in the world out of the game- twice?). Then there was the six-game set with the Washington Capitals in which there were three games decided in overtime, followed by that seven-game thriller with Tampa that was as evenly matched as any playoff series in Penguin history. Finally, everything climaxed with an evenly matched 6-game set with San Jose that saw two overtime games and no blowouts. There was never a dull moment this postseason, and we may never see something quite like this ever again.

Out of the Penguins 16 wins, 11 different players scored game-winning goals. Nine different players were named the game's first star, and even though the Penguins have the best player on the planet in Sidney Crosby, there was plenty to debate on who deserved to win the Con Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs. Phil Kessel, Matt Murray, and even Nick Bonino all had a case to win that award. To say that it was a team effort would be an understatement. It was beyond a team effort, and it was beyond special.

This article is not meant to be negative or discouraging. It is meant to help my readers realize that this thing may be even more special than they realize. So as Wednesday's parade dawns upon us, fans; do whatever you have to do. If you want to go down in the hopes of getting close enough to touch a player, go for it. If you want to stay home and watch on TV, go for it. If you want to do something else with your life, go for that to. But whatever you do, keep in mind what has recently occurred in our great city. Keep in mind what these guys went through to get their jewel. Keep in mind how unusually breathtaking these playoffs were, and keep in mind that this may never be relieved.