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.