Some Steelers reading

There's a ton of good reading about the Steelers right now.

Bob Oates of the LA Times says Ben Roethlisberger gets no help from his coaches and should be rookie and player of the year. I swear, I don't even know why those LA people try to write about sports.

Lynn Swann might run for Governor as a Republican.

South-central Pennsylvanians continue to complain about the local and national media's determination to force-feed them coverage and broadcasts of the Baltimore Raisins. All hail Melanie Callen, the author of that letter to the editor.

If we've learned anything from the steroids issue, it's that American voters like it when politicians ignore the so-called "serious" or "real" issues and fret instead about the state of professional sports. Ed Rendell should get out in front of this brewing issue. He needs to declare that if he's re-elected in 2006, he'll force the NFL to cede south-central PA print and television markets to the Steelers. Lynn Swann can respond by declaring that, should he be elected Governor, he'll force the NFL to surrender south-central PA and the northwestern corner of PA, which is now suffering under coverage and broadcasts of the Buffalo Bills.

It's easy to see where this will lead. Both candidates will have to deal with the city of Cleveland. Obviously, it's only a matter of time before the Clevelanders petition to secede from Ohio and join Pennsylvania. The state of the Browns will prove to be the tipping point. As Pennsylvanians, they could appeal to Lynn Swann and Ed Rendell to get the Steelers games pre-empting the Browns broadcasts.

Oh, wait. Nevermind. While we have the crystal ball warmed up, I also see the Browns getting sold to a Las Vegas group who convert them into Major League Baseball's thirty-third franchise.

The crystal ball gets cloudy when I attempt to determine if this gets the Pirates back into the NL East.

In other news, former Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Mel Blount finished third in a Las Vegas rodeo.

The New York media have nothing nice to say about Eli Manning. Here's a sample:

Tom Coughlin has made it abundantly clear the Eli Manning is not coming out of the starting lineup, no matter how bad he looks. And against a top-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers defense that picked Chad Pennington off three times last weekend, Saturday's game will be even more wretched than his unwatchable effort in Baltimore.

That critic, Stephen Edelson, is right I think. Losing only tends to promote more losing. The Giants should make Eli Manning force his way into the lineup Craig Wilson-style. I can't agree that it's right to hand him the job and tell the rest of the team to suck it up. The QB is not that important. Kurt Warner looked better in relief; he should be the starter this week.

True or false: Jason is to Peyton as Jeremy is to Eli. I'll give you the answer to that question in five years.

A Florida copy editor sizes up the running for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Jason Bay and Ben Roethlisberger may be making appearances together next March.

I never knew there was a Korean soccer team named the Steelers. If you can read Korean, click here. Otherwise, check out "the Steelyard" and their cool Steeler logo here. Yes, they make steel in Pohang. It wouldn't surprise me if many older Pittsburghers know this too well.

Troy Polamalu is stuffing the Pro Bowl ballot box for James Farrior. Maybe you should too.

Do me a favor and post other links in the comments. One monkey can't find all the good stuff in half an hour.