Chuck Finder describes the current market for Steelers tickets. You have to be some kind of royalty to get into Heinz Field these days. If you didn't inherit your seats from parents who belonged to Pittsburgh's honest and worthy middle-class in the 1970s, then you'll pay like a lord to get in with your lady.
Saturday, November 06, 2004
Pirates schedule - some details
Sounds like we'll face the AL East this year in interleague. Details here. More EST games means I won't have to stay up SOOOOOO late to find out if our closer was able to seal the victory.
...full schedule here. Flying all the way out to San Diego for four games, then back to Milwaukee and home in week one? That might be tough but they get to stay in the area for the next few weeks. In early May, here's a brutal road trip: ten days of Houston - Arizona - San Francisco.
What else to note about the early weeks. A third of the home dates are day games. Very nice.
Looking further ahead. Because we are matched up against the AL East in interleague, there are very few games starting later than 8pm central ... that will be good for ticket sales I'd guess. I remember more than a few "black holes" in 2004 when the Bucs were more or less disappearing from local consciousness into stretches of 10pm starts.
The more I look at the schedule, the more I like it. The Bucs should win 95 games no problem.
Bay is the player's choice
Bay wins the ROY awarded by the players association. He has swept the ROY awards that I know of, with the exception of the Internet Writers'.
Washington Nationals?
Reader Clay alerted me to this story now circulating in D.C.
The "Nationals" is weak. They should Remember the Grays. Just because the focus groups prefer one name now doesn't mean that it is the better long-term choice.
... Saturday ... let me add a little more about this. Last time I saw a Washington, D.C. license plate, the motto beneath the number was "Taxation without Representation." If MLB wants to put the team in a place where the locals will support it - and who will support it if the locals don't? - then they shy away from anything which connotes the callous, patrician, Gilded-Age federalism of the current D.C. leadership. No Senators, no Nationals, no Federals. Honor the locals. If the MLB wants to move a team to Baghdad, they'd be wise to pick any name but "Crusaders," right? Now seems like an especially bad time to revive any of the various federalist names.
The Grays were arguably one of the greatest teams ever and D.C. is overwhelmingly black. If you avoid the Grays because it reminds people of segregation, what kind of bullshit is that? The Dodgers remind me of segregation. There is no better way to "heal" unpleasant aspects about one's past than being open and honest and candid about it. Three names appear especially designed to irritate the hell out of the D.C. locals. One honors one of the great teams and honors the grandparents of the people who now live in D.C. It's a no-brainer I think.
Thursday, November 04, 2004
Free agent wish list
Who do you want from the free agent pool? Let's try to guess who Littlefield will sign.
...ESPN broke that link. I'll look around for another more stable page with the FAs listed.
Honest Wagner NFL pick 'em: week 9
VIS SPRD HME SCOOP BONES ROWDY
arz 02.5 MIA ..arz ..arz ..MIA
phl -1.5 PIT .PIT* .PIT* .PIT*
ksc -2.5 TAB ..ksc ..ksc ..TAB
oak 06.5 CAR ..CAR .CAR* ..CAR
nyj -2.5 BUF .nyj* ..BUF ..BUF
dal -1.5 CIN ..CIN .CIN* .CIN*
was 03.5 DET ..DET ..DET ..DET
nwo 06.5 SND ..nwo ..SND ..SND
sea -6.5 SNF .SNF* ..sea .SNF*
chi 09.5 NYG ..chi .chi* ..NYG
hou 06.5 DEN ..hou .hou* .hou*
nwe -2.5 STL .nwe* ..STL ..STL
cle 05.5 BAL ..cle .cle* .cle*
min 06.5 IND ..min ..IND .min*
Asterisks indicate best bets.
Season to date:
Scoop 68-48 .586
Bones 66-50 .569
Rowdy 60-56 .517
Best bets
Rowdy 24-20 .545
Bones 19-16 .543
Scoop 11-10 .524
Comments:
Scoop says: Love that steagles matchup. A 6-1 team getting points at home after demolishing what 6 days ago was seen as arguably one of the greatest teams ever. The thought of an even-more-than-usually-motivated duce staley is scary. Stillers looking to go up 3 games in the division. Pit's a dolores pick if I ever saw one.
Dr. Bones writes: Under new regime, all games are fixed.
Rowdy pontificates: How is the 3-4 Dallas team favored at the 2-5 Cincinnati team? I'll take the Bungles and hope to never learn. The Seattle at San Francisco games looks too good to be true. The Seahawks are back on track after a rough patch, but that win last week does not mandate a ton of confidence. They travel to play a team they beat 34-0 in September. The Niners were as bad as can be last week. These teams catch each other rebounding in different directions. I'll take the Niners to cover the big number. Houston, like Pittsburgh, is still undervalued by the oddsmakers as they continue to prove the skeptics wrong. All aboard these cover trains. I'll take both underdogs ATS and SU. The Browns beat up the Ravens on opening day. Most AFC North division games should be three-point spreads. These teams all play each other tough. The Brownies are coming off a bye. I'll take those points and enjoy rooting against the Ravens. Finally, Minnesota can score on Indianapolis, Randy Moss or no Randy Moss. Both teams hail from domes and both teams play well in the spotlight. Plus, Minnesota is due for some improvement over last week's game, which probably has people unnecessarily down on their overall ability. So this is another case where I'll take the generous point spread. Finally, Carolina goes for their first home win, again, against the mysteriously-awful Oakland team. Neither team is reliable enough to trust as a best bet. Still, I'll be real surprised if Carolina doesn't win in this fourth chance to return something on the considerable investment of all season ticket holders. Fans don't ask or expect much from self-destructing suckass teams beyond winning a few games at home. Everybody has to win some at home.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Honest Wagner NFL pick 'em: week 8 results
In the pick 'em, Rowdy and Bones won eight and Scoop won seven overall. Scoop went 2-1 with best bets, Bones 2-2, and Rowdy 4-1. The overall numbers are now Scoop 68-48 (.586), Bones 66-50 (.569), and Rowdy 60-56 (.517). In best bets we have Rowdy 24-20 (.545), Bones 19-16 (.543), and Scoop 11-10 (.524). 45% of the 2004 season has been played as we head into week 9.
Watching the Monday night game, I realized how good the Steelers are right now. Unlike the Miami players, the Stiller offensive line can block and the receivers catch the ball. They can play with anyone right now. My only concern is the lack of depth. Teams that go to and win the Super Bowl often go the whole season without major injuries. The Steelers are now starting a lot of the depth I'd rather see in reserve at the midpoint of the season. On the other hand, playing time for guys like Chris Hoke and Max Starks will help the team return stronger and deeper next year.
So, no time like the present. No sense holding anything back. I expect they'll give the Eagles hell this weekend.
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Monday, November 01, 2004
Steelers win
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Rumbling, bumbling, stumbling
Something like ten straight runs in an eight-minute scoring drive. That's what I call Steeler football. They know we're going to run, we run, we get first downs, we score. It's beautiful football.
F U M B L E ! T D !
Steelers recover, score again. Two minutes into the second half, it's Pittsburgh 31, New England 10.
Must have been a pretty good halftime holler from Coach Cowher.
Good time to go downstairs and hand out candy to little black-and-gold gremlins.
Halftime
Coach Cowher will have plenty to holler about. Too many penalties, real and imagined, a botched easy TD pass to Riemersma, and giving up that long drive to the Pats in the shotgun. Grrr.
4th and goal
Inside Just outside the one. 2:09 left in Q2. I say go for it.
...19-yd field goal. 24-3.
T O U C H D O W N ! !
Deshea Townsend runs it in. Steelers up 21-3.
... and think, Clay tried to give me his tickets for this game, but nooooooooooo, I couldn't go because it's Hallowe'en.
The only good thing about Hallowe'en is the excuse, which I don't really need, to wear black and gold. Hallowe'en bah humbug. This game is awesome.
Little Rowdy likes it too. He says coooo mraaaaah mrah.
T O U C H D O W N !
Steelers up 14-3.
... uh challenge. Chasing incompetence with folly, the Patriots squander a time out.
... Plex is having a nice day.