This is the first of two favorite times of the year. We have to give it to the guys from the past, we wouldn't be able to be the way we are today without them. While reading this, really think about what I am saying here.

We are a very blessed people. Think about it. We have freedom to do practically anything we want in life. The only restrictions are ourselves. We can play sports for a living, we can watch sports for a living, we can talk about sports for a living. There are not very many countries that allow that to happen. Someone a long time ago decided it would be best to have all the freedoms that we have. They decided it and a bunch of guys agreed. In turn, they convinced the rest of our people to fight for it. We got lucky on several occasions, but overall, we were and are just fighting for our rights as a people. I just want to say how thankful I am that we had those people leading our country back them. They set up what we have now. While studying Arabic and the culture of the Arabian people, I have come to appreciate all American things a lot more. I wish we could all just say that we were American instead of Irish-American, German-American, African-American, or Mexican-American. I wish we could settle the official language. I wish we could take pride in our American heritage and realize that a melting pot melts. In saying this I mean that once a metal is melted with another, it becomes something else entirely. I am not saying forget your past, but instead be proud of your future. So, when we say we are a melting pot of people, we should mean that we are now American. Period. In saying this, we can turn to sports.

We blew it against the Bengals. We had a chance to get back into the hunt, and we failed. It was somewhat acceptable though, because Cincinnati is a decent team this year. We move onto last week and the Chiefs. We had that game in our hands. We were able to move the ball all over the field with ease. We were unable to punch it in the end zone, just like against the Bengals. Where are we at now? We are in a must win situation Sunday night against the hated Ravens. Will we win? I want to believe that we will, and big, but it honestly depends if there are any lingering effects from that hit to the head that Ben Roethlisberger was given in overtime. I believe he will be fine, in fact, I think he will be on fire. I think our pride took a great hit this week. I think we have something to show. I saw the writers all over the country doubting the champs. We have had some injuries, yes, but that is no excuse. We lost three games this season by three or less and the other one by six. We are that close to being undefeated. That isn't close enough. We need a statement game this week. You know, the type of game that puts us back in the top five. I also think that for one of the few times in my lifetime, I will be truly rooting for the Browns. We will have to wait for Sunday night though. I pick Steelers 38-17.

I am not going to talk wins a losses as much about the Penguins in this one. I truly believe that if we are healthy, we are almost unbeatable. You look at the start of the season, it wasn't just a hot start, it was the way we can play. We are not the same team we were most of the season last year. We have that Stanley Cup team working for us now. We have just a few guys remaining that are injured that will be coming back in the next two or so weeks. We are winning still and upon their return, look out NHL. Think about it, not too many teams have the depth at almost all position as the Penguins have. We lost about half of our team. Those players were replaced with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins who held the fort quite well. What this does is allow the injured players to do? It allows players to take their time and come back at 100% instead of at 80% because the team is suffering too much. It also displays the talent of our AHL players in order to make a trade if it is necessary. It is sorta a two item deal. I can foresee our guys lighting it up for the rest of the season and show all the doubters why they are the champions. We have the best fans in all the professional sports here in Pittsburgh. No matter what, we are die hard fans. I know we have been through some rough time, whether it has been the Steelers of the '80s, the Penguins of the '70s, or the Pirates of the '90s-'00s, but the point is that we stick with our teams. We need to continue this even on losing efforts. Be proud of where you come from and the teams that you root for.

Let's Go Pens!

Here We Go Stillers!

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First of all, as I have seen written only a few times in the past months since the start of the season, GM Neal Huntington and President Frank Coonelly are trying to right the ship. All I hear is how we have been rebuilding for the past 16 years, which is the farthest from the truth. We have been stupid. We finally have some guys in the front office that want to make this team win and the fans are not letting them do this. I understand the questioning, but step back for a second and look at the whole picture.

It took the Penguins five years from start to finish to go from last to first. It required some heartache and a ton of fan loyalty. We almost lost the team to another city as well as bankruptcy as well. We gave up all of our veteran players that weren't going to carry the team anymore for some good prospects. Not all the prospects panned out, but no GM is perfect. They have to take chances. The point is that they got the job done with the continued support of our fans. It is a necessary evil to get a winning team back on the ice.

The same thing is going to happen with the Pirates. The difference is that we have to ignore the 15 years leading up to the leadership change. We have to act as though they never existed. The reason for this is because those leaders weren't building a team, they were just putting enough guys on the field to play. They never drafted well, they never built up a minor league system. They never did anything to make a better team.

Now, we have the leadership to do just that. They are almost like starting a new franchise. They have to rebuild a minor league system first. This is accomplished by learning to draft well. Drafting well requires a plan on what kind of team you want. For example, if you haven't noticed, we are currently trying to build a great pitching, great defending team. We are designing our team with less power and more base hits and speed. Once you have your plan, which this one is the first plan in 15 years, you can start drafting better. They are also forced to trade their current veterans for a couple potential prospects while their stocks are high. This is very necessary to get the minors up to par with the rest of the league.

My overall point to this post is to tell the fans that they have to treat the team as they did the Penguins when they were down and out. Support them any way you can. Trust the leadership for once and be patient. It isn't going to happen overnight. The current leadership has had a year and a half of rebuilding from the ground up. Trust me when I say that we are on the right track. It may not seem like it now, but what do you expect? Would you rather have five more years of mediocre seasons, not making the playoffs and keeping all the fan favorites, or would you want a perennial winning team in the division with a possible deep playoff run in a couple years while getting all kinds of new blood in the system? You tell me what is better.

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I will start off with the easy one. The Pittsburgh Penguins. I love what we have done with the team this offseason. We have solidified our team unlike most Stanley Cup teams in the past, with the exception of the Wings from 2007-08 to 2008-09. We were able to give our superstars line the all important line security for a whole season. That has yet to happen since the lockout for our Penguins. We seemed to be hit or miss in finding guys to work with the stars that we already had in place. Not only did we keep the talent signed on for another run at the cup, after this season, we will have fully capable replacements, if it comes to that, for the free agents that leave. That is all due to quality trades, salary dumping, and drafting. The rumor was going around that the salary cap was going to come down significantly next year, in the range of 5 or more million. The latest on that is that it may not move at all. The NHL is still selling tickets at a remarkable rate and the fan base seems to be getting bigger and bigger. That will be great for this team, considering they are practically at their limit right now and really can't afford a dip too big after this upcoming season. Overall, I love what we are looking like and our chances for a repeat. I just hope we don't expect it though, that is always a downfall...ask the Wings!

The Steelers are a similar story. I know that everyone was and/or is complaining about our offensive line. For those complainers...stop. Believe in these guys. Ben Roethlisberger is a great quarterback, but he is in no way, shape, or form an easy person to block for. If you go back to his college film, it is exactly the same there as it is here. If you haven't made yourself get used to it, you better start. The line worked harder and harder to get better last season and they finally, amidst all the injuries and changing of the guards, were able to gel. They will be the same unit as last year, but gelling from the start. Consider it for a minute. The other great thing that is going to be going on it the one-two punch of a healthy Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall. Parker feels like he played terrible last season and is out to prove a point. We didn't see much of Mendenhall, but I will guarantee more of a run-game this year than last. I also want to quell the craziness going on about Michael Vick coming to the Steelers. The only reason it was ever mentioned is because of how great the quality of the organization we have here. That is it. Period. Anyone that knows our team at all knows that we will never take any guy that will cause any type of distraction, no matter how great an athlete he is. I am proud of that. Like the Pens, I see another possible Superbowl run on the horizon, let's just stay healthy!

The big news. The Pirates. I will admit that I was sad to see our guys go the past couple weeks, but it was for the best. Look at what we have now, an up and coming team to get excited about. I can honestly say I am finally excited for what is to come. I haven't been since 1991. Every one of you should be this way too. We finally reached our goal. It may seem terrible right now, but look at the big picture, we will have a good team for years to come at the expense of some of last season and this season. You have to ignore the 15 1/2 years before that because it was under different management. I say, like I did before, give them 5 total years to make a deep playoff run. We are almost 2 years into it and it is looking bright. We finally have a minor league system to look at and know that there is major league talent in there that just needs honing. Like I said, this is the first time in 17 years that we can say that we have major talent in OUR minor league system. Get used to the idea.

Ok, a side note here. The G20 summit. It is a tremendous thing for the city, we will get world recognition. The possibilities will be endless. However, it may get dangerous with all the protests. All I have to say is that you should do what you need to, but be safe and be smart if you are going to be a part of it all. Make our city look great.