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6/20/05 Today's most Steeler moment: a 5 a.m. workout. Today's thoughts: There's some seriously irresponsible behavior going on in the Steelers camp right now. No, not the much-discussed Roethlisberger helmet issue. I'm talking about Santonio Holmes. This kid needs to pull his head out of his ass, ASAP. For those who missed it, the Steelers number one draft pick was arrested over the weekend for the SECOND TIME since he was drafted a mere two months ago. After an arrest in Miami over Memorial Day weekend for disturbing the peace, Holmes was arrested yet again on Sunday in Ohio on domestic violence charges. Police told the Post-Gazette that Holmes allegedly got in an argument with the mother of his daughter, and began "choking (her), throwing her to the ground, grabbing her arms and slamming her into a door, leaving her with bruises, pain and a torn shirt." You can find the Post-Gazette’s report here. Now, all these charges could be proven to be completely false and he could be completely exonerated. But you know what? Drama's drama, and if the current world champs traded up to pick you in the first round of the NFL draft, you should do your best to avoid it. You need to examine the life you have and the people around you and avoid anything (friends, family members, or behaviors) that might derail you. Even if all ends well and he’s proven to be completely innocent, what does this do to his concentration? His ability to focus on the field? To the respect of his new teammates? To the outlook of his new coaches? This kid could have an amazing future ahead of him, but he’s in danger of pissing it away. Seriously kid, pull it together. You’ve got an amazing gift... don't blow it. 12/28/05 Today I'm representing with: a black and gold zip-front jacket. Today's most Steeler moment: tracking down the video and photo you will see below. Today I'm: James Harrison, looking for a Browns fan to slam. Today's thoughts: Let's face it, Jame Harrison was living the dream for a lot of us on Sunday. I'm not saying that Steelers fans inherently hate all Browns fans and wish to inflict bodily harm on them. I am saying, however, that loud-mouth, obnoxious "fans" who overstep their bounds deserve to get slammed. Maybe that's why this moment from Sunday's game, when James Harrison slammed a Browns fan into the turf after the fan stormed the field late in the game, has resonnated. It's spawned its own music video, which you can check out HERE, and THIS PHOTO has undoubtedly become computer desktop material for thousands of Steeler fans already. James, my hat is of to you. Your one move spoke for a lot of us (and also proved to be representative of what the Steelers did to the Browns all day). 12/27/05 Today I'm representing with: a "Dawn of the Dead t-shirt (big ups to Monroeville). Today's most Steeler moment: organizing an impromptu poker game at work. Today I'm: L.C. Greenwood, holding it down up front. Today's thoughts: Sure, you're here for the football, but if you're interested in music (and ideally, loud music with fuzzy guitars) I'm providing my list of 2005's top 10 albums. They ask us to compile these every year at work, mainly for the enjoyment of our colleagues. Now, I share the wealth with you... 1. Clutch – "Robot Hive/Exodus" (it’s like someone locked the James Gang and Black Sabbath in a basement and they spent the night smoking weed and surfing conspiracy websites) 2. Queens of the Stone Age – "Lullabies to Paralyze" (immensely underrated and overlooked… like the "Paul’s Boutique" of stoner rock) 3. DJ Vlad – "Rock Phenomenon" (Ice Cube and Tool, together at last) 4. Danko Jones – "We Sweat Blood" (gutsy, angular guitar rock… like Cheap Trick on steroids) 5. Mastodon – "Leviathan" 6. Nine inch Nails – "With Teeth" 7. The Sword – "Age of Winters" (not out until next month, but I don’t care) 8. Hognose – "El Sombrero" 9. Black Dahlia Murder – "Miasma" 10. Fireball Ministry – "Their Rock Is Not Our Rock" Now you know. 12/19/05 Today I'm representing with: a televised appearance on behalf of area Steeler fans. Today's most Steeler moment: somehow, the coughing-induced headache I have reminds me of Jack Lambert. Today I'm: see above. Today's thoughts: Do you know how lame you have to be to fail at blogging? Well, I'm pretty sure I'm that lame. There's been so much going on that I haven't had much of a chance to write about any of it (now that I think about it, being distracted by writing about things because you're too busy actually DOING things may not be that lame after all). Anyway, work is the usual grind, plus there's been a a little travelling (back to the 'Burgh for the Bengals game), and the holiday push (so far behind on shopping that I may actually be giving out Groundhog's Day gifts instead of Christmas gifts this year). The big thing though has been this mixed martial arts training I started... a little kickboxing, some takedowns and defenses, and some submission grappling. It's a lot of work, but it's the most fun I've had in years. A couple hours of punching and kicking can make a lot of things right. Plus, there's a certain clarity and perspective you find when a man has an armbar locked on you and starts bending your elbow back on itself that you just can't find anywhere else. I highly recommend taking yourself to within a half-inch of major tendon and bone damage on a regular basis. So I was on TV last night. The good folks at the WB11 stopped by Texas-Arizona to profile the Steelers In Hoboken. I had been talking to them off and on for weeks, but had no idea they were going to come out yesterday. It was our Christmas party, so they certainly picked a great week to come out. The crowd looked great, and they wound up with a lot of cool tape of the towels waving, Steelers Santa handing out his gifts, and various types of general merriment. But I looked like a man in dire need of sun and sleep... and I honestly can't contest either of those points. I had been up most of the night before coughing, and you could have packed for your holiday trip with the bags under my eyes. Oh well, that's why guys like Randy Cross get 2 hours worth of makeup before you see them on-air... yes, they wear makeup... lots of it. If you saw these people in person, you'd think a mortician had made them over. Then again, I looked like I needed a mortician, so there you go. 10/10/05 Today I'm representing with: a long-over due Black & Gold blog entry, again. Today's most Steeler moment: climbing a mountain (yes, climbing a mountain). Today I'm: Jack Ham, up for the challenge. Today's thoughts: Yes, it's been a month or so since I managed to get anything new up here. It's not for a lack of potential material, but rather for a lack of time... and frankly, those headers at the top of each entry can be kind of daunting. I'm begining to think that I've somehow painted myself in a corner with the structure of this whole thing, but I'm too stubborn to change now. Just got back from Arizona. "What's in Arizona?" you ask. Nothing, which is kind of the point. No work, no family, no stress, no obligations, no hassles, no nothing... just sky, desert, and mountains. There was also a really sweet hotel with a gym, steam room, sauna, pool and all that action. There was also a mountain that I managed to climb... the Mrs. and I thought it would be more of a hike, but when we found ourselves using our hands and feet to scale rock faces that slanted sharply upward, we realized we were technically climbing. A few notes if you should find yourself doing the same thing: 1) sneakers kind of suck... the import of traction cannot be overstated. 2) coming back down it only slightly easier than going up, and in certain cases is even harder... alas, there is rarely an inflatable slide waited to whisk you back down the mountain. 3) there's no better way to clear your mind than to require every bit of it be devoted to getting you from point A to point B... there's no letting your mind wander when you have to figure out where your hands and feet have to go to keep you from sliding down the side of the mountain. Good times. So I'm back in the city, where things smell decidedly different than they do in the arid desert. I'd say it's good to be back, but honestly, I'm not there yet. I'm still clinging to that vacation, hoping to wring as much out of it as possible. 9/9/05 Today I'm representing with: a long-over due Black & Gold blog entry. Today's most Steeler moment: finally updating the site. Today I'm: Franco Harris circa 1983, strapping on the helmet for one more season (no, 1984 in Seattle doesn't count). Today's thoughts: I'm pretty excited for the arrival of the NFL season this weekend (yes, technically it was last night, but the season doesn't really start until the Steelers play). I'm stoked for all of the regular reasons, but chiefly so that there's something to focus on besides the flooding in New Orleans. I work in news, so the bulk of my 12-hour day is non-stop footage of bloated corpses, demolished homes, and mourning survivors. The wife put together a fundraiser in the city last night that pulled in over $1000, and it certainly helps to feel like you at least tried to do something. I'm not going to rant about the tragedy (you can scroll down the page to my last entry for that), but I'll note that the Red Cross could still use your help. Visit them at redcross.org to find out what you can do. So yes, I could use a little football (ideally of a caliber somewhat higher than we’ve seen out of the Steelers this pre-season). I'm looking forward to forgetting about everything else for at least three hours every Sunday for the next four months and focusing solely on the troubles and triumphs of whatever 11 men happen to be wearing black and gold on that given tuft of grass at that given point. I guess that's the real appeal of the season... it's putting all else aside for a brief period and losing yourself in a conflict that has structure and an easily defined resolution (don't get too many of those in the real world). Office politics, romantic entanglements, family feuds, and all of the shadowy battles you have to fight every day are gone, replaced by a simple skirmish over 100 yards, fought 10 yards at a time... or maybe it's just about watching guys beat the high holy hell out of each other. Either way, I'm in. 9/2/05 Today I'm representing with: my selection of the Steelers D in my fantasy draft. Today's most Steeler moment: using a position of strength to help others. Today I'm: in sad, quiet awe. Today's thoughts: I've been to New Orleans several times. It was actually the first place the wife and I visited when we took our first vacation together when we were dating. We had a lot less money then, so we stayed at a friend's house and frittered away so much on food (and booze... oh, don't forget the booze) that we couldn't afford a cab back from the airport when we flew home. Our subsequent visits have been more comfortable, but no less interesting. We actually made it to a Steelers game there, back in 2002 when the black and gold met up with the OTHER black and gold (the Saints, dumbass). The night before the game, Bourbon Street was crawling with Steelers gear, and – as is so often the case – it felt a bit like a home game. The game marked the passing of the torch at QB, as Kordell was benched in favor of Maddox, who made his first start since 1992. The defense gave up some big plays, and despite a late surge, the Steelers fell short 32-29. I was less than happy at the time, but the trip (and all of our trips to the city) conjure up fond memories. But now, recalling the many haunts my wife and I used to hit and the people we used to see and knowing that they've been wiped out entirely by flooding is just chilling. The scope of this is enormous – I didn't think I needed to tell you that, but I've run into some reluctance from some of the Steelers In Hoboken group about fund raising ("the problems are too big"... "we should do something closer to home"... "they knew it was coming, they should have left"). Honestly, it makes me sick. This is shaping up to be one of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history, and the idea that we should let someone else worry about it because it didn't happen within a 100-mile radius of where some of us grew up is ignorant, asinine, and just plain fucked. I didn't think you had to be familiar with New Orleans to be concerned with this tragedy, to want to do something to help, but maybe you do. I thought the fact that so many are suffering so greatly would be enough, but maybe it's not. There are still people out there – closer than I would have ever thought – who don't see the value in helping. Well, if your sense of compassion and generosity is not limited to the town you grew up in, the Red Cross could use your help. They have 275 shelters to run that are open to Katrina victims. They're serving a half a million hot meals a day, and are operating almost 200 relief vehicles in the area, trying to get food, water, and medical care to survivors. They have a monumental task on their hands, and they aren't the only ones. They do, in fact, need money. Click on this text to visit them at redcross.org to find out what you can do. 8/17/05 Today I'm representing with: the black and white Jack Lambert photo on the wall of my office. Today's most Steeler moment: updating my Steelers’ blog while big, fat rock blasts out of my office (I really shouldn’t complain about work too much). Today I'm: Hines Ward, smiling big for reasons only I know. Today's thoughts: Things are good... I feel the need to spell that out in bold letters, since I tend to blog only when there's something to gripe about (I know, when is there NOT something to gripe about?). First of all, Hines Ward is back in camp... I know what some of you are saying: "Dude, you were just ragging on him for holding out, and now you're all happy to have him back? Pick a side." First of all, piss off. Secondly, sharpen those reading for comprehension skills, ass-clown. I was down on him for holding out, not for the level of his play or even for trying to renegotiate his contract. He certainly deserves more coin, and he'll get it by coming to camp. By holding out, he only inched closer to not being on the roster. I wanted him in camp from the get-go, hence my complaints about his hold-out and hence my joy now. So again, up yours. Then, Monday night's performance certainly put some steam in my stride as well. I sure would have liked to see the offense a bit, but damn, you gotta love 14 points inside of 2 minutes. The D looked sharp, and there's really nothing I can say to do justice to that special teams performance. Plus, it was damn good to hang with so many Steelers fans again. Texas-Arizona had a solid turnout for a pre-season game... plus, beer and burgers are always a good thing. There's a lot of other things bringing the magic these days, so I figured I'd bust them out here (cue: "My Favorite Things"): - Clutch, "Robot Hive/Exodus": The latest from the finest stoner rock ever to come out of Maryland. Thick, buzzing riffs, driving beats, and rolling basslines… it what it would sound like if Black Sabbath and the James Gang were in a van accident. Plus, you get lyrics like, "swan diving off the tongues of crippled giants." Heavy, man. Heavy. - "Idaho? You da ho!" t-shirts: Yes, it's a lame joke, and it's the kind of instant-vintage look people pay too much for at Urban Outfitters, but I laugh every time I see that shirt. Can't help it. - poker night: I don't care if it's a fad and I don't care if a nation of snot-nosed high school kids and beer-soaked college wastes are giving it bad name... more money for me to take. I like gambling, and ideally, I like gambling at the poker table. - that talking baby in the Quizno's ads: What can I say, the kid cracks me up. - the Beetlejuice song: I know that there are now a couple Beetlejuice songs, but my heart lies with the original (though the Staind version of it is just about the only thing that band has ever done that I've enjoyed). Stern fans, you know what I'm talking about. - the fact that I just landed the top draft pick in my work fantasy football league: Gosh, what will I do with the number one pick? Will it be Cliff Stoudt? Perhaps the Buffalo D? - Puny Human, "It's Not the Heat, It's the Humanity": I know these guys, but I haven't seen them in a few months, so I pulled out their last album. It came out two years ago, but it's holding up nicely. Again with the crunching riffs, the rolling grooves, and the barking vocals. Nothin' wrong with that. - Jack Daniel's: Jack + rocks... that's it. Coke's for third graders. Eh, that's enough for now. I'd hate for things to get too positive around here. 8/2/05 Today I'm representing with: the Willie Stargell bobblehead on my desk (sometimes you have to spread the love to the Pirates). Today's most Steeler moment: I came to work and did my job. Today I'm: Art Rooney, loving my guys, but always remembering that it’s a business. Today's thoughts: What in the Wide World of Sports is going on when T.O. is in camp and Hines Ward is not? Just sayin'... I've heard a lot of talk about Hines (and other hold-outs) and this season's most fashionable phrase seems to be, "Well, if a player underperforms, he can be cut, so those contracts aren't binding. They have a right to renegotiate." I hate to be the cold, crashing water of common sense here, but that's kind of how EVERY JOB works. If you don't do your job, you LOSE your job. That's why it's called a JOB. You have a contract, the team's negotiating a new one in good faith, an offer's on the table, now get your ass out there and at least try to be a team leader. Has Hines been a dependable, seemingly indestructible performer for the past few years? Absolutely. Has he been the Steelers MVP the last two seasons? You bet. Is that value diminished when you walk out on your team? We'll see, I guess. 6/22/05 Today I'm representing with: a highly visible shout-out to the black and gold. Today's most Steeler moment: scoring that shout-out. Today I'm: Hines Ward at the Pro Bowl, representing. Today's thoughts: First up, a very important note about an important figure to all NYC area Steeler fans... no, this isn't my Myron Cope commentary (sad to hear he's stepping down, but there are more pressing matters). Some of you may recall Tim Camas (or as he was known around these parts, Timmmmmmay). He was a Steelers In Hoboken board member and a hugely influential presence as far as the local Steelers following goes. He spent a lot of time visiting the various Steeler bars in the city, getting the word out about the scene in Hoboken, about SteelersNYC.com, and in general trying to organize all the fans in the area. He moved to Florida last summer, but returned (as some of you may remember) to visit Texas-Arizona for the AFC championship game where he jumped on the bar and capped his rousing pre-game toast with the unveiling of his brand spanking new Steelers helmet nipple rings. Well, Timmy ran into some trouble over the weekend, and is now recovering from a car accident. Word is that he should be fine, but in the meantime he'll have to heal from a broken collar bone, collapsed lung, concussion, and back injuries. If Timmy's ever bought you a beer, hoisted you into the air, or otherwise enriched your life, please keep him in your thoughts and well wishes in the weeks ahead. Sure, he's always up for a street fight or barroom brawl, but he's also one of the sweetest and most dedicated guys I've ever known. He and I made numerous road trips back to the 'Burgh for games, and every one was an adventure. I look forward to him being up, around, and raising hell again. Despite such diversions, work continues. Fortunately, I was able to channel my love of Pittsburgh into something work related for once. I work in entertainment journalism, so those streams rarely cross (alas, not a lot of Donnie Iris news around here). But with the arrival of "Land of the Dead" this Friday, I knew I had the chance to rave about George Romero for a while. The result is my well-reasoned argument that George is the most influential filmmaker alive today (I also managed to work in a Steelers shout-out). You can check it all out here: http://www.mtv.com/shared/movies/features/r/romero_062205/index2.jhtml 6/17/05 Today I'm representing with: a tale of black and gold woe for all the world to hear. Today's most Steeler moment: yet to come, apparently. Today I'm: Jack Lambert slamming Cliff Harris to the turf in Super Bowl X... because nothing feels better than slamming a bully. Today's thoughts: Last night’s Pirates-Yankees game was hardly a "game"... it was more an ugly lesson in the great inequity that's ruining Major League Baseball. More personally, though, it was a reminder that some people are grade-A assholes, and there's no better way for them to flex their asshole muscles than through the magic of sport. Here's the tale: the Pirates are being handed a decent drubbing by the Yanks (as they should, since the Yankees put $170 million more on the field than the Pirates do, and they ain't spending it on shoes) so the wife and I leave in the 8th inning. I'm standing on the subway platform sporting my black and gold, when a Yankee fan in a Sheffield jersey (and sandals... SANDALS?!? The only time a grown man should be wearing sandals is when he's carrying a sword and a shield and he's battling lions... seriously, not even Shef himself would wear sandals) came stumbling by. He bypassed me, but wandered over to three other Pirates fans waiting on the platform: two guys – each of whom looked like they weighed about as much as one of my legs – and the woman who was with them. The Yankee fan stopped, and apparently needing a bit of trash talk to make him feel better about his chronic impotence, said, "What's the matter, you didn't want to stick around for the sweep? Seeing world champs at work was probably a little much for you." The unfortunate woman who was saddled with that lump of a man kind of pulled him away, and he stood -- well satisfied with his bon mot – on the edge of the platform. My wife leaned in and whispered to me, "You want to beat the hell out of him, don't you?" I looked at her and smiled because, of course, she was dead right. Now, the tickets to the game were a gift from my wife, and this was to be a nice night out for us, and in situations like that, she tends to frown on physical altercations (Saturday night bar fights and general defenses of her honor are fine, by the way). I tried to content myself with the fact that this clown is destined to wander through life in his mandals as the jackass he is. However, if you happen to know this man, please pass along this message: Hey sport, do yourself -- and the rest of us -- a favor and step in front of a bus before you have the chance to breed. And if you're ever in the market for home dentistry, I'll be more than happy to kick your teeth in, you spineless sandal-wearing jackass. Seriously. You had to walk past at least 20 other Pirate fans on that platform, but you found the two smallest to talk shit to. You're a very big man, and that thing you call a date must be very proud of you. I look forward to the day I see you in the New York Post after the Feds find a hard drive full of naked Malaysian boys in your computer, you sad, sick prick. Have a nice day. 6/15/05 Today I'm representing with: the vintage gold Steelers helmet with black stripe (old school, yo) sitting in my office. Today's most Steeler moment: hitting the gym at 5:30 a.m. Today I'm: Barry Foster... so full of promise, so little of it fulfilled. Today's thoughts: So I'm not exactly killing it with this blogging thing. Seems I have too much going on to actually sit down and write about what's going on. I realized yesterday that I've had work stuff to deal with the past few weekends, so I literally haven't had a single day off in three weeks. Between that and the concrete jungle weather we've been having (funny how you forget about that NY summer smell during the cold weather months), my ass is dragging. But some breathing room seems to have arrived this week, so I'm back in the saddle and banging out copy here. The new thing is the Blackberry the good people at work have forced me to get... thank god I'm now reachable anytime, day or night, through the power of e-mail (I honestly spent a small chunk of my weekend in the parking lot of an Exxon outside Harrisburg, PA feverishly pecking out a work e-mail while two guys hosed out the bottom of a tractor-trailer full of goats about 10 feet away… the joys of the mobile office). Between this gadget and the old lady's Sidekick, we're an insufferable e-couple. We'll be sitting in our living room watching TV, and suddenly my Blackberry will buzz with a message she's sent me from across the room… usually something of great importance, like "You sink." We're fun that way. Anyway, as work finds high-tech ways to bleed into every available corner of my life, it's been harder and harder to find time to update this site (blog-wise or other-wise). Not since Barry Foster crapped the bed in 1994 (a mere two years after grinding out more than 1,600 yards in the '92 season) has a flame out been so spectacular. Barry was injured. Apparently, work is my injury. 5/11/05 Today I'm representing with: the November 15, 2004 "Steelers Back On Top" Sports Illustrated cover on the door of my office. Today's most Steeler moment: first one at work, last one to leave. Today I'm: Greg Lloyd circa 1994 (pre gun-related legal woes). Today's thoughts: I always appreciated Greg Lloyd as an aggressive on-field presence, but he graduated to something much more than that for me with one simple, shining soundbyte. I don't remember what network it was on, but some NFL pregame show was trying to do their warm and fuzzy "human interest" piece on Lloyd. There was a lot of talk about his troubled childhood, parents who weren’t in his life, and ultimately the release he found on the football field. But instead of weaving a tale of on-field redemption or the rich emotional victory that he found on the gridiron, Lloyd told a story that went something like this: "I used to stand there and look up in the stands, and I’d see parents cheering for their kids, yelling, 'Go, Jimmy. Go, Jimmy.' And I used to think, 'Yeah, see how loud you’re cheering when I break little Jimmy's legs.'" Moral of the story: there are some things you just can't shake. Problems, issues, grudges, grievances, concerns, worries, woes... we all have them, and unless they're solved, they stay rooted somewhere deep inside. Me? I hate Mother's Day... nothing against the mothers in the house... far from it, actually. My mother died a year and a half ago, so I pretty much don't need to hear the words "Mother's Day" ever again. I don't need to wander past racks of over-sentimental crap in the Hallmark store, I don't need e-mail ads from 1-800-flowers popping up in my in-box, and I sure as hell don't need to hear a fistful of jackasses crooning about "Mum" in half-assed Australian accents in some Outback radio ad. I try to stay underground, avoiding places where happy families might be brunching. Fortunately, not a lot of brunching happens at the gym... there, things can be hit, thrown, and shoved around, just like Greg Lloyd's precious strip of real estate between the sideline. You can reason, you can map it all out, you can tell yourself that everything is going to be cool, but some things won't be silenced. At the end of the day, you still just want to throttle someone. Will it make everything all right? No, but it sure as hell would feel good. 5/2/05 Today I'm representing with: the autographed Greg Lloyd plaque on the wall of my office. Today's most Steeler moment: I'm here, aren't I? Today I'm: Dermontti Dawson, circa 1998 – grinding it out in the trenches every day, but I'm having a hard time holding it all together. Today's thoughts: The Steelers had been to the Big Game at the end of the '95 season, and almost returned two years later, but then 1998 happened. The offense struggled, the defense was porous, and they couldn't even handle a simple coin toss (though blame there falls squarely on the shoulders of the refs... perhaps too much Thanksgiving turkey). F-ugly might be the appropriate term. But in the middle (literally) of the suckage was center Dermontti Dawson, an anchor who played as if his sheer will and might alone could push the Steelers out of it's 7-9 rut and back into the Super Bowl. That's kind of how I’m feeling today. I can't tell if it's just another Monday, or if the deck really has been kicking out crap cards for me of late. Personal and professional pressures continue to mount, and I'm trying to take it all on (and, of course, feeling like I'm fighting a losing fight). Maybe I should delegate... let other people worry about their assignments and just try to remember my blocking schemes and not jump offsides. 4/22/05 Today I'm representing with: the tattoo... again. Today's most Steeler moment: last night when I got together with my band for the first time in months and played rock the way the Steelers play football – loud and mean. Today I'm: Jerome Bettis – happy to back in the game for another go 'round. Today's thoughts: Much like the Steelers themselves, I found myself in the midst of a "non-mandatory" workout last night. After a long quietude, we got the band back together last night for practice/recording/songwriting/scream therapy. It's probably been eight months since we played together, but we all stepped back into it pretty easily. Of course, all our songs have the same four chords anyway, so maybe that's no big deal. Life kind of drags you into a lot of stuff you'd really rather not be doing – working, cleaning, talking to the mortgage people, shopping for new sheets, and busying yourself with the duties that come with age. It the face of all that, it's nice to do something that you actually want to do, and something that goes a long way to repairing the damage that those other things can do to your soul. As we plowed through four older original songs and worked on two new ones, it seemed like we all really needed it. Lots of laughter, lots of smiles, and lots of very, very hard playing... we actually ended the session early when our drummer ripped a bunch of skin off of his hands… good times. It didn't hit me until this morning, but maybe that feeling is what keeps The Bus in the game, to stave off the advance of time. We're both old enough to know better about playing football or playing music, but we're doing it anyway. And if you tell either of us we can't we'll run right through you too. 4/21/05 Today I'm: Jack Lambert – solitary, territorial, and far beyond driven. Today I'm representing with: a black and gold zip-front sweat shirt. Today's most Steeler moment: the part where I won big at poker last night (the Chief would have been proud). Today's thoughts: I have seven meetings today. I hate meetings... all talk, no rock. I also hate "touching base," "making sure we’re all on the same page," "setting an agenda," "getting debriefed," "checking in," "getting in synch," and "keeping you in the loop." I'm a real joy, as you might imagine. Hey, I have no problem talking about problems and finding solutions, but most of my meetings are of the "show and tell" variety... here's what we're doing, here's what you're doing, here's what they're doing. I can't really see Lambert sitting through these meetings. I imagine him taking in one of these departmental presentations, glaring back with that stare that could freeze time, and simply saying, "Well, god damn good for you" through clinched teeth before getting up and leaving. I'd rather be on the field... I'd rather be working, writing, producing, playing guitar, running, lifting, or just about anything other than sitting around and talking about what we've all been doing. Now, if we're going to sit around and have a few drinks, then you're on to something. 4/20/05 Today I'm: Kevin Greene – mean if I need to be, but I could just as easily kick back, let the hair fly and turn up some Soundgarden... maybe I just need a haircut. Today I'm representing with: my Steelers tattoo, same as every day. Today's most Steeler moment: the part where I dragged myself out of bed at 5 a.m. to hit the gym before work (Rocky Bleier would be proud). Today's thoughts: So my wife says I should blog. I think she's nuts -- the last thing the world needs is another tool babbling about what he watched on TV last night. So I thought, could I possibly blog about life as a Steelers fan, living the Black and Gold ethos every day, applying the lessons of Franco, the Chief, and Chuck Noll to my everyday life? Eh, probably not, but it's worth trying... So I work in an office overlooking Times Square. I work in entertainment news, which is neither entertainment nor news when you really think about it. People ask me questions all day, and I give them answers or direct them to other people. The hours are long and people expend a lot of energy here, but I always hesitate to call it work. Work is what my dad did back in the day helping to carve out chunks of mountain-side so that Pennsylvania highways could be slightly less winding. And work is what I did when I was 16, taking a jackhammer to a hot hunk of asphalt on my first day as an outside maintenance worker at a factory back in PA. Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but anything that involves sitting in front of a computer for the bulk of your day doesn’t feel like real "work" ("employment," yes. "work," no). Hey, it's a rust belt thing. I also like beer, loud rock, and any graceful display of punishment(be it football, boxing, hockey, or "last call"). So ends the Back and Gold zen for the day. back to main Send questions and comments to MeanRob@SteelersNYC.com GET YOUR BLACK AND GOLD NEWS FIRST: Join the hundreds of area Steelers fans who get the word direct from us first. E-mail MeanRob@SteelersNYC.com to sign up for updates about news, tickets, road trips, site updates, and more. |
