Big Ben - Innocent until Goodell gets involved!!

So I have refused to comment on the Ben Roethlisberger situation due to lack of the complete picture and my outrage towards "so-called" Steelers fans.  Also, I understand that the views that I express in the blog will most likely not get me any bonus points with the wife. Now that I feel that I have a complete grasp on the "facts" (HAHA) I will make my thoughts and feelings known on the subject.

OK, Ben a 28 year old SINGLE man decided to go to a bar in Georgia and have some good times with his buddies. I have to stop right there....for those of you who may have had the opportunity to visit or even live in the great state of Georgia like I have you should agree with this....

GIRLS FROM GEORGIA ARE EASY!!!!  I lived there for about 5 years and had to stop leaving the house due to friction issues on my package.  Go to the club...it's sexy time.  Go to the bar...it's sexy time.  Go to the grocery store...you got it...it's sexy time.  The incredible amount of ass that was willingly tossed into the air for any swinging dick to scoop up was just silly.  

(Now that my wife has stopped yelling at me for the paragraph above...I will continue.)

So the police report says some crap about Ben being in a bar with a 20 year old chick and feeding her shot after shot getting her completely wasted.  Now of course it is Ben's fault that she kept drinking the shots, they just must have left the part about him duct taping a funnel in her mouth and pouring the alcohol in, out of the police report.  That is what was most likely on the video tape that Ben orchestrated the destruction of, no it couldn't be the bar owner covering his ass for video evidence of an underage chick getting hammered in his club. That is just silly.....it had to be Ben.  ---moving on

After the mass drinking and Ben operating her head like a Pez dispenser to pour drinks down, Ben decided to have one of his "posse" gather up the drunk chick, take her back to a hallway and skillfully balance her onto a stool.  I have attempted on some occasions to have drunk friends of mine taken care of and in the course of that I wasn't  able to get them to sit up straight on an entire couch let alone a stool with no back!!  I now understand why I am not a member of Bens "posse".  I just don't have the correct skill set.  

They then head into the 9' x 5' bathroom for some sexy time.  For those of you who have said that no woman would be taking that kind of action in a public bathroom....please see paragraph #3.  

Some stuff happens in the bathroom....we will never know what because we weren't there.  Chick gathers up her crap, calmly joins her friends and leaves the club without incident. 

Here is my take on what happened upon the chicks leaving....

chicks friend #1 - " Wow, you got to hang with Big Ben...bet that was totally awesome!'

accuser - "It was a freaking blast.....I am SOOO DRUNK!  I had the best time! I got some sexy time from a famous dude"

chick friend #2 - " How did you get that cut on your head?"

accuser - "I don't remember....I must have banged it on something."

chicks friend#2 - "I bet you could tell the police that Ben assaulted you and get loads of cash!"

accuser - "You think?.....Hey policeman guess what happened to me?!?"

The rest of the BS has been all over the papers / news / tabloids / sides of buses EVERYWHERE!!  

....moving on

No charges are being filed by the DA but he takes it upon himself to personally crucify Ben for actions that he has NO PROOF OF!!

Here is a part of the statement:

"Here the overall circumstances do not lead to a viable prosecution. If they did, I would be pursuing it vigorously," Bright said. "We do not prosecute morals. We prosecute crimes."

Bright continues by saying:

"Everybody could be criticized for their actions that night. I'm not condoning what he did," Mr. Bright said. "There was too much drinking going on. If he were my son, [I would say], 'Ben, grow up. Come on, you're supposed to stand for something. I mean, you're a leader, you should be a role model. You don't need to put yourself in this position anymore."

Mr. Bright..let me tell you something....if you were my son I would tell you to mind your own business.  Making comments about a man like this only serves to show us that you are more interested in expanding your 15 minutes of fame than helping anyone.  You NEED TO GROW UP SIR!!

...moving on

So Ben (or his advisors) decide that he needs to make a statement to the fans and the NFL about this incident.  There were a lot of questions about the statement:

• Did Ben write this message?  (ummm.....NO)
• Had Ben ever read it before he did on camera?
• Did he mean or understand what he was saying?
• What was with that hair???

Short on the sides but a party in the back!!!

Personally, I kinda dig the off-season hairdo.   It reminds me of good times and V8 FireBirds!!  

.....moving on

Ben goes and visits the NFL commissioner and begins his begging for forgiveness for doing nothing which I find appalling.  Look if I go and take a dump in my neighbors lawn and get arrested, I don't go and explain to my boss what happened.  Work life balance people!!!  NFL players should get some to.

On an upside people were much happier about his haircut.....

....moving on

Rodger Goodell somehow has the ability to suspend anyone in the NFL for any reason that he can squeeze into the NFL player conduct policy.  It seems a bit draconian but hey the players union let's him have that power so I guess if Rodger decides that Peyton Manning's high socks are against the player conduct policy he will be suspended as well.

Ben is given a 6 game suspension without pay (4 weeks with good behavior) for not committing a crime in any way....very interesting.

Ben then releases the following statement on the topic:

"The Commissioner’s decision to suspend me speaks clearly that more is expected of me. I am accountable for the consequences of my actions. Though I have committed no crime, I regret that I have fallen short of the values instilled in me by my family. I will not appeal the suspension and will comply with what is asked of me ─ and more.

Missing games will be devastating for me. I am sorry to let down my teammates and the entire Steelers fan base. I am disappointed that I have reached this point and will not put myself in this situation again.
I appreciate the opportunities that I have been given in my life and will make the necessary improvements.”

OK so it is pretty clear that Ben didn't write the majority of this statement but SO WHAT!!  He has to look out for his future not to mention the pending civil case in Nevada. If he needed his PR and Legal team to make edits...I don't blame him at this point.  The only outstanding item from this statement is the state of his hair.

So as a Steeler fan I am a bit concerned that Leftwich was extended to a 2 year contract.  We are not going to carry 4 QB's...it is the end of Charlie Batch?  Will the Steelers look to move Ben out of 'da burgh when his suspension nears its end?  There are more questions then answers at this point but I am pretty confident that the Steelers coaching staff will work it out.  Look what they did with Dennis Dixson against the Ravens last year with 1 day to prepare!!! 

I really feel bad for Ben in this whole thing.  Sometimes is must really suck balls to be a celebrity.

Chin-up Ben...there are lots of people on your side of this issue.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

The games to this point have been fairly entertaining and it has been great to see the total control that Sid has taken over during these last 3 games.  11 points in 4 playoff games is just astounding, his defensive play and overall puck support has no equal in this year’s playoffs.
There are a couple of items that I believe propelled the Pens to stand up and begin the ass kicking of the Senators….

1. The cheap shot on Leopold by Sutton

• NO PENATLY OR SUSPENSION….ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???  They put a new rule in place for just this sort of unnecessary hit.  Sutton is an old fashioned goon.

• Sid immediately jumping in his 6’6” grill after the hit was EPIC and I think it got the playoff fire burning for old number 87.

     2. Fedotenko getting to ride the pine.

• I understand that last year he was a catalyst for the cup run but he just isn’t showing me anything at this point

•  This may actually help him in future series as the playoffs go along.  This is not the last time we will see him this year.

    3. Jay McKee

I think that Jay was the missing piece of the teams puzzle.  He is playing playoff hockey right out of the gate as someone with something to prove.  He is proving to be a great shot blocker and when paired with an offensive minded defensive partner he is great at covering up for any gaps left while they are pinching in.  Historically I have not been a fan of big lumbering defensive players (Hal “suck my nuts” Gil) but this McKee is really beginning to change my mind.  Maybe these giants have a place in the new fast paced, everyone can score NHL after all.

FYI..write it down…this series will not see a game 6…it’s over!

I will begin to provide my comment on this and future series after every other game.  Commenting on each game separately will be held only for those times that I am really pissed about something.

LET’S GO PENS!!!!

BYE-BYE #10

OK so I wake up this morning to my wife telling me that Holmes has been traded to the Jets.  There are 2 things wrong with that statement....

1. The Steelers traded Holmes to the Jets...NO FRIGGIN WAY...they must have gotten a arm and both legs from New York for that!!
2. I really hate when my wife knows sports related news before me....DARN iPHONE!!

So I immediately start looking for news on the topic to try and discover when the Brinks truck will be arriving at Heinz field to deliver our vast fortune of players and draft picks that we must have gotten from the Jets.  Hang on ESPN must be mistaken...a fifth round pick?  NFL.com must have gotten the same typo as they are reporting only a fifth round pick as well.  I finally determined that this must be true only after hearing about it on NFL radio (channel 124 SIRIUS) and 93.7 The FAN.  I just can't believe it to be true....A FIFTH ROUND PICK FOR A PLAYER WITH THE FOLLOWING CREDENTIALS.....

1. SuperBowl champion
2. SuperBowl MVP
3. Over 1200 receiving yards last year
4. 15.9 Yards per catch
The list goes on but I will stop there!!

I decide to make extra stops on my drive to work this morning to get a feel of what other normal..non-sports folks think about the situation and here are my findings:

PEOPLE ARE STUPID!!!!

You all know how much I like to make lists so here is one of the explanations from normal folk:

• He was traded to take the heat off of Ben
• He was over-rated and needed to leave
• Being the scapegoat for all of the Steelers wrong doings
• The Rooney just don't like WR's (Please see the Cedric Benson / James Harrison domestic dispute issues where James was kept on and Ced was released)
• He is black and the Steelers are raciest.

Now that I have had some time to recover from the initial shock of the trade, there was good reason for the Steelers to cut ties.  First of all he is in the last year of his contract which will put him in the Randel El category at the end of the season.  The Steelers would love to keep him but he will command a lot of cash on the open market.  Second, Holmes will be suspended for the first 4 games of the season due to a violation of the leagues substance abuse policy. Finally, the guy just has proven convicted issues (so keep your Big Ben comments to yourself).  The Rooney's simply do not put up with these types of players unless you are a 100 Million dollar player under a 6 year contract with 2 SuperBowl rings.

I still have big issues with only getting a fifth round pick for Holmes.  Understand this...if the Steelers kept Holmes for this year and then  lost them after the season to free-agency they would have gotten a HIGHER DRAFT CHOICE for losing him.

As of this moment they got a bad deal for this guy.  It could be that no other team really were ready to take on a troubled guy like Holmes and all we could get was a late round 5th.

Right now, I am going to have to hold final judgment on this move until after the draft.  If this pick is somehow leveraged to move up and get a quality player it may have been worth it.

On a side note, the message came down to Tomlin at the end of last year that the Steelers were going back to a run first mentality.  I guess ownership wasn't kidding!!!

Family Matters?

 

 

Main Entry: an·noy·ance 

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈnȯi-ən(t)s\

Function: noun

Date: 14th century

1 : the act of annoying or of being annoyed
2 : the state or feeling of being annoyed : vexation
3 : a source of vexation or irritation : nuisance

I am the first to admit that I am not the most understanding or compassionate person on the face of the Earth, but lets face it the majority of the human race are a bunch of bumbling idiots.  I like most, have a modest circle of earthly inhabitants that I consider my friends.  There are a very few number of those people that I would actually be myself around.  Having come to understanding in my 36+ years on this planet that I am actually an acquired taste.   Truth be known I have quite a few flaws in both my personality and communication methods.  Knowing that it would be both entertaining and surprising to you I will just list some of them:  

• Moodiness (If men had PMS I would be the poster child for Midol)
• Self Centered
• Narcissistic
• Competitive to a fault
• etc. etc. etc.

All in all I find that I am not all that easy to get along with and find it surprising that anyone on this vast marble would put up with my shit. But alas, I have been able to gather a few people here and there that either put up with me for the friendship of my wonderful wife or have just as many faults as I and thus are looking for understanding from a like minded person.

 

Before I go down this next path I need to be clear on what I am talking about.  None of the references to "family" below is defined as my wife and children who are wonderful and the grounding force of my entire existence.

 

In my estimation family is work that I am not all that interested in entertaining.  

 

At a very young age I was forced to understand that unconditional love and affection transmitted by osmosis doesn't exist.  Mothers take sides, fathers take sides and siblings just fall into the cracks being left disturbed and wondering why this has happened to them.  It is very painful for the children and being one of them let me tell you IT SUCKS!! My family life outside of my own wife and children is terrible.  Being uncomfortable around those who are supposed to love you no matter what is just wrong.  Therefore, I made the decision long ago not to put myself into that position ever again.  I don't speak to or correspond in any way with the majority of my blood family. Many times this has caused me pain but I just have to live with my decisions.  Recently, my oldest son has been asking questions about my side of the family and I guess I will have to look at the current situation and see if exposing the kids to my learned evil is still a valid concern or not.  Even the worst parents in the world are granted supervised visitation with their kids so something along those lines may be in order.  Lord knows that I would NEVER leave my kids alone with certain members of my family and that is just depressing.  Moving on....my in-laws come and go from what would be considered my good graces.  After being around for 15 years or so I should have learned to leave things alone and just go with their screwed up "flow" but you know what.....I am not wired that way!!  I indeed get PISSED for what could be considered by others as no good reason, but you don't get to determine if my reasons are good or not...they are mine alone.  It turns out that I am capable of carrying that anger with me for QUITE A LONG TIME (just stubborn that way).  What may be considered as a pity little nothing for me to be mad about is MUCH BIGGER to me because of my family history.  I allow my guard to come down for so few people that when I am disappointed (for my idiotic reasons) I tend to reflect on the painful experiences of my past and close off.  That is just how I operate...it can't be changed.  (BTW...if you tell me to go see a shrink...I will have to punch you in the throat.)

 

Sorry for the rambling, here is the short version......all families are different but they are all work.  How you handle it is an individual choice.  Good luck with your decision and make sure that you take care of yourself. Hearing that a person that happens to be related to you is causing you pain bothers me.  Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decisions in how I handled my situation but there is no looking back now.

I try to understand how others function in their lives.  I just can't see how it works.  Noticing people that I know in public places just happily walking around with their parents having a good time is just crazy.  Sometimes I wonder if they notice me leering at them looking for someone to roll their eyes at the other or trying to just run away from the family closeness....but NOTHING....THEY ARE ACTUALLY ENJOYING THEMSELVES!!!!  Let me get this straight....you and your wife are in your mid to late thirties...you have 3 kids, a dog, a house with a white picket fence, your parents are in their sixties and you STILL LIKE SPENDING TIME WITH THEM.....BAFFLING!!!  

Between us.....I envy you.  It must be a wonderful experience that I am missing out on. I can only hope that my children will want to hang out with me when I am the crabby old man that I am destined to age into.