Yardbarker: Steve Young

Pot Calls the Kettle Black: ESPN Talking Heads Say Big Ben Needs to Be Center of Attention

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 10:54:01 -0500

This morning on ESPN's NFL Countdown, the talking heads (John Clayton, Steve Young, and Trent Dilfer, specifically) have been razzing Ben Roethlisberger for being a drama queen and for needing to be the center of attention for how he milks injuries. The irony of course, is ESPN calling someone out for needing to be the center of attention, which is WWL's modus operandi. They might want to look in the mirror before saying that someone else "needs to be the center of attention&quo...

Young suffering from concussion symptoms following cup strike

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:10:59 -0500

Shortly after being hit with the cup, Steve Young was heard screaming for Harris Barton to 'rip the god damn monkey off his back', and demanding that someone read Montana's stat line from the Chiefs-Oilers game.*** Your MNF Video Of...

Your MNF Video Of The Night: Steve Young Battles Hecklers

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 09:49:30 -0500

Earlier in the night, Steve Young took on ESPN by calling the network "dumb", but it was his professionalism when battling thrown cups that really impressed me. Here is Young avoiding a plastic cup thrown at him during the postgame and not missing a beat during his analysis.... I'm not condoning the act in the least, but if you're going to be the douchebag that throws an object at someone, at least hit them with it. Although, skipping it across the camera might actually be ...

The Retirement of #8 In SF

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 22:34:56 -0500

Well the day finally arrived when #8 for the San Francisco 49ers was to be retired and placed up with the rest of the honorable 49ers that went before him. Of course I'm talking about our own Steve Young who spent most of his pro football career with the 5 Time World Champion 49ers. It was so good to see him receive this award alongside the greats that played on the field with him. Jerry Rice stood just behind Steve and I know those positions will be reversed when it is Jerry's turn to retire the great #80. Steve's wife Barbara who is with child was there along with his 3 other children, his oldest no doubt will remember this day for years to come. The 2 younger siblings will only remember the day with the numerous pictures that undoubted will be in albums for years, and for Steve to look back on with pride. I only wish I could have been there to share the moment with the thousands of fans who loved to watch #8 do what he did best on the field, and I can still hear the announcers saying "Steve Young drops back surveying the field, he looks to the right, then left and hits Jerry Rice in stride on the 20 yard line, he's on the 15, the 10, TOUCHDOWN 49ERS., those days are gone forever yet so easy to remember like it was yesterday, well ok maybe not yesterday, but not that long ago either. I don't remember Steve smiling as wide or proud as he did on Sunday I think even winning the NFC Championship then the Super Bowl didn't bring the kind of smile I saw watching him on television.

Drum Corps International: A Primer

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:44:55 -0500

I made the trip this past weekend to Bloomington, Indiana for the Drum Corps International World Championships. This will be the first of several posts attempting to put that amazing experience into words, and I thought a good place to begin would be describing exactly what DCI is for the few of you who read this and even fewer who may not be familiar beyond "that thing Curtis won't shut up about each summer". A shirt seen this past weekend read "For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation will suffice." But i'm going to can the arrogance and try to explain as best I can what this whole thing is about. Since my blog is simulcast over at the Yard Barker Network, I'll be including sports analogies so as to hopefully be speaking some folks' language.

For starters, DCI, which has dubbed itself "Marching Music's Major League," is the governing body (as with NFL or MLB) for junior drum and bugle corps throughout North America.
The term junior corps may be misleading and suggest to some that these groups are inferior so a "senior corps" circuit; rather, it simply denotes that DCI is a youth activity, with all participants being 22 years of age or younger. In the top corps, most participants are college students, many of whom also march with their college's marching band. DCI has taken to using the term "musician-athletes" to refer to its participants, and while I would not classify DCI as a sport, I think this designation is absolutely spot-on due to the peak physical performance they demonstrate each and every day of the Summer Music Games, the annual tour that criss-crosses the country each summer where these corps are showcased.

Each corps contains up to 150 musician-athletes, and while at first glance a corps may look like marching bands with which you are familiar, there are key differences. First of all, drum corps are all brass and percussion, meaning you won't find flutes, clarinets, saxophones, or other woodwinds on the field. Instead, instrumentation includes trumpets, mellophones, baritones, euphoniums, and tubas, all bell front models; a drumline consisting of basses, snares, tenors, and sometimes cymbals; a front ensemble (or "pit") which includes concert percussion such as chimes, marimbas, xylophones, tympani, rack toms, and often additional bells and whistles (sometimes quite literally!). In addition to these musicians, each corps also features a colorguard, a group of performers who also paint the entire color of the corps and their performance through use of equipment--flags, sabres, and rifles are standard, but so many other implements are used--as well as dance and theatrics. For each summer's tour, a corps puts together a 12-minute show which they will spend countless hours fine-tuning and perfecting as they tour the country on buses and sleeping on gym floors, performing nearly every day during the season in every corner of the US, a tour which culminates in the World Championships, which I just attended this weekend.

Competition in DCI, while unique, can be related to several sports. Steve Young (yes, that Steve Young) described drum corps as the ultimate team activity at the 2007 finals, and with 150 participants, plus a sizable support staff, that's certainly an accurate depiction. In addition to that, DCI competition bears resemblance to olympic gymnastics, golf, and NASCAR. As with NASCAR, each competition features a lineup of several competitors, with DCI's large regional events featuring all corps. While the main focus of NASCAR is the driver and his car, a team is necessary for success, relying on specialization and excellence in a particular area. DCI's two major levels, World Class and Open Class, can be compared to the differentiation between the Sprint Cup series and the Busch series. And whether it's pit row or the lot, fan accessibility in both activities is paramount. The golf comparison is that while many events are hosted by the Association itself, there are also those hosted by the individual players/corps. And as in gymnastics, scoring is determined by a panel of judges, who assign a numerical score to various aspects of competition.

So there you have it--my DCI primer. Next step I'll be breaking down this year's Championship weekend. Till then (and the fans will get this one): I AM SPARTACUS!

Top 10 NFL Feuds: #7- Montana vs. Young

Tue, 27 May 2008 17:16:39 -0500

The NFL Network is broadcasting another Top 10 list, but this one really was a nicely done one. Of course, I don't think Joe Montana and Steve Young hate each other, but there isn't much to say when they are all at each other's throats during their 49ers careers.

Steve Young Wants Charlie Weis To Spill The Beans About Spygate

Mon, 19 May 2008 18:42:53 -0500

Apparently Charlie Weis isn't talking about spygate. But ex-NFL QB Steve Young wants the former Patriots offensive coordinator to come clean about what he knows. (Hope you appreciate the Weis-Sgt. Schultz photo comparison - I know NOTHING!)

Baltimore Sun-day

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 16:35:38 -0500

What a day for the Baltimore Sun on Sunday. At least for this blogger as the Charm City paper made it's dramatic debut on HBO's crime-drama, The Wire. The fictional newsroom will become a center piece in the show's fifth and final season and in last night's episode, the plot pointed out the perils of modern day journalism and the struggle smaller papers must endure to remain in existence. With such pending doom in mind, Mike Klingaman, a sports reporter for the Sun, came th...

Week 12: Get Your Waiver On

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:41:37 -0500

Oh yeah. Monday Night Football was phenomenal. It helps that the Broncos won, that it wasn't freezing cold, and that our seats were very close to the ESPN MNF crew. At first we were a little bummed to be in the end zone, but when we got to our seats and saw that we were merely feet away from dudes like Steve Young, Michael Wilbon, Stuart Scott and Emmitt Smith, our seats seemed pretty awesome. Yes, I'm wowed by fame. On a slightly different note, I will say I was intrigued by the half...

No Apologies

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:51:42 -0500

There has been a lot of talk about the interview I did on HBO's Real Sports. I have no apologies. I was asked a variety of questions and I answered them. The fact that the producers and publicists at HBO decided to focus on those answers that related to race shows that it remains a hot topic in society today. Let me address some feedback... First, the interview took place in August before the season started so for those who think I "played the race card" because we are 0-2 are dead wrong. I did not say that Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer are not criticized when they don't play well. They have been criticized when they throw interceptions, when the throw incompletions, and when their teams don't win. They are criticized and so is every other quarterback for that matter. And that type of criticism may, in fact, be warranted. But that's not the type of criticism that we discussed. Black quarterbacks have to deal with different things than white quarterbacks. If you don't think that's true than you are na?ve. Peyton, Tom and Carson to name a few, have never been asked what it's like to be a white quarterback. They probably have not been told that they should have scrambled more. I bet Fran Tarkenton, Steve Young, Jake Plummer, and Doug Flutie have never been told by a member of any racial consciousness organization that they don't play the quarterback position white enough. I would love to live in a world where race is not an issue. But it is. I did not ask HBO to interview me but I did consent. I did not bring up the topic of race but I didn't back down from it either. This interview was supposed to be about how my career has been surrounded by controversy and how my upbringing has shaped the way I have dealt with it. Unfortunately, the interview itself has created yet another controversy. All I did was answer the questions that were asked of me honestly and truthfully. I had no agenda. The people of Philadelphia have criticized my coach for not answering questions. Now I'm criticized for answering questions. I understand if people have a different opinion or view point than I do, I really do. I think if there is one thing I understand better than most people - it's okay to be different.

Bill Walsh Will Never Truly Die

Tue, 31 Jul 2007 17:47:53 -0500

Bill Walsh is dead. But yet he keeps coaching. He's the head coach in Seattle, the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia. He's several position coaches around the NFL. He's still coaching at the college and university level. He may never stop coaching, at this rate. Walsh, the Hall of Fame football coach, died Monday morning after a long battle with leukemia, with which he was diagnosed in 2004. He was 75. Walsh died but he didn't vanish from the earth. Not as long as...

Confused Steve Young shows up to Niners mini camp

Wed, 30 May 2007 13:40:25 -0500

A confused Steve Young reported to Niners mini camp yesterday baffling coaches and reporters as he boldly proclaimed this was the year "we finally get over the hump against those Cowboys". While many didn't know what to make of it, the serious nature of the situation became apparent as Young strapped on his old L.A. Express helmet from the USFL and began slapping the asses of everyone in sight and yelling...