Yardbarker: Hines Ward

All - NFL Olympic Team

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 18:21:13 -0500

The 2008 Summer Olympics will be kicking off this Friday, and in honor of their impending start, we give you the 2008 All-NFL Olympic team, with an NFL Player making the Olympic Team for each of the individual-esque sports to be held in China this August. Fencing - Travis Henry He' pretty good with his sword, if you know what I mean. Sailing - Matt Birk He's a Viking, so boats are right up his alley, plus he went to Harvard. Sprint Events - Devin Hester No pads, no defenders, give him the gold. Long Distance Events - Kenyatta Walker He's got Kenya in his name right? Wrestling - Stephen Neal Two-time NCAA champ, beating Brock Lesnar his senior season. Diving - Reggie Bush Nobody flips like this guy, gotta work on the landing though. Swimming - Mario Williams Best Swim move in the league. Synchronized Swimming - Peyton and Eli Manning Just a fun mental image for you and the whole family. Boxing - Tom Zbikowski Duh. Kayaking - Chris Cooley No reason, just thought he was the only NFL'er that could make me watch Kayaking. Weightlifting - Larry Allen Holy Mother of God. Equestrian - Chris Williams He's got the family ties. Gymnastics - Martin and Bill Gramatica Hamm's? Martin and Bill can jump! And Prance! About the right size too... Cycling - Shawne Merriman Lots of dopers to pick on, I'll chose Mr. Lights out today. Archery - Tom Brady Accuracy is his middle name. Judo - Scott Peters Yikes! Badminton - Hines Ward Koreans love Badminton. Shooting - Marvin Harrison Still too afraid to say anything. Table-Tennis - Jacob Hester White Running Backs can really play pong.

Third-round strategy: Draft a RB or WR?

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:11:17 -0500

In the next installment of fantasy football strategy, Foxsports.com fantasy writer John Juhasz examines multiple scenarios for whether it's best to draft a running back or wide receiver in the third round.

2008 NFL Rookie Report - Wide Receivers

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:56:25 -0500

Wide receivers, more than any other position, have the most trouble adjusting to the NFL game. Cornerbacks at the pro level are just quicker, stronger, and smarter than at the college level. Still, every year one or two rookie wide receivers emerge and have an immediate impact in fantasy football circles (ala Dwayne Bowe). To help you identify the rookies with the greatest potential for success in 2008, Bruno Boys staff writer Cory Steger has done his homework and presents to you the 2008 Wide Receiver Rookie Report.

BREAKING NEWS: CASEY HAMPTON OUT OF SHAPE

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:50:20 -0500

We're just one day into Camp Tomlin 2008 and already have our first shocking revelation: Casey Hampton is out of shape. The washboard abs present in his previous seven seasons have all but disappeared. And his trademark endurance on the annual run test? Gone.

Yes, Hampton is in Coach Tomlin's doghouse, also known as the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) List, where he will reside for the near future.

Rather than take responsibility for his physical condition, Hampton has taken a different route: blaming the current coach, and comparing his rules (unfavorably) to Bill Cowher. From the PG:

"I don't think I struggle with weight, I just think my weight was never an issue, and they make a big point of weight with him," Hampton said. "But before, it's never been a thing, you know what I'm saying? I never struggled with it, it's never been a problem.

"Everybody knows I don't like the run test anyway, so it doesn't matter."

That sounds like a healthy point of view for team morale.

On WDVE this morning, Gerry Dulac reported that Tomlin told Hampton a month ago to lose some weight, but in Dulac's words, "That's like asking the grass not to grow."

Hampton himself joked that he hopes it takes "the whole month" to return from the PUP list. I somehow doubt that Tomlin was laughing.

More camp news from the PG and Trib:

--Hampton was joined on the PUP list by Troy Polamalu (hamstring) and Chris Kemoeatu (tricep).

--Willie Colon hinted that there were some philosophical problems last year between Alan Faneca and line coach Larry Zierlein.

--Nate Washington showed up with a mohawk and said he's not bothered by the presence of rookie WR Limas Sweed.

--Hines Ward was videotaping reporters on behalf of the NFL Network.

SEND YOUR TIPS, LINKS & FEEDBACK: mondesishouse@gmail.com

Fantasy Football Wide Receivers - Third Tier

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:21:31 -0500

We've profiled the Big Dog WRs and Second Tier WRs, now it's time to examine the next wave of wideouts. Again, these will be #2 & #3 wideouts for most teams. Santonio Holmes/Hines Ward - Has Santonio Holmes officially surpassed Hines Ward as the top dog? Juding by last year's stats (942 yards, 8 TDs to 732, 7) and it appears that way. I'm not quite ready to write Hines Ward off, but Holmes will likely be the first Steeler WR drafted. They will probably be picked fairly close together and produce very similar numbers. Marvin Harrison - Last year was a wasted year for the former Syracuse Orangeman. Then he showed some bad judgement in the offseason. Was last year the beginning of the end for #88? I don't think so. I think he keeps himself in good enough shape, has one of the games best QBs slinging it to him, and has great knowledge of his system that he's in for a nice rebound. Calvin Johnson - Here's a guy I'm high on. He has the size and speed to be an elite wideout. He was decent enough (756 yards, 4 TDs) as he was adjusting to the NFL. Now that he has a year behind him, I can see his career taking off. Dwayne Bowe - Bowe had a nice rookie campaign last year, nearly hauling in 1000 yards. I see him leaving that mark behind as well as tacking on a couple of TDs to his decent five-spot he produced last year. Roddy White - Roddy had a sneaky 1200 yards last year. On name recognition alone I wouldn't put him in this tier, but his numbers talk. He was one of the top wideouts from Week 12 on (minus the dud he dropped in Week 15) scoring in 4 games and topping 140 yards twice. Chris Chambers - I think San Diego was a good fit for CC. With a full training camp and preseason with the Bolts, I expect him to do even better. He's one of the WRs I'm targeting for '08. Lee Evans - If someone can just convince Evans that December year round (17 of his 29 career TDs have come in December), he'll make the leap into Big Dog status. He almost always starts off slow out of the gate so he's a guy you may want to hold off on using during the beginning weeks of the season. However, targeting him for a midseason trade may not be a bad idea. I think he can return to the 1000 yard territory with 8 TDs. Let's just hope they don't all come in December. Jerricho Cotchery - He's produced back-to-back 82 reception seasons for the Jets. He topped the 1100 yard mark. He just needs to prove he can be more a factor in the endzone. His measly 2 TDs conjure up thoughts of past Jet Wideouts like Keyshawn Johnson. Donald Driver - Driver slid under the Third Tier wall like Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He failed to reach 1200 yards for the first time since 2003 last year, but his 1048 weren't bad. What was bad was the 2 TDs he scored. Greg Jennings was clearly Brett's go-to-guy last year in the red zone. With a new QB though, the steady Driver could be leaned on heavier than the explosive Jennings.

Willis Set to Take Over Leadership Role

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:58:51 -0500

The 49ers are looking for a leader with the retirement of Bryant Young and Mike Nolan has already placed that responsibility on Patrick Willis. Nolan says Willis has taken the role naturally, and, really, it's hard to argue. Who else would take that role? Isaac Bruce, a 15-year veteran, is a candidate, but he just joined the 49ers. In a sport like football, with its massive 50 person-plus roster, it's a tall order for a new acquisition to catch the ear of an entire team. There are too many players on the squad who have already been with the team. The ability for a new player to take a leadership role is more apparent in a sport like basketball, as seen by Kevin Garnett immediately changing the mentality of the Boston Celtics. The team is smaller, thus the impact of one player is greater. Looking around the rest of the 49ers, Frank Gore and Nate Clements loom as potential leaders. Gore is as intense as they come, but he isn't a vocal leader. Clements is a consummate pro, but it's unusual for a cornerback to take a lead role. Maybe it's the fact that corners play on an island on the field and aren't usually in the middle of the scruff on every play, like middle linebackers such as Willis are. Corners, and even wide receivers, are usually perceived as ego-centric loudmouths. How many times have you ever seen a player from either position become a team leader? If you say Deion Sanders, Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens, I'd argue their more unofficial team spokesmen than leaders. Hines Ward and Champ Bailey are really the only two current island players whom I can think of that are true leaders. Anyway, Willis is mature beyond is years, is literally in the middle of every play as the middle linebacker and he is one of the league's best players. Soon, he might be one of the league's best players, young and old. I'm on board with Willis as the 49ers team leader. Are you?

Camp Breakdown - WR

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:08:41 -0500

Last season proved to be a tough one for the WR corp of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Big things were expected from some former high draft picks, who failed once again to make an impact in our passing game. The group is led by old but still kicking vet, Joey Galloway. Ike Hilliard firmly entrenched himself as the number 2 receiver last year, and proved to be quite a reliable target on 3rd downs. We signed one FA receiver who we have high hopes for, and drafted a receiver in Round 2. This position battle should be one of the more interesting camp battles, as there are 3 wide open spots in my opinion. Currently on the Roster - Taye Biddle, Antonio Bryant, Brian Clark, Michael Clayton, Joey Galloway, Cortez Hankton, Ike Hilliard, Dexter Jackson, Chad Lucas, Maurice Stovall, Paris Warren Gauranteed Roster Spots - Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Dexter Jackson Joey Galloway had another stellar last season for the Bucs. He finished the season with 57 catches, for 1014 yards, 8 Td's and a 17.8 YPC average. Our puny armed QB had a tough time utilizing Joey and his deep play abilities, but occasionaly Carmela mustered up enough will power to throw some bombs to Joey, the long being a 69 yard touchdown. Galloway still has plenty left in the tank (how this is possible, I don't know) and is still one of the leagues faster receivers. Ike Hilliard actually led the team in catches with 62, and proved to be quite a reliable 3rd down choice for Mrs. Garcia. Dexter Jackson will rarely see the field as a WR, but should get plenty of action at both punt and kick returns, until he learns the offense, and learns how to catch. No Chance - Taye Biddle, Brian Clark, Cortez Hankton Battling for Spots - Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, Chad Lucas, Maurice Stovall, Paris Warren I find it hard to imagine more than 2 of these players making the team. We will most likely carry 3 TE's and 4 RB's which would make it hard to have more than 5 total receivers on the 53 man roster. Hence the reason earlier, I said this should be the most interesting camp battle to watch. Antonio Bryant is a player that has shown some promise in his career. In 2005 in Cleveland, he had 69 catches for 1000+ yards. He has proven to have some issues with coaching and was out of the league last season. This is Gruden's David Boston project for camp. If he pans out, Bryant has potential to give us a dangerous 3rd option receiving wise. If not, we cut his ass, and tell him goodbye. Michael Clayton (a guy who once looked like the next Hines Ward) has been inconsistent now for 3 seasons. He has not posted more than 33 catches or 375 yards since his 80 catch 1200 yard rookie season. If that player could ever come back to the Bucs, I think our WR class is very strong. I am slowly losing hope though. I realize that he was injured one of those seasons, but he has still yet to regain that super confident form that made him such a devastating receiver his rookie season. Chad Lucas is a guy who always seems to stick around through camp, and ends up being one of the last cuts. He does some impressive stuff in camp, so I had to throw him on this list. I don't think he will make the team though. Maurice Stovall is another Gruden draft choice whom I once held out high hopes for. He is a giant, and could be a dangerous middle of the field possesion receiver. Could be, is the optimal phrase here though. Stovall actually saw action in 15 games last season, but ended up with 10 catches. He has an upper hand on some of our other receivers though, as he might have been our best special teams player last season. As a gunner on the punt team, he was a force to be reckoned with. Paris Warren was having a brilliant pre-season last year before suffering a season ending injury. He is a great route runner, and has awesome hands. Very Ike Hilliardesque in my opinion. As mentioned earlier, should be the most hotly contested battle of camp.

NSFW?

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:38:15 -0500

Please accept my apologies in advance if this risque pic gets any of you in trouble at work. The Steeler ink modeled above on the bare shoulders of a 90-year-old Pittsburgh woman is none other than "Steely McGramma", a.k.a. Agnes Falls. She's the discovery of the PG's Colin Dunlap, who gets not one, but two credits in today's Mondesi's House. Well done, my friend.

In addition to being a big enough Steeler fan to permanently inject ink into her body, she shares the distinction of being one of the few Pittsburghers alive to witness a winning Pirates season. So she's got that going for her as well.

Colin's column includes a number of interesting Steeler tats, including one man who made his body significantly more valuable when he had it signed by Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward, and Willie Parker at training camp. Not mentioned is the fact that he also got Nick Harper tattooed on his arm, and I doubt many people on the planet can make that claim.

Steely McGramma [PG]

Ben Roethlisberger is Better than Carson Palmer

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:46:12 -0500

Irrefutable as to why Roethlisberger is better than Palmer. "The passing yardage can be thrown out the window. His 3000 yard advantage in yardage is nullified by the fact that he has had 600 more attempts than Ben. It's the Jon Kitna theorem: throw a lot, get a lot of yards. Not too hard to figure out. In fact, Roethlisberger wins the yardage argument by throwing for 8.12 yards per attempt compared to 7.31."

2008 Fantasy Football Wide Receiver Rankings 21-30

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 07:07:26 -0500

The 2007 season was the year of the Wide Receiver (WR). With six players catching at least 100 passes, 23 players with a 1,000 or more yards, and 11 with at least 10 touchdowns, WR's in the offseason moved up the draft boards for many Fantasy owners. With all those numbers in mind, let's start off at the bottom and work our way to the number one WR. Here are the WR's ranked from 30-21.

Fantasy Insider: How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:24:12 -0500

How to Spot A Fantasy Football Sleeper is a knack that could make or break your fantasy team. Daniel Kalles gives all you fantasy owners a "How To" locate and find fantasy sleepers and plenty of time to exam the players you feel could be sleepers this season. Best of luck this season. As Daniel Kalles, The first thing you need to know about finding a "sleeper" is figuring out what a sleeper is. Many people will have many different explanations as to what a sleeper really is, where to find them and how important they are, but they will pretty much agree that a sleeper is someone who doesn't have a big name, probably doesn't start, hasn't put up big numbers in the past, who now might have a chance to have a breakout season and be a difference maker on your team. Sleepers are usually either late round draft picks or waiver-wire pick-ups who went undrafted. Now how to spot sleepers, when to draft them, and how long you wait until you believe they are actually worth putting in your lineup are all a little different. Having one of the few sleepers who pan out and be a worthy starter can make the difference in winning your league or not winning. No one starts off the season knowing which sleeper will for sure breakout; all you can do is try and draft one or two and hope that a couple of things fall your way and your sleeper goes from nobody to somebody just like that. It's very hard to go into the draft focused on the guys who will be drafted in the later rounds, but the truth is many drafts are won in the later rounds. If you can have a good draft from top to bottom, it will help you down the line; having a deep team will help you in the event of an injury or to make trades. It's not very difficult to draft players in the first bunch of rounds, guys like Alexander, Tomlinson, Owens, Moss, these players have a history, they have done it before, we can look at their numbers and see where they should be drafted, but a sleeper is different. Most sleepers haven't played enough to accumulate enough stats to make decisions on, so you have to take a small sample (if one exists) to figure out who might be the sleepers of this year's draft. There are many different places and ways to find sleepers. One way is to look for 2nd or 3rd year players who had a chance to play near the end of the year before. At the end of most seasons, the teams out of the playoff hunt will look at some young players, giving them starts and letting veterans sit out. Watching these players can sometimes give you a hint into who might be a good sleeper the next season, if they play a good game or two. Look at Willie Parker who was undrafted out of college and was sitting on the bench in 2004 when the Steelers went 15-1. In the last game of the season, once they had already clinched home field advantage, they decided to rest veteran running back Jerome Bettis, and see what Parker could do. He went into Buffalo, on a cold January Sunday, to face the hottest team in football. The Bills were looking to get a victory and a spot in the playoffs. Well, Parker gained 102 yards on only 19 carries, to help the Steelers win the game, and give anyone who was actually paying attention to this Steelers backup a 1200 yards rusher out of nowhere in 2005. Now this doesn't mean things will always work out for you, but it's a good way of finding a sleeper. Another way of finding a sleeper is to watch the player and coach movement in the off-season, and see which players have been put in situations where they might be able to break out, with the help of certain coaches and their philosophies. A player who might have been going downhill in his career, or hasn't been able to find his way yet might be able to change that by being on a team whose system better suits their abilities. Koren Robinson is a good example. He's a former 1st round pick of the Seahawks, and while he had a couple of solid seasons with them (78 for 1240 yards and 5 TD's in 2002), he was let go at the end of 2004 because of off-field and poor behavior issues. He latched on to the Vikings as their top return man and part time WR. During the off-season they hired new head coach Brad Childress, who brings with him his West Coast offense, and they traded Nate Burleson, leaving the spot of #1 WR open. With those and many other changes the Vikings made on offense, they go into the season looking for players to step up and be leaders. Robinson has a good chance of doing that because he is a step ahead of most of the other WR's because he played in the West Coast offense while in Seattle. He could be in for a very big season. While all this looks good and could very well happen, many times it doesn't, and guys like Robinson will always be picked up for his potential, but might never realize it, because he can't control his other issues. These are just a couple of the many ways to find a sleeper. So, make sure to always pay attention to injury situations, and follow closely what players are doing at training camp. Doing this can help you find many sleepers. Lastly, don't forget that you can still find sleepers after the draft in the first couple of weeks of the season. If you see a player break out and do better then expected, don't sit on the sidelines and watch - make an effort to pick them up and see if they can sustain that output. Or if you know that a starting player has any injury at all, make sure you're the one to get anyone who might back that player up, because once a player goes down, whoever takes over can be a real steal.

MY MORNING WITH STEELERS VICE PRESIDENT ART ROONEY, JR.

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:22:14 -0500

In life and in business, there are always times that you'll look back on as milestones. Sometimes when they happen, you'll immediately recognize them. In other instances, it may take a while for you to grasp the magnitude of the event. For me, I've been lucky enough to have several memorable occasions that have helped put this site "on the map" to some degree. But what I was able to partake in on Thursday morning is something that I will not only remember in my writing career, but in my life.

As you may know, I bleed black and gold. It's quite a serious condition, although it's fairly common in our area. I love anything and everything involving Pittsburgh sports. It fuels my passion for this site, a passion that increases exponentially when realizing how many like-minded followers of these same teams can share in my words.

I've had the pleasure to meet a number of sports legends in my young life. Mario Lemieux. Dan Marino. Bill Mazeroski. Joe Montana. All up-close-and-personal. But they were also abbreviated encounters. These are men that are constantly being pulled in 1,000 different directions. But I treasured each meeting, because, after all, I'm a fan at heart.

To this point, I have never had the pleasure of talking at length to someone directly involved in sports for the purpose of a website interview. I had successfully completed interviews with several sports media personalities, but never someone who had a hand in either the playing of the game or the front office.

A few weeks ago while out of town, I received an interesting email. I was asked if I had any interest in interviewing Mr. Art Rooney, Jr., Vice President of the Pittsburgh Steelers, former Personnel Director, and a part owner of the team.

Predictably, I was more than excited. This was one of the men who was an integral part of building the Steeler Dynasty of the 1970s! Franco, Bradshaw, Swann, Stallworth, Lambert…Art Rooney, Jr. scouted them all. And to add extra intrigue to my imagination, I reminded myself that he was the son of Art "The Chief" Rooney, one of the most beloved Pittsburghers of all time and a patriarch of the NFL!

I immediately responded to the inquiry with a "yes" and patiently waited to hear back. I was put in touch with a representative of Mr. Rooney who would later help schedule a time for the interview.

I asked if this would be a phone interview or something that could be done in person. Mr. Rooney's rep told me that I would be welcome to stop by his office and answer some questions about his recently published book, Ruanaidh (the Gaelic spelling for Rooney), for a half-hour to an hour. Again, I was more than enthused. I was going to have a one-on-one with Art Rooney, Jr. on his home turf!

As this week played out, there's been a developing storyline dominating local (and at times, even national) news coverage about the Rooney family selling their shares of the Steelers. Knowing that Mr. Rooney was a part owner, I immediately feared the worst, thinking that the interview would probably be cancelled. But Mr. Rooney's representation assured me the day before that the interview would go on as scheduled, and that Mr. Rooney would not be prepared to answer any questions about the current events.

That was more than fair with me. I was glad to still have this opportunity, and realizing the sensitive nature of the situation, I was more than happy to oblige with Mr. Rooney's request.

The last hurdle before the interview was to conduct extensive research on Mr. Rooney. Yes, I knew a little about him, but not to the extent where I would feel comfortable conducting such a big interview.

I was sent a copy of Ruanaidh in advance of the interview, and it was thick. 483 pages thick, to be exact. It is accurately described as "Part memoir, part anecdotal history of Pittsburgh's North Side, where the author grew up, and part football book."

I was through just a few pages and I had to reference the convenient Rooney Family Tree in the front of the book at least half a dozen times. Like my Italian family, the Rooneys had multiple family members with the same first names. Luckily, Mr. Rooney and his collaborator, legendary Pittsburgh Press journalist Roy McHugh, used the abbreviation "AJR" to distinguish whenever they discussed "The Chief", Art Rooney. I wanted to make sure I had my facts straight!

So off I went on my journey through Ruanaidh. The book starts off with countless entertaining stories of the Rooney family and their friends and acquaintances from Pittsburgh's North Side. A more colorful collection of characters I could not imagine.

I made so many notes about individual anecdotes that there's no way I could do justice to all of them. Plus, I wasn't going to give away the best parts; you really do need to buy this book. But there were some interesting facts that immediately caught my eye, like AJR's prolific athletic career, one that included a Notre Dame inquiry from Knute Rockne and an offer from Penn State that included a share of the program concession on game days. Needless to say, this was before the NCAA ruled with the iron fist that they yield today. AJR ended up at Indiana Normal (now called IUP), where he played not one, not two, but FIVE sports - baseball, basketball, football, track, and boxing.

I also learned about how AJR would walk Imogene Coca's poodles, how he turned his back on a pro baseball contract with the Boston Red Sox, and how his affinity for chocolate resulted in a binge at Canonsburg's Sarris Candies so prolific that he became ill.

Fascinating stuff all, and this was before I tell you about the part where he buys a pro football franchise for $2,500 in 1933.

As the book progressed, so did the football talk, which I became totally immersed in. I learned about how the Steelers released a Pittsburgh kid "too dumb" to play for them named Johnny Unitas; I heard the fascinating story about how Tim Rooney got his name from a member of the Mara family (of New York Giant ownership fame); I chuckled reading that Brian Piccolo's father called and asked why the Steelers didn't draft his son; and I was interested to discover that the Steelers once contacted legendary Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian about coaching their team.
The real meat of this memoir, however, came when Mr. Rooney dove headfirst into his recollections of building the Super Steelers dynasty. There was nearly a page on each marquis player, and even on some players that didn't turn out to be what the Steelers expected. Personally, I was fascinated at the tales of how Mr. Rooney mined so many small schools for top-notch talent, such as Mel Blount, John Stallworth, Mean Joe Greene, and Donnie Shell.

The '70s were high times for the Steelers and the Rooney family, and it was all the sweeter after so many down years. Then came the '80s, and the inevitable fall from grace. One by one, the future Hall of Famers went by the wayside. And one day, Art Rooney, Jr. would see his tenure with the Steelers come to an end with a statement delivered by his brother Dan: "I want you out of the day-to-day business."

Much more confident in my knowledge of Mr. Rooney, his family, and his exact place in Steeler history, I set off to meet him at his South Hills office. My appointment was scheduled for 9:30, but I arrived at 9:15 just to be safe.

I found the office that matched the address I was given, and entered. There was no name on the door, so I was hoping it was the right place. As I opened the door, my first glimpse was that of Steeler memorabilia. Yep, I think this was the right place.

Mr. Rooney's secretary greeted me and informed him of my arrival. As I stated earlier, I've met many sports figures, so I don't tend to get star-struck or nervous. But this was different. This was territory where I've never ventured. I had no idea what to expect.

Mr. Rooney told his secretary to send me in, and he greeted me with a big smile and a hearty handshake. I immediately felt much more relaxed and at ease.

As I introduced myself and settled into my chair, it was Mr. Rooney who was asking all of the questions. He wanted to know more about me, more about what I did. I started by telling him that I attended Washington and Jefferson College, just like one of his sons, and that I played baseball under former Steeler John Banaszak during my time there.

Immediately, this drew a positive response from Mr. Rooney, who then remarked that several other members of the Rooney family had also attended my alma mater. He then added that he was close friends with a professor named Richard Easton - the very same man whose encouragement during his challenging composition course helped inspire the writer you see today.

Beyond that, we found that we had more in common. The Rooneys were North Side folk, just like my father and his family. And my father, who previously ran a small newspaper during the '70s, had interviewed Mr. Rooney's father (AJR).

Mr. Rooney told me about how the book was 12 years in the making. He showed me the journals where he wrote his notes. He took me on a tour of his office, filled with Steeler mementos, photos, and artwork. He couldn't have been more accommodating.

I had written a list of questions the night before which I wanted to use during my interview. But the way we hit it off, they seemed all too formal. I then realized that this would not be a simple Q&A; this evolved into a conversation between two men who love the Pittsburgh Steelers.

I told Mr. Rooney more about my website and about how the audience is largely a young crowd who had heard about the Super Steelers from their fathers. I asked him why they would be interested in the book, and the answer was painfully obvious: this was the insider's story on the Steelers and the insider's story on AJR. It was an exclusive vantage point. Like any great story, there was conflict, whether it be Mr. Rooney butting heads with brother Dan or debating the merits of drafting a big back from Penn State (Franco Harris) with Chuck Noll. So if the idea of a Super Steeler insider describing how things worked appeals to you, I highly recommend you purchase this as soon as possible.

As I mentioned earlier, I was fascinated by the Steelers' ability to discover players from obscure schools and turn them into Hall of Famers. There was Joe Greene (North Texas State), Mel Blount (Southern University), and John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), to say nothing for solid contributors like L.C. Greenwood (Alabama AM&N), Donnie Shell (South Carolina State), and many others. This would happen over and over again during the '70s, and as Mr. Rooney described, it went back to Chuck Noll's draft philosophy: "The thing I care about is great athletes who are coachable and come to play the game."

I then wondered about how the Super Steelers would be affected by the current competitive structures of the NFL, namely the salary cap and free agency. "We would have never, ever kept the team together," he said.

An agent who represented a number of Steeler players at the time would, as it turned out, secretly bled black and gold, and the Steelers never lost a key player, Mr. Rooney told me. That definitely turned out to be a key component of keeping their talented nucleus together for so long.

Even with the rule changes, the team philosophy has stayed the same over the course of time: building through the draft, as the Steelers did under Noll, remained on the same level of importance under Noll's successor, Bill Cowher.

With all of the successful drafts, what was Mr. Rooney's biggest regret as a scout? Walter Abercrombie immediately sprung to mind, but that was mostly due to injuries. But as Mr. Rooney would later reveal, "My dad never forgave me for taking Gabe Rivera over Danny Marino."

Mr. Rooney later got back to the question, giving a definitive answer of RB Greg Hawthorne, their 1979 first-rounder out of Baylor, who never quite put it together, totaling just 527 yards rushing in a nine-season career.

The best scouts and front-office guys around the league, outside of the Steelers? Gil Brandt of Dallas was "a great organizer," Rooney said. George Young, a five-time executive of the year with the Giants, was also at the top of Mr. Rooney's list. And "among working guys, Jack Butler of Blesto [scouting service] was the best."

Among contemporary executives, recent Green Bay architect Ron Wolf was the first name Mr. Rooney mentioned. Wolf earlier had a key role in personnel operations with the Oakland Raiders from 1966-75 and again from 1978-90.

As for organizations, the Rams wowed Mr. Rooney, as did Dallas, ironically two teams that the Steelers would face and beat in the Super Bowl in the '70s.

The topic then shifted to the Steelers' numerous lean years, that gap between AJR buying the team in 1933 and hoisting that first Lombardi Trophy on January 12, 1975. Mr. Rooney's book described Pittsburgh fans' anger directed in the Rooneys' direction over that time, and I asked him: can he sympathize at all with what the Pirates are going through?

"Oh my gosh, yes. You had to duck down back alleys," Rooney said. "Like Adlai Stevenson once said in losing when he ran for President", Mr. Rooney said, "I'm too big to cry and too serious to laugh."

"I think of the Pirates all the time," Rooney added. In fact, from 1964-1971, an eight-year span, the Steelers had eight consecutive losing seasons, including back-to-back records of 2-11-1 and 1-13 in 1968 and '69; so he can definitely relate to the Pirates' current woes on some level.

At that point, I brought up the recent debate we had on this site about what's a fan and what isn't a fan, and Mr. Rooney agreed with my take that fans were angry with the losing because they did care about the team, and also agreed with my take that apathy would be a far greater disapproval of an organization.

Of course, as Mr. Rooney noted, the success of the 1970s raised expectations for the organization, and history has not been as kind to memories of the 1980s Steelers. But as he would also note, the Steelers had only three losing seasons in the '80s, and made the playoffs four times.

But did he ever dream the NFL would become the global entity that it is today? "No, no. I thought that you could consistently get 30-40,000 season tickets sold, TV…but the league, the way we were, we could all compete, we could all make a living. But I never saw this kinda stuff. Some of my brothers did. I was a North Sider. I didn't have the vision that Dan or Tim had."

I next asked Mr. Rooney what recent Steelers were in the mold of the '70s vintage. "Well, the quarterback [Ben Roethlisberger], I wish we had him in the '80s. Faneca could've played. Hines Ward definitely would've been a player, but Hines Ward wasn't a Swann or Stallworth. But he's a player."

I'd read a lengthy description of how Chuck Noll disliked "agitators", specifically citing the trade of talented WR Roy Jefferson as a result. I asked Mr. Rooney to discuss that in greater depth:

"Roy was a great player, went to a couple other teams, Super Bowl teams, was an All-Pro; he's now very mellow, a sensitive guy. After I wrote that, I met him again at our Legends dinner. He was such a mellow, nice guy. But he was a tester, a real tester. He's exactly what Chuck said. He was probably one of our best 4-5 players. He said that, and he kept his promise. I know we got a couple players for him, and they were OK, but they were not long-term players."

But how much of a concern is conduct in scouting now, given the climate of the NFL?

"That's a good question. The main thing, with films, scouting…you very, very seldom made a mistake on talent in the first two rounds. But the thing that's killer, killer, killer is the intangibles. And how do you judge them? We had questions we would ask. You would try not to interrogate the [college] coaches. Is the team value greater than his personal goals? Will he sacrifice?"

I then moved to a few quick topics less related to the Super Steelers but still of great interest to me. What about Joe Paterno, the legendary Penn State coach who prepped Jack Ham and Franco Harris for the Steelers? What was JoePa's relationship with the Black and Gold?

They had a great relationship, "so great that Dan once tried to hire Joe," said Mr. Rooney.

And how about his favorite stops from a life spent scouting on the road? "Nebraska, for good players and good steakhouses," said Mr. Rooney.

And places that he really didn't look forward to visiting? Oregon ranked first on his list. One of the scouts once told Mr. Rooney, "I spent a whole week at Oregon State one day."

What about the factoid that the Rooneys were offered the New York Yankees at a price of $6 million by CBS in the '70s? "Oh yeah," confirmed Mr. Rooney, "they actually came back a second time."

Any regrets at passing on the Bronx Bombers, given that they're worth approximately $1.2 billion? "Yes," said Mr. Rooney, saying that his father "just didn't use his head", while noting that brothers Tim, Pat, and John had proven their ability to run the family's race tracks and thought they would have been more than capable of handling the baseball franchise.

In addition to the Yankees, the Rooney family was also offered the Los Angeles Dodgers by the O'Malleys, another family-run pro sports franchise, as well as the San Francisco franchise that would become the Golden State Warriors of the NBA.

The story about Jimmy Carter pinching Mr. Rooney's wife (Kay) on the rear end at a Steelers White House visit? Another absolutely true story. I asked if he was angry when finding out about it after the fact, to which Mr. Rooney said, "No! He was a hell of a nice guy," while describing Carter's hospitality during their visit.

As our time moved closer to an end, it was finally time to try and address the conclusion of the book, which was Art's dismissal from the team by brother Dan in 1986:

Any advice for those in family business, I asked?

"Yeah…just don't hate each other. Go out of your way to be fair," Mr. Rooney said.

And the ending, was it difficult?

"Every adjective you want to think of," he quietly added.

Was there something specific that led to that?

"I'm afraid there is. Over the years, things built up. A power type thing. They tried to put it all on Chuck Noll. I'm not buying that."

Of the end, a frail and tired-looking AJR told Mr. Rooney, "I can't make things happen any more," and added, "There can be only one boss."

And with that, nearly two hours after my arrival, the interview (intended to last between a half-hour and an hour) was over. Mr. Rooney had another appointment, otherwise I think we would probably still be talking.

He showed me a few other unique pictures around the office, signed and inscribed a beautiful hardback copy of Ruanaidh for me, and strongly hinted that our paths may cross again in the near future.

After all was said and done, I think it's safe to say that we both enjoyed our morning. With everything that's been going on of late, I think it was refreshing for Mr. Rooney to revisit some of his finer moments with a relative newcomer like myself.

I know I have a tendency to be long-winded (I think we're well over 3,400 words at this point), but there are times to brief and then there are times to include all of the details. No, I'm not a full-time journalist that does this kind of thing day-in and day-out. I did not go to school for journalism. But I was lucky enough to find an audience that cares about the same things I care about. And together, our presence was able to attract a personality as big as Mr. Rooney for a conversation. It's my hope that this is the first of many such conversations that I can provide in the future. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching, conducting, and writing it.

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To Mr. Rooney: I would like to personally thank him for the time he took with me and for the wonderful interview he shared with all of us.

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To the readers, I highly encourage you to visit Mr. Rooney's website at www.artrooneyjr.com. It is filled with exclusive photos and content you will find nowhere else.

Finally, I highly recommend you to try your best to attend Mr. Rooney's book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in the South Side. It will be held on July 23 at 7:50 PM.

koolaid's favas

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:13:20 -0500

this iz an allstar team dat can win

NEWS AND NOTES

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:43:19 -0500

Since I always must tinker, I'm experimenting with a new link format...more links, less one-liners...think of it as a little test-marketing...

TSN's NHL free agent tracker [TSN]
John Challis driven to stadium by Alex Rodriguez [NY Post]
Smizik: Now we'll see what Shero is made of [PG]
Hines Ward voted NFL's smartest offensive non-QB [ESPN]
Dan Rooney voted NFL's top owner [ESPN]
Najeh Davenport denies the dump incident [PFT]
Hines Ward's intelligence, mentorship are special [Hashmarks]
A-Rod and Madonna decline comment on relationship [Deadspin]
Frank Coonelly fires back at Ron Cook [MLB.com forums]
Bonds record HR ball delivered to Hall of Fame after all [Sports by Brooks]
Big Ben's ESPN My Wish segment [Kiss 96.1]
Upper Deck unveils 6,661-card baseball card set [Upperdeck.com]
Arizona's Chris Snyder fractures a testicle [The Big Lead]
NFL superbust Tony Mandarich a photographer? [On 205th]
Duct tape prom attire controversy at Center HS [PG]
Entrance music for MLB baseball players [Armchair GM]
Superbad: the action trailer [Youtube]
Fire extinguisher service truck catches fire [WGAL.com]

Send your links, oddities and whatnot to mondesishouse@gmail.com. Your fellow readers thank you.

NFL: The Coaches Are Speaking Out

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:21:39 -0500

There's nothing like a good survey to spark a great debate. Well, the NFL coaches were asked to name names in the who's the smartest and dirtiest in the league. The votes are in and voted dirtiest player in the league is... www.rawsportsblog.com