Time of Get Fired Up: Steelers v. Ravens

Since I can't seem to find a Steelers song playlist on Youtube, I decided to put one up here. Time to get fired up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Classic:


The Fight Song (2010-2011 Edition)


Renegade


Black and Yellow


Pittsburgh Sound


Steeler Ladies


Steel Defense


It's Polamalu


And just for fun - Ah Leah by Pittsburgh's Own Donnie Iris


Listen to these on repeat. That is all.

Gameday Girlnotes: Steelers v. Bills

Here are some things to watch for in today's game:

1) Will Brett Keisel play? Earlier in the week, he said that his hamstring was 100% healed and that he would be good to go on Sunday. But yesterday morning, Keisel woke up with a calf injury. He is listed as questionable for today's 1 pm game.

The Steelers defense has certainly missed him during the last 5 games. We've allowed the opposing teams to score over 100 points cumulatively during those matchups. Certainly this can't be blamed solely on Keisel's absence, but it did contribute to defensive weakness.

If he is out, Nick Eason and Ziggy Hood could start.

More here:
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_711298.html

2) I'm Mike Wallace - Big Pass Plays and More on Tonight's 60 Minutes. Look for Mike Wallace to come up big against the Bills weak defense. From the PG: "The Bills have the worst rush defense in the league, allowing 163.5 yards per game, and their secondary isn't much better." And then there's Wallace's hot streak. If he can exceed 100 yards receiving today, he will break Heinz Ward's record for consecutive games with more than 100 yards receiving (they are currently tied at 3 games each).

Also watch for Mendenhall to come up big against the Bills rush defense.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10332/1106438-66.stm#ixzz16amxTNOw

3) If Bills QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and Receiver Steve Johnson are able connect, we could have problems. These two led the team to victory last week over the Bengals, and have contributed to nail-biting games between the Bills and strong AFC teams like the Ravens and the Patriots. We could be in for a heart-attack game ourselves if these two can find their mojo today. Watch to see whether or not that happens against our 4-3 defense.
More Here: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10331/1106507-66.stm

4) This could be a trap game. I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is possible that the Bills could give us some trouble. This is an away game for us, and the Bills are coming off of a two-game winning streak. Couple that with our long list of injured players - and you realize that we have to take this game seriously.

5) And finally, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I'll be very thankful if we have a healthy Troy Polamalu on our side. His achillies has been bothering him and he was listed as questionable earlier in the week. The Steelers have been mum about whether or not he will play.

His contribution to the defense in recent weeks has been priceless and is reminiscent of the kind of play that made Pittsburghers fall in love with him back in 2004.

Jon Gruden = Carson Kressley

So I've been a total blog slacker recently. My apologies - my day job has kept me pretty busy. In any event, I'm sitting on my couch watching Steelers v. Bengals, and there's something I have to share. Commentator Jon Gruden totally, totally looks like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy's Carson Kressley. Behold:

Ummmmm.... what newspaper do you write for again?

I'd like to call some attention to this article written by David J Neal for the Miami Herald. I'm not sure if he's a closet Steelers fan, if he has a man-crush on Mike Tomlin, or if he just has common sense - but he sure doesn't sound like a Miami football reporter to me:

"See them coming? See the light glinting off their Super Bowl rings, memorabilia they resumed collecting in the past decade? See, the mobile giant at quarterback, the best 30-something coach in the NFL and the defensive coordinator already in the Hall of Fame?
Consistent winners followed by the NFL's most ubiquitous fan base, the Steelers have spent much of the past 30 years as the league's Black and Gold Standard. And it's against that mark on the wall that the Dolphins, who believe themselves a good team, stand Sunday."

I'd also like to point out that he didn't make one snide remark about Big Ben - he simply mentioned the suspension very matter-of-factly. That's something most Pittsburghers can't even do.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/24/1888477/steelers-will-test-dolphins.html#ixzz13HkQmlWM

Gameday Girlnotes: Steelers v. Dolphins

It's been a few weeks since I put up Gameday Girlnotes. I'm still trying to work out whether we need game prep or game follow-up posts. I lean towards game prep posts because then we can just be like one of the guys come gametime. What do you think?

• Really quick - So Big Ben made a big splash last week. He looked pretty rusty to me until about the 3rd quarter. And then, well, then the clouds began to clear and our team started to look whole again. I may or may not have ordered a 7 and 7 in celebration. I'm excited to see what he will do this week against Miami's 4th ranked AFC defense (we're 3rd).
• Of course we have to watch and see what Harrison does today, and how he's treated by the refs. I'm still fuming about last week's $75000 fine on a play that didn't even warrant a flag on the field. I highly doubt there is any truth to the rumors that he is retiring - he still has at least a year left on his contract and he'd leave big money on the table if he walked away. I think he will definitely unleash some aggression on Miami's Wildcat package - and their increasingly present running game as well.
• Miami Cornerback (CB) Jason Allen should be no match for our Mike Wallace.
• To win, the Dolphins defense will absolutely have to stop Mendenhall from running down the middle.
• Skippy I mean Jeff Reed has to be consistent today - hes been all over the place this season. He needs to step it up.
• Trai Essex and Brett Kiesel are both inactive today.

Hope you all enjoy the game!

My New Crush: ESPN's James Walker

I now have a huge crush on James Walker, who this week called the Steelers the NFL's "lone dominant team." LOVE. Here are some excerpts from his blog post:

"...the league's lone dominant franchise resides in Pittsburgh. The Steelers (3-1) have been winning quietly and playing at less than 100-percent capacity without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is returning this week from a four-game suspension. Still, they are 32 seconds away from being 4-0, which virtually throws out the aforementioned stat everyone wants to talk about. Don't let a late Joe Flacco touchdown pass fool you: Pittsburgh is elite. Now at full strength, Pittsburgh is ready to show its dominance Sunday against the Cleveland Browns (1-4)."

Here are Walker's top reasons why we are the best in the league:

1) Roethlisberger is back (DUH)

"Roethlisberger is a top-five quarterback and a two-time Super Bowl champion. It's like acquiring a $100 million free agent in Week 6 to boost an already strong team."

2) We've faced tough opponents and come out on top.

"The Steelers didn't pad their record against creampuffs. In fact, Pittsburgh's first four opponents have a combined record of 14-5, tops in the NFL entering Week 6."

3) Kids in the Mendenhall

"As one Pittsburgh star was suspended, another star for the Steelers emerged in Mendenhall. The third-year tailback recorded his first 1,000-yard season in 2009, but is on pace to shatter career highs in yards, attempts and touchdowns. Mendenhall is playing at a Pro Bowl level."

4) Our defense is "dynamic" (Again, DUH)

5) Remember 2005? 2008?

"Pittsburgh is the only team playing with that championship swagger"

Oh and did I mention that Walker is really cute?

Yep - really cute. Read the whole thing here:

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/18948/steelers-are-nfls-lone-dominant-team

#7 Returns - Food Edition

So I've gotten over my outrage regarding Big Ben's text-affair with Ray Lewis. I forgive him, begrudgingly, and I'm excited for him to return to the field this weekend and put all of this nonsense to rest. To celebrate the Prodigal Ben's return, I dedicate this blog post to recipes involving the number 7. You could always make Roethlisburgers, but I thought I'd try to be a little more creative.

7-Layer Dip

This was the first food that came to mind. Rachael Ray's Lucky 7-Dip has received great reviews online. Even though her personality makes me want to barf, her recipes are usually delicious. You can find it here.

7 Onion Soup with Parmesan-Garlic Bread

This soup is really flavorful and is appropriate for the chilly weather we're having. I've made many of Emeril's recipes, and you really can't go wrong with them tastewise. If you're cooking for the health conscious set, though, you might want to try substituting whole or 2% milk for the cream in the recipe. You can find it here.

7-Up Cake

I've never actually had 7-up cake, but a co-worker recommended it to me and I found a good recipe for it on Epicurious. I'm told that this cake tends to be on the sweeter side, so if you want to cut the sweetness you can swap some fresh lemon-lime zest for some of the 7-up.

I wouldn't recommend serving all three of these if you are trying to present a cohesive meal. But if you're like me and only care about serving delicious food and don't really care about courses complimenting one another, then knock yourself out. Of course, if the food turns out poorly, you can always wash it down with a 7 and 7 (Seagram's 7 Crown Blended Whiskey, 7-up and lemon).