By Mike Batista
Steelahs.com comedian
April 11, 2008

Big Ben celebrated the big one-five-oh yesterday, and the Steelers were left wondering how they could have signed a 150-year old quarterback to an eight-year, $102 million contract.

"What a bunch of ding-dongs we are. He looked a lot younger when we drafted him," said Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, who is now asking all of the Steelers' 2008 draft prospects to provide birth certificates and be accompanied by a parent at their workout.

Rooney went on to say that the Steelers drafted Big Ben in 2004 because they were so impressed with his towering height that they looked past some obvious shortcomings, like the fact that he had a big hand and a little hand. They did say, however, that he's shown a lot more mobility than they expected.

Attempts to reach Big Ben in London were unsuccessful.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that the organization can't dwell on this blunder. "We're not going to throw a pity party," he said.

Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert are now focusing on the upcoming NFL draft. They want to be prepared when their pick comes up at No. 23 because, after all, they'll be on the clock.

But seriously ...

Go to to find out why the Steelers have to rethink their draft plans.

(Thanks to Photobucket!)

Royal blues

By Mike Batista
Steelahs.com guy
April 3, 2008

Not sure what to get that special Steelers fan in your life? How about a 2004 Steelers playbook? It's available on eBay for $10. The Steelers don't appear to be the ones putting the playbook on the market, but maybe they should be. In fact, they should sell all their old playbooks, because in the years to come, they might need the extra cash.

Folks, it looks like the NFL salary cap might go the way of the single-bar facemask, and that might not be the greatest thing for the Steelers.

In an NFL where big-market teams can spend freely to sign the game's best players, teams like the Steelers would struggle to keep their stars. It could become an environment like Major League Baseball, a league of haves and have-nots. Pittsburgh fans have to be worried that the Steelers would become the Pirates of the NFL.

But the Pirates aren't the only team that's suffered under baseball's economic structure. I'm afraid the Steelers are going to follow the path of another team.

The Kansas City Royals.

Glory days

These two franchises already seem to be operating in parallel universes, two decades removed, in terms of their fortunes on the field.

Like the Steelers today, the Royals were considered a class organization during their heyday. Both teams play in distinctive stadiums that serve as a backdrop for their identity. A giant crown decorates the top of the scoreboard at Royals Stadium, as it was called in the 1980s, and the water fountains beyond the outfield fence add to the scenery. The seats at Heinz Field form a sea of yellow, one of the Steelers' colors. A giant Heinz ketchup bottle, representing a brand name synonymous with Pittsburgh, sits on top of the scoreboard at one end of the stadium.

Let's take a look at what's gone on inside those stadiums. The Royals lost the American League Championship Series three straight years from 1976-1978. The Steelers lost the 1994, 1997, 2001 and 2004 AFC championship games. The Royals did make it to the World Series once during the ascent to their eventual world championship, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980. The Steelers made it to Super Bowl XXX in 1995, losing to the Cowboys.

The Royals remained competitive in the early 1980s, but slipped below .500 in 1983. They bounced back and lost to the eventual champion Detroit Tigers in the 1984 American League Championship Series, then finally won the World Series in 1985 when no one expected them to.

Exactly 20 years later, the Steelers drew up the same three-year blueprint to win a championship. They fell to 6-10 in 2003, bounced back and lost to the eventual champion Patriots in the 2004 AFC championship game and won the Super Bowl in 2005.

Both the Steelers and Royals flourished as underdogs in their championship seasons. The 91-71 Royals came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the 99-62 Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. Then they faced the 101-61 Cardinals and again came back from a 3-1 deficit, becoming the first team to win the World Series after losing the first two games at home.

The Steelers became the first No. 6 seed to win a Super Bowl, upsetting the Indianapolis Colts along the way.

The Royals remained competitive for a few more years after winning their only world championship, but since the strike year of 1994 (they were 64-51 before the work stoppage), they've had only one winning season, finishing 83-79 in 2003. Since then, they've won less than 70 games every year. Yeah, I know they're 2-0 right now, but it's a long season.

Basically, these two respected franchises were perennial contenders in their respective leagues for about a decade, then finally won championships in surprising fashion.

Let's hope the similarities end there.

The parity's over

It looks like the owners are going to vote to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in November. That would eliminate the salary cap after the 2009 season, and the players have said that once the salary cap is lifted, they'll never accept a cap again. The collective bargaining agreement wasn't on the agenda at this week's NFL owners meetings, but it was certainly on everyone's mind.

The Steelers probably wouldn't do business much differently if there were no salary cap. They've never been big players in the free agency market. They don't throw much money around in prorated signing bonuses, like many other teams do, to circumvent the salary cap.

Under the current system, the Steelers can operate that way and still be on even footing with the big-market teams. But if there were no salary cap, the Steelers could be in a situation similar to the one they were in before they had the revenue generated by a new stadium in 2001. There was an annual exodus of free agents in the mid-90s. Bill Cowher doesn't get enough credit, by the way, for leading the Steelers to three AFC championship games and a Super Bowl in four years while losing the likes of Eric Green, Chad Brown, Brentson Buckner, Ray Seals, Leon Searcy, Willie Williams, Kevin Greene and of course Neil O'Donnell along the way.

There could be a similar revolving door in Pittsburgh if there's no salary cap.

The Steelers wouldn't be the only team that's affected. The salary cap is one of the things that's ensured parity in the NFL. It's helped teams like the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams go from having nine straight losing seasons, including 4-12 in 1998, to winning the Super Bowl in 1999. Such rags-to-riches stories would quite likely be a thing of the past.

Step away from the ledge

OK, before everyone starts crying in their Iron City, I'm going to back off my sky-is-falling stance a little bit. Even though it might be harder to stay competitive, the Rooneys will continue to put the best team they can on the field. They have too much respect for the league and the game to be like their neighbors at PNC Park. Besides, a salary cap doesn't keep everyone from trying to buy a championship.

Remember the 2000 Washington Redskins? Owner Daniel Snyder went on a spending spree that year, signing Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith and Mark Carrier and doling out $47 million in signing bonuses. The Redskins also traded up so they could have the second and third overall picks in the draft. They got LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels.

All that, and they didn't even make the playoffs. It was the Steelers who mathematically knocked them out of the playoff race. In the last game played at Three Rivers Stadium, the Steelers defeated the Redskins 24-3, officially foiling their bid to buy the Lombardi Trophy. The Steelers didn't make the playoffs that year, either. But shoving it up that spoiled brat Snyder's ass made their season as far as I was concerned.

The Redskins finished 8-8 that year and the year after and didn't have another winning season until 2005.

Perhaps it isn't as easy to spend your way to success in the NFL as it is in Major League Baseball. A few good pitchers can put a baseball team in the upper echelon. In football, you need 22 guys, and you can't forget special teams. There are many more parts to the machine.

Sweet 16

Let's assume there's no salary cap after the 2009 season, my doomsday scenario comes true and there are teams in the NFL who have as much a chance of making the playoffs as the Pirates and Royals.

Well, I have a solution: Expand the playoffs to 16 teams.

That would give the struggling franchises a better chance of making the playoffs, and thus more incentive to be competitive. Under this plan, there would be no byes. The big-market teams will have enough of an advantage. They shouldn't have a chance to get a free ride into the second round of the playoffs. The NFL wouldn't even have to add an extra week to the postseason, just have eight games instead of four on what is now wild-card weekend. The only drawback is that games would be played simultaneously, so not all games would be available to every TV viewer in this opening round.

Some might say this would put too many teams in the NFL playoffs and make it like the NHL and NBA playoffs. Well, there are a few differences. One of the problems with the NBA and NHL playoffs is that they go on for more than two months. As I said, the duration of the NFL playoffs wouldn't change. Also, the game of football isn't as susceptible to upsets. So much of the game boils down to the strength and technique of the men in the trenches. It's not given to the vagaries of basketball, with the rhythm and lucky bounces needed to get the ball through the hoop. The better team will emerge more often in a 60-minute football game.

Could a 16-team NFL tournament actually happen? Well, we know the owners are resistant to change when it comes to this stuff. They didn't even approve a rule that would have reseeded the playoff teams in terms of records, regardless of division winners. I'd have been in favor of that. The Jaguars beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season and had a better record than them. They deserved to have their playoff game against the Steelers at home. They won anyway, so it was a moot point.

But a 16-team NFL playoff format isn't unprecedented. Probably in an effort to recoup some lost TV revenue, the NFL went to a 16-team playoff when a strike reduced the 1982 regular season to nine games. Anything that increases revenue has a chance of passing.

Strike three?

As bad as it would be if the Patriots' payroll was twice as large as the Steelers', it would be even worse if there were no games to watch. Unfortunately, a strike after the 2010 season is a real possibility.

One reason the NFL has a leg up on the other three major sports leagues in terms of popularity is the fact that there hasn't been a work stoppage since 1987. All the other leagues have had at least one since then.

The NFL has to realize that it has a good thing going. Let's hope they're smart enough to not screw it up.



Broadway Ben?

By Mike Batista

Steelahs.com architect

March 5, 2008

It’s nice to see that the Steelers are finally breaking the bank to keep a star player. Ben Roethlisberger will remain in black and gold through 2015 after signing an eight-year, $102 million contract.

Roethlisberger is worth every penny of it – as long as he helps the Steelers add to their collection of Lombardi Trophies.

After a quarter century of Mark Malone, Mike Tomczak, Kent Graham and Kordell Stewart, the Steelers had to do everything they could to keep Roethlisberger. To say he’s a franchise quarterback is an understatement. I think Roethlisberger has the potential to combine a Namath-like aura with a Bradshaw-like resume and work his way into the discussion of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

Joe Namath became bigger than life when he backed up his bold prediction that the Jets would defeat the heavily favored Colts in Super Bowl III. Not only did that feat define Namath’s career, but it gave him a certain swagger.

Had he worked while Namath was playing, Boston sports talk radio host Eddie Andelman undoubtedly would have said that Namath had “It.” Andelman used to complain that former Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe didn’t have “It.” He couldn’t define what “It” was, but he said that quarterbacks like Joe Montana, Dan Marino and John Elway had “It.” Andelman turned out to be right, because Bledsoe’s injury in 2001 opened the door for Tom Brady, another quarterback who has “It.”

I’m convinced that Roethlisberger has “It.” After all, mortal human beings aren’t supposed to win their first 14 games as a rookie, become the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, come within a minute of dying in motorcycle crash and play three months later, then make the Pro Bowl the following year despite playing behind an offensive line that stinks worse than all the Swiss cheese in Roethlisberger’s home land.

Now it’s time to get to work on winning more championships. Anything less would be a disappointment.

Farewell to Faneca

I know the Steelers couldn’t afford to sign both Roethlisberger and Alan Faneca to mega-contracts. That said, I think the Steelers will regret letting Faneca go. I admit I’ve changed my stance on this since last May. I figured at 31, Faneca would begin an inevitable decline. But the more I think about it, the more I think he has about five more good years left in him. And wouldn’t you know it, the Jets signed him for five years and $40 million. It would be tempting the think that Faneca will fare as well as the last big-time free agent to bolt the Steelers for the Jets, Neil O’Donnell. But I think Faneca’s going to do a little bit better. I think he’ll be polishing up his Hall of Fame credentials down there in Jersey.

Now it’s time for the Steelers to address the offensive line, which was a mess even with Faneca. To do that, the Steelers need to get as many bodies as possible to compete for spots on the O-Line. They need to get a couple of guys in the draft and hopefully get lucky by finding someone decent on waivers or through a trade during training camp.

Bargain basement

The Steelers made their annual trip to the free agency dollar store and picked up Vikings running back/kick returner Mewelde Moore.

I wish they would have cashed in their loose change, restructured a few contracts to stay under the salary cap, and acquired Patriots safety Eugene Wilson.

The Steelers need a better kickoff returner and they need talent at running back to complement Willie Parker. Moore addresses that weakness. But I’m starting to wonder if Steelers coach Mike Tomlin realizes that the NFL isn’t limited to players he’s seen in person. This is another example of the Steelers getting a guy who played for or against the Vikings and Buccaneers while Tomlin served on their coaching staffs, like kick returner Allen Rossum, who’s already gone, and former Buc Sean Mahan, who’s been a bust so far at center. By favoring players he’s familiar with, Tomlin seems to have tunnel vision when it comes to acquiring players by trade or free agency.

A Terrible loss

Did anyone catch Seth Meyers of “Saturday Night Live” waving a Terrible Towel in honor of Myron Cope at the end of the show’s newscast last Saturday? Like me, Meyers grew up in New England and roots for the Red Sox and Steelers.

The reason I’m more than a week late with a take on the passing of Myron Cope is because, literally, I was at a loss for words. Being a Steelers fan from the Northeast outpost of Steelers Nation, there’s not much I can say about Cope because I never heard his voice during live Steelers action. I rely on the NFL Sunday Ticket to see most Steelers games.

Of course, I know what Myron Cope is all about. I know what “double yoi” means. What I was surprised to find out in reading about him was the fact that, like me, he was a wordsmith. He wrote for newspapers and magazines before he became a broadcaster. I also know that he invented the Terrible Towel. The best I can do to honor Myron Cope is reflect on the time I purchased my cherished Terrible Towel.

It was January 1996. The Steelers had barely beaten the Indianapolis Colts to earn a berth in Super Bowl XXX against the Dallas Cowboys. The morning after their win in the AFC championship game, I ordered my Terrible Towel.

Keep in mind the early-to-mid 1990s were tweener years in terms of technology. The Internet was well known by 1996, but it wasn’t as universal as it is today. And in 1996, I didn’t even have a computer, so I called 1-800-TEAMTUF to get my Terrible Towel. This being the day after the Steelers earned their first Super Bowl berth in 16 years, the phone lines were flooded. Ordering items online wasn’t as common a practice as it is today. I certainly wasn’t the only one who had yet to grasp the Internet. So I waited and waited to order my Terrible Towel. This was good practice, because being a Steelers fan in the years to come would require a lot of patience.

Finally, I got my Terrible Towel, and waved it proudly in a pro-Cowboys house when I watched the Super Bowl.

Last but not least

R.I.P. Buddy Dial. Speaking of patience, some fans had to wait 40 years for the Steelers’ first championship. Dial helped make the wait a little more entertaining.