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Don't worry about putting too much time or effort into wishing about Deas. Deas is either headed to Auburn or to FSU, probably by way of Hargrave Military Academy or JUCO, depending on what his next few SAT scores are, since he's around 100-150 points off (based on the new scale scoring), according to rumors. Deas visits LSU this weekend, so there's still hope. Jared Mitchell is announcing this week in a country club owned by an LSU alum. I think its safe to say that he is going to pick y'all instead of us. You better watch out for the MLB draft. JM may never see a college football field.

I guess I can't get with that hate since I grew up in the 'burgh. I will say marrying a Texan was the smartest thing I ever did.

Spurrier is slowly pulling us up the rankings. We will probably only take commitments from four or five more guys but all the guys left on our board on four stars. We should sneak into the top 25 before its all said and done. Glad to see Penn State back where it belongs. Except for getting Lou Eliades. Thought we had a solid shot at him.

J.R. keep walking towards the light. I married into a family of Cowboy fans and nothing makes me happier than walking into the house with Steeler gear on. Correction, the only thing that will make me happier is walking in their with Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh gear on. As a Cub fan and South Carolina fan, I don't often have the occasion to have my team in a championship. Its been a hell of a run so far. I just hope the guys aren't satisfied with just getting Bussie to the big game. Cowher and this generation of Rooneys (not to mention a desperate fan base) really need this thing. Badly. My fiancee is really pissed because I told her I wasn't going to any Super Bowl parties because I don't think I stand to be around anyone during the game. I'll be too nervous/irritable/excitable to handle anyone, other than die hard Steeler fans. Maybe I'll drive up to Pittsburgh and watch the game there. The only thing I can say is THANK GOD the Panthers lost. I don't think I could deal with all the bandwagon jumping Panthers fans for two weeks. Go Steelers!

In other news, the sun rose in the east today...

Damn sorry to see that injury to Palmer. He's a fine player. This is going to a great rivalry for years to come. It'll be nice to have a division rival again now the the Ravens suck and the Browns, well, forget that. I look forward to the Steelers stomping the Bengals in rivalry games for the next few years. Bring on the Colts.

If Pittsburgh residents didn't come to watch Pirates playoff teams from the past, what makes you think they will come to watch an old has been close out his career? Actually, Pittsburgh residents turned out in droves for their playoff games. They didn't start staying away from the park until all the good players signed elsewhere.

Last time I checked, they won the World Series with that approach. Frankly, I would take one ring if it meant parting with Pie, Hill, and whomever else. Its not like this approach didn't yield positive results.

When was the last time you where in Pittsburg? I was there last year for a few Cub games over the couse of a weekend. The city is alive and well. The downtown is thriving and they have new shopping and tourism attractions. IMO, the problem is that they haven't been good in a long time. If the Steelers can sell out Heinz field, the Pirates can sell out PNC. CubinNY, please don't take this personally because I value your opinion in all topics, but I am going to take issue with everything you said in your post. Pittsburgh did a good job with the actual stadiums as far as they are great places to watch games. That's about it. Several attempted downtown renewal projects have landed the city in record debt. Each day a new developer or retailer pulls out. The mayor for the last 12 (I believe) ran the city clear into the ground. The economy is DEAD in that area and looks to remain so unless the newly elected Bob O'Connor can do something (doubtful as he was elected by the same party machine that's been running the place for 90+ years). The city is neither alive, nor well. The ownership group, headed by McClatchy, but really run by a guy from WV whose name escapes me at the moment, is a joke. They pocketed their revenue sharing money instead of reinvesting it under the guise that they put it into their minor leagues. While I agree their farm has improved, that is a product of Littlefield and a scouting department that was already there, not some magical upgrade in spending. They could care less about putting a winner on the field, only turning a profit. Every few years they throw around a few huge contracts to placate a desperate fan base. This time, its Jason Bay. Unless Tracy can win with kids making next to nothing, they are in trouble and will continue to be as they will not be giving out too many more Bay-like deals. The only good business going is the Steelers organization. If the Penguins don't get a new arena, they play on the oldest building in the league, they'll be on their way. Mario Lemieux can only save their bacon so many times. Again, CubinNY, I didn't mean to take a swing at you, but I know my hometown too well not to react (well, overreact).[/b]

I have no idea whether Sammy milked the foot injury to avoid Chicago, but my gut says he didn't. That being said, despite being an excellent player, I always found Sammy to be a dreary fraud. I am extremely happy that guys like Derrek Lee and Mark Prior are now the face of this franchise.

The fact that he's in his late 30's has absolutely nothing to do with it, right? It does. But his decline has been alarmingly sharp compared to most sluggers of his magnitude. This leads one to wonder... With some sluggers, they just gradually decline until they can't find a job anymore, or retire. Some just hit the wall. McGwire, Mays, etc just hit the wall. Decent one year, then terrible the next. Sammy was one of those. Its probably not the best idea to reference Mark McGwire as an example of an aging star who hit the wall as opposed to someone who used steroids.

Steve FREAKING Spurrier. That was the loudest stadium I have ever been in and I've seen games in Tennessee, Florida, Penn State and Ohio State. He really is an amazing coach. All players staying the same, if Urban Meyer was coaching South Carolina and Spurrier was at Florida, the Gators would have won by 30. What Spurrier is doing is nothing short of ridiculous. Just wait until he gets a few more players.

Defending Champ in the House!

FloridaCubbie, where are you? I'm callin' you out! ;)

Spurrier's Gamecocks vs. the Florida Gators. 'nuff said.

How about them '[expletive]! It is amazing to me that Spurrier has this group bowl eligible after throwing 10 scholarship players off the team before the season began. This may be his finest coaching performance ever. Its one thing to win lots of games with loads of talent. Its entirely another to win when 10 freshmen are getting regular PT and your QB is a redshirt sophomore who played his last two seasons under ancient football philosopher Lou Holtz. We had not seen the forward pass in some time. Next week, Spurrier invites those damn Florida Gators into Columbia. Look for the media hype machine to be in full effect.

Burn him! Burn Him! Burn him! You are going to need a lot of fire, because y anou are going to have to burn me too. Santo couldn't be any less deserving for this award. Great Cub, great man, horrible broadcaster.

How 'bout the Land of the Rising Sun? That was my guess. He already has the stats for the HOF, and I think he just wants to play somewhere that the fans love him. Japan fits that bill. Super small parks = lots of homers. Fan love and homers have always been of paramount importance to him. Maybe he'll still be able to find them in Japan.

Not a fan, but yes. Offensive coordinator quit/resigned/stepped down but will stay on staff through end of season. Fullmer to call plays Sort of true. Fulmer and the entire offensive staff will share playcalling duties. Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Tennessee's offense is just not good enough to keep up with ND's. GO IRISH! Vol fans better hope the rumor that David Cutcliffe is returning is true. That offense is in disarray and I don't think that Phil is the man to fix it. He needs help in a big way.

I very much doubt we'll get any results, period. Jermaine Dye? Really? Step away from the sour grapes for a minute, they aren't good for you.

Straight from the mouth of Mark May... http://img.impirius.net/misc/spurrierowns.jpg

The most shocking thing about the Vols is they don't have one go to guy on offense. Not one. Speaking of go to guys, Sidney Rice is a star in the making. 6-4 with a 41 inch vertical leap and great hands. Amazing.

Claussen is clearly unhappy with Fulmer. He won that job out of fall practice and Fulmer gave it to his pet, Ainge. Then he pulls Fulmer's ass out of the fire against LSU and he still has to look over his shoulder. I got nervous when he FINALLY put Claussen back in. Honestly, I think ND puts a big hurtin on the Vols. EDITED to admit that I probably dislike Fulmer more than just about anyone in sports.

Wow. Did you see Fulmer literally spit before he had to cross the field to shake Spurrier's hand? I do not envy Fulmer for the next few weeks. Things don't get any better for your boys going into South Bend next weekend. This is a great victory for us. I guess Lee Corso forgot to remind Spurrier that you can't win at USC and that we'll never beat the Big 3 in the SEC East. Oh yeah, and Vince Young is good. Long season for the Vols and Fulmer will be hearing it. It's been a rough years for the Volunteer faithful, especially with losses to 'Bama, Florida, and Spurrier. All we need now are losses to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. You'll beat those guys. 6-5 isn't going to cut it. Especially not from a team that is preseason top 5. I am not sure what is wrong up there, but the Vols have far too much talent to play this poorly.

Wow. Did you see Fulmer literally spit before he had to cross the field to shake Spurrier's hand? I do not envy Fulmer for the next few weeks. Things don't get any better for your boys going into South Bend next weekend. This is a great victory for us. I guess Lee Corso forgot to remind Spurrier that you can't win at USC and that we'll never beat the Big 3 in the SEC East. Oh yeah, and Vince Young is good.