Some debate as to whether or not Tunch is actually losing some weight since I put him on a diet two months ago (only 1/2-2/3 cup a day of some organic diet food, the name of which escapes me), so here are some live action shots of Tunch rolling around on the office couch. Yes, he is still a little rubenesque (although as a Steelers cat, would that make him Reubenesque?), but I just don’t think he is as fat as you all claim he is:
I am not having a very productive day. I finally fell asleep at around 2:30, and then was up at the crack of dawn because I couldn’t sleep anymore and I wanted to watch Mike and Mike.
Six, baby. Six.
And after some thought, I don’t understand why Ben was not MVP. If that had been any other quarterback, he would have won it. If Elway, Favre, Brady, Montana, anyone, had driven their team down the field with two minutes left in the Super Bowl, starting the drive with a 1st and 20 and finishing with a touchdown frozen rope to the quarter of the end zone where only the receiver could make the catch to win his second Super Bowl, they would already be measuring for a bust. Put that into the context of the season, in which we never had a solid go to running back due to injuries, and the fact that other than Holmes and Miller, we have few offensive weapons (Ward always makes the clutch catches, but was hurt and a non-factor), and you would think Ben would have been a lock. For some reason, the NFL community just does not respect how good Ben is and it makes no sense to me.
*** Update ***
This 33 lb beauty was sent in over the weekend:
I love how this picture captures the “essence” of cat- “Sure, you may think that is all your property, and you may have work to do, but buddy, I got to get a nap.”
Whoever sent this one in, send more. I can tell right now he is going to be a crowd favorite.
Gordon Wagner
He’s not fat. He’s just fluffy.
Jay Severin Has A Small Pens
Maybe James Harrison would be a good choice…except it wasn’t rugby.
Dave
I think the reason Ben didn’t win is that the TD pass aside, he had a pretty average game. Warner had a better all-around game stats-wise, even if the final score didn’t show it.
If anyone besides Holmes scored that TD, I would have been pulling for Fitzgerald to win the MVP award. He’d have been the first player on a losing team to win it since Chuck Howley back in Super Bowl V.
Warren Terra
I don’t know much about football, and that final drive was pretty awesome, but for the rest of the second half the bunch of us watching were just struck by how the Steeler QB was spending a LOT of time wandering around the backfield with the ball looking for a receiver, such that he was constantly getting sacked or just managing to throw the ball away, plus he had a whole bunch of blocked passes. Other than the one drive, he didn’t look to be determining the shape of the game.
Fwiffo
That’s a fat cat. Not obscenely fat, but he’s pretty tubby. If a cat looks like a pile of cat, it’s fat. A healthy cat looks like it could sneak up on something successfully.
smiley
I had a neutered male cat that size once and he seemed perfectly happy and healthy. The vet never even suggested a diet. OTOH, he only lived to 12 because of a lung tumor, which I doubt was weight related. The diet is probably a good idea anyway though.
gex
John, I think you are experiencing a phenomenon that a lot of Americans are experiencing. We no longer have a proper sense of what is "being fat". There so many morbidly obese people/cats/dogs out there that we see severely overweight as being not so bad.
That kitty is still very heavy. But he does look better than some of the pictures I’ve seen, so it looks like things are going in the right direction. Keep at it!
JR
I think Tunch’s problem is… well, black is slimming. White makes you look like a tent. Sorry, Tunch.
Laura W
I truly think he looks thinner, John*. And a lot more healthy and "spry". Really. I mean that. Truly and totally. (Sadie agrees.)
What a great morning this has turned out to be.
Except for revisiting that damn koala commercial again.
*Edit: You only have to compare this to the NY’s Eve shot to see the difference. Everyone leave Tunch alone! He’s trying. He’s progressing. It ain’t easy for a plump, indoor-only, couch potato cat to drop a lot of weight fast. Patience, people.
SGEW
Always about pleasing your fan base, Mr. Cole.
You know that all of our
cattyunkind and/or petty commentary about Tunch is just our way of showing that we care. Fat cats have health problems, and we just want the best for Tunch.Yes. That is the only reason.
amorphous
Shorter John Cole:
Jeez, lighten up.
donnah
The Tunch is a handsome cat. He’s a little weighty, but I’ve seen bigger. If he gets around well and stays active, I think he’ll be fine. Friends of ours had a really big cat; he looked like an ottoman.
I think Big Ben should have been MVP, too. He went to my alma mater, Miami U (of Ohio) and my husband and I have followed his college and pro career. He played well yesterday.
Hillary Rettig / www.lifelongactivist.com
i remember how you movingly said that hangin’ with him on Sunday mornings was the highlight of your week. he seems thinner, but there is ample scientific evidence that being underweight promotes longevity, so please keep dieting him despite whatever extreme psychological methods he uses on you. you want him to look like Robert Rubin, not a reuben sandwich.
TheFountainHead
Shorter Tunch:
Kitteh iz not amused.
Bella
Dude, the cat is obese.
Mr. Poppinfresh
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/01/14/jabba/
It could be worse!
maya
Just go to the park more often and toss a stick for him. Diet AND exercise! I can’t stress that enough.
SGEW
@Laura W:
You’re a fine one to talk.
R-Jud
Left to themselves, most neutered male cats will fatten up. Our Zeno looked like that even though he goes outside when he likes and roams around the neighboring yards. The solution was swapping his kibble rations for a can of tuna twice a week… and getting a second cat, which gave him something to run away from (then be pinned down and groomed by when he gets "caught"). Don’t know if that’s an option for you.
Ecks
Yeah, I’m with #4 here. I think the reason QB’s tend to win the MVP’s pretty much as the default option is that they’re involved as a key determinant of almost every offensive play, whereas other players are either lost in a crowd (linemen) or they only make a handful of catches/blocks for the whole game. So if a QB is pretty ordinary for most of the game (can’t score from less than ten yards out when a penalty gives them TWO sets of cracks at it – backed up into their endzone and saftied), then maybe it’s time to start looking at the people who only made a few plays, but most of them were awesome.
Now maybe you can say his offensive weapons weren’t good, or his O line wasn’t great… but then you’re into a mugs game… And that’s legit debate, but it’s not very emotionally satisfying for MVP’s to be getting them on stats-adjusted technicalities. Keep in mind pro sports is show biz (on an economic level).
Also ya, Tunch is fat, but I’ve seen fatter.
greynoldsct00
Tunch is just a sturdy, cuddly guy. He’s fine! My mother, on the other hand, has cat that looks like a large steamship roast. I’ll send photos.
Mike T
I think the league has become so stats conscious due to fantasy football that guys like Roethlisberger who don’t put up gaudy numbers get overlooked. Of course, the most important stat should be wins, which is what Big Ben does better than anybody.
BTW, Kurt Warner is an awesome QB to have on your fantasy team but not so much on your Super Bowl team. He’s averaging over 380 yards passing in his three Super Bowls but he’s now 1-2 in the big game. Roethlisberger is 2-0 in Super Bowls despite having more interceptions than TDs.
ricky
The football game was great but I bet Tunch appreciated the special 1 hour episode of The Office more. Now that cat showed some real athletecism. Or was is catechism?
Laura W
@SGEW: Oh damn you. Am I actually going to be held accountable for stuff I say on this site?
Who knew.
Yeah, I know. I’m all giddy today for some reason. My heart is soft and full.
Here’s an idea: John takes photos of Tunch in various positions around the 1st of every month so we can all track his progress and cheer him on together.
Tunch Weight Watchers!
The Other Steve
Larry Fitzgerald was incredible. He should have won MVP even though his team lost.
Edo
Do you really think Big Ben would have had such a successful drive if Holmes wasn’t on the field? And Holmes made clutch plays earlier in the 2nd half.
He was the most valuable player. Big Ben can’t be too pissed when he’s got the champion ring. Give it a rest and give the WRs the love they rarely get.
PaulW
Ahh, not exactly true. There was that Super Bowl vs. the Bengals (the second matchup), late in the 4th, with 3 minutes to go, Joe Montana points into the crowd and says "Hey, isn’t that John Candy?" and then leads his offense on a near-flawless drive down into Cincy’s endzone with a game-winning TD pass to John Taylor. Montana DIDN’T win the MVP: it went to Jerry Rice instead, the guy who didn’t catch the winning toss.
The MVP doesn’t always go to the guy who really deserves it: for example, Super Bowl XXXVIII MVP should have been Derrick Brooks for his game-clinching INT/TD against the Raiders, but it went instead to S Dexter Jackson only because of his early 2 INTs (that was the one SB where an argument could be made for co-MVPs between Brooks, Jackson, Simeon Rice and Dwight Smith (first guy to run 2 INTs for TDs in Super Bowl history)).
David Hunt
Tunch does indeed look better than previous photos, so he seems to have his weight moving in the right direction. I would still say that he is "overweight", "tubby" even. However, he does look to be in better shape in these photos.
A warning however, you are likely to be getting fat jokes about Tunch from now till Doomsday…or at least until/if he’s looking sleek. It’s just too easy a joke to make.
Sam Wilkinson
Ben didn’t win because he wasn’t the best player on the field (Holmes)…or the second best player on the field (Warner)…or the third (Fitzgerald)…or the fourth (Harrison)…or the fifth (Polamalu)… or the sixth (the refereees). Ben was average, at best, and average doesn’t earn a player an MVP award.
Josh Hueco
Like they say, the camera adds 5-10 pounds.
ChrisB
Being relatively new to your site (commenting occasionally for several months, reading it regularly since the summer), I did not consider it appropriate for me to comment on Tunch’s weight.
I am wondering, however, did you have to push hard to roll him over like that?
I hope you’re enjoying the Super Bowl victory. What a great game and probably the best fourth quarter in Super Bowl history.
TheFountainHead
I thought he was pretty damn lackluster given the regular season he had and the hype leading up to last night’s game. He played well, don’t get me wrong, but he was thoroughly neutralized by the Steelers for the majority of the game.
John Cole
@Edo: How many QB’s would have kept all those plays alive (I think he double or triple pumped on every play) to deliver the ball to Holmes.
And I am not saying Holmes did not deserve it, as he clearly did. I am saying that had it been most other QB’s, they would have gotten it.
Hell, despite the fact that Larry Fitzgerald is a freak of nature, I would be willing to bet that Warner would have won the MVP had the Steelers not come back. This morning, the talking heads were saying that Warner secured his place in the HoF with… a loss.
@The Other Steve: I will say again, Larry Fitzgerald is a freak of nature. If you go through my live blog last night, I believe I said while the Steelers were up two scores, the game was too close because of him. trust me, as a WVU fan I saw what that guy can do. Terrifying. Would love him on the team.
I will point out though that had a Steeler made the catch he made trapping it on his helmet, the Steeler haters would be calling for a review and would suggest until the end of time that he trapped the ball on the turf.
Media Browski
John,
Could you post a picture of Tunch next to a something that would let us judge his size objectively, like perhaps a Caterpillar Tractor or Rush Limbaugh?
Don’t feel bad, my last cat weighed in at 33 lbs. 33 fat, happy lbs.
jibeaux
Would that soft-focus Barbara WaWa lens make him look slimmer? Probably not, probably just make him look fluffier, but maybe then people would think ‘nah, not fat, just an angora’… Maybe?
John Cole
@Sam Wilkinson: Did you watch the same game?
Poopyman
Tunch is still
fata bit overweight, but is looking thinner. Keep at it with the diet and get him to work out some. Our cats love Mr. Laser Pointer. Well, OK, they hate Mr. Laser Pointer because he’s too fast for them, but they never stop trying. Cats are weird that way.As for my hometown team who seem to have won their final sporting event, all I can say is that it’s amazing how well they did this season without a very effective offensive line or running game. They played with what they had and made it count. And they should just put Dick Lebeau in the HOF right now.
Yeah, go ahead and talk about the penalties, called and uncalled. That’s loser-talk. And it takes away from what the Cardinals did last night, which was to come literally within inches of winning.
Steelers – – NFL Champions.
"They were who we thought they were!" – anon. (not!)
woody
Holmes accounted for 75 of the 80 yards the Steelers covered in that last touch-down drive.
Plus, he accounted for about 50 percent of the REST of the offense…
Ergo: Game ball!
South of I-10
I think Tunch looks like he has lost some weight. He is fluffy. Seriously, we trim Hannah the Border Collie’s fur pretty short for the summer, and she always looks like she’s lost 20 lbs. That said, she is overweight and on a diet. She will be 9 this year and is starting to slow down.
Laura W
@SGEW:
BTW, do not let my benevolent mood of this morning trick you into thinking that I am not compiling my 2009 Edition as we speak.
About half a dozen submissions from the last 48 hours alone!
The Moar You Know
Awwww, Tunch is cute! He is rather…portly, perhaps, would be the best word. Very dignified.
What’s scary is that cat is not that fat. It’s fucking huge.
And very floppy.
Conservatively Liberal
John, how can you be so cruel as to post pictures of your obviously (and morbidly) obese cat struggling to get to his feet?! It is clear that the last picture is a result of Tunch trying to stand up and falling over on his other side.
You are so cruel. ;)
That is one handsome cat you have there John. Don’t eat him.
Edit: That last pic of the ‘heavy’ kitteh would be primo if it had been passed out in a box of donuts.
srv
Tunch is definitely more svelte than any dirigible I’ve ever seen.
gex
Oh and, AZ wins a Super Bowl if Jesus Boy doesn’t throw a 100-yard TAINT. Until that drive, Pittsburg had the Cardinals shut down. Starting with this drive, AZ found their offensive game plan – Pittsburg was no longer shutting them down, at which point Warner-Fitzgerald becomes very dangerous. As amazing as the last catch was, this was the key play of the game.
Anyhow, I’m really glad the Steelers won. I’m so glad they have more than the Cowboys!
Sam Wilkinson
Of course I watched the same game – it plays a bit differently if your eyeballs aren’t painted with Black and Gold. Ben was an average quarterback who made one good throw and what, three good scrambles? You’ll excuse me if that doesn’t overwhelm Holmes performance (he was the Steelers offense), Warner’s performance (objectively better than Roethlisberger’s), Fitzgerald’s performance (2 TDs), Harrison’s performance (the TD), Polamalu’s performance (he was seemingly everywhere), and the referees performance (had it been the Steelers on the receiving end of the not-reviewed final play, your head would have exploded, never mind the lionshare of calls that went against the Cardinals).
Bobby Thomson
It is true that the MVP award frequently goes to QBs, but that’s not exactly a good thing. In many cases, it’s a brainless default choice. So is giving the award to the person who happens to make one nice play late in the game because the action happens to be on their side of the field, which is an awfully random way of making the selection.
That Montana drive against the Bungles was one for the ages. I still think that’s the best Superbowl finish EVAR. And Rice deservedly won the MVP.
John Cole
@Sam Wilkinson: You are seriously undervaluing Ben’s performance. Additionally, take away a tipped ball interception (more the result of a great play on the defense than a bad throw) and the intentional throwaways, and statistically (which is what I think you are looking at) he was even better.
And Polamalu? He was, as always all over the place, and you could argue his presence may have to some degree impacted the play of the Cards, but there was someone better in the secondary last night- Ike Taylor. Hell, even that touchdown by Fitz in which he jumped over Taylor and got the ball was perfectly defensed. There is no one in the league who could stop Fitz from catching that, he is that good. Polamalu whiffed on a key James tackle, missed two possible ints, and really was a non-factor. The fact you have his play last night above Taylor’s is enough for me to question your judgement.
Sam Wilkinson
@46
Excellent point. Did anyone really think that Manning, instead of somebody like Harrison, deserved the MVP award this season? Defaulting to the quarterback is absurd, although it happens frequently.
headpan
comment from other thread:
John, I started putting my 3 on a Nutro "Lite"—next time they went to the vet, they averaged a loss of 2 lbs. per cat! I did not cut back on the amount of food (I leave food out for them all day)
I loves me some fat cat, don’t get me wrong, but my girls were getting older so I started to get a little concerned about the weight thing. They’re saggy, but healthier.
Speaking of that, I have an awesome 2 for 1 deal for you! Two aging kitties for one Tunch.
Dork
I’m not saying he’s fat, but it looks like he would feed at least 3 Koreans. Or perhaps feed on 3 Koreans.
Sam Wilkinson
Ike Taylor deserves consideration, at least in part, because he blew a defensive assignment?
Incidentally, if you think Fitz was that good, if you think Taylor was that good (and I think it possible to disagree about Taylor’s performance), why are you pimping Ben for the MVP? There’s way that a one touchdown, one interception performance outweighs the other performances we saw last night.
John Cole
I’m not pimping for Ben, I am saying that it is my opinion that had any other quarterback done what he did, he would have won MVP. That drive, starting on a 1st and 20, will be shown in highlight reels forever. Had Warner done that, they would have given it to him.
Dave
John, you are as bad as any Pats fan. You just root for a different team. And I should know, since I’ve been a Pats fan since the 70s. :)
mantooth
Could everyone stop calling him "Ben"?
Thanks.
J.
Poor Tunch. Maybe now that football season is over he’ll get more exercise instead of just sitting around on the couch eating Mouz Doodles.
LOVE the guest cat pic. Brilliant. Yeah, that pretty much sums it up — and why us cat lovers often find it hard to get much work done. (In fact the spouse just walked by, saw the cat standing in front of my monitor, on my papers, and asked how I got anything done. Beats me. Btw, she is now pawing my hands as I type.)
Btw, is that a Terrible ShamWow I see, John Cole? And if Arizona had won, I bet Larry Fitzgerald would have gotten the MVP.
Sam Wilkinson
They will show the drive forever (just as they do the earlier cited one of Montana to Rice against the Bengals), but one good drive does not make an MVP, just as one good throw does not make an MVP.
Had Warner done that, it would have been in addition to what, his three other touchdown passes? He would have finished with 4 overall, and it would have been deserved.
Sam Wilkinson
Incidentally, James Harrison everyone! Classy play from a classy player.
dana
I think John’s right. I don’t think Ben deserved it, because Tone was on fire, but I think that had any other quarterback had a come-from-behind drive like that, it would have been his.
The trouble is that Ben is a quarterback on a team known for its defense, and he’s a better manager/scrambler than a gun. Which means that the defense is always going to be doing something sparkly that turns the tide of the game, and his contribution to a game is mostly going to be described (fairly or unfairly) as "getting the job done" or "not screwing up." He’s basically the quarterback equivalent of a solid lineman. Which is weird for a guy who has what, five seasons and two championships?
RSA
You know, sometimes I regret that human evolution didn’t leave us with sleek fur covering our entire bodies. We’d all be as egotistical as cats about our physical appearance, and we wouldn’t have to see Nutrisystem commercials on TV.
Karmakin
Well, I think that after the last SuperBowl, Big Ben was a bit embarrassed with his performance, that’s what I’ve heard quite a bit.
He’s made up for that. That’s probably what matters to him.
John Cole
@Sam Wilkinson: Alright, now you are trolling. Are you a closet Browns fan, Sam?
You got any extended coverage of that, you know, showing what happened on that play? As it was a punt, I would bet any amount of money the guy went for his knees before that.
Poopyman
Yeah, when my spouse starts pawing my hands, I find it difficult to concentrate on anything else. Isn’t any work gettin’ done, that’s for sure.
ricky
Were he not to strike such a Tunch like figure on the field, he might have been given the award. To misquote Rush, nobody in the media is rooting for a fat quarterback to succeed.
P.S. The trick is the difference between 1/2 and 1/3cup.
I should know. I follow the diet of major Mormon pop stars.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Tunch ain’t overweight. Sheesh, I know over weight cats (we have two who fluctuate in their 20s sometimes getting up to 30 pounds). We also have a torbie who’s roundish, that’s simply her body style so she looks like Tunch.
As for the MVP musings, you’re on crack John. If Elway or Montana had had that game, the MVP still would have been Holmes. Or Fitzgerald had the Cardinals won.
Napoleon
This is going back to my days in and around high school and before, but it seems to me that Bradshaw was kind of treated the way some of you are treating Ben. I always got the impression that he was treated as the weak link or just not flashy enough.
For what it is worth of any major sport football is the one where MVP is the silliest, since it is by far the one that is most team oriented, and it is really pretty rare in the game where you really can say one persons effert really made a differance (for example, sure Holmes made a great effort, but Ben put the ball right where they needed it and Ben had the time to do that because ….)
Michael D.
@ricky:
I actually agree there is something to this. Pretty QBs always get recognition.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Although it pains me to refer to this, the otherwise excreble Tony Kornhieser had a good point: Big Ben isn’t a great quarterback per se, but he is a great *winner*.
I’ll take the great winner (Big Ben) over the great quarterback (Dan Marino comes to mind) any day.
Sam Wilkinson
Not a Browns fan in the slightest. I’m not sure how it counts as trolling to observe that Ben didn’t remotely deserve the MVP, despite making a great throw and running a good drive.
And you’re right, no doubt the punter attempted to whip Harrison’s ass, and Harrison’s only response was to kidney punch the punter, and then punch him again, and then go after him a third time after the whistle had blown. What else could Harrison have possibly done when faced with the threatening force that is the Cardinals’ punter?
(I assume you’d make exactly the same claim if this had happened to Mitch Berger.)
ricky
And as he is a Cardinal defensive back, he probably missed.
John D.
OK, then explain the popularity of Peyton Manning.
John Cole
Yes, in fact, I think you are trolling. I am fine with Holmes getting the MVP, but your commentary suggest you don’t think it would have made any sense had Ben won, and I think an objective case could have been built. Even more on point, I think that had the roles been reversed, Warner would have won it because he is such a media darling.
And again, Ben did everything he was asked to do and more. He kept numerous plays alive well beyond when they should have ended, controlled the ball and made no mental mistakes, and made more than “a great throw.” He made several in that drive alone, including the perfect pass immediately before the Holmes TD catch. You know, the one that SAILED RIGHT THROUGH HIS HANDS. Or the scramble and plant to Miller for a first down. Or that perfect pass to Hines, where ONLY Hines could catch it, to keep another drive alive. Or that dart down the middle as he was being hit to Miller in the first drive of the game. Ben made any number of great plays, and he was accurate, poised and easily worthy of the MVP nod.
Additionally, I don’t know how anyone in their right mind says that Polamalu had a better game than Ben. That is simply making shit up.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
I’d say that’s quite true. I rabidly watched football in the 70s and recall that Bradshaw really didn’t get a lot of respect nationwide until after the 4th championship.
Both are erratic at times and both have strong arms.
Bradshaw showed that he was a great winner. Ben’s following closely in his shoes, much more than I thought until you brought up the Bradshaw comparison.
David
From where did you get the name "Tunch"?
Also: that last kitteh is big, but nowhere near 33lbs.
The Grand Panjandrum
C’mon John, aren’t you the guy who once blogged that NOT every baby was cute? Ostesibly parents and pet owners suffer from similar delusions with respect to their children.
ricky
You are a troll. Francesco is one of the three (count em, three) Cardinal DB’s who couldn’t cover Santonio Holmes on the final TD pass. Although he probably could punt better than the Cardinal’s regular kicker did with one exceptional exception on the very play in question.
comrade scott's agenda of rage
I’d say that’s quite true. I rabidly watched football in the 70s and recall that Bradshaw really didn’t get a lot of respect nationwide until after the 4th championship.
Both are erratic at times and both have strong arms.
Bradshaw showed that he was a great winner. Ben’s following closely in his shoes, much less than I thought until you brought up the Bradshaw comparison.
comrade rawshark
My thoughts exactly. A receiver catches a pass when he’s open and he’s MVP? Why not give it to the guy who’s running around making plays and finding the receiver who is standing there, open, and then gets tackled?
Anyone notice that Belichek nailed the Arizona D in his pregame segment. Secondary can not tackle and if a QB scrambles, EVERYONE IN RED chases him, EVERYONE. Is it so hard to stay with your man when you see a QB who is known to make plays off scrambles because d-backs leave their coverage? Is it that hard? Discipline anyone? (yes I’m talking to you Antrell Rolle, if you had stayed on your side of the field Heath Miller isn’t wide open).
Why were they trying to tackle Harrison? He’s doing a balancing act on the sideline, push him out. Why was Warner trying to hit Boldin on a slant against a zone? Toss it over to the corner and let Fitz jump for it, you don’t throw it chest high into the middle of the best defense against a short field.
Under two minutes, 3rd and 6 and you blitz! WTF? Ben burns blitzes. All week you heard nothing except that the only way Pitt can make offense is on Rothlesberger scrambles. You don’t let that happen. Make them beat you another way. Rush 3, leave no passing lanes and make him try to run the 6 yeards.
ricky
FunkyDuck
I think Holmes won simply because the catch was so damned great. Yes, it was a terrific throw, but the catch was unbelievable at that point in the game. Since Holmes had already put up very good numbers to that point, whoever votes for the MVP simply made the emotional choice.
As for whether Big Ben runs around too much, I think a lot of it has to do with Pittsburgh’s average O-line. Ben does hold on to the football longer than many other QBs, but he also has a lot of play calls blow up in his face because the O-line can’t hold its blocks. The fact that he can usually buy enough extra time to make something happen — and without making the kind of disaster throws that other QBs tend to make in that situation — just makes it all the more impressive.
Steve Young was just gushing after the game when talking about Big Ben. It was sort of embarrassing, but it also shows that guys who have been in that situation respect the hell out of him.
Adrienne
@John D.: Peyton’s cute in his own way. AND, he’s funny and seems to be a genuinely good guy (to both his community, the fans, and the pundits) – Ergo, he’s popular.
And when you smash the record for touchdowns thrown in a season, it’s pretty hard to ignore him.
Damned at Random
My big concern now is who will the Steelers lose this year. I still miss Randle El and Porter. Also, I was suprised not to see more of Moore in the game- I thought he was really improving as the season went on. Does anybody else think Batch is headed to the coaching staff in the near future? He seems to be pretty active on the sidelines for an injured player.
The last quarter of that game aged me about 5 years. I have it TiVo-ed and will probably watch it again in a month or two with more appreciation. We bailed on an invitation to a dry Super Bowl party with some AA folks- thank goodness. I’d never had made it without my wine
Tsulagi
Up until about 40 seconds left in the game I thought Fitzgerald had a lock on the MVP. Then a great pass by Ben to Holmes who made a picture perfect catch keeping the tips of his toes inbound. When the Cards got it back with only about 30 seconds, you had a sense it still might not be over even with the Steeler defense. That was a great game.
Gay Veteran
Based on the pictures, can Tunch actually stand up by himself? Or do you use a crane? ;)
ChrisB
@J.: Excellent comment from your Terrible ShamWow thread:
HyperIon
Rubenesque, as in Peter Paul Rubens.
Not as in Robert Rubin, if that’s what you were thinking.
I seem to recall a similar dieting effort directed toward reducing Tunch’s weight a small number of years ago. I guess THAT didn’t work out too well. What are you going to do differently this time?
gil mann
Defining obesity down.
You’ve got him on a good diet, John, just make sure you move from 2/3rds to 1/2 and not the other way around. And like someone mentioned above, he’ll always have a bit of a belly (all the fixed ones do; it’s a hormone thing), but you’ll know he’s a good weight when you can see that belly swinging from side to side as he walks, instead of it being camoflaged by fat padding.
headpan
I think Tunch is very proud of his triple orange spots – he seems to always be looking down in his pix to show off his glorious noggin
Frank Sobotka
Does your cat have its own terrible towel? Amazing.
AnneLaurie
Standard non-professional method for keeping track of a cat’s weight is to pick up the cat, stand on the scales, note the total, put down the cat, note the new total, and subtract B from A. Of course this is more complicated if the scales you use are at your gym.
Or you could just break down and buy Tunch his own exercise partner… either a kitten, or a hamster and a liberty ball.
passerby
Rothlisberger played well last night, though oft times his O line made it possible. Some of Ben’s best plays were the scrambling type and while some of it looked sloppy, he often managed to get yardage–even a few 1st downs.
BTW, who makes the pick of the Superbowl MVP ?
WRT Tunch, my kitty looks bigger in the winter because of his thick coat and come spring, I brush him twice a day for about 2 weeks to reveal a smaller looking cat.
Does Tunch exhibit big fluffy winter fur? or less so because he’s an indoor boy. Just wondering how much of his size is fluff, nice, scrunchable fluff.
Thom
This has probably been said – but Kurt Warner should have been MVP. Nobody alone came close to being as valuable to their team as him. He had a huge game, and had it when it counted.
I swear I found this article after I wrote that:
robertdsc
He’s good, no doubt, but until that final drive, I wouldn’t classify him as "great" because his first Super Bowl (XL) was a brutal dud. If he’d gone gangbusters against Seattle and continued that against the Cards, I would have more enthusiasm. In terms of "legacy/clutchness" he’s no Trent Dilfer or Mark Rypien, but he’s no Tom Brady or John Elway. They’re all winners, but some winners won better, I guess that’s what I’m saying.
But he has more rings than choking bitch Peyton Manning, so I’m fine with that
As for Tunch, I think he looks fine, but making jokes at his expense can be very amusing.
John Cole
@Thom: I agree completely. Other than doing essentially nothing the entire first half and chucking an INT to a guy who ran it back for 100 yards, Warner was clearly the MVP.
/sarcasm
Cain
That other cat Mr. "essence of cat", looks like he’s recovering from last night New Year party. Someone needs to add a champagne bottle next to it, and the picture would be complete.
cain
Pixie
I love Tunch. I need to give him love and kisses and snorgles. Each of those spots should get a kiss daily and I think there should be a law somewhere which states as much. BTW John, I’m a total cat lover too…you have to check out these kittens on a roomba:
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2009/01/kitten-ba.html
comrade rawshark
@John Cole:
C’mon, be fair. That interception occurred at the goal line, they had just drove downfield, again, and were about to score, again, to take the lead. I don’t think he was MVP except in the strictest definition of the word value but he had a great game. Since when does Pitt give up 3 touchdowns in a game? Did it happen all year?
Sam Wilkinson
@John,
No doubt Warner played a bad first half. Did Roethlisberger play a great first half? Did I miss something? 20 years from now, will you be gushing about anything in that first half except for Harrison’s return?
Josh Hueco
Tunch will weigh much less once he finishes pooping out that orange cat he ate yesterday.
Gus
Tunch may be a bit tubby, but he’s one handsome guy. Give him a scritch for me.
John Cole
They went 15-20 yards after the Ben INT.
Yes, never pass an opportunity to trash on Ben. What is it you hate about him? That he wins games?
Compare Ben’s stats in the first half to Kurt’s, then get back to me. Who had the better half? Then, remember that Ben was doing it without the receiving corps that Warner had at his disposal. In fact, his go to guy the past couple of years was basically playing with one knee.
Krista
Tunch HAS dropped weight, judging from those photos. Great work, John.
In that first photo, was he getting ready to wash his face? I love watching kittehs washing their face and especially behind the ears. It’s pretty damn cute.
When they stare at you while washing their taint? Not so much.
Thom
@John Cole:
You’ve gotta be joking. You wonder why Ben didn’t get the MVP and then rag on Warner for a less than spectacular first half, and a first half interception – which Ben also had?
Really?
Kurt Warner threw for 377 yards – the 2nd-highest total in Super Bowl history (he holds 1, 2, and 3 in that category), and threw 3 TDs. Roeth was 21-30 for 256 with 1 TD. Peh. Des. Tree. Inn. Those are the stats of a Buffalo Bills quarterback for the last 10 years.
John Cole
@Thom: I think I have figured it out here. First, I am aware of the end game statistics- we were arguing about the first half, and Ben clearly outplayed Warner in the first half.
Second, I have figured out what is going on here- you guys are fantasy footballers. All that matters are numbers. Ben is 8-2 in the playoffs, yet every one of you would take Peyton Manning at 7-8 in the playoffs.
I’ll stick to winning, thank you, the only number that counts. And strip away a monster catch by Fitzgerald on a broken coverage, and the stats for the game are identical. Yet somehow, I am supposed to think that the guy who lost the game solidified his place in the HoF, but the other guy who, you know, actually won, had a pedestrian performance.
You guys are nuts.
comrade rawshark
@John Cole:
They intercepted Ben at the 20? I thought that was closer to mid field? Either way he, again, threw 3 touchdowns against the most awesomest D in the history of football so that’s gotta count for something. You can’t love the D and not respect the guy who made it look bad.
Thom
And: Warner was 17-24 for 153 yards and a TD in the first half.
Roeth: 15-of-21 for 162 and one TD.
Nothing. Both of them.
Thom
I have never played fantasy football in my life. never. I wouldn’t know how to do it. I’m 45, not 10. (Now I’ll get shit…)
Winning is not supoosed to decide the MVP. Ask Chuck Howley.
Laura W
@AnneLaurie:
It’s also far more complicated if you are in denial and avoidance about how much you weigh.
D’oh.
(Or so I’ve heard.)
John Cole
Woah, woah, woah. I am not arguing that Kurt Warner was not great. He was. He had a monster game and had his team in position to win the Super Bowl. I am not sure what else he could have done, other than not throw that int in the second.
My point is it is absolutely insane to say that Kurt Warner earned his spot in the HoF last night but Ben, who orchestrated one of the all time game-winning drives through a series of excellent passes, with half the weaponry of Warner, to include throwing a pass that could have been the game winner, having it dropped, and then doing it again into triple coverage in the only place his receiver could catch it had merely a “pedestrian game.” And to illustrate my point, Warner, had the Cards won and the Steelers not scored that last touchdown, would have won with a quick strike in broken coverage to the BEST RECEIVER IN THE GAME.
Sorry, I know I am a homer, but to say his performance was “pedestrian” is delusional. That is “we will be greeted as liberators” insane. Ask Ditka. Ask Steve Young. Ask Jaworski. Ask any of the pro’s who watched what he did and see if the word “pedestrian” comes up.
Thom
Okay okay, okay. It wasn’t pedestrian. It’s of course not all numbers. I was responding directly to your asking why Ben didn’t get it while dissing on Warner. All I said to start was that the MVP should have gone to Warner – nothing about Ben.
comrade rawshark
@John Cole:
Ok let’s back up a bit. Someone mentioned Warner for MVP, you made a sarcastic reply. I didn’t disgree with your reply I just said he should get a little love for his effort. just a little misunderstanding, that’s all.
I agree also that Warner probably doesn’t deserve HOF for this. I mean he executed the gameplan. That’s admirable but is it HOF? Ben was not executing the gameplan, he was making plays as the gameplan broke down. That’s a MVP and the stuff that should get HOF consideration in @ 20 years.
These past two SBs have been a nightmare for me. My favorite team lost last year and this year my second favorite team played my third favorite. And the only reason AZ moved in front of Pitt in my mind is because I moved here and got season tickets. So hard to believe I was watching this wretch of a team ‘play’ football at Sun Devil Stadium just 4 years ago. Even worse, the shitty owners for years have said they will put a winner on the field if we build them a stadium and now we actually have to appreciate them for coming thru. Bittersweet I guess.
Steeplejack
Fixed. That’s Kit, a.k.a. Boomhauer, in his IT/systems analyst mode.
I think he is "husky" rather than fat. He has the fixed-male "dunlap"–as in his belly done lapped over his belt, if he wore a belt–but he’s active, he moves well (has a little bit of a John Wayne tilt to his walk), and he gets only a little more food than his 10-pound housemate. And he’s solid as a rock. When he jumps in your lap–and, yes, he can jump–you know you’ve been jumped. Oof.
Some of us, like Tunch, are just created on an epic, larger than life frame–Roethslisbergeresque, if you will.
Laura W
@Steeplejack: How cool he is yours! I knew he couldn’t be 33 lbs, and clearly he is very long and large in frame and bone structure as opposed to adipose tissue, huh? With a massive wingspan and a killer jump shot. My 17 y/o was built like that. Still is, but he’s getting really old really fast lately. Long kitty.
I was distracted and super sleepy last night during our boys. Need to watch again. Was present for the roll call, of course.
Steeplejack
@Laura W:
Not mine, technically. I shared a house with two other people for a while, and Boomhauer came with them. But we bonded as the only early risers. Companionable breakfasts drinking coffee, eating dry food and watching the birds on the deck.
I missed the Conchords last night myself, but have it saved on the DVR.
TheAssInTheHatOnMyCat(Formerly Comrade Tax Analyst)
Well, I am, as usual, many hours late to the party. But it couldn’t be helped…we are having a hellacious Tax Season so far, I’ve just spent most of my evening explaining how to handle Foreclosure situations on Income Tax returns. I think I had seven or eight calls in a row about it. Good thing I know how to handle them, I guess, cause the folks I talked to sure didn’t. But anyway, congrats, John on your Steelers. If I hadn’t been fast asleep almost the entire day Sunday (one day off a week for the past month. Too much work for an old fart like myself), I probably would have enjoyed this Super Bowl.
Tunch? Naw, he’s not really fat. He is, however, built more for comfort than for speed. I loved that pic of the 33-pounder. When I was a kid back in Norwalk , CT, we had a 20+lb. orange-marmalade cat – "Mittens". He used to wait on the branch of a tree in our yard that hung over the sidewalk and pounce on unsuspecting dogs that wandered past. He kicked ass. He was pretty old when we moved to California and Mom didn’t think he would acclimate very well to a new location after living his whole life in one house, so she gave him to crazy old Mrs. Main, my piano teacher. She had a whole shit-load of cats and doted on them all.
TenguPhule
And the sun rises in the east.
Half the reason I don’t bother going into business myself is the fucking tax code. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt I’d fuck up.