Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

People are complicated. Love is not.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

Bark louder, little dog.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Motto for the House: Flip 5 and lose none.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

I’d hate to be the candidate who lost to this guy.

Everybody saw this coming.

American History and Black History Cannot Be Separated

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

We still have time to mess this up!

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

Nothing worth doing is easy.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

You are here: Home / Sports / And There Goes the Season

And There Goes the Season

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Steelers are 6-7 and lost to the Browns. I now can not watch Sportscenter for the fifth week in a row.

At least we have the Pirates.

I think I am going to bed until August.

And you know- good on the Browns and good for their fans. They played like an NFL team, unlike the Steelers. But as much as the Steelers sucked, the Browns d was great and their offense did not turn over the ball.

Reader Interactions

118Comments

  10. 10.

    New Yorker

    Well, I hope Ricky Williams has another 3-TD game in him, because Roethlisberger has put me in a big hole in that fantasy league.

  13. 13.

    Dennis Doubleday

    Technically they are 6-7, but you might have the right idea, John. They should have a win deducted from their record for that pathetic effort.

  15. 15.

    Steve

    I don’t think Steelers fans should be too upset. This is a team that nearly knocked off the Lions, after all.

  16. 16.

    Max

    Bills fan here. Lose 4 fucking Superbowls in a row and then come talk to be about disappointment and sorrow.

  19. 19.

    Scott de B.

    I hope for your sake the NFL has a special “lose to the Raiders, Chiefs, and Browns in the same season and you automatically get the #1 pick” clause.

  24. 24.

    Matthew Hooper

    I know it’s no consolation, but the Browns – and Cleveland – needed this win so incredibly badly. There’s at least a possibility of having some pride in this town now, and it’s been years since we’ve had that. It’s a small thing, but it’s hope, and hopes’ hard to find out here.

  25. 25.

    Ron

    Ugh….do I still have to follow football anymore? That was just ugly. 13-6 was far closer than the game actually was and they still had a decent chance to tie it up late. I don’t know what they need to do for next season. OTOH, I’m glad the Steelers’ ownership isn’t the “OMG, we had a bad season, fire the coach!” kinda people. This is not a reason to fire Tomlin.

  26. 26.

    JBerardi

    At least we have the Pirates.

    Mark my words: Neil Huntington will build a winning Pirates team sometime before 2015.

  28. 28.

    chris

    Isn’t there a certain little Stanley Cup-skating professional sports franchise in your metropolitan area?

  29. 29.

    Seanly

    I lived in the Pittsburgh area from ’78 to ’80 (4th thru first weeks of 6th grade) and was just getting into football so I became a Steelers fan. Moved away & never really had a team – mostly pulled against Dallas.

    Flash forward to last year – after 9 years of marriage I finally got my wife to start liking football. She picks Pittsburgh as her team – likes the helmets & Ben is cute. We live in Columbia SC now & I don’t care for the Falcons & the Panthers put me to sleep when I try to watch them. So we’re now a Pittsburgh house.

    She wants a Terrible Towel for Xmas, but she will probably have to wait for next year to wave it…

  30. 30.

    burnspbesq

    My wife is a sick, demented person. She announced tonight that she wants to go see SC play Boston College in the Emerald Bowl.

  31. 31.

    cincy

    I’m a long long suffering Cincy fan. Glad Cincy was up for the trap game and glad Pitt wasn’t. Pretty excited about our Bearcats too. The Steelers have an abundance of riches. We’ve go 19 years with Mike Brown as owner. We need some relief and so far…this will do.

  32. 32.

    Spiffy McBang

    @Ron: No, this is definitely a reason to fire Tomlin. It’s just that his Super Bowl win gives them more reason not to fire him.

    Really, I’m happy to see less competition for Denver, but what in the hell happened to these guys? One lost All-Pro safety does not turn a team into what we’re seeing. I despise the coaching carousel, but I’m not sure who you’re supposed to lay this on besides the people making the plans and rallying the troops.

  33. 33.

    Spiffy McBang

    @Annie: Say what you want about field lacrosse, but when they play it on carpet in a hockey rink- complete with crashing people into the boards and everything- it’s pretty much amazing.

  34. 34.

    Kryptik

    @JBerardi:

    Well…if the Rays can make it to a World Series….

    Wanna start booking tickets for a Royals/Pirates game within a decade?

    @Spiffy McBang:

    Indoor Lacrosse is embarrassingly superior to field Lacrosse.

  35. 35.

    MBSS

    maybe we can all get together and bake cole a cake so he feels better.

    maybe vanilla instead of chocolate; stay away from the brown.

  37. 37.

    Kryptik

    @JBerardi:

    Well…if the Rays can make it to a World Series….

    Wanna start booking tickets for a Royals/Pirates game within a decade?

    @Spiffy McBang:

    Indoor Lacrosse is embarrassingly superior to field Lacrosse.

  38. 38.

    Jack

    That’s like being a Patriot’s fan and having to avoid ESPN and the Dilferidiots for several weeks straight, as well.

    Sympathy to you.

  39. 39.

    MikeJ

    @burnspbesq:

    183 days to US-England.

    Amen. I can’t wait. I’ve always been an Engerland supporter, but I have nothing against the land o’ my birth. A match where I can be happy with any outcome and just enjoy the beautiful game.

  42. 42.

    McGeorge Bundy

    Reading Taibbi’s piece on Obama is like being punched in the stomach by Brock Lesnar after several weeks months of being punched in the face by, I don’t know, Anderson Silva.

    Even if Taibbi is only 75% correct, it’s beyond me how any of the small band of Obamabot idiots at DailyKos can still support the president, post glamorous pictures of him, etc. Disgusting.

  43. 43.

    burnspbesq

    @Kryptik:

    Indoor Lacrosse is embarrassingly superior to field Lacrosse.

    Only someone who’s never played could believe that. Or who tried to play but wasn’t in good enough shape. Lax is the best game ever invented by man.

  45. 45.

    mcd410x

    The Pittsburgh disintegration has been swift. But it starts with not being able to run the ball. Dallas and Green Bay, I’m looking at you, too. Also.

  46. 46.

    stibbert

    total bummer watching that game, losin’ to the Browns is damn’ embarrassing. Farrior couldn’t tackle Cribbs on those wildcat sweeps to the left, & the alleged sex-offender couldn’t excape from the Browns’ blitz. I’se cryin’ for want of my Stillers victory-parade. I forget what it’s like to watch them dismantle their opponents, ‘specially on takeaways.

  48. 48.

    MikeJ

    @burnspbesq: Maybe we’ll finally get rid of the moronic “special relationship” thing and treat two nuclear powers like they had different interests. The US winning at football will prevent the election of another Blair-ite lapdog for another century.

  49. 49.

    Martin

    Well, at least the Steelers aren’t doing much worse than last ye… Oh, I’m sorry, someone just informed me that they won the Superbowl last year.

    Yeah, uh, I’m guessing the Steelers are just trying to avoid that whole Yankees stigma thing. Job well done guys!

  51. 51.

    Andy K

    The Packers-Stillers game, which looked unwinnable for the green and gold a few weeks ago, now has trap written all over it.

    A request for the Stillers’ fans: Please be nice to my dad while he’s in town next weekend. The last time he went to a game in Pittsburgh (late ’70s, iirc) one of you threw a sandwich at the man while he was cheering on our crappy team during a Packers’ loss. He won’t be there to harass you or your team, only to cheer on his. Thank you very much.

  52. 52.

    MikeJ

    @mcd410x: Just finished watching the Dead Like Me DVDs (S1,2 and movie). You can see where the creator of the series left without researching it. They should have stopped at that point.

    There’s so much to like about the series but the execution is very, very flawed.

  53. 53.

    Yutsano

    Somehow the channel at work got stuck on Lifetime all day, so I ended up missing the game. Apparently it was, uhh, interesting. My condolences on the loss though John. But just to get this in…

    BEN NEVER BROKE THE PLANE!!

    That is all.

  54. 54.

    ericvsthem

    Been a Browns fan all my life. This is the first thing we’ve had to be excited about since going 10-6 and narrowly missing the playoffs in 2007.

    Steeler fans will have to be content with their 6 Super Bowl championships for another year…

  57. 57.

    J. Michael Neal

    Even if Taibbi is only 75% correct, it’s beyond me how any of the small band of Obamabot idiots at DailyKos can still support the president, post glamorous pictures of him, etc. Disgusting.

    Let’s start with the fact that Taibbi knows nothing about finance. Zero. Worshiping a journalist just because he’s entertaining and agrees with you isn’t any more attractive when someone on the left does it as when the wingers do it over Glenn Beck. There are a lot of subjects out there that are complicated and, if you rely on people who don’t understand them to provide you all of your information on them, then you won’t understand them, either.

    There are a lot of times when it’s painfully obvious that a lot of progressives aren’t nearly as different from the wingers as they like to think they are. Relying on Matt Taibbi for your analysis of financial policy is one of those times. As I’ve said before, there are a number of writers who agree with you, at least in part, who are much, much more reliable than Taibbi. So cite them, not him. At least when we disagree, there is something useful to discuss.

    Admittedly, they aren’t as good at *writing* as Taibbi is, and don’t bring nearly enough snark and mindless outrage to be as fun as he is. Still, there’s something to be said for actual knowledge.

  59. 59.

    morzer

    Well, I am happy for the Browns, but can’t find myself very sorry for the Steelers. Sorry, but they didn’t look interested tonight. You don’t deserve to win when you show up as if you were bored to tears by the whole shebang.

  60. 60.

    MBSS

    @J. Michael Neal:

    you don’t have to be a hedge fund manager to see that taibbi’s description of wall st. and goldman sachs is dead on. the notion that taibbi is unqualified to mount a critique of our corporate oligarchy is exactly what davos man wants all of us serfs to think. in reality taibbi spells out exactly what bullshit shenanigans are going on, and that scares people.

    taibbi is bullseye. he doesn’t have to understand the intricacies of a credit default swap to glean of essence of high finance. and the essence of high finance and our version of financiers capitalism is that it’s a big fucking racket, just like war is.

  61. 61.

    Chuck Butcher

    As a lifetime Browns fan, yes even when there were two leagues, I am gratified that something went in the win column and (gloat) against the Steelers. Ravens is better, but tintown will have to do.

  63. 63.

    Brick Oven Bill

    It could be worse, you could be Mr. Elin Woods.

    The easiest part of this guy’s late 2009-2010-2011 was having a female beat the crap out of him with a golf club. Now she has been granted a $100 million sledgehammer, plus the strings of control for future product endorsements.

    ’I’ll do anything Elin’.

  64. 64.

    Martin

    @MBSS:

    taibbi is bullseye. he doesn’t have to understand the intricacies of a credit default swap to glean of essence of high finance. and the essence of high finance and our version of financiers capitalism is that it’s a big fucking racket, just like war is.

    No, he’s not. He’s oversteer. He’s important oversteer because if we listen to guys like Taibbi, and balance him against CNN, we’ll end up somewhere between Krugman and the truth.

    Taibbi is the hard smack in the back of the head we need to pay attention, but paying attention isn’t the same as getting smacked in the head. Taibbi’s flaw is the same as the Kossacks right now – they’re too busy throwing at the batter to bother winning the game. Yeah, TARP has problems, but Taibbi isn’t recognizing the reality of the shadow banking system, the run on mutual funds in Sept 2008 that caused TARP to happen, or any of the very real issues that had to be dealt with. So yeah, he rails on symptoms that deserve to be railed on, but not without consideration of the root cause, which he tends to overlook.

  65. 65.

    McGeorge Bundy

    @J. Michael Neal: I think MBSS (and, to some degree, Martin @64) pretty much covered it. And assuming I’m some kind of slavish admirer of Taibbi because I agree with an article of his? Genius.

    I should say that you attack me as if we’ve had some disagreements in the past, which is weird to say the least. I have no idea who you are, we’ve never exchanged anything, etc. So let’s end with the fact that you know nothing about me. Zero. Take your sanctimonious lecturing and shove it up your ass.

  66. 66.

    Midnight Marauder

    I now can not watch Sportscenter for the fifth week in a row

    You say this like it’s a bad thing somehow.

  68. 68.

    FlipYrWhig

    Taibbi strikes me as a JV Hunter S. Thompson with different, and perhaps fewer, drugs. And very strange teeth, though that’s neither here nor there.

  85. 85.

    2th&nayle

    @Quaker in a Basement: I would say something about your comment being disrespectful to Republican mistresses, but it occurs to me that as regards Republican mistresses, respect really isn’t a viable concern.

  86. 86.

    Ranger 3

    Your efforts to cheapen my gloating by being gracious in defeat are in vain. I will gloat all the same.

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!
    YOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCKYOUSUCK!

    Ahhh… that’s nice.

    The greatest team in the world. And their awesome quarterback.

  87. 87.

    Andy K

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    Hey, I was listening to this live. I hate those guys.

    But I was following Kelly closely as he built Grand Valley State into a Division II powerhouse, then as he brought Central Michigan back to prominence in the MAC. I’ve got a whole lot of respect for the guy. Enough to root for ND a few times a year, maybe.

  88. 88.

    johnatparis

    Hehe, I called it just the other day on this very pages, was told I was nuts to even take the Browns and 9…I was thinking at the time I’d probably take the Browns straight up.

    Dnh, dnh, dnh dunh danh dnh, Go Pack Go!

  89. 89.

    Gravenstone

    @McGeorge Bundy:

    I should say that you attack me as if we’ve had some disagreements in the past, which is weird to say the least. I have no idea who you are, we’ve never exchanged anything, etc. So let’s end with the fact that you know nothing about me. Zero. Take your sanctimonious lecturing and shove it up your ass.

    Holy Reading Comprehension Fail, Batman! Seriously, JMN dismantles Taibbi as a credible source of financial reporting and it somehow becomes an attack on you? To quote that execrable self-aggrandizing fuckwit Dr. Phil, “it ain’t about you!”. The only point in his entire rant where you were referenced (aside from the tieback blockquote) was the suggestion that you select more credible sources to bolster your argument. However, if you wish to view every response as a personal affront, then by all means feel free. Just don’t feign surprise and hurt when no one wants to engage you in conversation going forward.

  90. 90.

    p.a.

    Hi John,

    As a Patriots fan, all I can say is ‘you are not alone’. This team up here is in the process of self-destruction. Belichick sent 4 starters home Wednesday for being late in a snowstorm (usually tardiness is fined). I guess if they had been on time history would reverse and Belichick would have punted on 4th and 2 vs. Indy, Brady wouldn’t have thrown 2 endzone int’s the last 2 losses, Belichick would have tried the 49 yard field goal in the SB versus the Giants (he went for it on 4th and thirteen instead), and the management geniuses in Foxboro wouldn’t have released both starting receivers before 2006, when multiple drops in the AFC championship game cost them another Super Bowl trip. Because after all, being consistent with their management ‘value formula’ is more important than winning a freaking Super Bowl.

    Actually, it’s kind of interesting here right now- we may see Belichick descending into Cleveland mode. I know it’s good to have a coach who hates to lose, but it isn’t good to have one who turns into an orc when things go sour.

  91. 91.

    Napoleon

    Go Browns! I am laughing at you Steelers fans.

    @Gravenstone:

    JMN dismantles Taibbi as a credible source

    He did? He didn’t discuss the substance of anything Taibbi has written. He didn’t touch him.

  92. 92.

    demkat620

    Just got up, got my coffee, saw that score and thought;

    “Man, there’s gonna be a lot of neck punching at Cole’s place this week.”

  93. 93.

    Matt

    John, you need to quit your complaining. Until you spend some hard time as a Detroit Lions fan you have nothing to bitch about. We’d gladly trade our 50 years of suckitude for a few of your Superbowl rings and a “disappointing” 6-7 record in 2009.

  96. 96.

    D-Chance.

    OK, now that it’s the Morning After… what’s with the sudden concern over the feelings of the Norwegians? Hell, when Obo shows deference, he’s criticized; when he doesn’t, he’s criticized.

    Fuck ’em all. Had he met the king, or stayed for all the festivities, he would still face a backlash. He went, he voiced his speechwriters’ words, he left with the money and medal. Good for him.

  98. 98.

    Demo Woman

    After the Pittsburgh loss to Cincy, John posted a humiliating picture of Tunch in a Cincinnati jersey. Since then Pittsburgh has not won a game. The revenge of Tunch!

  99. 99.

    kay

    @Napoleon:

    I think the whole piece is speculation.
    The second half, in particular, reads like Glenn Beck.
    Is he prepared to back up the bald assertion that Barney Frank drafts legislation “at the behest” of Geithner?
    Democrats in Congress are offering amendments on financial reform. That’s how it’s getting weakened. It’s not hard to find that out either. Their names are on the amendments.

    You are excluded from working in public service finance if you have done any of the following:
    worked in the the Clinton administration (RUBIN CONNECTION!)
    worked at Goldman Sachs (GOLDMAN SACHS!)
    worked at Citi (this one is new, but it ties you to Rubin, too, so it’s a double whammy)
    worked at the free trade think tank

    He needs a blackboard, with arrows.

    Obama is “gutting regulatory reform from the inside”? Really? I can look at the progress of financial reform through the House and identify the House members doing the gutting. They’re not hiding it. But it’s much more exciting to make it a grand conspiracy that goes from Rubin to Geithner to Barney Frank.

  100. 100.

    Napoleon

    @kay:

    I think there is plenty to back up what he alleges and in the time since that article has come out (the print edition was around 4 weeks ago, and of course he would have written it before that) the evidence is now overwhelming. Is there a smoking gun? Well of course you almost never get a tape of someone like Barney Frank on the phone with Obama, but consistently Frank has changed position and language so that it magically conforms to positions the admin has pushed that are written as if they come right from Goldman’s board room.

    The Obama administration has stabbed real financial reform in the back again and again and again and again such that only a complete idiot would not pick up the trend. The Obama admin and the Dem Congressional leadership (ie, Frank and the guy who runs the Ag Comm.) doesn’t give a f— about working people or the middle class and they are turning into nothing less then get away drivers for Wall Streets next heist. Jesus Christ the Obama admin proposed that they (or was it the Fed) be given the authority to spend unlimited moneys in the future to prop up financial intuitions and wanted banks to be able to open branchs wherever they want without compliance with local laws (you know, like they are allowed to do with credit cards) two proposals the Bush admin never even had the balls to try to shove down the throats of the taxpayers of this country. They are litlerally proposals that someone would come up with if they wanted to try to make things even more to big to fail.

    The two most blatant flip flops from Obama from what he said on the campaign trail has been on the financial situation and civil rights (the domestic spying/torture/illegal detentions end of it).

    Now off to finish my rush work project this morn.

  102. 102.

    kay

    @Napoleon:

    He’s wrong on one of his big assertions, Napoleon.

    Just wrong. Remember the “voice vote” on exempting banks from oversight? How that exempts most banks? How that’s an outrage? Complete bullshit.

    It does. It exempts “community banks”. Smaller banks and credit unions. Smaller banks and credit unions, while there are MORE of them, don’t hold the assets. Big banks do.

    “The measure creating the new agency has already been significantly pared back from the Obama administration’s proposal. While the exemption approved on Thursday would cover a vast sector of the banking industry, those institutions control only about 20 percent of the roughly $14 trillion in assets held by commercial banks. The 150 largest banks, which would face more regulatory scrutiny, hold the remaining four-fifths of the assets.

    Under the Miller-Moore amendment, the new agency would have the authority to write rules for all banks and other lenders, including lenders that have never faced significant regulation. But the banks with assets of less than $10 billion and credit unions smaller than $1.5 billion would not face regular exams by the agency.

    He pulled the “8000 out of 8200” directly from the NYTimes article I just excerpted. What he didn’t tell you is that the banks covered under the regulations are the big banks, and the big banks hold 4/5 of the assets.

    Why would he oppose this? It regulates big banks and offers community banks a competitive advantage.

  103. 103.

    debit

    @Napoleon: Well then! Let’s impeach him and bring W back.

    Seriously, I am so tired of the overwrought accusations and indiscriminate shit flinging. I think criticism is good and useful. Engagement with your government and keeping a watchful eye on it is good and useful. Expressing your opinion is good and useful. But statements like:

    “The Obama administration has stabbed real financial reform in the back again and again and again and again such that only a complete idiot would not pick up the trend. The Obama admin and the Dem Congressional leadership (ie, Frank and the guy who runs the Ag Comm.) doesn’t give a f—- about working people or the middle class and they are turning into nothing less then get away drivers for Wall Streets next heist.”

    is hyperbole designed to inflame is not good and useful. If you can explain why you think Obama and Barney Frank chortle like bad supervillians as they deliberately kill reform and attempt to wipe out that pesky middle class once and for all (and destroy their base at the same time) and how this fits in with their plan to get Obama elected for a second term, please do so. But drop the sweeping statements and fact free hyperbole, please.

    I come here to get away from that shit.

  104. 104.

    kay

    @Napoleon:

    The community bank exemption was (wisely) included because it gives community banks an edge over big banks.
    They’ll be regulating big banks with regard to consumer transactions, but not small banks. That gives small banks an edge, and they need an edge.
    I supported it. It’s certainly debatable if it’s wise. But we can’t debate it without the crucial piece of information he left out: that big banks hold 4/5ths of the assets.
    Why did he leave that out?

  106. 106.

    burnspbesq

    @kay:

    Why did he leave that out?

    Surely you don’t mean to suggest that Taibbi (or Napoleon) would deliberately omit a fact that would undercut his/her/their rant/agenda?

    Oh Noes!

    (faints)

  107. 107.

    kay

    @Napoleon:

    I think the regulatory difference they drew between big banks and smaller banks could operate to drive big banks out of the consumer transactions business, and shift that business to smaller banks, and I think that’s where it belongs.

    Big banks will have tighter regs and reporting requirements for consumer transactions than smaller banks do.

    Why would big banks ever, ever support that? It offers an advantage to small banks.

    You wanted your local credit union to have to provide reams of new quarterly information to regulators, just like Citi? Although you local credit union had nothing to do with this mess?

    Can you see why that might be an inequitable burden to the credit union, and put them further behind Citi or BoA?

  108. 108.

    "Fair and Balanced" Dave

    @mcd410x:

    The Pittsburgh disintegration has been swift. But it starts with not being able to run the ball.

    IMO, it started with the second loss to the Bengals. In the two games prior to that, they beat the (at the time) unbeaten Vikings in convincing fashion 27-17 and then beat the Broncos in Denver 28-10. They haven’t won a game since.

    I think after being dominated in two games by the Bengals, the Stillers put down the Terrible Towel and picked up the white surrender flag.

  109. 109.

    kay

    @burnspbesq:

    I’m perfectly willing to have someone tell me why a regulatory distinction between big banks and smaller banks that offers smaller banks a regulatory exemption somehow operates to favor big banks, but they gotta explain it to me.

  110. 110.

    PaulW

    December is where mediocre football teams go to die. You know, teams that for a good while looked dominant and unstoppable just have some of their worst collapses come December, because of 1) the charade of them being a good team comes crashing down, 2) their opponents are 10-game-losing-streak teams struggling to eke out a decent win or two while the mediocre team just wants to head into April with a decent draft spot, 3) the underlying feeling that the team doesn’t want to make the postseason because if they do they’ll get stomped by Indy/New England/New Orleans/Minnesota.

  111. 111.

    Americanitis

    John, in Pittsburgh, how can you not watch ice hockey? The Pens are the defending Stanley Cup champs, ferchrissake, and look to be on track to be VERY strong contenders for a third trip to the finals in as many years. And I say that as a diehard Philly Flyers fan. Our season is going much like the Steelers’ – i.e., quick exit to the golf course, possibly without even making the playoffs. And don’t even get me started on the Eagles.

  112. 112.

    Xanthippas

    As a Cowboys fan I’m still waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under us (or more seasonally, for Lucy to yank the ball away again) but still…I feel for you. A little. I mean, you guys did just win the Super Bowl. Twice even, and the Cowboys are still chasing their first playoff win in 13 years. But still, I have a little pity for you. A little.

  114. 114.

    J. Michael Neal

    @Comrade Kevin: I used to give specifics. None of you folks cared. You prefer to get your news from someone with no subject matter knowledge. All I have the energy to do now is to point that fact out. Matt Taibbi doesn’t know anything about finance. There are a bunch of you who think that that’s a feature, not a bug, because anyone who does know something about finance is obviously tainted by it.

    You sound EXACTLY like the teabaggers. Knowledge is corruption.

  115. 115.

    4jkb4ia

    I am sorry, John. The question is whether Tampa Bay is so bad that this is only theoretically good news for the Jets.

  116. 116.

    croatoan

    they beat the (at the time) unbeaten Vikings in convincing fashion

    Sadly, no. The Vikings had more first downs, total plays, yards passing, total yards, and time of possession, and were 9-18 on third down (compared to the Steelers’ 4-12). The Steelers won due to two fourth quarter turnover returns for touchdowns, both of which were a little fluky. Good for them for creating and capitalizing on those opportunities, but the usual outcome of a game like that without the turnovers is a Vikings win. Shoot, if the Steelers hadn’t gotten that second turnover with 1:00 left, the Vikings would’ve probably at least kicked a field goal (they were on the 18) to tie or scored a TD to win.

  117. 117.

    4jkb4ia

    @4jkb4ia:
    Didn’t mean that. Meant that
    Tampa Bay is so bad that
    the Jets can win with Kellen Clemens
    so this is more than theoretically good news for them.

    I don’t see why not since Sanchez has not been getting the ball that often.

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