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Random Thoughts From a Black-and-Gold Mind: Exceptionalism - liny195 - 02-25-2019
and Necessary Roughness edition With the Pittsburgh Steelers coming off of a disappointing 21-21 tie with the Cleveland Browns http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/ramon-foster-jersey-cheap , my black-and-gold brain is suffering from saturation of insanity. Like always, I pass the ravings on to all of you. But first, I must beg those I have offended for a pasture of pardons for the following transgressions.Comparing the rookie salary cap to After M*A*S*H* and the McDLTThe mention of other possible marinara sauce nicknames for anybody other than Ramon FosterDreaming up bizarre attractions at the forthcoming Steeler Experience at Kennywood ParkMaking fun of my wifeMaking fun of my ex-wifePoking at the Madden Cover JinxLying about not believing in jinxesSuggesting trading a TE to the ChargersAnybody like me who paid money for a Martavis Bryant jerseyThe Lovin’ SpoonfullMitch LyonsAnd now now the most recent edition of Random Thoughts From a Black-and-Gold Mind.Before I get started, I just recently lost my Twitter virginity (I know March isn’t that recent). Just like in my real life experiences, I must not be doing it right. Nobody is gentle and hardly anybody wants to partake in it with me. I have 14 followers. Please follow me @btscbad. (Jeez, I think Charles Manson had an easier time getting followers back in the 60s and the only thing I’m killing is the art of punctuation). If I can get up to 300 followers by next week, I’ll pick one of my new “minyinz” randomly and give them a legitimate prize. Wow! I didn’t come off this desperate in high school.In Cleveland, the tie is equivalent to a win. In the Steel City, not so much. It’s like the scene in 1991’s Necessary Roughness when the Texas State Armadillos gleefully celebrated a last-minute tie while the Kansas Jayhawks all endured the trauma and humiliation of tying an 0-9 team that just suffered football’s death penalty.One of our podcast callers on “The Steelers Hangover” mentioned he was in a sports bar in Georgia and the usually pro-Steeler crowd had a lot less black-and-gold enthusiasm than usual and seemed more to be rooting for Cleveland. It could be the exposure of orange-and-brown on HBO’s Hard Knocks or maybe the general public outside of Pittsburgh is siding more with Lev Bell.The Steelers need to not overuse James Conner as a “thumb-to-the-nose” in the direction of their missing, nightclub-dwelling RB. I’m afraid they are trying entirely too hard to get Conner stats to send a message to Le’Veon Bell that he’s easily replaced. Much like the episode of Family Ties when Michael J. Fox convinced Gina Davis to be his date to make his ex jealous...or something like that. Stevan Ridley is there. Give him some reps.Speaking of Bell, It seems like a divorce of epic proportions at this point. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner seemed less acrimonious in 1990’s The War of the Roses. I don’t expect to see No. 26 until Week 10, and I don’t know how much I’d even bet on that at this point. Maybe in the same manner that the QB sneak was done because of Todd Haley’s existence on the home sideline.I’m a huge fan of Antonio Brown, but I could do without his threatening people over social media. I agree with the annoyance. I abhor how people hide behind their keyboards criticize whatever they darn well please with the firewall of distance protecting them. My policy is to only type what I’d be brave enough to say to someone’s face. Not too many others do. If I were face to face with No. 84, I’d say “You are AB...you’re better than that kind of response to the haters.”Brown did issue an apology, so that’s good. But his comments afterward were laced with the word “exceptionalism” to describe himself. Vince Williams proclaimed “exceptionalism” to be the word of the day in a tweet on Friday.JuJu Smith-Schuster had a Fan Huddle on Steelers Nation Unite on Friday. Once again http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/alejandro-villanueva-jersey-cheap , he was amazing with the fans and soon will become the face of the franchise. JJSS talked his friendship with James Conner, new end zone celebrations upcoming, his dog Boujee and his love for being a Steeler and wanting to retire as one. But please, can somebody please explain to me what “lit” means. Like Hall and Oates, I’m clearly Out Of Touch.Speaking of James Conner, I’m at a loss describing his hair cut. He kind of looks like an extra from the original Road Warrior meets Bruno Mars. I do kind of like it though. I couldn’t pull it off, but James makes it work.Even though T.J. Watt lost half a sack this week to Javon Hargrave, his 3.5 QB takedowns make me think that No. 90 could be in the hunt for the 2018 sackmaster title.Photo by Jason Miller/Getty ImagesCam Heyward’s comment to Artie Burns regarding No. 25’s altercation with Todd Haley was classic. Cam recounted the conversation on WDVE this week. “Look Artie, Todd has been thrown out of lots of places, but he isn’t getting thrown out of the stadium”. Pretty funny advice.Just read two pretty good NFL books. Although it’s about the quarterback of the hated Patriots, I found 12: The Inside Story of Tom Brady’s Fight for Redemption by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge to be a pretty interesting read. It didn’t really change my perception of Tom, but it made me think a whole lot more than I expected about inconsistencies presented by the NFL. I also got to read Doug Peterson’s memoir, Fearless: How an Underdog Became a Champion. I instantly became a fan of the Eagle’s coach and Super Bowl Champion. I felt like it was a blueprint and a teaching manual for winning football, instead of a book of brags. Check them both out.Four Steelers Bill Cowher, Thomas Everett Cheap Chukwuma Okorafor Jersey , Hines Ward and Alan Faneca are Hall of Fame finalists. Who goes in first? Who deserves to go in first?And finally...I wonder what Scott Campbell is doing these days.That’s all for me. As you ponder the significance of anything you read here today, keep in mind the lyrics of the aforementioned last number one single of the great career of Hall and Oates.Shake it up is all that we knowUsing the bodies up as we goI’m waking up to fantasyThe shades all around aren’t the colors we used to seeBroken ice still melts in the sunAnd times that are broken can often be one againWe’re soul aloneAnd soul really matters to meTake a look aroundYou’re out of touchI’m out of timeBut I’m out of my head when you’re not aroundTake that for what it’s worth, Go Steelers and Don’t Stop Shalievin’. The unlikely has now become reality. An NFL player will choose to sit out the entire season, in lieu of accepting the terms offered to him by the team that controls his rights.That’s ultimately what the franchise tag is. It’s not an honor, as some have tried to describe it in the past. It’s an artificial restriction applied to a player who otherwise would be able to shop his services to the highest bidder. The Steelers twice exercised their right under the Collective Bargaining Agreement to restrict Bell in this way. And Bell has twice exercised his right in response to being subjected to the franchise tag.Last year, he stayed away until Labor Day, skipping the offseason program, training camp, and the preseason and cashing every check on his way to $12.1 million. This year, he skipped everything, including the full football season.聽Now, when next year comes, he’ll finally get a chance to shop his services to the highest bidder.Bell will be blamed for this outcome. By fans, by teammates, by executives Youth Sean Davis Jersey , by the media. But Bell is simply making a business decision, no different than the decision to enter the draft, to not enter the draft, to sign with a team, to not sign with a team, to keep playing, to retire. The fact that it’s an unconventional business decision doesn’t change the fact that it is fundamentally a business decision.And, when it comes to football, everyone seems to be allowed to make business decisions except the men who play football. Because we want them to entertain us. When they choose not to entertain us, we become confused. We feel betrayed. We lose the privilege of witnessing the special things a football player can do on a football field, as it relates to our fan loyalties, our viewing enjoyment, our fantasy-football lineups, our wagering interests.Bell will be accused of “abandoning his teammates,” an outdated narrative as phony as “football is family.” Football http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/marcus-gilbert-jersey-cheap , at the professional level, is only family when characterizing it that way is good for business. Because football, at the professional and college level, is strictly a business.Everyone else connected to the sport will make, from time to time, business decisions. But the only ones who are widely vilified for any decision (short of an owner relocating a team, which nevertheless seems to be understood in all markets but the one the team leaves) are players who make the business decision to not play.In Bell’s case, the Steelers opted to prevent him from getting maximum compensation for his services by squatting on his rights beyond the expiration of his contract. Twice. So he did what he had to do in an effort to get the most he could for his skills, abilities, risks, and sacrifices.Regardless of whether future events make it a good decision or a bad decision, it’s his business decision. And how he handles it is nobody else’s business. Custom Houston Texans Jerseys