Congrats Hines

Those of you watching the Stillers v. Bungles game just witnessed history. Hines Ward just eclipsed the 10,000 yard mark for his career. He becomes the first Steelers receiver to hit this mark. May he gain many more before his career is done.

Oh ya... and he is not afraid to knock your ass out...

Things that gave us a semi tonight: A story in pictures

First off, the Black Eyed Peas and Tim McGraw both suck pretty majorly in the digital realm, but in real life they are even more, more, more awful. I would have rather had a BBQ stain on my white T-shirt than watch this awful bullshit ever again. Jeff Jimerson should have done a 3-hour set doing specifically Styx covers.

As for our semi:

Here are the two culprits:

One

And done.

Big time semi.

We have mecca

In honor of the start of the (mother fuckin') Pittsburgh Steelers season/title defense, we present you the following:



So maybe you don't travel UNDER the river, but the reaction is priceless. Big thanks to Blog N' Gold for the find.

Stillers.

Oh that hot nasty offensive line!

... or something. The Steelers seemingly brought all contract negotiations to a close today when they signed center Justin Hartwig to a four-year $10 million contract. This will likely be the last contract before the end of the season.

In other words, shove it up your ass skippy. OK we don't really hate on Jeff Reed beyond the fact that he is not a fan of paper towel dispensers and spends his time in chode-filled bars of north western PA. Sometimes it is just too easy. Hopefully Jeff gets a contract worth his golden foot sometime at the end of the year, but from past experience it seems like the Steelers organization is going to let the year play out and then figure out who they will and will not sign.

Stillers.

Oh ya... you gimme that ball big boy...

Hot damn Pittsburgh is sexy

At this time in exactly one month, we'll be pouring the booze into our aluminum foil Stanley Cups, firing up some stogies, eating man-food and loving our lives.

Not the kind of person that likes waiting a whole month to witness glory? You've got eight days to see another team defend its title.

You just got excited. Admit it.

And no, the Pirates aren't playing in October, because they are about as good at baseball as we are at not getting herpes.

Diesel

This happened yesterday, but it's great news. Five more years of the bow-and-arrow/funky dance celebration from our very own Stormin' Mormon, Brett Keisel. 5 years, $18.885 million. So long as Keisel eats at least one quarterback per season, that is one hell of an ROI.

Mr. LeBeau goes to Canton

...maybe.

Apparently the selection committee has finally decided in their infinite-fucking-wisdom to nominate Dick "I'll blitz yo momma" LeBeau to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It is about goddamn time. LeBeau has spent over half a century in the NFL either playing as a Pro Bowl cornerback or making quarterback's shake at the idea of having to face his complex blitz schemes.

We here at The Rustbelt Tramp fully endorse Charles Richard LeBeau for the Hall of Fame, and may god have mercy on you insufferable pricks, because if he doesn't get in... this man won't.

Sports Blog Outsourcing 1.0

We may be a bit behind on some of this news, but back the fuck off...

Tom Barrasso and John LeClair were both inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
Kudos to both of you along with Frank Zamboni without which we would have nothing to watch in between periods of NHL 93. Tommy B. helped the Pens win 2 Stanley Cups in the early 90's while John LeClair had 58 points over two seasons with the Pens.

Pittsburgh Steelers TE Heath Miller signs 6 year contract extension.
Good call by the Steelers who are facing the daunting task of signing or replacing Casey Hampton, Brett "Diesel" Keisel, Ryan Clark, Willie Parker, Jeff Reed, Willie Colon and Justin Hartwig... Oof. Miller is one of the most underrated tight ends in the league and locking him up long term provides Roethlisberger with a tiny bit more protection for years to come.

Puck the Media grabbed a terrific interview with legendary hockey broadcaster Mike Lange.
We don't care if you love the Pens or hate them... OK maybe we do, but either way you have to admit that Mr. Lange is one of the best in the business.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk gets the big middle finger from Steelers Nation.
Florio lists the top 10 reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers will pick up Michael Vick. Jesus fucking christ man... you're main source for an article is a bunch of bookies saying that the Steelers will toss aside Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon in favor of Michael Vick. Then you go on to weave an intricate web of connections between Vick, Dan Rooney and Omar Epps Mike Tomlin?! I know it is the off season and all, but come on man...

Strike three for Jim Balsillie as the NHL says nay to his offer for the Coyotes.
Gary Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors unanimously voted to reject an offer from Jim Balsille to buy the Phoenix Coyotes and move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. The Board of Governors approved the sale of the struggling team to a group of investors led by Jerry Reinsdorf. The Coyotes have lost money every year since moving to Phoenix, so by all means Mr. Bettman... keep them there and hide behind the Board of Governors... joke.

Pirates trade Freddy Sanchez for a... pitching prospect...
Wait! Don't run away just yet... Tim Alderson, the 22nd overall pick two years ago, was considered the no. 4 prospect in the Giant's system coming into this year. He has posted a 7-2 record and a 3.65 ERA in AA ball this year. Maybe Neal Huntington and co. have some sort of plan... maybe... anyone?

Can you beat this bling?

LaMarr Woodley thinks not...

After becoming the FIRST NFL TEAM EVER to win 6 Super Bowls, dem Stillers can now remember every moment of that fantastic ass clenching game while walking around with 3.7 ounces of gold, diamonds and other jewels slapped on their hands.

Except for Roethlisberger who may have another one of these...

Go Stillers.

More on the Steelers' re-education camp experience:

Of course Pompeani ruins it. Whata douche...he would bring up Styx.

Best part: when Barack pimps your world by saying "hold up folks, I got a little somethin-somethin."

Michelle Bachmann was also right.

Remember this crazy-ass statement? Did you laugh and think, "Man, this bitch is crazy!" like we did? Well I think Michelle Bachmann, not Hines Ward, is having the last laugh.

Hines ward (center), being forced by Obama Gestapo to assemble this package for soldiers abroad. The Steelers were lured to the White House by promises of meeting the President, then forced into re-education camps, where they will stay until they are reformed, according to a White House press release.

Damn. James Harrison knew.

Mr. Tomlin goes to Washington

Today is a very special day for this blog. Two of our most beloved entities, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Obama Administration will be converging in our nation's capitol today to talk about how nice winning is, among other things.

The team, sans all-star linebacker James Harrison, will be visiting the White House today, and will be joined by five police officers who were colleagues of the three officers slain last month. They are the first Super Bowl team to be greeted by the new president, an appropriate honor for the first team to get six of these. Bitches.

Considering this president has a pretty good approval rating and has the support of people other than the solid quarter, I wonder if anyone is going to have any qualms about visiting him, or have certain issues he wants to bring up. Because, if I remember correctly, Joey Porter wanted a refund from Georgie.

Either way, you know we'll be posting the Youtube clip up as soon as we can find it. If we can find footage of the Steelers pimping Washington the way the Pens did last week, we'll put that up too.

Putting His Foote Down

This has been a long time coming...

According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker, Larry Foote, will be released sometime within the next week.

"It was my doing," Foote told the Post-Gazette. "I wanted to go. They were trying to trade me.'' Foote has one year left on his contract that was scheduled to pay him a salary of $2,885,000 in 2009.

Anyone following the Steelers for the past year, and especially leading up to that recent Super Bowl win (huzzah!) understand that this is nothing new. Larry has said he does not want to take a pay cut and wants to play as a full time starter. That's great and all, but it isn't going to work on this team. Not with Lawrence Timmons waiting anxiously behind you on the depth chart to pimp slap any would be ball carriers that attempt to cross the line of scrimmage.

This isn't a bad thing, and while Foote has been a solid starter since 2004, it is his time to move on. The Rooneys and all others involved with this organization would keep him if it was necessary, but in reality dropping his cap number in favor of the younger, faster and stronger Timmons is just smart business.

Foote will be seen again, just not in Black & Gold. Thank you for your time sir... you've done well.