Steelers Talk

[tibor75]

Originally Posted by AJHawkfan

So, having tattoos makes this guy a loser?

You might want to watch yourself; there are many, many people on this board who have a number of tattoos. .

yeah, and look at what losers are around here.

I have yet to met anybody with more than one tattoo who is something other than trash.

[BB73]

Originally Posted by tibor75

yeah, and look at what losers are around here.

I have yet to met anybody with more than one tattoo who is something other than trash.

[AJHawkfan]

Obituary: Theo Bell / Former Steelers wide receiver
Dec. 21, 1953 - June 21, 2006

Friday, June 23, 2006
By Phil Axelrod, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Al Herrmann Jr., Post-Gazette
Theo Bell is tackled by two San Diego Chargers in a Dec. 23, 1980, game.



Theo Bell, who earned two Super Bowl rings as a reserve receiver with the Steelers, died Wednesday morning at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, Fla., after a yearlong battle with kidney disease and scleroderma. He was 52.

His wife, Joan, said the cause of death was scleroderma, a disorder that causes hardening of the skin and damage to internal organs and blood vessels.

Mr. Bell was with the Steelers from 1976-80 and was on the Super Bowl teams in 1979 and 1980. He missed the 1977 season because of a foot injury. In his years with the Steelers, he had 41 catches for 905 yards and four touchdowns, with 29 of those receptions for 748 yards and two touchdowns in 1980.

Mr. Bell ranks second in Steelers history with 139 punt returns for 1,259 yards, behind Rod Woodson in both categories.

The Steelers drafted Mr. Bell in the fourth round in 1976 out of the University of Arizona. He was born and raised in Bakersfield, Calif.

Mr. Bell was involved in a high-profile criminal trial in Pittsburgh in 1981 during which several Steelers players testified as character witnesses.

The charges stemmed from an incident with a 21-year-old woman at a North Hills motel. A jury convicted him of simple assault but acquitted him of charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and unlawful restraint.

Mr. Bell was sentenced to a year's probation.

Mr. Bell, who was 6 feet tall and weighed 185 pounds, left the Steelers in 1981, joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a free agent. He caught 95 passes for 1,470 yards and four touchdowns in five seasons with them before retiring in 1985.

Mr. Bell then founded a program in Tampa that teaches the value of education and targeted middle-school children.

"Those kids are going to remember Theo for the rest of their lives," former Tampa Bay quarterback Doug Williams told the Tampa Tribune. "When things get tough for them, they will be able to look back at how Theo handled himself in tough times. He was the kind of guy you wanted to have in your locker room. Every time he caught the ball, he looked like a kid in the candy store."

That's how Joe Gordon, former public relations director of the Steelers, remembered Mr. Bell.

"You couldn't help but like Theo. He was always an upbeat guy with a bounce to his step and a lot of enthusiasm," Mr. Gordon said. "He was a real friendly guy who always had something to say. As a player, he was a valuable part of those Steeler teams as a punt returner. He was fearless."

Funeral services for Mr. Bell will be held in Tampa on Monday at 1 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of College Hill.

(Phil Axelrod can be reached at paxelrod@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1967. )

[Taosman]

Sent a e-mail to Bell motorcycle helmets. The lone US manufacturer of helmets. Told them to get to Pitt and give Big Ben some cool and free head gear. Their reply......"Why should we?" Dip [censored]s! It's FREE advertising!

[AJHawkfan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...section=si_nfl

Steel resolve
Porter, Steelers ready to prove they're still hungry
Posted: Friday June 23, 2006 11:37AM; Updated: Friday June 23, 2006 4:14PM

Bill Frakes/SI

He watched Alonzo Mourning throw down on the big screen, a paragon of passion closing in on a maiden NBA title, and Joey Porter couldn't hold back. Spilling a Bud Light as he leaped from the couch last Tuesday night, Porter, who hadn't stopped squawking since the opening whistle of Game 6 of the NBA finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks, shook his body and danced along with the jacked-up veteran center.

"Get your ring, 'Zo!" Porter screamed at the TV. Then, noticing the emotion on Mourning's face, the Pittsburgh Steelers' All-Pro linebacker added: "I want you to cry, 'Zo. I want you to cry! I want you to cry! I want you to cry!"

Enjoying the game from the guest house of his plush home in Bakersfield, Calif., with a dozen old friends, Porter could relate to the Heat's triumph, and especially to the fulfillment felt by the 36-year-old Mourning and 37-year-old guard Gary Payton as they finally closed in on a championship.

A little more than four months earlier, Porter and his Steelers teammates -- and, most poignantly, retiring running back Jerome Bettis -- had experienced a similar sensation in winning Super Bowl XL.

But while Bettis, who signed a sweet TV deal with NBC, is still reveling in the afterglow -- he's getting married early next month in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and will spend this coming weekend in Bakersfield at Porter's football camp and charity golf tournament -- Porter and his Pittsburgh teammates must soon turn defensive. Defending a title is a daunting task in a sport as emotionally charged as pro football, and when you've spent your seven-year career with a steel-plated chip on your shoulder, finding a way to retain that edge in the wake of success looms as a huge challenge.

"I've still got that chip," Porter insists. "With each team comes a different challenge, and the first one for us is that we can't expect to play as well as we did last year and think it's going to work. I've got to be even better; we all do. Last year, it wasn't until we got to a desperate mindset that we started going full speed all the time. That's where we need to start this year."

That all sounds good, but even the irrepressibly intense Porter concedes that the Steelers face some legitimate questions going into the season. Bettis was an enormous presence in the locker room, and his absence could create a leadership void that Porter is likely to try to help fill. Pittsburgh also must replace three starters -- safety Chris Hope, defensive end Kimo von Oehlhoffen and wideout Antwaan Randle El -- lost via free agency.

Then, of course, there is the Big Ben factor. When Ben Roethlisberger was injured in a motorcycle accident earlier this month, there wasn't a player on the Pittsburgh roster who didn't wonder whether the team's 2006 fortunes were also spinning out of control.

A few days after Roethlisberger's release from the hospital last week, Porter placed a call to the young quarterback, expecting to leave a keep-your-head-up voicemail. But Roethlisberger answered the phone and, despite his broken jaw, seemed positively chatty, which caught Porter off guard.

"I was surprised he picked up his phone," Porter says. "He sounded way more upbeat than I expected. I thought he'd be sluggish and down, but he sounded good. He said he had to go in and see the dentist and was feeling pretty good in general."

Porter believes that Roethlisberger, who issued a contrite statement in which he vowed never again to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, will mature in a hurry as he confronts the inevitable increase in attention caused by the incident. "He'll have to," Porter says, "simply because of his position. If he thought he got scrutinized before, they'll be on him for sure now."

Bettis agrees. "No question," he said on Thursday. "Ben is going to have to be that guy who steps up and leads."

But even if Roethlisberger evolves into a locker-room leader, what he does on the field will be far more significant. Will be return with a champion's swagger, or will he be afraid to take a hit?

Until Roethlisberger proves he's the same guy who won 15 consecutive games as a rookie and helped spark Pittsburgh's unlikely title run after some choppy moments in his second year, there will be legitimate doubts about the Steelers in 2006 and beyond.

"Until I see Ben in person and see for myself that he's OK, I can't pass judgment on his situation," Porter says. "Right now we can all say, 'Yeah, he's gonna be back, he's gonna be fine,' but nobody really knows what to expect. Because, let's face it, nobody really knows what state Ben is going to be in when we take the field against the Dolphins [for the Sept. 7 opener in Pittsburgh]."

For now, Steelers fans can take solace in this: We have a pretty good idea what state Porter will be in on that night, even with a ring in his possession. Put it this way -- it'll be similar to the one he was in while watching Game 6 of the NBA Finals, only the "I want you to cry!" exhortations are likely to be directed at Miami's quarterback.

[AJHawkfan]

http://news.steelers.com/article/64608/

Re-living the Steelers’ 2005 season - Part I
Monday, June 26, 2006

By BOB LABRIOLA

Steelers.com

Just as a total is made up of the sum of the individual parts, an NFL season is made up of a series of events that ultimately come together to define a team.

The 2005 season began for the Pittsburgh Steelers on the day after the 2004 AFC Championship Game, and it ended with a trophy presentation on the floor of Ford Field on the first Sunday of February 2006.

The Steelers won the fifth Super Bowl title in franchise history that day, and they did it by defeating the top three seeds in the AFC – all on the road – and then beating the No. 1 seed from the NFC in the Super Bowl. Their run was historic, and it stamped them as a deserving champion.

As the 2006 NFL season draws closer and the Steelers get closer to reporting to training camp to begin the process of defending their championship, there is an opportunity to re-live the events that came together to create their magical run to a championship.

The first part begins with the official end of the 2004 season and includes the highlights of the offseason:

Jan. 24: The morning after is always raw. A day after the loss to New England in the AFC Championship Game, there isn't a dry eye in the locker room at the team's practice facility. Most of it centers around the possibility that Jerome Bettis will retire, but it's also more than that. "We honestly love each other," said Jeff Hartings. "I honestly felt that I would rather lose a game like that with this team than win a Super Bowl with a team I didn't enjoy playing with."

Jan. 25: His postseason included five interceptions in two games, and Ben Roethlisberger finally acknowledges the toll his first NFL season took both physically and mentally. "No excuses. I think it'll help me be more prepared for next year."

Jan. 26: The disappointment over a 15-1 season that ended short of the Super Bowl just won't dissipate. "Sometimes we wonder why," said Coach Bill Cowher. "Ours is not to wonder why, ours is to continue to try."

March 17: Team president Art Rooney II tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "I think for the people who have been around for a while now, I think we all feel like it's time (to win another Super Bowl). We've been close, and we have to take that last step."

March 21: Cowher agrees with the boss. "I'm tired of coaching Pro Bowls," said Cowher about the job that falls to the losing staffs in the conference championship games.

April 22: On the day before the NFL Draft, the consensus of opinion is that the No. 1 pick will be tight end Heath Miller, or an offensive lineman. A tight end?

April 23: A tight end! The Steelers are weak there, and Miller is the best prospect at the position in the entire draft. "We want to put some good players around our young quarterback, and at the same time not get away from what we believe in," said Cowher. Obviously, Heath Miller is going to have to learn to block. The day's other picks are a cornerback and a left tackle, both good positions to choose to fortify.

May 5: Minicamp opens, everyone attends, and everyone's goal is the same. "We've been to two AFC Championship Games, been close on both occasions," said Hines Ward. "We just didn't show up in the big game."

June 13: The offseason program ends, and Cowher likes what he has seen. "Certainly what happens over the next six weeks before training camp is critical. There are no shortcuts, and it's not going to be easy, but that's what separates these guys from other players. If they want to be the best, they'll make those sacrifices."

June 21: The Steelers call an 11 a.m. news conference, and it's big. No, it's not that they signed their first-round pick _ bigger than that. No, Ward didn't sign a new contract _ bigger than that. Myron Cope retires after 35 years as the color analyst on the Steelers Radio Network. Cope may be short, but he's bigger news than just about any of the players he made his living talking about.

July 30: The Steelers will open camp in 24 hours, and the expectation level is high, very high. "I think there's a greater challenge this year coming back with that same look in our eye," says Cowher. Adds team president Art Rooney II, "In our business, the bottom line is, did you win a championship? So that's still the way you measure your success."