A series of events has led me to neglect the blog. Apologies. We've returned to the column format. No comments are being taken so things are back to the way they used to be. I could count the comments that you've sent in on one hand anyway. You might say the opportunities to comment on my thoughts weren't taken advantage of. I'll take that to mean that you agreed with everything I said.
I am being asked to believe so much these days that I am leaning toward believing none of it. Let's start with politics...
The economic turmoil we are facing is a product of greed. Gordon Gecko was wrong. Greed is not good. Gluttony in fact is a mortal sin. The excesses of our consumerism is finally coming home to roost. I will not accept that this is some politician's fault for allowing for too many bad mortgages. I will not accept that this is not just abuse of a system that allows for, no encourages greed and gluttony. The AIG failure party is an indication of what I am talking about.
I believe that the way we do business is at least marginally at fault. All numbers must be better this year than they were a year ago. If we made 2 million dollars a year ago, and made 1 million this year, we lost a million dollars in the books. So, consequently, we'll just have to sell more or raise prices or do something to compensate for the "loss". This is messed up.
I could go on. And I am no student of economics. I realize that. But those who have cannot be considered successful unless they get more. What if the million was ok. Let's face it, that's not a bad total income.
But it's not 2 million is it? Athletes who were making 4 million a year are holding out for 10 million. How much do you need? Do you need to carry a pocket full of thousand dollar bills? Look, I'm not really a socialist. I'm just asking for some reason. I do know that it seems wrong to throw a bunch of taxpayers' money at the problem.
It makes me want to do nothing but watch football. And that's been interesting so far. The Mountain Lions were in a rebuilding phase that we all thought was going to make this a lean year. Then they opened with a win over North Allegheny. I don't think anyone jumped overboard with toughts of state championships, but hopes certainly went higher from there. The offense looked potent with a successful trip to Chambersburg. Then reality set in.
Cumberland Valley did what Altoona can least defend. They used their power running game all night. Altoona's defense stiffened for much of the night, but they couldn't get the offense going. This game verified something we've all thought. If you want to score on Altoona, unless you are highly skilled, just run behind your big fat guys.
The loss at Lower Dauphin was disappointing. Physically, Altoona was superior to the Falcons, but they made too many mistakes. Four first half turnovers set LD up with all the chances they needed. Altoona came back, but they couldn't convert a Lower Dauphin fumbled kick off and they fell short.
Altoona could have won at Central Dauphin, but the offense is now officially searching. It was during the CD game that the Lions tried something different. They changed quarterbacks and took their leading rusher out of the rotation. There were lots of opportunities but no follow through and they lost for the fourth time at Landes Field. In fact they've lost twice to CD, once to East and once to McDevitt on that field. All of the games have been close. The 10-0 loss was actually the worst loss of the four.
Bishop McDevitt is just on a different plane than Altoona. They are one of those schools that have multiple future big time college players on their roster. This is a very young team. For their own good, they've got to play better first halves. I've never seen a game where a team had a 7-0 lead at halftime, and lost the game, 46-21. McDevitt has lost to the WPIAL each time they've played them at Mansion Park. They'll probably get the chance again this year. They should step carefully. The WPIAL doesn't seem to be very impressed with them.
If Altoona can split their remaining four games, they should and likely will participate in the playoffs. We have found out that the six AAAA teams in Districts 6, 8, 9 and 10 are in one big pool and will match up according to their accumulated points. Allderdice is likely out of the playoff picture. They've not won yet. It is not automatic that Altoona will go in. I hope they do so that they can get an extra week or two of training for the young guys. Cedar Cliff is a toss up. They've not played well on the road, but they've beaten this team everytime they've played them since joining the Mid Penn.
Pitt
Which team is it? Are they the folks who fell behind Syracuse? Are they the team that lost to Bowling Green at home? Are they the same guys that narrowly beat Buffalo?
Or are they the group that hung on to beat Iowa? Did they come back and whip Syracuse? Did they really win at South Florida and come from behind to do it?
You can't blame the Bulls for being surprised by the Pitt defense. They hand't shown any ability to pressure the quarterback, cover the receivers or stop the run consistently until the South Florida game. Again, is this the Pitt team we were expecting to see?
They've been recruiting well from all indications. The question has been asked about Dave Wannstedt. He's really never had any success as a head coach. Other questions have surrounded Matt Cavenaugh, the offensive coordinator. Against the Bulls, he opened up the offense. And Bill Stull, the USF quarterback had his best game leading the offense. His throws were accurate and his decisions were good. Still, it's hard for me to say that this team should take the Big East. The conference is up for grabs but Pitt's got to be more consistent before I'll go so far as to expect victory.
Penn State
For the Nits, the obstacles to a title opportunity are falling by the wayside. They've answered al the questions so far, but this is a huge week for them. Here's a question I'm going to ask before another ball is kicked.
Were the Nits conservative against Purdue because they didn't really want to give much information to Wisconsin or are they shrinking the playbook in big important games? If the offense gets more conservative this week, they're going to lose. There's too much athletic ability on this team to get conservative. Athletes must have the ball in open spaces.
Wisconsin is one of those tough to win in atmospheres. But, if there are great things ahead for this team, Penn State must win.
Steelers
You can't be anything but pleased with Pittsburgh's record at this point. 4-1 with the loss out of conference and 2-0 in the division satisfies the most fickle fan. In fact, you have to look around for reasons why they've been able to win. I think I may have found one.
It's the million dollar man. Ben Roethlisberger has proven to be one of the toughest players in the league. I've heard some accuse him of embellishing his injuries but I think you have to admire his ability to get it done in less than ideal circumstances. He's driven the Steelers to late winning drives 15 times in his short career. For some QB's they never do that. He's done it since his first season.
The schedule is going to stiffen here real soon. Healing is taking place this week, then a pesky trip to Cincinnati. After that it's Giants at home, at Redskins on a Monday night, home to the Colts and Chargers, then the Bengals again on a Thursday night. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here. That should be plenty to worry about for now.
I'm thinking that the Giants are backing up their Super Bowl victory well and the 'Skins are gaining confidence. The Colts and Chargers have been disappointing but they've sure got the ability to improve by the time the Steelers face them.
I'm thinking that the players are starting to think Ben is Superman. There is a trust and a belief there that is getting stronger every week. I think he has the ability to make the rest of his team play harder and that's a champion's quality. None of the experts think the Steelers can do it. Of course, none of the experts thought the financial world would collapse either.
