The Nation's Tears: Volume III

McBride11

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We would. I love the kid, though I’m not seeing any record of us drafting him?
Would love if he played with the Sox. Shoulda just signed.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 29th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft as a second baseman, after he made clear that he would not sign with any team unless it picked him in the first round.[29][31][32] He elected not to sign with the Red Sox.[31][32] Instead, he chose to attend LSU.[31]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Bregman
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
8,878
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Yeah, Chao relates misleading "facts". Rational people might be misled.

Parker relates dumb opinions. Anyone who buys his takes deserves what they get. So there's no downside to keeping him around to mock.
Conflict debate style sports journalism is such lowest common denominator trash. Great business model I guess. Brings out the worst in people and no one learns a damn thing but to quote metrics that don’t matter.
It’s not going away and the small percentage of the highbrow sports fans clicking or not clicking won’t do shit to move the needle.
 

uncannymanny

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Jan 12, 2007
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I like the line about Brady still playing being “borderline obsession” in yet another thread about the Patriots.
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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Kliq

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Leskanic's Thread

lost underscore
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I, for one, appreciate that the thread features a Steelers fan commenting on how much he loved the Montana/Rice-era 49ers because of Huey Lewis & The News.

(That's not entirely snark; I also had a soft spot for those Niners and Huey Lewis & The News, with the latter reinforced the former.)
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
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8 years ago, Pittsburgh was calling itself Sixburgh and were going for #7 against the Packers. Their lordship over the NFL was about to be firmly cemented.

Fast forward to today...

Aaaaaand....it’s gone!
 

54thMA

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8 years ago, Pittsburgh was calling itself Sixburgh and were going for #7 against the Packers. Their lordship over the NFL was about to be firmly cemented.

Fast forward to today...

Aaaaaand....it’s gone!
And don't forget "Stairway to seven", I heard that quite a bit from Steelers fans because, well, it's based off of Stairway to Heaven, which was written and released in the 1970's and goes back to my original point.

If the Patriots win a seventh and the Steelers are second in all time Super Bowl wins, that forum will implode.
 

Preacher

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And don't forget "Stairway to seven", I heard that quite a bit from Steelers fans because, well, it's based off of Stairway to Heaven, which was written and released in the 1970's and goes back to my original point.

If the Patriots win a seventh and the Steelers are second in all time Super Bowl wins, that forum will implode.
I would imagine they are somewhat nervous at this point. I might be jaded, but I think the Patriots have a better chance at #7 in the next 1-3 years than the Steelers, particularly with all the turmoil in Pittsburgh. There's a danger that cliff Brady is right around the corner but that cliff could be coming soon for Big Ben too.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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That thread is...………….interesting.

Steelers fans will never change, forever trapped in the 1970's.

It's pathetically sad.

But hysterical.
Well it's entirely possible that one day we will be trapped in the BB/TB era. The Pats could quite easily be a terrible franchise for a long time after these glory days are over, and it wouldn't surprise me if we regularly reference, especially as other fans mock the terrible Patriots, Brady, Belichick, and this incredible run they've been on.
 

BigSoxFan

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Well it's entirely possible that one day we will be trapped in the BB/TB era. The Pats could quite easily be a terrible franchise for a long time after these glory days are over, and it wouldn't surprise me if we regularly reference, especially as other fans mock the terrible Patriots, Brady, Belichick, and this incredible run they've been on.
Over the past decade plus, the Steelers have done basically everything but look inward to better understand their shortcomings. Things are never Saint Ben's fault. AB and Le'Veon have pointed fingers out of town. Tomlin calls the Patriots cheaters.

Looks like their fans do the same thing.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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I posted this in the Steelers thread but that franchise is headed into mediocrity or worse, and quickly. The inmates run the asylum, their coach is nothing more than a cheerleader, their GM lets the QB do whatever he wants. When Ben decides he has had enough - which may be quicker than Brady - they are going to suck, hard. And I have a hard time seeing them fighting their way back to excellence. As an organization I don’t see anything that signals long term sustained success aside from ownership. They’re going to have to push the reset button and it is going to be really, really ugly, especially if the Browns and Ravens have truly found their QBs of the future. I think the Browns have; jury is still clearly out on the Ravens.
 

Van Everyman

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Yes and no. The stuff this last year felt only a little worse than most years given that it was two of their top players griping and sitting out. Tomlin may be a cheerleader in some respects and make excuses for his team, but he also has managed to keep the Stillers competitive more years than not despite being saddled with low character locker room “leaders.” And while Ben may be headed toward a cliff, he’s not quite there yet – having played most of his career battling some injury or another, it seems like he’d be able to battle the effects of decline somewhat effectively.

That said, we are 100% in their fans’ heads at this point. Nobody who roots for that franchise has any hope that they can overtake the Pats while Brady is still alive. Ergo, calls to injure him.

It’s wonderful.
 

tims4wins

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Tomlin has kept it together because of Ben IMO. I can’t see them being successful post Ben but maybe I’m in the minority. If they had a better coach then sure.
 

Jimbodandy

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I think that the only thing keeping the Steelers competitive the last twenty years or so has been some pretty damn solid drafting. A better coach would have won more, IMO. Tomlin has had varying degrees of success keeping everyone rowing in the same direction, but he and his staff measure up pretty poorly against their counterparts in the NEP locker room. They do what they do, every week, and that's what they do. And the Pats know years in advance what to expect when they play the Steelers. There's no adaptation. It doesn't work in 2019, even with a talented roster.
 

Dehere

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Apr 25, 2010
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I think that the only thing keeping the Steelers competitive the last twenty years or so has been some pretty damn solid drafting. A better coach would have won more, IMO.
Think about what you’re saying here though. They’ve been competitive for *twenty years* because they’re arguably the best in the league at the most important element of roster construction. That’s a pretty good argument for the idea that they’re going to stay competitive.

It’s easy to sell Pittsburgh’s record short if you’re viewing it through the lens of a NE fan. They’re the second winningest team of this century.

That said I agree they should have more hardware given the talent they’ve had for a very long time.
 

Jimbodandy

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Yeah, I'm not knocking them at all. If I were a Steelers fan, I'd be happy about the rings and the run. But I'd also look back on what could have been, most likely. If you're a Braves fan, you likely do, and there's way more luck involved in the baseball playoffs.
 

dcmissle

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The Braves comp is really stretched, IMO.

We’re so far removed from “Cowher can’t win the big one” that I don’t have a view on whether his stewardship should have yielded more Lombardis. I suspect not.

I have a firmer view about Tomlin’s run. The answer is no. His teams have not been world beaters. They have been relatively weak defensively, really weak on the back end of the defense, and particularly vulnerable against the Pats. I don’t think you can chalk that up to coaching alone. You have to look at grocery buying and roster construction.

My bottom line is that the Steelers have been an upper echelon team, particularly because of their stability at QB and ability to draft very talented players (in some respects, I am very envious). But they have won about what one would expect. Offense doesn’t decide everything. Ask Peyton Manning.
 

Jimbodandy

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Well said, dc. Your point about defense is dead on.

All I'm saying is that a regular season run like that had, with all those playoff appearances, I'd probably wish that I had more rings if I'm them. Just like if I'm a Braves fan after their run. The comparison is cumbersome, agreed.
 

Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
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Imagine if BB and TB retire tomorrow and the Pats go on a 25 year run of being mediocre to good, maybe even making a Super Bowl, but never winning one. Then they hit on a QB in the draft and make 3 Super Bowls, winning two in a 15 year span. That would be pretty fucking good if you ask me.

Now imagine if while they are making 3 Super Bowls and winning two the Ravens make it to 10 Super Bowls and win 8, moving them past the Pats all time in Super Bowl wins.

I still feel like I would be happy with the make 3 win 2, but that’s basically what is going on in Steeler country. Remove the Pats and they’ve had a damn good run since they drafted Ben, it just doesn’t seem like it because in comparison to what the Pats have done everything else seems inadequate.

Still, that thread is a hot fucking mess.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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The Braves comp is really stretched, IMO.

We’re so far removed from “Cowher can’t win the big one” that I don’t have a view on whether his stewardship should have yielded more Lombardis. I suspect not.

I have a firmer view about Tomlin’s run. The answer is no. His teams have not been world beaters. They have been relatively weak defensively, really weak on the back end of the defense, and particularly vulnerable against the Pats. I don’t think you can chalk that up to coaching alone. You have to look at grocery buying and roster construction.

My bottom line is that the Steelers have been an upper echelon team, particularly because of their stability at QB and ability to draft very talented players (in some respects, I am very envious). But they have won about what one would expect. Offense doesn’t decide everything. Ask Peyton Manning.
I mean, since 2004 they've been incredible, really.

- 15 seasons
- 10 seasons of 10+ wins
- 5 seasons of 12+ wins
- 0 losing seasons
- 10 trips to the playoffs
- 7 division titles
- 5 trips to the AFCCG
- 3 AFC titles
- 2 Super Bowl championships

I mean, that's pretty damned good by any measure.

Well, except when you measure them up against the Patriots. Let's put it this way... when BB took over, if anyone had told us that THAT would be what he'd produce over 15 seasons, every single last one of us would have been blown away and thrilled to have achieved that.
 
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Saints Rest

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I mean, since 2004 they've been incredible, really.

- 15 seasons
- 10 seasons of 10+ wins
- 5 seasons of 12+ wins
- 0 losing seasons
- 10 trips to the playoffs
- 7 division titles
- 5 trips to the AFCCG
- 3 trips AFC titles
- 2 Super Bowl championships

I mean, that's pretty damned good by any measure.

Well, except when you measure them up against the Patriots. Let's put it this way... when BB took over, if anyone had told us that THAT would be what he'd produce over 15 seasons, every single last one of us would have been blown away and thrilled to have achieved that.
Exactly, and if the Football Gods could offer that up to us Pats fans for the next 15 years, we absolutely should consider ourselves lucky to have it.
 

Al Zarilla

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Well it's entirely possible that one day we will be trapped in the BB/TB era. The Pats could quite easily be a terrible franchise for a long time after these glory days are over, and it wouldn't surprise me if we regularly reference, especially as other fans mock the terrible Patriots, Brady, Belichick, and this incredible run they've been on.
There is at least one constant that’ll continue on and that’s ownership. Bob Kraft is getting up there but Jonathan has been right next to to him for quite a few years now. And Josh as head coach feels like a good transition when BB hangs up his whistle. Thing is can he be nasty enough when nasty is necessary? And the fabulous Tom-Josh synergy will be gone when Tom has had enough. Can only wait and see but I’m savoring and holding onto these great years with all my might.
 

54thMA

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There is at least one constant that’ll continue on and that’s ownership. Bob Kraft is getting up there but Jonathan has been right next to to him for quite a few years now. And Josh as head coach feels like a good transition when BB hangs up his whistle. Thing is can he be nasty enough when nasty is necessary? And the fabulous Tom-Josh synergy will be gone when Tom has had enough. Can only wait and see but I’m savoring and holding onto these great years with all my might.
This can't be overstated.

The Kraft's have too much at stake to let the team ever become mediocre. Don't get me wrong, you can say that about any NFL owner, but that team, stadium and the surrounding area are a license to print money and if the team is mediocre, all of that goes away.

As a season ticket holder from in the mid 1980's until the early 1990's, it's staggering what they have done to the area around the stadium and how much revenue it generates compared to that old shithole of a stadium next to an abandoned race track, the parking lot we tailgated in was dirt and potholes, looked like a back road in Morocco.

I guess my point is once Belichick steps down, they can't afford to hire a parade of buffoons like the Jets, Dolphins and Bills have hired as head coaches (and that latest Jets hire; good Lord, his eyes at that press conference still haunt me to this day).

Time will tell.
 

Caspir

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Jul 16, 2005
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Yeah, I'm not knocking them at all. If I were a Steelers fan, I'd be happy about the rings and the run. But I'd also look back on what could have been, most likely. If you're a Braves fan, you likely do, and there's way more luck involved in the baseball playoffs.
Am I misreading this? Baseball is a best of 7 series, football is a winner take all single elimination tournament. I'd think that there was a whole lot more luck/variance in football than baseball because it's harder for an inferior team to win four times as opposed to one.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Tomlin has kept it together because of Ben IMO. I can’t see them being successful post Ben but maybe I’m in the minority. If they had a better coach then sure.
Not for nothing, but I thought the Steelers were very well-coached in their game against the Pats this year.

Edit: Early nominee for the "Least Popular Post of 2019" award!
 

Jimbodandy

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Am I misreading this? Baseball is a best of 7 series, football is a winner take all single elimination tournament. I'd think that there was a whole lot more luck/variance in football than baseball because it's harder for an inferior team to win four times as opposed to one.
Your mileage may vary. In my opinion, the baseball playoffs are a crapshoot. Any one of the playoff teams last year could have gone on a streak and won it.
 

rodderick

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Am I misreading this? Baseball is a best of 7 series, football is a winner take all single elimination tournament. I'd think that there was a whole lot more luck/variance in football than baseball because it's harder for an inferior team to win four times as opposed to one.
But it's easier for an inferior baseball team to win one game than it is for a football team. Thing is there usually isn't much difference in quality in the playoffs, but for instance I think it would be much harder for the 2017 Titans to beat the Patriots in last year's playoffs than it would have been for a baseball team of a similar quality to Tennessee to beat the 2017 Astros in a 5 or 7 game series.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Not for nothing, but I thought the Steelers were very well-coached in their game against the Pats this year.

Edit: Early nominee for the "Least Popular Post of 2019" award!
Eh, I mean the season turned out okay for the Pats, so kudos to Tomlin for that win. I guess.
 

BusRaker

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Aug 11, 2006
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Am I misreading this? Baseball is a best of 7 series, football is a winner take all single elimination tournament. I'd think that there was a whole lot more luck/variance in football than baseball because it's harder for an inferior team to win four times as opposed to one.
Good baseball teams win 56% of their games. good football teams win 75%. That would statistically indicate that over 7 baseball games, a 85-77 team would beat a 90-72 team far more often than a 9-7 team would beat a 12-4 team in one game. Someone good at Pythagorean odds can chime in.
 

StupendousMan

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Good baseball teams win 56% of their games. good football teams win 75%. That would statistically indicate that over 7 baseball games, a 85-77 team would beat a 90-72 team far more often than a 9-7 team would beat a 12-4 team in one game. Someone good at Pythagorean odds can chime in.
A baseball team which wins 55.5% of its games (90-72 record) will win a best-of-seven series about 62 percent of the time; that means that the underdog will defeat it about 38 percent of the time.

A football team which wins 75% of its games (12-4 record) will win a best-of-one series about 75 percent of the time; that means that the underdog will defeat it only 25 percent of the time.

So, an upset in the championship round seems more likely in the World Series than in the Super Bowl, indeed.
 

Average Game James

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I really don't get how people are so sure Tomlin is a bad coach. Maybe he is the glue that holds together a crazy group. They are in the hunt every year.
I think it generally boils down to a team that seems to play down to its competition and lose a few games it shouldn’t every year combined with using the same failed defensive gameplan against the Pats year after year. Maybe the behind the scenes stuff is really bad and he’s having decent success with a group that would implode under any other coach... but from the outside, he seems to get less than he should out of a very talented roster.
 

BostonWolverine

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Dec 6, 2017
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Imagine if BB and TB retire tomorrow and the Pats go on a 25 year run of being mediocre to good, maybe even making a Super Bowl, but never winning one. Then they hit on a QB in the draft and make 3 Super Bowls, winning two in a 15 year span. That would be pretty fucking good if you ask me.
This almost perfectly describes the patriots organization from 86 to 04. Just in our case it kept going...
 

[icon]

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Jul 30, 2005
230
Memphis, TN
Interesting text message....

My brother lives in FL and has a lot of very wealthy / high profile clients for his business. One happens to be a huge Pats fan. Reportedly this guy was told by a FBI agent buddy that Kraft is under some huge investigation and is going to be raided sooner than later. IMO there's no way an agent would risk his career leaking that, even IF it were true... but figured I'd share on the snowball's chance in hell it's true. :D
BUMP... this was clearly a leak regarding the Prostitution Sting
 

djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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BUMP... this was clearly a leak regarding the Prostitution Sting
What’s crazy is that went through 4 degrees of people before it got to us readers, and it wasn’t complete bullshit. I remember reading your post and thinking to myself, “Yeah, suuure.”
 
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