They did it once, and they did it convincingly. But "Rants & Raves" promises you the Pittsburgh Steelers won't beat the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots when it matters most -- no, sir, not in the AFC title game:
In fact, the oddsmakers who established the Patriots as 3-point favorites for Sunday's game in Pittsburgh aren't giving them their proper due (though we realize they're trying to create two-way action at the sports books). Proper due, we say, would be New England by 10 points -- maybe more. ...
Why do we like New England so much, especially considering the Steelers, behind first-year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, beat the Patriots by two touchdowns back on Halloween? Two words, my football-freaky friends: Bill Belichick.
Just as he devised a defensive game plan that turned record-setting Colts QB Peyton Manning into "Pained" Manning, the genius mind that is Belichick will have a devious defensive scheme to bring an inglorious end to rookie Roethlisberger's glorious season.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls, Pittsburgh fans. It tolls for "Big Ben" -- about 3:30 p.m. Sunday ...
Frankly, the Steelers are lucky to be playing for the right to go to the Super Bowl. They beat the New York Jets in overtime Saturday only because Jets kicker Doug Brien missed a pair of field goals inside the final two minutes of regulation.
Poor Brien. We wouldn't stay his 43-yard attempt on the final play of regulation was off, but calling it "wide left" is understating it. It was more like "wide Ohio." ...
Is this finally the year the Philadelphia Eagles win the NFC championship and make their first Super Bowl in 24 years? While we like the Eagles' chances against the inconsistent and untested Atlanta Falcons, if they don't make it this year -- their fourth straight attempt -- they should be banned from playing in the game next season, should they make it that far. ...
Did you see Minnesota wide receiver Randy Moss bend over during Sunday's game against the Eagles? No, no, nothing disgusting this time. It was just the spanking he and his Vikings' teammates got at the hands of Philly. ...
So, how egregious was Moss' mock-mooning of Green Bay fans in that NFC wild-card game nine days ago? So utterly vile the NFL fined him $10,000 -- or less than two-tenths of 1 percent of his $5.75 million salary. That's equal to fining Joe Working Stiff, who makes $30,000 per year, a mere $52. ...
The Baltimore Ravens today will announce the hiring of Rick Neuheisel as quarterbacks coach and coordinator of the locker room NCAA Tournament pool. ...
As UNLV basketball fans bemoan the team's 0-2 Mountain West Conference start, they should remember this is nothing new for the once-proud program. In each of the previous four seasons, the Rebels have stumbled out of the league starting gate:
-- Last year, UNLV dropped its first two games, three of its first four and six of its first nine before recovering for a 7-7 MWC mark.
-- In 2002-03, the Rebels lost their first three, four of their first five and five of their first seven before rallying for an 8-6 record.
-- In 2001-02, UNLV opened league play 1-3 but roared back to win eight of its final 10 games and finish 9-5.
-- In 2000-01, the Rebels lost two of their first three and three of their first five before scrapping for a 7-7 mark.
Fans and, um, "select" print media members can whine, cry and pout all they want, but the truth is this ol' Scarlet-and-Gray mare just ain't what she used to be. ...
The puck stops here: InGlasCo of Sherbrooke, Quebec, the official supplier of pucks to the NHL, has laid off half of its staff as a result of the lockout that enters Day No. 125 today. Think that's sad? There's out-of-work Zamboni drivers panhandling at freeway off-ramps all over the Northeast, holding signs that read: "Will scrape car windshields for food."
Las Vegas Review-Journal
