2/29/12 Hines Ward: Love with your heart, but think with your head."

            First of all I want to think Dom Errico for giving me this great opportunity to cross over and hopefully, the first of many opportunities, to share my blogs with the “The Voice Says…”              You can check it out at http://www.voicesays.com.   

Book mark it as well because Dom covers all Pittsburgh area sports.

This is a sad day in Pittsburgh, akin to when the great Casey struck out. Hines Ward has been released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.   The four-time All-Pro, All-Time Steeler Leader in receptions (1000), receiving yards (12,083), and receiving touchdowns (85),  is the victim of an opponent none of us gets to beat forever, time.  His diminished skills over the past season, along with the emergence of a young receiver corps that is quickly proving itself to be among the league’s most talented has left no room at the inn for the hall-of-famer.  Sad, but no one can stay in their prime forever.

I guess what I find sadder is all the negative responses to the Pittsburgh Steeler organization for the way he has been treated.  I think this has been about as good as it can get for both sides.  You look at the Montana’s, the Rice’s, even the Emmitt Smith’s. C’mon folks, have you all forgotten Franco Harris’ stint with the Seahawks already???  Is there a better way that this can go?   No, I don’t think so.  The Steelers are doing everything they can to hold onto Mike Wallace, probably the present and future for the Steelers.  No team can hold on long to the past, something you are going to see proven again soon with Peyton Manning.  It is arguable if Hines is even the 4^th best receiver on the team, a position that usually is kept for a special-teamer as well.  This is a business decision pure and simple.  I see a lot of people complaining about what life will be like without Hines.  But I also no darn well that if they resigned him, the first time the Steelers got behind or had a special teams gaff, the excuse “well, we had to keep Hines in so we are short a guy” isn’t gonna cut it.  Many don’t remember the sad parting with Terry Bradshaw, when he was boo’d off the field in the early 80’s.   This from a guy who had won 4 Super Bowls for the team just a few years before.  It was actually a decade or more before he would even return to Pittsburgh.  Now he is as close to a Saint as you can probably become in Pittsburgh, deservedly so for what he did over his career.

Lastly, there was a lot of opinions concerning what the Steeler organization “let slip”.  I don’t know if I believe that.  In this day and age our media will do ANYTHING to outscoop the next guy.  I believe that some clown thought he was gonna get his name on the tagline about being able to “hear it here first” for something that anyone with a good balance of sentimentality and football sense already knew was inevitable. Don’t expect the truth until it comes from the horses mouth.  And even then, consider the horse.  And let’s be honest, the Steelers have made Hines a very rich man for his services.

This is what I believe happens.  Hines goes on to play two more years with a team as a locker room leader and maybe 3^rd to 4^th wide receiver.  Something he has certainly earned the right to do.  He then signs a one day contract so that he can retire a Steeler, be given the hero’s welcome he deserves, takes an in-house position with the Steeler organization (if he so chooses) or on to television and goes in the Hall of Fame on the 2^nd ballot in a Steelers uniform.  (“2nd ballot you say?!” Yes, there are a lot of people out there that love hating on the Steeler’s success, and Jerome Bettis didn’t get in on the first ballot and at one time he was the 3^rd leading rusher in NFL history!)

            I will keep my memories of Hines Ward as the greatest Steeler receiver of all time, team leader, and Dancing with the Stars Champion (though I must admit I didn’t really watch that much.)  But I also understand it’s a business, and I don’t blame either side, the Steelers for wanting to place Ward’s salary on a little more talent, or Hines for wanting to play a few more years.  Retirement is all too often (unless you are Brett Farve), final.  Thanks for the memories Hines and God Bless your future!

Whitney Houston and the Flags at Half Mast

        New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been the center of controversy all week.  First he vetoed a controversial gay-marriage law that had been approved by the lower levels of the New Jersey State legislature.  Then he ordered state flags been placed at Half-mast for the funereal of singer/entertainer Whitney House.

            Though I have no ill will towards Whitney, this one seems like a head-scratcher.  Her past history with her demons withstanding, I don’t see how an actor or entertainer who makes millions has earned that right.  Don’t get me wrong, I grew up with “I wanna Dance with Somebody”, still my favorite of hers, but I thought the American Flag was a symbol for those who served the flag, such as solders and public servants.
            I think America has gotten ridiculous over entertainers. These people are making millions off of us already for their music and shows.  And given, they are earning that.  But this is hero worship at another level.  These folks are adequately compensated for what the do.  Flying the flag at half-mast, is for a person that died in service to others, whether it be at war or peace time.  Making yourself millions in the process doesn’t exactly qualify.  If she had died trying to save a child, or stop a crime, I think then we would have to honor that attempt, but I don’t think that is what happened.  Now I don’t agree with the scenes of military coffins with “Whitney Who” draped across the bottom, images that have been running rampant on Facebook lately.  I think you are comparing apples to oranges there.  Whitney is not asking to be on the front page over our soldiers.  That is our media that is doing that silliness.   I think it would be more appropriate to say “Rupert Murdoch who?”  or something along those lines.  Whitney deserves the praise at her funeral, but flying the flags at half-mast is for a different kind of people.

But what do you think?  And as always, keep it clean!

Up Next: Boxing needs a No-Nepotism Law!

The Start!

Okay, this is the start.  For some of you guys(damn you Tim and Dave!), I threatened to start a political blog, but I realized that there are a lot of things I wanted to talk about so I had to expand my view to include other things (like football)!  My blogs for sports will also be picked up by good friend and media mogul Dominick Errico’s “The Voice Says…” Blog carried on Pittsburgh’s Trib Live page , the political ones it’s probably just better to keep in house!

            I knew I needed to do this the other day when I put a funny clip of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show on with Sean Hannity’s committee on birth control.  (Which I thought was especially entertaining when you have no women on it.  That’s like a committee on the problems caused by erectile dysfunction being all women.  Just doesn’t work.)  But within a day the blog had exploded, half the posts were by people I hadn’t even friended!  But that’s ok, I like debating politics, I just don’t like it getting involved with my other business on Facebook.  The language can get kinda harsh and I communicate with my family on my Facebook so I wanted to create a new venue.  And here we are!   As you can see, anyone is free to join and comment, and please do!  I just have a couple rules.  Don’t make it personal, don’t get ignorant or vulgar and agree to disagree!  Thanks guys and I hope all of you get involved!  A couple other quick things.  You can add you e-mail and the Blogspot will let you know whenever something new has been posted.  And your e-mail doesn’t go anywhere else. I won’t sell it to Microsoft or anything….  And finally, no anonymous posting, if you are going to say something, be man enough (or woman enough) to put your name to it!  Let the fun begin!

UP NEXT:  Whitney Houston and the New Jersey flags at Half-Mast