Hard to believe, but we’re back after a 19 month hiatus.  Might be another 19 before we do it again, so check out our topic list for this week:

• Pirates finances – is it so bad to make money?
• The building of the new Bucs
• Dennis Dixon is Kordell only not as good.
• The end of Charile Batch
• Steelers 2010 predictions
• Pens not resigning Bill Guerin
• Pittsburgh Power AFL team

Linkage:

• Pittsburgh Lumber Company
• Bed Intruder Remix via 96.1 Freakshow
• Wasteland Weekends (Mad Max Reenactments)

You can listen by using the embedded player or via ITunes, Blubrry, Talkshoe, Podcast Alley, or over at Podcast Pickle.

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However, recently, I’ve been in the process of rebooting the site…plugging the finest links in the universe over on the sportsocracy.net Tumblr, saying stupid things on Twitter, writing a little more here (and much more to come), and now the true crown jewel, broadcasting words you can actually hear.  I have a bunch of friends, acquaintances, and people I openly hate, all of whom seem to want to talk about Pittsburgh sports, their terrible taste in movies, and general stupidness.  I’ll be forcing them to come onto the show in the future for the purposes of shame and humiliation, plus it might provide just an iota of entertainment.  Well, probably not.  First taping goes down tomorrow night at 9pm.  See yinz there?  You can follow along live on the Talkshoe widget over at thesportsocracyshow.com or get the finished product, whatever that means, on ITunes.

Follow Sportsocracy on Twitter and Facebook, because knowing is half the battle.

After Saturday’s preseason opener against the Lions, there’s even more Steelers QB drama running amok in the general public.  There’s a weird clamor going around and getting louder for Dennis Dixon to take over as the starter while Big Ben serves out his suspension at the beginning of the season.

Byron Leftwich started the game (as he should), but looked pretty shaky out there and basically did his best impersonation of a freezer, nailed to the floor, attached to an anchor, only less mobile.  In Iron Byron’s defense, pass protection for the short time he played was pretty atrocious.  I’m looking at you, Flozell Adams.  From far away, so you don’t kill me.

Dixon put up good numbers, 6/7 for 128 yards, buoyed by a 68-yard TD to the smoking fast Antonio Brown.  However, the majority of his play time came against scrubs and more specifically, Detroit Lions scrubs.  And if you watched any of the game at all, Dixon took off running a bunch of times at the first sign of any pressure in the pocket.  On the surface, you look at his stat line of 6 rushes for 31 yards and think that’s totally okay.  Again though, you’re talking about most of that coming against guys that will be bagging groceries in two weeks.  It’s appropriate that Dixon changed his number to 10 this year, because he’s starting to play exactly like a certain other guy that wore that number and played QB.  You remember Kordell right?  You remember how the public fell in love with the guy, the denizens of Schenley Park notwithstanding, and how that worked out right?  Be careful what you wish for, yinzers.

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On the eve of the Steelers’ first 2010 preseason game, lots of questions loom, the most pressing of which is what’s going on at QB?  Normally at this time of year, Ben Roethlisberger strolls in, we all make jokes about benching him for Charlie Batch, Kordell Stewart getting BJs in Schenley Park, or bringing Cliff Stoudt out of retirement, he throws for a gazillion yards and wins a bunch of games, and life goes on.  This year, things are totally weird though.  Big Ben is likely suspended for the first four games of the season (you may have heard something about this on the news).  That means for the first quarter of the season, the Steelers are looking at some combination of Byron (Giant Gary Coleman) Leftwich, the aforementioned Charlie Batch, and perennial wildcard, Dennis Dixon.

Leftwich has 49 career starts, was a franchise QB  as recently as 2005 in JAX, and was brought back to the team for 2010 after departing to Tampa last year to chase a starting QB job there, to expressly fill in while Ben is out of the lineup.  He’s big and completely immobile, actually takes better care of the ball then Roethlisberger, but probably suffers in the way of offensive potency for it.  Still, he’s a legit NFL quarterback, a safe bet to run an offense for an extended period of time, though it’s hard to envision him taking a team to a championship or anything like that.

Charlie Batch is the longtime backup here and the yinzer pick to start in Big Ben’s absence.  Let’s face it though, Charlie is 35 years old and hasn’t really been a starter in the league for almost a decade now.  I’m not saying he can’t mop up games, isn’t a good influence on the team and in the locker room, and probably couldn’t get the team through 4 starts this season…I am saying if there’s a better option, the Steelers would be wise to use it.  In reality, Batch is probably in danger of not making the roster for Opening Day and even if he does, would be on the road to Cutsville when Ben is activated after week 4.

Dennis Dixon represents the highest risk-reward of the bunch and is easily the most combustible element present at QB.  He’s an excellent runner, but a project at the position with a grand total of one NFL start under his belt.  He’s definitely the most talented athlete of the three, if not the most dangerous big play threat.  Add that his loud mouth agent, who’s name I won’t even bother looking up, was in the press prior to the season opining on how Dixon should be starting in Ben’s absence, and all of a sudden, there’s a lot of pressure and support to throw Dixon out there and see what happens.  I can’t see Dixon getting the nod over Leftwich at this juncture though.  Two reasons for that: 1.) The team is in the midst of retooling and is certainly on the downswing this year, but they play in a weak division…a few lucky bounces and breaks and all of a sudden, 10-6 and a playoff berth is within reach.  For the record, I think they’ll be more like 6-10 this year, but I think 2010 is far from a throwaway season for this team.  They have a better chance of success using Leftwich and trying to hold the fort down until Ben comes back than throwing Dixon out there for on-the-job training.  2.) If the Steelers were sold on Dixon, they would have never brought back Leftwich in the first place.  Dixon isn’t ready to start regularly and may very well never be.  In the day and age of rookie QBs starting 8, 10, 15 games a season, it’s crazy to me to say a guy in his 3rd NFL season hasn’t been ready to play or even be a lone backup and then expect him to start all of a sudden.  I’m not saying the guy can’t play, I’m just saying if they Steelers REALLY knew he could, he’d already be the starter for this upcoming Ben-less stretch.

So mark it down, Leftwich-Dixon-Batch followed by Ben-Leftwich-Dixon, assuming no one breaks a fribula or their funny bone or anything.  NO CONTROVERSY, other than the made up kind.

Follow Sportsocracy on Twitter and Facebook, because knowing is half the battle.Similar Posts:

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I try not to get too nuts about the Pirates.  They’re down a lot more than they’re up (thanks, Captain Obvious) with that 38-70 record and by the time I can put together my thoughts on a good win, they’ve already proceeded to lose two more games.  The James (Ronald) McDonald debut from last night feels differently though.

McDonald struck out the first four batters of the game and six of the first seven he faced, ultimately putting up eight Ks in six scoreless innings.  I know it’s the Pirates, but you can’t tell me that’s not at least a little bit interesting, if not downright exciting.  At the very least, I think we’ll see something exciting every fifth game with McDonald out there, at least until the team finds a way to blow up his arm like they tend to do to lots of their young starters.  Still though, people are buzzing a little bit about the Bucs today, despite the Steelers being in training camp and the Pens prepping to open their sick new arena…no small feat.

Pic comes via the PG

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The league unveiled the logo for the Winter Classic and the Pens logo for the event (fat penguin, yo).

And…that’s about it, folks.  No jerseys, no ticket information, no nothing.  My non-existent intern could have written you up a two paragraph blurb to put on NHL.com,  saving the league and everyone involved $1 million worth of travel.  The only halfway cool thing that came to light yesterday was this vid of Sid and Mario skating at the new Consol Energy Center.

Link to the video is totally stolen from Pensblog.  They are good men and thorough.

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Kaye Cowher passed away at the age of 54 this weekend.  A tough loss at a young age for former Steelers coach Bill Cowher and his family.  She played three seasons in the Women’s Professional Basketball League back in the late 70s/early 80s and was a mother of three.

Bill released a statement to the press saying:

Sadly, my wife Kaye lost her battle with cancer on Friday. Kaye was such a loving and compassionate person and she was the foundation of our family.  Kaye was always at my side throughout my career as a player, coach, NFL analyst, and most importantly, as a parent to our three daughters Meagan, Lauren and Lindsay. They will miss their mother dearly.  Kaye was the rock that we could all lean on in the tough times. She was looked up to by so many people and I cannot say enough about what Kaye meant to our family.  Her memory will never be forgotten. We would like to thank everyone who has kept our family in their thoughts and prayers and for those who have reached out to express their condolences. It is clear that Kaye touched a lot of lives.

Bill Cowher is still massively adored here in Pittsburgh, scoring that “One For the Thumb” 5th Super Bowl for the Steelers back in 2006.  Major condolences go out to the Cowhers.

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The Pirates drafted Texas high school pitcher, Jameson Taillon with the second pick in this year’s MLB draft.  I don’t pretend to know much about high school prospects or that I am any kind of baseball expert or anything.  What I do know is this:

-He’s 6’7 and already has serious command of four pitches

-His name gets used in the same sentence as the phrases “tremendous upside” and “staff ace” a lot.

-Dave Littlefield would have never drafted him

-Smart guys like Pat Lackey, Cory Humes, Rocco DeMaro, and Alan Smodic say it’s an unreasonably excellent choice

I mean, what else do you want?  I’m sure the Bucs will blow out his arm before he turns 20, but for now, he’s instantly becomes the top prospect in the system.  Picks like this, Cutch, Pedro Alvarez, Neil Walker, and Tony Sanchez in recent years, it’s almost like the Bucs actually WANT to win.  Crazy, huh?  Woooo, Pirates.

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And my pick, a totally vintage performance of Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love:

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