The 2012 Pittsburgh Panthers started off the season strong and looked deserving of their Top 10 ranking. An early season loss at home to Long Beach State looked like a mere hiccup. It ultimately sent the Panthers into a tailspin they couldn’t recover from and combined with injuries the 2012 season was lost. However the young players such as JJ Moore and Lamar Patterson stepped up and the Panthers captured the 2012 CBI Championship. Next season the Panthers are coming back with a vengeance. They lost senior leaders Nassir Robinson and Ashton Gibbs however they reloaded with the recruitment of New Zealand native and top 5 recruit Steven Adams and Maryland guard James Robinson. They also got Trey Ziegler from Central Michigan who hopes to obtain clearance to take the court for the Panthers this season. The Panthers look poised for a big season and a return to dominance they have become accustomed to.

The Steelers have a pretty good quarterback too in Ben Roethlisberger, who has already won two Super Bowls through six years in the league. He, like Michael Vick, is on his own personal road to redemption after missing the first four games this season due to off the field issues. His play will be a major deciding factor on offense in who comes out victorious, but it’s on the defensive end where the game will be won.

It’s no secret that the Steelers have one of the top defenses in the league. It’s pretty much been a foregone conclusion throughout most of the decade. If the Steelers win, it will most likely be because of their defense. As indispensable as Big Ben is, the Steelers have a much more important player on the defensive end of the ball in No. 43: Troy Polamalu.

The Steelers lost their Week 15 game with the Jets 22-17. Brad Smith ran a kick back for a touchdown to start the game. The other deciding sequence was the safety that extended the Jet lead to 22-17, making a chip-shot field goal to tie the game out of the question when the Steelers were in the red zone during the waning seconds of the contest. But there was another reason as to why the Steelers let one slip away. Polamalu was not playing.

I can say this with confidence: Troy Polamalu is the most important defensive player to any one team. His absence is almost like an offense missing their starting quarterback. Just his presence alters a quarterback’s initial passing progressions. He single-handedly accounted for the Steelers division-deciding win over the Ravens in the regular season when he forced a fumble on Joe Flacco that led to Roethlisberger’s game-deciding touchdown to win the game. He even snagged seven interceptions in the regular season, good for second in the league despite missing two games.

So it’s safe to say he’s the main man when he steps onto the field. And he’s not the only guy you have to look out for. Don’t forget about the big three linebackers in James Farrior, James Harrison, and LaMarr Woodley.

The Steelers are excited to have Polamalu for this game against the Jets. Mark Sanchez is not excited. “He’s the ultimate playmaker,” Sanchez said of Polamalu. “He’ll do anything. He’ll sacrifice his body. He’ll kind of freelance out there and read your eyes. Especially a young quarterback, he’ll try to get after you early and rattle you.”

Good luck with that.

By Josh Delp of the Sports Fan Blog Network

“He has a commitment to being what we desire for him to be and what his team needs him to be and that’s my focus,” Tomlin said. “I’ve seen Ben quite a bit and communicated with him quite a bit throughout all of this.”

Roethlisberger was suspended after a 20-year-old Georgia college student accused him of sexual assault in March. No charges were filed.

Roethlisberger is also being sued by a woman who claims he sexually assaulted her at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2008 but faces no charges.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

Ross Ohlendorf pitched seven strong innings, charged with one undeserved run.


Garrett Jones homered and doubled.

Bobby Crosby’s pinch-hit RBI single scored Jones after the latter to break a 1-1 tie.

And Octavio Dotel closed it out with a strikeout for his 11th save and the official end of the team’s five-game losing streak.

Even the weather cooperated, with pockets of thunderstorms all over the county but somehow dodging the North Shore.

Nice day, right?

Well, forget it all and focus instead on what reliever Evan Meek called “the play that won this game,” a defensive gem by third baseman Andy LaRoche that might have been, in its own way, among the Pirates’ best this summer.

Click here to read the full article – By Dejan Kovacevic of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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Teams will always seek young quarterbacks. Players like Brady Quinn are traded on a regular basis. Suppose Leftwich starts the beginning of the year, and lives up to expectations. Nothing will change. But, if Dixon starts, and plays well, he has instant trade value. And the Steelers could be shipping away an undrafted player, and get quality value in return. It is a tough risk for a team that is clearly in win-now mode. But if they want to win now, and win later, Dennis Dixon should be their man at the beginning of the season.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Crosby assisted on Evgeni Malkin’s power-play goal 11:50 in, the only score of the first period.

Crosby scored two of Pittsburgh’s three goals in a 2:25 span early in the second. Matt Cooke scored 12 seconds after Crosby’s first goal to make it 3-0, and the Penguins’ 22-year-old captain added his fourth goal of the series at 6:12 to chase Brian Elliott.

“I feel like I’m creating things,” Crosby said. “That’s what I want to do and the puck’s gone in.”

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

While Ben Roethlisberger may be a free man, it seems that he has alot of work to do to repair his image and win back the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many seem to be done with the off field issues that have plauged Roethlisberger, and some believe that the Steelers should trade or release the quaterback who has led the team to two Super Bowl wins. While it is expected that the Steelers keep Roethlisberger, they did trade troubled wide reciever and former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes, dumping Roethlisberger would not be a complete shock.

by Josh Weiner at the Sports Fan Blog Network