Tree of Life

13 Feb

Q&A with Pittsburgh Power wide receiver P.J. "Superman" Berry by Dominic Errico

published in category: College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, February 13th, 2012 – 10:41 am

This will be the first of what I hope becomes a recurring feature here on "The Voice Says…." blog. I want to give you guys a chance to get to know some of the players who are part of our sports teams here in Pittsburgh.

My first victim, errr, volunteer is a superstar in the Arena Football league and will suit up for our Pittsburgh Power in the 2012 season. His name is P.J. Berry, but you'll learn to love him as "Superman."

Last year in his rookie season in the Arena Football league he broke the single season record for total yards, and was named the JLS Ironman of the Year, First team All-AFL as a kick returner, and also earned a spot as one of five men on the All-Ironman team.

Q. What do you like most about the game of Arena Football?
A. I like the fans definitely. Also the fact I can do just about any end zone celebration! (laughs)

Q. What led to your decision to leave New Orleans and come to play for the Power?
A. I just felt like it was time to go. I'm thankful to New Orleans and hated to leave, but it was time for something new. I still love all the fans but sometimes change is good. Along with that, coming to Pittsburgh was a long time in the making. Coach Siegfried (Power head coach) wanted me to play for him for a while but the timing just wasn't right. Now that he's along with my good friend Coach Sting (Power defensive coordinator Derek Stingley) the timing is definitely good now.

Q. How many teams showed interest in you?
A. Every team – it's kinda funny. For the past three years I've had high numbers in the league and every offseason it feels like colleges are recruiting me out of high school again. It's funny and I'm grateful for it but at the same time it's also stressful.

Q. What are your thoughts of the Steel City so far?
A. It's cool but very different. Somewhat of a slower pace from what I'm used to. Steelers fans are crazy (laughs). But it's an all around cool city.

Q. What do you think of your coaches and fellow teammates so far?
A. The nickname started in college. People knew my name because it would get called out all the time during the game. They didn't know my face off the field. When the professor would call my name in class the students would say, "You're P.J. Berry? Man you're great! All I hear is your name at the games!" My teammates would say, "You do some of the most amazing things I've ever seen on the field. You're like Clark Kent off the field, but Superman on!" So the name stuck!

Q. Do you have any superstitions before playing a game?
A. I know I should because I used to play baseball. I guess I just have rituals more so than superstitions. I have to have 3 to 4 bottles of one liter smart water. I always have to take a hot shower before the game. Always have to take two laps around the field before I start stretching. And I don't put my Superman shirt on until after pregame warmups.

Q. What's the greatest moment of your football career?
A. I don't think I've had it yet. I've had some great individual moments. But I think in football it's a team game, and I haven't won a championship yet. Being an All-American in college, being first team AFL, breaking records, and being Ironman of the Year are all great feats, but it's not a championship.

Q. Who is the best player you've faced in the Arena Football league?
A. Haven't met him yet (laughs). But if I had to pick one, a good opponent would have to be Micheaux Robinson.

Q. If you found a magic lamp and got three wishes from a Genie, what would they be?
A. First – unlimited wishes. Second – world peace. For example there would be no such thing as racism. Third – I wish I could play football forever.

Q. Tell me something about yourself that would surprise a lot of people.
A. I read books often and I sing a lot, especially in the shower.

Q. Do you have any predictions for the 2012 season?
A. Win a championship and break the kickoff return TD record.

Q. What would you like to say to the fans of Pittsburgh?
A. I'm happy to be here, I appreciate it. My goal is to bring a championship to the city, I mean it is the City of Champions. I'm going to bring excitement to the game and the city. I'm a character, trust me you will love me. And I'm going to have fun. That's what I'm here to do, to put on a show.

A. Like I said earlier I think highly of coach Siegfried and always wanted to play for him. Coach Sting is a close friend and a mentor. He's the only coach I've ever played for. As far as my teammates, they're cool. A few are here and we're bonding everyday. We really need that chemistry.

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Posted in College Sports, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

13 Feb

It's Not personal, It's Business. Unless We Make it Personal by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, February 13th, 2012 – 8:54 am

There's some sort of disconnect in the Pittsburgh Steelers organization these days.

First of all this offseason we had head coach Mike Tomlin come out and say all the coaches would be returning, only for him to turn around a short time later and announce that Bruce Arians was "retiring."

We saw how legitimate that "retirement" was when Arians quickly pounced on the open offensive coordinator position with the Indianapolis Colts.

Now today we are hearing Hines Ward might not be back with the Steelers next season. According to NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora, the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to sever ties with the all-time leader in just about every receiving category in franchise history.

I can see both sides of the debate about whether to keep Hines Ward around even at the veteran minimum. He's slipped down to the point where he is at best a 5th wide receiver, a position usually reserved for guys who can also play special teams. The only time we've seen Ward do that recently was in his role in the upcoming Batman movie.

I don't understand how someone in the Steelers organization could let it slip to the media that the team was planning to cut Hines Ward. A player should hear about it from the team first, not the media.

Even though the NFL is a game of football, it's still a game played at the professional level. Players get cut all the time. It's not personal, it's business. However, if you let news like this slip to the media first I think you've crossed the line and made it personal.

This isn't how you should handle the possible departure of a player who has been at the very core of the teams recent run of success. This isn't how you treat a potential hall-of-famer.

If you're going to cut a guy, tell him to his face. This guy has given his heart and soul to the black and gold for his entire 14-year NFL career. At the very least, he deserves that courtesy.

I grew up hearing about how the Steelers did things the right way. Lately, it seems as though the Steelers might be losing their way a bit.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

10 Feb

Pirates, Pitt Hoops and Weekend Lineup

published in category: College Sports, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, February 10th, 2012 – 4:17 pm

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark has reported that SEVERAL teams have asked about trading for Garrett Jones. I know the question you are asking yourself right now is why? But a better question is why have the Pirates decided that Garrett Jones is untradeable? He's Garrett Jones, he hits pretty good against right-handers (career .275/.354/.483) but he's horrible against lefties and he's a butcher in the field, at any position. Now maybe that doesn't matter in a movie like Moneyball, but Brad Pitt's never seen Jones try to play first base, he's worse than the guy from Parks and Rec.

Some people are less than excited at the prospect of A.J. Burnett coming to the Pirates, they point to his 5.15 ERA. He plays in the AL East, nobody's tearing it up pitching in that divison. Now the NL Central without Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder is the division you want to be pitching in, his ERA will drop into the 3's real quick. Plus PNC Park is the ideal park for Burnett to pitch in.

Does Ashton Gibbs have the worst body language of any Pitt basketball player you've ever seen? Gibbs played better and smarter as a freshman than he's playing this season. Tray Woodall has been great since his return, he's obviously the guy that makes the Panthers offense go but he still makes three to four just insanely egregious tunovers a game. He needs to cut them out of his game before next season, he may be better without Gibbs. Unlike Gibbs, Woodall could actually be the Big East Player of the Year next season. Speaking of next season, when Steven Adams arrives in Oakland, this is the strategy Jamie Dixon should employ: 2-3 zone with Adams in the middle and Dante Taylor and Talib Zanna flanking him. Try getting any kind of easy inside basket against them, it's exactly what Syracuse does when they get a slew of big guys (like this season). But it will never happen, Dixon will rotate Taylor and Adams at the 5 spot, and you'll never see them on the court at the same time.

Daniel Dudley hosts Saturday and Sunday 10am-1pm, check out the guest lineups:
Saturday
11a- Ray Mernagh of NBEBasketball.com on Pitt, Big East and College hoops-

11:30a- Brian Metzer-covers Pens for XM Home Ice and Kukla's Korner- @Brian_Metzer on twitter

12noon-Marcel Mutoni of SlamOnline.com on NBA Hoops @marcel_mutoni on twitter

12:30-Brian McElhinny of Raise the Jolly Roger- on twitter @rtjr

Sunday
10:30a-Michael Grau

11a-Matt Steinbrink-covers Pitt Hoops for PantherLair.com

11:30a- Tony Dobies of BlueGoldNews.com on WVU hoops and football @DOBIEST on twitter

12:30- RMU Hoops Writer Paul Schofield of the Trib

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Posted in College Sports, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates

 

09 Feb

Steelers Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley's Press Conference

published in category: Uncategorized on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 – 4:41 pm

Head Coach Mike Tomlin starts off by introducing Haley.

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Posted in Uncategorized

 

09 Feb

Pirates Looking to Improve Rotation by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Pirates, Wrestling Reality on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 – 4:17 pm

In the past few days, the Pirates have been linked to Edwin Jackson and AJ Burnett as possible targets to improve their starting rotation. On Monday, the Pirates released information that they had offered Jackson a 3 year, $30 million contract before he decided to sign with the Washington Nationals for 1 year, $11 million.

Despite pitching for six teams in his young career, Jackson would have undoubtedly bolstered the Pirates' rotation. He has a consistent mid-90s fastball with late movement and a solid slider in the mid-80s; he had 44% ground balls last season and limited his walks to 2.8 per 9 innings. At an age where many pitchers' careers begin to skyrocket (I.E. Roy Halladay), Jackson would have been the perfect staple in the Pirates' rotation over the next three years.

But he didn't sign in Pittsburgh. He didn't take a three year deal; it seems he wanted to play for a team he thought he could compete with. Seemingly, he would only play for a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates if they overpaid him. With an extraordinary amount of talent coming through the system and a dire need to give Andrew McCutchen an extension to his contract, spending at least $15 million would have been an unwise decision. Although Edwin Jackson has a lot of talent, he is far from an elite pitcher and worth much less than $10 million, in my opinion. Keep in mind, he's had issues with his command as his BB/9 ratio and WHIP have fluctuated from season to season.

Since Edwin Jackson was out of the equation, ESPN's Buster Olney and Fox Sports correspondent Ken Rosenthal, rumored the Pirates to have interest in Yankees' starter AJ Burnett. In fact, they both wrote about how the Pirates were the ONLY team that would have interest in the veteran righty.

To acquire Burnett, the Pirates would need to initiate a trade with the Yankees. In such a trade, they would likely agree to pay most of the remaining $33 million on Burnett's contract. Olney indicated that Garret Jones would be a potential trade piece. While the Yankees would get a platoon/DH player, the Pirates would get a 35 year old pitcher with a 5.00+ ERA in each of the last two seasons. While many are quick to point out that he pitched in Yankee stadium (comparable to Williamsport in terms of dimensions), it is notable that last season his road ERA was the concern, as it ballooned to 6.28.

Nevertheless, Burnett has an explosive fastball and he has a sharp curveball that racked up 173 strikeouts last year (31 more than James McDonald). If the Pirates can send a bench player and receive a player of this caliber, what is the risk? In the worst case scenario, he pitches poorly and is eventually dealt for a low-grade minor leaguer. In the best case scenario, he escapes the New York spotlight and delivers a solid season before the end of his career. Unlike Matt Morris, Burnett certainly has the talent to put up one more outstanding season.

So, why are the Pirates doing this? Why does it matter if they go after Edwin Jackson or AJ Burnett? Is it just for ticket sales? Not exactly. Despite playing in a six-team division, the NL Central is arguably the worst division in baseball. While the Cincinnati Reds look to be the favorite, the Pirates went 10-5 against them last year. That leaves the St. Louis Cardinals (without Albert Pujols), the Milwaukee Brewers (minus Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun for 50 games), the Chicago Cubs (currently in the process of rebuilding), and the Houston Astros (give me a break!). The Pirates have an great opportunity to make some serious noise in an otherwise mute division. Signing a solid, veteran starter would go a long way in 2012.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Pirates, Wrestling Reality

 

07 Feb

Todd Haley Will Soon Take the Reigns of the Pittsburgh Steelers Offense by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 – 10:47 am

Halley's Comet appears visible to the Earth once every 75-76 years. Todd Haley's hiring as offensive coordinator is another strange occurrence for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It has been a long time since the Steelers hired an outsider to run the offense. You have to go back to 1999 (Kevin Gilbride) to find the last offensive coordinator that was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers from outside the organization's coaching staff. That's a long time in the NFL.

Haley served as the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals for the later part of the 2007 season and full time for their run to the Super Bowl in 2008. That season saw the Arizona Cardinals put up a franchise record 427 points and averaged 365.8 Yards per game, good for fourth in the NFL. They nearly pulled off a stunning upset in Super Bowl XLIII against the Steelers.

He became the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and removed Chan Gailey as offensive coordinator, preferring to call his own plays. We saw a complete shift in offensive style to a rushing based attack. To me this shows Haley is willing to adapt his offensive gameplans to utilize the weapons he has at his disposal.

The main reason he wasn't as successful in Kansas City is because he had Matt Cassel instead of Kurt Warner, Dwayne Bowe instead of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. He did have Jamaal Charles, which was a big reason for focusing on the run.

He brings a fiery attitude that might seem like a direct contrast to the calm, cool and collected manner in which head coach Mike Tomlin operates, but I think that could be a good thing for this team.

I see a ton of similarities between the talent the Steelers have on offense and the pieces Haley had to work with in that magical 2008 season.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can do a lot of the same things Kurt Warner could do, plus Big Ben is more mobile and a lot harder to bring down. The Steelers have two Pro-Bowl caliber wide receivers in Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, just like that 2008 squad had with Boldin and Fitzgerald. I'm also convinced Rashard Mendenhall has a lot more talent that Edgerrin James did by that point of his career, and Tim Hightower isn't exactly a superstar.

The biggest thing I expect Haley to bring will be balance to the way the Steelers attack opposing defenses. I don't think the Steelers will start flinging it 65% of the time, and I don't think Mendenhall will suddenly become the focal point of the offense. The final numbers should land somewhere in the middle, and that's a good thing.

The Steelers were good under Bruce Arians, but I also think Todd Haley is just the right guy to make them great.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

07 Feb

Finally! Dermontti Dawson Reaches Hall of Fame by Jon Pennline

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 – 9:09 am

Sometimes eight times is a charm.

In Dermontti Dawson's case, that certainly appears to be true. After being overlooked by football Hall of Fame voters -whether it was the fact that there were already "too many steelers" or better players to choose from- for 7 years, Dawson will finally be enshrined as one of football's immortals. Going with him are Curtis Martin, Jack Butler, Will Roaf, Chris Doleman, and Cortez Kennedy.

Dawson was selected by the Steelers with the 44th pick, in the second round, of the 1988 NFL Draft. He played alongside Mike Webster before permanently replacing him in 1989. From there, Dawson became a 7-time Pro Bowler, including 6 selections to First-Team All-Pro and the 90's All-Decade Team. The Steelers led the league in rushing twice in Dawson's 13 year career and they also put up the most points in the AFC (406) during their Super Bowl season in 1995. At roughly 6'2 290 pounds, Dawson was strong but also extremely fast for his size. He was best known for "pulling" to throw the lead block on wide running plays.

Dawson played in all 16 regular season games from 1989-1998 but ended up retiring in 2000 after dealing with chronic hamstring injuries. He is second in franchise history in consecutive games played with 170.

Despite never officially retiring his number, the Steelers have never had another player wear #63 in honor of Dawson's contributions to the Steelers. It is nice to see the NFL finally pay tribute after nearly a decade of rejecting one of the greatest centers of all time.

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 

06 Feb

Eli Manning proves he is a better "Big Game" quarterback than his brother Peyton by Dominic Errico

published in category: Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, February 6th, 2012 – 2:47 pm

Super Bowl XLVI is in the books, and once again Eli Manning drove the Giants downfield on a game-winning touchdown drive in the last few minutes of the Super Bowl.

Eli now has two Super Bowl rings compared to the one Peyton has. Eli has a winning record in the playoffs, Peyton does not.

Eli has also won two Super Bowl MVP's to Peyton's one.

Eli has beaten arguably the best coach and best quarterback in the NFL twice. Peyton beat Lovie Smith and Rex Grossman, and also threw a pick-six to lose a Super Bowl to the Saints.

You can't take anything away from Peyton Manning's regular season stats. He dominates just about every other quarterback that ever played the game in that regards. Last I checked though, no one ever gives you a title for winning in the regular season. I'm talking to you Baltimore.

For all the well deserved accolades Peyton receives in his career, he has gone one and done in the playoffs EIGHT times. Twice now, Eli Manning has taken his team from the wild card round to the top of the NFL world.

Everyone always says if you want to accurately predict who will win a playoff game, just look at who has the better quarterback. How many playoff games have the Colts played in with Peyton at QB and lost to inferior quarterbacks? I know, Peyton's stats haven't been horrible in the postseason, but even still, the truly great quarterbacks find a way to lead their team to glory.

If we're talking about the regular season then Peyton is your guy although Eli threw for 4933 yards this season. That's a better total than Peyton's best year of 4700 yards. Maybe Eli is ready to take over for Peyton in regular season domination as well.

Almost makes you wish you could be there for the next Manning Thanksgiving dinner. We all know Peyton is still better at shouting "Cut that meat."

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Posted in Pittsburgh Steelers

 



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