A tribute to Hall of Famer Rod Woodson

Former Steeler Rod Woodson, a native of Fort Wayne, will be inducted into the pro football Hall of Fame this summer.

Woodson entered the league with the Steelers, where he was one of the greatest cornerbacks ever. He had 71 interceptions in his 17-year career, including 12 returned for touchdowns. And yet, when he returned to the Summit City to be honored, he did not speak much about football. He talked about how much the Fort Wayne community meant to him and how it would enter the hall with him.

The city of Fort Wayne will place signs at city entrances denoting Woodson's accomplishment. It is richly deserved, even though he played football for that other school before reaching the pro ranks. And of course, he would go into the Hall of Fame as a Steeler, if possible.

Here is a good Woodson highlight video.

World American football needs improvement

The U.S. won the Junior World Championship of American Football easily ... too easily. It was so easy I thought I was looking at video game football stats.

The American team, a group of player age 19 and under, won its three games by a combined score of 174-3: they beat France 78-0; Mexico 55-0; and Canada 41-3 to win the gold medal.

I'm not sure the Americans broke a sweat during the three games. But it was defense that won it. The French had -31 yards rushing and only 7 net yards for the game. Through three games American opponents had a combined -67 rushing. That's hard to do, even in a video game.

The NFL is looking to expand beyond the U.S. borders and a world championship is one way to generate interest in other countries. But a beat-down by the home team is not going to generate much enthusiasm outside the U.S. It also shows how far behind in rest of the world is in the junior system. But it's not all that surprising. All of those other countries have other more important sports -- soccer and hockey, among others -- and have well-established junior programs.

Hopefully, the competition will be better in 2012.

The other good news is a couple IU recruits, offensive lineman Aaron Price and "athlete" Nick Zachery, made the team. Zachery was playing defense and had a 49-yard kick return against France and a sack against Mexico. He wasn't listed in the box score against Canada.

Price was among the offensive linemen used consistently. Hopefully both can translate the international success to Big Ten play.

Happy Fourth of July

The U.S. celebrates its 233rd birthday today.

I'm enjoying it grilling and watching baseball (the White Sox-Royals game of course) -- two of the most American things a person can do.

Thanks to all those in the military who are ensuring we can enjoy another Fourth of July. God's speed for a quick return.

Will Mother Nature allow a lesser U.S. Open champion?

It takes a measure of luck to win the U.S. Open, but this weekend the luck appears only sprinkled among a few players.

The weather has dominated the tournament and today is no different. The field will play round three today and likely start round four, which is expected to be completed Monday.

I don't mind playing golf in the rain. But I do mind when it seems to rain on the same players over and over, while sparing others. Ricky Barnes, a former U.S. Amateur champion who is more or less unknown as a pro golfer, is leading the tournament at 8-under par. He has not played one shot in the rain in three days. On Saturday he torched the softened course for a 5-under 65. The telecast of his early-morning round made it appear like a serene sunny day. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods and the so-called second wave of players played their second round in what generously could be called wet conditions. It didn't rain throughout Tiger's round, but it was a misty drizzle for several holes that eventually strengthened into rain.

I know the U.S.G.A. cannot predict the weather and decides the early round pairings well before the first stroke is played. But I just wonder whether a red flag should go up when the same group of players are benefiting from a soft course, while others continue to fight the conditions. It seems as though half the field has been eliminated without taking a shot.

Barnes even benefited again yesterday after his record-setting round. He was one of the few players that did not have to start his third round Saturday afternoon, when the course had been beat up by the players and the rain. He will start this afternoon, when conditions likely will have improved.

It's hard to find fault with how the tournament has been managed. Like I said, no one can predict a nasty bout of rain. But it seems this year's U.S. Open is a lesser test than it should be given the leaderboard.

This has nothing to do with Woods and other favorites being out of contention. I like the U.S. Open because the players have to make a good swing every time to score. Par is supposed to be a good score, maybe the winning score. Players shouldn't be able to attack every pin placement.

Seeing guys stick six irons, and in some cases fairway woods, 2-inches from every hole is not my idea of a major championship. That is reserved for the weekly PGA Tour events.

The Big Ten-Pac 10 Challenge

I'm about to start preparing for the IU football season, when I come across this article on ESPN.com.

It was making the argument for conference challenges in college football, similar to the events staged in college basketball every year between the Big Ten and ACC. They are very successful and generate some buzz in what used to be a mostly boring pre-conference season.

ESPN writer Mark Schlabach proposed a Big Ten-Pac 10 football challenge, where 10 games would be staged. He designated Purdue as the Big Ten's odd team out, but scheduled the rest of the teams to play a fictitious Rose Bowl game of sorts.

Indiana was given USC in the inaugural series. This game is as unlikely as it is stupid. If the challenge were agreed to, USC would be the marquee team and demand a prime-time television audience. Also, coach Pete Carroll would want the game to improve his BCS standing, not hurt it. A likely blow-out of Indiana would not provide TV star power or BCS points.

If the series were established, I think it would have a make-up similar to its basketball counterpart. Teams with large followings would play each other, i.e. Indiana v. Duke and North Carolina v. Michigan State. The lesser teams in each conference still participate, but play teams on their level. Example: Northwestern v. Miami.

In a football challenge, USC most likely would play a Big Ten power, like Penn State or Ohio State, in the first year or two to interest the fans in the series. I would love to see the Hoosiers take on a team like Stanford. The game would generate some interest if played in Bloomington. Cardinal coach Jim Harbaugh led the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC Championship game back in the mid-90s.

The rest of my Big Ten-Pac 10 challenge:

• Oregon State-Northwestern -- There is a little history between these two. Northwestern beat Oregon State in 1964, but the Beavers still went to the Rose Bowl. This would be a good game against two conference contenders.
• Michigan-Arizona -- Two teams on the rise and RichRod gets a good early benchmark for his team's development. It also could score some big points for the winner in the BCS polls, since both should be conference title contenders.
• Wisconsin-Washington -- I don't know why this match-up is appealing. Wisconsin likes playing out west (they have scheduled Hawaii this season). This would save them a few thousand miles on a plane.
• Penn State-USC-- This is the game everyone will want to see. Two big-time programs with big-time coaches. Can you imagine the white-out at Beaver Stadium?
• Michigan State-California -- This game is perfect for these two teams. Both have a history of not living up to expectations. At least this time someone has to come through in a big game.
• Ohio State-Oregon -- The Buckeyes get more practice defending against the spread offense, which will come in handy if they get another BCS berth. This game also could be an early top 10 match-up. Autzen Stadium will be rocking.
• Minnesota-Washington State -- Like I indicated above, some of the games will be boring, and this one should be among them. Minnesota has shown improvement in recent years, but the Cougars have been just awful lately. The Big Ten can use the game to get some needed points for the series title.
• Iowa-UCLA -- This is a coaches match-up, Rick Neuheisel versus Kirt Ferentz. Both teams will be ready to play, even if they don't have national championship talent. It would be a great game whether played in L.A. or Iowa City.
• Illinois-Washington -- The Huskies haven't made much noise in the last few seasons, but if the game were played in Illinois, you know the Illini fans would be eager.

Overall, I like this idea. If gets some lesser-known teams, like Indiana, on national TV, which would help in recruiting. And it creates some quality non-conference games each year for the BCS contenders.

Just think of the scene in Bloomington if Indiana drew a ranked team. All the sudden, those pre-conference games designed to generate easy wins and cement a bowl bid don't seem to matter. I think IU fans would buy tickets to see a west coast team that was not part of the usual schedule.

And what if the Hoosiers pulled the upset? Well let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Turn off the hype machine please

Two months into the baseball season, some people already are developing unrealistic expectations.

While running errands Saturday, I heard an ESPN radio announcer talking about how wonderful it would be if the New York Yankees and L.A. Dodgers played in the World Series this year. The two teams (as of Saturday morning) had the best records in each league (The Yankees later that day slipped a half-game behind the Red Sox in the AL East).

Part of the justification for such a match-up is Major League Baseball's two largest markets, as well two of its most popular teams, would meet in the league's premier event. The two teams have played each other 10 times in the fall classic, most recently in 1981.

The game only suffers with the hyping of these so-called "dream match-ups." Because while it draws lots of fans to the two teams as the regular and post seasons play out, it sends most of them away if, and most likely when, that match-up doesn't materialize. A lot can happen with 97 games remaining. No team has reached the meat of the pennant race yet.

How quickly we fail to learn from mistakes. Just look at the NBA Finals to see what happens when the hype machine runs in overdrive. As the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised through the early rounds of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs and the L.A. Lakers advanced in the Western Conference, we began hearing with increasing frequency how exciting the NBA Finals will be when the Lakers' Kobe Bryant takes on the Cavs' LeBron James.

Unfortunately, the Orlando Magic had different plans. They spanked the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, setting up a more forgettable NBA championship series. The Lakers hammered the Magic by 25 points in Game 1 and few signs that wouldn't continue in Game 2 today.

I don't think MLB benefits by pushing a Yankees-Dodgers World Series two months into the season. The sports media always is looking for season-defining themes, but in this case, they should be looking at the races (14 teams are within 3 1/2 games of first place and two more are within 4 1/2 games), not hoping for an end result.

What baseball really needs is a competitive World Series. While some favorite teams have returned to the World Series or won after long droughts, three of the last five have been sweeps and the other two were 4-games-to-1 victories. The last series to reach a seventh game was the Anaheim Angels' 2002 win over the San Fransisco Giants.

I suppose it is a natural baseball cycle that sometimes the World Series is the season after-thought instead of its climax. It has happened in other sports -- Remember the NFC dominance over the AFC in the Super Bowl from the mid-80s through the mid- to late 90s? -- and there likely is no cure, except to let the cycle play out.

Pushing faces or teams to artificially inflate interest is not a good bet. The odds are too high for a devastating loss.

A world competition similar to the WBC

My comments promoting the World Baseball Classic are well-known on this blog. That is why I was intrigued by this story in the New York Times about the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup, the world championship of a version of cricket.

Full disclosure: I know almost nothing about cricket, except that it is a cousin of baseball. But I have been mildly curious about it since my wife returned from India last year. Among her presents for me was a Mumbai Indians polo shirt. The Indians are one of the teams in the Indian Premier League, a professional cricket league that plays the Twenty20 version of the game.

It is controversial, because it does not last days and days like traditional cricket. Games last about three hours and fit better on television. Traditionalists, of course, don't like it.

Which brings me to the Twenty20 World Cup. The NYT story had a tone that reminded me a lot of attitude surrounding the WBC. Baseball purists complained about the mandatory pitch-counts, the mercy rule and other modifications made so the tournament could be staged in March. Yet Major League Baseball and others looking to grow the national pastime pushed for the world tournament to gain more exposure, even though it wasn't "pure" baseball.

I wonder if the same "I'm not sure this is a good idea" attitude surrounds these matches. The story indicated while Twenty20 cricket is growing in popularity, test nations, those that play the highest level of cricket, are not playing lots of these new streamlined matches. The story suggested that could affect the play in the World Cup.

It sounds somewhat like concerns around the U.S. team heading into the WBC. Not only did we not have the best players available to us, but we also were just beginning spring training. Our guys were not in game-playing shape and our quality of play was in serious question. Japan and Cuba on the other hand had more prepared players physically.

Ultimately, the WBC was a success, even though the U.S. did not win it. Just advancing to the final four was an achievement. And even though Japan has won both WBC events, I think the game grows when someone other than the U.S. is the best at our favorite sports. Americans like being the best and some competition for the crown makes us better.

The Twenty20 World Cup has the potential to do the same for cricket. Three of the participants are not test nations, which sounds to me like they could be potential expansion markets.

Would a Netherlands upset of India be as big a cricket upset as the Netherlands upsetting the Dominican Republic was a baseball upset? I don't know. But it certainly would draw some attention outside traditional cricket markets.

Hoosiers in the NCAA baseball tournament

IU will find out tomorrow where they will play in the NCAA baseball tournament.

The selection show is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN. The Hoosiers earned their first berth in the tourney since 1996 with a 13-2 win over Minnesota on Saturday that gave them the Big Ten tournament title.

The 16 regional sites will be announced Monday along with the field. The ultimate goal is to advance through the regional and super regional to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.

Big Ten Champs!

If you didn't know about the IU baseball team before this weekend, you should be well aware of them now.

The Hoosiers thumped Minnesota 13-2 Saturday to win the Big Ten championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 3 seed, the Hoosiers had to win four games in four days, beating No. 1 seed Ohio State and No. 2 seed Minnesota twice after knocking off No. 6 seed Purdue.

IU outscored opponents 47-9 over the four games. It was a phenomenal offensive explosion. They scored at least 9, 12, 13, and 13 runs over the four-game stretch, respectively. Pitching also was impressive, allowing 1, 3, 3, and 3 runs respectively.

The NCAA tournament begins May 29. If the offensive explosion continues, you have to think IU could scare a lot of teams. And with two outstanding pitchers in Eric Arnett and Matt Bashore it is not unrealistic to expect a good showing.

The win is the second ever Big Ten title for IU, the other coming in 1996. As an IU fan, I have to say this win is satisfying, given all our suffering during the football and basketball seasons. It may not be the most popular sport on campus, but hopefully, IU baseball is gaining some fans tonight.

The best-kept secret on the Bloomington campus

A sport other than football or basketball is yearning for attention from IU fans.

The IU baseball team is the third seed in the Big Ten tournament beginning Wednesday in Columbus, Ohio. While the overall record was not stellar, 28-25, the conference record was an impressive 16-7. The Hoosiers had won six in a row before losing the final game of the year yesterday to Michigan State.

The team batted .322 as a team this year, while opponents batted .289. Junior Pitcher Eric Arnett has been impressive, compiling an 11-1 record and 2.89 ERA in 12 appearances. He has 93 strike-outs in 94 innings pitched.

In Big Ten play, the entire IU pitching staff has been impressive. Arnett has a 7-0 record and 2.89 ERA. Pitcher Matt Bashore is 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA in conference play, despite an overall record of 6-4 and a 3.87 ERA. Four IU pitchers have ERAs under 4 in Big Ten games.

The Hoosiers will open the Big Ten tournament against Purdue, the sixth seed in the double-elimination event. A win means a game against No. 2-seed Minnesota. All the games should be on Big Ten Network.

Last year, the team made a Cinderella run to the Big Ten semi-finals before losing to Purdue.

This program is on the rise and deserves a little more attention from the fans. IU baseball suffers from a season that begins in the winter, overlaps with basketball and ends after the students depart for summer vacation. The team plays in relative obscurity in a facility across the street from McNutt Quad.

A Big Ten title and NCAA tournament berth would be impressive for a team that has to leave town the first two months of the season to play games. Two of the Hoosiers' first 18 games were in Bloomington.

Here is a blog with game-by-game coverage of IU baseball.

Elite football AND basketball?

The reaction to Kellen Lewis' dismissal from the Hoosier football team was not surprising. Most of my friends said they weren't expecting a good season with Lewis on the team. And to be honest I wasn't at all optimistic either.

But it led me to ask something:

Why can't Indiana University field top-tier football AND basketball teams?

It has happened. Florida held the Division I football and men's basketball titles in 2007. Ohio State of the Big Ten has built a contender in men's basketball to go along with the resurrected football program.

The IU football program doesn't have a stellar reputation. But it can be improved with a staff that is enthusiastic and good at recruiting. It also will require a little luck, like a win over a Top 10 team, as well as consistent improvement. I'm not talking about a Rose Bowl berth every year, but I am talking about hovering around .500 record or better every year.

A team that can win seven games every year at some point is going to get that big win (Ole Miss over Florida last year, or Illinois over Ohio State in 2007) and vaults them to national prominence.

Indiana University is capable of fielding that kind of team. It has the resources to do it, and I'm not talking about a new stadium. Michigan produced a quality football team for decades playing in the same bowl. I'm talking about know-how in the athletic department.

IU doesn't even have to give up its academic standards to produce a winner. Northwestern and USC proved that. That road has already been paved. The real question is why hasn't IU taken it over the last 10 years?

Do I expect IU to consistently produce a BCS and Final Four contender? No. But we can have winning teams. We can sell out Memorial Stadium. We can play in more than one bowl game a decade.

Am I making an unreasonable request?

No Kellen Lewis TD catches this year

IU announced yesterday that former QB Kellen Lewis has been kicked off the football team.

Lewis had switched to wide receiver for the upcoming season, allowing Ben Chappell to take over at QB.

This obviously diminishes the Hoosiers' talent level, but another dismal season appeared imminent anyway.

Hoosiers did not fair well on draft day

After a year where two Hoosiers were drafted in the second round of the NFL draft, IU had no players drafted this year.

Five players were on the board, including wide receiver Andrew Means, running back Marcus Thigpen and kicker Austin Starr.

This doesn't mean none of them will end up in the NFL, but it certainly is a lot tougher to make a team as an undrafted free agent.

By comparison, Ohio State had seven players drafted, Penn State had five. Northwestern and Minnesota also were shut out, but West Texas A&M had one player drafted: quarterback Keith Null, who was taken by the Rams in the sixth round. Null threw for nearly 5,100 yards and 48 touchdowns last season, averaging 392 yards per game.

What does this mean for the IU program? Probably not much. As was noted, some much better Big Ten programs had no players drafted. I have to think it doesn't help much for recruiting. Seeing that IU logo appear during the pre-draft process and during the ESPN draft telecast was exciting. I remember how excited I was because IU had a Pro Day in last year.

College football teams can win a lot of games without NFL-calibre talent. But I don't think it's a coincidence that the year IU goes 7-5 -- its first winning season in recent memory -- is the year a defensive back and wide receiver are taken high in the draft.

Are we going to continue seeing no cream and crimson draft picks?

I hope Bill Lynch knows what he's doing

The IU football team completed its second spring scrimmage yesterday. Once again Ben Chappell was at quarterback and Kellen Lewis played wide receiver.

The coaches say Chappell has just as good a grasp of the spread offense as Lewis. Chappell threw for 111 yards and an interception yesterday, completing eight of 10 passes. But Lewis is the former second-team all Big Ten QB, who now is learning a new position.

In 2001, Antwaan Randle El switched from QB to receiver to open the season, the best chance for a bowl appearance in several years. Randle El also was a Heisman Trophy contender. The Hoosiers opened with a 35-14 thrashing by North Carolina State. Randle El had to move back to QB and the Hoosiers struggled through another losing season.

Neither Lewis nor Chappell played well last year, combining for 10 TDs and 11 interceptions passing in an injury-filled season. I suspect Lynch's strategy is to gain some more consistency at QB. My guess is Chappell will stand in the pocket a little longer and make more throws than Lewis, who tended to scramble when the rush closed in. That usually led to a good result -- Lewis was second on the team in rushing yards last year.

The question I ask is: If Lewis is your best all-around player, do you want to take the ball out of his hands? The '01 Hoosiers were much better with Randle El touching the ball on every play, which is why after that game against N.C. State he did not play receiver consistently again until after his college career was over.

Is Lewis that type of player? We will find out in August.

Bears got a long-term solution, not a quick fix

I want the Bears to play better. I want them to score more points. But simply adding Quarterback Jay Cutler will not achieve those goals. He needs help. He needs better wide receivers. He needs better offensive linemen. He may even need an offensive system that suits him.

All things being equal, Cutler will not make the Bears significantly better than they were with Kyle Orton. Last season, running back Matt Forte led the Bears in catches with 63. Behind him was Tight End Greg Olsen with 54. The Broncos' leading pass catchers were wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal with 104 and 91, respectively.

The stat indicates a difference in philosophy. The Bears are willing to grind a team down with a strong running game and controlled passing and depend on their defense to win games. The Broncos played to outscore an opponent, which requires throwing the ball a lot and down field.

The Bears are not going to line Forte up as a wide receiver all that often. And Olsen isn't fast enough to beat a corner down field. Both indicate an expectation for short passes and long drives. That's not playing to Cutler's strength, his talent or his strong arm.

I think Orton understood his role and how to flourish in it. He knew he couldn't throw the ball 70 yards to hit Devin Hester on a fly pattern. But he was smart enough to know he could make the 15- and 20-yard over the middle. We don't know if Cutler will succeed in that role.

The Bears don't have the personnel to change their offense to suit Cutler's strengths. Now maybe in the future (but not until at least 2011) the Bears will have a high draft pick to get a receiver that allows for a vertical passing game.

The Cutler trade has made rebuilding a long-term project, not a quick fix. The problem is so many Bears fans are expecting results next season. I don't think they're coming this fall.

Cutler to Bears not the answer

Bears fans are jumping for joy across the world. Next year, quarterback Jay Cutler will be running the offense. Clearly the Bears are expecting him to be the answer to an offense that has been downright awful at times over the past few years.

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm is tempered. I don't like that the Bears gave away two No. 1 picks (this year's and 2010), as well as this year's third round pick. Oh, and they also gave the Denver Broncos Kyle Orton.

The Bears may have a good quarterback, but they have few people for him to catch passes. Devin Hester was their leading receiver with 51 catches and three touchdowns. Is that an indictment of Orton? Maybe. But it also shows the Bears philosophy for its quarterback. It is to manage the game, not win it. Cutler played in an offense where the quarterback must win the game.

I think Cutler is going to be surprised at how many upgrades the Bears offense needs. Most important is offensive line. The Bears gave up 29 sacks last year, the Broncos 12. Hopefully Orlando Pace will help, if he is healthy.

The NFC North is not a free-wheeling pass-happy division like the AFC West. In November and December in the Midwest, a team has to run the ball when the snow is falling and wind is blowing.

Cutler had big stats, but it was because the Broncos didn't run the ball. He threw for 1,600 more yards than Orton last year, but he also had 150 more pass attempts. The Bears ran the ball about 50 more times than the Broncos last season.

The two players' passer ratings were not that different. Cutler threw for six more interceptions than Orton, including more picks than TDs in his last four games, when the Broncos were in the playoff hunt. Orton won three of his last four games, when the Bears were chasing a playoff spot.

My problem isn't Cutler, it's that the Bears will not have much a draft to build the rest of the team. This year's first round pick could have been used for an offensive lineman, a wide receiver or defensive back. And next year's first round pick could have been used to draft Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, or Sam Bradford, the likely three best QBs coming out of college next year.

This was a good trade for the Bears. I just don't think it's immediately going to turn the Bears into a playoff contender. There are just too many other problems I would have liked to see the team address. Orton was not the answer either, but he also was not the only question.

Reality Check

It's easy to forget how lucky we are to live in the United States.

I was reminded once again today after I read this story in the New York Times.

Cricket officials in India are moving the Indian Premier League games out of the country because of security problems. With national elections upcoming, the government said it cannot spare military forces to secure cricket matches. And after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November, the country is on high-alert.

Cricket in India is akin to football in the U.S. It is the national obsession. My wife saw it first hand when she visited India about a year ago. The season was about to start and the media hoard was in full swing. It was a national controversy when the teams brought cheerleaders to the pitch that did not adequately cover themselves. (They were dressed similar to American cheerleaders.)

Americans worry about security at sporting events. I have endured the pat-down to enter football games at Solider Field and Michigan Stadium. But can you imagine if President Bush last fall said all NFL games would be moved to Canada the first week of November because we needed to ensure voters were secure during the presidential election?

We all remember how important baseball and football became after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York. City residents under so much pressure from the mayhem and clean-up were able to cheer for the Mets, Yankees, Jets or Giants and forget about the chaos for a few hours.

Moving the cricket matches off shore is not fair to the millions of cricket fans in India. The actions, or potential actions, of a few, cause the many to suffer.

It gave me a moment of pause. Times may not be ideal now, but we're still pretty lucky here.

Handicapping the WBC Final 4

Tonight and Sunday are the World Baseball Classic semi-finals. Korea and Venezuela mix it up first, followed by the U.S. and Japan Sunday night. Both games are at Dodger Stadium.

ESPN's experts made their picks today. Four of six selected Japan.

Roy Oswalt will pitch for the U.S. against Daisuke Matsuzaka. Oswalt is 1-0 with a 3.52 ERA during the classic. Dice-K has been almost unhittable so far. He is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, including a win over Cuba.

It will be a tall order for the U.S. to knock Dice-K around. And there is no real pitch count in the semis. Up to 100 pitches are allowed now. I think Japan wins, but it's a close game. Oswalt will pitch well. Maybe a 3-2 or 4-2 final.

The WBC finals on Monday will be all Asia. Korea should get past Venezuela. As the U.S. proved, the Venezuelan bullpen is suspect.

In the finals, Japan v. Korea should be a great game. The teams split their four previous meetings in the WBC, but I think this time Korea wins it. Both teams play small ball, but Korea also has some power. A timely home run will be the difference.

Fixing the World Baseball Classic

Even T.J., a self-proclaimed detractor, now has offered a WBC fix. Suddenly, with the U.S. still in contention and the games unusually exciting, it's worth saving.

I have argued from the beginning of the tournament that the WBC was a good idea. The U.S. needs to embrace the game on a world stage. It is not an exhibition, but the ultimate determinant of superiority.

T.J. is right, though. The WBC suffers because of one big problem: the date. America is not in a baseball mood in March. We are longing for our office pools and 12-hour TV-watching sessions to find out who wins the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

If you play it in March, it interrupts Spring Training and the players are out of shape. If you play it in November, after the World Series, the players are burnt out.

Jayson Stark of ESPN offered an interesting idea in this column. He said start the tournament with a qualifying round after the regular season or a some other time, but play the semi-finals and finals during All-Star weekend. An neat idea that definitely would put the best baseball players in the world on the biggest stage.

I agree with T.J. that single-elimination is not the way to determine a baseball champion, which is the flaw in Stark's plan. Playing the finals during All-Star week would not allow more than a few games. But I propose a best of three series in the finals. That would make the tournament similar to the NCAA baseball tournament. A seven-game series in either round would take too long, especially if played in the middle of the baseball season.

I'm not sure expanding the tournament is the way to go just yet. We saw how well the Netherlands played, but look how bad South Africa played (They were outscored 22-4). Panama didn't score a run in the whole tournament. China's pro baseball league plays 21 games a year. Let the game take hold in the fringe countries first, like Australia, where the fans think the players should be using flat bats and a pitcher is a bowler.

We're building something here. It's going to take a while before it's right. The Super Bowl took a couple years to catch on, as did the Ryder Cup and even the Olympics. It just takes a little time.

The grit lesson

IU men's basketball played with grit and determination this season, despite losing 25 of 31 games. We applauded and celebrated that grit even though it comes with a tablespoon of humility mixed with horror and anger.

The best part about getting knocked down is getting up – because we can get up. The U.S. basketball gold medal at last year’s Olympics was that much sweeter because we hadn’t won it since 2000. The U.S. returning in 1987 to win the America’s Cup after its first-ever loss four years earlier was that much more epic.

We’ve heard it all year. IU basketball will be back. And once we are “back” it will be all that much sweeter knowing how low we sank and the hardship we had to endure.

The IU players are better because of this season, as hard as it is to believe. Hoosier fans are better fans as well. Because we know how low a program can actually go, we can appreciate all the more the nine Final Fours and five national championships. We can better understand the sustained excellence coach Bob Knight brought to Bloomington.

We were lucky. We were spoiled. We won’t be spoiled again.

Note: Interesting piece about what Tom Crean said to his team after the Big Ten Tournament loss Thursday.

An ending, mercifully

The IU men's basketball season ended with a thud Thursday. A 66-51 loss to Penn State.

Most fans thought the team would be down this year. Maybe the ESPN commentators were right today when they said during the broadcast that the end of the season couldn't come soon enough. They said sometimes it's time to put the ball away and go home.

Maybe they were right. The Hoosiers were out-manned and out-played all season.

Today's game resembled much of the Big Ten season. Despite fighting hard, the players couldn't get it done. Penn State was on the ropes. After nearly blowing the Hoosiers out early on, IU began to come back. The Hoosiers came back from being down 26-8 and with 6 minutes left and had the ball trailing 29-20. IU was on a 12-3 run, another bucket would have really put some pressure on Penn State with six minutes to go in the half.

Instead, an offensive foul was called. The ball went back to Penn State, who promptly scored a lay-up. IU never got within 10 points again. Season over. Six wins, 25 losses.

Throughout the second half, just like the entire season, ESPN's commentators filled time by saying the IU cavalry is on the way. That next year truly is coming.

As IU fans, we hope it does. Because we must never speak of the 2008-09 season again.

WBC reading list

Here are a couple stories on the World Baseball Classic worth reading:

• An ESPN.com story has more info on the atmosphere in Toronto and the pressure on the U.S. players in the 9th inning.
• A story from the New York Times on how Mexico doesn't consider baseball much of a priority.
• A column by the Chicago Tribune's Rick Morrissey on the U.S. and other countries' attitudes about the tournament.

The U.S. team plays Venezuela at 8 p.m. tonight. A win sends either team in the semi-final round in Miami.

WBC opener or MLB playoffs?

You think nobody cares about the World Baseball Classic? How about 42,000 people standing and cheering with two outs and a runner on second in the 9th inning as Canada tried to tie the game against the U.S.

The game seemed like it should have happened in October. Two rivals. The U.S. trying to avenge a loss to Canada in the 2006 WBC first round. A great symbol of the tension: Adam Dunn with his head down, then putting his first two fingers to his neck to take his pulse in the 9th.

It was a well-played game, swinging back and forth throughout. Ultimately, the U.S. was able to hang on, winning 6-5 in Toronto, Canada.

The U.S. trailed 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth, before scoring three runs on two homers to take lead. The winning run came in the sixth on a two-run shot by Dunn.

The WBC couldn't have started better for the U.S. team. And it hopefully attracted some new fans.

Note: The U.S. victory was the second great game of the day. The Netherlands defeated the heavily-favored Dominican Republic 3-2 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

WBC debate

My friend T.J. insists the World Baseball Classic is not worth the trouble. He says he'll be disgusted if Cubs players Ted Lilly and Geovanny Soto get hurt in the international tournament and that the team paying the bills deserves the ultimate loyalty.

Did anyone at Manchester United tell David Beckham it would be a bad idea if he played for England in soccer's World Cup? I suspect it would be a national disaster if he chose to sit out the tournament because his employer didn't like the idea.

When Canada won the Olympic hockey gold medal in 2002, was that not a symbol of national pride? Our northern neighbors define their sporting selves by excellence in hockey and won the Olympics for the first time in 50 years. Consider this from Wikipedia:

"In Canada, the CBC said that 10.6 million watched the game. Veteran CBC Sports commentator Bob Cole called in the dying seconds of the game: 'Now, after 50 years, it's time for Canada to stand up and cheer! STAND UP AND CHEER EVERYBODY! THE OLYMPICS SALT LAKE CITY 2002 MEN'S ICE HOCKEY GOLD MEDAL: CANADA!'"

The game was among the most-watched sports shows in CBC history. You think Canadians only care about NHL success? They care about international hockey, too.

It is OK to play for national pride, T.J. It should be encouraged.

Hit the nail on the head

ESPN's Jayson Stark made the same point in this column that I did here yesterday.

Stark argues there is pressure on the U.S. baseball team to play well in the World Baseball Classic this time for the health of the competition. The WBC is widely accepted outside the U.S., but here in the birthplace of baseball it's an afterthought.

That has to change, not because of TV ratings and financial projections, but because baseball is the American game.

"Three years ago, we sat in ballparks where other WBC countries were playing baseball and were blown away by the energy crackling out of every seat in the park. It felt like the Final Four had just merged with the World Cup. The baseball was awesome. The atmosphere was even better," Stark wrote.

American fans have to get past the notion that winning a World Series is the greatest achievement in baseball. Maybe it is bigger than a WBC championship now. But in a few years, when the WBC grows, that title will be bigger. Is there anyone in the world that thinks winning the MLS Cup or European Champions League title is bigger than winning the World Cup?

This is not a glorified All-Star game designed to make money for MLB. It's an international tournament. A chance to prove who has the best baseball players. When was the last time the U.S. could accurately say that? The 2000 Olympics, the last time a U.S. team won the gold medal. We also could say it in 1988, when we sent amateur players.

The country got behind the Olympic basketball team last summer in its quest to win the gold medal and prove U.S. basketball really was the best in the world. In my mind this is the same idea. We have to prove we're the best once again, this time in baseball.

There has to be someone out there willing to get behind that banner.

International enthusiasm for the national pastime

While home trying to get over my nasty cold, I was able to watch a replay of the first 2009 World Baseball Classic game between China and Japan.

The game was played in Tokyo, Japan, one of the most baseball-obsessed countries in the world. It was a sell-out and the fans were vocal, banging drums and blowing horns to cheer for their team.

Japan won 4-0 over an inexperienced Chinese team. I was impressed with the enthusiasm for world baseball. Here in America, it seems throughout the off-season, players have been going out of their way to avoid playing in the event, whether it be for team USA or any other country.

I know money is the ultimate deciding factor in those decisions. But I don't think it's such a bad idea that pro athletes play for their country. The Olympics remains the premier international competition, now with professionals playing team sports like basketball and hockey. It also seems to work for soccer's World Cup and golf's Ryder Cup.

I think a competition like this can grow to become a great event, even if there are maximum pitch-counts and other odd rules, like beginning in the 13th inning, each team bats with runners on first and second.

Americans still call baseball the national pastime, but the national sport really is football. The WBC is another reminder about why we love baseball. Just watching the game today, headache and all, I remembered why I enjoy watching games in the summer. The pace ... the anticipation of the pitch ... the fact that I could check three other channels between plays.

Baseball is never going to become a world game like soccer, but I enjoyed seeing other countries excited about it. That is one thing you don't see with football.

By the way, Japan played very well, fitting of a defending world champion. Even China, a country that has had professional baseball for seven years (that's 126 less than America), and one win in international competition, showed signs that it could develop into a competitive team.

Team USA opens WBC play on Saturday against Canada in Toronto. Let's hope the Asian enthusiasm for the event rubs off in North America.

So close ... again

I thought the Hoosiers played their best game of the season Saturday in a loss to Penn State. It turned out they played their best game Tuesday against Michigan State. Unfortunately they still lost.

I was just itching to write here that Indiana beat No. 8 Michigan State. No one would have believed me. I would have said read this twice and let it sink in.

When the Hoosiers closed to within two with 3:31 to go, I turned the computer on. It seemed IU was getting a few breaks. They caught Michigan State on an off night a day after a win at Illinois. The Spartans seemed sluggish and could never deliver the knock-out punch. And after MSU Coach Tom Izzo got a technical foul with less than 8 minutes to go, the Hoosiers went on a tear.

I logged into Blogger.com when the Spartans missed a layup and another jump shot with less than 2 minutes to go.

But the Hoosiers once again could not close. After the gap narrowed to two points on a Verdell Jones free throw, IU did not score another field goal and only managed two points the remainder of the game. An MSU rebound and dunk with 29 seconds left finally put the game out of reach.

This game was no let-down after the big step forward Saturday. This time it was the final 5 minutes without a field goal that ended it. If they had one more good possession, this team may have gained the biggest win of the year.

But once again, I write about a valiant effort that resulted in a loss.

That clicking noise

Did you hear that?

Something may have clicked Saturday night during IU's loss at Penn State. These young Hoosiers may finally be starting to get it.

The team played probably its best game of the season on the road. They never trailed by more than five points and led the game with about two minutes to go. Unfortunately, an inability to make some clutch shots down the stretch and untimely turnovers caused what has been a familiar result this season. This time the season's major problems surfaced late in the game.

Verdell Jones played much better than I had seen in recent weeks and I think Tom Pritchard would have had a better game if he hadn't been saddled with three fouls in the first half. The team only committed 11 turnovers, much better than its season average.

I've read and watched several commentators talk about coaches waiting for that light to turn on with a young team and the players begin to play with confidence. I saw it Saturday. Late in the game, the Hoosiers didn't wilt, they remained aggressive. Unfortunately the shots just didn't fall.

I wrote Friday there was a scenario where the Hoosiers could win a few games in the Big Ten tournament. Last night's game proves this team could be dangerous. If they meet a team with nothing to play for, who knows what could happen.

This game is something the Hoosiers can build upon. I just hope Tuesday's game versus Michigan State and Sunday's regular season finale at Wisconsin don't destroy the foundation. The Hoosiers are playing with more confidence, but certainly that confidence is shaky.

It could happen?

Tomorrow's game could be a Big Ten tournament preview for the Hoosiers.

In the first round, the sixth seed plays the 11th seed.

Penn State is tied with Wisconsin for sixth place in the Big Ten standings. IU is in last place, three games behind Iowa and the Hoosiers' recent play, as well as it's remaining schedule, doesn't inspire too much hope for moving out of the basement.

The Hoosiers played a marginally good game against Penn State in Bloomington, losing by 10. The tournament will be played in Indianapolis, which should be a home game.

The 11 seed is 3-11 all-time in the tournament, but it has advanced to the tournament final before. In 1999, Illinois finished last and made it to the final, where the team lost to Michigan State. Last year, as the 10 seed, Illinois reached the final again, losing to Wisconsin.

If the Hoosiers advance, they would play the No. 3 seed, which today is Purdue. It would be a rivalry game and after the embarrassing loss in the regular season, the Hoosiers may be due for a change.

In the semi-finals, the No. 2, 7 or 10 seeds would be waiting. In order, they are Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa. The Hoosiers already beat Iowa this year and played well against Illinois and Minnesota. That's potentially three wins in three days.

In the final, No. 1 seed Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan or Northwestern. This game presents much more of a challenge. The favorite, Michigan State, will not take the Hoosiers lightly and plays all facets of the game better than IU.

This is really an unlikely scenario. IU has won only one game since Dec. 10. And in many of them they appeared over-matched. But suppose it could happen. Can you imagine the scene at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 15 if IU, a team that couldn't win 10 games in the regular season, was playing for a berth in the NCAA tournament?

A 41-year drought ends

In what must be a season of several dubious firsts, the Hoosiers lost to Northwestern for the first time ever at Assembly Hall. Yes I said ever.

The Hoosiers lost by 22 points, 75-53, on their home floor to a team that had not won in Bloomington since 1968.

Whenever the Hoosiers gained a little momentum, it was quickly snuffed out by a Northwestern three-pointer or conventional basket, followed by an IU turnover or missed shot. It's a problem they haven't solved all year.

A 20-4 run in the second half was the knock-out blow.

This game was probably the last best chance for a win before the Big Ten tournament. The Hoosiers are at Penn State Saturday and then host Michigan State March 3. The regular season ends at Wisconsin March 8.

More Mt. Rushmore

I made my picks for the IU football Mt. Rushmore last week. Today the ESPN.com blogger made his.

They were similar: Anthony Thompson, Antwaan Randle El, Bill Mallory, but instead of Trent Green, ESPN picked George Taliaferro, who starred for the Hoosiers in the mid-40s. Taliaferro also became the first black player drafted into the NFL in 1948.

It's a valid pick. I suppose he may be a better pick than Green. Both were great players.

My friend T.J. agreed with Thompson, Taliafero and Mallory, but suggested John Pont, Terry Hoeppner, Lou Saban, Bo McMillin, and Lee Corso.

I don't think Hoeppner coached long enough. He also never really proved he could win. Corso is more known for his TV work than his tenure coaching IU, even if he did win a bowl game in 1979.

When I asked the question on facebook, my friend Drew said Thompson, Harry Gonso, Randle El and Pete Stoyanovich. Another friend said Ogunleye, Green, Thompson and Randle El.

It was an interesting debate, even though the choices were less than stellar.

The IU Football Mt. Rushmore

ESPN.com has an interesting series going asking fans to name the four best sports figures from each state -- their Mt. Rushmore.

One of my favorite blogs, the ESPN.com Big Ten football blog, is asking for the Mt. Rushmore of every school. At the time of this post, an IU football Mt. Rushmore hasn't been named. It got me thinking who are the four more important IU football players or coaches. My picks:

Anthony Thompson: The best running back in Hoosier history, he graduated with the NCAA Division I record for career touchdowns. Was runner-up in the Heisman voting in 1989. Now a member of the college football hall of fame.

Antwaan Randle El: One of the greatest running-throwing quarterbacks in NCAA history with more than 11,000 career yards in total offense. He threw for nearly 7,500 career passing yards and ran for 3,895 yards in his career. He now is a wide receiver in the NFL.

Trent Green: Probably IU's best-ever pocket passer. He is in the top five in career and single-season passing yards and completions. Also played several years in the NFL.

Bill Mallory: He had a losing record during his 12 years as head football coach, but Mallory still has the school record for career wins. He led the team to six bowl games, winning two. Top to bottom, his tenure may have been the best-ever stretch of consistent excellence.

Others I considered: James Hardy, one of the best wide receivers in IU history, holds the school record for career receiving yards and touchdowns; and Adewale Ogunleye, among the best defensive linemen in IU history and career sack leader. He now plays for the Chicago Bears.

The Horizon

Big Ten basketball teams have to feel lucky.

I saw some flashes of how good this Indiana team could be today in their loss to Illinois.

Yes. I said this Indiana team. The team that averages more than 18 turnovers a game. The team that only six field goals in the first half today.

There was a 4-minute stretch in the second half where it seemed to click. The Hoosiers closed to within six points in what was a brilliant display. It didn't come from a barrage of three-pointers. It came from good play. They made good passes, took good shots and played tough defense. Their play matched the effort.

Illinois was stunned by the punch and looked out of sync. I saw the Hoosier players playing confidently, like they felt like they could win ... until Chester Frazier drilled a three-pointer to put the Illini up by nine, ending the threat. The Hoosiers reverted back to their old selves and stumbled to a 13-point loss.

While the team looked like it was intimidated, out-played and out-talented in the first half, the Hoosiers played like they belonged on the floor a good portion of the second.

Coach Tom Crean is building a team from scratch this season. But I wonder how good they could be, or could have been, if the Hoosiers could put together an entire game similar to those 4 minutes.

Maybe some of those close losses (Michigan, at Iowa, Minnesota) would have gone the other way. Confidence feeds on itself. Maybe the Hoosiers begin to believe a little more. Maybe they manage 10, 12 or 15 wins. Maybe they get a home win over an elite Big Ten team like Michigan State, Wisconsin or Purdue.

I don't want to be the coach that runs into the buzz saw if the Hoosiers figure it out this season.

The rites of spring

Baseball season is upon us, almost. The White Sox report for spring training Sunday and the World Baseball Classic will take away the boredom of exhibition games, beginning March 5.

While I am excited for the defending AL Central champs to begin another campaign, I found this story in today's Chicago Tribune about a statistical prediction for the upcoming season. Using a complicated formula taking into account players' potential performance, the author estimated the White Sox's 2009 record to be 74-88, third worst in the American League.

Math formulas and predictions, along with $2, will buy me a venti regular coffee at Starbucks, so I guess all it's really good for is to stir debate. I prefer to think about the post-season run the Sox went on last year. Including scenes like this -- the final out of the AL Central tie-breaker game. It was a 1-0 win over the Twins. Jim Thome accounted for the only run. Another view is here.

Are the Sox the best team in the AL this year, probably not. But they will not finish with the third-worst record as the Baseball Prospectus expects. I think this team has the potential to be very good, but they are going to be slugging it out with the Twins, Indians and Tigers. It's also hard to stomach the Royals having a better record than the Sox as the book suggests.

Incidentally, my wife's beloved Red Sox are picked to win 98 games. I find that hard to believe as well, because their starting pitching is aging and has an injury history, as this ESPN.com article suggests.

As I said, we're just trying to stir some debate.

Hoosier country among best college towns

Bloomington was rated the No. 10 best college sports town by Forbes.com.

I have to say the reputation is deserved. B-town has a great bar scene, i.e. Kirkwood Avenue, as well as top-quality sports. The town also is beautiful, especially in the fall during football season.

The IU music school, rated among the best in the nation, also lends itself to a cool music scene. I can remember sitting in Bear's Place for the weekly Jazz Fables show, listening to the music school's jazz masters students. They were a group that would cost $50 to see in New York, but my friends and I paid $5. The musicians didn't like to advertise the show because the small pizza place couldn't handle the mass of people who would attend.

The room was so crowded the host asked patrons to let strangers sit with them in their boothes. We had to arrive an hour before show time to get seats. We felt like we were in on a little Bloomington secret.

Hat tip: ESPN.com's Big Ten blog

Signing day grades

Signing Day came and went this week. The Hoosiers signed 18 players for the 2009 season. They are expected to fill holes left on the squad, but were not highly rated.

In fact the class was rated 11th in the Big Ten by ESPN.com. The team signed 10 offensive players, five defensive players, one special teams player and two "athletes." None of the commitments were in the ESPN list of top 150 players. Northwestern and Purdue also managed to sign no top 150 players, but Ohio State and Michigan signed seven each.

These ratings are not a definitive indication of greatness in college, but why is it you hear more about good players who flew under the radar than those who were high recruited?

The Big Ten had the third most commitments, 22, in the top 150 of all the major conferences and independents. The SEC had the most, by far, with 52. The ACC had 23.

The Chicago Tribune also rated the Hoosier class last in the conference.

The best player in the Hoosier class is the kicker, according to one rating I saw. That should seem worrisome for the future. But the recruits also include a couple quarterback/wide-receiver prospects that could provide some offensive firepower. I maintain the secret to winning is on defense. Is it a concern that some of the new recruits could compete for starting spots?

The longest day

I continue celebrating the Steelers' Super Bowl victory, but I am also reminded that today is the longest period before the NFL returns.

Now talk turns to expectations and the future as the latest crop of college players is graded and soon drafted.

Amid all that is IU football, coming off a dismal season and equally dismal prospects. Another sign that the past season was sub-par -- the number of IU players invited to the NFL Scouting Combine later this month in Indianapolis.

The Big Ten had 46 players invited to the combine. Indiana is sending one. Just one. Wide-receiver Andrew Means was the only player considered NFL material.

Michigan had one of its worst seasons ever and still is sending four players. Ohio State and Penn State are sending eight each. Wisconsin is sending seven players.

Surprising, the Hoosiers' poor showing in the upcoming combine is not the lowest in the conference. Minnesota isn't sending anyone.

The Greatest Super Bowl Ever Played

The Steelers won their sixth Super Bowl, 27-23, in what arguably was the greatest Super Bowl ever played.

Ben Roethlisberger cemented his place as the best big-game quarterback in the NFL, leading the team on the game winning drive with about 2 minutes to go. It came after the Cardinals went on their own touchdown drive to take the lead.

The Cardinals offense came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns and a safety to go ahead 23-20. But Big Ben hit Santonio Holmes four times on the final drive, including a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone for the gaming-winning touchdown. After forcing a Kurt Warner fumble, the game was secured.

I was ready to drop over when the Cardinals took the lead. I couldn't believe a game the Steelers dominated for three and a half quarters was slipping away. Even when the winning drive began I wasn't optimistic. I was getting consoling text messages. But Big Ben gave me hope once again.

The Steelers have six championships now, the most of any NFL franchise. Congrats the Holmes, the MVP, Coach Mike Tomlin, Big Ben and the rest of the team. They deserve it.

I'm still flying high. I don't know how I'm going to be able to watch an hour-long episode of The Office.

Note: The Coke commercial with Troy Polamalu was pretty good. Surprisingly, the Cash4Gold ad also was kind of funny, which included an appearance by Hammer. I still liked the Doritos snow globe commercial the best.

Steelers increase lead after third quarter to 20-7

Not much going on in the third quarter, but the Steelers managed a field goal to increase their lead to 20-7.

Three huge personal foul penalties helped keep the key drive alive, which lasted 16 plays and went 79 yards. The only downer was that it stalled inside the five yard line after three shots at a touchdown. The Cardinals offense was not able to get much done again, despite finding some holes running the ball and hitting short passes.

Stats are here. Fourth quarter coming up.

Steelers lead at halftime 17-7

Just when I thought the Steelers were going to be trailing at halftime, defensive player of the year James Harrison made the play of the game. A 100-yard interception return for a touchdown not only stopped what was the Cardinals go-ahead score, it put the Steelers up 10 points at halftime.

An unbelievable turn-around to retake control of the game.

The Steelers defense has to figure out how to stop the passes into the flat to Edgerrin James. That seemed to be the only play that was working for the Cardinals. When the defenders began covering James, the field opened for Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.

Halftime stats are here.

So far my favorite commercial still is the Doritos snow globe ad. The 3-D ad at the end of the first half was very cool, but I don't think it used the 3-D technology enough. I liked the image of the characters flying out of the screen and that only happened a few times during the couple-minute ad.

I'm going to step away from the computer now and listen to The Boss.

Steelers lead 3-0 after first

Good first quarter for the Steelers. It was hard to tell how well the Cardinals offense was playing, because they only ran a few plays.

Big Ben and the Steelers offense are clicking.

My favorite ad so far is the Doritos ad with the snow globe.

That extra phone call

Every Sunday I get a call from my father. He was born and raised in Pittsburgh and for a long-time was a Steelers season ticket-holder.

Usually we talk about sports and during football season, we talk about the Steelers and occasionally, the Bears. On special Sundays, I get two calls. Those are reserved for football championship games.

After Super Bowl XL, I made the call. The Steelers had just beaten the Seahawks 21-10.

"Hey, Derrick?" my father said.

"We did it!" I said excitedly into the cell phone.

That is the attitude in my family, and I suspect others, when it comes to the Steelers. They're our team. It's we win, not they win. That is why the Super Bowl is so special. We all take a piece of a victory ... and a loss.

Tonight I will be stuck to my coach for maybe five minutes before I start pacing. I will yell at the TV, because they're my players as much as they are Mike Tomlin's. I will hope for great plays just as hard as the players work for them.

I think the Steelers should win this game. My prediction is 27-17. Let's hope the late night phone call I will get tonight is a good one.