Because the NFL rules the sports landscape in North America, it shouldn't be a surprise that Bill Cowher, former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years, has worked his way into the storyline of the NHL's Eastern Conference final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes.
Prior to the start of the series, there was some debate as to Cowher's rooting interest for the series, seeing as how he not only coached in Pittsburgh for a decade-and-a-half, but because he was born and raised in Pittsburgh, and now currently lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Prior to Tuesday's Game 4, Cowher will be sounding the Hurricanes' pre-game warning siren, and, as far as many people in the steel city are concerned, turning his back on Pittsburgh.
Bruce Springsteen is America. Right? I mean, the guy wrote "Born in the USA" and he's probably from a small town. Grew up there. Gonna die there. Oh ... right. Sorry. Anyway, Bruce is all about these here United States.
So it would make sense, theoretically, that he's a football junkie (I'd have him pegged for the very obvious "Giants fandom" selection, personally.) Turns out, though, that he knows nothing about football. Nothing!
Calling a second-year quarterback a bust after just eight starts would be more than a little short-sighted. But, as sports fans, we demand instant results, and when a No. 1 overall pick is pulling in millions of bills before he's really "earned" it, well, 2-6 records just aren't going to cut it. That's when the four letter B-word tends to get thrown around. Unfair as that may be, that's current sports world we live in.
This of course brings us to Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell, and an article in today's Sacramento Bee by Paul Gutierrez, asking fans to please show a little patience in their 23-year old quarterback.
Since the draft began in 1936, 27 quarterbacks have been taken No. 1 overall and just three are in the Hall of Fame: Terry Bradshaw (1970), John Elway (1983) and Troy Aikman (1989). Russell, who has completed 53.5 percent of his 228 attempts for 1,482 yards with seven touchdowns and four interceptions in his first eight career starts, has better numbers than them through the same time frame. Bradshaw's passer rating was a miserable 28.8 through his first eight starts. Elway's initial eight-start rating of 48.8 belied his future success, and Aikman was winless in his first eight starts. That holy trinity went on to win a combined nine Super Bowls.
Most people know Terry Bradshaw as "that guy married to Kathy Bates" in "Failure to Launch," but, apparently, he also had quite a career as an NFL quarterback. He won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and all his on-field success led to other opportunities.
"Dean and Sammy were like watching a stand-up routine during takes," Bradshaw said. "They had us busting up between takes. And there was always this card game that Roger Moore always wanted me to play. I spent a lot of time on that set.
"I wouldn't say it was intimidating working with them, but it's tough when you are crossing boundaries. I had worked with Burt in 'Hooper.' What you find is they rapidly endorse you over here (acting). Not because of your acting skills, but because they respected you as an athlete and eventually pull you in."
And, apparently, all this rubbin' elbows provided Terrance the opportunity to hang out with Frank Sinatra, which must've summoned all sorts of emotions for the Chairman of the Board. Shockingly, none of his impressed Hall of Famer Deacon Jones, who told Bradshaw that "I've never seen you on the (expletive) awards."
Um, ever hear of the TV Guide Award, Deac? No? Moving on...
Six months ago, Terry Bradshaw was set to retire from Fox "NFL Sunday" once his contract expired, because, as he explained to the New York Daily News' Bob Raissman, "I see the energy and the enthusiasm these young guys (who get into broadcasting) have and I think it's time to hang it up..."
"I'm going to do it (the Fox pregame) as long as I can. I don't want to retire," Bradshaw told me. "I just see too many people retire and say, 'I'm going to take off, travel, spend time with my family' and they are just miserable. They end up dying. People who work and stay active, and like what they are doing, live longer. I look forward to doing the show."
Bradshaw thinks Strahan will liven things up on the set, which should offset any fears he has of viewers getting tired of the on-air talent. (Something the USGA has yet to embrace when talking about Chris Berman. Moving on...)
"I'm not bodybuilding here," Bradshaw said, laughing about the confusion that stemmed from the interview. "They were not those kind of steroids. They were anti-inflammatories."
This is tricky because in medicine, the word "steroid" just refers to a general class of chemical substances. But in sports, saying "we did steroids," as Bradshaw said last week on Dan Patrick's radio show, is almost always meant to refer to anabolic steroids, which were widely used in the NFL duing Bradshaw's playing days and have since been banned by every major sports league.
Bradshaw would be wise to choose his words more carefully -- especially considering how prevalent "those kind of steroids" were on the 1970s Steelers.
Bradshaw indicated that he obtained the steroids with a doctor's prescription, and that his primary motivation in using them was to recover from injuries, not to build muscle.
"We did steroids to get away the aches and the speed of healing," Bradshaw said. "My use of steroids from a doctor was to speed up injury, and thought nothing of it. ... It was to speed up the healing process, that was it. It wasn't to get bigger and stronger and faster."
It's been well established that several players on the great Steelers teams of the 1970s used steroids, but this is, I think, the first time Bradshaw has said he used them.
Bradshaw always acts a little nutty on the Fox NFL pregame show, but on Leno he takes that to a whole new level, talking about, among other things, his nude scene in the movie Failure to Launch, which was recently named one of the 10 Worst Nude Scenes in film history.
After the jump, the second part of Bradshaw's appearance.
The 42 Stops to Super Bowl XLII is a series that will feature stories, stats and interesting trivia that you can use to act smart as you prepare for Super Bowl XLII.
Super Bowl XLII is the second straight year that a quarterback who threw at least 20 interceptions during the season made the Super Bowl. This year, it is Eli Manning. Last year, it was the Chicago Bears' Rex Grossman.
Eli will be the sixth QB to get to the Super Bowl despite throwing at least 20 picks during the season.
An oddity is that Eli has yet to throw an interception in these playoffs. That's similar to what another Giants' quarterback, Phil Simms, did about twenty years ago. Simms threw 22 interceptions in 1986, but none in the postseason. In fact, his accuracy in Super Bowl XXI is still the best ever.
The 42 Stops to Super Bowl XLII is a series that will feature stories, stats and interesting trivia that you can use to act smart as you prepare for Super Bowl XLII.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will become the seventh quarterback that was selected #1 overall in the draft to start a Super Bowl.
Let's see: Bradshaw went four-for-four in his Super Bowl trips; Aikman won all his three appearances; Plunkett won both his Super Bowl starts; Eli's brother Peyton won last year; Elway went five times, winning his last two.
Only Bledsoe didn't fair as well. In his only appearance, Super Bowl XXXI, Bledsoe's Patriots lost to the Packers. Bledsoe would go on to win a ring as Tom Brady's backup in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Other #1 picks to win a Super Bowl: Orlando Pace, Keyshawn Johnson, Russell Maryland, George Rogers, Ed Jones, John Matuzak, Bubba Smith and Paul Hornung.
Here is another interesting list that Manning finds himself on: he joins Phil Simms, Jeff Hostetler and Kerry Collins as QBs who've led the Giants into the Super Bowl.
Because the NFL rules the sports landscape in North America, it shouldn't be a surprise that Bill Cowher, former head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers for 15 years, has worked his way into the storyline of the NHL's Eastern Conference final between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. 
Bruce Springsteen
Calling a second-year quarterback a bust after just eight starts would be more than a little short-sighted. But, as sports fans, we 
Six months ago, 
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback 
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback 
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