Just arrived in Pittsburgh last night. Good city so far, just one complaint. Got off the plane and was walking through the Pitt airport, and all of a sudden there is a life-sized Franco Harris in full uniform grabbing the "Immaculate Reception". But the ball was like 2 feet off the ground as he's catching it. Come on guys. I know you would like us all to believe Franco caught the ball, but you made it seem like the ricochet hit Harris mid-chest in stride. A little overdone for my taste, and I'm not even a Raiders fan.
If you've ever been to a big event, you know it's really not about the sport itself, but rather all the parties and fanfare that goes along with it. Last night was no exception. Hit an MLB party at Heinz Field (maybe they didn't realize that's where they play football), and let's just say it hit back. Water intake is very high today (as is the Visine). Plenty of all-stars hit the party. Paul LoDuca seemed excited about his first All-Star start. Andruw Jones has been to six of these babies, but seemed to be enjoying himself. He asked, "Why didn't Salley make the trip?" I told him I would have to explain the rules of baseball before we let Sal hit the road for one of these.
Also met two of the better stories of the first half. Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla was a Rule 5 pickup and now he's at the All-Star game. I'm not so sure MLB knows it because he had no idea what his schedule was like or anything (I'm guessing it's not Bud's responsibility to send out the memo on that one). Another great story was Freddy Sanchez. He received more write-in votes than any player in baseball, and now he's playing the Mid-Summer Classic in his own park. Both Dan and Freddy were great guys ... guys you could easily root for. By the way, I'll never be confused for Richie Sexson, but I could easily post up LoDuca, Uggla or Sanchez and take them on the block ... whether I could actually score is another matter.
I agree Ortiz has the stuff to win the Home Run derby.
I think Zizou should also be featured in a special Pros vs Joes where Zidane is the goalie and if you get one past him you get to HeadButt him right in the chest. LOL
chris-- that is totally bizarre that franco harris would be at the airport dressed in his steeler uniform no less. was it a cardboard cut-out, was it a mural, was it a wax figure, or was it really franco? i'm not real clear on that.
careful calling the pittsburgh fans drunken idiots for diving into one of the 3 rivers after a homerun ball. this could be viewed badly. and take away from the fact that they are drunken idiots in all of their endeavors. not just kayaking for homerun balls.
Big disappointment for Glaus, but it's not like the contest really means anything. Howard winning was no major surprise and D.Wright and M.Cabrera were great as well.
If not for Big Papi it would have been an all N.L. East affair in the later rounds. Too bad neither Francoeur or Andruw decided to participate. Hey at least the N.L. East was finally able to look good compared to the rest of MLB for a change this year.
Chris - Good post about the Franco Harris thing. I've never been to Pittsburgh so I can't say I've seen the life-sized Harris in the airport, but out of all the angles I've seen of the immaculate reception replays, you cannot see where Harris caught the ball. Of course the Steeler faithful would make it seem like it hit him between the "3" and "2" on his jersey.
I wouldn't be surprised if they construct a statue of Derek Jeter's playoff flip to Jorge Posada outside the new Yankee Stadium and make it look like Jeremy Giambi was out by a mile (and I'm a Yankees fan!).
Why you guys BOTHER to leave a comment on this blog is beyond me. The guy has yet to EVER ONCE bother to take a minute from his busy time to leave a single word in these comments box. All you guys do is even further stroke his ego, if possible.
I'm greatly bothered that this blog becomes Blog of the Day for like the 4th time when you can even bother to interract with people who read your blog and take time to write something. It's extremely ignorant if you ask me. Though I dont blame you entirely, it's more the fault of the "Fox Staff" who feel the need to even further promote their own "pro" talent and make advertising revenue on this board rather actually care about the people who spend hours at a time on this, I am indeed bothered you can't take five minutes to correspond with your readership.
i'm outraged! this bonehead has the same initials as me.
as for franco harris being at the airport, what did you expect? highlights of the cowboys intercepting neil o'donnell every time he dropped back to pass? ummm, it's freakin pittsburgh, they're going to showcase their proud moments. maybe in your hometown they have something embarrassing on the "welcome to" sign at the city limits....perhaps a picture of you like the one above?
i doubt you could score on anyone. you wouldnt have salley there to set a screen for you, like he does on the show.
Cuz and Patrick...
I am glad to see other people disagreeing. No need to agree with him just because he is on TV...Glaus for the HR derby? Are you kidding me? and I completely agree with cuz about the pittsburgh thing...What's next getting upset with the statue of MJ outside of the United Center in chitown?
The Franco Harris sighting in Pittsburgh is no different than the patrons of Chicago still re-living the 85' Bears. My brother is currently attending school in the Chicago area, and granted he's a big Bears fan himself, but all he says he hears or sees when the football season is on is highlights of the 85' Bears. It's all about being proud of what accomplishments your home team has done, even if they aren't recognized by the rest of the nation.
As for the fact the ball was 2 feet in the air...they probably couldn't figure out how to position Franco Harris to catch the ball that low...perhaps art imitating life?
that's like going to an airport near lambeau field and seeing brett favre toss an 80 yard TD to antonio freeman against the patriots and saying it shouldnt be there....or seeing highlights of the ice bowl against the cowboys and how it is innappropriate.
seriously, do cities have to be politically correct with their sports highlights for visiting fans now or what? R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S.
Wow - Can't believe you're critical of a Pittsburgh Steelers statue of an icon in the Pittsburgh airport. Who cares about where exactly the ball landed on that play dubbed the Immaculate Reception? The awesome thing is that Franco scooped it up and ran with it. As far as it being in the airport, it is located by the escalators down to the lower level, and not smack dab in the middle (in other words you gotta look for it). By the way, that's the only reference to the 5X World Champs, and I think there absolutely should be more. . . overdone? I think not!
Chris, you have always been a #### since day one and now your blogs are the best of the day? What horsechit. Glaus did hit one homer. lmfao. So maybe next time you arrive in Detroit and see a statue of Stevie Z you might understand that he played there a few years. If it wasnt for Salley, no one would ever tune in to hear your opinions about sports. You could be the dumbest person on Fox.
Tim McCarver- Please someone end my misery and stop him from talking. I truly believe that he is blind. He comments on replays and misstates the facts and what is painfully evident it hurts. For example, Carlos Beltran trips over his own leg not Troy Glaus. It is so obvious in the replay... he does this consistently over the course of his career! I would have cheered Deon Sanders dumping anyting on his head... I would like have seen a bucket full of bricks instead of water. PLease remove McCarver and let baseball fans stop the trips to the bathroom to vomit as a result of his comments.
Wow, Cuz! I just read your comments! Please don't refrain from sharing your real emotions.
Mine weren't mean as that caustic, Monsiuer Rose, so take heart and keep on a blogging. I enjoy them. I would enjoy them even more if you read and commented (even two words0 on one of my blogs...
Chris, There were some glaring omissions from the All Star Game. Sadly the one that appears to be the most startling is that of the Devil Rays' Carl Crawford. I think that it's a joke that there should a representative from every team in baseball. But that's the way MLB constructs its rules so who can argue with that ? The voting criteria makes the whole thing a popularity contest amongst the fans, rather than a vote on merit concerning a player's form.
Coming from Clevland I can understand your resentment of seeing Franco Harris at the airport since Clevland has never accomplished the dynasty Pittsburgh did. Your brave enough to put your feelings in your article but the real question is would you have the nerve to go to a Pittsburgh bar on any given Sunday during football season and express your feelings and think you would walk out in one piece. You would quickly understand that the steel curtain goes beyond the football field.
Chris - Oh, so you're a Cleveland fan . . . well that explains it all. I've never been to the Cleveland Airport, but I know I wouldn't scoff if I saw a Jim Brown statue in that airport. Especially since he was the most notorious player to come out of the Browns franchise. I think you're still smarting from the ####-kicking the Steelers put on the Browns last season (score was around 41-0 from what I remember). Pittsburgh is hugely proud of the Steelers and rightfully so. Cleveland has never even come close to what the Steelers have accomplished. Don't knock another town's pride in their team just because you're jealous. By the way, they have a huge Mr. Roger's display also at the Pittsburgh airport - and you didn't comment on that? Duh. Go Steelers!!! 5X World Champions!!!
