THE NEWS

PICS OF THE DAY
"So my friend Lianne was fortunate enough to go to Tampa last week. While at one of the bars in Tampa, she ran into this guy. Best Detroit Lions jersey ever... (read the name then say the number). Fantastic." -- AJ, Pittsburgh

"Was snapping pics from the Smithfield Street garage and saw this guy. He's even breaking the Jersey Bill of Rights with the hoodie!" -- Lou M.

"I am stuck living in Philly...went to this years Steelers/Eagles game, which has made me hate Philly fans even more than thought possible. We thought we would send in a pic of the Steelers cupcakes my wife made for our Super Bowl party...

They took forever to make...the funny thing was that I was spouting off the numbers for the players #'s for my wife, and told her to put #17 on the last white guy cupcake we had, and then realized I forgot Heath. So we had a Mitch Berger, but no Heath...with no time to make a new white guy, we had a stinking Berger and no Heath! In the end, I don't think he minded with a great Super Bowl performance. We didn't bother with a Sweed either, maybe next time if he can learn how to catch.

Best comment on the cupcakes: "You should've made Hampton a full sized cake"
-- Brian G., Philadelphia

"A statue in D.C. dressed up in Steelers garb. This was done by my cousin, a student at CUA, Saturday night in preparation for the big game." -- Tim P.



"Now that he has another Super Bowl in the books, Hines is going into hybernation in his capsule, only to be released come training camp." -- Christopher B.

"I am from Pittsburgh, but currently live in China. The NFL if it is on is not on at the most convenient times but the Super Bowl is usually shown in bars. With the 12 hour time difference between China and Pittsburgh (13 with daylight savings) the game started at 7 in the morning. So that is why it is bright out.

I am attaching two pics. One before the game (when I knew I would be in a good mood) with the pregame in the screen in the back and another of myself, my sister who had come out to visit, and a random chinese girl. I don't know why she is carrying an umbrella, but she is doing the chinese hand symbol for the number 6." -- Adam L., China

"Born and bred Pittsburgher here. Living in Japan now. The Japanese have a pretty sweet way of counting past 5. Attached is a picture of me celebrating the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl, counting Japanese style." -- Jake K., Japan

Snoop scores a sweet souvenir

"It looks like nflshop.com liked Big Ben for MVP." - Kevin K.

"My sister is a sophomore at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is studying in Athens, Greece for the semester. She sent this photo but left her Harrison jersey with me." -- Megan R.

From Chris F., Brooklyn

From Julie T.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

Mike Tomlin's press conference interrupted by a streaker

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM MY INBOX WORTH MENTIONING

I get lots of email, and there's only so many hours in the day to try and tackle it. Some of the better ones will be featured here.

--"I just wanted to make sure to spread the word that we as fans should not waste our money on those Super Bowl towels that the NFL is hocking, since they are not official Terrible Towels they do not go to the Allegheny autistic school...and they are charging like 25 bucks for them...anyways I figured nobody would buy them cause they were ugly as s***, but i just wanted to make sure..." -- Vincent M., Pittsburgh

--"You mentioned seeing Steeler jerseys as you did your last minute shopping. So did I. I saw a Ben, a Troy, and a Santonio- not to mention my own road white Troy. Did I mention I was in Berlin, NJ?" -- Peter L., New Jersey

--"Did you see this little beauty?These two tools still cannot mention Ben in the same breath as Manning and Brady! I'll concede Tom Brady, but Manning won a crappy Super Bowl against a crappy Bears team, and has consistently gagged on the big ones, going back to his Volunteer Days. And senile Mora discredits him for having a "great supporting cast"??!! I guess Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Randy Moss are horrible, following that logic...

I guess you have to be a stats-junkie and focus on regular-season greatness to know what a truly great QB is. What a couple of jagoffs!" -- Stacy H.

--"Six WR MVPS in Super Bowl history and we have three. I thought we were a linebacker team?" -- Jason B.

--"Ranking the great Pittsburgh sports seasons, I think 2008 now just edges out 1992 as the second best year ever, but I guess I could see the argument for '92 with all three pro teams kicking butt at the same time. Also worth noting - I do not consider WVU or PSU to be "Pittsburgh" teams.

1) 1979
Pirates - East division title and World Series championship
Pitt football - 11-1 (top 10 finish)
Steelers - Central division title and Superbowl championship

2) 2008
Pitt basketball - Big East title
Penguins - Atlantic division title and Stanley Cup finalist
Steelers - North division title and Superbowl championship

3) 1992
Penguins - Stanley Cup championship
Pirates - East division title
Steelers - Central division title

BTW, after sending I realized 1974 is probably up there somewhere as well (Pitt elite 8, Pirates division title, and first Steelers Superbowl)" -- Sam S., Washington DC

--"I've already been checking out the mock drafts and Alex Mack, the Center from California looks like a necessary addition. Combine improved play from the Center with Mendenhall and we might see the goal line problems disappear." -- Collin T.

--"The James Harrison Marathon, after a full Yinzer analysis from "Tunch's Turkish Army":

Pre-snap Reads:
-Cardinals three receiver shotgun set, one right, two left, with left sidecar halfback going towards the Cardinals end zone

-Steelers two down lineman, three defensive back/linebackers showing blitz, three man-to-man defensive backs on receivers, a safety & two linebackers in midfield zone
(clock is right, followed by play-by-play, with ball placement left)

:18 #13 Kurt Warner hikes ball; Steelers rush #25 Ryan Clark, #56 Lamar Woodley, & #94 Lawrence Timmons (Pit 2)

:17 #91 James Harrison intercepts #13 Warner's quick slant pass intended for #81 Anquan Boldin (Pit GL)

:15 #74 Reggie Wells 15 yard facemask of #94 Timmons -later declined-; #94 Timmons puts the first block on #74 Wells (Pit 8)

:14 #51 James Farrior blocks #81 Boldin out of the chase (Pit 16)

:12 #25 Clark blocks #63 Lyle Sendlein; #26 Deshea Townsend blocks #13 Warner (Pit 26)

:11 #56 Woodley blocks on #34 Tim Hightower (Pit 36)

:10 #24 Ike Taylor boxes out #82 Leonard Pope, both run into #26 Townsend & #13 Warner; #91 Harrison runs through a falling #13 Warner (Pit 42)

:09 #43 Troy Polamalu bumps #11 Larry Fitzgerald off-balance; #99 Brent Keisel blocks #75 Levi Brown (Ari 47)

:08 #26 Townsend slows down #11 Fitzgerald; #94 Timmons blocks #74 Wells forcing #11 Fitzgerald to dodge out of bounds(Ari 41)

:07 #56 Woodley blocks #34 Hightower as #91 Harrison sidesteps(Ari 34)
:03 #69 Mike Gandy falls short of making the tackle as #25 Clark falls into him (Ari 9)

:02 #91 Harrison is caught & wrapped up by #11 Fitzgerald & then #15 Steve Breaston (Ari 3)

:01 #91 Harrison falls on the legs of #11 Fitzgerald into the Steelers end zone (Ari GL)

:00 Touchdown is signaled by official #9 Mark Perlman; Replay Assistant challenge, play Upheld, Touchdown Steelers

(10) Cardinals involved in interception return; #'s: 11, 13, 15, 34, 63, 69, 74, 75, 81, 82
(8) Steelers involved in interception return; #'s 24, 25, 26, 43, 51, 56, 91, 94, 99

Steelers breakdown by influence: 24:1, 25:3, 26:3, 43:1, 51:1, 56:3, 91:5, 94:4, 99:1

Interesting note: #26 Deshea Townsend makes up for his missed coverage (was picked out of man-to-man against #81 Anquan Boldin by #11 Larry Fitzgerald; John Madden even commented "They can pick down here." prior to the snap) by making key blocks on #13 Kurt Warner, & slowing #11 Fitzgerald. Also, #11 Fitzgerald (legally) ran out of bounds from the Arizona 40 to the Arizona 2 to catch #91 James Harrison. #11 Fitzgerald was involved in, including the original pick of #26 Townsend, six different actions over the course of these 18 seconds." -- Ryan W.

KEEPING THE TEAM TOGETHER

Once again, the Steelers' pending free agents:

Restricted Free Agents: Willie Colon, Arnold Harrison, Anthony Madison, Sean McHugh, Anthony Smith.

Unrestricted Free Agents: Charlie Batch, Mitch Berger, Fernando Bryant, Trai Essex, Keyaron Fox, Andre Frazier, Chris Kemoeatu, Byron Leftwich, Bryant Mcfadden, Orpheus Roye, Marvel Smith, Max Starks, Nate Washington.

STEELERS/SB43 LINKS

--"The Pittsburgh Steelers are White Trash America's team. Though Raiders, Eagles, and Browns fans certainly have their own reputations for trashy behavior, Steelers fans win the prize for crudeness. It's hard to find a trailer park anywhere in the country that doesn't have a black-and-yellow flag fluttering from the door of a doublewide." Alrighty then. [Phoenix New Times News]

--Steelers could have an easier schedule in '09 [FanHouse]

--Santonio at Disney World! [Orlando Sentinel]

--Man robs bank in Pittsburgh during Steelers parade [Penn Live]

--Early 2009 odds are out, and it looks like we can pencil in New England and Dallas for Super Bowl 44. There's probably no point in the Steelers even showing up next season. [Shutdown Corner]

--Of course, here's an article saying the Steelers could repeat [Newsday.com]

--What got into William Gay at the Parade? [DC Steeler Nation]

--Did taxpayers buy Santonio a Cadillac? [Deadspin]

--Roethlisberger=succeed. McNabb=Epic Fail [Philly.com]

--10 things the Cowboys could learn from SB43 [Star-Telegram.com]

--Comcast apologizes for the Super Bowl porn, offers $10 coupon [Deadspin]

--Cardinals have to prove success was no fluke [AZ Central]

--The Steelers now lead Pittsburgh sports teams with six titles [PB&G]

--Matt Cassel was urinated on while in Tampa [SPORTSbyBROOKS]

--There's a Steeler bar...in Seahawks country! [KNDU.com]

--After further review, SB43 is now called the most watched TV program. Ever. [PG]

--Defending the Best Game Ever tag [Peter King/SI]

--Top 10 Annoying SB43 ads [Real Clear Sports]

--How SB43 was portrayed in newspapers on Monday [Hugging Harold Reynolds]

--Seattle is STILL bitter (scroll to the comments section) [Seattle Times]

--The QB that saved Pittsburgh [Slate]

--Behind the Scenes at the Super Bowl Photo Gallery [SI]

ELSEWHERE IN PITTSBURGH SPORTS

--Luca Caputi scores on his first shift a la Mario Lemieux, but the Pens fall to Montreal, 4-2. Sigh. [Empty Netters]

--Video of last night's Godard-Henry fight [Hockeyfights.com]

--Pens-Lightning at 7:30 tonight - here's a preview [Empty Netters]

--Double M thinks it's too soon for Caputi [WXDX/Mark Madden]

--It's too soon to point fingers, says Dave Molinari [PG]

--Geno Malkin is your permanent "A" [Pittsburgh Penguins]

--Pitt's got 21 verbals going into National Letter of Intent Day [Scout]

--Keep forgetting to mention this, but three guys left the Pitt football team, including QB Kevan Smith [PG]

--Two Panthers are first-rounders in the latest NBA mock draft [NBADraft.net]

--Ten ways the Pirates again can be sporting kings of Pittsburgh [Big League Stew]

--Former Bucco Oliver Perez got 3 years, $36 million out of the Mets [SI]

--And Ty Wigginton is going to be an Oriole [MLB.com]

--Jim Leyland is singing in Motown [Freep.com]

--"Let's try the LaRoche thing again" [ESPN]

--Don't forget, the '09 Pirates are set to make history [We Should Be GMs]

READER REQUESTS

If anyone can help on any of these, please do so in the comments section or by emailing me

--"I wasn't able to get a screen capture of KDKA's news coverage after the game, but Stephanie Watson's blazer had some buttons located in two unfortunate places. Maybe they wanted to get some black and gold on her, but that coat was just bizarre." -- Ryan P.

--"Did you happen to catch that the real Guy Fieri was in attendence AND seated in front of Cuban Gooding Jr.? If only the Burger King and Omar Epps were on kiss cam! Ahh what could have been!" -- Brad A.

--"Do you, by any chance, have any Super Bowl XLIII audio clips? I'm trying to find WDVE clips of some of the highlights, but no luck so far." -- Patrick V., Delaware

BUSINESS

I'm probably going to do an entire post of reader Super Bowl pics from Tampa either Wednesday or Thursday night. If you've got anything to add, please email them!

Send your news, tips, and links to Mondesishouse@gmail.com