Hines Has Some Cold Pizza

Steeler WR/Personality Hines Ward made an appearance on Cold Pizza this morning as part of ESPN's "ESPN: the Weekend" event at Disney World. Ward and Carolina Panther WR Steve Smith were interviewed by Jay Crawford, so we were spared the Skip Bayless appearance for at least one segment (don't worry, Skip chirped earlier in the show that the release of Joey Porter was a HUGE mistake).

The first, obvious question for Ward was his reaction to the loss of Porter, to which Hines said he was "surprised". Frankly, I'm surprised that anyone was surprised, but I suppose that's the answer he had to give. He mentioned sadness at the loss of Cowher, Bettis, and Porter over the past year. Hines also had plenty of kind words for Mike Tomlin and said he was meeting with him soon.

We were then forced to sit through an incredibly painful-to-watch bit where Ward & Smith were asked to match a Disney character to an NFL player. Everyone say "Corporate synergy!"

ESPN, ever obsessed with Terrell Owens, led off with him, to which Hines said he actually likes T.O. and looked rather uncomfortable trying to give an answer. Hines ultimately chose Cinderella for Owens, letting down Crawford, who was praying for the answer of "Goofy". Next was Chad Johnson, and Steve Smith mumbled "Cinderella". Following that, Hines was asked who he would choose for Steve Smith. His answer? Cinderella, of course. Crawford asked Smith who to choose for Ward. By this point, we knew the answer...Cinderella. So I guess every single player in the NFL reminds these guys of Cinderella. Fabulous improv, guys. And a great bit conjured up by those Cold Pizza writers. Emmy-award winning stuff.

The House That Ben Built

Just in to the tipline, a reader sends along alleged photographs of Ben Roethlisberger's new house. Normally I wouldn't consider where a sports figure lives as news, but the P-G ended that taboo today with their coverage of Mike Tomlin's new digs in Shadyside. I guess info like this is important to Steeler fans, and like the P-G, I'm here to please you, the reader.

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In other Steeler news, Ike Taylor was unfortunately chosen as the player to represent the Steelers on ESPN's Cold Pizza this morning. Cold Pizza is going through each team with a look back at what happened in 2006 and what might happen in 2007.

Why do I say unfortunate? Because Ike Taylor will never be confused with a spokesman on any level whatsoever. Some of his thoughts on the Steelers (and these aren't the exact quotes verbatim, but you get the point):

On their 2006 struggles: "We had a lot of inconsistency. You know, we weren't consistent."

On the hiring of Mike Tomlin as coach: "We have a good front office. They know what they're doing. What have they won, like five Super Bowls?"

Yeaaaah...I think the next time, the Steelers will think about letting Ike talk on live TV before giving him the green light.

Ike also thought that his benching will only make him stronger, because he's been through a lot in his life. Unless you don't believe the stories about his "Uncle Francois" sitting in a truck tire and made a pre-teen Taylor drag him around to the point of exhaustion, keeping him up as late as 2 AM. Or the story about Uncle Francois making Ike chase a rabbit to increase his speed.

Ike Taylor...one of my very favorite Steelers. And to second what he wished for the 2007 season, I hope he does become a shut down corner.

Heinz vs the Colts, LaRoche Mania, Lebron Roast, Cold Pizza Moving, New Paris Tapes

NFL:

Check out a site called Nothin But the Truth written by a very talented writer named Eddie Gallo. This feature is his thoughts on the Mike Tomlin hire. Very good stuff!

Is Heinz really trying to bully the Indianapolis Colts and a small ketchup company?

MLB:

LaRoche Mania comes to PirateFest this weekend. I think the sky is the limit for the Pirates with LaRoche in the lineup. Is 110 wins too much to expect? In other news, McNutting, Littlefield, and Tracy will all be on hand to mingle with fans, answer questions, and presumably to reiterate their "commitment to winning".

Sammy Sosa is ready to finalize his deal with the Rangers. Thank you for this gold mine of new material, Jon Daniels (he's the GM of the Rangers who's signing off on Slammin' Sammy).

Looks like the Buccos aren't going to sign Jeff Weaver. And I am glad. That just looked like something out of those old SNL "Bad Idea Jeans" ads.

SI.com gives us the weaknesses of all 30 MLB teams. Except for the Yankees. They're flawless.

NBA:

Much like Pam Anderson, Hugh Hefner, and Bill Shatner, Lebron James will be the subject of a roast

MEDIA:

Competition for the Trenni photo on eBay: the elusive signed 8x10 of FSN's Rob King.

Mel Kiper: Scout for the porn industry?

ESPN2's Cold Pizza is moving from NYC to Bristol. Check out this quote from the article: "Way back when, a Bristol tipster told us the show had affectionately been dubbed ‘Vietnam’ because ESPN has no idea how it got into this mess, and also has no exit plan."

RANDOM FUN STUFF:

What's on the new round of Paris Hilton tapes? Your answers are just a click away.

Update on a few stories

Last Thursday I wrote a piece on the lack of respect Big Ben was getting from SI.com's Phil Taylor. Well, today we can add ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd to the list of Ben Haters. While interviewing former DB Eric Allen on his daily talk show, Cowherd brought up the play of Bears QB Rex Grossman. To gauge the level of play Grossman was at, Cowherd asked Allen who he would rather have instead of Grossman, and together they went through 15 quarterbacks...15!!...without even mentioning Roethlisberger. OK, he's had two bad games. I guess that immediately erases the start to his career and his Super Bowl win.

The list went something like this (although not in order): Brady, Manning, Palmer, Brees, McNabb, Hasselbeck, Delhomme, Favre, Leftwich, Vick, Brad Johnson, Eli Manning, Plummer, McNair, and Grossman. What, no Alex Smith or Andrew Walter? Of course, this is the same clown that still refuses to recognize the Steelers as Super Bowl champs.

Also, on my Monday Morning Wrapup, I called the Chargers the best 2-1 team in the league. Right on cue, ESPN2's Cold Pizza "analyst" Skip Bayless called them the team to beat in the AFC. You'd think that a team that has continued to find ways to lose close games the last two seasons would eventually have some bandwagoneers jump off, but no, that's not the case.