MONDESI'S HOUSE ON DVE

Just wanted to make a quick mention that I'll be on the WDVE Morning show on Monday morning at approximately 9:45 AM to catch up with Jim Krenn, Randy Baumann, Mike Prisuta, and Val Porter.

You can listen on 102.5 FM, and for those of you out of town, you can listen live on the internet. Just click on the "listen live" icon and you're all set.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

NEWS AND NOTES

--Fantastic news from Latrobe: Big Ben's off to a slow start. Although I didn't understand this quote:

"Tomlin said "that's a safe assumption" that it normally takes Roethlisberger a week to get his arm to mid-season form.

Wouldn't his arm be in mid-season form some time...I don't know...around mid-season? [PG]

--If you haven't yet read the tale of Stanley Cup-crasher Ryan Kraft, take a few moments and do so. And then check out the accompanying photo gallery. Is that Christine Simpson in the background? [Dayton Daily News]

--The Pirates' series of trades saved the team $7.3 million in salary this year, showing a final payroll projection of $47 million. And you said they were cheap! [PG]

--Jeff Reed and his Super Mario Brothers-inspired t-shirt are now writing for Whirl Magazine. This should be interesting. [Whirlmagazine.com]

--Mike Prisuta resigned from the Trib, but will stay on at DVE. So Jeff Reed is now writing and Mike Prisuta isn't? That's scary. [Bob Smizik Blog]

--Penn State's football schedule is always the topic of debate, especially in these parts. So I hope Sean at Sean's Ramblings is ready for mass quantities of Pitt-PSU bickering on his blog after mentioning the perceived weakness of said schedule. [Sean's Ramblings]

--Jay Mariotti wrote about the Pirates, which means we should all duck for cover. Thankfully, Elvis Has Left has taken Mariotti to task on many of his inane points, which makes for quite the entertaining read. [Elvis Has Left]

--Being that I attended Geibel HS back in the day, I always keep an eye on what's happening at my alma mater. The quick-hook to head basketball Marshall Biddington leaves a lot of questions to be answered, and the AD is not talking. How far we have fallen from the days of Ken Misiak, the Joe Paterno of WPIAL hoops. [Herald Standard]

--Lionsgate is going to be shooting the film "The Next Three Days" in the suddenly-trendy filming location of Pittsburgh, and they're looking for a five or six-year-old boy to play Russell Crowe's son. So if you're five years old and reading this, I say go for it. [WPXI]

--For all of you who keep asking me about the Ssshhhh! t-shirts, they are now available through the all-new Superstar Treatment Tees store.

Email: Mondesishouse@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/mondesishouse Facebook: Facebook Group

MONDESI MEETS DVE

Just wanted to make a quick mention that I'll be on the WDVE Morning show tomorrow (Friday) at approximately 9:45 AM to chat about my latest top 10 list and catch up with Jim Krenn, Randy Baumann, and Co.

You can listen on 102.5 FM, and for those of you out of town, you can listen live on the internet. Just click on the "listen live" icon and you're all set.

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

Mondesi on DVE

Just wanted to make a quick mention, I'll be on the WDVE Morning show tomorrow (Thursday, February 7) at approximately 8:45 AM EST to talk Pittsburgh sports, the latest happenings at Mondesi's House, and anything else on the noodle of Jim Krenn and Randy Baumann.

You can listen live on 102.5 FM, and for those of you out of town, you can listen live on the internet. Just click on the "listen live" icon and you're all set - no registration necessary!

Mondesi on DVE Friday Morning

Just wanted to make a quick mention, I'll be on the WDVE Morning show tomorrow (Friday, January 18) at approximately 8:45 AM EST to talk about the NFL Playoffs, the happenings at Mondesi's House and anything else on the noodle of Jim Krenn and Randy Baumann.

You can listen live on 102.5 FM, and for those of you out of town, you can listen live on the internet. Just click on the "listen live" icon and you're all set - no registration necessary!

Friday Bullet Points

It's Friday and still snowing in Pittsburgh. After a Thursday spent mostly on the road, I've got plenty of thoughts in the old noggin. So here's some musings for the content-starved. Please feel free to add your two cents on any or all topics.

--Four quick thoughts on the Anthony Smith comments:

1. First of all, it's a non-story. Total creation of the media looking to add fuel to the fire of Sunday's game. I think Ed Werder put him up to it. Guarantees are BORING, meaningless, and old news. Unless it's Joe Namath and the year is 1969, it doesn't matter what any player thinks.

2. My title a few weeks ago of "Anthony Smith: Steeler Capable of Really Annoying Me at Times" is coming true. I didn't check his bio, but don't remember seeing the words "Mensa member" in there.

3. The predictable "Who's Anthony Smith" response from New England was no surprise whatsoever, and equally as boring as the original guarantee itself. Outside of his hometown, Syracuse, and Pittsburgh, Smith's kinda not well known to say the least. But the media had no problem with a relatively anonymous guy making a useless guarantee. What, was Greg Warren unavailable for comment?

4. That being said, hats off to the Patriots for implying that they're too good to ever talk trash. I forgot just how perfect they were.

--Patriots hatred isn't just jealousy. It's media overkill and saturation. I was watching the high school football playoffs recently, and it was basically a few hours of Terrelle Pryor talk, with a few minutes of game commentary sprinkled in. By the end of the game, I was so sick of hearing about Terrelle Pryor it was frightening.

The moral of the story: people get tired of things. That's a fact. They got tired of the Where's the Beef lady, they got tired of Married With Children, they get tired of hearing about the same two Major League Baseball teams, and they get tired of hearing about the Patriots. Period.

--I think a few of you mentioned it in the comments section a few days back, but who else out there heard that ridiculous Hines Ward press conference following the Sunday nighter? You know, the one where he said, "No one ever gave me a chance" for about 15 minutes?

I don't know about you, but I've grown weary of hearing that line. As Mike Prisuta pointed out this morning on DVE, Hines was a third-round pick. Sorry Hines, but that's quite a pretty good chance, as a matter of fact.

As a player, I love Hines and think he's one of the greatest Steelers of all time. But he's clearly a player who needs to play the me/us-against-the-world card to get motivated. That act gets tiresome after, oh, 10 years of hearing it.

--I'm watching FSN at length the other day and I see a commercial that said, "Panther fans first". But I thought Pirate fans were first? And I also remember hearing that Steeler fans were first. As a matter of fact, I believe I've heard FSN say Penguin fans were first. So which one is it?

--Congrats to the Duquesne for making the City Game competitive this year. It looks like Ron Everhart is really starting to build a nice foundation for the Dukes. Although I'm an unapologetic Pitt fan, I enjoy when the Dukes (and Robert Morris, for that matter) do well. Unfazed, the sun still rose again at Dukes Court.

--My old buddy Dave Dameshek (late of 93.7 FM) was this week's featured guest on Bill Simmons' BS Report podcast, chock full of Pittsburgh talk. See, good things happen once those 93.7 shackles come off.

--Looks like the Pens are really starting to round into shape. They played two teams with contrasting styles in consecutive nights and came out with two Ws. And the dramatic ending last night, with Kris Letang scoring in the shootout, was the icing on the cake.

--My brother Ramon Mondesi, resident monitor of the message boards, tells me that the natives are becoming restless on the Pirate boards. Their main point of contention is the inactivity of the new regime. But if the best they can do is Jason Bay and Ronny Paulino for Kelly Shoppach, Ricky Gutierrez and Cliff Lee, I say "stand".

Ever hear the phrase, "Buy low, sell high"? If you move Bay right now, you're selling LOW. Really low.

--Email from Mike:

Just one more thought to consider. How exactly did the Steelers improve so much from last year to this year? Consider that last years team was 8-8 and got steamrolled at least 4 times (Chargers, Jags, Ravens (2X), not to mention an embarrassing loss to the Raiders. Since last year, the following has occurred:

-The 2007 draft class contributes almost nothing to this years team

-Our big free agent signing, Sean Mahan, is the weak link on the O-Line

-Speaking of the O-Line, it was maybe only above average last year and has certainly not improved its performance this year

-Significant playing time missed by starters Polamalu, Santonio, Hines, and Marvel Smith and others

-New coach replacing a legend

If anything, we should be much worse this year than last year, and yet hear we are, being hailed as perhaps the only threat left to defeat the best team of all-time, on their turf. How exactly did we get to this place? I'll answer my own question and say its almost entirely the improved QB play of Ben (with a nod to the improved Santonio Holmes as well). Which is kind of unsettling in that we can take last years average team, subtract all of the above negative factors that have occurred since then, and yet that is all more than offset because one guy, the QB, is playing so much better than last year. Nothing else really to say about any of this, other than it makes me scratch my head.

I'll make it real simple. Since I'm obviously in the mood for lists today, here's my top four reasons for the Steelers' turnaround:

1. Ben being healthy and ready to play.

2. Ben being healthy and ready to play.

3. Ben being healthy and ready to play.

4. The addition of Steely McBeam.

--I really enjoyed the opportunity to watch that NFL Network game last night. Brian Griese, Todd Collins, Adrian Peterson (the mediocre one)...

I'm going to guess cable operators' phone lines weren't too busy fielding NFLN requests last night.

A few links to further kill some time:

--An institution none other than USA Today gives a full article to the shot in the arm that Saturday's upset was for Pitt recruiting.

--This is simply titled, "Salisbury, Lotion, and Brett Favre".

--Did Darth Boras settle for less money, or is he just setting up a big payday for Andruw Jones down the road?

--We've heard all about the great West Virginia fans threatening to kill their placekicker (you guys really are great fans, if I haven't mentioned that before), but Pierogis N'At took it a step further and gave him a video tribute.

--Here's a week in the life of Large Benjamin.

--Who's better, the Steeler fan or the Patriot fan? PSAMP has the answer.

--Never taunt Doug Gottlieb in an ESPN chat.

--How about a handy guide to the upcoming train wreck that will be the Mike and Mike Celebrity Roast? Spoiler: Golic fat jokes are involved.

--No, Donald Trump DIDN'T tip a waiter $10,000.

--It's an annual treat: the Scared of Santa Gallery.

A LIST OF TODAY'S TOP LISTS

A video compilation of the worst sports injuries

Top 10 Reasons to Hate the Patriots

Thirty-three reasons the Patriots will lose on Sunday

15 Amazingly Times Sports Photos

The 8 Most Cringe-Worthy Comic Book Movie Moments

Mondesi on DVE

Just wanted to make a quick mention, I'll be on the WDVE Morning show tomorrow (Friday, August 24) at approximately 7:40 AM EST to talk about the Steelers and my 2007 Steelers preview.

You can listen live on 102.5 FM, and for those of you out of town, you can listen live on the internet. Just click on the "listen live" icon and you're all set - no registration necessary!