Friday, May 1, 2009
The Steelers make Pittsburgh "Six-burgh"
By Nick Blake
sports editor
npbso4Knpsu.edu
Feb. 6, 2009
All of the hype and build up
has passed, and the NFL has
crowned a new champion. The
Pittsburgh Steelers are Super
Bowl XLIII champions.
Tampa Bay played host to
the most watched Super Bowl
ever last week, and fans were
treated to what’s being debat
ed as the best Super Bowl ever
played.
The Arizona Cardinals and
the Pittsburgh Steelers met at
Raymond James Stadium on
Feb. 1 for what was sure to be
a battle of epic proportions.
The Arizona Cardinals have
one of the most prolific offens
es in the NFL, led by experi
enced quarterback Kurt
Warner apd the tworheaded
monster receivers of Larry
Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.
The Pittsburgh Steelers, on
the other hand, have one of the
best defenses in the NFL. In
fact, they did have the best
defense in the league this year,
ranking number one.
After the numerous pregame
festivities, it was finally time
for the game to begin. The
Cardinals won the coin toss
and elected to defer to the sec
ond half, giving the Steelers
the ball to start the game.
The Steelers didn’t waste
Rachel Reeves
is Spring 'O9 champ
REEVES UPSETS SATTELY; TAKES AWAY TITLE
By Connor Sattely
managing editor
cisso6o(a psu.edu
Last fall, there was a bet.
Whoever fell behind between
Rachel and I in ratings would
write an article detailing why
the other person was a better
sports fan. The article went
over great (Thanks, Rachel),
and we went on with the year.
This semester, there was no
bet. But, in the interest of
sportsmanship, I feel that it is
necessary to educate the entire
Penn State Behrend communi
ty on why Rachel Reeves is a
better sports fan than I am.
First, this semester’s contest
was more comprehensive in its
scope of sports. While our fall
competition largely only took
professional and college foot
ball into account, this spring’s
Beat the Experts brought in at
least six different sports, at all
different levels. Baseball,
hockey, professional and col
lege football, and more.
Thus, Rachel obviously has a
more extensive knowledge of
sports as a whole, because her
domination with a mixed
sports picking competition
shows that while her weakness
may be football, her expertise
expands through all genres of
sports. Her knowledge of near
ly every sports team currently
any time getting their offense
going on their first possession.
Right off the bat, Steelers quar
terback Ben Roethlisberger
found an open Hines Ward for
a 38-yard gain to the Cardinals’
32-yard line.
A couple running plays to
runningback Willie Parker and
a pass to tight end Heath Miller
to set up first-and-goal for the
Black and Gold.
On a third-and-goal,
Roethlisberger took it into his
own hands to get the ball into
the end zone. Roethlisberger
appeared to fight his way
across the goal line, but the
Cardinals challenged the play,
which revealed Big Ben’s knee
hitting the ground prior to
reaching the end zone. The
Steelers settled for an 18-yard
field goal from Jeff Reed to
take a 3-0 lead.
The Cardinals weren’t exact
ly on fire on their first offen
sive drive. They gained no
yardage on their first play. On
second down, quarterback
Kurt Warner hit wide receiver
Steve Breaston for a 10-yard
gain, but it was wiped away
due to a holding penalty. After
that, they couldn’t get going
and were forced to punt.
The Black and Gold kept it
coming with their offenseive
machine running.
Roethlisberger was still hot,
finding wide receiver Santonio
Holmes for a 25-yard gain. On
Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes hauls in the game winning touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter.
Beat The Experts:
Seldom in the realm of man has such
playing in the country is noth
ing less than the sign of a
sports prodigy.
Secondly, Rachel presented
her domination on a week-by
week basis. Whereas my victo
ry in fall was barely slipped by
with a margin of only a few
picks, she took the cake with a
margin of eight votes.
Towards the end of the year,
she forced me into picking
upsets to try to catch up. My
terrible picks last week such as
calling the Yankees over teh
Red Sox, and the Devils over
the Hurricanes, are evidence of
my desperation. By the end of
the year, I was as desolate and
miserable as a winter in Erie.
Sports
the following play, the Steelers
were tagged with a false start
penalty backing them up.
The Steelers were unable to
get much going, and were
forced into a third-and-ten sit
uation. Roethlisberger was
under pressure but was able to
escape, hitting Miller for an 11-
yard gain and a first down.
After another 11-yard pass to
Miller and an eight-yard run by
Parker, the Steelers were again
knocking at the door. The
Steelers worked their way to
the one-yard line where they
faced another third-and-goal
situation. They would find pay
dirt this time when running
back Gary Russel pounded his
way across the goal line giving
the Steelers a 10-0 lead.
With the offense that the
Cardinals were equipped with,
there was no way that they
were going to lay down for the
Steelers.
Warner came through with a
huge play to Boldin which net
ted 45-yards to the Steelers
one-yard line. Warner threw a
pass to Ben Patrick who made
an amazing catch in the end
zone, cutting the lead to 10-7.
On the next two drives, the
teams were deadlocked, with
neither team able to get any
thing done.
On the Steelers next posses
sion, Roethlisberger had a pass
tipped by Cardinals’ defensive
lineman Bryan Robinson,
DANIEL SMITH / The Behrend Beacon
sports domination been witnessed.
Third, her powers to divine
the winning team in any con
test borders on the clairvoyant.
Every week, she would predict
with stunning accuracy upsets
of all types, and would even
call closely-matched games
with extreme precision.
Mostly, I am gracious for the
opportunity to work with a gift
ed sports fan like Rachel.
Every week, I would nearly beg
her to teach me her method for
picking teams.
“Rachel! Please! Have
mercy,” I would cry week after
week. She would respond only
with a smirk, as she nailed
down pick after pick.
The cruelty and cold-blood-
which ended up being picked
off by linebacker Karlos
Dansby at the Steelers 33-yard
line.
The Steelers forced two
incomplete passes from
Warner on the first two plays of
the drive, but the Cardinals
would strike.
On third down, Warner hit
runningback Tim Hightower
for a first down. With back-to
back passes to Fitzgerald and
Boldin, the Cardinals were on
the one-yard line and were
poised to go into halftime with
the lead.
Warner dropped back for a
pass to the end zone and was
intercepted by the NFL’s
Defensive Player of the Year,
linebacker James Harrison.
With some athletic moves and
key blocks from teammates,
Harrison returned the inter
ception 100 yards for a pick
six. It was the longest play in
Super Bowl history.
“It was very tiring, but it was
all worth it. I was just thinking
that I had to do whatever I
could to get to the other end
zone and get seven. I just want
ed to help my team win. That
was it. That was all I was think
ing about,” Harrison said.
This was the final play of the
first half, giving the Steelers a
17-7 lead at halftime.
The Cardinals got the ball to
start the second half and they
got it moving. Warner got the
ed nature of Rachel as a sports
fan haunted my days and my
nights. Many nights, I would
wake with a cold sweat, after a
terrible nightmare in which I
had to hold a two-hour conver
sation with Peyton Manning.
Oooohh, the forehead.
Rather than educate her
competition, Rachel went to
great lengths keeping me in
the dark. Still, I feel that some
how, I was able to learn some
of her sports knowledge sim
ply by being in the same pizza
filled, coffee-laden newsroom.
Her knowledge of great picks
extend beyond sports, howev
er. She can pick almost any
thing, from a guitar string, to a
nose, to an opposing player in
a basketball game. She’s unbe
lievable, and unstoppable.
The bottom line, and the
fourth column here is that
Rachel Reeves is clearly a bet
ter sports fan than Connor
Sattely. Her extensive breadth
of sports knowledge extends
far beyond merely football.
Her consistent picks were dev
astating, and her prowess at
picking extends far beyond the
world of sports.
Final Score for Spring 2009:
Rachel: 124-64
Connor: 116-72
The Behrend Beacon I 7
ball to Boldin and then run
ningback Edgerrin James
wheeled off three straight runs
that totaled 19 yards.
The Steeler defense
slammed the door shut,
though, allowing just two short
gains and forcing an incom
plete pass on the third-down
play. This forced the Cardinals
into a punt.
To start the drive, Holmes
broke out for a six-yard recep
tion, and a facemask penalty
against the Cardinals added 15
yards to the play.
Roethlisberger kept going to
the air, hitting tight end Matt
Spaeth and wide receiver
Hines Ward. On another pass
ing play, Roethlisberger was
hit late and the Steelers were
given 15 yards from a roughing
the passer penalty.
Parker then trotted for 15
yards, giving the Steelers
another new set of downs.
They were kept out of the end
zone, though, and settled for a
27-yard field goal from Reed
giving them a 20-7 lead with
2:16 left in the third quarter.
This was the Super Bowl and
the Cardinals still weren’t fin
ished. Warner led his offense
down the field on an outstand
ing drive. He completed all
eight of his passes on the 87-
yard drive which was capped
off by a one-yard, acrobatic
catch by Fitzgerald, cutting the
lead to 20-14.
The Cardinals got the ball
back after holding the Steelers,
but were unable to get going.
But they pinned the Steelers on
their own one-yard line on a
magnificent punt.
On third down, Steelers’ cen
ter Justin Hartwig was flagged
for holding in the end zone.
The penalty resulted in a safe
ty cutting an already slim lead
to 20-16.
After the free kick from the
Black and Gold, the Cardinals’
offense wasted no time driving
down the field. Warner found
Fitzgerald down the middle
and he was off to the races and
a touchdown giving the
Cardinals their first lead of the
game 23-20, with 2:35 left to
play.
The Steelers still had some
fight in them. Roethlisberger
was able to drive his offense
down field, scramble after
scramble and pump fake after
pump fake.
The Steelers were able to
work their way inside the
Cardinals’ 10-yard line with
time running out.
Wille Colon takes in the win amongst the confetti,
With :35 left in the game,
Roethlisberger was able to
thread a perfect pass through
three defenders to Holmes in
the back of the end zone who
made a tip-toe catch to give the
Black and Gold a 27-23 lead.
The Cardinals had one more
chance, but while Warner was
preparing to unleash a last
ditch, Hail Mary pass, he was
stripped by line backer Lamar
Woodley and the Steelers
recoverd the fumble.
The final score was 27-23
giving the Steelers their NFL
franchise record sixth Super
Bowl title.
Holmes was named MVP of
the game racking up nine
catches for 131 yards and the
game-winning touchdown.
“It was a play we drew up
that we were hoping to get
open in the comer. The defen
sive back bit up on the short
route and Ben (Roethlisberger)
held onto the ball long enough
to get it to me,” Holmes said.
Troy Polamalu found the
final five minutes of the game
to be very gut wrenching.
“Oh my God, I don’t know.
You can’t explain it. You are
seconds away from me crying
in the locker room, and them
being out here. That’s how
amazing this game is,”
Polamalu said.
Ward had faith in his team
and was proud of how they
were able to comeback.
“It speaks volumes about our
team. We never gave up. To
come back and win like that, is
just unbelievable," Ward said.
Head coach Mike Tomlin
won his first Super Bowl in his
second year in the league, but
knew he could win it, and
could see himself winning it.
“That’s what we all work for.
That’s the planning that we put
in for it, like 31 other guys.
Somebody’s going to be the
one, and I’m just thankful that
it’s us this year,” said Tomlin.
This Super Bowl was the
most watched television pro
gram in U.S. history with a
total audience of 151.6 million
viewers. The two teams didn’t
disappoint. Super
Bowl XLIII is being debated as
being the best Super Bowl
ever. It very well may be, and it
is sure that there will be more
great ones to follow.
Don’t forget to catch all of
your favorite NFL all-stars in
this year’s Pro Bowl. The game
will be in Honolulu, Hawaii on
Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. on NBC.