W

A few things came out of the Steelers' first pre-season game, a fun-to-watch 38-31 victory.

• Hines Ward ended his holdout. More on this later.

• The draft picks were a fairly bright spot. Second-rounder Fred Gibson had a couple catches and a jarring block on an Eagles' DB that was a contender for hit of the night. Heath Miller was quiet but will fit in just nicely as the new TE when Ben takes over for real. Undrafted free agent Nate Washington was the surprise of the night. Caught a few balls and was a pretty exciting weapon. Still, he's going to be well out of the picture with the Steelers' fairly deep receiving corps.

• A unique game to watch because the Steelers' first unit only got in for one series of downs. Hard to say what to expect of them.

• The Steelers were the first team in NFL history to return an interception, kickoff and punt for a touchdown in a single game. A fact I found surprising.

• Could it be said that the Steelers' hit for the cycle? The football equivalent of hitting a single, double, triple and home run in a single game, Pittsburgh had a rushing TD, a passing TD, a kickoff TD, a defensive TD and a punt return TD. This needs to be made into a stat. First team to ever hit for the cycle.

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With regard to the Ward holdout. Obviously, given the circus of Terrell Owens that has surrounded the Eagles this off-season, the subject of his holdout was a hot topic on last night's cast. I'm not going to suggest that ESPN was wrong in handling it the way they did, but just my own standpoint is to say that anyone suggesting T.O. and Hines' holdouts are in any way similar is completely mental.

Hines, widely regarded as one of the good guys in the NFL, wanted to be paid fair market value and was well below players who aren't even in the same hemisphere as him in terms talent level or contract security. Ward pledged that he wanted to end his career as a Steeler and wanted a contract that would allow him to do that. While all the talk on Owen's website is of him being the martyr and "whipping boy" who "only asks what every other worker in America asks for, respect and dignity", it was Ward who called coach Bill Cowher in an attempt to have the team come to terms. That's the professional thing to do.

Meanwhile, Owens actions have been much publicized and it reminds me of a Skip Bayless piece from a couple years ago that essentially told the Eagles, and by virtue the Baltimore Ravens, whom he spurned in the 2004 off-season, don't be surprised when the love-in ends. When T.O. arrived in Philly in 2004, it was a time of excitement for a team that believed it had the final piece to its puzzle. Undeniably the Eagles benefitted from Owens presence and you can't argue with the numbers he put up.

Still, it's likely the same as dating a stripper: You may love how she looks on your arm but you probably should be aware that something communicable might come from the relationship.

So this is what you get with T.O. and yet we're still, what, surprised? He whined in San Francisco, railed immaturely against his quarterback Jeff Garcia after he left there, told the Ravens to shut it when he was traded there and then, completely unprecedented, lobbied somehow to get a trade to Philadelphia where he got a 7-year deal. Now that contract isn't enough and he's attacked his quarterback again, Donovan McNabb another guy that is widely respected for his professionalism.

So we're talking about one guy who is one of the hardest-working, under-appreciated players that has done the little things for seven years in the same city and another player who is the biggest narcissist in the league with no one's interest but his own.

To paraphrase McNabb, a guy I really like: When you're talking about Terrell Owens, keep Hines Ward's name outta your mouth.

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And so, lyric of the day is in honour of Owens. From Guru's solo album Jazzmatazz, a collection of hip hop with jazz and soul greats:

Lyric of the Day:
[Guru]
they're sleeping, it's deep man
so peep in closely when I'm speaking
weaklings, it's obvious you can't like up to
your pety pointless words, yet and still you love to
run off your jibs, now there come a time for judgement
punishment, what if we take away your ornaments
and strip you down to the raw deal
then I'd reveal the evidence
cause you don't really represent

Chorus

[Chaka Kahn]
listen here
I'm getting tired of you shooting lip
you better tighten up
or you will really slip up
and say something that you mean to do
turn around and it'll be on you
to save yourself from your call and blunder
...
and like a fool you'll sit and wonder
what, who do you wanna know, wish
no water, no magic spell
can save you from your self made hell
you've made your bed and you know darn well
you got a lay it in the ???
and there's no magic potion
to save you from the wheels you've set in motion
the stone is cut, the die is cast
what were you thinking