Conference hbahba::cam_sports

    The Cowboys have got the 4th highest Superbowl spread in points with
    12 in NFL history. I think that's being real generous to Pittsburg.
    Considering also Haley said he will start and finish the whole game.
    All our players are healthy and ready to shove all the critics words
    down thier mouths with Barry Switzer getting a ring. Rod Woodson will
    not play and even though they have a great passing game that could
    probably eat up Dallas secondary their defense isn't good enough to
    keep the ball out of Dallas's hands. Dallas will control the ball time
    therefore will dominate the game.
    
                                               The End
    

 >                                             The End
 
That's a different name.  Did your parents get it from baby book?  :-)
Seriously, what's your first name?

Is the spread still at 12?  If I were a betting man, I'd hold out for as 
long as possible - I don't think the spread is going anywhere but up.

>    even though they have a great passing game that could
>    probably eat up Dallas secondary their defense isn't good enough to
>    keep the ball out of Dallas's hands.

I don't think the Steeler passing game is "great" - I think you've given them
a little too much credit.

This whole game comes down to how well Dallas picks up the blitz.  They do a
good job, they waltz to a win.  They don't, they're in for a long day.

How's that for deep analysis?

-Roland

    
    compare to what it has been the past few years the Steelers' passing
    game this year is great! faint praise, I know but atleast Neil does
    know how to look off a receiver or two. His problem unfortunely is
    happy feet under pressure.......
    
    mike

    I think Roland hit the nail on the head with his analysis of Cowboy
    offense vs. Pittsburgh defense, but I think Pittsburgh needs to 
    concentrate more on stopping Emmitt Smith (hopefully for under 50yds)
    and forcing Dallas (i.e. Aikman) to beat them with the passing game.
    The reason for this is that there is more likelihood of Aikman
    throwing an interception than there is of Smith fumbling, since 
    Aikman will probably be looking at a variety of blitzes all game
    long.  I think Pittsburgh's ability (or inability) to run the ball
    against the Dallas defense will play a major role also.
    
                                                             D.J.

    
    Yep, I think if the Steelers can blitz and hit Aikman a few times, the
    Steelers can keep this game real close. Smith is going to get his 100+
    yards - no doubt. The key is definetly getting to Aikman in hopes that
    he makes some mistakes.

    
    	Deion becomes the 1st player in Super Bowl history to score a TD
    three different ways in the same game. Look for Deion to score 3 TD's,
    1 on a kick return, 1 on an interception, and 1 as a WR.
    
    Ron

>    	Deion becomes the 1st player in Super Bowl history to score a TD
>    three different ways in the same game. Look for Deion to score 3 TD's,
>    1 on a kick return, 1 on an interception, and 1 as a WR.

     Frankly, I'm not too impressed with Dallas return teams.

A gameplan based on forcing Aikman to throw INTs is shaky.  The man's
postseason stats don't support it.  He's cool, intelligent, accurate
and has a gun.

Pittsburgh should try to hold onto the ball via long, time-consuming
drives.  They can't afford even one turnover.  They'd have to run
the '90 Giants game to perfection to win...but Boniol is no Norwood.

> Pittsburgh should try to hold onto the ball via long, time-consuming
> drives.  They can't afford even one turnover.  They'd have to run
> the '90 Giants game to perfection to win...but Boniol is no Norwood.

  Boniol and Norwood of that year are almost exactly the same.  Very good stats
  on shorter range FG's; not very good on longer field goals.  Neither kicker
  really had to kick longer FG's during the year.

  Of course, the Giants had a much better OL than Pittsburgh did, and beat
  better defenses than Buffalo to get to the SB.  The Steelers haven't had to
  beat a better defense than the one Dallas will put on the field.  Still, I 
  think the Cowboys can be run on.

    Emmitt Smith will run for 236 yards and three touchdowns.  Aikman will
    have two TD passes.  Breuner and Thigpen will catch TD passes for the
    Steelers after the game is out of hand.
    
    Final:  Dallas 45, Pittsburgh 20
    
    NAZZ

It would be different.  I felt bad for Jackie Smith, even though he was
a Cowboy at the time.

    
    if he does he'll probably cry to the refs that he was interfered with
    and get a late flag........
    
    mike

>>    Wouldn't it be cool if Michael Irvin pulls a Jackie Smith on Sunday?
    
    would be awesome.....

	Super Bowls are hardly ever effected by official's
	blunders.  They, like the teams, are there because
	they are deemed to be the best in their field.

	To state the obvious, the team that runs the best
	will no doubt win this one.  That means the tandem
	of Morris, Pegram and Williams must rush better
	than Smith - a large feat, but not impossible.


	billl

>A gameplan based on forcing Aikman to throw INTs is shaky.  The man's
>postseason stats don't support it.  He's cool, intelligent, accurate
>and has a gun.
    
    The only times Aikman throws interceptions is when he is constantly
    under pressure and gets knocked on his *ss a lot.  Nobody except the
    49'ers have been able to do that to him.  That's why Pittsburgh has
    to throw a variety of blitzes at him, make sure someone is hitting him
    on every play possible (nothing cheap), and get as many sacks as 
    possible.  Anyone can be cool in the pocket when nobody is getting 
    near you.
    
                                                            D.J.
    

    
    Which means Peagram will have to come up big imo Billl. Morris is a
    bit slow and the speed of the Dallas D should contain him. Hopefully
    Peagram beats them up early then in the 4th quarter Bam drives it down
    their throat. Would love to see Erhardt mastermind another 9 minute
    plus drive against the boys like he did to the Bills........
    
    mike

      I'm with Garb.  They need to replicate the Giants game plan
      in their win over the Bills.  MAKE THE GAME AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE.
    
      Control the clock.  Keep the defensive front seven strong and
      fresh enough to be able to sustain getting some kind of pressure
      on Aikmen and minimizing the size of the holes the Dalls o-line
      produces.
    
      A fresh, strong Steeler defensive front seven in the latter stages
      of the game is the thing I think the Steelers most want to produce.
    
    						Tony

>    The only times Aikman throws interceptions is when he is constantly
>    under pressure and gets knocked on his *ss a lot.  Nobody except the
>    49'ers have been able to do that to him.

Yes, and the *only time* SF was able to do that was when they jumped out
early and built a big lead.  Banking on Pittsburgh doing that is also
very shaky.

Here's a computerized box score of Super Bowl XXX. 

	Dallas		 7 14 14  3 - 38
	Pittsburgh	 7  7  0  8 - 22

Emmitt gains 171 and scores 2 TDs on runs and 1 TD from a_Aikman pass.
Sherman Williams comes in late and he scores a TD.

O'Donnell throws a couple, one each to Bruener and Mills.

Niether Neon nor Irvin scores.

TTom

    When the Giants (of all teams) ran for a million yards vs Dallas, Jones
    the middle linebacker was out injured (abdominal pull).  He's back and
    since he's back thru the playoffs Dallas has been strong vs the run.
    
    Since Jones backup had problems depth in this area could be one hope
    for the Steelers.  I am hanging onto my "U" pick this week but I'd
    never put money on the Steelers.

>Niether Neon nor Irvin scores.

The only thing, other than the obvious, that would
make me happier would be if'n they're both on the
sidelines sniffin' smellin' salts.


billl

    
    I think the Steelers 3-4 defense might do well against Dallas (I think
    this is the first 3-4 Defense Dallas has faced all year). If the
    Steelers can get to Aikman in the blitz and shake him up - I like
    the Steelers chances. Hasn't Aikman been knocked out of 3 games this
    year with concussion problems?  
    
    Steelers will win 37-31 in a thriller.

    re .23,
    
    	Except the B's/Montreal game is at 3:00 and kickoff isn't until
    6:20. So plenty of time to down a few while watching the B's.  So
    you pass out before Dallas goes ahead, thus you avoid your brothers
    hooting and hollering. Then again what if Pittsburgh is winning, you
    don't want to avoid being able to rub it in.
    
    Ron

	JaKe called me and asked to have his prediction
	posted:

	STEELERS	27
	Cowboys		24


	billl

Aikman has been knocked out twice this year (as I recall).  Both were
because of leg or back problems.  I don't think he's had a concussion
this year.

As for last year's NFC championship game in which the Niners put so
much pressure on Aikman, keep in mind that Eric Williams was out,
and that Larry Allen was playing on a bad ankle.  As I recall,
the lineman that Allen was blocking pressured Aikman a lot and
even got a few sacks.  Allen was also playing out of position (tackle)
to fill in for Williams.  He's back at guard now. 

And, as pointed out earlier, San Francisco took a big, early lead
and put Dallas in a must pass situation.  Also, Emmitt was hurt and
left the game late in the 3rd quarter or early in the 4th.

I'm not trying to make excuses for last year's loss to San Francisco.
Just adding a few facts for a more complete picture.

Jerry

    RE: .23
    
    Karen, give me a break.....Dougs not that bad, well compared to Mr
    Garry that is,  deep down your a Cowboys fan, now admit it, just like
    deep down you like the Yankees......
    
    Cowboys win.....Emmitt has a field day!!!!   
    
    /westy

    \
    Cowboys just never loose straight out do they Jerry???
    
    mike

>>          <<< Note 261.31 by OUTSRC::HEISER "watchman on the wall" >>>
>>
>>    Jerry, what was the Cowpies excuse for losing to San Fran at home
>>    without Steve Young in November?
    
Mike,

I specifically said I wasn't making excuses.  Can't you read?

There was discussion about the Steelers putting pressure on Aikman,
and how San Francisco had been able to do it in last year's NFC
championship game.  I was just pointing out that circumstances are
different now than they were last year.

I don't know know why San Francisco whipped the Cowboys the way they
did this year.  I suspect that it was just because they played a whole lot
better than Dallas did.  If Pittsburgh plays that kind of game on Sunday, 
they'll probably win big, too.

Jerry

>>        <<< Note 261.32 by CNTROL::CHILDS "Cheatin' Cowboys suck!!!" >>>
>>
>>    \
>>    Cowboys just never loose straight out do they Jerry???
    
mike,

What's the deal with you Cowboy's haters?  I was just trying to point
out that there are some differences in the Cowboys' O-line this year
as opposed to last year, when San Francisco was able to pressure
Aikman.  This was in reference to some comments made about the
Steelers putting pressure on Aikman.

Jerry

      In the NFC game last year, Larry Allen could barely walk.  It
      was pathetic watching him try to play.  No contest.  Whoever
      lined up opposite him was licking his chops.
    
      Mike, I was thinking along the same lines about the Steeler's
      ILB's.  Just how do they fill the gaps???

    
    point smoint. an excuse by any other color is still an excuse. Seems
    to me I wasn't the only one who took your point as an excuse. If one
    translates your point than the inference is that if Williams played
    and Allen wasn't hurt and Allen wasn't playing tackle but playing guard
    then San Fran wouldn't have gotten any pressure on Aikman. Smells like
    an excuse to me.......
    
    mike

    
    
    excuses, excuses  mike you probably have a bunch of excuses already
    written for why the cowboys kicked the steelers butt in the bowl...
    
    **^ /westy

    
    why would I need excuses? The Sowboys are supposed to kick the Steelers
    butts. Of course that won't keep me from accusing the refs etc. if the
    sowboys do win.........
    
    mike

    
    Toms very generous this week, I'm working for about a beer a note....
    
    He's suppose to be back by now though, 2:00 he'll probably real bad....
    
    I got to like the cowboys this year for the fact that Emmitt was my
    
    Fantasy player of the year, so I have to cheer him on.......
    
    

>I don't know know why San Francisco whipped the Cowboys the way they
>did this year.  I suspect that it was just because they played a whole lot
>better than Dallas did.  If Pittsburgh plays that kind of game on Sunday, 
>they'll probably win big, too.

Ahem, excuse me sirs, but Yancey Thigpen AIN'T NO Jerry Rice.

    Well, I hope that at least it's a close game.  I somehow got rooked
    into running our K of C Super Bowl party, and I hope the people stay
    for the whole game so I don't get stuck with a lot of leftovers (except
    maybe the beer, but it's in a keg and I don't have a keg cooler at
    home and it doesn't freeze all that well:-)).

    That said, my heart is with the Steelers but my wallet is with the
    'Boys.  Going to be interesting to see how the Steelers OLB's are going
    to be handle (or handle) the Dallas O line.

    Look for some new Bud frog commercials.  Is the Bud bowl (shudder) being
    "played"?

    UMDan

    
    	Speaking of Budweiser commericials, I told my brother this a couple
    of weeks ago. Here is my prediction for a new Bud Frog commericial.
    The last commerical had the male frog saying "Bud" and the female
    frog saying "Weis". I look for a tadpole or a baby frog to speak its
    first words of "er"
    
    Ron

    
    Steelers 30
    Cowdorks 27
    
    - Sean

     SSSSS  TTTTT  EEEEE  EEEEE  L      EEEEE  RRRRR  SSSSS    22222     4  
     S        T    E      E      L      E      R   R  S      :     2   4 4
     SSSSS    T    EEEEE  EEEEE  L      EEEEE  RRRRR  SSSSS    22222  44444
         S    T    E      E      L      E      R R        S  : 2         4
     SSSSS    T    EEEEE  EEEEE  LLLLL  EEEEE  R  R   SSSSS    22222     4
    
    
                                COWBOYS: 20
    
    
                                                             D.J.

	Prediction:		Dallas 34, Pittsburgh 14

    Well the fat lady has sung....
    
    
    DULLAS 27
    
    PITTSBURGH 17
    
    Congrats to The Cowboys, the line judges and Neil O' Donnell's
    optician.
    
    
    CHARLEY

Liked the Budweiser commercial with the frogs and their tongues stuck on the
can.  Liked that a lot....


'Saw

At least it was somewhat of a game for once.  I would have won some money
in a pool if Pittsburgh had to settle for a field goal before halftime,
but it was worth it to see Peon get toasted on an inside route.

>
>At least it was somewhat of a game for once.  I would have won some money
>in a pool if Pittsburgh had to settle for a field goal before halftime,
>but it was worth it to see Peon get toasted on an inside route.
>

Well, I think it shows that Dallas is not invincible.  and Switzer is no genius
that's for sure.

If Pittsburgh plays an error free game (which you almost have to in order to
win the Bowl) it's a lot closer game and maybe goes the other way.  

To me, the MYTH of Dallas invincibility was exploded yesterday.

'Saw

From:	US2RMC::"[email protected]" "Rich Jacob(JaKe)" 29-JAN-1996 07:49:51.70
To:	cam::way, mkots3::long
CC:	
Subj:	Drive for 5 stalls with yesterday's game

I wasn't totally suprised that the STEELERS lost lasted night's game.  I was
happy however that they didn't pull a Buffalo or San Diego and let the thing
be over before the firsted half was.  Coming back from down 13 points and
having a chance to take the lead late in the game proved that this team is
not a pushover.  I just want to know who the hell O'Donnell was throwing to
on those 2 interceptions and who the hail was on the wrong page.

I really thought they were going to take the lead there.

All in all it was a good season...they came out of the gate horribly, going
3-4, then win 8 of their lasted 9 games in the regular season.  Win in the
playoffs only to lose as Dall-Ass scores 2 td's as a direct result of the
interceptions.

Oh well, only 6 months til pre-season games!!!!  

(8^(*

BTW, post this in the STEELERS note PLEASE on of you.

JaKe


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% Subject: Drive for 5 stalls with yesterday's game

    
    
    MMMMMMM

    
    Did anyone happen to tape the game?  Or rather, in particular, the
    comercials?
    
    While I saw a half dozen plays total, my wife says they replayed
    the Pizza Hut "Right Field" comercial from the eighties, which I
    loved back then but which never got shown in full.  If anyone has a
    copy of the game (and, even better, can tell me approximately where
    the comercial was) they could lend me for a day I'd appreciate it...
    
    Joe

    Joe,
    Was that you in the commercial?
    
    Mike
    :^)
    

    .54
    
    Let me point you in the right direction.
    
    
    IT
    
    ISN'T
    
    FUNNY
    
    ANYMORE
    
    
    
    
    hth.
    
    CHARLEY

    
    To tough to note about the game. I want to be as gracious as the
    Steelers were but I can't so I'll just say nothing and leave it at
    that.
    
    My favorite commercial was the Tyneol one.
    
    mike 

RE<<< Note 261.54 by ROCK::GRONOWSKI "I've always been a closet Steeler fan - even though they suck!" >>>

>    You know who just sent me mai indicating that he's been a Cowboys fan
>    for the past 5 years.  Something about his uncle being stationed near
>    Dallas in the military when he was a child, was his excuse...

  Wasn't me. My team is the Patriots and they were at home watching on TV along
with the rest of us. At least the Packers got to watch from the "Mad about you"
living room. I heard somewhere that the Packers kids got a kick out of meeting
Murry while they were taping that spot. 

  So what do you think, was Emitt Smith in the endzone or not? The announcers
didn't seem to think so. Without those 7 points the game would have been
closer. OK, maybe they would have scored anyway but maybe not.

  George

    
    Re .56
    
    Nah, I can't track a fly ball to save myself, so I always kept to the
    infield...
    
    Joe

Cowboys would have scored anyway, but Emmitt was given an *eternity* to try 
and get in the endzone.  I honestly have never seen anything like it - he was
just churning in place for quite a while.  It really gave the game a WWF-like
flavor.

The shame is that Pittsburgh *lost* that game, as opposed to the Cowboys
winning it.  That last pick was the killer...

    I really think the Steelers outplayed the Cowboys in this game
    (especially in the 2nd half).  The only offense the Cowboys could
    muster was after the interceptions otherwise the Steeler "D" had shut
    them down.  This is a tribute to the Cowboys greatness, being outplayed
    but still comimng up with the win.  That onside kick by the Steelers
    was great......the Cowboys never had a chance to get that one.  Great
    call on that one.  At least it was a competative game this year.
    
    Thomas

Give it a rest Paul.  Now you're beating the dust where the dead horse
once was....


I like the Packers commercials, and the Tylenol one.  I didn't like the
roadrunner commercial with Peon.  

'Saw

>This is a tribute to the Cowboys greatness, being outplayed
>    but still comimng up with the win. 

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Another of the brain-washed masses.

Thing is, if the Cowboys play that way in the NFC championship against Green
Bay or San Francisco, they lose.  But, that's not who the opponent was...

A Nashua Telegraph columnist (yes, Tommy, we have newspapers here) said that
the best thing about the game was that it was close enough so that the Cowboys
couldn't spend the entire 4th quarter mugging for the cameras.

Actually, the best thing late on Sunday night was the Discovery Channel's
show, "Inside the Secret Service"

8^)

    re. .65
    
    Thing is they destroyed Green Bay when they did play them, didn't
    they???
    
    
    I'm not the one whose brain-washed!
    
    Thomas

    
    sorry Thomas but the tribute to Coweboys greatness is in a word BULLSHIT!!
    
    as bad as the Emitt TD was and I agree they probably still would have
    scored but the first TD was a gift and half. Sure everyone runs a pick
    play but atleast they camoflage the pick. The Cowboy player did no
    such thing he flat out blocked Olsavsky. While they Cowboys might have
    still scored anyways could have held true it sure would have been
    tougher with the loss of yardage.
    
    Also while it was great to see Irvin called for the pushoff they
    ignored the pass interference call on Peon so thet gave it right 
    back to the boys.
    
    Unfortuantely as I was worried ODonnell cost them the game. He cost
    himself some cash yesterday. The receivers played great and also did
    Bam which surprised me a bit.
    
    From the snap over ODonnell's head to misread on the blitz that
    resulted in the interceptions the Cowboys were neither great nor
    good yesterday just plain ole lucky!!!!!!
    
    mike

It was nice to see the Cowboys have to struggle.  Hopefully this is their
last hurrah, and next year someone other than Dallas or SF will represent
the NFC in the SB.

How about Emmitt's difficulty dealing with his getting shutout during a
post-game interview.  When asked about his 49 yds rushing, he said,

	"It doesn't matter if I get 100 or 200 yds, as long as we win."

No Emmitt, the amount was 49.

He went on to talk about his 2nd TD (the one where he had to squirm for
5 minutes), saying,

	"Yeah, I just took it into the 'Emmitt-Zone'."

I don't know what happened to this guy this year, but he became self-absorbed
like the other ego-maniacs on that team.

    
    no they did not destroy GreenBay Thomas. Greenbay was moving for a go
    ahead TD when Bret made the same kind of mistake that Neil made
    yesterday. 
    
    mike

> How about Emmitt's difficulty dealing with his getting shutout during a
> post-game interview.  When asked about his 49 yds rushing, he said,
> 
> 	"It doesn't matter if I get 100 or 200 yds, as long as we win."
> 
> No Emmitt, the amount was 49.


  Hmm, I am an ABC fan (anyone but ...) but  I didn't read this response by
  Emmitt as "difficulty dealing with" his performance that day.  The key thin
  was that Dallas did win the Super Bowl.  Do you not agree with that ?
  Do you think his personal stats should be more important than the team's
  championship ?

>    From the snap over ODonnell's head to misread on the blitz that
>    resulted in the interceptions the Cowboys were neither great nor
>    good yesterday just plain ole lucky!!!!!!

MikeyC, Pittsburgh just doesn't have 'play-makers' on offense.  Stewart
may become one, but no one else is a game-breaker.  Their defensive unit
played very well, and kept them in the game.  Dallas had a couple of
opportunities to create a run-away situation, but the Steelers wouldn't
allow it.  The onside kick made it a game.  They can't beat Dallas
straight-up.  Hats-off to them for creating an opportunity to win, but
O'Donnell is mediocre at best, and couldn't get the job done.

The pick play on the first Dallas TD was blatant.  The Sowboy had Olsavky (or
what the hell ever his name is) wrapped up.

Yeah, the boys enjoyed some homecookin' from the Red "I'm from Texas" Cashion
led refs, but Pittsburgh didn't step it up to the level that they needed to to
win.

O'Donnell looked overwhelmed by the Super Bowl experience, and it showed.


And for the record, I don't think Green Bay was "destroyed" by Dallas.
They were close until Favre made a mistake.   But I will take some of what
whoever said they was destroyed was on.  Just send it to me interoffice mail...

;^)


'Saw

    
    tough to tell Joe. The way he whips off his helmet after every score,
    saves every football after a score and trying to play last year in
    a meaningless game to keep his individual games played streak alive
    makes one wonder if Emitt isn't finally all out for Emitt.
    
    If he is it's because Jerry Jones signed a self promoting bum like
    Peon to a rediculous contract that may have forced Emitt's hands into
    being a personal glory hound instead of the team player who took a
    shot two years agot to comeback and beat the Giants.
    
    Jim Grey should have been shot yesterday for his attemps to get Cowher
    and ODonnell point out someone to blame the loss on. His class level
    was right up there with Switzer. 
    
    mike

    I can't say that I was terribly, terribly disappointed by this game.
    I'm disappointed, yes, because the Steelers quite easily could have
    won, and it would have been legit, no fluke.  On the other hand,
    based on season-long performance and the ability to make the big 
    plays and avoid mistakes, the better team won.  No controversy here...
    
    I feel badly for Neil O'Donnell.  I hope he comes back to Pittsburgh.
    Yes, he "choked", but until that last huge blunder, when you consider
    what he was up against, Dallas' tough pass rush, the Super Bowl 
    pressure, having to come back from early-game jitters (which neither 
    Elway nor Kelly could do), I thought he was having a fairly decent 
    game (in making some tough plays, if not statistically, on paper).  
    And, after having a great game (along with Ernie Mills), in the last 
    10 minutes, Andre Hastings just flat dropped two pathetically easy 
    balls on O'Donnell.  The Hastings drop right before the egregious
    pick could have been just as important a play.
    
    Perhaps the best thing about the game from the perspective of a 
    Steelers' fan is, believe it or not, that the Cowboys actually 
    showed some class in victory.  And the reason for that is that the
    Steelers came to play, and made the 'boys show some respect. (Well, 
    there's that and the fact that because the game went down to 
    the last 5 minutes, I had one _hell_ of a good party.  And after
    the game my kid and Breen's kid were rasslin' on the kitchen floor
    like Nate Newton against Joel Steed, which was damned 
    entertaining... ;-)
    
    glenn
    

> Thing is, if the Cowboys play that way in the NFC championship against Green
> Bay or San Francisco, they lose.  But, that's not who the opponent was...
    
    Maybe it's just that the Steelers' D is quite a bit better than either 
    Green Bay's or San Fran's.  Matter of fact, I don't think there's any 
    doubt about that.  Which was why both this season and last, I was 
    plugging the Steelers in these "who stacks up in the AFC" debates as 
    the team with, at the very least, enough D to make the Super Bowl a 
    game.  The yardage totals and Dallas' overall offensive output *while 
    enjoying a 2-0 turnover advantage* speaks for itself.  The Steelers
    even did the one thing I said I couldn't possibly envision them
    doing: they slowed down if not outright stopped Emmitt Smith.
    
    glenn
    

      re: .70,.73
    
      Thanks for plugging the Pack.
    
      Its hard to figure the Pack got whipped when they moved the
      ball on Dallas with complete ease unless they shot themselves
      in the foot (1st three drives Favre rattled/2 INT's/one drive
      stalled after 20 minute delay for coach being hurt).
    
      If you review that game, I think you'll find that the Cowboys
      defense simply could not stop the Packers offense *at all*.
    
      It actually was a close game, I think.
    
    						Tony

To me that Pack-Sowboys game was a lot like a close hockey game with one team
down by a goal late, that then gets scored on by an empty netter...

A 5-3 game lost that way, is somehow different than a 5-3 where you were 
down 4-1 and only managed to get two back.

Pack reminded me of the Giants in 1985 against the Bears.  If they use the
Dallas loss as a catalyst, it'll help.

Also, I heard an interview with Favre where he said that the St. Louis loss
early didn't seem a big deal to the team -- they figured, hey, there's 15 more
games.

Now he said he realized that if they'd have one that one, the Cowboys are in
Lambeau for the championship.

'Saw

    I'm not a conspiracy nut, but those two interceptions that O'Donnell
    threw looked awfully suspicious. If I had placed a heavy wager
    on Pittsburg, I would have to wonder. One pass thrown directly to a
    defensive back with no receiver around, I could believe, but two? There
    wasn't a rcvr within 20 yards of that last pass.  

  Too obvious for point shaving. If it were deliberate it seems he would have
thrown the ball to a defensive man in front of a receiver.

  Also, it didn't work, they covered the spread. If he was under a threat we
should know soon enough when we get word of the broken legs.

  George

    
    if anyone one was on the take it was the refs...
    
    of course loyal dallas fans will say it was there team on the take
    who layed down and didn't cover but we know better. Pittsburg took it
    to them and shoulda coulda woulda........
    
    mike

I thought the refs stunk, but I'm not sure they were on the take.  If they
were, it had to be for the underdog.  How else can you explain Irvin being
called for pass interference for the 1st time in his career ?  Negating a
TD, no less.

I agree about Jim Grey, MikeC.  He's such a twit anyway, but yesterday
he reached scum level.  Why couldn't it have been Bryan Cox he was
interviewing ???

The officiating has, IMO, been declining ever since Jerry Seeman took over as
the head of officials.   I remember his stonewalling defense of a big PI call
against the Jints last year in the Detroit game.

I'm not quite sure why.  One reason I think is that they've been given so many
more rules to enforce, that are more complex.

The Pass Interference call has been made more and more complex over the last
ten years.  It used to be pretty straight-forward.  Yep, it was always a
judgement call, but now, you have to look and see if there's contact beyond
five yards, is the ball catchable, is Venus in the House of the Rising Sun and
then quickly decided the Star-Factor of the Receiver viz. the Star Factor of
the Defender.

i.e. Milt Rosenkrantz gets called against Mikey Irvin, but Ronnie Lott gets
     one free benefit of the doubt or mitigating circumstance.


It's no wonder they can't see these picks going on inside, when a guy gets
literally hauled down like Osalvsky (or what the hell ever his name is)
yesterday.


Personally, I think the rules should get simpler, if at all possible.


'Saw

    'Saw, I'm not sure the Ola%$^ play was illegal.  The "pick" took
    place in the neutral zone prior to the pass leaving Troy's hand - I
    suspect you can indeed block in the area around the line of scrimmage.
    
    Don't forget the two analysts were a punter and a qb - they should
    always have a real football player within shouting distance of the
    mike.

    
    It was beyond the line of scrimmage Billte so it was out of the zone.
    It was illegal because he stuck up his arms to block instead of just 
    getting in the way.
    
    Joe, I meant from the standpoint of making sure that Dallas won, not
    the pointspread.
    
    As far as new rules the blocking rules that have negated holding calls
    are fasr worst than the rules covering pass interference. 

>    I thought the call against Irvin was valid.  He had a handful of the
>    defender's shirt before the ball was thrown.

Don't disagree.  It's just that he's gotten away with it his whole career,
and these guys pick a SB to finally call it.

    Mike I guess it was subjective - it looked like the blocker stayed on
    the line of scrimmage.  You agree that on the line of scrimmage it is
    legal then and we're only talking subjective.
    
    I think Maguire and the others are saying it's simply illegal to block
    a receiver and you and I (at least) are saying it can be legal
    depending on where the block is thrown.
    
    Glenn is going to check the tape tonight on where the block/pick was
    made.

	Boy if it wasn't for this Cowboy (WORLD CHAMPS) team a lot of you
bashers wouldn't have a life. I can't believe how worked up and obsessed some
of you get. Relax, take a pill and chill out. With that said, we won, we won,
we won.  

    Boy, if it wasn't for some bad officiating, maybe the Cowboys wouldn't
    have been there. I can't believe that all that Cowboy fans get so
    exercised because someone has the nerve to tell them the truth. Does
    Switzer have a coach in charge of pick plays? They seem to be a Cowboy
    specialty!
    

Thanks Karen - my sentiments exactly, except you worded them in a nicer
way.

I was thinking more in terms of worms coming out after a rainstorm...

I think all pass interference and picks should be legalized !  Throw it
up there and let them beat the sh*t out of each other to get.  I feel the
same way about rebounding in basketball.

    
    Steelers Battled Cowboys, Selves
    by David Fischer
    
    PHOENIX, AZ  All week long, Steelers coach Bill Cowher spoke of the
    need for his team to avoid mistakes. To play a physical game. To focus.
    His role would be to match wits and strategies with the Cowboys' Barry
    Switzer, one of the few coaches in the league who is a match for Cowher
    in the emotion department.
    
    By almost any measure, Cowher won the chess match with Switzer. His
    quick switch to the no-huddle offense after a first down in the first
    quarter cost the Cowboys a time-out. Norm Johnson's fourth-quarter
    onsides kick caught Dallas napping, and led to a Steelers touchdown
    that cut the Cowboy lead to 20-17. Cowher and offensive coordinator Ron
    Erhardt gambled three times on fourth down, succeeding twice. And in
    the second half, after Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith had bloodied the
    Steelers in the opening thirty minutes, Pittsburgh's coaches made
    adjustments that l limited Dallas to under 60 yards for the second
    half. Smith ran for 23 yards on his first carry, but was stuffed by the
    Steelers' front seven for the rest of the game, finishing with just 49
    yards on 18 carries. Pittsburgh's defense came up big on third down as
    well, as the Cowboys converted only two of ten chances.
    
    The Steelers ran off 34 more plays than Dallas, held the ball nearly
    seven minutes longer, and gained 56 more yards. They also scored ten
    fewer points, as Dallas took its third Super Bowl title in four years
    by a 27-17 score.
    
    Pittsburgh had to overcome a collective case of nerves early in the
    game. The Steelers were tentative on offense, as Neil O'Donnell began
    the game with only five completions in his first thirteen attempts,
    frequently overthrowing open targets. Erric Pegram started slowly on
    the ground. Dallas, by contrast, was crisp in execution, led by
    quarterback Troy Aikman's 11 for 13 start in the air. Midway through
    the second quarter, the Cowboys led 13-0. From coast to coast, couch
    potatoes reached for their remotes, fleeing another Super Bowl blowout. 
    
    But midway through the second quarter, someone changed the script. The
    Pittsburgh defense stiffened, and the offense got untracked. The
    Steelers scored with thirteen seconds left before the half, as
    O'Donnell, enjoying the downfield opportunities offered by the
    Pittsburgh five-wide receiver set, completed his last four passes on
    the drive.
    
    Cowher's admonition to avoid mistakes took on a haunting tone in the
    second half, as the Steelers moved the ball up and down the field but
    committed three decisive turnovers to Dallas' none. Veterans of two
    Super Bowls, the Cowboys switched to a bend-but-not-break defense
    spiced with occasional blitzes, and waited for O'Donnell and the
    Steelers to make mistakes. Larry Brown's first interception came midway
    through the third quarter. "It just got away from me," said O'Donnell.
    "The first one just slipped totally out of my hand." 
    
    After his second, the game slipped totally from Pittsburgh's hands.
    "The [second interception] was a little miscommunication with the
    receivers," coordinator Erhardt later explained. On second and ten at
    the Steelers' 32, Dallas blitzed, and receiver Andre Hastings broke the
    wrong way for O'Donnell's pass, which floated between Hastings and
    Corey Holliday. The Cowboys' Brown once again found himself in perfect
    position, returning the ball to the Pittsburgh six-yard line. Two plays
    later, Smith scored his second touchdown of the night and his record
    fifth in three Super Bowls, and the NFC had its 12th straight Super
    Bowl win.
    
    For the Steelers, the what if's will haunt them at least until training
    camp opens in July and the quest for redemption can begin. Defensive
    back Carnell Lake, whose strong second-half play contributed to the
    Steelers' rally, was asked whether the Steelers were beaten, or if they
    lost the game themselves. "I feel like we lost the game. We definitely
    lost the game. You can't come out and have two turnovers and expect to
    win in the Super Bowl we played very good football and for a couple of
    bad mistakes here and there, it cost us the game. Absolutely."
    

RE:.92	   	You mean to tell me that the "Tiners" didn't get any 
           questionable calls in the Bills or Colts games. The game is too 
           fast for the officals to catch every pick or holding call. And if 
           they did there would be about 50 flags a game. Fans don't want flag 
           after flag, they want exciting none stop action. The NFL knows this 
           so this is how the game is played. Maybe if they reinstated 
           instant replay some of the wrong calls could be corrected. However, 
           no matter what, mistakes will always be made. This happens 
           throughout the entire NFL and when a team wins and wins people tend 
           to pick them apart. Was there this much talk about Dallas when they 
           were 1-15? In a few years some other team will be scrutinized to 
           death. For now, we Cowboy fans can and will enjoy. Oh my god...it's 
           catching!!! 

>          <<< Note 261.99 by STRATA::HARGETT "Let's take the Z!!!" >>>
>                          -< Champs and loving it!!! >-

Like they said, worms coming out after a rain.


The pick play I was talking about, the guy had his arms outside the body
and wrapped Ola*****.  That's holding, anywhere on the field....


'Saw

    
   >> By almost any measure, Cowher won the chess match with Switzer. 

      By almost any measure except the one that counts - the final 
      score. When it came time, Barry's boys made the big plays and
      Bill's boys made the big blunders. 
    
    

Like I said before the game, the refs didn't cause
the Steelers to loose.  As in most games the close/
questionable calls tended to balance themselves out.

One minor consolation is that the game was still
interesting up until the end.  

My choices for co-MVP are Levon Kirkland (Steelers),
this lb played his heart out from the coin toss until
the final gun, a true 60 minute man; and Neil O'Donnell 
(Cowboys) - nuff said.

After his non-steller performance O'D will either be 
signed to a contract worth considerably less than $3M/year
or he'll not be in Black and Gold come August.


billl

In any case, O'Donnell prolly cost hisself a good chunk of change. 

Starting a_off-season of free agency with his less than stellar
performance in SBXXX caint help his cause.

O'Donnell falls in the middle of the very large group of average
plus/minu QBs. There's a very small number of elite QB most of which all
are in the NFC - Young, Aikman, Favre. You can count on these guys to
make the play when it has to be made. 

Then there are the truly pathetic QBs like Bubby Brister (Boomer may have
slipped into this group, too) and Dave Krieg. You can count on these guys
to cough it up especially when you need a big play.

The use to be best of the AFC is aging rather ungracefully - Big Bad
John, Dan Marino.

About everyone else is in the middle ground. Some have talent but caint
control it, like Bledsoe and maybe Jeff Blake. Some don't have the talent
but usually do OK, which is where I put O'Donnell. These guys can do it
when everything is going OK but you really caint count on 'em to pull it
out for you.

Like a lot of other aspects of NFL, mediocrity is the name of the game.

TTom

    Well it's really not so unusual I'm sure some will say but I thought
    O'Donnell had a great game.  The Cowboys try to make the other team
    pass and he was able to successfully complete passes only with pinpoint
    accuracy throwing always into a crowd.  He had many dropped and most of
    those were difficult catches.
    
    The Steelers elected not to shut down Irvin and made it much easier for
    Aikman.  Contrast the performance of O'Donnell to Favre; the former had
    a much better day.  O'Donnell had to come from way behind and almost
    pulled it out.

... and then there were the passes in which the viewing screen showed no
black jerseys.

Hey, I like O'Donnell fine but you have to admit that a_upgrade is needed
at this position for Pittsburgh. I think O'Donnell has the talent and
intelligence to do it but he'll have to step up. 

Pittsburgh needs to improve at the RB, mostly in the area of consistency.

But, we may find out that Dallas has a harder time returning than the
Steelers mostly because of the financial problems that Jones has created
for himself. He has to re-negotiate with Emmitt Smith and if'n Neon gets
35 million, how much is Emmitt worth.

Most of the other notable free agents will get lost in the numbers. This
includes MVP Larry Brown who seems to understand the game and doesn't
appear very optimistic about staying in Dallas.

TTom

I haven't watched a lot of Pittsburgh games, and most of what I know about
Neil O'Donnell I learned from OJ "Slice and Dice" Simpson -- mainly that his
family can drink like Irish fishes (you hear that Mike Leary?????)

But seriously, my cut at it was the O'Donnell fell prey to the syndrome that
affects a lot of first time SB QBs.   The "First Time Syndrome".

At least he settled down in the second quarter.

The two intys, which were, IMO, the death knell for the boys in black and gold
can be blamed on O'Donnell (the first one) and the receiver who misread the
blitz and ran his regular pattern (the second).

Regarding the second inty, I've heard that all week now.....


'Saw

         In this age of parity O'Donnell just *may* be good enough to 
        win with. Given some of the QBs who have won it, Rypien, Williams,
        Simms, Hostedtler, etc., O'Donnell isn't *that* big a step down.
        And there are no true powerhouse teams. Free agency has taken a
        serious toll. Depth is a thing of the past. The Dallas team from a
        few years ago would have beaten the Steelers like they stole some-
        thing. San Fran lost to <gasp> Green Bay. The NFC title game which
        is usually the game of the year was booorrriiiing. It's to the 
        point where Indiannapolis with Jim Harbaugh at QB was this much from 
        being in the SB with a better D than Pittsburg and probably a better
        chance to win it. The SB will be a closer game in the forseeable
        future but at what cost?
                
    

>        ... The SB will be a closer game in the forseeable
>        future but at what cost?

This assumes that Denver and Buffalo stay at home in late January ;-).

Parity is fine if'n the teams are good. What we have in a lot of pro
sports lately is everyone moving to the middle. The poorer teams are
getting slightly better while the better teams are losing some of their
stars. I like Kelvin Williams and all but he's no Alvin Harper.

Now, if'n San Fran could just get a running game and trade Marquez Pope
to Tampa Bay, you might see some quality again....

TTom

    O'Donnell bore an uncanny resemblance to Tony Eason!
    
    NAZZ

  I think O'Donnel consistently did the one thing receivers hate the
  most.  He often threw passes that were catchable, but were slightly
  off.  The receivers would have to extend themselves for catches 
  and be especially vulnerable to hits.

  I also agree that Kirkland earned an MVP.  I thought he and Bam Morris
  had the best games.  Having the MVP from the losing team has already
  happened once.

    re: .105
    
  I don't understand the rationale that O'Donnel had a much better game
  than Favre.  The Packers scored 27 points to the Steeler's 17.  They
  had much less of a running complement to the passing game and I think
  O'Donnel had generally more protection.  It was observed that O'Donnel
  nearly brought the Steelers back from a large deficit (as if this was
  a contrast to Favre).  In actuality, Favre brought the Packers back from
  deficits *twice*.  They were down 14-3 and he led the Pack to two TD's
  to take the lead.  They were down 24-17 and he led the Pack to a FG and
  a TD to retake the lead.  When he faltered near the end, he was trying
  to lead the offense to a 34 point total - twice what the Steelers scored.

  Given the above and to reiterate the Steeler's running game, on what
  basis do you conclude O'Donnel had a far better game than Favre?????

  Makes no sense to me at all!!!

						Tony

	In an interview I read on the 'net, O'D said the
	first interception was entirly his fault.  It slipped
	out of his hand.

	On the second he stopped short of blaming the receiver.
	Apparently the receiver, Holliday, did not see the blitz
	and broke inside instead of to the outside.  My problem
	with his explanation is that after watching the replay
	over and over and over and over, the receiver has already 
	broken to the inside well before O'D delivers the final blow.

	O'D did, however, not play defense in the first half when 
	Dallas drove for an unanswered 13 points.  Therefore he is
	not toally to BLAM.


	billl

  O'Donnell is definitely good enough to win with, they almost did.

  On that drive where he threw the 2nd interception they were only down 3
points with plenty of time on the clock. One lucky pass instead of one unlucky
interception and the Steelers would have been up by 4 instead of down by 10.
There's every reason to believe they could have held on to win. 

  The Cowboys are a fine team but they beat the Steelers for the same reason
the Steelers beat the Colts, they got lucky at the end of the game.

  To imply that this game proves the Steelers can't win with O'Donnell makes
no sense. They were only one play away. Just about any NFL QB could have made
one lucky toss. 

  George

    
    
    Yabbut thisted LDUC is getting boring!  So....... switching channels
    here.....
    
    
    Anybody think that thisted year's show, as far as new commercials were
    concerned was a "zero"?
    
    What kind of glue did they use to keep all dat makeup on Diana Ross's
    face?  She had more pancake on than Gold Medal makes in a year!
    
    Were ya crushed 'cause there wuz no "Bud Bowl"?
    
    I remain,
    confessing I watched "Lois and Clark" at 8:00 but switched back
    before 9:00
    
    /kev
    
    ;^)
    

  Diana Ross is nothing without Supremes. The only reason they picked her is
because they wanted someone who looked like Michael Jackson. 

  I like the Pepsi add where the Coke guy was caught by the store camera and
everyone else taking a Pepsi.

  I Also liked the Olympic Basketball gold card ad "No, we're going to EAT them
FOR lunch, not TREAT them TO lunch".

  No classics like the "1984" introduction of the Mac or last year's original
BUD-WIS-ER frogs ad but not a bad bunch either.

  George

	The best thing that happened Sunday night was me
	hitting that inside staight during halftime.



	billl

    
    
      billl
    
     Only suckers draw to an inside straight.  man you musta stepped in
    Leprachaun do-do.
    
    Jerry

    I simply base my observation on what I saw.  Favre consisently miss
    threw where receivers were open and faded in the end unable to generate
    offense.  O'Donnell, the very opposite of a tony eason, hung in very
    tough, showed a lot of leadership and to me put his passes right on the
    money thruout the second half.  It was ironic that the second
    interception should be on a misplay when O'Donnell had made so many
    passes into heavy traffic all game.
    
    Cowher made O'Donnell force passes not observing that his O' line had
    won the trench war and the victory was his.  Cowher however had a mind
    set that only desparate measures could win the game and tried to get
    lucky on passes but simply threw so many that the law of averages
    caught up.
    
    If these two teams were to play again I'd bet on Pitt and I doubt if
    Cowher is an honest man he'll abandon O'Donnell.

RE  <<< Note 261.116 by MKOTS3::tcc122.mko.dec.com::long "Eat'm up Steelers!" >>>

  But the question is, did you get'em to bid it up once you had the staight or
did you jump around like a crazy person and watch'em all fold?

  George

	Nah, no jumping around for this guy.  Calmly threw out
	some bait and reeled in a trophy size catch.



	bl

    Should I start a poker topic?

    
    Yabbut if'n ya do poker', make sure she's 18+ and ya use one of those
    famous Cheez Whiz Condoms
    
    ;^)
    
    I remain,
    also recommending ya don't re-use da condem
    /kev
    

	It is when it takes up that wasted time spent waiting
	for the second half of the SB.


	billl

    
    Late reply
    
    >Mike I guess it was subjective - it looked like the blocker stayed on
    >the line of scrimmage.  You agree that on the line of scrimmage it is
    >legal then and we're only talking subjective.
    
    Someone who taped the game can make sure, but I would have sworn that
    it happened BEHIND the defensive line.  This is definately not the line
    of scrimmage.
    
    Marc

    The contact on the pick took place in the end zone.  The Dallas player
    hit the outside linebacker, then proceeded at a 45 degree angle and
    picked off Olsavsky as he was running along the goal line.  Olsavsky
    is not that fast, and may not have gotten to Novacek in time, but an
    illegal pick is not up to the referee's discretion, it is a black or
    white, yes or no, it is or it isn't kind of call.  Yes, it was an 
    illegal pick.  
    
                                                            D.J.

    re: -1
    
    ALL calls are supject to the ref's discretion, sad to say. Anyone who
    watched the mugging that Erik Williams put on William Fuller and Reggie
    White can attest to that. You can also throw in the illegal pick that
    Dallas used against Green Bay, as well. Do I detect a pattern here?
    
    Oh, that's right I forgot.... the ref's have no affect ever on a game.
    

Even if it was a legal AREA in which to pick, the MANNER in which it was
done was NOT legal.  The Cowboy all but wrapped Olsalvsky -- I saw THAT on the
reply.

You can pick, but when you reach out (your hands outside of your body) it's
holding, and that's not legal anywhere on the field.


Watch the replay again, he reaches out to "pick" someone....

Commercials that I saw:


	Coke guys grabs a Pepsi -- liked it.

	Baby in swing sees golden arches -- cute.

	Tylenol --okay

	Frogs with tongues -- liked it.

	Akeem "treating" for lunch -- okay

	Peon as the road-runner -- sacrilege.  Peon looked like a dick
				   with ears, too.


Halftime show -- Oh, I thought that WAS Michael Jackson.  Remember thinking
	         he must've been to Earl Schibe recently....


'Saw

  Don't forget Jack "Let me drive" Palance in the Ford 150 closing up the
canyon after rope'n some rocks on the other side. That was a good one. 

  According to the Globe they pulled a Cindy Crawford cartoon Pepsi ad because
the Cindy cartoon character was "scantly clad".

  George

      I really liked the Pepsi one with the little fish that played
      dead so as to be given Pepsi to leap out and drink, but then
      got flushed down the toiley by dad as the daughter says, "Dad,
      do you know what the fish can do?"

>                                  -< Fish Ad >-
>
>      I really liked the Pepsi one with the little fish that played
>      dead so as to be given Pepsi to leap out and drink, but then
>      got flushed down the toiley by dad as the daughter says, "Dad,
>      do you know what the fish can do?"

I forgot that one.  Then, just when you think the commercial is over,
the fish jumps up out of the pond by the fisherman!

>    The contact on the pick took place in the end zone.  The Dallas player
>    hit the outside linebacker, then proceeded at a 45 degree angle and
>    picked off Olsavsky as he was running along the goal line.  Olsavsky
>    is not that fast, and may not have gotten to Novacek in time, but an
>    illegal pick is not up to the referee's discretion, it is a black or
>    white, yes or no, it is or it isn't kind of call.  Yes, it was an 
>    illegal pick.  
    
    Actually, I did go to videotape at billte's request, and the pick
    was at the 1-yard line (with the line of scrimmage at the 3).  The
    pick was definitely illegal, best described as a forearm shiver (one
    hell of a block on a normal play).  But as DJ mentioned, Olsavsky 
    had bit big up and to the left on the run fake, and imo was not going 
    to get to Novacek in time.  In a perfect world it shouldn't matter 
    but if Olsavsky's more or less out of the play, he receives less
    attention.  Plus, it was 1st-and-goal from the 3.  At the time of
    the foul, I know I was saying to myself, yeah, illegal, but not a 
    horrible injustice.  Nailing Irvin later on the offensive interference
    more than made up for it.  Otherwise, this was a clean hard game that
    left me with little complaint over the officiating...
    
    glenn
    

>    ... Nailing Irvin later on the offensive interference
>    more than made up for it.  ...

Could someone who has a tape of the game, describe this play fer me. I
din't watch a whole lot of the game, myself, but I caught the replay of
this and from my angle, in my mood, it looked like it shoulda been either
a no-call or offsetting penalties.

Minus Irvin-hating/Cowboy-hating filters, what did happen?

Thanks,

TTom

    
    back to Tony's note is anyone surprised that the only mvp of a
    loosing superbowl team played fpr Dallas? You know I'm not. The
    injustice of it all stinks........
    
    TTom the contact may look incidental but Irvin did put his hand
    on Lake's shoulder and then suddenly Lake's on the ground. SO either
    Lake did the NBA perfected Stanslovski flop or Irvin pushed him down.
    Given Irvin's track record the ref went with the later which naturally
    I agree with.......
    
    mike 

    
>    TTom the contact may look incidental but Irvin did put his hand
>    on Lake's shoulder and then suddenly Lake's on the ground. SO either
>    Lake did the NBA perfected Stanslovski flop or Irvin pushed him down.
    
    It was a good call.  When I first saw the play live, I said, that 
    ball looked like a INT in the making, and now-we-see-it-now-we-don't, 
    Irvin's suddenly holding the thing in the endzone.  It was fairly 
    subtle but Irvin's good at that, a real magician.
    
    Another play that perturbed me (got to get this all out of the 
    system now) was that bomb Deion caught early on, where the defender
    had great coverage and could have both knocked Deion into next week
    and prevented the catch, but went for the ball instead and missed.
    That play was clean though...
    
    glenn
    

>    TTom the contact may look incidental but Irvin did put his hand
>    on Lake's shoulder and then suddenly Lake's on the ground. SO either
>    Lake did the NBA perfected Stanslovski flop or Irvin pushed him down.

Wail, that's what a buddy was trying to tell me and I wanted to be sure.
I owe him a beer.

Actually Mike, the *REAL* genius of the flop, as you well know, is
Michaelangelo hisself, Dean.

TTom

    
    	Irvin grabbed Lakes Jersey right before the ball got there. Lake
    went for the ball and Irvin tugged, causing Lake to fall down and
    Irvin ending up with the ball. IMO Lake knocks that ball away if
    Irvin doesn't grab the uniform.
    
    Ron

All right, already. I'll pay up! :=]

That's what happens when you watch about six plays of the game with the
viewing angle and the viewer both skewed.

TTom

Not seeing the play myself I didn't want to comment.  But, if it annoys
TTom:


	They've been talking about it on the FAN lately.  Mike Francesa
	said that in his opinion, when he first saw the play in live
	action at the game, it looked clean, sorta like a swim move
	and Irvin was by.

	On replay, in Francesa's opinion, it was clearly a grab.


Better pay up TTom...

8^)

    Stanslovski flop
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
    
    We used to simply call it a Tripucka

Kelly was good but the real master of the flop was a guy named Matthew
Doherty. He's now a_assistant coach at Kansas.

Doherty flopped his way to a national championship in 82. He got some
help from James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan. But mostly his
flop was what put 'em over the edge.

Christian Laettner was another who excelled in this maneuver, at least at
the college level. He also mastered another of Dean's favorite moves.
This is the one where you stick your knee out as the guy goes around you,
having just beat you on the move. You knee guy as he passes in hopes of
getting a walk or maybe he just goes outta bounds. Either way, it's never
called.

TTom

    
  <<< NOTE 261.137 BY FABSIX:: R_VALERA " HEART AND INTEGRITY">>>
    
    It's is so easy to sit back and knock the world champs isn't it?
    America's team prime time, Irvin, smith, aikman, haley, and many 
    more. The bottom line is though except for Sanders this team was
    built from the ground up and people are just jealous because they
    wish they could have pulled off the deals Jerry Jones did to get 
    this team where it is today. I don't mean nike, pepsi, and american
    express. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry built this team from 1-15 to 3 
    championships in four years. I'm sure all you Patriot fans would
    love that someday. Well Bob Kraft has alot of respect for Mr. Jones
    so don't be surprised to see a little Dallas flavor on the patriots
    in the future. Kraft will look to Jones for the formula for success
    at making his franchise the best. People love knocking success and
    the team on top. Everyone acts like thes guys just show up and play
    the game on Sunday. This team is as hard working than any other team
    in the league obviously that's why we have the lombardi trophy. The
    cowboys have had a great run but this game which was great for football
    will show next year what the salary cap, and free-agency was meant for
    and that is parity. You could see the struggle the cowboys had this
    year to go all the way. Teams like green bay,steelers, and colts are
    getting closer and teams like the patriots, dolphins, lions, and others
    should make great runs next year. Make no mistake about it I love the
    Dallas Cowboys I've been a fan for over 20 years so I've witnessed the
    good and the bad. But I also give credit to other teams that deserve it
    The steelers had chances to win but they didn't make the plays and that
    is the bottom line.This victory was very special because I do feel that
    realistically with the cap and free-agency they won't be back. Like I
    said it doesn't matter if they are 1-15 or superbowl champs they are my
    team and I will always follow the boys. I can't stand fence riders and
    there are alot of them out there. Someone asked the other day are you
    going to be a Miami fan now that jj is there. No way I hate the
    dolphins I love jj as a coach but i despise miami.  The point is love
    your team but let's give credit where credit is due whether you like
    them or not the cowboys have bragging rights for another year and they
    deserve it because they wanted more than the other 29.

>                    <<< Note 261.142 by FABSIX::R_VALERA >>>
>
>    
>  <<< NOTE 261.137 BY FABSIX:: R_VALERA " HEART AND INTEGRITY">>>
    

A man in dire need of a few paragraphs.

>                           -< <CR>/<LF> challenged >-
    
    No problem, though.  It just meant that I didn't want/have to read
    the nearly endless propaganda spewing forth from America's Machine...
    
    
    glenn
    

One of the nice featurs of NOTES is that you only have to look at about
10 lines of a note when you land on it. 

Usually, that's more than enough to figger out that you've read enough.

Of course, that may put the Noter in rather severe quandary: do you NEXT
REPLY or NEXT UNSEEN? I guess it depends on the topic...

TTom

RE             <<< Note 261.146 by HBAHBA::HAAS "slightly related" >>>

1  One of the nice featurs of NOTES is that you only have to look at about
2  10 lines of a note when you land on it. 
3  
4  Usually, that's more than enough to figger out that you've read enough.
5  
6  Of course, that may put the Noter in rather severe quandary: do you NEXT
7  REPLY or NEXT UNSEEN? I guess it depends on the topic...
8  
9  TTom


  I guess we'll never know if we've seen enough of this note.

  George

Since it was George, I knew the content was worthless, and did a NEXT
UNSEEN with no regrets.

Yeah, the guy was probably a Cowpie fan.  All givin' us that propaganda line
that keeps spewing forth outta that HOLE in the roof down there, like stank
risin' from a sewer.

Tryin' to convince us that the Sowboys are 'Mericuh's team, instead of 
'Mericuh's prototypical street gang, they of the plastic facade.....

Yee-haw.  Gimme another Pace Piquante cookie!

'Saw

|                   -< I bet she's been promised that before >-
|
|    >                        -< I'll do longer nexted time >-


Do it, unh, do it, unh, do it till you're satisfied....
Do it, unh, do it, unh, do it till you're satisfied....

As long as she doesn't ask me if I've started yet or caint tell when I'm
finished...

TTom

    'Saw I ;thought you liked Faulkner, you know that style of coming at
    you like a tommy gun, words and ideas plastered all over the page.
    
    Content wise it wasn't bad:  Cowboys built a winner from the ground up
    via astute management.  I've never liked them but rooted for them a
    little this year because I felt they were overcoming adversity.  I wish
    they'd done it without Deion though and Irvin would simply take up a
    real sport like ballroom dancing or figure skating to get it out of his
    system.
    
    Also they took advantage of a weak division but that's about to change.

>
>    'Saw I ;thought you liked Faulkner, you know that style of coming at
>    you like a tommy gun, words and ideas plastered all over the page.
>    

Somehow I think Faulkner KNEW what he was doing.  

I have to be in the mood for Faulkner.   Kind of like listening to 
Schoenberg -- you've got to be up for it, be in the mood, put on your thinkin'
cap...


>    Content wise it wasn't bad:  Cowboys built a winner from the ground up
>    via astute management.  I've never liked them but rooted for them a

Cowboys built themselves with Jerry Jones money and Jimmy Johnson's talent.
As an avowed Cowboy hater I had a lot of RESPECT for what Jimmy Johnson did.
Jerry Jones is a dork.  He bought hisself a champion, and lives the thrill
vicariously down on the sidelines.

Barry Switzer is a hick who road the tail end of what Jimmy Johnson built all
the way to a championship gained on the basis of two bad throws by Neil
O'Donnell.

And then all of the faux, plastic Cowboy fans come out of the woodwork, crowing
about how wonderful it all is, like they've seen the Second Coming, or gotten
their first piece of tail....


'Saw

Sharon Faulkner? I thought she quit The Citadel...

And Tommy Gun is outta the league. Mike Heiser might know what he's up
to, though...

And din't Hemingway get too plastered to write sometimes?

TTom

      The main thing I got out of the recent one paragraph diatribe
      is the fact that if there was no free agency, the Cowboys 
      would have benefited more than anybody.  They have lost a
      lot of players to free agency and its players that they 
      *acquired* within their own system.
    
      Thats the one big drawback I have with free agency.  If, for
      the most part, teams get the same bang for the buck, teams that
      drafted and traded especially well are penalized.  They simply
      will not be able to hold onto what they gained.  And they gained
      it largely on the basis of their own talents being better than 
      others.  
                                         
      No team has suffered as a result of free agency more than the
      Dallas Cowboys.  (Much as I rooted for them to lose.)
    
    						Tony

>      No team has suffered as a result of free agency more than the
>      Dallas Cowboys.  (Much as I rooted for them to lose.)
    
I think the Giants have.

George Young is a dinosaur when it comes to dealing with it.  He's supposedly
saying now that he's got it under control, but the Giants lost of lot of talent
when FA came along and George Young was ill prepared to deal with it...


To TTom:

	Hemingway only wrote about 300 words a day.  He could
	afford to be plastered the rest of the time.


'Saw

    re .158
    
    The main reason for the salary cap is that most teams don't have multi-
    billionaire owners like Jones and Policy and CAN'T spend millions on
    premier players and free agents.  Do you think all teams are able to
    spend money equal to the cap?  If you do you are mistaken.  The cap
    maintains the integrity of the league by trying to stop jack*sses like
    Jones from buying all of the premier players in the league in an
    attempt to live out his fantasies of being perceived as a shrewd and
    intelligent judge of football talent (which we all know he's not).
    If there is no parity in the league, then it's not worth watching. 
    What is truly sad is that the league had to put the salary cap rule
    in because of losers like Jones.
    
                                                              D.J.
    

    WAIT A MINUTE.. If your going to talk about WHY they put the cap in
    look at the team that bought like 4 or 5 championships over the past
    decade... Jones was just Monkey see Monkey Doo...
    
    If you go back thru the history of sports you'll see this in many cases
    The Bluejays did it recently in baseball...
    
    I mean if you look across all of sports there many BUMS making 4+ Mil
    per year and really don't bring much too there team...
    
    Ken Jr just got like 8.? Mil per year (If I heard correctly) so if he's
    worth 8mil per year to Seattle and Baseball just what is jordan worth
    to Chicago/NBA per year (Id say at least 2X-4X what Ken Jr is worth)...
    
    								mab

Now wait a minute...

Buying championships is a time honored tradition in all of SPROTS. Even
At the prep level, there's active recruiting along with perks for the
players and their family.

But in pro sprots, teams having been trying to buy a ring since about the
time Babe Ruth was traded from Boston to NY. The onliest thing that's
changed is the amount of money. The price of poker continues to rise,
astromomically.

The problem, typified most every year by the Yankees and thised year by
the Dolphins is that you have to be more than rich to buy a team. You
gotta know which players are worth the money. San Fran and Dallas spent
their money well. Hess and the Jets din't. It's that simple.

As for how much Michael makes, I'm looking forward to it. Chicago's gonna
have a hard time coming up with anywhere near what he can make on the
open market. Of course, all this might be moot. If'n he wins one more
ring, he might just up and quit, again.

TTom

    
    	All this reminds of last year when Glen Robinson of the Milwaukee
    Bucks wanted a 100 million dollar contract. The owner of the Bucks
    was quoted as saying "If he wants 100 million dollars, I'll give him
    the team, and he can pay me 100 million in salary to run it."
    	Agents are ruining the game, owners are ruining the game, players
    are ruining the game. It was only 30 years ago that players use to
    get a REAL job during the offseason, to make ends meet. Back then
    EVERYBODY could afford to go to a ball game, not today.
    	If the costs keep escalating out of control. You will eventually
    see the break-up of either the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB. MLB currently
    has 30 teams, I can envision two seperate organizations of 15 teams
    each. One organization the sky will be the limit on salarys. The other
    league will be more controlled. As long as they have UNLIMITED 
    free agency a league can set a salary cap. Hey, you want to play
    somewhere else for more money go ahead. I wouldn't mind seeing a
    NBA style league, where EVERYONE on the team made 1 million.
    	No one is forcing any of these professional athletes to play the
    game. If they don't like the money they are making to play a game.
    Then go get a real job.
    
    Ron 

Ron,

I think the solution is coming soon. The salaries are about at the point
where the owners themselves caint afford 'em.

There's a physical and finite limit to how much people will pay for any
entertainment. PPV, luxury boxes, and those other revenue sources will
keep the leagues floating for a while but we're near a point where they
won't be able to raise the prices fast enough to keep up with the money
needed.

Right here in Charlotte, we have almost reached that point. The idjit
Shinn signed LameJay for 85 million and now he claims he caint make a
buck. He's saturated in terms of what he can get outta the TV market. So
his solution is to threaten to build another arena that he owns hisself.
Problem is a lot of people won't follow him or the team. Lasted night,
against a good team, Houston, with a real star, Hakeem, there were about
5 thousand no-shows. By the beginning of the 4th quarter, at which point
the Bugs were ahead by 4, about half of the <20K that showed up had left.

If'n this guy builds a new place, he'll go bankrupt.

TTom

    Re .163
    I disagree. If the owners couldn't afford to pay the players they
    wouldn't. Let's look at Griffey and his value to the M's ownership.
    It was widely reported that if Griffey didn't resign with the M's their
    wouldn't be public support for a new stadium in Seattle which means no
    Luxury Box and PSTs for the owner. So now Griffey get his 32 mill and
    the M's owner gets his 100 mill+ stadium. 
    I'm almost done reading Lords of the Realm and the very same thing
    being said about salaries now were said in the 1880's. How many
    professional teams have gone bankrupt in the last 3 decades?
    Also if the players weren't making their money would the owners cut
    prices on tickets, radio rights and TV rights?
    It's all supply and demand. When the demand goes away the salaries will
    follow. Until then who knows?
    
    Mike
    
    

      I challenge anyone to go back perhaps seven years, look at what 
      each and every team acquired through draft and trade alone and
      insist that Dallas would not be far superior to every team save
      perhaps the 49'ers.
    
      Don't let hating the Cowboys make you irrational!
    
      The Cowboys have already lost about a dozen players in the last
      three years to free agency.  There were one or two DB's, Ken Norton
      Jr., Alvin Harper, some center I believe - lots of players.
    
      Yeah, the Cowboys acquired Sanders.  They may have acquired Haley
      (I don't know if it was FA or a trade).  Who else did they buy???
    
      They acquired, via DRAFT or trade , Aikmen, Smith, Irvin, Harper,
      the FB, the entire OL I believe, Lett, Maryland, Norton Jr., all
      the DB's save Sanders.
    
      I think Jones would be the 1st person to be willing to not have to 
      shell out bucks TO KEEP HIS OWN PLAYERS and to agree to no FA.
    
      Look, if the Cowboys played anybody, I would have rooted for them
      to lose.  But, you're dreaming if you can honestly say that if 
      each and every team had no free agency to resort to and if players
      drafted and traded for had to remain with their respective teams,
      that Dallas wouldn't have the best team.
    
    							Tony        

    A prediction for next years superbowl based on the salary cap and the
 open market looks like the Green Bay Packers if they help solidify the
 running attack to bring balance to the offense and some defensive line
 help.
    
    Brett Favre will be a year wiser which will cut down on the turnovers
 and he will be better prepared mentally for a big game like Troy Aikman
 is for my beloved Dallas Cowboys.
    
    It is a shame they lost a quality linebacker in Bryce Paup but that
 goes back to gambling with the cap and free-agency. A guy that would be
 a tremendous pickup would be Hardy Nickerson of Tampa Bay. I also felt
 they should have made a bid for Chis Warren of Seattle. 
    
    The draft could produce a running back but free-agency probably will
 be the route. Green Bay has great coach and some good personnel if they
 do the right things everyones other America's team may be hoisting that
 trophy named after there former great coach.
    
    Make no mistake about it I want the Dallas cowboys in the bowl again
 but I am realistic and I feel that it is time for the pack to step up to
 the plate and deliver it's theirs if they want it and that is the key how
 much do they want it?
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

>    Make no mistake about it I want the Dallas cowboys in the bowl again
> but I am realistic and I feel that it is time for the pack to step up to
> the plate and deliver it's theirs if they want it and that is the key how
> much do they want it?

A reasonable Cowboy fan?  I thought the phrase was an oxymoron... :-)

>A reasonable Cowboy fan?  I thought the phrase was an oxymoron... :-)

Believe it or not, there are a few who aren't plastic folk who like the way the
blue and silver jackets look.

'Saw

      Rick,
    
        I sure hope you're right!  They need to solidify their front
        seven and place more emphasis on their running game.
    
    						Tony

    
    	Does anybody remember what year Emmit Smith signed his new
    contract and got the 13 million signing bonus? This weekends paper
    was saying that Emmit will be a free agent after the '96 season.
    It also said that the Cowboys are paying 15 players 38 million dollars.
    Leaving them about 4-5 million for everybody else. Jerry Jones has
    to pay Erik Williams a 5 million bonus this week, which will effect
    the cap even more. If he doesn't pay the bonus Williams is an
    Unrestricted Free Agent on February 15t with everybody else. As I've
    stated in other notes, about there being no salary cap in 1998, the
    paper said it was 1999, so I was off by a year. It now looks like the
    NFL is going to close the loophole and there will be a cap for 1999.
    If the NFL closes this loophole, the Cowboys will be hurting in another
    2 or 3 years. Since they back loaded a lot of contracts to pay high
    salarys in 1999. Using a signing bonus to make up for the earlier
    years. The Cowboys figure they will only be able to sign 3 of there
    7 free agents on defense, because of the cap.
    
    Ron

    
    
    I might have known you Cowboy haters would be whinning about one play
    or another. I have not seen the game as I am still in Munich, and have
    only seen a few highlights. Mostly Odonnells int.s I have to assume it
    was a good game from the score and from most of these notes. Thank
    goodness Mikey C has more fuel for his hate of the World Champs. 
    
    On a side note, the local American football team in Munich is named the
    Cowboys. And even better their colors are Black and Gold. Having
    consummed numeros litres of this German bier has ruined my taste for
    the stuff we are left with in the states. 
    
    Prost
    
    Cadzilla2
    
    ps Jerry Jones still sucks

>Having
>    consummed numeros litres of this German bier has ruined my taste for
>    the stuff we are left with in the states.

I always knew you were a reasonable and intelligent sort...

>    ps Jerry Jones still sucks

...and this nails it.  :-)

    
    	Roland, you may want to reconsider.  Cad is a Texan.....
    
    Claybone

>    	Roland, you may want to reconsider.  Cad is a Texan.....

Yeah, but at least he appreciates good beer.  You're probably a
Coors drinker... :-) 

>>    	Roland, you may want to reconsider.  Cad is a Texan.....
>
> Yeah, but at least he appreciates good beer.  You're probably a
> Coors drinker... :-) 
    
    I'll drink Lone Star before I'll drink Coors.  But we poor-white-trash
    Okies still despise those haughty Texans.  And I still say that it's
    a crying shame what they did to Troy... ;-)
    
    glenn
    

    
    Clayboy..
    
    
       I hear the hogs calling ya!!!   Soooeee piggg.
    
    Lotsa porkers here too.
    
    
    Cadzilla2
    
    
     this noting from across the pond sux