Cowher adds fuel to rivalry with Bengals
From The Cincinnati Post

Bill Cowher did his best to add to the rivalry between the Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers, mocking the "Who-Dey?" chants of Cincinnati fans on two different occasions.

The first time was in the locker room after the Steelers knocked the Bengals out of the playoffs with a 31-17 win at Paul Brown Stadium on Jan. 8. Cowher repeated his "Who-Dey? We Dey!" chant during the Steelers' Super Bowl victory parade through the streets of Pittsburgh.

When the teams play in 2006, expect the atmosphere for both games to be heightened more than they already have been.

"I've added way too much to (the rivalry), I know that," said Cowher, speaking to media at the NFL combine. "But you know what, I have so much respect for what Marvin (Lewis) and Mike Brown have done in Cincinnati and the team they have put together. Without question they are there. They are on the cusp of a championship year. We realize that every time we play them it's a battle, it always has been."

Pittsburgh has beaten the Bengals in 21 of the 29 games played between the teams since Cowher became head coach in 1992, but the teams split the regular-season series in 2005 and the Bengals won the AFC North championship.

"You can't have a rivalry unless the teams trade off winning once in a while," said Lewis.

The Bengals did their own fair share of taunting against the Steelers last season. The week leading up to the game in Pittsburgh on Dec. 4, wide receiver Chad Johnson used a torn "Terrible Towel" as a food bib. After the Bengals beat the Steelers 38-31 at Heinz Field, wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wiped the bottom of his cleats with the yellow towel favored by Pittsburgh fans.

The lasting memory of the playoff loss for Bengals fans will be that of quarterback Carson Palmer lying on the FieldTurf at PBS after taking a hit to the left knee from Pittsburgh defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen. Palmer suffered torn ACL and MCL ligaments on the hit, but the team expects him to be ready for the season opener in September.

"Carson Palmer will be back, I don't think there is any question to that, but there are a lot more pieces to that puzzle and not just Carson," said Cowher. "He's an integral part of it, trust me, but they've got a lot of pieces around him and with Marvin overseeing that defense they're going to continue to get better. It's going to a big-time rivalry for years to come."

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Will somebody explain this "Who-Dey" thing to me? It sounds dumb.

Just found a sweet T-shirt:

Anyway, I found a cute Bill & Ben autographed Superbowl XL pic:

Bill Cowher and Ben Roethlisberger
Autographed Super Bowl XL Celebration
16 x 20 Photograph (Unframed)

 

I had been planning a Vegas trip with 7 other girls for this past weekend for several months. Of course, when I heard that Jerome's birthday party was the same weekend as my trip, I nearly had a heart attack. I called OPM, confirmed that "nobodys" could attend this event for a $30 cover, and wore a nice dress even though the dress code was "no sweatsuits or tennis shoes". Sounds too good to be true? Of course it was. My friend Megan and I made our way to the front of the line surprisingly fast. We did see Joey Porter, Duce Staley, and Mike Logan enter the club. I think we got there too late to see anybody else. Oh, except for Plaxico Burress but I did not deem him worthy enough of camera memory. Stood there patiently for about 20 minutes until they told us it was a $100 cover. We decided that $100 would be better spent on VIP table takeover, flinging ice and guzzling free vodka at after-hours club Drais. In conclusion, I decided that this near-encounter with the Steelers makes me 3/4 theoretically cool but only 1/4 practially cool.

Other Steelers sightings in Vegas this past weekend according to gossip: Bettis, dining at Tao (The Venetian) Saturday night at a table next to Rohan Marley. Ben Roethlisberger at Pure Saturday night at Caesars Palace, and Roethlisberger again, sporting a huge diamond necklace, at Jet (Mirage) on Friday night with Carson Daly and Mario ("Pet Star") Lopez.

Where did they stay? Apparently they got the royal treatment at the Palms' new Fantasy tower. Ward got the Crib Suite, Bettis had the Director's Suite, Roethlisberger in the Penthouse Suite and Porter had both the Ghostbar Suite and the King Pin Suite.

More Steelers/Vegas gossip as I find it. I'm supposing anybody who has anything to say about this weekend is still trying to recover...

By Jennifer Reeger, Tribune-Review

For Sister Damian Fleischman, rooting for the Steelers is a habit she hasn't been able to break.

Her lifelong devotion to the team has earned her a Super Bowl trophy -- or at least a glass replica.

Fleischman, dubbed Pittsburgh's "Most Valuable Pray-er" by the L.E. Smith Glass Co., received a glass replica of the Vince Lombardi Trophy from the Mt. Pleasant glassmaker on Wednesday during a celebration that included a tour of the plant and a meeting with a former Steelers great.

The glass company is making 100 limited-edition replica trophies that will sell for about $3,000 each. They already have a number of orders for the handmade trophies and expect to sell all 100.

In fact, when company President and Chief Executive Officer William Kelman brought a prototype to an event at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh, he took 30 to 40 orders that night.

"People couldn't keep their hands off it," he said.

And Fleischman wanted to get her hands on one, too. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Fleischman said she's been a Steelers fan for all of her 61 years. The Benedictine nun proudly wears black and gold around St. Joseph's Monastery in St. Marys, Elk County.

Before the Super Bowl, Fleischman saw a report on WTAE-TV about Smith Glass producing the trophies and decided to send off an e-mail.

"I just wanted to let them know that was awesome support for the Steelers," she said.

She attached a picture of herself decked out in the team colors in her Steelers-themed office at the Catholic Charities Center in St. Marys. Fleischman also asked if there was any way she could purchase an irregular or second-quality trophy at a discounted price.

That's when Kelman stepped in and decided to give "Sister Mary Steeler" a first-quality trophy engraved with her name and the title "Most Valuable Pray-er."

"This was a special thing," Kelman said. "People like this who give their entire life, it's nice to be able to give back."

Smith Glass arranged for the trophy presentation and added another surprise -- a visit from former Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood. Over the years, he's met all kinds of Steelers fans. But he never really thought about a nun being a fan.

"I didn't think they had time for that," he said.

Fleischman was especially surprised to meet Greenwood.

"I have all his football cards," she said. "I did not know of all these surprises."

The biggest surprise of all was the trophy, which Fleischman cradled like a baby during the whole event.

"I was really, really humbled," she said.

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I pretty much would give anything to see the picture she sent to LE Smith to make them want to give her a $3,000 trophy.

Also, I am waiting for somebody to contact me with the news that I won the Most Valuable Blogger award. LE Smith, are you listening?

By Jeff Seidel

Every Super Bowl's ring design is unique, with a different personality, symbolic of a season or a team's history.

Jostens, best known for making high school class rings, has produced 26 of 39 Super Bowl rings, including the first one for the Green Bay Packers in 1967.

The rings have grown bigger and more expensive as the league transformed into a billion-dollar business. The first championship ring cost less than $1,000 and featured a single diamond. Nice, elegant, dignified.

Now there is no such thing as too big or too gaudy. The Patriots' latest ring is loaded with 124 diamonds, a total of 4.94 carats.

The NFL picks up the bill, buying 150 rings for the winning team, paying no more than $5,000 per ring. The team can give a ring to anyone -- players, coaches, scouts, secretaries, even ball boys. The value of each ring is not disclosed, although it is clear that the ring manufacturer loses money on the deal, eating a significant portion of the cost, for prestige.

Most of the rings are cherished, kept in display boxes and taken out on special occasions. Other rings have been lost, stolen or confiscated by the IRS.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft gave his latest ring to Russian president Vladimir Putin last summer. Kraft was showing the ring to Putin, and Putin kept it in an apparent misunderstanding. (Just say nyet!! haha)

Every year, a handful of rings go up for sale. Last month, the Super Bowl XXV ring of former New York Giants running back Dave Meggett was put up on eBay, asking $40,000 for a starting bid. There were no takers.

The largest Super Bowl ring ever made was a size 25 for William (The Refrigerator) Perry. Perry wears the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. The ring is so big you can pass a half-dollar through it. For the first year, Perry wore it nearly every day. Now he can't remember the last time he wore it. "I keep it in my closet," he said with a shrug.

So what will the ring from Super Bowl XL look like? Charlie Anderson, Jostens championship ring designer, has been trying to come up with an idea, in case Jostens gets the job.

"I spend a little more time in the shower, the last week or so, just visualizing stuff in my head," he said.

For Anderson, the Steelers conjure thoughts of toughness -- Bill Cowher's steel-jawed strength and passion; Bettis' power and determination.

"I do a lot of hand sketches to try to remember the images that go flirting through my head," Anderson said.

Jostens has done three of the Steelers' four rings -- all but the second championship. After the Steelers won four rings, the cry went out: "One for the thumb." But the truth is, the man who has four Super Bowl rings never wears any of them.

"I never wore them," Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney said. "I always felt it was for the players, for them."

He spread out his hands.

"See, I don't wear anything," he said, laughing. "I don't have a wedding ring. But I'm married."

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Check out all of the past Superbowl rings. In my opinion, they are getting progressively cheesier. Colored enameling?? Ice-studded logos? It only looked good when we won our third. But I have faith in Dan Rooney's taste, even if he doesn't like to wear rings.

I like Anderson's "toughness" theme: perhaps a bus, mustaches, long flowy hair, steel beams? Anyone else have any ideas on what they would like to see?

Superbowl XL rings will be presented in a ceremony during the Steelers' Thursday night kickoff game.