What are some of the signs that you won't be defending your Super Bowl title when January arrives? Putting up six points against the Browns is a good one. Holding Brady Quinn to his usual 48.1 quarterback rating, and still losing by a touchdown is another. Eight sacks? Five straight losses? I think you're starting to see the pattern here. The Steelers are sunk. (And no, this doesn't save your season, Cleveland.)

The reasons aren't really important anymore—Troy Polamalu doesn't pass block too, does he?—but last night's embarrassing loss to the Browns pretty much closes the door on their drive for whatever number ring they are up to now. So call your broker and start channeling your snow shoveling futures into Penguins tickets. They still haven't folded right?

Honorable mention: The Celtics. Who let the old guys in here?

•"The Foot ball The 49ers Team has The excitement of the bear, the velocity of the deer and strenght of the buffalo.

"That is reason why the great Football Team in San Francisco is called the "49ers" Them the Baseball Team got is name THE "Giants" because of The big buildings so that is now be teams got their names."

•On a frigid night in Cleveland, the only thing colder are the Steelers' playoff aspirations. A putrid 13-6 loss to a putrid Browns team, and Tunison spent the night feeding the trolls. Go tell him how sorry you are that his team will have to go at least two years between titles.

•Boston pulled out another win. Orlando, not so much. Not to put too much emphasis on one night's result, but if these two teams keep up the paces they set tonight, the Celtics will finish the year 61 games ahead of the Magic. Take that analysis, Hollinger!

•From the tempting fate department, Tony Romo is back as the holder for field goals and extra points. Relax, Cowboys fans, there's very little chance of a blown playoff kick this year. Why? San Diego, New Orleans, Washington and Philadelphia, that's why.

•Chad Ochocino is getting into a war of words again, this time with a mascot. He and Ragnar have been going back and forth ahead of this weekend's Cincy/Minnesota game, and while it's all in fun, being crippled in a Viking battle seems the only logical way for someone like Ochocinco's career to end.

•••••

We've got our last SHOTY nominee going up this afternoon, but don't be surprised to see him pop up in a post or five before that.

Penbrook is cracking down on one couple's 2x8 Steelers banner. It's hung on their porch and reads "You're In Steelers Country," despite Penbrook being firmly in Ravens country. But the town isn't going after the inaccuracy, but rather the size.

[N]on-commercial messages — either political, religious or personal, are limited to 16 square feet, permitted only for brief time periods and allowed only if they "advertise political parties or candidates for election," "nonprofit, charitable and similar events," or qualify as "holiday decorations."

The Myers family was offered three choices: only hang the sign on game days, pay $40 for a permit, or face fines for every day the banner remains up. They chose option D: sue. They went to the ACLU, who sent a letter threatening a free-speech claim within days if Penbrook doesn't lay off the Myerses.

I wonder why they can't show their Steeler fandom in the traditional ways: drinking crappy beer, thinking Channel 11 News is real journalism, and not remembering anyone other than Terry Bradshaw from the '70s teams.

UPDATE: Penbrook backed down today. Another victory for Sevensburgh.

Penbrook Residents Face Ultimatum Over Steelers Sign [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
Borough Backs Down On Attempt To Remove Steelers Banner [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

The Steelers and Bears lost big games this weekend, and the frustration mounted to the point of manufactured controversy. On the Sunday Night Football broadcast, Ward opened up to Bob Costas:

This game is almost like a playoff game. It's almost a must-win. I could see some players or teammates questioning, like, 'It's just a concussion. I've played with a concussion before. I would go out there and play.' So, it's almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room, you know? Should he play? Shouldn't he play? It's really hard to say. I've been out there dinged up. The following week, got right back out there."

Only problem is, Big Ben's brain doctor told him that his brain wasn't in playing shape. So today Ward apologized to Roethlisberger via Facebook, which is apparently what you do when you've got more than 140 characters to write.

I would never question a man's toughness playing in a STEELER unif. I didn't mean to cause such a stir. My frustration was based on the fact that this was a big game for us to stay in the playoff picture and having Ben out there gave us our best opp to win in Balt. I was frustrated because there was no indication of... Ben not being able to play because he practiced a normal routine this week (wed, thurs and fri)."

[snip]

"I know Ben wanted to play this game but the docs told him he's down, and with that we trust our docs with their decisions. We would never jeopardize anyone's health for a game of football. Life is way to precious. One thing about Ben, he is a WINNER. We just wanted this game so badly."

So, all's well in Pittsburgh. These things are easier to get past when you're probably playoff bound. But in Chicago, Urlacher had this to say (obliquely) about Jay Cutler:

I hate the way our identity has changed. We used to establish the run and wear teams down and try not to make mistakes, and we'd rely on our defense to keep us in the game and make big plays to put us in position to win...Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback, but the guy is a winner, and that formula worked for us. I hate to say it, but that's the truth."

Today, he was asked to clarify. He clarified very little:

I'm not taking a shot at Jay. I'm not one bit taking a shot at Jay. He throws it better, right? And we haven't tried to run the ball as much. That's true. But Kyle has won games. His formula works. So I'm not taking a shot at Jay or Kyle."

Let's translate athlete-speak into English. Urlacher had originally said "the team needs to stop throwing so much, because Cutler is a bust who can't stop throwing interceptions and is costing the team games." His carefully considered remarks two days later are that "the team needs to stop throwing so much, because Cutler is a bust who can't stop throwing interceptions and is costing the team games. But I'm not taking a shot at Jay."

The lesson: get yourself a Facebook page, Brian. As of press time, more than 1100 people clicked the little thumbs-up icon next to Ward's comments.

Hines Ward Facebook Page [Facebook]
Brian Urlacher Says Comments About Chicago Bears Teammates Not Meant To Be Derogatory [Chicago Tribune]

A witness called Bridgeville police at 1:09 p.m. after a suspect, who was supposed to have been walking the dog, was kicking it down the street instead, according to a police affidavit.

Ms. Gielarowski told police her boyfriend kicked the dog because the pup would not walk with them. When the near lifeless dog no longer was able to move, Mr. Woodson walked away from it and his girlfriend, she told police.

[...]

"He admitted the dog would not behave prior to the Steelers game and that he became upset at it," according to the affidavit.

The girlfriend originally gave police a false name and then lied to protect her dog-killer boyfriend, because that's what loving the Steelers does to people. They become blood-thirsty puppy-hating dickheads. Lots of dogs misbehave before Ravens and Bengals games, but they don't get to stomped to death, do they? Heck, the whole state of Pennsylvania is suspect at this point.

Seriously, though, this guy is a prick.

Police: Man kills puppy misbehaving before Steelers game [Post-Gazette]

Pittsburgh's Zack Heddinger claims he was just chilling at Kitty O'Shea's bar in downtown Chicago after the Steelers lost to the Bears on September 20. He and his buddies participated in some good-natured ribbing with the locals that apparently got out of hand, until one of the Chicagoans offered Heddiger a drink as a peace offering. Side effects of the beverage included loss of vision and heart stoppage.

Not long after taking the drink, Heddinger passed out and was rushed to a nearby hospital, his heart stopping four times. At first, doctors thought he had too much to drink, but realized there was more to it.

"They thought it was antifreeze or something like that …because it was so strong," said Heddinger.

Heddidger's family even flew to Chicago because they thought he was going to die. He says his vision has still not returned and he may have suffered permanent brain damage. According to the report, doctors now say he might have been poisoned by "toxic grain alcohol," which is just ... wow. Who knows what that little kid put in Mean Joe Greene's Coke?

Not surprisingly, Chicago police have zero leads on what happened to the perpetrators or the rest of the Bears' season.

Steelers Fan Says He Was Poisoned, Left Blind At Chicago Bar [WTAE Pittsburgh]

•Between the NBA All-Star game and the Super Bowl, Dallas police are expecting six figures worth of prostitutes to flood the Metroplex. Thankfully, (tonyromo) the star athletes of the city (joshhamilton) would never (dirknowitzki) get involved with women of ill repute.

•Know the name Anze Kopitar yet? You probably should. The breakout Slovenian superstar led the Kings to a dominant victory over the Stanley Cup champions, announcing their legitimacy and teaching me that Slovenia is apparently a wholly separate country from Slovakia.

•Are the Cavs even a top three team in the east? They didn't look like it last night, falling to the Bulls. Tonight will be interesting, as they travel to New York where LeBron will see his future. (Whether that future is his team dominating opponents, or losing with the Knicks depends on your point of view.

•Baseball's hot stove league kicked off in earnest, with Jeremy Hermida going to Boston, Bobby Abreu staying in Anaheim, and Jason Bay and Matt Holliday making their intentions to blow town clear. For all those teams looking for a power bat in the outfield, let me remind you that Barry Bonds is still available.

•Here's a list of the top 10 sideline reporter bloopers. Your clear number one involves double penetration, and it's not even a Vikings sideline reporter!

•Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark is unlikely to play Monday night in Denver, because of a rare sickle-cell trait that makes exertion in high altitudes dangerous. Should the Broncos win, expect dome teams to pump a little oxygen out of their stadiums when the Steelers come to town.

•Finally, I would be remiss in shirking my duty as a conduit for your Yankee hatred. Here's a collection of celebration videos, capped off by the most touching: a man and his crazy West Indian mother.

It's good to have him back, isn't it?

Steelers beat mistake-prone Favre, Vikings 27-17 [Philly Inquirer]
[Photo via AP]

* * * * *

It's Monday. Try not to get fired or sued this week. (Not as easy as it sounds.)

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, police were at McFadden's, a bar across the parking lot from Heinz Field, when they spotted a man, now identified as Spaeth, standing next to a white SUV and urinating in public. When officers tried to give him a ticket, Reed got out of the SUV and confronted them. The rest, as they say, is history:

"The officers told him several times to get back in the vehicle, but he did not listen," Davidson said. "Mr. Reed then squared up with an officer by bringing his fists up." Officers tackled Reed and cuffed him at the scene, Davidson said.

"He smelled of a strong odor of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated," Davidson said.

You don't say? Reed was charged with simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public intoxication; all misdemeanor counts. Spaeth got a pee-pee ticket and both were released. And the anti-pissing-in-parking-lots gestapo win another round. Is there no justice in the world?

Steelers' kicker Reed cited for public intoxication [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]

Hines Ward says he won't follow the rule named after him and that he'll continue blocking people high. That's because Hines—who knows a little something about dangerous hits—argues that a high, brain-rattling hit is still safer than a low, knee-shredding hit:

"I'll still hit him. I'll just get fined. There's nothing I can do about it. It's either that or try to hurt somebody. So are you going to fine me, or do you want me to end someone's career? I'd rather take a fine than try to end somebody's career, so I'm not going to change.

The unfortunate thing is me being labeled that, and then the rule change came out, so it's kind of like me being singled out as the dirty guy that's in the league, a dirty offensive player. A wide receiver being dirty - I take that as a compliment.

John Madden agrees.

Hines Ward says he'd deliver crushing hit to Keith Rivers again [AP]

1. If the word Sixburgh doesn't make you nauseous… It is never, EVER, a good thing when one NFL franchise has sole possession of the record for Most Super Bowls Won. Since 2005, there has been a very comfortable three-way tie for that crown between the Steelers, Cowboys, and 49ers. This was for the best. It meant one group of fans could not take all their Super Bowl titles and Lord them over you like complete fuckheads. Trust me, when the 49ers had more Super Bowl titles than anyone, you heard about it often. And now, you will hear it over and over again from asshole Steelers fans in their Hines Ward replica jerseys and hard hats. Simply show up to any Steelers game or bar wearing the colors of another team, and you will be subjected to any number of uninvited taunts that YOUR team does not have six Super Bowl rings, and that YOUR team is not the flagship franchise of the NFL, and that YOUR team is not family-owned and does everything the right way.

Worst of all is the notion that the Steelers somehow reflect the populace of their city by playing hard-nosed, blue collar football. THEY BROUGHT THEIR LUNCH PAILS TODAY, GANG! THEY'RE SO PITTSBURGHISH! This is the biggest steaming load of eviscerated shit I've ever heard. Nearly all the steel mills in that town are gone. Find me a Steelers fan who's an actual fucking steelworker, and I'll put a unicorn in your driveway. That town was repurposed ages ago as a center for tech, banking, and ketchup distribution. It is not a tough town. It's as yuppified as fucking Portland (Oregon or Maine, take your pick), only it's stuck in the center of Pennsyltucky and everyone there is fat and smells like sticky buns.

Worst of all, most Steelers fans can't even stand to live in that fucking town anymore. There are Steelers bars all over the nation because most Steelers fans worth a shit fled that sleepy den of hellish boredom ages ago. There's nothing to do in that town except be thankful you aren't in Cleveland. And that's if the Steelers fan you know even spent ANY time in Pittsburgh. The three Steelers fans I know all grew up in Maryland. Gee, I wonder why they gravitated to the Steelers? I wonder if wanting to be front-running dipshits at age five had anything to do with it. THIS MEANS YOU, APE! AND DJ GALLO! AND MY FRIEND KEVIN, WITH WHOM YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR! J'ACCUSE!

And with this sixth title, more bandwagon jumpers are on the way. Newly minted Steelers fans think they can get away with being carpetbaggers because the Steelers are so darn "lovable". WRONG. WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. Your team is not lovable, and you are fat, and I don't like you.

2. Most annoying fans at the bar? Most annoying fans at the bar. You'd think Eagles fans would have this title all sewn up. You'd be incorrect. Stop by any bar on a Sunday afternoon this fall and you will be treated to a large number of Steelers shouting out pointless shit like, "FUCKING BIG BEN!" or "HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!" or "THAT'S MY BOY, JAMES HARRISON!" It says something about a franchise when Terry Bradshaw is its most insightful representative. Steelers fans don't even bother to stop talking while they're eating. They'll just happily prattle one while chunks of fried cheese and chicken scraps simply fall out of their mouths. It's like being trapped in a bar with a five-month-old who has a pituitary problem.

And that's not even the male fans. Yes, say hello to the NFL's #1 favorite team among all women. And not just ANY women. I'm talking the loud, 300-lb., cock-blocking beastulas that are destined to one day drive retarded kids to school in the short bus. As annoying as loud fans are in the bar, they're even more annoying when they are fat, shrill women. An ugly sentiment, but true. Just one female Steelers fan in a bar is the irritant equivalent of a bachelorette party showing up and singing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in unison.

3. Daulerio hates you, Pittsburgh. Steelers Nation, you will not find a fan in the editor of this site.

AJ: I just think their six rings are overrated. They only won one legitimately, in my eyes, and that was against the Cardinals. The rest are greenies, steroids, steroids, greenies, refs. I think they're the most overrated sports dynasty in history.

Me: I like it. Your assertion is both spiteful and groundless.

AJ: Yes. And it's a shitty, shitty town. The best thing to come out of it, in my opinion, was Wonder Boys. I mean, even the governor of Pennsylvania hates Pittsburgh. That fucking airport is filled with more invalids and children than I've ever seen. They treat that people mover like it's a goddamn ferris wheel.

Me: AHAHAHAHA

AJ: And it smells like Arby's. The WHOLE fucking city smells like Arby's.

4. Somehow, they still find a way to bitch. Oh, boohoo. Neil O'Donnell cost you a Super Bowl. POOR FUCKING YOU. You should have seven titles! You're so deprived! No fanbase is more spoiled rotten than this one. Visit any Steelers message board and you will STILL find fans who don't think Ben Roethlisberger is a good QB. If the team shows any deficiency (offensive line), Steelers fan will concentrate solely on THAT aspect of the team, so that they might whine about it the whole year long. Oh no! My team isn't as flawless as I'd like it to be! DON'T YOU SYMPATHIZE? Nope. Not a lick.

5. REFS! FLUKY TITLES! SOFT SCHEDULE! COCK!

6. The Steel Curtain is the worst metaphor ever. They're curtains. They either open in the center, or they can be drawn upwards to allow you to pass through. That is the function of a curtain. It doesn't matter what material it's made from: steel, adamantium, chiffon. ALL CURTAINS ARE EASILY PENETRATED SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY ARE DESIGNED THAT WAY. Call it the Steel Wall. Or the Steel Monolith. Call it something that connotes impenetrability. A curtain intimidates no one, retards.

7. A final SCREW YOU from the readers. JW:

Most people would probably look at the Steelers' organization with respect if it wasn't for their absolutely obnoxious fans. We know, we know…Cleveland sucks all the time, Cincinnati sucks most of the time, and Baltimore sucks half the time…save it. Just because you were cursed to be born in Pittsburgh and grew up with a team that built the Steel Curtain out of heeping doses of testosterone and bull semen, doesn't mean you're better than the rest of us degenerates born in the rust belt. You root for a winning team, but you had nothing to do with helping them win…yet somehow you think you're better than the rest of us.

Here's another secret…those terrible towels would be the gayest thing about Pittsburgh if it weren't for Kordell and all those actual steel workers.

Stay classy Pittsburgh...in the meant time; go fuck yourselves.

Graham:

1. Who's their running back? The Steelers can choose from the skinny fast guy who is always injured, or the slow 2nd year guy who's always injured, or Mewelde Moore.

2. The quarterback has bad judgment. Be it firing his skull off a car windshield without a helmet, or dipping his pen in some strange ink, nobody quite knows how to fuck up a season like Ben. Steeler fans will sit there and argue about how Ben is the greatest QB since Elway, while meanwhile the rest of the NFL fans sit there and watch Ben throw picks, fumble, fail to move the offense, and generally look like shit. He then will make one or two plays out of 60 the whole fucking game. Meanwhile, the defense constantly bails his ass out. Steelerfan: BEN YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!! If this guy played for the Chiefs, his name would be Tyler Thigpen.

3. Steeler fans. I've never seen a more arrogant fanbase that has less knowledge of the game. YAY BEN!!!!!!!!!!! (waving yellow towel) WE'RE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!! (singing some horribly gay song) KISS OUR 6 RINGS!!!!!!!!!!! (conveniently ignoring the 70s teams that were pumped so full of steroids that half of them are no longer with us) OUR PLAYERS ARE GREAT GUYS!!!!!!!!! (stupidly sitting there watching while Hines Ward cheap shots some poor guy, Santonio gets arrested, Ben gets sued and Joey Porter gets shot)

Anonymous:

Their fans are EVERYWHERE. No, seriously, everywhere. Like Starbucks locations or cockroaches. This is largely because their city is a trash pit, and anyone with any sense moves away at their earliest opportunity. To, oh, I don't know, Alaska. No matter where you go in this great nation, you're bound to not be able to throw a stick and hit some Steelers fans. (Hopefully it's a sharp stick.) Look at this list; there are ten Steelers bars in Alaska. I didn't know there were ten bars in total in Alaska. Although, now that I scroll down further, there are an awful lot of Buffalo Wild Wings locations listed as "Steelers bars." Come the fuck on.

Their colors are Black and Gold. So are the Pirates. So are the Penguins. Come on, you unimaginative fucks, there are literally hundreds of colors. The town looks like a fat, numbered bumblebee convention, all year round.

There's nothing like an 19-year-old reminiscing about the championships "we" won back when said 19-year-old was nothing more that a gleam in his unemployed, fat, coleslaw-on-a-sandwich-loving father's eye.

"One for the thumb." More like "stick a thumb in my ass while I beat off to old highlights of the Steel Curtain."

I can't believe they've won two Super Bowls with that Missing Link-looking, mouth-breathing, alleged rapist troglodyte as a quarterback.

Pat G.

Steelers fans whine about never getting any national attention probably more than any other fans do. This is because the Steelers play a rather boring style of football, like the Ravens also play. The Steelers play a low scoring defensive oriented style of football that is not particularly exciting to casual fans and doesn't yield a lot of fantasy points. No one else cares. Get over it. This is assuming this supposed lack of respect, coverage, or recognition even exists. Which I'm suspecting it doesn't since I'm pretty sure Troy Polamalu has appeared in roughly 457 commercials in the past 3 years.

The recent championships just give NBC a chance to show footage of fat women with 80s bangs shoving Primanti sandwiches into their gullets.

Joe W.

Their fans. And I'm not even talking about the chromosomally challenged towel-wavers who populate Heinz Field. These are your "Deniro and Walken in Deer Hunter" types who inhabit the purgatory of Western PA but never left the area except possibly for Vietnam and aren't actually bothering the rest of us. No, I'm talking about the Steeler fan near you who plasters the hideous black and gold stickers everywhere he can think of, from his front door to the barely-running jalopy parked in his front yard. This Steeler fan shares every sub-human, depraved trait of his confluence bretheren, but the difference is that he's actually at your stadium waving a yellow towel in your face while grinning like a crazed mongoloid. How he was able to scrape together enough change on his minimum wage salary to afford an NFL ticket or read a map well enough to find a stadium are questions that must remain unanswered. However, these people are a bane on civilized society and should be immediately rounded up and deported back to the from whence they came.

How and why did they leave in the first place? I have my theory. Much like the first amphibian crawled out of the primordial ooze and became a land dweller because it instinctively knew that there had to be something better out there, so fled the Pittsburghers from the hellhole of their birth. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this mass exodus managed to stir subconscious but strong pangs of guilt amongst the Pittsburgher (second only to hunger/gluttony but well above dignity or a desire for proper personal hygeine). In order to assuage this guilty conscience, he decided to latch on the one thing from this godforsaken shithole of a hometown that has ever met with any success whatsoever, and that would be the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yes, he supports the Steelers out of some sort of misbegotten belief that repping his hometown somehow excuses his abandonment of the fellow mouth-breathing troglodytes who he left behind. God forbid you'd ever see any of these Steeler superfans finding their way to a Pirates game...

Dave V.:

So many Pittsburgh fans are from Ohio, and they are the biggest bandwagon fans in the world. These troglodytes have never even been to Pennsylvania, and yet they adorn their overweight, uneducated bodies with gaudy yellow and black, and call themselves true Steeler fans.

Chazz:

Equally sad is the number of people who all of a sudden claimed to be "from" Pittsburgh as they pepper their speech with the "Stillers" and "Yinzes." Nine times out of 10 they live in a suburb of the city and before 2006 would rather have said they were from Philadelphia or
Islamabad before they copped to being from Pittsburgh.

Will M.:

I went to the Giants/Panthers preseason game (I'm a Panthers fan, fiancee's family have Giants season tickets and they didn't feel like sitting outside on a 90 degree night). For the entire first quarter (ie, the football that was remotely interesting) some asshat behind me was shouting "WOOOOOOOOOO SIXBURGH! GO PITTSBURGH STEELERS! STEELERS SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS! WOOOOOOOO!"

Needless to say, I wanted to stab him in the throat.

The other reason: A friend of mine is a big Pittsburgh sports fan. So he's had a good year, football and hockey wise.

However, he recently claims to have "given up on" the Pirates after years of bleeding black and blue, because they suck today. He started following the Cubs (a division rival? FUCK YOU!) and the Red Sox (FACK YOU!!!). Now, if he's willing to give up on a team he previously bled for, how serious can he be in his commitment to the Steelers? Fuck him and fuck my Steelers fan friend.

And finally, X-Ray:

I fucked a girl from Pittsburgh once. She was a Steelers fan. She was cockeyed and smelled like Rolling Rock and failure.

I think that's a fitting way to close out this series. Get your hate on, people. The NFL starts this week.

The event took place in 2006, but the pictures have just now begun circulating are now causing the police department a lot of very deserved grief. (The photos were mailed anonymously to the Philadelphia Daily News.) Not only is the event itself a questionable move—private citizens wasting police ammunition at a time when real officers were forced to ration—but the photos show players violating pretty much every imaginable rule of gun safety. They're firing weapons without ear or eye protection, handling rifles away from the firing line, and even pointing guns directly at their teammates' heads as they pose like "gangsters" for ridiculous photos.

Worst of all, sources familiar with the event say that some of the guns used were illegals assault weapons taken from the evidence room. In addition to being both against the law and highly unethical, use of such weapons could have compromised the cases they were a part of. Police critics are furious.

"It's a state police firing range used for state police to train. When we're there, it's downright military," said one state police official, who requested anonymity. "But at this event, it's chaos. Everybody's throwing contraband assault weapons around like they're toys; it's like they're having G.I. Joe tryouts. Not only is this totally unethical, but it's totally illegal."

A police spokeswoman said these types of "gun safety" events happen all time. Even Girl Scouts do it! She denied the more serious allegations of using illegal weapons and wasting police ammunition, but the pictures seems to indicate otherwise. An evidence tag can be seen on one of the guns and boxes of police-issued bullets are clearly visible in others. Police say the Steelers requested a gun safety course, but it appears they got the worst-supervised training session ever.

At the Daily News' request, a National Rifle Association-certified training counselor and firearms instructor examined the photographs and detected multiple "dumb and dangerous" safety violations.

"The photos show generally unsafe gun-handling techniques," said Paul Raynolds, a chief range-safety officer from North Jersey. "The players look to be poorly supervised. Basic firearm-safety rules are not being followed." ....

"Here," he added, referring to the group portrait, "you have [a player] pointing this straight at his [another player's] skull. [Other players] are pointing the gun directly at the other guy and the cameraman. That's just negligent beyond belief."

The players pictured include Ike Taylor, James Harrison, Max Starks, James Farrior, Brett Keisel, as well as former Steelers Najeh Davenport and Joey Porter. The NFL has a policy against anyone carrying guns when representing the team or league, but it's not clear if this would qualify. What is clear is that Joey Porter should really not let untrained goofballs points gun at his head. Even Tony Montana knows better than that.

Targets of criticism [Philadelphia Daily News]

UPDATE: The good folks at PSAMP have jogged our memory and pointed out that these photos have actually been on the internet for months. (Including Deadspin. Oops.) But it does appear that the News was the first to report on the connection between the photos and the State Police, who are the real target of their story.

The author of the piece, Dana Difillipo, spoke to Deadspin and says there was some internal debate about running the photos since they were so old, but sports editors at the paper suggested that it was still news, saying "look at all the steroid stories coming out." Also, the source was definitely someone with an axe-to-grind against the state police, but "just because someone has a shady motive doesn't mean it's not news."

As for her use of the phrase "gangster poses," she says, "Well, what would you call them?" Well ... um ... I'm stumped on that one, actually.

What Is Philly.com Trying To Prove? [PSAMP]

But one question remains unanswered: which Ben Roethlisberger does the Ben Roethlisberger look-alike look like? Pre-motorcycle accident or post-?

Wait, one more question remains unanswered: who would want sperm from a Ben Roethlisberger look-alike?

(Hello, Deadspin. My name is Alex Pareene. I grew up in Minnesota, which means everyone I've ever rooted for has been a loser, with the exception of Kirby Puckett. Every Christmas my mom decorates the tree in purple and gold. It's tragic. Last night I went out and got drunk at a Mekons show, and then when I got home, there was Canadian football on the TV, and so, of course, I continued drinking well into the early morning. That is your customary "hello, I'm hungover this morning" introductory statement.)

The complainant is Andrea McNulty, a employee of the Harrah's Casino in Lake Tahoe, where Roethlisberger has been on more than one occasion for celebrity golf tournaments. (Now just put "allegedly" in front of every sentence you read from here on out.) In July 2008, she was working as a "concierge" on the penthouse floor and had several friendly interactions with the football player, whom she had been instructed to keep happy while he stayed in the hotel. (That's what a concierge does, after all.) She claims that one night he asked her to come to his room to look at his broken television and when she got there, she discovered there was nothing wrong with the TV.

She claims that, as she tried to leave the room, Roethlisberger blocked her path, and that he "grabbed [her] and started to kiss her."

She claims that she was "shocked and stunned that this previously friendly man, that appeared to be a gentleman in her previous contacts with him was suddenly preventing her from leaving, was assaulting and battering her."

McNulty admits that she didn't try to fight Roethlisberger, citing his size and strength. She claims that she "communicated her objection and lack of consent," and that he nevertheless began "fondling [her] through her dress and between her legs."

She claims that he pushed her onto the bed, and despite her alleged protests he "pulled her underpants off and proceeded to penetrate her."

If true, that's absolutely disgusting. But there's way more to the story. There are eight other defendants in the lawsuit, most of them current or former employees of the hotel who McNulty is accusing of defaming her; either by refusing to believe her story, spreading misinformation about her, or actively helping to cover up Roethlisberger's conduct after the fact. These charges would probably be in reference to this story, reported by TMZ, that McNulty received psychiatric care because of a separate incident with another married man.

McNulty's complaint does state that she received treatment as a result of her encounter with the quarterback, but one source says that is not the real reason. The story TMZ is telling is that she became involved with a married man, whose wife began emailing McNulty pretending to be a soldier stationed in Iraq. McNulty "fell in love" with the imaginary soldier and when the wife stopped the correspondence, she began telling people he had been killed in action. According to the source, that was the incident that led her to seek help.

So where does that leave us? It has become standard practice in cases like this to make the accuser look like a deranged slut, but that doesn't necessarily mean that she's all there. McNulty did not file a police report after the original incident, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's lying. For every rich celebrity athlete that someone might want to tear down, there are plenty of other people ready to do anything to keep him propped up. These things are always messy and the unfortunate "especially Andrea McNulty" quote from Ben's lawyer is just the tip of the iceberg.

Pro Football Talk is absolutely owning the story (ESPN is still silent) so stick with them for frequent updates.

Bizarre Twist in Roethlisberger Assault Case [TMZ]
In Roethlisberger case, it's important to keep an open mind [PFT]