From what I read Wm. Green spit in Porter’s face. after Porter was talking trash with him. There seem to be conflicting reports on this. I’ll wait until I see it for myself.
And Dave, you REALLY need to drop the Porter = thug routine. You are the one cheering for an asswipe who lied to the police about a double murder, and another guy who orchestrated a cocaine deal worth 5 digits. The fact that you are grasping at bare threads to pin the thug label on someone on the black and gold is pathetic. Remind me who has a star player going to federal prison in the offseason again?
From what I’ve heard this morning, Green and Terrelle Smith were mouthing off at the Steelers about running through “you” and “you” and “you.”
Two news reports say that there is video of Green spitting at Porter. Hines Ward suggested that spit was flying in both directions before Green tried to head-butt Porter. Apparently Terrelle Smith thought one-on-one was disadvantageous for Green, and threw some punches too, but was not ejected for some reason.
I think it’s pretty clear that Porter fell for what the Browns were trying to do all week – talk bullshit because they knew they weren’t going to be able to do anything on the field. I mean, Gerard Warren was talking about killing Rothlisberger for fuck’s sake. Porter has to be smarter than that.
Even without Porter, and playing pretty much a let-down game like many feared, the Steelers commanded the game throughout.
I was reading in the paper about several counties in central/eastern PA that have to suffer through Ravens coverage, even though they are predominantly Steeler fans. One quote was great: “If I wanted to watch a bunch of convicts play football, I’d rent The Longest Yard.”
Are the Chiefs so pitiful this year that you won’t even gloat about it? I’ve been expecting tons of abuse and still no word.
[melodrama]
This silence is worse than abuse. My favorite team is fallen from disdain and now rests in the cellar of pity. You are evil and I am tormented by your silence.
[/melodrama]
Why? You seem to be doing the same thing. Ray Lewis’ situation was what it was, and if you want to castigate him for lying to the cops, go ahead, it’s what he did, you won’t hear a peep from me. If you want to go calling him a murderer, that’s when I object. Jamal Lewis’ charges were weak in the extreme, took place when he was still in college, and has not much to do with who he is now. He pled to Federal charges because everybody pleads to the feds, you should read the WM3 thread in the pit right now for some of the legal information on how all that works, it’s an eye-opener. I don’t condone what he did, but do you know the details at all? Feds tried to get him to sell them coke, he said no, I can’t, but I know a guy who can and he put them on the phone with the dealer. That was the extent of his involvement. It wasn’t, as you put it, “orchestrated a cocaine deal worth 5 digits”, because A: ) He never did anything except put them on the phone together and B: ) No cocaine was ever bought or sold as a result of that phone call. Can you honestly say that that is worth a mandatory 10 year jail term? Because that’s what he was facing. I would have pled too, and I bet so would you.
In any event, my defense of them is not because they are Ravens, it’s because there is not much substance when you look at the facts. You are constantly assuming the worst simply because they are Ravens, then accuse me of doing the same thing. As a point of fact, I’d feel the same about 2 Steelers in the exact same situation, because I’d look at the facts, not the uniform. By contrast, Joey Porter is a mediocre defender with a big mouth who is continuously in trouble for one thing or another. A few posts ago, I based my statement about Porter on the assumption that he instigated the fight, and I was clear that that was the assumption I was going from. If that assumption is false, I am perfectly willing to concede that this is one you can’t hold against Porter. I didn’t know the details , so I asked for the facts. Why are you so dead set on blindly defending Porter by attacking me or Ravens players? If Kyle Boller machine gunned a school bus full of handicapped children, it would be terrible, but it also would matter in regards to the behavior of Porter…how exactly?
This stupid argument of thuggery, aimed both at Porter and Ray Lewis, was best countered by Dave Wannstedt’s pre-game comments. When asked what he thought of the pre-game fight, he stated “They’re ready to play.”
These guys build themselves to an emotional level that’s dangerous for other people because the sport requires them to. This has been going on for years and years, but it amazes me to see the ones who forget and act as if the sport is played by gentlemen concerned with manners.
Isn’t is nice, however, to see the Bus on the street again? It’s amazing how a little coaching and a year’s time take the OL from last year and turn it into the monsters up there now. Keeping Bettis fresh while letting Staley get the yards is a brilliant strategy.
I tell you exactly how it applies to you and the Ravens (and BTW, If it had been any other poster on this board, I wouldn’t have brought up the two golden children) …You spend a ton of energy on these boards trying to defend the honor of you beloved Lewis boys anytime anyone says anything negative about them. Then, you want start maligning other teams players. If you’d readily admit that your boys are criminals and thugs I’d have much less of a problem with you calling Porter a thug. You like to paint the two Lewis Ravens as choirboys.
>>“there is not much substance when you look at the facts. You are constantly
>>assuming the worst simply because they are Ravens, then accuse me of doing
>>the same thing.”
Wrong. I am not assuming anything. These are facts:
• Porter (nor any other current Steeler, that I’m aware of) has ever plead guilty nor been convicted of a felony.
• Ray Lewis plead guilty to obstructing justice in a double homicide case.
• Jamal Lewis plead guilty to using a cell phone in violation of federal law in a federal drug conspiracy case.
but yet in your eyes, Porter is a “thug” but neither Ray nor Jamal is. Gotcha.
You can put whatever longwinded spin on those facts that you’d like. Face it, the ratbirds of this era are bad incident away away from becoming this decade’s version of the laughable criminals known as the 1990s Dallas Cowboys.
Bullshit. I didn’t say Porter was a criminal, as far as I know, he’s not. Lewis I lied to the cops. A crime, but hardly thuggish behavior. Lewis II made an illegal cell phone call. Again, a crime (marginally, more like entrapment, but under our laws the feds are allowed to entrap), but again, not thuggish behavior. Joey Porter cheep shots injured opponents and instigates fights before games, all the while mouthing off to the media just to hear himself blather; he perfectly fits the definition of thug: “A cutthroat or ruffian; a hoodlum.”
I would be proud if either of my sons grew up to be like either Lewis, while still not condoning their crimes, both are frankly minor offenses in the grand scheme of things, and both are men of character who by all reports have learned from their mistakes. If either of my boys turns out like Joey Porter, I will be mortified.
hrm, I’d like for my offspring to not be criminals tied up in felony cases, but I’m just funny like that. And before you make any assumptions, that’s not to say I want my kid to grow up to be like Joey Porter either.
Well, fair enough, so would I, but the fact of the matter is that I myself committed both of those crimes back in the day-I lied to the cops when I was 19 (because I was scared, actually, not to protect anybody), was charged and got PBJ, and I had a roommate who was a pothead dealer my first semester of college, anyone asking me if I knew where they could get drugs got referred-and I turned out fine. I matured and recovered sufficiently from those offenses to roll my eyes at them now, in the overall tapestry of my life they are very minor threads. Perhaps I just have empathy in these particular cases because of the circumstances. I have none for, say, Bam Morris.
Without going into great detail – In the past I did far, far worse things than Jamal did as far as drug offenses go, and I think I turned out okay as well. The difference is that neither you nor I have put ourselves in a position of employment where our every action is subject to media scrutiny. Having said all of that, I would be happier if my (hypothetical) kid never did any of that. I made plenty of mistakes that don’t need to be repeated.
To be fair though, I never lied to protect a double murderer.
And FTR I just want to make it clear that as soon as the Steelers found out about Bam’s interstate weed-garbagebag hauling services, he was not a Steeler anymore. And, while we’re on the subject (tanget-riffic!), recently released-from-jail Bam wants to get back into the NFL.
I have a dilemma. I don’t know who to root for in the Patriots/Ravens matchup in two weeks.
On one hand, Baltimore is in our division, and if the Steelers lose a game or two down the stretch, a Baltimore loss would be a nice way to keep some distance between The Steelers and Ravens. On the other hand, I feel that homefield advantage in the playoffs is going to be paramount in the likely matchup between Pittsburgh and New England, and a Patriots loss at the hands of Baltimore would put some distance between Pittsburgh and New England. Is there any way it could be arranged that both teams lose that game?
It pains me to have to root for either team. So who will the rest of you Yinzers rooting for?
Pretty big assumption that you’re gonna take the North, innit? If the Ravens and the Stillers have the same record in the last 7 games, you got it, true, but if you lose even one more game than we do, then it comes down to the Christmas game at Ketchup Field, we’ve beaten you once, ATM we hold the tiebreaker.
Cheer for the Pats. Accepting a Stiller fan’s cheers would feel…dirty.
I really don’t know who to cheer for either. More accurately, I don’t think I care. As long as we can beat the Bungles sunday, Then we gain a game on either the Ratbirds or the Patsies, so it’s all good.
I’m going to cheer for the Ratbirds, we need to get games up on the Pats.
Ooo look what I found…SI’s Dr. Z has a midseason review of Ray Lewis:
OK, I’m gonna say something Ravens fans aren’t going to like, but I ask them to please search their hearts to see if there’s any truth to it. Ray Lewis is one of the great frauds of 2004. I’ve seen him six times now. Pretty decent against Cleveland the week before last. Got buried by the Chiefs. Against the Jets last weekend he was a zero when it got down to crunch time. On New York’s last drive in regulation, that controversial field goal thing, Curtis Martin had crucial inside runs of 21 and five yards, and then, of course, there was Quincy Carter’s nine-yard quarterback draw. Where was Ray? Running around blocks, playing the edges, taking on nobody, falling on the pile and then jumping up and waving his fist and yelling, as if he had made the play. Miked for sound? Of course. You bet. Never made a play in either of the Jets’ overtime drives, either, unless you count the noise factor.
From now on, let’s talk about the real, honest to goodness, BEST ILB in the AFC North this year, James Farrior.
I’m a Vikings fan but all I have to say about Ray Lewis is that in 2000 he had the single most dominating season I’ve ever seen by a defensive player and that includes Lawrence Taylor. In 2000 I saw a linebacker carry his team to a Superbowl title almost singlehandedly on a team that had no offense, that had a string of 4 or 5 games without a touchdown and that had freaking Trent Dilfer- Trent Dilfer- at quarterback. The Ravens had to rely on field goals and defensive shutouts all season long and they still ended up with a ring. I still can’t believe he didn’t win MVP that year.
Not that Ray Lewis wasn’t the best player on that team, Diogenes, but that was a squad that trotted out Peter Boulware, Chris McAlister, Sam Adams, and Rod Woodson on defense, too. For good measure, throw in that running game – Jamal Lewis and Priest Holmes behind Sam Gash and a pretty good offensive line. They were actually a mediocre offense, all things considered. Certainly not as abysmal as everybody seems to remember.
Wait, what’s my point? Oh, right, the rest of the Ravens weren’t that bad. Also, as far as the Dr. Z thing, Lewis has definitely lost a step and a half, but he still might be the best middle backer in football. I think it’s a case of him just not being the Ray Lewis of old, as opposed to him really sucking it up out there.
