Steelers Need Big Ben in a Big Way

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a serious, short-term quarterback issue. Back to that in a moment.

First, let me say this. I understand why so many Steeler fans were upset with or embarrassed by Ben Roethlisberger’s off the field exploits this post season. His actions challenge your sensibilities as a fan. It makes you question yourself for believing in him and for rooting for him.

No matter how much we claim otherwise, we make our relationships with athletes personal; regardless of the fact that they don’t know or care about us. It’s the bizarre, one sided nature of being a sports fan. I said this when the whole mess started, I don’t want Ben to be found not guilty; I want him to have not done this. I still feel that way.

Nobody wants to think their franchise quarterback is a scumbag; let alone a potential rapist. Even the possibility of this causes me anger and hurt as a fan. I know some Steeler fans felt that anger so profoundly that they wanted to cut ties with Big Ben right then and there. It’s an understandable short-term reaction. In the long-term, it’s the wrong thing to do.

Let me step back and make a critical point here. There are people who will read my support for Ben as selling out my beliefs. I’m so desperate for the Steelers to win that I don’t care how despicable the quarterback is. After all, ESPN reminds us on a daily basis that Ben was twice “accused” or sexual assult.

So here is why I can support Big Ben and still sleep soundly at night.

For all the talk about Ben’s exploits, there remains nothing more than unsubstantiated allegations from highly questionable sources. I’ve covered that at length in past blogs but I’ll reiterate it here; the word “accused” does not make it true. I’ll focus on these comments from the district attorney, “we don’t prosecute morality, we prosecute crimes.” He made it clear that there was not sufficient evidence to suggest a crime had occurred.

Given that, my position remains unchanged. Ben may have acted like an ignorant jerk but he did not break the law. We may expect a higher standard of behavior from him but the reality is that being an idiot or a jerk or both does not disqualify one from being an NFL football player. If it did, they would have to go back to two way players; I don’t think teams could fill a 45 man roster.

So as long as we continue to promote this wacky innocent until proven guilty system around here, I will stand by my stance. If anyone ever comes up with convincing evidence that Ben is guilty of sexual assault, I’ll pay his bus ticket out of town. Until then, I remain convinced that while I would not want him dating my daughter, I’m fine with him as my quarterback.

Actually fine is not the right word. Ecstatic is more like it, at least after watching the Dixon, Leftwich, Batch triumvirate Sunday night. For all of those who suggested that the Steelers are better off without Ben, I would say this; you’re wrong…in a big way. If that was not clear watching the Denver game, I’m not sure how else it could be.

I honestly believe the Steelers are a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year but that belief is predicated on surviving Ben’s league mandated vacation at least 2 and 2. Before last night, I was convinced they could do so. Now, I’m not sure they can win at all until number seven is back behind center. And in the NFL, four games can ruin your season.

Let me take another quick aside and remind everyone that preseason games mean absolutely nothing. They are glorified scrimmages for the benefit of coaches and owners. The simple fact that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman show up for a game does not make it meaningful.

That being said…yikes.

I had really high hopes for Dennis Dixon as a possible X factor in this Steeler mini-drama. We all know what Byron Leftwich is and what he is not. Leftwich is decidedly mediocre. He’s the same QB who could not beat out David Garrard, Joey Harrington, and Josh Freeman. That’s not exactly Joe Montana losing his job to Steve Young. That same goes for Charlie Batch. I actually think Batch is better than Leftwich except for the fact that he can’t take 10 snaps without separating his shoulder. Neither inspires great confidence.

Dixon is clearly the most athletic Steeler QB since Kordell Stewart (and ironically now wearing his number), which could make a huge difference. If you are going to have a mediocre QB behind center, at least have one who can make a difference with his legs. That might be enough to eek out two victories, if he can be a competent quarterback in all other ways. And therein lies the rub. Dixon looked great against third and fourth string players. Given a chance to play with and against starters, the results were decidedly poor.

I can forgive the mental mistakes that resulted in two interceptions. That’s why you play the preseason; to make mistakes and learn. What worries me is that Dixon appears to be a one trick pony. He locks in on his first receiver and either throws that way or takes off running. That’s a recipe for disaster in the NFL, as repeatedly demonstrated by the aforementioned Stewart.

I give Mike Tomlin credit for give Dixon a chance; it was the right thing to do. At the same time, it was hardly a ringing endorsement of Leftwich. If the Steelers had full confidence in Lord Byron, I’m guessing he would have played a lot more this preseason. You know, so that maybe he’s ready for opening day. In the end, I’m less concerned about Leftwich’s uninspiring performance this preseason than I am about his poor play the last five years.

Amazingly, I’m truly beginning to think that Batch is the best option, at least until his next injury. This has nothing to do with his performance Sunday night. He looked good throwing against 3rd stringers and his interception was likely the result of a young receiver running the wrong route. I just think he might be the best of a mediocre lot.

Which frankly is not saying much.

We can debate from now until the winter classic whether the Steelers should run the ball more and get back to traditional Steeler football. As long as Ben is behind center, I think there is valid argument for being more of a passing team. That being said, I will readily concede that without Ben the Steelers need a rewind; back to running the ball, keeping the offense simple and relying on the defense. There is no way this team wins with Byron Dixonbatch chucking 40 balls a game.

Alas such a strategy it is predicated on a few core principles. One is that Rashard Mendenhall is capable of being a 30 carry back; at least for a short time. Another is that the offensive line can be at least a reasonably good run blocking unit. The last is that the defense comes back to being an elite unit with a healthy Polamalu and Aaron Smith. Amazingly, the defense is my biggest concern on that list.

In the end, let’s try and agree on this point. Whether you like Big Ben personally or not, the Steelers need him, desperately. Kudos to Joe Buck for reminding the audience at the end of the 1st Quarter, just how good Ben really is. We are talking about one of the top 5 QBs in the NFL, bar none. Additional kudos to Buck and Aikman for doing a professional broadcast. If that had been ESPN we would have been bombarded with holier than thou Ben bashing, not too mention Ron Jaworski fawning over Tim Tebow for three hours.

I really hope that this spring was a low point for Ben and he’s committed to improving his life. That being said, as long as he stays off the police blotter and does his job, the Steelers will be competitive and we as fans should be content. The fact remains that he was never charged with a crime and he is not angling to be the next pope (nor hopefully Cardinal). For what it’s worth, I remain of the opinion that his 4 to 6 game suspension was excessive but that’s water under the bridge now.

Let’s just hope that somehow, someway the Steelers can survive what figures to be a long first month. Finding a way to win two of those games is critical. If not, we could be getting fired up for hockey season much earlier this year.

A Lifetime of Continuous Baseball Agony

I freely admit to being a bandwagon baseball fan. To be honest, given my jaded history with America’s pastime I could be far worse.

I started watching baseball in 1980, the year after the Pirates won their last World Series (and probably last ever). I jumped full throttle off the Pirate bandwagon in 1995; about the time they became a nationwide object of sports ridicule. My salvation was to hitch a ride with arguably the most pathetic franchise in the history of sports. I’ve seen seven playoff series losses and two of the most epic playoff collapses in sports history, while losing track of the total number of losing seasons.

Seriously, one might wonder why I pay any attention to baseball at all.

Amazingly, my years backing the Cubbies now all but match my years with the Buccos. The obvious question, which is worse?

Sort of like asking which is worse; the stock market or real estate collapse? Brussel sprouts or wheat germ? Rosie O’Donnell or Rosanne. John and Kate Plus 8…or Kate Plus 8. You get the point.

Actually the Buccos and the Cubbies have a lot in common these days. Both are known for a ballpark experience that far exceeds the product on the field. The Pirates have arguably the nicest new park in baseball and I still say there is nowhere better on earth than Wrigley Field on a sunny weekend afternoon.

Imagine how great these places would be if the teams could win every once in awhile.

So I ask again; which is worse. A team that has not won the World Series in over a century, but is at least competitive every few years; or a team that has not had a winning season in 18 years? That’s nearly two decades without winning 81 stinkin games. There are people joining the army or voting today who have never seen the Buccos finish above 500.

Let’s be clear here, I’m not sure there is a good answer to this question. I would grudgingly go with the Cubs just because at least in theory they have a shot each year. Just as in theory, I had a shot at dating the homecoming queen in high school. Just as in theory, Disque may one day be President of the United States. You get the point.

Since I’ve been in Chicago, the Cubs have made the playoffs 4 times. In three of those years, they were swept out of the playoffs. As for the fourth…yikes.

The fourth year was 2003. That’s when Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Sammy Sosa and the boys were 1 win away from the World Series. Let’s be clear here, the Cubs were 5 outs away with a 3-0 lead in game 6. Then they imploded because some poor schlub in the stands nicked a foul ball and a $6 Million shortstop could not field a routine double play grounder. Oh and don’t even get me started on Kyle Farnsworth, or more accurately, Stan Belinda reincarnated.

I mean seriously folks; only the Cubs could blow a shot at the World Series because a great glove, no hit middle infielder fails to field a routine ground ball late in the game…right?

WRONG!

Since I’m pouring salt in everybody’s wounds, we all know the same thing happened with Chico Lind in 1992. Twenty agonizing minutes before (NAME NEVER SPOKEN) drove home Sid Bream with the slowest game winning jaunt from 2nd base ever, the Pirates’ gold glove 2nd baseman botched a sure fire, game winning play. Forget the poor idiot in the stands at Wrigley. When Alex Gonzales botched the double play ball a few batters later, I knew for sure the Cubs were toast.

This is the path I’ve chosen in life folks. And people wonder why I’m such a huge hockey fan?

Let’s remember, I did not just miss the Pirates last World Series by one year. That would have been bad enough. I was fortunate enough to show up just in time to see the key cogs of that team fall under an embarrassing cocaine scandal that stained the entire franchise. As much fun as we had torturing Weet with the Willie Stargell cocaine stories in high school, I would just assume the whole thing never happened.

It’s easy to forget that the Pirates of the 80s were every bit as pathetic as they are now. It just did not last quite as long. I lived through George Hendrick and Steve Kemp. I lived through Jason Thompson, the Sominex superstar. An unwatchable team in a terrible stadium and there but for the grace of Amos Otis go I.

And then came this brilliant five year run under Jimmy Leyland. A young, talented, entertaining team with arguably the greatest player in baseball, a fine fellow named Barry Bonds. You would think such a team could have produced at least one World Series but no! We had to sit through a Twilight Zone style three year recurring nightmare of playoff losses, each more painful than the last. That’s without even considering that mind numbing tomahawk chop which still gives me nightmares today.

Not only did the Pirates lose, they found a way to stretch every game to about four hours of pure agony. Honestly, why not just settle in for a four hour root canal without anesthetic? Is it any wonder that Leyland would smoke two packs of cigarettes every nine innings?

Thankfully they tore the whole thing apart and replaced it with a Triple A team for the last 18 years. Bonds became a national hero, then a national disgrace and I became a Cubs fan. Frankly I think Barry and his enormous head got the better deal.

The Cubs have this reputation as being lovable losers but anyone who endured Sosa, Prior, and Moises Alou knows that’s not really true. I’ve seen Sammy cork his bat and clam up before congress. I saw Alou pimp out that poor schlub in the stands rather than take responsibility for his team’s collapse. I remember Kent Mercker and the boys threatening Steve Stone for having the audacity to point out how bad they were. Maybe Kent could have spent less time avenging the Stone Pony and more time on his curve ball?

Keep in mind I have not even brought up the Carlos Zambrano reality hour yet. I could probably do 1,800 words on him alone. Millions of aspiring psychology PHDs would like a shot at that guy.

I could put up with all of this if the Cubs would just win once in awhile but they never do. They go out and spend $140 Million on aging, overpaid players who don’t give a you know what and then find a way to choke. They have a general manager who thought Milton Bradley was the answer to the team’s problems; which is comparable to taking rat poison to help your upset stomach. Why not just bring Ted Bundy in to the clubhouse?

In fairness to Jim Hendry, the Bradley debacle came after Lou Piniella pinned his team’s 2008 playoff meltdown solely on not having a left handed power hitter. And Bradley only accused half the city of racism; you know just the north side.

The Pirates lose every year in part because they have no money. The Cubs have $140 Million and spend it like Richard Pryor in Brewster’s Millions. To steal a line from that underrated classic, pick NONE OF THE ABOVE !

I attended the Cubs one game playoff victory over San Francisco (which was apparently Dusty Baker’s managerial audition) in 1998. I remember thinking the post game celebration was World Series like in nature. When I pointed that out to a fellow Cubs fan he replied…”how would we know?”

Seriously, that one victory and Leyland dressing down Bonds in 1992 might just be the two highlights of my baseball life. I can’t even really enjoy the memories of Sammy’s run to 62 dingers in ‘98 since he apparently did so with more than Flintstones vitamins in his system. My only regret is that Kerry Wood got to take a Louisville slugger to Sammy’s infamous boom box, rather than me. By the way, Wood’s shoulder feels really good this year.

I make no apologies for bailing on the Pirates; I still say they bailed on their fans 18 years ago. We should all just be thrilled that MLB does not have relegation like English soccer.

All I ask is for the love of all that’s good and holy, WHY DID I GO FROM THAT TO THE CUBS? I should have done what every other baseball free agent does and pick the Yankees.

Honestly, I think Pirate fans are better off than Cubs fan. They are numb to the pain. They go in to each season with little or no hope. They don’t expect to see wins. Going to a Pirate game is like taking your daughter miniature golfing. It does not really matter who wins; it’s just 150 minutes of entertainment for a relatively cheap price.

The Cubs tease their fans into thinking (as we often say) that “this could be the year.” Then they find new and innovative ways to collapse. They brawl in the dugout and smash water coolers with far more success than baseballs. And then they win 1 of 3 home games and 35,000 intoxicated fans gleefully sing ‘Go Cubs Go’ in the stands as if their life is complete.

So maybe Cubs and Pirate fans are not so different?

So as I ponder a life time of baseball futility amongst another lost season in Wrigleyville and the Burgh, I’m left with just one comforting thought. Just six weeks until hockey season !

A Lifetime of Reasons to Believe in the Steelers

When I was growing up I often considered the possibility that from a sports standpoint, I was born ten years too late. After all, I started watching sports in 1980, one year after Pittsburgh experienced arguably the greatest decade in sports history.

Granted as my personal time clock ticks closer to 40 than 30, I’ve strongly reconsidered that stance. Of course it’s easier to do so after the Steelers double dented a quarter century championship drought and the Penguins have had two decades of unprecedented success.

Still, I remember those painful days in the 80s, desperately waiting for the Steelers to return to prominence. I knew all about the Super Steelers of the 70s but honestly, they were just characters in a movie to me. I never really saw them at their best. My early memories of football involve a washed up Franco Harris, a slowly declining Steel curtain, and Mark Malone chucking balls at everyone except his own teammates (while looking oddly like Magnum PI).

I distinctly remember the final game of the 1986 season; a horrific loss the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants. What I remember most was somebody named Scott Campbell starting at quarterback and the genuine excitement for this in the Burgh. Seriously, we were so burned out from the likes of Malone, David Woodley, and Cliff Stoudt that we were fired up for some 6th round draft choice from Purdue.

To my recollection, Campbell never played another game in the Burgh. Still, that cold Saturday afternoon in Meadowlands always seemed like a low point in Steeler history, at least from the perspective of my time on the planet.

There is a reason that those days seem so far off and distant. The simple fact is that bad Steeler teams have been a true exception in most of our lifetimes. I arrived on this earth just one day before the immaculate reception (and we wonder why I’m such a huge football fan?) which means I’ve lived at least parts of 37 football seasons. During that time the black and gold have made the playoffs 24 times.

Even more amazing, the Steelers have had only 6 losing seasons during Habertime. Do you realize that since Bill Cowher arrived in the Burgh in 1992, the Steelers have finished below 500 just twice? That’s two losing seasons in 18 years. During that period the Pirates have had ZERO WINNING SEASONS.

Honestly, those accomplishments are every bit as impressive as six Super Bowl championships and seven trips to the big game. I’m not sure there has been a consistently better team in North American professional sports in my lifetime. That includes the NY Yankees, in spite of the fact that they can all but purchase a division title in any given year.

Maybe that’s why Steeler fans are so skittish these days. Maybe that’s why one disappointing season, has caused such rampant pessimism in the Burgh. I can’t say this with any scientific accuracy but I get a sense that a lot of Steeler fans see bad things on the horizon. Not just a bad season this year but a mid 80’s style crash back to earth. That seems to be more than some in the Steeler nation can handle.

The black and gold are such an integral part of our personal identities and nobody wants to identify with a loser. One shutters to think at what would happen if the Steelers endured a down streak even as long as the Penguins did earlier this decade. I won’t even ponder Pirate like futility; lest my keyboard spontaneously combust beneath my fingers.

So let’s consider the question; are things really that bad?

Let’s start by throwing out a few obvious points:

1) Our superstar QB is suspended for four games and on thin ice with the organization and the fans. His replacements are, to say the least, less than awe inspiring. Also, our star WR bonged his way out of town…literally.

2) The defense was awful last year; especially in the 4th quarter.

3) The Steelers lost several games to truly awful teams including Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City, and (Mayor Daley forgive me), the Chicago Bears.

To quote Kevin Bacon in A Few Good Men, “these are the facts, and they are not in dispute.”

Now let’s look at a few counter points.

1) There is nothing we can do about Big Ben but hope he’s ready to play in October and ready to accept a new lease on life. Let’s just hope that Byron Dixonwich can keep the team at 500 until Ben returns. As for Santonio, it’s a tough loss but I’ll take my chances with Mike Wallace and Hines Ward (and mercifully not Limas Sweed).

2) The defense was missing arguably its two most important players in Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith. When Smith went down in 2007, the Steelers suddenly lost the ability to defend the run (see the Jacksonville playoff game). As for Troy, he played 30 minutes of the opener against Tennessee and I think he made every tackle. I never believed one player, especially a safety, could make that big of a difference. He did.

3) The Steelers were clearly suffering from another Super Bowl hangover. Moreover, I don’t think they were ready to deal with life without a dominant defense until it was too late. See point 2 above.

Which brings us to the ultimate question, how good or how bad do things look going forward?

First, let’s assume that Ben has learned and matured after his offseason escapades. Once we get beyond Ben’s life on campus, we should remember that he’s one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the NFL, no matter how much others try to deny it. I figure Ben has at least five more years before his concussion count pushes him into retirement. That’s five more years the Steelers will put points on the board.

Second, I remain a fan of Mike Tomlin. As with everyone in sports, he has a small number of myopic critics who will never let the facts interfere with good story telling. I remind these folks that Tomlin has only three years of experience and he was the youngest coach in the NFL when hired. He should continue to improve a la Cowher, and he’s already won a Super Bowl. I don’t like how far the Steelers strayed from their identity last year but I do like Tomlin’s ability to adapt to the team’s strengths…and weaknesses.

The bigger concern for me long-term is the defense. The front seven is aging rapidly in front of us. I admit the loss of Smith hurt last year and his return should help. Let’s not forget however that older players tend to get hurt more often. The entire D-Line is over 30 and you have an aging linebacker core with Harrison, Farrior, and the back from the dead (or at least from Detroit), Larry Foote. The one young linebacker to really like is Woodley and he’s dangerously close to being a free agent.

As for Troy, he’s the true engine of the defense and his healthy return should make a huge difference. Still, let’s be honest and realize that it can’t be all Polamalu forever. It’s not a coincidence that players like Polamalu and Bob Sanders are frequently injured; both play too big for their bodies. Eventually all the big hits are going to ware him down and/or he’s going to have to change his style of play.

So in the long-term, I have concerns about the defense. In the short-term, I expect it will be significantly better than last year, which is admittedly not setting the bar all that high. If that happens, the team stays afloat without Ben, and the offense remains productive when he returns, I still think the Steelers are a legitimate contender this year. Beyond that; well who knows if we are even going to have football beyond that.

From a bigger picture standpoint, let’s remember the history I quoted above. The Steelers are not a flash in the pan situation like New Orleans or an organization built ostensibly around one player like Indianapolis. This is a team that has made the playoffs 2 out of 3 years in my lifetime. Even those downtrodden years in the 80s included four post season trips and one AFC Championship game. You don’t maintain that level of success without knowing how to find and develop talent.

I’m no different than any other Steeler fan. I dread the thought of going back to the 80’s; where a 9 and 7 season was cause for celebration. That being said, I’ll keep my faith with the black and gold. Think back to how you felt when guys like Jerome Bettis, Eric Green, Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd and Chad Brown left town. Somehow the Steelers found a way to replace them. Just as they ultimately replaced the dynasty Steelers of the 70s.

There is a huge difference in the quality of organizations in the NFL. Just as the Steelers are consistently successful; Cleveland, Cincy, Detroit, and Arizona are consistently bad. Just as the Steelers occasionally have a bad year; those teams occasionally have success. Over the long-term; water finds its level.

The Steeler’s organization has been a constant in sports from the day I debuted the planet. I’m a benefit of the doubt guy and the Steelers have earned every bit of it from me (just as I often say the Pirates have earned none of it). Keep in mind that few of us expected a Super Bowl win in either 2005 or 2008.

So to answer my question above, I stand by my premise; if the team survives 2 and 2 without Ben they are a legitimate contender this year. It’s a thin line between success and failure. History suggests that more often than not; the black and gold are on the right side of that line.

Saying Goodbye is Hard to Do

Root for the logo on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back. That’s what they tell sports fans in the modern world of free agency and salary caps.

Ideally, this is supposed to mean that the team is far more important than any one player. Realistically, it means don’t get attached to individual players because every one of them is on borrowed time with that organization.

I learned this lesson the hard way in 1992, back when such lessons were relatively new in the sports world. I will never claim that I was the most devout or devoted Pirate fan but I was a fan. If you doubt the veracity of my claim, I’ll happily dial up my good friend the Kapper and let him regale you with stories about the 50 or so Pirate games we went to over four years.

My fandom stopped short just about the time that Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek and anyone else who could play bolted for the free agent door. The Pirates turned into a glorified minor league team that day and 18 years later, little has changed.

I learned the lesson far more poignantly in 2000 when the Pens parted ways with Tommy Barrasso.

By the time the deal was made, it was abundantly clear that Barrasso’s time in the Burgh had long since passed. He was no longer playing at an elite level and sadly had become an increasingly difficulty presence in the locker room. When Ottawa came calling with an offer of two players who could help the team right then and there (including the illustrious Ron Tugnutt of five overtime fame), the deal had to be made. I knew it, which means everyone on earth knew it.

And the day it happened, I was crushed.

I remember when rumors of the deal started to spread. The internet was in its infancy then and we did not have 300 news organizations firing off rumors before they occurred. By the time word was spreading of a Barrasso deal, it was done. I clearly remember a stream of emails, started from Chiodo central in Philadelphia, the theme of which was…has anybody heard from Habe? Are we sure he’s safe?

I can laugh at it now and on some level it was funny then too. It was intended to be a joke but it definitely fell in line with the idea that often in humor there is a significantly serious element. My friends were joking about how devastated I would be by the trade of my all time favorite player but in all honesty, I think they really were worried about me.

Again, I knew Tommy had to go. And I kept telling myself that I root for the Penguins, not Barrasso. I had been eased into the deep end of the pool by his decreasing presence on the ice that season. And it still took me awhile to recover. I rattled off an email to the group, reminding them of the good all days (at that time) when the Pens were winning Stanley Cups and Barrasso was known purely as a great goaltender. At this risk of dropping into a ridiculously sappy 80s reference, those were indeed the best days of my life (that’s for you Weet).

Since that time I’ve had more practice in dealing with the harsh reality of modern sports. I watched the Pens dump Jagr, Kovalev, and then the whole team at the start of this decade. I dealt with Mario’s retirement. And now of course I’m dealing with this whole Ben Roethlisberger mess which is in some ways worse.

Seriously, what would be harder, dealing with Ben leaving the Steelers over free agency or constantly debating whether it’s ok to like him and root for him? It’s the ultimate indignity of fandom. We mocked San Francisco fans for their unabashed love of Bonds and his steroid induced home run record. Are San Francisco fans now mocking us for standing behind Ben? Or is Ben to some extent a victim of immaturity, bad decisions, and the 24 hour media cycle?

Alas, that’s a topic for a different day.

I bring all this up because yesterday I got another lesson in loss and how much it can hurt, through the eyes of my wife Emily. The Blackhawks made the decision to part with their Stanley Cup goaltender Antti Niemi. To say Niemi was her favorite player would be a comparable understatement to saying I was a Barrasso fan in the 90s. Rest assured, Antti Niemi did not have a bigger fan outside of Finland than Emily Seto.

As early as last October, when the Hawks were winning in spite of the nightly Cristobal Huet five hole give away, Emily was already trumpeting Niemi. She kept asking why he was only playing one of five games even though that one game always seemed to be shutout. The only answer I could give was that the Hawks were trying to justify Dale Tallon’s outrageous, post all night drinking binge contract to Huet.

The irony in all this is that two years ago, the Hawks were throwing out $5.6 Million to a borderline NHL starter with a history of going soft in big games. Two years later they walked away from a young, talented, Stanley Cup winning goaltender for basically half that price. They are not alone in this. I spewed out a blog last week about the devaluation of goaltending this year and Niemi is just the latest and most egregious example.

Even worse, ten year veteran Marty Turco signed on for what is essentially back-up wages. Ironically, Turco reportedly turned down a multi-year deal in Philly for this one year deal because it gave him “the best chance to win the Stanley Cup.” Gee, where have I heard that one before.

We were at the Blackhawks convention this weekend and listening to general manager Stan Bowman talk made two things clear. First, Scotty’s kid is better than Sominex if you find you can’t sleep at night. And second, Niemi’s days in Chicago were somewhere between waning and numbered. Bowman would not even mention his Stanley Cup goaltender by name. He just kept talking about how its about the team and not about one player. I believe Emily’s comment at the time was something to the effect of, that’s not what I wanted to hear.

I guess in retrospect I should not be shocked by this. Stan’s legendary father won eight Stanley Cups with Ken Dryden and Barrasso but he also won two with Chris Osgood. Somewhere along the way, Bowman became a believer that you don’t need great goaltending to win. I call it the Osgoodification of the NHL and it’s a trend I’ve come to truly detest.

That being said, let’s remember something about Osgood. For as much as he flops around like a beached whale, for as awkward and slow as he often looks in net, the man does seem to make the big save at the big time. I maintain that had Detroit not switched from the washed up Dominik Hasek to Osgood in 2008, the Pens would have won back to back championships. For as much as I don’t like Osgood, his career suggests that he was at his best in big games. That’s the definition of great goaltending in my mind.

That’s what Marc Andre Fleury did for the Pens in both 2008 and 2009. And that’s what Antti Niemi did for the Hawks last year. The fact that he does not have Patrick Roy’s pedigree is irrelevant. Over four rounds of the most intense, stressful, and pressure packed games in any sport, Niemi made the big save when it had to be made. And the Hawks thought so little of that they replaced him with a guy who in his prime was exactly the opposite; a regular season star and a playoff choker.

And let me be clear, Marty Turco’s prime ended with a thud around 2008. As Hossa-like as Turco’s cup desire might be, it does not change the fact that if somebody was offering him 3 years, $12 Million, Turco would not have signed with the Hawks for Scott Clemnensen wages. It’s buyer beware when you go on the cheap at the most important position in sports, even if it means fighting with the all mighty salary cap.

In any event, that’s a story for another day.

The story for today is about saying goodbye and how hard it is to do. It’s about understanding that it’s ok to feel a sense of loss when your favorite player departs. It’s about knowing the harsh reality of sports in any era; we root for the name on the back of the jersey as much as the name on the front. We’re human and we’re fans. We just can’t help ourselves.

Goodbye Antti and good luck; we will miss you.