Question of the Week

Rick, Fairfield, NC
Subj: Mel Blount
Where is former Steelers great Mel Blount now?

A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Blount currently oversees The Mel Blount Youth Home of Pennsylvania, a multi-service treatment program for young males who are victims of child abuse and neglect. According to Blount, his inspiration for the idea came from a higher power. "There had never been a pro athlete to come out of my town, so when I would go back home, my nieces and nephews would tell their friends about Uncle Mel coming,” he says. “All the kids would be out there on the farm, wanting to take a picture or throw the football. The Lord spoke to me and said you could do more than this." And he did. Blount’s shelter has helped hundreds of boys get their lives back on track by offering an array of counseling and treatment options. "There are a lot of emotional highs and lows in this,” he admits. “If I can just help kids, just to reach one is worth it."

You've Got To Be Joking

Joe, Port Orange, FL
Subj: America's Team
Why were the Cowboys given the title of “America’s Team” the first place? When I think of America's Team, I think of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have the best following of any team in sports. Steelers bars can be found in just about any major city. Therefore I think the Steelers should be referred to as “America's Team”.

Superb question, Joe! The term was coined by sportswriter Bob Ryan in 1979, although he didn’t have the Cowboys in mind when he created it. "After the '78 season, the Cowboys had just lost a crushing Super Bowl to the Steelers,” he recalls. “I wanted to come up with a different twist on a story I was doing. So, I asked the Rooney family if I could name the Pittsburgh Steelers, ‘America's Team’. But, I was surprised when the Rooney family said no. The next year I asked the Cowboys franchise and they said yes." Other media personalities soon adopted the colorful phrase and within a matter of weeks football fans from coast to coast were referring to Dallas as America’s Team. Surprisingly, Steelers owner Dan Rooney still has no regrets about declining the honorific title. 'We didn't want that,” he says. “We're a Pittsburgh team. We feel strongly about that."

Getting Animated

It’s time for another hilarious episode of Sports Talk Weekly, the show that trashes athletes and sports via animated shorts. This week’s installment takes aim at the Super Bowl, Jose Canseco, Mickey Rourke, NASCAR, Michael Phelps and much, much more. Check it out by clicking here.

You've Got To Be Joking

Sit back and relax as you enjoy this week’s Sports Shorts.

The Cardinals are feeling plenty of heat after coughing up a lead with 35 seconds to go in Super Bowl XLIII. But as they say in Arizona, it’s a dry heat.

Gatorade has officially re-branded itself as “G.” Sadly, their splashy Super Bowl commercials were the only G-Spots most men will ever see.

Kurt Warner was handed the NFL Man of the Year trophy just before kickoff. Of course, as every one knows, real men win rings, not trophies.

A Japanese sumo wrestler has been arrested and accused of marijuana possession. Police were unable to definitively confirm whether he was carrying pot since they only had seven hours to examine his various folds of fat.

David Wells has fired back at Joe Torre, claiming the manager unfairly criticized his ex-players in his new book, The Yankee Years. The news has come as a surprise to many observers who didn’t realize that David Wells could actually read.

Michael Irvin is producing a new reality TV show in which he'll give one guy off the street a spot on the Dallas Cowboys. Wait a second, didn’t they do that last year with Pacman Jones?

Terrell Owens has agreed to star in a VH-1 reality show loosely based on the network’s previous hit, “Scott Baio Is 45 & Single.” The new show has been tentatively titled, “Terrell Owens is 35 and Unbearable.”

Former Heavyweight Champion Ingemar Johansson has passed away at the age of 76. His death is particularly saddening for Evander Holyfield, who was hoping to fight him sometime next month.

Michael Vick could be transferred to a halfway house in Virginia any day now. It should be a nice change of pace from the doghouse he’s been in for the last year and a half.

Golden State rookie Anthony Randolph has fired his agent B.J. Armstrong. It’s believed to be the first time in modern history that a professional athlete has knowingly turned down a B.J.

Josh Howard has said that he would like to stay in Dallas. His dealer couldn’t be happier.

You've Got To Be Joking

Sit back and relax as you enjoy this week’s Sports Shorts.

The Detroit Pistons have lost five of their last six games. Apparently the city’s auto makers aren’t the only ones struggling to put together a good quarter.

Jeff Van Gundy has said he doesn't see himself back on the bench any time soon. After all, why go to the NBA when he already has a steady gig playing Uncle Fester at birthdays and bar mitzvahs.

The New Jersey Institute of Technology finally snapped a 51 game losing streak with a 61-51 victory over Bryant. Of course, the real surprise is that Bryant managed to score 51 points all on his own.

Shaquille O’Neal says he’s feeling better than ever because of his new regime of ballet-like exercises. Unfortunately the same can’t be said of the poor guy in charge of lifting him off the ground.

Knicks center Jerome James will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured right Achilles' tendon. James has blamed the injury on trying to eat more than he could lift.

The City of Detroit has approved a $27 million plan to preserve Tiger Stadium. It’s nice to hear that the Detroit Lions aren’t the only useless relics the city is willing to support.

NBA owners have reversed a longtime ban on serving hard liquor during live games. That’s certainly one way of making the Clippers more watchable.

Dennis Rodman has signed on to join a cast of midgets in a new basketball movie called The Minis. Oddly enough, it still sounds much more dignified than making another film with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Las Vegas bookies have picked the New York Yankees as the odds on favorites to win the 2009 World Series. Then again, these are the same bookies that also picked the Arizona Cardinals to finish the season playing in the Pac-10.

The New York Mets have signed outfielders Ryan Church and Angel Pagan to one-year contracts. Maybe now the team will actually have a prayer of getting into the post season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have announced they’ll wear their white pants for Super Bowl XLIII. And because they’re in Florida, they also plan on hiking them all the way up to their nipples.

Question of the Week

Debra, Lanham, MD
Subj: Cheerleaders
Does every time in the NFL have cheerleaders and if not, which teams don't?

Superb question Debra. Sadly there are seven misguided teams in the NFL that do not employ cheerleaders. They include the Chicago Bears, the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cleveland Browns, the New York Jets and the New York Giants. In the case of the New York Giants, team officials have resisted hiring cheerleaders in order to make fans focus on the game itself. As for Pittsburgh, I’m going to have to assume the team couldn’t find 25 attractive women within the city limits. At any rate, you can rest assured that I’m presently lobbying my congressman to see what he can do to end this sad travesty.