By RON COOK, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Cook: Steelers' Clark faces life-and-death decision
Ordinarily, I believe that an NFL player should never miss a game for any reason other than an injury or a life-threatening situation at home. The impending birth of a child? Play the game, then rush to the hospital. A death in the family? Unless there are children to comfort, schedule the funeral around the game.
Cook: Steelers defensive scores make up for mistakes
PITTSBURGH - Funny thing is Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley actually thought he would escape ridicule from his teammates Sunday after toting the football 77 yards in what seemed like 2 1/2 minutes to score the most unlikely defensive touchdown we've seen around here since, well, Super Bowl Sunday.
Wrong.
Cook: Steelers not fantasizing about Vikings' Peterson
Take a minute and go to youtube.com. Type in "Adrian Peterson Fantasy Commercial" in the search engine. Click on the first entry that comes up.
No, wait.
Get the kids away from the computer first. Get 'em out of the room, actually.
What you will see is more frightening than anything that will knock on your front door on Halloween.
Cook: Roethlisberger shows flashes of Elway
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the John Elway of this generation.
Cook: Bettis throws Steelers under the bus
When Jack Lambert retired in 1985 after a Hall of Fame career, he tried a little television work. Channel 4 in Pittsburgh loved having him -- who wouldn't want a legendary player from the Super Steelers of the '70s on staff? -- but the gig lasted less than a week. Lambert had a hard time critiquing his old team. He hated criticizing former teammates.
Cook: Routine debut, win for Favre
The Minnesota Vikings begged Brett Favre to come out of retirement for this? They gave him a $12 million contract for this season for a 110-yard passing day? They risked the delicate chemistry of their championship-caliber team for, as coach Brad Childress put it, a "workmanlike" performance?
Absolutely, they did.
They're pretty happy about it, too.
Cook: Steelers get it done the hard way
It seemed like such a good play at the time. Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith blocking a Tennessee field-goal attempt late in the first half Thursday night. The big, throbbing Heinz Field crowd, out on an absolutely delightful late-summer night for the opening game of the NFL season, erupted. So did the Steelers' bench. the game remained scoreless.
Cook: Defining how bad Pirates are
It's not true that there were only Chicago baseball fans left at the end of another depressing day at PNC Park Monday, although the "Let's Go Cubs!" chant that fairly rocked the yard in the ninth inning surely made it seem that way.
Cook: Big Ben already in comfort zone
His right Achilles injury? No problem.
The constant posturing by the attorneys in his sexual assault case that has made for so much salacious front-page news the past month? No distraction.
The Buffalo Bills' defense? No match.
Was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger terrific or what?
