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Monday, May 16, 2011

Sorry about being MIA

To the faithful readers of this blog - you know who you are, both of you:

Sorry about being MIA the past two weeks. I had some personal issues to attend to.

Those have been resolved and I am back. Hopefully, you'll be back as well.

Now, on to the issues that have been raised with the Steelers of late.

© An apparently erroneous report was picked up by Sports Illustrated's Peter King that the Steelers and Redskins had worked out a deal for Washington's 16th-overall section in last month's draft.

Presumably, the Steelers wanted to make the deal to move up to select Mike Pouncey.

Do I doubt the two teams talked about it? Nope.

But in retrospect, considering what the Steelers came out of the draft with, I'm sure they're just as pleased no such deal took place.

© Another story out there said that defensive end Aaron Smith is still not completely healed from the torn triceps muscle he suffered last season.

That makes acquiring Cameron Heyward with their first round pick all that much more important for the Steelers.

© Mediation has resumed between the NFL owners and its players. But it's unlikely to go anywhere as long as there are still cases regarding the lockout hanging around.

© I've been asked about the timing of a Minnesota court's temporary stay on the end of the lockout during the first couple of days of the draft and what effect that had.

There would have been a draft even had there been no ruling at that time.

The only thing that ruling did was allow those players selected in the first two rounds of the draft the opportunity to visit with their new team for a day and receive playbooks.

Had the lockout not been lifted, those players could not have had any contact with the team outside of a phone call letting them know they had been selected.

22 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:11 PM

    By "Peter King's erroneous report" don't you mean to say "the story Jim Wexell completely made up"???

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  2. Mike Jones5:12 PM

    True. Don't try to cover for your boy Wexell and pin the blame on Peter King. King and Profootballtalk.com both went with the story Jim Wexell pulled out of his anus.

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  3. hope all personal issues ar resolved Dale.

    I never truly thought this lockout would come to be so nasty but here we are. I think we might miss some games this year and even if not, with each day that this thing lingers the closer we are to having to put an asterisk next to the season.

    Dale, if this goes on till say, late August and then FA and then a shortened camp and preseason, where do you the Steelers relative to other teams?

    I can't imagine Hampton is out there hitting the weight room everyday. In fact he probably has the biggest smile on his face considering how much he loves camp. I worry about the shape he will show up in.

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  4. It's good to have you posting again!

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  5. Anonymous5:37 PM

    King's column also mentioned a pretty horrible and realistic scenario (from Cris Collinsworth's crystal ball) if the lockout remains in place after the June 3 hearing and subsequent decision, where the season would start in November. Ugh.

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  6. Anonymous6:15 PM

    Hope everything turns out good for you.

    Nick

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  7. Anonymous6:25 PM

    Good to see you back, Dale.

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  8. Glad you're back Dale!

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  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  10. A Twitter post is not a story. You most certainly do not run with that, any more than I would run with a PFT story without verifying it.
    King/PFT could have easily called their sources with the Redskins to confirm or deny Wexell's Twitter post.

    As for the lockout, today's ruling pushes everything back to June 1. I saw the Collingsworth blub. I agree with him on one thing, once the players start missing checks, things will definitely start heating up.
    The owners are still making stadium payments, so that's not an issue. They have more money and thus, leverage, than the players.

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  11. Anonymous8:09 PM

    Lol'ed at both of you. Hope all is well for you Dale.

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  12. Welcome back dale

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  13. Welcome back, Dale. Praying that all is well. Be Blessed.

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  14. And thanks for all the well wishes everyone. I really appreciate it.

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  15. Welcome back Dale! I hope all is well for you personally. It was a good time of year to be MIA for a couple weeks, particularly with the labor crap this year.

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  16. Anonymous10:18 AM

    hope all is well dale.

    i have a feeling a deal will be done within the next few weeks. the owners are getting support from the 8th circuit and the lockout will be cleared as being legal.

    the money damages awarded by doty in minnesota is not that relevant. the owners will still have the means to make their payments and the ruling will be appealed anyway. and that appeal will be to the 8th circuit.

    the most recent mediation involved the heavy hitters: rooney, mara, brown, and richardson. i get the feeling the owners gave a new cba proposal and said "this is as good as it gets, the 8th circuit is our backstop, and we can last a lot longer than the players in a prolonged lockout"

    d smith will put on a public show of force for his players then cave before the ruling from the june 3 hearing. just my opinion.

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  17. Anonymous2:08 PM

    Glad you are back Dale. As much as we are jonesing for Steelers related news at this time of year, if you can't take a break to attend to personal matters in the middle of May, then you are working too hard. I love the blog but I am glad you can take time for yourself too.

    Mrs. Isaac Redman

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  18. I don't think that there is any way that either side won't want there to be football on opening day. Remember, the first Sunday of the regular season falls on Sept. 11 this season - the 10th anniversary.

    I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I was driving to the Steelers offices when I heard about it. I walked into the team building and everyone was crowded around a TV they have in the reception area.

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  19. Dale, any truth to Aaron Smith still not being 100 percent yet? If not, and the season starts on time, it makes you wonder if he would begin the season on the PUP list or if he would just retire.

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  20. Welcome back Dale.

    I for one do not get Twitter; just another piece of technology that does not really add much to the quality of life but instead takes away a few minutes of your day that could be better spent. Athletes should now realize that their comments are subject to interpretation and could cost them money.

    Any talks or signs that the Steelers are looking to sign a free agent CB?

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  21. Any reaction to ike's remarks on Rome is burning?

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  22. Dale,

    Back to the Wexell thing. I know the twitter is not a full story, but how exactly did Wexell claim he heard Dan Snyder on Sirus? I respect Wexell's (and your) work a lot, but I just don't understand how he could have been so off base, when he reported it as fact.

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