If Russell Wilson had been bad in his first start as a Pittsburgh Steeler on Sunday night, all we would be talking about this week in “U mad, bro” would’ve been Justin Fields getting benched.

But Russ cooked, and the Steelers won. So instead of a big, juicy main course, let’s serve up a bunch of side dishes and appetizers.

The Steelers are still far from perfect. The Penguins are sputtering. The NFL rules stink. And people in the sports media are complaining about the sports media.

Bon appétit!


Andrew wasn’t wild about the headline on my Penguins column Wednesday after their defeat in Calgary. It was the team’s third straight loss.

I accept this criticism as an extremely accurate and valid critique.


Charlie didn’t appreciate last week’s U mad, bro? because I made a joke about Cheese Chester running for the White House as a third-party candidate.

Way to go Benz, with an uninformed electorate, Cheese Chester will now be a write-in candidate. Not productive, some people take you seriously.

No one should ever be taken that seriously — least of all me.

The population’s inability to take a joke — especially one about a racing pierogi mascot — might be the greatest indictment of how much these two political parties have messed up all of us.

That said, hopefully, Chester tabs Jalapeno Hanna as his running mate. It might be a good idea to appeal to the female demographic.


“Sbeall68didn’t like my First Call reference to Terry Bradshaw supporting Justin Fields as the Steelers’ starting QB.

My sister in North Carolina thinks the Steelers should start Fields. Let’s discuss. Gotta be more meat on this rotted and bleached carcass somewhere. I think at this point, Fonzi has not only jumped the shark but he was halfway to Kansas, but his dyslexia sent him to Oregon instead.

‘Steelers Country… Let’s Obsess! And here I thought politics was obnoxious.

Is your sister a 30-year analyst on NFL broadcasts? How many Super Bowl rings does she have? Has she ever been started and then benched as the QB in Pittsburgh, like Bradshaw has?

If so, pass along her number. I’ll get a quote.


On Twitter, I was complaining about the Steelers tackling on the long Breece Hall catch and run during the Steelers-Jets game Sunday night.

Alex disagrees.

Well played, Alex.

I can assure you that if this had happened in Baltimore back in the day, Ray Lewis would’ve been given credit for two solo tackles in the official box score.


This guy hated the penalty assessed to Larry Ogunjobi for throwing Hall to the turf early in the game.

Or they’re crying at what happened to the game they helped make great.


Bryan has a complaint about the Steelers’ defense.

Actually, no. They don’t.

And, oddly, they kinda brag about that these days.


Finally, we are overdue for a celebrity entry.

In this case, we offer up a social media thought from Wisconsin-Green Bay basketball coach and Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb.

Well, the Mets were just in the NLCS and the Jets were playing on “Sunday Night Football” with a Hall of Fame quarterback who was recently reunited with his former All-Pro wide receiver. So those are probably the real reasons, Doug. Not where the media members who are covering them went to college.

But, hey, Doug did start his college career at Notre Dame. So when it comes to knowing about teams that get a disproportionate amount of coverage to what they deserve, he’d obviously qualify.