October 23, 2025 • 51 mins
Mark is joined by Penguins HOF inductee Eddie Johnston ahead of the ceremony this Saturday. Mark welcomes Gerry Dulac to the show to talk Steelers, and a special treat, Acrisure Stadium Field supervisor Jimmy Dinardo joins to talk about the status of the Steelers field.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
The Penguins reunite their Hall of Fame on Saturday when
Columbus visits. Joining me. Is one of the inductees and
the Penguins legend. He is former coach and general manager
Eddie Johnston e J. Congrats on the honor. When you
arrived in Pittsburgh as the coach in nineteen eighty did
you think then that Pittsburgh would wind up being your
long term home.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Mollibawas hurting because it was a great honor, and Jenny
and my family loved it. And you know, anytime you
get an opportunity like that, and then the opportunity came
up to be as be the GM and and pick
MARYO is a special day for not only for me,
(00:51):
but for the city of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now, I want to talk about drafting Mario in nineteen
eighty four because it wasn't that simple. There wasn't YouTube.
Scotting was different and uh, you went personally as general
manager and saw Mario play in the Quebec Junior League
several times? Correct you wanted to be sure?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Oh yeah, I saw him play. I was saying maybe
a dozen times. I don't think one night that he
had lessons six points, but you know, and then, but
the very great thing is was his personality. And I
(01:31):
checked with the with the coach, with his coach back then,
and he said, talk about leadership, he was. He was
the guy both on and off the ice for their team.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
It's worth noting too that people, hockey people, a lot
of them didn't like the Quebec League at that point.
It was all offense, not a lot of defense. And
did one of your Scots want you to draft Kirk
Kamuller instead? There was a.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
There was a couple, but I had watching Mario one
game was enough to it turned me on that there's
no other choice.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
What what did the scott say? Why did they want
you to draft Mueller? Because I know that's true. I
can't imagine the argument they made. EJ.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, it wasn't a very good one.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I told you that.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But the you know, the a lot of them are
doing a lot of the they're scouting in the in
the Ontario Junior in the Western League, so you know,
they didn't spend as much time as they should have
in the Quebec League, and uh I spent I spent
quite a bit of time there, but it didn't take
(02:42):
them long they get turned around to why Mario was
the number one pick overall.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Now you got some crazy trade offers for that lem
you pick, didn't you? I mean out of this world right?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah? Well, Quebec off for me three Stassinly brothers plus
for rounder. Soon Nanny offered me all those picks for Minnesota. Minnesota,
Philly offered me kennercheck Lonsbury the defenseman and their first rounder.
(03:15):
Montreal told me whatever Quebec offers you, that we'll do
better no matter what they offer you. You know, in
the three staffs and the brothers plus the first round
was terrific. But the biggest, the big, the big thing
is that I had the opportunity to go in there
and see him. And plus he only grew up about
(03:35):
fifteen to twenty minutes from me in Montreal, so I
had a pretty good idea about him. We got a
lot of very positive reports on him. I'm both on
and off the ice.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Now that the Barnoll family owned the peng was at
that time, eja, if you would have traded for the
stats neees, you would have made the playoffs right away
and the team would have lost less money. What did
ownership think? Did did did the Bartolo family ever put
in their two cents?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Oh yeah, the very first time, mister de Barlolow, very
first time mister de Barlow came to practice and watched him. So,
thank god you made the right choice. Yeah, no, it was,
it was.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It was pretty obvious pretty quickly. Now the number that
really is just breathtaking. Mario scored one hundred and thirty
three goals in his last junior season.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
What did it?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
What made you think though, that he could score right
away in the NHL level because it is a different level.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well, I I saw him. He was able to chase peace,
you know, he chase speeds, be coming in and all
of a sudden he give you a little shot. And
the next thing you know, he was by the guy
you know very well and Mark. Seventeen seconds into the
game in Boston, I was there and he and he
(04:58):
scores a goal, and Harry Sin did, who I played
for twelve years he'd done to me and asked me
why I didn't trade them, you know, he said you
should have traded them. And then and then the next
sentence that of Harry Sin in his mouth was this
guy might be the best player in the game right now.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
We're talking to Eddie Johnston AJ goes in the Penguins
Hall of Fame tomorrow Saturday night. Pardon me at PPG
painte Radom EJ. I want to talk about your goaltending
because you played six and NHL games and goal including
the playoffs. How much has the position changed because I
look at video from back when you played. It's almost
like a different job now, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, there was no question then and there's not too
many goalkeepers wear number one because all six of us
we all wore number one. That was our IQ because
we never we never wore a mask, so didn't tell
you how sharp you had to be. But back then,
with the six teams, there was no man back then,
(06:01):
you know, and it was and it was stuff. It
was stuff, but you learned, you learn to cope with
it very so very quickly.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Now it's worth noting too how much the equipment's changed.
And not only did it figure nowt EJ. But your
equipment was heavier, right, it would get water logged and
you couldn't get it, get it, get it the lightened
up right.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
No, the pads, the pads were brutal.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
They would get soaking wet, and there'd be some oh god,
so much more heavier, and even the paths on your
on your on your shoulders and your arms, they would
just get soak wet and they would get heavy as hell.
You know, now the equipment is terrific. You can you
can lift the set of paths by one finger now.
(06:49):
You couldn't lift them in a hundred years back then.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
What's your take on the Penguins goaltending now? And I
know you've seen the morishoff kid, the Russian guy and
the miners. Uh is he the real thing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, he's good. He's got to watch him at camp
again and he's good. He's gonna be Eventually, he's going
to be. He'll be the I think he'll get in,
could be the number one guy and you know, after
a couple of more years when he when he comes up.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Now, you played goal in the Original Six when there
was only six teams in the league, and you've been
with the Penguins and they become like a big time franchise,
five cups, Sid Mario, all that credibility, dude. The Penguins
almost feel like an Original six franchise now, like they
have that that kind of prestige.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No, there's no question marks. You're right. You know, back
then it was only sixties. But now you know what
Crosby and Mario and you know, when both those guys
come up, I'll tell you right now, no hole league
just paid attention right away, you know, and Mary Old
(08:01):
then all of a sudden they got the very opportunity
to get said and when said came in, it was
look out, guys, look out the whole league. You know,
when you have those two guys.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Each j before we wrap up, I'd be remiss if
I didn't bring up because I'm I was lucky enough
as a kid to see your Boston teams play. You
won two Stanley Cups as a goaltender for Boston the
orin Esposito era. Do you think that still is one
of the greatest teams of all time?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I do.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
You guys had a short prime because guys left to
play in the World Hockey League. But but but that
team at its peak I think was as good as
any ever.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Oh, there's no doubt about it in my mind. You know,
back then when that team was as good as any
team ever. I mean the guys that we had up
there and Jerry cheevers end up coming along with me,
and you know you got over. You get Johnny Busic
because Stanfield you had Tellis Smith. You know, every player
(09:06):
was was a standout player and that team was probably
one of the top teams all in history in the
n A jail and tough too.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean just tough as nails every every way you
wanted to play. You guys could play right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah. And if you you never got out of the line,
you know, because you got out of the line, somebody
who's going to challenge you all right away?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
EJ. Thanks for coming on and thanks for everything. Like
I've often said, you should be in the Hockey Hall
of Fame, let alone the Penguins. You've taught me more
about hockey than anybody ever. And and Saturday is going
to be great. Thanks again. I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Markie, Thank you. It's always great to be around you.
I enjoy your enjoy your company. God bless you.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We'll see you Saturday night. That's Eddie Johnston. EJ. An
all time great Penguin. I'm Mark Madden. I'm all time
great at something. I guess get some calls in now
it's the time. Uh eight three to three four nine
thirty nine. That's eight three three four one two ninety
nine thirty nine. And we got Jerry du Lac Hawk
and Steelers at the bottom of the hour one o
five nine the X one oh five nine.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Nice date, Thank you for making my day.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah what you said the exit one oh five nine,
j On and.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
He showed me in the Hockey All Fame. He was
on Team Cannon in seventy two the first time they
played the Russians, won two Stanley Cups. Last goalie to
ever play every minute of every NHL game. Uh put
up good numbers as a goalie. Great coach, great general manager.
Drafted Mario and like like we talked about, like I
said earlier in the show, drafting Mario wasn't that simple.
(10:43):
Hockey was built by guys like Eddie Johnston. I mean,
he's such to me, he's such an obvious choice for
the Hall of Fame. Guys like Barry Melrose build hockey.
Don Cherry, you know, different reasons, but but EJ built hockey.
I'll give an example. I hate to pick on somebody,
except I'm going to like a guy like Matt Sundeen.
(11:05):
You know, he got in the Hall of fame because
the stats he scored, like five hundred goals. I don't
remember one goddamn goal Matt Sundean scored. Nobody does.
Speaker 6 (11:13):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It's about It's about the game what you did for it.
And EJ put up put in more than he could
ever take out. So I'm grateful to have known him
all these years. And this thing Saturday night is gonna
be absolutely fantastic. So your thoughts any of that? Uh,
Dial eight three three four thirty nine. We've got Jerry
du Lek talk and Steelers. I went like on a
ran about the Steelers earlier and I'm getting some some
(11:36):
stick for it on Twitter. But like, I mean, do
you really think they're gonna win a playoff game this year?
Do you really keep their head in the right direction?
Do you really think they're making good trades and building
a good roster and implementing good strategy. Do you really
think they're taking the correct approach with it leading to
something big or even something well bigger than usual, like
(11:58):
winning a playoff game. I don't. I don't see anything
they're doing right except they got Aaron Rodgers, and he
is they're saving grace. I mean, if you allow yourself
to see it. You will, but you don't cause your marks.
But I see it, and I know where it's headed.
Like I've been covering sports since I was seventeen years old.
(12:19):
You don't think I know what crap looks like. It
looks like this. It looks like losing to Joe Flacco.
It looks like blowing that game to Seattle because Caleb
Johnson doesn't know the kickoff rules. It looks like your
special team's captain blowing out his knee on improperly groom turf.
(12:43):
I mean, how much bad stuff has to happen before
you see that. It's not the exception, it's the rule.
But hey, you like the Steelers, that's fine, you can
do that. If enough of you complain about how I
bury the Steelers all the time, you could probably get
me fired and then I can move on to do
something I like better than this, or do nothing. It's
(13:05):
about time to do nothing. I thought about that a
lot a lot lately. It's about time to do nothing.
The one thing I wish I could do was fix sports.
And in that vein, the FBI arrested Chauncey Billups, to
coach of Portland in the NBA Hall of Fame player
Terry Rozier regard from Miami in connection with illegal gambling. Now,
(13:29):
we thought it was rigged poker games run by the mafia,
and that's the biggest part of this looks like. But
apparently there's also some illegal sports gambling. And now there's
a report that Billups may have benched starters to fix games.
And boy, if that happened, that's gonna shake the foundation
(13:50):
of the NBA. Except that won't. They'll just sweep it
under the rug, the same way baseball did with Otani,
who should be suspended for life for having bet on baseball,
but they fobbed it off on his assistant and he,
I think, what, the jailer paid some heavy fine or whatever,
but I don't understand. And you know, illegal is illegal,
(14:11):
But the connection of sports and gambling is so deep
and involves so much money and sponsorship, and it's so
direct that connection. Now it's hypocritical, and we're outraged when
the athletes take part when they gamble. I mean, not
fixing games, that's way different. But the Cleveland pitchers and
now these basketball guys. In Calvin Ridley, the wide out,
(14:33):
he lost the entire NFL season, there's just so many
and I get it. You can't do what you can't do.
But the league's in the gambling, make so much money
off the games the players played, in sponsorship and just
to handle the money bet. But if the players gamble,
there's hell to pay. I don't hate the gambling or
(14:54):
even the connection. I just hate the hypocrisy. So arrest
if you want, to suspend them if you want.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Something about it stinks more than just a little bit
your thoughts at eight three three, four thirty nine, I
don't forget. I will be at shark Ease tonight in Latrobe.
That's a big time Steeler hangout during training camp, and
tonight it's gonna be a Penguins watch party hangout for
me and you and Latrobe and Prime Rib. Gonna have
(15:27):
a beer, gonna give away some stuff. So join me
at Sharky's tonight to watch the Penguins and the Panthers
at seven pm. Let's go to Bob Bob real quick. Oh, Joe,
I'm sorry, Hey, Mike, what I mean?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
What I.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (15:44):
When you talk to Eddie Johnson, was he the one
that you were gonna ask about the the intentional Uh,
what's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 8 (15:55):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Drop?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Well when they when they tank, when they tanked in
eighty three, eighty four, Yeah, when they think. I've asked
DJ about it plenty of times. He won't break omreta
and I respect that.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Okay, Okay, I was there.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I know what happened and it was great.
Speaker 7 (16:11):
Okay, I know Mike the course, he told you not
to worry about Liverpool, right because of chemistry and everything
he does and all that.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Yeah, that's later for ast Mark anything, but thank you
for the call.
Speaker 9 (16:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
They had to finish last than they did and they
didn't throw games. They just assembled a team that was
going to finish last. EJ was like rem Brand, I
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Speaker 10 (17:43):
Spirits Summer News to join us for the Ucksters Halloween Crush.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
On Thursday, October thirtieth.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
The cup sets sale at eight pm, which live He'sy
from the Clintons playing all your nineties favorites ten dollars
and fifty nine sense from every ticket.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Sol who goes to the Mary E. Lamuse Foundation, drawing
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to score prizes.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
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Speaker 6 (18:12):
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Speaker 4 (18:22):
We'll see you.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
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Speaker 11 (18:29):
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Speaker 4 (18:30):
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Speaker 1 (18:34):
The Steelers in green Blay Place sided at at Acker Shore.
After that message Cincinnati last Thursday, I'm now joined by
Jerry Dulac of the Post because at Jerry, what's gone
wrong with that defense? With all those big names and
at that price?
Speaker 5 (18:48):
Mark, It's good to talk to you again. I've missed
it the past couple of weeks, but I'll tell you
what that what we saw in Cincinnati has to be.
I don't know if it's alarming or concerning, but it
only has to have had their attention. That when you
make when you bring in five new players into your secondary,
including two prime cornerbacks to pair with Joey Porter, and
(19:12):
then you let those two receivers run free like that.
There's a lot of different layers to it, Mark, that
I have questions about. You know, if they're going to
max protect, why do you rush four or five? And
then if that's the case and you're being gouged underneath,
drop more players in the coverage. You know, if you're
(19:33):
going to play your sub package football with two defensive linemen,
they're going teams are going to try and run the
ball on you. And that's what the Bengals did, gouging
them with those two runs. And if you're going to
face a quarterback who gets rid of the ball in
two seconds, in two and a half seconds, then you
know what, press the receivers at the line of scrimmage,
(19:53):
disrupt their routes, disrupt their timing, so we can't get
rid of it so fast. And so all those things
were puzzling me and stood out to me in that game.
You know, stopping the run, Mark, I think they'll do that.
They want to stop the run. I think they could
do a pretty good job of doing it. But you know,
if they felt that led to their problems, and to
(20:16):
a degree that's probably true. Terre Austin admitted today that
those two runs. You know, Chase Brown had a twenty
seven yard run after it was ten nothing to start
the one drive and they scored a touchdown, and then
after it was ten to seven the subsequent drive, he
ran thirty seven yards on the first play of that
(20:36):
drive to set up another touchdown, and Terra Austin said
today after that it changed the way he coached the game,
and it changed whatever they were going to do. But
the failure of the cornerbacks to one not playing in
press coverage, but the failure to not even just limit
(20:57):
the damage and the targets to Jamar Chase t Higgins
was just baffling to me. I will give Jalen Ramsey credit.
After the game, he stood up and basically said, that's
what I was brought in to do, and I didn't
do it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
But been staying with Ramsey, I found myself wondering, after
initially embracing it, if the trade for Ramsey is working out.
It felt like a good deal, but now the Steelers
are so bad at safety, and part of me one
is if they're asking Ramsey to do too much if
at this point in his career he's not just a
slot corner.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Well, where they are lacking at safety? Is it free
safety because you don't have the deep speed there? You know,
you're certainly not lacking a strong safety with the Shawn Elliott,
you know, Mark, I have maintained that in the first
five games, Jalen Ramsey has made more plays than Mikup
Fitzpatrick did all of last season. And so I'm not
(21:50):
going to let one game ruin or soil what I've
seen in the first five games. Nonetheless, they made those
changes for one team in mind, two receivers in mind,
and they failed that test miserably the first time.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, they did it to beat Cincinnati and and it
didn't work. And with Flacco in there and not Burrow. Now,
you mentioned that the goal is to stop the run,
and that's always been the Steeler method on defense. But
if they couldn't stop Cincinnati, he's not existent running game, jaire,
How are they going to do this week against Jacobs
from Green Bay and next week Taylor Withindy. Those are
(22:26):
arguably two of the best backs in the league.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Yeah, and and yes, and I would say Taylor's probably
I wanted to call him prend Taylor. I would arguably
say that he's the best in the league. Josh Josh
Jacobs has always been very good. He's a big time
back and yeah, and so I think a lot of
focus is going to be on containing them. But you know,
(22:52):
Jonathan Taylor, that's a big asks right there. The Colts
have some pretty good receivers. I think that's going to
be a bigger chore for them. But that's that's what
we're going to find out, Mark, because it'll be two
good tests. And yeah, the Bengals came in with the
worst rushing offense in the league. And you know, Mark,
it isn't like they ran for two hundred yards. They
ran for one hundred and eight or whatever, but a
(23:14):
bulk of that came on those on those two runs. Nonetheless,
they were still able to gods that Steeler defense, uh,
and especially having the worst rushing attack in the league
coming into that game was a little disturbing.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
We already mentioned Jacobs. What do you see Jordan Love doing.
What's the challenge there in that Green Bay offense? Because
I don't think they have great receivers, but they do
have a bunch of good receivers.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
Yeah, and and they have a lot of them, you know, Mark,
I haven't con i haven't count, and shame on me
because I'm curious. But last year the Packers kept eight
wide receivers on their on their fifty three and they
just kept bringing and rolling them into the game because
they are a pass oriented team. Jordan Love I have
(24:04):
from the minute I saw him in the last game
at the Akroscher Stadium, you know, and even though I
believe they lost that game, what I saw from him,
I was extremely impressed. And he's gotten better every year.
So you know, you could talk all you want about
Josh Jacobs. It's also to me the big key is
going to be limiting their passing game, and if you
(24:27):
ask me, they'll probably come out throw the ball early
to run it a little bit later. But uh yeah,
I mean, the Packers are four to one and one
for a reason. They've been able to score points, and
these next two games and even the next three because
it's in LA against the Chargers, even though they struggled
to score points lately. I think these next two games
(24:48):
in the next three are going to test that defense.
And there are no issues with the offense. There are several,
you know, issues, nagging problems with the defense.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Oh, no question about that. I mean They've only four
seventeen hunts on the air. They just can't get off
the field.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Jerry, Yeah, second fewest in the league. Mark, And that's right.
And so the other thing that's that is concerning about
that to your point about the punts in the last
four games, Mark, the opponents of average nearly twenty plays
more a game. It's it's seventy five and something, No
seventy two and something to fifty three point nine or
(25:23):
fifty three point two. It's nearly twenty plays a game.
Over the last four games. The Browns did not score
a touchdown. They had they ran seventy five plays. I
think the Bengals ended up running seventy three. And so
you know, the league average is sixty one plays a game,
and these teams are going twelve thirteen, fourteen plays over
(25:45):
what's the league average. And that's you know, you cut
it however you want. And you know, Mark, sometimes Mike
Tomlin likes to point the penalties. There's the second least
penalized team in the league in terms of number of
penalties and even in yards of penalties. So I don't
want to hear about that. And it's not exactly like
(26:05):
they're turning the ball over. Aaron Rodgers has five interceptions.
He had two the other night. One of them really
wasn't his fault. And they are one of only two
teams who haven't lost a fumble yet this year.
Speaker 11 (26:15):
So to me, all that.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Says is their defense can't get off the field. Yeah,
they've had some quick strike touchdowns. I get that. I
get that, But seventy four averaging seventy four to seventy
five plays to the opponent the last four games is really,
Mark unconscionable.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
We're talking to Jerry Dulike, brought to us by Bud Light.
Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Now, on the offensive
side of the ball, the Steelers going to cope with
Mikeah Parsons, who is clearly a juggernaut. That said, I
look at him on green Bay's defense and I compare
it to Garrett on Cleveland's defense, and the Steelers did
okay against that group.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Yeah, they will gain plan against Micah Parsons the way
they gain plan against Miles Garrett. And as you know,
Mark never heard his name. You know, pretty much a
zero stat line. One tackle I think did not disrupt
the game. The quarterback, the backfield, and that's because the
Steelers game planned against them, and they will do the
same with Michael Parsons. I think the problem with Michaeh Parsons,
(27:17):
maybe a little bit more so, is that he moves
around a lot. You know, he'll come from the inside,
will come from the left side, he'll come from the
right side, and I think that's going to be a
little bit more problematic. But there's no question he's one
of those red letter guys Mark that they'll they will
make sure that they are always aware of what he's
(27:37):
doing and make sure that they're not giving him lanes
and opportunities to run player at the quarterback and the
Steelers have been very good Mark the last four games.
Rodgers has only been sacked twice. Three of those four
games they did not allow a sack. You saw how
much time I know Trey hendricks Hendrickson didn't play in Cincinnati,
but he had so much time back there. He could
(27:58):
dance and move around, he could go left, he could
go right, and you got to give the offensive line props,
especially those two tackles.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Aaron Rodgers says he doesn't feel any extra pressure playing
against Green Bay for the first time, did you buy that.
I think it might start out that way.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
Well, I think that the pressure is internal. Mark, Like
he said, it's not a revenge game, and why would
it be a revenge game. Look, he can't possibly have
anything against the Packers because he came into the Packers
the same way he left the Packers. And by that
I mean he watched for a year or two while
Brett Favre was there, and then he eventually moved on
from Farv and Farvin turned it over to Rodgers, and
(28:38):
the same thing happened with Jordan Love. They brought Jordan
Love in, he sat for a couple of years, watched
Aaron Rodgers, and they were eventually going to move on
from him. So he can't have any bitterness toward the Packers,
and I don't believe that he does. But I don't
think there's any question. He wants to show them, He
wants to show the whole league, but he really wants
to show the Packers that he can still do it.
(28:59):
So his pressure will be internal. Like, you know, he
really wants to play well, and you know, we'll see
how he navigates that throughout the game. He's been he's
been really good, though, Mark, I mean, you know, stakes
him to the ten to nothing lead in Cincinnati, you
think it's going to be a blow up. The defense starts,
you know, going into the hole, and then he has
(29:19):
to bring him back twice from ten point deficits, and
it looked like they were going to win the game
after that crazy play and throw to Pat Fryarmouth for
the long touchdown.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, I give Rogers almost zero blame for what's gone wrong. Jerry.
I think he's been brilliant. I think he's been incredibly smart.
I mean just his pre snap adjustments alone. And I'm
not smart enough to know when he does and doesn't
do it. I just know the Steelers have been trapped
in very few blad plays all season, plays that just
got blown up right off the snap.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
Yeah, and one of them was that a flea flicker
that obviously Jalen Warren or somebody didn't get the right
call because as soon as they laddled it back to
Aaron Rodgers, he just threw within the turf. But Mark,
to your point, you watch him in a pre snap
when he comes to the line of scrimmage, You're seeing
more bodies move around, and that's not just pre snap,
(30:09):
no motion. That's him having guys directing them where to
go and what to do because of what he's seeing
when he comes out of that huddle. So yeah, he's
the best in the NFL at that not surprisingly after
twenty one years, and that's been a big, a big
advantage for them.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
How big is this Green Bay game all of a
sudden because I the Cincinnati game is when they really
needed to win, and I think you need to win
at home against contenders of your serious team. But now
this game, because of the Cincinnati lost Jerry, it feels
that much more important.
Speaker 5 (30:44):
Well, I think the significance of it mark And we
discovered this last year when the Steelers were ten and
three heading into December, and you know, we're seven and
one with Russ averaging twenty nine points a game. And
you say, okay, but who have they beaten in terms
of a quality team. I know, they beat the Commanders
(31:05):
early in the year before they got on their run,
you know, and they beat the Ravens but they were
looking really good. But they never no, they didn't beat
the Ravens at that point. But nonetheless, they never proved
that they could beat a quality team. And we know
what happened in those three games in eleven days against
(31:25):
three of the best teams in the league. They just
they weren't. You found out that they just weren't good
enough to compete with those teams. And while Green Bays
not the elite of the league, are still very good
and Indy right now, I'm not sure they're an elite team,
but their record says they are. And so you have
to win these types of games to show you have
(31:46):
the type of team capable of beating teams who have identical,
identical or better records than you. And we haven't seen
that a lot from them. But that's the significance of
this game and even the next game.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Yeah, and that Cincinnati lost year, that's gonna bug me
all year until it until it shouldn't until they get
to where they want to go anyway, But now it
feels like Cincinnati. I mean, they're going to beat the
Jets on Sunday, They're going to be four and four.
The Steelers lose to Green Bay, maybe Cincinnati's the team
that hangs in the race.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Yeah, And that's why they got Joe Flacco mark because
they thought that by getting him, they you know, that
maybe we can still hang around, unlike the Browns who
made the trade and effectively were giving up on their season.
And yeah, and you're right about that. And look, the
Steelers still have a two game lead in the division.
(32:40):
We see every week, Mark, We saw three occasions two
weeks ago when the Bills lost to Atlanta and the
Eagles lost to the Giants, and I can't remember the
other game. It happens all the time. Who would have
thought that Eagles would lose, Eagles would lose by seventeen
points to the Giants.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
It happens.
Speaker 5 (32:58):
It happens every week and the NFL. And you know,
the Bengals beat the Steelers, especially with a division game,
that's never surprising when a division team beats another division team.
So that's why, you know, I'm certainly not dismissing it,
is that you know, the loss doesn't matter, but every
team could probably go back and go, oh my god,
(33:18):
how did we lose that game? And it could cost them,
But every team goes through it because that's the NFL.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
No no question about that. What's your field year? Who
wins this game? Mark?
Speaker 5 (33:28):
I think it's going to be you know, when you
think of that game Thursday night, two forty year old quarterbacks.
That's going to be as good of a passing show
that the league is going to see all year. And
I think it's going to be another And it was
a very entertaining game despite what the Steeler fens might
might not like the loss. I think this week's going
to be the same. I think it's going to be
a shootout, and I think it's going to be who
(33:50):
has the ball last. And I think, you know, we
see the Steelers and their ability to score fast. They
scored early, and they scored late, they have those lulls
in between. I think the Steelers are going to beat
him in a shootout.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Mark, Jerry, great stuff. I'll look forward to talking to
you next week.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
You got it, Mark, Always good being with you.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
That's Jerry Delke. Brought to this by bud Light. Easy
to drink, easy to enjoy. Now it's time to ask
Mark anything dow eight three three four one two w xdx.
That's a three three four one two wxdx. Or you
can leave a talk back via the microphone icon at
the iHeartMedia app. That's eight three three four one two
w xdx one oh five nine.
Speaker 12 (34:33):
It's time to submit your questions for Ask Mark Anything.
Use your free iHeartRadio app and tap the microphone icon
to send your questions to the super genius instantly.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
It's The Woody Show weekday morning six to ten.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
On one oh five nine, The eighty four.
Speaker 8 (34:50):
Lumber is proud to partner with Anderson Windows and Doors
to present an all new interactive showroom now open and
Mount Lebanon.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
The showroom feature.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Compelling and rich Exit one O five nine.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Time to ask Mark Anything. Brought to us by People's
Natural Gas, People's and Essense of Utilities Company, People's Hyphengas
dot com. Uh, let's go to Roberts Ask Mark anything.
Speaker 13 (35:22):
Hey, question about twenty thirty five?
Speaker 5 (35:25):
Will Tom and retire, not to be bought, not be
brought back? Or being nude through twenty thirty six?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
I have no idea, but Mike Como will coach as
long as he wants to. He will never be fired
by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thank you for the call, yep uh.
By the way, don't forget I'm a shark. He's at
Latrobe tonight to watch the Penguin Game of its celebrations
and Imperial Sunday to watch the Steelers in Green Bay
and uh. At the top of the hour, right after
the list, we have a guy, what's his name, Jimmy DeNardo,
(35:57):
who is a member of the Acroshur Stadium ground crew,
who's going to talk about the process to prepare the
field for Steelers game and how much impact Pitt playing
there has had on the playing surface at Acreshore. That's
at the top of the hour. Let's go to Lisa.
Lisa ask Mark anything, Hey, Mark, this.
Speaker 9 (36:20):
Is Lisa from eggs or US. I had heard that
you were trying to get Snoop Dogg on your show,
and I'm also trying to get Snoop Dogg to come
to eggs r US. How do you feel about teaming
up on this and making it happen.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
We've tried to get Snoop Dogg for so long, Lisa,
that I've given up on it, but I will stop
an eggs or Us sooner than later. Let's go to Ricky.
Ricky ask Mark anything.
Speaker 5 (36:46):
Hey, big Sexy.
Speaker 13 (36:47):
I was wondering if a thirty three year old Mario
Lemieux with average two points in today's NHL.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Why are you saying thirty three year old.
Speaker 13 (36:58):
Well toward the end of his career when he swow
down and didn't move as well.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Mario Lemieu in the year he came back, okay, when
he should have been MVP, but they felt he didn't
play enough games. Thing Mary Lemneu that year two thousand
and two thousand and one would lead this league in scoring. Wow,
no question, no, not even a dot in my mind.
Let's go to Donnie. Donnie, you're out of your.
Speaker 14 (37:22):
Element, Tyma walrus Hey, Mark Eddie Johnson not being in
the Hockey Hall of Fame seems.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Like a dereliction of duty for that committee.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
I know that he didn't have the playing.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Career, No, I understand. I understand why they do it, though,
and EJ did have the playing career.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Look at his numbers.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
He won two Cups too, and he was an original
sixth goalie, played every minute of every game, the last
goalie to do that in the season. But they just
look at numbers, raw numbers like Matt Sundane scored five
hundred goals. Nobody remembers even one of them. EJ built hockey.
That's the kind of guys that deserve to be in there,
more than just the guys who score a bunch of
meaningless goals. Like Matt Sundeen.
Speaker 13 (38:02):
Well, to me, yeah, he does to me merit the
builder category.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
He might not have been a Hall of Fame. No,
he just merits to be in the Hall of Fame period.
There are a bunch of different reasons why whatever category
he should be in.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
I agree, and Eric Lindross probably shouldn't be.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Well, no, I actually I remember stuff Eric Lindross did.
I just don't remember anything. I'm picking on Matt Sundean.
There are a bunch of guys that just scored goals
and meant nothing to the game that if they had
not played in the league at all, it would not
have mattered even a little bit. Let's go to a talkback.
Speaker 8 (38:37):
Virginius, Eric and Toledo. So we've established the Steelers defense sucks.
So was the games against Cleveland and Minnesota and anomaly
and the games earlier in the season and against Cincy
the real Steelers defense thought, well.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
The real Steelers defense stinks. The Cleveland game was Cleveland.
They're just arguably the worst offense in the league. And
Minnesota just had to screwed up situation a quarterback with
McCarthy hurt and Donald gone and uh Carson wentz. I
thought he'd play better than that, but maybe he never will.
So I think the real Steeler defense is the one
that stinks. Let's go to our good friend, the Egyptian Magician. Hello,
(39:15):
my friend, how are you?
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Hey?
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Man?
Speaker 11 (39:18):
I guess I just want to tell me I agree
on that. As far as Penguins, I really like this.
That good sizes that we've got big sizes, especially Malkin
line for change. Malkin is not the biggest guy in
that line. And as far as the Steelers, I'm saying, yeah,
(39:40):
the defense sucks.
Speaker 10 (39:43):
You're right, But because of that, Steelers needs to accomplish it,
and the time of position, in my opinion, is the
most important because these guys cannot do what the young
dudes can.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
It's important if you play the way the Steelers do, Bob,
if you're a quick strike team and could score fast,
which is the theme of the most NFL teams, then
it becomes kind of dicey from week to week how
much it means. If that makes any sense.
Speaker 10 (40:13):
My point is, if we have the time of position,
use these two running back you know, the foolest.
Speaker 11 (40:21):
And have Rodgers manage the game.
Speaker 10 (40:24):
Is Steamer's defense have a chance.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yeah, but we brought in Rogers to manage the game.
We want to be this prehistoric running team with seven
offensive lineman. No, Bob. I mean, here's the solution. The defense,
which is the highest paid in the league, and all
these big mouth big names like Watton Hayward, they got
to play better. They're gonna get their head out of
their high placed ass and play better. That is the solution.
(40:47):
Let's go to David.
Speaker 14 (40:52):
Hey, Mark, I was wondering, do you think that McKinnon's
too good of a player to not win the Cup again?
Speaker 5 (40:58):
Or am I overrating him in that regard?
Speaker 1 (41:01):
He's won the Cup once, right, Yeah. I think McDavid's
too good a player to never have won at all.
And I think with thirty two teams it's tough to
win the Cup period. I think the line of demarcation,
I think you got to win once. If you win
more than that, you're special. I think you're overrating McKinnon
just a little bit. McKinnon ain't Crosby, McKinnon, ain't even McDavid.
(41:23):
Thank you for the call. Let's go to Rick. Rick.
Speaker 14 (41:25):
You're on with Mark, Hey, Mark, I just wanted to
ask you with your criticism of rightly deserved of the
Steelers in general and some of the management in particular.
Have you ever received like brushback from like your management
at iHeart and and what happens when you do?
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Steve mister, there was only there was only one thing
I ever said that they asked me to not say again,
and that's so many years ago, and I understood, and
I haven't said it since. Some callers have. I've never
went into the art Rooney anywhere. We don't travel in
the same circles. And honestly, I'm gonna say what I
want until I'm not on the air anymore.
Speaker 14 (41:58):
Okay, I mean, so like your manager or anything, who's
never said anything to you about Hey, you should have
said that being his sister station.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
No, No, just like this, the one thing years ago
in particular, which wasn't that big a deal. But I
understand why to not say it. Thank you for the call.
Let's go to a talkback. Do you believe that Cam
Hayward and TJ.
Speaker 13 (42:17):
Watt have earned their respective contract extensions and if not,
what should coach T do about it?
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Well?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Cam just got the ookie dough, he didn't get no money.
He ain't gonna reached his bonuses. As far as what
Tomin can do about it, nothing. He wanted them to
get it. It's on him too. He didn't want them
to get it. They would not have the Watt thing especially,
and I say again they should have told what to
play out his existing deal and then franchised him as necessary.
That would have been logical and best for the team.
(42:46):
But then poor TJ would have had an unpleasant moment,
and we can't have poor TJ have that his brother
might cry on television one five nine X. Now it's
time for a very interesting guest because the playing surface
at Akrossur Stadium has been shall always say, less than
perfect a few bad moments. So joining me now to
(43:07):
discuss is a member of the Agroishur Stadium's ground crew.
His name is Jimmy DeNardo. Jimmy, are you any relation
to Dirk DeNardo, the legendary former chief of the grounds crew.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
I have no idea who that is.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Really. How about Joe DeNardo, the legendary Channel four weathermen.
Speaker 13 (43:29):
Oh, I don't watch the news, but I don't have
any relatives that we're weathermen, So I had no clue
what that is.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Okay, well, let's get down to brass tax about the
playing surface at Aquasshure. What is the process to prepare
the field for Steeler game? How many people work on it?
How many hours are put in? And why have there
been problems with the field recently?
Speaker 11 (43:51):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (43:52):
Okay, so it's kind of complicated. I don't know if
people understand how this works. But you know, the groundskeeper
crew is a is a union. The union work and.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Okay, would would you characterize it? Would you characterize it
as a powerful union?
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Yes, the groundskeepers union is a very powerful union.
Speaker 10 (44:11):
Uh.
Speaker 13 (44:12):
And I don't know who did the collective bargaining agreement
with the stadium owners and the groundkeepers. But they don't
do a lot of work. They get a lot of breaks,
they get a lot of lunch time. So to you know,
to alleviate the uh, the lack of work.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
That's being done.
Speaker 13 (44:30):
I've had my mom, she's been working on the on
the field most of the time. You know, we we
had a great yard growing up. She started working on
the field.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
And wait, wait wait, wait wait wait wait, your mother
is preparing the surface at Acrossore for Steeler games. Your mom, Oh, she.
Speaker 13 (44:48):
Loves she loves working on the yard. And like this
is this is a big this is a big yard.
And so, uh, you know, she she loves she's eighty five.
She's actually celebrated on her birthday today.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Oh well, happy birthday, misses the Norwich.
Speaker 13 (45:03):
Yeah, wish are having president. Thank you. I appreciate that.
She appreciate that too. She listens, she'll listen.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
She listens to your show. She's a big fan, big
fan of the show.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Oh that's nice. So she's eighty five and she's working
on the field. What about you? Do you help her?
Are you in the union? Is she in the union?
Speaker 13 (45:17):
Well, no, no, I'm Mom'm super I'm super vision in
an administration, so I oversee the work. My mom loves
doing the work. I mean, that's what you gotta understand.
Which is funny because the union workers love my mom
because you know, they when they try to do the work,
my mom will oversee the work, and then when they
don't do a good job, she'll just get in there
(45:38):
and do it herself. The only thing my mom does
not like doing is mowing the law, and because it
takes forever, she can't stand mowing.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
The lawn, mowing the field.
Speaker 13 (45:46):
In other words, yeah, mowing the field. Excuse yeah, so
how much work does she do?
Speaker 1 (45:50):
How many hours does she put in? She's an eighty
five year old woman. This seems unbelievable.
Speaker 13 (45:56):
Oh, she is at least sixty to seventy hours a week.
But she she loves the work. You know how mother
You know how mothers are. You can't tell them not
to work on the yard. And now she has this
big field that she has to take care of. Now,
the problems lately had been exacerbated because my mom is
a great cook, you know, Italian family, grown up. She
(46:16):
loves to make the sauce. And the union workers love
my mom's cooking. So what's happened lately is we've been
getting caught behind schedule because my mom is had to
take take time out to cook for for the for
the for the staff, the crew of the union work. Right,
she's a nice old lady. She makes great sauce. They
(46:36):
love Italian food. And also what happened recently was, you
know a lot of the workers stopped showing up when
when they h you know, they had the ice the
ice rates, so so for some reason people stop come on,
come on, no, no, well I don't know they stop short,
but they're Italian which is weird.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
We we we are staying around is weird. Let's move
on to something else. So if your mom puts in
seventy five to eighty hours a week and you're supervising,
how many hours did the union workers put in each
per week?
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Oh it's five maybe, I'm you know, not a.
Speaker 13 (47:14):
Lot and a lot of spend a lot of time
taking breaks. They get a lot of breaks, and that's
been collectively bargained, which is weird. You know that they
would get that many breaks to absurd. To be honest
with you, my mom lo does to work.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Yeah, you keep saying now now, but there have been problems.
Miles killer Brew of the Steelers, the Special Team's captain,
blew out his knee on a flawed portion of the
Acrosur Stadium. Turpey's out for the year.
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 13 (47:41):
Said, he's just a special teams guy. Though you know
he didn't been like you know, he could do what
he wants. I'm sure you're probably like till you can
get some some you know, gets some legal counsel. But
you know he doesn't make no money. No, he can't
ssume me.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
So he's just a special teams guy, doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
That's it.
Speaker 13 (47:59):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
He can't.
Speaker 13 (48:00):
He doesn't make enough money to sue me. So, like
you know, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Or your mother.
Speaker 13 (48:05):
Or my mom ether are not going to sue my mom.
My mom's indemnified.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Now Chris Boswell slipped.
Speaker 3 (48:12):
Too, Oh in her contract is iron clad.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Okay, Chris Boswell slipped when he was attempting a kick.
What if he had been injured?
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (48:21):
He who caress, He's a kicker. There's a million kickers
out there, Like every every week, somebody's kicking a sixty
yard field goal. And I don't know who these guys are.
So they go and plus you.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
You know, he he doesn't make enough money, he can't
sue me.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Does your does your do the players like your mom?
Speaker 10 (48:38):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (48:38):
They love my mom.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
Don't cook.
Speaker 13 (48:39):
They'll cook for the team sometimes cook for the team.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
Now here's the big question, because this is the topic
of controversy. As you're well aware of being a supervisor
down there of your mother, who's eighty five, who works
eighty hours a week, You say seventy, So I don't
want to exaggerate. People say that because us pit plays
there as well as the Steelers, that the extra wear
(49:04):
and tear caused by pitt is the.
Speaker 13 (49:08):
That's a pain in the ass because what these I
don't don't know.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
How do the pit games damage the field?
Speaker 13 (49:19):
No, the pick games do not damage the field. But
the problem that we're having is is on Thursdays, these uh,
these pit players off and every other week or so,
like they come in there and with all their mil
money and I are having underground right, they're having n
al all their naal money they're making, they're having underground
monster truck races.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
And that creates a humongous problem.
Speaker 13 (49:43):
It's kind of fix up. My mom has to wake
up early on Friday morning to go out there and
fix the field. Mississc. It's a catastrophic mess. And you know,
in the union and she likes to get out there
early in the morning to work. It's like six a m. Well,
the union workers don't show up till ten and they
get a break, make it ten thirty. So it's like
it's very difficult to get caught up on fixing the field.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Wait, wait, right back back up. So pit players with
trucks they purchased with their nil money are having monster
truck rallies on the turf. And actressure every other Thursday.
Speaker 13 (50:18):
Underground monster truck races.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
How much does that must?
Speaker 13 (50:25):
I think they've posted some of I think they've posted
some of the videos on YouTube, but I think they
got taken down.
Speaker 1 (50:31):
It being underground and everything right right right.
Speaker 13 (50:35):
I mean you could like like the the evidence is there,
but they took it down, so like you can probably
look it up, but I think they keep taking it down.
Speaker 1 (50:42):
Well, I appreciate you, uh you uh giving us the
inside scoop, mister Donardoa.
Speaker 13 (50:48):
Well, I just want to just want to reiterate my
mom wanted me to let you know, wanted me to
let you know, okay, that that.
Speaker 3 (50:55):
She she grew up.
Speaker 13 (50:57):
She was a big Packers fan growing up. Okay, she
was a big Aaron Rodgers fan, Okay, and so she's Garrett.
She she wants me to let you know that the
field is going to be in perfect condition come Sunday
night for the big game. And then she would like
to welcome you back to the house along because Aaron's
coming over afterwards and she's gonna be cooked for for
for for Aaron and the team, and if you're you're
(51:18):
welcome to come along.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
That's stummy DeNardo Atrosser Stadium groundskeeper. I'm Mark Madden one
oh five ninety X, Bye straight, Tako,
The Penguins reunite their Hall of Fame on Saturday when
Columbus visits. Joining me. Is one of the inductees and
the Penguins legend. He is former coach and general manager
Eddie Johnston e J. Congrats on the honor. When you
arrived in Pittsburgh as the coach in nineteen eighty did
you think then that Pittsburgh would wind up being your
long term home.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Mollibawas hurting because it was a great honor, and Jenny
and my family loved it. And you know, anytime you
get an opportunity like that, and then the opportunity came
up to be as be the GM and and pick
MARYO is a special day for not only for me,
(00:51):
but for the city of Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now, I want to talk about drafting Mario in nineteen
eighty four because it wasn't that simple. There wasn't YouTube.
Scotting was different and uh, you went personally as general
manager and saw Mario play in the Quebec Junior League
several times? Correct you wanted to be sure?
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Oh yeah, I saw him play. I was saying maybe
a dozen times. I don't think one night that he
had lessons six points, but you know, and then, but
the very great thing is was his personality. And I
(01:31):
checked with the with the coach, with his coach back then,
and he said, talk about leadership, he was. He was
the guy both on and off the ice for their team.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
It's worth noting too that people, hockey people, a lot
of them didn't like the Quebec League at that point.
It was all offense, not a lot of defense. And
did one of your Scots want you to draft Kirk
Kamuller instead? There was a.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
There was a couple, but I had watching Mario one
game was enough to it turned me on that there's
no other choice.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
What what did the scott say? Why did they want
you to draft Mueller? Because I know that's true. I
can't imagine the argument they made. EJ.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Well, it wasn't a very good one.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
I told you that.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
But the you know, the a lot of them are
doing a lot of the they're scouting in the in
the Ontario Junior in the Western League, so you know,
they didn't spend as much time as they should have
in the Quebec League, and uh I spent I spent
quite a bit of time there, but it didn't take
(02:42):
them long they get turned around to why Mario was
the number one pick overall.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Now you got some crazy trade offers for that lem
you pick, didn't you? I mean out of this world right?
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah? Well, Quebec off for me three Stassinly brothers plus
for rounder. Soon Nanny offered me all those picks for Minnesota. Minnesota,
Philly offered me kennercheck Lonsbury the defenseman and their first rounder.
(03:15):
Montreal told me whatever Quebec offers you, that we'll do
better no matter what they offer you. You know, in
the three staffs and the brothers plus the first round
was terrific. But the biggest, the big, the big thing
is that I had the opportunity to go in there
and see him. And plus he only grew up about
(03:35):
fifteen to twenty minutes from me in Montreal, so I
had a pretty good idea about him. We got a
lot of very positive reports on him. I'm both on
and off the ice.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Now that the Barnoll family owned the peng was at
that time, eja, if you would have traded for the
stats neees, you would have made the playoffs right away
and the team would have lost less money. What did
ownership think? Did did did the Bartolo family ever put
in their two cents?
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Oh yeah, the very first time, mister de Barlolow, very
first time mister de Barlow came to practice and watched him. So,
thank god you made the right choice. Yeah, no, it was,
it was.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
It was pretty obvious pretty quickly. Now the number that
really is just breathtaking. Mario scored one hundred and thirty
three goals in his last junior season.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
What did it?
Speaker 1 (04:29):
What made you think though, that he could score right
away in the NHL level because it is a different level.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Well, I I saw him. He was able to chase peace,
you know, he chase speeds, be coming in and all
of a sudden he give you a little shot. And
the next thing you know, he was by the guy
you know very well and Mark. Seventeen seconds into the
game in Boston, I was there and he and he
(04:58):
scores a goal, and Harry Sin did, who I played
for twelve years he'd done to me and asked me
why I didn't trade them, you know, he said you
should have traded them. And then and then the next
sentence that of Harry Sin in his mouth was this
guy might be the best player in the game right now.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
We're talking to Eddie Johnston AJ goes in the Penguins
Hall of Fame tomorrow Saturday night. Pardon me at PPG
painte Radom EJ. I want to talk about your goaltending
because you played six and NHL games and goal including
the playoffs. How much has the position changed because I
look at video from back when you played. It's almost
like a different job now, isn't it.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
Well, there was no question then and there's not too
many goalkeepers wear number one because all six of us
we all wore number one. That was our IQ because
we never we never wore a mask, so didn't tell
you how sharp you had to be. But back then,
with the six teams, there was no man back then,
(06:01):
you know, and it was and it was stuff. It
was stuff, but you learned, you learn to cope with
it very so very quickly.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Now it's worth noting too how much the equipment's changed.
And not only did it figure nowt EJ. But your
equipment was heavier, right, it would get water logged and
you couldn't get it, get it, get it the lightened
up right.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
No, the pads, the pads were brutal.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
They would get soaking wet, and there'd be some oh god,
so much more heavier, and even the paths on your
on your on your shoulders and your arms, they would
just get soak wet and they would get heavy as hell.
You know, now the equipment is terrific. You can you
can lift the set of paths by one finger now.
(06:49):
You couldn't lift them in a hundred years back then.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
What's your take on the Penguins goaltending now? And I
know you've seen the morishoff kid, the Russian guy and
the miners. Uh is he the real thing?
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Yeah, he's good. He's got to watch him at camp
again and he's good. He's gonna be Eventually, he's going
to be. He'll be the I think he'll get in,
could be the number one guy and you know, after
a couple of more years when he when he comes up.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Now, you played goal in the Original Six when there
was only six teams in the league, and you've been
with the Penguins and they become like a big time franchise,
five cups, Sid Mario, all that credibility, dude. The Penguins
almost feel like an Original six franchise now, like they
have that that kind of prestige.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
No, there's no question marks. You're right. You know, back
then it was only sixties. But now you know what
Crosby and Mario and you know, when both those guys
come up, I'll tell you right now, no hole league
just paid attention right away, you know, and Mary Old
(08:01):
then all of a sudden they got the very opportunity
to get said and when said came in, it was
look out, guys, look out the whole league. You know,
when you have those two guys.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Each j before we wrap up, I'd be remiss if
I didn't bring up because I'm I was lucky enough
as a kid to see your Boston teams play. You
won two Stanley Cups as a goaltender for Boston the
orin Esposito era. Do you think that still is one
of the greatest teams of all time?
Speaker 6 (08:30):
I do.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
You guys had a short prime because guys left to
play in the World Hockey League. But but but that
team at its peak I think was as good as
any ever.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Oh, there's no doubt about it in my mind. You know,
back then when that team was as good as any
team ever. I mean the guys that we had up
there and Jerry cheevers end up coming along with me,
and you know you got over. You get Johnny Busic
because Stanfield you had Tellis Smith. You know, every player
(09:06):
was was a standout player and that team was probably
one of the top teams all in history in the
n A jail and tough too.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
I mean just tough as nails every every way you
wanted to play. You guys could play right, yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Yeah. And if you you never got out of the line,
you know, because you got out of the line, somebody
who's going to challenge you all right away?
Speaker 1 (09:30):
EJ. Thanks for coming on and thanks for everything. Like
I've often said, you should be in the Hockey Hall
of Fame, let alone the Penguins. You've taught me more
about hockey than anybody ever. And and Saturday is going
to be great. Thanks again. I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Markie, Thank you. It's always great to be around you.
I enjoy your enjoy your company. God bless you.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
We'll see you Saturday night. That's Eddie Johnston. EJ. An
all time great Penguin. I'm Mark Madden. I'm all time
great at something. I guess get some calls in now
it's the time. Uh eight three to three four nine
thirty nine. That's eight three three four one two ninety
nine thirty nine. And we got Jerry du Lac Hawk
and Steelers at the bottom of the hour one o
five nine the X one oh five nine.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Nice date, Thank you for making my day.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Yeah what you said the exit one oh five nine,
j On and.
Speaker 1 (10:21):
He showed me in the Hockey All Fame. He was
on Team Cannon in seventy two the first time they
played the Russians, won two Stanley Cups. Last goalie to
ever play every minute of every NHL game. Uh put
up good numbers as a goalie. Great coach, great general manager.
Drafted Mario and like like we talked about, like I
said earlier in the show, drafting Mario wasn't that simple.
(10:43):
Hockey was built by guys like Eddie Johnston. I mean,
he's such to me, he's such an obvious choice for
the Hall of Fame. Guys like Barry Melrose build hockey.
Don Cherry, you know, different reasons, but but EJ built hockey.
I'll give an example. I hate to pick on somebody,
except I'm going to like a guy like Matt Sundeen.
(11:05):
You know, he got in the Hall of fame because
the stats he scored, like five hundred goals. I don't
remember one goddamn goal Matt Sundean scored. Nobody does.
Speaker 6 (11:13):
You know?
Speaker 1 (11:14):
It's about It's about the game what you did for it.
And EJ put up put in more than he could
ever take out. So I'm grateful to have known him
all these years. And this thing Saturday night is gonna
be absolutely fantastic. So your thoughts any of that? Uh,
Dial eight three three four thirty nine. We've got Jerry
du Lek talk and Steelers. I went like on a
ran about the Steelers earlier and I'm getting some some
(11:36):
stick for it on Twitter. But like, I mean, do
you really think they're gonna win a playoff game this year?
Do you really keep their head in the right direction?
Do you really think they're making good trades and building
a good roster and implementing good strategy. Do you really
think they're taking the correct approach with it leading to
something big or even something well bigger than usual, like
(11:58):
winning a playoff game. I don't. I don't see anything
they're doing right except they got Aaron Rodgers, and he
is they're saving grace. I mean, if you allow yourself
to see it. You will, but you don't cause your marks.
But I see it, and I know where it's headed.
Like I've been covering sports since I was seventeen years old.
(12:19):
You don't think I know what crap looks like. It
looks like this. It looks like losing to Joe Flacco.
It looks like blowing that game to Seattle because Caleb
Johnson doesn't know the kickoff rules. It looks like your
special team's captain blowing out his knee on improperly groom turf.
(12:43):
I mean, how much bad stuff has to happen before
you see that. It's not the exception, it's the rule.
But hey, you like the Steelers, that's fine, you can
do that. If enough of you complain about how I
bury the Steelers all the time, you could probably get
me fired and then I can move on to do
something I like better than this, or do nothing. It's
(13:05):
about time to do nothing. I thought about that a
lot a lot lately. It's about time to do nothing.
The one thing I wish I could do was fix sports.
And in that vein, the FBI arrested Chauncey Billups, to
coach of Portland in the NBA Hall of Fame player
Terry Rozier regard from Miami in connection with illegal gambling. Now,
(13:29):
we thought it was rigged poker games run by the mafia,
and that's the biggest part of this looks like. But
apparently there's also some illegal sports gambling. And now there's
a report that Billups may have benched starters to fix games.
And boy, if that happened, that's gonna shake the foundation
(13:50):
of the NBA. Except that won't. They'll just sweep it
under the rug, the same way baseball did with Otani,
who should be suspended for life for having bet on baseball,
but they fobbed it off on his assistant and he,
I think, what, the jailer paid some heavy fine or whatever,
but I don't understand. And you know, illegal is illegal,
(14:11):
But the connection of sports and gambling is so deep
and involves so much money and sponsorship, and it's so
direct that connection. Now it's hypocritical, and we're outraged when
the athletes take part when they gamble. I mean, not
fixing games, that's way different. But the Cleveland pitchers and
now these basketball guys. In Calvin Ridley, the wide out,
(14:33):
he lost the entire NFL season, there's just so many
and I get it. You can't do what you can't do.
But the league's in the gambling, make so much money
off the games the players played, in sponsorship and just
to handle the money bet. But if the players gamble,
there's hell to pay. I don't hate the gambling or
(14:54):
even the connection. I just hate the hypocrisy. So arrest
if you want, to suspend them if you want.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Something about it stinks more than just a little bit
your thoughts at eight three three, four thirty nine, I
don't forget. I will be at shark Ease tonight in Latrobe.
That's a big time Steeler hangout during training camp, and
tonight it's gonna be a Penguins watch party hangout for
me and you and Latrobe and Prime Rib. Gonna have
(15:27):
a beer, gonna give away some stuff. So join me
at Sharky's tonight to watch the Penguins and the Panthers
at seven pm. Let's go to Bob Bob real quick. Oh, Joe,
I'm sorry, Hey, Mike, what I mean?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
What I.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
Hey?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Uh?
Speaker 7 (15:44):
When you talk to Eddie Johnson, was he the one
that you were gonna ask about the the intentional Uh,
what's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 8 (15:55):
Uh?
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Drop?
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Well when they when they tank, when they tanked in
eighty three, eighty four, Yeah, when they think. I've asked
DJ about it plenty of times. He won't break omreta
and I respect that.
Speaker 4 (16:05):
Okay, Okay, I was there.
Speaker 1 (16:08):
I know what happened and it was great.
Speaker 7 (16:11):
Okay, I know Mike the course, he told you not
to worry about Liverpool, right because of chemistry and everything
he does and all that.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
Yeah, that's later for ast Mark anything, but thank you
for the call.
Speaker 9 (16:23):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
They had to finish last than they did and they
didn't throw games. They just assembled a team that was
going to finish last. EJ was like rem Brand, I
can't say enough good about it. Uh, there's there's always
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Speaker 10 (17:43):
Spirits Summer News to join us for the Ucksters Halloween Crush.
Speaker 4 (17:52):
On Thursday, October thirtieth.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
The cup sets sale at eight pm, which live He'sy
from the Clintons playing all your nineties favorites ten dollars
and fifty nine sense from every ticket.
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Sol who goes to the Mary E. Lamuse Foundation, drawing
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to score prizes.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
All night.
Speaker 6 (18:12):
Tickets are on sale now at Gateway Clipper dot com.
The Ex's Halloway cru on the Gateway Clipper sponsored by
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Speaker 4 (18:22):
We'll see you.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
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check out the latest put what.
Speaker 11 (18:29):
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Speaker 4 (18:30):
Dammit the Ex at one oh five nine.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
The Steelers in green Blay Place sided at at Acker Shore.
After that message Cincinnati last Thursday, I'm now joined by
Jerry Dulac of the Post because at Jerry, what's gone
wrong with that defense? With all those big names and
at that price?
Speaker 5 (18:48):
Mark, It's good to talk to you again. I've missed
it the past couple of weeks, but I'll tell you
what that what we saw in Cincinnati has to be.
I don't know if it's alarming or concerning, but it
only has to have had their attention. That when you
make when you bring in five new players into your secondary,
including two prime cornerbacks to pair with Joey Porter, and
(19:12):
then you let those two receivers run free like that.
There's a lot of different layers to it, Mark, that
I have questions about. You know, if they're going to
max protect, why do you rush four or five? And
then if that's the case and you're being gouged underneath,
drop more players in the coverage. You know, if you're
(19:33):
going to play your sub package football with two defensive linemen,
they're going teams are going to try and run the
ball on you. And that's what the Bengals did, gouging
them with those two runs. And if you're going to
face a quarterback who gets rid of the ball in
two seconds, in two and a half seconds, then you
know what, press the receivers at the line of scrimmage,
(19:53):
disrupt their routes, disrupt their timing, so we can't get
rid of it so fast. And so all those things
were puzzling me and stood out to me in that game.
You know, stopping the run, Mark, I think they'll do that.
They want to stop the run. I think they could
do a pretty good job of doing it. But you know,
if they felt that led to their problems, and to
(20:16):
a degree that's probably true. Terre Austin admitted today that
those two runs. You know, Chase Brown had a twenty
seven yard run after it was ten nothing to start
the one drive and they scored a touchdown, and then
after it was ten to seven the subsequent drive, he
ran thirty seven yards on the first play of that
(20:36):
drive to set up another touchdown, and Terra Austin said
today after that it changed the way he coached the game,
and it changed whatever they were going to do. But
the failure of the cornerbacks to one not playing in
press coverage, but the failure to not even just limit
(20:57):
the damage and the targets to Jamar Chase t Higgins
was just baffling to me. I will give Jalen Ramsey credit.
After the game, he stood up and basically said, that's
what I was brought in to do, and I didn't
do it.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
But been staying with Ramsey, I found myself wondering, after
initially embracing it, if the trade for Ramsey is working out.
It felt like a good deal, but now the Steelers
are so bad at safety, and part of me one
is if they're asking Ramsey to do too much if
at this point in his career he's not just a
slot corner.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Well, where they are lacking at safety? Is it free
safety because you don't have the deep speed there? You know,
you're certainly not lacking a strong safety with the Shawn Elliott,
you know, Mark, I have maintained that in the first
five games, Jalen Ramsey has made more plays than Mikup
Fitzpatrick did all of last season. And so I'm not
(21:50):
going to let one game ruin or soil what I've
seen in the first five games. Nonetheless, they made those
changes for one team in mind, two receivers in mind,
and they failed that test miserably the first time.
Speaker 1 (22:05):
Yeah, they did it to beat Cincinnati and and it
didn't work. And with Flacco in there and not Burrow. Now,
you mentioned that the goal is to stop the run,
and that's always been the Steeler method on defense. But
if they couldn't stop Cincinnati, he's not existent running game, jaire,
How are they going to do this week against Jacobs
from Green Bay and next week Taylor Withindy. Those are
(22:26):
arguably two of the best backs in the league.
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Yeah, and and yes, and I would say Taylor's probably
I wanted to call him prend Taylor. I would arguably
say that he's the best in the league. Josh Josh
Jacobs has always been very good. He's a big time
back and yeah, and so I think a lot of
focus is going to be on containing them. But you know,
(22:52):
Jonathan Taylor, that's a big asks right there. The Colts
have some pretty good receivers. I think that's going to
be a bigger chore for them. But that's that's what
we're going to find out, Mark, because it'll be two
good tests. And yeah, the Bengals came in with the
worst rushing offense in the league. And you know, Mark,
it isn't like they ran for two hundred yards. They
ran for one hundred and eight or whatever, but a
(23:14):
bulk of that came on those on those two runs. Nonetheless,
they were still able to gods that Steeler defense, uh,
and especially having the worst rushing attack in the league
coming into that game was a little disturbing.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
We already mentioned Jacobs. What do you see Jordan Love doing.
What's the challenge there in that Green Bay offense? Because
I don't think they have great receivers, but they do
have a bunch of good receivers.
Speaker 5 (23:39):
Yeah, and and they have a lot of them, you know, Mark,
I haven't con i haven't count, and shame on me
because I'm curious. But last year the Packers kept eight
wide receivers on their on their fifty three and they
just kept bringing and rolling them into the game because
they are a pass oriented team. Jordan Love I have
(24:04):
from the minute I saw him in the last game
at the Akroscher Stadium, you know, and even though I
believe they lost that game, what I saw from him,
I was extremely impressed. And he's gotten better every year.
So you know, you could talk all you want about
Josh Jacobs. It's also to me the big key is
going to be limiting their passing game, and if you
(24:27):
ask me, they'll probably come out throw the ball early
to run it a little bit later. But uh yeah,
I mean, the Packers are four to one and one
for a reason. They've been able to score points, and
these next two games and even the next three because
it's in LA against the Chargers, even though they struggled
to score points lately. I think these next two games
(24:48):
in the next three are going to test that defense.
And there are no issues with the offense. There are several,
you know, issues, nagging problems with the defense.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
Oh, no question about that. I mean They've only four
seventeen hunts on the air. They just can't get off
the field.
Speaker 5 (25:02):
Jerry, Yeah, second fewest in the league. Mark, And that's right.
And so the other thing that's that is concerning about
that to your point about the punts in the last
four games, Mark, the opponents of average nearly twenty plays
more a game. It's it's seventy five and something, No
seventy two and something to fifty three point nine or
(25:23):
fifty three point two. It's nearly twenty plays a game.
Over the last four games. The Browns did not score
a touchdown. They had they ran seventy five plays. I
think the Bengals ended up running seventy three. And so
you know, the league average is sixty one plays a game,
and these teams are going twelve thirteen, fourteen plays over
(25:45):
what's the league average. And that's you know, you cut
it however you want. And you know, Mark, sometimes Mike
Tomlin likes to point the penalties. There's the second least
penalized team in the league in terms of number of
penalties and even in yards of penalties. So I don't
want to hear about that. And it's not exactly like
(26:05):
they're turning the ball over. Aaron Rodgers has five interceptions.
He had two the other night. One of them really
wasn't his fault. And they are one of only two
teams who haven't lost a fumble yet this year.
Speaker 11 (26:15):
So to me, all that.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Says is their defense can't get off the field. Yeah,
they've had some quick strike touchdowns. I get that. I
get that, But seventy four averaging seventy four to seventy
five plays to the opponent the last four games is really,
Mark unconscionable.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
We're talking to Jerry Dulike, brought to us by Bud Light.
Easy to drink, easy to enjoy. Now, on the offensive
side of the ball, the Steelers going to cope with
Mikeah Parsons, who is clearly a juggernaut. That said, I
look at him on green Bay's defense and I compare
it to Garrett on Cleveland's defense, and the Steelers did
okay against that group.
Speaker 5 (26:53):
Yeah, they will gain plan against Micah Parsons the way
they gain plan against Miles Garrett. And as you know,
Mark never heard his name. You know, pretty much a
zero stat line. One tackle I think did not disrupt
the game. The quarterback, the backfield, and that's because the
Steelers game planned against them, and they will do the
same with Michael Parsons. I think the problem with Michaeh Parsons,
(27:17):
maybe a little bit more so, is that he moves
around a lot. You know, he'll come from the inside,
will come from the left side, he'll come from the
right side, and I think that's going to be a
little bit more problematic. But there's no question he's one
of those red letter guys Mark that they'll they will
make sure that they are always aware of what he's
(27:37):
doing and make sure that they're not giving him lanes
and opportunities to run player at the quarterback and the
Steelers have been very good Mark the last four games.
Rodgers has only been sacked twice. Three of those four
games they did not allow a sack. You saw how
much time I know Trey hendricks Hendrickson didn't play in Cincinnati,
but he had so much time back there. He could
(27:58):
dance and move around, he could go left, he could
go right, and you got to give the offensive line props,
especially those two tackles.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
Aaron Rodgers says he doesn't feel any extra pressure playing
against Green Bay for the first time, did you buy that.
I think it might start out that way.
Speaker 5 (28:15):
Well, I think that the pressure is internal. Mark, Like
he said, it's not a revenge game, and why would
it be a revenge game. Look, he can't possibly have
anything against the Packers because he came into the Packers
the same way he left the Packers. And by that
I mean he watched for a year or two while
Brett Favre was there, and then he eventually moved on
from Farv and Farvin turned it over to Rodgers, and
(28:38):
the same thing happened with Jordan Love. They brought Jordan
Love in, he sat for a couple of years, watched
Aaron Rodgers, and they were eventually going to move on
from him. So he can't have any bitterness toward the Packers,
and I don't believe that he does. But I don't
think there's any question. He wants to show them, He
wants to show the whole league, but he really wants
to show the Packers that he can still do it.
(28:59):
So his pressure will be internal. Like, you know, he
really wants to play well, and you know, we'll see
how he navigates that throughout the game. He's been he's
been really good, though, Mark, I mean, you know, stakes
him to the ten to nothing lead in Cincinnati, you
think it's going to be a blow up. The defense starts,
you know, going into the hole, and then he has
(29:19):
to bring him back twice from ten point deficits, and
it looked like they were going to win the game
after that crazy play and throw to Pat Fryarmouth for
the long touchdown.
Speaker 1 (29:29):
Yeah, I give Rogers almost zero blame for what's gone wrong. Jerry.
I think he's been brilliant. I think he's been incredibly smart.
I mean just his pre snap adjustments alone. And I'm
not smart enough to know when he does and doesn't
do it. I just know the Steelers have been trapped
in very few blad plays all season, plays that just
got blown up right off the snap.
Speaker 5 (29:49):
Yeah, and one of them was that a flea flicker
that obviously Jalen Warren or somebody didn't get the right
call because as soon as they laddled it back to
Aaron Rodgers, he just threw within the turf. But Mark,
to your point, you watch him in a pre snap
when he comes to the line of scrimmage, You're seeing
more bodies move around, and that's not just pre snap,
(30:09):
no motion. That's him having guys directing them where to
go and what to do because of what he's seeing
when he comes out of that huddle. So yeah, he's
the best in the NFL at that not surprisingly after
twenty one years, and that's been a big, a big
advantage for them.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
How big is this Green Bay game all of a
sudden because I the Cincinnati game is when they really
needed to win, and I think you need to win
at home against contenders of your serious team. But now
this game, because of the Cincinnati lost Jerry, it feels
that much more important.
Speaker 5 (30:44):
Well, I think the significance of it mark And we
discovered this last year when the Steelers were ten and
three heading into December, and you know, we're seven and
one with Russ averaging twenty nine points a game. And
you say, okay, but who have they beaten in terms
of a quality team. I know, they beat the Commanders
(31:05):
early in the year before they got on their run,
you know, and they beat the Ravens but they were
looking really good. But they never no, they didn't beat
the Ravens at that point. But nonetheless, they never proved
that they could beat a quality team. And we know
what happened in those three games in eleven days against
(31:25):
three of the best teams in the league. They just
they weren't. You found out that they just weren't good
enough to compete with those teams. And while Green Bays
not the elite of the league, are still very good
and Indy right now, I'm not sure they're an elite team,
but their record says they are. And so you have
to win these types of games to show you have
(31:46):
the type of team capable of beating teams who have identical,
identical or better records than you. And we haven't seen
that a lot from them. But that's the significance of
this game and even the next game.
Speaker 1 (32:02):
Yeah, and that Cincinnati lost year, that's gonna bug me
all year until it until it shouldn't until they get
to where they want to go anyway, But now it
feels like Cincinnati. I mean, they're going to beat the
Jets on Sunday, They're going to be four and four.
The Steelers lose to Green Bay, maybe Cincinnati's the team
that hangs in the race.
Speaker 5 (32:20):
Yeah, And that's why they got Joe Flacco mark because
they thought that by getting him, they you know, that
maybe we can still hang around, unlike the Browns who
made the trade and effectively were giving up on their season.
And yeah, and you're right about that. And look, the
Steelers still have a two game lead in the division.
(32:40):
We see every week, Mark, We saw three occasions two
weeks ago when the Bills lost to Atlanta and the
Eagles lost to the Giants, and I can't remember the
other game. It happens all the time. Who would have
thought that Eagles would lose, Eagles would lose by seventeen
points to the Giants.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
It happens.
Speaker 5 (32:58):
It happens every week and the NFL. And you know,
the Bengals beat the Steelers, especially with a division game,
that's never surprising when a division team beats another division team.
So that's why, you know, I'm certainly not dismissing it,
is that you know, the loss doesn't matter, but every
team could probably go back and go, oh my god,
(33:18):
how did we lose that game? And it could cost them,
But every team goes through it because that's the NFL.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
No no question about that. What's your field year? Who
wins this game? Mark?
Speaker 5 (33:28):
I think it's going to be you know, when you
think of that game Thursday night, two forty year old quarterbacks.
That's going to be as good of a passing show
that the league is going to see all year. And
I think it's going to be another And it was
a very entertaining game despite what the Steeler fens might
might not like the loss. I think this week's going
to be the same. I think it's going to be
a shootout, and I think it's going to be who
(33:50):
has the ball last. And I think, you know, we
see the Steelers and their ability to score fast. They
scored early, and they scored late, they have those lulls
in between. I think the Steelers are going to beat
him in a shootout.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Mark, Jerry, great stuff. I'll look forward to talking to
you next week.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
You got it, Mark, Always good being with you.
Speaker 1 (34:10):
That's Jerry Delke. Brought to this by bud Light. Easy
to drink, easy to enjoy. Now it's time to ask
Mark anything dow eight three three four one two w xdx.
That's a three three four one two wxdx. Or you
can leave a talk back via the microphone icon at
the iHeartMedia app. That's eight three three four one two
w xdx one oh five nine.
Speaker 12 (34:33):
It's time to submit your questions for Ask Mark Anything.
Use your free iHeartRadio app and tap the microphone icon
to send your questions to the super genius instantly.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
It's The Woody Show weekday morning six to ten.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
On one oh five nine, The eighty four.
Speaker 8 (34:50):
Lumber is proud to partner with Anderson Windows and Doors
to present an all new interactive showroom now open and
Mount Lebanon.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
The showroom feature.
Speaker 4 (34:58):
Compelling and rich Exit one O five nine.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Time to ask Mark Anything. Brought to us by People's
Natural Gas, People's and Essense of Utilities Company, People's Hyphengas
dot com. Uh, let's go to Roberts Ask Mark anything.
Speaker 13 (35:22):
Hey, question about twenty thirty five?
Speaker 5 (35:25):
Will Tom and retire, not to be bought, not be
brought back? Or being nude through twenty thirty six?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
I have no idea, but Mike Como will coach as
long as he wants to. He will never be fired
by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thank you for the call, yep uh.
By the way, don't forget I'm a shark. He's at
Latrobe tonight to watch the Penguin Game of its celebrations
and Imperial Sunday to watch the Steelers in Green Bay
and uh. At the top of the hour, right after
the list, we have a guy, what's his name, Jimmy DeNardo,
(35:57):
who is a member of the Acroshur Stadium ground crew,
who's going to talk about the process to prepare the
field for Steelers game and how much impact Pitt playing
there has had on the playing surface at Acreshore. That's
at the top of the hour. Let's go to Lisa.
Lisa ask Mark anything, Hey, Mark, this.
Speaker 9 (36:20):
Is Lisa from eggs or US. I had heard that
you were trying to get Snoop Dogg on your show,
and I'm also trying to get Snoop Dogg to come
to eggs r US. How do you feel about teaming
up on this and making it happen.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
We've tried to get Snoop Dogg for so long, Lisa,
that I've given up on it, but I will stop
an eggs or Us sooner than later. Let's go to Ricky.
Ricky ask Mark anything.
Speaker 5 (36:46):
Hey, big Sexy.
Speaker 13 (36:47):
I was wondering if a thirty three year old Mario
Lemieux with average two points in today's NHL.
Speaker 1 (36:54):
Why are you saying thirty three year old.
Speaker 13 (36:58):
Well toward the end of his career when he swow
down and didn't move as well.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
Mario Lemieu in the year he came back, okay, when
he should have been MVP, but they felt he didn't
play enough games. Thing Mary Lemneu that year two thousand
and two thousand and one would lead this league in scoring. Wow,
no question, no, not even a dot in my mind.
Let's go to Donnie. Donnie, you're out of your.
Speaker 14 (37:22):
Element, Tyma walrus Hey, Mark Eddie Johnson not being in
the Hockey Hall of Fame seems.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Like a dereliction of duty for that committee.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
I know that he didn't have the playing.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
Career, No, I understand. I understand why they do it, though,
and EJ did have the playing career.
Speaker 4 (37:39):
Look at his numbers.
Speaker 1 (37:40):
He won two Cups too, and he was an original
sixth goalie, played every minute of every game, the last
goalie to do that in the season. But they just
look at numbers, raw numbers like Matt Sundane scored five
hundred goals. Nobody remembers even one of them. EJ built hockey.
That's the kind of guys that deserve to be in there,
more than just the guys who score a bunch of
meaningless goals. Like Matt Sundeen.
Speaker 13 (38:02):
Well, to me, yeah, he does to me merit the
builder category.
Speaker 1 (38:06):
He might not have been a Hall of Fame. No,
he just merits to be in the Hall of Fame period.
There are a bunch of different reasons why whatever category
he should be in.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
I agree, and Eric Lindross probably shouldn't be.
Speaker 1 (38:20):
Well, no, I actually I remember stuff Eric Lindross did.
I just don't remember anything. I'm picking on Matt Sundean.
There are a bunch of guys that just scored goals
and meant nothing to the game that if they had
not played in the league at all, it would not
have mattered even a little bit. Let's go to a talkback.
Speaker 8 (38:37):
Virginius, Eric and Toledo. So we've established the Steelers defense sucks.
So was the games against Cleveland and Minnesota and anomaly
and the games earlier in the season and against Cincy
the real Steelers defense thought, well.
Speaker 1 (38:52):
The real Steelers defense stinks. The Cleveland game was Cleveland.
They're just arguably the worst offense in the league. And
Minnesota just had to screwed up situation a quarterback with
McCarthy hurt and Donald gone and uh Carson wentz. I
thought he'd play better than that, but maybe he never will.
So I think the real Steeler defense is the one
that stinks. Let's go to our good friend, the Egyptian Magician. Hello,
(39:15):
my friend, how are you?
Speaker 3 (39:17):
Hey?
Speaker 1 (39:18):
Man?
Speaker 11 (39:18):
I guess I just want to tell me I agree
on that. As far as Penguins, I really like this.
That good sizes that we've got big sizes, especially Malkin
line for change. Malkin is not the biggest guy in
that line. And as far as the Steelers, I'm saying, yeah,
(39:40):
the defense sucks.
Speaker 10 (39:43):
You're right, But because of that, Steelers needs to accomplish it,
and the time of position, in my opinion, is the
most important because these guys cannot do what the young
dudes can.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
It's important if you play the way the Steelers do, Bob,
if you're a quick strike team and could score fast,
which is the theme of the most NFL teams, then
it becomes kind of dicey from week to week how
much it means. If that makes any sense.
Speaker 10 (40:13):
My point is, if we have the time of position,
use these two running back you know, the foolest.
Speaker 11 (40:21):
And have Rodgers manage the game.
Speaker 10 (40:24):
Is Steamer's defense have a chance.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
Yeah, but we brought in Rogers to manage the game.
We want to be this prehistoric running team with seven
offensive lineman. No, Bob. I mean, here's the solution. The defense,
which is the highest paid in the league, and all
these big mouth big names like Watton Hayward, they got
to play better. They're gonna get their head out of
their high placed ass and play better. That is the solution.
(40:47):
Let's go to David.
Speaker 14 (40:52):
Hey, Mark, I was wondering, do you think that McKinnon's
too good of a player to not win the Cup again?
Speaker 5 (40:58):
Or am I overrating him in that regard?
Speaker 1 (41:01):
He's won the Cup once, right, Yeah. I think McDavid's
too good a player to never have won at all.
And I think with thirty two teams it's tough to
win the Cup period. I think the line of demarcation,
I think you got to win once. If you win
more than that, you're special. I think you're overrating McKinnon
just a little bit. McKinnon ain't Crosby, McKinnon, ain't even McDavid.
(41:23):
Thank you for the call. Let's go to Rick. Rick.
Speaker 14 (41:25):
You're on with Mark, Hey, Mark, I just wanted to
ask you with your criticism of rightly deserved of the
Steelers in general and some of the management in particular.
Have you ever received like brushback from like your management
at iHeart and and what happens when you do?
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Steve mister, there was only there was only one thing
I ever said that they asked me to not say again,
and that's so many years ago, and I understood, and
I haven't said it since. Some callers have. I've never
went into the art Rooney anywhere. We don't travel in
the same circles. And honestly, I'm gonna say what I
want until I'm not on the air anymore.
Speaker 14 (41:58):
Okay, I mean, so like your manager or anything, who's
never said anything to you about Hey, you should have
said that being his sister station.
Speaker 1 (42:05):
No, No, just like this, the one thing years ago
in particular, which wasn't that big a deal. But I
understand why to not say it. Thank you for the call.
Let's go to a talkback. Do you believe that Cam
Hayward and TJ.
Speaker 13 (42:17):
Watt have earned their respective contract extensions and if not,
what should coach T do about it?
Speaker 5 (42:25):
Well?
Speaker 1 (42:25):
Cam just got the ookie dough, he didn't get no money.
He ain't gonna reached his bonuses. As far as what
Tomin can do about it, nothing. He wanted them to
get it. It's on him too. He didn't want them
to get it. They would not have the Watt thing especially,
and I say again they should have told what to
play out his existing deal and then franchised him as necessary.
That would have been logical and best for the team.
(42:46):
But then poor TJ would have had an unpleasant moment,
and we can't have poor TJ have that his brother
might cry on television one five nine X. Now it's
time for a very interesting guest because the playing surface
at Akrossur Stadium has been shall always say, less than
perfect a few bad moments. So joining me now to
(43:07):
discuss is a member of the Agroishur Stadium's ground crew.
His name is Jimmy DeNardo. Jimmy, are you any relation
to Dirk DeNardo, the legendary former chief of the grounds crew.
Speaker 3 (43:20):
I have no idea who that is.
Speaker 1 (43:22):
Really. How about Joe DeNardo, the legendary Channel four weathermen.
Speaker 13 (43:29):
Oh, I don't watch the news, but I don't have
any relatives that we're weathermen, So I had no clue
what that is.
Speaker 1 (43:36):
Okay, well, let's get down to brass tax about the
playing surface at Aquasshure. What is the process to prepare
the field for Steeler game? How many people work on it?
How many hours are put in? And why have there
been problems with the field recently?
Speaker 11 (43:51):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (43:52):
Okay, so it's kind of complicated. I don't know if
people understand how this works. But you know, the groundskeeper
crew is a is a union. The union work and.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
Okay, would would you characterize it? Would you characterize it
as a powerful union?
Speaker 3 (44:08):
Yes, the groundskeepers union is a very powerful union.
Speaker 10 (44:11):
Uh.
Speaker 13 (44:12):
And I don't know who did the collective bargaining agreement
with the stadium owners and the groundkeepers. But they don't
do a lot of work. They get a lot of breaks,
they get a lot of lunch time. So to you know,
to alleviate the uh, the lack of work.
Speaker 3 (44:29):
That's being done.
Speaker 13 (44:30):
I've had my mom, she's been working on the on
the field most of the time. You know, we we
had a great yard growing up. She started working on
the field.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
And wait, wait wait, wait wait wait wait, your mother
is preparing the surface at Acrossore for Steeler games. Your mom, Oh, she.
Speaker 13 (44:48):
Loves she loves working on the yard. And like this
is this is a big this is a big yard.
And so, uh, you know, she she loves she's eighty five.
She's actually celebrated on her birthday today.
Speaker 1 (45:01):
Oh well, happy birthday, misses the Norwich.
Speaker 13 (45:03):
Yeah, wish are having president. Thank you. I appreciate that.
She appreciate that too. She listens, she'll listen.
Speaker 3 (45:07):
She listens to your show. She's a big fan, big
fan of the show.
Speaker 1 (45:10):
Oh that's nice. So she's eighty five and she's working
on the field. What about you? Do you help her?
Are you in the union? Is she in the union?
Speaker 13 (45:17):
Well, no, no, I'm Mom'm super I'm super vision in
an administration, so I oversee the work. My mom loves
doing the work. I mean, that's what you gotta understand.
Which is funny because the union workers love my mom
because you know, they when they try to do the work,
my mom will oversee the work, and then when they
don't do a good job, she'll just get in there
(45:38):
and do it herself. The only thing my mom does
not like doing is mowing the law, and because it
takes forever, she can't stand mowing.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
The lawn, mowing the field.
Speaker 13 (45:46):
In other words, yeah, mowing the field. Excuse yeah, so
how much work does she do?
Speaker 1 (45:50):
How many hours does she put in? She's an eighty
five year old woman. This seems unbelievable.
Speaker 13 (45:56):
Oh, she is at least sixty to seventy hours a week.
But she she loves the work. You know how mother
You know how mothers are. You can't tell them not
to work on the yard. And now she has this
big field that she has to take care of. Now,
the problems lately had been exacerbated because my mom is
a great cook, you know, Italian family, grown up. She
(46:16):
loves to make the sauce. And the union workers love
my mom's cooking. So what's happened lately is we've been
getting caught behind schedule because my mom is had to
take take time out to cook for for the for
the for the staff, the crew of the union work. Right,
she's a nice old lady. She makes great sauce. They
(46:36):
love Italian food. And also what happened recently was, you
know a lot of the workers stopped showing up when
when they h you know, they had the ice the
ice rates, so so for some reason people stop come on,
come on, no, no, well I don't know they stop short,
but they're Italian which is weird.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
We we we are staying around is weird. Let's move
on to something else. So if your mom puts in
seventy five to eighty hours a week and you're supervising,
how many hours did the union workers put in each
per week?
Speaker 3 (47:09):
Oh it's five maybe, I'm you know, not a.
Speaker 13 (47:14):
Lot and a lot of spend a lot of time
taking breaks. They get a lot of breaks, and that's
been collectively bargained, which is weird. You know that they
would get that many breaks to absurd. To be honest
with you, my mom lo does to work.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Yeah, you keep saying now now, but there have been problems.
Miles killer Brew of the Steelers, the Special Team's captain,
blew out his knee on a flawed portion of the
Acrosur Stadium. Turpey's out for the year.
Speaker 3 (47:40):
Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 13 (47:41):
Said, he's just a special teams guy. Though you know
he didn't been like you know, he could do what
he wants. I'm sure you're probably like till you can
get some some you know, gets some legal counsel. But
you know he doesn't make no money. No, he can't
ssume me.
Speaker 1 (47:55):
So he's just a special teams guy, doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (47:58):
That's it.
Speaker 13 (47:59):
It doesn't matter.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
He can't.
Speaker 13 (48:00):
He doesn't make enough money to sue me. So, like
you know, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
Or your mother.
Speaker 13 (48:05):
Or my mom ether are not going to sue my mom.
My mom's indemnified.
Speaker 1 (48:10):
Now Chris Boswell slipped.
Speaker 3 (48:12):
Too, Oh in her contract is iron clad.
Speaker 1 (48:15):
Okay, Chris Boswell slipped when he was attempting a kick.
What if he had been injured?
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (48:21):
He who caress, He's a kicker. There's a million kickers
out there, Like every every week, somebody's kicking a sixty
yard field goal. And I don't know who these guys are.
So they go and plus you.
Speaker 3 (48:32):
You know, he he doesn't make enough money, he can't
sue me.
Speaker 1 (48:35):
Does your does your do the players like your mom?
Speaker 10 (48:38):
Oh?
Speaker 13 (48:38):
They love my mom.
Speaker 3 (48:39):
Don't cook.
Speaker 13 (48:39):
They'll cook for the team sometimes cook for the team.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
Now here's the big question, because this is the topic
of controversy. As you're well aware of being a supervisor
down there of your mother, who's eighty five, who works
eighty hours a week, You say seventy, So I don't
want to exaggerate. People say that because us pit plays
there as well as the Steelers, that the extra wear
(49:04):
and tear caused by pitt is the.
Speaker 13 (49:08):
That's a pain in the ass because what these I
don't don't know.
Speaker 1 (49:14):
How do the pit games damage the field?
Speaker 13 (49:19):
No, the pick games do not damage the field. But
the problem that we're having is is on Thursdays, these uh,
these pit players off and every other week or so,
like they come in there and with all their mil
money and I are having underground right, they're having n
al all their naal money they're making, they're having underground
monster truck races.
Speaker 3 (49:41):
And that creates a humongous problem.
Speaker 13 (49:43):
It's kind of fix up. My mom has to wake
up early on Friday morning to go out there and
fix the field. Mississc. It's a catastrophic mess. And you know,
in the union and she likes to get out there
early in the morning to work. It's like six a m. Well,
the union workers don't show up till ten and they
get a break, make it ten thirty. So it's like
it's very difficult to get caught up on fixing the field.
Speaker 1 (50:04):
Wait, wait, right back back up. So pit players with
trucks they purchased with their nil money are having monster
truck rallies on the turf. And actressure every other Thursday.
Speaker 13 (50:18):
Underground monster truck races.
Speaker 1 (50:23):
How much does that must?
Speaker 13 (50:25):
I think they've posted some of I think they've posted
some of the videos on YouTube, but I think they
got taken down.
Speaker 1 (50:31):
It being underground and everything right right right.
Speaker 13 (50:35):
I mean you could like like the the evidence is there,
but they took it down, so like you can probably
look it up, but I think they keep taking it down.
Speaker 1 (50:42):
Well, I appreciate you, uh you uh giving us the
inside scoop, mister Donardoa.
Speaker 13 (50:48):
Well, I just want to just want to reiterate my
mom wanted me to let you know, wanted me to
let you know, okay, that that.
Speaker 3 (50:55):
She she grew up.
Speaker 13 (50:57):
She was a big Packers fan growing up. Okay, she
was a big Aaron Rodgers fan, Okay, and so she's Garrett.
She she wants me to let you know that the
field is going to be in perfect condition come Sunday
night for the big game. And then she would like
to welcome you back to the house along because Aaron's
coming over afterwards and she's gonna be cooked for for
for for Aaron and the team, and if you're you're
(51:18):
welcome to come along.
Speaker 1 (51:21):
That's stummy DeNardo Atrosser Stadium groundskeeper. I'm Mark Madden one
oh five ninety X, Bye straight, Tako,
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