Sick of being sick

By Steven Lienert

Just two weeks removed from an emergency appendectomy, the last thing I needed was to get sick to my stomach. But if Ben Roethlisberger is the new face of the NFL, this has become one ugly league.

Who cares about Pittsburgh? People from Pittsburgh don't care about Pittsburgh.

Steeler fans, though, should be thankful Roethlisberger isn't on the cover of Madden '07. That would have just guaranteed a season-ending injury to Pittsburgh's savior. So go look at yer shiny trophy and pretend everything's all right in the world...

After his game-winning, face-crushing catch against the Mets, Phillies outfielder Aaron Rowand deserves to be on a video cover more than Roethlisberger. As long as he doesn't say anything disparaging about Donovan McNabb, Rowand will never have to pay for another beer in this town...

By the way, since when did Red Sox fans become like a swarm of chowdah-slurping, funny-talking locusts? There were more Tom Brady jerseys at Citizens Bank Park last week than there were at Boston's Patriot's Day festivities. Who dresses these people? ...

Speaking of dress codes, what happened to the NBA? Three of the four conference semifinals went to pivotal Game 7s, yet I couldn't care less.

Since 1980, the NBA has had seven, count 'em, seven different champions. Granted, there's a 75 percent chance that an eighth NBA team will crack the ranks only the Lakers, Bulls, Sixers, Celtics, Rockets, Pistons and Spurs have achieved in the past 26 years. But, let's face it: Detroit will win again. Wake me up when somebody different wins the title...

While we're talking championships, I'm rooting hard for Edmonton to win the Stanley Cup. First, it would be significant for a Canadian team to regain the Cup after a 13-year drought. Second, it would give underdogs everywhere renewed hope: an eight-seed that just got into the playoffs in the last week of the season going all the way to capture a title...

The WNBA season just started back up, and there's more interest than ever before. That was until men found out that the 'N' didn't stand for naked. And I thought the NBA was bad...

One last note: In all seriousness, I hope Barbaro lives through his ordeal. No one, man or animal, deserves to die from a sports injury. This is all just entertainment after all.

Steve Lienert can be reached at stevelienert@hotmail.com