sell the team peter!!

You said that right. Not sure why the rest of the sun staff picked the steelers. The steelers had their year last year, it's our turn to turn the table around. If the Ravens play their fundamental and play sound they will this out. Please please please don't make too many penalties. Hit hard, play like a Raven.....

peace n out

merry christmas

daniel / odenton

Peter, that is one thing I like about you.. even if the Ravens were in their ups/downs you would always stick by their side. I always lose confidence when the rest of the sports sun staff pick other teams.. been a Raven fan since they sprout 96 and die hard. Been reading your nice blog everyday. You always say positive things.. so this is a big after Christmas for the Ravens,,, a big win...

peace n out

daniel of odenton

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Pete's reply: Happy holidays to you, too. I don't always pick the Ravens to win, but just have a feeling they will this week. Been wrong before, however, so I wouldn't bet your house.

Geez, Anonymous, you sure are dumb. Mr. Shmuck does not own the team, he merely reports on them. And (correct me if I am wrong, Mr. Schmuck), he usually goes by "Pete", not "Peter".

The refs will propel Steelers to victory as they usually do in big games. Nothing personal, just busine$$.

Pete here's wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

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Pete's reply: And right back at you. Hope all is well.

I hope your right Pete--the best situation is if the Steelers have a let down after their emotional and last-second win over Green Bay.

As for Ben? How does he do it?

He takes bruising hits, appears to be less than the smartest cookie on the field, yet he completes miraculous passes like the last-second TD.

How does he do it?

Peter,

You may want to write a piece on the passing of a fun, joyful, and great sports reporter in the DC area. I believe he was important to the Baltimore teams also.

WASHINGTON -- George Michael, a veteran Washington sportscaster who gained national recognition with his syndicated "The George Michael Sports Machine" highlights show, died Thursday. He was 70.

Michael

Michael's daughter, Michelle Allen, said Michael died from complications of chronic lymphocytic leukemia at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Michael worked at Washington's WRC-TV for 28 years until his resignation in 2008. The Washington Post said Michael left the station over budget cuts his programs were facing.

"George Michael was our friend and colleague for more than 25 years. He was a dynamic force around our newsroom and in the entire Washington area," the station said in a statement Thursday. "George was a pioneer in sports broadcasting. He was a gifted interviewer, a master storyteller, and one of the hardest working journalists out there. Our hearts go out to his wife Pat and his daughter Michelle, both of whom also worked with us for many years, as well as the rest of his family."

Michael's highlight-rich program, which launched in 1984, eventually morphed into "The George Michael Sports Machine" and was syndicated to more than 200 stations at its peak.

"George was the consummate reporter and a valuable friend," Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said in a statement. "I doubt we'll ever again see a sports reporter who was so admired by the people he covered."

Pete,

Don't you know? All the positive bloggers are on the Orioles side... You know, where those who like to 'lose' live?

Ravens have a great shot at winning this week. Even though this game is all the Steelers have left to play for, I'm thinking the team that showed up against KC, Oak and the Browns ends up posting at Heinz.

Happy Holidays!

I agree Pete- and all I have to say is this.

Last year the Steelers ended our season. Their miraculous win last week is PERFECT, because now it gives us the opportunity to end theirs.

Would it really be gratifying to beat a team with nothing to play for other than to bring us down with them. The best part if the fans. They have hope again- so it's payback time- on so many levels- and the sort of payback we are looking for wouldn't have been possible without their win over the Packers.

The irony is the win over the Packers is what has Ravens fans so worried. It's not gonna be easy- but hey- it never was for the Steelers to beat us last year- and with all of our injuries in the secondary- are we really any worse off this year than we were last?? Not by my IMO.

Merry Christmas and Ho Ho Ho Ravens

Big Daddy, i have my own opinion just like yours. I happen to like Pete's blogs. So wake up. Who made you the ESPN guru.... Then maybe you should be at Mike Preston's blog not on this one.. if im dumb, you must be dumber.. So what if i call him Peter???? that's my perogative... can't a man just njoy what he wants to say... All's i want was for the Ravens to win..

Hey Schmuck...perhaps you should take a look at the playoff scenarios. Pittsburgh is very much alive and don't really need the Ravens to lose to Oakland. Granted a lot of things have to happen but they are not outlandish scenarios. Pittsburgh needs to start by beating the Ravens. For the sake of argument lets assume that happens. If Jacksonville loses at New England, Denver loses at Philly, Jets lose at Indy and Miami happens to beat Houston than Pittsburgh would actually control its own destiny.

Pete, hope you and your family have a Blessed Christmas.

Big Ben all those concussions must be getting to you. You state four different "must-happens" and then say if all that plays out exactly like Pittsburgh needs, then the steelers will "control their own destiny." That's hilarious- do you even know what controlling your destiny means?Hint: needing specific outcomes in more than a quarter of the games taking place next week the you don't play in means you don't control your own destiny.

Next time wear a motorcycle helmet and maybe you won't need us to explain these concepts to you

The playoffs have already started, at least for the Ravens. They might as well start winning on the road right now. I'm with you Pete, I think the Ravens pull this one off and revenge last season by knocking the Steelers out.
Ravens 24, Pitt. 17

Sell the team peter seems to be the first comment every column by anonymous.
Is this you Peter Schmuck??

Pete--I'm with you.

Baltimore--27
Pittsburgh--24

Suggs picks off Roethlisberger with 1:37 left to play in the 4th quarter.

Ray Rice scores two touchdowns (7-yard run and a 27-yard pass play).

Have a warm, peaceful Christmas Pete. Thanks again for giving us your blog to share our sports passions. We appreciate it.

If the Ravens want to beat the steelers then they'll have to score heavily, because I don't see Ravens' defence stopping them. The only thing going for the Raven's is that the Steelers' defence is nowhere at its best.

I have to hand it to you Pete. You're a homer. Whether you believe the Ravens will win, you picked them to win. That's big of you, and we Ravens fans appreciate it.

The rest of the Suns writers, none of which picked the Ravens to win on Sunday, can go ahead and rotten in hell.

That's my Holiday spirit. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Pete, It should be a good game. I'm not sure how to predict the outcome. The Steelers, though struggling over the past month, are the defending Super Bowl champs and are playing at home. Ben Roethlisberger is a big game quarterback, as he showed last week.

On the other side of the ball the Steelers just aren't the same without Troy Polamalu, who makes everyone around him better. So their defense is very exploitable.

This is an absolute must-win for Pittsburgh, but not for the Ravens, so the Steelers may be playing with more intensity and with two fairly evenly matched teams, that along with home field advantage could spell the difference.

I'm leaning towards the Ravens, but I think this one is going to go right down to the wire and be decided in the fourth quarter. Big Ben could pull it out for them. Should be entertaining, that's for sure.

Pete, if I don't make any more comments before Saturday, I want to wish you, your family and readers a Blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Pete. I found out this morning that I am going to Pittsburgh to see the game. A friend living in Pittsburgh has an extra ticket, his wife is ill.

It is a tough place for opposing teams to win, but the Stillers are far from invincible this year. They will need even more help from the officials than they got last week to beat the Ravens.

It will be a cloddy day donton in Pittsburgh but I can't wait to beat the crap out of the Stillers.

Ravens 34, Stillers 20.

daniel in odenton,

My comment was directed at "Anonymous", the first poster (which is why I addressed it to him/her and not to you). It was directed at the fact that this blog post was centered around the Ravens, not the Orioles, so the "sell the team" statement seemed a bit out of place. It was a joke since this anonymous person seems to get the first post on all of Pete's blog entries lately (as someone else pointed out a little while ago).

Happy Holidays Pete, thanks for providing a great medium for conversation for O's fans! I'm about to ship off, January 4th for basic training, and I'm just starting to get nervous about the lack of freedom. Among many things, I know I'll miss my daily check of your blog. Have a great new year, and don't stop giving us all you've got!

Not that I'm asking for recognition, but I want you to know the 10:53 message was from me. Again, Happy Holidays!!

The key to a Ravens win is NOT Rice but - Sam K and Tod H.
...............

Sunday's game means nothing. Mike Vick is the only thing that matters. Vick is closer to God then any football game really matters. Philly players [ who voted for him ] must get a group award . Vick is really God like!!

Big Daddy (Not Lipscomb),

Don't know why I'm paying attention to this, but...

"daniel in odenton" and the first blogger "anonymous" are the same. See the signature at the bottom of each post.

Oh by the way, I think your barking up the wrong tree, implying that Schmuck is the first post'er on his own blog.

The reason the Steelers will win Sunday is the difference between the two quarterbacks.

A great QB (Big Ben) will find a way to win a close game, regardless of circumstance and time.

A good QB (Joe Cool) might or might not find a way to win a close game, regardless of circumstance and time.

Schmuck,
As I said on the "Sun's Picks" page...

Now's not the time to save face in case the Ravens lose. This game's not about depleted secondaries or previous records in Pittsburgh.

THIS GAME"S ABOUT HEART AND WHO HAS MORE OF IT!!!

Whether you're a "homer" or not, you're the only one on the Sun's staff with the B@(($ to show your true colors...and I commend you for it!

Happy Holidays to you and your family!!!

Dave from St Mary's

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Pete's reply: Happy Holidays to you, too, but I don't know about showing my true colors. I'm only purple because I've been outside shoveling the sidewalk.

To Socal O's Fan...perhaps you should read a little closer...maybe you have your own concussion issues after banging your head into the wall rooting for those pathetic O's over the years...I clearly said a lot of ifs but at the same time having those 4 outcomes occur is not a crazy scenario...the point is if they do happen and Pitt wins last two they are in end of story...will focus on the task at hand though which is a beat down of the Rat birds...Merry XMAS

Herb,

Have you thought about, Uh, taking some time off and having some tests run?

I'm with ya Schmucky

I agree, Peter. The Steelers may be ready to lay an egg after last week's drama. They certainly have the pressure on them. And the ESPN pundits apparently don't even think the Ravens will make the playoffs.

Low expectations are a good thing for this team!

MUST SEE on You Tube. To get your mind off Sundays game, for a while. www.youtube.com - 1,528,174 hits in 2 years. You might want to be a lady in her 50's +. Al Green " How can you mend a broken heart " Him wearing a suit and tie live. MJ's favorite to watch before he passed. Go Ravens!!!!!

The refs will propel Steelers to victory as they usually do in big games. Nothing personal, just busine$$.

Posted by: pete | December 24, 2009 12:47 PM
_____________________

Already making excuses for another loss? Want to know why most of America despises the Ravens? It's because all they and their fans do is whine about the officiating after every loss. The Ravens could lose 45-3 and you would still blame the refs. If you and your conspiracy theorists were correct wouldn't the Ravens be 0-14 and long out of the playoff hunt? I guess the idiot Stone really didn't deserve a penalty in last year's AFC Championship game and I guess it was the ref that threw the interception to a wide open Troy Palomalu for a TD too. No doubt it was the refs that choked threw the interception and not Steve McNair against the Colts two years ago. If you think the two penalties called on your hero Ray Lewis in the home game loss to the Bengals was the refs fault than you are an idiot. Did the ref drop the pass that hit him right in the hands or was it Mark Clayton against the Patriots? Did the refs miss the FG against the Vikings? Shall I go on with more facts to disprove your ridiculous comment? Watch the game instead of the zebras for a change.

_______________________________

It is difficult to have a serious dialogue
with an individual who posts under the screen name of "Realttiy Check" but I'll try.

Yes, I watched the Stillers last week. I saw an interception on 4th down on their last drive negated when Hines Ward ran into a defensive player away from the play and illegal contact was called. It should have been a no call. In "Reality" that game was over. Check "this"

The Ravens have difficulty beating good teams, and winning close games. The Steelers are good at both (their problem this season has been losing to bad teams), and a game with them is never over until the last second because Ben is great at leading comebacks.) We need to become more like them.