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This Is Getting Old

Linebacker U

The offering I chose for this week is their Aves Les Bons Voeux, the full name meaning “With the good wishes of the Dupont Brewery”.  It is a very high ABV saison, weighing in at 9.5%, and is rated very favorably on the online sites.  It was the first of many on Super Bowl Sunday, where my Steelers fell short of capturing their 7th title.  I found the beer to be have a hazy yellow pour with a nice thick white head. The head lasts forever and laces down the side of my glass beautifully.  The smell has bananas up front for me, only a hint of the earthiness I alluded to earlier (often referred to as ‘funk’), and some spices as well. Very good smelling beer.  The taste is really interesting and delicious.  It contains/but is not limited to cloves, bananas, spices, and a bit of funk. A bit bitter and hoppy up front. Honestly reminds me of a tripel, a light Belgian style with typical high ABVs along with a nice fruitiness, and has a slight bitter finish. Only a hint of the alcohol, which is masked nicely by the taste.  Light and bubbly, very refreshing.  Overall I was really impressed by this one.  I was worried that the high ABV would destroy the subtle tastes of a good saison, but this one has that and some nice qualities of other Belgian styles that I really enjoyed.

I’m not going to recap the game, or talk smack on the Jets, I just wanted to share some thoughts now that I am almost a day removed from kickoff.  It was definitely the coldest game I have ever attended. I was told the wind chill was 4 degrees, but I know it dipped down below 0 at some points. It is closely rivaled by the 2009 Penn State vs. Michigan State game in Beaver Stadium, which Penn State won and earned the right to lose to Mark Sanchez in the Rose Bowl, the same quarterback the Steelers held off yesterday.  It was the largest crowd in Heinz Field history, 66,662 in total. I was also at the largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history, when Penn State rocked a top 20 Nebraska team in front of 110,753 people in 2002. Watching Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier hand the trophy to Rooney, Tomlin and Roethlisberger was really worth the price of admission (which is really saying something).

While I won’t be traveling to the Super Bowl, I will certainly be glued to my TV two weeks from now, let the waiting begin!

Here we go, Steelers, here we go! Pittsburgh’s going to the Super Bowl!

What is the treatment, you may ask? Steroids?  A new exercise?  Nope. This completely legal and cutting edge treatment option is called Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy.

This surprisingly straightforward option involves injecting portions of a patient’s blood directly into the injured area, which catalyzes the body’s instincts to repair muscle, bone and other tissue. As a bonus, the technique appears to help regenerate ligament and tendon fibers, which could shorten rehabilitation time and possibly obviate surgery.

“It’s a better option for problems that don’t have a great solution — it’s nonsurgical and uses the body’s own cells to help it heal,” said Dr. Allan Mishra, an assistant professor of orthopedics at Stanford University Medical Center and one of the primary researchers in the field. “I think it’s fair to say that platelet-rich plasma has the potential to revolutionize not just sports medicine but all of orthopedics. It needs a lot more study, but we are obligated to pursue this.”

Platelet-rich plasma, initially used over 20 years ago in the Dental community to enhance wound healing in cancer patients with jaw reconstruction, is derived by placing a small amount of the patient’s blood in a filtration system or centrifuge that rotates at high speed, separating red blood cells from the platelets that release proteins and other particles involved in the body’s self-healing process. A teaspoon or two of the remaining substance is then injected into the damaged area. The high concentration of platelets — from 3 to 10 times that of normal blood — often catalyzes the growth of new soft-tissue or bone cells. Because the substance is injected where blood would rarely go otherwise, it can deliver the healing instincts of platelets without triggering the clotting response for which platelets are typically known.

Experts said they had used the procedure as a first option before surgery. There is little chance for rejection or allergic reaction because the substance is autologous, meaning it comes from the patient’s own body; the injection carries far less chance for infection than an incision and leaves no scar, and it takes only about 20 minutes, with a considerably shorter recovery time than after surgery.

The possibilities of platelet-rich plasma are certainly apparent to the Steelers. Polamalu had the procedure for a strained calf after last year’s playoff game against the Chargers and, although the injury was not considered particularly serious, he returned healthy enough the next Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens to return an interception 40 yards for a touchdown in the AFC Championship Game.

The technique played its most glaring role with Ward, who left that Baltimore game in the first quarter with a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. The next day, he was injected with a form of PRP therapy called autologous conditioned plasma, which features different proportions of platelets and other cells. Along with strenuous rehabilitation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, Ward recovered enough to make two catches in the Super Bowl.

“I was next in line, the next guinea pig,” Ward said, referring to Polamalu’s experience with platelet-rich plasma. “I think it really helped me. The injury that I had was a severe injury, maybe a four- or six-week injury. In order for me to go out there and play in two weeks, I don’t think anyone with a grade-2 M.C.L. sprain gets back that fast.”

It is also speculated that Polamalu used PRP after this recent knee injury, from which he returned and got re-injured, but missed the majority of the season.  It seems as if the NFL could benefit from the Steelers’ practices with PRP and you could see a severe decrease in time spent in rehab and amount of knee surgeries performed on football players, an area of great concern to the league.

The video below is from the 2009/2010 season and aired on ESPN during pregame discussions of Week 2.

Polamalu did return 4 weeks later, only to re-injure the knee after 5 weeks.

First off, driving was definitely the way to go.  With four capable drivers, Tom-Tom, and a Blackberry, we navigated around traffic and to the hotel with little to no issues.  On the way down, we stopped at my Uncle’s house in North Carolina and my friends got introduced to barbecue chicken with coleslaw on top.  Let’s just say their eyes were opened to a new way to eat.  We drank double-hop brewed South Paw, a Miller product that you drink in the South with your left hand.  We spent about $225 in gas to cover the 2200 miles, never paying below $2.49/gallon and always getting gas millage better than 22.  The cheapest gas was in Columbia, South Carolina, the most expensive was in Tyrone.  We stayed at The Lodge (our name for the Econo Lodge we used to make it sound nicer) for $46 a night.  It is about 15 miles from the Citrus Bowl and just a few minutes from Universal Studios.  We went to Universal’s City Walk, running into some of the Blue Band, for New Years which was an amazing decision.  The alcohol was reasonable and the atmosphere was fun.  We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, which apparently is the biggest one in the world unbeknownst to us.  After toasting Champagne and grabbing a few hours of sleep, we departed for the Capital One Bowl.

One word best describes January 1st, 2010.  Rain.  Lots of it.  Here I thought Florida would be sunny and warm.  Somehow the crappy weather that plauged Penn State’s entire season followed us to Orlando.  Dressed in a t-shirt and without a poncho, I froze my ass off in pre-game and the first quarter.

The View from the Penn State Student Section

We sat pretty close to the Blue Band, which was nice because we could hear everything they played.  We were right at the LSU goal line, where Penn State kicked the game winning field goal.  The field was crap, the refs did their best to rival it however.  How can you say it’s fourth down after an intentional grounding on first (which was iffy at best) and a run play on second?  Then, they forgot that when the defense accepts a holding penalty the offense gets the down back so it would still be second down.  Also, Penn State’s game winning field goal was snapped from the 4 yard line when it should have been snapped from the 3.  These were Conference USA refs…what the heck were they doing reffing a Big Ten SEC game??  Give us some ref officials please!  We kept joking that they were going to call icing on Joe Paterno and give LSU 3 more points.  After a much closer game than I expected after the first half, the Lions proved to be the better team edging the Tigers 19-17.  It felt good to see Darryl Clark get the MVP after the signature win of his career.  After watching him, Sean Lee, and Navorro Bowman direct the Blue Band, our group headed to a local sports bar to catch the rest of the games.

We drove straight back to PA the next day.  Leaving Orlando at Noon and arriving in Tyrone at 8am.  I watched the sun set and rise in the same car ride.  We left 50 degree Orlando and ended in 0 degree Tyrone, a rude awakening to say the least.

Before food each person ended up paying $176 dollars, you can’t beat that for two nights in Orlando and a good football game.

So, Happy New Year and Go Lions! Beat Tigers!

2003 BCS Fiesta Bowl (2002 BCS National Championship Game) – Ohio State Buckeyes (31) vs. Miami Hurricanes (24) (2OT)

2005 Big Ten Football Game – Penn State Nittany Lions (17) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (10)

2006 BCS Orange Bowl – Penn State Nittany Lions (26) vs. Florida State Seminoles (23) (3OT)

2006 BCS Rose Bowl (2005 BCS National Championship Game) – Texas Longhorns (41) vs. Southern California Trojans (38)

2007 BCS Fiesta Bowl – Boise State Broncos (43) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (42) (OT)

2008 Stanley Cup Finals Game 5 – Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Detroit Red Wings (3) (3OT)

2009 Super Bowl XLIII – Pittsburgh Steelers (27) vs. Arizona Cardinals (23)

2009 NCAA Big East Basketball Tournament Quarterfinal – Syracuse Orange (127) vs. Connecticut Huskies (117) (6OT)

2009 Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 – Pittsburgh Penguins (2) vs. Detroit Red Wings (1)

2009 Women’s Volleyball NCAA Championship – Penn State Nittany Lions (3) vs. Texas Longhorns (2) (22-25, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-13)

Here’s to a new decade full of excitement.

Freshman Year: AVCA First Team All-America … AVCA National Freshman of the Year … Big Ten Player of the Year … Big Ten Freshman of the Year … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … AVCA Mideast Region Freshman of the Year … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … NCAA Seattle Regional All-Tournament Team … Big Ten All-Freshmen Team … three-time Big Ten Player of the Week (9/25, 10/23, 11/27) … first player in Big Ten history to earn First Team AVCA All-America honors as a freshman … just one of two true freshmen to be named to the three 2006 AVCA All-America teams and the only one named First Team … the only player ever in Big Ten history to claim both Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year honors … first-ever player to earn Gatorade National High School Volleyball Player of the Year honors and AVCA National Freshman of the Year honors in consecutive seasons.

Sophomore Year: National Champion … Honda Award Finalist … NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player … AVCA First Team All-America … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … Sports Imports/AVCA National Player of the Week (9/10) … Big Ten Player of the Week (9/10) … Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten

Junior Year: National Champion … NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Player … AVCA First Team All-America … NCAA Regional Championship Most Outstanding Player … First Team AVCA All-Mideast Region … Academic All-Big Ten … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … ESPN The Magazine Second Team Academic All-American … Unanimous Preseason All-Big Ten

Senior Year: National Champion … Honda Award Finalist … AVCA First Team All-America … NCAA Regional Championship Most Outstanding Player … AVCA First Team All-Mideast Region … Unanimous First Team All-Big Ten … Academic All-American of the Year … The awards are still piling in.

Count that up, 4 time All-American, 4 time Unanimous All-Big Ten, 4 time Mideast Regional First-Team, two time Honda Award Finalist, 3 time National Champion (the first Women’s Volleyball team to ever win 3 straight), the list really is disgusting.  She lead Penn State to 102 consecutive victories, the most of any Female Collegiate team in the history of collegiate athletics, and the second most of all-time (35 behind Men’s Tennis at Miami (137)).  Her fellow seniors and her hold the best record in Women’s Volleyball history (142-5).  Must I go on?  Because trust you me, I could.

Says legendary head coach Russ Rose of Megan Hodge: “Megan has had a storied career at Penn State.” For those of you who have seen Rose coach, you know he isn’t one to exaggerate, so you take what you can get.

How many football players were 4 time All-Americans?  How many football players (ever, not just at Penn State) have won three national championships in a row?  Sure she couldn’t pull the Michael Jordan and be MVP of all of her championships, but I won’t hold that against her.  Her Junior year, the team was touted as the best team to ever play Women’s Volleyball.  They didn’t even lose a set until dropping two in the championship game, which they rallied back from to win in 5.  Then, in the senior’s last game in a Penn State uniform, the team overcame their first 2-0 deficit in three years to win one of the most intensely competed sporting events I’ve ever seen.  As the final point careened off into the crowd the camera fixated on Russ Rose.  He marked the final stat of the season in his storied notebook, a Kill by Megan Hodge, and so closed the book on the most storied career of any athlete in Penn State History.

1. The matchup will have higher ratings than the Orange Bowl.

PSU – LSU is a better matchup than Iowa – Georgia Tech (Orange) and the ratings will show.  This can be used for future leverage if ever Penn State finds itself in this situation again.  If you look at the ratings the Orange Bowl has received since Penn State met Florida State in the unforgettable Triple Overtime thriller that is now the final meeting between the two greatest college football coaches of all time, Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden, they have been pathetic.

2009 Virginia Tech – Cincinnati 5.4 rating.

2008 Kansas – Va Tech 7.4 rating.

2007 Louisville – Wake Forest 6.98 rating.

2006 Penn State – Florida State 12.3 rating.

Basically it took the Orange Bowl two years to meet what Penn State brought them in the 2006 edition.

2. It will be one of the best bowl games.

When the Big Ten number 2 and the ACC Champions meet, the fans don’t watch and those who do fall asleep.  Just look at the ratings from the last few Orange Bowl’s…numbers don’t lie.  Also, Texas showed the nation that they are not as good as we thought by sneaking by Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game.  Whereas Alabama flexed against Florida, making them the definite number 1 team in the land.  Look for a dominating National Championship Game with Alabama laughing past Texas.  This leaves Ohio State – Oregon (Rose), Cincinnati – Florida (Sugar), TCU – Boise State (Fiesta), Florida State – West Virginia (Gator, solely because it is Bowden’s final game), and PSU – LSU (Capitol One) as the best five bowls.  I would place PSU – LSU as second or third on that list.

3. We get one of the best broadcasting crews with Brad Nessler, Todd Blackledge, and Erin Andrews

Need I say more?

4. Penn State finished 3rd in the Big Ten. It’s what we deserve when you look at how the season played out.

In the early 2000s, we would have been pumped about going to the Capital One Bowl. Enjoy it people!