Remember when...TV shows

Yes, Ferris Bueller was a short-lived sitcom in 1990 on NBC

In this blog, I have written about everything from the economy to the Oscars. Today, I am going to write about TV shows (some great and not so great) that are not in syndication but were on TV at some point. Let's start with some short-run shows:

* The Famous Teddy Z (CBS) - Jon Cryer (now on Two and a Half Men)
This little gem of a show ran for 20 episodes back in the Fall of 1989 starred the now famous Cryer fresh off his 'Pretty in Pink' success of the 80's. The show was about Teddy, a mailroom clerk in a agency who quickly gets on the hot track and promoted. Hilarious results but only clips on YouTube are promos. The theme song was catchy too.

* Nearly Departed (NBC) - Eric Idle (Monty Python fame)
This show ran for 2-3 episodes in the fall of 1989 and you can clearly see why. Although a humorous idea with spirits still living in their house (Idle at one point is watching a woman take a shower!) it was really ridiculous and could never become a popular show.

* The Wizard (CBS) - David Rappaport
Only lasting one season in 1986, Rappaport starred as a toymaker/inventor who solved crimes for the government. Tragically, he took his own life in 1990.

* Ferris Bueller (NBC) - Charlie Schlatter
Based on the ever popular John Hughes classic, the show was cancelled after just 13 episodes. Though based on the movie, the series was not a continuation of the film, rather, the series was set up to portray itself as being the "real life," situations after which the film was based. In the pilot episode, Ferris (Schlatter) refers to the film and expresses his displeasure at Matthew Broderick portraying him, even going as far as destroying a life-size cardboard cutout of Broderick with a chainsaw. As in the film, the series focused on Ferris Bueller and his high school experiences, including dealing with his sister Jeannie (Aniston), his friend Cameron (Douglas), and Bueller's love interest Sloan (Dolenz). Unlike the film, which was set in Chicago, the series was set in Los Angeles.

Fun Fact: Jennifer Aniston starred as Ferris's sister Jeannie.

* Hi Honey, I'm Home (ABC) - Rick Mitz, Penny Stallings

What ABC tried to fit into their TGIF lineup in 1991-92 was a sitcom within a sitcom. The series centered around a 1950s sitcom family, the Nielsens (who were named in reference to the Nielsen Ratings system), who were relocated by the "Sitcom Relocation Program" to 1990s New Jersey suburbia after their fictional series, Hi Honey, I'm Home, stopped being rerun. It ran for two seasons and 14 episodes on ABC and Nickelodeon.

* The Class (CBS) - Andrea Anders, Jon Bernthal, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Heather Goldenhersh, Sean Maguire, Lucy Punch and Jason Ritter
Lasting 19 episodes in the fall of 2006, I quickly became a fan of this show. The promos turned me off to it but after 2-3 episodes, I gave it a shot and it got me hooked. Its blend of humor and emotion was perfect. Unfortuately, CBS cancelled it even though it won the Peoples Choice Award for Best New Comedy over the likes of '30 Rock' and 'Till Death.

And now those that lasted at least 4 or more seasons...

* Out of This World (NBC) - Maureen Flannigan
In Sept. 1987, NBC aired this children's television comedy series about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. I remember it came on before the Cosby Show and was then put into Syndication like so many other shows in the 80's to early 90's (Saved by the Bell, Small Wonder, etc.) Originally a British comedy, it lasted until 1991 running 96 episodes and four seasons.

* Small Wonder (FOX) - Howard Leeds, Leslie H. Martinson
I remember coming home from school 1985-1989 and seeing this show on FOX at 4 p.m. Lasting four seasons and 96 episodes, the show chronicles the family of a robotics engineer who, after he secretly creates a robot modeled after a real human girl, try to pass it off as their daughter. Although the show was created under Metromedia Productions, the rights to the show were acquired by 20th Century Fox Television in 1986.

*ALF (NBC) - Paul Fusco, Max Wright
In Sept. 1986, ALF took the world by storm. Shockingly it lasted only four seasons (102 episodes) but spawned a worldwide popularity. Cartoon shows, ALF toys, comics, even a TV movie made in 1996, six years after the show was off the air.

* Rescue 911 (CBS) - William Shatner
This highly successful show lasted seven seasons with William Shatner narrating the episodes. Featuring four segments that dealt with police, fire or ambulance, the re-enactments were first rate and sometimes humorous (remember the woman who got the accelerator stuck and had to call the police while speeding?!) Used to be shown on the Family Channel, it is not currently being shown.

Any other shows I missed? Comment and tell me which shows you remember popular or unpopular. Just don't list the obvious, successful ones like 'Seinfeld' or 'Frasier.'

81st Academy Awards Wrap-Up

The last of the big award shows of the season has come and gone. The 81st annual Academy Awards were long, bloated and really according to plan except for one award: Best Actor. After capturing the hearts of the Golden Globe, BAFTA and Spirit Award members, Mickey Rourke lost to Sean Penn in the race for Oscar. What was probably Rourke's last legit shot at Oscar gold, he can take away from it the revitalization of his career. Here is a rundown of the winners with my analysis:

BEST PICTURE

Winner: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Reaction: This movie deserved to win Best Picture. I loved 'Benjamin Button' and all the others deserved to be up there with it. But this movie is a masterpiece in tugging the heart strings and getting people to jump for joy at the end. Danny Boyle should be proud of this film and it's improbable run to Oscar gold.

Director Danny Boyle shares an Oscar moment with one of the little girls who played Latika in "Slumdog Millionaire"

BEST DIRECTOR

Winner: Danny Boyle - "Slumdog Millionaire"

Reaction: What a career this director has had. From "Trainspotting" to "28 Days Later" and now "Slumdog Millionaire." A departure from his earlier works, this is without a doubt Boyle's masterpiece. He will now be able to do whatever films he likes as the doors of hollywood have opened after nearly shutting in his face. Congrats to Boyle for his masterful direction in creating this film and helping it survive.

Sean Penn with two beautiful Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz

BEST ACTOR

Winner: Sean Penn - "Milk"

Reaction: In what I thought was the shocker of the night, Penn was rewarded for his flamboyant performance as 1970's Gay rights activist Harvey Milk. Mickey Rourke's performance in 'The Wrestler' was phenominal, but the thing working against him was the Academy voters view that this was just him playing himself. This focused their attention on Penn who makes it difficult for people to like him but brings it when he acts.

Side Note: Brad Pitt will win an Oscar someday. 'Benjamin Button' was just stacked too much against to be a clear cut winner.

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Kate Winslet - "The Reader"

Reaction: A long time coming for Kate Winslet. Although this movie was not seen as her best performance, she is rewarded for her overall work with this Oscar win. Reminds me of Russell Crowe winning for 'Gladiator' when he should have won the year before for 'The Insider.' Meryll Streep's 15 nods and 2 wins were against her in this category, but we will see the greatest actress of all time again I am certain.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Winner - Heath Ledger - "The Dark Knight"

Reaction: Finally, Oscar gets it right. A post-humous honor for the great Heath Ledger who took an already dark character and made him into something no one could have expected. The tragic death of Ledger amplified this movie but his performance speaks for itself. There was no possible way he was going to lose this award.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Winner - Penelope Cruz - "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Reaction: Woody Allen strikes again! Another actress picks up an Oscar for her work in his movie. "He writes great roles for women," Cruz said of Allen. The last decade has brought the second coming of Allen with fantastic movies such as "Match Point" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona." Here's hoping he keeps writing!

Allen's Oscar Wins for Actresses: Best Actress - Diane Keaton, Best Supporting Actress - Diane Wiest (twice), Mira Sorvino and now Penelope Cruz.

Best Player in the NHL: Alex Ovechkin

Utterly amazing. Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin never ceases to amaze me as he knotted his 42nd goal of the season en route to a 4-3 shootout victory. It wasn't the fact that it was his 42nd goal that was amazing. It's how he did it.

With a little over 8 minutes to go in period 1, Coach Bruce Boudreau noticed the Canadiens were being a little cavalier with their puck handling in the middle of a line change. So Alex Ovechkin bolts out of the bench, twirls around the defender and proceeds to fall down and still score the goal. If you have not seen this goal, go to http://www.youtube.com/ and type in Alex Ovechkin's Montreal Goal. You can also see it on http://www.espn.com/ and click on NHL.

Of course most remember the unbelieveable goal Ovechkin made in Phoenix in 2006 where he was laying down and extended his stick to hit the puck in the net. That goal even impressed "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky. This goal is right up there with that one and shows you why he is the best plain and simple.

Sure, Crosby and Malkin score goals and dish out assists, but not like that. The amazing skills this guy of only 4 years in the NHL has is neverending. Man, I can't wait for the playoffs!

Mitch Albom hates blogs...who cares?

Mitch Albom thinks all bloggers are not on the same cloud as he. Not so fast... (Picture courtesy of Slate.com)

I have been writing blogs for a little over two months now. Sure the grammar could be better and the sentence structure could be a little more focused. But blogs are meant to help people sound out their wide range of emotions and ideas whether it be in sports or personally in their own lives. You can also create professional blogs like Deadspin and Jay Mariotti's where people get paid to blog. But when I heard the words of Mitch Albom, I just about had it with the man who got caught lying in a column he wrote during the Final Four.

Albom is well known to me. It all goes back to the Fairfax Times when he was going to be accepting an award from the George Mason University Fall for the Book program for the books he has written (Five People You Meet In Heaven, Tuesdays with Morrie, etc.) I decided to put a promotion for the event in our community calendar. Little did I know, the Entertainment section put in a photo then my editor put in a photo and by the time it was all done, Mitch Albom had 5 photos in the newspaper!!!! Also, a fellow writer named Monty announced his hatred for the man on a blog he had. So you see, I know about Mitch Albom.

In an article he wrote, he said "Bloggers can essentially basically be anyone with a computer. And anyone with a computer does not belong on the level any more than I should just be able to to arrest somebody you know because I decided to, versus being a police officer. Or do somebody's taxes because I decided to, versus going to accounting school."

Albom went on to distinguish himself from bloggers by saying "At least in my case and a lot of the people that are from my era and I've been in this close to three decades now, we went to school for this. We trained for this. I have a Master's degree from Columbia. I learned certain rules about what is journalism and what isn't."

OK Mitch. So you're saying all these so-called bloggers out there are a bunch of uneducated, nitwits that have no right to blog about anything? This is America last I checked and not all bloggers are morons. Most bloggers like to mix in humor but make their points known rather seriously. You're no prestine journalist Albom. You've had faults of your own (See Final Four Snafu: http://www.poynter.org/article_feedback/article_feedback_list.asp?user=&id=80831).

Also, there are classes on blogs too, so people are trained for this. Check out Media Bistro for one of the sources offering them.

Albom needs to stick to his lame books. At least that way he can write fiction and get away with it.

For more, read the deadspin blog about Albom:

http://deadspin.com/5153058/mitch-albom-has-a-few-things-to-get-off-his-chest

Pittsburgh...We Have a Problem!

The woes have reached new heights for Sid the Kid and the Penguins

What in the world is going on in Pittsburgh? It wasn't bad enough that Sid the Kid and Malkin blew a 2-0 lead en route to a 6-2 Toronto Maple Leaf win but for Pittsburgh to fire their coach so far into the season? The result was the Penguins continuing on their spiraling course losing to the NHL-worst N.Y. Islanders in a shootout. Things are not sunny in Pittsburgh as the Penguins have gone 4-4-2 in their last 10 games and are 4 points out of the last spot in the playoffs. What happened to a team that just one year ago was flying high into the Stanley Cup Finals?

Well, losing players like Marian Hossa did not help matters. Crosby has become increasingly individualistic and complains about every call made on the Pens. Malkin is still a phenominal player but no where near where he was a year ago. Goaltending has been ok but too close to 3.00 goals per game. The question on everyones mind is will they correct their course under new coach Dan Bylsma and make the playoffs? Only time will tell.

The good news for Penguin fans is they have enough time to correct the ship. I honestly don't think it was Therrien's fault the Penguins were headed in the wrong direction. You can put most of the blame on the team itself. Crosby, Malkin and company tend to work as individuals and not as a team. An example of a great player working with his team and making it work is in Washington D.C. with Alex Ovechkin. He puts up great stats but his team also puts up the stats to back him up. It's not the Ovy-Backstrom show. It's the entire team working toward a common goal and that is what makes it work.

The Penguins have to go back to the drawing board. Teamwork and chemistry must prevail for them to get back into their playoff groove of last season. It can be done but egos need to be checked at the door for the good of the team. Otherwise, the only Penguins you'll see will be in 'Madagascar' not the NHL playoffs.

A-Rod should be seen as A-Hero

Alex Rodriguez admitted to using Performance Enhancing Drugs from 2001-03 while in Texas.

If you're a baseball fan, then you know of the allegations against Alex Rodriguez taking performance enhancing drugs and possibly steroids from 2001-03. All weekend, ESPN reported on an article researched exhaustively by Sports Illustrated showing proof that Rodriguez failed a drug test in 2003. Today, the bomb dropped.

In a surprising move, Alex Rodriguez did an exclusive interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs from 2001-2003. He seemed sincere in the clip I saw and has the face of disappointment in himself. He could have hid in the shroud of secrecy like Mark McGuire, Rafael Palmeiro, Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. But what A-Rod decided to do was rise above those liars and come clean. Be honest with the fans and Major League Baseball. Players all around the sports world can take a page out of this man's book. Honesty is always the way to go.

Major League Baseball has had some tough years as of late. How Bud "I didn't see anything" Selig keeps on as commissioner baffles me and fans. He turned a blind eye on steroids and other banned substances for, what he thought was, the good of the game. Instead, all-stars and potential hall of famers with World Series titles under their belts will never be enshrined in Cooperstown. They can all thank lying and steroids for that.

If you keep repeating a lie over and over and over like Roger Clemens, it becomes a part of you. If you tell the truth, sure the fans will be angry but then the true light of honesty will shine through. Clemens is a lost cause because he keeps on lying. At least with Rodriguez, he comes clean knowing he has the rest of his life to rebuild a now destroyed image. Here's to you A-Rod. A true hero in the midst of Baseball's biggest scandel.

The Grammy awards are simply out of touch

Picture Courtesy: Time Magazine

The music industry needs to panic. Not only are album sales the lowest they've been but now they have an even more serious problem: the Grammys. What once was the pillar of the music industry, knowing what was hot and what was not is now...well....not. Take a look at the last decade of the Grammys and you'll see the trend:

1999 - Santana sweeps the top 3 grammys: Album, Record and Song en route to a big night. Christina Aguilera upsets Britney Spears for Best New Artist. Grammys still knowledgeable.

2000 - Steely Dan upset Beck, Eminem and Radiohead for Album of the Year. Starts Grammy decline with music. U2 wins Record and Song for Beautiful Day. Shelby Lynne wins Best New Artist.

2001- Let the Craziness commence! The soundtrack for "O'Brother Where Art thou?" wins Album of the Year over U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind. However, U2 wins Record of the year for the second straight year with Walk On. Alicia Keys wins Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

2002- Norah Jones sweeps the grammy three: Album, Record and Song for her smashing debut "Come Away with Me." She proceeded to beat the Dixie Chicks, Eminem and Bruce Springsteen. She also wins Best New Artist.

2003 - The year of Rap at the Grammys. Outkast wins Album of the year for their double-delight Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. Coldplay wins Record of the Year with Clocks. Luther Vandross is honored with Song of the Year for Dance with My Father. Evanescence upsets 50 Cent (in more ways than one) to win Best New Artist.

2004- Probably the greatest album of the decade, American Idiot by Green Day, loses to Ray Charles posthumous album Genius Loves Company. Charles also picks up Record of the Year with Norah Jones for Here We Go Again. John Mayer wins Song of the Year for Daughters. Maroon 5 wins Best New Artist.

2005 - Finally! They get Album of the Year correct! U2's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb explodes for Song and Album of the Year. Green Day collects Record of the Year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams. John Legend wins Best New Artist.

2006 - The Dixie Chicks sweep the grammy three: Album, Record and Song for their album Taking the Long Way. Carrie Underwood wins Best New Artist.

2007 - This is the point where the Grammys seem lost as far as what should win for Album of the Year. Jazz musician Herbie Hancock wins Album of the Year for The Joni Letters over the Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Vince Gill and Amy Winehouse. Winehouse picked up Record and Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

2008 - Robert Plant's 40-year grammyless drought was extinguished as he and Alison Kraus win Album of the Year for Raising Sand over Coldplay's Viva La Vida.

This clearly shows how the Grammys are so out of touch. They are even afraid to give a rap album any type of Album of the Year since Outkast in 2003. Listening to each of the Album of the Year nominees, Viva La Vida was the absolute best with In Rainbows from Radiohead a close second. Also, Raising Sand was an album from nearly 2 years ago!

Bottom line is the Grammys need an overhaul. Viva La Vida sold 7 million copies and is still going strong today. Raising Sand? No where near 7 million copies and not even in the top 10 on Billboard. This is a travesty that was just rewarding Plant for his career with Led Zepplin. For shame Grammys. You picked the bad apple.

Viva La Coldplay!

The 51st annual Grammy Awards are this Sunday with a lot of great performances lined up by Coldplay, Lil' Wayne, U2, Paul McCartney featuring the Foo Fighters and many others. Here are my predictions as to what will happen on music's biggest night:

Album of the Year

Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo - Year of the Gentleman
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant - Raising Sand
Radiohead - In Rainbows


Winner: Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Upset Possibility: In Rainbows - Radiohead or Raising Sand - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant


Why: Coldplay's fourth album is a masterpiece of music. Combining orchestral sound with powering and emotional ballads makes this the one to beat. They have been way overdue for an Album of the Year Grammy trophy. Radiohead is a favorite of the Grammy's as well but their arrogance might be a turnoff for voters. If the Grammys want to be the same old show like in years past, they'll pick Alison Krauss and Robert Plant.

Song of the Year

American Boy - Estelle featuring Kanye West
Chasing Pavements - Adele
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Love Song - Sarah Bareilles
Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Winner: Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Upset possibility: I'm Yours - Jason Mraz

Why: Coldplay should win for their fantastic title track full of orchestral sounds, beautiful melodies and lyrics. Jason Mraz's song I'm Yours could pull off the upset like John Mayer did with his song Daughters.

Record of the Year

Chasing Pavements - Adele
Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
Paper Planes - M.I.A.
Please Read the Letter - Alison Krauss and Robert Plant

Winner: Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Upset possibility: Paper Planes - M.I.A.

Why: Coldplay's title track has everything you could ask for in a great record of the year. M.I.A. got a huge boost to stardom with Paper Planes, used in the Pineapple Express trailer and currently in Slumdog Millionaire. However, this song is from all the way back in 2007 so we'll see if the Grammy's want to risk this award on a song that is almost 2 years old.

Best New Artist

Adele
Duffy
The Jonas Brothers
Lady Antebellum
Jazmine Sullivan

Winner and Upset: The Jonas Brothers

Why: These guys know how to rock the tween crowds. With the talent these three brothers have, this award would rocket them to even bigger heights. Keep an eye on Duffy though. She's the new "Clean version" of Amy Winehouse and is taking the world by storm.

Best Rock Album

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay
Rock n' Roll Jesus - Kid Rock
Only By the Light - Kings of Leon
Death Magnetic - Metallica
Consolers of the Lonely - The Raconteurs

Winner: Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
Upset possibility: The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Why: Coldplay's album is fantastic and should win this award. But when will the Grammys make up their minds? Alternative or Rock? They keep flipping around Coldplay in each category for album of the year. X&Y from Coldplay was put into the Alternative Album of the Year category a few years back.

Best Alternative Album

Beck - Modern Guilt
Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
Radiohead - In Rainbows

Winner (no upset here): Radiohead - In Rainbows

Why: Radiohead's album was first released on the internet then became so popular, the band released it on CD. Always a Grammy darling, Radiohead should win this one hands down.

The Grammys are Sunday, Feb. 8 at 8 pm on CBS. Wrap up next week! For all nominees, visit http://www.grammys.com/ and be sure to pick up the official Nominees CD with a great mix of songs nominated wherever CDs are sold.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

This week, the Senate has been debating and re-drafting the $900 billion dollar Stimulus bill with items that should be left on the cutting room floor. In the original drafting of the bill, republicans were shut out as Nancy "Do nothing or screw it up even more" Pilosi and the democrats drafted a huge bill that had some items not necessary in the bill. The House then passed the bill and it was on to the Senate where as soon as it got there, the republicans and some democrats disagreed with the bill at hand. But the biggest frustration is the continued bickering and party-line support of both democrats and republicans. This bill is meant to help out the American people and our lagging U.S. Economy that is now in a depression and is seeing the worst jobless rate in 34 years. Companies are folding due to the pressures put on banks and the American public not spending as much. These are really tough times financially.

Republicans and democrats need to set aside their party lines and differences for the American People. The longer they bicker over the littlest things, the longer it will take to rebuild our country. President Obama is not to blame for this bloated bill. Nancy Pilosi and her goons are for not allowing a joint effort on the original bill. Let's hope that by next week, someone will have heard me and the bill gets passed not on bi-partisan principles but united as one.

For information on what is going into the Stimulus Bill, visit http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2009/01/15/whats-in-the-stimulus-bill/.

A day in the life of a Washington Capitals Fan

What a great weekend for hockey in D.C.! Alex Ovechkin scored five goals in two days and the Washington Capitals defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champions on home ice! Here is a blog about my day at the Caps - Red Wings game.

10:00 a.m. - Roll out of bed and get ready for the early ice time of 12:30 p.m.

11:15 a.m. - Get onto Metro Train at Vienna. Metro running slower than usual on a day where hardly anyone is riding.

12:15 a.m. - Finally get to Verizon Center. Lot's of Red Wings fans. I knew we were in for a fight.

12:30 p.m. - Intros are done. Tom Poti returns to the lineup after missing 15 games in a row due to a bad groin. Great to see the team near full strength.

Between 12:35 pm and 3 p.m. - Game is a tight one. Caps let up wacky first goal, a twisty backhander from Ville Leino, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Annoying Red Wing fans behind me but I am ignoring them. Caps tie it up on a Viktor Koslov rip shot to make it 1-1. End of the first.

In the second, Caps strike with a Mike Green goal to take a 2-1 lead. Towards the end of the second, the Red Wings tied it up 2-2 with a Johan Franzen power play goal. Guys behind me anger me even more with their insessive taunting. Turn around and hit the guy. Tell him to stop it because we all know how great the Red Wings are but he's in our house. Guy and his friend apologize to me. No more crap the rest of the game.

Third period brings one of the best finishes ever. After telling Conklin in goal "It's coming...it's coming for you," Alex Ovechkin made true to his words. With 8 minutes to go in the game, Ovechkin slapped a shot from the right side to make it 3-2. Minutes later, Ovechkin followed it up four seconds into a power play with a slap shot from the left to put the Caps up 4-2. Could this be it? Well, with five minutes to go, I was holding my breath. Three straight penalties in the final minutes of the game were not enough for the Red Wings who fell 4-2.

The Capitals proceeded to cap off the weekend with a hat-trick performance by Ovechkin as the Ottawa Senators lost 7-4. Caps are currently 32-15-4 with 68 points in second place in the Eastern Conference. Here's hoping the winning streak continues.

*BREAKING NEWS*: Capitals Captain Chris Clark is out for the season. More on this at http://www.washingtoncaps.com/.

The Redskins can learn from the Steelers

What a Super Bowl.

First, Kurt Warner looked to be immortalized in Super Bowl lore with his touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald that gave the Cardinals a stunning 23-20 lead. But leaving close to 3 minutes on the clock gave Big Ben Rothlisberger a chance to shine as he threw four straight passes to Santonio Holmes, the last one in the corner of the endzone, to steal the victory away 27-23 and capture the organization's NFL-record 6th Super Bowl Championship. Taking notes Danny?

What I have learned watching the Pittsburgh Steelers is how smart an organization they are. When you see a team that won a Super Bowl with Bill Cowher in 2006 make the turn around to come back in such a short amount of time with a new coach, you know you have great ownership and coaching. Let's take a more detailed look at the success of the Steelers and the failure of the Redskins:

(1) The Steelers have had three coaches since 1969

Chuck Knoll (1969-1991); Bill Cowher (1991-2007) and Mike Tomlin (2007 - Present).

Result: 6 Super Bowl Championships between three coaches (Knoll - 4; Cowher 1; Tomlin 1).

The Redskins have had a dozen coaches since 1969

Vince Lombardi (1969); Bill Austin (1970); George Allen, Sr. (1971-1977); Jack Pardee (1978-1980); Joe Gibbs (1981-1992); Ritchie Pettibon (1993); Norv Turner (1994-2000); Terry Robiskie (2000); Marty Schottenheimer (2001); Steve Spurrier (2002-2003); Joe Gibbs (2004-2007) and Jim Zorn (2008-Present).

Result: 3 Super Bowl Championships from one coach: Joe Gibbs.

Analysis: What this shows me is the Pittsburgh Steelers organization knows how to search for what they are looking for in a coach. No gimmicks, no luring of star powered coaching. They find the right man for the given system and let them run the show with no distractions.

Ever since Joe Gibbs three Super Bowl wins (last one in 1991), the Redskins have never found a coach like him. Heck, they even brought him back into the modern NFL which tarnished his prestine legacy. In the Snyder era, there have been six head coaches with Snyder hiring the coaching staff before the head coach! Last I checked, the head coach usually brings a staff or hires his own to make sure the system that will be in place works effienciently.

2) The Steelers know how to draft while the Redskins struggle

Picture this. In 1994, the Redskins had the third overall pick in the NFL Draft and selected QB Heath Shuler from the Tennessee Volunteers. Everyone was excited and hoping to see shades of Mark Rypien or Doug Williams. Instead, they had a QB that held out for a 7-year $19.25 million contract only play two full seasons before late-round pick Gus Frerotte took over at QB. Shuler bounced around to New Orleans and Oakland before fizzling out. He is now a U.S. Congressman in the state of Tennessee.

Picture this. In 2004, the Steelers had the 11th pick in the NFL Draft and selected QB Ben Rothlisberger from the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, not the first choice many would have made. In his first season as Steelers QB, Rothlisberger started the season as the #3 QB behind Charlie Batch and Tommy Maddox. With an injury to Maddox at the start of the season, Batch stepped in to start with Ben as his backup. After seeing Batch totally get destroyed the first two games, the Steelers made a gutsy call to put Rothlisberger in as starter and the rest is history. He made one of the most storied runs for a rookie QB and made it all the way to the AFC Championship game. Then in 2005, Rothlisberger delivered Pittsburgh's fifth Super Bowl Championship in only his second season.

Those are just two glaring examples between how the Steelers and the Redskins draft. You build a team around a defense and then a franchise QB. You get the lineman, safeties, corners, etc. With the Redskins, the last few drafts have been abismle. Last season, they proceeded to draft all offense in two Wide Receivers, a Tight End and yet another Quarterback. First, they have Chris Cooley so why did they need another tight end? Second, when you draft wideouts make sure they can memorize/read a playbook and can run the routes. Lastly, when you give a starting quarterback a chance to start for two seasons and he doesn't deliver, why is he still around?

3) The Steelers have class, team unity and show it. The Redskins only wish they had both.

This past season, the Redskins had turmoil every week. After their shocking 6-2 start, they fell back to earth going 2-6 the rest of the season and ending at 8-8. During this span, running back Clinton Portis called out coach Jim Zorn for not giving him the ball enough and even insulted him on radio shows. When your team has individuals like that disrupting the team chemistry, he has to go.

The Steelers are not perfect but they are far from the Redskins in class and unity. Winning championships is not about the indivudal as Coach Tomlin knows. His team sticks together and the defense is annually ranked in the top 5. When you know the game like the Steelers do, you keep winning.

The moral of all this is that Daniel Snyder needs to take a long look at the Steelers organization from top to bottom. See what makes them tick. What makes them successful and the winningest franchise in Super Bowl Championships. It just might make watching the Redskins bearable if they could take something away from this glorified franchise. Congratulations Steelers and their fans!

One last note: Springsteen was the best halftime show in a long time. Long live the Boss!