Two teams that are very close in talent, coaching, and quarterbacking.  It is almost a little boring. The Patriots are 2.5 point favorites, which are strange because the Giants defeated them, 24-20 this season. I guess the bookies need Giants money.  Pick ’em is more like it.

It would have been nice if say, San Francisco had gotten to the big game, or New Orleans-they’re always fun, but no we are stuck with the establishment, New York and Boston. Is Reggie Jackson going to call the coin flip? God forbid Steven Tyler is an honorary captain.

Both teams are worthy. The Patriots have a young squad that steadily matured, especially on defense, and of course are quarterbacked by Tom Brady. Just Brady on the field makes a team favored to win. The Giants feature a retro four man defensive line that puts constant pressure on an offense. Their quarterback, Eli Manning is performing better than anyone else.

It is the Giants pass rush that will cause New England problems. Brady is great when he can set up and throw quickly.  Slot receiver Wes Welker is seemingly always open (over a hundred catches), and those two tight ends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski are literally huge nightmare match ups for the Giants young secondary.

But here’s the rub. Gronkowski is hurting with a high ankle sprain suffered against Baltimore. There have been a lot of these going around this year. They basically end your effectiveness (see Ben Roethlisberger). Gronk says he’ll play but, I don’t think he’ll do much more than occupy a defender.

New England will need to run the ball more. And that means “the law firm”- Ben-Jarvis Green-Ellis, getting twenty carries. The Pats ground game has been sporadic, with only one hundred yard runner all year among four running backs . Danny Woodhead complements Green- Ellis, but isn’t a threat to break a long run. The Patriots longest run from scrimmage this season was a scant thirty-three yards. They even line up tight end Aaron Hernandez in the backfield.  Have you heard of Steve Ridley? I hadn’t, but he led New England in rushing several times this season.

To keep Brady upright and to slow the Giants pass rush, the Pats must continue to do well on first down. They were able to get in second down and short yardage over %60 of the time this season. They like to use the quick pass to Welker of course, but I would run straight at the Giants too.

The Giants proved they could win ugly against he 49’er’s, taking advantage of two special team gaffes on punts.  They face an underrated, young and improving defense in New England.  Veteran nose tackle Vince Wolfork is probably the best at his position. Linebacker Andre Carter with ten sacks, is an emerging star. So is fellow linebacker Rob Ninkovich.  A guy named Mark Anderson had ten sacks. Yes, this defense can play well enough to win.

The Giants have a plethora of weapons. Ahmad Bradshaw is the typical third down back that plays on most snaps. He should get his yards.  It’s hard to call Brandon Jacobs a power back. He runs like he’s on a chain gang. I think Eli will dump the ball off to fullback Henry Hynoski out of the backfield more often.

Working behind just an average but veteran offensive line, Manning will feel pressure, but he moves in the pocket so much better than Brady. That’s how they beat New England four Super Bowls ago-Manning was able to escape the pass rush.

He should do so again, especially when he has wide outs Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, and Victor Cruz that continually turn Manning’s throws into big plays. Cruz has become the talk of the NFL, and I think the Patriots will not want to leave him in single coverage.

There is talk that game will be a high scoring shoot out (the over/under is 55). I’m not so sure. Both teams need to keep the other off the field. Brady likes to work fast. The Pats’ time of possession this season was less than their opponents, which can be good and bad. They score quickly, but will the Giants relentless offense tire out the New England defense?

So who will win it? I’ve been riding the Giants for six weeks now, but for some reason I feel Brady and the Pats with the revenge factor to win. It’s hard to figure.

Wait… My cat Spooky just came in the house. Ok, if he goes for his food it’s New England. If he goes for his catnip mouse toy it’s New York.   And … he’s going for… the catnip mouse toy!!

Giants 24-23.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

We are a family of walkers, my sisters, my brother and I all walk regularly. And we don’t mess around when we walk-no around the block strolls – two miles at least at a good clip. Living in the hilly terrain near Pittsburgh helped. From our house it was up and down, over and under.  My wife and I regularly walk four and five miles.

My Dad set the example. He had no time for people that shunned exercise.

But this time I saw my father, I was driving along Beaver Rd. and he was on the last leg of his walk that had taken him probably three miles from home. I knew it was him as I approached. He had that urgent stride, always swinging his arms (the important part of a good walk, he used to tell me), in his late seventies he still moved purposely, just a bit more slowly. It was winter and he had his usual heavy blue jacket on and flat cap with earflaps and his Rockport shoes. His head tilted slightly down to the left so I knew he was thinking. Anytime something was on Dad’s mind or challenged his view of things his head would dip down to his left ever so slightly, his eyes looking down, brow furrowed.

But thinking about what?  I was never going to know.  As the car approached, I thought,  “should I honk or stop and say something?”

One never knew what was on Dad’s mind. He wasn’t going to tell you, that was private and he valued it deeply I guess. He rarely asked me what I was thinking. In fact, he never did. Dad didn’t like conversation, the back and forth, the probing and being probed.  He was the master of the factual statement. Pronouncements came easily to him. This is what I believe to be true. He really didn’t care about the reply. It was on to the next statement. That’s one reason he had great wit – it just came out, and then people laughed.

As I struggled with whether to acknowledge Dad or just leave him to his thoughts, I realized he was in decline, that he wasn’t the man he used to be. A community leader his whole life, involved in the church, and a financial supporter of many charities, fervent weekend athlete. His forgetfulness was increasing, and he spoke sparingly. He had begun to count how many squirrels he had seen when he walked and announce the result proudly when he returned home. I didn’t suspect but he was in the early stages of the Alzheimer’s disease that would take his life. Four lonely years in an Alzheimer’s facility before pneumonia saved him (thank God for living wills).

Watching him walk in the solitude he enjoyed, I felt sorry for him. Sorry that I never really knew him and he didn’t know me. I had grown tired of putting forth the effort and getting no response. How could I deal with someone so out of touch with his feelings? But maybe I was the lazy one.

Let’s get this straight. Dad was not a bad father. He did his job. Raised five children, took care of and was faithful to my mother. He made a lot of money and they traveled all over the world.

Possibly it was me who suddenly was aware of my own inadequacies as I gazed upon him. Was I the man he was?

I slowed the car as I drew even with him. Dad didn’t look up. He probably had a symphony in his head. That was his idea of a good time, lying on the living room couch listening to Beethoven in the dark, or Tchaikovsky. Anything but Bach.

I felt like I wanted to stop and maybe just smile at him.  I didn’t do it, and accelerated past.  I don’t think he noticed me. I hope he hadn’t noticed me.

What would I say anyway?  I’d see him at home in ten minutes. It was easier just to take his measure. My father, for what he was now.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

I did not grow up in the country. I was raised in Sewickley, Pennsylvania north of Pittsburgh, in one of the wealthiest communities in the United States. Social graces were observed with reverence.  When invited to a party it was understood that all you did was show up fashionably late. Everything would be provided, food, always-plentiful alcohol, utensils, ambience, and servers.  No one brought anything.

If you did show up with food it was considered gauche — an act that would be an affront to the host. It would imply that they might not have enough financial resources to provide for everyone.  Which of course they did.

So I had to ask the women I was now living with what “dish to pass” meant “Everyone brings something to share,” was the reply.

Share?  You mean I have to pay to go to a party?  I had to feel part of a group? This was new stuff.

Oh I had pitched in to buy a keg of beer several times back home, but that wasn’t for a real invite party. It wasn’t a defined event like proper socializing.

I can’t remember what we brought, but I certainly had nothing to do with making it. There were plenty of dishes, though none were passed. They just sat there on a large wooden picnic table. People put six packs of beer, bottles of wine and whiskey on this table and just left them there. There was no bartender.

I ate tabouli for the first time, but not the last. There were all kinds of dishes that did not include animals, and breads, cheeses, and desserts of pies and cakes. You could just take as much as you wanted. No need to worry that the host or other quests would look askance at your behavior.  You could eat with your hands.  Standing up.

The rules were the same for alcohol, but I was used to consuming large amounts. That was de rigueur back in Sewickley as long as you didn’t make an ass of yourself.  Some of the people at this dish to pass did make asses of themselves, but that seemed to be ok too.

Quickly, I came to enjoy this dish to pass system. Their was less pressure, you could consume as much as you wanted and no one was watching because people were roaming all over the host’s property like they owned it.

I’ve attended an uncountable dish to pass parties in the last thirty years, and now find it weird to party in other formats. I even started to bring something. I have learned one rule that I hold dear when attending a dish to pass.  Make sure that what you prepare is something that you like to eat. Then, when and if nobody eats it, you just take it home and enjoy.

Here’s my standard offer.  I call it TMann’s Famous Fruit Salad.  This is the gist of it.  It is a healthy dish and can be eaten as a desert in case you’re not up for eating the several cheesecakes provided, or someone’s bundt cake that will pack on pounds.

In a large serving bowl:

Plop in a 16 oz container of non-fat plain yogurt.  Then add your fruit. Generally I use bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries, and red grapes- the banana and cantaloupe cut bite size.  Some chopped apple can be good too. If you want to get exotic chop up some kiwi (peel it first, duh), or even mango. Both are good sources of vitamin C.

Now for the famous part.  Add a teaspoon of cloves, and maybe a little more of nutmeg and stir the whole concoction up. Garnish the top with a touch of cinnamon.

I like to put it all together a few hours before hand so the juice from the fruit has a chance to seep down into the yogurt.  It’s the yogurt that gives this dish depth.

Sitting on the dish to pass table, my Famous Fruit Salad sometimes gets passed over because people can’t tell what it is. It’s not really an entrée and it has a tough time going up against the brownies, cookies, pies, and cakes.  But I eat it.

And that’s the lesson I learned from my long journey from fancily catered debutante parties to simple lefty-leaning country dish to pass get togethers. This is what I can share, and there’s no need to prove anything. We’re all doing the best we can at these dish passings.  It’s a group effort.  Nobody cares who served what the next day.

Still, I must admit this. I got married twelve years ago. We had a standard country wedding, at a park by the lake; judge did the ceremony, casual attire with a Zydeco band playing it’s ass off. It was a perfect dish to pass scenario.

I paid to have the whole thing catered. No one had to bring a thing.  Old habits die hard.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

Obviously this simple man has become the ad nauseum topic of the 2011 NFL season. Like they say, “you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him”. The media won’t let go of Tebow whether he plays well or poorly. And recently it’s been hard to watch.  His play has been pedestrian, even eccentric and the Broncos, after a six game winning streak when Tebow replaced starter Kyle Orton, have now lost three straight games to stagger into the play-offs at 8-8.  They will lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday (17-3 sounds about right) in the AFC wild card game.

There are many more talented and successful players to discuss – Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Ray Rice.  Rob Gronkowski and Victor Cruz are having breakout years. Even the 49’ers Alex Smith is playing well.  So why Tebow? Always Tebow.

There are simple answers. He won the Heisman Trophy at Florida. (Many Heisman winners are busts as pros.)  No. 1 draft pick.  He is white. He is a devout Christian. He throws with the wrong arm (his left). The name is a great sports name – alliterative as Mickey Mantle. Say it….  Tim Tebow.  What if the guy was born Arnold Schlabotnick?  Doesn’t roll off the tongue as well.  Madison Avenue loves him too.  Did you see Tebow roaming around our world in that white t-shirt for Fruit of the Loom on television during the off-season?  It was hard not to entertain a man-crush.

But really, it’s the way he plays the game.  Tebow plays in the NFL like we played on the sandlots, in touch football, flag football, or intra-murals.  He’s out there slingin’ the pigskin around. Like we all did and think we still could.  He throws wounded duck passes, and when he doesn’t do that he can put his head down and snow plow a defender. Tebow doesn’t slide. Blue-collar dude. His style of play begs sports talk show hosts to debate.  He can. No he can’t.

And that sort sums up Denver’s offense this season, which consists of a running game and then Tebow “making plays”. Sometimes it works, other times not. The fact that in most of the Broncos wins this year, they have been abysmal for three quarters before Tebow suddenly ran and passed them to a come from behind victory in fourth quarter only enhances our fantasies. No matter that Tebow’s statistics are awful. Less than 50% completion rate, with one game of two completions and another of six just doesn’t cut it in the NFL.  He’s able to run for scores, and qb’s who can run are infinitely more enjoyable than your basic drop back thrower.  Hell, we can’t read defenses either, but when nobody’s open in our weekend pick-up game we just take off and run for it too. The average Joe in his living room on Sunday wants to root for this guy. He’s got working class written all over him. (Fun Fact:  I bet you didn’t know Tebow was born in Makati City in the Philippines.)

The player Tebow brings to mind is Bobby Douglass.  Drafted out of Kansas by Chicago before the 1972 season, he was, like Tebow, left handed, big (especially for 72’) at 6’4” and 225 lbs, and a prolific runner.  Douglass played parts of seven seasons for the Bears, and was nothing more than a curiosity.  He did rush for 968 yards one season, but no one thought then that a team could win with a left handed running quarterback.  And the Bears couldn’t, never winning more than four games in a (14 game) season with Douglass under center.

After being cut loose by the Bears in 77’ Douglass went to San Diego, then played a few years with the expansion Saints and finally the Packers before becoming an NFL footnote.

Steve Young was the left-handed quarterback who broke the mold. But Young paid his dues. Two years at Tampa Bay, then four years behind the great Joe Montana at San Francisco during their 80’s Super Bowl years. When Young did become the starter his ability to pass accurately (70% completion rate in the 1994 season) and run propelled him to seven Pro Bowls and the 49’ers to two more Super Bowl wins in ’89 and ’94.  He was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005.

Tebow really hasn’t served his apprenticeship. And I don’t hear any talking heads saying he’s the second coming of Steve Young.  After a 1-4 start new Broncos coach John Fox decided what the hell, the fans want Tebow, they’ll get Tebow.  Executive vice-president of football operations John Elway, arguably the greatest all around quarterback of the modern era has reluctantly gone along with the decision, but he’s got to be grinding his teeth every time he sees Tebow throw one of his passes to nowhere. Elway was a sports car, Tebow’s a 4×4.

Let’s review. Young, white, left handed, Christian male who plays the game like we think we did in scholastic intramurals is hyped by media, trashed by purists, but has some late game heroics and leads Broncos to play-off berth.  This scenario will play for a few months in America.  When midnight strikes on Tebow he will have done his job though.  He became a 24/7 human news cycle.

Someday he’ll be a good answer to a trivia question at the local tavern.  Just like Bobby Douglass.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

My kitchen would again pull me out of the doldrums. First, a cup of java, next to the record player (am I not old school?). Select a classic, the great Benny Goodman band from 1936, an album my father left me.

Ok, now let’s start moving those hands. I had read a simple stew recipe in The Ithaca Journal of all places, a couple days ago. It stuck. I’d purchased all my ingredients during my last shopping trip, except one — fresh cilantro-and my wonderful wife was now driving to the store to pick up some things herself, and agreed to return with the cilantro. Timing is everything in a marriage.

Cooking is an art form and can help keep people sober, putting us in a place where we create a positive outcome, using our hands, organizational and financial skills to produce a healthy and hopefully tasty outcome. It is also a great way to fill up the hole in our lives where drugs and alcohol once lived.

So let’s do it. Benny’s on the box, we drank our coffee, and our ingredients include: A one pound piece of sirloin that had one of those managers’ special tags on it (in other words, buy this before it rots), so it cost the same as ground beef.

Three red potatoes, one small onion, three gloves garlic, three or four small carrots, a 12oz can of diced tomatoes (these are loaded with salt, try to find reduced salt brands that are starting to appear on shelves), a small can of tomato paste, a bag of frozen peas, and fresh cilantro. Of course several mushrooms too, which I must have in all things.

The all-important spices: A bay leaf, soy sauce, oregano, pepper, cumin, lemon

Here’s how you put it together: Get a large soup pot and put two cups of water in with a little olive oil.  On a low heat toss in a bay leaf, chop the garlic and onions and add.  The canned dice tomatoes and tomato paste are next. Stir in the soy sauce, pepper, and oregano (don’t be shy about it).

While this concoction is heating, cut your steak into small cubes (1″) and brown them in a pan with some oil. This takes a couple of minutes. You don’t want to cook them through. Now toss these bad boys into the pot and stir in a good portion of cumin. Cumin goes well with meat and tomatoes. A lot of people use it in chili. Don’t forget the mushrooms!

This is when I squeeze in a slice of lemon. Why? Well it was sitting by its lonesome in the fridge and a little lemon never hurts. Some people would drop a few ounces of red wine into the works — and it’s probably a good idea. But, let’s not and say we did.  Any guests will appreciate the thought.

Now that our meat is cooking at a low heat with our spices, let’s flesh this stew out.  Cut up the potatoes and carrots, and add them with about a third of a bag of frozen peas. The whole point of the original recipe was stew with cilantro, so chop up about a handful and stir it in there.

The stew should cook at a low boil for ten or fifteen minutes, and then cover and simmer for an hour or more. Get a good loaf of bread to have with it. This will taste good tonight, but probably better tomorrow so don’t be afraid to save it, and order out Chinese.

I feel better now. I must be worth something in this world.  After all that chopping, slicing, stirring, and planning I can’t really justify my anxious depression of the morning.  I now have this creation, now matter how received, that I got out of bed to make myself. How often can we say that?  And, I never would have done it with a hangover.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

Skinless chicken is the way to go. Even though cooked skin of fowl tastes great, it’s where a lot of the fat is.

I’ve probably eaten more chicken for dinner than anything else since I got sober for reasons stated, and the fact that chic is very versatile. And being sober has made me quite versatile.

Here’s an easy, tasty way to eat chicken and get your vegetable.  I just made it up. This is what you’ll need.

Look for skinless chicken breasts at the store. Sometimes they’ll be on sale for 99 cents a pound, maybe $1.99. Even if it’s $2.99, it’s less expensive than red meat, often pork, and ground turkey. I like to have a lot, so I buy the packages of six or seven. You can always freeze the ones you don’t use.

Make it all in a large skillet.

3 skinless chicken breasts

One broccoli crown

Mushrooms

Garlic

Ginger

Oregano

Soy sauce (low sodium)

Sesame oil

Red onion

Lemon

Okay, this is what you do- Chop three gloves of garlic (I always use plenty) and maybe half a red onion, and lightly sauté in a few tablespoons of olive oil using our stout skillet.

Chop up the chic into one or two inch cubes and dump it in with the garlic and onion.  Now you pour in a tablespoon of sesame oil, and the same amount of grated ginger (I took a chance with these two ingredients, but that’s the fun part). Add a goodly amount of pepper and a tablespoon at least of oregano. Stir and let cook for about five minutes.

Now, add your broccoli crown, cutting off most of the stalk- I never liked the stalks since I was a kid.  Quarter lots of mushrooms and throw them in, sprinkle on some low-sodium soy sauce, and squeeze half a lemon on top, and cook the whole deal until the chicken is done- probably fifteen minutes at medium heat (most people cook chicken too long which dries it out). By the time the chicken is cooked so will be the broccoli, but still taste a tad crunchy which is good.

This dish can be served over pasta, or brown rice. When I first started cooking in early sobriety I used Uncle Ben’s instant white rice, but I’m too sophisticated for that now.

I ate it with pasta, and adding a red sauce out of a jar is optional. I was going to go with the red sauce, but shied away at the last moment. Lot of sugar in those pre-made pasta sauces.

Of course my meal was very tasty, and I used my trusty meat cleaver style knife to chop everything with. It has sentimental value to me because I bought it for fifty cents at a yard sale a week before I got sober – after I’d been up all night drinking and doing coke. You’ve gotta keep it green.

So that’s my story (and recipe), and I’m sticking too it.  Enjoy, enjoy.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

I’ve been touting Green Bay all year. How this team lost six games is beyond me. Aaron Rodgers has been superb all year, carrying an offense of mostly unheard of young players to the ultimate game. Rodgers has made me forget Brett Favre’s drama filled life for at least two weeks, which has been both spiritually cleansing and deserved. The Packers beat two good teams in the play-offs, Philly and Atlanta, and then had to defeat division rival Chicago in Soldier Field, in a game that wasn’t as close as the score.

The Steelers got dominated at home by New England during the season and it was assumed the Pats would do it again in the play-offs. But Rex Ryan fired up his Jets enough to put a beating on Tom Brady, and get the Steelers off the hook. With Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller in the lineup (neither were during the Jets regular season win at Pittsburgh), the Steelers broke the Jets spirit early and hung on to win.

Now they face almost a mirror image of themselves in the Packers. The Steelers defense led the NFL in sacks. Green Bay had one less. Both teams play a 3-4 defense and have a mobile play maker with great hair — Polamalu for Pittsburgh and young Clay Matthews (13.5 sacks) for the Packers. Each went to USC too. Like Ben Roethlisberger, Rodgers is big and fast enough to move out of the pocket and run for first downs. His passing accuracy is excellent. I don’t remember him throwing a bad one. The Steelers have an all-Pro veteran wide receiver in Hines Ward, surrounded by a flock of young receivers. So do the Pack, with Donald Driver mentoring Greg Jennings et, al. Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers did the same job for the Steelers under head coach Bill Cowher.  Green Bay has one player with a Super Bowl ring – all purpose back John Kuhn – he got it with the Steelers in 2008. Both squads have overcome massive injuries (Green Bay has thirteen players on injured reserve). Had enough? Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy is from Pittsburgh, starting his coaching career at Pitt. And, both teams want to run the ball, understanding that it is rushing attempts per game that is as important as rushing yards.

This is where the game should be decided. The Steelers run the ball better. The Packers had one hundred yard rusher, Brandon Jackson, during the season and in three games Rodgers was the leading rusher. Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall led the Steelers in rushing in every game, ran for over 1,200 yards and is an excellent runner after contact. Like Willie Parker in the previous two Steeler Super Bowl appearances, Mendenhall is always a threat to break a long one. No team runs the ball well on the Steelers. It just doesn’t happen.

No matter what you think of Ben Roethlisberger, he’s tough. Playing behind a huge, plodding offensive line, he took what was equivalent to a medieval flogging in every game, partly because he holds the ball forever. His receivers are superb at breaking off their routes and getting open, so Ben makes plays. He’s also performed in and won two Super Bowls. Aaron Rodgers is just starting. I know all-pro center Maurkice Pouncey is hurt, but I think Doug Legursky will play well enough. Remember, Pittsburgh has the best blocking-if not the best all around tight end in the NFL with Heath Miller.

Why the Packers are 2.5 point favorites is beyond me. I think the book makers thought it the only way to get enough Steelers money. Both fan bases are huge, with Cheeseheads and Terrible Towels being as omnipresent as ESPN features on Vince Lombardi and the Steel Curtain. I feel an excitement about this game unlike any Super Bowl in memory. Lucky for Fox (not that they deserve it) that 2011 was there year to air the game.

This should be a close, well played game. Green Bay is a solid team with a lot of depth, and a quarterback that looks like another John Elway. But Pittsburgh has been here, done this. After being the best team not to make the play-offs last season, they have been hungry all year. Big Ben will host the feast again.

Steelers  23-20

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

The percentage of people who stop and stay stopped without relapsing or “slipping” even once is miniscule. That’s ok. We’re human. What I like about a twelve step program like AA is that it is about staying sober. Bill Wilson was already sober when he reached out to Dr. Bob one day in Akron. Then they founded AA. People with the same problem helping each other, is how sobriety works.

I’m not a huge fan of the rehab system. I was in one for twenty-eight uncomfortable days, and stayed sober for just five more after that. I wasn’t ready, but I did learn that some people enjoyed happy lives when sober through AA. When I was sick and tired of being tired and sick, AA is where I went. It beat returning to a psych ward or another rehab… yyuuck!

You can talk about sobriety till you’re blue in the face (and some people do), but what action are you going to take to stay sober and be happy. That’s right — action, not talk.

Recovery Works is all about action. Physical work, time-consuming work that teaches people new in sobriety how to live in this big bad world. When I got sober at age 37 I had no idea how to do it. I see plenty of much younger men and women who don’t have a clue either. That’s why they need the help that our rehab system doesn’t give them.

Recovery Works is a not-for-profit organization that provides jobs and life skills to people in early recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Part of the problem in early recovery is so many addicts are embroiled in the red tape of bureaucracy that comes from the consequences of their alcoholism and drug use. Drug Courts, rehab after care, probation, and the Dept. of Social Services all require commitments during the work week that actually prohibit people from holding a steady job. These classes and appointments with counselors often go on for months. More often, the people attending them have no intention of staying sober.

Many recovering addicts don’t have the ability to manage their idle time. Without a job to occupy the time previously used to drink and drug, it’s hard for the addict to maintain the hope and will that his or her life will improve-even with twelve step support.

I envision Recovery Works as an organization run by people in Recovery that would provide meaningful, satisfying jobs in construction, catering, cleaning services, to name just a few occupations, and also help recovering addicts learn basic life skills that many have never acquired. How do I manage money now that I’m not wasting it on alcohol and drugs? Deal with a bank or pay my taxes. How do I find affordable housing (especially single mothers), and move off of welfare? What about food and nutrition?

Recovery Works can provide answers and support from other members of the community who have been through the same trials. Meaningful jobs would be created for both the mentor and the the recovering alcoholic/addict.

I have seen it work on a limited basis through my own painting business over the last fifteen years. Young men and women in recovery have worked for me and moved on to attend college, build families, and get jobs in the job market that suits their talents. Remember, recovering people are statistically proving to be more reliable, efficient workers.

Staying sober is tough — tougher than anybody who hasn’t been though it knows. It takes more than talk though. It takes action. Good sobriety is about learning how to live in this world without drugs and alcohol. Recovery Works can be that missing link between early sobriety and a new, fulfilling life. Let’s make it work.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

The Civic Arena as it was known before naming rights changed what we called sporting venues, but not how we felt about them, was built in 1960 hard behind Grant St. and the tall buildings of downtown Pittsburgh. It supplanted low-income housing in the lower Hill District, not the first or last time a city neighborhood would be sacrificed for the supposed public good.

But, the Civic Arena was good. I have fond memories of the place. I’m sure a lot of people, even Pittsburghers, don’t recall, or ever knew that the roof opened. That’s simple technology now, but in 1961, it was Star Wars stuff.

Literally shaped like an igloo, it was designed to slowly open one panel at a time around its 360-degree circumference until only a curved spine of about two of those degrees remained. As a young boy, my parents took me on a beautiful summer night to hear the Pittsburgh Symphony (or as they called it-the Civic Light Opera). They were going to open the roof. While the music played the sky slowly appeared to show a shining Milky Way above. I can still feel my head, looking at those stars.

The city stopped opening it up after a few years. Cost too much. But by then hockey really took over. The NHL’s Detroit Red Wings affiliate in the American Hockey League, the Hornets were the tenants. My Dad took my brother Bob and me to our first game. It went into overtime and the Hornets lost 7-6. Hank Bassen was in goal. We sat right behind the glass at the blue line and were entranced. The players were so close! This began a lifelong romance with the sport for both of us. When the NHL expanded in 1967 and Pittsburgh was granted a team- the Penguins, the name Igloo became appropriate. The building’s Eskimo style structure, ice, Penguins, all fit together. I never liked the name much. It seemed undignified for an arena that hosted the noble sport of ice hockey.

In my teens and early twenties, “the Arena” was my sanctuary when I attended Penguin games. My brother had gone to college and then on with his life (he is now a rabid Washington Capitals fan), so I normally sat alone. I once skipped a final exam at the University of Pittsburgh to go to a play-off game – the Pens lost. Instead of the exam I handed in an article on the game. My grade came back as an incomplete. I saw many of the NHL’s greatest stars, Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, Bobby Hull, the first NHL start of the great goaltender Ken Dryden (he made 47 saves in 5-1 Montreal win), Jean Beliveau, Frank “the Big Train” Mahovlich. The Chicago Blackhawk’s Tony Esposito who pioneered the “butterfly” style of goaltending was impressive.

Pittsburgh wasn’t very good but they had some players. Goalie Les Binkley resembled William Bendix in “The Life of Reilly” — often times performing like him. The handsome Frenchman Jean Pronovost could score goals, Andy Bathgate, Dean Prentice, Eddie Shack, Greg Polis, and Michel Briere all excited. Nobody (except for a few players who were considered wimps) wore helmets then so it was easy to form a kinship or a hatred for a player. Mario Lemieux arrived and propelled Pittsburgh into a rabid hockey town, but in the 60’s and 70’s the Civic Arena was home to its own little cult of hockey enthusiasts. The seating was for barely 12,000, and you could buy standing room tickets on the second tier concourse and have a damn good look at the action. I was standing there when a puck hit the Penguins’ Tim Horton and bounced into the net in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks the win in the 1972 Stanley Cup play-offs.

The Arena offered more than hockey. It was for entertainment too. For my birthday, my Dad took me and Jerry Freeble to what had to be the most eclectic venue I ever attended. It ignited my fascination with stage shows. The Harlem Globetrotters beat up on the Atlantic City Gulls in the marquee match-up. But at halftime, two Korean guys played ping-pong and were each flailing away at the ball from what seemed to be a hundred yards behind the table. My Dad was going ballistic. I remember thinking that ping-pong just might be worth playing. The kicker though was Cab Calloway and his Orchestra followed. Hi de Hi de, Hi de ho! Dad bought me a chameleon and I kept it at home in the basement until it disappeared into this weird garden my Mom had in the window well.

There were other sports. John Gaughen’s father took us to the national Golden Gloves boxing championships. Our seats weren’t that good and the fighters were far away. Professional wrestling before it was a total circus. Bob Shaftoe and I sat close enough to see that the punches were pulled when Pittsburgh’s own Bruno Sammartino went against Professor Tanaka. Tanaka got disqualified for bopping Bruno with a metal pipe. The Pitt basketball team made it close for awhile (“Let’s Go Pitt,” we chanted) before losing to John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins. It was post Alcindor and pre Walton. Still.

I attended many more great concerts in the building. Sound quality wasn’t what it is now for rock shows, but who really cared or knew. Steppenwolf, The Turtles, and guitarist Larry Coryell was the first rock show for me. It got better. James Taylor opened up for Chicago (half the crowd left after Taylor). My date was Kathy Nard.

An exquisite night in the fifth row for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. Scott Ferguson taped the show on a hand held recorder and amazingly it sounded great in the car on the ride home. The Doors only got through about six songs before Morrison did something obscene and turned the stage into a cop convention. The lights came up, the music stopped and we all went home. I saw the Rolling Stones for the first time in 1972. I was really excited but Andy Gould got me so stoned during the show that I couldn’t understand what songs they were playing. I do have a fuzzy image of Jagger climbing up one of the speaker towers. He had red, white, and blue pants on.

I moved away from Pittsburgh in 1976. I regret doing it. I still consider it my home. I’ve come back and seen a few Penguin games at what became Mellon Arena, but not enough. They added another deck behind each goal that always looked like it might collapse. There weren’t many more memories. I did see Jack Lambert outside one night.

Visiting Pittsburgh I still think the Arena looks cool. When there’s an event going on, the massive parking lots around it make the place look like a Mars government building surrounded by the universes biggest car dealership, or a mysterious round hunk of metal that was deposited on an otherwise urban slope of a hill.

Of course, the city is building the new arena, the Consul Center, right next to the Civic Arena on another piece of the lower Hill District. Mario Lemieux was a big factor in getting it done. He lives in Sewickley, where I grew up. My high school classmate Carl Redwood led the fight to make sure the whole complex didn’t completely screw up the neighborhood. Good for him.

I’ve seen Forbes Field go down, the ghastly Three Rivers Stadium, Pitt Stadium, and now The Civic Arena will be imploded-probably on television. I’ll certainly watch. The Arena stood for the largest part of my life — forty-nine years. I guess I spent only an iota of my time there, but it was a great iota. I can still go to PNC Park when I’m in the Burgh. The Pirates stink, but it’s a great place.

Nobody will experience this Igloo of an arena again though. It hosted the entertainment of my lifetime. And it will always have a place in my Pittsburgh skyline.

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Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.

The mess he got himself into in Milledgeville, Ga. with a college girl while bar hopping with his posse has Roethlisberger as disgraced as many politicians. Can you say John Edwards? Steelers Nation is embarrassed and angry. Big Ben is suspended for six games by the NFL and lucky to still be a member of the Steelers. He wouldn’t be if I was running the team.

But, the Rooney’s, the only family that has ever owned the team, have for now, decided to stand behind their two time Super Bowl winning quarterback while he “rehabilitates.” We’ll see. Privately they are furious. I see a scenario that will have Roethlisberger out of Pittsburgh by say, the middle of the 2010 NFL season.

The Steelers, with the re- acquisition of Byron Leftwich, now have three quarterbacks. Long time back-up Charlie Batch (a starter in Detroit before coming to Pittsburgh), and third year pro Dennis Dixon, who played well in his lone start last season an overtime loss to the Ravens, will vie with Leftwich to keep the starters job warm until Roethlisberger returns after four games instead of six. This assumes he displays the “good behavior” that Commissioner Roger Goddell requires of him.

But say the Steelers are 4-0? And the quarterback, especially if it is the young Dixon, has been the starter? Who needs Roethlisberger? — probably another NFL team that’s who. The Rooney’s can do what they really wanted to do and get their two time Super Bowl winning quarterback as far away as possible from Steelers fans and the franchise’s impeccable (until now) no-nonsense reputation. An NFL team whose starter has already gone down with an injury could provide a No. 1 draft pick, and everybody’s happy. The stench of Roethlisberger’s besotted, immature behavior has been removed from Pittsburgh like the smog that engulfed the city when the steel industry was the show and the Steelers were losers.

This type of serendipity probably won’t happen. It would deprive Roethlisberger and then public the second chance that American society loves to feed on. Big Ben can play quarterback. He had his finest season last year. If reinstated after four games and he leads the Steelers to the play-offs, Milledgeville will seem much further away than Georgia to Steelers fans. The defense has to co-operate better than last season.

Roethlisberger’s situation is not unlike another Super Bowl winning quarterback from a storied NFL franchise.

Brett Favre had problems in his career. Although he was never accused of a foray into infidelity to his wife Brianna, Favre liked a night out. He, Green Bay center Frank Winters, and tight end Mark Chimura, were labeled “The Three Amigos” for the consistent prowling of Green Bay bars. Chimura ended up in a hot tub with a friend’s teen-age daughter, and was accused of the same bathroom escapades as Roethlisberger. He beat the charge but never played in the NFL again.

Favre did time in rehab for Vicodin addiction, but continued to drink until his wife threatened divorce. He’s since stayed sober. Favre’s actions were easily the failures of mortals, and more excusable than Roethlisberger’s. But like Ben, he was a young cock sure (no pun meant) quarterback from a small town (Kiln, Miss.) and felt no misfortune lurking.

Their styles of play were similar too. Both were capable tossing the idiotic interception at the worst time, as well as the unbelievable completion after a hair-raising escape from the pass rush. In my forty-five years of watching the NFL, Roethlisberger’s only rival avoiding the sack and making a play is John Elway.

Favre left Green Bay under some controversy, fueled by more flip-flopping than a candidate in a presidential primary. Roethlisberger may yet leave Pittsburgh, but his unfortunate personality must at least stay in the closet off the field. He will command the respect of his teammates if he shows he’s committed and continues to lead them to victory. Winning will resuscitate his popularity with Steeler fans too, but he’d better win now.

Even Big Ben must be smart enough to know that.

Thomas H. Mann writes about recovery, sports, and American culture.