3-0

Nope, thats not a baseball score. Or even a hockey score(although 5 NHL teams scored at least 3 points last night. The Flyers scored 3 points...and lost), it's not even a soccer futball score. Thats a damn football score. After 4 Pennsylvania high school games on Friday and a Pitt Panthers game on Saturday, the turf at Heinz Field was in rough shape. There wasn't time to tear up the old turf, so the Heinz Field people decided to just lay fresh sod down on top. That might have worked, but then the rain started coming down...and kept coming and coming. The rain didn't stop even after all the yardage markers had been washed away. The rain kept coming as the stadium was cleared because of a lightning threat. It kept coming down as the Steelers and Dolphins finally took the field and waged a muddy, grind-out war that ended in the lowest scoring NFL game since the Jets beat the Redskins 3-0 in 1993. Until Jeff Reed's 24 yard field goal with 17 seconds left gave the Steelers the victory, it was the longest an NFL game had been scoreless since 1943 when the Lions and the Giants played to a 0-0 tie.

It was an ugly, muddy, mess of a game, played on an even worse field. Every step on the field resulted in cleats sinking inches into the muddy grass. Runners attempting to cut back fell down as their cleats tore through the soft turf and left huge divots in the field. The field that was so soft and muddy that punts were landing in the mud and sticking...no bounce, no roll, nothing. Every sportscaster in the last 12 hours has used the Tiger Woods wedge shot analogy, but it's the only analogy that works. It wasn't a pretty game by any standards, and in the end, it could've just as easily been the Dolphins who booted the winning field goal or it could've gone to overtime and ended in a 0-0 tie. But on a night when Big Ben set a Steelers team record for completion percentage, the Steelers made a couple extra plays when it counted and came away with the W. It's a whole lot better to win ugly than to lose ugly.

On a gambling note, we missed a golden opportunity. As soon as I saw the turf conditions, I should've been betting the hell out of the Dolphins plus the points and the under. Unfortunately I was in the truck listening on the radio and couldn't make it to a computer before the game started.

On a much sadder note, the Redskins safety Sean Taylor died last night from the injuries sustained when he was shot in his Miami home Sunday night. My deepest condolences go out to his friends and family and especially his girlfriend and their 1 year old daughter.