Zigeunerzelt » Making his major leag

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The way Ramon Foster figures it, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line deserved a little bit of good karma. Heck, probably more than a little bit.Every spring over the last five years it seemed the Steelers would make retooling and rebuilding the offensive line a top priority. And every fall the five guys penciled in to start would either get hurt or get shuffled around to cover up a leak.It was frustrating and, at times, borderline cruelly comic:—Centre Maurkice Pounceys ankle injury that kept him out of the 2011 Super Bowl;—The busted knee for guard David DeCastro that hampered his rookie season in 2012;—Tackle Marcus Gilberts various nicks and scrapes;—The shredded knee that limited Pouncey to all of eight plays in 2013.So calling the line patchwork would be an insult to patches.Finally, mercifully, those days appear to be over. The backbone of Pittsburghs first division title since 2010 — and the most productive offence in franchise history — is the jelling of a line that has come of age now that its found a way to stay out of the trainers room. Pouncey, DeCastro and left tackle Kelvin Beachum didnt miss a start, while minor injuries forced Foster and Gilbert to sit a handful of games combined.Maybe we were owed one by the football gods, Foster said with a laugh.Either way, the group that takes the field Saturday night when the Steelers (11-5) host Baltimore (10-6) in the wild-card round is thriving. All five are young — ranging in age from 24-28 — but have each started at least 33 games. It goes from perennial All-Pro Pouncey to Beachum, a sixth-round flier in 2012 who has blossomed into an undersized but competent revelation protecting Ben Roethlisbergers blind side.The line — with more than a little help from tight ends Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, fullback Will Johnson and tailback LeVeon Bell — kept Roethlisberger upright and the Steelers rolling. Roethlisberger took every snap and was sacked just 33 times, easily the fewest in a season in which hes played every game — even though he set a career high with 608 passes. His protection got better as the season went along. Roethlisberger hit the ground just twice during the four-game winning streak that propelled the Steelers back to the post-season after a two-year absence.The results were scoreboard stretching. Pittsburghs 436 points were the most in the franchises 82-year history. Antonio Brown broke every significant team single-season receiving record, and Bell found enough room to finish second in the AFC in yards rushing and second in the league in yards from scrimmage.The season included a 43-23 domination of the Ravens on Nov. 2. While Baltimore managed to get to Roethlisberger three times, he still lit up the Ravens depleted secondary for 340 yards and six touchdowns.Hell likely need to be just as effective on Saturday with Bells status uncertain. The running back is dealing with a hyperextended right knee that forced him to miss practice again Thursday.Pittsburgh won the last meeting even with Bell being limited to 20 yards on 10 carries. If hes unable to go, it puts more pressure on the line to give Roethlisberger time to work against a defence that finished with 49 sacks, second most in the league. Baltimores front seven will be bolstered by the return of nose tackle Haloti Ngata, who sat the last four games after violating the NFLs policy on performance enhancing drugs.We know theyre going to be coming, Beachum said. Theyve got some great players, but were playing with a lot of confidence.A feeling that trickles from the top down.The Steelers hired Hall of Famer Mike Munchak as their third offensive line coach in as many years. Munchaks calming presence simplified the blocking scheme. It also worked in lockstep with offensive co-ordinator Todd Haleys commitment to a creative scheme that requires Roethlisberger to get the ball out of his hands quickly.Foster calls Munchak by far one of the best coaches Ive been around, one who isnt prone to wild mood swings.If you have a bad play, hes not going to make it seem like youre the worst player in the world, Foster said. He wants you to build on top of that.The foundation set over the last four years is at last paying dividends the Steelers believe will extend into Saturday night and beyond.Weve got to put it on our shoulders, Foster said. Its like Ben said, this team goes as far as the offensive line goes and weve got to be good.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Frank Gore Jersey . The outdoor event will be played on Dec. 31 between alumni of the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies. Daniel Kilgore Dolphins Jersey . Ho-Sang is a highly regarded prospect, as seen in TSNs Midseason Rankings. This was Game 3 of their playoff series and that wasnt the only strange incident in Londons 10-2 win over Windsor. http://www.officialauthenticdolphinsshop.com/authentic-robert-quinn-jersey.html . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage. Durham Smythe Jersey .com) - The collective hearts of Chicago Bulls fans sank on Friday night when Derrick Rose went down with a leg injury against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kalen Ballage Jersey .com) - Richard Shermans two interceptions highlighted a dominant defensive effort, as the Seattle Seahawks routed the San Francisco 49ers in a highly anticipated NFC West Thanksgiving clash.TORONTO -- Aaron Sanchez didnt know which Boston Red Sox hitters hed be facing, and he didnt know the score. Making his major league debut against Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and Mike Napoli protecting a one-run lead, the Toronto Blue Jays top prospect just tried to pretend no one was in the batters box. "My mentality out there was just me and the catcher," Sanchez said. With 35,696 fans watching, Sanchez did just about the best he could do, working two perfect innings to help preserve Torontos 6-4 victory over the Red Sox on Thursday night at Rogers Centre. "To be in that kind of ball game, thats what you dream of when you get to the big leagues," the 22-year-old said. "Maybe not your first one, but Im here to help the team win." On his second day in the majors, Sanchez debated asking bullpen catcher Alex Andreopoulos who hed be facing. Once he finally did, Andreopoulos told him it didnt matter. Sanchez, considered one of the top young arms in baseball, used a mix of a fastball that topped out at 99 mph and an effective curveball to get Pedroia, Ortiz and Napoli to each fly out. Starter R.A. Dickey (8-10), who got the win by allowing four runs in six innings, watched from the clubhouse and came away impressed with how Sanchez dealt with the pressure. "Hes coming in against the 2-3-4 hitters of the Boston Red Sox with a two-run lead as a 22-year-old young man," Dickey said. "I thought he handled himself with great poise and hopefully thats a microcosm of what hes going to become." When Jose Bautista added to his impressive night (2-for-4 with two RBI) with a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, Sanchez did a little fist pump in the dugout knowing he had just a little more breathing room to work with. He didnt need it. Sanchez caught Daniel Nava looking for his first major league strikeout, got Xander Bogaerts to ground out and struck out Stephen Drew to make it through his second inning perfect. Of his 25 pitches, 16 were strikes. "You see different guys over the years and young kids that come up, they can look a little rattled," manager John Gibbons said. "I dont know how you can do it any better than that. But he look like he belonged." On the mound, Sanchez tried to calm his nerves, remembering what his triple-A debut was like. He managed to keep from thinking about the moment until after his outing was done. "I think at the end when Gibby told me that I was done and he gave me a big smile and he said, Its OK to smile, I think thats when kind of everything hit me that Id just pitched in the big leagues for the first time," Sanchez said. The Blue Jays (53-49) are sure glad he did. Barring a complete game or close to it by Dickey, Gibbons knew Sanchez was going to pitch Wednesday night because of how beaten up the bullpen was. When Dickey gave up a three-run home run to Ortiz in the first beforre even recording an out, it looked like it could be a long night for the knuckleballer.dddddddddddd Instead, the Blue Jays tied the score in the bottom of the inning and settled down. "The better thing was the way the team responded after falling behind 3-0," Gibbons said. "Thats key. They throw up a goose egg there, the emotions of the game, you dont know where it goes from there. Of course we turn around and score, it evens things out again." Dickey kept the Red Sox (47-54) off the board until Nava and Bogaerts hit back-to-back doubles in the fifth to make it 4-3. But in the sixth a triple by second baseman Ryan Goins tied it, and an error by Bogaerts at third on what wouldve been an inning-ending groundout by Reyes gave the Blue Jays the lead. That was the situation Sanchez faced, with his parents in attendance and major league career in front of him. Catcher Josh Thole said his fastball "felt like 130" after Dickeys knuckleball, but the rookie did everything else like a seasoned veteran. "It was nice to see him get in the ball game and be calm and just real even-keel when he was out there, not breathing heavy, there was no anxiety I felt," Thole said. "He commanded all of his pitches really well, even threw a couple change-ups that I thought he was commanding well. Any time youre throwing 98 and youve got a breaking ball like that, it makes it easy back there to call a game for him." Under any circumstances, it wouldve been a special night for Sanchez. But Gibbons was glad for the contribution the right-hander made in an important victory. "To give us two easy, shut-down innings was huge for the ballclub. Hell always remember that," Gibbons said. "We brought him here for a reason: Not just to debut, we brought him here to help us and that was a good start." Gibbons joked at the start of his news conference that he wanted to focus on team accomplishments before individuals because the Blue Jays are in a pennant race, chasing down the American League East-leading Baltimore Orioles. But in the scope of history, Dickey hopes Sanchezs debut is remembered as something special. "I think he was fantastic, and hopefully thats a glimpse kind of through the window of what might be," Dickey said. "I think its pretty neat to see something like that unfold." Notes -- Ortizs first-inning home run was his fourth in the three-game series and 37th in his 107th career game at Rogers Centre, good for first all time among visitors. He passed Alex Rodriguez. ... Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen, who struggled in a non-save situation Tuesday after coming back from illness, pitched a flawless ninth for his 14th of the season ... Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz took a bouncer to the side of the face in the first inning but remained in the game. Buchholz allowed four earned runs and five total on six hits to get the loss. 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