Steelers Thrash the Despicable Patriots

Last week I didn't believe I was going to get to write the above headline this morning.

In addition to shocking the Patriots, the Steelers shocked me. You can gauge the level of my surprise simply by reading my previous blog post.

I consider any season in which the Steelers beat up on the Patriots a successful one. Although the 25-to-17 score doesn't really reflect the level of the Steelers thorough domination of the over-confident Patriots, it was truly a beautiful thing to watch.

It may be the best the Steelers have looked all season and it was against one of the best teams in the NFL.

The key to the victory wasn't just an impressive pattern of work by Roethlisberger and company on offense, but by the entire Steelers team's relentless effort on both sides of the ball to keep the New England offense off the field.

Time management by the offense and savvy, determined play by the defense simply kept the football out of Brady's hands.

Too old and tired to win? Try telling the Steelers that.

Next week's encounter with Baltimore is even more critical to the Steelers playoff picture.

A little more of what they gave the Patriots would be nice.

Steelers Host the Patriots on Sunday: I Am Praying for a Miracle!

The Steelers are somewhere I never expected them to be six weeks ago: at the top of the AFC North.

Now having said that, they have only played two teams this season that can be considered in contention for the AFC championship -- Ravens and Texans -- and lost to both. The Ravens humiliated them 35 to 7...in Pittsburgh no less.

Moreover, they barely squeaked by the 0-and-7 Colts, and the 2-and-5 Jaguars, winning those games by a combined total of 7 measly points.

As Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is quick to point out, a win doesn't need to be pretty to count.

Thank God!

I wish I could feel better about the Steelers Super Bowl chances than I did six weeks ago, but I don't. The fact they are taking a three-game winning streak into Sunday's game doesn't inspire much confidence in me. I wish it did.

No, they will face the 5-and-1 Patriots this week. (Have I ever mentioned just how much I despise the Patriots?)

Simply put: Brady and company have the Steelers' number. The Patriots have been victorious in six of their past seven meetings with Pittsburgh.

Of course, any team can beat any other team on any given day, but the chances of a beat-up Steelers' team besting a well-rested Patriots team coming off its Bye week are slim to almost unimaginable.

Going up against the NFL's best offense, the Steelers D will be without James Harrison and Aaron Smith -- two key contributors to its defensive prowess. Nose tackle Chris Hoke is out as well. James Farrior may not play either.

On the other side of the ball, starting guard Doug Legursky won't suit up. The starting center Maurkice Pouncey is nursing an elbow injury. He is scheduled to play, but won't be at the top of his game. Triple-threat wide receiver Hines Ward may not play either due to an ankle injury.

That the Steelers have home-field advantage in Sunday's game won't much matter either; the Patriots spank them there, too.

The next two games will determine Pittsburgh's Super Bowl probabilities. They need to beat the Patriots this week and the Ravens the following Sunday in Baltimore. Actually a win against Baltimore will do more to advance the Steelers to the playoffs, but in terms of building confidence and establishing conference domination, they need to win both.

I hope the headline of Monday's blog is "Steelers Thrash the Despicable Patriots!"

A guy can hope can't he?

Off Roading at the Medina River Ranch in Texas Hill Country with Nissan

I don't get to off road nearly as much as I'd like.

Most years I'm invited to a couple of manufacturer events involving taking some all-new or redesigned 4x4 off pavement. It's not enough.

For nearly 25 years, I lived in South Florida where the highest peak in three counties was the Broward County Landfill -- not exactly the sort of off-roading I have in mind.

Now that I am in South Carolina, I'm sure there are off-roading venues vastly superior to a garbage dump, but I don't know where they might be. From time to time I do get a 4x4 to test for a week that I could take off pavement if I knew where to go.

I guess I need to attach myself to a four-wheeling club of some kind and find out where its members go. Just something else to put on my to-do list.

In the meantime I must settle for manufacturer programs that include off roading.

I am recently returned from a Nissan off-roading event in Texas. The actual location was the Medina River Ranch about 50 miles outside of San Antonio in what is called, Texas Hill Country.

For lack of a better description, the Medina River Ranch is an upscale hunting resort. Testosterone virtually drips from the rafters. My room was awesome with a bed that could have been lifted right out of a Four Seasons hotel.

Nissan didn't have a new 4x4 to show off; rather it featured its current lineup of 4x4s on a course spanning about 4 miles of the ranch's 12,000 acres.

Until this event, Nissan wouldn't have jumped to mind if you asked me about off-road vehicles. I would have waxed on about Jeep Wrangler Rubicons, Toyota Land Cruisers and Land Rover Range Rovers. Nissan? Not so much.

This little exercise in Texas opened my eyes to a couple of very competent Nissans.

We drove 4x4 versions of the full-size Titan and Armada -- decent off roaders both. But it was the smaller 4x4 Xtera and Frontier that really impressed me.

Smaller and more maneuverable than the big, honkin' Titan and Armada, the Xtera and Frontier proved nimble and athletic, able to easily negotiate the tight turns sprinkled around the trail.

On a course populated with hills, rocks, mud and water, the Xtera and Frontier never balked, never hesitated. Passing herds of deer, wildebeests and even a couple of zebras, these Nissans mastered every hazard the course could muster.

Both are real trucks. They feature boxed frames, as well as body-on-frame construction. This means they are tough and capable of taking a real pounding.

Opt for the Pro-4X upgrade that was available on a couple of our test trucks and you get bigger, more rugged off-trail rubber, an electric rear-locking differential, extra skid plates to protect the undercarriage, and Bilstein shock absorbers.

If you want to know what a great day is like, spend some time in one of these Nissans bumping over the toughest terrain Texas Hill Country offers.

Nope, I just don't get to do enough off roading.

Abingdon, Virginia: Music, Theater, the Town Character and Wine: Wrapping Up My Virginia Visit

My final full day in Virginia in search of music and art drew to a close. Boy, am I tuckered out.

Much of yesterday and all of today was spent in Abingdon. It's a town of about 8,000. You would never know it by the buzz of activity and the amount of stuff to do.

Yep, we enjoyed more music. You can't swing a dead cat over your head and not hit someone playing a guitar or fiddle.

I spent my two nights in Abingdon at the Creeper's End Lodge. It is so named because the head of the Virginia Creeper Trail is right across the street. This is a former railroad line that has had the tracks and ties ripped up and replaced with a sort of very fine cinder material.

Running for about 34 miles from Abingdon to White Top Mountain, it teams with joggers, walkers, bikers and horseback riders.

Any way, the Creeper's End Lodge is a brand-new bed and breakfast -- without the breakfast part -- that is ideal for couples or small families. My cottage -- all the accommodations are in individual cottages with a unit upstairs and one down -- was beautifully furnished.

When I mentioned to the property manager that I needed an ironing board, she took my shirt and ironed it. I'm not sure everyone can expect such service -- it was me after all -- but this is the sort of friendly attention I found throughout Abingdon.

Yesterday's highlights included a hike along a mile or two of the Creeper Trail. Some of our group embarked on a 17-mile bike ride on the trail. Moi? Yeah, not so much. I haven't been on a bike in at least 15 years. Tearing down hill for 17 miles, I thought, was not the way to get back on the horse. Walking was just fine.

We also had a wine tasting at the Abingdon Winery and lunch at its outside courtyard. The wines were pretty good. I even bought a bottle of their Cabernet Savignon for a little mid-afternoon rendezvous I had scheduled later with a former flame I hadn't seen for about 15 years. But enough said about that. In any event, the wine was good.

Dinner last evening was at The Tavern. Built in 1779 -- everything in Virginia is old -- it is a terrific eatery with a bar I could sit at every night. My filet was grilled to perfection. The local tourism folks arranged for a trio to serenade us as we dined. No surprise, the music was as good as the food.

We wrapped up the evening and the trip by attending a play at the reknown Barter Theatre. When "theater" is spelled "theatre," you know it's classy. This is where some serious actors, such as Gregory Peck, Ned Beatty (squeal!), Hume Cronyn and Mash's Larry Linville, among others, got their start.

One of the hits of the entire trip, though, was a 90-minute guided tour of the Star Museum. Every small town needs at least one character and Abingdon's is the curator of the Star Museum, Robert Weisfeld. The former editor of the Abingdon newspaper, he spent several years in New York City where he began collecting movie memorabilia.

His collection boasts lots of personal items from Jackie Gleason, Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield, Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood, James Dean, and on and on and on. Literally hundreds and hundreds of items.

It's not the memorabilia, however, that's captivating; it's Robert's stories about the artifacts he has collected. Each has meaning for him and a story to explain it. He is a fount of celebrity information and gossip. He gives tours during operating hours and by appointment during off hours.

It was 90 minutes that virtually flew by.

Now it's back to South Carolina, reality and too many deadlines to contemplate.

Another Bluegrass Extravaganza on Southwest Virginia's Crooked Road

Do you know the difference between a violin and a fiddle?

Well, neither did I until spending the four-day tutorial in Bluegrass music that I am enjoying in southwest Virginia.

I say, Bluegrass, only as shorthand for the conglomeration of music styles that could just as easily be categorized as mountain, Old-Time, or just plain Americana.

What I've seen are fiddles, banjos, guitars, bass fiddles, washboards and even a saxophone. Sometimes it's just guitars; other times maybe a guitar and fiddle, and one time the whole enchilada of instruments.

But so far, no drums.

Here's a short music-history lesson: Southwest Virginia is where the feisty African banjo -- yes, the banjo arrived in America with the slaves -- and the stately European violin collided. If there were ever two more unlikely instruments blended into one sound, I don't know what they might be: the slide trombone and harpsichord, perhaps?

However strange the pairing, the result is a music movement enveloping the entire Appalachian region.

Playing the fiddle or guitar just comes naturally to locals here. Even if not accomplished, they strum and bow because the music has been with them since birth.

Folks in southwest Virginia simply light up when talking about music.

Yesterday we spent a couple of hours at the spectacular Heartwood Center near Galax, Virginia. Located near the Tennessee border, it is Virginia's gateway to music and art.

We met Erynn Marshall, the music program manager of the Blue Ridge Music Center who played a couple of tunes on her fiddle as the founding father of The Crooked Road, Joe Wilson looked on.

The Crooked Road links together several live music venues around more than 300 miles of southwest Virginia. Joe, regaled us with local music history and lore as we strolled around the Crooked Road history exhibit.

In another area of the center, Jack Hinshelwood, the executive director of The Crooked Road, and Blake Collins, an employee of the Heartwood Center, entertained us with a couple of tunes.

Before we left Heartwood, we stopped in the demonstration room where one of the U.S. Park Rangers -- Heartwood Center is overseen by the U.S. Park Service -- displayed his bowing and strumming skills. Everyone here seems to play something.

Last night we attended the weekly gathering at the Carter Family Fold. This is a music venue that was founded by the Carter Family, considered by many as the first family of country music. For those of us not steeped in music history, the better known of the clan was June Carter Cash and, of course, Johnny Cash.

The music was Old-Time, the dancing version of Bluegrass. The music was lively and the dancing captivating. Dancers ranged in age from, maybe, as young as six to as old as 85. This is flat dancing. It's sort of a freestyle tap dancing. Many of the dancers were actually wearing shoes with metal taps on them. Others clogged. From 30 rows back, it looked like chaos; next to the dance floor, it was an art form.

The hall seats 1,000. Last night roughly 600 people paid their $7 -- the admission cost for adults -- to listen to the music and dance. A concession stand dispensed homemade food. It felt more like a family reunion than a show.

What a night!

Oh, and what's the difference between a violin and a fiddle? Only the person playing it.

Bluegrass Music, Floyd General Store, Dog Town Roadhouse and Bourbon Barrel Stout: Day Two in Southwest Virginia

Half the time I can't think of anything to blog about. I mean, do you really care what I had for lunch? I don't even care about what I had for lunch. But today is different. I have a couple of topics I need to cover.

In my continuing southwest Virginia saga, our merry band of journalists visited the metropolis of Floyd last night.

Floyd is Mayberry without the big-city feel. In fact, Mayberry looks like Manhattan next to Floyd. Located about 40 miles southwest of Roanoke, it is the county seat of sprawling Floyd County -- about 380 square miles of pure, unadulterated nothing. No freeway, no train tracks, no Starbucks, no nothing. Floyd County is about 15,000 people longing for something to do.

 About 500 of those folks live within the city limits of Floyd. See what I mean about making Mayberry appear big? Despite there being a Floyd's Barber Shop on

Locust Street

-- Floyd's main artery -- I doubt the city was named for Floyd the barber.

A lot of Floydians are artsy-fartsy, free-spirit, hug-a-tree folks who like to make crafts or music and basically be left alone. Mostly they are, except for Friday and Saturday nights when Floyd erupts in music and the population swells to a few thousand.

Center stage in the music being performed is Blue Grass and the Floyd General Store -- believe it or not -- is ground zero for Floyd's music movement. A large stage and dance floor dominate the rear of the store. There are also roughly 100 folding chairs set up in front of the dance floor.

The music begins at 6:30. We arrived at 5:45 and already every seat was occupied.

Woody Crenshaw owns the general store and is also the president of The Crooked Road, a loose confederation of live-music venues strewn across Virginia. He herded our little group into an upstairs room and provided a introduction to what we would experience.

He explained that the music played in the general store isn't Blue Grass, rather it's something called Old-Time that is a dance version and the precursor to Blue Grass. The music, though, isn't reserved to the general store. The barbershop next door also features a band.

Other musicians gather in groups on street corners, in shops and in storefront doorways. It is a real spectacle.

A couple of us migrated to Dog Town Roadhouse a block away from the general store. This is basically a wood-oven pizza joint; but it's one of the better pizza joints I've been to, no matter the size of the city. Its beer selection is craft beers. The pizzas are outstanding. One of the owners makes the sausage used on the pizzas -- some of it from lamb. And, of course, Dog Town provides live music.

This brings me to the second topic of this posting: Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Among the craft draft beers Dog Town offers is a stout aged in Four Roses Bourbon barrels. Brewed at the Bluegrass Brewing Company in Louisville, Kentucky, Bourbon Barrel Stout is by far one of the better beers I've had. What a surprise!

The bourbon flavor really pops.

Part of the surprise is that this magical elixir is made in Louisville. I visit Louisville once or twice a year and I've never heard of the Bluegrass Brewing Company, let alone Bourbon Barrel Stout.

Its Web site claims BBC has been in business since the 1990s; why have I never heard of it?

My trips to Louisville are characterized by my friends and I trying to decide where to go and what to do. BBC has never come up in the discussions.

I will fix this shortcoming on my next visit, which may be for Thanksgiving.

As Andy would say, "Bourbon Barrel Stout: mmmmm…goooood!"

Having a Blast -- Literally and Figuratively -- in Southwestern Virginia

Today finds me in southwestern Virginia; not to be confused with southern West Virginia. I'm here on a travel assignment for AAA.

I flew into Roanoke yesterday afternoon where I was met by the team from Virginia's department of Tourism. These are the same folks I was with a year or so ago covering the Monticello Wine Trail. As soon as I saw them, I knew it was going to be a fun trip.

We struck out from the airport for our first stop on this four-day event around 5 PM; our destination: Primland Resort. It sits on about 12,000 acres in the hills south of Roanoke just off the

Blue Ridge Parkway

.

I always judge a new location by whether or not I would spend my own money to return. In the case of Primland, I certainly would. In fact, I'm going to put together a proposal for my Wyoming gang to visit Primland as our outing next year.

The main lodge looks like the hotel in The Shinning, except it's only a couple of years old.

My suite last night was larger than my home. The hallway from the front door to the seating area was about 30 feet. It actually had four lighted paintings hanging along one wall.

The suite was so big, it had a guest bathroom.

When the maid showed up for the turndown service, she rang the doorbell. It took me more than 30 seconds to get from the bedroom to the front door.

Did I mention it was big?

The view off the huge back deck was spectacular!

Dinner last night was in its elements restaurant. The "e" is intentionally lower case. Classy. The food was outstanding. My sirloin was perfectly seared and delicious. We had a couple of Virginia wines that were also very good.

This morning three of us had a clay-shooting lesson. Never having even fired a shotgun before, I had some trepidation about my performance. Our shooting instructor, a very cute young expert named Lauren, talked me through it. I actually hit about 60 percent of the clays; better than I expected.

When I hit two clays in a row -- one coming at me and one going away -- I expected to hear Monty Python break out in the Lumberjack Song.

All three of us returned to the lodge for lunch, so I guess we can consider the outing successful.

Tonight we're heading out to hear some Bluegrass.

Yeehaw!