U mad, bro? Steelers angst, Penguins concern, Oscars disagreement

It’s the Feb. 28 edition of “U Mad, Bro?” It features Steelers angst, Penguins concern and disagreement over the Oscars from readers.

•••

Somebody calling themselves “Steeler Nation” says the Steelers are not rebuilding, despite my recent column to the contrary.

No, I dont think you're rebuilding when you have a solid offensive line, Pro Bowl receiver(s), and a Pro Bowl RB. They're a few pieces away from SB contention.

— SteelerNation (@SteeIerNation) February 22, 2019

They were “just a few plays away” last year. They’ve been “just a few pieces away” since 2010. And if they aren’t rebuilding, what do you call a team that is losing All-Pros at running back and wide receiver and has lost a Pro Bowl inside linebacker?

That’s not to mention the kicker stinking and the punter being a free agent. The demoted first-round-pick cornerback. The bust of the free-agent safety from last year. And the potential departure of two offensive linemen and a tight end from last season.

If that’s “just a few pieces away,” I would hate to see what a full rebuild looks like.

•••

In that story, I mentioned how I think it is ridiculous that the Steelers continue to advance the idea that their locker room hasn’t devolved into a circus.

Which Kevin Colbert did again Wednesday.

Joseph emailed me regarding the “circus.”

“The main person in the ‘circus’ is Mike Tomlin. No matter how you look at this, he is the coach and has to be a big part of this mess.

I have been a fan of Mike until recently, and more articles should be on the coaches involvement instead of Ben, Mr. Colbert, and ARII.”

Well, Joseph, I’ve written those, too!

•••

Rick sent me this rather succinct email.

“Pens will not make the playoffs.”

Yes. They will. It will be painful. They may not clinch until the last game. They will anger you every step of the way. And if they get Tampa in the first round, they will probably get swept.

But I think they’ll make it.

•••

George sent me an email about Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin.

“BOTH of them disdain defense. BOTH of them are immensely careless with the puck.

BOTH of them are uncoachable.

UN-Coachable. You think either one listens to Sully????

When Sully talked a few weeks ago about ‘hope not being a strategy,’he was talking about those two clowns, and those two clowns alone.”

Nah. He was talking about Kris Letang, too. He makes those hope passes a lot. But he also has had an excellent season in lots of other ways on the blue line.

Which is why he will be tremendously missed while he is injured.

As for the other two, yeah. You’re right, George. But at this point, I don’t know what else either of us can do besides gripe about it and hope they start scoring enough to offset their deficiencies.

•••

And lastly, I got into it about the Oscars with my friend and long-time radio/podcast movie reviewing expert Mr. Flixx.

Like I said, I dug Klansman. Thought the writing and cast were really great and I like how Spike directs. I count myself as a Spike fan but that's mainly because Malcolm X is one of my top 10 all time faves, but Inside Man and He Got Game are great.

— Mr.Flixx (@MrFlixx) February 25, 2019

I thought “BlacKkKlansman” was cartoonishly over the top. Two-dimensional. Remarkably stereotypical. Like most of Lee’s stuff.

I’ll say this, though. In “He Got Game,” Lee got the most out of Walter McCarty’s acting ability. Working on screen with naturals like Ray Allen and John Wallace, that couldn’t have been easy.