Nice Spread.

Lots to get to today, after another busy weekend.

Let's begin with the weekly NFL picks. We'll have to call the results in the initial JonJon - Virus challenge as inconclusive. The varying spreads in multiple games made it such, and for that I apologize. Next week we'll make sure we have the same spread source. Anyway, with the Patriots demolition of the Broncos last night, the way I had it was 6-6 for myself, and 6-6 for the virus, with 3 being impacted by a rather large difference in the spread (Cle @ Was, Det @ Hou, and Sea @ TB). By no means a stellar week for either of us, but still. We'll call this one our preseason, and get to the real challenge this week, espn spreads be damned!

The Steelers let Cincinnati hang around a bit towards the end of the first half, then had enough as they essentially dominated the 2nd half to defeat the Bengals 38-10 to move to 5-1. Ben Roethlisberger is now 10-0 in professional games played in his home state of Ohio. Mewelde Moore had a career high 3 Touchdwons, 2 rushing and one receiving. Hines Ward and Nate Washington accounted for the other Steeler touchdowns. The defense was, well, what we've come to expect from our Steeler D. 10 points allowed, not a lot to be had by the Bengals rushing attack, and 7 sacks of poor, poor Ryan Fitzpatrick. There is a bit of a buzz around the league concerning a tremendous hit that Hines Ward put on Bengals rookie linebacker Keith Rivers. Everyone you ask seems to have a differing opinion on it though. The hit ocurred on a Roethlisberger to Matt Spaeth pass. Spaeth is running down the sidelines, as Rivers is coming across from the middle of the field to help make the tackle. Hines breaks off his route to come back and stick his shoulder (yes, shoulder) right into the chest of Mr. Rivers. Rivers, who is 3 inches taller and weight 45-50 pounds more than Ward flies about 3 yards backwards and lands hard on his neck/back. There may have been some helmet to helmet contact, but theres no way that it was intentional, no matter how you look at the tape. Anyway, there was no penalty called on the play, but Keith Rivers left the game and did not return. (NOTE: The photo to the right was not from the play in question. This is from years ago during a battle I believe against Madieu Williams.) We discovered today that his jaw was broken on that play and he will be out, possibly for the season. Some Bengals called it a crackback block, or unnecessarily vicious, others say it was a clean hit, and if given the opportunity, they would have done the same thing. Others still say that if Rivers were a QB or RB, Hines would have been thrown out of the game for that kind of hit. All I see is a crazy hit from a tough player who is known for delivering such hits, against a rookie who wasn’t aware of everyone surrounding him. I grant you that it's upsetting that his jaw is broken and he'll be out for a substatial amount of time, but all the haters who want to make more out of it than that are ridiculous. It was a legal hit, one that Hines is good for probably at least once a game, and if these guys want to cry vengeance or place bounties for their next game, so be it. People have been trying to get good shots at Hines for 10 years now, and haven't had a ton of success. How the Cincy defense, or Chinedum Ndukwe, more specifically, expects to do so, will be comedic to see. Excellent write up by Ron Cook in todays Post-Gazette detailing the Bengals reaction compared to the Steelers, and Mr. Ward's himself (including some interesting retrospect to some of the comments and/or threats made by defenders over the years).

On a similar subject, some of the retribution that the Bengals are seeking might have been shown by Cedric Benson, who lowered his helmet into Troy Polamalu's on a run late in the game. However, no one seems to be making a huge deal out of that. Different situation, yes, but from my view there was a hell of a lot more intent to get a helmet shot in there than there was on Ward's block. Polamalu left the game, didn't return, and his status for next week is up in the air. He'll be a big factor in trying to contain Brandon Jacobs, Plaxico Burress, and the Giants offense, but given his history of concussions, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him be pronounced out for this week.

As much as it pains me to credit him, Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette made a nice analogy of the Steelers upcoming schedule. Two pieces of toast (@ Bengals week 7, vs. Bengals week 12) filled with an array of meaty games against the Giants this weekend, then @ Washington on Monday night, then home games against the Colts and Chargers. This stretch will definitely tell us more about the Steelers as more than just AFC North contenders. The Giants have looked a bit more beatable over the past two weeks, the Redskins as well, and the Colts and Chargers have been wildly inconsistant. Having three of the next four at home helps as well. The best thing about a 5-1 start is that even if the Steelers play .500 ball the rest of the way, they would be 10-6, which looks like it should be enough to win the AFC North. You know the Giants will come in blitzing, doing all they can to get to Ben, so it will be interesting to see what Bruce Arians and co. have in store to ensure we don't have a repeat performance of week 3 in Philly.

We still have a lot to cover throughout the remainder of the week. We'll get your World Series Preview and Predictions later today, also a little bit of NHL and NBA coverage for you. And your Power Rankings and NFL picks as always.