Loose Slag from The Still Mill (Mar. 22, 01)

This is more of a "what�s up with Stillers.com" slag article�.

• There�s been considerable chatter, not only on our board, but all over the net, about the NFL Properties crackdown on fan sites. Here�s our take: Yes, we think it�s absolutely ludicrous for Big Brother to give flak to non-profit FAN sites that do nothing but actually promote their favorite team. No, we here at Stillers.com have not been contacted by NFL Properties, nor do we expect to. We don�t use the name "Steelers" in any of our graphics or URL, nor do we use actual pictures of Steeler players, etc. Rest assured, Rooney has surely seen our site, and its safe to say that, based on some of our commentary here, he�d personally ensure this site would be the first site to be shut down, if it were at all possible. No, our site doesn�t make a dime of revenue; we personally bear the full cost of domain registration, monthly server fees, and the frequent long-distance phone calls amongst our staff members and to a few key informants who I personally interact with on a regular basis. At any rate, you�d think the NFL would have bigger fish to fry than piddling around with fan web sites�.

• This has absolutely nothing to do with the ridiculous NFL crackdown, but Stillers.com will very soon be rolling out a new site layout. Trenches, our esteemed "web head", has been working feverishly since the end of the season on this new layout. We believe this new layout will offer better usability and feel for you, our faithful readers. There�s also many new functions that we think you�ll really like. Stay tuned.

• I�ve gotten a few emails�."What about the draft, Mill?" Rest assured, I�ll comment on the draft as we lead up to it. Since I�ve been doing a lot of work-related travel, I�ve been hindered quite a bit. In fact, I�m heading out of town this Sat. for several weeks, but I will have a laptop in-hand, so don�t worry -- my hunt-and-peck typing skills will be hard at work. I am admittedly a bit lukewarm this year in terms of The Draft. Why? I reckon it�s years of watching is reach for under-productive stiffs like JaLame Stephens, Scott PantyShields, Will Jackwell, Piss Conrad, Paul Piggins, & Jeremy Faat. It�s years of watching rookies like Holmes, Porter, Plex, Amoz, and Kreider rot or be grossly mis-utilized. I have perennially been �into� the draft since 1987. Now, I�ve grown a bit stale and weary of the Stillers� imbecilic reaching just to fill a need, as well as reaching for under-productive stiffs that nobody else wants. When we do find a diamond in the rough, the guy ends up rotting his entire rookie season (Holmes, Porter, Amoz, et al) or is terribly mis-used (Plex, Troy, et al). Don�t worry -- I�ll snap out of this funk soon enough, but right now I view the Stiller draft with time-proven scorn, apathy, and indifference. We can talk players like Morgan and Rogers till the cows come home, but Cowher and company probably are already frothing over some pudgy nose guard from Middle Idaho State, who, as a senior, led the Potato Peelers with 6 sacks and 43 tackles and helped lead MISU to a Toilet Bowl berth following a 6-5 season.

• On a related matter, my comrade Steel Phantom has done already a superb job in boiling down stuff for the draft. Additionally, Steel Hammer is a noted draft guru, so you should expect to see some astute pre-draft work from him as well.

• The exchange of ideas and comments on the message board has been great. Rest assured, I do read virtually every post on the board. As I�ve said before, I try to limit my commentary on the board, so that I don�t "hog" the board. Please don�t think, by my not posting there every day that either I don�t care, or don�t agree, or don�t read, each post. To all our faithful posters, and to those new to this site, keep up the great work on the board.