It's been a while since I've opined on the subject of Football, but today I got inspired. As today is the start of the draft, I surfed over to Steelers.com to see what my favorite team is doing. While there, I read this article:

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Steelers-approach-remains-the-same/fd2ae2e6-be5c-41ae-a045-42696326725d

In it, General Manager Kevin Colbert made the following statement:

"As we’ve stated before, we finished 8-8,” said Colbert. “We weren’t good enough. Quite honestly the talent that we had assembled was an 8-8 team. Any other explanation than that I think is incorrect. Obviously the plan is to be able to upgrade the team that we are going to put on the field in 2013."

Let me get this straight: in the 2012/2013 season, the Steelers had the overall #1 defense in the league.

They had Big Ben Roethlisberger and an array of fast receivers.

They had three competent running backs.

They had Heath "First Down" Miller.

And the most logical explanation for an 8-8 season is mediocre talent?

Let me venture that any other explanation would make more sense. I'm not saying it was aliens, but I'm not ruling it out either.

The Steelers refuse to blame injuries, so I'll stick to the company line on that one. As Tomlin says, the standard is the standard.

Before last season, they got rid of a lot of key players, and brought in a new offensive coordinator. They decided to go to a short-pass, dink-and dunk-offense that was designed to keep Big Ben healthy. (Big Ben got hurt anyway.) The play calling seemed geared to making Mike Wallace look bad, so that no one would offer him big money this year. (Good luck to Mike with the Dolphins. Enjoy that $60 million over 5 years.)

Meanwhile the GM blames the talent pool? Really?

This year should be great then. We've lost Harrison, Wallace and Mendenhall, and Miller is hurt. Unless several people blossom into superstars, or they find some draft day miracles, we're looking at a net loss of talent.

Oh and Colbert just told the current players he doesn't think they were good enough. That's a great motivator. Look for him to start a motivational speaking tour soon.

So by this logic, what are we looking at this year? 6-10? 4-12?

I know we all have moments when we just say stuff that sounds good in our heads but looks bad on paper. I'm guilty of that. But for the sake of this season, Mr. Colbert please say something to the effect that last year's players were only good enough for 8 and 8. There were other factors at play and you know it. Fix those problems and fire the team up.

Or blame the aliens.

Today is April 23^rd: International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day . According to Wikipedia—which is on the internet so it must be true—the day was started by author Jo Walton, as a reaction to statements made by Howard V. Hendrix. Hendrix didn't like the idea that people might post science fiction creations on the web for free. He called them “webscabs,” and said they were “converting the noble calling of the Writer into the life of Pixel-stained Technopeasant Wretch.”

So Jo decided to make a day out of it to encourage people to post quality Sci-fi for free.

Now, I understand the need to make money from one's creations. Certainly I'm pursuing that goal. But I also understand how the web can be used to build an audience. There's a reason the books in the bookstore aren't covered in cellophane. They want people to read bits and see if they want to buy the book.

The web is a great tool for this. People can't always make it to the bookstore, but they can get bored at work—on their lunch hour of course. If they like what they read on your site—a short story, a novella, or excerpts from your latest novel—then perhaps a trip to the bookstore is in order.

Plus there is something more elevated happening here. Beyond good marketing, causing minds to expand beyond their old boundaries is one of those keys to a thriving society. We need art as much as we need clean water. We need people to read and expand their minds. Science fiction is uniquely suited to that task.

I'm a bit unprepared for the day, as I really should have a unique short story to post for free—otherwise I'm not really a Pixel-Stained Technopeasant am I?

Ok, so call me an aspiring Technopeasant. I did post a new excerpt from Tales of the Black Knight, The Orphans Search. Look for Excerpt #5 on the menu at http://www.talesoftheblackknight.com.

I chose this excerpt because it includes an argument about the nature of good and evil, and the news has a lot of people wondering lately what all that's about. I'm not saying it will answer all questions on the subject, but if it offers some new thoughts, and stretches one's mind just a wee bit, then I did my job as a writer.

As always, feedback is appreciated.