The Steelers Hall of Honor and Museum

On September 2, well ahead of my Surprise Birthday Party,  I received an early birthday present from Linda: A trip to the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum.

The Steelers opened up this space within Acrisure Stadium two years ago, and it was high time we got around to visiting.

The place is a museum to the history of the Steelers and the Rooney Family, Art Rooney Sr., The Chief, and Dan Rooney in particular.  You begin your self-guided tour of the place with a terrific twelve minute movie tracing the history of the team. Lot of great stuff packed into this twelve minutes, believe me.  One of the cool things about the movie is that while viewing it, you are sitting in seats from Three Rivers Stadium.

An Aside:  You can couple your tour of the Museum with a tour of Acrisure Stadium, which we chose not to do.  The whole experience was reminiscent of our tour of Lambeau Field in Green Bay that we took in 2024.  In fact, the docent at the Steelers Museum told us that the Steelers consulted closely with the folks at Lambeau Field as they were putting together their own Hall of Honor and Museum.

There are lots of interactive video screens throughout that highlight each decade in Steelers history.  Three are also reproductions of the offices of both Art and Dan Rooney.  

Rather than talk, I'll just share some photos we took.

Interesting correspondence received by 

The Chief and Dan over the years

All of the mannequins are the actual size of the players depicted, and the uniforms on them are game worn unis of those players.

As you might have expected, there was some space dedicated to the NFL Draft held in Pittsburgh last April.

"The Pick Is In!!"

Your tour ends in the actual Hall of Honor.  Here are some photos that I took of the Hall and of just some of the Honorees:

As it always does at places like this, your tour ends up in the museum gift shop, or, in this case, the Steelers Pro Shop where I went in and loudly said, "Shut up and take my money!"

Okay, all kidding aside, this was a most enjoyable two hours or so spent touring the place.  If you are a Steelers fan, or even just a football fan who might be visiting our fair city, a visit to the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum is well worth your time.  It gets Four Stars from The Grandstander.

There are all kinds of great pictures and quotes throughout the place, but one that I especially like is from Troy Polamalu during his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction speech, and I will close this post with it:

Who Would You Pay To See?

Over the weekend my friend Dan sent a message within a text group of the "Top Five Pittsburgh Athletes who are most worth paying to see in 2026". Before I reveal what he wrote, I will say that this is a very subjective topic, as my comments on the matter will show.  Example, if you don't give a damn about baseball in general or the Pirates in particular, you aren't going to pay to see them even if they reincarnate and trot out a lineup featuring Willie Stargell, Roberto Clemente, Honus Wagner, and Barry Bonds.

Here are the five that Dan picked in order:

1. Sidney Crosby
2. Konner Griffin
3. Olivia Babcock
4. Braxton Ashcraft
5. Mason Heintschel

Sorry, Dan, but the only guy on your list that I would pay to see is this guy:

I will also say that Dan's Pitt Panther loyalty is showing up big time here, and that is okay.  Olivia Babcock may well be the best female collegiate volleyball player in the nation, but she plays a sport that is a niche sport.  Of course, if this is a sport that you love, you certainly would pay to see her play, so maybe she should be on such a list, but with all due respect, she would not be on mine, and I suspect that she would not make the list of most other Pittsburgh sports fans.

And a big NO on Mason Heintschel.  Watched him play against a bad Syracuse team on Saturday, and while he may become a very good to great Pitt QB one day, right now, he's not even at Nathan Peterman's level of play.

Konnor Griffen?  Maybe. Braxton Ashcraft?  He had a breakout season but right now, if I had my choice to pay to go to one of two Pirates games, and Ashcraft was pitching one of them and Paul Skenes the other, I'm going to the Skenes game. He is the one Pirate I would spend money to see.  Despite the poor, by his standards, season in 2026, we have seen what he can do, and the mere chance that he will recapture his 2024-25 dominance makes him THE guy that I Would Pay To See.

I will say this about Griffin.  If I go to a Pirates game and if for whatever reason he is NOT playing that night,  I'm not happy, but he is not the sole reason I'm paying to go see the Pirates.

And Dan notes that there is no Steeler on the list.  Football is such a team game, it's hard to say that outside of a star quarterback or a stud runner or receiver, you're really going to see the team and not any individual player. Having said that, TJ Watt sure is fun to watch.

So who would be on my list?  I guess I would say that there are only two athletes in Pittsburgh that I would pay specifically to see, and they would be Crosby and Skenes.  That's it, that's the list.  However, here are some other athletes that I would pay to see.

• LeBron James
• Victor Wembanyama
• Caitlin Clark
• Patrick Mahomes
• Tom Brady* (retired)
• Shohei Ohtani*
• Lionel Messi*
• Alex Ovechkin*
• Conor McDavid*

There are no doubt others, but these are just off the top of my head.  The guys with the asterisks ARE guys that I actually have paid to see.

 

Happy Birthday To Me: Linda Pulls Off The Surprise Of A Lifetime

 On Friday, September 11, I turned 75 yers old.  That same day, Linda's sons Jeff and Justin flew in from their homes in Raleigh, NC.  They were in town to attend a family wedding for a cousin of theirs the following day and were staying with us.  The next day, Saturday, Linda left the house to help set up for a retirement party for a client of hers at Rico's Restaurant.  I was to come by later to attend the retirement party and allow Jeff and Justin to say hello to the retiree before they took off for the wedding.

Then, I walked into Rico's private dining room.....

...only to find out this was a surprise birthday party for me!

How surprised was I? Maybe this picture below will give you a hint.

I consulted a thesaurus and came up with thirteen different synonyms for "Surprised" (flabbergasted, thunderstruck, dumbfounded, and gobsmacked to name a few), and they don't even begin to describe what came over me when I walked into the room and saw over seventy people from all walks of my life in there waving customized Terrible Towels while "Renegade" played over the speakers.  Sproule, Madden, Mulzet, Dinnin, and Moellenbrock family members, co-workers from my Highmark BCBS days, guys from my North Side Brunch Gang and their wives, SABR friends, Church friends, and even folks from my grade school at St. Philomena's.

But the biggest and best Star of the Day was Linda.

It turns out that Linda had been planning this party for the last fourteen months.  Yes, you read that correctly.  FOURTEEN MONTHS!!!  That she was able to plan and pull this off without me ever getting even a hint this was going to happen, and, yes, I was totally clueless, and that all of those invited guests were able to keep such a secret from me was a feat of planning, logistics, and secrecy that had not been seen since Eisenhower headed up the D-Day invasion of Normandy.  Throughout the afternoon, people kept asking "Did you not have ANY idea this was happening?" (I did not), and "Linda is amazing that she pulled this off." (yes, she is).  In the days following the party, she has been telling me stories of how she did this, and who helped, and what she had to do and how hard she had to work to keep the wool pulled over my eyes.  Did I mention that I was totally clueless?

Those "behind the scenes" folks who deserve special recognition? Sarah and Nick, Sue and Nick, Kelly and Andy, Jeffrey, Justin, Kurt, Jacquie, Haley, Cindy and Tom.  Plus all the folks who arrived at Rico's early and helped with the set up.  

Did I mention the Entertainment?  Linda arranged to have a local magician, Eric Meredith of Pittsburgh, there to perform some slight hand tricks at each table, and he was amazing.

Eric does his thing!

Linda also made a wonderful speech welcoming and thanking everyone, and saying some very special things about me.  Those words will remain with the people who were there and they will also be forever in my heart.  Did I say that I was "speechless"?  Well, not so much that I didn't get a chance to express my gratitude and appreciation for all that was done for me that day and to all that were there.

It was an amazing and unforgettable day for me.  I could go on and on, but will instead just close this out with one more shout out to my REMARKABLE wife, Linda, and some of the many photos from the day.

 

The Rooms Where It Happened

Do you sense a theme with the table assignments?

Custom made.  

Would Myron Cope have approved?

The "wedding" that Jeff and Justin were attending was

 to be a hippy-ish outdoor wedding in a field.  

Hence, the informal dress.  Did I mention that I was clueless?

With Jeff, Sarah, and Justin

Me and brother Jim

A couple of badasses!

My Dinnin Family

Maureen, John, Jim, Jack and Lisa

With Jim and Nancy and our 

niece and nephew Karen and Bill

My Mulzet Family

Kurt, Sue, and Nick

With Linda's lifelong best friend Cindy and her hubby, Tom

My Moellenbrock Family

Jim, Judy, Ann, George

With Kelly and Andy

Key Players in "The Secret"

My Madden Cousins, Casey and Cheryl

Holding a pic of my mother, Ruth Madden.

We share the same Great-Grandparents

My cuz, Casey, with my pal, David, who 

travelled from Tennessee to be there.

After keeping this a secret for fourteen months, 

Linda decided to cut loose!

Normally, she would not like a pic like this posted, 

but she said it was okay this time.

Thanks to everyone who attended and shared that amazing day that Linda gave me.  I will cherish it, and her, forever.

A Couple of Movies For You

I spent some time these last two watching a couple of movies that I can recommend to you.

"Maggie Moore(s)" (2023)

In a small southwestern town, two women, both named Maggie Moore, meet with violent homicidal deaths.  Coincidence?  Was Maggie #1 the intended victim and was the murder of Maggie #2 committed to cover up and confuse the investigation, or was Maggie #2 the real intended victim and Maggie #1's death a mistake?  That is what Chief of Police Jon Hamm needs to find out.  Along the way he is helped by his Deputy Nick Mohammed (Nate from "Ted Lasso") and Maggie #1's neighbor, Tina Fey, a divorcee who to whom the widowed Hamm becomes attracted.

Throw in a cast of characters that include cheating husbands, one of whom, Maggie # 1's husband, a fast food franchisee who is stealing from the corporate HQ, a vicious hit man, whacky Other Women, and other assorted oddballs, and this movie gives off a distinct "Fargo"-esque vibe (that's a good thing).  The movie is also based upon a true story from 2000 when two women named "Mary Morris" were killed by within six days of each other in a small town in Texas.  That case became a sensation in the True Crime Community, and it has never been solved.

All three of the lead actors are terrific in this one, and it was interesting to see Fey in a dramatic role.

Three Solid Stars from The Grandstander for this one.  

Available on Hulu.

"Operation Mincement" (2021)

This is a World War II spy drama based on a true operation from that conflict (much like the D-Day movie "Pressure" that I wrote of HERE).  British Intelligence is charged with the task of developing a ruse that will cause the German high command to believe that the Allied invasion of Sicily in 1943 would actually take place in Greece.  The plan that they come up with, Operation Mincemeat, involves planting false documents detailing the planned "invasion" of Greece on a corpse, throwing the corpse into the sea and have it wash up in the beaches of Spain, where it is hoped it will be found by German spies, and that the plans found on the corpse will be relayed back to the Nazi Command in Berlin.  Oh, and they have to develop a complete back story for the fictitious dead soldier.  If this story was written as fiction, it would be laughable and unbelievable, but, in fact, it actually happened and it succeeded!  Speaking of fiction, one of the intelligence officers involved in this plot was a British officer named Ian Fleming, who went on to write a successful series of spy novels featuring a guy named Bond. James Bond.

The main actors in this one are Colin Firth (who is always good), Matthew Macfadyen, Kelly Macdonald, and Penelope Wilton (Isobel from "Downton Abbey").

The Grandstander gives this one Three Stars as well, but only because this story of an off-the-wall spy scheme to Save The War for the Good Guys is actually true.

There is currently an acclaimed musical now playing on Broadway based upon the same story.  Can't see how they'd make a musical about this, but I will no doubt make a point of seeing it when and if it tours.  After all, who ever thought that a musical about Alexander Hamilton would work?

Available on Netflix.

Closing (?) Another Chapter In The Grief Book

In the never ending battle to to get rid of Stuff That We Don't Need Any More, I was confronted with two large bags that contained, literally, hundreds of cards and pieces of mail.  One bag contained notes that Marilyn had received and saved over the years since we moved into this house back in 2010.  Thank you notes, birthday and anniversary cards, and just general "how are you doing" kinds of cards, and, of course, Get Well cards.  Also included in this bag were many, many pictures that had been sent to her by various friends and family members. The second bag was filled with all of the condolence and sympathy cards that I had received after she died.

I honestly had not looked at these cards at all in the almost five years since she died, and I figured that it was time to move on and purge myself of these.  So I sat down one night and spent over two hours doing just that.  Of course, all kinds emotions were stirred when I did this.  I shed some tears, and I smiled a lot.  Some of these notes have prompted me to reach out to some people with whom I have not been in touch for some time.  I was also struck by the fact of how many of the people who sent me their condolences five years ago are now no longer with us. Some of the notes and photos are being sent back to people in the hopes that it will bring up good memories and make them smile too.  While I have indeed gotten rid of the large bulk of these cards, I have held onto some things that I am just not ready to let go of.

It is not for me to tell anyone how to deal with grief and the loss of someone you love, although plenty of people have told me (as recently as yesterday) how I "should" have acted after Marilyn died.  The Grief Journey never ends, and the timeline is different for everyone.  This little exercise that I did this week took me five years to accomplish. Some people may have done the same thing within a month of their loss. Some people will never do it.  And some people will always judge you for it, no matter how you deal with it.  I was reminded, although I didn't need to be, of just how lucky I was to have Marilyn in my life for almost fifty years, and I was also reminded how incredibly fortunate I am to have found another love with Linda in this Second Act in my life.  

I have been and still am, to quote Lou Gehrig, "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

To Absent Friends - Shelley Fabares

 

I admit to feeling a bit saddened when I heard of the death of actress Shelley Fabares, 82, last week.  No, she was not one of those actresses of my youth on whom I had a crush, but she was always likable.  I remember her most from her days on "The Donna Reed Show", and I know that she went on to have a second act, of sorts, in television when she played Craig T, Nelson's wife in the long running "Coach".  I also remember her co-starring with Elvis Presley in three of his movies, including one of my favorites, "Girl Happy".  I mean, how can you ever forget THIS SCENE when Elvis croons to her about the "Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce"?  

I remember that there was always a matter as to how you pronounced her last name.  Was it "Fah-bare-eze" or "Fa-bray" like the actress Nanette Fabray, who was not her mother, as was once rumored, but her aunt.  In actuality, she herself pronounced it "Fab-uh-ray".  Three syllables.

She had an active acting career with over 160 credits in IMDB.  She appeared on just about every show you could think of throughout the seventies and eighties including four episodes of "Love Boat", five episodes of "Fantasy Island", and three episodes of "Love, American Style". She also played Joy Piccolo, the wife of Brian Piccolo/James Caan in the 1971 tear-jerker "Brian's Song".  And, of course, there was her hit record "Johnny Angel", which she sang on the Donna Reed show, that went to Number One on Billboard's Hot 100 back in 1964. She was married to recording executive Lou Adler from 1964 to 1980 and to actor Mike Farrell (BJ from M*A*S*H) from 1984 until her death.

I also got a great kick out of seeing recent pictures of her in her later years rocking this hairstyle:

Seeing a woman in her eighties wearing her hair like this is awesome, and this, as much as anything else, makes her deserving of an Absent Friends post.

RIP Shelley Fabares.

Publicity photo at age 16

With Donna Reed

With Elvis Presley in "Girl Happy"

"Mary Stone" and "BJ Honeycutt"

A 42 Year marriage