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The Steelers offense looked to be in mid-season form last night. Unfortunately, the bathrooms in their home stadium were not.

Numerous spectators at last night’s Steelers game who had filled up with food and drink were prohibited from using some restrooms at Heinz Field due to apparent low water pressure. The problem started sometime during the first quarter of the Steelers-Philadelphia Eagles game. Some fans were turned away by stadium staff at the entrance to restrooms while others were told they could use some bathrooms without flushing.

I like how the solution was to have people use the bathroom and just not flush. That’s not exactly a long term answer to the problem. On another note, where was Steely McBeam when all of this was going on? The Steelers finally get a burly man mascot who knows how to work with metal and he disappears when the toilets and sewage pipes need fixing. Steelers fans haven’t felt this abandoned since Yancey Thigpen left to sign with the Oilers

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Ah, the Little League World Series. A heartwarming event where every kid gets a chance to play and the virtues of mutual respect and sportsmanship are on display for the whole world to see. Well, at least that’s how it is when the kids don’t spit in their hands before the postgame handshake.

The Coon Rapids Little League club has apologized after two Minnesota players spit into their hands before shaking hands with players from Chandler who had eliminated Coon Rapids from the Little League World Series.

Coon Rapids manager Mark Lowe issued the apology after learning that ESPN video televised nationally showed two players spitting into their hands before the traditional postgame handshakes after Wednesday’s 9-2 loss.

It seems that somebody forgot to teach these kids one of the cardinal rules of little league baseball. You’re only allowed to spit in your hand before a post-game handshake if the team you’re playing is wearing pinstripes and is called the Yankees.

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Well, one thing has led to another and Shakedownsports now has a new layout.  Hopefully it’s not too disorienting.  Enjoy.

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ShakedownSports is moving servers!! As a result there are some issues with the site right now—most notably the lack of a banner and a blogroll. Hopefully this will all be worked out in the next day or two.

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Earlier this week the Indianapolis Star did a nice little feature about Josh McRoberts adapting to life with the Blazers. It was nothing too out of the ordinary—just your standard rosy profile of a local kid—but there was one quote from McRoberts I found to be particularly interesting.

“People have hated me my whole life,” said McRoberts, who’s far more reserved, even shy, off the court. “It’s never bothered me; it’s something I kind of thrive on.

That’s a pretty telling quote, especially considering that McRoberts has only been in the public eye for three or four years. That question is what did he do that was so hateworthy before he committed to Duke?

Perhaps he was just the kid in kindergarten who refused to share. Or the kid in 3rd grade who smelled bad. Or the kid in 6th grade who never passed the ball the anyone. Maybe in 8th grade he tattled on the kids who were drinking in the school parking lot, and in 10th grade said weird and creepy things when trying to flirt with girls. Perhaps committing to Duke was just the culmination of a childhood full of despicable acts.

Personally, if people hated me my entire life I might try to, you know, make some lifestyle or personality changes because that’s not a normal thing for a 20 year-old. But who am I to criticize McRoberts. If he thrives on being hated by others then good for him.

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(Every week there are a number of stories slip through the cracks here at ShakedownSports. These are just a few of them.)

Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway will reportedly take a job as his son’s quarterbacks coach at Cherry Creek High School. Elway was actually under contract to coach football at a different Denver public school, but he forced a transfer by threatening to leave and go coach baseball in New York.

Matt Beech, the pitcher who suffered a broken finger when Jose Offerman attacked him with a bat, has been suspended three games for his role in the altercation. Beech is lucky he wasn’t knocked unconscious—if that happened he might have been suspended for a month.

Donald Young, the future of American tennis, finally won his first career ATP match this week. Despite winning the Wimbledon junior Championship this year, the 18 year-old Young had gone 0-11 against the grown men on the ATP Tour. That was until Sunday, when he came from behind to defeat Amer Delic in the first round of the Pilot Pen Classic. Young’s victory means we can officially, beyond any doubt, declare Michelle Wie the most disappointing overhyped loser phenom in all of sports.

Harrah’s has announced that it will partner with AEG to build a 20,000 seat arena in Las Vegas capable of housing an NBA or NHL team. Although there are many concerns about gambling scandals if a professional sports team were to play in Vegas, Harrah’s had assured they will take care of that by putting a small sign at the entrance of the referee locker room that reads “It is illegal for referees to bet on games they are officiating.”

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Of all the hallowed baseball landmarks in the world, the cornfield from “Field of Dreams” has to rank somewhere in the top 5. However, what most people don’t know about the field is that until this week it’s existence hadn’t been as calm and tranquil as the movie would have you believe.

The field was actually owned by two different families who couldn’t agree on exactly what to do with it. As a result, a family called the Ameskamps owned left and center field, and a family called the Lansings owned right field. The two families even had different souvenir shops set up.

That seemed to be the way it would always be, but this week the Lansings purchased the rest of the field from the Ameskamps. Now after 18 estranged years all parts of the field are together again. Sure, this might not seem important, but it’s big news for vacationing families from South Dakota. Now instead of going to see Mount Rushmore for the 27th time they can see the newly united “Field of Dreams” cornfield.

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This stuff is so good you’ll never need to chain it to a rape stand…

–Justin Timberlake is going to be a modern day Hanson brother. (Deuce of Davenport)

–Say goodbye to Rafael Araujo. (Salt Lake Tribune)

–What exactly happened at Deshawn Stevenson’s house? (Bullets Forever)

–Sidney Crosby has a clothing line. (Toronto Star)

–Harrah’s has bad timing. (Winning the Turnover Battle)

–Twelve year-olds are crossing the English Channel. (Denver Post)

–If David Beckham lived 70 million years ago he would have been T-Rex food. (Sons of Sam Malone)

–Tracy McGrady knows what Matt Leinart and Tom Brady are going through. (Epic Carnival)

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As I watched the Orioles surrender run after run last night there was only one thought that kept popping into my head. “This is what happens when one of your key relievers hasn’t been an effective pitcher since Carlos Baerga was an all-star.”

Paul Shuey’s suckiness aside, it is now a golden age for semi-retired journeyman relievers. Team’s are so desperate for pitching they’re willing to give anybody a chance. This season Shuey (along with Troy Percival) is just one of numerous other pitchers attempting to work their way back to the big leagues after a lengthy hiatus.

First and foremost, there’s the great Alan Mills. Until this season the 40 year-old righthander hadn’t pitched in the majors since 2001. Now he’s attempting to make a comeback with the Tigers, and so far its going fairly well. In 25 innings with Double A Erie Mills has and ERA of 1.42 and opponents are batting just .122 against him. Joel Zumaya had better watch his back.

Not far behind Mills is 34 year-old Jose Paniagua. This summer the Pirates decided to give Paniagua another chance despite the fact that he last pitched in the major leagues in 2003. After dominating hitters half is age in five rookie league innings, Paniagua was promoted to Double A Altoona. He pitched a scoreless inning in his one appearance since the promotion.

Unfortunately, not all comeback attempts end with the thrill of minor league bus rides and daily meal money. This season former Cardinals reliever Dave Veres was attempting to become the first man to pitch in the major leagues with an artificial hip. The 40 year-old Veres hadn’t pitched anywhere since 2004, but the Rockies decided to give him a chance. That chance would be shortlived—after five games and a 9.64 ERA with Triple A Colorado Springs, the Rockies released him.

All of this has left me excitedly wondering what former hurler will reappear next.  Rob Nen? Billy Koch? Matt Mantei?  Somebody get their agents on the phone–there are lucrative minor league contracts to be signed.

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Larry Johnson will be a Chief for the forseeable future. That much is certain. What’s uncertain is what exactly made him decide sign. According to to Johnson, it may have had something to do with the HBO crew filming “Hard Knocks.”

“The guys on the ‘Hard Knocks’ staff would tell me and show me interviews from guys on the team saying they missed me,” LJ told Star columnist Jason Whitlock. “That really got me.”

The implication is that “Hard Knocks” went beyond the boundaries of coverage and somehow influenced LJ’s decision to sign.

There are a number of reasons to sign a lucrative contract extension, and for most people 99% of them are money. Apparently that’s not the case for Johnson. He puts a lot weight on “production assistant input” and “feelings” when deciding whether or not to sign a contract. Frankly, the whole thing sounds like the end of a shitty romantic comedy where the broken up couple’s two best friends lie to them in order to get them to meet one last time and save their doomed love.

Of course HBO is denying they did anything out of the ordinary.

“Larry didn’t get any more access to footage than anyone else,” [HBO spokesman Kevin] Flaherty said. “If Larry saw guys talking about him, it came from the footage on the actual show.

I don’t know…that doesn’t sound so convincing. It’s also a little suspicious that Jeremy Piven repeatedly showed up at Johnson’s house, introduced himself as Ari Gold, and yelled at him to sign an extension.

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