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Best of the Web: The Top 20 Links of the Week

This week's edition of Best of the Web is heavy on Steeler talk, to the surprise of precisely no one. We've got news on Maurkice Pouncey and Aaron Smith, an update on Dick LeBeau's future, a Terrible Towel hater, a Big Ben hater, a death in the Penguin family, good news for a Pirate prospect, the Pitt non-conference schedule, and much, much more. So clear your schedule and prepare yourself for 20 Burgh-related links comin' at ya like James Harrison chasing down a helpless QB.

Maurkice Pouncey will not be playing in the Super Bowl, according to linemate Chris Kemoeatu, who is apparently the newly-appointed team spokesman. [Trib]
Time to put those annoying, Chris Mortensen-generated rumors to bed. Dick LeBeau says if he'll be coaching, it will be in Pittsburgh in 2011. [PFT]

"The Terrible Towel is Terribly Stupid," says Fanhouse writer Clay Travis. Me thinks you probably won't like this article. [Fanhouse]

And if you hate that article, you'll really hate "Ben Roethlisberger's a Zero, Not a Hero". [Boston Herald]

If Aaron Smith gets to dress for SB45, who has to sit? [Steelers Lounge]

Did Flozell The Hotel show more effort in Pittsburgh than he did while in Dallas? What's that implying? That Wade Phillips couldn't get the most out of his guys? [DallasNews.com]

Here's a look back at five questions entering the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2010 season, and their "final answers". [Beaver County Times]

Is Santonio Holmes worthy of a big-money contract to the New York Jets? You mean a team would hesitate to commit large dollars to a thrice-arrested player with a history of substance abuse? What's not to like? [NY Daily News]

In case you haven't heard, Packers coach Mike McCarthy is from Greenfield. This could be the "Jerome Bettis is from Detroit" of Super Bowl 45. [NY Times]

The 2010 AP NFL MVP will be announced on Super Bowl Sunday. I'm guessing it's not Big Ben. [ESPN]

If you're tired of Black and Yellow (I'm not, by the way), a popular alternative is Kellee Maize's City of Champions.

Kellee Maize - City of Champions (Prod. by DJ Huggy) by Kellee Maize on YouTube

Arto Javanainen, the first European draft pick in Penguin history, passed away following a long illness in a hospital at Turku, Finland at age 51. Javanainen was a fifth-round pick in the same 1984 draft that produced Mario Lemieux. [Empty Netters]

Mary Beth Bylsma, wife of coach Dan Bylsma, organized a special evening for seven children and their families on Tuesday at the Consol Energy Center. The families were given a VIP evening by the Penguins as they met coach  Bylsma, hung out with NHL officials in their locker room and had their very own suite to watch the game. [PittsburghPenguins.com]

The Vancouver Canucks are currently the odds-on favorites to win the Cup, with the Penguins second. So at the very worst, we're looking at another Pittsburgh team in the final two? I can live with that. [Puck Daddy]

Rob Rossi catches up with "The Moose", former Penguin Johan Hedberg. Hard to believe it's been nearly 10 years since his romp through the NHL's postseason. [Trib]

A game-worn Sidney Crosby Winter Classic jersey sold for a final bid of $17,271 on an NHL.com auction that recently closed. Recession? What recession? [Auction.NHL.com]

Pirate prospect Jameson Taillon was recently named by MLB.com as the sixth-best right-handed pitching prospect in baseball and the 18th-ranked prospect overall. If he can stay out of James Andrews' waiting room, he could be even higher.  [MLB.com]

New Pitt coach Todd Graham recently landed four commitments, including three-star RB Malcolm Crockett from Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.), three-star WR Darius Patton from Poland Seminary (Poland, Ohio), RB Isaac Bennett from Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, and RB  Corey Davis from Gladewater, Texas.

Crockett (5'11", 180) had offers from Michigan, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and West Virginia; Patton (5'10", 170) had offers from Wisconsin, Indiana, West Virginia and Cincinnati, and also was being recruited by Michigan. [PG]

Pitt's 2011 non-conference football schedule includes home games against Buffalo (Sept. 3rd), Maine (Sept. 10th), Notre Dame (Sept. 24th) and Utah (Oct. 15th) and a roadie at Iowa (Sept. 17th). Let's hope the high profile non-con games go better than they did in 2010. [PG]

A lengthy article on Aliquippa football and a cover featuring James Harrison are two reasons to buy this week's edition of Sports Illustrated. [SI.com]

Don Spagnolo is the founder of the Pittsburgh sports and entertainment blog Mondesi's House.


Send your links via email at Don.Spagnolo@cbsradio.com or on Twitter @mondesishouse
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