Kenny King rushed for 70 yards and a score

He connected with Theo Bell on a 36-yard touchdown pass to make the score 35-31.Seeing extensive action due to the injuries to Stallworth and Swann, Bell finished the game with five catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.In his entire four-year career entering the contest, Bell had caught only 13 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns.The Steelers maintained the momentum when they forced a fumble by van Eeghen that was recovered by Robin Cole. However, for the second time, the Steelers were unable to turn an Oakland fumble into a touchdown. Instead, they settled for a 32-yard field goal by Matt Bahr to make the score 35-34.Oakland answered in the fourth quarter as Plunkett hit Cliff Branch for a 36-yard touchdown to again make it a two-possession game.The Raiders defense continued to batter Bradshaw, and the Steelers were unable to move the football. With Harris on the sidelines for the entire game, the lack of a consistent running attack by Pittsburgh allowed the Raiders defense to spend the game pressuring Bradshaw.The Steelers rushed for 117 yards while passing for 384.Oakland put the game away with a time consuming drive in the final minutes that culminated in a 36-yard field goal by Chris Bahr to make the final score 45-34.Plunkett finished the game with 247 passing yards on 13-of-21 completions for three touchdowns and no interceptions. Bradshaw completed 18-of-27 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Kenny King rushed for 70 yards and a score.Post Script: Coupled with a home loss the previous week to the Cincinnati Bengals, the loss to Oakland marked the first time Pittsburgh had lost back-to-back home games since the opening of Three Rivers Stadium in 1970.The victory continued the mastery by the Raiders on Monday Night Football, as they improved to 14-1-1 since the beginning of MNF in 1970.After the beating he took against the Raiders, Bradshaw was unable to play the next week against the Cleveland Browns as the Steelers fell to 4-4 on the season.

They finished the season with a 9-7 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971.The Steelers had been trying to win one for the thumb, but it would not be until 2006 that the Steelers would claim their fifth Super Bowl victory.Under the guidance of Plunkett, whose career was resurrected by Al Davis and the Raiders after a disappointing two-year stint in San Francisco, the Raiders went 13-2 and won Super Bowl XV over the Philadelphia Eagles. This article is an original story from Sports Then and Now , which was created to give passionate sports fans a place where they can analyze and discuss current sports topics while also remembering some of the great athletes, moments, teams and games in sports history all at one site If you haven't been there yet, check it out today.. The all day coverage you need to go into tonight's contest. We're just making sure you're prepared to drop that extra knowledge on the brosephs to get you another smidgen of respect.Party Attendees...Sitting at 12-5, the Blazers were starting to finally look like one of the elite teams in the NBA. Now at 12-8, they've dropped back to 3rd in the Northwest and just a couple of losses away from backing up to 4th and behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes you read that correctly. With a new injury reported almost daily, it's hard to stay positive especially with a 4 game road trip on the horizon. Can game 21 of an 82 game season really be a "must win" You betcha. Dropping a 4th straight game might mean a season ending downward spiral.And who do we have tonight The same team that ended Portland's Cinderella run last season. The team that was supposed to be a bottom feeder after losing 3 key players in the off-season. The team that looked no where near the level of the Blazers on opening night, and then like world beaters four days later. The team that will again give Steve Blake and Dre Miller fits. The team busting pre-season expectations in a positive way...unlike the one we're covering.I'll say it one more time, "must win."On Tap...McMillan joins the list of injured Blazers. Brian T. Smith Full game preview from Dave. Blazers EdgeNewest edition of FreeMail. Joe FreemanEnemy coverage 1. The Dream Shake Cheap Shots... This article is also featured on Blaze of Love. The Washington Nationals are interested in Mark De Rosa. I’m going to let that one sink in for just a minute before I continue. Now, don’t get me wrong; I believe that the Nationals have to hit the free agent market hard this offseason for them to hope to maintain some gravitas with their fans. But in what timeline or alternative universe would the signing of De Rosa make any sense The whole concept of “The Plan” is to plant the seeds of future stardom in the minor leagues and then harvest the best and trade the rest. Got it. While that’s happening, the team will then make trades to better the team. Got it. And when the team is ready to contend, the cash vault will be opened and the team will buy what it needs to win a World Series. Got it. So under which of those three scenarios does it make sense to sign Mark De Rosa I remember De Rosa from my days as a Braves’ fan. He was a starter with Chicago and averaged .289-17-87 with a .389 on-base percentage. Last year, split between the Cleveland and St.

Louis, De Rosa batted .250-23-78 with a .319 on-base percentage. He played first base, third, left, and right field. Mark De Rosa will be 35 next season He made $5 million last year. He should make a lot more in 2010. Obviously, he wouldn’t be a corner infielder for the Nationals; Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn might have something to say about that. He’s a pretty good outfielder though. Would make sense to play De Rosa in right instead of Elijah Dukes I like Mark De Rosa, but at 35, he will be long gone before the Nationals become a contending team. His numbers slid dramatically in the second half of 2009, which might indicate he’s starting to slow down. Currently, De Rosa is asking for a three-year/$27 million contract. That would make him the second highest paid National, just a tinch behind slugger Adam Dunn. Of course De Rosa’s asking price would have to come way down, but how far is he willing to go Even at a third-off, at $6 million a year, he’s still overpriced. I’d be happy if the Nationals signed Mark De Rosa if (if) if they also signed two quality starting pitchers, say Randy Wolf and Jon Garland. Now let’s think about this for a moment.

The three of them would probably cost about $24 million. Wait a minute. How much did the Nationals save by trading/saying goodbye to Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns, Ronnie Belliard and Dmitri Young Wasn’t it about $24 million Hmmm. So the Nationals could have a starting rotation of John Lannan, Jon Garland, Randy Wolf, Stephen Strasburg and J.D. Martin/Ross Detwiler, and have Mark DeRosa play second base, and the Nationals wouldn’t increase their payroll by even a dime Oh wait, I forgot That just wouldn’t make any sense, now would it . Let the speculation begin. Now that we know who's playing who, it's up to experts and laymen alike to gauge the 32 participating nations' chances to move forward in next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa.In all, 64 matches will be played in the group stage alone. However, some of those matches, quite frankly, will be hard to watch.We offer a helpful guide: 10 matches any football fan must circle on his or her calendar for June..