No Ben, no problem for Steelers – fact!

1. With Ben Roethlisberger on the sidelines, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still win their… 1. With Ben Roethlisberger on the sidelines, the Pittsburgh Steelers will still win their preseason opener tomorrow night against the Miami Dolphins.

Geoff Dutelle: Fiction. This game was going to be hard enough for the defending Super Bowl champs before they lost their main man. Now, they will start Charlie Batch, who headlined a pair of games last season against inferior foes. Granted, Batch did throw well in his starts, but he did so against two down-and-out teams that didn’t come within a Hail Mary of the postseason. Batch hasn’t started against a team with a winning record in five years and Miami projected to be just that, a playoff team. Playing at home is what might turn the tide for the Steelers, but they will have to throw the ball to win and we can’t be certain how they will get that done until Big Ben is back.

Dave Thomas: Fact. The Steelers are going to hand the ball to a wily veteran in Batch and are going to tell him the same thing they told Roethlisberger when he took over for the injured Tommy Maddox as a rookie: “Don’t lose the game.” Obviously, but what that means is that Batch must take care of the ball, eliminate turnovers and make the simple plays when he needs to. If the black and gold can establish the run against a very good Miami defense, they will be able to keep their own defense fresh and chew up some clock. Regardless of who is under center, the key for the Steelers this year will be the running game. Their line is healthy, so I like their chances, and besides they’re the defending Super Bowl Champs playing at home. Heinz Field will be crazy, so you have to go with the Steelers on Thursday.

2. After squeaking past Georgia Tech Saturday night, No. 2 Notre Dame will get through September, its toughest month of the year, undefeated.

GD: Fact. Initially I didn’t think that this was going to be so, and it wasn’t because I didn’t want to believe in the Irish. Notre Dame’s defensive improvement was what impressed me more than any touchdowns they could have scored. We know Charlie Weis will guide Brady Quinn toward the end zone a few times each game, but instead of needing four scores, like last year, for a win, this team might only need three. Don’t let Yellow Jacket receiver Calvin Johnson’s 111 receiving yards dupe you; Notre Dame’s secondary is vastly improved. He is going to burn a lot of other teams for a lot more yards than that. This team might make it all the way to a December showdown with USC still unbeaten, and they might even ride the magic behind them all the way there.

DT: Fiction. The Irish have to play two ranked teams (GT wasn’t ranked), and then two more tough Big Ten teams before the month is over. If they can get past No. 19 PSU, which I think they will because they’re in South Bend, they have No. 14 Michigan the following week. If they survive that, they have Michigan State (who beat them last year) on the road, before returning home for a game with Purdue. I wasn’t impressed enough by the Irish to think that one of those four teams doesn’t have a chance to upset them. This year seems to be a lot different than recent years; there really isn’t a clear-cut top national team like USC or even Texas. I don’t put much stock in the number two ranking for that reason and I think the Irish will falter sometime this month.

3. The Florida Marlins’ turnaround is the single most impressive feat of the 2006 Major League Baseball Season.

GD: Fact. I never thought any storyline would develop enough to overtake the Detroit Tigers’ incredible season, but this is just too fairy tale-esque to not take home the prize. We’re talking about a team that once sank to 11-31 with very realistic prospects of finishing behind everybody. What we’ve seen instead is a rotation with three rookies boasting double-digit wins (Josh Johnson is 12-6, Scott Olsen 12-7 and Ricky Nolasco 11-9) take control, leaving Dontrelle Willis, yes, the same Dontrelle Willis who was the runner-up for last year’s Cy Young, fourth on the team with nine wins. Hanley Ramirez (.287, 49 RBIs), Dan Uggla (.290, 79) and Josh Willingham (.280, 64) are all complementing Miguel Cabrera (.336, 101) perfectly. All of this comes with a genius manager at the helm who may be fired for insane reasons at season’s end. To be the only team to ever fall 20 games below .500 and come back to get over .500 (the Marlins were 69-68 and a game and a half out of the NL Wild Card as of Tuesday night) is remarkable, but to do it with a cast of unknowns is even more than that.

DT: Fiction. As remarkable as the Marlins’ turnaround has been (and to put into perspective from a Pittsburgh point of view, on April 31 the Pirates were 7-20 and the Marlins actually had fewer wins at 6-17. Now, as of Monday, the fish are 69-68 and the Buccos are 55-83), the most amazing story has got to be the Detroit Tigers’ season. They hire Jim Leyland to manage the team and he brings in all the 1992 Pirates as his assistants. He then goes on a rant on SportsCenter after one of their losses and says how losing won’t be tolerated around there like it has been for so long, and before we know it, they are the best team in the major leagues. Last year they finished 71-91; this year they have the best record in baseball at 85-53. That’s the only number you need to know to understand how ridiculous their season has been. As a fan, who can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the Pirates could have signed Leyland.

4. After Saturday’s thrashing of Virginia, Pitt will move all the way into October undefeated.

GD: Fact. I’m not sure what a 6-0 or 7-0 record exactly says about this team, but it is very feasible. Consider a weak Cincinnati team this Friday and a Michigan State team next week that looked anything but impressive in its opener last week. From there, only Division I-AA The Citadel and a depleted Toledo Rockets squad separate Pitt from October. I’d even project this team to move to 7-0 before tasting defeat, even if based purely on the light schedule. Contingent on Michigan State getting its act together by Sept. 16, the Panthers’ first real test might not come until Oct. 21 when Rutgers invades Heinz Field.

DT: Fiction, although no one can argue that the Panthers looked pretty solid last weekend and that Cincy this week shouldn’t be much of a test. But Pitt always seems to have a little trouble early in the season, and Michigan State will be tough. Also, if you can remember the Larry Fitzgerald era, Toledo’s rockets do have a little firepower. I hate to be pessimistic, and although it seems like it could happen, I just don’t think it will for the Panthers.

5. With a loss in the 2006 World Championships, the concept of “The Dream Team” is now dead.

GD: Fact. And this now-defunct concept extends to all countries. The international game has developed to the point where no team can be labeled “unstoppable.” Every player on Team USA will admit to the differences of the international game, meaning there is the opportunity for nearly every team to come out on top. In the Dream Team days, the United States could throw out a bunch of scrubs who barely made their NBA rosters and still win by 25 points. Now, your team must be assembled quite carefully and it must be prepared to deal with teams that play the international style of ball. This isn’t to say the United States won’t ever win again, but the Dream Team idea is exactly as advertised – a dream.

DT: Fact. I think this was first made true by the disappointment that came from the Athens Olympic games in 2004 when the United States left without a medal. When the first Dream Team was formed in 1992, players from the other countries would ask people in the stands to take their pictures as they were guarding Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson because they were in such awe of the moment. As amazing as that team was, and how they dominated international play, they have changed the international game forever. The rest of the world is catching up, and it really shows, because although they might not be more talented, they play together as a team because most of them, with a few exceptions, don’t play for an NBA team, but just their national team. The only way a Dream Team would reappear is if the best players in the NBA would leave their pro teams and focus on playing only for Team USA. We all know that no one would leave that kind of money to volunteer for the Olympic team.