thirteen ball is the personal web site of Joe Polk...a technology consultant, web developer, husband, father and volunteer firefighter/EMT from Pittsburgh, PA.
// November 18th, 2009 // No Comments » // Sports
Bill Clark’s 3-pointer with 11.7 seconds left Tuesday night gave Duquesne a 52-50 victory over Iowa in the CBE Classic.
It was the first victory for the Dukes (2-0) over a Big Ten team since they beat Illinois in 1973, and their first victory in 10 tries in a Big Ten arena.
// October 12th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Sports
A guy walks into a bar wearing a Browns jersey and carrying a cat that also has a Browns jersey on with a little Browns helmet on his head, too.
The guy says to the bartender, “Can my cat and I watch the Browns game here? My TV at home is broke, and my cat and I always watch the game together.”
The bartender replies, “Normally, cats wouldn’t be allowed in the bar, but it’s not very busy in here right now, so you and the cat can have a seat at the end of the bar. But, if there’s any trouble with you or the cat, I’ll have to ask you to leave”
The guy agrees, and he and his cat start watching the game. Pretty soon the Browns kick a field goal and the excited cat jumps up on the bar and walks down the bar and gives everyone a high five.
The bartender says, “Hey, that’s pretty cool! What does he do for a touchdown?”
The guys answers, “I don’t know, I’ve only had him for 2 years.
// June 13th, 2009 // 4 Comments » // Pittsburgh, Sports
My friend and fraternity brother John published the following note on his Facebook page and I wanted to post it here because I thought it was great. Enjoy!
Shortly after the Pens hoisted the cup last night, someone (who shall remain nameless so as to avoid physical abuse) made the idiotic comment on Facebook that Pittsburgh was somehow not a hockey town. Hmmm…..let me count the ways that he is wrong (just off the top of my head):
1. A completely sold out arena for over 2 1/2 years (not sure where the guy who said we ranked 19th in attendance this year got his info, but a sell-out is a sell out).
2. A new, larger arena opening in 2010 will also be sold out thanks to a season ticket waiting list that is over 2,000 people strong. (Coincidentally, I’m #1 on the list and was just called late this past Thursday afternoon by the Pens to buy seats for next year.)
3. 10,000 fans sitting outside the arena, in the rain, to watch the game on a big screen just to experience the togetherness of being Pens fans.
4. Highest local ratings for hockey for any regional sports network (FSN Pittsburgh).
5. Just as many Pens shirts seen walking around town as Steelers shirts in early February.
Being a great hockey town doesn’t require that you be an “original six” team. It doesn’t require that all your other sports teams stink or mean that your town can’t provide phenomenal support to more than of its sports franchises. And it doesn’t require that you live in New York, Boston, or any of the other cities that ESPN routinely touts for no other reason than sheer size. If you live in a great hockey town, a great sports town, you don’t need any one to tell you that is the case. You know it because you feel it every day, in the way you live and die each night with your team, in the conversations held with perfect strangers over “last night’s game”, in the pride you feel when a phenomenal group of guys wearing sweaters that represent your city reach the pinnacle of their lives, and in knowing that somehow, someway, you are a part of it because, as a fan, you’ve been along with them for the ride the entire time.
Detroit can keep thinking they are Hockeytown, Dallas can keep thinking that they are America’s team, and Boston can keep claiming to be Titletown. I’ll take Pittsburgh, now and forever, and we are once again, at least for now, the City of Champions.
// February 10th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Give Me A Break!, Sports
Besides the fact that they beat us twice at home in the AFC Championship, I still have others reasons why I can’t stand the New England Cheaters Patriots. It is barely one week from the Steelers winning an unprecedented 6th Super Bowl and the bookies in Vegas are picking the Patriots as the odds-on favorite to win the big game next year. Are you kidding me? And then this jerk from Providence, RI tries to say that the Patriots are the “team of the decade”? Where is the respect for the Steelers?!?!?
// October 8th, 2008 // No Comments » // Pittsburgh, Sports
Sports Illustrated’s Ross Tucker published a great article today about how the Pittsburgh Steelers have the best fan base in all of professional sports. Tell me something I don’t know! 
The news out of Jacksonville Monday morning that approximately 25 percent of the fans for Sunday night’s Steelers-Jags contest were waving yellow Terrible Towels came as no surprise to me. The Steelers have the most dominant fan base in the National Football League and their ability to consistently travel, en masse, and infest other team’s stadiums gives the Steelers a competitive advantage that no other franchise can claim.
// September 3rd, 2008 // No Comments » // News Stories, Sports
This is some of the best news to hit the Burgh in a long time. I had the honor of meeting “Iron Mike” a few years ago and I cannot wait to stop by his restaurant to try it out.
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