~~**SCHWANGERSCHAFTSECKE**~~ » nd a stunned Zubik waiting for him. Noll d

PITTSBURGH -- The lessons Chuck Noll passed down to his players -- maxims that often applied as much to life as to football -- are tacked on the wall in Mike Mularkeys office. They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Its why Mularkey made sure he had a chance to say goodbye, joining Steelers past and present, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and several hundred friends and family on Tuesday for a funeral mass honouring Noll, who passed away last week at age 82. "Ive gotten more from Chuck off the field as much as I got on the field about how to do things the right way," said Mularkey, now a tight ends coach with Tennessee. "Family was important. Balance in life was important." And that, as much as the record four Super Bowls Noll won while transforming the Steelers from an NFL afterthought into a dynasty during the 1970s is what will resonate for the city he championed and the team he built from scratch. The men he moulded embraced at Saint Paul Cathedral. They clutched programs featuring a picture of a vibrant Noll wearing a polo shirt, shorts and the closest he ever came to a smile while at work. Each vowed to carry on the lessons Noll imparted from his first day of coaching to his waning days. Steelers President Art Rooney II and Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene were among the pallbearers, a responsibility Greene wished he could have avoided but one he ultimately welcomed as a final gift from the coach who changed his life. "It meant Chuck was thinking of me," Greene said, "and thats special." Noll and Greene will be forever entwined in Steelers history. Noll was a rookie head coach in 1969 when he selected the massive but somewhat unknown Greene in the first round of the NFL draft. It was a pick met with skepticism but one that changed the course of the organization and Greenes life. "If he hadnt chosen me, maybe I wouldnt have been a Pittsburgh Steeler," Greene said. "Maybe I wouldnt have had the opportunity to be coached by Chuck Noll. And that probably would not have fared very well for me." Instead, Noll and Greene served as the core of a team that dominated the 1970s, winning four titles in a six-year span thanks to a seemingly never-ending stream of Hall of Famers guided by a man who made it his mission to ensure they learned more than just Xs and Os. Greene, nicknamed "Mean Joe" for his menacing demeanour on the field, remembers destroying a door one day "when things werent going my way." Rather than let Greene off the hook or rip into the cornerstone of the "Steel Curtain" defence, Noll took a different approach. "Chuck came to the room and knocked on the door and said Thatll be $500 and that was the end of the story," Greene said. Despite rising to the top of his profession, Noll preferred not to bask in the limelight. Its telling that while Hall of Famers like Greene, Blount, running back Franco Harris and wide receiver John Stallworth sat in the pews at the cathedral -- just a few miles across town from where Noll worked at bygone Three Rivers Stadium -- they were surrounded by longtime employees of the organization and friends from all walks of life. Bishop David Zubik, who performed Tuesdays ceremony, was a young priest in the late 1970s when he somehow managed to get Noll to agree to give a speech on leadership to a group of high school athletes. They set it up in the spring of 1979. The speech wasnt until January 1980. Months passed. The season came and went, ending with the Steelers beating the Los Angeles Rams at the Rose Bowl to claim the teams fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy. Two days later back in Pittsburgh, Noll drove himself to the retreat where he found a stunned Zubik waiting for him. Noll delivered as promised, giving a rousing talk to a group of young players that included future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, then a local prep star. It didnt matter that Noll might have been exhausted. It didnt matter that he had every right to cancel. That simply wasnt Nolls way. He made a promise. He had to keep it. "Thats the thing about coach Noll," Zubik said. "Everybody was important." Its a legacy that will carry on in the city Noll called home and within the walls of the franchise he defined. "Four championships, youve got to feel that," current Steelers centre Maurkice Pouncey said. "We walk by those Super Bowl trophies every day here, and it all started with Coach Noll." Cheap Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . This time, it was Eric Chavezs turn. Stuck in a rut since coming off the disabled list, Chavez hit the first pitch he saw in the ninth inning for a run-scoring single, sending the Diamondbacks to another walk-off victory, 4-3 over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. Cheap Swingman Mavericks Jerseys .Tzavelas opened the scoring in the 11th and Pereyra added another in the 51st. Emmanuel Kone pulled one back in the 80th and Levadiakos missed several chances to level in the last 10 minutes. http://www.cheapmavericksjerseys.com/?ta...son-kidd-jersey. They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. Harrison Barnes Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman. DeAndre Jordan Jersey .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row.Dubai, United Arab Emirates (SportsNetwork.com) - Rory McIlroy fired a second-round, 8-under 64 on Friday and that vaulted him into the outright lead heading into the weekend at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy, who earned his first professional victory here back in 2009, finished 36 holes at 14-under-par 130 and he leads Marc Warren by one stroke. The No. 1 player in the world has nine career victories on the European Tour, including four last year, two of which were major championship wins at the British Open and PGA Championship. Waarren also used a big day on Friday to move into sole possession of second place.dddddddddddd Warren carded a 7-under 65 on the Majlis Course at Emirates Golf Club and he is right behind McIlroy at 13-under. Graeme McDowell (65) and Seve Benson (66) are one shot further back at 12-under. First-round leader Bernd Wiesberger shot a 3-under 69 in his second round and he is now tied for fifth with two-time defending champion Stephen Gallacher (67), Danny Willett (66), Lee Westwood (68) and Andy Sullivan (68). MORE TO FOLLOW. ' ' '