Steelers Release Veteran Punter Chris Gardocki

[TackleMeBen]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

Hey, I love Chris Gardocki and I love cheese......hell, I love eating cheese while watching Chris Gardocki punt. I'm in the clear.

you guys please stop with the cheese reference.. you are going to make me have draems of being attacked by cheese... and thanks to tony, i always have the picture of ben with the cheese in my head when you guys talk about cheese.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by TackleMeBen

tony

i was waiting on you to post the cheese picture....lol...

lemme see. ben w/ cheese isnt fitting for the gardocki departure

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by TackleMeBen

you guys please stop with the cheese reference.. you are going to make me have draems of being attacked by cheese... and thanks to tony, i always have the picture of ben with the cheese in my head when you guys talk about cheese.:

i hear gardocki will be trying out for the international cheese kicking competition:

[GBMelBlount]

Originally Posted by bcrabt

About time, the 20yd kicks were killing us.

bc, why are you so negative? He was MUCH closer to 30 yards!

[83-Steelers-43]

Originally Posted by GBMelBlount

bc, why are you so negative? He was MUCH closer to 30 yards!

Hey, who's counting? All that matters is...........come on........you know the answer..........come on.........he never......finish it off for me.......he never had a.......

[Crushzilla]

Man, pretty brutal on ol' Chris today...

He'll retire. Where can he go from here... I can see it now...

September 23, 2008. Father/Son Football Game An Overall Success
The father and son football game at Hobbesville Elementary School last night would be hard pressed to rival the AFC playoff game between the Colts and the Steelers in 2006, but it was a hit, nonetheless.

The game was going well until a mix-up in the second quarter caused a twenty minute hiatus in play. The escalation occured when 3' 6" 3rd grader Billy Tompkins slipped through the line on Fourth and 5 and blocked former Super Champion Chris Gardocki's punt, the first time the NFL Punter had been blocked. What happened next was tragic.

The former Pro panicked and the results were not pretty.

"He just didn't know what to do," recalls father John Granderson, "he was acting on pure instinct and adrenaline."

Gardocki, realizing what had happened, picked up the loose ball and began looking for blockers, not realizing that in this particular casual game the ball is considered dead after a block. After what occured next, the 103 people in attendence soon realized why the rule was implemented.

"We don't want anyone to get hurt," said Assistant Principal, and fill in Linebacker Gram Reaves, "So after a blocked kick... or punt... or fumble... we don't want a pileup, we whistle the ball dead."

Gardocki did not hear the whistle, though and began charging toward the endzone, giving a hard stiff arm to 2nd grader Nigel Thorington, sending the youngster to the ground with a shrill scream. Fortunately, the child is in stable condition at Hobbesville Regional Hospital near the Dairy Queen on Grant Street.

After eluding Thorington he ran lowered his shoulder into overweight 3rd grader Tubbs Norrington, while the little chubber was attempting to pour a cup of Gatorade near the sideline. The boy, surprised by the impact, and too fat to catch his balance, fell into the cooler and knocked the refreshing beverage onto a nearby elderly woman in a wheelchair. The woman was not harmed, but, according to eyewitness accounts can not get the smell of Riptide Rush off of her throwover.

Gardocki dashed into the endzone after a 56 yard dash of terror with a trail of pursuing parents and a wake of destruction behind.

"We couldn't get the ball off of him," recalled Reaves. "He had this crazy look in his eye. You know like the kind of look a pitbull has when you try to take its bone, or some fat guy at the Ponderosa who won't give up a chicken wing. He kept screaming 'that kid came out of nowhere! That kid came out of nowhere!' It was f*cking scary."

Gardocki began to calm after he vomited and soiled himself, but would still not let go of the ball.

"It was the only one we had," Reaves recalled. "My wife had to take the Buick to Dick's and buy a new one. It took like a half hour. It's probably for the best, though, he had throw up all over the damn thing."

Gardocki recovered on "The Time Out Bench" with two second graders who were forced to sit out a quarter after spitting on each other. His son, however, did not want to continue after the tragedy and waited, embarrassed, in the Escalade until his father was alright to drive.

"You have to feel for the guy," said Granderson. "He's not used to that... Did you know that he had never been blocked? I didn't know that."

[HometownGal]

Originally Posted by SteelerWatch

While I believe in thanking someone for their services rendered -- and he did a good job, really, until last season -- I also agree that it was time. He was a great asset for the team and I wish we had kept him until TC, if only to help Sepulveda develop at a level where the opponent gets into your face a lot quicker.

That was my point, SteelerWatch - I'm glad someone got it. I agree it is time for Chris to move on - there's a new punter in the Burgh and I'm anxious to see what Sepulveda can do.

I could see The Finger being made fun of or slammed if he had sucked the entire time he was in the black and gold, but that wasn't the case. I'm not going to crucify him for last season - other than FWP, there's not a one of the bunch that can be complimented for having a solid year. I just appreciate his contributions to the team as I do all other former Steelers (yes - even Kordumbell) and wish them good luck.

[83-Steelers-43]

NOW THAT, was good stuff. Thank you for the laugh Crushzilla. Christ ol' mighty...

[PisnNapalm]

Cripes.... Why all the bashing on Gardocki? We all saw this coming the moment Sepulveda was drafted. Chris did nothing but his best while he was with us. I can't fault him for that. Yes he's pretty much over the hill, but who the hell else could we have used last year?

I wish him the best in whatever he does in the future.

[LambertLunatic]

He'll sign with the Browns, and have a kick blocked in week 1 by the steelers