March 2006 - Pittsburgh Steelers Wiretap

Eagles Target Randle El

Oct 5, 2014 5:51 AM

In the next few weeks, Terrell Owens finally and officially will be leaving the Eagles. If he is on their roster March 8, 5 days into the NFL year, the Birds will owe T.O. $7.5 million in bonus money, which they have no intention of paying. There won't be a T.O.-level wide receiver talent available this spring, either through free agency or in the draft, but despite their public posturing about being happy with their remaining receivers, the Eagles are expected to try to upgrade at the position. Antwaan Randle El seems to be their main target, as the free-agent wideout with the biggest upside, assuming the Pittsburgh Steelers, faced with 11 potential free agents, can't keep him. Randle El also would fill a need as an elite punt returner. An alternative might be Buffalo's Eric Moulds, a bigger and stronger receiver (6-2, 210 to Randle El's 5-10, 192) who also is significantly older at 32.

Philadelphia Daily News

Tags: Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Some Owners Could Sue If Revenue-Share Comes About

Aug 5, 2014 8:29 AM

The revenue-sharing debate among NFL team owners has become so combative that a group of owners of the most prosperous franchises has threatened to take legal action if a revenue-sharing plan they don't like is forced upon them. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said yesterday that the threat has been made by a group of six to nine teams. Rooney said he regards it as "an idle threat" that will not be carried out by the clubs, which he did not identify. "I think they might vote against revenue-sharing, but what are they going to sue for?" Rooney said in a telephone interview. "They're trying to say if we get the votes [to approve a revenue-sharing plan], they'll sue. I don't see what they can sue about. They have the right to vote no." The threat is a sign of how fractious revenue-sharing deliberations among owners have become. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue is attempting to get owners to agree to a plan to increase the amount of locally generated revenues that teams would share, but a faction of owners of the wealthiest clubs has resisted. Revenue-sharing deliberations among owners are taking place as they attempt to negotiate an extension of their labor agreement with the NFL Players Association.

Washington Post

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers

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Steelers' Keisel Wants To Stay In Pittsburgh

Aug 5, 2014 8:48 AM

Defensive end Brett Keisel is approaching unrestricted free agency under the assumption he's the player the Steelers believe they can least afford to lose. "That's what I've heard, that I'm the priority," Keisel said Monday. "A little birdie told me that, but birds can bring all kinds of different messages, so who knows?" Keisel, a fourth-year pro from BYU, earned a base salary of $656,000 in 2005. Negotiations on a new deal have yet to commence, he said.

Tribune-Review

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Just Business For Randle El

Jul 15, 2014 6:09 AM

NFL teams in need of offensive firepower are interested in Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El. The Bears come to mind -- a playoff team built around defense that could use Randle El's many skills to improve their offense. And, he's a Chicago area native. The Redskins are another playoff team that needs an athletic receiver, and that's what Randle El is. And money never seems to be an object with Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Then, there are the Patriots. They're recent champions who slid back a notch this past year, and they think a guy like Randle El could push them back over the top. The suitors are many. The dollars will be plentiful. Some experts think in the $3-million- or $4 million-a-year range. That's why Randle El has played his last game in a Steelers uniform.

Tribune-Review

Tags: Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Bettis Joins NBC's Broadcast Team

Oct 8, 2014 6:58 AM

Jerome Bettis joined NBC on Sunday as a studio analyst for Sunday night football games. "I am looking forward to this new opportunity and to still be involved in the game I love," Bettis said. The former Pittsburgh running back retired after helping the Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in the Super Bowl this month in his hometown of Detroit. His first game will be in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 7, when the Steelers receive their Super Bowl rings. "It will be the proudest night of my life," Bettis said. "I will finally get my ring and I will start my new career in television in front of all the Steelers fans."

AP

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers

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Steelers To Play Opener On Thursday

Oct 27, 2014 10:25 PM

The 2006 NFL season most likely will start in Pittsburgh on Sept. 7, keeping with a recent trend of beginning the schedule with the current Super Bowl champion. The NFL also is considering an ESPN doubleheader for the opening Monday night on Sept. 11, one beginning at 6 p.m. Eastern time and the second at 9 p.m., NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. He added that the league is still open to a game overseas for 2006, perhaps in London's Wembley Stadium. The new schedule will be disclosed in April, although some games, such as the opener, may be announced earlier. The Sept. 7 game will be the fifth straight Thursday opener. The first was in 2002 when San Francisco was at the New York Giants, in part to commemorate the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The following season, the New York Jets were at Washington in the game in what was also considered a game honoring the two cities hit by the attacks.

AP

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers

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NFL Defends Super Bowl Officiating

May 17, 2014 7:29 AM

The NFL defended the officiating in the Super Bowl on Tuesday, two days after the Steelers beat the Seahawks 21-10 in the NFL title game. The league said Tuesday that no mistakes were made by the game officials, although Seattle coach Mike Holmgren might disagree. "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. The officiating has been a the major topic of discussion since Sunday night. Right after the game, Holmgren suggested that the first-quarter offensive interference call on the Seahawks' Darrell Jackson, negating what would have been the game's first touchdown, probably should have been "a no call." Holmgren, a former chairman of the NFL's rule-making competition committee, fueled the debate Monday during a rally for the Seahawks at Qwest Field when he said, "We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."

ESPN

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks

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Randle El Wants To Play QB?

Sep 26, 2014 7:25 AM

At a time when the Bears appeared to be headed for another disaster, Lovie Smith and his staff did a remarkable job to turn it around so quickly. Not only that, they pulled it off with a rookie quarterback and a shortage of playmakers around him. While general manager Jerry Angelo is at it, he can pursue wide receiver/quarterback/return man Antwaan Randle El, now an unrestricted free agent. As Randle El told Paul Ladewski not long ago, his secret ambition is to be an NFL quarterback one day. As an added bonus, why not offer Randle El the third position with the chance to move up if ? when? ? Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton go down again.

Daily Southtown

Tags: Chicago Bears, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Ward Admits To Pre-Game Sickness

Feb 12, 2014 5:51 PM

Getting selected Super Bowl MVP, hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, jetting off to Disney World and preparing to take part in the Steelers' victory parade, those were things Hines Ward could easily digest. The Steelers wide receiver admitted Monday that his nervous constitution got the best of him in the moments leading up to Super Bowl XL at Ford Field. One would never know it from Ward's play. He caught five passes for 123 yards and one touchdown and added 18 more yards on an end-around run to help lead the Steelers to a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. "I got sick before the pregame," Ward said at a news conference yesterday when he hand-picked a black Cadillac Escalade as his gift for being the Super Bowl MVP. "I asked (former Super Bowl MVP) Ray Lewis, 'Man, is it all right for me to be nervous like this?' And he looked over at me and said, 'All the great ones do, so just go out and play.'"

Tribune-Review

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Money Keeps Montana Away From Super Bowl MVP Ceremony

Sep 22, 2014 3:44 PM

Quarterbacks Joe Montana, Jake Scott and Terry Bradshaw were conspicuously absent when the NFL showcased the Most Valuable Players from the first 39 Super Bowls during pre-game ceremonies in Detroit on Sunday. Montana, the former signal caller for the San Francisco 49ers and the only three-time Super Bowl MVP, apparently turned down the invitation because he wanted $100,000, not the $1,000 the NFL was offering, according to reports from Newsday and the San Francisco Chronicle. Bradshaw decided to stay home, while former Dolphins MVP Jake Scott was traveling in Australia. Although Bradshaw told league officials that he wanted to be with his family, The Chronicle reported the former Steelers quarterback also took issue with the amount the NFL was willing to pay for an appearance in the pre-game ceremonies. Bradshaw, through a representative, denied the Chronicle's report that there was a dispute over money.

MSNBC

Tags: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

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Whisenhunt Getting Ready For Oakland Interview

Tribune-Review

Bus Goes Out With A Ring
Jerome Bettis didn't win the MVP, but he certainly went out on top, announcing his retirement following the Steelers 21-10 win over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.

AP

One For The Thumb?
The Steelers hope to join the 49ers and Cowboys today, by winning their fifth Super Bowl. The Seahawks stand in their way, appearing in their first Super Bowl.

Boston Herald

Cowher Says Polamalu Will Be 'OK'
Troy Polamalu, placed on the injury report Thursday with an ankle injury, practiced yesterday, although he left drills 30 minutes early.

Post-Gazette

Polamalu Hurts Ankle, Listed As Probable
Troy Polamalu suffered an ankle injury during Thursday's practice and was forced to leave the session early.

ESPN

Porter Wants To Make Seahawks 'Tap Out'

AP

Porter Picks Up On Stevens Comments On The Bus

ESPN