The Steelers have reached an agreement in principle with first-round pick Evander "Ziggy" Hood, according to a source. Hood, a defensive end out of Missouri, was the 32nd pick in April's NFL Draft. Pittsburgh has now signed all nine of their draft picks.

Ben Roethlisberger may have to pay an out-of-court settlement to the woman that has accused him of rape even if he is innocent. His accuser may have a tough time convincing a court of her claims because she took a year to report anything. However, she could land a settlement because Roethlisberger stands to lose millions of dollars in endorsements, according to legal observers. Roethlisberger, 27, said Thursday the allegations are "reckless and false."

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger vowed on Thursday to protect both his family and his reputation. "I did not sexually assault Andrea McNulty," Roethlisberger said, adding that Saturday was the first time he even heard of the accusations. The NFL star said he would "respond to her outrageous allegations in the appropriate forum." McNulty, a 31-year-old casino waitress from Lake Tahoe, filed a civil lawsuit alleging the Super Bowl-winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse last year. "I would never, ever force myself on a woman," Roethlisberger said.

Steelers chairman Dan Rooney's four brothers signed papers this week transferring majority ownership of the team to him and son Art Rooney II. The sale is expected to close within the next several weeks. The deal allows Dan Rooney and Art II to control 30 percent of the team's shares.

Roger Goodell acknowledged on Wednesday that he will look into a civil lawsuit accusing Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault. "I don't know enough of the details, but it's a civil lawsuit, it's something that we obviously will look into," Goodell said when asked about it in New York during an unrelated news conference. "I've been in touch with the Steelers about it."

On Monday, news broke of a civil lawsuit filed in Nevada on July 17 by a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted by the Steelers quarterback. Since then, the story has been covered by the Associated Press, CBSSports.com, Yahoo, Pro Football Talk (now owned by NBC), Fox News, and other national media outlets. But it has not appeared on ESPN. "At this point, we are not reporting the allegations against Ben Roethlisberger because no criminal complaint has been filed," an ESPN spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly." Roethlisberger may not have addressed the civil suit, but his lawyer denied the claim on Roethlisberger's behalf and told the AP the quarterback will be "fully exonerated." The sticking point for ESPN seems to be that the woman in question filed a civil suit instead of criminal charges. But a quick review of ESPN's reporting history shows the company has covered several civil suits recently, including those filed against former Cowboy Adam "Pacman" Jones, former baseball star Roberto Alomar, and Lakers point guard Shannon Brown.

In her lawsuit filed last week in Nevada, Andrea McNulty claims Guy Hyder, the chief of security at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, told her she was "over-reacting" and that "most girls would feel lucky to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger." McNulty also claims Hyder told her that John Koster -- the president of the hotel - will "personally fire you for starting rumors about Roethlisberger's personal life." McNulty also claims Hyder told her that Koster would be impressed by the sexual encounter, allegedly saying "Koster would love you even more if he knew about this ... Koster would suck his d*ck if Roethlisberger let him." In the suit, McNulty claims she assumed the incident would be investigated by hotel security, but Hyder "did not do his job of investigating the assault." McNulty also claims she was "afraid of the consequences of going to police authorities since it was obvious to her that Harrah's and it's personnel ... would side with and support Roethlisberger."

Harrah's employee Andrea McNulty alleges sexual assault against Ben Roethlisberger in a lawsuit filed last week in Washoe County, Nevada. Lawyer David Cornwell strongly denied the allegations Monday night, in a statement released to PFT. "Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone; especially Andrea McNulty," Cornwell said. In the civil suit, which Cornwell confirms was served on Roethlisberger over the weekend, McNulty alleges that Roethlisberger asked her to come to his hotel room to fix the television, and that he thereafter forced her to have sex with him. Roethlisberger faces one civil count of assault, one civil count of sexual assault and battery, one civil count of false imprisonment, one civil count of false pretenses, one civil count of fraud, and one civil count of intentional infliction of emotional distress. McNulty also claims that the coworkers named in the complaint thereafter defamed her by making allegedly false and inflammatory statements, and by allegedly serving as aiders and abettors of Roethlisberger's alleged misconduct after the fact. "The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct," Cornwell said. "If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated." It's unknown at this point whether McNulty ever has attempted to file criminal charges as a result of the incident, which allegedly occurred in July 2008. "Ben will not be baited into a public discussion about his personal life, but we will defend him vigorously," Cornwell said. "The limited value that Ms. McNulty derived from public disclosure of these viciously false allegations is the only value she will ever receive from Ben in this case."

Steelers owner Dan Rooney is making his first official trip as U.S. ambassador to Ireland. Rooney was sworn in as ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday.