Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a great story on soon to be Hall of Famer, Rod Woodson.

More than 400 people, including Bills head coach Dick Jauron and Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, honored Steeler defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau Saturday night at London High School in Ohio. The event was part of a fundraising effort that is expected to produce a new building for the high school that has already been christened the LeBeau Field House.

Steelers cornerback, Ike Taylor, held his "Face Me Ike" youth camp on Friday at Arden Cahill Academy in Gretna, Louisiana. Taylor is a graduate of Louisiana-Lafayette.

In an online chat with ESPN, wide receiver, Santonio Holmes, said he looks to get around 65 or 70 catches this season.

The Upper Deck trading card company has a great video interview of rookie wide receiver, Mike Wallace.

Steelers.com has posted part three of the fan Q & A with rookie offensive lineman, A.Q. Shipley.

Former Steeler running back Jerome Bettis has begun a summer sports camp for asthmatic children. The camp will be on July 7th and 8th at Duquesne University and is free.

NFL.com did a segment on which teams get the most bang for their buck. Not surprisingly, the Steelers rank in the top five of the league.

Jennifer Allen has a great story on how former head coach, Chuck Noll and the old Steel Curtain had an influence on Tony Dungy. Well worth the read.

ESPN.com AFC North blogger James Walker, thinks it is a race between safety Ryan Clark and tight end Heath Miller on which one is locked up next by the Steelers. Our money is on Miller.

Steelers.com has posted part 2 of the ask A.Q. Shipley, Q & A.

Heinz Field is hosting a free July 4th celebration that is headlined by fireworks and the band, Bad Company. Steely McBeam will also be there.

The Steelers signed three more draft picks on Thursday. Signed were wide receiver Mike Wallace, defensive lineman Sonny Harris and center A.Q. Shipley. All three were signed to three year contracts. Below are the contract numbers:

Mike Wallace
2009 310000.00
2010 395000.00
2011 480000.00
Signing Bonus 555000.00

Sonny Harris
2009 310000.00
2010 395000.00
2011 480000.00
Signing Bonus 64000.00

A.Q. Shipley
2009 310000.00
2010 395000.00
2011 480000.00
Signing Bonus 42000.00

The Steelers cut long snapper Mark Estermyer this morning, meaning that veteran Greg Warren is likely 100% recovered from his injury last year. Warren is currently the only long snapper on the roster going into training camp.

Head coach Mike Tomlin seems to be worried about the conditioning of nose tackle Casey Hampton again going into training camp. On the flip side, it seems rookie Ziggy Hood is learning fast. He is currently playing the outside end spot.

Speaking of Hood, Mike Wilkening of Pro Football Weekly, sees Hood's biggest impact may come on passing downs. This will indeed help get Hood more acclimated to the NFL in a faster period of time as he likely will move inside deep into the season.

Former Steelers running back Verron Haynes appeared at the Allegheny County Courthouse Wednesday morning on charges that he wrote three bad checks totaling $70,000 to buy a 2001 Aston Martin from an Alabama car dealership. Perhaps he should of seen if any used Yugos were available.

Steelers.com has posted the Q & A session for rookie offensive lineman, A.Q. Shipley. The questions were submitted from the Steeler fan base.

Just in case everyone was wondering what former punter, Mitch Berger is doing. He got his Super Bowl ring and is back home in Vancouver. Let's hope he stays there and we never have to see him, Paul Ernster or Dirk Johnson ever again in black and gold.

Once Dan Rooney is confirmed by the Senate as United States Ambassador to Ireland, he will reportedly step down as chairman of the Steelers.

Scott Brown from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has an article about seventh round draft pick, A.Q. Shipley, and his short arms and big determination. Will really need training camp to start so all of this can be solved on the field.

Jim Wexell penned an article for the The Tribune-Democrat about number one draft pick, Ziggy Hood and the early reviews on him in mini camp.

Ratbirds fullback-halfback Le'Ron McClain, apparently looks about 20 pounds over his playing weight at mini camps and running back Willis McGahee opted out of this week’s OTA’s. Tony Lombardi writes that McGahee is the Willis Buffalo warned them about.

Bungals quarterback, Carson Palmer, softened his stance on Ocho Stinko in another radio interview this week. Stinko has skipped the team's offseason workouts this Summer.

Looks like Plaxico Burress is having a hard time finding a new team as reportedly the Dolphins do not want him. Worse comes to worse, I am sure the Bengals will sign him.

The son of Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been released from hospital this morning and is doing well according to reports.

Steelers backup safety Ryan Mundy has been getting plenty of work with the first-team defense at mini camp with the absence of starters Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark. Mundy has been working at both strong and free safety positions.

Several Steelers did not attend Tuesday’s OTA workout. Among them were nose tackle Casey Hampton, defensive end Brett Keisel and wide receiver Santonio Holmes. Also missing were backup cornerback Deshea Townsend and backup safety Tyrone Carter.

Mike Bires reports on the contract situations of both tight end Heath Miller and tackle Max Starks.

Dale Grdnic from The Patriot-News has a story on the transition of seventh round draft pick A.Q. Shipley to the NFL game.

The Pens closed out the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night to advance to the Stanlery Cup finals. Some Penguins fans are holding a grudge against former Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher, who was backing the Hurricanes. The Benedict Cowhered shirts are now on the market.

The Steelers came into the second day of the draft with eight picks to make and I surely did not think they would finish the day with eight players picked. I thought they would package a few to move up earlier in a round. Maybe they tried and just did not have what teams wanted to move up. Regardless, we can now welcome eight additional players to the Steelers fold to join Evander "Ziggy" Hood who was drafted on Saturday.

The Steelers had a busy third round, beginning with offensive linemen Kraig Urbik from Wisconsin. Although listed as a tackle, Urbik is expected to begin working at the right guard position and add depth to the offensive line. He can play all of the interior line positions and is very versatile. Eventually in future years, could be a starting right or left guard, but for now should be a backup.

With the second third round pick, Mike Wallace from Mississippi was selected. Wallace is a burner who can stretch the field and will push second year receiver Limas Sweed for the number three receiver position. Wallace also set records at Mississippi as a kickoff returner, which is a need for the Steelers as well. Wallace should have no problem making the final 53 roster.

The Steelers final third round draft pick was cornerback Keenan Lewis from Oregon State. This was a bit of a surprise pick for me as I thought the Steelers would address the tackle position, but with all the big name tackles off the board, they decided to choose a big corner. Secondary Coach Ray Horton compares him to Ike Taylor. Lewis is a bit of a swing guy that may be looked at as a safety if he struggles at corner.

After sitting out the fourth round, the Steelers used the two fifth round picks on two players they knew a ton about. Cornerback Joe Burnett from Central Florida and Frank "Tank" Sanders from UNLV have been on the Steelers radar for a while and both were pre draft visitors. Burnett is considered as a third-down nickel corner and can return both punts and kickoffs. Sanders is a bruising running back in a fullback body that will look to make the team as a short yardage goal line back and also be used as a fullback. Sanders can run inside the tackles and can be used much like Jerome Bettis was in the offense.

Rounding at the 6th and 7th rounds were defensive end Ra'shon "Sonny" Harris from Oregon in the 6th, Penn State center A.Q. Shipley in the 7th and tight end David Johnson from Arkansas State also in the 7th. Both Harris and Shipley were pre draft visitors to the Steelers and both are long shots to make the final 53. Johnson will be a camp body and barring injury or a spectacular camp, seems a long shot to crack the final 53.

I grade day 2 a B-, just as I did day one. Three or four of these day two picks could make the roster with Summers and Wallace having the best chance to contribute immediately. The overall draft grade is a B- as the Steelers did exactly what they said they would do. They filled need and did it with good character players. I would of liked to seen a true tackle taken, but think Hood, Urbik, Wallace and Summers could be Steeler contributors for many years. The 2009 draft class is not spectacular and the Steelers got the most out of it overall. If either corner can contribute it would be a bonus.

The Steelers drafted center A.Q. Shipley, from Penn State with their 7th round pick of the 2009 NFL draft. The pick was the 226th overall and the 17th pick of the seventh round.

Shipley is a 6'1", 304lb center.

Combine Results:
40 Yard Dash : 5.26 seconds
Bench Press : 33.0 reps
Vertical Jump : 31.0 inches
Broad Jump : 100.0 inches
3 Cone Drill : 7.46 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle : 4.4 seconds

Shipley is an undersized zone center with short arms who understands technique and leverage. Local Penn State product who slowly slid all the way down the draft board after getting hyped early. Does not hold blocks well, but is an intense gritty player. Will have to work very hard and improve fast to earn a roster spot.

Video

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Below is a running list of the draft prospects the Steelers have had in for visits before the 2009 NFL draft. Teams are allowed 30 visits not counting local area players.

Name	Position	School
A.Q. Shipley	Center	Penn State
Scott McKillop	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
C.J. Davis	Guard	Pittsburgh
Mike Thomas	Wide Receiver	Arizona
Ra'Shon Harris	Defensive Tackle	Oregon
Alex Mack	Center	California
Fili Moala	Defensive Tackle	Southern California
Herman Johnson	Guard	LSU
Phil Loadholt	Tackle	Oklahoma
Joe Burnett	Cornerback	Central Florida
Frank Summers	Fullback	UNLV
Don Carey	Cornerback	Norfolk State
Richard Quinn	Tight End	North Carolina
Lawrence Sidbury	Linebacker	Richmond
Donald Washington	Cornerback	Ohio State
Sherrod Martin	Cornerback	Troy
Vontae Davis	Cornerback	Illinois
Max Unger	Center	Oregon
Dorell Scott	Defensive Tackle	Clemson
Sammie Lee Hill	Defensive Tackle	Stillman
Louis Vasquez	Guard	Texas Tech
Alphonso Smith	Cornerback	Wake Forest
Louis Delmas	Safety	Western Michigan
Jarron Gilbert	Defensive End	San Jose State
Jason Cherry	Wide Receiver	Louisiana-Lafayette
Brandon Long	Defensive End	Michigan State
Andy Levitre	Guard	Oregon State
Nate Davis	Quarterback	Ball State
Spence Adkins	Linebacker	Miami
Travis Shelton	Wide Receiver	Temple
Louis Murphy	Wide Receiver	Florida
Mike Mickens	Cornerback	Cincinnati
Ellis Lankster	Cornerback	West Virginia

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• steelers draft 2009

The Steelers are visiting with Penn State center A.Q. Shipley today in Pittsburgh. Shipley won the Rimington Trophy in 2008, which is an award given to the nation's top college center. The Steelers are looking to draft a few offensive lineman in the 2009 NFL draft and Shipley is currently projected as a fourth or fifth round pick, but his stock is rising. His height may hurt his draft stock, but his strength, work ethic and intelligence will help him.