It is December 23rd and that means that it is time once again to celebrate the anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. 39 years ago today the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Oakland Raiders 12-7 in the AFC divisional playoff game with one of the most famous plays in the history of the NFL at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. The date was December 23rd, 1972 and the 4th down play featured a pass intended for running back Frenchy Fuqua from quarterback Terry Bradshaw that was deflected backwards up into the air after Raiders safety Jack Tatum hit Fuqua just as the ball arrived. Running back Franco Read more [...]

A group of retired players filed a class-action complaint against the owners and current players in federal court Monday, saying they have been excluded from the mediation sessions taking place in an attempt to end the lockout. Former Steelers running back Franco Harris is one of the named plaintiffs. Albert Breer of the NFL Network brings you up to speed on the labor negotiations that are expected to continue today. Steelers safety Ryan Clark joined 93.7 The Fan this morning to talk about his trip last week to Samoa to help fellow safety, Troy Polamalu, with his football camp. Pat Kirwan of Read more [...]

Steelers free agent cornerback Ike Taylor was in Buford, Ga on Wednesday and Thursday to take part in a seven-on-seven workout against several players from different NFL teams at a local high school football field. Taylor says Pittsburgh is like home to him and seems to have softened the posture he had last week on Jim Rome is Burning. The contrarian Ron Cook takes issue with the rule change opinion of Steelers linebacker James Harrison and thinks he is overreacting. Harrison was on ESPN NFL Live on Thursday for an interview as well. Scott Brown reports that receiver Hines Ward is in huge Read more [...]

The final Monday night of Dancing with the Stars was last night and Steelers receiver Hines Ward and dance partner Kym Johnson made it another great Monday as the two danced two dances. For their week 10 performances, Ward and Johnson danced the Quickstep and a Freestyle dance that saw Ward dressed in a black and gold band member costume. Their freestyle dance earned them a perfect score of 30 while their quickstep earned them a 29 from the judges. Several Steelers teammates and former players were in the audience as Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, Jerome Bettis, James Farrior and Chris Kemoeatu were Read more [...]

Sara Bauknecht recaps the week 9 Dancing with the Stars performance of Hines Ward and Kym Johnson from last night as the two continue their near perfection. Johnson was able to dance after suffering an injury in a fall this past week and Ward cried a tear or two following the couples first number. Steelers season ticket holders will get a chance to speak with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday via an interactive fan forum. Qualified ticket holders should have received an email notice Monday with specifics of how to partake in it. Ken Laird had me on his Steelers 365 portion of his Read more [...]

The NFL announced through a media release today that 32 legendary NFL alumni, one representing each team, will announce live on Friday every selection of the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft next week. This will mark the first time in NFL Draft history every selection in a round has been announced by former players. Announcing the Steelers 2nd round pick will be Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. The NFL alumni scheduled to be on-hand at Radio City Music Hall to make the announcements from the podium includes: Arizona Cardinals, Aeneas Williams (CB) Atlanta Falcons, Jessie Tuggle Read more [...]

Remember Steelers special teams ace Chidi Iwuoma? He is the latest former player that Teresa Varley talked to in her "Where Are They Now" series. Ed Bouchette has more from his recent sit down with Ben Roethlisberger and how he reminds himself daily of the Super Bowl loss to the Packers. John Harris goes over where several Steelers players are working out at during the lockout and the importance of it. ESPN.com is gearing up for it's annual blogger mock draft on April 25 and AFC North blogger James Walker will be taking reader input starting on Tuesday. Steelers Hall of Fame running Read more [...]

Linebacker Lawrence Timmons will throw out the ceremonial first pitch tonight at Blair County Ballpark for the Altoona Curve. Ed Bouchette has a couple of quick short stories about Chuck Noll and the drafting of Franco Harris as well as how in 2004 Dan Rooney steered Bill Cowher and Kevin Colbert back to Ben Roethlisberger instead of drafting a guard. Roethlisberger said he's optimistic that he and his teammates will be at training camp this summer, despite the current NFL lockout. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is back at Central Michigan University for the week and will be on hand for tonight's Read more [...]

Steelers secondary coach Ray Horton may be staying put as the Cowboys hired Rob Ryan to be their new defensive coordinator on Sunday. The Cowboys had requested permission to talk to Horton, but would have to wait until after the Steelers were out of the playoffs or the week preceding the Super Bowl. Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel was added to the AFC Pro Bowl team Saturday as an injury replacement for injured Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. As Scott Brown blogged, Keisel hopes he has to pass on the game to play in the Super Bowl instead. We hope so too! The Steelers win over the rival Read more [...]

Today we celebrate the 38th anniversary of the most memorable play in perhaps the Steelers and old Three Rivers Stadium history and also one of the most memorable plays in NFL history. The play of course is the Immaculate Reception. It was a 4th-and-10 play that began at the Pittsburgh 40 and finished 60 yards later with Steelers running back Franco Harris crossing the goal line to give the Steelers a 13-7 playoff win over the rival Oakland Raiders. The pass of Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw was intended for running back Frenchy Fuqua, who was simultaneously hit by Raiders safety Jack Tatum. Read more [...]

Today is the 38th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception. God bless Terry Bradshaw, Frenchy Fuqua and Franco Harris. Mark Kaboly list 3 reasons why the Steelers will beat the Panthers and 3 reason why they could lose to them tonight as well. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin takes a look at this week’s opponent the Carolina Panthers in the latest Q & A. John Harris looks at how the pass happy AFC North embraced the run this past weekend. Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette writes about how dreadful the Panthers have been in the redzone this season. NFL.com Senior Writer Steve Read more [...]

You may have read the nugget Ed Bouchette wrote in a recent post about the Steelers using the Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman Saturday night against the Giants in a Pony backfield reminiscent of the the way Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier were used in the same backfield in the 70's. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians used the Pony backfield while coaching in Cleveland and threatened to use it after Mendenhall was drafted in 2008. If Arians truly was going to use it that year we will never know as Mendenhall was lost early in the season with a fractured shoulder against the Ravens. Bouchette Read more [...]

If you bleed black and gold, the last few days have been a wild ride. It started with Steeler Nation headed into the yearly free agency drudgery of knowing that free safety Ryan Clark would likely be gone for good and all we would have to show for signings come April would be a Cedric Wilson/Shaun McDonald type player. You know, the same old stuff leading up to April's draft. March is usually an uneventful time for us Steelers fans, but this March is one that will be remembered for both good and bad. Midnight of free agency came and went Thursday with only the big name signings making waves. Ho Read more [...]

Safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison were selected by fans to represent the Steelers in the Pro Bowl. There was a record 89.87 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones. Fans cast 84.87 million votes on NFL.com and five million votes on their wireless phones. The final selections are based on the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group's vote counts one-third towards determining the 43-man rosters that represent the AFC and NFC in the Pro Bowl. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on Dec. 22-23. The Steelers Ravens game release is available Read more [...]

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took a break from playing golf and was interviewed on the NFL Network from Lake Tahoe to share his thoughts on the 2009 season. [flv:http://video.nfl.com/films/s2009/nfl-total-access/off/090716_nfln_nflta_roethlisberger_tahoe_interview_700k.mp4 480 368] Steelers backup linebacker Donovan Woods and his brother D'Juan are working in the afternoon sessions with the Oklahoma State Cowboys from where both went to school. D'Juan is a wide receiver on the New Orleans Saints roster. Jim Trotter has an article on SI.com about the wide receiver camp in Minnesota Read more [...]