Rounds 6 and 7

In the last two rounds the Steelers selected:
Marvin Philip - OL (UC - Berkeley)
Cedric Humes - RB (Virginia Tech)

Perhaps the only surprise in this draft is the fact that the Steelers waited until the seventh round to select a running back.

Lots of Help for Ben Roethlisberger

As expected, the Steelers are really focusing on upgrading their talent on offense:

Following are Pittsburgh's picks in rounds four and five.
131. Willie Colon (OL) Hofstra
133. Orien Harris (DL) Miami
164. Omar Jacobs (QB) Bowling Green
167. Charles Davis (TE) Purdue

Another trade...

After trading up in round one the Steelers traded out of round two, sending the 64th overall choice to the Minnesota Vikings for two third-round picks (#83, #95).

Pittsburgh went on to select Anthony Smith, a safety out of Syracuse University, and wide receiver, Willie Reid, from Florida State.

And the first-round pick is...

...WR Santonio Holmes (Ohio State), picked 25th overall after the Steelers executed a trade with the New York Giants. In return for the 25th choice in the draft the Steelers gave up the 32nd pick in round one, as well as the last pick in rounds three and four.

Obviously, the choice makes a lot of sense. To begin with, the Steelers need a #2 wideout to pair with Hines Ward. Second, the team needs to upgrade its talent on offense to keep up with the Cincinnati Bengals, who arguably possess the best offensive talent in the NFL.

Steelers' Draft Day Sweepstakes

Once again the Steelers are running a Draft Day sweepstakes. Correctly guess the team's first choice in the 2006 Draft and you could win tickets to a 2006 home game.

All the information needed to enter can be found at Steelers' 2006 Draft Day Contest

Steelers Bring Back Logan

As expected, the Steelers have re-signed veteran safety Mike Logan to a one-year contract.

Logan will be in his 10th NFL season in 2006, including his sixth with the Steelers. He was originally drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round (50th overall) of the 1997 NFL Draft.

Today, the Steelers also signed wide receiver Sean Morey and linebacker Arnold Harrison to one-year deals.

Steelers to visit White House on June 2

The Steelers are scheduled to visit to the White House on June 2, one of the perks of winning Super Bowl XL.

"I can't wait. It'll be great," says head coach Bill Cowher. "I've never been to the White House before.... I sincerely am looking forward to it."

One question: Do now-departed players like Tommy Maddox and Antwaan Randle El get to visit too?

Bon Jovi and Nickelback at Heinz Field

The Steelers have announced that Bon Jovi will headline the Steelers World Championship Celebration Concert scheduled for Sunday, July 23, at Heinz Field. Canadian rock group Nickelback will be the support act.

Interesting aside: After college I briefly worked in the office of Desmond Child, a songwriter who co-wrote many of Bon Jovi's hit songs, including "Livin' on a Prayer," "You Give Love a Bad Name," and "Born to be My Baby." Click here to view Desmond Child's official Web site

The Steelers' official press release about the concert can be found at: Bon Jovi press release

James Harrison

Today, the Steelers locked up one of their most valuable reserves by reaching a four-year, $5.5 million deal ($1.375 million signing bonus) with linebacker James "Silverback" Harrison. Harrison had been an unsigned exclusive rights free agent.

Pretty in Pink Part II

Upon returning home from South Korea, Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward will serve as one of nine celebrity judges for the Miss USA pageant on April 21 in Baltimore. The event will be televised live on NBC at 9 pm (ET).

Pretty in Pink

Half-Korean Hines Ward proves he is not only a good wide receiver but a good son as well. Hines, who left South Korea as a toddler, is in Seoul for a 10-day tour with his mother. And it seems that Koreans loves Hines as much as we do. He has been spending the week getting in touch with his roots during a tour of Seoul and South Korea - with family and his Korean mom in tow. His busy celebrity sightings included visiting with children of mixed racial origins during a meeting in Seoul. It was part of a event by the Pearl S. Buck International Group, which works with mixed-race children.

For a great slide show of Ward's tour, including a pretty picture in pink, check out: Hines Ward slide show

Steelers' 2006 regular season schedule

Sep 7 Miami 8:30pm
Sep 18 at Jacksonville 8:30pm
Sep 24 Cincinnati 1:00pm
Week 4 BYE
Oct 8 at San Diego 8:15pm
Oct 15 Kansas City 4:15pm
Oct 22 at Atlanta 1:00pm
Oct 29 at Oakland 5:15pm
Nov 5 Denver 5:15pm
Nov 12 New Orleans 2:00pm
Nov 19 at Cleveland 2:00pm
Nov 26 at Baltimore 2:00pm
Dec 3 Tampa Bay 2:00pm
Dec 7 Cleveland 9:00pm
Dec 17 at Carolina 2:00pm
Dec 24 Baltimore 2:00pm
Dec 31 at Cincinnati 2:00pm

First impressions of the schedule: It's nice to see that one of the two Cincinnati games is in September. But what's the deal with playing two games in five days in December? And why follow the Thursday night opener with a Monday night game?