Far be it from me to horn in on one of Mike's old bread-and-butter series, but I think now is a good time for a Friday Six Pack.
IX - With free agency approaching next week, some in Steeler Nation will be waiting with bated breath to see if some team does try to poach Mike Wallace for the price of a 1st round draft pick. We've had plenty of pieces debating and analyzing "will they or won't they", so here's a fun interview that Sean Conboy did with Wallace back for the December 2011 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.
X - What should the penalty be for having too many men on the field in the closing seconds when a score could win? Getting those seconds off the clock is of utmost importance, and teams could arguably not give a crap about a 5-yard penalty as the price for ensuring that their lead stays intact and win becomes final. Apparently, the NFL competition committee will clarify what kind of penalty an official can assess in that situation.
XIII - In the 1998 draft, the Steelers picked up a stud named Alan Faneca in the 1st round and a legend named Hines Ward in the 3rd round. Do you know who they took in the second round? A guy named Jeremy Staat out of Arizona State, who they tried to convert from 4-3 DT to 3-4 DE. Staat was not a stand-out Steeler on the field, but check out how his relationship with the late Pat Tillman (also a former Sun Devil) helped Staat find his way to the great work he's doing today.
XIV - Did you see the story from our own Anthony Defeo of how a friend of his played dodgeball against a pair of Steelers, James Harrison and Daniel Sepulveda? It really is awesome. And I'm still totally jealous.
XL - How tall is potential Steelers 1st-round target Dont'a Hightower? According to a report on Alabama's pro day:
Hightower has been listed at 6-4 throughout his college career. He has been listed as 6-2 by the NFL, but he was measured at 6-0 on Wednesday. Who measured him?
"I don't know," Hightower said. "I know I'm 6-3. I'm telling all of y'all: I'm 6-3. I don't know what they're talking about."
He noted that former Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain was measured at 6-2 two years ago.
"They're going to measure me at 6-foot?" Hightower said. "I'm not even taking that. I'm 6-3. For everybody, I'm 6-3."
XLIII - Congratulations again to BTSC for winning the 2012 Best Pittsburgh Sports Blog Tournament! We set an unofficial record for most votes in the history of the four-year old tournament, and big thanks go out to all of you again for making it happen! Check out that awesome virtual trophy we now have!
BONUS! - LeCharles Bentley sighting!!! We're going old school with the BTSC memes here. Apparently, Bentley has been working to turn himself into a guru for offensive line prospects, I guess kind of like what Chris Weinke seems to be for quarterback prospects. But for me, the reappearance of Bentley's name brings back so many fond memories of a time before Maurkice Pouncey, when everyone loved the play of Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig at center...