Day 2: Afternoon practice quick hits; Hood, Brown flash in drills

Day 2: Afternoon Quick Hits Steelers DT Casey Hampton tweaked a hamstring in the morning session and is day-to-day, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. Running back Jonathan Dwyer is off to a slow start, suffering a hamstring injury this afternoon. Ziggy Hood was among the standouts in the afternoon session. Hood was impressive in one-on-one drills, beating up on 2010 1st round pick Maurkice Pouncey a few times. Hood also drew praise from Tomlin after practice. Cornerback Keenan Lewis who is running second team behind Bryant McFadden, did some good things today. Lewis appears to have picked up where he left off from OTA’s. Running back Isaac Redman had a good first day and performed well in both practice sessions.

NHL Free Agency Buzz: McKee “reviewing his options”

Like some of his former teammates, Penguins defenseman Jay McKee is patiently waiting out the free agent market. The market for McKee has begun to slowly pick up of late but the 32 year old defenseman is looking for the right fit and willing to wait it out. “Still reviewing options, ” Pat Morris the agent for Jay McKee told Inside Pittsburgh Sports on Thursday of this week when asked if McKee was getting close to picking a destination. Two-to-three options have emerged for McKee in the past week, with the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks emerging as potential suitors. There has also been inquries from Columbus and Washington but neither team has been engaged in negotiations with McKee or

Live Pirates Trade Deadline Updates: Pirates land McDonald, Lambo in deal for Dotel

July 31, 2010 4:50 p.m.McDonald to join Pirates The Pirates announced today that James McDonald will join the Pirates on Monday. Andrew Lambo will report to Double-A Altoona. Joe Martinez acquired in the Javier Lopez trade, will report to Triple-A Indy. 4:00 p.m.Pirates deal Dotel The Pittsburgh Pirates traded closer Octavio Dotel to the Los Angeles Dodgers just before the deadline ended. The Pirates will receive pitcher James MacDonald and outfielder Andrew Lambo. The Pirates are also sending cash to the Dodgers. 3:45 p.m.Pirates deal Lopez to San Francisco According to reports out of San Francisco, the Pirates have traded reliever Javier Lopez to the San Francisco Giants in-exchange for RHP Joe Martinez. Martinez, 27, has made seven career starts

Penguins promote Todd Reirden to assistant coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins went through a long extensive coaching search and in the end, the team settled for an in-house candidate. This afternoon, the team announced Wilkes Barre/Scranton head coach Todd Reirden has been promoted to assistant coach. Reirden, who was an NHL defenseman for parts of five seasons, will work closely with the Penguins’ defensemen. The team interviewed over 12 candidates but head coach Dan Bylsma went with the candidate he felt most comfortable with and who Bylsma regarded as the most qualified. “We interviewed between 10 and 15 candidates and conducted an extensive search, and the most qualified coach was in our organization the whole time,” Bylsma said. “Todd and I have developed a strong working relationship, which

Pouncey, Steelers agree to five year deal

The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms with 1st round pick Maurkice Pouncey on a five year deal worth close to $18 million. Pouncey will receive around $10.75 million in guaranteed money, according to a contact close to Pouncey. Pouncey is still in Florida and will report to Pittsburgh this evening. He is expected to participate in Saturday’s morning practice. The deal won’t be officially signed until late Friday evening.

Live Camp Arrival Updates: Starks told he will stay at left tackle; Ben arrives

Camp Arrival Updates Ward held out of run test Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Hines Ward will be held out of today’s run test. The call was apparently Mike Tomlin’s not Ward’s. The veteran receiver has been dealing with two bad hamstrings all off-season. Ward though claims he is healthy and ready to practice tomorrow. 2:45 p.m. Pouncey, Steelers agree to five year deal The Pittsburgh Steelers and Maurkice Pouncey have agreed to terms on a five year contract this afternoon. The deal will be worth close to $18 million and Pouncey will receive around $10.75 million in guaranteed money. Pouncey is currently still in Florida and will report to training camp this evening. The deal will be officially signed tonight. Here

Source: Pouncey, Steelers to reach deal today

Those close to Maurkice Pouncey tell me the Steelers and Pouncey expect to finalize a five year deal by the end of the day. The deal will be worth close to $18 million with around $10.75 million in guaranteed money. In the past 12 hours, the two sides have moved closer to finalizing a deal and an agreement is fully expected to be reached before Friday evening. The two sides are still in the process of finalizing some minor details pertaining to playtime bonuses but the framework of the deal is all but done, Inside Pittsburgh Sports has learned. The deal though may not be officially signed until late tonight or early Saturday morning. As of this morning, a contact

Morning update: Pouncey and Steelers getting closer

The last Steelers first round pick to hold out was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in 2004. With under 7 hours until all signed players must report to camp, contract talks between Omar Khan and Joel Segal, the agent for Maurkice Pouncey have heated up in the past 24 hours. Inside Pittsburgh Sports has learned that after little progress throughout much of the day on Thursday, the two sides inched closer to a deal late Thursday night. According to those close to Pouncey, he should be officially signed on Saturday with optimism that an agreement could be reached by late Friday.

Steelers sign Flozell Adams to a 2 year deal

Steelers strike deal on eve of training camp The Pittsburgh Steelers today came to terms with former pro bowl tackle Flozell Adams. The deal is a two year contract and the team will make an offical announcement this evening. The signing was first reported by Jason LaCanfora of NFL.com. Adams, 35, has been named to the probowl five times and will replace the injured Willie Colon at right tackle or possibly move over to left tackle, a position he played with the Dallas Cowboys. As the team reports to training camp on Friday, the coaching staff has not ruled out moving Max Starks to right tackle and entrenching Adams as the starter at left tackle.

Steelers, Worilds agree to four year deal worth $3.7 million

The Pittsburgh Steelers and second round pick Jason Worilds have reached an agreement on a four year deal worth $3.7 million, late this morning, a league source tells Inside Pittsburgh Sports. The deal was finalized just after 11:30 a.m. today, a source close to the situation tells me. Worilds though has yet to sign the deal. The deal will be signed later in the day as Worilds is reporting to Pittsburgh this afternoon. An official announcement will be made from the team once the deal is signed. The max value of the deal is nearly $123,000 more than the 4 year – $3.577 million deal, New England’s Jermaine Cunningham (53rd overall) signed. Cunningham was selected one spot behind Worilds in