Steelers vs. Oakland Raiders, 1 p.m. Sunday, Three Rivers Stadium. TV, radio: KDKA, WDVE-FM (102.5), WBGG-AM (970).
NOTEBOOK
Tests will be conducted on one of Steelers rookie WR Plaxico Burress' hands this morning to determine what, if any, damage there is. The team did not disclose which hand might be injured.
There was concern his hand might have been broken after he complained following practice yesterday. Doctors examined his hand after practice, but nothing was determined and they have ordered more tests this morning.
Burress went through a full practice yesterday afternoon and made at least two nice receptions. Starter Courtney Hawkins, listed as questionable this week with a knee injury, did not practice. Burress is his backup at split end.
Burress, the eighth overall pick in the draft, started the first 10 games of the season but was demoted during the 10th game, against Philadelphia, because he had been dropping passes, running poor routes and, generally, not being productive enough.
He had what appeared to be a good practice yesterday and did not suffer any noticeable mishaps during it.
Burress is third on the team with 22 receptions for 273 yards, an average of 12.4 yards a catch. He has no touchdowns.
Dermontti Dawson tried, but his injured right hamstring will cause him to miss his fourth consecutive game this Sunday.
After going through two plays of a 9-on-7 drill yesterday, he pulled himself out of practice because his hamstring was sore.
"I didn't do so well," Dawson said. "I'll rest it this week and see how it is next week. It wasn't what I had hoped."
It was another disappointment for the center who missed nine full games last season with a similar injury. After being out the past three games, Dawson was listed as questionable this week by Coach Bill Cowher.
The right hamstring has bothered him since training camp, but he managed to start and play most of the first nine games of the season.
Roger Duffy will make his fourth consecutive start in Dawson's place.
Even though the Steelers allowed 209 yards rushing and 28 points to the Bengals last Sunday, don't fault LB Jason Gildon.
Gildon earned the AFC defensive player of the week award because he had nine tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, a pass defensed and he returned a fumble 22 yards for a touchdown.
Gildon's 10 sacks are the most by any linebacker in the league.
Oakland Coach Jon Gruden, whose team arrives in town Friday, will stop by the practice facility on the South Side Saturday morning to see an old friend.
It won't be anyone with the Steelers, though. He'll go to the other half of the facility to visit University of Pittsburgh Coach Walt Harris. It was Harris who gave Gruden his first coaching job, as an assistant at the University of Tennessee in 1986, when Harris was offensive coordinator there. He also coached with him at the University of the Pacific in 1989.
Gruden also coached the wide receivers at Pitt in 1991 under Paul Hackett.
"I'm really proud of the Pitt Panthers and how they've turned that program around," said Gruden, at 37 the youngest head coach in the NFL and whose team is tied for the best record. "I know they've got a brand-new facility there that's really going to help them in recruiting and I always check the box scores and I always follow the Pitt program carefully."
Gruden said Harris is "a guy that honestly gave me a great respect for football. He's the most detailed guy that I've ever been around, and I've always tried to be around guys that can inspire me and help me get better. He's as hard-working and thorough a coach as I think you'll find in all of football. He's a great offensive football coach. He's a great teacher, very organized and a great communicator. ... I'm really proud of the days that I spent with him and he improved me tremendously as a coach."
Gruden said he will wake up early Saturday, have breakfast with Harris and visit Pitt's new facility, which they share with the Steelers.
Might he peak out the window and watch a Steelers practice?
"That," Gruden said, "would be very un-Raider like."
The Steelers played before the smallest crowd of the season -- home or away -- the last time they played in Three Rivers when only 50,925 showed up Nov. 19 against Jacksonville in a stadium that holds nearly 60,000 for football.
The game Sunday is a sellout as has been every game since 1972 except one strike contest in 1987. Many times, good seats are still available from the entrepreneurs outside the stadium, but this week's ticket against the Raiders has been a tough one to get because of playing Oakland and because it's the second-to-last game at Three Rivers Stadium, which will be torn down in February.
Wide receivers Courtney Hawkins (knee) and Hines Ward (ankle) did not practice yesterday. Ward is listed as probable.
LB Joey Porter, not on the injury list, missed practice because he had an abscess drained from his right cheek.
The Raiders list CB Darrien Gordon and RB Randy Jordan as questionable with toe injuries.
Steelers Report: 11/30/00 
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