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Thursday, October 26, 2000

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

LOOKING AHEAD

Steelers (4-3) at Ravens (5-3): 1 p.m. Sunday, PSINet Stadium. TV: KDKA. Radio: WDVE-FM (102.5) and WBGG-AM (970).

NOTEBOOK

One game after his friend, P Josh Miller, set a Steelers record by punting the ball 12 times against Cincinnati, Kris Brown did him one better.

He kicked it 13 times. Brown kicked five field goals against Cleveland last Sunday, kicked one extra point and kicked off seven times -- 13. His five field goals were one short of a Steelers record set by Gary Anderson in 1988.

"It's probably a little different than Josh," Brown said.

The two of them set their goals before the season to be the best kicking duo in the league. Miller ranks sixth in the NFL with a net punting average of 36.9 and Brown has made 14 of 16 field-goal tries. He has missed from 45 and 50 yards in the first and third games of the season. He has hit 10 in a row. Brown's 36-yard field goal with no time left gave the Steelers a 23-20 victory over the Ravens the last time they played in Baltimore, the second game of last season. While his five field goals last Sunday represent a personal high on any level, the 13 kicks are not. At Nebraska, he sometimes had that many by halftime.

"My freshman year, we scored 63 points in the first half against Arizona State," Brown said.

Josh Miller plans to punt away from Baltimore PR/KR Jermaine Lewis, who has stung the Steelers in the past. Lewis averages 12.1 yards a return.

"I'm going to try to put out of bounds," Miller said. "He's extremely dangerous. Every punter over the last three years has tried to punt away from him, like Deion Sanders. No one's going in his direction."

Right outside LB Joey Porter, who is tied with Jason Gildon for the team lead with five sacks, draws Baltimore T Jonathan Ogden on Sunday. Porter is 6 feet 2, 240 pounds. Ogden goes 6-8, 340. Needless to say, Porter won't try to bull-rush him.

"He's not the kind of guy you want to power rush," Porter said. "You have to use all the finesse moves you can think of to beat the guy, that and speed.

"He's a big guy. It's very difficult to rush him once he gets his hands on you. The best thing is try not to go at him down the middle. Just try to stay away from him as much as you can and try to beat him on the edge."

High schools whose football teams have won WPIAL or City League championships have been invited by the Steelers to participate in High School Tile Mural Program. A total of 63 schools will be selected to create these specially themed murals, which will become permanent displays in the Steelers' new stadium. The tiles will be designed and painted by the students of the participating high schools and will represent each school's spirit and history as it pertains to its football history.

"High school football is such a viable part of the sports heritage of Western Pennsylvania, " said Steelers vice president Art Rooney II, "and this program allows our local high schools, who will play games in the stadium, to become an integral part of the design element."

Interested schools met Steelers and stadium design representatives yesterday. The schools will submit preliminary designs to the Steelers by mid-November. Final designs will be selected, and the completed tiles will be installed in the new stadium before its opening in August 2001.

Steelers president Dan Rooney, his son Art II, and Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson will join Mayor Tom Murphy and union officials at a "topping off" ceremony at 11:30 a.m. today at the construction site for the new football stadium on the North Side.

As has become their Wednesday custom, RB Jerome Bettis (toe) and C Dermontti Dawson (hamstring) did not practice. Neither did WRs Bobby Shaw, who is questionable with a lower back strain, or Troy Edwards (hip). OT Wayne Gandy (biceps) did not practice. RB Amos Zereoue, questionable with a toe injury, did practice. So did OT Shar Pourdanesh for the first time since he sustained a sprained knee ligament Oct. 8.