Steelers sign youngest player...

Seconds after 14-year-old Akeem Havens said he hoped to meet Ben Roethlisberger, the Pro Bowl quarterback walked into the media room at the Steelers' South Side facility on Thursday.

With a black playbook in his hand and a perturbed look on his face, Roethlisberger said to his newest teammate, "Hey, what's going on here? We don't have time for this. We have practice. Are you ready to practice?" "Let's go," Havens said with a smile.

It was one of the highlights in a day filled with them for Havens, who since a car wreck at age 7 has been a quadriplegic and has experienced kidney failure.

The Steelers teamed up with the Make-A-Wish-Foundation to fulfill Havens' dream of being a member of the Black and Gold. His activities included a videogame session with Roethlisberger, lunch with the players and a touchdown he will never forget.

Havens' day with the team will air in late June or early July as part of ESPN's "My Wish" series.

"The smile on (Havens') face is so amazing," Roethlisberger said.

"To think his one wish is to come hang out with us is touching, because so many days we don't want to be here, and he wants to be here. It puts things in perspective. It's just awesome to be able to help him out."

Havens lives in the Atlanta suburb of Flowery Branch, but he is originally from Wheeling, W.Va., and is a lifelong Steelers fan.

The Steelers introduced Havens as the newest member of the team yesterday morning. Director of Football Operations Kevin Colbert opened a news conference by saying negotiations with Havens' agent, his 7-year-old brother James, had been tough, but that the two sides had agreed to a deal.

Team chairman Dan Rooney presented Havens with an authentic Steelers jersey with No. 1 and his name on the back.

Havens, who will be a freshman in high school in the fall, proved to be quotable during a question-and-answer session. When asked what he would tell his new teammates, Havens, who gets around in a wheelchair and labored to speak at times, said, "I've got one little piece of advice: Let's try and make it an even number of Super Bowl wins."

A couple of hours later, he probably felt like he had won the Steelers' sixth Super Bowl.

At the end of the Steelers' final OTA (organized team activity) practice of the week, the coaches called Havens' number during an 11-on-11 drill.

Given the ball at the 10-yard line, he wheeled his way to the end zone behind the blocking of fullback Carey Davis, scoring a touchdown that meant nothing yet everything.

"We see how fortunate we are," cornerback Deshea Townsend said, "and how people look up to what we do. It's just great that he wants to be around us. For us just to offer a little bit of our time to say hello to him ..."

The smile Havens wore as proudly as his Steelers jersey showed just how much it meant to him.

Bills Release Everett

The Buffalo Bills released Kevin Everett on Tuesday, clearing the way for the former tight end to receive disability benefits for the spinal cord injury that ended his career.

Everett was initially paralyzed from the neck down after a violent collision with then-Denver receiver Domenik Hixon on a kickoff return in last year's season opener.

Doctors doubted Everett would walk again, but the Texas native regained many motor skills, including the ability to walk without assistance.

Everett will be able to apply for long-term disability benefits and a one-time payment under the player health reimbursement plan. He would not have been eligible for the programs if he stayed on the Bills active roster.

"We had numerous discussions with the league in dealing with this process to assist him in the best way possible," the team said in a statement Tuesday. "Kevin will always remain a Buffalo Bill in the same way that Jim Kelly, Thurman Thomas and so many others before him are held in the highest regard by our franchise."

Everett, originally selected by the Bills in the third round of the 2005 draft, is also eligible for full pension benefits because of credit for three seasons.

"The Buffalo Bills continue to be moved by Kevin Everett's heartwarming story of his recovery," the team said in a statement released Tuesday. "His progress from September 9 of last year through today is nothing short of a miracle, and is a tremendous example of faith, family and hard work."

Tapes From 'Spygate' Turned Over To NFL

NEW YORK  ― Matt Walsh, the former New England Patriots videographer who has become the key figure in "spygate," has turned over eight tapes to the NFL offices that reportedly contain evidence of New England coaches taping signals from other teams coach, including the Steelers prior to the 2002 AFC Championship game, according to the New York Times.

The Patriots came into Pittsburgh, and despite being 10-point underdogs, beat the Steelers 24-17. After the game, players were saying how the Patriots players almost seemed to know the plays before they ran them.

Before that Steeler title game, Walsh's tapes show the Patriots recording signs of both Steeler offense and defense coaches edited to two different camera angles of acutal plays that were called.

On Tuesday, Walsh is scheduled to meet in person with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and then Sen. Arlen Specter.

Report: Steelers' Mendenhall Robbed At Gunpoint

CHICAGO ― Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers No. 1 draft pick, was the victim of an armed robbery, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Two men approached him and stole his wallet and cell phone at about 2 a.m. Monday on Chicago's South Side lakefront, according to the paper.

Mendenhall was reportedly unharmed.

Mendenhall, 20, was a star running back at the University of Illinois before entering the draft.

Chiefs trade Allen to Vikings

Ever since negotiations for a long-term contract broke off last year, Jared Allen's departure from the Chiefs carried a sense of inevitability.

It happened Tuesday night when the Chiefs agreed to trade their Pro Bowl defensive end to the Minnesota Vikings, a source said.

Allen went to Minnesota on Tuesday night to sign one of the largest contracts ever for a defensive player - six years for just less than $74 million with more than $31 million guaranteed.

The Chiefs are expected to receive Minnesota's first-round pick (No. 17) and both the Vikings' third-round picks (73rd and 82nd). It would give the Chiefs six picks in the first 82 players in this weekend's draft and 13 total picks. The Chiefs also have one choice in the fourth and two each in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

The teams also discussed swapping picks in either the fifth, sixth or seventh rounds.

The Chiefs would not confirm the trade, and president/general manager Carl Peterson and coach Herm Edwards were unavailable.

Having six picks in the first three rounds almost certainly will change the Chiefs' draft strategy. With only one first-round pick, the Chiefs were almost locked into drafting an offensive lineman to fill one of their voids in the starting lineup.

They now have the flexibility to do many things. They could opt to draft Allen's replacement, possibly Virginia's Chris Long or Ohio State's Vernon Gholston, with the fifth pick. Then they could then get an offensive lineman by bundling picks to move up from the 17th spot or they could select one using the 17th pick.

The Chiefs, who purged their roster of many veterans since the end of their 4-12 season, also need several other offensive linemen, receivers and cornerbacks and could use help at several other positions. Addressing all of those needs now won't be a problem.

Whatever they do, replacing Allen won't be easy. An unheralded fourth-round draft pick from tiny Idaho State when he joined the Chiefs in 2004, Allen quickly established himself as one of their best defensive players.

He emerged last year as one of the league's dominant players. He led the NFL in sacks with 15 ½ despite missing the season's first two games after being suspended for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

Allen had been arrested twice in Johnson County for DUI.

"I think Jared Allen is probably the Chiefs' best player," former Chiefs quarterback Ron Jaworski, now a television analyst for ESPN and ABC said before the trade had been completed. "I'm surprised they're willing to give him up.

"In 14 games last season, he had 15 1/2 sacks. That's incredible production. You can see why the Vikings have this keen interest in Jared Allen. If you look at the Vikings' defense, obviously terrific against the run a year ago and suspect against the pass.

"The best pass coverage is a pass rush. That was evidenced in the Super Bowl by the New York Giants and how what I would consider an average secondary did a terrific job because of their pass rush pressure. If you look at the Minnesota Vikings, if they could acquire Jared Allen it would be a huge boost to their defense."

Allen quickly became a fan favorite at Arrowhead Stadium. He achieved many of his sacks more with all-out effort than incredible athletic ability, and that style seemed to suit the Chiefs and their fans.

His popularity once seemed to dip after the arrests, but last season he was more popular than ever. Not only did Allen lead the league in sacks, but the Chiefs late in the season took to using Allen as an extra tight end in goal-line situations.

He caught touchdown passes in games against San Diego and Detroit to the delight of Chiefs' faithful.

His relationship with the Chiefs was harmed last year and, as it turned out, irreparably so. Allen believed the Chiefs reneged on promises to sign him to a long-term contract and asked for a trade when such an offer never materialized.

He played last season for $2.35 million on a one-year contract. The sides never came close to reaching agreement on a long-term deal this year and the Chiefs designated him their franchise player.

That required a one-year contract offer of about $8.9 million but didn't keep Allen off the market.

Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville recently inquired about a trade for Allen. The Jaguars dropped out of the discussions, but Allen met with the Vikings in Minnesota over the weekend, and the trade and contract details with Minnesota were completed before Allen visited with Tampa Bay.

Carson Palmer: Chad will be here. Chad Johnson: No I won't.

Chad Johnson's been asked again and again if he wants to be traded from the Bengals, and his responses have been sort of wishy-washy and non-committal, if not also completely wacky.

But that gray area that existed before is now gone. After Carson Palmer said this morning that Chad Johnson would be in camp "when he had to," Johnson called up ESPN's John Clayton and let him know that that wasn't the case.

"I want to make this very clear. I don't know where he got that. I made no assertion to Carson that I would do that. Nothing has changed from what I've been saying for three months that I don't want to play for the Bengals. I want to be traded before the draft, and if that doesn't happen, I want to be traded as soon as possible. I don't intend on reporting to anything.''

Yeah, I'd say that's pretty clear. Denis Lemieux wasn't that adamant about being traded in Slap Shot (naughty language alert).

I don't blame Chad Johnson for all the problems with the Bengals, but still, I don't see how they could possibly bring him back. The guy's a distraction when he's perfectly happy. Having him on the roster when he's this cheesed off would be absolutely disastrous. By Week 10, he'll be making Terrell Owens look like Rudy Reuttiger by comparison.

He and Marvin Lewis have a relationship that's beyond repair, and honestly, I don't blame either of them. Chad Johnson is perfectly justified in being frustrated with Marvin Lewis, and Marvin Lewis is perfectly justified in being frustrated with Chad Johnson.

The Bengals should get rid of them both as soon as possible, and make sure the EA Sports people have enough time to get Chad's goofy celebrations moved over to another team.

Leinart claims he always drinks out of bong

PHOENIX, AZ - Photos showing former USC and current Arizona Cardinals QB Matt Leinart holding court with some young ladies in a hot tub and utilizing a beer bong made their way around the internet last week. Needless to say, the general reaction to the photos was negative, in no small part due to the use of the beer bong, which is a popular binge-drinking tool for college students.

Leinart is a 25-year-old NFL quarterback and the father of a small child, not a college student, so his behavior was seen by many as a sign that he has yet to grasp the full responsibility that comes with playing the most high-profile position in America's most popular sport. Among his critics was Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who expressed disappointment in his young signal caller's choices.

Now, for the first time, Leinart is talking about the issue publicly. In an exclusive interview with SSNN, he defended his use of the beer bong, and claims he is not irresponsible.

"You know, I didn't have many beers that night. It's not like I was totally wasted," he said. "I only drank one beer, but I did drink it out of the bong. As for my friends, I was just helping them out by holding the bong up."

In fact, Leinart claims he doesn't call the device a beer bong, because he drinks all of his liquids out of the funnel-and-hose contraption.

"I don't even own any cups, glasses or mugs. There isn't a single one in my house, so really there's no choice but to use the bong. Every drop of liquid that I drink goes through that bong. Orange juice, soda, tea, coffee, milk - everything," Leinart insisted. "It's just so much more efficient. I'm a busy guy, and I don't have much time to sit around and drink my morning coffee, so I just bong it. It's important to let it cool down a little first, though."

Leinart also said that although he may be more careful who he invites to his home, the use of the bong is going to stay the same. "I couldn't imagine going back to traditional liquid intake. Sipping is definitely not for me."