Welcome to Steelers Takeaways! – Page 3 – More than 2,000 interviews of Steelers players, coaches, front office staff PLUS interviews with Pittsburgh actors, musicians, authors and more

Exclusive: Pittsburgh Olympic Skater Michael Seibert

First off – what are you up to now?

I went into real estate after I was done skating. I worked in Small Town USA and soon realized though that it’s not about what you know about construction – it’s about the PTA moms you raise your kids with. People chose their agents because they all raised their kids together. That was interesting but frustrating – that left me out.

Now, I’m a decorator – I’ve been doing that for the past year-and-half. I’ll be putting out a new line soon of furniture made out of pottery – stools, lamps, tables….hopefully it’ll work. I haven’t seen anything like it in the marketplace.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Quarterback Leo Gasienica, 1974

First off, can you let us know what you got into after your football career ended?

After football I spent a lot of time in Manhattan work in the financial industry. I worked for Reuters, Dow Jones, Thomson Financial then Broadridge Financial. It was a good run until I decided to hang it up and retire a short while ago.

Was the post-football transition difficult?

It worked out ok. I lived in New York for a while – uptown – then moved to New Jersey and took the boat into the city. A lot of my clients were on the boat. I worked with the bankers and brokers in the city.

After a while I just decided that it was time to start working and enjoyed it. It was a good transition.

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Exclusive with Art Rooney Jr. Part 2

Second half of interview continuing from Exclusive with Art Rooney Jr. Part I – Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

I know so much is written about Bill Nunn’s impact and the delving into HBCUs when discussing those late 60’s and 70’s drafts. But outside of that, what was really working for you in terms of how you approached the scouting process and what you looked for that was different from others teams? Not every stellar player was an HBCU guy?

We were a losing team – we had early picks and didn’t fuck them up!

But we focused a lot on athleticism – size, speed, quickness, control – and vision too.

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Exclusive with Art Rooney Jr. Part I

First off, what’s a day in the life look like for you today – what are you up to now and how involved if at all are you with the team?

I still have stock in the team and am on the board. But it’s their team now. Dan and his son and grandson all work for the team now. I pay attention and listen on the board and answer questions when I can – but I won’t make shit up if I don’t have an answer.

On October 18th I’ll turn 90 years old. I never wanted my name on the scoreboard – but this year I want it! I want it to say “Happy 90th Birthday Art Rooney Jr.!” I’ve had a good run – I have good DNA like my mom and dad did!

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Exclusive with Award-Winning Pittsburgh Photojournalist Martha Rial

Starting off- how did you get started a professional photographer?

I grew up in Murraysville – it was more rural then. I knew there was more out there and wanted to see and experience it. I would look at the Pittsburgh Press and see the pictures there – and my father was a natural storyteller – he had a gift for sharing stories.

I learned from all of that and wanted to explore the city and see the world. I wasn’t a great student but was curious. And like most photographers I couldn’t sit still for long periods of time!

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Exclusive with Steelers Defensive Lineman Kyler Baugh

So what does the offseason look like for you?

I just signed my futures contact so I’m just focusing now on resting my body for a bit. But then I’ll get the training back up again. I get antsy – I can’t sit around for long. I can’t go too hard in the offseason – I won’t go 24/7 – but I’ll ramp it up as we get closer to the season. I want to be on the 53 next season.

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Exclusive with Actress Lorelei King

First off, what projects are you working on now that you can tell us about?

I’ve just finished work on the audio version of the DC Comics story “Kingdom Come” in which I play Wonder Woman, working with my favorite director, Dirk Maggs. That’s coming out on Audible on November 18th. We’ve also just wrapped on the latest audiobook in Janet Evanovich’s Gabriela Rose series, also out in November.

How did you get started as an actress – what captivated you and where/how did it begin?

Frankly, it was all a bit accidental! I had the right look at the right time for a certain play – the director thought I looked like a German whore – make of that what you will! – and it was in the process of rehearsing and performing in front of a live audience that I fell in love with acting.

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Exclusive with Former Steelers Running Back Larry Croom, 2007

First off, what have you been up to since your playing days?

Since elementary school I knew I wanted to play football and I’m thankful that happened. It didn’t go the way I wanted it to but most guys have that same story. I got to form a lot of great relationships and qualities from those experiences though.

Now, I’m doing long and short term rentals here in Las Vegas – I have a few properties in Vegas I manage and also have some vending machines I manage as well!

Was the post-NFL transition difficult?

It was very difficult but I had the pleasure of playing overseas – that gave me the downtime I needed to help with the transition – just trying out new things. That made it not as hard.

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Exclusive with Steelers Strength and Conditioning Coach / Sports Science Coordinator, Roderick Moore, Jr.

First off, what is the situation and plan now for you?

Well, after we heard the news of Mike Tomlin leaving, we were all told we were free agents able to pursue other opportunities. There are a couple that may be available soon but it’s early. There’s nothing permanent yet – some lukewarm opportunities right now,

Obviously with Mike McCarthy coming in the storyline is he wants to go in a different direction – he let us know he wanted to bring in his own guys which makes sense. Everyone wants to being in their own guys – guys loyal to them they can trust.

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Exclusive – Curator of Pittsburgh Hall of Fame and Sports Virtual Museum

First off, can you let me know how the museum got started and what it is?

It started as a hobby. I always liked logos and jerseys. I eventually made excess money and wanted to figure what to do with it. I saw a Mike Rozier Maulers jersey pop up on eBay – I loved the Maulers – I used to go to games with my buddies. It went from there and I started collecting things from there.

Some people can be cutthroat – I’m not into it from that standpoint. I found others guys who enjoyed collecting items as well. Since then we’ve stockpiled over 1,500 items – jerseys, helmets, equipment, patches, banners, media guides and much more from over 37 Pittsburgh teams – from the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins to the Pipers, Rens, Maulers, Yellow Jackets, Power, Crawford Baseball, Stingers etc.

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