Tavares Gooden may be lining up for a possible start at inside linebacker

Gooden played alongside 11-time Pro Bowler Ray Lewis and the rest of the first defense during Tuesday's practice at McDaniel College in Westminster.

Gooden, who replaced Jameel McClain who started at inside linebacker against Carolina, declined to say whether his appearance with the first defense was an indication that he would earn the start against the Washington Redskins Saturday night.

"I'm praying that I do get the opportunity to be the starter, but there are bigger things in life," he said. "I will work hard, and I will be a role guy if that's what they want."

Tavares Gooden may be lining up for a possible start at inside linebacker.

 DUSTIN JOHNSON makes his living playing golf. With $1.3 million on the line, is it too much to ask that he knows the rules? And if he doesn't, ask the official? Forget about it.

I AGREE that rules are rules, it's just the same for golf. But for goodness sake, that didn't even look like a sand trap. And even if it was, it should've been roped off. You can't allow spectators to be standing in a sand trap. I don't care even if it was a raked one or not, whether it had tiger prints in it, you cannot allow spectators to be standing on the playing field of the golf course. And a sand trap is a playing field of the golf course. It was not roped off, therefore nobody, not even the rules officials, knew it was a sand trap. So you can't say that, the PGA blew it, and they blew it big. You can't allow spectators to be standing in the field of play.

THE REAL QUESTION about the rules call at Whistling Straits is: "Would the answer have been the same if Tiger had been the one who grounded his club?"

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ... Ray Lewis the best player in the NFL? Dan Kreider, for the Steelers, when he was fullback with "The Bus" in the backfield, used to take Ray Lewis out every single play. That's why the Steelers always beat Baltimore. Troy Polamalu is the best player in the NFL. Nobody takes him out every play. Occasionally he gets taken out, but rarely. Polamalu is so much better than Ray Lewis it's pathetic.

DARRELLE REVIS is getting fined $16,000 a day for not showing up at the New York Jets' training camp. It takes me a little over six months to make $16,000. I say, let him go. No player is worth that kind of money.

HERE'S A NEWS FLASH for the people that can't stand to see Michael Vick on the field: Watch another game or turn the channel. He's there and he's going to be there.

IT'S TIME FOR Steelers fans to get over it and get a life. The PGA Championship was the last major of the year and it went to a playoff. The Steelers game was a meaningless preseason game. Big deal. If they would've cut away from the tournament, it would have been just as bad as when NBC cut away from the Jets-Raiders game and put "Heidi" on. Is that what Steelers fans want?