
June 2009
By Scott Brown of the Trib ("View from the Press Box")
Booming wouldn't exactly describe the punts that came off the left foot of Daniel Sepulveda today.
But the fact that Sepulveda kicked instead of spending most of his time idle during Steelers practice is progress nonetheless.
Sepulveda missed all of last season with a torn ACL in his right knee. When he complained to Steelers trainer John Norwig of discomfort in the same knee in April, a subsequent MRI revealed torn meniscus.
"I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'" said Sepulveda, who had arthroscopic surgery six weeks ago. "If it was during the season, I wouldn't have said anything and I would have been fine. Just a little setback but we're working our way back to it. It feels better than it has in four years."
Sepulveda has a history of knee problems dating back to his days at Baylor University where he twice won the Ray Guy Award, given to the top collegiate punter in the country.
What is fortunate for the Steelers: all of Sepulveda's knee injuries have happened in his plant leg. Even better for both is that his right leg is strong enough that Sepulveda has started letting loose in practice.
The sight of him punting has to be a welcome one to coach Mike Tomlin and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky. The Steelers' special teams were generally a strong point last season rather than the albatross they had been in 2007.
Punting was a notable exception as Mitch Berger, Paul Ernster and Mitch Berger again made the absence of Sepulveda, who had a solid rookie season in 2007, all the more glaring.
For now, Sepulveda, who started kicking in earnest again last week, is working toward the point where he can punt "80 balls or so" without getting tired. That means the work is only starting for Sepulveda even though the Steelers conclude their offseason practices next week.
"It's been so long since I kicked that I just can't take off until training camp and come in here and expect to be in shape," said Sepulveda, who will return to Texas after next week. "I'm going to hit it pretty hard when I'm at home.
May 2009
It was a play most Steelers fans would rather forget. Late in the fourth quarter Oct. 6 against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, the Steelers were trying to hold on to a 14-12 lead.
Instead, emergency snapper James Harrison, who was filling in because Greg Warren had a knee injury earlier in the game, snapped the ball over the head of punter Mitch Berger. Berger, too, was brought in to replace a starter with a knee injury -- Daniel Sepulveda, who missed all of last season.
"I would like to think I would have had a shot at catching that one, but we will never know," Sepulveda said with a laugh of the play he witnessed from the sideline. "It made me cringe a little bit."
All's well that ends well, though, and the midseason 21-14 loss to the Giants proved to be a small bump in the road to the Super Bowl. Sepulveda, however, is still waiting for his personal happy ending.
Sepulveda, who kicks with his left foot, has yet to resume punting after having surgery last year to reconstruct his right knee after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, but he is the prime candidate for this season since Berger, an unrestricted free agent, did not receive a contract offer.
Sepulveda has no regrets about how he handled his first surgery and would do the same again......
When Sepulveda's borrowed time expired in July, he did not hold out any hope to recover in time to punt in the season opener Sept. 7. This time around, he and special teams coach Bob Ligashesky decided to take a more conservative approach. Sepulveda he does not plan to kick during this current round of team activities that end June 11. He said he could have started booting balls two weeks ago if the season started today. Right now, he, Warren and place-kicker Jeff Reed are sticking to running sprints.
"We are working on it slowly but surely," Ligashesky said of Sepulveda's comeback. "We are going to take our time and make sure he is ready to go in the fall."
To read the rest of this interesting article from the Post Gazette, click here. I have also included it in my articles grouping.
April 2009
Danny will be appearing at Steelers Fan Blitz on draft day (April 25th. Along with other current and former Steelers, he will be signing autographs in the Coca-Cola Great Hall, East Club Lounge, West Rotunda and the West Concourse areas from 1:30 pm -- 7:30 pm.
For more information visit the link at Steelers.com
And here is a photo from last year's event:

Steelers OTA's are underway, and Danny is up and kicking! Here are two new photos from today's OTA's, and a link to a short video from KDKA
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February, 2009
An interview in Spanish from NFL Deportes - SB XLIII
January, 2009
Pittsburgh Post Gazette
This is what God has in store for me," second-year punter Daniel Sepulveda said. "And that's not always the easiest thing to accept. But when you look at it, there's nothing positive that can come of me having a bad attitude about it."
Sepulveda has been on injured reserve since July, when he tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee for a second time. The training-camp injury abruptly ended what could have been a productive season for the booming punter.
But the left-footed punter has remained active with the team. He went to one road game, and seven of eight home games, and worked behind the scenes to help Mitch Berger — who replaced Paul Ernster after Ernster was released in late November.
"Mitch loves to take snaps on the sideline," Sepulveda said. "Jeff (Reed) doesn't like to; he likes to do his thing; he didn't want to change his game routine. I tried to go as much as I could so that I could facilitate Mitch and (long snapper) Jared's (Retkofsky) needs on the sideline so that Jeff wouldn't have to do that and he could keep his perspective right for the games."
Sepulveda is helping the team because he believes it's his duty.
"I'd want (Berger) to do that for me (if roles were reversed)," Sepulveda said. "It's about being a team player. That's the definition of it. (Going to the Super Bowl) is a rare opportunity, and I am happy to be here."
Here is the rest of the article.
November 13, 2008
Steelers punter Daniel Sepulveda has some free
time on his hands this season after a season-ending injury.
Sepulveda spent some of his down time working on his new home in
Baldwin.
He let KDKA's Alison Morris inside for a little tour.
"It's a work in progress so you're going to have to bear with me a
little bit," said Sepulveda. He bought the home a little over
2 months ago and has been working on it daily since tearing his ACL
during training camp.
Right now, he's busy painting.
"These white walls aren't working for me," said Sepulveda.
Read the rest of the story here.
October 24, 2008
Danny appeared at Steelers Style on October 24th. to benefit the Thomas E Starzel Tranplantation Institute at UPMC and the Cancer Caring Center. Here is a screen cap of that event from KDKA, followed by a few additional photos.




And some photos from the day the Veterans visited Heinz Field:



THANK YOU to Steelers.com and the ladies of BigBenNews
August 29, 2008
Daniel was at both the season kickoff luncheon,
and at the Panthers game last night, where he accepted the Joe Green
Great Performance award for 2007. From Steelers.com: Dan
Sepulveda was also honored for winning the 2007 Joe Greene Great
Performance Award and he wore his disappointment about missing this
season on his sleeve.
“It’s tough to know that I am going to miss out on this special year
with this group of guys,” Sepulveda told the crowd, having been
placed on injured reserve after surgery for a torn ACL in his
non-kicking (plant) knee.
Below are the photos from each appearance.

Daniel receives the 2007 Joe Green "Great Performance" Award during the final 2008 pre-season game

Daniel speaks during the 2008 Steelers kickoff luncheon
August 25, 2008
From Steelers.com: Daniel Sepulveda was placed on the Injured Reserve (IR) list today, officially ending his season.
Sepulveda
(6-3, 230) injured his knee prior to the team’s first preseason
game and had season-ending surgery the following week. The
Steelers’ first of two fourth-round draft picks (112th
overall) in the 2007 NFL Draft, Sepulveda was the recipient of
the Joe Greene Great Performance Award as a rookie, given
annually to the team’s top rookie after averaging 44.3 yards per
punt last season.August 6, 2008
Update: Bob Pompeani of KDKA reports that Daniel Sepulveda did undergo successful ACL repair surgery today, but is of course out for the season. I will continue to post news as I find it.
I have read several reports that Danny will have surgery today, August 6. I will keep you posted on any developments I hear of. And here's a cool picture to get us through the week.
"I’m going to take the most positive attitude I can about this whole deal, and we’ll approach it that way. And umm…. Obviously I’m disappointed but we’re going to make the best of it."
Photo
at left is a screen capture from John Shumway's piece on Danny which
aired on KDKA earlier today. To see all of the screen caps and
quotes from that video,
click here.
Sepulveda
requires surgery to repair
a torn ACL in the knee of his right, non-kicking leg. I will post
the article from
Steelers.com on the site, and here is the link
to the video story about his injury on KDKA.
Rest assured that I will continue to update this site with any and all news about Danny as he undergoes surgery and rehabilitation for this devastating injury. Webmistress.

Punter Daniel Sepulveda, left, sits out the afternoon practice at Saint Vincent College yesterday. He was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the 2008 season. Sitting to his right is long snapper Greg Warren.
Click here for the story in the Post Gazette.
See all Danny's TC Pictures here...
Hello friends! It's been a while since we've had any news on Danny! But there is an article on Steelers.com about how even though he was Rookie of the Year, he didn't think his overall performance was good enough! Here's the link to the entire article, entitled
Here is a link to the video of Danny receiving his second Ray Guy award. At the end you can see his parents in the audience. The quality is grainy, but it worth seeing.
A few more Off Season Workout shots. I know we are all anxiously waiting for training camp -- I'm posting everything I find! Please share your pictures with me, and I'll put them on the site. Thanks! Jan
In honor of the beginning of summer -- and a break for the Steelers -- I have posted some great shots of Danny courtesy of a fan, Emily. Thank you very much for sharing!
From an article by Theresa Varley, Steelers.com
The Steelers traded in their cleats for bowling shoes on Tuesday
as they opted for a day at the lanes instead of hitting the
field for another OTA practice.
Punter Dan Sepulveda, who was disappointed with his poor showing
when he went bowling last year, has been getting in plenty of
practice since then and had the best score of the day bowling a
237 game.
“It started last year when I was awful,” said Sepulveda. “My
highest game last year at Unity Bowl was 117. I can’t do that. I
can’t let myself do that. I knew I was better than that. I
practiced and came out and showed a little improvement.”
Sepulveda might have had a slight advantage though.
“I had my own ball,” said Sepulveda. “It’s something I do carry
with me. I keep it in my car. I made sure it was in my car this
particular day.”
And of course, that didn’t go unnoticed by his teammates.
“He had his own shoes on too,” said a smiling Townsend. “Everybody else was forced to play with the things they had there. I don’t think it’s fair. His score is tops, but it’s like Spygate with an asterisk next to it.”
To read the whole article, click here
New Pictures from a bowling outing and the Urban Impact event are posted here.
The 2008 Rookie luncheon was held recently, and Daniel Sepulveda was present to acknowledge his award-winning rookie season of 2007. I have not seen an article on the event yet, but courtesy of Steelers.com, there are a few new pictures here
Steelers OTA's continue, and here's the philosophy for the Special Teams this year. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:
The Steelers will take a different approach toward special teams this year as they won't spend nearly as much time on them in OTA practices and during training camp.
Coach Mike Tomlin said he hopes to create more of a sense of urgency when the Steelers do work on special teams. There is another reason why Tomlin is de-emphasizing special teams, at least in the amount of practice time spent on them.
"I have a better sense of who we are this season," the second-year coach said. "I wouldn't change a thing in terms of our approach to it last year. We were trying to find new leaders in that phase of the game. The leaders that were there in the past were no longer there."
New Picture of Danny from OTA's (May 28) on the right
Click here to read the entire article
From Dale Lolley's blog "From the Sidelines"
The Steelers got back together Tuesday for what will be the bulk of their OTAs with most of the team on the practice field.
Punter Daniel Sepulveda looks like his leg is even stronger than last year. He was consistently kicking the ball into the roof at the indoor practice facility, which is 100-feet high. And some of those balls were still rising when they hit.
New Pictures added to the Gallery!
Danny was at the Fan Blitz on draft day, and there are a few new photos of him from training camp, all posted in the photo section.
Last Wednesday evening, there was a Diane Sawyer special on ABC, featuring Randy Pausch. It is an inspirational story revolving around a man who was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and given six months to live. Here is a link to his lecture.
As part of the special, Randy visited Heinz Field and met several Steelers including Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, and Daniel. I have screen caps from that video. You can view the video in its entirety here.
The picture on the right is a screen cap from the video, courtesy ABC/ESPN. Visit the Picture gallery for two other Screen caps of Danny from the Video.
Danny is featured on WDVE's "Steelers" page this week.
Danny hails from Dallas, Texas and his favorite movie is "The Matrix." Favorite vacation spot? Destin, Florida! He would like Christian Bale to play him in a movie, and he would most like to play opposite Jennifer Aniston. And he says the title of his autobiography would be "Burden of Potenial." All this according to the DVE Site!
Kinda deep, Danny!
Editor's note: A credible source says that Danny was born in SanFrancisco, but the Steelers.com website claims Austin as his birthplace (on Jan 12, 1984)
Pittsburgh Steelers Daniel Sepulveda and Greg Warren, the celebrity chairmen, and more than 1,000 community members participated on March 30.
Bowl for Kids Sake Pictures - From Steelers.com, photos by Danielle Hudak

"Thank You"
Please feel free to contact the webmaster janb959@gmail.com with suggestions, comments or corrections.
I also welcome your input! Links to articles, photos, and particularly your personal fan photos will make this site a special place for fans of the Steelers and Danny Sepulveda to visit.
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From SB XLIII Media Day (Danny suited up for interviews)

Danny during the SBXLIII Parade

Thank you, Emily
PRE SEASON
Friday, Aug. 8 vs. Eagles 7:30pm
Aug. 14
@ Bills
(Toronto)7:30pm
Aug. 23 @
Vikings
8
p.m. CBS
Thursday, Aug. 28
vs Panthers
7:30pm
REGULAR SEASON
Sun, Sept. 7
vs. Texans
1 p.m. (CBS)
Sun, Sept 14
@ Browns 8:15p.m. (NBC)
Sun, Sept. 21
@ Eagles
4:15p.m. (CBS)
Mon, Sep.29
vs Ravens 8:30pm
(ESPN) Sun, Oct. 5
@ Jaguars
8:15 p.m. (NBC)
Sun, Oct. 12
Bye Week
Sun, Oct. 19
@ Bengals 1
p.m. (CBS)
Sun, Oct. 26
vs. Giants
4:15 p.m. (FOX)
Mon, Nov. 3 @Redskins
8:30pm (ESPN)
Sun, Nov. 9
vs. Colts
4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sun, Nov. 16
vs. Chargers 4:15pm
(CBS) Thur,
Nov. 20
vs. Bengals
8:15pm (NFL)
Sun, Nov. 30
@Patriots *
4:15 pm (CBS)
Sun, Dec. 7
vs Cowboys *
4:15pm (FOX)
Sun, Dec. 14
@ Ravens * 1 p.m
.(CBS) Sun, Dec. 21
@ Titans *
1 p.m. (CBS)
Sun, Dec. 28
vs. Browns * 1 p.m.
(CBS)