QUICK SNAPS

Man of steel

A book on the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers, written by the team’s owner, will be released Monday.

Like the man, the book’s title is straightforward and uncomplicated: “Dan Rooney: My 75 Years With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL.”

It traces the roots of the team, from his father, Art, paying $2,500 for a football team then called the Pittsburgh Pirates, through the hiring of current Coach Mike Tomlin.

Rooney writes about the Immaculate Reception, the Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s, the Super Bowl victory over Seattle -- just about everything.

Although he largely steered clear of controversial topics, Rooney was mildly critical -- although harsh for a man considered among the league’s friendliest owners -- of the Raiders’ Al Davis.

“I did write about some of the things he was involved with,” Rooney said. “I didn’t feel like I came down overly strong on him, but I did say that he caused us a lot of trouble.”

Writing about Davis moving the Raiders from Oakland to Los Angeles, Rooney compared NFL franchises to McDonald’s restaurants.

“They wouldn’t put one set of golden arches right across the street from another,” he wrote. “It wouldn’t make any sense. . . . That’s just what Al Davis’ move to the Los Angeles Coliseum amounted to. You try not to get angry about things like this, but the rules are in place for a reason -- some people think the rules don’t apply to them.”

Rooney said he hasn’t spoken to Davis since writing the book, but that he saw Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask at a recent league meeting “and she wouldn’t talk to me.”

Informed of that, Trask said that she has neither read the book nor was aware Rooney had even written one.

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Easy ticket

The Atlanta Falcons have dealt with scandal, scrutiny and a mounting pile of losses. Today, they’re dealing with something entirely unfamiliar:

A TV blackout.

Their game against San Francisco will not be televised in the Atlanta market because too many tickets went unsold.

That’s a first since Arthur Blank bought the team and Michael Vick became the starting quarterback five years ago. Vick is suspended, of course, and waiting to be sentenced on charges related to dogfighting.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the club had a season-ticket waiting list of more than 90,000 fans before the season, but team officials say they have gone through them and aren’t sure how many are still seeking tickets.

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Freezing in Indy

For today’s battle of the unbeatens between the Colts and Patriots, CBS will debut FreezeCam, which allows CBS to freeze the action while zooming in, out or around the frame to give a clear picture of whether, say, a player’s feet are inbounds when he makes a catch.

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Bly sense of humor

Detroit receiver Roy Williams, who’s sounding more like Chad Johnson by the minute, had some good-natured fun at the expense of Denver cornerback Dre Bly, a former Lions teammate whom he’ll face today.

“Dre is not a hitter, period,” Williams said, smiling. “Dre is a no-hitter. Isn’t that a term in baseball, a no-hitter? He’s a no-hitter.”

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Streaking

Brett Favre has accomplished a lot in his 17 NFL seasons, but one thing he hasn’t done is beat Kansas City.

Favre is 0-3 against the Chiefs going into today’s game at Kansas City.

Overall, Green Bay has lost five in a row to the Chiefs dating to 1987, but the Packers have their own streak of five that they will being trying to extend: They’ve won five consecutive road games, outscoring opponents, 133-68.

-- Sam Farmer