Team comedian Rich Ohrnberger showed off his funny side Wednesday morning.

A.Q. Shipley was scheduled for a conference call at 11 a.m., and he did appear.

Sort of.

Sports information director Jeff Nelson sent an e-mail later in the afternoon apologizing for another player posing as Shipley. There has been no official confirmation that Ohrnberger was the culprit, but the prankster is widely suspected.

Ohrnberger, by all accounts, nailed the Pittsburgh colloquialism and Shipley's personality.

Even better?

Ohrnberger answered a question about himself. Somehow, he managed to keep a straight face during the entire conference call.

Give Ohrnberger all the credit for pulling it off. The prank also shows how loose at least two players are heading into the toughest test of the season thus far, which might be the most important development of the week.

Here's hoping Ohrnberger talks soon -- as himself, of course -- so we can see how he pulled one over.

Or maybe Shipley would be a better fill-in for Ohrnberger.