Topic: Bruce Gradkowski

Bruce Raymond Gradkowski (born January 27, 1983 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American Football quarterback for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football at Toledo. He is known as 'The Polish Cannon' due to his heritage, and 'Toledo's Finest,' and 'RocketMan,' a nod to his alma mater and 'The Great Gradkowski' from his rookie pre-season days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A group of fans at Toledo nicknamed him 'Bruce Almighty', fans are noted of calling him 'Bruce GODkowski'. also called "the Bruce" in reference to the film Braveheart.

Gradkowski has previously been a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, and the Cleveland Browns.

Gradkowski is a 2001 graduate from Seton-La Salle Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and played as a member of the Seton-La Salle Rebels from 1997 to 2000 in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL). This is the same league that produced football legends such as Tony Dorsett (Hopewell High School), Dan Marino (Central Catholic High School), Bill Fralic (Penn Hills High School), Joe Montana (Ringgold High School), Joe Namath (Beaver Falls High School), and Johnny Unitas (St. Justin High School). As a junior, Gradkowski threw for 1,630 yards and 10 touchdowns. This performance was then improved as a senior, when he completed 188 out of 327 passes (a completion percentage of 57.5%) and threw for a then-WPIAL and PIAA (state) record of 2,978 yards and 30 touchdowns (surpassing the previous mark set by Marino). In high school, Gradkowski also played basketball, serving as Seton-La Salle's starting point guard and leading his team in scoring. He was once interviewed by a reporter in high school, when the reporter asked "How do you feel about being in the same league as some of the best quarterbacks to play the game?" Bruce simply replied "Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies".