Earlier this month, Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith suffered small fractures in his back during a win over the Steelers. At the time, he blamed former teammate, Steelers safety Mike Mitchell, saying "I got speared in the back by an ex-teammate and I kind of know his character and who he is."

Except that it was linebacker Lawrence Timmons -- not Mitchell -- who laid the hit on Smith. Three weeks later and Smith is still holding a grudge -- even though he now knows Mitchell didn't cause the injury.

“[Lawrence] Timmons hit me, which I didn’t know,” Smith said Friday, via the team’s website. “But Mike Mitchell, my former teammate, gets up and he’s talking, he’s kind of celebrating. He was in my face after I got up, when I was giving the ball to the ref, as if he hit me. Like a moron, I assumed that he actually did something. “Then, when I went down because my back was hurting, he was yelling, ‘Yeah, how do you like that!’ and he said a few words. . . . That’s what ticked me off.”

In other words, Mitchell's still on Smith's "lifetime hit list."

If you're curious, this is how you end up on said list.

“You get on it because you’re stupid,” Smith said.

Interestingly, Smith says he has no problem with Timmons, the man actually responsible for the injury.

“It was a good, solid hit by Timmons,” Smith said. “He was knocking people all over the field.”

The Ravens host the Steelers on December 27.

In the meantime, Smith, 36, continues to play like he's 10 years younger. He had seven catches for 137 yards on Sunday and was one of the few bright spots in the Ravens' loss to the 49ers.  Also: his back seems to be fine as evidenced by the long touchdown catch and the subsequent Pee Wee Herman celebration.

Steve Smith hasn't forgotten about Mike Mitchell. (CBS)
Steve Smith hasn't forgotten about Mike Mitchell. (CBS)