Today, Ben announced the fourth and fifth grant awards of the 2018 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

The Foundation will be distributing grants to the Annapolis Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, both south of M&T Bank Stadium where the Steelers will play the Ravens on November 4th.

The Annapolis Police Department will utilize the grant to purchase needed safety equipment for their K-9 unit.

“This grant will be used to purchase two K-9 vests and an alarm system for a K-9 vehicle. These items are potentially lifesaving for our hardworking four-legged K-9 officers. We can’t thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation enough for this generous grant.” — Annapolis Chief of Police Scott Baker.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office plans to use the funds to replace a recently retired dog.

“As the Sheriff in Montgomery County, Maryland, it is my honor to acknowledge the generosity of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for this grant to our K-9 unit. The Roethlisberger Foundation grant will allow the Sheriff’s Office to continue to train specialized K-9 teams for the Sheriff’s Office and other affiliated law enforcement agencies in our region.” — Montgomery County Sheriff Darren M. Popkin.

In commenting on why the mission of the foundation is so important to him, Roethlisberger said, “We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.”


Fans:

You can help support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.


If you’d like more information about the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation you can visit Ben’s Foundation page. For more in-depth information, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.

Just in case you missed his show this morning on 93.7 The Fan:

Lil’ Ben is a BIG fan of James Conner –

After Ben returned home on Sunday evening, Benjamin Jr. wanted to play football in the living room…And who did he want to be?

James Conner.

“I texted (Conner) and I told him, ‘James, it must have been pretty cool to have (Heinz Field) chanting “Conner”, but you want to know something that’s even cooler? When I come home and play catch with my son and every time he catches it he’s you!’

I said thanks for being a good role model and please don’t ever stop understanding that everything you do you have a chance to be an amazing role model.”

The “Bell question?” –

“I’ll be honest, you know we get asked every week, not just on this show, but every week in the locker room and I think I said it after this last game. I don’t want to talk about it because he’s not here. When he gets here, we’ll talk about it. Until he’s here, I’d rather talk about James [Conner] and the guys that are here that are helping us win now.” ​

When asked about the move by the Browns, and on Todd Haley in particular –

“You know, it’s hard, I was kind of surprised. I don’t think you typically [fire] both a head coach and a coordinator. You wouldn’t think that, at least. I thought that maybe Todd would have gotten the job, but obviously they felt like they wanted to go with the defensive coordinator instead, with Gregg [Williams].” ​

“[Haley] a very passionate coach. He wants to win; he wants to get the best out of his players. I think there’s nothing wrong with that. I think that’s what you need, you want to have passion from a player, you want to have passion from a coach. Whether it’s from a player or a coach, sometimes it can come across as…and we talk about it with AB sometimes or with other players…sometimes it can come across in a negative way. But, when you’re passionate about wanting to win, that’s not always a bad thing in a coach.”​

And his thoughts on the terrible events of Saturday & attending the funerals today –

“I hate to admit […]

Thirty teammates showed up to support Cam Heyward at his event last night.

“This is everything. I don’t take it for granted. I enjoy every minute of it. That is what being a man of God, being a man who cares about his community does.” – Cam Heyward on hosting his event.

You can read more from Teresa Varley on Cam’s event, as well as watch video here.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Friday was a day filled with smiles for Gabe Patton, a 16-year old from Vinton, Virginia who loves the Steelers.

Patton was a guest of the team at practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. He will also be at Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field.

“I love the Steelers,” said Patton. “I have never been to an NFL game before. I have been to a few college games. I am really excited. It should be loud and a lot of fun.”

Patton, who is battling cancer, had the opportunity to meet his favorite players, including Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, while getting pictures and autographs.

“It’s crazy being here,” said Patton. “It’s surprising. It’s kind of crazy to see myself doing this. This is a big confidence boost. It gets all of the bad stuff out of my mind. It’s nice to do something fun that I never thought I would do.”


You can read more & see some great photos of Gabe’s day here.