Re-cap provided by 93.7 The Fan & KDKA:

Still working on rehabbing his injured left knee, Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joined The Cook and Poni Show for the weekly #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show and sounded optimistic about when he can get back on the field.

“I went out today…and I went through some individual work,” Ben told us.

When asked about the chances of him playing next week against the Baltimore Ravens and if he’s hopeful, Ben left the door open that he could play.

“I’m always going to be hopeful and do everything I can…to make sure that I get myself as prepared as I can be to go out there. Obviously, it’s AFC North football, so I want to do everything I can to be out there with my guys.”

Ben said it is “his hope” to practice next week and was asked if he would require some practice reps before he felt comfortable getting back into game action.

“Typically I would say no, but it would be nice because I need to know what I can and can’t do. Mentally, no, I don’t need it. But physically, just to know what I’m capable of doing…I think in this situation it would smart to get a good, full practice in.”

Ben also shared that if the game against the Patriots was a playoff game, he “would have done everything he could” to play.

All of the talk has been about Ben’s injured left knee, but what gets overlooked is in the injury he’s dealing with in his right knee as well after Dolphins defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh kicked him in it.

“When it happened, I knew it was something funny happened. It just didn’t feel like a natural thing. When I stepped up in the pocket, I felt something hit my knee harder than something has ever hit my knee before…It felt so weird to me that I was like, ‘Someone just tried to trip me I think,’ but obviously only he knows that and obviously the league didn’t think he did.

This is the first time Ben has been on his show since the loss to the Dolphins and was asked about the teams sub-.500 record against teams with a losing record under Mike Tomlin and the criticism that they play down to their […]

…for a great cause tonight!


Ben and teammates Oliver Ross and Jordan Dangerfield join host Alan Faneca in a photo op with a true American hero at the Bid For Hope charity event!

Photo: Teresa Varley

You can see photos from last year’s event here.

The 15th annual Bid for Hope event will be held on Monday, October 24, 2016. The event will be hosted by former Pittsburgh Steelers linemen and 2016 Hall of Fame finalist Alan Faneca and his wife Julie, along with current running back for the Steelers, DeAngelo Williams and his wife Risalyn.


Every October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Pittsburgh’s finest flock to bid on Steelers memorabilia and other valuable donated items at an auction benefiting Glimmer of Hope – an organization that exists to support premenopausal breast cancer research.

The event, held at Off the Hook – one of the North Hills’ newest hot spots in Warrandale Village – will kick off with an all-star autograph session from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m., followed by an evening of food and fun, including silent and traditional auctions of invaluable sports memorabilia and a few other surprises. This year’s event will feature a Muhammad Ali autographed Boxing glove up for auction. The $225 ticket includes the autograph session and white panel football, as well as cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

KDKA’s Bob Pompeani will return as auctioneer for what promises to be another star-studded guest list. Past years’ Bid for Hope lineups have included Big Ben, Heath Miller, Charlie Batch and Brett Keisel.

Over the past 15 years, Glimmer of Hope and its Bid for Hope event have been instrumental in providing funding to assist in the development of clinical research to patient services for young women with breast cancer at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and Magee-Womens Research Institute. To date, the annual event has been the catalyst for raising $2 million for the cause.

Currently, more than 250,000 women under 40 years old are living with breast cancer in the U.S., and more women in Western Pennsylvania are diagnosed than many other parts of the country. These startling discoveries motivate Glimmer of Hope founder Diana Napper to maintain events like Bid for Hope XV.

About Glimmer of Hope

A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, “the symbol of the cure”, is widely recognized in the Pittsburgh area. For the past 18 years, the foundation has been dedicated to raising funds […]

Good morning,

I am writing on behalf of my students at Propel Braddock Hills High School.

Every day I get the privilege of working with a group of thirteen 11th graders for about 40 minutes in a forum called ‘CREW’.

We discuss and participate in activities that a normal school day usually wouldn’t permit. We spend time doing team building activities, watching the news, discussing ethical dilemmas, building trust and character, talking about our plans for the future, etc.

During Week 3, when the Steelers lost against the Eagles, I was watching the post-game press conferences at my home. When confronted about particular players “dropping the ball” so to speak, Big Ben refused to allow the reporters to take that direction and call out each players mistakes. Instead, he said something very profound – “We all need to do some thumb-pointing.” He continued to say that it was an offensive, defensive and special teams loss and “We all need to thumb-point”. While simple, it’s really profound. My students and I spent that week discussing, journaling and analyzing areas in our lives where we need to “point the thumb”.

Working in a low-income school with minority students, it is really inspiring to see such an admired athlete in this city be such a mature and positive influence. I feel proud to represent a football team and a city that has spokesmen like Ben. In today’s day and age of pop-culture and politics, I’m sometimes at a loss for role models in the media that I can point our kids to. I was so inspired by Ben and his approach on being solutions-oriented, self-reflective and collaboration, my students and I spent an entire week reflecting on how we can be more like Ben.

I thought he deserved to know that he has inspired the hearts of my students.— Tiffany Yackuboskey, Teacher, Propel Braddock High School.


*Thank you so much to Ms. Yackuboskey and her class for sharing this email with us!

Bart Scott, Landry Jones, his surgery, and more today!


From his interview with his co-radio host, Ron Cook:

The toughest part for Ben Roethlisberger after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee?

“It’s going to kill me not to be able to go against [Tom Brady] Sunday. I’ve said many times I think he’s one of the best quarterbacks of all time and the best one going right now. You know me. I love to battle the best.”

Roethlisberger, who had outpatient surgery Monday morning after he was injured midway through the second quarter of the Steelers’ 30-15 loss to the Miami Dolphins Sunday, plans on missing just the New England game at Heinz Field.

He hopes to be back after the team’s bye Oct. 30 to play in Baltimore Nov. 6 against the Ravens. But he knows that might be impractical because he’s 34 and because of his medical history.

“Doc says my knee looked good, but there still was some stuff in there from when I had my bone bruise last season in St. Louis,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday from his North Hills home. “He said that might keep me out a little longer than just a simple meniscus tear. Maybe an extra week or so. But there’s no way to put an exact timetable on it. It all depends on my pain and how I feel.”

Roethlisberger said his rehabilitation began as soon as he returned home Monday afternoon. “I’m icing and elevating as we speak.”

Roethlisberger said Steelers team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jim Bradley and coach Mike Tomlin told him to do the first week to 10 days of his rehab at home. “But that’s going to be hard for me. I have to go in this week to see the guys. I’ll call Landry [Jones] and check in with him. I want to do everything I can to help him. I just hope coach lets me be on the sideline Sunday.”

Jones will get the start against the Patriots. He played well at times last season when he filled in for an injured Roethlisberger, especially in a home win against Arizona. But he also played so poorly late in the playoff win in Cincinnati in January after Roethlisberger left with a shoulder injury that Tomlin put Roethlisberger back in even though […]

Ben was not on the radio for his weekly show today, but Tom Brady was for his, and had this to say about #7:

“He’s one of the toughest guys in the league. I would never rule him out for anything,” Brady said Monday morning during his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan Show.”

“He’s done that before and played and thrown for 400 yards. He’s just a stud, just an incredible player,” Brady added. “I’ve played against him since 2004, and nothing surprises me with him. He’s one of the best quarterbacks I’ve ever played against. I would never count him out.”

Brady added that he’s seldom spent time with Ben, but they have mutual friends.

“He’s such a great player. He’s been the leader of that team for a long time and done a great job at it. They always seem like they’re right in the mix,” Brady said on WEEI. “He displays toughness and has a very unique style of play; it’s pretty spectacular to watch the way he’s able to shrug off defenders and make plays and throw the ball down the field. He’s having such a great season this year. So we’ll see. Who knows how bad it is and if he’ll have a chance to play? It’s only Monday, and like I said, he’s as tough as anybody.”


*Recap from Mike Reiss at ESPN.com.