The Elida (OH) High School Hall of Fame will be adding one more honored name this weekend!


Ken Roethlisberger, a 1974 graduate of Elida High School, will be honored during an induction ceremony and banquet to be held on Saturday.

During his high school career, Ken was named to the First Team All-City in Football, the State Acme Baseball Championship Team, and the Golden Helmet Award Winner – all in 1973.

In 1974, he was named to the First Team All-City Basketball, the All-WBL in Baseball, and played in the 1974 Ohio North/South All-Star Football Game. He was also the Lima News Most Outstanding Scholar-Athlete.

Ken was given a full scholarship to play quarterback at Georgia Tech and did so from 1974 to 1975.

“I was recruited by Jerry Glanville and Pepper Rodgers,” he said. “I hurt my knee and had to switch over to baseball. I pitched for Tech my last two years.”

Ken and fellow Hall of Fame inductee Denise M. Stemen, will be formally announced at the Elida High School varsity boys basketball game on Saturday evening.

“Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” — Muhammad Ali

…for answering the call to Honor our Fallen!


From Wreaths Across America today:

More than 143,000 Remembrance Wreaths were placed at Arlington National Cemetery and 540,000 across the Country for National Wreaths Across America Day!

Wreaths Across America, along with nearly 30,000 volunteers, placed remembrance wreaths on the headstones of more than 143,000 veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. This is the organization’s 22nd year laying wreaths at our Nation’s cemetery and marks the largest number ever delivered. Across the country, 540,000 remembrance wreaths were placed in honor of our veterans at 908 locations (including Arlington).

A convoy of more than 30 vehicles, including tractor trailers, buses, motorcycles and cars carrying wreaths, veterans, families of fallen soldiers, and supporters, delivered the wreaths from Maine after participating in a week-long convoy. The group stopped at schools, memorials and in communities in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, to share its mission to Remember, Honor and Teach.


You can read more here!



Just a few of the fans who posted comments under our December 14th wreath-laying post on the site’s Facebook page about volunteering for, donating to, and thanking this wonderful organization:


“This is what true Americans do!” — Laurie E. Bowser


“Thank you. My grandparents are buried there.” — Susan Farrell


“This company is from here in Maine. I was fortunate enough to meet with some of the drivers as they started their journey. There were 23 trucks that were in the WAA convoy. One special trailer had a 6 foot wreath going to the Statue of Liberty. All volunteers. Wonderful people here in Maine.” — Janice Albright


“My brother-in-law and mother-in-law are there helping with wreaths!” — Greg Delbart


“We donated to this cause. It is a wonderful thing.” — Joy Cook


“I was at Arlington National Cemetery as a volunteer today to help lay the wreaths.” — Jill Schnell

“WE ARE BLESSED TO LIVE IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY! THANKS TO ALL THAT SACRIFICE THERE LIVES FOR US.” — Clayton Weaver

“We sponsor several wreaths each year wonderful cause I believe in.” — Vanessa Lucas


“My son was blessed to be chosen to place a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The pictures and […]

have fun with the fishes while on a family vacation!

We went to the Georgia Aquarium today and here are some pictures from it. Want to say thanks to everyone at the Aquarium for the great experience! We all had a great time. — Ben, Ashley & JR

You can see the family album here!

Are you looking for a great Valentines Day gift for your Steeler Nation sweetheart?


Then go to www.blackandgoldfan.com for some awesome products right from the ‘burgh.

And as a bonus when placing your order:

Type in “BIGBEN7” under comments and receive a FREE Pittsburgh Skyline Milk Chocolate Candy Bar.

Also anyone who enters the code is eligible to win an autographed Big Ben jersey!

Orders must be placed by February 1st to be shipped for Valentines Day. The winner of the autographed jersey will be selected and notified on February 5th.


Did you know…

that Ben makes no personal profit from the sale of his BBQ sauce?

In fact, his BBQ Sauce sales and fundraising have helped raise over $150,000 for his favorite charities, including The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation!

A great sauce for a great cause!


If you are looking for ways to raise funds for your organization, call 412.867.0681 for details!

“It was truly an honor to spend some time with the Steelers during their training camp. Everyone was incredibly nice and treated me as if I were the super star athlete. Coach Tomlin asked if I would share my story with the team, I had everyone’s undivided attention, and it was an amazing feeling to have the Pittsburgh Steelers interested in my story. It was a weekend I will never forget. Thank you for everything Ben.” – Noah, who was Ben’s guest at Steelers Training Camp last summer.

NOTHING can stop this Warrior…on ANY day of the week!



Long-time readers of the site know this Warrior, but we thought it was time to introduce him to our newer readers!

On December 19, 2005, Sgt Noah Galloway, US Army, lost his left arm above the elbow and left leg above the knee in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack in Yusafiah, Iraq. He was quickly transported to Germany to receive medical treatment and was unconscious for five days. Noah woke up late in the evening on Christmas Eve to find out he had lost two of his limbs, and had also sustained several injuries to his remaining leg and his jaw. He was then transferred to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C where he began his long road to recovery.

Since then – he has been non-stop!

Noah has participated with friends in Warrior Dash events, Tough Mudder events, a Spartan Race and a Barbarian Challenge. He also competed in two CrossFit events.

Noah ran his first full marathon (26.2 miles) in October 2012 during the Marine Corps marathon in Washington, DC. Noah has also been to Carastensz Pyramid (one of the seven summits of the world) as part of a climb with The Heroes Project.

In March of 2013, Noah completed the White Sands Missile Range 23rd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico.

It was on his way home from this grueling “event”, while waiting for his flight at the airport that he was approached by a big, tall man who looked surprisingly like Big Ben – and a friendship was born:

http://bigben7.com/a-true-hero-and-inspiration-at-steelers-training-camp-today/



Again, you can try and keep with Noah on his Facebook page here!

We’ll start with a great photo taken earlier this week while Ben and his family were vacationing at their home in Georgia!



Big Ben and his family took a day trip to Georgia Tech to show Benjamin Jr. where his grandpa Ken played his college ball. While they were there, Ben stopped to pose with two of GT’s Yellow Jackets, Corey Dennis and Sean Tobin.

Sean sent the photo to his aunt, Edy Castronovo (whose family is part of Steeler Nation New Jersey), who shared it with us! She said that not only was Sean very excited to meet Ben, but he also said it was an “incredible privilege to meet one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.”


Sean also wanted to add:

“It was great to meet Ben, he’s a stand up guy. Was really fun guy to be around and spoke to a couple of us for quite some time, he threw some motivation at us and was telling us to enjoy the offseason, take advantage of it cause your opponent is getting better. Thanks again Ben!”

Just a few of the tweets about Ben’s visit to Georgia Tech:

@steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger dropped by yesterday. His dad Ken was backup QB & pitcher at #GaTech in mid-70’s — Georgia Tech Sports @GTAthletics


Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger just visited to our football offices with his family. Really nice guy. Down to earth. Father is a GT alum. — Ryan Bamford @GTbammer24 (Ryan is a Senior Associate AD at Georgia Tech)


Ben Roethlisberger came by GT today. Dude is huge in person, no wonder why defenders struggle to get him down! — Brandon Oliver @B_Oliver82



And how about a photo of Benjamin Jr’s dad when he was playing college ball “back in the day”:

My brother Trent and Big Ben during picture day at Miami (OH) – 2003 — Tanner Montgomery via Twitter @Tanner_M

Tanner and Trent’s father, Shane, was the offensive coordinator at Miami University from 2001 to 2005 before becoming the RedHawks 32nd head football coach, succeeding Terry Hoeppner, from 2005 to 2008. He is now the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Youngstown State University.


You can see another pic that Tanner shared with us, as well as some more great photos […]