Ben was on the air in his regular time slot this morning at 11:00 AM as part of 93.7 The Fan’s Vinnie & Cook Show.


Some of the highlights:

On Sunday’s win against the Jets –

It really felt good. Hopefully, the winning is contagious. Hopefully, the attitude carries over. Right now, we’re not sitting here thinking about the win on Sunday. Right now, we’re moving forward.


On playing the Ravens this Sunday –

I’m going in on Monday, I started getting some early prep in, and not seeing #20’s name up on the board in the secondary, and not seeing #52, but they still have some guys. They still have Suggs, I always look forward to playing Suggs – I know it sounds crazy cause he’s one of the best. He hits hard and does some very good things on defense. I enjoy playing the best and competitors like that.


On playing the Ravens over the years –

It’s always a physical game, it’s tough. It’s just as taxing mentally as it is physically. After the game your body feels like it’s been through a hundred car wrecks, or train wrecks…After these games, win or lose, you just sit down and take a deep sigh. Your mind feels relaxed.


His thoughts on the Houston Texans fans who cheered when Matt Schaub was injured –

It’s truly, truly unfortunate. Booing when somebody gets hurt, it was just sickening. It’s just so hard to understand, especially your home crowd. I remember when Rashard [Mendenhall] got hurt in Cleveland, we heard some cheers. To me, that’s kind of the same philosophy.

When people were showing up at [Shaub’s] house to do negative things, that’s cause for some action from the player. That’s your family. When we’re on that field and we’re in that stadium you can boo, you can yell at us but when we step outside we’re human beings just like everybody else. We’ve got feelings, we’ve got family.

I think in that situation you just have to approach it like, ‘You know what, I’m going to play for my teammates, my brothers, my coaches’ and on his mind he has to sit there and say it wasn’t every fan. He has to take the mindset that there’s still a bunch of fans out there that are rooting for me, supporting me and that would be the […]

“Ben Roethlisberger (113.8 QB rating) was his old resourceful self.” — Steve Serby on why the Jets lost, from his column in the NY Post.

More from the Jets point of view…


Courtesy of Rich Cermini, ESPN.com:

The New York Jets tried to make the day all about their defensive line.

Marty Lyons, a former member of the New York Sack Exchange, was inducted into the Ring of Honor at halftime. An honorary captain, he participated in the coin toss, flanked by former “New York Sack Exchange” teammates Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko. Every member of the current defensive line joined the group, a link to then and now. It was as if the Jets were trying to send a message to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had been struggling with pass protection.

But the Steelers got the last laugh.

The Jets finished with four sacks, but the 19-6 loss will be remembered for the one that got away. On the Steelers’ second possession, Muhammad Wilkerson blew a chance to get a safety. He had Ben Roethlisberger in his clutches in the end zone, but Big Ben slithered away and threw a harmless incompletion.

“That’s a big guy,” Wilkerson told ESPN New York 98.7 FM. “We talked about it all week. I went up high on him, knowing I should’ve kind of went low. But he’s a great quarterback. He slipped away and made the play for them.”

It was a scoreless game. The Jets missed a great opportunity to seize the early momentum.

“If we get a safety there, we’re up, 2-0, and those plays usually result in a nine-point turnaround,” coach Rex Ryan said.

The Jets got good pressure on Roethlisberger in the second quarter, sacking him twice on one series. It looked as if they were going to dominate the Steelers’ rebuilt offensive line, which included a new starter at left tackle, Kelvin Beachum. But the Steelers adjusted nicely, shifting to a quick-passing game. That offset the Jets’ pass rush.

Roethlisberger finished 23-for-30, with 264 yards and a touchdown pass.

“They were trying to get the ball out of his hand pretty quickly, there’s no question,” Ryan said. “If you look at the start of the game, they had four or five screens almost in the first 10 plays. They […]

The dinner will take place on Monday, June 16, 2014 at St. Florian Hall in Wintersville, Ohio. You can pre-order your tickets until January 15th!


“In an effort to handle what we expect will be a huge interest here in the heart of the Steeler Nation, we’ve taken a couple of unprecedented steps,” Hall of Fame director Robin Webster said. “We have begun taking ‘pre-orders’ for tickets, which will go on sale Jan. 16, 2014. So you can guarantee the availability of your ticket by calling to get on that list, giving us your name and a number where you can be reached.”

Additionally, Webster said, the Hall of Fame has made special arrangements with the venue to be able to seat 650 for the 2014 banquet, which will be served buffet style.

Plans are also under way to “live feed” the activity at the speaker’s podium onto eight wall-mounted flat-screen televisions, so those seated all around the room will have a close-up view of the guest speaker, as well as inductees.

The 2013 event saw the highest ticket sales in the hall’s 15-year history, with more than 530. Unfortunately, dozens interested in seeing the induction and hearing guest speaker Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer were turned away in the weeks just prior to the event, because it had sold out well in advance.

“We’re making the announcement for next year’s event months earlier than usual in the hopes that we can accommodate ticket sales for all of our loyal supporters as well as those drawn to this rare opportunity to see and hear Roethlisberger at an off-the-field appearance,” Webster said.

Tickets are $110, which covers admission, the meal, commemorative gifts and a chance at prize drawings held during the event. Of that cost, $50 is tax deductible.


To pre-order tickets, find out how your business can sponsor the event, or for general information, call 330-386-5443 and ask for Robin Webster or Rosemary Mackall, Director of Development.

You can read more about the Lou Holtz Hall of Fame here.


*Thank you to Weirton Daily Times!

The 2013 Steelers Style Fashion Show was held Friday night at East Club Lounge at Heinz Field. The event is held each year and benefits local charities. This year’s event will benefit UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program and the Cancer Caring Center.


From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Players and their families modeled fashions from American Eagle Outfitters, NIKE, Moda Pittsburgh, Michael Kors, Robert Graham, Nordstrom and Kiya Tomlin, who has her own custom couture designs and had an extensive line in this year’s show.

Tomlin had designed dresses for the show in the past, many with the Steelers logo on them. This year’s show was labeled Steelers Nation Black & Gold Style, and while the logo might not have been there, the team colors were.

The show started off with a bang, with the University of Pittsburgh dance team and cheerleaders and the Pittsburgh Steeline setting the stage and firing up the crowd. It was then all about the players as they hit the runway, many with their kids, in their jerseys dancing and having fun to their own musical selections. Among the choices were Ben Roethlisberger and his son Ben to “Just the Two of Us,” by Will Smith, Shaun Suisham to his country’s National Anthem “O Canada,” and Bruce Gradkowski and daughter Liliana to the Temptations “My Girl.”

The show came to an amazing end with the Suit & Tie scene, as rookies worked the runway styled by Tuxedo Junction, and the veterans, many accompanied by their families, wearing their own personal custom designs.


You can read more from Ms. Varley here!


You can see more beautiful photos, courtesy of Dr. Ronald Cypher, here!

Today Ben announced the second and third grants of the 2013-14 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

“The Fort Lee Police Department is honored to be the recipient of the Roethlisberger Foundation grant. This grant will enable Fort Lee to expand our K-9 unit and enhance the safety of our community through proactive patrols which combat drugs and criminal activity.” — Chief Keith Bendul, Fort Lee Police Department.

The Foundation will be distributing grants to the Fort Lee Police Department and the Fairfield Police Department, both in New Jersey, where the Steelers will play the Jets on Sunday, October 13 at Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Fort Lee PD will apply the grant funds to purchase a new K-9 dog for their unit while the Fairfield Police plan to use the funds to properly outfit a K-9 vehicle with a rear seat insert, automatic door opening system and fan, all for the dog’s safety.

During the 2013-14 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area and will consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States for each playoff game in which the Steelers compete. Ben invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.

This marks the seventh season that Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. The mission of The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA. Ben also strives to support Make-A-Wish through his foundation as well.

The Foundation distributed more than $135,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2012 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $950,000 since 2007.


You can learn more about Ben’s foundation here.


*Photo: Fanfare Magazine, 2008 – Ben poses with his beloved dogs, Hercules and Zeus (courtesy of Duane Rieder).

Big Ben met with journalists and reporters today before practice. Among the topics he was asked about was his bye, the Jets defense and Coach Rex Ryan, the mood in the Steelers locker room, his injured finger, the offensive line changes, and teammate Ryan Clark’s comments on ESPN’s “First Take”.

Some of the highlights:

Did a week off help?

Yeah. It was nice to kind of get away and forget about football for a little bit. Kind of recharge the battery.


Did you have a chance to watch the Jets Monday?

A little bit, until I fell asleep. I watched a really good team go down to a tough place to play against, what I think, is a good Falcons’ team and good Falcons’ offense. The Jets’ defense is very good.


Re: The Jets young defense:

It reminds you a lot of a defense that I’ve played a lot against, ours and the old Baltimore. Mixing things around, showing all kinds of different looks, blitzing, just anything you can draw up. Coach Ryan is a very intelligent defensive coach, and sometimes you look at things and you’re like, “Did he just draw that up, literally on the sidelines?” He’s that good. They’re ranked number-two for a reason.


Are they also a group that can overpower you?

Oh yeah. It’s not just finesse and confusion. I think it is finesse, confusion and power. I think they have a bunch of different things that can get to an offense, and that’s what makes them so talented.


Not a lot of teams put 10-11 defenders across the line of scrimmage. Do you almost welcome that? If they’re going to leave the deep part open, do you sense opportunity there?

If you have time to get it off. That’s the issue you come across when you see a zero-blitz and everyone is up, and everyone is going. It’s not easy. If you can just get a little bit of time and get the ball off, you’re good. But the key is blocking it up and giving yourself just a second of time.


Do you look at the standings and think that you are still kind of in this?

Not really. For us, it’s about breaking the season down into quarters and the first quarter is over. It didn’t end the way we wanted it […]