From the Weirton Daily Times today:

If Lou Holtz Hall of Fame supporters thought this year’s banquet tickets sold out early, just wait until next year.

The Hall of Fame announced Monday that guest speaker for their 2014 fund-raising event is Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The dinner will take place on Monday, June 16, 2014 at St. Florian Hall in Wintersville, Ohio.

“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 in a press release. “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.

Fun piece from long-time L.A. Times sports writer Sam Farmer on the Steelers Friday night practice:

Pittsburgh Steelers camp had a county fair feel to it Friday night, and it wasn’t just because of the country band or the fireworks.

Ben Roethlisberger and the rest of the quarterbacks stuck around for an impromptu competition to test their throwing accuracy.

The targets were tall gray “buckets” — two large trash barrels stacked on each other — and the object was to land footballs in them. Participants got one point for hitting a bucket, two points for hitting the rim, and three points for sinking a shot. The buckets were placed at various distances to simulate different throws.

Tied with reserve quarterback John Parker Wilson at 11 points each, Roethlisberger — who hadn’t connected with a three-point throw to that point — won with a surgical strike that plunked into the bucket. He smiled, pumped his fist, and sauntered off the field.

“That’s him,” offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. “Ben finds a way to win, no matter what it is.”


You can read more from Mr. Farmer’s column here.

From Nick Kratsas, KDKA Morning News today:

What scares Ben Roethlisberger more than a 300 pound lineman?

How about a dirty diaper.

KDKA-AM’s Larry and John caught up with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at training camp, and he talked about being a father.

“It’s truly amazing how fast they grow up and how much they change every single day, especially here at camp where I’ve seen him twice in a matter of ten days,” says Roethlisberger.

“It’s just crazy how after practice the other day he was at the end of the field and he gets a big smile on his face when he sees me. It just warms your heart, everyone that’s a father out there knows that there is a special love for, not just your child, but for a son.”

And what about those diapers?

“I’ve changed my share of diapers and have had my fair share of messes on me so I have no problem with that,” says Roethlisberger.

For Roethlisberger, camp is a chance to get in season shape and assess the talent he has at his disposal.

“It’s nice to come out here and get some pads on, see some hits, and see what the young guys can take.” says Roethlisberger. “I’m seeing these young guys do some really neat things.”


You can listen to Ben’s full interview here.

You can see a collection of Ben’s family photos in his album here.


*What’s D.A.D.D.? Dads Against Dirty Diapers!

The Steelers welcomed a very special guest to camp, U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway!

So honored and blessed to have my good friend Noah at training camp these last couple days! It was great to spend some time and talk and share stories with Noah. He spoke to the team tonight and it was awesome – everyone really enjoyed it. We are so blessed to play a game that we love and we owe all the troops all over the world a huge thank you for all your service. — Ben

Steelers players and Coach Tomlin thanked Noah via Twitter:

Jonathan Dwyer @JDwyer27
It was an honor to meet you @Noah_Galloway amazing story true testimony of strength faith and dedication very inspirational. ‪#‎Blessed‬

Brett Keisel @bkeisel99
What an inspiration @Noah_Galloway is! Thank you for sharing your story with our team.

Stevenson Sylvester ‏@SSylvester55
Was pleasure of listening to @Noah_Galloway #SteelerNation show some love. True #inspiration

Drew Butler @DrewBut13r
Awesome hearing @Noah_Galloway tell his story tonight. What an amazing guy with an extraordinary demeanor. Inspiring!!

Josh Victorian ‏@jDot_Vic
One of the greatest stories I’ve ever heard was this mans life @Noah_Galloway and that’s the true definition of #ProgressIsNecessary

Mike Tomlin ‏@CoachTomlin
Honored to have Noah Galloway an American hero spend the weekend with us. Thank you all members of our Armed Forces.



As regular readers already know, Noah is no stranger to Ben’s website!

Noah first shared his story with the website in 2012.

He had his photo taken with Ben after the two met in the airport in March of 2012 and shared it on Twitter:

“It’s a great feeling when Roethlisberger introduces himself to you and thanks you for your service. Great guy! It was incredible to have him come up to me…I really appreciated it!”

Noah had just completed the White Sands Missile Range 23rd Annual Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico, and was on his way home to Alabama when he met Ben in the airport. Noah and his team, TEAM X-T.R.E.M.E completed the 26.2 mile march wearing 47lb packs and gas masks.

His photo with Ben was also featured as the website’s Photo of the Week in November during Veterans Day week to coincide with Ben’s Salute to our Troops tribute!

Not only did Noah and […]

…to the WDVE Morning Show and catch Ben’s interview!



Ben on the set today with the DVE Morning Crew for an interview that will air on Friday morning!


The hosts of the popular radio show have been at Steelers training camp this week, interviewing Big Ben, Brett Keisel, Ike Taylor, Emmanuel Sanders, and Jarvis Jones about the upcoming season…along with the craziness that is the DVE Morning Show – including Ben interviewing Randy Baumann in the role of “Ben” and as himself.


Friday Update: If you were unable to tune in, you can check out the podcast of Ben’s crazy-funny interview here!


*Thank you to Mr. Lauten, Steelers, for the photo!

From Steelers.com this evening:

The Steelers annual Friday Night Lights practice scheduled for Friday, August 2, at Latrobe Memorial Stadium will be moved to Saint Vincent College, the team announced today. The event will be FREE to the public.

“Unfortunately, the grass surface at Latrobe Memorial Stadium suffered an unexpected disease and we do not want to jeopardize the surface for the 2013 Latrobe High School games,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said. “We still want to provide the great Steelers fans of Westmoreland County the opportunity to still enjoy our team practice as well as enjoy the many fan-friendly activities that go along with our annual night practice, but we felt it was better to move the event to campus for this year. We look forward to returning to Latrobe Memorial Stadium next year.”


You can read a list of the activities for the “Friday Night Lights” practice here.