…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.

Bianca Wellen, just 5-years old, waited patiently yesterday for training camp to finish for the day…then waited even more patiently for her favorite player, Big Ben, to make his way to where she was standing at the fence line in hopes of getting her #7 jersey signed….

Her patience paid off! Check out that smile!


“A huge ‘Thank You’ to Ben. After practice today and having his knee wrapped, Ben spent nearly 30-minutes signing autographs for fans. Bianca has waited 5 years for this moment (her whole life). It finally occurred, and she was ecstatic. Here is a picture of her with her signed jersey. Ben was courteous and was talking with fans, and having a good time regardless of how his knee felt. Thanks again Ben.” — The Wellen Family


Bianca’s big sister Madisyne had fun at camp yesterday too. She wanted her photo taken while wearing Ben’s shoulder pads and jersey at the Steelers Experience display.



And speaking of Lil’ Fans…

A BIG Steeler Nation welcome to the newest Steeler fan, Lance Jacob Bruban, Jr.! Baby Lance was born today at 4:53PM! We received his photo at 7:29PM!


Also, thank you to Chad Pointer, Billie Jo Yakubik and Nicole Viglianco for sending in their photos from training camp! You can view the latest here.

The seventh grant cycle for the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is here, and grant requests are still being accepted through August 15, 2013.

“I think I speak for all K-9 handlers when I say thank you for your support for Police K-9’s.” — Officer Chris Angus, Nebraska City Police Department, photographed with his partner, Jordy.

The majority of the grants distributed will help K-9 units to purchase dogs and dog safety vests, but other types of needs are also considered.

The Foundation will be distributing grants in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers during the 2013-14 season.

The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invites police and fire departments in these eight cities to submit proposals detailing their needs. Also, for each Steelers’ playoff game, a grant will be awarded to a city anywhere in the United States that would not otherwise be eligible to apply. In addition, the Foundation will continue to make grants to several police and fire department K-9 units in the Pittsburgh area following Super Bowl XLVIII.

As part of the NFL International Series, the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to meet the Minnesota Vikings on the turf of Wembley Stadium in London on September 29, 2013. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will mark the inaugural occasion of the Steelers playing a regular-season game overseas with its first international grant to support law enforcement in the London area.

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.

Again, eligible departments must apply to The Giving Back Fund by August 15, 2013.

Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.


You can view the full grant requirements, eligibility and evaluation process, please visit http://www.givingback.org/documents/RFP_2013_BRF_app.pdf.

You can also see the guidelines on Ben’s Foundation page here.



More from Officer Angus and Jordy:

“Whether we’re working during the week, or watching the Steelers on the weekend, we always bleed black and yellow!” — Chris Angus

Jordy was purchased in Sharpsville, PA from Shallow Creek Kennels. He started with the Nebraska City Department in 2010 and been a very important tool for us. Besides his normal patrol duties, he is also a “star” in the classroom. They […]

It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t start off this month’s post with a photo straight from Steelers training camp!

And this one has a bit of BigBen7.com history to it:


Chad Pointer was married in that jersey back on June 29, 2012! He shared his wedding photos with us in March of this year. His wish was to go to training camp and get Ben to sign it….and it happened, on the first day that camp was open to the fans yesterday!

“Ben in my book is second to NONE from his Ironman play on the field to his K9 work off the field. We live in Evansville, Indiana and love our Steelers and the greatest QB ever! Our first date was to the Tampa Bay vs Steelers game 3 yrs ago, she was a TB fan, has been a Steelers fan every since. We were married in West Palm Beach, Florida, the same place I proposed a year before. We then had our reception back home in Indiana – even entered the room to ‘Renegade’ playing.” — Chad


Chad also took some great action photos from training camp. You can view them here!



This has to be one of the coolest cat’s to ever put on a #7 jersey:


Four-year old Lil’ Fan Quantarious Jackson loves his Big Ben! In fact, his mother Nicole said that her son is “a true fan” of #7! The Jackson’s not only bleed black & gold, they pose in it for their family photos too!


You can check out a couple more Lil’ Fans here, Big kid fans here, and one really cute & fluffy fan here!

“I firmly believe my best is yet to come. I do. People may laugh, that’s fine. People can say what they want.” — Ben, during a round of interviews with the media today.”

From Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Buoyed by a return to health, a better relationship with his coach and what he sees in his teammates, Ben Roethlisberger predicted good things for himself and the Steelers in 2013.

“This offense is like a new toy,” Roethlisberger said in an interview Saturday with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s like I’m opening this present and I can’t wait to see what’s going to come out of this thing with all these guys and this offense. I’m generally excited for this year.”

He and Todd Haley, his offensive coordinator, had a somewhat frosty relationship during their first season together in 2012. That’s changed and developed into one the quarterback called “actually good.”

“And I’m not just saying that,” Roethlisberger said before the Steelers took the field for their first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. “Last year obviously had its growing pains; it is what it is. And it’s more than just him and I. It was him and other coaches, him and other players, but obviously people are going to talk about the quarterback and the coordinator more.

“But there was no hatred, none of that stuff people made it out to be. It was nothing like that. We had our times when we butted heads, but I butted heads with [former coordinators Bruce Arians and Ken Whisenhunt].”

He reiterated that his shoulder and ribs have long healed, and said his right knee, which underwent minor surgery to clean out some cartilage, feels fine, although he did not want to dispute Mike Tomlin’s assessment Friday that he was feeling “discomfort.” He did not run with his teammates during the annual run test on the first day of camp because he was told not to by a trainer, Roethlisberger said.

“I feel great. I’m ready to rock and roll. I can’t wait for practice. I don’t think I’ll be restricted at all.”

And he says he is in better shape. His weight’s down, he says his physique is better and he’s concentrated on building more upper-body strength, including kayaking as one method of doing […]