Today, Ben announced the fourth grant of the 2012-13 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Kenton County Sheriff’s Office just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio where the Steelers will play the Bengals on Sunday evening.

The Kenton County Sheriff’s Office will utilize the grant to replace their existing K-9 with a dual purpose trained K-9.

K-9 Niko, who has been on the force since 2006, has suffered from hip dysplasia and is slated for retirement in the near future. Niko will be taken care of in retirement by his current K-9 handler.

Niko has been a tremendous asset to the Kenton County Sheriff’s Office since his first 30 minutes on duty when, on a routine traffic stop, he alerted his handler to drugs and weapons in the vehicle.

This marks the sixth season that The Ben Roethlisberger 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 and to support other charitable organizations, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

You can read more about Ben’s foundation here.

You can read more about The Giving Back Fund here.

You can also read about Niko and his partner, Deputy Adams here.

Ben spoke to the media after practice today.


“We just want to get down to business. We haven’t gotten into a rhythm yet where we play every Sunday. We’ve bounced around with games on different days of the week. We just want to get back out there and play football.”


Highlights:


On going to Cincinnati –

We are excited about going on the road and into a hostile environment. It’s Sunday night football. It’s going to be fun.


On the team’s goals for success on the road –

Our first goal on the road is to try to get off to a fast start so we can take the crowd out of it.


On Cincinnati’s defensive line –

They get after the passer. They really put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. That’s where it starts with them.


On rookie Mike Adams –

I think he’s done a great job of stepping up and filling in. He’s improved every day and every week in practice. He’s a guy that I know wants to get better and prove himself. It will be a good challenge for him this week.


You can watch video of his interview here.

You can read a transcribed version here.



And:

This week on NFL Network –

Sound FX – Ben Roethlisberger

“The on-field sights and sounds of Ben Roethlisberger’s memorable NFL career.”

Wednesday, October 17th at 4:30 PM; Friday, October 19th at 3:30 PM; and Saturday, Oct. 20th at 1:00 PM.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today that the Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Minnesota Vikings next year, September 29, 2013, in London.

This will be one of two NFL games played at Wembley Stadium next year.

The other game, announced last week, will be played between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, Oct. 27th, 2013.


From Steelers.com this afternoon:

While the Vikings previously played at Wembley during the 1983 preseason, the Steelers’ trip to London will be the franchise’s first, but that should not be taken to mean the franchise is a neophyte when it comes to playing outside the United States.

In fact, the Steelers’ trip to London will be their eighth time doing just that, even though it deserves mention that this will be their first regular season game played abroad.

The Steelers have played preseason games in Montreal twice – against the New York Giants in 1969 and the New England Patriots in 1990; they opened the 1993 preseason in Barcelona, Spain, against the San Francisco 49ers; as the defending AFC Champions, they opened the 1996 preseason in Tokyo against the San Diego Chargers; then in 1997 the Steelers and the Chicago Bears opened the 1997 preseason in Dublin where they staged the first American football game ever played in Ireland’s historic Croke Park; and in 2008 the Steelers faced the Buffalo Bills in Toronto.


You can read more from the Steelers official website here.


That’s German fan Hans-Peter_Mößner standing in front of Big Ben in 2011 in the jersey of his favorite American athlete, Big Ben! “It was pretty cold,” said Hans-Peter about posing in front of the clock tower on a blustery day. “But I did it last October during the International Series in London, UK. Big Ben greetings from Germany!”

The event is scheduled for Monday, November 5th from 7:00 p.m to 11:00 p.m. at J. Verno Studios (3030 Jane Street in Pittsburgh).

In the Pocket is a fundraiser that gives you the opportunity to play pool, ping-pong, and poker with Charlie Batch, his teammates, and other Pittsburgh sports stars and celebrities!

You can purchase High Roller tickets, Player tickers, or if you just want to watch the action, Spectator tickets are also available!

Past teammates include Ben, Maurkice Pouncey, Troy Polamalu, Willie Colon, Brett Keisel, Heath Miller, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Rashard Mendenhall.


You can purchase your ticket and get more information here.

A list of confirmed Steelers players and celebrities will be available soon. You can check the confirmation page here.

Check out and “Like” Charlie’s Best of the Batch Facebook page.

Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Best of the Batch Foundation.

…for one special little Steelers fan!

“Mommy, I’m gonna cry. I’m famous! Do I need a Twitter account now?”— Richard Culliver to his mom Stephanie, after seeing his ‘Shout Out’ on the website.

On the Wednesday prior to the game, we posted a ‘Shout Out’ to seven-year old Richard Culliver (October 10th news below).

Richard was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor just one week prior to the Steelers vs Titans game in Tennessee. His “absolute dream” was to go to a Steelers game.

That’s when Jason “Moose” Cunningham and the members of Augusta SteelMasters, a Steelers fan club based in Augusta, Georgia stepped up. SteelMasters purchased the game tickets and assisted with the lodging for Richard and his family to make the trip to Tennessee’s LP Field from their home in South Carolina.

Game night arrived and not only did Richard get to watch his beloved Steelers in person, he got to meet them on the field before the game, courtesy of Coach Mike Tomlin who presented the family with field passes!

Richard was awestruck to meet Stevenson Sylvester, and to pose with Mike Wallace. His mom Stephanie said, “He was so excited when he saw Ben run out on the field!”

But it wasn’t just Coach Tomlin and the Steelers players that made his night special, players from the Tennessee Titans – Chris Johnson, Derek Mason, and former Steeler Nate Washington – autographed a football for Richard which was presented to him by former Steeler Yancey Thigpen. Richard, the new man about town (or at least about LP Field), was also asked by the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders to pose with them for a photo! After all, they had heard he was a “big celebrity”! Even NFL referee Ed Hochuli came over to meet Richard before the game and gave him a penalty flag to keep!

To borrow a quote from Steel City Mafia , “The fact that the Steelers’ lost isn’t the story here. Actually, this story puts simple wins and losses into perspective, and reminds people what is truly important in life.”

When the night was over, Richard didn’t let the loss ruin his experience. He told his parents on their way out of the […]

“We lost. We are not scoring enough points or making the play when we need to. I’m probably the most proud of them because there are some guys that are playing some real selfless football and stepping up in big situations, and fighting through injuries, playing through injuries and playing for guys through injuries. I can’t say how proud I am of those guys.” — Ben, post-game.

From Jim Wexell, SteelCityInsider.com:

A loss is a loss, except when you break the team record of one of the most hallowed members in franchise history, right?

Um, no.

Not even close.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after he broke Terry Bradshaw’s team record for career passing yardage Thursday night in Nashville.

“A loss is a loss and that’s what means the most.”

Roethlisberger passed for 363 yards to give him 28,066 career passing yards in only his ninth season.

Bradshaw compiled 27,989 passing yards in 14 seasons.

Roethlisberger broke the record late in the third quarter on a 17-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller, whom earlier in the game had become the franchise’s third all-time leading receiver behind Hines Ward and John Stallworth.

The performance by Roethlisberger marked the 12th time he’s passed for more than 360 yards in a game, also a franchise record.

The lead eventually reached 23-16, but the Steelers fell short when Roethlisberger couldn’t move the team closer on a third-and-7 pass to an open Batch which left kicker Shaun Suisham with a 54-yard attempt that fell short prior to the Titans’ winning kick.

“We put Suisham in such a long field goal,” Roethlisberger said. “I have to complete one more pass just to make it easier on him.”


You can read more from Mr. Wexell this morning here.

You can also follow Mr. Wexell on Twitter here.

You can watch Ben’s post-game interview here.



Ben is named Steelers Digest Player of the Week –


From Bob Labriola, Steelers Digest:

On the day he vaulted Terry Bradshaw to become the Steelers’ all-time passing yardage leader, Ben Roethlisberger completed 24-of-40 for 363 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

He also ran once for 14 yards, […]