At Jergels Rhythm Grille in Warrendale listening to my boy Chris Higbee, it’s a great show, awesome fun! — Ben























“Backstage with Chris Higbee.”


You can see all of the photos in Ben’s album here.


You can keep up with Chris Higbee on his official website.

From U.S. Army veteran Noah Galloway to the website’s twitter page last night:

“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 at 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.


You can read about Noah’s other incredible “journey” here!

When asked about Ben’s role as far as leadership, Rooney said he already considers Ben a team leader, “He will be somebody that perhaps is looked to more now than in the past. Maybe that leadership role will grow as we move forward.” — From Scott Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, on twitter after his interview with Mr. Rooney today.

More from Scott Brown’s interview with Mr. Rooney:

The Steelers want to sign wide receiver Mike Wallace to a long-term contract, though team president Art Rooney II said today that he doesn’t know when a deal might get done.

“The sooner the better as far as we’re concerned but there’s two parties to it,” Rooney told the Tribune-Review.

“We’ll have to see what we agree on so I don’t want to put any particular time frame on it or restrictions on it because these things take time and I wouldn’t want to box myself in on it.”


You can read more here.



What does Ben think of Wallace returning to the Steelers?

From his interview earlier this week with the DVE Morning Show:

“I communicate with Mike, I wake up every day and I’m like, ‘Mike, please don’t go anywhere. I’m begging you.’ I’m going to say right now over the radio ‘Don’t go anywhere Mike.’

“Mike is too good of a player, but Mike’s an even better person. He’s a great teammate, he’s a great guy, and he’s someone that we need to have here. I’ll be disappointed if he goes somewhere. I’ve got a good feeling that he’s not. I don’t know what it is, but I’ve just got a feeling he’s not going to go anywhere, but I’m still begging every day and praying that he doesn’t go anywhere.”


If you missed his interview you can listen to it here.



Mr. Whitfield and his use of lawn tools…

From Ann Killion, Sports Illustrated, on the quarterbacks coach’s odd training regimen:

Andrew Luck showed he could do it all at Stanford’s Pro Day on Thursday: throw a 70-yard pass, throw the out pattern, hit a receiver in stride, even avoid the pass rush.

A pass rush […]

Ben was a call-in guest on the WDVE Morning Show today at 9:15 A.M.


Some highlights from his interview:

On Hines’ decision to retire as a Steeler –

“I’m actually kind of shocked and surprised, but glad. When he came out and said he had years left, I believed him! He’s a competitor, he can ‘go’. I thought he was going to go somewhere else, that would have been really tough to see. But for him to end it this way, as a Steeler – it’s very fitting because that’s what he is, he IS a Pittsburgh Steeler.”


On the effect Steeler Nation has on the players –

“You’ve heard me from day one say that I want to be a Steeler for life. Hines was so lucky to be a Steeler for life. So few players nowadays get to stay with one team their whole career, if it’s a long career. As I’ve said many times, we have the best fans in all of sports – that’s every single sport, not just the best fans in football, that’s a given – but in all sports. We go out and play for the fans. Hines said it the best, we play for the fans.”


On the expectation as a Steeler to win Super Bowls –

“From knowing guys around the league and hearing them say, ‘Man, I just wish I could get to a Super Bowl’. Obviously everyone wants to win a super Bowl. So many people just want to get to one. We don’t want to just get to a Super Bowl, we want to win it. We feel disappointed…maybe we’re spoiled that way, but we’re not happy just to get there, we want to win it.

“If we don’t win it, it’s not, ‘Oh yay, we went to a Super Bowl. Congratulations.’ No! We’re [ticked], we can’t sleep. We thing about it, we have nightmares! We demand the best from each other and the fans demand it. We demand the best of our fans and that’s who we are.

“I think it starts at the top. We want to make Mr. Rooney and the Rooney family proud.”


To listen to Ben’s full interview which includes more talk of […]