From Patrick Varine, at Your PennHills.com this afternoon:

This year, Penn Hills police will benefit from a grant that will help fund an additional police dog for the department.

Chief Howard Burton said this is the second time his department has benefited from the foundation’s generosity.

“A couple years ago, we got a grant from them for a dog, Riggs, who is a Dutch Shepherd, about 4 years old,” Burton said.

Riggs has been with the department a little more than two years, and came on board as the result of a June 2008 grant from Roethlisberger’s foundation. He is partnered with Officer Ryan Walters (pictured above with Riggs).

“When you get a dog like this, you get the dog and you also have a handler, and you have to pay to train both. The cost is about $14,000 for all of that,” Burton said.


You can read the rest here.



Also Today:

Fan Rick Kennedy of Lima, Ohio sent in a photo of his ‘Steelers Man Cave’ in progress.

“I would like to think I’m Ben’s biggest fan,” said Rick.

One only has to look at the overall theme of his bar to know he is certainly on the right track!


You can check out his photo here.

Me and Toby Mac playing golf in Nashville, at Toby’s course. — Ben























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


You can keep up with Toby Mac (and listen to selections from his new album, “Tonight”) on his official website.



Also Today:

Check out this photo of Shelby Morris, who was Ben’s Birthday Contest winner earlier this month, posing with her prize.

Shelby insists she is Ben’s BIGGEST fan in Maryland!

From ESPN‘s John Clayton this afternoon:

The Pittsburgh Steelers extended one-year offers to six of their seven restricted free agents, including receiver Mike Wallace.

Wallace made the Pro Bowl after leading the Steelers with 72 receptions for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns in 2011. He’s one of the NFL’s top deep threats with an average of 18.7 yards per reception during his three-year career.

Wallace said repeatedly throughout the season and in recent weeks through his Twitter account that he wants to remain in Pittsburgh, where he has developed a solid rapport with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and is the leader of a talented young group that includes Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders.


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



Also Today:

— Coach Tomlin talks Kirby Wilson, Todd Haley, and the 2012 offense.


— ESPN AFC North blogger Jamison Hensley gives his opinion on the Steelers needs for 2012. Do you agree?


— The Steelers Footballers Basketball Team has several up-coming games scheduled this month: one is this Thursday, March 15th at the Poland Seminary High School (OH).

Other games include March 16th at the New Bethel Park High School (PA)! Pregame festivities start at 6 p.m. Cost: $7 in advance, $9 at the door. Tickets are on sale at Evey True Valley Hardware in Bethel Park, Eat’n Park on Route 88 and the police records room at 5100 W. Library Avenue. Proceeds fund the Sgt. Charles Bonczek/Bethel Park Police Association college scholarships.

The team will play on March 22nd in Washington, PA and will play against the Washington School District Faculty. Tickets are $7. You can get more info here.

They will also play three games at West York High School against the Middle school Faculty (March 23rd) at 7:30 P.M., the Elementary School Faculty (March 24th) at 1:00 P.M., and the High School Faculty (March 24th) at 7:30 P.M. You can get ticket information here.

Note: The names of the Steelers players attending/participating are not announced until game day.

You can see more game photos from Jack Megaw here.


— If you are […]

…at the recent Archery Trade Association Show (ATA) in Columbus, Ohio!




























On the last day of the show, Ben stopped by the Bowtech booth to check out all the new archery products. While he was there, he couldn’t resist challenging friends Nick Sampson and Lonnie Price to a “shoot off”.

The Challenge: who could shoot the most flying targets with Bowtech’s hot pink bow that was on display in the booth!

Who won?

“As much as it hurts to say it – Ben beat us both,” says Nick. “He only missed one target in the whole round!”


Is anyone really surprised?



You can see more photos here.

From Teresa Varley this evening at Steelers.com:

How long do you see yourself playing this game?

Ben: “Hopefully I will play until the good Lord says I shouldn’t any more. That is the key, you play until you feel you can’t. You hope that nobody has to tell you when to stop playing, that it’s on you. That is the goal, you go until you and your family decides it’s not right to play anymore.”


Wanting a long career, does it make sense that there has been talk about you tweaking your game from the standpoint of protecting yourself?

Ben: “Absolutely. That is part of the discussion I had with Mr. (Art) Rooney. In order to play hopefully another eight years or whatever it is, you have to take care of your body. That is one of the reasons I am working out and doing the things I feel are necessary to be in the best shape of my life so I can improve my on-field play and longevity.”


You can read more from Teresa’s interview with Ben here.

Ben spent much of September, 2010 working with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield.  Mr. Whitfield owns Whitfield Athletix in La Jolla, California and commuted each week to Pittsburgh from his home in San Diego to try and simulate a regular NFL practice week with Ben at a local high school.

Of their first day together, Mr. Whitfield recalled: “I don’t know how many guys like to throw in the rain, but he did it in a steady, driving rain for two hours. To him, it was much more than just going through drills. He wanted to know: ‘What did you notice here? What do you have in mind for this drill?’ I learned how dedicated this guy is.”

Mr. Whitfield also worked with Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner out of Auburn that was taken first overall by the Carolina Panthers last year. Most recently he has worked to hone the skills of Stanford’s Andrew Luck, who is preparing for his March 22nd Pro Day workout.

Now Mr. Whitfield has videos available of his training sessions with high school quarterbacks. You can see all six episodes here.


You can learn more information about Mr. Whitfield’s at his website.

You can check out photos of Ben’s workouts with Mr. Whitfield here.



Quote of the Day:

“Ben Roethlisberger has always been my favorite quarterback. People can say what they want to about him, but the guy just goes out and wins. He’s been that way since he came to Pittsburgh…it may not be pretty at all times, but the guy wins. He’s been that way since he came to Pittsburgh in 2004, we went 15-1. I say he’s going to be as close to John Elway as anyone can get. He’s a competitive player. I love that edge that he plays with. He’s tough as they come and he’s always been my favorite quarterback.” — Plaxico Burress, during an interview today on SiriusXM NFL Radio.



And:

A SHOUT OUT today to a special Big Ben fan!

Seven-year old Alex Green has been fighting cancer. He had to undergo surgery at […]