“Today is Thursday, take it one day at a time. We’ll keep working today, and work tomorrow and get ready.” — Ben.

Highlights from Ben’s interview with the media today:


On whether his high ankle sprain is more painful or difficult to deal with than his broken foot –

“It’s similar in ways, putting pressure on it hurts. With this, I can’t get on my toes, which is kind of important to running and throwing. I can’t twist with it. Those kind of things are the most painful. With [the broken foot] I could tape it up and not move it, I could function with it. This is a little tougher to deal with. I think if I had the same injury in my right one it would be worse, because that’s the one you stop on and stuff like that. But in terms of throwing and planting and rotating on that one, yes it’s difficult.”


On what he is doing to treat the ankle sprain –

“Well if you can’t do anything for it, we’re doing a lot of stuff for nothing because we’re in there non-stop. I’m in there early, at the beginning of practice. It’s range of motion stuff, it’s hot tub, cold tub, resistance moving, massage…everything we can possibly do. We got molded today with a cast for an ankle brace to see if that helps. So we’re doing everything we can.”


On whether he would consider the pain better or worse than it was in the second half of the game –

“It would be worse. It’s one of those things, the second half of that game you’re playing off of adrenalin, you’re playing off emotion. The next couple days after that I kind of just shook my head because I couldn’t have done it then, I don’t know how we did. It’s amazing what adrenalin and wanting to be out there for your guys does.”


On whether he thinks he can get some practice in on Saturday –

“That’s the way I’m looking at it. We have an extra day, which is a huge blessing. I’ve done it before, it’s not ideal, especially against a great defense like this, it’s definitely not ideal. But if I have to do it, I’d do my best.”


On whether this has been the most painful injury he has suffered to date –

“They’ve all been […]

We have a great gift idea!


*UPDATE: We have a winner…see below!

Just be our 100th emailer and you will win an autographed 8×10 action photo of Ben (photo at left)!

That’s it!

No trivia questions to answer.

No photos of your Steelers Fan cave to send.

Just an email!

Send emails to: bigben7website@gmail.com

But wait…

Before you email, please follow these two rules:

1. Emails for the contest WILL NOT be accepted until 12 NOON ET and after (this gives fans in different time zones a chance to participate). If you email before that time, your email will be discounted.

2. Please, just one email per email address only (subsequent emails from the same address will be discounted).


The winner will be notified later this afternoon and an update with the winner’s name will be posted here!

Good Luck!


*UPDATE: We have a winner — the 100th email came in at 12:01:56 PM and the winner is Nicole Ciufo! Congratulations to Nicole! For all those that emailed (and there were 534 contest entries), don’t despair….we’ll have more contests in the future!!

…is the wise way to say “Merry Christmas” to the Steelers – by sending them to sunny Hawaii for the 2012 Pro Bowl!

There is just one week left!

Pro Bowl voting ends Monday, December 19th at the conclusion of Monday Night Football (Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m.) so get those last votes in and make them count!!

Being selected as a starter in the Pro Bowl is a huge honor for players! Let’s show our team how much we support their selection – vote early, vote often! Make Hawaii Black & Gold!

And if they end up making Indianapolis Black & Gold instead, at least they’ll have earned the right to be called “Pro Bowlers” at the same time!!!

The annual contest of the AFC and NFC’s best will take place Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.

Steelers on the ballot from the offense include Ben (working on his hula moves during a break from practice at the 2008 Pro Bowl above), Rashard Mendenhall, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Hines Ward, David Johnson, Heath Miller, Marcus Gilbert, Max Starks, Ramon Foster, Chris Kemoeatu, and Maurkice Pouncey.

Defensive players include Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Casey Hampton, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, William Gay, Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, and Ryan Clark.

Ben has passed for 3,526 yards with 21 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 95.6 rating so far this season! He is currently No. 2 in fan voting for AFC  behind the Patriots’ Tom Brady. The Bills’ Ryan Fitzpatrick is third in AFC quarterback voting, and the Broncos’ Tim Tebow is fourth.

The Pro Bowl teams will be announced at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27 on a special NFL Total Access 2012 Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network.


You can vote for the Black & Gold as many times as you like, just click here!



*”Mele Kalikimaka” means “Merry Christmas” and the title of a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written by Robert Alex Anderson in 1949. It is a classic that was made famous in 1950 by Bing Crosby, and again in the 1989 movie, “Christmas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase.


Injury Update:

Coach Tomlin told the media today that both […]

“Me knowing Ben he’ll be out there competing and fighting his tail off to be out there.” — Hines Ward.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Scott Brown this afternoon:

High ankle sprains won’t keep quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey from playing next Monday night when the Steelers visit San Francisco.

That is what Pouncey said following the Steelers’ first practice since a 14-3 win over the Browns last Thursday night.

Both Roethlisberger and Pouncey got hurt in the game, and only Roethlisberger returned from his ankle injury.

“We’re both fine,” Pouncey said. “We’ll be alright to go on Monday Night Football.”

Roethlisberger, who has a walking boot on his left foot, was at Steelers’ headquarters today but he did not attend practice. Pouncey had been in a walking boot, but he said today that his left ankle has progressed to the point that he doesn’t need the extra protection.


You can read more from Mr. Brown here.

“What I saw last night was phenomenal! It just gives you an idea how important the game is to him and how important being around his teammates is to him. That’s leadership.” — Former NFL quarterback and current NFL Network color announcer Joe Theismann, as a guest on Mad Dog Radio‘s Evan and Phillips in the Morning.

From ESPN‘s Jamison Hensley this morning:

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to win the NFL most valuable player award. Aaron Rodgers will take that.

Roethlisberger won’t win the offensive player of the year honor, either. Give that to Drew Brees or Tom Brady.

If there was a trophy for grittiest quarterback, though, the unanimous pick would be Roethlisberger.

When it comes to playing in pain, there is Roethlisberger, and then there is everyone else in this generation of football players.

You can break his nose. You can break his thumb. The problem is, no one has ever broken his will to win.


More from Mr. Hensley here.

“I thought my leg was broken, honestly. One of the most painful things I`ve ever felt. I didn`t want to feel that my foot was outside of my leg.” — Ben.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette:

Ben Roethlisberger has a high ankle sprain and will have an MRI on it Friday morning. X-rays taken immediately after the injury showed no broken bones but the MRI will show if there is more ligament/tendon injuries in his left ankle.

Roethlisberger told me that he had one a long time ago. Usually, when you’ve had one, the second will heal much more quickly. Ben told me that he didn’t think that was the case because his first one happened so long ago.

High ankle sprains can keep players out of action for weeks and even though Roethlisberger returned to play in the second half, it does not mean he will be able to play against San Francisco a week from Monday.

Just don’t bet against it.


More from Mr. Bouchette here.

“He knows the whole team is on his shoulders. It’s going to take a lot to sit him down.” — Willie Colon.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Dejan Kovacevic:

When he took the field, the crowd stood and roared. But he could barely […]

“He’s got to be in the conversation when you’re talking about the best quarterbacks!” — NFL Network game announcer Mike Mayock.

“The guy exemplifies toughness.” — Antonio Brown, post-game.

“I just didn’t want to let my guys down. It’s a close ballgame, we’re in a tight race right now, it’s an AFC North opponent. We were only up 7-3 so I was going to give it a go the best I could.” — Ben, post-game.

From NFL.com this morning:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played through a high left ankle sprain to lead the Steelers to a 14-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

Roethlisberger passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining, to help Pittsburgh win for the eighth time in its last nine games.

Roethlisberger went to the locker room for X-rays following a gruesome second-quarter sack, but he returned to start the second half, passing for 178 yards after the break.

The Steelers (10-3) moved a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the race for the AFC North title.


You can read more and check out game highlights here.

You can check out a few game photos here.

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

You can watch Ben’s interview with Michael Irvin here.



Injury Update: Ben suffered a high ankle sprain. MRI is expected today (Friday).