“She was always ‘Ben’s little sister’ but she’s made a name for herself. It’s really neat to see how she took it to the next level. It’s great to see her have so much success.”  — Ben.

From Mike Baldwin in The Oklahoman this weekend:

The day she arrived at Oklahoma, Carlee Roethlisberger was known as Ben’s younger sister.

It was expected territory when your older brother is the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and has won Super Bowls.

Carlee, though, has made a name for herself on OU’s women’s basketball team, which closes out the regular season Saturday at Texas Tech.

This week Ben flew to Oklahoma City to attend Carlee’s last two home games at the Lloyd Noble Center. Ironically, Ben’s 29th birthday was Senior Night three days ago. Carlee is 21.

“We were pretty far apart in age growing up, but we’ve gotten closer as we’ve gotten older,” Ben said. “I wanted to see these last two games, especially be there for Senior Night.”

Carlee never downplayed the relationship. On Senior Night she told the crowd she’s proud to be Ben’s “little sister.”

“No one wants to live in someone’s shadow their whole life,” Carlee said. “But when the shadow is as big as his, and he’s done such amazing things, you’re so proud of him. We’ve always been competitive. He’s always pushed me. Big brothers don’t let your head get big. That’s their job.”

Carlee smiled when informed Ben sometimes is asked how his sister is doing at OU.

“That’s awesome. Hopefully he gets a kick out of that,” Carlee said. “Maybe he’s gotten a little taste of what I’ve gotten my whole life.”


You can read more here.

Update: You can see video from the Sooners WBB Senior Night Ceremony here.

7-year old Cooper and his big brother, 11-year old Brett had the opportunity to meet Ben in Norman, Oklahoma on Sunday, February 27th.

Ben was in town to attend sister Carlee’s games as her Oklahoma Sooners finish out their final home games of the season.

According to the boys’ grandmother, Cheryl Kent, Cooper is a “huge” Ben fan as well as a big Steelers fan and has been since he was 3-years old. “He knows everything there is to know about Ben,” said Cheryl. “He can even give you details about the Super Bowl when they beat Arizona, he was 5 at the time.”

Cooper wears his Big Ben jersey and carries his football to every OU Women’s Basketball game in hopes that he will see Ben! Cheryl said that on Sunday “luck was on our side, he was there!”

Cheryl snapped a photo of her grandsons with Ben after the game.

“Ben was so kind to autograph Cooper’s football and meet the boys after the game! His small act of kindness made a little fan the happiest little boy in the world. I am so impressed at how nice Ben was and how he went out of his way for these two little boys.”


*Thank you so much to Cheryl for sharing the photo and the story!


You can see a larger version of the photo in the Lil Fans album here. There is also another photo of Cool Cooper in the same album!



Speaking of Lil’ Fans….

“I just can’t say enough how great Ben was with the kids. We had Heath Miller, Brett Keisel & Chris Hoke come and work with the kids and they were great, too. However, when Ben showed up, it was absolutely electric!!” – Anita Doddroe, whose son attended the Camp in 2010.

Join Ben this summer for some football instruction and fun at his Football Camp for kids, sponsored by ProCamps Worldwide!

The Camp is open to boys and girls, ages 7-14.

Campers will participate in daily games, stations, and skill contests. Each camper will […]

Today is Ben’s 29th birthday and one lucky fan will receive a gift!


To celebrate his birthday…

The 29th emailer will receive an autographed number 7 Steelers jersey from Ben!

However, 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).


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


Send emails to: bigben7website@gmail.com


UPDATE: We have a winner!  Congratulations to Ed Coombs of Cicero, NY!



Also Today:

I have received many birthday wishes for Ben this morning. Here is just a sampling:


A “BIG” birthday wish to BIG Ben from all us Steeler fans here in Utah!! There are alot of us and we do love our Steelers! Of course, I am having football withdrawals. Luckily, I found this site on Google search!! I am originally from Sharon, Pa. been following Steelers all my life (62 yrs)!! and am a STEELER Junkie!!! HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BEN!! — Mary R, Utah


Just wanted to wish Ben a Happy Birthday! — Deb Lantz

Happy Birthday Ben! — Susan Oglietti, Knoxville, TN


Hey Ben: Happy Birthday! I also grew up in Findlay Ohio, played football and wrestled for the Trojans back in the early 80’s. My Dad coached football for them and actually coached your High school Coach Hites. I have since moved out of Findlay and live in Bellefontaine Ohio where I live with my wife and four kids. — Joe Heater, Ohio

WE WOULD LIKE TO WISH BIG BEN A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM HIS DIE HARD STEELER FANS IN FORT WORTH, TEXAS. IT WAS A GREAT SEASON. GOOD LUCK NEXT YEAR. — The RODRIGUEZ FAMILY

Hey Ben, short and sweet message. Rob from Melbourne, Australia just wants to say you have a huge fan base here and cant wait to see you play again in 2011. Good luck and peace out. — Rob D., Melbourne, AU


Mr. R, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I are so proud of you period. — Laurene Harrison

Happy birthday to Ben from his biggest fan! I’m throwing a party at my school tomorrow! […]

The art of Larry Klukaszewski:

Larry is an elementary school teacher who is successfully running his own sports art company, Larry Klu Productions. In November 2007, he left his house one cold night to sell some simple sketches as Christmas presents from the back of his Blazer, and just three short years later, he can now say that his work resides in the collections of many prominent athletes, past and present, most recently, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Larry has designed hand-painted footballs for Steelers players Heath Miller, Brett Keisel, and James Farrior and a hand-painted helmet for Hines Ward, which he presented to Hines on his show in December of 2008.

He has also painted the likenesses of professional athletes on jerseys, baseballs, hockey sticks, bowling balls and even Terrible Towels, like the one above with Ben’s likeness.

But Larry said his proudest moment came when he was able to personally deliver a custom painted NFL Duke portrait ball of Mr. Rooney to him during a visit to the Steelers Chairman’s office. The ball can now be seen permanently displayed by the Steelers in the Great Hall at Heinz Field.

Larry has worked on projects for James Farrior’s 51 Foundation and for Heath Miller’s annual Glimmer of Hope event which raises money in the fight against breast cancer.

But his work isn’t limited to homes of athletes – fans can special order custom designs from Larry as well!


Take a few minutes and check out Larry’s beautiful artwork here.



And:

The art of Bob Cherewick:

Bob is a Findlay, Ohio native who worked in the corporate world for 15 years before realizing his dream of creating illustrations with meticulous detail and realism.

His first piece, “The Rookie” (at left) was the result of his being inspired by Ben’s rookie season.

“I had the opportunity to watch Ben play a few high school football games back in 1999, and I was very impressed,” said Bob. “I had a lot of fun following Ben’s first year in the NFL. Not only was his play tremendous, but he handled himself in a way that […]

The AFC North blogger has finished the compilation of his top 40 players in the division with numbers 1-4 today:

At the number 2 spot again this season –

Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback

2010 stats: 3,200 yards, 17 touchdowns, five interceptions

Last year’s ranking: No. 2

Analysis: Off-season turmoil turned into in-season triumph for Roethlisberger. He overcame a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy to lead the Steelers to Super Bowl XLV. Roethlisberger, who was never considered a workout warrior, worked extremely hard in the offseason and during his suspension in an effort to make it up to his teammates and the Steelers organization. Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said Roethlisberger has never been better than this season, and we agree. Roethlisberger threw for 3,200 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games. But a key area where he has improved is reducing turnovers. Roethlisberger plays a backyard style but his five interceptions were by far the lowest of his career. At 28, Roethlisberger is now entering his prime and is really building a strong case for the Hall of Fame.


And who was number 1?

Troy Polamalu!

“There is no player like Polamalu in the NFL. He blitzes and hits like a linebacker and covers like a corner, making him the ultimate chess piece for Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.”


Steelers who made the Top 10 are James Harrison (#5) LaMarr Woodley (#7) and Mike Wallace (#10).

Steelers who made the Top 20 are Rashard Mendenhall (#12), Maurkice Pouncey (#15), Lawrence Timmons (#16), and Ike Taylor (#20).


You can check out the Mr. Walker’s entire Fab 40 list here.

From an article in the Sporting News today:

Plenty of teams need one, like the Panthers, Bills, Cardinals, 49ers, Vikings and Titans to name six. For those teams, the NFL Scouting Combine is part of a never-ending quest to find that special quarterback who can make the difference.

A piece of advice for QB-needy teams:

Figure out if any quarterback in this draft can become your starter for the next decade, and if so do whatever it takes to get that guy.

Steelers director of football operations Kevin Colbert found his franchise guy in 2004, when he drafted Ben Roethlisberger.

“When you have a franchise quarterback, it increases your chances of winning a championship,” Colbert said Thursday. “To me, it’s that simple. If you have a great one, you’re fortunate because not everybody does. We’re fortunate. The franchise guys are so scarce in the draft. Most veteran guys don’t become available.

“You never want to pick high enough to get one, but if you have the chance you should take one.”


You can read the rest here.