From KTAR News in Phoenix, Arizona today:

The Phoenix Fire Department’s urban search and rescue team will not go to New Zealand to help with earthquake recovery, but the team still spent Wednesday morning training its search dogs to deal with disasters.

A firefighter was lowered into a hole under concrete rubble in Tempe and it was up to a black lab named Big Ben — after Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — to find the trapped man.

“Ben Roethlisberger actually donated dog food for a year and 15 annual physicals for our dogs,” said Fire Capt. John Dean.

He noted Big Ben found his man in a matter of seconds, while it could have taken firefighters minutes or hours.

“Even with all the technology we have — and we embrace it, we’re always looking for new ideas and new things — you just can’t beat that dog and their nose, and they’re nice to have around, too.”


You can read the rest here.



Speaking of Ben’s Foundation…

The Pittsburgh area grants will be announced in early March and applicants will be notified!


For more information on the Foundation, click here.

To contact The Giving Back Fund, click here.

…just in case there is an extended lockout by NFL owners –


From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette this morning:

Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger have discussed having some minicamps on their own for the quarterbacks and receivers in the spring.

“Ben and I discussed it. He talked about getting together with the wide receivers,” Ward said.

They suggested meeting at different spots — all gathering in Pittsburgh and then all gathering in the hometown of each receiver for various workouts. Ward said no plans were made, just discussed. But if the spring drills known as OTAs are affected, the players want to do something.

You can read the rest here.

More from NFL Network reporter Albert Breer’s conversation with quarterback coach George Whitfield earlier this week:

Whitfield says the focus was on Roethlisberger being more efficient in getting the ball out on time, being better at bringing the ball back up in scramble situations to become more consistent with his launch point, and being more compact with his footwork in the pocket. And the coach could see the strides in Roethlisberger’s 15 games (playoffs included) this year.

“It’s his consistency,” Whitfield said. “It’s just how organized and consistent he was in terms of playing. There are times, especially during that (Sunday) night Ravens game, when he does things that can’t be coached, can’t be duplicated. But in some games, it comes down to how you’re doing things in the cockpit, little things you notice, where I’d be like, ‘Nice shot there.’

Now remember, this is a 28-year-old quarterback with two Super Bowl titles, three conference titles, four division titles, and five playoff berths in seven years.

And he could still be ascending? Whitfield thinks so.

“That may shock people,” the coach said. “But there are areas where, I don’t want to say he can be better, but I’ll put it like this: It’s scary how good he can be. There are still more weapons within Ben’s game, more phases to his game, it’s pretty scary. He came in that September with a lot of things we worked on, and he could hone in on those and make them second nature.

“I don’t think the NFL has seen the best elements of Ben…”


You can read the rest of Mr. Breer’s column here.

You can read more from their conversation below (February 16th post).

You can check out photos from Ben’s workouts here, and Mr. Whitfield’s website here.

“It’s its own entity. He hides everything in there. We go hunting, and he hides his decoys in there.” — Ben.

Shear the Beard!

Ben’s friend and teammate Brett Keisel has decided that the time is right to Shear the Beard – and with the help of some top secret celebrity barbers he will do just that on February 24th for the “ultimate Mountain Man make-over”!

Number 99 appeared on the DVE Morning Show today and confirmed that, “it was time for The Diesel to transform back into Brett Keisel.”

Both Brett and WDVE have invited fans to watch the shearing take place at, appropriately enough, the Diesel Club Lounge. The doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and the barber shop will open at 7:00 p.m.

There will be also be live performances by Donnie Iris and The Chris Higbee Project.

The best part….

All proceeds from the event will benefit cancer programs at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC!

“This is something I thought would be a great way to give back to the City of Pittsburgh and show what Pittsburgh means to me. Children’s Hospital has not only helped a lot of people on our team, but it helps Pittsburghers and people from everywhere, every day. It’s a great place that can use some money and I am happy we can help.” — Brett, Steelers.com.

You can get more information and order tickets at the event website.


*Thanks to Trish from Brett-Keisel.com!


February 24th – Event Update: The beard was sheared! You can read about it here.

From an article/interview by Albert Breer at NFL.com today:

Some folks look at Cam Newton and see Vince Young or JaMarcus Russell, the former for his feet, the latter for his arm, and both for their size.

But George Whitfield, the man charged with preparing Newton for the 2011 NFL Draft, sees another quarterback he trained this year: Ben Roethlisberger.

“Roethlisberger is a more accurate portrayal of what Cam is than Daunte Culpepper or Vince Young. Those are just clichés, because it’s the big African-American guy,” said Whitfield, a quarterback specialist who worked Roethlisberger out during his suspension. “Physically, and style-wise, they’re giants. Ben’s over 6-foot-5, Cam’s 6-6, they’re both 250, they’re both agile, both can play off the script. Cam can make an awful lot of throws, just like Ben. They’re both as comfortable out of the pocket as they are in it.

“And they have that closing mentality….They both really have an understanding of how to close games.”

The Steelers’ quarterback isn’t Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, and that’s just fine with Pittsburgh. The idea for Newton is to find a team that’s similarly accepting of a different style that, in the end, can be every bit as effective, even if it doesn’t look as pretty.

And as much as Whitfield’s training Newton to do things a Brady or Manning would, he’s also trying to get the big man to accentuate his traits like Roethlisberger does. That means, in this case, Newton learning to use his feet not to break off the 60-yarder, but to create the type of scramble situation our executive described, which leads to the kind of big plays that are Roethlisberger’s trademark.


You can read the rest here.

“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 be placed on a team according to his or her age.

Each day, the campers will experience various stations, specializing in fundamental skills of football. Individual groups will be small to assure that each camper gets maximum instruction from the top football coaches in the Pittsburgh area.

Ben will give daily talks highlighting the finer points of the game of football and beyond. Parents and guests will be able to listen to camp guests in designated areas at each location.

Dates: June 20-21, 2011

Time: 9:00am – 12:30pm each day

Place: Mars Area High School, Mars, Pennsylvania

Cost: $199.

Each camper will receive –

• Camp T-Shirt
• Autographed Camp team photo with Ben
• 7 Hours of expert instruction
• Opportunity to win contests and prizes


A fun and educational experience is guaranteed!


To sign up now and receive the “Early Bird Special” ($20 off the registration price) before March 1st, click here.

There is also info at that link on how to purchase a personalized gift certificate for your youngster to attend!


To learn how your youth football team can attend, click here.

You can see more photos, like the one taken above by fan Anita Doddroe, here.


*Dates and times have not been finalized and could change.