Ben was a guest, er…locker room reporter this afternoon on the Jerome Bettis Show at 12:30 p.m. on WPXI Channel 11.

What exclusive did he report on? That Jerome Bettis is in second place once again in the show’s season picks.


You can catch the video of his special report here (at approximately 1.55 minutes into video). Enjoy!


*Thanks Becky!

Today, the NFL announced the eight finalists for the 2010 GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year award and the Steelers’ Troy Polamalu is one of them!

The GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year is the best moment or play of the year that represents determination and perseverance.

The Finalists:

Week 4: Roddy White forces a fumble

Week 5: Jason Campbell leads Oakland to the win

Week 6: Deion Branch sparks a comeback win in return to New England

Week 10: David Garrard’s prayer answered in miracle finish

Week 11: Ryan Fitzpatrick directs Buffalo to a largest comeback in 13 years

Week 13: Troy Polamalu’s sack-fumble leads to a game-winning score

Week 15: DeSean Jackson seals the Eagles’ miracle comeback

Week 16: Tim Tebow leads Broncos’ comeback


More on the Week 13 Finalist, Troy Polamalu –

In a battle for first place in the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens led the Pittsburgh Steelers, 10-6, with just over three minutes remaining the fourth quarter.

On second down, S Troy Polamalu came off the edge and sacked Ravens QB Joe Flacco, causing a fumble that was picked up by LB LaMarr Woodley and returned to the Ravens’ 9 yard-line.

QB Ben Roethlisberger then found RB Isaac Redman for a 9-yard TD to give the Steelers the lead en route to a 13-10 victory.


You can vote here through 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 27th.


The winner will be presented the 2010 GMC Never Say Never Moment of the Year award during a press conference in North Texas, the site of Super Bowl XLV, on Wednesday, February 2nd.



Also Today:

From an article by the AP’s Alan Robinson on Mike Wallace:

When Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger steps into the pocket and looks downfield for Mike Wallace, he’s knows one thing for certain.

He’s not overthrowing one of the […]

Once again, Ben served up some good cheer and great food over the holidays at Ronald McDonald House in Pittsburgh.


This year, approximately forty children, including siblings, enjoyed a delicious New Year’s Eve dinner that included a menu of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, different salads, tortelli, and dessert, all provided by Ben.

According to Leslie Montgomery of Ronald McDonald House, “The families had a wonderful time at their holiday feast and enjoyed every last bite. There weren’t even leftovers and they loved the desserts.”

All together, sixty families from all over the United States, including Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina and Vermont enjoyed the holiday meal together. There was also a family from Egypt and one from Kuwait who enjoyed the festivities so far from home.

The families were “overwhelmed” and a good time was had by all!


For information on Ronald McDonald House Charities, Pittsburgh, click here.

You can see more Community news here.


*Thank you to Ms. Montgomery!



Also Today:

If you missed Ben’s interview on ESPN Radio‘s Mike & Mike Show this morning, you can listen to the podcast here.



And:

If you’re ever driving through Bridgewater, New Jersey….

Stop by Soprano’s Pizza, run by Steelers fan John Galatti, and you’ll think you’re back home!

Just tell him that Erin sent ya!

Check out a couple of photos of John’s place here.

John’s children can be found in the Lil’ Fans album here.


*Thank you to John for sharing the photos!

Sports Illustrated is unveiling its list of the Most Decisive Moments over the course of the past 44 Super Bowls, presented by Bing:

Most games come down to one play, one decision, one moment that decides the outcome. SI has selected the most pivotal moments in Super Bowl history and they want you to select the winner. There are three rounds to the voting and no limit to how many times you can vote.

Round 1 began today and runs through January 18th. Round 2 begins on January 19th and ends January 25th.

The Championship Round begins January 26th and ends February 3rd.

The Winning Moment will be announced on February 4th.

There are two recent Steelers Super Bowl “moments” among the list:

Randle El-to-Ward Flea Flicker – Super Bowl XL
Steelers 21, Seahawks 10
Feb. 5, 2006 at Ford Field in Detroit.

Getting the ball on an apparent reverse around the right end, wideout Antwaan Randle El throws on the run and hits Hines Ward in stride for a 43-yard touchdown to give the Steelers a two-score lead with just over nine minutes left to play. It’s the first touchdown pass thrown by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history.

See photos here.


And:


Roethlisberger to Holmes TD
Super Bowl XLIII
Steelers 27, Cardinals 23
Feb. 1, 2009 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa

Surrounded by three defenders in the back corner of the end zone, Santonio Holmes pulls down Ben Roethlisberger’s perfect spiral and, using his tiptoes like a ballerina, keeps both feet inbounds to score the winning touchdown with 35 seconds left to play. The 6-yard reception – one of nine totaling 131 yards – earns Holmes MVP honors.

See photos here.


There are other “moments” in Steelers Super Bowl history as well – Terry Bradshaw’s completion, Super Bowl IX on Jan. 12, 1975; Swann’s catch, Super Bowl X on Jan. 18, 1976; Franco Harris’ touchdown run, Super Bowl XIII on Jan. 21, 1979; and John Stallworth’s touchdown catch, Super Bowl XIV on Jan. 20, 1980.


You can check out all of them and cast your votes here.

Ben was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.


The Steelers 41-9 win also secured them the AFC North title. Ben completed 15 of 22 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 141.3 passer rating.

Ben finished the regular season having completed 240 passes for 3,200 yards, 17 touchdowns and just five interceptions. It’s the fifth consecutive year he has thrown for over 3,000 yards.

He also finishes the regular season with the third best quarterback rating (96.98) in the AFC, behind only Tom Brady and Philip Rivers…after missing four games!

Ben was also selected as the Steelers Digest Player of the Week!

You can read more on that here.



Quote of the Day:

“It’s all about team – offense, defense and special teams. It’s about how close this locker room is. Maybe a better word, team is a sub-word, family is better. You start with the coaches, owners, and the Rooney family. We are family. That is the better word.” — Ben, on the success of this year’s team.



Tomorrow:

You can catch Ben on ESPN‘s Mike & Mike Show at 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, January 6th! He will be a phone-in guest!

…an elite quarterback?

“How many Super Bowls does a guy have to win to get some respect around here?” – SI’s Kerry J. Byrne, from his column below.

From Sports Illustrated “Cold Hard Football Facts” columnist Kerry J. Byrne this afternoon:

Ben Roethlisberger’s name never comes up when it comes time to name the elite quarterbacks.

It should.

The truth is Big Ben is one of the most prolific passers in the history of football. The problem is many fans and pigskin pundits are obsessed with meaningless volume numbers and not the meaningful efficiency numbers — such as average per attempt — that have a high correlation to success.

Roethlisberger’s career average of 8.04 yards per attempt is the fifth highest mark in the history of football. Three of the guys ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame (Graham, Luckman, Van Brocklin). He’s topped 8.0 YPA in a season four times in seven years. Peyton Manning’s done it twice in 13 seasons. Tom Brady? Just once.

The Steelers instantly became contenders the day Big Ben walked on the field. And they are a threat to win it all again. Roethlisberger’s historic ability to puncture defenses with long passing plays is the biggest reason.


You can read more from Mr. Byrne here.



From ESPN‘s John Clayton, who has Ben ranked 4th in the Elite Divison:

His formula – these quarterbacks complete better than 60 percent of their passes, have 4,000-yard passing potential and demonstrate fourth-quarter comeback ability. These players can carry a team to the playoffs.

1. Tom Brady

2. Peyton Manning

3. Drew Brees

4. Ben Roethlisberger – Roethlisberger grew up as a person after starting the season with a four-game suspension and remained every bit as good as a quarterback. The only knock is his tendency to have low-scoring games against top defenses.

Mr. Clayton also has Ben ranked as the top tier quarterback in the AFC North.


To understand his ranking system and to read his full list, click here.



And while the Baltimore Sun’s Matt Vensel agreed with Mr. Clayton’s 1 through 4, he differed with the rest of his list:

I briefly mentioned earlier that my definition of an elite quarterback is a little different, […]