Ben spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette this afternoon about his upcoming wedding to Ashley Harlan:

The wedding will be July 23 and it will be huge, more than 500 people, at a location in the Pittsburgh area. All of Roethlisberger’s teammates have been invited, as have coaches and people from the front office, one reason it is so large.

“People can say that it is whatever, but people who know and can see and are around us and know me, know that it’s something special when you find that person, and I’m extremely lucky.”

Instead of wedding gifts, they’re asking their guests to make a donation to the quarterback’s foundation and he will then turn it over to Ronald McDonald House and Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.

The wedding will occur about one week before training camp opens, if the current labor strife does not delay the start of football this summer.

“I think a small part of her is hoping we hold out for a week so we can honeymoon,” Roethlisberger said today. “I told her I was laughing with coach [Mike] Tomlin; he said ‘You guys might have to have the honeymoon suite at Saint Vincent.'”


You can read more of this exclusive interview here on the Post-Gazette’s Sports page, and here on Mr. Bouchette’s PG Plus blog (pay site).

You can also listen to Mr. Bouchette’s interview on 93.7 The Fan here.

Update: More from Ben on Mr. Bouchette’s Thursday PG Plus blog here (pay site).


Congratulations to both Ben & Ashley on their engagement!

Also, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to send emails to the site and messages (to my Facebook page) of congratulations! I will be posting them on the site this weekend.

The NFL announced Tuesday that it has awarded $1 million in grants to the charities of nearly 90 current and former players.

The league said that star quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and Philip Rivers were among those receiving up to $50,000 for their foundations.

NFL Charities has given more than $17 million to player foundations over two decades, and that didn’t change with the lockout this year.


You can read about Ben’s foundation right here.


To learn about the charities of the quarterbacks who were also awarded grants, just click on their names:

Drew Brees

Peyton Manning

Philip Rivers

Taking a look back at the weeks leading up to the April 24, 2004 NFL Draft for the quarterback from Miami. Yes, it has already been 7 years since #7 was drafted!

“Are you kidding me?” It’s every football player’s dream. I don’t care where I go, I don’t care what they ask of me. I can’t wait for draft day.” — Ben, from an interview in Sports Illustrated On Campus, April 15, 2004.

From the article, “Preparing for NFL draft is a full-time job” by the AP‘s Joe Kay:

Since he left Miami of Ohio to enter the NFL draft the prominent quarterback has changed his life. He moved to the West Coast overhauled his diet and started a crash course in his new career.

“I’d say it’s more like getting ready for a season” said Roethlisberger who led Miami to a No. 10 final ranking with his strong arm and accuracy. “I had an idea it would be tough but I didn’t know how tough. I didn’t know how much time I had to put into it.”

Roethlisberger spent the last two months getting ready to make a good impression on teams looking for a franchise player. Roethlisberger who was one of Ohio’s top prep passers at Findlay High School moved to Newport Beach Calif. so he could work out every day in warmer weather.

His daily routine includes an hour of weight training an hour or more working out with a quarterback coach then a session at Steinberg’s office getting mail and doing interviews. There’s another hour-long workout to improve his speed before the day is done.

“There’s very little sitting down” said Roethlisberger who left Miami after his junior season. “Very rarely do I not have any workouts. Sunday is my one day off.”


You can read the rest of this February 29, 2004 article here.



From the article, “Is QB Philip Rivers on top of Steelers list?” by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette:

When the Steelers revealed the names of a couple of quarterbacks who have accepted invitations to visit their facility next week, one name stuck out for not being on the list.

Ben Roethlisberger of Miami (Ohio) and Tulane’s J.P. Losman are among 20 college prospects who will come […]

9-year old Michael Mason from Fayetteville, New York!


Mr. Ed Coombs of Cicero, New York was the 29th emailer for Ben’s March 2nd Birthday Contest (see post below). He won the prize – an autographed Ben Roethlisberger jersey. However,  instead of keeping it for himself or his teenage son, he gave it to Michael Mason from Fayetteville NY. Now, both Ed and his son are big Steelers fans, but they thought that young Michael, the son of a friend and a HUGE Steelers and Big Ben fan would love the jersey even more!

Judging from the photo, they were right!


You can see a larger version of the photo as well as another photo of Michael with his new jersey here.

Ben’s Pro Day workout – March 25th, 2004.

“It’s a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to play in the NFL. Everything I get to do, meet all these coaches, see Al Davis, visit with Warren Moon, it’s a dream coming true. It’s hard to believe. I have to pinch myself and make sure it’s true.” — Ben, on  playing in the NFL.

From the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Mark Curnutte, the day after:

QB Ben packs ’em in for pro workout –

Scouts or assistant coaches from nearly all 32 NFL teams made their way to Oxford. Two head coaches, Green Bay’s Mike Sherman and the Giants’ Tom Coughlin – along with Giants’ general manager Ernie Accorsi and three of the club’s scouts – were there, too.

Charting each of the players’ moves with stopwatches and clipboards, scouts watched them lift weights, jump, sprint and run agility drills before congregating in Yager Stadium for the main event: Ben throws.

And Roethlisberger, a sure-fire top-five pick rated along with Mississippi’s Eli Manning as one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft, did not disappoint.

He threw long and short, soft and hard, down the middle and toward the sideline – showing off his impressive arm and timing on the deep out pattern.

Roethlisberger ran 4.76 seconds in the 40-yard dash. And he clocked an 11.8 – considered fast for a quarterback – on a three-cone agility drill.

“He’s probably going be gone before we pick, but I always want to cover our bases in case something happens – he falls or we move up,” Sherman said. “I thought he had an excellent workout. He did everything here he does on tape. You have to watch the game tape to really appreciate what kind of quarterback he is and what kind of leadership skills he has.”


You can read the rest of Mr. Curnutte’s 2004 article here.



From NFL.com‘s “Pro Day Workout – Ben Roethlisberger” the day after:

As expected, there was a big turn out here as over 50 NFL personnel people attended.

Roethlisberger’s workout was scripted by Steve Clarkson, who is a former San Jose State QB and currently helps prepare quarterbacks for the NFL. Roethlisberger (6-4 7/8, 240) ran his 40s in 4.81 and 4.82. He had a […]

CBS Sports senior writer Clark Judge looks at the Steelers’ strengths and needs going into 2011:

Pittsburgh is one of the feel-good stories from 2010, a team that overcame a raft of adversity to graduate to Super Bowl XLV.

The surprise, of course, is that the Steelers didn’t close the deal. Ben Roethlisberger hadn’t lost a Super Bowl, and the organization was six for seven. But lose they did when Roethlisberger failed to recreate the last-minute magic that makes him one of the league’s premier quarterbacks.

Now it’s up to the front office to make something happen, and there are few teams I trust as much as Pittsburgh when it comes to the draft. These guys know talent, one reason the Steelers are one of the most consistent and successful franchises anywhere. In an era where dynasties aren’t supposed to exist, the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to excel…year after year after year.

One reason is that they have a franchise quarterback who knows how to win.


Starting with the QB:

Roethlisberger isn’t just a franchise quarterback. He’s a franchise quarterback who’s been to three of the last six Super Bowls, winning two of them. Not bad, eh? It gets better. He’s only 29 and just completed one of his most efficient seasons anywhere. But Roethlisberger absorbs a lot of hits, so it’s always good to have a backup around. Charlie Batch turns 37 this season, so a young guy to groom isn’t a bad idea.


You can read the rest of Mr. Judge’s Draft analysis for the Steelers here.