IX-It's official Ben Roethlisberger will not be forcing his beef jerky on any of us anymore according to the N.Y. Times fifth down blog. The company that produces the tasty meat with Big Ben's name on it has decided enough is enough. According to the article Rothlisberger made 2.5 million dollars in endorsement monies last year and could soon lose more than his beef jerky endorsement. Roethlisberger receives compensation from big sponsors like Nike who could drop the star because quite frankly, they don't need him, especially if he can't keep his beef jerky out of "small, less than five-foot-wide, single-commode bathroom[s]."
X-Terry Bradshaw took a break from making piss-poor jokes with Howie Long and Michael Strahan to actually make a tiny bit of sense. Feel free to watch the video below and also feel free to read The Score for a transcript and some comments about the situation. My favorite line by Bradshaw is his statement "ask yourself, would they pay any attention to you if you weren’t who you are? And of course not, because I’m not that attractive and neither is Ben."
XIII-One of the more interesting comments made today in the aftermath of the Georgia DA's decision on Ben Roethlisberger, was made by Boston attorney, Harry Manion, who was a guest of the Dennis & Callahan show Tuesday morningon 850am, WEEI radio in Boston. Manion had this to say about Big Ben:
"Six months ago I was retained by a client of mine, a close friend, to investigate allegations against Ben Roethlisberger in a Las Vegas nightclub that were absolutely identical to this Georgia girl’s story. And the outcome was the young woman did not want to proceed and we dropped it and never took any action. But there is a history here — and I can’t say any further because we never proceeded with it — but there is a history here that is just super troubling."
For a transcript that details more of Manion's thoughts on the Georgia case and the new "situation" that he just brought to light check out WEEI's official site. Mike Florio brought up that Manion's words could theoretically be used in a case of defamation by Roethlisbeger's, only to reinforce the notion that defamation suits can only be successful if the parties reputation isn't already in the commode.
XIV-The Steelers still actually play football? Yep, Yep they do and today they concluded their pre-draft visits by taking a look at local talent, Sean Lee who had 324 career tackles with Penn State, as well as looking at Texas Christian linebacker Jerry Hughes, who had a pretty outstanding collegiate career.
XL-Our own fearless leader Michael Bean actually chimed in today at the Washington Post on the "Unfamiliar Spotlight" that is being cast over the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. Listening to 1250 ESPN radio yesterday it seems that Steelers fans are heavily split in their views on what the Pittsburgh Steeler organization needs to do in handling Ben and what they have already done in their handling of Santonio Holmes. The more I have mused on this topic since yesterday I have crafted an opinion that the Steelers should suspend Ben in the range of six to eight games to prove that no player is untouchable. Don't get me wrong either, I think the Steelers will have a huge drop-off in play in those six games but the long-term reward of showing Ben that Steeler Nation can live without him would be worth it's weight in gold. In my mind Ben is a top three quarterback in the league on the field but if he sneezes the wrong way I am ready to move on.
XLIII-Frank "The Tank" Summer recounts his draft day memories from last season when he was drafted by the Steelers. Hopes were high for the former UNLV running back last season when he was anointed the second coming of "The Bus", and hopefully in 2010 he will recover from his back injuries and live up to some of the hype. I see Summers sticking around in Pittsburgh only if he can learn the fullback position, while Pittsburgh certainly needs some depth at running back I don't see Summers being the compliment to Mendenhall that the Steelers are looking for.