After the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Houston Texans on Sunday, their quarterback was in a walking boot. Nothing like losing a winnable game and seeing your Super Bowl-winning QB banged up as well.

Well, there is some good news for Steelers fans. It’s not broken.

Sources tell Chris Mortensen of ESPN that an MRI revealed that his screwed up left foot is just a sprain and there is no break in the bones. Still, no one knows right now if he’ll be available to play against the Tennessee Titans, who are surprisingly good so far this year.

Pittsburgh is 2-2 and could be looking at 2-3 regardless of whether or not Big Ben plays.

Leave it to James Harrison. The Pittsburgh Steelers outside LB was interviewed recently for an article in Men’s Journal. He was asked about a ton of things, including the 2004 season when they lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game and he said that they stole their signals.

“They got busted for it later, but, hey, they’re Goodell’s boys, so he slapped ‘em $500,000 and burned the tapes,” Harrison said. “Was he going to rescind their Super Bowls? Man, hell no!”

But the quote that is going to stand out from this interview is the one he gave when asked about Ben Roethlisberger’s performance in this past Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers. Big Ben threw two costly interceptions early, and Harrison isn’t thrilled about it.

“Hey, at least throw a pick on their side of the field instead of asking the D to bail you out again,” he said. “Or hand the ball off and stop trying to act like Peyton Manning. You ain’t that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does.”

Wow.

Mike Tomlin won’t be thrilled about this and we have a feeling that Big Ben won’t love it either. And we’re sorry, but…what did Harrison do in that game? Yeah, we don’t remember either because Chad Clifton basically had his way with him.

This past December, Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger asked 26-year-old Ashley Harlan for her hand in marriage.  Since that day, the NFL world hasn’t gotten a chance to know Ashley, their relationship, and why her father has worn a Haloti Ngata jersey for 104 days straight.  These questions are starting to be answered.

In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger confirmed that he’s engaged to 26-year-old Ashley Harlan, whom he met during training camp in 2005.  Furthermore, a wedding date of July 23rd, one week before the Steelers are scheduled for training camp, has been set.

Ashely, who is a physician’s assistant in the cardiac surgery department of a Pittsburgh hospital, still lives at home with her parents.  This decision has everything to do with her family’s religious beliefs and has nothing to do with Big Ben’s previous allegations.

“We were kind of on and off for five years, almost six years now (you know, in between rapes),”  Roethlisberger explained to the Post-Gazette.  “So I’ve known her for a while. It’s not like a random new person.  We dated awhile ago; we have been friends ever since.”

Hey, if Ben Roethlisberger is allowed to have a wife, why isn’t Michael Vick allowed to have a dog?

Prior to Sunday’s Super Bowl, Steeler Nation was quick to point out their six rings and the “Stairway to 7.”  Since then?  I’ve heard nothing but excuses.  Granted, this doesn’t speak for everyone out there, as I have a few buddies who know when they’ve been beaten.  But the overwhelming majority of the loudmouths have quieted all the dynasty talk in place of nothing short of childish pouting.

Photo Caption:  Apparently naming rights to Douchey McDouche weren’t available.

Majority of the Pittsburgh fans that I’ve heard from this week are constantly reverting the idea that the game was “served up” to Green Bay and practically given away by turnovers.  Yes, I understand the importance of turnovers and to be on the wrong side of a 3-0 differential is huge in football.  But get a grip Steeler Nation.  You crying to the wrong person.

First of all, two of the three turnovers weren’t “given away”… they were forced.  Yes, Big Ben floated his first pick into no man’s land, but that wasn’t where he was aiming.  Chris Kemoeatu was driven off the line, pushed back into Ben’s face and altered his throwing motion.  To me, it was an example of the Packers line being more physical and out-playing the offensive line.  THAT is what caused the turnover.  The Packers line out-played the Steelers offensive line.  Period.

For the purpose of this article, we’ll ignore the fact that Collins still found his way in the end zone and nobody was able to keep him out… no credit to him is deserved on that, right?

How about the 2^nd pick?  Can you really blame that one on Ben as well?  Mr. Steely McBeam Pittsburgh fan says that Ben threw into double coverage.  Wrong. 

Jarrett Bush simply made a hell of a play on the ball.  In that one play, two great plays were made.  First of all, Bush wasn’t even designed to be in the area, let alone Ben’s read.  He had a deeper coverage responsibility, but took a gamble, broke off his route and jumped Ben’s passing lane.  Secondly, he made a hell of a catch.  This was literally a bang-bang interception where he jumped it, made the grab and held on after colliding with Mike Wallace.  I give credit to the Packers secondary for outplaying the Steelers wide receivers.  Which they did… so accept it.  Period.

The only real turnover that was “served up” was the fumble by Rashard Mendenhall.  It came at a crucial time in the game when the momentum was clearly in the favor of  the Steelers.  They were moving the ball on the ground and, at times, at will.  Trailing 21-17, I remember thinking to myself, “here they come!”  But on the first play of the 4^th quarter, Mendenhall coughs it up, Packers recover and then made them pay for it…turning that into seven. 

To be fair, we’ll ignore the fact that the vaunted Pittsburgh defense wasn’t able to keep the Packers out of the end zone, because that would just be another example of how Green Bay simply beat Pittsburgh as opposed to being handed the Lombardi Trophy.  Period.

Finally, at the end of the day, the Steelers had exactly what they wanted:  Two minutes, the ball and a chance to win the game.  With all the talk, myself included, about how Ben flat out wins, Pittsburgh had the opportunity to nullify every turnover, every mistake, every penalty and win number seven. 

They didn’t.  Instead, Green Bay’s defense stood up to the challenge and outplayed Pittsburgh’s offense on that series.  Game over. 

So while six rings is impressive and in a class of its own, seven was apparently too steep to climb.  I urge Steeler fans to take your terrible tissues, wipe your eyes and admit defeat.  On that day, Green Bay was simply the better team.  They EARNED the Lombardi trophy.  Period.

So own your defeat and realize that while six rings set your team apart from the rest, on this occasion you are no different than the fans of the other 31 losers in the NFL…No matter what you say.

For all the talk about QB’s and who belongs where… I think it’s pretty clear who’s who in the NFL.  Some are elite.  Some are on their way.  Others are simply overrated.  If you had your choice, all things considered, who do you want to be the QB of your team?  The theory is simple.  If you can’t justify taking a guy ahead of one of the names in the Tier above him… he doesn’t belong. 

I’ve got my list of Tiered QB’s.  Let’s see what you think:

*In no particluar order*

Tier 1 

Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Drew Brees
Ben Roethlisberger

The above mentioned are the elite QB’s of the NFL. They’ve proven to be winners in the regular season and post season, all rock the hardware and have earned respect across the NFL. Can you really argue with anyone on this list? You may want to sneak another name on it…but you simply can’t offer a name that, at this moment, has the pedigree to compare. Let’s see what Aaron Rodgers does in two weeks and we might need to adjust.

 Tier 2

Aaron Rodgers
Philip Rivers
Mike Vick

These are the guys that everyone has their eyes on.  The guys that can put a game on their shoulders and virtually win it for their respective teams when called upon.  The only problem… championships.  Rivers hasn’t had much success in the post season, but few will argue that the guy is a hell of a QB.  Vick has transformed his game to a more complete package and if it isn’t a fluke, he has a real shot at a ring.  He’ll have an even better shot if he signs elsewhere!  Rodgers will quickly be vaulted to a Tier 1 with a win against the Steelers.

Tier 3

Matt Ryan
Eli Manning
Jay Cutler

This is a tough group to judge. I like Matt Ryan. He is a young, up-and-coming QB who could have some pretty nice years ahead of him. He typically makes the right decisions and puts in a solid effort week in and week out. I still don’t believe Manning is a great QB. He is good and it stops there. Yes, he has a Super Bowl ring, but so does Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson. Don’t see me putting those guys on any top QB lists. Regardless, for as many stinkers as Manning puts up, he has a few games where he looks like he should be considered one of the better QB’s in the league. Jay Cutler has something about him that makes him special…at times. There is no denying his talent, but sometimes he looks terrible. This past weekend will also hurt his credibility and he’ll have to fight through that.

Tier 4

Sam Bradford
Matt Cassell
Matt Stafford
Josh Freeman

These are the guys that are young, relatively inexperienced and may make the biggest impact down the road. Matt Cassell has the most experience of the group and this season he quietly put up a very impressive season. It helps when you have the best rushing attack as a compliment, but let’s not take anything away from Cassell. He is a very solid QB who can be special. Same goes for the other three on this list. All three are young and uber talented. Josh Freeman and Sam Bradford have already shown that they not only belong in this league, but they will be the stars of it in 3-4 years. Stafford’s only knock is whether or not he can stay healthy. When he’s on the field, Detroit can win. He has show the ability to lead the team down the field and there is something that say’s winner about him.

Honorable Mentions:

Joe Flacco
Tony Romo
Matt Schaub
Mark Sanchez

It’s hard for me to include these guys in the top tiers of QBs. In all reality, look at the lists above. Would you take one of the honorable mentions over anyone I’ve listed? Personally, the only one I have in question is Eli Manning. I may take Sanchez over Manning, but I’m not sure if that is simply because of my pure dislike of Manning’s game. To me, Sanchez has “it”… whatever “it” is. He is another guy I simply see as a “winner” but not enough upside to put him in with Stafford, Bradford and Freeman.

Romo just doesn’t scream “top QB” to me. I know he has numbers and flash, but something doesn’t resonate with me when I compare him to the others. It’s really that simple to me.

Matt Schaub is a tough one, but again, I can’t put him ahead of anyone else on this list. Some games he looks like he can be a very legit QB and other games he disappears. If you can validate putting him ahead of the above listed, I’ll at least listen.

Finally, Joe Flacco. This one will probably receive the most puzzled looks. Flacco has been a very good quarterback in Baltimore, but I have yet to see him do anything special. He lacks a certain quality that I think every elite, or at least, very good QB has. When I watch him play, I see solid, not special. So again, I can’t put him ahead of the proven, those on the cusp, the ones with star qualities or even those who simply show the potential to be great. Sorry Joe.

How ironic. At the beginning of the year, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four games because the NFL didn’t appreciate it when he forced himself on young coeds.

And to finish up the year and their run to the Super Bowl, it looks like Rashard Mendenhall is giving Big Ben the same treatment.

Or maybe that’s his new celebration dance that’s in honor of his quarterback’s past. Kind of like a tribute celebration. Maybe it’s called “Rape it like it’s hot” or something. Or maybe not.

Ask me to chose?  I’ll take Philadelphia.  While Pittsburgh has the rings and the cups, I’ll take Philadelphia.  The truth is, it has nothing to do with the teams!  Albeit, I never was and never will be a fan of Sidney Crosby, I think the Pens are a tough team.  The Pirates are an absolute joke, but the city makes up for it with one of, if not, THE class organization of the NFL:  The Pittsburgh Steelers.  The problem is the “my shit don’t stink” Steeler fans who ruin any big win or any big moment with a comment that makes you want to feed them a few drinks and lock them in a bathroom with Big Ben.

That said, being a Philadelphia guy and always backing the 2nd chance given to Michael Vick… I’m not one to bash Roethlisberger and act like he isn’t a great QB because of off the field poor judgment calls.  The fact is, I don’t care.  In a vacuum, I’m judging you on the player your are, not the person you are.  Ben Roethlisberger is a hell of QB and needs to be in more of the “elite” conversations.

Ben Wins.  Period.  He wins in the regular season.  He wins in the post season.  Ben Wins.  He can beat you with his arm strength and accuracy.  He can pick up tough yards when needed.  Hell, he’ll even pick up a game-saving tackle on the Colt’s Nick Harper to lock up a win.  Everyone forgets that in 2005, had Big Ben not made that game-saving tackle with about 1:00 to go in the 4th… there is no title and perhaps we aren’t even having this conversation.  But we are…because he did… and they won.

Among quarterbacks with at least 10 playoff games starts, he is 2nd in win percentage only behind Bart Starr.  In terms of playoff wins, only current or virtual lock Hall of Famers are ahead of him… such as Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and John Elway. He is already ahead of guys like Steve Young, Peyton Manning and Dan Marino.  For all the talk about Tom Brady, he has eight more post season starts than Big Ben, and only five more wins.  Could be four after this weekend.  Could be three after this season.

Compare that to his counterparts in the 2004 draft and it becomes even more impressive.  Eli Manning has compiled a 4-3 record in his seven playoff starts and one Super Bowl win.  Phillip Rivers is only 3-4 in his seven starts.  Ben is 9-2 with two rings.

 Just think about that.  If Roethlisberger is able to get the Steelers back to the Superbowl, he’ll have three rings in seven years under center.  If that happens he’ll have a post season record of 11-2!  Granted, a lot still needs to take place for that to come true, but it is certainly attainable.

Let’s be honest, neither Roethlisberger nor ANY QB in NFL history has ever won a preseason, regular season or playoff game on his own.  Say what you want, you’re wrong.  But through the history books, plenty of great QB’s were surrounded by great teams.  Roethlisberger is no different.  Lucky for him, he gets to rape the benefits.  Freudian slip.  Lucky for him, he gets to REAP the benefits. 

My point is, regardless of what happens this Sunday, Ben deserves his props.  When you talk about top-tier QB’s, Big Ben better be mentioned.  I honestly thought he was the best QB coming out of the 2004 draft (much in part because I hated Eli and wasn’t sure about Rivers) and he has proven that to date.  Now I look forward to every one of my Pittsburgh pals making me regret everything I just wrote….

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will wear a plastic protective mask over his face on Sunday when they host the Cincinnati Bengals. You may or may not remember that Big Ben was handed a broken nose by the Ravens last Sunday night.

Roethlisberger had surgery this week to repair the nose, but will still need the added protection obviously.

Photo Caption: Big Ben wants to keep a protective eye on your wife and children.

“I’m sure there’s going to be some level of discomfort,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “I don’t think it’s going to keep him out of football in any form or fashion.

“You know, he’s a competitor. I think I even said it after the game we expect that from him. Not that it goes unappreciated; we just expect that from him. He expects that from himself. He’s our quarterback. AFC North football is competitive. The series against the Ravens is a competitive one. No one’s going to leave that stadium extremely comfortable, on either side. We understand what playing those guys is about. He delivered for us.”

And don’t forget the guy also has a broken foot. He’ll be wearing a special shoe with metal plates in it to help him with that. Say what you want about Roethlisberger (rapist, etc), but he’s nobody’s Nancy.

Seattle Seahawks (+6.5) over Chicago Bears

Two teams have never controlled their own destiny this early in a season more than the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks. If either team wins out, they will win their respective divisions, which makes this Week Six match-up OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week. Unfortunately, for the Seahawks, Sunday’s game won’t be featuring Todd Collins, who completed six passes to his own team and four passes to the Carolina Panthers last week. His performance most resembled Damon Wayans’ 2006 stand-up routine Still Standing, entertaining and humorous. There was one play where Collins actually threw an incomplete hand-off, also known as a fumble, but I like my wording better.  Let me explain. Instead of gently laying the ball in the stomach of his running back, Collins flinged the ball to his gut with a weird front-handed wrist toss. There was no need for him to do that. However, nobody can question his toughness and fortitude. He was still standing at the end of the game with a win and 32 more passing yards added to his career totals. Bears fans can’t wait to see Jay Cutler back.  Chicago Bears 24 Seattle Seahwaks 20

Baltimore Ravens (+2.5) over New England Patriots

What happens when two teams square off on the same field they battled nine months before in the 2009 Wild Card playoff round?  It becomes, OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  However, two key components from last years 33-14 beat down will not be suiting up, Randy Moss and Ed Reed.  Randy Moss (five catches for 48 yards on Jan. 10th) was traded to the Minnesota Vikings less than two weeks ago and Ed Reed (four tackles and one interception on Jan. 10th) is still on the PUP list recovering from off-season hip surgery.  So, let’s turn our focus on their replacements, Baltimore safety Tom Zbikowski and New England wide receiver Brandon Tate.  Actually, let’s not.  Let’s discuss what’s going to happen in the game.  Tom Brady will get pummeled by never-ending blitz packages.  They will come from the right.  They will come from the left.  And some will actually come through the middle.  Who is New England’s threat anymore?  BenJarvus?  Aaron Hernandez?  Little Julian Edelman?  The Pied Piper of Hamelin?  Jack Bauer?  I’ll give you Wes Welker, but Baltimore will keep him in check.  Tom Brady is a great quarterback, but I just don’t see the weapons that can pick apart this Ravens defense.  Furthermore, the Ravens are not as sloppy as the Miami Dolphins, so you won’t see punt blocks, kick returns for touchdowns or any other special teams disasters.  It’s quite possible we might see a repeat of January’s playoff game.  Baltimore Ravens 33 New England Patriots 14

Pittsburgh Steelers (-14) over Cleveland Browns

In this super-exciting, lopsided rivalry, two quarterbacks will be getting their first start of the season.  Ben Roethlisberger is coming off his four-game suspension for doing steroids and smoking endless amounts of pot.  And rookie Colt McCoy will be under center for the Browns after the dramatic deaths of Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace.  You know the phrase ‘Any given Sunday’?  Well, the phrase doesn’t have anything to do with this game, which just so happens to be OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  Cleveland has zero shot to win this game, or to even cover.  There’s a better chance that the Philadelphia 76ers will play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals this season.  There’s a better chance that Lindsey Lohan will stop snorting Red Bull and coke up her nose.  There’s a better chance that I won’t watch anymore episodes of River Monsters.  All I want to know is what’s on the end of his line and I’ll watch one full hour to see.  I’m hooked, no pun intended.  I’m lying.  That pun was most certainly intended.  I had ‘addicted’ but changed it to hooked.  There’s a better chance that the…..alright, we get the picture.  Cleveland is getting smoked like Santonio Holmes’ bong.  Pittsburgh Steelers 31 Cleveland Browns 10

Oakland Raiders (+7) over San Francisco 49ers

What?  The 49ers have proved week after week that they stink worse than a dirty hippie on a curry diet.  So, Vegas makes them a seven point favorite?  Granted, they are playing the Raiders, but a seven point favorite?  What this line tells me is that as bad as the 49ers are, the Raiders are that much worse, but I’m not buying it.  Did 49ers owner Jed York’s speech about them winning the division inspire the gambling nation?  Has everyone been taking the Niners, pushing the spread to minus seven?  Or are the Raiders this bad?  I’m confused with this game.  I also feel bad for the state of California.  All three of their NFL football teams stink.  They are a combined 4-11.  That’s how short Snookie from the Jersey Shore is…4’11”.  And that’s how tall Alex Smith plays at quarterback…4’11”.  You know what?  Oakland isn’t this bad.  This line is an insult to the Raiders and their fans.  And they will take their frustrations out on the miserable 0-5 49ers in OTR’s Featured Game Of The Week.  Alex Smith can kiss his starting job away.  Oakland Raiders 27 San Francisco 49ers 13

Season Record (5-3)

Odds based on Saturday’s NFL lines on Vegasinsider, MGM Mirage.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be getting a quarterback soon. That’s a good thing because they just lost one for the entire season.

The team placed Dennis Dixon on injured reserve with a torn left lateral meniscus. This obviously ends his season.

This means that Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch will remain on the team’s roster when Ben Roethlisberger returns.

In case you hadn’t heard, Big Ben was suspended for the first four games of this season after he was accused by a couple women of forcing himself on them when they didn’t want him to. This is called “rape” in some states.

We expect Dixon to return next year as Big Ben’s primary backup.

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network that the suspension for Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has been reduced from six game to four. Apparently, Roger Goodell was sufficiently pleased by Ben’s progress as a human being and doesn’t think he’s going to rape anyone any time soon.

“Roethlisberger’s suspension is 4 games. He has left the NY area and is en route back to Pittsburgh. Full story ahead on NFL Network,” La Canfora tweets.

The Steelers look like they’ll have more than a few guys chipping in at starting QB this year. Byron Leftwich is most likely going to miss the first month or so after he suffered a torn MCL on Thursday night.

That means they’ll be relying on Dennis Dixon for a bit until either Leftwich or Big Ben comes back. Or just Big Ben, there is always the possibility that Dixon plays well enough that they won’t pull him for Byron.

Friday is a big day for the Pittsburgh Steelers, their fans, and fantasy owners who selected Ben Roethlisberger in the 12th round of their fantasy drafts to back-up Brett Favre.  Roethlisberger, his attorney David Cornwell, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and team president Arthur J. Rooney will be meeting in New York to determine how many games, if any, they will cut from Roethlisberger’s original six-game suspenion.  Brett Favre was giving an informal invitation, but will not be attending.

Roethlisberger was suspended the six games under the “The Personal Conduct Policy” for being accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student in a Georgia nightclub in March.  It was the second such allegation against Big Ben who has two Super Bowl victories underneath his belt.  A belt that seems to come off a little too often when Jaeger Bombs and Miller Lite are mixed with college bars and young women.

ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reports that ‘most observers believe Goodell has had in his mind all along to reduce the suspension by two games to four’ if ‘Roethlisberger complied with a number of league-imposed conditions, including a comprehensive behavioral evaluation, and stayed clear of any other off-field problems.’  Fortunately for Big Ben, he hasn’t been accused of sexually assaulting any women lately (the longest stretch of his career), so he should be rewarded with a reduction in his suspension.

Details on the behavioral evaluation:

• Roethlisberger will be shown pictures of young women, booze, teammates, and football and he has to respond “good” or “bad.”  He must score 75% or higher to pass and has 30 minutes to complete.  Pictures of young women wearing Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys will be mixed in to try to trick him.  These are called ‘roadblocks.’
• Roethlisberger will be given a taste test.  Unmarked plastic cups will be filled with Vodka-Redbull, Budweiser, Gatorade, and water and he has to respond “good” or “bad.”  He must score 75% or higher to pass and has 30 minutes to complete.  A young woman will be giving him the taste test, so if at any time he tries to sexually assault her, Roethlisberger automatically fails the test and the behavioral evaluation.
• Roethlisberger must score 75% or higher on both evaluations to pass.

Paolantonio is also reporting that ‘Roethlisberger’s representatives plan to ask the commissioner to reduce the suspension by at least three games.  Therefore, he will miss the Atlanta, Tennessee, and Tampa Bay games and return Week Four to play the rival Baltimore Ravens at home.  If Roethlisberger only gets a two game reduction, he will miss the Ravens game and then have two weeks to prepare (Bye Week) and return to play the Cleveland Browns (Week Six) at home.

In his absence at the start of the season, Byron Leftwich is supposed to start with Dennis Dixon backing him up.

You may or may not have heard by now that Mike Wise of the Washington Post sent out a fake tweet today regarding Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension. He tweeted, “Roethlisberger will get five games, I’m told.”

Coming from someone like Wise who works at the Post, it’s safe to say that he’s a credible source who wouldn’t just put that stuff out there if it wasn’t true. Except he did, and it wasn’t.

It was tied into a bit he was doing with his radio show, but he forgot that not everyone was listening to his show. In a podcast available here, he explains what he was doing and why he was doing it.

“Where I screwed up was, I literally put a tweet right after that saying, ‘can’t reveal my sources…oh yeah, it’s a casino employee in Lake Tahoe’ and so I get this ‘Twitter is over-booked, try back later,’” Wise explains. “So the actual secondary tweet doesn’t go come out until…a half hour to an hour later and I was on the radio show at the time and I didn’t even look up for 20 minutes to see that it hadn’t tweeted.”

Not sure we are buying that one, but ok.

He was then talking about how people should have to go do a bunch more research based on a tweet that he puts out.

“Bottom line: I picked a lousy way to show we have no credibility in this medium, in the social networking medium, and that nobody checks these things out,” he said. “It was just not a good way to do it. If i had to do it all over again I would have picked another way.”

Obviously, a lot of content aggregation sites (like ours, although we didn’t post this story) have to trust these “journalists” when they put this stuff out there, because there is no way to be on top of every player on every team in every sport.

A former writer for the WaPo sports section, Jason La Canfora (now with NFL Network) seemed a bit tweaked too, and put out this tweet today.

“If I’m the Washington Post, I’m thinking seriously about suspending a sports columnist. No surprise the Big Ben tweet was a hoax,” he said.

What did Wise think of a former colleague saying this?

“In these kind of instances, you find out who is making sure you’re okay and who has your back and who wants to pile on,” he said. “This is a good moment for me personally to find out who is a peripheral friend and who actually is a person who has no idea the genesis of this and how it came about.”

Ok, maybe that’s the case. But, can’t you understand why people would be pissed if you made them look stupid because of your fake tweet? How can you not understand this concept?

He was asked about the use of his Twitter account for breaking news.

“I’ve never broken news on my Twitter account in my life,” Wise said. “The only news I ever broke on my Twitter account was that Shaq is not, in fact, engaged to Hoops. That’s not exactly what I would call breaking news.

“I’m a columnist. I have fun on that Twitter account. It’s used as an outreach for other readers and other people, that’s what the Post gave me the account for. Now, that does not preempt me from any of the Twitter rules that we have that apply to this kind of stuff, and I have ever reason to apologize for…not everybody is listening to the radio show. It’s my fault.”

Yep, it’s your fault. Every report of yours from now on will have to end with “no, but I’m serious!”

Wise was particularly critical of Mike Florio from ProFootballTalk.com, who was less than thrilled about Wise’s little stunt.

“This is what he does,” Wise said. “This is a guy…of all people. I don’t mind some people, with what I would call integrity in this business, saying ‘you’re an idiot.’ In Florio’s case, I guess he called me a D-I-C-K…I don’t mind some people doing that. Mike Florio is probably the last person on Earth that should be criticizing anybody on this. This is the reason why I did something like this. Again, I picked a lousy avenue.

“You’re not checking out a major story like that before you post it?”

This is what you don’t get, Mike. Information coming from you is supposed to be already checked. If we can’t trust people from the Washington Post, then who can we trust?

In Super Bowl XL, the Pittsburgh Steelers knocked off the Seattle Seahawks in what was one of the worst Super Bowls of all time. The game was relatively close at 21-10, but in general, it stunk. It was awful because the Steelers weren’t all that great and their QB Ben Roethlisberger had a horrific, rape-like day throwing the ball. It was the worst game by a winning quarterback in Super Bowl history.

It also stunk because Seattle wasn’t that great either, but they should have had a better chance to win the game if it wasn’t for the referees. And recently, the games referee Bill Leavy admitted as much.

“It was a tough thing for me,” Leavy said on Friday. “I kicked two calls in the fourth quarter, and I impacted the game, and as an official you never want to do that.”

He didn’t say exactly what the two calls were, but it’s not difficult to guess. Sean Locklear was called for a holding penalty that no one else saw, that negated a pass play that would have had Seattle in business at the Steelers’ one-yard line. That’s kind of a big deal.

Especially since Matt Hasselbeck threw a pick right after that. On top of that, he was called for an illegal low block while making the tackle on the play. Yeah, read that again. We still don’t understand how that can happen, and apparently Leavy doesn’t either.

“It left me with a lot of sleepless nights, and I think about it constantly,” he said. “I’ll go to my grave wishing that I’d been better. I know that I did my best at that time, but it wasn’t good enough.

“When we make mistakes, you got to step up and own them. It’s something that all officials have to deal with, but unfortunately when you have to deal with it in the Super Bowl, it’s difficult.”

Fair enough. You have to give the guy credit for owning the mistakes. But while we’re at it, what about the phantom pass interference call on Darrell Jackson in the first half that wipe out a Seattle TD? They had to settle for a FG.

And how about Big Ben’s TD that he didn’t really score? At least they had replay for that one.

We aren’t ones to blame the refs for much and there is no guarantee that the Seahawks would have won the game if it was called differently. But yeah, the refs really Schruted that one.

This really wouldn’t be a big deal at all if Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t already in so much hot water with the NFL. There was a report that Big Ben was accused of urinating on a golf course, but it seems now that he was falsely identified by the woman who called to complain.

Apparently, it was a member of his foursome, but not Ben. This is a good thing for him, because that would probably be just enough reason for Roger Goodell to keep his suspension at six games.

No chargers were filed, and no citations were issued.

Photo Caption: This photo says so much, doesn’t it?

“We received a call that said a member of the party urinated on private property,” Dublin, OH police spokesman David Ball said. “We spoke to the golf course and they agreed to discuss this issue internally with their members.”

This seems like a non-issue at this point. But OTR is always very diligent when it comes to reporting non-issues.

This isn’t good for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their offensive line essentially stinks and they can’t afford to lose anyone. Especially if it’s their best lineman.

Well, that’s what happened when Willie Colon went down with a busted Achilles. Now, Jason La Canfora tweets that he’ll undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair it and he’ll miss the entire year.

“Steelers LT Willie Colon expects to have season-ending surgery for an ACL tear on Wednesday. MRI results all but certain to confirm it,” La Canfora tweets, incorrectly calling it an ACL.

This is not only bad news for the Steelers, but also for Byron Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger, who have to stand behind it. Rashard Mendenhall’s fantasy value takes a slight hit as well.

Pittsburgh Steelers WR Hines Ward recently went on NFL Network’s “Total Access” and discussed the situation regarding QB Ben Roethlisberger. He said he wanted Ben to address his teammates, which hasn’t happened as of yet.

“A lot of players really don’t know the situation, other than what we hear in the news or the media,” Ward explained. “I think when he addresses the whole team going into training camp, we can all put it behind us and move forward.”

Yet another reason why Ben is a bad teammate. Remember punter Dan Sepulveda said a few months ago that his locker was smack next to Roethlisberger’s for several years and that he never really had a conversation with him? Isn’t that a little cold?

Yes, because of all the trouble that Ben is in (minimum four-game suspension to start 2010) or has escaped (at least two rapes), he has to get himself together and stop raping girls. But we don’t know if it said anywhere that he had to be a better teammate and communicate with his co-workers better.

Through all of this, it’s possible that he’ll still be a dick. We just hope he doesn’t keep raping girls.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has advised the Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that they can begin practicing with one another again at next week’s OTAs.

PHOTO CAPTION: A smile that could rape your heart

Big Ben has completed behavioral evaluation, which included putting him in real-life situations.  They locked him in a room with cocktails and college chicks to see if he could withhold his temptations of drunken sexual assault.

On a serious note, isn’t that what they should really do?  I mean, they probably had him doing puzzles while interviewing him about his feelings.  What’s that going to do?  Put Big Ben in a campus bar that’s having a two dollar Long Island iced tea special and see if he doesn’t try to force himself on the 2009 Kappa Phi Beta pledge class.  If he doesn’t, then maybe he’s cured.  I said maybe.

Anyway, Goodell said that no decision has been made yet on decreasing Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension.  He will review Ben’s progress and then decide whether to reduce the suspension to four games.

According to Chris Mortensen, Brett Favre underwent ankle surgery Friday morning in Gulf Breeze, Florida.  The procedure was performed by Dr. James Andrews and all signs point to a Brett Favre return.

During the past two offseasons, it seemed that Brett Favre would never step foot on an NFL playing surface again.  Fool us once, shame on you.  Fool us twice, shame on us.  But you ain’t fooling us again, Mr. Favre.

Everyone in their right mind expects Brett Favre to be on the field again next season for the Minnesota Vikings.  Who else can throw an interception that kills all the hopes and dreams of a fan base better than Brett Favre?  Nobody.  And expect it again this season.  It will happen.  However, Pittsburgh fans can argue that the latter is better than raping a fan base.  Touche, Pittsburgh, touche.

Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II has surely heard and felt the ire of the fans regarding the behavior QB Ben Roethlisberger. We’d even wager a guess that he’s lost a wink or two of sleep on how to handle the situation.

As such, Rooney took it upon himself to send out letters on Steelers stationery in response to the outrage.

“Thank you for your letter regarding Ben Roethlisberger. All of us in the Steelers family are concerned about the recent behavior of Ben in Georgia. I am certainly as concerned as you about our players’ behavior. I believe we have made it clear to Ben and all of our players, that there will be consequences for behavior that does not meet our standards,” the letter starts.

He then adds, “The vast majority of our players are good people people who work hard to be the best that they can be.”

Wow. Big Ben must surely love this. But, he’s brought in on himself. Not only has he faced two different sets of rape allegations, but more and more stories are coming out about what kind of a general ass he is when he’s not raping girls.

Ever since drafting Matt Leinart with the 10th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Arizona fans have been waiting to see their first-round choice develop into a star quarterback.  In 2011, they may get their wish.

Sources close to the Cardinals organization have informed OTR that quarterback coach Chris Miller has solved a major problem.  The following is our source’s story, verbatim:

“Miller has been watching Leinart throw all spring and he was having trouble figuring out why Matt’s passes were so awful, off-target, and rarely to the correct team.  After a session, Steve [Breaston] shouted for Matt to throw him a Gatorade thermos.  Matt picked it up with his right hand and tossed it to him, square in the hands.

PHOTO CAPTION: Lean back and release, it’s taught at a young age

“Miller looked at Leinart and questioned, ‘What was that?’  Matt responded, ‘Frost Glacier Freeze.’  Coach just shook his head and said, ‘Not the flavor number seven, you threw that with your right hand.  And it was accurate.  Can you do the same with a football?  Try throwing right-handed.’

“Matt picked up the football and started throwing darts.  It was amazing.  One after another.  Coach Miller may have saved this team.”

OTR finds this absolutely fascinating.  How can an NFL quarterback, who also played left-handed all throughout college (granted it was the PAC-10), not know he was right-handed?  I mean, everytime Leinart took the field it sure looked like he was throwing with the incorrect hand, but who’s to know?

More importantly, does this solve Leinart’s problem with reading defenses like a middle-aged Stevie Wonder?  Or having the escapability of a Milledgeville college girl caught in a bathroom stall with Ben Roethlisberger?  Only time will tell, but Coach Miller might be on to something.

***Note:  OTR understands that escapability may not be a word***

Grammy Award winning rap artist Eminem delivered some shout outs to Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger in his new song “Despicable.”

The 37-year old, white rapper says of the quarterback, “I’d rather turn this club into a bar room brawl. Get as rowdy as Roethlisberger in a bathroom stall.”

Can anyone see the irony here?  Eminem is a rapper.  And Roethlisberger is a raper.

YOUTUBE CAPTION:  Roethlisberger’s name comes up around 32 seconds

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has probably been doing a lot of apologizing lately. He’ll probably have more to do in the future. But Roethlisberger said (when we say “said,” we mean a PR person wrote them up and got them approved) today that he won’t appeal his 4-6 game suspension imposed by Roger Goodell.

Luckily for you, the reader, we were able to get a hold of the original draft of the statement, before any other PR people could do the final edits.

“The Commissioner’s decision to suspend me speaks clearly that more is expected of me when I’m partying with underaged girls and plotting their inevitable rape,” Roethlisberger said in a statement released by the team. “I am accountable for the consequences of my actions in the darkest recesses of seedy nightclubs. Though I have committed many no crimes, I regret that I have fallen extremely short of the values instilled in me by my victims family. I will not appeal the suspension and will comply with what is asked of me — and more.

“Missing games will be relaxing and enjoyable devastating for me. I am sorry to let down an entire fucking city my teammates and the entire Steelers fan base. I am disappointed that I have reached this point and will not put myself in this situation again unless she’s under 20 and really wasted.

“I wasted appreciate the opportunities that I have been given in my life and will make the necessary improvements.”

Seems contrite to us.

Jason La Canfora of NFL Network reports that the Oakland Raiders have been in talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers about the services of rapist QB Ben Roethlisberger.

“Steelers have been in contact w/ Raiders regarding Big Ben trade. Might be only real option. More on NFLN and NFL.com,” he tweets.

The Raiders might be the only team that would realistically trade for Big Ben at this point. The Steelers are in a bad position in that his trade value has taken a huge hit, but he’s still a two-time Super Bowl Champ.

You’d have to think that the Steelers would want the #8-overall pick in the draft at least. Another site mentioned that and Nnamdi Asomugha, but that seems like quite a haul.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger will be getting a 4-6 game suspension.

It’s a conditional suspension that will be dependent on Roethlisberger’s behavior and compliance with evaluators.

Supposedly, the Steelers were bracing for a possible eight-game suspension, so this is a bit of a relief. But this would explain yesterday’s trade for Byron Leftwich.

UPDATE: Adam Schefter reports the Steelers are shopping Ben to teams with top ten picks.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are pretty well aware that they won’t have their QB Ben Roethlisberger around for a couple games at the start of the season. The NFL has made it pretty clear that they look down upon people who run around raping girls.

While they have Dennis Dixon on the roster and he might be able to play at some point, clearly they don’t think he’s ready just yet. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Steelers sent a seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for QB Byron Leftwich.

This will be Leftwich’s second stint with the team. He saw game action in five games in 2008 with the Steelers and played pretty damn well.

Sources tell Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports that Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is expected to be given a suspension on Monday or Tuesday of this week. While we don’t know for sure, the suspension is expected to be between 2-4 games.

“Ben understands where this is going and he knows there’s punishment he’ll have to take,” one of the sources close to Roethlisberger said. “He knows how much this hurt the team and the league. He wants to make this right.”

According to Cole’s sources, Big Ben just wants to get this over with and won’t fight the punishment.

Authorities in Georgia decided not to prosecute Ben after recent allegations of rape. They didn’t say he didn’t do it, they just said that they didn’t think they could get a conviction in a court of law.

And while no charges were filed, it’s obvious that Big Ben is losing in the court of public opinion.

“After you read the file and you listen to the player, the only conclusion you can come to is that what he did is unbelievably stupid,” one of the league sources told Cole. “How could he have really thought this was a good idea?”

Stay tuned to see how long he’s suspended. Oh, and draft Dennis Dixon high in your fantasy football leagues.

Boy, this looks really bad for Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. Yes, he’s lucky that there won’t be any criminal charges filed, but TheSmokingGun.com posted some relevant hand-written statements that the 20-year girl from Milledgeville, GA gave to police and it sounds pretty bad.

“Ben asked us to go to his ‘VIP’ area. . . . We all went with him,” the alleged victim wrote. “He said there were shots for us, numerous shots were on the bar, and he told us to take them. His bodyguard came and took my arm and said come with me, he escorted me into a side door/hallway, and sat me on a stool. He left and Ben came back with his penis out of his pants. I told him it wasn’t OK, no, we don’t need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave. I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom. He followed me into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. I still said no, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me. He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything. I went out of the hallway/door to the side where I saw my friends. We left [the club] and went to the first police car we saw.”

This was the second of two statements that the alleged victim gave. This first one was given when she was most likely pretty wasted off of booze. She writes:

“His bodyguards took him back to the rooms w/bathroom and I said, ‘I don’t know if this is a good idea’ and he said ‘it’s OK.’ He has sex w/me and meanwhile his bodyguards told me friends they couldn’t pass them to get to me. My friends found me & talked to a Milledgeville policeman and he said to report it.”

TheSmokingGun.com posts other statements from her friends that all seem to be in sync with one another. That kind of tells us that they might be telling the truth. We weren’t there that night and we don’t know what really happened, but at some point, all these women can’t be lying can they?

A source tells NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora that the Pittsburgh Steelers have had internal discussions about trading away QB Ben Roethlisberger. “The Rooneys are livid,” the source said.

Supposedly, the Rooney family is embarrassed and quite troubled by Big Ben’s off-the-field antics and patterns of behavior. Twice in the last year or so he’s been involved in rape allegations. Once is a coincidence, twice is a pattern.

But don’t expect them to hand over Roethlisberger like they did Santonio Holmes, who was shipped to the New York Jets for a lousy fifth-round pick. The Steelers know how valuable he is and they know they could probably get quite a bit in return. It just depends on how badly they want him gone and how disgraceful the rest of the league execs view his behavior.

Morals aside, the guy could probably save some general manager his job.

Boston-based attorney Harry Manion went on WEEI recently and said that he was actually involved in another Las Vegas incident regarding Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. Jesus, when does it stop? This should be taken for what it is though, and the bottom line is that no charges were ever pursued.

“Six months ago I was retained by a client of mine and a close friend to investigate allegations against Ben Roethlisberger in a Las Vegas nightclub that were absolutely identical to this Georgia girl’s story,” Manion said.

Manion thinks/hopes that this latest Georgia incident will get Big Ben to stop being so stupid.

“Unless he’s totally brain dead — and we don’t know — he would be scared,” Manion said. “Because he has really walked a perilous line here. There’s a whole litany here, not only my experience, I have connected with several other people that have experience. And you know, there’s only so far that he said/she said will get you. There’s only so far that paying hush money will get you, if hush money is paid. And there’s only so far that, ‘Gee, we’re celebrities, we have a target on our back,’ will get you. When you see this much smoke, month after month and continuously . . . . It’s the scene that he’s gotten himself caught up with, and the belief that he can walk, and so far, so good. But it’s hurting him. He’s hurt. He has been damaged. And the next one, the wrath of God’s going to come down on him, if there is a next one.”