Wednesday Spotlight: Ben Roethlisberger- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ("Big Ben") is known as one of the toughest players in the NFL and we saw another reason why this past week. On Thursday night, late in the second quarter Roethlisberger got hit and had his leg twisted below him. He was helped off the field and diagnosed with a high ankle sprain, an injury that generally takes 2-6 weeks to heal. But after halftime, Big Ben limped out of the locker room onto the field and led his team to a decisive win over division rival (The word rival is used very loosely here) Cleveland Browns.
- Coming out of Miami University of Ohio, Ben was part of the highly touted class of 2004 (including Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning). He was the lowest drafted of the three, at 11th overall, has won more Super Bowl titles (2) than the others (1 combined). In 2005 and in 2008, losing the Super Bowl in 2010 to the Green Bay Packers. Roethlisberger never makes it look pretty, but always seems to find a way to get the ball to the right players and win games, he has never had a losing season.
- Roethlisberger has had some off the field issues, including crashing his motorcycle while not wearing a helmet and an allegation that he took advantage of an intoxicated female in a bathroom of a club. He has avoided negative headlines now for a while and has gotten married. Ben is already one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and is working his way up to the point where he may be voted into the Hall of Fame someday.
Paul Going to Other L.A. Team?
- Last week we reported that Chris Paul was traded to the Lakers only to have the deal vetoed because the Hornets are technically owned by the NBA and some owners complained. Now it looks like he could be going to the Lakers' cross-town rival (Again, the word rival is used very loosely here) the Clippers.
- The Hornets are asking for a kings ransom from the Clippers including up and coming star guard Eric Gordon, youngsters Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe, former All-Star center Chris Kaman and Minnesota's unprotected 2012 first-round draft pick. The Clippers however, have picked up former all-star guard Chauncey Billups this offseason which makes them less desperate to pick up a player like Paul. Even without acquiring him, a core of Billups, Gordon, Blake Griffin and Kaman should be good enough to put them in the playoffs which in recent years has been a rarity in the LA "rivalry".
- On another NBA related note, the Denver Nuggets resigned their Free Agent center Nene. The Brazilian player (who goes by his first name) was widely considered the best free agent left on the market. The Nuggets are in a tough spot with two of their players stuck playing in China until March because they signed there during the lockout and have no way out of their contract until the Chinese season is over.
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