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Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

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and remember "Kane is Able"
 
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Speaking on behalf of all Bengal fans, I say the only way I want to see that guy go down is in the arms of one of our defensive players. Come on Ben, you've got to pull through. I want you at full strength when we kick your team's butt.

Get well soon.
 
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http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

POSTED 1:30 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2006

ROETHLISBERGER IN SURGERY

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger currently is undergoing surgery for injuries suffered in a Monday morning automobile accident.

Dr. Larry Jones of Mercy Hospital declined to offer any details regarding the nature of the surgery.

Roethlisberger is listed in serious but stable condition. Dr. Jones said that Roethlisberger was alert and talking before the commencement of the procedure.

Reporters on WTAE are speculating that Roethlisberger is having surgery to repair jaw injuries.

POSTED 1:21 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2006

NO WORD YET ON BIG BEN'S CONDITION

All parties remain tight-lipped regarding the condition of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is being treated at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh after being involved in a motorcycle accident at 11:37 a.m. on Monday.

Per WTAE-TV, Steelers chairman Dan Rooney is on his way to the hospital. Teammate Charlie Batch is already at the facility, but has declined to comment.

Team spokesman Dave Lockett told WTAE that he'll defer comment to a specialist, who is expected to address the media by 1:30 p.m.

The most ominous aspect of the story, in our view, is that the matter has been assigned to the homicide department of the Pittsburgh police, which happens whenever (as a police spokesman told WTAE) there's an accident involving "critical" injuries.
 
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I hate the Steelers, but I hope he makes a quick recovery. My girlfriend went to Miami and interviewed him and wrote a feature piece for the school newspaper. From everything I've heard, he sounds like a great guy. In a league filled with guys like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, Ben Roethlisberger is one of the good guys. Get well soon!
 
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I hate the Steelers, but I hope he makes a quick recovery. My girlfriend went to Miami and interviewed him and wrote a feature piece for the school newspaper. From everything I've heard, he sounds like a great guy. In a league filled with guys like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, Ben Roethlisberger is one of the good guys. Get well soon!

Agreed...can't stand the steelers but you never want something like this top happen to one of the goods guys in football. I can't beleive more teams haven't started putting things in contract forbidding the use of motercycles.
 
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http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

POSTED 2:28 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2006

BIG BEN GETS "VERY LUCKY"

A league source tells us that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has suffered a broken jaw and various "minor scratches" as a result of his Monday morning motorcycle accident. But, at this point, the team does not believe that he has suffered any serious injuries to body parts that would be used in the playing of football.

"He will have to be thoroughly checked but at this time he looks to be very lucky," said a league source with knowledge of the situation.

We can't fathom Big Ben emerging from the collision without a single arm, hand, elbow, shoulder, leg, knee, hip, ankle, or foot injury that would impact his ability to prepare for and/or play in the 2006 season. The pictures suggest a very serious collision between Roethlisberger's motorcycle and a car. In 2005, for example, concerns regarding the internal injuries suffered by Browns tight end Kellen Winslow when he merely wrecked his motorcycle into a curb quickly gave way to a swollen knee that ultimately was found to have a torn ACL embedded therein.

And if for some reason Roethlisberger couldn't play this year, what would the Steelers do? Make Charlie Batch the starter? Re-sign Tommy Maddox? Bring in Kerry Collins?

Or -- gulp -- bring back Kordell Stewart?

The options would limited, given that the incident happened so late in the offseason. But, for now, it appears that he'll be ready to go after his jaw is healed.
 
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AS A SPORTS FAN I hope that he pulls through and has no lingering injuries. I would never wish that type of event on anyone.

AS A BENGALS and Carson Palmer FAN I wonder if Kimo Van Oelhoffen was driving the car that hit him.

I hope that he is fine and makes a speedy recovery.
 
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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/s_457685.html

Roethlisberger injury update

By Jill King Greenwood and and Karen Roebuck
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, June 12, 2006

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is in serious but stable condition and in surgery this afternoon following a serious head injury this morning after his motorcycle collided with a car on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge, police said.

Roethlisberger lost most of his teeth, fractured his left sinus cavity bone, suffered a nine-inch laceration to the back of his head and a broken jaw, and severely injured both of his knees when he hit the ground, police said.

A plastic surgeon has been summoned.

"He is right now in the (operating room) undergoing some surgery from injuries he received in this accident today," said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma and burns at Mercy Hospital, Uptown. ... He was talking to me before he left for the OR. He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened."

Roethlisberger, 24, who was not wearing a helmet, collided with a Chrysler New Yorker shortly before 11:25 a.m. and was thrown off his motorcycle, flying head-first into the car's windshield "with a pretty good force," said a veteran city police officer.

Roethlisberger was talking and moving his arms and legs after the accident. He suffered injuries to his face and lost several teeth, according to city firefighters.

The injured quarterback was taken to Mercy Hospital, said a Steelers spokesman, who declined to provide other information.

The car, which has Maine license plates, was heading west on Second Avenue and was turning left onto the 10th Street Bridge. Roethlisberger was driving east on Second Avenue riding a Suzuki Hayabusa and collided with the car at the intersection of the bridge and the Armstrong Tunnels.

Several teammates, including backup quarterback Charlie Batch, linebacker Joey Porter and safety Mike Logan, arrived at the hospital emergency room but did not comment. The team planned to issue a statement later Monday, but no one from the team would be made available, said spokesman Dave Lockett, who left the hospital at about 2:40 p.m.

Roethlisberger, who led the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship this year, slammed into the windshield, rolled over the car and landed on the pavement, striking his head again, said a woman who witnessed the accident.

The witness, who declined to give her name, asked Roethlisberger several times if he was OK. He eventually replied, "My name is Ben."

He asked: "Where am I?"

"You're at the Armstrong Tunnel," the witness said.

"What city is that in?" he said.

"Pittsburgh," the woman replied.

Roethlisberger fell silent for about a minute and then tried to stand up.

"I'm OK," he said.

"No you're not," said the woman, who instructed him to stay still.

Pittsburgh homicide detectives are investigating the accident, which is standard procedure when critical injuries are involved, said city police Lt. Kevin Kraus.

Roethlisberger's 2005 Suzuki Hayabusa, which is named after a Japanese bird of prey, was totaled. The front wheel was broken in half. The handle bars were broken. The left pedal was shattered. The 170-horsepower bike, which weighs 500 pounds fully loaded, was targeted by law enforcement agencies worldwide after its 1998 debut because it could reach a top speed of 189 mph.

Suzuki Motorcycles of North America gave Roethlisberger the bike as part of a promotional deal in exchange for him appearing at several Suzuki dealerships in the area, including Andrews Cycle in Salem, Ohio where he picked up the motorcycle last summer. Andrews' sales staff declined comment.

The motorcycle is popular among first-time buyers, said Steve Stiller, a salesman at Northgate Motorcycles in Cranberry, Butler County.

Roethlisberger has said in the past that he prefers not to wear a helmet when riding his motorcycle. He has pointed out Pennsylvania's 35-year-old state law requiring helmets to be worn was amended to make helmets optional.

In May 2005, Steelers coach Bill Cowher lectured Roethlisberger on the dangers of riding without a helmet.

"He talked about being a risktaker and I'm not really a risktaker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."

In May 2005, Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. tore knee ligaments in a motorcycle accident and was lost for the season.

Roethlisberger continued to ride after Winslow's accident and that angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.

Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked: "Ride it when you retire."

Earlier this year, Roethlisberger led the Steelers to the NFL title, giving the team the fifth Super Bowl win they had been chasing since 1980.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 
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Sounds like the knee injuries may or may not be accurate.

POSTED 2:58 p.m. EDT; UPDATED 3:54 p.m. EDT, June 12, 2006

BIG BEN NOT SO LUCKY AFTER ALL?

Minutes after we learned from a solid and credible league source that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is not expected to have any serious injuries after suffering a motorcycle accident on Monday morning, we were alerted to reports that Roethlisberger has suffered "serious" injuries to both of his knees.

Per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, which broke the story of the accident minutes after it happened, Roethlisberger has fractured his left sinus cavity bone, sustained a nine-inch gash to the back of his head, suffered injuries to both knees and a broken jaw, and he has lost either "most" or "several" of his teeth.

Our source on the "Ben got lucky" story told us he was operating on information that apparently has been superseded, and it's a sign of just how fluid and uncertain the situation has been.

"The injuries reported sound like a credible leak," the source told us. "There was no indiction of any knee injuries from my source who was with Ben but who knows?" Our source has since advised us that he still has no confirmation that reports of two serious knee injuries are accurate.

If Ben's knees are seriously injured, his ability to play in 2006 will be significantly affected. So then the question becomes, what do the Steelers do to replace him?

Personally, we'd call Doug Flutie. He's a better option than any of the stiffs and retreads currently on the market. Alternatively, if there's a chance that Roethlisberger is gone for more than one season, we'd get the Falcons on the horn about a trade for Matt Schaub.

We're still digging for more details.




-- Not that it matters right now, but I know the questions will come up:

BIG BEN'S BONUS MONEY IS SAFE, BUT FUTURE PAYDAYS ARE AT RISK

If, as it now appears, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger could miss part of all of the 2006 season as he recovers from injuries sustained in a Monday morning motorcycle accident, many readers have asked us whether Roethlisberger faces any financial jeopardy for getting into an accident while riding a motorcycle without a helmet on.

We've concluded that Roethlisberger most likely won't be required to pay back any of the signing or option bonus money that he has received.

Our research on the topic has uncovered a story posted in May 2005 on an independent web site known as Profootballtalk.com. Although we hear that the site is run by some guy who is a real asshole (but who also is an NFL scout), we found the information to be persuasive.

On May 5, 2005, we 'splained that, based on Roethlisberger's contract, an injury sustained while riding a motorcycle could be a violation of Paragraph 3 of Roethlisberger's contract, which provides as follows: "Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury."

However, Roethlisberger's contract does not does not expressly refer to a breach of Paragraph 3 and/or an injury resulting from motorcycling as grounds for recovering all or part of Roethlisberger's signing or option bonus.

At most, Roethlisberger's contract contemplates that he would be required to refund a big chunk of the $7.2375 million option bonus paid on day five of the 2005 league year if he "voluntarily retires not due to a NFL football related injury."

Coincidentally, the new CBA negotiated in March restricts circumstances in which bonus recovery is allowed, but it permits bonus recovery to situations in which the player "voluntarily retires."

So the question is whether suffering a career-ending injury via an accident constitutes a voluntary retirement. If Roethlisberger can't play in 2006, it's not because he voluntarily chose not to do so. Instead, an unintended accident prevented him from doing so.

Moreover, the injury would have to force a permanent cessation of his football-playing career before the question of whether he "voluntarily" retired would even become relevant. If he misses one, two, three seasons or more, he still hasn't necessarily retired.

And even if Roethlisberger could never play football again, we don't imagine that the Rooneys would make an example out of him by forcing the return of most of his option bonus money.

Still, based on the current reports regarding the extent of the injuries, Roethlisberger's future earnings potential has taken quite a hit. If he had remained fully healthy and effective, Roethlisberger was in line for big-money contract extension, with $20 million or more in bonus money. Now, whether he gets that kind of a future payday is, at best, up in the air.

His endorsement potential also will take a hit, if he can't play. Guys like Peyton Manning earn more than $10 million per year through such sources, and Roethlisberger was well on his way to matching Manning's national fame.

It's a helluva price tag for indulging his desire to ride a motorcycle instead of driving a car.
 
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I'm waiting for the teams official statement, but I can't imagine this not having a major impact on his season. I absolutely loath the Steelers, but Ben has always come off as a pretty humble, respectable kid. Apparently not all that bright...but a nice guy none the less. I hope he can make it back soon.
 
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