A Season for Everything

At a press conference yesterday, police announced the outcome of their investigation into Ben Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident. Both he and and the car involved had a green light, but it was ruled the driver of the car was at fault. The 62-year-old woman was cited for failure to yield. Her name is being withheld as she has received death threats. Roethlisberger was fined and cited for not having a valid permit or license and for not wearing a helmet, which is required with a permit. He was not speeding or driving recklessly.

In other news, the Steeler’s number one draft pick, Santonio Holmes, was arrested in Ohio on a domestic assault charge. He pled ‘Not Guilty’ and claims it is all a misunderstanding. It’s his second arrest since being drafted. Possibly a case of where there’s smoke there’s fire?
He meets with the coaching staff today.

In a statement issued yesterday, Ben Roethlisberger apologized for his reckless and irresponsible behavior, said he had gained a new perspective on life and that he realizes it’s by the grace of God that he is alive.

As for the helmet issue…..Big Ben says if he ever rides a motorcycle again he will definitely wear a helmet. Too bad he had to literally get some sense knocked into him to reach that decision.

At any rate, it looks like Ben’s on the road to a total and speedy recovery. He plans to be at training camp here in Latrobe next month so that probably means he’ll be ready to play by the regular season opener. You’ns know what that means……Pittsburgh’s back, baby, and ready to play!

Offial word is that Big Ben will play football again. None of his injuries should keep him off the field permanently. They might slow him down in the dating arena as they basically had to rebuild his face, which took the brunt of the impact. Both his upper and lower jaw were broke (in more than one place), he lost teeth, he had a few deeper cuts and I heard he also broke his nose and fractured a sinus cavity. Everything else checks out okay, though I’m sure he feels like he’s been run over by a tank.

There was a lot of speculation that he would have to have his jaw wired shut to keep it immobile while it healed. At his size (6′2″ and 240lbs) it would be impossible to get the nutrients to maintain his bulk. The thinking was that he’d lose a lot of weight and would have to build himself back up before he’d be able to play again. Not so. With fame and fortune come the best doctors and technology available. They used titanium plates to screw Ben’s jaw back together and he is already eating a soft diet.

No word yet on how Ben feels about helmets now.

It still hasn’t been announced officially whose fault the accident was, but one thing has come out. Ben was riding without a valid license or permit. In Pennsylvania you can get a motorcycle permit and ride with it for a year without taking the test. I believe it is renewable a couple of times. Getting an actual license involves taking a class and passing a test. The restrictions on a permit include: no passengers, no driving after dark , and you must wear a helmet. Seems ol’ Ben’s permit ran out in March and it’s pretty much common knowledge that he’s been riding without a helmet from the beginning. The police say he will most likely get a ticket. Personally, I think he should have to do some kind of community service with kids, educating them on safety or something. I know a lot of bike riders and I realize that Ben is far, far….far from being the only one to “bend” the permit laws. However, he is the one that kids all over the country hero-worship.

God took care of you this time, Ben. Wise up.

So, I had an appointment with my gyno this morning. The second of my every-three-months check ups to be sure the evil, one-breath-from-cancer cells haven’t come back. Don’t ask. I have to wait a week for the results.

I haven’t been home long and there’s a lot of stuff I could be doing, because I didn’t get to do anything last night as Megan begged me to take her to the mall to shop for a dress for Friday’s Valentine dance. Three hours, one pounding headache and $104 later…….but that’s another story that I just can’t take the time to tell right now. I can’t stop watching the boobtube television that long. The Steelers’ victory parade is on live. What an amazing turnout for it and the rally to follow. Downtown Pittsburgh is packed. I doubt there’s any parking within miles. The noise is deafening. All that togetherness. Man, I wish I was there. By the way, Matt didn’t blow off his classes to go. I’m proud of him, but I have to admit had this happened when I was in college…..I’d have moved heaven and earth to be there.

I know everyone is probably getting tired of all the Steeler stuff. Sorry. I guess I’m just caught up in all the fun. That’s kind of the point. Some will say all this for a football game….ridiculous! Yeah, it is, but with all the crappy stuff going on in the world that we’re hit with day after day we need goofy things like the Super Bowl to keep us from getting too mired down in the garbage.

Yeah, baby! Say what you will about poorly played games, unpreparedness or sucky officiating, but the facts don’t change. Only one team’s coming home with the Lombardi…and that team would be my beloved Steelers.

The excitement hasn’t died down at all. The kids on the bus (at least the ones who didn’t stay home to sleep in) were bouncing off the walls, begging me to play “our” Steeler song. I did, one last time. Now, like the Bus, it is retired. Every radio station is fielding calls from fans. Pittsburgh’s airport has designated an area for fans who want to welcome the team’s plane. Pittsburgh itself is shutting down tomorrow morning for a huge parade and rally. I think Matt is going to blow off his classes to go to that. He tells me no, but who does he think he’s kidding?

I live in Latrobe, home of the Steelers’ summer training camp at St. Vincent College. After last year’s phenominal season it seemed like the number of out of town fans that came for a peek at the team shot through the roof. The mind boggles (and maybe shudders a little) at what my quiet little town will be like this summer. Ah well…..it goes with the territory and is well worth it.

I can think of only one thing that sums up this Cinderella season:

CONGRATULATIONS, STEELERS!

I promise, this will be my last Steelers related post……..until they win the Super Bowl and I have to gloat celebrate on Monday.

If you have been watching the news from Detroit you’re probably beginning to get caught up in all the hoopla of the Super Bowl, but I gotta tell you, Detroit is only the tip of the iceberg. The real pulse of the game is beating here in the Steeler Nation. We don’t have the celebrities knocking themselves out to be seen or the national media feeding frenzy. What we’ve got is every man, woman and child eating, sleeping, thinking, talking and breathing football. Steelers football. We love, love, love this man and when he smiles like that we know all is right in our world.

And what can put that smile on Bill Cowher’s chintastic mug? Lots and lots of this…

(Lots and lots of that would put a smile on my face, too, but now I’m just being bad since I’m old enough to be Ben’s very young mother.)

Remember the picture of the kids on my bus? I’m taking another one this afternoon. They have continued to decorate the bus and everyday I let them “talk me into” playing their favorite Steelers song over and over (and over) while they sing themselves into a Terrible Towel waving frenzy. It’s been awesome. Today they decorated themselves with every type of fan gear imaginable and every face and strand of hair was proudly wearing the Black and Gold.

If you haven’t got enough coverage yet I’ve got two blogs for you to check out.

Tom Arnold (yes, it’s that Tom Arnold) is out in Detroit this week and he’s posting his experiences daily. It’s actually pretty interesting, albeit a mite crude at times.

I’ve given the link to Ben Roethlisberger’s blog before, but it’s worth mentioning again because Ben is also posting from Detroit and giving a behind-the-scenes look as one of the quarterbacks in the game.

So that’s it for Steelers stuff from me (I will try to add the bus picture later today).

GO STEELERS!!

UPDATE: Here is that picture I promised.

I haven’t mentioned the Steelers for a couple of days and hits here have dropped, so I thought it was time to mention the Steelers again.

Are you still wanting to go to the Super Bowl to watch the Steelers? This site claims to have quite a few tickets available, ranging in price from $3255 for the “worst” seats in the house, to $205, 000 for a 42-person suite on the 10-yard line. How bad do you want to see this game? How trusting are you that the tickets are real? Me, I have a plan for future Super Bowls. I live in the town where the Steelers have their summer training camp. It’s not impossible that one day down the road my daughter could meet, fall in love with and marry a Steeler. Then, providing the team goes to the Super Bowl I’d surely get tickets. How could you not take your mother-in-law who bleeds black and gold? (I’M KIDDING, PEOPLE!!)

Ah well, if you can’t get to Detroit you can still get your Steeler fix and order great merchandise at SteelersFever.com.

Don’t forget the music to get you psyched for the Steelers victory. Check out Steelersongs.com for the lyrics and the chance to buy my favorite Steelers song, “One for the Thumb” by Michael O’Brien. It is hilarious!

End of terribly unsubtle bid for visitors.

UPDATE: If I wasn’t already rooting for the Steelers, I would be now. I just heard Martha Stewart wish the Seahawks well in the Super Bowl. (Thank goodness she didn’t come out as a Pittsburgh fan.)

Just in case you haven’t had enough of the boys in Black ‘n’ Gold (I haven’t) here’s a link to Pittsburgh’s official NFL website. You can see video of last night’s ginormous pep rally at Heinz Field, order Steeler gear, take part in polls and lots more good stuff.

Cervical cancer. Two words that scare women half to death. Two words women don’t have to hear…if they do the right things, like having regular PAP tests done and keeping themselves educated on and practicing safe sex.

This past summer I had a cone biopsy done to remove cervical tissue showing severe cell change. Now I have to endure a PAP test every 3 months. I hate it, but I wouldn’t dream of skipping even one test. Those few moments of discomfort are well worth the peace of mind they give me.

Make the Connection has a great site with all kinds of information about cervical cancer and the HPV link. If you are a woman or have women in your life that you love, you owe it to yourself and them to take a look.

Make the Connection also is giving away, that’s right free, Make the Connection cancer awareness bracelet kits. Even better? If you oder now, you will get two free kits instead of one. Click here to order your kit now.

Here’s that picture of the kids on my bus I promised.

And for you purists, the link I gave yesterday for the Steeler song was last year’s version. Here is the link for this year’s.

And if you feel like singing along, click here. Just be sure to turn the volume down if you’re at work.