Visit NFL from the sidelines on the new Observer-Reporter site: http://www.observer-reporter.com/section/BLOGS08

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Roethlisberger spoofed

From the Atlanta Journal Constitution:

Ben Roethlisberger’s battered public image took another hit Wednesday when the Steelers QB was lampooned on the season premiere of “South Park.”
The 28-year-old appeared, along with President Bill Clinton, Michael Jordan and David Letterman, at a meeting for sex addicts in an episode inspired by the Tiger Woods scandal. After hearing fourth-grader Butters discuss how he could not keep his mind off a certain part of the female anatomy, the animated Roethlisberger responds, “I heard that!”
Later, when asked by the sex addiction counselor how to avoid getting caught, Cartoon Ben said, “Don’t (have sex with) girls in the public bathrooms.”
A Georgia College and State University sophomore accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault following an early morning encounter in a Milledgeville, Ga., bar nearly two weeks ago. Milledgeville police and the GBI have been pursuing a second interview with the Pittsburgh quarterback but his lawyers have not yet made him available.
Authorities also hope to speak with Andrea McNulty, who accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault in a civil suit filed last year in Nevada. The quarterback denied the allegation.
“They need information from us, and frankly we need information from them, so I will make a decision on how to proceed as the need arises,” Calvin Dunlap, McNulty’s attorney, told KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger continues to lie low, skipping offseasons workouts with his teammates and withdrawing from an upcoming celebrity pro-am golf tournament, according to TMZ.

36 comments:

Chris said...

i'm a fan of south park. and with that being said, it's clear they didn't have a lot of info on ben to go off of. his lines were minimal, which i found fortunate...so we don't need to hear "haters" continually use them until he retires.

Anonymous said...

At this very moment, Joe Flacco is staying late at the Ravens facility working on his timing with Boldin and Stallworth. Meanwhile, Big Ben is in hiding while waiting for criminal charges to be pressed. What a team-first guy, thanks Ben!

Anonymous said...

obviously, roethlisberger fails to grasp the consequences of his actions.

let's see, starting QB of the best (or one of the best - to be unbiased) franchises in nfl history, supposed leader of the offense, critical component of team's success, multi-million dollar player, etc, etc, is:

1. cruising around town on a motorcycle without a helmet (just stupid and reckless).

2. banging everything he sees (ultimately resulting in civil allegations - true or not it is still a result of his actions)

3. messing around with a 20-year old in a dingy bathroom at a college bar (at the least - or at the worst sexually assaulting her). and this comes after his civil allegations when you know people told him to knock it off.

these are the instances we know about. i say it's the tip of the iceberg with this guy and he is a time bomb waiting to go off.

even if he didn't assault that girl, he deserves everything being thrown his way. two words for that moron - grow up.

Chris said...

when was the last time your every move was scrutinized? add to that the temptations he faces on a near daily basis, due to his fame and money. i'll go out on a limb saying you, nor i, will never be able to comprehend his lifestyle. people make mistakes, and yes, even multiple times. get over it. he shows up when it's game time. that's all i'm worried about.

good quite from postgameheroes.com :

``I watch sports to see great players perform. I’ve heard the Pirates have a collection of some of the nicest guys you could ever want to meet on that team.

But they make me hate baseball.''

Pgh Saint said...

It looks like Ben's off season training program is really paying off. Casey Hampton looks in better shape than Ben.
Of course, Ben is in better shape when it comes to hustling young women.

Anonymous said...

Chris, you have an interesting viewpoint but I'll point out that after both off season "Big Ben blunders" that Marc mentions the Steelers have missed the playoffs. So spare me the Pirates analogy. In this instance it doesn't work.

2011 looked like a promising year for us. Not so much anymore. Thanks Ben.

SK

Anonymous said...

The defenders of Ben hate that he is missing off season work outs . . . it deflates their argument that everything is ok, that he has not been charged, that why is he being criticized for merely going to a bar?

Bottom line, criminal or not, his off field behavior hurts this team.

Oh and here's the other thing they say "what will you troll bandwagon crucifiers of Ben say when he wins another super bowl? I'll say he doesn't win a SB . . . the team does. He has never been named SB MVP. Without Harrison's 7 points, we would have lost the SB (and no need to even mention his performance in SBXL). And finally I'll say I love my steelers and they won despite having a QB whose off field behavior does nothing but hurt the team.
If Ben ever grows up and takes responsibility for his behavior and becomes the leader that this proud franchise deserves, I'll say welcome....and what took you so long?

Anonymous said...

innocent until proven guilty!
He was guilty of riding a motorcycle without a helmet, in a state that didn't have a helmet law....
He is guilt of liking the ladies..
Can't blame him there... maybe some poor decisions on what ladies he should interact with..
How often does this happen to a pro athlete that never hits the news because that individual pays the person off? Don't answer because we don't know..
Would Ben be in off-season workouts right now if this wasn't an issue? Don't answer because we don't know...
Is being 27 at a bar that college adults attend illegal? I guess he could always go to the piano bar and visit some cougars....

Let's say you won a radio contest question. The prize was to spend the day with Big Ben. That night Ben suggests you guys go to the corner bar and have a beer, Do you go? I'm 38 and I would be all over that! Geez the corner bar has some younger ADULTS inside drinking. Thank god the sign says no one under 21 and not "No one over 35"

I don't know Ben, He is a gifted athlete with a ton of money, Thank "god" he gave Ben the talent and not me. I would of been in big trouble by now..

Anonymous said...

@chris,
let's see, when was the last time i was in a bar bathroom with a 20 year old chic trying to get laid...oh yeah, when i was 20 years old (good times).

you're right, maybe we can't comprehend his lifestyle. but, maybe that's because he lives his life like a juvenile.

the media can come follow me around and scrutinize my every move all they want. i guarantee you i won't have 2 sexual assault cases hanging over my head in 2 years.

and please, that pirate analogy is ridiculous. people don't hate that team because of the guys playing on the team. if anything, they hate it because ownership continuously failed to keep good players from leaving.

if he's convicted, you still going to root for him then?

Greg Mercer said...

i think Ben's lawyer won't let him talk, because he knows the cops don't have enough to press charges.

what do you all think?

also, i don't think McNulty should have anything to do with this case. apparently, GA has some weird law that will let her accusation be submitted as evidence against Ben even though he was never charged or convicted.

IMO, that's BS.

Anonymous said...

i don't really know if that is a wierd law or not. but, i do know there a times when previous issues can be submitted to the court to establish a pattern of behavior.

i don't think it matters if the cops have enough to press charge's or not. his lawyer won't let him talk to minimize the amount of information available to the cops and also avoid him putting his foot in his mouth.

Chris said...

not once did i claim to condone his actions, and i don't recall him being found guilty in either of these cases. perhaps you know more than me.

i'm not happy with what's been happening off the field with him, but i am fully aware that moaning on my behalf won't change the fact that it happened. i admit it sucks. it's embarrassing.

i deeply apologize for defending one of my favorite players. what do you want me to say?

let's kill him!


26 tds, 12 ints, 4328 yards, 100.5 rating

i'll take that any season. if he tanks it this year, maybe i'll change my stance on these off the field issues.

Anonymous said...

slow news day, it seems.

Anonymous said...

lots of ingrates on this board... I hope all you guys crucifying him now are ready to stop cheering for him (and therefore the Steelers) if he is exonerated.

Not much loyalty in Pittsburgh these days...

Anonymous said...

Wouldnt you think other women would come forward, like what happened to Tiger, if Ben had sexually assaulted or was overly aggressive with them??? Lack of that makes me lean toward Ben's side, even in the court of public opinion and being tried in the media era in which we live!!

Sad Amerika has come to this, where we get off on the fact that Sandra's hubby cheated on her!!

Collin Williams said...

sad you can't spell America

Dale Lolley said...

I think he did that on purpose.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dale, I did spell it that way on purpose....

Anonymous said...

When is the word verificaiton on the Wild About Things blog going to be fixed?
The blog is dead because no one can comment.
Please pass on to Chris Dugan and your I.S. people.

Anonymous said...

I have a great idea for Big Ben so he can't be accused anymore. A Big Ben SEXUAL CONSENT FORM so that he can get there signatures before he touches his female ladies.

Patrick said...

good read:

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2010/3/23/1384521/making-sense-of-the-pittsburgh

Anonymous said...

off topic, but what do you all think of the overtime rule changes?

imo, i think they are just slightly better than before, but they still missed the mark. overtime should be a 10 minute period and if still tied after that go to sudden death.

the excuse about injuries is bogus. if they were so concerned about injuries they wouldn't be trying to extend the regular season by 1 or 2 games.

besides, those who are able to win their games in regulation time should be rewarded over those who are not, i.e. hockey.

Kyle said...

the player safety excuse is just that - an excuse. sudden death can last just as long as the 10 minute period. the real reason is television. it's tough on networks when a game is half an hour longer than expected. i guess they should rush injured players off the field for that reason too.

what i want to know, and what i haven't seen explained anywhere, is what happens when the first team with the ball doesn't score? everyone seems to be treating it like a given that the first team will get at least a field goal. if they don't and the second team does, is it over?

Anonymous said...

yes, if the team with first possesion does not score and the team with the second possession does score then the game is over.

as long as each team gets one possession is the intent of the rule, unless of course a TD is scored on the first possession (offensive or defensive TD).

this is going to take an hour to explain to my wife.

CE said...

Hey Dale. the RSS feed seems like it's still broken. any chance of that being fixed?

thx.

Kyle said...

thanks, marc. i figured that was the case, just hadn't seen anyone talk about it during the coverage.

here's something that might happen. i think teams are incentivized to onside kick. think about it. if you don't recover and the other team doesn't score or kicks a field goal you still get the ball. if you do recover you only have to kick a field goal and you win.

Anonymous said...

I just can't like South Park. I tried again but the Roflenberger spoof blew chunks in a dirty closet. I'd rather read Patrick's memoirs.

Anonymous said...

kyle,
i don't know if that would satisfy the rules of both teams having a possesion unless a TD is scored.

if you get the onside kick and then make a field goal, then the other team hasn't had the ball yet. therefore, you would have to kickoff to them.

kyle said...

marc,
nope. onsides kicks count. once the other team kicks the ball, possession has begun for the receiving team. (i had to check)

Anonymous said...

well, then i would agree with you. there will be coaches who go that route to start the overtime periods.

Patrick said...

i dont think this is completely irrelevant, but if this doesn't get passed for the regular season, then you just aren't going to see any of this play out much. Playoff games that go to OT aren't the norm.

I'm a fan of it for now, but we'll see how it plays out, especially as it relates to the 4th quarter when a game looks destined for OT.

Dale Lolley said...

Sorry I haven't posted this week, but I'm on vacation in Florida. Found an open computer today. I'll be back with plenty and will check in on OTAs next week.

Anonymous said...

i was gonna file a missing persons report

Anonymous said...

Dale:
Perhaps you should have gone to Georgia for vacation. Maybe you could have stayed at Ben's house.

Anonymous said...

Dale, they're lifting weights next week. Stay in Florida.

Anonymous said...

So while Dale is out I"ll provide an update. Looks like former OLB Joey Porter got arrested for DUI in Bakersfield CA. Apparently when the cop asked him to step out of the car Joey tried to roll up the window. Then when the cop tried to unlock the car door Joey slapped his hand.

I loved Joey when he was a Steeler. Given everything going on with Ben I'm glad he signed with Arizona. Otherwise people might confuse us with the Bengals of a couple of years ago.