Steelers football blog

Steelers extend TE Miller for 6 years

The Steelers came to a contract extension with Heath Miller last night that will pay the tight end $35.3 million over the next six seasons.

Miller had one year left on the five-year contract he signed as a rookie, when he was the Steelers' first-round draft choice in 2005. The contract includes a $12.5 million signing bonus.

Miller, 26, would have become an unrestricted free agent in March, provided the NFL has a new collective bargaining agreement by then. If not, Miller would have been a restricted free agent under new rules that players would need six years rather than four if there is no new CBA. Continue

Tomlin will deal with distractions

Mike Tomlin has said he will not use the term "repeat" when it comes to the Steelers' quest for another Super Bowl title.

That does not mean the Steelers coach won't acknowledge the increased scrutiny and demands the Steelers will face this season because they are the reigning champions.

"My mentality in regard to distractions is changing, and that's probably how I'm growing into the job," Tomlin said. "If you're going to be good, distractions are a part of it. I'm more concerned about embracing that and dealing with it and performing in the midst of it as opposed to being resistant to it."

Tomlin took the same approach in the week leading up to Super Bowl XLIII. He told his players to appreciate all that comes with playing in one of the biggest showcases in sports, including the daily sessions with the media.

He apparently will adhere to a similar philosophy when it comes to the upcoming season. Continue

Big Ben denies rape allegations

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger broke his silence Thursday to deny allegations that he sexually assaulted a resort worker in Lake Tahoe.

"I would never, ever force myself on a woman," Roethlisberger told the media in the team's South Side headquarters. "The allegations against me are reckless and false."

A 31-year-old Nevada woman filed a civil lawsuit last week accusing Roethlisberger, 27, of raping her in July 2008 after luring her to his hotel room. News of the suit broke Monday night.

The lawsuit claims the incident occurred in Roethlisberger's penthouse suite at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, where the woman worked as a VIP concierge. Roethlisberger was participating in the resort's American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. Continue

No criminal complaint vs Big Ben

The Douglas County Sheriff's Department in Nevada will not investigate the allegations against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger unless the plaintiff in the lawsuit files a criminal complaint, a sheriff's department spokeswoman said.

"Until we get a complaint from her in this matter, we will not launch an investigation," sheriff's deputy Teresa Duffy said yesterday.

"We're not going to independently launch an investigation into something we heard about. The fact that she filed a civil complaint -- her attorney chose to go that route."

Ms. Duffy said her department made that decision in conjunction with the Douglas County district attorney's office. Continue

Big Ben accused of rape

A Nevada woman claims in a lawsuit that Ben Roethlisberger raped her last year at a Lake Tahoe resort, accusations the Steelers quarterback has denied.

The incident happened at Harrah's Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, where the woman works as the resort's VIP services manager, the lawsuit states.

The resort plays host to the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship, an event Roethlisberger has attended several times. The Tribune-Review doesn't identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone," said David Cornwell Sr., the quarterback's Atlanta-based lawyer. "The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully, and Ben will be fully exonerated."

The lawsuit states the woman met Roethlisberger several times at the resort. On July 11, 2008, Roethlisberger asked the woman to come to his 17th floor suite to fix a television.

After discovering the television worked perfectly, Roethlisberger blocked the doorway with his body, the lawsuit states.

Uninvited kissing turned to groping before Roethlisberger pushed the woman to the bed and raped her, the lawsuit alleges.

"You don't want to do this," the woman allegedly said. "Please don't." Continue

Civil complaint filed vs Big Ben

An attorney for Ben Roethlisberger issued a statement late Monday denying that the Steelers quarterback sexually assaulted a woman in Nevada last year.

Court dockets in Nevada show that Andrea McNulty filed a civil complaint Friday against Roethlisberger.

"This weekend, Andrea McNulty served Ben Roethlisberger with a civil complaint accusing him of sexually assaulting her in July 2008," according to a statement released by William David Cornwell Sr. of DNK Cornwell, a sports law firm based in Atlanta.

"Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone, especially Andrea McNulty," the statement reads. Continue

Former Steelers planning 9/11 fundraiser

Former Steelers running backs Rocky Bleier and Franco Harris are planning a Sept. 11 fundraiser for the Flight 93 National Memorial.

They will announce plans Wednesday for a "9/11 We Will Never Forget" dinner at Heinz Field.

The goal is to open the $58 million, 2,200-acre memorial in Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2011, the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Flight 93 was flying from Newark, N.J., to San Francisco. Investigators believe the hijackers wanted to crash into a Washington target. The 40 people killed in the crash are recognized as heroes for storming the cockpit and preventing the attack.

Holmes off the field

As a youngster, Super Bowl XLIII MVP Santonio Holmes experienced pain that racked his body similar to what his seven-year-old son endures today.

As a child, Holmes didn't know the source of that pain — but he knows now.

His son has sickle-cell disease.

"I went through the same thing as a kid — same pain in my stomach all the time, arms just start hurting for no reason," Holmes said following a recent workout at Disney's Wide World of Sports. "I never knew what it was until I just found out in May that I have sickle cell — 25 years. Now, I know why he's going through all those things I did." Continue

Holmes expecting return trip for Steelers

To wide receiver Santonio Holmes, it isn't a question of his Steelers making it back to Super Bowl XLIIII in Miami.

"We're not wondering will we make it back, if we'll make it back," said Holmes, the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XLIII. "We look forward to going back to the Super Bowl.''

Holmes is one of several Steelers working out at Tom Shaw Performance at Disney's Wide World of Sports. The players are preparing for the first day of training camp on July 31 at St. Vincent College, and, ultimately, the team's season opener against the Tennessee Titans Sept. 10 in a Thursday night game at Heinz Field.  Continue

Conditioning to be injury free

The last time Steelers defensive captain James Farrior missed a game due to injury was Nov. 20, 2005, against the Ravens.

Farrior has since made 54 consecutive regular-season starts at inside linebacker, and he has been in the starting lineup for 108 of 112 regular-season games since joining the Steelers as a free agent in 2002.

The 2008 Pro Bowler, his second election to the team, is among the most durable and productive players in the league.

Starting cornerback Ike Taylor, the Steelers' fourth-round pick in 2003, has never missed a regular-season game due to injury -- a streak spanning six seasons and 93 games. (He didn't appear in three games in 2004.) Continue