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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2009 > February > 02
Monday, February 2, 2009
Congrats, Big Ben: Nobody does it better
I remember it as if it were yesterday …
It was Wednesday, July 30, 2003, and Ben Roethlisberger was standing behind the ropes on the upstairs field at Georgetown College, watching a Cincinnati Bengals practice at training camp.
He was there with his Miami RedHawks head coach — the late Terry Hoeppner — and some teammates, who made the pilgrimage from Oxford, Ohio.
Big Ben, about to enter his junior season at Miami, took in the Bengals’ morning practice. His eyes were focused on Bengals rookie quarterback Carson Palmer, the University of Southern California’s Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft.
“I wanted to see Carson play,” Roethlisberger told me that day. “I’ve never seen him. I wanted to just kind of see how his demeanor is and how he plays. He’s really impressive.”
Roethlisberger said he was looking forward to his opportunity to play in the NFL.
“That’s the ultimate goal — to get out here and play on Sundays and get to these camps,” he said.
Palmer said he didn’t realize Roethlisberger was in attendance, and would’ve liked to have met him.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to him, but I’ve definitely heard about him,” Palmer said. “He’s a great quarterback.”
And the rest — as we all know — is history.
http://www.drafthistory.com/years/2004.html
Roethlisberger, the No. 11 overall pick of the 2004 draft, captured his second Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009, in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
How sweet it is …
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band gave a spectacular halftime performance.
http://primetime.tv.yahoo.com/
And the Steelers and Cardinals played an incredible game that topped last year’s Giants-Patriots thriller.
The weekend’s only bummer: Wide receiver Cris Carter — the former Middletown High School, Ohio State and Minnesota Vikings’ legend — was not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As for Super Bowl XLIII, the game had more twists and turns than Mid-Ohio’s road course.
There was James Harrison’s 100-yard interception return for a TD on the final play of the first half — the longest play in Super Bowl history.
There was Kurt Warner’s three TD passes for the Cardinals.
And there was Big Ben and MVP Santonio Holmes working their magic on the game-winning and career-defining drive.
The Steelers’ first-round draft picks from 2004-06 go like this:
Ben Roethlisberger, tight end Heath Miller and wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
Holmes was selected No. 25 overall — one pick after the Cincinnati Bengals took cornerback Johnathan Joseph at No. 24.
http://www.drafthistory.com/years/2006.html
On NBC’s cluttered stage of talking heads — lowlighted by Matt Millen’s inane stupidity — Mike Holmgren was right. The Cardinals scored their final TD too early.
Even Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt
Giving Big Ben two-plus minutes — Holmes made four catches on the final drive — is asking for it.
Congrats to Big Ben, Mike Tomlin, James Harrison and the Steelers.
As for the Cardinals, they can just go away.
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Dan Meyer, Alter H.S. Class of ‘66, dies after giving his Hall of Fame induction speech
John Daniel “Dan” Meyer, the first scholarship basketball player in Alter High School history, died of an apparent heart attack on Friday night after being inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
Witnesses said Mr. Meyer collapsed minutes after his speech at the Presidential Banquet Center. He was rushed to Kettering Medical Center, where he died.
A moment of silence was observed in his memory when Alter’s Hall of Fame Class of 2009 was introduced at the Cage Classic on Saturday night at University of Dayton Arena.
According to a news release from the Hall of Fame committee, Mr. Meyer, Alter Class of 1966, lived in Florida, where he was the senior admissions advisor at Kaplan University. He had played one year of basketball for coach Billy Packer at Wake Forest University before transferring to Bowling Green State University.
Alter coach Joe Petrocelli said he, Mr. Meyer and other friends “all sat at the same table right next to where the platform was where the people went up to speak. We were having a good time socializing, had the meal and then the first inductee was Dan.
“His face was a little bit red, but we thought it was because he was from Florida,” Petrocelli added. “He got up and gave a real nice talk, came back down and we were all laughing because he was the first one up there.”
Mrs. Roxanne Desch next spoke on behalf of her late husband, Dr. Christopher E. Desch (Alter, Class of 1973), a cancer specialist who died in an airplane crash in December 2006.
“She was going through her talk and Dan just collapsed right out of the chair,” Petrocelli said. “We had four doctors there within seconds. The EMTs got there in about eight minutes, worked on him some more and then took him out on a gurney. You knew it was bad because one of the EMTs was pumping his heart as they went out the door.”
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