data-mm-id=”_cqgp50iho”>Ahead of Super Bowl XL some 14 years ago, aging Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis allowed cameras to follow him around and showcase what he endured physically to play in an NFL game. The segment aired during Super Bowl pregame and, though I searched in vain to find it on YouTube, what I remember clearly from it was the pain on his face as he walked down the stairs and saying his body felt like it was in a "car accident" after every game. That memory stirred this morning when I read a quote from Ben Roethlisberger about what his body felt like in the aftermath of the Steelers' Week 1 win over the New York Giants. In his first game back since suffering what could have been a career-ending elbow injury in Week 2 last year, Roethlisberger stayed mostly upright, and yet this is what it was like for him waking up on Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Roethlisberger on soreness: "I was saying today I feel like I was just in a car accident. Yesterday I felt like I was in a trainwreck. Hopefully tomorrow it'll feel like I just fell off a bike."I'm definitely sore. The good news is my arm is the only thing that doesn't hurt."— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) September 16, 2020The NFL is a physically punishing sport and everyone who plays it knows there will be pain at the end of each game. But seeing it in those terms provides a clearer perspective. And this was in a game Big Ben didn't take much abuse. Roethlisberger was sacked twice against the Giants and took three additional hits while passing, according to ProFootballFocus. If taking five hits in a game results in you feeling like you were in a trainwreck, what is Roethlisberger going to feel like in Week 16? Hell, what's he going to feel like in Week 2? Bettis was 33-years-old when he retired from football after winning that elusive Super Bowl in 2006. When I interviewed him a few weeks ago, I asked him about his health and he said he was feeling good and able to play golf, which clearly meant something to him. He also said Roethlisberger was the toughest teammate he ever had, which likewise means something coming from a player like Bettis who dealt with pain throughout his NFL career. Roethlisberger is now 38-years-old playing against 20-somethings who probably don't remember him helping lead the Steelers to that Super Bowl and deliver a ring to a franchise legend who was holding out for just that. He's played only one full season since 2015 and has battled too many injuries to count during that time. At this point, they're adding up and his body is dealing with the consequences. Is Big Ben looking for one more title run before hanging it up and riding off into the sunset like Bettis? Of course, every athlete dreams of retiring on top. But the ride up the mountain is fraught with danger and pain as Bettis can attest. Clearly, Roethlisberger is willing to deal with that as long as he can.
Related Posts
Fulham head coach Rene Meulensteen said Bryan Ruiz was left out of his side at Norwich City to give the club s youngsters a chance.
Ruiz did not make the bench in Fulham s 1-1 FA Cup draw at Carrow Road on Saturday – the second time in a row he was not involved in the club s matchday 18.
The Costa Rica attacker has featured just twice in Meulensteen s eight matches in charge, with his sole start coming in the club s 6-0 thumping at Hull City on December 28.
Speculation has surrounded the future of Ruiz as a result, with La Liga outfit Real Betis rumoured to be interested in acquiring his services.
On why he was left out at Norwich, Meulensteen told Get West London: We looked at it and if you bring young players in, you ve got to weigh things up.
In this c…
Olivier Giroud hit back at Thierry Henry and labelled him dull over claims that he was not good enough to fire the club to the Premier League title.
In his role as a Sky Sports pundit, Henry Arsenal s record goalscorer and part of the Invincibles side that won the 2004 Premier League claimed that Arsene Wenger needed to invest heavily to improve the spine of his squad following last month s 0-0 draw against Chelsea.
Henry said: I think Giroud is doing extremely well. But can you win the league with him? I wouldn t think so.
Giroud, who signed from Montpellier in 2012, has taken exception to Henry s criticism and admits he was disappointed by his fellow Frenchman s assessment.
I heard he was saying too many dull things. That was a bomb and it had its des…
Carlo Ancelotti joked with Jurgen Klopp following Napoli s win over Liverpool, reassuring the Reds manager that his side usually go on to win the Champions League after losing to the Serie A team.
Napoli emerged victorious in their Champions League opener on Tuesday, beating last season s winners 2-0 thanks to goals from Dries Mertens and Fernando Llorente.
A controversial 82nd-minute penalty converted by Mertens and Llorente s first goal for Napoli saw Ancelotti s men to victory in the Group E blockbuster.
It was the second successive season Liverpool lost away to Napoli in the group stage following their 1-0 loss in last term s corresponding fixture.
Liverpool went on to lift the Champions League title in 2018-19 and head coach Ancelotti reminded Klo…
Best odds: 1
Bookmaker:
The 2019/20 season in the Bundesliga is set to be completed soon, despite the long forced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic and every other difficulty it brought along in its wake. Round 31 is up next, and as a part of it, Hertha will play host to Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olimpiastadion in Berlin on Saturday afternoon.
Hertha Berlin
It s certainly a crucial moment of the campaign when Hertha and their hopes of making it into next season s Europa League are concerned. At the moment, Bruno Labbadia s side sit in ninth place, with 38 points in the bag, seven less than sixth-place Wolfsburg. Hoffenheim and Freiburg are also ahead of them with 43 and 41 points, respectively. They must also keep an eye on Schalke, who are just below, also o…
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was on Thursday named African Footballer of the Year for 2009, the second time the Ivory Coast international has won the award.
Drogba pushed Inter Milan and Cameroon skipper Samuel Eto o into second place in the vote amongst national team coaches from Confederation of African Football (CAF) member-nations.
Drogba also won in 2006, again ahead of Eto o, but was denied the continent s top individual prize in 2007 when he failed to attend the awards ceremony in Togo.
Ghana and Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien was third.
TP Mazembe of DR Congo, who clinched the CAF Champions League for the first time in 49 years, were named the best club ahead of Nigeria s Heartland and CAF Confederation winners Stade Malien of Mali.
M…
AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani insists the club does not have any plans to sell their star players in the summer.
AC Milan sold Brazilian superstar Kaka to Real Madrid last summer, but Galliani insists they will not be forced to sell any of their star players this summer.
Galliani said: We will not sell any stars. Certainly not (Alexandre) Pato, nor Thiago Silva and certainly not Ronaldinho, (Klaas Jan) Huntelaar or (Marco) Borriello.
The next year will be more difficult than 2009 which was saved by Mr. Ricardo Kaka. His sale generated an equity of 66m euros.
[Source: Tuttosport]
…
Hull City have signed Norway international Omar Elabdellaoui on loan from Olympiacos, the Greek club announced on Friday.
The right-back arrives at the KCOM Stadium to provide cover for the injured Moses Odubajo and Ahmed Elmohamady, who is away with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Olympiacos confirmed the switch in a brief statement.
Olympiacos announces the granting, on loan, of the player Omar Elabdellaoui to English side Hull, read the release.
Elabdellaoui started his professional career at Manchester City, who loaned him out to Stromsgodset, Feyenoord and Eintracht Braunschweig.
He then made a permanent switch to Braunschweig without making a senior appearance for City, before agreeing a move to Olympiacos in 2014.
Elabdellaou…
Anwar El Ghazi fractious relationship with Ajax has come to an end after the Netherlands international completed a permanent switch to Lille.
El Ghazi, 21, came through the ranks of the Ajax youth academy and made his official first-team debut in August 2014, coming off the bench in the 1-0 Johan Cruyff Shield defeat at the hands of PEC Zwolle.
The versatile attacker had since developed into an important first-team member at the Amsterdam ArenA but a transfer became inevitable after he fell out with head coach Peter Bosz earlier this season.
He was demoted to Jong Ajax for the duration of November, only to return to the first team in December, scoring in the 1-1 Europa League draw with Standard Liege.
His time in Amsterdam has now come to a definitive en…
Villarreal, Atletico Madrid and LaLiga have submitted a request to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for their December meeting to be played in Miami.
Villarreal president Fernando Roig confirmed in a radio interview on Wednesday the two clubs were hoping an agreement could be struck.
Roig insisted such an event would be beneficial and important for Spanish football s growth, and the three parties have now lodged an official proposal to play the match on December 6 at Hard Rock Stadium.
A statement posted to Villarreal s website read: LaLiga, alongside Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, [on Thursday] presented an official request to the RFEF to play the match between Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, corresponding to LaLiga matchday 16, on December 6, 2019…
River Plate are on track for back-to-back Copa Libertadores titles after reaching the final at the expense of bitter rivals Boca Juniors.
Boca edged Tuesday s second leg 1-0 but it was not enough as defending champions River prevailed 2-1 on aggregate in the Superclasico.
Jan Hurtado gave Boca hope with his 80th-minute goal, but the hosts were unable to find a second goal to force penalties at La Bombonera.
River carried a 2-0 lead into the return leg of a rematch of the 2018 all-Argentinian Libertadores final, which had to be rearranged and moved to Real Madrid s Santiago Bernabeu in December after the match was twice suspended in November due to an attack on Boca s team bus by supporters.
Full Time! win 1-0 on the night, but win the tie on aggregate…