Let’s recap 2010 for the Pittsburgh faithful:

– Ben Roethlisberger is accused of sexually assaulting a woman…for the second time in less than a year. His six-game (which might be reduced to four games) suspension leaves the Steelers with Byron Leftwich or Dennis Dixon as their starting quarterback to start the 2010 season.

– While nobody expects anything from them anyway, the Pirates, although currently not in last place, are six games below .500 and on pace to finish in the NL Central cellar once again this season (although not if the Astros can help it).

– The defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins were shocked by the Canadiens Wednesday night in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals – on their home ice, no less. What’s worse is that the game was damn near over with 3:30 left in the second period as Montreal somewhat cruised to a 5-2 victory. The Habs have become a great story, but the Pittsburgh faithful can’t be too thrilled that the Pens lost to a less superior team. (I know, I know – “on any given day.”)

– Pittsburgh doesn’t have a NBA team, but if they did, I’m convinced that they would be facing elimination right now in the playoffs. Either that, or gearing up for the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Sporting News made Pittsburgh No. 1 for its annual “Best Sports Cities” rankings in October last year. I’m thinking “The Steel City” won’t take home the honors this year.

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Yahoo! Sports reports that the NFL will suspend Ben Roethlisberger on either Monday or Tuesday of this week.

While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he has been given no timetable for a decision, the question remains whether Goodell will keep the suspension to one or two games or make it four games or longer. It is also unknown whether the Steelers will levy an additional penalty upon Roethlisberger or if a punishment will be factored into the league’s suspension. Over the weekend, two league sources said Goodell was growing angrier by the day as more information from the investigation became public.

“After you read the file and you listen to the player, the only conclusion you can come to is that what he did is unbelievably stupid,” one of the league sources said. “How could he have really thought this was a good idea?”

The article notes that Roethlisberger probably won’t fight the suspension, even though he wasn’t charged with committing a crime. It would probably be a wise move on his part, seeing as how he was accused of committing the same crime last year and he never faced punishment from the league. It’s also worthy to note that Goodell came out today and said that Big Ben violated the league’s conduct code, so there’s little doubt that a suspension is forthcoming.

If he is suspended, this has to be the final wake up call for him. Women will always throw themselves at him because he’s a celebrity athlete that makes tons of money. But maybe after this, he’ll think about the ramifications of his actions and choose to remove himself from the situation before he winds up in more serious trouble.

Basically, he should try and keep his plane in the hanger for the time being. Maybe find a nice girl to bring home to mom, one that doesn’t mind his banana hands being all over her.

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ESPN.com is reporting that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell will meet with Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger soon to discuss why he’s such a perv when he goes out to clubs and bars.

Goodell is awaiting a 2 p.m. ET news conference Monday in Georgia before proceeding with his planned meeting with the quarterback.

The league also is awaiting details of police investigation before meeting with Roethlisberger.

It was the second time in a year that Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual misconduct. He also faces a lawsuit filed last July by a woman who says he raped her in 2008 at a Lake Tahoe hotel and casino, an allegation he denies. Roethlisberger has not been criminally charged in either case and has claimed counterdamages in the lawsuit.

Michael Vick lied in his meeting with Goodell and we all know how that turned out. Goodell doesn’t mess around when he concludes that one of his players has sullied the image of the NFL and is often quick to hand out punishment. Even if Big Ben isn’t charged with any crime, it doesn’t mean that he’ll escape the wrath of the commish.

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Sources have told ESPN.com that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged for sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman.

Sources confirmed to ESPN’s Kelly Naqi that District Attorney Fred Bright will announce on Monday that charges will not be brought against Roethlisberger. Bright said in a statement Friday he has reviewed all the investigation reports and will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. ET Monday.
Milledgeville police Chief Woodrow Blue said Wednesday his department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation had wrapped up their investigation into a 20-year-old college student’s claim that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her early March 5 at a club in Milledgeville.

It was the second time in a year that Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual misconduct. He also faces a lawsuit filed last July by a woman who says he raped her in 2008 at a Lake Tahoe hotel and casino, an allegation he denies. Roethlisberger has not been criminally charged in either case and has claimed counterdamages in the lawsuit.

I wrote yesterday that I would have been surprised had Big Ben gotten into serious trouble. I’m not saying that he did or didn’t, but it seems like there isn’t enough proof that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her and if the movie “Law Abiding Citizen” taught us anything, it’s that: it’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove. (That movie also taught us how to tunnel into prison, which was really, really sweet.)

If Big Ben does escape charges, then he needs to re-evaluate how he’s spending his personal time. There will always be idiot, immature young women that thrust themselves onto athletes, movie stars and sports bloggers. And it’s apparent that Roethlisberger is one of the many morons that can’t help but take advantage of that. But if he wants to continue playing in Pittsburgh and in the NFL for that matter, he better stop putting himself in situations where he’s going to get in trouble.

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