PITTSBURGH – Big Ben’s off-season troubles continue for the two-time Super Bowl Champion.

Roethlisberger’s first off-season incident came back on June 12th, 2006 when he suffered serious injuries after colliding with a car while riding his Suzuki Hyabusa motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh.

Although his multiple facial fractures were repaired in time for the regular season and he didn’t miss any time from that accident, he clearly was not the same quarterback who had just one season prior won a Super Bowl.

After leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to another Super Bowl victory in February of 2009, prior to the season’s start he was accused of rape by Andrea McNulty of Nevada. No criminal charges were filed but a civil law suit is still pending.

In the most recent incident, Roethlisberger and his posse were out celebrating the QB’s 28th birthday this past Friday and after a night of alcohol and partying, assault accusations were made, this time by a 20-year-old female student of Georgia College and State University.

After the alleged sexual incident took place, the student and her friends sought out a police officer to notify of the attack. The student was then taken to a local hospital and treated and released. Her identity is being kept confidential by Milledgeville, GA police.

The police have interviewed the accuser and Roethlisberger and the incident is still under active investigation.

The Steelers’ organization would only say that they are monitoring the situation and will take action when deemed necessary. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s office is also keeping up with the ongoing investigation, and charges if filed could lead to a suspension of the star quarterback.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax^TM

If you didn’t like the Who’s performance at half-time, take heart – they reportedly didn’t get a fee to show up and entertain us.The NFL has a history of not paying its half-time acts but provides all expenses for travel, lodging and meals for the act plus entourage, crew and family members.

It amounts to an all expenses paid trip to the biggest week-long party the U.S. throws each February. Well, maybe one of the two biggest since you have to include Mardi Gras in New Orleans. But they sing for free. And frankly after toughing out The Who’s set of songs, I feel a bit better about it.

Friends at the gathering I attended wondered why Baby Boomer-era musical acts have dominated even as we moved into the second decade of the 21st century.

When I checked the list of all half-time shows it started with marching bands, migrated to acts who populated 60s and 70s variety shows and then began to be based around themes connected to the site of the game or a big milestone in musical history.

When the half-time show became sponsored by a corporate entity in 2001, current Top Twenty artists such as Nelly, Mary J. Blige and Brittany Spears were sprinkled in with more conservative choices.

In 2002, as the nation still mourned those lost in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, one big act, U2 provided a musical tribute and virtual catharsis. And then in 2004 came “nipple-gate” as Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson did their thing.

Immediately thereafter, geezer acts were used in an effort to avoid unintended circumstances and we got a string of folks starting with McCartney, the Stones, Tom Petty, Prince (who came close with his guitar phallus behind the white curtain), Springsteen and now The Who.

It’s time to follow the lead of big awards shows who present contemporary artists from genres such as country, hip-hop and rock without dire consequences.

The Who are past their sell-by date and like many of my friends I want to remember them when they were edgy enough to instill fear in producers’ hearts who booked them for shows.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.