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sports Diabierna 28 Januari 2022

Roethlisberger retires at 39: Time to ‘hang up my cleats’

(AP) — No more comebacks for 40 and 46 — the latter coming on a
Ben Roethlisberger. now-iconic touchdown pass over the
outstretched hands of three Arizona
The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defenders to Santonio Holmes in the
quarterback announced his retire- back corner of the end zone.
ment on Thursday, saying it was
“time to clean out my locker, hang up Roethlisberger’s personal journey,
my cleats” after 18 seasons, two Super unlike his professional one, was more
Bowls, countless team records and a complicated. He wasn’t wearing a
spot in the Hall of Fame all but se- helmet when broke his jaw and his
cure. nose in a motorcycle crash in 2006
shortly after becoming the young-
“I don’t know how to put into words est quarterback ever to win a Super
what the game of football has meant Bowl.
to me and what a blessing it has
been,” Roethlisberger, 39, said in a He was twice accused of sexual as-
video message. “But I know with sault, once in 2009 and again in 2010.
confidence I have given my all to the A civil case filed against him stem-
game; I am overwhelmed with grati- ming from an incident at Lake Ta-
tude for what it has given me.” hoe in 2009 was settled out of court.
A woman in Georgia alleged he as-
The much-anticipated decision came saulted her at a bar in March 2010 but Roethlisberger posted a 165-81-1 whelming 9-7-1 season.
less than two weeks after Pittsburgh’s prosecutors did not formally charge record as a starter, the most in fran-
lopsided loss to Kansas City in the him. chise history and fifth-most ever. The His retirement caps a career that be-
first round of the postseason, the Steelers won the AFC North eight gan when Dan Rooney insisted the
12th time in Roethlisberger’s career The NFL suspended him for the start times with his familiar No. 7 behind Steelers take him in the 2004 draft.
the Steelers reached the playoffs. of the 2010 season for violating the center and the player known univer- Pittsburgh expected to have Roeth-
league’s personal conduct policy. He sally as “Big Ben” seemed to thrive lisberger bide his time behind start-
He hinted before his final game at returned to lead the Steelers to the when Pittsburgh was in a tight spot. er Tommy Maddox. Then Maddox
Heinz Field that it was time for him Super Bowl, a loss to Green Bay. His 53 game-winning drives are tied went down in Week 2 against Balti-
to move on and spend more time for second in NFL history behind more and a raw, 22-year-old Roeth-
with his wife, Ashley, and their three The second half of his career hinted Peyton Manning’s 54. lisberger took over.
children. He made it a point to em- at his evolution both as a player and
brace the moment following a Mon- a person. Known more for his rug- He returned in 2020 and guided the The Steelers ended up losing that
day night win over the Browns on ged “Ben being Ben” approach to the Steelers to an 11-0 start and a division game. They didn’t for the rest of the
Jan. 3, doing a victory lap of sorts game during his 20s, he morphed title, throwing for 3,803 yards and 33 regular season with Roethlisberger at
before disappearing down the tunnel into one of the league’s premier pass- touchdowns against just 10 intercep- the controls. He was named the Of-
surrounded by his family. ers in his 30s. He twice led the league tions. The season ended, however, fensive Rookie of the Year after guid-
in yards passing and retires in the with a four-interception performance ing the Steelers to a 15-1 record.
Roethlisberger called the journey all-time top 10 in yards passing and in a home playoff loss to Cleveland.
from a kid growing up in Ohio to the touchdown passes and game-win- Like Bettis, Roethlisberger hoped
11th overall pick in the 2004 draft to ning drives. There were still flashes of the Ben of the final year of his career would end
a likely future Hall of Famer “exhila- old, not Old Ben, perhaps most no- on a confetti-strewn field with the
rating.” Off the field, he got married in 2011 tably in a 20-19 win over Baltimore Vince Lombardi Trophy in hand. It
and started a family while largely re- in early December in which he threw didn’t happen, though Roethlisberg-
And wildly successful. treating from public view. a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown er stressed he was at peace with his
passes to edge the rival Ravens. De- decision to walk away.
The Steelers never endured a los- The only thing that didn’t really spite the offense’s limitations, the
ing season during Roethlisberger’s change? Winning. Steelers managed to scrap their way “I retire from football a truly grateful
tenure and captured Super Bowls to a playoff berth despite an under- man.”

No instant testing for toxic ski waxes at the Olympics

(AP) - The on-again, off- fect this season,” said U.S. so far.” Ski waxing is a science and an fluorocarbons, we really rely
again ban on high-end but Ski & Snowboard cross art. on them,” Grover said. “And
toxic waxes that help cross county director Chris Gro- Since cross country skiing there’s no product that really
country skis glide smooth- ver. “But unfortunately, the officials don’t have a testing Before a race, teams of tech- comes close to creating the
ly over the snow is on in technology that would give device, they’re not able to nicians iron on, scrape and ski speed that the fluorine
some places — but not the us on-the-spot testing at the police the field to make sure smooth layers of special wax- does.”
World Cup circuit or 2022 beginning of races to make everyone is playing fairly, he es onto skis. They pick the
Beijing Olympics. sure that people didn’t have said. Biathlon doesn’t have a wax that best suits the day’s Sturdier waxes that last lon-
fluorocarbons on their skis, test either, so organizers re- weather conditions, snow ger despite the incredible
“It was supposed to be in ef- the testing just hasn’t worked quire teams to sign a form and air temperature, type of friction were highly valued
saying they won’t use it and snow, style of course. Races and the composition of wax-
face a fine if they’re caught. have been won and lost based es is largely a secret known
on ski prep. It’s common only to the chemists at the
Prepping the base of a cross for racers to thank their wax wax makers. The problem,
country ski is critical to en- techs after a medal-winning according to researchers, was
suring that it encounters the finish — it’s that important. that the fluorocarbons in-
least amount of resistance volved are dangerous, part of
as the racer moves over the The expensive fluorocarbon the PFAS often called “for-
snow. Friction makes the skis waxes became critical to a ever chemicals.”
slower and forces the athlete racer’s success.
to work harder as they glide After it was discovered that
over the flats, climb hills and “The Nordic disciplines, in fluorocarbon wax is toxic, the
speed down the other side. particular, are a place where sport has been trying to move
after three decades of using away from it.