Ben Roethlisberger tied the Steelers' single-game record with five touchdown passes in the first half on Monday as Pittsburgh put on a Steel Curtain-like defensive show by forcing four turnovers before halftime in a 38-7 victory over Baltimore.
Hall of Famers galore lined the Steelers' sideline, with Terry Bradshaw and Mean Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Mel Blount and Franco Harris out front.
The Ravens (4-4) had a chance to tie for the AFC North lead by beating the Steelers (6-2) for a fourth straight time dating to 2005.
PHOTO: REUTERS
In reality, they had no chance at all. Not with all the big names gathered to celebrate the Steelers' 75th anniversary, whooping it up and pounding each others' backs with every big hit and turnover.
The Steelers forced three fumbles in the first quarter alone, with James Harrison hitting All-Pro safety Ed Reed so hard on a punt return ball flew nearly 15 feet before Pittsburgh recovered.
Four plays later, Roethlisberger found Santonio Holmes for 15 yards on the first of their two opening-half touchdown pass plays and a 14-0 Steelers lead. Holmes had 110 yards on four receptions.
Right about then, it was becoming obvious this wouldn't be a repeat of Baltimore's two routs of the Steelers by scores of 31-7 and 27-0 a season ago.
Harrison, a one-time non-drafted free agent who became a starter after former Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter was released during the offseason, seemed to torment Ravens quarterback Steve McNair on nearly every down.
Harrison had two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and interception and two-and-a-half sacks before halftime in a Jack Lambert-like performance.
Former coach Bill Cowher got the crowd going by making a previously unannounced on-field appearance shortly before the opening kickoff as a steady rain fell, and the Steelers lived up to coach Mike Tomlin's pregame prediction they would feed off the noise and enthusiasm.
Harrison's hit caused Steve McNair to fumble in a third-down play on Baltimore's first possession. Roethlisberger responded by hitting tight end Heath Miller on a 17-yard scoring pass midway through the first quarter.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite