Steelers’ Roethlisberger Slams Colts for ‘Cheating’ in 2005 Loss with Artificial Noise
The Pittsburgh Steelers still seem to be feeling the excitement from their Week 4 game in Dublin, Ireland. The atmosphere of that event was absolutely electric, especially for Pittsburgh. Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger attended the game as a special guest, and he was one of the many people that couldn't stop talking about how amazing everything was. He raved about it immediately on an episode of
The week after, he still had to acknowledge the fans from Ireland. On that episode of
"They did Sweet Caroline, and the song cut off because the offense is getting ready," Roethlisberger explained. "People don't realize when you're playing music or pumping stuff in during the game, you have to shut off when the offense [is about to play], no matter where you're at because of noise. You can't do it -- unless you're the Colts, and they pumped it in the first time before we got to the playoffs that year."
Roethlisberger continued to talk about how great the fans were, as everyone was singing Sweet Caroline loud and clear, even after the song got cut off so the Steelers could focus on offense. It was such a great day, but that was a quick little jab at the Colts in the middle of that, accusing them of pumping in noise when he and his unit was on the field trying to play.
The game he was referring to was a Monday Night Football contest where the Steelers got beat on the road by a final score of 26-7 against the then-undefeated Colts, who were 11-0 after that. Pittsburgh didn't even have 200 yards of total offense that day, as they had no answers for Indianapolis -- or its supposed loud noises being pumped in to disrupt them.
Roethlisberger had 133 passing yards, but he lost 22 of them on sacks. The rushing attack had just 86 yards on 25 carries, and a large chunk of that came from a 24-yard carry by Willie Parker. All in all, it was a terrible game. If the Colts were truly trying to gain an advantage with all the noise coming in when Pittsburgh had the ball, then the mission was very successful.
Steelers Got Their Revenge That Same Year
That was not the last time that the Colts saw the Steelers that season. They met up in the Divisional Round that year as well. Once again, the game was in Indianapolis. However, it didn't seem like they were just relentlessly making it noisy like they did on that November day. This time, it would be the home team that was struggling to figure out the road team.
The Steelers did almost blow it, as they had a 21-3 lead in the fourth quarter. The Colts came back to make it 21-18. From there, everyone knows the rest of the story. Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis fumbles the ball at the one-yard line, and Roethlisberger saved a touchdown with an amazing shoestring tackle. Indianapolis misses the game-tying field goal, as the sixth-seed Steelers pulled off an amazing upset against the top team in the AFC.
From there, the Steelers would go on to win Super Bowl XL. The Colts may have won that battle at the end of November in 2005, but they lost the war. Legends were made that season, and not even some pesky noise could stop them from reaching the pinnacle of their careers.
The Boston Bruins Get Best-Case Scenario with Young Goalie on Waivers
The Bruins got the best news they could have asked for on Monday when Michael DiPietro went unclaimed through waivers, meaning that he will be reporting to the Providence Bruins. He was placed on waivers after the last round of cuts on Sunday, after training camp wrapped up.
DiPietro and Joonas Korpisalo were the two goalies in training camp who were fighting for the backup goaltender spot behind Jeremy Swayman. Korpisalo ended up beating DiPietro for that position. This meant the Bruins had to risk losing him to waivers, but had to take the risk at the end of training camp.
Teams had just 24 hours to claim DiPietro off waivers, and it is shocking that no one did. There were three main teams showing interest: the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, and Carolina Hurricanes. No teams actually claimed DiPietro, as they had found their own fixes or did not have the space on the NHL team for DiPietro. He was one of only three goalies who were placed on waivers after the end of training camp for all teams.
With no teams claiming DiPietro off waivers, the Bruins were able to send him back down to the Providence Bruins.
Why Is this Good For The Bruins?
DiPietro not getting claimed off waivers is the best thing for the Bruins, as it gives them goalie depth. He will be able to come up if either Swayman or Korpisalo goes down with an injury. DiPietro clearing waivers means that the risk the Bruins took putting him there paid off. In addition to being available for call-up due to injury, he would also be available if, for some reason, Korpisalo or Swayman had a rough start to the season and the Bruins decided they needed a fresh start.
While DiPietro did not have the best training camp, he is still a solid goaltender who has very much NHL potential. If it would of made sense to keep all three goaltenders, the Bruins would have, but it did not. However, it is just not feasible as even if Swayman or Korpisalo went 2 games in a row, they would just be able to sit the next two as the other went in.
He will once again be the starter for the Providence Bruins, coming off a season where he went 26-8-5 with a 2.05 goals against average and .927 save percentage, as well as the AHL goalie of the year. The Bruins signed him to a two-year, $1.625 million deal, which expires at the end of the 2026-27 season.
The Bruins will now have an added sense of security on top of a great youth goaltender that was not the one who got away, like many great young players have become due to waivers.
