Every single Steeler fan - from casual, bandwagoner to the most die-hard - gave a rather hearty sigh of relief today when Ben's condition was upgraded, and the news hit that he'd probably be ready for the upcoming season. We hope so, at any rate. It is too bad that Roethlisberger had the accident. Certainly, no one expected him to get into any kind of accident mere miles from his home. But they do occur - hence the name. Perhaps this will be a hard and painful lesson for Big Ben. Hopefully, should he ever mount another motorcycle, he will at least have a helmet on. While it might not have prevented every injury, it would have prevented some. He is a lucky man that more damage wasn't done; in my own family my brother suffered a traumatic brain injury many years ago from a car accident - I know what the recovery is like. Regardless, this should be a wake up call to every single athlete, fan and non-fan regarding helmets. WEAR them. Whether you are jumping on your road or mountain bike - either to casually pedal suburan streets, a rail-trail, or tackle highly technical single-track - wear a helmet. If you undertake any sport - any activity really - that could entail physical injury to the head, and wearing a helmet is an available option, take that option. It never ceases to amaze me how many whitewater rafters I see on the Youghiogheny River in southwestern PA take on a rock-filled, at times lethal whitewater river without a helmet. I would never go into any whitewater situation without a helmet - hell, I won't go to wintertime pool roll practice sessions without wearing one! Why? Because I've seen people get clocked in the head by errant paddles or surprise rolls. Helmets protect your head - so wear them! Because of a horribly short-sighted and stupid Pennsylvania law that says you don't necessarily have to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle, the majority of riders I see in PA choose to skip them. Friends of mine in the medical professional nickname motorcycles as "donor cycles" because of the number of injuries and fatalities that occur to riders. Ben was entirely within his rights to both ride the cycle and skip wearing the helmet. He was not breaking any laws (unless, as was reported today, he had a lapsed learner's permit, in which case it was illegal) when opting against the helmet. But seven hours of facial reconstruction surgery later might change his mind - and perhaps yours as well. We all look up to our team's athletes as role models, whether the athletes themsevles like it, or even deserve it. Barry Bonds is admired by legions of would-be sluggers. Terrell Owens has fans who admire his abilities on the field. Tiger Woods is revered. None of these three men necessarily deserve to be role models, except for the fact that they are athletes and have very high profiles. Therefore, children and some adults will follow their example. For Tiger, that means generally good things. For Owens and Bonds, well... Now, we can add Ben Roethlisberger to the list including Kellen Winslow Jr. of athletes who made a choice that came back to haunt them physically. Maybe this once you and I should ignore the "role model" actions and opt for the simple and smart. I hope that Ben Roethlisberger recovers fully from his injuries and that he suffers no ill effects on the field of play come September. I hope that the Steelers are once again a successful, competitive football team in 2006. And I hope that anyone reading this understands where I'm coming from in that we all have to make intelligent choices; Roethlisberger's mishap is an example of the potential consequences that could befall us should we decide against the intelligent choice.