ASSOCIATED PRESS IMPLIES THAT BIG BEN IS FULL OF IT

The controversy regarding whether and to what extent Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played Super Bowl XLIII with a rib injury continues to churn. With Roethlisberger claiming that an MRI conducted last week revealed that he had two broken ribs, the Associated Press chimes in with an article that seems to be written under the assumption that Roethlisberger is, well, lying. (Or, at best, embellishing. Like a drama queen might do.) The AP item initially parrots what Ben told Peter King of SI.com, and then offers a predictable, self-serving denial from Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett. “There’s not a whole lot to say,” Lockett said. “Ben was fine to go. He was cleared to play. He didn’t miss any [practice] time. There was no doubt he was going to play.” (By the way, Dave, we’re still waiting for a response to our question about whether Roethlisberger underwent an X-ray the Wednesday before the Super Bowl. No rush.) Then, without evidence of any attempt to contact Roethlisberger for a reaction to Lockett’s adroitly evasive sound bite, the AP item reads more like something that would have been generated not by an independent, impartial media company, but by Lockett himself. “Roethlisberger did not mention any possible injury during postgame interviews,” the AP asserts. “It is uncertain if the validity of Roethlisberger’s claim will be proven.” Huh? So the guy with the broken ribs -- who underwent an MRI showing that he has broken ribs -- is presumed to be lying? Making the AP item even more curious is the fact that it overlooks the report from Andrea Kremer of NBC that Roethlisberger had admitted having an X-ray “somewhere.” Of course, why let the admissions of the injured player to get in the way of what appears, quite frankly, to be an effort to cover for the posibility that the organization lied about its knowledge of Roethlisberger’s condition, presumably in order to keep the Cardinals from realizing the potential benefits of taking a 15-yard penalty for a late hit to Roethlisberger’s midsection? Look, this isn’t about whether Ben was “fine to go” or “cleared to play” or whether he missed practice time or whether there was any doubt he was going to play. This is about whether Roethlisberger had broken ribs, whether the team knew or should have known about his condition, and whether the team misrepresented the facts to the media and to the league.