Big Ben could learn a lot from Sid

By Kevin Gorman, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Friday, April 23, 2010

When it comes to Pittsburgh sports superstars, we have learned in the past nine months all that we need to know about Ben Roethlisberger.

Mostly, that he's no Sidney Crosby.

While the tawdry details of Roethlisberger's boorish behavior in Milledgeville, Ga., and subsequent six-game suspension handed down from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell have been headlining national news this week, Crosby has quietly gone about dominating the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Penguins center skated circles around the Ottawa Senators, scoring an NHL-best 11 points entering Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal best-of-seven series Thursday night at Mellon Arena.

"He's as advertised," Ottawa center Jason Spezza said. "Every time he gets a chance, he seems to bury it."

Already a past winner of the Hart Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player and the Art Ross Trophy as its scoring champion, Crosby won a share of the Rocket Richard Trophy by scoring 51 goals in the regular season.

But his brilliance extends beyond numbers.

Crosby not only has reinvented his playing style from playmaker to goal-scorer but transformed his reputation from that of a rookie who whined to officials to a fifth-year veteran who is the consummate captain and leader.

"He's the best player in the league, probably," Senators center Mike Fisher said. "I think he's matured a lot, especially from his first year. He's improved his game, but I think he's done a better job with the media and the way he conducts himself."

That's why Roethlisberger would do well to watch and learn from Crosby on how to behave like a superstar, a job description that doesn't begin and end with performance. It involves equal parts class, character and humility, three traits that weren't evident in the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's 572-page report on Roethlisberger's sexual assault accusations.

What's unfortunate is that Crosby and Roethlisberger, the city's biggest sports stars, are only casual acquaintances whose interaction has been limited to Mario Lemieux's charity golf event and magazine photo shoots.

They appeared together on the October cover of Sporting News when it pronounced Pittsburgh as America's Best Sports City. But take a look at that photo and the 1979 cover featuring Terry Bradshaw and Willie Stargell, and you'll see a stark contrast between the City of Champions then and now.

Blame that on Big Ben.

Crosby has been handling himself like a seasoned pro before a Canadian press that monitors his every move. The media crush is such that he does two sets of interviews, one for television and radio stations and another for the print media, after every practice and every game.

"He's an impressive person," Spezza said. "He's the face of the game, and he does a great job of it."

Has anyone said the same of Roethlisberger?

In all fairness, Crosby has been groomed for greatness since he was 14. An unbelievable rookie season thrust Roethlisberger, a small-school star, into a spotlight he was neither prepared for nor has handled very well.

If the Penguins have a complaint, it's that Crosby insists on doing interviews while sitting at his locker stall. The crowd surrounding him is an inconvenience to those who sit nearby, like Matt Cooke and Maxime Talbot, as it prohibits them from undressing out of their hockey equipment.

Yet they appreciate Crosby not only for what he means to their team but to the NHL. He has willingly accepted the burdens that come with his superstardom. His answers might be guarded, but they tend to be thoughtful.

"He doesn't turn anyone away," Cooke said. "He makes sure everyone gets the answers to their questions. I even razz him a little bit about taking a day off here and there, that he doesn't need to talk, but he embraces and understands his role. It amazes me every day, the patience he has."

Now is the time to remind you that Crosby is 22 and Roethlisberger 28.

"His mind's not 22," Cooke said of Crosby. "He's mature beyond his age."

No one is saying the same of Roethlisberger.

It's time for Big Ben to take note on how super-stardom is done.

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