The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reiterated Wednesday

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger is done talking about his future. Theres too much at stake in the present to give it any thought. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reiterated Wednesday hes done talking about a report last weekend that he will ask the Steelers to explore trade options for him in the off-season. Hes always been a Steeler. He wants to always be a Steeler. And part of that job is finding a way to beat the Detroit Lions (6-3) on Sunday. "I am not even addressing it because it takes away from what we are trying to do and thats win this football game," Roethlisberger said. "Thats all that matters to me. To me to it makes me so mad I dont even want to address it anymore." Roethlisberger would rather focus on his team, which finds itself at a turning point in a season that seems to be full of them. The Steelers (3-6) are two games behind AFC North leader Cincinnati (6-4) in the loss column and two games in front of conference doormat Jacksonville. A loss on Sunday, and Pittsburgh is almost certainly out of it. Roethlisberger, who allows this season "isnt typical" isnt even thinking that far ahead. "For us it is a one-game season," Roethlisberger said. "This is the most important game of the year and we just have to come out and try to get to 1-0." While acknowledging he is frustrated by Pittsburghs worst start of his 10-year career, Roethlisberger remains all in. He stressed he wasnt quitting after the Steelers were whipped by New England on Nov. 3 and then backed it up with steady, if not spectacular, play in a 23-10 win over Buffalo. Roethlisberger battled back from an early interception to throw for 209 yards and a feathery 5-yard touchdown to Jerricho Cotchery that gave Pittsburgh the lead. He did it despite absorbing another four sacks behind an offensive line that hardly looks like the one the Steelers threw out in the season opener. The reshuffled line could have its fifth different combination on Sunday if guard Ramon Foster sits out. Foster missed practice on Wednesday with a sprained ankle. Veteran Guy Whimper would fill in if Foster cant go. All the changes in front of him, however, havent exactly changed the way Roethlisberger goes about his business. Hes absorbed 35 sacks this season, the second-highest total in the league. Some of it is due to protection breakdowns. Some of it has just been great effort by the defence. And some of it is Roethlisbergers own stubbornness. He has guided the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl wins by holding onto the ball a second or two -- or three -- extra hoping a busted play becomes something more. "It is not in my mindset, my DNA to quit on a play," he said. "If its not there I have seen quarterbacks throw it away or go down and sometimes thats the smart thing, but for me, there is also some big plays to be had and the competitor in me just cant give up all the time." That perpetual optimism -- and a dash of arrogance-- is one of the reasons he believes the Steelers can find a way to be a factor down the stretch. Cotchery hasnt noticed a change in Roethlisberger even in the midst of arguably the most trying stretch of his career. "I came here to play here for a quarterback like Ben," said Cotchery, who has four touchdown receptions in his last two games. "Hes going to give his guys a chance to make plays. Its been a lot of fun playing with Ben, and Im cherishing every moment." Something thats been echoed throughout the locker room. Wide receiver Antonio Brown is on pace to smash Hines Wards team record for most receptions in a season. Roethlisberger is on pace to challenge a few of his single-season own marks, including most yards passing. Yet hes also in danger of posting the second-highest interception total of his career. Hes thrown 10 in nine games and fumbled seven times. He knows he needs to be better, and maybe less active, if Pittsburgh wants to get serious about chasing down the Bengals. He is averaging 209 yards passing in the Steelers three wins, 317 yards in Pittsburghs six losses. "Whatever it takes is fine by me," he said. NOTES: C Fernando Velasco (knee), LB LaMarr Woodley (calf) and DE Brett Keisel (foot) did not practice on Wednesday. ... T Kelvin Beachum (hip), G David DeCastro (ankle) and G Marcus Gilbert (ankle) were limited. Swell Botellas . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Swell España .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. http://www.botellasswellespana.com/ . Smith, an eighth overall pick, had two goals in only 276 minutes of playing time over 16 appearances last season. The left side midfielder played only 43 minutes in three games this season. Swell Bottle Comprar . Gauteng High Court Judge Dunstan Mlambo ruled Tuesday that South African media houses will be allowed to install three remote controlled cameras in court for the Olympic athletes trial starting next week to capture images that likely will be seen by millions around the world. Swell Botellas De Agua . Jones took a beating, the worst one of his record reign, in a bout against Alexander Gustafsson that knocked the light heavyweight champion on the canvas for the first time in his career and put his belt in jeopardy. Scott Cullen looks at Saturdays playoff action, including tough times for the undisciplined Chicago Blackhawks, Matt Calvert lifting the Blue Jackets to their first playoff win, and Nathan MacKinnon putting on a show as Colorado takes a 2-0 series lead over Minnesota. HEAVY HOCKEY The Chicago Blackhawks are within two minutes of having a 2-0 series lead, surrendering tying goals late in the third period (1:45 remaining in Game One, six seconds left in Game Two) of the first two games in St. Louis, leading to 4-3 overtime defeats in both games. Being that close doesnt amount to much now, though, as Chicago is facing a 2-0 series deficit along with the possibility that a top pair defenceman, Brent Seabrook, could be suspended for a crushing hit on Blues C David Backes, whose status has to be questionable in the immediate aftermath. Seabrook had a goal and an assist in Game Two, before taking a major penalty for his hit on Backes wit 4:51 remaining in the third period. If Seabrook is suspended, Sheldon Brookbank could move into the Chicago lineup, but Backes potential absence also causes issues for the Blues. Even though the St. Louis lineup was bolstered by the return of RW T.J. Oshie, their top three healthy centres after Backes in Game Two were Vladimir Sobotka, Maxim Lapierre and Derek Roy. If Backes is out (and Patrik Berglund is already out), then St. Louis may have to shuffle Steve Ott to the middle and add a winger, Dimitrij Jaskin or Brenden Morrow, to the lineup. Leading the way for St. Louis in Game Two was D Kevin Shattenkirk, who had a goal and two assists, and also happened to be break-even in Corsi%, which was rare on a Blues team that was easily handled by Chicago at even strength. The problem for the Blackhawks, however, was an appalling lack of discipline, as Chicago was shorthanded nine times, including 11 minutes of shorthanded time in the final 15 minutes of the game. A positive for the Blackhawks was the performance of RW Marian Hossa, who matched his season high with eight shots on goal in Game Two. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews, who was on the ice for both the tying and game-winning goals against, had a dominant possession game (85% Corsi%), getting the better of a strength-on-strength matchup against the Blues top line of Backes, Alexander Steen and T.J. Oshie. Returning to the lineup for the first time since a late-season concussion, Oshies Corsi% for the game was 13.0%. The results through the first two games could have gone either way, so its not as if Chicago is out of the running as they head home for Game Three. However, their margin for error is gone. They need to get on the board with a win if they are going to make a series out of this. JACKETS EVEN UP Matt Calverts second goal of the game, 1:10 into double overtime, earned the Columbus Blue Jackets the first playoff win in the franchises history. Calvert, who was favourably included in my piece on which fighters can handle more playing time, played a career-high 22:26 in the double-overtime affair, having possession success with linemates Cam Atkinson and Brandon Dubinsky. Blue Jackets D Jack Johhnson led all skaters with 38:21 of ice time and scored the game-tying goal with 6:01 remaining in the third period.dddddddddddd Johnson now has 15 points in 14 career playoff games. Among defencemen with at least a dozen career playoff games, Johnsons 1.07 points per game in the postseason ranks second, behind only Bobby Orr. Blue Jackets C Ryan Johansen added a goal and an assist, while D David Savard contributed two assists to the winning effort. On the Penguins side, RW Brian Gibbons scored a pair of goals, and Sidney Crosby had a couple of assists, but no other Penguins forwards got on the scoresheet. D Paul Martin had two assists while Matt Niskanen added a goal and an assist. Perhaps the most troubling issue for Pittsburgh in Game Two was the play of D Kris Letang, who was stomped (32.5% Corsi%) in possession terms. His minus-14 Corsi was his lowest of the season. Even so, his 27:40 of ice time was behind only Paul Martin (34:07) and Brooks Orpik (28:02) on the Penguins blueline. Columbus D Fedor Tyutin left the game with a presumed upper-body injury after taking a couple of hard hits and playing just 6:55. If Tyutin is out, Dalton Prout or Nick Schultz are available to join the Columbus lineup, but Savard is the one who moves up the depth chart. He played 33:46 in Game Two. Earning the Game Two win ought to give the Blue Jackets some feeling of belonging in the postseason. They can compete with the Penguins, play them close enough that G Sergei Bobrovsky (who stopped 39 of 42 shots in Game Two) has a chance to make a difference. MACKINNONS COMING OUT PARTY 18-year-old Avalanche rookie RW Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists in Colorados 4-2 Game Two win over the Minnesota Wild, giving the Avs a 2-0 lead in the series, and MacKinnon seven points through two games. There is a good chance that MacKinnon is on his way to the best playoff scoring for an 18-year-old in league history, as Jaromir Jagr holds the current mark with 13 playoff points in 1991. The line of MacKinnon, LW Gabriel Landeskog (two goals) and C Paul Stastny (one goal, three assists) carried the day for the Avalanche, with MacKinnons speed and playmaking ability creating huge difficulty for the Wild, even though Minnesota frequently had their top defence pairing of Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin matched up against them. Though he wasnt particularly to blame for Colorados first three goals, Wild G Ilya Bryzgalov was pulled with 8:01 remaining in the second period, replaced by Darcy Kuemper, the rookie who last played March 27. Kuemper stopped all 14 shots he faced. That Colorado has high-end skill up front comes as no surprise, nor is it shocking that G Semyon Varlamov has been the better of the goaltenders in the series but, coming home for Game Three, the Wild need their own top forwards to answer the bell and hope that whomever they go with in net, Kuemper or Bryzgalov, will give them a chance to get back in the series. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '