Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Steeler Nation celebrates the win of Hines Ward on this season’s Dancing With The Stars! He was masculine grace. He was ultimate sex appeal. He toughed it out and had all the right moves. Pittsburgh has adored Hines Ward for years as the Steeler with the most winning smile and as a player who has helped lead the Steelers to NFL Championships. Now his star power shines even brighter. Most of all, Hines just has a great heart and glows with good character, as well as athletic prowess. One smaller accomplishment is that because of Hines Ward, I watched Dancing With The Stars for the first time this season.

I sat in the living room cheering for him these past weeks, and okay, I did cheer for Kirstie Alley too, but I wanted Hines to win. Hines Ward belongs to our hometown of Pittsburgh and when those Terrible Towels were waving in the audience by Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis, I just yelled a woohoo! Last night as well as these past weeks, I even called that magic number to cast my vote. I swear I have never done that before! And all that black and gold of the costumes was not lost on us. Hines even had a silk gold cloth hanging from his pocket that he waved at the end of tonight’s dance. And Pittsburgh cheered.

Congratulations to you Hines Ward. Once again you had us on our feet cheering and you made all of us proud. This is your moment, but you know, you just know, that we have to celebrate this one with you.

—cher

As the year 2010 rapidly draws to a close, it’s time again for the AskCherlock 2011 prognostications.   I will again look into my crystal ball and make some astounding, and not-so-astounding  predictions for the coming year;

The U.S. economy will grow at a much higher rate than predicted by the leading economists.  The growth rate will start at around 2.5% in the first quarter, and end the year at close to 5%.  This will be due to higher than expected demand for U.S. exports, combined with a release of pent-up  demand for consumer goods.  Although employment will continue to lag behind the growth in consumer spending, the unemployment rate will finish the year at 7.8%.

The U.S. stock market will continue to make significant gains, but will still fail to reach the levels experienced at the end of 2007.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average will lead the way with a growth level of just over 9%, and will finish the year at around 12,600.  Interest rates will continue to remain very low due to excess liquidity in the financial system; however, credit policies should begin to ease.  This will allow small businesses to expand their operations and  begin the re-hiring of staff laid off during the business downturn.  Inflation will not be a factor, although long term interest rates will rise due to the specter of out-of-control budget deficits, combined with the fear of inflationary monetary policies.

The country will probably experience a year of near-total political gridlock, as both major parties dig in their heels, and refuse to compromise on their political ideologies.   The situation in Congress will reach new levels of chaotic behavior, as Tea Party Republicans rebel against party leadership, and Democrats strive to distance themselves from a President who many consider too weak to lead.  Sarah Palin will emerge as the leading candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2012,  and high-level scandals will rock the Republican Party to its core.

Iraq will simmer with ethnic violence during the first half of the year, then break out into total civil war by Summer’s end.  Iran will pump money and weapons into the hands of the Shiite majority,  Saudi Arabia will pump money and weapons into the hands of the Sunni minority, and the Kurds  will declare independence.   In the meantime,  the Pakistani government will collapse and be replaced by a military dictatorship.  The North Koreans will continue to make threats, as always, but will take no aggressive military actions against the South.

In the realm of sports, I predict that the Pittsburgh Steelers will defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl, and the Pittsburgh Penguins will defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.  In baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates will again finish dead-last in the National League, setting a mind-numbing record of nineteen straight losing seasons in a row.

As usual, I will follow my policy of not commenting on the accuracy of the prior year’s prognostications because it’s a whole lot easier to make predictions than to actually take responsibility for them.  I wish a Merry Christmas to all our readers, and especially to those who have left comments throughout the year.

Rich

Big Ben Roethlisberger has become our hometown hero as one of the best Quarterbacks in football. He helped the Steelers win games when it was so close, they may not have had that win in their column. We have held him up high as he himself raised the bar in football and raised the Lombardi Trophy over our city.  Pittsburgh loves its heroes and Ben has been one who helped a city which is re-inventing itself, to promote that positive image. We stand by our own, even when many others give up. Now, however, he has once again brought questions about his character and may have lowered the bar in his personal lifestyle.

In 2006 he nearly lost his life due to not wearing a helmet while riding and crashing his motorcycle. We chalked it up to his youth and rallied for his recovery. Then a hostess in Nevada accused Ben of sexually assaulting her. She had failed to file a police report and Ben denied the accusations. They settled out of court and many chalked this one up to a wanton woman wanting money from a Super (and rich) hero. The latest of Ben’s escapades, however,  has us shaking our heads, talking in coffee shops and wondering whether Big Ben has been off-sides in personal life, thereby casting aspersions not only on himself, but on football, the Rooneys and this city of Pittsburgh.

As a woman I ask myself why a woman would go to the police and file a report of sexual assault, when we know that in courts, many women are re-victimized as every aspect of their personal life is examined and dissected in the search for her as being complicit. It is a humiliating process for women, and one does not take this step lightly. The twenty year old college student who happened to be in the same bar in Milledgeville, Georgia last week as Ben Roethlisberger, has taken the steps of filing a complaint of sexual assault against him with the police, hiring an attorney and thereby subjecting herself to scrutiny which will be denigrating and up-heaving. Ben has hired one of the top attorneys in Atlanta. Another high-profile case has begun, and this time it is not Tiger Woods or one of the Washington politicians. It is Big Ben, hometown hero.

The investigation continues and Ben is innocent until proven guilty. That is the law. What the law does not cover is that this 28 year old man should have better judgment. Whether he likes it or not, with the victories come the spoils and that should not include rotten behavior which denotes lack of character.  Certainly he is no newcomer to fame. Whether on the field or off the field, he has a responsibility to conduct himself properly. He may be innocent. She may be seeking money. But this time, this time, Ben has us all wondering whether he deserves the status he has attained.

—cher