Big Ben learns his fate, "South Park" makes powerful enemies and a much-needed ban on Kelly Clarkson

- Days of waiting have finally produced the result we all knew was coming: Ben Roethlisberger finding himself on the business end of commissioner Roger Goodell’s disciplinary hammer. Big Ben has been benched for the first six games of the upcoming season for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, the league announced Wednesday. Goodell issued the punishment a week after prosecutors decided not to charge Roethlisberger with rape or sexual assault even though everyone is almost completely certain that he a) bought rounds of shots for underage girls, b) exposed himself to one of the girls at the bar, c) had his hired muscle drag her to a bathroom where he then had sex with her despite repeated protestations on her part that his actions were not okay with her. The allege victim was too drunk to provide credible support in building a case and got cold feet somewhere along the way, so Ocmulgee County District Attorney Fred Bright had to dismiss the case. The NFL disciple includes certain clauses that could either lengthen or shorten the suspension, depending on how Roethlisberger reacts to the discipline Goodell is attempting to administer. He must undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaluation and the commissioner will evaluate Roethlisberger's progress before the season. At that point, Goodell may consider reducing the suspension to four games. However, if Roethlisberger doesn’t abide by Goodell’s mandates, the suspension could be lengthened indefinitely. Given that dude would have been not just unable to play but also in jail for a long time if what he (allegedly) did could have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, you’ll have to excuse me if I am rooting for the latter of those two outcomes. Roethlisberger is barred from attending any Steelers offseason activity after Wednesday until he completes the evaluation, but he can participate in training camp and preseason games this summer as long as he is cleared by the evaluators and Goodell. As you would expect from their stance throughout this saga, the Pittsburgh Steelers are supporting the suspension and not rushing to have their franchise quarterback’s back on this issue. "I agree and support the decision the commissioner made today," Steelers president Art Rooney II said Wednesday in a conference call. In fact, the Steelers are reportedly calling up teams with top 10 picks in today’s NFL draft, trying to see if they are willing to deal their pick for Roethlisberger. The financial toll of the suspension will impact not just Roethlisberger, but also the Steelers. He would lose an estimated $2.8 million by sitting out all six games, while the team must remit a portion of Roethlisberger's salary to the NFL for having two players suspended for violations of the league's personal conduct or drug policies. On the heels of now-former Steelers receiver Santonio Holmes being suspended for four games before being traded to the New York Jets this month, Roethlisberger’s misdeeds put the team over the limit of d-bags on a roster. The hits just keep on coming in this one and something tells me we haven’t heard the last of Ben doing something stupid and finding himself in deep trouble with the league office…………

- I don’t need to be a follower of Islam to be on board with a brilliant decision made by an Indonesian Islamic organization to ban an upcoming concert by Kelly Clarkson in Jakarta. Now, the reason for banning the concert isn’t the same one I would use, but a ban is a ban. In actuality, the ban is supposedly under Islamic law because the concert is being sponsored by a tobacco company. Muhammadiyah, the second largest Islamic organization in the world’s most populous Muslim country, has gone on record as declaring all smoking forbidden under Islam. The head of the organization’s fatwa, or religious edict, department (yes, even hard-line Muslim organizations have departments, department heads and probably productivity meetings) said in an interview that the no-smoking fatwa applied to Clarkson’s concert. “We do not need to put another fatwa on a thing that is already clear,” Yanuar Ilyas stated. Muhammadiyah isn’t the only group that has a problem with L.A. Lights cigarettes sponsoring Clarkson’s concert. The U.S.-based campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has also raised objections to the Clarkson’s Jakarta concert, scheduled for April 29. Now, Tobacco-Free Kids isn’t dropping a ban on the event because it’s not their country to make that decision for. No, the organization is merely looking to shame Clarkson into dissolving the partnership with L.A. Lights on the grounds that by taking the stage, she is basically becoming a spokesperson for the entire cancer stick industry. "If Kelly Clarkson goes ahead with this concert, she is choosing to be a spokesperson for the tobacco industry and helping them to market cigarettes to children," said the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew L. Myers. "If she rejects tobacco industry sponsorship, she can send a powerful message to children in Indonesia and around the world that they, too, should reject the tobacco industry's deadly products and marketing." As I always say……whatever you need to do to ban or oppose a former American Karaoke star’s live shows, you do it. Whereas I would do so under the heading of their music absolutely sucking and them being part of the single biggest abomination in the history of the music business, I have no beef with people opposing a concert by an AK alum on religious grounds. Curiously, Clarkson’s fans have hit up her Facebook fan page in large numbers, urging her to drop the tobacco sponsor. Clarkson doesn’t seem inclined to do so, at least according to a post she put up on her blog Wednesday afternoon. She claims her only option would be to drop the tour date, something she cannot do without disappointing her Jakarta fans. “This is a lose-lose situation for me and I am not happy about it but the damage has been done and I refuse to cancel on my fans,” says the posting titled “Jakarta Mishap” and signed “Kelly.” It may be a lose-lose situation for you, K., but for those of us who hate crappy music and hate seeing people subjected to it, it’s a win-win-win……………

- What is "South Park" if not irreverent, disrespectful and looking to get under people’s skin? That’s where show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone live and that’s what they do. Creating controversy keeps their show on the radar and let’s face it, without controversy there’s just not much worth talking about in regards to an adult-themed cartoon. As such, the show is no stranger to the censor’s bleep and black-out. However, “South Park” may have picked a fight with someone you just don’t want to pick fights with: radical Islamic groups. On Wednesday, the conclusion of a controversial two-part story involving the prophet Mohammed was shown amidst a tremendous amount of controversy. The scene that sparked the most uproar was Mohammed appearing in a bear mascot costume, which obviously didn’t sit well with Muslim extremists and led to posts on these groups’ message boards warning of potential harm coming to Parker and Stone. As the controversy swirled, Comedy Central was forced to make a decision on editing or censoring the show in order to prevent the sh*t from truly hitting the fan. The end result was the second part of the episode airing Wednesday night with a number of audio spots covered by bleeps and images hidden by a block reading "CENSORED." Ironically, part one of the Mohammed story involved free speech issues. "Comedy Central was responsible for the bleeps and not showing Mohammed in last night’s episode," a spokesperson for the network stated. Whether that’s enough to avert another protest from the Islamic group, Revolution Muslim, I don’t know. Revolution Muslim is the group that went ape sh*t after the first part of the episode aired April 14, attracted and posted an entry on its website that included a warning to Parker and Stone that they risked violent retribution. Those behind the post insist that it was meant as a warning and not a call to violence, but let’s just say these groups aren’t typically known for their rational thought and truthfulness. Either way, the network wasn’t taking a chance and I can't say I blame them…………

- If anyone is going to speak out when there are allegations that a major New York crime family ran an underage prostitution ring, it had better be a former mob guy. Organized crime is still real enough in this country that you don’t want to go aimlessly bumping your gums about the world of the mob. Former Lucchese crime family is a guy who can speak credibly about that life and Hill says he isn't surprised by what has happened this week . "Wherever there's a buck to be made without them guys busting their hump and breaking their backs, they're gonna prey off the weak," said Hill. Hill, of course, is the former mobster-turned government informant whose story was told in the Nicholas Pileggi book, "Wiseguys." He was commenting on a 23-count federal indictment unsealed this week that accused members and associates of New York's Gambino family of crimes ranging from murder to racketeering to drug trafficking. Those allegations are nothing new, but what it a new “scraping the bottom of the barrel” moment for even the mob, authorities are also alleging that the crew ran an interstate prostitution ring that offered at least one girl as young as 15 to johns in parts of New York and New Jersey. In an expected move, 13 of the 14 defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. The only reason it wasn’t 14-of-14 is that one of the defendants, Steve Maiurro, remains at large. What a scene it was as this baker’s dozen of buffoons was led into the courtroom Wednesday in shackles. According to Hill, the underage pimping is something the mob has been involved in before. "There is no line that they draw, as far as luring underage girls, teen prostitution," Hill said in an interview Wednesday. "Most of those guys do not have consciences; they'll do anything, and they'll go to any length to make an illegal dollar as long as they don't have to use the sweat of their brow." If you don’t know Hill’s story, he began running errands for Lucchese family boss Paul Vario as a teen in the 1950s and soon became involved in gang activities. However, he is not a full-blooded Italian and so he never became a "made" member of the family, meaning he was officially inducted into the Mafia. However, he was able to ascend the ranks of the Lucchese family and gain the trust of high-ranking members - right up to the point he flipped and became a government informant after an arrest on drug charges. He claims that during his time in the mob, child prostitution was off limits for the Lucchese family, but it still took place. "There's a lot of people in organized crime, a lot of bosses, families, that don't condone it. But some do, and they don't care what they have to do to make a buck," he said. Ironically, there is a woman among those indicted in this case: Suzanne Porcelli, who is accused of four counts, including sex trafficking and sex trafficking of a minor. She is accused of answering the phone and scheduling appointments for services advertised on Craigslist and other websites. As always good to see women breaking through yet another glass ceiling…………