It wasn’t the best weekend to be a superstar from the state of Pennsylvania. Two of the state’s biggest stars were in some hot water for different reasons, but now some big questions will come to the public’s attention that I’m sure neither guy would like to see out there.

First, Big Ben Roethlisberger was reportedly accused, for the second time in two years, of sexual assaulting a girl at a bar. You would think that a Super Bowl winning quarterback would be able to pick up a willing girl at a bar, but apparently Ben could not be satiated. With this second accusation and pending investigation, you have to wonder the validity of the first girl’s claim which didn’t get very far. When repeat actions start happening, it gets harder to forgive past alleged transgressions, even if they’re only alleged. Can Ben bounce back from this second girl’s claim, or will his on-field legacy be tarnished by his antics at the bar?

On the other side of Pa., Allen Iverson’s saga continues in its downward spiral nature. Former ESPN personality has reported that after his daughter’s illness, his divorce and leave from the team, Iverson “will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.”

That’s some pretty heavy stuff for a guy that seemed to have turned his life around after representing a hip-hop lifestyle earlier in his career. It also turns out that Iverson has been banned from multiple casinos in Atlantic City and Detroit. That really tells you how much of a problem he has and we can only hope that he wakes up to the severity of his issues.

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There wasn’t exactly the same start to free agency that happened last year, with Albert Haynesworth signing his ridiculous deal with the Redskins, but there has been some movement so far.

A quick aside about how quick negotiations can go with these midnight start times:  How can you hammer out a multi-million dollar contract in a matter of minutes without any prior negotiation? I mean, there has to have been some “tampering” involved, right? I just find it hard to believe that terms can be agreed to within minutes of the opening bell. Just saying.

A few things did go down before the clock struck midnight. The Chargers reversed their course and decided that it might be a good idea to keep at least one running back on their roster. So instead of letting Darren Sproles test the waters of free agency, they put on the biggest tender they could to hold on to the restricted free agent.

The Cowboys presented a similar tender to all-pro receiver Austin Miles with the hopes also signing him long term. If I’m Jerry Jones, I wouldn’t mess around with this guy. He’s one of the few great wide outs in the league that also has the unselfish gene – an excellent contrast to the previous elite receiver that Dallas had, T.O. It’s a rarity that a guy this good doesn’t demand the ball every play and for that, it makes him one of the most valuable players in on the team.

After free agency opened there wasn’t exactly a rush to sign Julius Peppers, though the Bears are reportedly close. The million-dollar-per-game man last season looked bound for the windy city to help them improve their pass rush, which hasn’t exactly been solid for a few seasons now. I just hope that they’re not going to pay him what Carolina foolishly did last season.

The Jets traded for San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie in a deal that will give the Jets the best cornerback tandem in the league. Cromartie’s form suffered last season with off-field issues put was an all-pro in 2007 and led the league in INTs. After a change of scenery, he could be the perfect compliment to reigning cover-man extradonaire Darrelle Revis.

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“Dead”-line, dud-line. Call it what you want but one thing was clear on Wednesday: There was no way in hell that TSN and Rogers Sportsnet should have devoted eight-hour chunks of their schedules to devote to the NHL’s trade deadline. Say what you want about the number of trades made or the number of players moved – both records – but there were no blockbusters or even good-to-great caliber players that were dealt.

Look at it this way: When Wojtek Wolski was the best player moved on deadline day; maybe it wasn’t such a big day of moves. Wolski, and his alleged poor attitude, was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes while the Avalanche picked up sophomore slumping Peter Mueller and prospect Kevin Porter. The Coyotes get some instant offence and the Avs get a reclamation project that maybe needed a change of scenery after this past summer’s debacle in the desert. For once, two teams actually made a sports deal as opposed to a deal to make some money.

If I’m an NHL owner right now, I am pissed off at the Phoenix Coyotes and the people running the league. While Phoenix looked to get better on paper, they got worse on the balance sheet, taking on an extra $5 million in salary. Now, with the league owning the team as it hangs in limbo until their prospective owner buys it, every other owner in the league is on the hook for a portion of the Coyotes. How could Gary Bettman be so short-sighted to allow the Coyotes to be buyers when they’re under the league’s management umbrella. This just goes to show – again – how incompetent Bettman really is.

Want another example of how quality-poor this deadline was? Lubomir Visnovsky was arguably the best defenceman dealt. Being sent from Edmonton to Anaheim is a nice change in climate, but both teams are destined to miss the playoffs. At least he’ll be able to summer on the beach instead of in Alberta.

This may have happened the night before the deadline, but Alexei Ponikarovsky was able to escape the Toronto Maple Leafs. After dealing him to the Penguins to give them some size on the second line, the Leafs now have a serious lack of depth at forward. Seriously, after Phil Kessel, the Leafs don’t have another player who could crack a playoff contender’s top-six. Good thing they’ll have a lottery pick this season to rebuild… oh yeah, they dealt their first-round pick for Kessel.

Martin Skoula ended up being a Maple Leaf in name only. Only ours after he was dealt to Toronto in the Ponikarovsky deal, he was repackaged to the Devils for a fifth round pick. It’s too bad that the Leafs didn’t keep him; that team could seriously use someone who is used to winning and could bring that attitude to them.

Vesa Toskala was dealt for the second time in weeks, being sent to the Calgary Flames. Word around the campfire is that the Flames don’t think that Miikka Kiprusoff can’t handle playing 70 games any more, because, you know, he’s not Martin Brodeur. Toskala is more than capable of being a good backup now that he’s out of the pressure cooker environment of the Toronto dressing room.

Speaking of former Leafs goalies, you have to feel really bad for Aaron Ward. It’s not exactly an ego boost when you’re traded for Justin Pogge. Pogge was once thought to be the future of Leafs goaltending and was even kept instead of Tuukka Rask in Toronto’s deal for Andrew Raycroft. Now, Pogge has struggled at the AHL level and was sent down to the ECHL. He’s hot exactly a blue chip prospect any more.

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