Tim Benz Columns category, Page 88
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans pounce on Doug Whaley’s Jack Ham comments; Pirates fans rip roster; reader backs Jacob Trouba hits
Despite a good week out west, fans are still piling on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Criticism of Jacob Trouba’s hits have hockey fans in a snit. And someone was critical of a Super Stiller from the 1970s. Perhaps the ultimate Pittsburgh sin. All that and more in this week’s “U mad,...
New Steeler Myles Jack addresses specific concern about his game coming from Jacksonville
After linebacker Myles Jack signed a free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March, a concern emerged from his days with the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few outlets noted that Jack wasn’t particularly effective wearing the green dot communication helmet. Many Steelers fans had hoped Jack would be a natural for...
Tim Benz: Offseason tells us how owner Art Rooney II feels about what will fix Steelers’ postseason slump
In an offseason that could’ve led to significant upheaval for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the franchise instead appears to be an example of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Actually, they are the very personification of that notion. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert retired. Vice president of...
‘Madden Monday’: Steelers promoting Omar Khan won’t change the way the team operates
On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers promoted vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan to be the franchise’s new general manager. It’s a move that surprised some because Khan doesn’t have much player scouting or development experience. He’s known more for his acumen on the business side and for...
Tim Benz: Ex-Pirates pitchers shining across MLB
Now that Memorial Day has come and gone, baseball fans can start gauging who will be in the mix for the Major League Baseball All-Star game (July 19 in Los Angeles). One Pittsburgh Pirate who is making an early push is closer David Bednar. His nine saves are eighth in...
U mad, bro?: Steelers quarterback carping; Penguins postseason pouting; Pittsburgh postseason pontification
This week’s “U mad, bro?” features clamoring about the Steelers’ quarterback situation. There is much fretting about the future of the Penguins. Fans are pushing back about my concern of recent Pittsburgh playoff incompetence. Plus, my readers are very fired up about a particular movie poll. And, well, I think...
Tim Benz: Mitch Trubisky navigating choppy waters of Steelers QB situation with ease on Day 1
If Mitch Trubisky can read a defense as well as he can read a room, then maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers really do have a diamond in the rough. Speaking with reporters Tuesday for the first time (in person, anyway) after the first OTA practice, Trubisky appropriately addressed, deftly sidestepped or...
Bryan Rust discusses new Penguins contract, his knee procedure and futures of Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin
Penguins winger Bryan Rust surprised many in the hockey world by getting to the end of the 2021-22 season as a prospective free agent but then signing a deal to stay in Pittsburgh before testing the waters. On Monday, Rust joined TribLIVE columnist Mark Madden on his 105.9 The X...
Tim Benz: Penguins GM Ron Hextall seems to want to keep the band together. I’m still hoping for a few new tunes
Based on what Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall said Monday, not only does he want to keep the whole band together, he wants to re-release a greatest hits album. As I listened to Hextall’s comments from his press conference, my mind started to picture Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni...
Tim Benz: Cardinals vets feasting on Pirates an all too familiar scene
It felt like a turn-back-the-clock kind of weekend at PNC Park for the St. Louis Cardinals. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, meanwhile, time continues to stand still and the calendar never advances to a better year. Adam Wainwright spun a gem. Albert Pujols hit a pair of home runs. Paul Goldschmidt...
Madden Monday: What Bryan Rust’s signing means for Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin, Ron Hextall and other Penguins
A lot of questions are popping up in the wake of Bryan Rust’s decision to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Penguins. One thing isn’t up for debate, though. This is a good deal for the Pens. The franchise is keeping a two-time Stanley Cup champion who has 73 goals over the...
Struggling Pirates hitters now have to face pitching nemesis
For the Pittsburgh Pirates hitters, coming back to PNC Park on Friday might be a case of getting the wrong guy at the wrong time. The Buccos batters will face a familiar foe in Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals to open a three-game series and a six-game homestand....
Tim Benz: Sidney Crosby’s comments on his long-term future should get us thinking
Because Pittsburgh Penguins star center Sidney Crosby is so consistent with his pragmatic, stay-in-the-middle-lane approach to dealing with the media, he rarely lets any quote slip that’s surprising. Frankly, the one he uttered Tuesday may not be all that remarkable either, but, during the Penguins breakup day interviews, the team’s...
Tim Benz: Steelers rookie DeMarvin Leal ‘touching the waters’ with decision to add some weight
Given the thirst so many people had for the Pittsburgh Steelers to draft a defensive lineman, I’m sure the instant reaction from most was to applaud when DeMarvin Leal’s name popped up next to the franchise’s logo in the third round last month. But that may have been followed by...
First Call: Vince Williams takes high school coaching job, endorses Antonio Brown’s idea to retire as a Steeler
A former Pittsburgh Steeler is making news by taking a high school coaching job. He is also endorsing a reunion between the Steelers and Antonio Brown. Things aren’t perfect in Cincinnati with the Bengals and a star player. The New York Rangers are underdogs in their next series despite dispatching...
Madden Monday: ‘Penguins blew it. Choked is too strong of a word. Or maybe it’s not.’
A lot of Pittsburgh Penguins fans seem to have sympathy for the club even though it blew a 3-1 series lead to the New York Rangers. Sunday’s 4-3 overtime result in favor of New York finished off the series comeback for the Blueshirts and ended the Penguins’ season. After all,...
Tim Benz: Blown leads result in blown series as Penguins season ends in New York
The Penguins-Rangers first-round Eastern Conference playoff series lasted seven games and 13 days. With all that happened during that time, it felt like it lasted 70 games and 130 days. We witnessed: • A triple-overtime Penguins win in Game 1 and an overtime Rangers win in Game 7. • The...
Tim Benz: ‘Rattled’ Penguins can’t write a better ending to familiar script
After 40 minutes of the Penguins-Rangers game Friday night, it dawned on me. Are we all really here at PPG Paints Arena for Game 6? Or is this a weird out-of-body experience? Are 18,187 of us just watching a hologram replay of Wednesday’s Game 5? As was the case Wednesday,...
First Call: Pitt’s possible partners in proposed ACC football scheduling changes; Capitals blow lead, on cusp of elimination
Thursday’s “First Call” provides some updates about potential changes to the ACC football conference. The Penguins-Rangers game at Madison Square Garden wasn’t the only crucial result to track in the NHL playoffs. The upcoming Pirates-Reds series this weekend has a different tone to it than the one they played last...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans already sounding off about quarterback decisions; Penguins fans in goalie mode
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are in regular-season mode already when it comes to quarterback conversation. It’s playoff time, so Penguins fans are in a lather. And we discuss zoology on the North Side. It’s quite the collection of reader responses in this week’s “U mad, bro?” We begin with Jonathan. He...
Tim Benz: Penguins didn’t pass 20-minute test without Sidney Crosby. The road ahead now looks much longer
Once it was clear that Sidney Crosby wasn’t coming back from injury, the Pittsburgh Penguins needed to be better than the New York Rangers for just 20 minutes to end their first-round playoff series. They weren’t. Now they might need to be better without him for 60 minutes. Or else...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ spike in goals is impressive, but the work to create the shots is what shines
When it comes to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goal explosion against the New York Rangers, the contrast is stark between what the Pens did in Games 1 and 2 at Madison Square Garden versus their output at home. Over the first two games at MSG, the two teams played a little...
As Penguins look to eliminate Rangers, momentum (and history) are on their side
The Pittsburgh Penguins are about to play the New York Rangers in a playoff elimination game. Momentum is on their side. And so is history. For the most part. The two teams have faced each other in the postseason seven times before this spring. The Penguins have won five of...
Tim Benz: The Penguins have suddenly reduced Igor Shesterkin from bold to broken
OK. Now, this is what it looks like to break a goalie. Penguins fans should know. They’ve seen it before. Penguins vs. that-season Vezina winners in playoffs, past 40 yrs-'96Rd1 WSH Jim Carey*✅'00Rd1 WSH Olaf Kolzig✅'01Rd2 BUF Dominik Hasek✅'16Rd2 WSH Braden Holtby✅'17Rd1 CBJ Segei Bobrovsky✅'22**Rd1 NYR Igor Shesterkin❓(*-lost job; **-presumed)...
Tim Benz: Bad time for Pirates to have a massive step up in competition
It’s been a while since we’ve really checked in on the Pirates. The NFL Draft and the Penguins playoff push has kept us pretty busy. That stuff and, well, the abject inability to be competitive and the organizational disinterest in trying. Those things come into play as well. But, hey,...
