Tim Benz stories, Page 100

The Steelers season is just starting. The Pirates season is finally ending. Pitt’s fan base is starting to wake up. And the emotions from all sides are equally raw. That’s abundantly clear in this week’s “U mad, bro?”. After their win Sunday over the Buffalo Bills, this Twitter follower remained...

The Steelers may already be scouting a quarterback for next year’s draft. The Bengals have signed a former Steelers free agent. The Raiders Maxx Crosby raised eyebrows with his performance Monday night against the Baltimore Ravens. And we celebrate a Pitt football legend’s birthday. All of this in today’s First...

Wednesday’s “First Call” shows us some remarkable television ratings for the Steelers-Bills game and the rest of the NFL. The Vegas Raiders get bad news on the injury front as they prepare to face the Steelers Sunday at Heinz Field. Penn State coach James Franklin makes a poor attempt to...

The opening Pittsburgh Steelers game of the season isn’t just fun because of those three hours of excitement on that first Sunday afternoon. Or Monday night. Or even the occasional Thursday night. It’s fun because of the ensuing week when we endure those massive swings of emotion and adjustments of...

If you are a fan of stand-up comedy or “Saturday Night Live,” Tuesday was a hard day. Comedian Norm Macdonald died after a battle with cancer. The former SNL “Weekend Update” host was 61 years old. Macdonald was also inexorably linked to the sports world during his career. Macdonald was...

A smile stretches across the face of Duquesne running back Garrett Owens as he’s asked about what the campus reaction has been like since the Dukes made NEC conference history with their 28-26 victory over Ohio Saturday. “We have all had family members say, ‘Great win,’” Owens said Monday. “Walking...

Tuesday’s “First Call” puts the debut of Steelers rookie Najee Harris into context. Ex-Steelers punter Jordan Berry makes a strong impression with his new team. The Las Vegas Raiders had a wild “Monday Night Football” game and lots of injuries in advance of their visit to Heinz Field Sunday. And...

I have 15 windows open on my browser as I write this post about the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first one is the Google Doc I’m using to write my initial draft. The next 13 are box scores of the 13 losses from the Pirates this year as they have unsuccessfully...

Monday’s “First Call” shows us that the Buffalo Bills are bothered by one particular aspect of their upset loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. The Steelers’ next opponent may be dealing with some problems at the running back position Monday night. The Pirates and Reds are about to get very...

For as much as things coalesced in the second half for the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday in Buffalo, TribLIVE’s Mark Madden says the offense can do more. The Steelers fell into a 10-0 hole at halftime. Yet they ended up beating the favored Bills 23-16 thanks to a second-half explosion. In...

Uh, oh. The Steelers are going to be that kinda team again in 2021, aren’t they? That “30-Minute Men” team we talked about at length last season. Especially during that opening stretch of 2020 when Mike Tomlin’s crew won 11 in a row, largely by playing “above the line” football...

There is a language at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township. A way of talking. No one actually whispers, but no one uses their full voice either. Every conversation is in hushed tones. Emotions seem to be communicated in the silence in between thoughts. And that’s just the...

By his sixth year of Major League Baseball, Pirates catcher Jason Kendall knew how to massage a relationship with a home plate umpire. Build a rapport. Manage a mood. Gauge a personality. Maybe buy a call on the corner. That’s not what this was. This was one guy worried about...

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin can vividly describe the howitzer of a throwing arm possessed by Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. “His arm talent is exceptional,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “His mobility, particularly for a guy of his size and strength, is exceptional. He got out of the pocket and really created...

For former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher, remembering Sept. 11, 2001 will always bring him back to his office on the South Side. Hanging up the phone after speaking with his friend Marty Schottenheimer. Ruminating over tape after a season-opening loss in Jacksonville. Preparing for the Cleveland Browns in...

On the Steelers front, we appear to have mixed opinions on the T.J. Watt situation. On the Pirates front, there is no such divide. Everybody has had it up to their eyeballs with frustration. In this week’s “U mad, bro?”, we surf through both emotions. Bryant doesn’t like the fact...

Wednesday’s “First Call” sees little concern among NFL executives about T.J. Watt’s minimal training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The ACC still has a decent Top 25 presence after a tough first week. But it is slipping. Ex-Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole suffered an injury in New York. We have a...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the start of the 2021 season in Buffalo on Sunday, it seems like a good idea to check in with their competition within the AFC North. To do that, I got in touch with some media colleagues in each city to get their perspectives...

In advance of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season-opening road game against the Buffalo Bills, head coach Mike Tomlin spoke extensively about Buffalo’s continuity within their coaching staff and their roster ever since Sean McDermott took over in 2017. “That (continuity) is one of the reasons why they’re regarded the way that...

Tuesday’s “First Call” checks in on the contractual stalemate between T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens managed to ink a star to an extension. An ex-Pirates pitcher got one, too. The ACC had a rough opening weekend. And a Cincinnati Bengals rookie is working through a...

So it’s come to this. Twitter has fallen so deep into the ninth circle of hell that it has forced me to side with the head coach of Notre Dame football. And, yes, that head coach is still Brian Kelly. I need a shower and I haven’t even gotten to...

A contract extension for Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is imminent. On the verge of happening. Looming. Around the corner. On the way. On the cusp. If we keep saying things like that, eventually it’s going to be correct, right? Unless it isn’t. Every perceived mile marker on the...

During a radio appearance on WDVE on Thursday, former Pirate and Upper St. Clair native Sean Casey told a laugh-out-loud story about playing at Wrigley Field. Little did he know that the punchline would be recreated by his hometown team later that night. The Pirates are in the middle of...

Ex-Steelers punter Jordan Berry already has a new job. It comes with an ironic twist. Steelers fans will like one bold prediction from ESPN.com but probably will hate a second one. Also, a statistical warning for the Steelers’ opening opponent. And those who remain from the Robert Morris hockey program...

The rivalry between the Steelers and Bengals may not be as bloodthirsty as it was five or six years ago. But you’d never know that by listening to former Bengal Adam “PacMan” Jones. The former Cincinnati defensive back has made no bones about continuing his disdain for the Steelers into...