Tim Benz stories, Page 118

Want the actual odds of Deshaun Watson winding up with the Steelers? We got ‘em. We also have some NFL salary cap projections. Happy returns for Joe Musgrove. And an update on Robert Morris hockey. All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.” Watson watch Pittsburgh sports talk radio is gaining steam...

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is making a late push for some Hall of Fame candidates. The NFL Combine is dialing back because of the pandemic. And a Steelers rival is leaving Baltimore. Plus, we check in on former Penguins goalie Matt Murray. All that in Tuesday’s “First Call.” Lending his...

The sage wisdom of a “Tomlinism” knows no boundaries. They are translatable from sport to sport. Even Robert Morris men’s hockey coach Derek Schooley is borrowing a verbal pearl from the Steelers head coach. The Colonials resume play after a nine-day layoff Tuesday night. And the break came at the...

Relax. This won’t be the 5,000th post you have read over the last three years about whether the Steelers should keep Mike Tomlin as the head coach or fire him after a third straight late-season collapse. That debate has become Republican or Democrat. Heavy metal or country. Beach or mountains....

Monday’s “First Call” starts with Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and his “virtual” flirtation with free agency. Cleveland suffered a bad break during the Browns playoff loss in Kansas City. Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald had an emotional reaction to his Rams losing in Green Bay Saturday. And the “Killer B’s”...

The idea of the Steelers potentially promoting Matt Canada to become the offensive coordinator is going to go one of two ways. If it eventually happens. 1. It’s going to go as many predict. For quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Canada is going to be a less abrasive, less public annoyance than...

I saw that photo of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sitting alone on the bench at the end of the team’s 48-37 playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns. Dejected. Almost slouching into his pads. Staring off into the void of defeat and a murky future. It was about 10 minutes after...

The 2020-21 season was supposed to be a step forward for the Duquesne men’s basketball program (3-4). That hope was largely based on the premise that they had a great deal of upperclass returning talent and experience. Well, it started that way. But so much for that idea, just seven...

Without a doubt, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2020 collapse was sinful. But were they guilty of any of the actual Seven Deadly Sins? Hmmm. Now that I’m looking at this list, I may be more guilty of those sins than those on the team itself. • Envy: I’m envious of teams...

For Friday’s “First Call,” Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Chase Claypool can’t get out of his own way. The Steelers may have to fight to keep Matt Canada on staff. And tackle Zach Banner seems optimistic about his future in Pittsburgh. All that and some college basketball news, too. Doubling down Steelers...

Plenty of Steelers talk in Thursday’s “First Call.” Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is denying that he’s already planning to find a bigger market in free agency. The Detroit radio host who advanced the “Kevin Colbert to the Lions” story admits where he went wrong. And we find out if the...

This is one of those moments where I get out of the way and let Steelers fans get after it. The team just allowed its season to end in ignominious, humiliating fashion to the Cleveland Browns on wild-card weekend 48-37. People are fed up with head coach Mike Tomlin, quarterback...

We all know about the “Tomlinisms” from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. His colorfully descriptive phrases to spin a sound bite. There’s usually a message underscoring those quotes, too. Truth and lessons underneath. The problem is, if you judge Tomlin by his own slogans, he hasn’t measured up to them...

The Steelers-Browns wild-card game set some record TV ratings. Penn Hills product Aaron Donald is trying to be ready for Sunday’s playoff game in Green Bay despite a painful injury. Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is giving a hard sell on an offseason acquisition. And the gambling community is starting...

Say what you will about Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and his “the Browns is the Browns” quote. You may think that line was destructive bulletin board material before a playoff game. Or you may consider it a fleeting quote that didn’t even rise to the level of tepid trash...

The Browns are “clapping back” at Steelers receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. Can you blame ‘em? Cleveland clubbed the Steelers 48-37 on Sunday night for its first playoff win since 1994. So Smith-Schuster’s pregame “the Browns is the Browns” line looks dumb. And Claypool’s TikTok video Monday saying that...

It’s time for the annual passing of the Pittsburgh sports torch from the Steelers to the Penguins. From football to hockey. From winter to … well … more winter. Pittsburgh sports fans segue out of the denouement at Heinz Field to the rising action at PPG Paints Arena. From old...

There’s more inopportune trash talk from a Steelers player about the Cleveland Browns. Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is thinking long-term about his future. A few former Steelers may be in the mix for the Philadelphia Eagles head coaching job. And former Penn State coach Bill O’Brien is getting a new...

In my 20 years of covering Pittsburgh sports and 46 years of following them as a fan, I’ve never seen a Pittsburgh team get off to a worse start in a postseason game than the Steelers did in the postseason loss to the Browns Sunday night. They got down 28-0...

During that agonizing 28-0 first quarter of Sunday night’s Steelers playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, a forlorn fan sent me this tweet. Starting to feel nostalgic for all those years when we simply failed to make it to the playoffs.— Rob (@WildernessRob) January 11, 2021 Sir, I hate to...

Sunday night was “last call” for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that doesn’t mean we stop doing “First Call” at “Breakfast With Benz.” Apparently, Steelers executive Omar Khan was closer to getting that Houston Texans general manager job than we thought. The Detroit Lions are still trying to bring back current...

It was just the latest in a long list of games that the Steelers couldn’t possibly lose, which inevitably they lost. To Washington and the Cincinnati Bengals this year. To the New York Jets last year. To the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos back in 2018. To Ryan Mallett and...

Friday’s “First Call” has a little fuel for the Cleveland Browns’ fire, via Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. Cleveland still has questions in its secondary. Mike Sullivan thinks championship hopes are still in play for the Penguins. And a familiar NFL name with local ties surfaces as a candidate to...

On Monday, 93.7 The Fan afternoon talk show host Andrew Fillipponi returned to his usual afternoon drivetime host chair after an extended absence. He had missed roughly two weeks over the holidays to stay home with his wife, Amanda, after the loss of their first child. Geno Fillipponi was stillborn...

For the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, this 2002 flashback thing is a lot more familiar than maybe we realized. By roughly 11:30 p.m. Sunday night, Steelers fans are going to be hoping that the last chapter winds up the same. If it does, expect a few heart palpitations along...