Tim Benz stories, Page 125

It’s natural for any filmmaker, right? You’re a week away from your first written and directed big-screen release. You’re worrying about how the premiere will be staged. You have press lined up all week. You’re coordinating with producers, actors and family. Above all else, though, one thing is weighing on...

“Are you ready for some football?? A Tuesday night party??” The Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans are. I think. Hank Williams Jr. should get back in the studio to re-record the old “Monday Night Football” open. Because thanks to a covid-19 scheduling backlog, I don’t think this evening’s game will...

Former Steeler Le’Veon Bell disses his coach on Twitter. Ben Roethlisberger is finally erased from the Cleveland Browns record books. The Dallas Cowboys may turn to a Pittsburgh product at quarterback if Andy Dalton gets hurt. “Ground Chuck” is still in playoff form. All that and more in Tuesday’s “First...

In Monday’s “First Call,” Baker Mayfield wants you to know how tough he is heading into Steelers week. Just ask his “momma.” Also, a future Steelers opponent just lost their quarterback. A division rival beats up on another one. Aaron Donald wrecks Alex Smith’s return. And Robert Morris’ hockey team...

The Steelers won the battle of Pennsylvania Sunday. Sorry, “BENsylvania.” The Penguins traded a Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. Sorry, a two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender. And the Pitt football team lost in unbelievable fashion. Sorry, completely typical Pitt fashion. So it was quite a week. Mark Madden and I recap all of...

I could make things really easy this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-29, on Sunday to improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1979. And pretty much the entire week all anyone will talk about is two things. So let’s keep it brief. Feats of Strength?...

On Saturday, the Pitt and Boston College football teams will be opponents. Most of the rest of the year, though, these two teams fight many of the same battles. They are city schools in pro sports towns, trying to reestablish the national pulse they had in the 1980s. Doing the...

Friday’s “First Call” looks at a key matchup in Sunday’s Steelers-Eagles game. The Steelers defensive front gets some high first-quarter grades. Robert Morris hockey has found a special story and a special skater. And the Duquesne Dukes may be part of an Atlantic 10 renaissance. Tale of the tight ends...

Analysis of Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers game against the Philadelphia Eagles comes down to two specific things. Check that. The analysis isn’t even that complicated. Simply put, the Steelers should win. Period. And they should cover the seven-point spread bouncing around most gambling outlets. But how easily the Steelers win —...

Want a “fantasy,” Steelers fans? Here’s a fantasy. How about an NFL week without the specter of games being postponed or moved around? That’s a fantasy in my world. It’s also a fantasy in most fantasy football leagues. And while the real-life logistics of maneuvering around the covid-19 landmines are...

Steelers fans want to know what exacerbated the Tennessee Titans coronavirus outbreak. Thursday’s “First Call” tries to bring that into focus. Also, J.J. Watt apparently had a burr under his saddle about former coach Bill O’Brien. The Duquesne basketball team is thinking mini-bubble. And more ex-Pirates pitchers are impacting the...

I’ve gained a whole new respect for Steelers fans. They’ve proven to me that they can get just as uncontrollably agitated about a game the Steelers didn’t even play as they can get about a game that the Steelers didn’t win. I mean, this Tennessee Titans postponement really has Western...

Wednesday’s “First Call” outlines some offensive line problems in Philadelphia as the Eagles get ready to face a fearsome Steelers pass rush. The Vegas Golden Knights are struggling to trade Marc-Andre Fleury. And Ex-Pirates aplenty put their stamp on last night’s Yankees-Rays playoff game. More problems up front In advance...

This 2020 NFL season has to be a special kind of torture for Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Almost all coaches from pee-wee football to the NFL pound a message of “controlling the controllables.” In other words, focus only on your team. Your own job within that team. On that given...

As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare for 2021, a vast amount of uncertainty exists. When will games start? Will fans be allowed? What will the length of the schedule be? What about payroll? Who knows? One thing I can pretty much guarantee, though, is that the Pirates will not be allowed...

I’m not sure about much when it comes to the 2020-21 Pittsburgh Penguins. I’m not sure who will be on the roster. I’m not sure if they’ll make the playoffs. I’m not even sure if head coach Mike Sullivan will make it through the season. But I am sure that...

After the NFL postponed a Steelers game in Nashville this Sunday due to coronavirus concerns, the Tennessee Titans appear to be turning the corner when it comes to controlling the spread. But will they get disciplined for protocol violations after failing to take proper measures to prevent its introduction to...

In each of the last two years, the Steelers have suffered crushing late-season losses over the final four weeks that have prevented them from making the playoffs. In 2018, the Steelers inexcusably lost to the Raiders in Oakland in Week 13. Then they suffered a heartbreaking defeat in New Orleans...

The Steelers had an unexpected day off Sunday thanks to the postponement of their game against the Tennessee Titans. And if they spent it watching the rest of NFL, they didn’t like what they saw. All three of their AFC North rivals ended up winning. A pair of other AFC...

No Steelers content to discuss for our “Madden Monday” podcast this week, as the team is coming off its surprise bye weekend. That’s thanks to the postponement of their scheduled game against the Tennessee Titans. Mark Madden and I start the show talking about how the NFL is handling their...

This was bound to happen. Now the NFL has to brace for being unable to stop it. Or wish it away. Before this week, the covid-19 pandemic had been an ominous rumble of thunder in the distance. Now it’s become a daily rain cloud over the league. At least the...

Normally what Pittsburgh Steelers fans want more than anything else on any given Sunday is a win from their team. This Sunday, Steelers fans will get something almost as good: a permanent excuse. If the Steelers don’t make the playoffs, or don’t win the division, or don’t win the Super...

I’ve always been a big fan of the cartoon “South Park.” Don’t tell me what happened in “The Pandemic Special.” I’ve got it on the DVR. A recurring spoof in the early seasons of that show was that every episode ended with one of the kids telling the other characters,...

In this week’s “U mad, bro?” Pittsburgh sports fans are mad about how the NFL is handling the Steelers-Titans postponement. They are also mad at attempts to qualify the Steelers’ 3-0 start. Mad at the Penguins for trading Patric Hornqvist. And mad about the presidential debate. I’m mad, too. Because...