Tim Benz stories, Page 71

The Pittsburgh Steelers may have stopped their losing streak, but they are still underdogs to begin Week 7. Tom Brady colorfully assesses his performance against the Steelers—and his even more colorful language during the game. Plus, we check in on some ups and downs for a few former Penguins. And...

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger managed to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots three times in Pittsburgh during his career. This weekend, the future Hall of Famer saw his soon-to-be Canton counterpart lose to the Steelers in a different capacity. Brady was quarterbacking the Tampa Bay Buccaneers....

For Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky, there’s no doubt his performance in less than one half of football Sunday was more memorable than any stretch he put together in his four starts to begin the year. Hopefully, he embraces one of the obvious reasons why. When Trubisky replaced an injured...

Revisiting the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback debate this week will become a moot point if Kenny Pickett is ruled out after suffering a concussion Sunday during a 20-18 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But if he is ready to play Sunday night in Miami, Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9...

One of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gives his opinions on the Mitch Trubisky versus Kenny Pickett debate. A Carolina Panthers player gets kicked off the sideline. We look at the next opponent for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And Gerrit Cole keeps the Yankees alive in the American League Divisional Series. All...

Go ahead. You figure out the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers. Or the NFL in general. The 1-4 Steelers entered Sunday’s game against the 3-2 Buccaneers on a four-game losing streak. A week after getting shredded in Buffalo, 38-3, the Steelers secondary dressed just one healthy starter. Coach Mike Tomlin’s team also...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are eight-point underdogs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. That’s not something this fanbase is used to seeing. But they are used to seeing Tom Brady shred the Steelers defense. And that’s usually when the defense has been good. Without T.J. Watt, this year’s Steelers defense...

If this version of the Pittsburgh Penguins wants to be what it thinks it can be, then it needs to do a lot more of what it did in Thursday night’s 2022-23 regular-season opener. Wait. Save it. I’ll fill in your response here. “Oh really, Tim? You mean, beat a...

More than anything, John Wehner remembers a sound in the locker room. The Pittsburgh-born Pirates infielder was part of the team that lost Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series, 3-2. “It’s dead silent except for the clubhouse guys. Out of breath. Heavy breathing,” Wehner said. The clubhouse...

Despite a lousy result in his first start, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett apparently put enough good things on tape to open the eyes of this week’s opposing head coach. We are going to see a first when the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs square off Sunday afternoon. A...

When on-field issues with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates become so overwhelming that no fix appears likely, fans tend to opine about less tangible problems. Like, for instance: stadium names, the media, former employees and 30-year-old plays from history. That’s what I discovered in this week’s “U mad, bro?” David...

With the anniversary of Game 7 of the 1992 National League Championship Series fast approaching, I reached out to former Pirates manager Jim Leyland. Not long after I sent a text message requesting a telephone interview, he called back. “Hi, Jim. Thanks for calling. I appreciate it.” “What are you...

Wednesday’s “First Call” features a Pitt Panther who got a tryout with the Steelers. Kenny Pickett got the attention of some Buffalo Bills stars. We have a Logan Cooley update from Minnesota. And the NHL season is underway. Pickett draws praise In advance of their 38-3 victory over the Steelers...

Regarding his team’s dreadful 1-4 start, I agree with at least one point Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made during his press conference Tuesday afternoon. “We didn’t dig ourselves into this circumstance in one day, so we’re not going to dig ourselves out of this circumstance in one day or...

Don Kelly wears the uniform of the team he passionately supported as a child. The Mt. Lebanon High School product played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2007 and is now the bench coach on manager Derek Shelton’s staff. As a minor leaguer for the Detroit Tigers, Kelly made the acquaintance...

After what appeared to be two horrible roughing the passer penalties this week in the NFL, a former league referee is putting the onus squarely on the shoulders of the on-field officials and not the rule book. At issue are the NFL’s incredibly stringent rules to protect quarterbacks and whether...

Offensive lineman James Daniels received a lot of praise from Steelers fans for retaliating on behalf of quarterback Kenny Pickett during the team’s 38-3 loss in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon. Late in the third quarter, down 31-3, Pickett was scrambling. He attempted to give himself up with a slide when...

Monday’s “First Call” features a strange occurrence surrounding a former Pittsburgh Pirate in the Major League Baseball playoffs. The Cleveland Browns are making a trade. A Cincinnati Bengals star is struggling. And a Pitt versus Penn State alumni battle lives up to the billing. Messin’ with Musgrove Former Pirate Joe...

If you are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and, for whatever reason, you missed Sunday’s 38-3 loss in Buffalo, I’m guessing the first thing that went through your mind was: “Was it really that bad?” In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE is here...

So much for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “spark” with Kenny Pickett. That didn’t last very long, did it? Actually, it didn’t even last through the fourth quarter of the New York Jets game. But in Sunday’s 38-3 defeat in Buffalo, the Steelers never found a spark at all. Never lit a...

Robert Morris University hockey coach Derek Schooley is aware of how time is marching along. He has a countdown clock on his phone. He sees it every day. “I believe 450 days is when I started it,” Schooley said. “It seemed like it was going to take forever. Now that...

In this week’s edition of “Friday Football Footnotes,” a member of the Buffalo Bills takes exception to something said by Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett. A former rival of the Steelers pans the franchise’s decision to draft Pickett instead of addressing the offensive line. Plus, Le’Veon Bell isn’t done with boxing,...

Is it possible that Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool is auditioning for another team this weekend? Some stats are working against the Steelers this Sunday in Buffalo and for the rest of the season. The Baltimore Ravens made a move, and one of the Bills just got an NFL Award....

As the Steelers changed quarterbacks this week, a funny thing happened on my way to the “U mad, bro?” inbox. Apparently, I’ve gone from a writer who is too negative, sarcastic, antagonistic and pessimistic to a guy who is too soft and forgiving. According to some of you folks this...

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky seemed to lock in on the phrase. I can’t blame him. So did I. While conducting post-game interviews Sunday after he was benched for Pitt product Kenny Pickett during a 24-20 loss to the New York Jets, Trubisky was asked if he thought his benching...