Tim Benz stories, Page 173

In Friday’s “First Call,” we see a family bonding moment that made Major League Baseball history at PNC Park. Austin Meadows stays hot for Tampa. And a contract situation to watch in the NHL. Multiple Morans Brother, can you spare a strike? Pirates infielder Colin Moran faced his brother Brian,...

“Friday Football Footnotes” returns for Week 1 of the NFL season. Both O.J. Simpson and Merril Hoge are piling on Antonio Brown. Drew Rosenhaus doesn’t sound optimistic about Monday night for A.B. And we have injury information from both Cleveland and New England. Rosenhaus not rosey If Drew Rosenhaus can’t...

The 2016 AFC Championship Game. Giving up 55 points in 2013. Anthony Smith’s guarantee in 2007. Getting smoked the night the building opened its doors in September 2002. Yeah. Gillette Stadium has pretty much been a house of horrors for the Steelers. The franchise is just 1-5 there and 0-5...

In Thursday’s “First Call,” Antonio Brown rips his new team. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a Sports Illustrated cover boy. And someone just did something we haven’t seen since Babe Ruth. We’ve seen this fish before It took nine full seasons before Antonio Brown became intolerable in Pittsburgh. I wonder if he’ll...

The Duquesne football team is taking the field for the first time this weekend. And they are doing so as defending champions. The Dukes won the NEC title then went on to upset Towson for the school’s first FCS playoff victory. History was made yesterday at Towson #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/Wu68DolWrE— Duquesne...

How do I know when somebody is starting to slip in popularity at Pitt? When I write a critical column regarding the Panthers football team and I get far more positive response to it than I do negative. Normally, if I write anything remotely skeptical about Pitt football, I’m overwhelmed...

It’s … what? What word would you use? Ironic? Typical? Funny? Unfortunate? No. Not unfortunate. No matter how you slice it, be glad that the Steelers don’t have to deal with Rob Gronkowski anymore. Even if they are probably better suited to do so right now than they have ever...

Wednesday’s “First Call” features details on Ezekiel Elliott’s new contract. Phil Kessel speaks for the first time as an Arizona Coyote. Austin Meadows homers again. And two local pitchers break new ground in the Major Leagues. Kessel the Coyote Phil Kessel may have been traded to Arizona two months ago,...

We head to New England to get a little perspective on the Patriots for Wednesday’s podcast. And a familiar voice provides that for us. TribLive Radio pioneer Ken Laird joins me. He now works with WEEI in Boston as part of the radio station’s morning show. Ken tells us how...

It isn’t the most obvious Mike Tomlin analogy of all time. But I see where he is going with it. At his weekly press conference on Tuesday, I asked Tomlin about nose tackle Javon Hargrave. In my mind, if the Steelers pull off an upset against the New England Patriots...

Le’Veon Bell lobbed one more shot at the Pittsburgh Steelers before the start of the 2019 season. And this one was just a plain old quote. Not a tweet or a mumbled rhyme in a terrible rap track. Check out this hot take from the New York Jets running back....

In Tuesday’s “First Call,” a former Steeler gives us some bad broadcasting. A former Cowboy looks for big broadcasting bucks. Le’Veon Bell’s ironic tweet. Gerrit Cole’s huge afternoon. And Phil Kessel finally speaks. Brownout of the brain Chad Brown is now providing color commentary for the Pac-12 Network. He had...

In this week’s “Madden Monday” with Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 the X, it’s a ton of Steelers-Patriots talk. The Steelers are faster on defense than they have been in the past. But are they fast enough to keep up with Tom Brady and his wide receivers? There are...

It meant nothing. Oh, sure. For a few hours on December 16, 2018, it was a lot of fun. To borrow a phrase from Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, his team had finally managed to “be the dragon” by slaying the dragon. The dragon that usually flies into Pittsburgh...

One of the easiest things to do in sports is throw dirt on a college football team if it loses its opener. Especially if that loss is at home, in conference and against a beatable opponent. With only 12 games on the schedule, if a team drops a contest like...

In “First Call” for Friday, is there an injury concern in New England? The Steelers start as underdogs. Robert Morris kicks off its 2019 football season. And the Ravens own the preseason. Want the points? The early lines are out for next week’s season-opening NFL games. The Steelers are underdogs...

I knew what would dominate “U mad, bro?” this week. I wrote a column about USWNT soccer player Carli Lloyd. She made a 55-yard field goal after an NFL practice recently. So now there appears to be a social media movement to get her an NFL tryout. After one kick...

The goal was to hold this one until after Labor Day weekend. You know, squeeze in one more preseason column after the Steelers’ 25-19 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. Bang out one more thought-provoking deep-dive as to who the 53rd versus 54th guy on the roster should...

It’s our most important fantasy sports podcast of the year with Jeff Erickson of Rotowire. This is our final fantasy post before the NFL regular season starts. So, it’s the last time you can get draft advice from Jeff before your fantasy season begins. There’s an important trickle-down effect for...

In “First Call” Thursday, Gerrit Cole dials up the heat. JuJu Smith-Schuster continues to show how marketable he really is. Carli Lloyd keeps the hype going about her place-kicking career. And Alison Riske is up for Round 2 at the U.S. Open. Gas from Gerrit Former Pirate Gerrit Cole dialed...

The Pittsburgh Steelers play their final preseason game Thursday night in Charlotte. Kameron Kelly is a player who probably circled this game on the calendar and said it might be his last chance to make the team. Now, he’s been so good in training camp and in the preseason games,...

On our WDVE Steelers pregame show, my co-host Dale Lolley and I always make our “Three Guarantees.” Three things we guarantee will happen in the game. OK, maybe guarantee is a strong word. But it rhymes. It’s catchy. And it gives us a chance to say, “I told you so”...

If you are looking for something of substance to track Thursday night in the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason finale, I’ve got two pieces of advice. 1) Find something else to do with your time. 2) If you can’t, watch the running backs. There may be some practical application to doing so....

In “First Call” Wednesday, Cam Heyward’s battle cry. Steven Brault shows his skills. And look out for “little Fournette.” Breathing fire Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward may have come up with this year’s team slogan for 2019. During his weekly interview on 102.5 WDVE, Heyward spoke about going to...

How do you shame a guy who knows no shame? Twitter. That’s how. Former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro Antonio Brown sent out the tweet below. Then he deleted it. Antonio Brown deleted this tweet. pic.twitter.com/fyo1RTcXEr— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 27, 2019 That was Brown’s response to Ben Roethlisberger’s halftime interview Sunday...