Tim Benz stories, Page 175
Tim Benz: A potential matchup nightmare for Steelers vs. Seahawks
Silly me. I thought Rob Gronkowski had retired. Clearly, he didn’t. He just changed his position to wide receiver, his number to 10, and his name to Josh Gordon. Because, obviously, that’s who I was watching in Foxborough Sunday night against the Steelers, right? Doing to the Steelers what he...
Fantasy sports podcast: Concerns about Steelers players, loading up versus Dolphins
It’s our weekly fantasy sports podcast with Jeff Erickson of Rotowire. Some people are worried about Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in fantasy play after Week 1. Jeff tells us why you shouldn’t buy into that concern. How many Patriots should you play against Miami? And how heavy should you invest...
First Call: Are Bill Belichick, Tom Brady already tired of Antonio Brown attention?; New home run record
In “First Call” this Thursday, we see how New England is reacting to the news about the lawsuit against Antonio Brown. The helmet saga surrounding Brown may be resurfacing, too. An MLB home run record. And a significant horse-racing scandal. Fed up already? When we found out Antonio Brown was...
U mad, bro? Readers rip Steelers, Antonio Brown; vent about Pirates’ fight
A ton to choose from for “U mad, bro?” this week! I had so much material from you folks about the Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the New England Patriots, I could’ve gone entirely down that path. But with Antonio Brown’s defection to New England, the Pirates bullpen fight, and the...
Tim Benz: Steelers go back to school on defending ’rub routes’
“Jet streaming” and “tailpipe.” Get used to those terms. You’ll be hearing them a lot this week from the Pittsburgh Steelers defenders. And probably a lot during the rest of the season. Maybe the better they perform those techniques, the less you’ll hear these terms: “pick plays,” “rub routes” and...
First Call: Brown’s Odell Beckham Jr. says he’ll keep wearing watch; Jennifer Lopez ‘in talks’ for Super Bowl halftime show
In “First Call” Wednesday, Odell Beckham Jr. is going to keep his watch. Marcus Gilbert is out for the year. “Duck Dynasty” is back in Pittsburgh. And Jennifer Lopez may be up for the Super Bowl halftime show. Got the time? Odell Beckham Jr. claims he is going to keep...
Tim Benz, Kevin Gorman break down Steelers’ issues on offense, preview Seahawks matchup
Fellow TribLIVE columnist Kevin Gorman joins me for our weekly “Breakfast With Benz” podcast wrapping up the Mike Tomlin press conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach sounded as down on his team as you probably feel about it. He didn’t candy coat anything about the 33-3 loss to the New...
Tim Benz: Too harsh on Steelers? Not based on what Mike Tomlin saidVideo
Perhaps dealing with a brief crisis of conscience, I asked myself a question Tuesday morning. Have I been too hard on the Pittsburgh Steelers since their ugly 33-3 loss in New England Sunday night? I’ve written, said and posted some pretty critical things. Maybe I should’ve kept in mind that...
Tim Benz: Accusations against Antonio Brown test moral compasses
Quite the ethical conundrum we have here, isn’t it, Pittsburgh? You, too, Boston. Especially you, NFL. What’s it going to be? Are your moral compasses going to be guided by your senses of right and wrong? Or the logo involved? That’s what has been brought into play with the latest,...
Tim Benz: ESPN changes yellow ‘Monday Night Football’ graphic after angry complaintsVideo
Complaining your way into what you want seems to be a fashionable trend these days. First Antonio Brown managed to get his way out of Pittsburgh. Then Oakland. Now confused “Monday Night Football” viewers are getting their way as well. The MNF graphics crew received a lot of complaints during...
First Call: Deion Sanders says Ben Roethlisberger will retire during season; Raiders fans roast Antonio Brown
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Raiders fans voice their displeasure about Antonio Brown. Details of Brown’s contract with the Patriots are out. Deion Sanders seems to think Ben Roethlisberger will retire. And the Astros are unstoppable. What are they saying? The Oakland Raiders were on Monday Night Football at home to...
Podcast: Seattle still rattled over Seahawks’ loss to Steelers in Super Bowl
Hard as it may be to do, we need to move on from the Pittsburgh Steelers season-opening beat down in New England. After all, a good Seattle Seahawks team is coming to Heinz Field Sunday afternoon. Former ESPN anchor Steve Bunin joins me to preview the contest. A native of...
Antonio Brown could have been a Seahawk? Imagine his debut against the Steelers
Antonio Brown floating out of Oakland in his hot air balloon over to New England has been a huge story. “Did we just become best friends? YUP” pic.twitter.com/A5gSwiNS68— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 10, 2019 Oh, gross. Make me puke. That element of Brown teaming up with Tom Brady and company...
Tim Benz: More grievances to air about Steelers’ bad defenseVideo
Hey! Get back here! I’m not done berating you yet. Something struck me when I finished my “Airing of Grievances” post Sunday night. I was almost 800 words into excoriating the Pittsburgh Steelers for their awful, season-opening loss to the New England Patriots, and I hadn’t even mentioned the defense...
First Call: Steelers fans, it could be worse; you could be a Browns fan
In Monday’s “First Call,” our AFC North recap features a rotten start for Cleveland. Also, the Bengals hang tough and the Ravens go bonkers. Plus, Philadelphia fans live down to their reputation, while Saquon Barkley lives up to his. Cleveland clunker I’m not one who dismissed the offseason hype about...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden recap Steelers’ ugly loss to Patriots
It’s time for this week’s “Madden Monday” with Mark Madden of 105.9 the X. And it’s ugly. How could it be anything else after that disaster in New England? The Steelers lost to the Patriots 33-3. The passing game was awful. The run game was non-existent. The play calling was...
Tim Benz: First airing of grievances is deep after Steelers debacle vs. PatriotsVideo
We pick up where we left off in 2018 at Breakfast With Benz. Whenever the Pittsburgh Steelers lose — and even sometimes when they win — we post our “Airing of Grievances.” It was easier than ever to construct after Sunday’s season-opening 33-3 loss to the New England Patriots. Well,...
Tim Benz: Give it time. Antonio Brown will blow up in New England, tooVideo
One thing is obvious with this whole Antonio Brown saga. It’s all Derek Carr’s fault. Hey, if it was all Ben Roethlisberger’s fault in Pittsburgh — as the national media kept telling us over and over again — it must have been all Carr’s fault in Oakland, right? Knock on...
Chuck Cooper III discusses father’s induction into Basketball Hall of Fame
There’s one Pittsburgh guy who will be getting a standing ovation in New England this week. Chuck Cooper. The Westinghouse High School and Duquesne basketball star is going into the basketball Hall of Fame this weekend. And it is overdue. In 1950, Cooper was the first African-American player to be...
First Call: Brotherly love at PNC Park; Austin Meadows stays hot
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: Former Steeler rips Antonio Brown; O.J. Simpson piles on
“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...
Tim Benz: Some Steelers actually enjoy playing in New England
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...
First Call: Antonio Brown’s latest tantrum; JuJu Smith-Schuster on Sports Illustrated cover
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...
Duquesne football prepares for its title defense with opener vs. Walsh
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...
U mad, bro? Pitt fans lash out at Pat Narduzzi; angst over Pirates, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell
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...

