Tim Benz stories, Page 178

The fantasy sports landscape could suffer quite a shake-up if that 18-16 regular season split is adopted by the NFL. Imagine how that would impact fantasy lineups and strategies. I see none of that being for the better — in fantasy sports or real life. We talk to Jeff Erickson...

With the Philadelphia Phillies coming into town for a weekend series, the nostalgia gears in my brain got going. I started flashing back to my favorite Pittsburgh-Philadelphia sports memories of years gone by. I figured I’d choose one from each of the three major professional sports to outline on “Breakfast...

Former Pitt football star Mark May is getting his Super Bowl rings back. The Panthers Hall of Fame offensive lineman won the rings with the Washington Redskins during his NFL playing days. According to ABC 15 in Arizona, May was wearing the rings at a charity event in Scottsdale, Ariz....

Thursday’s “First Call” features Le’Veon Bell’s latest rap attempt. Baker Mayfield pops off. And a former Pirate goes yard. Le’Veon’s latest Le’Veon Bell is releasing a new rap album on July 25. That’s the same date as the start of training camp for the Jets. Because, well, why not, right?!...

One of my colleagues at SteelersWire.com is Neal Coolong. He posed a great question on Twitter recently. Bring back one former #Steelers player (played at least one season with the team) to play just for the 2019 season. You're paying him up to the cap ceiling. Who is it?— Neal...

I’m not one who has a reputation for taking it easy on Mike Tomlin. But even a critic like me can’t agree with this opinion of the Pittsburgh Steelers coach from Elliot Harrison at NFL.com. He published a list ranking the 32 head coaches. And he has Tomlin ninth. That’s...

In Wednesday’s “First Call,” at least one Steeler is happy with his EA Sports “Madden NFL 20” ranking. Brooks Koepka is big-timing Tiger Woods. And a new gig for a Penguins legend. Madden madness The EA Sports ratings are out for this year’s “Madden NFL 20” video game. And everybody...

As is always the case when we get ready for a major golf championship, Brian Taylor of Real Golf Radio joins us on the Breakfast With Benz podcast. Brian comes on to speak with us about the British Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Among the topics we outline:...

It’s our final “money quote” post, looking at the interview Trib columnist Mark Madden conducted with Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan on 105.9 the X last week. Here, we examine Sullivan’s recent contract extension. Empowering the head coach rarely has been a priority for the Penguins. That’s not to...

If current Pittsburgh Pirates players are upset about their organization living in the past, I have an idea to fix that. Do something worth remembering in the present! A recent report stated some Pirates players asked management to stop showing a promotional video that was geared around them watching Willie...

Tuesday’s “First Call” features Mike Tomlin’s annual trip to Hampton Roads. Martavis Bryant may come back to the NFL. And the Pirates weren’t the only team in their system to have a rough night. Tomlin talks This is an annual tradition. Something to mark on the Steelers media calendar. Every...

Tennis doesn’t get a lot of run in the United States anymore. After what we saw at Wimbledon, you can see why fans of the sport say it deserves more attention. And I’m glad to see that there was a little pop to the coverage given how much of a...

I was in Ireland recently. At a pub. Shocker, right? I walked up to get a beer. An Irish guy was conversing with two Americans about sports. One of the Americans seemed to be talking about the differences between U.S. sports with and without salary caps, as opposed to transfer...

We are three posts into our five-part series of “money quotes” from Mark Madden’s interview with Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on 105.9 the X. We’ve gotten Sullivan’s reaction to the Phil Kessel trade, his thoughts on getting Evgeni Malkin right again and his views on how to address some defensive...

In Monday’s “First Call,” Antonio Brown doing what Antonio Brown does. Perhaps the most impressive point Wimbledon has ever seen. Ranking the Steelers offensive trio. And a competitive-eating scandal. A.B. on brand This is right from the Mr. Big Chest playbook. Antonio Brown is mad that he didn’t get a...

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Tim Benz and Mark Madden take a look at what went wrong with the Pirates during their disastrous series in Chicago to start the second half of the season. Not only did the Pirates come out of the All-Star break cold, they helped the...

In recent days. there has been increased discussion over the prospect of an 18-16 split for the NFL regular season. In other words, every team would play 18 games. But individual players would be forced to sit out two of them. The hope is that the league could increase revenue...

This is the third of our five posts examining the “money quotes” from Mike Sullivan’s interview on 105.9 the X with Mark Madden last week. This entry looks at an admission from Sullivan about his team. Two, actually. Frankly, neither is groundbreaking. More or less, both corroborate opinions that many...

In Friday’s “First Call,” an NFL player tries “bull jumping.” A dumb rule change is on trial in minor league baseball. And an unhappy Penguin anniversary. Is this covered in his contract? There is a leaping penalty in football. But I don’t think this is it. Redskins cornerback Josh Norman...

The Penguins missing the playoffs in 2020? Pfft! That’s not going to happen. I mean, they haven’t missed out since 2006. Then again, the Penguins made the playoffs by only four points in 2019. And it took until Game 81 to clinch a berth. And they couldn’t win a playoff...

This is the second of our five posts examining the “money quotes” from Mike Sullivan’s interview on 105.9 the X with Mark Madden this week. On Thursday, we focused on what the Penguins head coach had to say about Evgeni Malkin. On Friday, we look at his comments about the...

There’s a growing opinion about the Pirates across the National League. They throw up-and-in too much. This isn’t really a new thing. That reputation has been attached to the Pirates for a while. Going back years. There was the beanball war with Arizona in 2018. And there was one between...

In “First Call” Wednesday, we catch wind of what the Pirates’ asking price is for Felipe Vazquez. It’s “Tacko Time” in Boston. And robot umpires make their debut. Fishing for Felipe We’ve talked about what it would take for the Pirates to get Madison Bumgarner if they stay in the...

We do a lot of “Take 5’s” around here. Five takes on the Steelers’ loss to the Broncos. Five takes on the Steelers’ loss to the Raiders. Five takes on the Steelers tying the Browns. Five takes on why the Steelers can never get a win against a lousy team...

Picture it. Madison Bumgarner pitching at PNC Park in October again. I mean, for the hometown team this time. You might remember him from the wild-card game five years ago as a member of the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Right. That guy. Well, the 2014 World Series...