Tim Benz stories, Page 186
Sean McDowell discusses retiring from WDVE, last song he’ll play
Sean McDowell has been on Steelers flagship radio station WDVE since 1993. He’s been on air in Pittsburgh since 1981. I spoke with him about his pending retirement which will happen on July 31. LISTEN: Sean McDowell discusses retirement from WDVE When McDowell made the announcement a few weeks ago,...
First Call: Antonio Brown makes Raiders debut; Pirates pierogies sexist?
Thursday’s “First Call” features your first look at Antonio Brown practicing with the Raiders. Tyler Boyd’s stance on free agency. Landry Jones’ release. Jon Bostic’s signing. And sautéed sexism at PNC Park. Brown’s debut Antonio Brown made his debut at Raiders organized team activities yesterday. Here’s your first look at...
Plenty of praise for Pirates’ Josh Bell’s latest splash landing
Only 9,534 fans saw Josh Bell’s 454-foot bomb of a home run at PNC Park Wednesday night. Too bad. It was worth seeing. Big drip, what you call it? ? pic.twitter.com/a3f6x4zbEa— Pirates (@Pirates) May 23, 2019 That’s just the fifth home run to reach the Allegheny River on the fly....
Tim Benz: Quieter Steelers on social media? So far, no good
An early question has been raised about the 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers. Did the team purge itself of players who do distracting, corrosive, nitwit-like things such as Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell, Martavis Bryant and James Harrison? Or did they just pave the way for younger, louder, less-accomplished nitwits to emerge? Unfortunately,...
New Robert Morris athletic director discusses return to alma mater
In Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, I’m joined by new Robert Morris Athletic Director Chris King to discuss his return to his alma mater. King, an Apollo native, assumes the job on June 1. He talks about how to best utilize the new UPMC Events Center. We also get into...
Check out the best hidden-ball trick in sports history
Get ready to see the best hidden-ball trick of all time. A tip of the cap to the crew at Deadspin for referencing the inspiration for the maneuver. Do you remember the baseball movie “Little Big League?” Pfft! That was nothing. First of all, it was the middle of a...
First Call: Jon Gruden discusses Antonio Brown’s OTA absence; a comical Pirates mishap
In “First Call” Wednesday, Jon Gruden responds to Antonio Brown’s absence in Oakland. A comical Pirates mishap. The Blues win the Western Conference finals with more help from a former Penguin. And someone in Buffalo has O.J. Simpson’s number. No A.B.? No big deal That seems to be the reaction...
Tim Benz: New Steelers already pressed for jobs they were just hired for
Welcome to town. Now go fight for the job opening you just thought you were hired to fill. That is the message being sent by the Steelers to each of their three significant free-agent signees this offseason. Inside linebacker Mark Barron, formerly of the Rams, inked a two-year, $12 million...
First Call: New pressure for Le’Veon Bell; Penguins scoring in bunches at Worlds
In “First Call” Tuesday, something to watch for Le’Veon Bell in New York. Penguins players keep pumping in goals at the World Championships. The Warriors make history. And the next opponent for the Pirates just can’t buy good luck. Something to watch Many people are wondering how Le’Veon Bell will...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden discuss Steelers drama, Josh Bell’s power explosion
This week’s “Madden Monday,” comes a day late after my trip to the Sonic Temple Festival in Columbus. So, obviously, music comes up at some point. Like Joan Jett still performing … at 60! Mainly, though, we focus on the continuation of Steelers drama even as Ben Roethlisberger tries to...
Tim Benz: If anyone is two-faced, it’s Antonio Brown, not Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger admitted to KDKA-TV that his comments about Antonio Brown after last season’s loss in Denver went too far. He apologized for that during a sit down with Bob Pompeani that aired Monday. That wasn’t good enough for Mr. Big Chest. As Roethlisberger himself pointed out, sometimes when it...
Tim Benz: It’s not smart, but Ben Roethlisberger might continue radio show
Ben Roethlisberger’s 93.7 FM radio show is widely heard and often quoted. Plus, it has been the source of consternation for current and former teammates, namely Antonio Brown. The program has also been the catalyst of speculation when it came to Roethlisberger’s relationship with Todd Haley, his thoughts on retirement...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ offensive line might not be as impressive as you think
You probably liked the numbers ESPN.com’s Brian Burke gave us about the Steelers pass-rush Thursday. So you are inclined to believe them. You may not like what he has to say about the Steelers’ offensive line, so these stats you’ll probably want to dismiss. That’s usually how it works when...
First Call: Dominik Simon finally scores; Bruins keep Eastern sweeps alive
In Friday’s “First Call,” we finally see Dominik Simon score a goal. Not for the Penguins, of course. John Daly’s pants are better than his game. And the Bruins keep the sweep trend rolling in the Eastern Conference. Deadly Dominik So when is Dominik Simon going to score? Oh. Now?...
‘Seinfeld Night’ can be properly hosted by only 1 team … and they’re doing it
Take a wild guess which team is hosting “Seinfeld Night” at their ballpark? Of course, it’s Jerry Seinfeld’s beloved New York Mets. Their July 5th game at Citi Field will have a Seinfeld theme and giveaways. Here's the bobblehead the Mets will give away for this event.Jerry Seinfeld is also...
Pirates’ Josh Bell is ripping up fantasy leagues, too
After a week off, I check in with Jeff Erickson of Rotowire for our usual fantasy sports podcast. We start off by looking at what had been some of the early warning signs for Josh Bell’s huge start to the year. Melky Cabrera’s performance over the first month and a...
Tim Benz: Does the Steelers’ pass-rush production match its reputation?
Is Bud Dupree better than we make him out to be? Is the Steelers’ pass-rush as good as its sack numbers indicate? Is the Steelers’ offensive line pass-protection as good as we say it is? Based on some numbers compiled by ESPN’s Next Gen player-tracking stats those answers are: •...
First call: Big Ben’s big bash, NHL officials under fire again, Shaq’s awful attire
In “First Call” Thursday, Ben Roethlisberger does some image repair. Kasper Björkqvist already has PPG Paints Arena experience. Shaq’s wardrobe needs help. So do NHL officials. Bad leader Ben? Remember when Antonio Brown trashed Ben Roethlisberger as a leader, in part, because “he has an owner’s mentality” and never invited...
Penn State men’s lacrosse seeks its first Final Four
The Penn State lacrosse team is No. 1 in the country and just one win away from the Final Four over Memorial Day weekend. In Philadelphia, by the way. The Nittany Lions won their first-round game, 25-10, over UMBC last week. That was the first NCAA tournament win in school...
Le’Veon Bell responds to reports that his signing ruined Jets front office
Former Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is responding to criticism that his signing is part of the reason the Jets blew up their front office Wednesday. Sort of. The Jets fired general manager Mike Maccagnan and vice president of player personnel Brian Heimerdinger on Wednesday. Head coach Adam Gase will...
Tim Benz: Le’Veon Bell’s signing may have helped cause Jets firings
Le’Veon Bell is already causing problems for the New York Jets. And he hasn’t even practiced with the team yet! This time, it’s not Bell’s fault, really. You can’t blame “Juice” for a drug violation, a tardy appearance at a walk-through, a rap diss or a social media faux pas....
First call: Antonio Brown’s odd goodbye; Patrick Peterson trade talk returns
Today’s “First Call” features Antonio Brown’s odd goodbye to his home in Western Pennsylvania, Patrick Peterson trade talk returning and the idea of an NFL draft lottery. Kimbo comes with the house? Since we are talking about Antonio Brown, this shouldn’t surprise us. The former Steelers receiver was back in Pittsburgh...
Surprising stats on Steelers’ Roethlisberger, Dupree, pass-rush, O-line
I heard a really interesting conversation on ESPN Radio Saturday. Brian Burke was on Bill Barnwell’s show. Burke is one of the analytics experts at ESPN.com. He did some fascinating work via the Next Gen Stats NFL player tracking data in three areas Steelers fans should have a specific interest:...
U mad, bro? Readers attack Mike Tomlin, replay, race, baseball contracts
In “U mad, bro?” this week, we have race, rage and replay. Hence, things get a bit tense. My column about lagging baseball interest got a lot of response. None more interesting than this email from someone simply calling themselves “k l.” “The media believes fewer whites means more diversity,...
Tim Benz: Tweaks the Pirates can make to stay hot
With a 6-2 win over the Diamondbacks Tuesday night, the Pirates have now won four of their last five games. Joe Musgrove got back on track with seven shutout innings. Chris Archer returns to pitch Wednesday afternoon in Arizona. And clearly no one should mess with Josh Bell ever again....
