Tim Benz stories, Page 85

Wednesday’s “First Call” brings word of a new coaching job for a popular former Steeler. Arthur Moats is less than optimistic about an effective return for T.J. Watt in six weeks or less. A Pittsburgh Mauler wants in on the Dallas Cowboys QB vacancy. Plus, we zip around the baseball...

If you are looking to blame someone for the pectoral muscle injury suffered by T.J. Watt, blame me. I jinxed it. I accidentally thought it into existence. I saw former Steeler Tyrone Carter at practice last week. He came back for a visit before the club’s opener in Cincinnati. Carter...

According to one former NFL referee, two important officiating lessons could be learned from key moments during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 23-20 overtime win Sunday in Cincinnati. During his weekly WDVE radio hit Tuesday morning, retired NFL referee turned CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore (Washington, Pa.) said one controversial call may...

Tuesday’s “First Call” has an update on the Patriots quarterback as he gets ready to face the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. A Pitt product may be the answer to Cincinnati’s long-snapper problem. The Baltimore Ravens are already dealing with injury issues. And three former Penguins have new places to skate. Jones-ing...

It seems like every time Pittsburgh Steelers fans log on to Twitter there’s a new, nebulous report about the status of T.J. Watt’s pectoral injury. On Monday afternoon, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport said Watt isn’t expecting firm word on his status until Tuesday and that his prognosis could be anywhere between...

Monday’s “First Call” updates the health of Mac Jones as he and the Patriots prepare to face the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 2 of the NFL season. A pair of former Steelers lock horns in Arizona. Another scores against the Patriots in Miami. A big fire starts outside an NFL...

Many Steelers fans are trying to separate the bad news about T.J. Watt’s injury Sunday from the thrilling overtime win in Cincinnati. Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X isn’t buying that. “If Watt is out, the season is over,” Madden said in this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. The...

The Pittsburgh Steelers should have two goals heading into their season opener Sunday in Cincinnati. • Make this opener look as much like the one last year in Buffalo as possible. • Make this game as unrecognizable as possible when comparing it to the two games against the Bengals last...

This week’s “Friday Football Footnotes” examines the Steelers’ history in AFC North season-opening games — and why this one in Cincinnati is so unique. There are some other quirks to the NFL’s schedule to begin 2022. We get the story behind Aaron Donald’s alleged retirement letter. An old Tennessee team...

The Pittsburgh Steelers began 2021 on the road in Buffalo as a 6 ½ point underdog against a Bills team that was coming off a division championship and was among the AFC Super Bowl favorites. Yet Mike Tomlin’s team won 23-16. This year they are opening on the road in...

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and his brothers (J.J. and Derek) weren’t just youth football players growing up in Wisconsin. En route to their NFL careers, they played a lot of hockey, too. So Watt can appreciate an NHL analogy when there is one to make. That’s good because Watt...

Thursday’s “First Call” features an unfavorable view of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Meanwhile, a former Steelers wide receiver is walking away from the game. New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson may make his season debut in Pittsburgh. Gerrit Cole had a huge night for the Yankees. And Heinz Field’s...

The No. 1 tip I give to young sports journalists entering the workplace these days is to diversify. Get experience in front of the camera, on the radio and in print. Do some play-by-play. Try anchoring. Host a talk show or podcast. Join the student newspaper. Apparently, my readers are...

There is some major media news surrounding a Pittsburgh personality. Tyler Boyd talks about facing his hometown team without Big Ben. Joey Porter’s son is opening eyes at Penn State. And NFL Films is featuring two Steelers legends. All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.” New gig Plum’s Pat McAfee has...

Pittsburgh Steelers legend Franco Harris summed up what it meant to learn that his number was going to be retired by the franchise this September. “It’s like giving you flowers while you’re still around to smell them,” Harris said. I get that. In fact, I just recently wrote about that...

I can empathize with Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. In my line of work, I’ve certainly flubbed occasional cut-and-paste commands in documents, too. A misidentified name. A stat line in the wrong place of the column. A quote in a story gets moved and doubled up. Hey, it happens. But...

As Saturday’s master of ceremonies for the inaugural Pirates Hall of Fame inductions, team play-by-play announcer Greg Brown delivered his best line as legendary second baseman Bill Mazeroski was receiving his commemorative gold jacket. “Maz asked me to read his speech. He didn’t want to get up here to do...

If you asked a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers fans in February for their opinion of how the team would fare in 2022, they likely would have said, “I don’t know. That depends on who ends up being the quarterback.” Once it was known that Mason Rudolph would be joined by...

The image of Kenny Pickett was hovering over Pitt’s season opener Thursday night. Literally. During the first timeout against West Virginia, the former Heisman Trophy candidate was in one of Acrisure Stadium’s open-end rotundas, unfurling the team’s 2021 ACC title banner as a crowd of 70,622 wildly applauded. All new...

Thursday’s “First Call” has a backstory to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ latest offensive line acquisition. An ex-Steelers quarterback has a new home. Baker Mayfield is doing damage control about an alleged quote involving the Cleveland Browns. Plus, we look at this weekend’s Pirates-Blue Jays series at PNC Park. Plan B? As...

I’m not hard enough on the Pittsburgh Pirates. But I’m too mean to Oneil Cruz. The Steelers didn’t get better during the preseason. But I should stop giving Mike Tomlin a hard time. Dang it! I can’t get anything right. That’s why I post “U mad, bro?” every week, just...

Wednesday’s “First Call” gives us some expert feedback on the two newest Pittsburgh Steelers. Sunday’s game between the Steelers and Lions posted some impressive television ratings. And a few names with Pittsburgh ties were released by their teams on NFL cutdown day. The read on Reed Former NFL offensive lineman...

When it comes to Chris McKillop’s freshman year as a Pitt Panther, there is at least one aspect of coach Walt Harris’ daily practices that the defensive lineman will never forget. “Walt Harris had a ‘West Virginia’ period,” McKillop said during Wednesday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “In an 18-period practice....