Tim Benz Columns category, Page 110
U mad, bro? Shut-in readers gnash teeth about Ben Roethlisberger; Mike Tomlin vs. Bill Cowher; MLB’s future
It appears the longer we stay locked inside because of coronavirus fears, the angrier our audience is getting. Yeah. Me, too. This week’s readers go after Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger, spitting baseball players and me. Mainly me. And I’m getting a little too pent up to let it go. “Treston”...
Tim Benz: OK, ESPN. Here’s your ‘alternate reality’ path for Steelers to draft a QB.
“Inglourious Basterds” is one of my favorite movies. It’s got an alternate outcome to World War II at the end. The device of an alternate-outcome premise is popular on television lately. HBO’s “The Plot against America” is along those lines. So was Amazon’s “Man in the High Castle.” Perhaps our...
Tim Benz: New MLB idea to save season is better, but some flaws can’t be fixed
The latest model to lay out some version of a potential Major League Baseball season in 2020 appears to be an improvement over the first one we saw. But it is still fraught with specific problems, unavoidable pitfalls and significant overarching questions about health during the coronavirus pandemic. Please don’t...
Tim Benz: Terry Bradshaw’s contradictions about Mike Tomlin too ironic to ignore
You’ve probably heard the phrase “these are strange times” a lot in recent weeks. They sure are. So strange there is even some weird stuff happening beyond the entire shutdown of the planet thing that’s been going on for the past month. For instance, Terry Bradshaw’s interview on 93.7 The...
Tim Benz: Steelers draft might be more defensively oriented than predicted
When I think of how the Steelers will approach this month’s NFL Draft, I want to stand by one of my usual credos. Don’t out-think the obvious. In 2019, the Steelers defense was good. The offense was bad. Hence, help the offense as much as you can, as soon as...
Tim Benz: Play MLB games. Or don’t. But spare us the social distancing optics.
Try to keep up, baseball fans. Because you are reading a column that’s being written while stuck in “fast forward.” In an effort to avoid a covid-19-induced shutdown, Major League Baseball is considering playing the 2020 season exclusively in a league-wide, semi-quarantined state of existence throughout the Phoenix, Az., area....
Tim Benz: Minkah Fitzpatrick’s quotes about Patrick Mahomes were confident, not cocky
As you may have heard by now, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick “is” the Steelers’ first-round choice in this month’s upcoming NFL Draft. At least that’s what people keep demanding that I say. Does that mean Derick Brassard “was” the Penguins’ first-round pick in 2018? You never hear that trade presented in...
Tim Benz: Coronavirus may be ruining sports world. Does it have to ruin our hope?
I’m no longer simply bored with the coronavirus-induced sports desert of the moment. I’m now in full-blown depression. My blues extend well beyond sports and into just about every avenue of how people have politicized and polarized the pandemic. It started with the chorus of people insisting sports “weren’t important”...
Tim Benz: Are 7-inning doubleheaders the way to go for a revamped MLB schedule?
One idea to help Major League Baseball get as many games as possible onto the schedule in 2020 is to play a lot of scheduled doubleheaders. According to Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, via ESPN one of the ideas being floated around is playing those doubleheaders as seven-inning...
Chris Wormley is coming to Steelers from Ravens exactly as advertised
Since NFL free agency started, we’ve tried to drill down for a little extra insight on each of the new players. • We learned Stefen Wisniewski may have been an even more positive on-field addition to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl run than originally thought. • Based on his...
Tim Benz: Jim Rutherford is right about champions having ‘integrity’ in shortened seasons
Tom Glavine. Patrick Kane. Doug Williams. Tim Duncan. “Who are four men who have never been in my kitchen, Alex?” Yes, Cliff Clavin. Technically, that is correct. But I’m going to need you to be more specific. “Who are four MVPs of their respective sports championship round?” Also true. But...
Tim Benz: Two ways that a new CBA rule may help the Steelers
An element of the new NFL collective bargaining agreement should benefit the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, it’s going to benefit every NFL team. But based on the Steelers’ current roster construction, recent offseason moves and potential plans for the draft, it may help them more than most. At least in 2020....
Tim Benz: J.J. Watt ‘envious’ of brothers Derek, T.J. playing together with Steelers
On the hockey front, the Penguins managed to get themselves only one of the four NHL Staal brothers. That worked out OK, though. Now, the Steelers have two Watt brothers. The club recently signed Derek Watt, a fullback formerly with the Los Angeles Chargers. He’ll join All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt...
Tim Benz: NHL ‘consolation bracket’ for No. 1 pick? That’s just trying way too hard
Whenever — if ever — the NHL reboots its 2019-20 season out of the coronavirus shutdown, it appears league owners have three targets. 1. Award a Stanley Cup after a representative version of a playoff 2. Play as many remaining scheduled home dates as possible 3. Don’t truncate the 82-game...
U mad, bro? ‘Anti-social’ distancing edition: Readers vent about Steelers, MLB, even… the U.S. Senate?
Pent-up “Breakfast With Benz” readers are angry “Breakfast With Benz” readers. It appears some of you who click on this page daily are not taking the pandemic shutdown well. You are lashing out at the Steelers backup quarterbacks, Antonio Brown, baseball, and… …the U.S. Senate? That’s a new one. Hey,...
Tim Benz: Grading Steelers free agency moves. And why that’s so hard to do.
This doesn’t have to be “it” for the Pittsburgh Steelers when it comes to acquiring talent for the upcoming 2020 season. Obviously, there is the NFL Draft in April. Yes, that event is still taking place despite the covid-19 crisis. In a studio. To what degree of participation or production,...
Tim Benz: Importance of sports is being downplayed, but their absence has never been more painful
Here’s a message for the “sports don’t matter at a time like this” crowd. After this weekend, don’t ever say such a thing again. During NCAA basketball conference championship week, at the dawn of the coronavirus epidemic, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach tried to sing that song as the ensuing wave...
Tim Benz: 4 reasons why an Antonio Brown-Tom Brady reunion in Tampa Bay won’t work
Once his signing becomes official, future Hall of Famer Tom Brady is heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Speculation is rampant that former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will be joining him. As @TomPelissero and I discussed on TV, the word among teams interested in Tom Brady were among the...
RMU coach Andy Toole reflects on his team’s NCAA games that never got to tip off
Usually the idea of missing out on a mid-week, mid-March night in Dayton, Ohio doesn’t sound like something that could plunge you into depression. Right now, Robert Morris basketball players may disagree. That’s where they should have been this week. Playing in an NCAA First Four game to kick off...
Tim Benz: Browns, Ravens improve as Steelers crawl to cap compliance
We’re used to seeing it. On Day 1 of the NFL’s 2020 free agency period, the rest of the league took a headfirst dive into the deep end of the pool. Meanwhile, the Steelers are simply in a doggy paddle toward cap compliance. That’s the case every year, right? But...
Tim Benz: Players, teams that could suffer most under coronavirus sports shutdown
The coronavirus sports shutdown may be worse than originally thought. On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control recommended “that for the next 8 weeks, organizers … cancel or postpone in-person events that consist of 50 people or more throughout the United States.” That means sports. All of ‘em. The NCAA...
Tim Benz: Path to coronavirus sports cancellations confused, confounded and contradicted
I’m not a huge fan of “The Office.” It’s OK. Not great. The humor is forced. The characters became two-dimensional characterizations of themselves after the third season. And I found the plot lines repetitive. There. I said it. Unpopular TV hot take for you. But I ran through five episodes...
Tim Benz: Coronavirus reaction robs Ivy League players of joy Robert Morris experiences
It’s the one time when bad body language can look good. The piece of net around Josh Williams’ neck appeared to weigh 500 pounds. The Robert Morris guard slowly leaned forward to pick up the microphone to answer postgame questions after his team beat St. Francis (Pa.) 77-67 in the...
Steelers ‘Believe it or Not’: Team’s belief in James Conner bouncing back in 2020
The building of the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers is about to begin. NFL free agency starts March 18. The NFL Draft begins April 23. So we have been taking a look at some of the things the Steelers have told us about what they plan to do this offseason. And if...
Steelers ‘Believe it or Not’: Shutting the door on an Antonio Brown reunion
Editor’s note: The building of the 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers is about to begin. NFL free agency starts March 18. The NFL Draft begins April 23. So we have been taking a look at some of the things the Steelers have told us about what they plan to do this offseason...
