Tim Benz Columns category, Page 110
Tim Benz: September Mourn! Steelers need to get off to faster start in 2020
Here’s one way the Steelers need to get better in 2020. And no, this has nothing to do with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning. Because he’s been on the field for much of this problem in recent years. The issue is starting better in September. The Steelers’ failure to win a...
Tim Benz: Sports sees competitive flattening in restarts. Will the NFL? If so, could we tell?
No one needs to float this idea past Pittsburgh Penguins fans. They’ve already gotten the message. But one trend is becoming noticeable in the coronavirus-era rebooted sports world. Reformatted training camps, empty stadiums, herky-jerky schedules and covid-19-related absences have heightened competitive balance within the leagues. The playing field is a...
Tim Benz: Wide mix of reasons for widely mixed results of sports TV ratings since restarts
On Monday afternoon, I visited five websites to track how sports on television ratings were tracking amid the pandemic restarts. I got four different answers. Monday’s news from NBC was that the first two days of the Stanley Cup Playoffs official first round “averaged 620,000 viewers across NBC Sports’ TV...
Tim Benz: Pittsburgh sports history shows how long a full Penguins rebuild may take
The Penguins have already successfully pulled off a mini-rebuild within their current era of championship success. What’s now being called the “core three” of the Penguins team — Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin — used to have a much broader membership. The perception was that “core” also used to...
Former Pirate, WPIAL star Neil Walker dusts off skills in emergency MLB pitching debut
Neil Walker completed his WPIAL career at Pine-Richland High School as one of the best athletes in Western Pennsylvania history. He was a three-sport star with the Rams (football, baseball, basketball), playing multiple positions along the way. Walker emerged as one of the best baseball prospects in the country as...
First Call: ‘Pacman’ Jones now suspects Joey Porter in Steelers jersey shipment; big challenge for ‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger
Friday’s “First Call” features developments on Adam “Pacman” Jones versus Steelers cornerback Joe Haden and a big challenge for “Big Ben” Roethlisberger. Montreal Canadiens coach Claude Julien has a health scare, and another MLB pitcher gets ejected from the stands for arguing balls and strikes. • • • Joe vs....
Tim Benz: Gov. Wolf’s latest high school sports quotes are even more absurd and dismissive than last week’s
Last week, Gov. Tom Wolf made an out-of-nowhere recommendation that scholastic sports be postponed until at least Jan. 1. The PIAA didn’t know that statement was coming. Wolf provided no context for how his office came to that decision. And he put forth no explanation for the logic behind the...
Tim Benz: For a guy who always talks about ‘moving forward,’ Mike Sullivan’s Penguins keep moving backward
A favorite crutch for Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is “moving forward.” He uses it as a transition. As punctuation. As a point of emphasis. All the time. Unfortunately, his team has spent the last three years moving backward. Badly. From Stanley Cup champion in 2017. To a second-round exit in...
‘First Call’: ‘Pacman’ Jones cusses out Steelers CB Joe Haden, burns a box of his jerseys
For Thursday’s “First Call,” TMZ has video of former Cincinnati Bengals annoyance Adam “Pacman” Jones burning a box full of Steelers jerseys. There are no more words necessary. And if we did use any more words as quotes from Pacman, they’d probably all have to be censored or edited out...
Robert Morris AD: Total shutdown of college sports? Not yet. But ‘there may be that discussion’
I’m getting to that point with college sports. That point when you think, “Shut it down until there is a coronavirus vaccine. Or a treatment. Or national infection rates are next to nothing.” I’m conflicted. Because I’m also at a point where I think, “Just play through it. We aren’t...
‘U mad, bro?’: Penguins fans shred Evgeni Malkin, Matt Murray; Steelers grumbling, too
You knew that venom would be spewed toward the Penguins in “U mad, bro?” this week. The team was dreadful in its four-game, qualifying-round elimination at the hands of the 24th-seeded Montreal Canadiens last week. Fans are ticked off. They should be. My only question was, “Which Penguins were going...
Tim Benz: David DeCastro understands O-line changes for 2020, braces for more in ’21
Amidst two years of non-playoff results, significant injury and roster tumult on the Pittsburgh Steelers offense, one thing has remained relatively steady. The offensive line. Change is coming in 2020, however. Alejandro Villanueva will remain as the left tackle. Center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro will look to...
Tim Benz: Want a rebuild for impotent Penguins? Let’s examine what that really means.
Blow it up! Tear it down! Total reboot! We hear those reactions from Penguins fans after almost every season-ending playoff exit. Those calls for drastic change are often hyperbolic emotion. Prisoner-of-the-moment stuff. Presently, though, demands from fans and media to reconstruct the team resonate more logically after the club’s putrid...
Tim Benz: Steelers coaches insist the defense can get even better. OK, let’s find out where.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was already on record as saying his defense can do more in 2020. Even in the turnover department, where the franchise led the NFL last year with 38. “It’s reasonable to expect us to improve in that area and to improve in all areas,”...
Tim Benz: Beyond Ben Roethlisberger, who will be most helped by new quarterback coach Matt Canada?
Just because former Pitt Panthers offensive coordinator Matt Canada has returned to Pittsburgh doesn’t mean his offense has. Not entirely anyway. Now in his first year as quarterbacks coach with the Steelers, Canada spoke with members of the Pittsburgh media this week. He took great measures to reiterate his specific...
When will Penguins scoring pick up? How do they work around it until it does?
The Penguins may have scored enough to beat the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. But that’s a far cry from saying that they are scoring … enough. The team’s 3-1 victory in Game 2 of its preliminary-round series was a rarity of late. The Penguins had lost their previous seven postseason...
Tim Benz: Pirates may prove ESPN right on ‘worst ever win percentage’ prediction
Tuesday’s Pirates-Twins game was delayed in the top of the fifth inning when an unauthorized drone flew over Target Field in Minneapolis. Welp, this is a first. Pirates vs Twins game delayed because of a drone on the field. pic.twitter.com/uMPPcv8nOL— Michael Schwab (@michaelschwab13) August 4, 2020 The delay lasted about...
Tim Benz: Some Penguins answered challenges in Game 2. More must do so in Game 3.
Challenges made. Challenges answered. Well, in some cases anyway. The Penguins lost Game 1 of their NHL Eastern Conference preliminary round series to the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 Saturday. And it was very clear which players and which aspects of the Penguins game needed to improve for them to get a...
Tim Benz: Mike Sullivan is ignoring the obvious when it comes to net-front issues
After the overtime loss Saturday to the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 playoff opener, Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan blamed a lack of offensive net-front presence as a major factor. “We generated a fair amount of scoring chances,” Sullivan said after the defeat. “It’s not that there wasn’t opportunity....
Tim Benz: Penguins better finish or they’ll be finished a lot quicker than we thought
For a team that is supposed to have a lot of finishers, the Penguins haven’t finished much of anything during the playoffs lately. And if that trend doesn’t change fast, they’ll be finished in the reformatted 2020 NHL postseason a lot quicker than the hockey world anticipated. The Penguins lost...
Tim Benz: Pirates’ Mitch Keller fixing shortcomings he identified
During the Pirates’ rebooted training camp at PNC Park, starting pitcher Mitch Keller identified two specific goals to hone his arsenal. • Develop a changeup. • Get the spin and movement on his fastball to equal its often-electric velocity. So far, so good to start Year 2 of his big-league...
U mad, bro? Fans torn on Ben Roethlisberger, shred Pirates bullpen, defend Stephon Tuitt
Steelers and Pirates fans shouldn’t be mad about anything. Because this week’s “U mad, bro?” is coming a day early. I was looking at the rest of the week’s schedule and realized it was best if we just got our rage out a little earlier than normal. Because, apparently, a...
Tim Benz: PNC Park opener like we may never see again. Let’s hope so, anyway.
Curiosity. That’s what drew me so deeply into 2020’s coronavirus-delayed first weekend of Major League Baseball. Well, that, and desperation for any sort of live sports whatsoever. Just having the games back is what mattered most. Fans in the stands or not. I wasn’t eagerly looking forward to what “Pandemic...
Tim Benz: Patchwork Pirates, odd MLB season deliver as advertised over first weekend
The first weekend of Major League Baseball in the coronavirus era was exactly as advertised — not just for the local team but league-wide. From an MLB perspective, viewers across the country quickly got used to cardboard cutout fans, manufactured crowd noise and runners beginning extra innings at second base....
Top issue as Pittsburgh sports return: How much can Ben Roethlisberger fix the Steelers offense?
All week at “Breakfast with Benz,” we’ve been tackling the biggest issues surrounding Pittsburgh’s three pro sports teams as our region’s franchises return to play after a four-month absence thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. The Steelers will be the last team back. That’s if the NFL can get off the...
