Breakfast With Benz category, Page 144

I know that 2020 has taken away some of our most beloved traditions. Thankfully, not Steelers football. At least it’s still on television, even if you can’t go to the games. And because the Steelers are playing, you get to continue enjoying our favorite Steelers postgame tradition here at “Breakfast...

What does Monday’s “First Call” teach us? The Ravens may be just as good as last year. The Browns may be even worse than last year. And the Bengals will always be the Bengals. OK. Maybe we didn’t need “First Call” to teach us that. But it’s worth reiterating. Also,...

The first game of the 2020 Steelers season is Monday night against the New York Giants. So Mark Madden and I start this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast with a heavy dose of football. But the Penguins conversation is intriguing as well. Those that follow the team are trying to figure...

If the Steelers are to win their season opener Monday night against the New York Giants, they are going to have to stop superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Check that. The Steelers are going to have to slow superstar running back Saquon Barkley. Stopping Barkley doesn’t happen very often. Just...

If Game 1 of the NFL season is any indication, a lot of offseason fantasy league hype about certain skill position players is about to come true quickly. The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans, 34-20, in the Thursday night league opener. Rookie running back...

Friday’s “First Call” starts with Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. He wants some clarity about his future. New York Giants coach Joe Judge wants his players more focused before Monday night’s game against the Steelers. And former Pirate pitcher Gerrit Cole wants to avoid home runs. • • • Letang update:...

If the Steelers are searching to find a litmus test for their revamped offensive line, they could do worse than starting the season against the New York Giants. In 2019, only two NFL teams — the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins — allowed more points per game than the Giants...

Thursday’s “First Call” features some insane statements from Cleveland Browns defensive star Myles Garrett regarding his 2019 helmet incident with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. Also, a look at some Penguins priorities for the offseason, Steelers Super Bowl odds and a potential Steelers threat in Week 2 might be out of...

Colorado Avalanche insider Adrian Dater seems to have a pretty good feel for Penguins fans and Pittsburgh. His parents lived in Wexford for some time. During Thursday’s podcast, Dater told me, “I learned early on, don’t troll any Pittsburgh Penguins fans about their team. Because if you do, you’ll get...

Normally, this time of year, Steelers fans are mad over what the team did wrong in the preseason as we get ready for NFL opening weekend. So with no preseason games, does that mean Steelers fans are any less concerned? Pfft! Not according to emails and my Twitter feed. In...

Steelers legend Rod Woodson made some headlines lately talking about his former team on Twitter. On Saturday, Woodson tweeted about Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, “All he wants to do is be on social media!” Seriously you can get no I draft pick from Juju, all he wants to do...

Wednesday’s “First Call” looks at a shared concern for both the Steelers and the New York Giants in advance of Monday Night Football. A former Pitt basketball player is emerging in the NBA playoffs. And the NHL goalie rumor mill may have one less name in the hopper. So what...

Here’s a fun question for Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his players heading into the 2020 season opener. How do you study film when there is no film to study? I know. Very meta n’at. But it’s a worthy concern going into the season opener for Tomlin’s team on...

“First Call” is back after a long holiday weekend. Steelers star T.J. Watt is on the receiving end of some trash talk from his brother, J.J. We investigate how Jadeveon Clowney almost became a Baltimore Raven. We check up on Charlie Morton’s comeback. And it’s been a year since Antonio...

There are multiple reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers reworked the contract of defensive end Cameron Heyward to the tune of $75.1 million between now and the end of the 2024 season. He’s an All-Pro. He’s a stabilizing locker room influence in an unstable time. He’s a tremendous fan, media and...

If Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford is really trying to keep his core players together, let’s look at what that means. Sidney Crosby is signed through 2025. Jake Guentzel is locked up until the end of the 2024 playoffs. But Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin both only have two years...

So much for the “Leonard Fournette to the Steelers” talk. The former Jacksonville Jaguars running back signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week, ending any discussion about him coming to Pittsburgh. But now, from a fantasy football perspective, the speculation is rampant as to what that may mean for...

Coronavirus has done the impossible. Again. It shut down sports. The political conventions. Schools. Life as we know it. Now it has done something even more difficult: It has actually made me miss the Steelers preseason. Perhaps even the final preseason game, which would’ve been played Thursday night in Charlotte...

Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. We spin the hits here at “U mad, bro?” No one is spared in this edition. This week people spout off about Steelers personnel, Penguins trade rumors and Bucco ineptitude. We begin with William. He checks in on the woeful Pirates. “I have followed this team...

It’s only taken nine months. But we are finally in a position where we are on the verge of something good happening in 2020. The Philadelphia Flyers are on the cusp of being eliminated in the 2020 playoffs. It didn’t happen on the first try, though. They stayed alive with...

Getting mad at the Pirates is a pretty common thing to do in Pittsburgh. It has been for most of the past three decades. Sometimes we just do it out of habit. And not for the right reasons. Don’t get me wrong. At 10-23, there are plenty of reasons to...

The trade action could be swift on Penguins goalie Matt Murray, and general manager Jim Rutherford is letting speculation linger about Evgeni Malkin. That’s how we start Wednesday’s “First Call.” Meanwhile, former Pirates outfielder Starling Marte has started his new chapter in Miami with a bang. Someone is thinking JuJu...

If you like college basketball as much as I do — especially memories of the Big East’s early days — then you know how bad of a week it has been. • Former Pitt standout Demetreus Gore died of an apparent heart attack over the weekend. He was 54. Gore...

I got nuthin’. Pirates general manager Ben Cherington gave us nothing in terms of trades before Monday’s deadline. So I’ve got nothing in terms of a response. I can fake it if you want. I can gin up some faux outrage over front office inactivity. Or I can dial up...

Tuesday’s “First Call” examines some potential Penguins roster movement. An ex-Steeler has a new home. Leonard Fournette gets a swift kick on the way out of Jacksonville. And we look at how Glasnow vs. Cole Round 3 turned out. Bjugstad or Bonino Buffalo-bound? Looking for a team that might absorb...