In Friday’s On Sports, the Chargers landed a handful of creative jabs at the Steelers with their 2025 schedule release.
Also, Pirates skipper Don Kelly reaches a week on the job while recently-signed Penguins forward Filip Hallander received a notable accolade from the Swedish Hockey League.
Chargers roast Steelers
The Chargers went with a Minecraft-themed schedule reveal for this upcoming season, which they posted to social media platform X Wednesday evening.
At the 2:10 mark, the Steelers, who play in Los Angeles Nov. 9 in Week 10, are featured, with the Chargers’ creative content team getting in a few jabs at their opponent’s organizational direction.
In the video, two Steelers Minecraft characters move down underground tunnels, one labeled as “contend,” the other “rebuild.”
Shortly thereafter, a sign appears stating: WARNING: TRACK ENDS IN 9’8”, a presumed barb at the Steelers’ middling records over the past few years (although only once under Mike Tomlin, in 2022, did they actually finish 9-8).
should we REALLY make our schedule release video in minecraft?
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) May 15, 2025
yes yes yesyes
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yes yes yes yes yes
yes yesyes yes yes
yes yesye yes yes
yes yes yesyes pic.twitter.com/gxk31Dql5L
Donnie Kelly’s 1st week
Thursday, an off day for the Pirates, officially marked one week on the job for manager Don Kelly.
Entering Friday’s first pitch on the road vs. the Phillies, Kelly is 3-3 since taking over for Derek Shelton, who was relieved of his duties May 8.
Evidence of Kelly inheriting the same deck of cards that Shelton struggled to do much with has been on display by the Pirates’ continued offensive struggles.
Under Kelly, they have failed to score more than four runs once, with that streak having stood at 14 games already by the time he was named manager.
Now the Pirates have gone a franchise-record 20 games since scoring more than four runs.
While the Pirates continue to struggle with runners in scoring position and squander quality starts from their rotation, they’ve at least played competitively lately.
Before a sweep-averting 4-0 win over the Mets on Wednedsay night, the Pirates’ first five games with Kelly at the helm had all been one-run affairs, with the club going 2-3.
Accolade for Pens’ Hallander
By nature of their on-the-fly retooling, the Penguins are on the prowl to locate young, NHL-ready contributors who can plug holes in the nightly lineup and offer production heading into next season.
Looking at the forward position, well-known prospects who the Penguins anticipate could fit that bill as early as 2025-26 include Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen.
Other wingers who should enter preseason training camp looking to compete for roles are Vasily Ponomarev, Sam Poulin and Valtteri Puustinen.
But following his signing to a two-year, $1.55 million contract worth $775,000 annually in late April, an additional name is worth throwing in that bag: 24-year-old Filip Hallander.
An original 2018 draft pick (second round, No. 58 overall) by the Penguins, Hallander was part of two trades with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the span of less than a calendar year in 2020 and 2021.
He initially was dealt to Toronto as part of the Kasperi Kapanen trade in August of 2020 before the Maple Leafs shipped him back to Pittsburgh for Jared McCann the following July.
Back in the Penguins organization, Hallander struggled to live up to his potential and after appearing in only three NHL contests in 2021-22 and 2022-23, he returned to his native Sweden to continue his hockey career.
After two successful seasons with Timra IK of the Swedish Hockey League, Hallander is giving the NHL another go.
Behind a 26-goal, 27-assist campaign with Timra IK this past season, Hallander was named forward of the year by the SHL on Thursday.
Grattis Filip Hållander i @timra_ik som vinner pris som Årets Forward i SHL 2024/2025!
— SHL.se (@SHLse) May 15, 2025
????På https://t.co/debdgjppGr kan du läsa motiveringen och mer om priset som Årets Forward. pic.twitter.com/dyR9cYyI3o
In total, Hallander played in 102 SHL contests over the past two seasons, scoring 40 goals with 49 assists.
His contract with the Penguins commences in 2025-26 and runs through the following season.
Expect him to show up to the club’s training facility in Cranberry this September looking to secure an NHL roster spot.
