Tim Benz stories, Page 192
Steelers channel Mister Rogers as NFL teams get creative with schedule
Every team Twitter account in the NFL did a Twitter schedule release montage. USA Today ranked some of the best, so go ahead and check that out. Naturally, the Steelers channeled Misters Rogers with a little help from Bill Hillgrove. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Let’s head to...
First call: Le’Veon Bell gets Jets bobblehead; top-seeded Flames on the ropes
Thursday’s “First Call” features NFL schedule-reveal creativity. The Le’Veon Bell bobblehead. And a Major League Baseball statistic you’ve never seen before. Bell bobblehead Well, it’s official now. It wasn’t before. But it is now. Le’Veon Bell is no longer a Pittsburgh Steeler. He is a New York Jet. Why is...
Podcast: How Tampa Bay is handling Lightning’s 1st-round sweep
It’s the “Misery Loves Company” podcast! Think you are bummed about the Penguins? Imagine how depressed they are in Tampa after the Lightning also got swept in four games of a first-round series. They were the top seed and they tied the NHL wins record. Yet they lost all four...
U mad, bro? Penguins fans salty, sarcastic, sad
Penguins fans are angry, resigned and sarcastic. What else would you expect in this week’s “U mad, bro?” A Twitter follower named @EbbyCalLaLoosh chimed in on a discussion I was having about what the Penguins should plan to do with their roster this offseason. “I’ll go ahead and guess 97%...
Tim Benz: Six-pack of thoughts on Steelers’ 2019 schedule
Here is a six-pack of thoughts after a quick first-look at the Steelers 2019 schedule. 1. Again? Really? The NFL is making the Steelers open in Foxborough, Mass., for “Sunday Night Football” on Sept. 8. On banner-raising night. Haven’t we suffered enough? That happened in 2002 to open Gillette Stadium...
The other side: From Islanders, no trash talk necessary after sweeping Penguins
Some of the quotes coming out the Penguins locker room were illuminating. The same could be said about comments in the Islanders room. New York finished off a sweep of the Penguins last night. And trash talk was minimal because when you beat a team that easily, is it necessary?...
First call: Ex-Pirates Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows dominating with Tampa Bay
Glasnow’s game Two of the biggest reasons why the Tampa Bay Rays are in first place in the American League East are former Pirates. Specifically, the two players Tampa got in exchange for Chris Archer: Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows. Glasnow improved to 4-0 on Tuesday night, getting a win...
Islanders’ structure, discipline helped exploit Penguins’ flaws
The Penguins season is over a lot earlier than we expected. And there are many reasons why. So let’s take a look at all of them in our final Peguins Sided.co podcast of the 2018-19 season. Tribune-Review beat writer Jonathan Bombulie joins me to discuss how the Islanders managed to...
Tim Benz: In wake of sweep, Penguins say they must be more like Islanders
Watching the Islanders sweep the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals was like watching the Steelers defense at the end of the Dick LeBeau era. They kept trying to do the same things they’ve always done, even though those things stopped working long before they were willing to admit. This...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger says a lot by saying little
For those of you hoping to finally read some Ben Roethlisberger quotes in the wake of all the slings and arrows he has taken from departed ex-teammates, prepare to be excited. For those of you hoping to see Roethlisberger retaliate in the same fashion, prepare to be disappointed. Actually, don’t...
First call: Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin called out for fight with Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov
In Monday’s “First Call,” Alex Ovechkin’s knockout in a fight. A preview of the Pirates series in Detroit. Gerrit Cole is heating up for Houston. Ovi K.O. Alexander Ovechkin didn’t score for the Capitals on Tuesday night. No one from Washington did. The Capitals were blanked by the Hurricanes, 5-0,...
How long can Penguins stay alive vs. Islanders?
The Penguins are facing playoff elimination in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals Tuesday night against the Islanders. Puck-drop is 7:30 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena. Penguins Radio network host Brian Metzer isn’t sounding too optimistic about the club staying alive in our weekly Sided.co hockey podcast. He’ll tell...
Tim Benz: Everyone is full of it in ESPN story about Antonio Brown trade
ESPN posted a long “behind the scenes” account of the trade that sent Steelers receiver Antonio Brown to Oakland last month. In terms of new information — especially if you heard the taped conversation between Brown and his agent Drew Rosenhaus — there’s not a ton of new information there....
Tim Benz: How Penguins could climb out of 3-0 hole vs. Islanders
So how do they do it? The truth is, it almost assuredly won’t happen. But … If the Penguins are to come back from a 3-0 hole against the New York Islanders in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series, how will it happen? The usual empty explanations were thrown around the...
First call: Miles Sanders to Steelers?; Tiger wrecks bookies; Lightning nearly fried
In “First Call” Monday, there’s a chance the Steelers could draft Miles Sanders. Le’Veon Bell continues to illustrate Twitter schizophrenia. Tiger Woods killed bookies. The Lightning are about to fall just as hard as the Penguins. Sounds good to me USA Today’s Draft Wire site updated its five-round mock draft....
The other side: Islanders thinking ‘Game of Thrones’ before coup of Penguins
Penguins fans might have “Game of Thrones” on their minds watching this series against the New York Islanders. Because it has been a massacre akin to “The Red Wedding.” Apparently, the Islanders players have been thinking about “G.O.T.,” too. Instead of wondering about what a sweep of the Penguins would...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ biggest problem vs. Islanders is clearVideo
There are plenty of reasons why the Penguins are down 3-0 to the New York Islanders in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. • A scoring slump for Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel • An ineffective power play • Hot goaltending from Robin Lehner • Trouble in the faceoff circle during...
Tim Benz, Mark Madden break down Penguins’ 3-0 hole vs. Islanders
We bring you this week’s Madden Monday from PPG Paints Arena after the Penguins drop a 4-1 decision in Game 3 to the New York Islanders. Mark Madden of 105.9 the X and TribLIVE joins me as we figure out how the Isles have built a commanding 3-0 series lead...
Why Penguins coach Mike Sullivan might stick with Game 1 lineup
In Friday’s Sided.co podcast, Jonathan Bombulie, the Trib’s Penguins beat writer, joins me from Long Island to preview Game 2 of the Penguins-Islanders series. We figure out why Mike Sullivan may stick with his failed lineup decisions from Game 1 against the Islanders. We also talk about why Phil Kessel...
First call: Are you ready for Antonio Brown TV?
In “First Call” Thursday, will you subscribe to A.B. TV? The Lightning blow a big lead to Columbus. And Jordan Lyles may be a Pirates hidden gem. A.B. TV? Is this what ex-Steeler Antonio Brown meant by not giving us media guys anything else to write about? Within 24 hours...
Ex-Penguins winger Tom Kuhnhackl plays surprising role in Islanders’ Game 1 win
Where Penguins coach Mike Sullivan is getting criticized for his lineup decisions in Game 1 of the Penguins’ playoff series against the Islanders, Barry Trotz is getting praise for one of his. The Islanders coach decided to dress former Penguins winger and two-time Stanley Cup champion Tom Kuhnhackl. And he...
In Twitter rant, Rashard Mendenhall calls Ben Roethlisberger ‘a racist’
Just when you thought the cycle of former Steelers blaming Antonio Brown’s actions on Ben Roethlisberger had ended, you get this accusation from former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall. He flat out calls the Steelers quarterback a racist. Alright, I’ll end the mystery... B’s racist and @AB84’s black. He had...
Tim Benz: Steelers must meaningfully address pass-rushing depth in draft
In case you missed our “Breakfast With Benz” post about the Dane Brugler mock draft in The Athletic, it’s worth a read. The big reason why is that the piece projects the Steelers using a high-round draft choice on an edge-pass rusher/outside linebacker — Michigan’s Chase Winovich. I love that...
Podcast: What went wrong for Penguins vs. Islanders in Game 1?
It’s our weekly Sided.co hockey podcast with Pens Radio Network host Brian Metzer. He worked the postgame show Wednesday night on 105.9 the X after the Penguins lost 4-3 in overtime on Long Island in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Metzer and I picked it apart top-to-bottom. LISTEN:...
Tim Benz: Plenty to anger Penguins fans in Game 1 loss to Islanders
What does it mean? Big picture. That Game 1 loss of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs for the Penguins against the Islanders. For me, it means a series that I thought would go Pittsburgh’s way in five games will now end in six. That’s all. Otherwise, that 4-3 overtime defeat...
