Tim Benz Columns category, Page 73
Tim Benz: For Duquesne, finding defensive consistency is key to a deep Atlantic 10 run
When a college basketball team goes from 6-24 to 20-11 in one year, there shouldn’t be too many complaints from the head coach. Given those enjoyable circumstances for Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot, that has generally been the case this season. But one thing Dambrot has pointed out is that he’d like...
First Call: 3 mock drafts, 3 cornerbacks slated for Steelers; Joe Haden discusses reasons for retirement
Wednesday’s “First Call” features an interesting Pittsburgh Steelers trend in mock drafts. Former Steeler Joe Haden discusses his reasons for retirement. We look at the circumstances for franchise tags on Lamar Jackson and Saquon Barkley. Plus, Duquesne gets some appreciation from the Atlantic 10 in advance of the team’s first...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ wild comeback over Blue Jackets was entertaining, but first 2 periods were alarming
Something felt familiar about the first two periods of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ performance against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena. There was a certain smell about it. Like if you took a December Steelers’ road trip out to Oakland and put it on skates. A...
Tim Benz: Regardless of Penguins’ additions at trade deadline, it’s high time they play their best hockey
Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall is insisting that he helped the team get better with the trades he executed before the deadline. With the club clinging to the second wild card in the Eastern Conference, such evidence needs to be seen starting immediately — as in Tuesday night at...
Despite strong turnaround seasons, Pitt and Duquesne given little chance to win conference tournaments
Even though Pitt (21-10, 14-6) and Duquesne (20-11, 10-8) have had strong bounce-back seasons, they are both relatively long shots to win their conference tournaments. Kenpom.com, a widely used college basketball analytics website, has published its projections for the upcoming conference tournament week. As the No. 5 seed, Pitt has...
Tim Benz: An idea to honor the ‘Miracle’ men with Penguins tiesVideo
Since the (re)retirement of Tom Brady, the notion of retiring his No. 12 across the NFL has been floated on a few occasions. Nah. Brady was greatest. But too many other teams have their own iconic quarterbacks that’ll forever be known as wearing No. 12. The Steelers (Terry Bradshaw), Cowboys...
First Call: Ex-Pitt star cuts his NFL Combine workout short; Le’Veon Bell to box again; Kasperi Kapanen scoring with BluesVideo
It wasn’t a great NFL scouting combine for former Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison. Ex-Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is boxing again. Derek Carr may be figuring out his situation. Kasperi Kapanen is making a quick impression with the St. Louis Blues. And Pitt men’s hockey is rolling into its...
Madden Monday: All Ron Hextall accomplished at trade deadline for Penguins was ‘undo his prior mistakes’
When it comes to assessing Ron Hextall’s moves at the trade deadline, I agree with what the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager said Friday evening. I do think he “made the team better” by acquiring Mikael Granlund, Nick Bonino and Dmitry Kulikov. I also think they are better because they cut...
Tim Benz: Underwhelming Penguins moves at deadline say more about missteps last summer
Now that the trade deadline has passed for the 2023 Pittsburgh Penguins, it’s clear that Ron Francis and Ulf Samuelsson are not skating through that door. There isn’t going to be a Marian Hossa or Bill Guerin kind of arrival either. There won’t even be a Derick Brassard or Jarome...
Tim Benz: As most eyes were on Mikael Granlund’s debut, other Penguins stole the show in Tampa
On Thursday night, all eyes were on who the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired to help them before the trade deadline. Instead, some players who have been asked to step up for a while finally skated into the spotlight. Specifically, some defensemen who need to score more often and depth forwards who...
Pitt star Calijah Kancey sets record at NFL CombineVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2022 draft in need of a quarterback. They looked next door at the UPMC Rooney facility on the South Side and drafted Kenny Pickett out of the University of Pittsburgh. This year, along the defensive line, the Steelers will enter the draft with 33-year-old Pro...
Tim Benz: Biggest issue with Mikael Granlund trade? Apparently, it’s that he’s not Jakob Chychrun
In theory, newly acquired Pittsburgh Penguin center Mikael Granlund meets the description of what Penguins fans have been asking for over the last few weeks in a pre-deadline trade by general manager Ron Hextall. • Granlund is a third-line forward that can play center or wing. • He had 64...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans are dubious about free agency; Penguins fans have doubts at the trade deadline
Pittsburgh Steelers fans are tired of free agent speculation. Penguins fans are sick of living in the middle. And college basketball fans don’t want an NCAA Tournament that’s watered down with too many teams. March is coming in like a lion for this week’s “U mad, bro?” This person didn’t...
Tim Benz: Steelers GM Omar Khan has tough choices about keeping roster together
The Pittsburgh Steelers are quite the conundrum, aren’t they? It’s a team that seems to have tons of needs every offseason. Yet, at the same time, the front office always seems so desperate to retain as many players on the roster as possible. You know, all those great rosters that...
Tim Benz: For local college basketball teams, it’s a good year to be goodVideo
As Pitt was hanging 99 points on the scoreboard en route to a 17-point win over Syracuse, the Oakland Zoo rooting section was going crazy as former walk-on and one-time team manager Aidan Fisch scored the last basket of the game. The Panthers bench stormed the floor as the final...
Tim Benz: Why gambling on the Pirates has become the most popular bet on MLB boards
Over much of the past 40 years, betting on the Pittsburgh Pirates has been a good way to lose a lot of money. But based on some early movement this season, the Pirates are a popular pick among baseball gamblers. According to Max Meyer of Caesars Sportsbook, no one is...
Tim Benz: Reviewing roughing the passer calls sounds great in theory, until you think about how the NFL would do it
Here’s an idea emerging from meetings at the NFL scouting combine that could make some Pittsburgh Steelers defensive players very happy. Particularly defensive captain Cameron Heyward. I just don’t want Heyward to get too excited too quickly. According to NFL.com’s Judy Battista, one team in the league has proposed to...
Madden Monday: Penguins still need to figure out how to put together their ‘puzzle pieces’
You had to love the irony surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins giveaway for fans attending Sunday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was a puzzle. Yes, a 500-piece “Paint the Ice” puzzle kit. Based on head coach Mike Sullivan’s “our roster is our roster” comment from last week, the...
Jim Boeheim’s comments about Pitt didn’t go over well in Syracuse either
When Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim took a swat at Pitt and a few other ACC schools for “buying a team,” it didn’t go over well in Pittsburgh. It didn’t go over well elsewhere. Like, in Syracuse. Brent Axe is a radio host at ESPN Syracuse and a columnist for...
Tim Benz: Penguins’ loss to Oilers wasn’t a wake-up call, it was a knockout punchVideo
If it didn’t hit you after the Edmonton Oilers took a 6-1 lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second period Thursday, it should have hit you when the “Fire Hextall” chants echoed throughout PPG Paints Arena shortly thereafter. #FireHextall Chants at PPG Paints Arena… one the worst games I’ve...
U mad, bro?: Frustration around Mike Tomlin’s ‘standard,’ slumping Penguins, Pitt being unranked, Gerrit Cole’s quip
One thing that is wonderful about Pittsburgh sports fans is that they do not discriminate when it comes to their angst. The Steelers, Pirates, Penguins, Pitt, college basketball … even the XFL! This week’s “U mad, bro?” illustrates how all-encompassing of a community we truly have in this great city....
Source: Mason Rudolph will explore other options, but won’t ‘close door’ on Steelers if team moves on from Mitch Trubisky
There has been a lot of chatter this offseason about the prospect of the Pittsburgh Steelers cutting or trading quarterback Mitch Trubisky. If that were to happen, would the Steelers entertain the prospect of keeping free-agent third-stringer Mason Rudolph? And would Rudolph even entertain that idea after he was bypassed...
After quirky box score against St. Louis, Duquesne looks for basic improvements against La Salle
Saturday’s 90-85 Atlantic 10 conference loss at St. Louis (18-9, 10-4 conf.) featured some numbers in the box score that are hard to ignore for the Duquesne Dukes. As much as they’d probably like to do so. • At one point, Duquesne (18-9, 8-6) led by 15 in the first...
Tim Benz: No, the NFL shouldn’t adopt the XFL’s goofy, artificial scoring rules
As we outlined in Monday’s “First Call” post, former Pittsburgh Steelers Pro Bowler Hines Ward lost his XFL coaching debut over the weekend 18-15 to the St. Louis BattleHawks. Ward’s San Antonio Brahmas blew a 12-3 lead, yielding 15 points in the final 90 seconds of the game. But the...
Tim Benz: Tristan Jarry fixed a lot of problems for the Penguins, until he created a few himself
For the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night, simply getting Tristan Jarry back in goal seemed to cure a lot of the ills that had been plaguing them of late. Until he caught the germs. On Monday night, the Penguins’ top netminder played his first game since Jan. 22 against the...
