Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Tuesday, September 21, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Penguins (1-0-0) will skate at Consol Energy Center for the first time in the 2015-16 season. The Pens will host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at 7:00 p.m. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang and Phil Kessel (above) are all expected to play for the Pens. 105.9 WXDX-FM Pirates (90-60) lefty J.A. Happ will continue his audition for a spot in the postseason ... Read More
Shazier showing signs of becoming next great Steelers linebacker
When the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ryan Shazier in the first round of the 2014 draft, the organization was confident that the inside linebacker with dazzling athleticism could make an immediate impact for a defense desperate for playmakers. In fact, it did not take long for the Steelers to name Shazier a starter as rookie, the first to open the season on the defense's first team since Kendrell Bell did so in 2001. Unfortunately, the lofty expectations of making an impact as a rookie starter ... Read More
AM Joe: Bucs in Denver as manager Hurdle faces former squad
Good morning, Pittsburgh. Here's your day in sports for Sunday, September 20, 2015. What's on tap for today: The Penguins (0-0-0) will open their preseason with a 7:00 p.m. face-off against the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio. 105.9 WXDX-FM The Pirates (89-60) are in Denver for the first of a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies (63-86). Pirates manager Clint Hurlde was the manager of the Rockies from 2002 to 2009 and took them all the way to the World Series in 2007 (right). A.J. ... Read More
Steelers Report Card: Grading Steelers after Week 2 win vs. 49ers
The Pittsburgh Steelers needed a win on Sunday and got one in a big fashion, defeating the San Francisco 49ers 43-18. For a change there was very little to complain about on either side of the football. How did the Steelers grade out at each position? Let’s take a look. Quarterback- Ben Roethlisberger was once again fantastic. There’s no other way to put it after completing 21-of-27 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. In addition to the three touchdowns there were also a pair ... Read More
Steelers mailbag: Why Vick? Prognosis for Pouncey? Rising Shazier?
Why would the Steelers take a washed up QB (Vick) when they have arguably one of the more physically solid QB's in terms of injury and ability to handle the hits received?---Charles McKenna, Santa Barbara, California. The whole Vick to the Steelers story has blown up out here in Pittsburgh like nobody's business. Specific to your question, I tend to agree with the "washed up" premise regarding Vick. He's 35 and has had a long history of injuries throughout his career. Add that Vick has never ... Read More
Five Takeaways from Steelers preseason loss to Jaguars
The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 0-2 on the preseason with Saturday’s 23-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The score and the result doesn’t matter as much as the fact that the Steelers came out of the game relatively healthy. Here are five important takeaways from Week 2 of the preseason. 1. The first team offense is scary It was only one series, but Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers first-team offense made a statement by making things look easy. The moved the ball 80 yards on ... Read More
Five takeaways from Steelers preseason opener
The Pittsburgh Steelers got off to a slow start during Sunday’s 14-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the Hall of Fame Game. The score doesn’t matter at all, neither does the result. What does matter is the things that we can take away from the Steelers first performance. With that being said, here’s five takeaways from the Steelers first preseason game. 1. The Steelers defense shows off its speed Gone are the veterans and in their place are a bunch of youngsters with speed. That is ... Read More
Steelers storyline No. 2: Will trio of first round linebackers be a force in 2015?
Will first round picks Jarvis Jones, Ryan Shazier and Alvin "Bud" Dupree be impact players for the Steelers? The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been known for some of the best linebackers in the NFL. The list of Steelers linebackers that have dominated the position is long and distinguished. They include Andy Russell, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland, Chad Brown, Joey Porter, Jason Gildon, LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons. Yet of that distinguished ... Read More
Steelers linebacking core must start living up to draft status
For decades now it has been no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers like to build their defense through the linebacker position. Needing a new identity with some popular veterans aging over the past few years, Steelers’ general manager Kevin Colbert once again has been following that blueprint in order to try and restore the Steelers defensive unit among the best in the league. For that to happen, the Steelers quartet of first round picks need to live up to their draft status. While the ... Read More
Ryan Shazier tops Steelers inactive list vs. Saints
The Pittsburgh Steelers are starting to get healthier on the defensive side of the ball, but as they prepare to play the New Orleans Saints Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field, they will still have to go without one of their key starters. Rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier still isn’t healthy enough to go and leads the list of Steelers inactives. In addition to Shazier, also inactive for the Steelers are Landry Jones, Justin Brown, Cortez Allen, B.W. Webb, Marcus Gilbert and Steve ... Read More