May 1, 2026 • 34 mins
Mark gives the Bucco Roundup, is joined by Tim Benz to talk about everything, and more
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
My name is Mark Madden eight three to three four
one two wxdx.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Uh okay.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
So I think they're gonna keep Malkin and I'm not
outraged when they do.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I think it's the same thing.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
How good is Gino's luck in twenty twenty two, Mario
would not.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Have kept him, I know that, and Fenway bought the team.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Didn't want to be the carpetbagging bad guy, so they
reupt him Tanger two, Tanger for a longer deal. Tanger
Is still has two years left, and now the logical
thing is to get Gino gone, and there's a new
owner and they're gonna sign them, probably for the same
reason to not be a carpetbagging villain. And like I said,
(00:49):
I have no problem. It's not what I'd do, but
I'm not radicalized in my opinion. But as far as
the other unrestricted free agents, you need to keep Shay,
he's on restricted. What would you give him, like like
three million per year like what Clifton was getting. Maybe
that'd be good because then you'd have Latang, Carlson, Shay,
(01:10):
Watherspoon and Girard in front of two good goaltenders. That
it provides stability in the back of what would be
a changing lineup up front. I'm already thinking about line
combinations because I like the Penguins and hockey board than
anything else. I want Kendle with China Cuff. I just
touched on that. That's a combination that you can move
(01:31):
forward with. The problem is Malkin can't play with those
guys because and it'd be his line, and it would
slow the line down and kindle a China Cuff got
to be on the power play in a vacuum. I
don't have a problem keeping Malkin. Bit like I keep saying,
bringing him back is clumsy. He's got to play top six,
(01:54):
he's got to play PP one and in no way
at all, under any circumstance, by definition, should he be
on PP one. He killed it this year, But you
know the clumsiness that seems of little concern to most.
Everybody just wants to wear their number seventy one jersey.
You see where I'm going with this. Personally, I keep
(02:16):
going back and forth on it. I'm not sure there's
a right or wrong answer. Well, to move forward, there
is a right answer, because you can't build on old
get your calls in A three three four one two WSDX.
I have long said, and I repeat now, I would
(02:37):
not talk hockey if I didn't know hockey. Too many
people do, too many people right that just don't get it.
And here's a couple of clarifications about where the Penguins
might be headed that that people have gotten wrong. The
Penguins have sixty four million in cap space this coming
off season. That's what it looks like. That's about forty
(02:57):
percent of the total cap. They probably have more cap
available going into July first, into free agency than anybody
else does. But unrestricted free agency is old man's territory.
You can't rebuild through unrestricted free agency. You can't get
the unrestricted free agency as a player until you're twenty
(03:18):
seven or after seven seasons. You can't rebuild with old men.
You can top off with old men. You can make
a good team great with old men, But unrestricted free agency.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I was looking at the list.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
It's guys like Anders Lee and Patrick Kine and Kyle
Jeru and yes, Anthony Manta mid to late thirties, guys
who are gonna get too long and too much, and
the Penguins can't do that.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
The Penguins shouldn't do that.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I could see Kyle Dubis the GM who were efforting
to get on the show for kind of a wrap up.
He might take a shot at a restricted free agent,
but then there's compensation. For example, I'll tell you one
guy he won't get as a restricted free agent, a
guy he'd have to trade for. Dubus would love to
get Jason Robertson from Dallas, superstar winger. You put him
(04:11):
on the line with Chinakoff and Kindall, then you're talking.
I think that's his target. Bet Robertson wants to stay
with Dallas, fired one agent and hired another specifically to
that end, because the agent he's retained has done a
lot of contracts for stars with Dallas, and Robertson is
(04:31):
gonna get twelve million dollars per year, and the compensation
for that if you sign him as a restricted free
agent is four I said, four first run draft picks.
So you just can't do it that way. You got
to draft and develop the way you build your team,
and I hope Kyle does do this.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
The way you build your team through.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Restricted free agent to get like like lower priced ones
who were young and maybe no in the league. Long,
but have legitimate potential because the compensation isn't nearly as much.
So I'd like to see Kyle take a shot. You
find a guy, here's what you do. You find a
younger guy who has potential but wasn't getting the roll
(05:16):
or the ice he wanted with his team, and doesn't
believe he will moving forward. That's the kind of guy
you go get. Somebody's said a couple guys like that,
was it Saint Louis? I forget, but that's the way
you do it with restricted free agents. But anyway, the
song remains the same. You got a draft and develop
and finish lower and get better picks. Now, one unrestricted
(05:41):
free agent I kind of like, kind of like, is
Mason Marchmith, the winger from Columbus.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
He's thirty, he's got.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Sandpaper, and he has good shanan against like the Flyers pool.
He can do the post whistle stuff with anybody. And
maybe they need a guy like that. I hate to
say they need a guy like that, but they might
need a guy like that. Oh, lead scored already, Wow, well,
(06:11):
Burnley already relegated. Nothing to play for all right? Eight
three three four one two WSDX we talked with ed Zoe.
Minnesota eliminated Dallas, and now it's Minnesota Colorado, and I
kind of like Minnesota. The quin News factory really turned
it up at the end of that series. Two goals
in the elimination game that that knocked out Dallas. Although
(06:34):
I gotta confess I watched the playoffs very sporadically in
the round that the Penguins are eliminated in, like, I'll
get back watching every single game in the second round,
but right now I'm still kind of pissed. But quinn Us,
it says a lot about him. I turn on the
TV to watch quinn Us. In a perfect world, you
(06:54):
know what I'd want. I would want all three us
brothers to somehow wind up in Pittsburgh next year. I'm
gonna wind up in New Jersey. If they want to
go to Newark, that's their business. Maybe they can rescue
pi am I from getting murdered by ralphie X.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You wait, super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
This is one of the two ship draft to bring
the duck Tate type of refairs.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
What they're gonna make us play a wild game.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
It's not fair, it's not far, it's not fair.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
The exit one, O five nine.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
We've got Tim Benz joining me at the uh bottom
of the hour. I want to play let's play that
Colin Coward quote about the Steelers waiting for Aaron Rodgers
up as long as they have, because I think that
this is how most of the outside football media world
(07:47):
looks at the Steelers up.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Let's see if we can get that. Here's Colin Coward.
Here's what's funny.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
The Steelers view themselves because of their history as an
elite franchise. The Steelers are much close to the Jets,
but they're just a more just They're a more functional version.
And I mean the idea that the good teams in
the league would just allow a forty one year old
quarterback to string them along is laughable. Eagles aren't doing that,
(08:15):
Rams aren't doing that. Chiefs aren't doing that.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, he's right, A good franchise would never do that,
and the Steelers aren't a good franchise anymore. McCarthy and
Aller can bail them out of that. I hope Rogers
comes in, gets hurt, nothing too painful, her chickens out
because he just doesn't want to get hit no more.
And he senses They're not going to be very good.
(08:43):
It's got to be resuscitated in a forty two year old,
By the way, a correction, that ain't the way to
do it. Drew Aller is the next long term starter
quarterback for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
At the very least, he's by far the best bet.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Howard isn't a patch on the ass of Aler's talents.
Aler's talent is obvious, Will Howard's is not. Will Howard
is about intangibles and McCarthy can develop those. But I
would bet on him to develop Aler's outstanding tangibles.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's the better bets.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Uh. Not all lottery tickets are created equal. McCarthy can
bring that talent out of Aler. He's got the track record,
the resume. It's the perfect storm they're reckoning, and the
McCarthy offense will be much better.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's a priority.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
He gets what the NFL is, and unlike Tom Whin,
McCarthy doesn't think he can bend what the NFL is
to his will, which Tom Win too often failed to do.
Now all this moving forward, I'm not sure where Rogers fits.
It ain't that peculiar the guy we're all waiting for.
(09:57):
I wish he were out of the way. But like I,
he keeps saying he's forty two, he'll get hurt or
turn to dust or whatever. A three three four one
two WXDX got the oh, this was supposed to be
the Bucko roundup. I forgot about the Bucko round up. Well,
there's still time. I'll do the Bucko round up on
(10:17):
top of a lot of bucco talk already. This is
your show for the best Pirates talk, and it really is.
Could have Sean Casey on as a regular real soon too.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Cincinnati is in first place in the NL Central and
in town for a three game series with the last
place Pirates. Brady Singer for Cincinnati on the hill, Mitch
Keller for the Bucks and the Pirates need to win
this series, and need to stay above five hundred, and
need to prove something against the team that could win
the division.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
It's so up and down. The Pirates is a team.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
The players, like Cruz was on a tear now hit
listen three of his last four games. Well, I'll hit
a home run yesterday, but none in the previous eleven.
Reynolds hasn't bed a home run in nineteen games. It's
not what it looked like it was gonna be or
what's hoped for? Not right now anyway, Bucco's host Cincinnati tonight.
(11:12):
I was gonna go, but I'm gonna go see Steele
Zeppelin a Market Square instead.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Uh, let's go to Tony. Tony. You're own with double.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
M Hey Mack.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
How you doing them good, Tony.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
I just had a quick question about Justin Brazeau. I
only bring him up because the start of the season,
like the first couple of months, he was on fire,
and I was actually impressed with his hands for a
guy that size. But then I saw he only scored
five goals after December and.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
No, no five goals after the end of November after
I think it was twelve prior to that. Now they
do have them under contract for another year, but if
they could find somebody better and faster, I would not object.
I think Brazo would best serve the team as like
the thirteenth forward, the guy who plays.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Like forty or fifty games in the season.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I cannot play him ahead of McGroarty or Avery Hay,
somebody like that.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
A young guy, well, maybe even a guy like will Hawkcross.
He might be ready next year.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I have no no, no.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I I think will Horcoff uh in the long run
is going to be quite a player and a goal scorer, the.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Kind of guy they need.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Nobody who knows thinks he's gonna be ready next year.
One thing, you got to be patient, and I love Sid.
They can't do stuff on his timetable. When they're ready,
they're ready. If anything, they're being ultra careful because uh
they they could have had more shoff and goal this year,
but wanted to wait. And by the way, they want
to playoff run from Wilkes and they won their first
(12:41):
playoff game the other night against Hershey, I like.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
To I'd like to get to one of those games.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Thank you for the call A three three, four, one
two WXDX, but don't call now because we got Tim
Benz up next on one O five.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
Nine on the X as your shot at x drug
see what I did there, thirteen times a day, nine
am through nine pm.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
D X will give you the keyword at the top
of every hour. Enter it at wxdx dot com.
Speaker 6 (13:09):
If you could win one thousand dollars with damage money,
you could buy like ten coffees.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know what I was homeschool. I'm not good at mouth.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Listen all day for your chance, had some extra cash
on one oh five to nine the X.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
This is Doug Gotlieb. Here's what's trending from the Iheartsports
Network presented by iHeart Advertising dot Com.
Speaker 7 (13:29):
Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones. He's entering the final year
of his contract after the team declined to pick up
the fifth year option on his rookie deal. Over to
hockey and Penguin's coach dam Muse was named finalists today
for the Jack Adams Award that goes to the NHL's
coach of the Year and a fastest two minutes in sports.
It sets a role tomorrow in Louisville. Renegade is the
favorite in one hundred and fifty second running of the
(13:51):
Kentucky Derby.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
I'm Scott Davidson. Run a business and not thinking about radio.
Think again, because people are listening to radio more today
than they did twenty years ago, and all the super
genius Mark Madden. Go ahead, you can say it because
it's true. It's damn true. Hey, Mark, love the show.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Thank you for making my day. The exit.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Time to talk to Tim Bens at the Trip, who
was at the Penguins break up day to day tim
I saw them all in SoundBite when he said hit
play in the league next year, if not for the Penguin,
then for somebody else. I think he would, But I
think that was mostly posturing. It didn't come off as threatening.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
But not far from not threatening, but definitive, you know.
I think he wanted to just end the quote with yes.
When he was asked the question would he play elsewhere?
He just wanted to sit out there and linger, and
he couldn't help himself but to explain it a bit further,
and in so doing, I don't think he backed off
(14:49):
the messaging at all. But at the same time, I
think he also tried to mollify it a little bit
by also suggesting he still wanted to stay here, but
he at least wanted to get the talk point out
there that he would be willing to put another uniform
on to keep playing in the NHL house, Siri, is
about it? To your point? Is it just posturing? And
if he had to put on a Panther's flyers or
(15:10):
Devil's jersey or something like that, would he actually do it?
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
I think he would, and I think Philly would take him.
I think that's by far the front runner. I know
he lives in Florida. I can't see a place on
the roster for him with Tampa or Florida, and that
would be bad optics for both the Flyers and for Maalkin.
But I kind of have a sense he's coming back
to him and it's the old thing that saved him
at twenty two. There's another new owner, and I don't
(15:36):
think they want to be the bad guys kicking a
star out of time.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It saved him at twenty two. It's gonna save him.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Now, correct. And then you also have the Cidney Crosby factor.
I don't think he wants him to go, and I
still think he has sway. And you know, we saw
what happened last year with Pat Poisson. I don't know
why something like that wouldn't happen again this year, especially
when it comes to Malkin.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Well, I don't know if.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
There would be a bit about the competitiveness of the
team having just made the playoffs, so I think Pat
would probably stay out of it. Then again, JP Barry's
partner does represent Gino.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Furthermore, it's an easier case to make now, honestly, because
they did get further and they did give the playoffs,
and it might be even easier for Brisson and Barry
to make that point, like add on to a team
that had what was an eighteen point improvement and finished
in second.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, they're gonna take a step backwards next year, and
especially if they if they stay old, because you can't
build on old. It's not a team close to anything.
And I don't know, Tim, would you bring Malkin back?
I would not.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I will understand and not be outraged if they do.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'd be clinical about it. I try to upgrade the
team by using that money Elsewhere. You outline their CAF situation,
you also outline the reality that exists of unrestricted free
agency in the National Hockey League, which is almost a
contradiction in terms because it's extremely restricted. It's restricted by
who's available. There's not a lot of good players available
(17:12):
right right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You don't with the free agency until you're twenty seven
or have accrued seven seasons. And if you sign a
good restricted guy, the compensations too much. You cannot rebuild
via free agency. You can top a team off, but
like for example, like I said, earlier tim everybody wants
them to get Jason Robertson.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Well, he's a restricted free agent.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
You sign him, you're gonna give up four first round
draft picks, and that is very kind of productive for
a team trying to get good again.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The way you do it is, you know, kind of
a way that they did it with Carlson. You make
a trade, You use chips that you have to make
trades with teams.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
You find more trades like China Kow or Soderboom, who
looks pretty good, you know. I mean, it's just it's
just not a situation where you can I hate to
say it, but if Sid wants to win again, he
should go.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I won't blame him. I'd rather stay here.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
But this team is not gonna win again on his timetable,
I don't think.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And I actually tried to mine some of the guys
for responses on this, and it's probably more of a
Kyle Duba's question than anything. And certainly the veterans knew
where I was going with it. But some game varying
degrees of honest answers, and then I think some are
also living in a little bit of a fairy tale world.
I mean, there's two realities to their situation. Mark they're
(18:28):
a team that improved eighteen points and finished in second
place from last year. But they're also a team, if
you add it up, that lost more games than they
won because of all the loser points they got, all
the overtime losses. Now you know the counter to that
is you say they had the few one of the
fewest regulation loss totals in all of the NHL. And
(18:48):
you know, maybe that's true. But I kept hearing that
refrain from the Penguins players today that maybe we're even
better than we think we are because we had all
those overtime and gay.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Maybe they're not as good as their record. I mean,
like they lost more games than they won. That included
they lost more games than they won. This to me
was one last kick at the can. And honestly, if
the room sees that as a step forward rather than
just you know, a last gasp, then I think they're
gonna be disappointed by Dubas because I don't think Dubas
sees it that way. Not that that will keep him
(19:21):
from retaining Malkin, because even though Dubas doesn't want to,
if you look at what the fans want, what Sid wants,
what a new owner's gonna want.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I just think it's inevitable he comes back.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Let me ask you this as a theory, because I
heard you talking about this earlier and across my mind.
What if he somehow got Latang to sign off in
a trade and somebody would take him. Would it be
enough of an olive branch then to keep Malkin?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Like? What do you what do you think is more important?
What the sid?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Sid wants all three guys there till he's done playing, period.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So you don't think splitting the baby is gonna do anything, not.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Even a little bit. He wants all three guys there
until he's done playing. And and that I think to
some degree that Embolden's You know, Malkin right now what
tanks to us two more years on his deal. And
the thing that people don't understand about Geno is it's
not just one more year. In fact, I've heard whispers
he wants a two year deal, which I would never
give him. You can't possibly give him a term longer
(20:17):
than Sid. But but but if if you bring him
back for one more year, he's gonna want another year
next year. This is going to end that I have
seen the future of Andrew McCutcheon and his name is
ev Genny Malkin.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
It's funny you bring that up because we talked about
that in the media room a little bit waiting for
Dan Muse today after the players were done. And it's
gonna be messy. It's gonna be painful if he puts
on another jersey somewhere else. We're gonna hate how it looks,
especially if it's a Flyers jersey, like you keep referencing.
It's gonna suck. But you know what, We've gotten over
it with Fleury, that's for sure. We eventually got over
(20:54):
it ten times with Yager. And the McCutcheon thing to me,
Mark is, you know, he's very solid right now. He's
obviously got a burness under his saddle because of how
things ended here with the with the Pirates.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
He's a jerk off, always has been, gino, isn't.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
There's a lot of pearl clutching going on and oh no,
like what if he's disconnected from the franchise once he retires.
He's the most important link to the recent last good
stretch of the Pirates. Well, you know what's gonna happen
is he's gonna be mad for a year and then
everything's gonna be fine, because where else is he gonna
identify mccussion. I'm talking about Texas, no other here are
(21:34):
the giants, Like, no one's gonna care about Andrew McCutcheon
and retirement except right here in Pittsburgh. And the same
thing's gonna happen with Maulkin. He's if he plays somewhere else,
it's gonna be for one year, maybe two, and then
he's gonna be a getting Malkin who played twenty great
years here and won three cops. So everything will be
fine in the long run. The legacy aspect, to me
(21:54):
is not something to.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Be worried about.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Well, here's the thing with Gino, and I think they
do bring him back for another year based on the
the UH pressures I just talked about, But I would
have to have an understanding that he's not on PP
one and if there's somebody better than him for top six,
But then again, if you drop him out of the
top six, he doesn't have the skill set like Trottier
did to play bottom six. Trotz had a skill set
(22:19):
to fit any role, even in decline. Like you'll remember
Tim when he was playing third line. If Gino excu Gino,
I'm mixing my ears when Trotz was third line. If
if Mario got hurt, as he sometimes did, Trotz could
fill in temporarily in the top six. But my big
thing is Gino can't be on PP one now that
(22:41):
he moved the wing. He's not blocking Kindle for second
line center, but he's blocking Kindle and chinakof from the
power play and both absolutely have to.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Be on it, especially since that's perceived to be one
of his strengths. The only problem is it isn't anymore,
and I think he's.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
A time bomb. He does more for them than he
does for the Penguins. The other team he does.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
More for because when he's shooting from the circle, it
doesn't have the same snap that it used to, and
he's aware of that, so he's peeling away from doing that,
and he's throwing these diagonal cross ice passes that are
getting picked off and run back the other way for shorties.
You know, it's it's counterproductive.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Not only.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Malkin throws pick sixes.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well does he do it less than two point one seconds?
That's the big question. You know, and you brought up kindall.
That was another talking point today. You know, it was
revealing to hear him talk about that last shift and
how he admitted he's still sick to his stomach.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
He's the next captain.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised he's got this thing too.
I've noticed it on a couple of occasions. I don't
even think he knows he's doing it, but somebody will
ask him about Crosby and you know, his lockers right
next to Crosby's. Probably by design, he does this thing.
It's it's almost like a tick that if anybody asks
about Crosby, he sort of looks up at Sid's locker
or looks up at Sid's name plate, and you know,
(24:09):
the answer could be irrespective of Sid, you know, specifically,
it could just be a bigger picture question. But he
literally feels Crosby's presence in Aura, even if he's not there.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Oh, he does, and he sits there and absorbs.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
That's yeah, exactly. That's a good way of phrasing it.
And hopefully it is rubbing off and I think it is.
And you know, he had a brutal last shift. What
can what can he say? Lost the face off. He
had to scramble to his feet. I think he had
some brain fog before that with the icing, because you
know he had been out there. It's exactly what I
think Borky was saying on the broadcast towards the end
(24:44):
where he was talking about how you get to these
overtime games and people think fatigue leads to turnovers that
lead the game winning goals. It's not fatigue of the legs,
it's fatigue of the mind. And I think that's kind
of what happened to Kendall and Parker. Waterspoon was one
that rush to his defense after Kindall said that and said, look,
you got to go back further and see how many
shots he blocked and made himself tired in the first place.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And anybody who questions that kid even a little bit,
just I got no time for that. We're talking to
Tim Benz here on one oh five to nine X, Tim,
I want to switch gears to the Steelers. You might
have heard the sound by Colin Coward to Fox compared
the Steelers to the New York Jets because of the
weight for Rogers.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
That's harsh, but it might be accurate.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
That's gotten an increased amount of speculation this week nationally
because the unique nature of putting this UFA tag that
was used as recently as last year on two guys,
but no one knew about it, No one cared because
they weren't quarterbacks, they weren't specifically Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
But well, I don't find that UFA tender impactful. I
just find a second straight month long month's long wait
for a guy who's not even the top twenty five
quarterbacks in the league, and from a France that told Woodson, Franco,
Ben Hines and Troy to get lost. I just think
(26:08):
this franchise has lost its way. I think the Pittsburgh
guy at coach could could restore some of that. But
I think the silver spoon Pittsburgh guy Art the second
got no idea.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Well yeah, And the other thing is what they're doing
now from a PR standpoint, is they're trying to serve
two masters at once. You know, they're trying to make
it sound like, don't worry, don't worry, Aaron's going to
be back, and they're also trying to lay the foundation
of in case Aaron doesn't come back, Like this constant
PR attempt to make will Howard sound like a starting
quarterback to the degree that Mike McCarthy was on Serious
(26:40):
XM two days ago and said he's a starter in
this league. Well, okay, Mike, if he's a start in
this league, you've got him, Let him start then. But
I don't think he really feels that, and I think
he's probably just gassing him up for trade value or
in case there's an emergency situation, or if there's just
dead wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
About Drew Aller.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Well, I think it would be better if Rodgers didn't
show up or got hurt early in the season. I
would write a year off to let McCarthy work unblocked
with Aler and yeah, Howard too. I would like for
him just to develop them. I think Rogers playing is
the worst thing, and I wonder what McCarthy really feels.
I think he'd like to have Rogers, but I think
(27:22):
probably there's a part of him that wouldn't mind if
Rogers didn't show up.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I think that latter scenario you just painted probably would
be more true next year, just for the sake argument,
because you said this might be the case, I can't
rule it out. Who knows that we're not doing this
again in twenty twenty seven, like seriously, with the way
it's gone, and he might be just good enough with
McCarthy as the play caller and some increased weapons to
(27:49):
get them to yet again ten to seven playoff loss
in the first round. Repeat is necessary if that's the
case what you're saying about deep in As far as
if McCarthy won him back for year or two, no,
I don't think so. For year one. I don't think
McCarthy would hate it, because I think he sees real
value in at least being as good as Tomlin was
(28:11):
in his last year, and Rogers is probably a clearer
path to that than Aler or Howard.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Okay, let me play disclaimer, though, I think to be
better than Tomlin has been for a decade, you got
to win a playoff game. I think it would be
more likely to win a playoff game next year if
you got your quarterback really sorted out, if you figured
out which of the young guys was your guy, and
you wrote this year off. I'd rather have a better
chance to win next year than a long shot to
(28:39):
win this year.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yeah, you know one thing, And to go back to
what you said about either wishing Rodgers has gone or
you know, should he get hurt early, you at least
get the opportunity. You kind of kill two birds with
one stone of figuring out if Aler or Howard is
any good and if they aren't, then you know you're
probably a four or five win team. At that point,
you're drafting high and you can get your guy for
(29:03):
the long term.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
We haven't talks on this program since the allur selects.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
What's your take? I love it. I think he's the
next big thing.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
I'm not as high on it as you are because
I'm just not as high in the player. I'm plenty
high in the concept. But I just see Aler right now.
Mark is a toolsy quarterback that has never really been
able to put the tools together to.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Did in some burst at Penn State. I mean, I
get what you're saying too, but I think he's by
far their best bet.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I see the idea of giving McCarthy, a higher end athlete,
a potential higher end car to drive than just trying
to take Will Howard and get the best mileage out
of him, you know what I mean, Like, go ahead
and try to get the souped up sports car to
run as opposed to the home day launch right, like
you know, that's I'll go Colin Coward to make the
(29:57):
analogy out of something else. That's and that's kind of
how I view these two different guys. So I see
the mentality of it. I just I'm a little I'm
not as optimistic as you are that they're ever going
to be able to tap that with aler.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I want to ask a quick bucko question. Why have
they lost five in a row? It feels like this
series against Cincy with them in first and the pirates
and the last. I don't want to say it's crucial,
but it seems important for this time of year.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Right well, especially because it's the second straight series against
the divisional foe and here they are five hundred after
thirty two games, which I think a lot of people
would have signed up for at the start of the year,
and they're in last place. So that's why it feels big.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You said why.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
The simple answer to why is they didn't get a
good enough start, except for oddly enough, that bullpen start
that probably could have should have been a win. They
didn't get a good enough start to stop the bleeding.
And they've been able to get that every time whenever
they've they haven't lost consecutive games since the New York
series before the skid, and it's been because they've always
(30:58):
had a good start after a bad law Us and
even Skeens against his bogie team, as you called it,
the Mardinals.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You had to interrupt.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
I mean, that's the thing that's most shocking about this
streak and the most disappointing and the most frustrating is
that Skeens didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
But that's his job.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yeah, And the Pirates have to be better at being
their own stoppers when Steen when Skeens can't be. He
had five brilliant starts in between the two clunkers, but
he didn't give them much of a chance against And.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
I had somebody say to me on Twitter, well, that's
not fair to expect that from him. Well, of course
it's not fair, but it's the reality, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Yeah, And you know, you don't have to expect him
to be perfect every time, but there seems to be.
When teams have success against Scheens, it's because they jump
on them early and counts, and they jump on them
early in games, and they hunt the fastball early, which
is what Weatherholt did. I can't remember what it was
I think it was a sweeper that didn't break for
the second homer. But you know, the Brewers got him
(31:57):
once like that. I remember the Cubs got him once
like that, and to the like the Mets were really
good and fouling off pitches and extending at bats, but
you know, you look up and you see twenty five
pitches on the board after the first inning, and you
know it's gonna be a limited starters.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
Like.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
The funny thing was he struggled yesterday Mark and didn't
walk anybody. He had a nine to zero strike out
to walk ratio and it was still a bad outing
for him, which was It's kind.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Of weird, tim Uh.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I just don't think they're as good as we hoped
and didn't improve as much as we figured. I know
it's early days, but don't you kind of get that
sense about the Pirates.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
It's delicate. Yeah, I mean, like, I think five hundred
is right, they're gonna be I picked them at eighty
one wins, so like, is this sustainable where they are? Yeah,
this is sustainable, But you know it's not gonna take
a sub five hundred stretch at any point in the
season for them to get at five hundred again, that's
gonna drive them below like we might have seen the
high water mark. I don't think they're gonna sink all
(32:54):
the way to like ten games under and after rally
back or anything like that. But I just I think
there five hundred team, and this is kind of how
it looks and smells sometimes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Tim, great stuff. We'll talk to you on the podcast Sunday.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Who's the Edzo hurt horse? I didn't hear the Edzo
horse remem.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Wait, hold on, I got it written down here somewhere.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
What I found with Edzo is when he gives his picks,
I often have better luck going with the Edzo long shot.
Did he give you the Edzo long shot as well
as the Edzo horse?
Speaker 1 (33:24):
No, he play caated what I prefer to bet, which
is the the three horse box. He says horse number
fifteen to win, horse number one to place, and then
combined in boxes with nineteen eleven six at eighteen.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
All right, Well, so long as the horse's name is
in glue factory, I'll go with that.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
You know what the horse's name is at number one
is renegade. Tim. I hope he doesn't run like the
Steelers in a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
That's right, he'll finish last and then wind up with
the glue Factory.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Well, he's like I think he's the favorite if even
as his last he deserve nerves it. Tim, good stuff.
We'll talk to you soon, all right. Thanks, that's Tim Benz.
We have Noah House and the Post gas at at
four thirty. In the meantime, get your calls in at
A three three four one two WXDX.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And you heard the coward sound about.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
He thinks the Steelers are close to being the Jets.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
That's just hilarious. Be nigh and money's not all you'll
My name is Mark Madden eight three to three four
one two wxdx.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Uh okay.
Speaker 1 (00:12):
So I think they're gonna keep Malkin and I'm not
outraged when they do.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I think it's the same thing.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
How good is Gino's luck in twenty twenty two, Mario
would not.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Have kept him, I know that, and Fenway bought the team.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Didn't want to be the carpetbagging bad guy, so they
reupt him Tanger two, Tanger for a longer deal. Tanger
Is still has two years left, and now the logical
thing is to get Gino gone, and there's a new
owner and they're gonna sign them, probably for the same
reason to not be a carpetbagging villain. And like I said,
(00:49):
I have no problem. It's not what I'd do, but
I'm not radicalized in my opinion. But as far as
the other unrestricted free agents, you need to keep Shay,
he's on restricted. What would you give him, like like
three million per year like what Clifton was getting. Maybe
that'd be good because then you'd have Latang, Carlson, Shay,
(01:10):
Watherspoon and Girard in front of two good goaltenders. That
it provides stability in the back of what would be
a changing lineup up front. I'm already thinking about line
combinations because I like the Penguins and hockey board than
anything else. I want Kendle with China Cuff. I just
touched on that. That's a combination that you can move
(01:31):
forward with. The problem is Malkin can't play with those
guys because and it'd be his line, and it would
slow the line down and kindle a China Cuff got
to be on the power play in a vacuum. I
don't have a problem keeping Malkin. Bit like I keep saying,
bringing him back is clumsy. He's got to play top six,
(01:54):
he's got to play PP one and in no way
at all, under any circumstance, by definition, should he be
on PP one. He killed it this year, But you
know the clumsiness that seems of little concern to most.
Everybody just wants to wear their number seventy one jersey.
You see where I'm going with this. Personally, I keep
(02:16):
going back and forth on it. I'm not sure there's
a right or wrong answer. Well, to move forward, there
is a right answer, because you can't build on old
get your calls in A three three four one two WSDX.
I have long said, and I repeat now, I would
(02:37):
not talk hockey if I didn't know hockey. Too many
people do, too many people right that just don't get it.
And here's a couple of clarifications about where the Penguins
might be headed that that people have gotten wrong. The
Penguins have sixty four million in cap space this coming
off season. That's what it looks like. That's about forty
(02:57):
percent of the total cap. They probably have more cap
available going into July first, into free agency than anybody
else does. But unrestricted free agency is old man's territory.
You can't rebuild through unrestricted free agency. You can't get
the unrestricted free agency as a player until you're twenty
(03:18):
seven or after seven seasons. You can't rebuild with old men.
You can top off with old men. You can make
a good team great with old men, But unrestricted free agency.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
I was looking at the list.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
It's guys like Anders Lee and Patrick Kine and Kyle
Jeru and yes, Anthony Manta mid to late thirties, guys
who are gonna get too long and too much, and
the Penguins can't do that.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
The Penguins shouldn't do that.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
I could see Kyle Dubis the GM who were efforting
to get on the show for kind of a wrap up.
He might take a shot at a restricted free agent,
but then there's compensation. For example, I'll tell you one
guy he won't get as a restricted free agent, a
guy he'd have to trade for. Dubus would love to
get Jason Robertson from Dallas, superstar winger. You put him
(04:11):
on the line with Chinakoff and Kindall, then you're talking.
I think that's his target. Bet Robertson wants to stay
with Dallas, fired one agent and hired another specifically to
that end, because the agent he's retained has done a
lot of contracts for stars with Dallas, and Robertson is
(04:31):
gonna get twelve million dollars per year, and the compensation
for that if you sign him as a restricted free
agent is four I said, four first run draft picks.
So you just can't do it that way. You got
to draft and develop the way you build your team,
and I hope Kyle does do this.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
The way you build your team through.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Restricted free agent to get like like lower priced ones
who were young and maybe no in the league. Long,
but have legitimate potential because the compensation isn't nearly as much.
So I'd like to see Kyle take a shot. You
find a guy, here's what you do. You find a
younger guy who has potential but wasn't getting the roll
(05:16):
or the ice he wanted with his team, and doesn't
believe he will moving forward. That's the kind of guy
you go get. Somebody's said a couple guys like that,
was it Saint Louis? I forget, but that's the way
you do it with restricted free agents. But anyway, the
song remains the same. You got a draft and develop
and finish lower and get better picks. Now, one unrestricted
(05:41):
free agent I kind of like, kind of like, is
Mason Marchmith, the winger from Columbus.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
He's thirty, he's got.
Speaker 1 (05:50):
Sandpaper, and he has good shanan against like the Flyers pool.
He can do the post whistle stuff with anybody. And
maybe they need a guy like that. I hate to
say they need a guy like that, but they might
need a guy like that. Oh, lead scored already, Wow, well,
(06:11):
Burnley already relegated. Nothing to play for all right? Eight
three three four one two WSDX we talked with ed Zoe.
Minnesota eliminated Dallas, and now it's Minnesota Colorado, and I
kind of like Minnesota. The quin News factory really turned
it up at the end of that series. Two goals
in the elimination game that that knocked out Dallas. Although
(06:34):
I gotta confess I watched the playoffs very sporadically in
the round that the Penguins are eliminated in, like, I'll
get back watching every single game in the second round,
but right now I'm still kind of pissed. But quinn Us,
it says a lot about him. I turn on the
TV to watch quinn Us. In a perfect world, you
(06:54):
know what I'd want. I would want all three us
brothers to somehow wind up in Pittsburgh next year. I'm
gonna wind up in New Jersey. If they want to
go to Newark, that's their business. Maybe they can rescue
pi am I from getting murdered by ralphie X.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
You wait, super genius Mark Madden.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
This is one of the two ship draft to bring
the duck Tate type of refairs.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
What they're gonna make us play a wild game.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
It's not fair, it's not far, it's not fair.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
The exit one, O five nine.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
We've got Tim Benz joining me at the uh bottom
of the hour. I want to play let's play that
Colin Coward quote about the Steelers waiting for Aaron Rodgers
up as long as they have, because I think that
this is how most of the outside football media world
(07:47):
looks at the Steelers up.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Let's see if we can get that. Here's Colin Coward.
Here's what's funny.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
The Steelers view themselves because of their history as an
elite franchise. The Steelers are much close to the Jets,
but they're just a more just They're a more functional version.
And I mean the idea that the good teams in
the league would just allow a forty one year old
quarterback to string them along is laughable. Eagles aren't doing that,
(08:15):
Rams aren't doing that. Chiefs aren't doing that.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
Yeah, he's right, A good franchise would never do that,
and the Steelers aren't a good franchise anymore. McCarthy and
Aller can bail them out of that. I hope Rogers
comes in, gets hurt, nothing too painful, her chickens out
because he just doesn't want to get hit no more.
And he senses They're not going to be very good.
(08:43):
It's got to be resuscitated in a forty two year old,
By the way, a correction, that ain't the way to
do it. Drew Aller is the next long term starter
quarterback for the Steelers.
Speaker 2 (08:57):
At the very least, he's by far the best bet.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Howard isn't a patch on the ass of Aler's talents.
Aler's talent is obvious, Will Howard's is not. Will Howard
is about intangibles and McCarthy can develop those. But I
would bet on him to develop Aler's outstanding tangibles.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
That's the better bets.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Uh. Not all lottery tickets are created equal. McCarthy can
bring that talent out of Aler. He's got the track record,
the resume. It's the perfect storm they're reckoning, and the
McCarthy offense will be much better.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
It's a priority.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
He gets what the NFL is, and unlike Tom Whin,
McCarthy doesn't think he can bend what the NFL is
to his will, which Tom Win too often failed to do.
Now all this moving forward, I'm not sure where Rogers fits.
It ain't that peculiar the guy we're all waiting for.
(09:57):
I wish he were out of the way. But like I,
he keeps saying he's forty two, he'll get hurt or
turn to dust or whatever. A three three four one
two WXDX got the oh, this was supposed to be
the Bucko roundup. I forgot about the Bucko round up. Well,
there's still time. I'll do the Bucko round up on
(10:17):
top of a lot of bucco talk already. This is
your show for the best Pirates talk, and it really is.
Could have Sean Casey on as a regular real soon too.
Speaker 3 (10:27):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Cincinnati is in first place in the NL Central and
in town for a three game series with the last
place Pirates. Brady Singer for Cincinnati on the hill, Mitch
Keller for the Bucks and the Pirates need to win
this series, and need to stay above five hundred, and
need to prove something against the team that could win
the division.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
It's so up and down. The Pirates is a team.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
The players, like Cruz was on a tear now hit
listen three of his last four games. Well, I'll hit
a home run yesterday, but none in the previous eleven.
Reynolds hasn't bed a home run in nineteen games. It's
not what it looked like it was gonna be or
what's hoped for? Not right now anyway, Bucco's host Cincinnati tonight.
(11:12):
I was gonna go, but I'm gonna go see Steele
Zeppelin a Market Square instead.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Uh, let's go to Tony. Tony. You're own with double.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
M Hey Mack.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
How you doing them good, Tony.
Speaker 5 (11:24):
I just had a quick question about Justin Brazeau. I
only bring him up because the start of the season,
like the first couple of months, he was on fire,
and I was actually impressed with his hands for a
guy that size. But then I saw he only scored
five goals after December and.
Speaker 1 (11:42):
No, no five goals after the end of November after
I think it was twelve prior to that. Now they
do have them under contract for another year, but if
they could find somebody better and faster, I would not object.
I think Brazo would best serve the team as like
the thirteenth forward, the guy who plays.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Like forty or fifty games in the season.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
I cannot play him ahead of McGroarty or Avery Hay,
somebody like that.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
A young guy, well, maybe even a guy like will Hawkcross.
He might be ready next year.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I have no no, no.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
I I think will Horcoff uh in the long run
is going to be quite a player and a goal scorer, the.
Speaker 2 (12:17):
Kind of guy they need.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Nobody who knows thinks he's gonna be ready next year.
One thing, you got to be patient, and I love Sid.
They can't do stuff on his timetable. When they're ready,
they're ready. If anything, they're being ultra careful because uh
they they could have had more shoff and goal this year,
but wanted to wait. And by the way, they want
to playoff run from Wilkes and they won their first
(12:41):
playoff game the other night against Hershey, I like.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
To I'd like to get to one of those games.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Thank you for the call A three three, four, one
two WXDX, but don't call now because we got Tim
Benz up next on one O five.
Speaker 6 (12:55):
Nine on the X as your shot at x drug
see what I did there, thirteen times a day, nine
am through nine pm.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
D X will give you the keyword at the top
of every hour. Enter it at wxdx dot com.
Speaker 6 (13:09):
If you could win one thousand dollars with damage money,
you could buy like ten coffees.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
You know what I was homeschool. I'm not good at mouth.
Speaker 6 (13:17):
Listen all day for your chance, had some extra cash
on one oh five to nine the X.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
This is Doug Gotlieb. Here's what's trending from the Iheartsports
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Speaker 7 (13:29):
Steelers left tackle Broderick Jones. He's entering the final year
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(13:51):
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Speaker 2 (13:52):
I'm Scott Davidson. Run a business and not thinking about radio.
Think again, because people are listening to radio more today
than they did twenty years ago, and all the super
genius Mark Madden. Go ahead, you can say it because
it's true. It's damn true. Hey, Mark, love the show.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Thank you for making my day. The exit.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
Time to talk to Tim Bens at the Trip, who
was at the Penguins break up day to day tim
I saw them all in SoundBite when he said hit
play in the league next year, if not for the Penguin,
then for somebody else. I think he would, But I
think that was mostly posturing. It didn't come off as threatening.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
But not far from not threatening, but definitive, you know.
I think he wanted to just end the quote with yes.
When he was asked the question would he play elsewhere?
He just wanted to sit out there and linger, and
he couldn't help himself but to explain it a bit further,
and in so doing, I don't think he backed off
(14:49):
the messaging at all. But at the same time, I
think he also tried to mollify it a little bit
by also suggesting he still wanted to stay here, but
he at least wanted to get the talk point out
there that he would be willing to put another uniform
on to keep playing in the NHL house, Siri, is
about it? To your point? Is it just posturing? And
if he had to put on a Panther's flyers or
(15:10):
Devil's jersey or something like that, would he actually do it?
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (15:14):
I think he would, and I think Philly would take him.
I think that's by far the front runner. I know
he lives in Florida. I can't see a place on
the roster for him with Tampa or Florida, and that
would be bad optics for both the Flyers and for Maalkin.
But I kind of have a sense he's coming back
to him and it's the old thing that saved him
at twenty two. There's another new owner, and I don't
(15:36):
think they want to be the bad guys kicking a
star out of time.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
It saved him at twenty two. It's gonna save him.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Now, correct. And then you also have the Cidney Crosby factor.
I don't think he wants him to go, and I
still think he has sway. And you know, we saw
what happened last year with Pat Poisson. I don't know
why something like that wouldn't happen again this year, especially
when it comes to Malkin.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Well, I don't know if.
Speaker 1 (16:03):
There would be a bit about the competitiveness of the
team having just made the playoffs, so I think Pat
would probably stay out of it. Then again, JP Barry's
partner does represent Gino.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Furthermore, it's an easier case to make now, honestly, because
they did get further and they did give the playoffs,
and it might be even easier for Brisson and Barry
to make that point, like add on to a team
that had what was an eighteen point improvement and finished
in second.
Speaker 1 (16:31):
Yeah, they're gonna take a step backwards next year, and
especially if they if they stay old, because you can't
build on old. It's not a team close to anything.
And I don't know, Tim, would you bring Malkin back?
I would not.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
I will understand and not be outraged if they do.
Speaker 3 (16:50):
I'd be clinical about it. I try to upgrade the
team by using that money Elsewhere. You outline their CAF situation,
you also outline the reality that exists of unrestricted free
agency in the National Hockey League, which is almost a
contradiction in terms because it's extremely restricted. It's restricted by
who's available. There's not a lot of good players available
(17:12):
right right.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
You don't with the free agency until you're twenty seven
or have accrued seven seasons. And if you sign a
good restricted guy, the compensations too much. You cannot rebuild
via free agency. You can top a team off, but
like for example, like I said, earlier tim everybody wants
them to get Jason Robertson.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Well, he's a restricted free agent.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
You sign him, you're gonna give up four first round
draft picks, and that is very kind of productive for
a team trying to get good again.
Speaker 3 (17:38):
The way you do it is, you know, kind of
a way that they did it with Carlson. You make
a trade, You use chips that you have to make
trades with teams.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
You find more trades like China Kow or Soderboom, who
looks pretty good, you know. I mean, it's just it's
just not a situation where you can I hate to
say it, but if Sid wants to win again, he
should go.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
I won't blame him. I'd rather stay here.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
But this team is not gonna win again on his timetable,
I don't think.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And I actually tried to mine some of the guys
for responses on this, and it's probably more of a
Kyle Duba's question than anything. And certainly the veterans knew
where I was going with it. But some game varying
degrees of honest answers, and then I think some are
also living in a little bit of a fairy tale world.
I mean, there's two realities to their situation. Mark they're
(18:28):
a team that improved eighteen points and finished in second
place from last year. But they're also a team, if
you add it up, that lost more games than they
won because of all the loser points they got, all
the overtime losses. Now you know the counter to that
is you say they had the few one of the
fewest regulation loss totals in all of the NHL. And
(18:48):
you know, maybe that's true. But I kept hearing that
refrain from the Penguins players today that maybe we're even
better than we think we are because we had all
those overtime and gay.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Maybe they're not as good as their record. I mean,
like they lost more games than they won. That included
they lost more games than they won. This to me
was one last kick at the can. And honestly, if
the room sees that as a step forward rather than
just you know, a last gasp, then I think they're
gonna be disappointed by Dubas because I don't think Dubas
sees it that way. Not that that will keep him
(19:21):
from retaining Malkin, because even though Dubas doesn't want to,
if you look at what the fans want, what Sid wants,
what a new owner's gonna want.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
I just think it's inevitable he comes back.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Let me ask you this as a theory, because I
heard you talking about this earlier and across my mind.
What if he somehow got Latang to sign off in
a trade and somebody would take him. Would it be
enough of an olive branch then to keep Malkin?
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Like? What do you what do you think is more important?
What the sid?
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Sid wants all three guys there till he's done playing, period.
Speaker 3 (19:52):
So you don't think splitting the baby is gonna do anything, not.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Even a little bit. He wants all three guys there
until he's done playing. And and that I think to
some degree that Embolden's You know, Malkin right now what
tanks to us two more years on his deal. And
the thing that people don't understand about Geno is it's
not just one more year. In fact, I've heard whispers
he wants a two year deal, which I would never
give him. You can't possibly give him a term longer
(20:17):
than Sid. But but but if if you bring him
back for one more year, he's gonna want another year
next year. This is going to end that I have
seen the future of Andrew McCutcheon and his name is
ev Genny Malkin.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
It's funny you bring that up because we talked about
that in the media room a little bit waiting for
Dan Muse today after the players were done. And it's
gonna be messy. It's gonna be painful if he puts
on another jersey somewhere else. We're gonna hate how it looks,
especially if it's a Flyers jersey, like you keep referencing.
It's gonna suck. But you know what, We've gotten over
it with Fleury, that's for sure. We eventually got over
(20:54):
it ten times with Yager. And the McCutcheon thing to me,
Mark is, you know, he's very solid right now. He's
obviously got a burness under his saddle because of how
things ended here with the with the Pirates.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
He's a jerk off, always has been, gino, isn't.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
There's a lot of pearl clutching going on and oh no,
like what if he's disconnected from the franchise once he retires.
He's the most important link to the recent last good
stretch of the Pirates. Well, you know what's gonna happen
is he's gonna be mad for a year and then
everything's gonna be fine, because where else is he gonna
identify mccussion. I'm talking about Texas, no other here are
(21:34):
the giants, Like, no one's gonna care about Andrew McCutcheon
and retirement except right here in Pittsburgh. And the same
thing's gonna happen with Maulkin. He's if he plays somewhere else,
it's gonna be for one year, maybe two, and then
he's gonna be a getting Malkin who played twenty great
years here and won three cops. So everything will be
fine in the long run. The legacy aspect, to me
(21:54):
is not something to.
Speaker 2 (21:55):
Be worried about.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Well, here's the thing with Gino, and I think they
do bring him back for another year based on the
the UH pressures I just talked about, But I would
have to have an understanding that he's not on PP
one and if there's somebody better than him for top six,
But then again, if you drop him out of the
top six, he doesn't have the skill set like Trottier
did to play bottom six. Trotz had a skill set
(22:19):
to fit any role, even in decline. Like you'll remember
Tim when he was playing third line. If Gino excu Gino,
I'm mixing my ears when Trotz was third line. If
if Mario got hurt, as he sometimes did, Trotz could
fill in temporarily in the top six. But my big
thing is Gino can't be on PP one now that
(22:41):
he moved the wing. He's not blocking Kindle for second
line center, but he's blocking Kindle and chinakof from the
power play and both absolutely have to.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
Be on it, especially since that's perceived to be one
of his strengths. The only problem is it isn't anymore,
and I think he's.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
A time bomb. He does more for them than he
does for the Penguins. The other team he does.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
More for because when he's shooting from the circle, it
doesn't have the same snap that it used to, and
he's aware of that, so he's peeling away from doing that,
and he's throwing these diagonal cross ice passes that are
getting picked off and run back the other way for shorties.
You know, it's it's counterproductive.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Not only.
Speaker 2 (23:25):
Malkin throws pick sixes.
Speaker 3 (23:29):
Well does he do it less than two point one seconds?
That's the big question. You know, and you brought up kindall.
That was another talking point today. You know, it was
revealing to hear him talk about that last shift and
how he admitted he's still sick to his stomach.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
He's the next captain.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised he's got this thing too.
I've noticed it on a couple of occasions. I don't
even think he knows he's doing it, but somebody will
ask him about Crosby and you know, his lockers right
next to Crosby's. Probably by design, he does this thing.
It's it's almost like a tick that if anybody asks
about Crosby, he sort of looks up at Sid's locker
or looks up at Sid's name plate, and you know,
(24:09):
the answer could be irrespective of Sid, you know, specifically,
it could just be a bigger picture question. But he
literally feels Crosby's presence in Aura, even if he's not there.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Oh, he does, and he sits there and absorbs.
Speaker 3 (24:23):
That's yeah, exactly. That's a good way of phrasing it.
And hopefully it is rubbing off and I think it is.
And you know, he had a brutal last shift. What
can what can he say? Lost the face off. He
had to scramble to his feet. I think he had
some brain fog before that with the icing, because you
know he had been out there. It's exactly what I
think Borky was saying on the broadcast towards the end
(24:44):
where he was talking about how you get to these
overtime games and people think fatigue leads to turnovers that
lead the game winning goals. It's not fatigue of the legs,
it's fatigue of the mind. And I think that's kind
of what happened to Kendall and Parker. Waterspoon was one
that rush to his defense after Kindall said that and said, look,
you got to go back further and see how many
shots he blocked and made himself tired in the first place.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
And anybody who questions that kid even a little bit,
just I got no time for that. We're talking to
Tim Benz here on one oh five to nine X, Tim,
I want to switch gears to the Steelers. You might
have heard the sound by Colin Coward to Fox compared
the Steelers to the New York Jets because of the
weight for Rogers.
Speaker 2 (25:25):
That's harsh, but it might be accurate.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
That's gotten an increased amount of speculation this week nationally
because the unique nature of putting this UFA tag that
was used as recently as last year on two guys,
but no one knew about it, No one cared because
they weren't quarterbacks, they weren't specifically Aaron Rodgers.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
But well, I don't find that UFA tender impactful. I
just find a second straight month long month's long wait
for a guy who's not even the top twenty five
quarterbacks in the league, and from a France that told Woodson, Franco,
Ben Hines and Troy to get lost. I just think
(26:08):
this franchise has lost its way. I think the Pittsburgh
guy at coach could could restore some of that. But
I think the silver spoon Pittsburgh guy Art the second
got no idea.
Speaker 3 (26:18):
Well yeah, And the other thing is what they're doing
now from a PR standpoint, is they're trying to serve
two masters at once. You know, they're trying to make
it sound like, don't worry, don't worry, Aaron's going to
be back, and they're also trying to lay the foundation
of in case Aaron doesn't come back, Like this constant
PR attempt to make will Howard sound like a starting
quarterback to the degree that Mike McCarthy was on Serious
(26:40):
XM two days ago and said he's a starter in
this league. Well, okay, Mike, if he's a start in
this league, you've got him, Let him start then. But
I don't think he really feels that, and I think
he's probably just gassing him up for trade value or
in case there's an emergency situation, or if there's just
dead wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
About Drew Aller.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
Well, I think it would be better if Rodgers didn't
show up or got hurt early in the season. I
would write a year off to let McCarthy work unblocked
with Aler and yeah, Howard too. I would like for
him just to develop them. I think Rogers playing is
the worst thing, and I wonder what McCarthy really feels.
I think he'd like to have Rogers, but I think
(27:22):
probably there's a part of him that wouldn't mind if
Rogers didn't show up.
Speaker 3 (27:29):
I think that latter scenario you just painted probably would
be more true next year, just for the sake argument,
because you said this might be the case, I can't
rule it out. Who knows that we're not doing this
again in twenty twenty seven, like seriously, with the way
it's gone, and he might be just good enough with
McCarthy as the play caller and some increased weapons to
(27:49):
get them to yet again ten to seven playoff loss
in the first round. Repeat is necessary if that's the
case what you're saying about deep in As far as
if McCarthy won him back for year or two, no,
I don't think so. For year one. I don't think
McCarthy would hate it, because I think he sees real
value in at least being as good as Tomlin was
(28:11):
in his last year, and Rogers is probably a clearer
path to that than Aler or Howard.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Okay, let me play disclaimer, though, I think to be
better than Tomlin has been for a decade, you got
to win a playoff game. I think it would be
more likely to win a playoff game next year if
you got your quarterback really sorted out, if you figured
out which of the young guys was your guy, and
you wrote this year off. I'd rather have a better
chance to win next year than a long shot to
(28:39):
win this year.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
Yeah, you know one thing, And to go back to
what you said about either wishing Rodgers has gone or
you know, should he get hurt early, you at least
get the opportunity. You kind of kill two birds with
one stone of figuring out if Aler or Howard is
any good and if they aren't, then you know you're
probably a four or five win team. At that point,
you're drafting high and you can get your guy for
(29:03):
the long term.
Speaker 1 (29:05):
We haven't talks on this program since the allur selects.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
What's your take? I love it. I think he's the
next big thing.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
I'm not as high on it as you are because
I'm just not as high in the player. I'm plenty
high in the concept. But I just see Aler right now.
Mark is a toolsy quarterback that has never really been
able to put the tools together to.
Speaker 1 (29:26):
Did in some burst at Penn State. I mean, I
get what you're saying too, but I think he's by
far their best bet.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
I see the idea of giving McCarthy, a higher end athlete,
a potential higher end car to drive than just trying
to take Will Howard and get the best mileage out
of him, you know what I mean, Like, go ahead
and try to get the souped up sports car to
run as opposed to the home day launch right, like
you know, that's I'll go Colin Coward to make the
(29:57):
analogy out of something else. That's and that's kind of
how I view these two different guys. So I see
the mentality of it. I just I'm a little I'm
not as optimistic as you are that they're ever going
to be able to tap that with aler.
Speaker 1 (30:12):
I want to ask a quick bucko question. Why have
they lost five in a row? It feels like this
series against Cincy with them in first and the pirates
and the last. I don't want to say it's crucial,
but it seems important for this time of year.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Right well, especially because it's the second straight series against
the divisional foe and here they are five hundred after
thirty two games, which I think a lot of people
would have signed up for at the start of the year,
and they're in last place. So that's why it feels big.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
You said why.
Speaker 3 (30:37):
The simple answer to why is they didn't get a
good enough start, except for oddly enough, that bullpen start
that probably could have should have been a win. They
didn't get a good enough start to stop the bleeding.
And they've been able to get that every time whenever
they've they haven't lost consecutive games since the New York
series before the skid, and it's been because they've always
(30:58):
had a good start after a bad law Us and
even Skeens against his bogie team, as you called it,
the Mardinals.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You had to interrupt.
Speaker 1 (31:05):
I mean, that's the thing that's most shocking about this
streak and the most disappointing and the most frustrating is
that Skeens didn't stop.
Speaker 2 (31:11):
But that's his job.
Speaker 3 (31:13):
Yeah, And the Pirates have to be better at being
their own stoppers when Steen when Skeens can't be. He
had five brilliant starts in between the two clunkers, but
he didn't give them much of a chance against And.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
I had somebody say to me on Twitter, well, that's
not fair to expect that from him. Well, of course
it's not fair, but it's the reality, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (31:35):
Yeah, And you know, you don't have to expect him
to be perfect every time, but there seems to be.
When teams have success against Scheens, it's because they jump
on them early and counts, and they jump on them
early in games, and they hunt the fastball early, which
is what Weatherholt did. I can't remember what it was
I think it was a sweeper that didn't break for
the second homer. But you know, the Brewers got him
(31:57):
once like that. I remember the Cubs got him once
like that, and to the like the Mets were really
good and fouling off pitches and extending at bats, but
you know, you look up and you see twenty five
pitches on the board after the first inning, and you
know it's gonna be a limited starters.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
Like.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
The funny thing was he struggled yesterday Mark and didn't
walk anybody. He had a nine to zero strike out
to walk ratio and it was still a bad outing
for him, which was It's kind.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Of weird, tim Uh.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
I just don't think they're as good as we hoped
and didn't improve as much as we figured. I know
it's early days, but don't you kind of get that
sense about the Pirates.
Speaker 3 (32:33):
It's delicate. Yeah, I mean, like, I think five hundred
is right, they're gonna be I picked them at eighty
one wins, so like, is this sustainable where they are? Yeah,
this is sustainable, But you know it's not gonna take
a sub five hundred stretch at any point in the
season for them to get at five hundred again, that's
gonna drive them below like we might have seen the
high water mark. I don't think they're gonna sink all
(32:54):
the way to like ten games under and after rally
back or anything like that. But I just I think
there five hundred team, and this is kind of how
it looks and smells sometimes.
Speaker 2 (33:03):
Tim, great stuff. We'll talk to you on the podcast Sunday.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Who's the Edzo hurt horse? I didn't hear the Edzo
horse remem.
Speaker 2 (33:10):
Wait, hold on, I got it written down here somewhere.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
What I found with Edzo is when he gives his picks,
I often have better luck going with the Edzo long shot.
Did he give you the Edzo long shot as well
as the Edzo horse?
Speaker 1 (33:24):
No, he play caated what I prefer to bet, which
is the the three horse box. He says horse number
fifteen to win, horse number one to place, and then
combined in boxes with nineteen eleven six at eighteen.
Speaker 3 (33:40):
All right, Well, so long as the horse's name is
in glue factory, I'll go with that.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
You know what the horse's name is at number one
is renegade. Tim. I hope he doesn't run like the
Steelers in a playoff game.
Speaker 3 (33:51):
That's right, he'll finish last and then wind up with
the glue Factory.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Well, he's like I think he's the favorite if even
as his last he deserve nerves it. Tim, good stuff.
We'll talk to you soon, all right. Thanks, that's Tim Benz.
We have Noah House and the Post gas at at
four thirty. In the meantime, get your calls in at
A three three four one two WXDX.
Speaker 2 (34:13):
And you heard the coward sound about.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
He thinks the Steelers are close to being the Jets.
Speaker 2 (34:20):
That's just hilarious. Be nigh and money's not all you'll
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