First-Team Offense Shines, Jarvis Jones flashes in Final Dress Rehearsal

Big Ben Torches Saints ‘D’ The comfort level Ben Roethlisberger has in running the Steelers offense is going to be a nightmare for mediocre and bad defenses. Good luck to them. The New Orleans Saints have a really bad defense and Roethlisberger chewed them up in playing just 19 snaps. Producing a 15 play, 74 yard opening scoring drive, Roethlisberger was flawless in running the no-huddle for 14 plays. The Steelers offense looked to be in mid-season form. 17 of the 19 plays saw Roethlisberger throwing the ball in going 12 of 17 for 148 yards and 2 Touchdowns. “It was a good night for us,” Mike Tomlin said. “It was good to get Ben some action and AB and

Steelers to consider signing Keenan Lewis after Week 1?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a history under Kevin Colbert of bringing back former players. Will Keenan Lewis be the latest one? [hide] The Steelers brought Lewis in for a two-day visit to the Southside complex to explore a potential signing. Lewis visited with the Steelers on Wednesday for about five hours. He was thoroughly examined by the Steelers medical staff with the major area of concern being a hip/hernia injury. Lewis, 30, was released by the New Orleans Saints last week reportedly due to concerns about a hip injury, though, Lewis says the reason for the release is that he didn’t get along with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. However, the Steelers are also with the Saints in believing that Lewis

Vesey Fallout; Interest picking up in Hudler; Pens LW Situation

Monday’s Penguins Buzz The Pittsburgh Penguins losing out in the Jimmy Vesey sweepstakes was an expected development as the team went into their sales pitch a major longshot to land the coveted free agent. Vesey went into the meetings last week leaning towards three particular teams, the New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks. He came out of the meetings still leaning towards the Rangers and signed with New York on Friday afternoon. Rangers GM Jeff Gorton is earning praise around the league for a bit of retooling with his forward group in adding Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey, Michael Grabner, and Nathan Gerbe. The Rangers have got quicker in their bottom-6 and Zibanejad at 23 years old brings

Inside Buzz: Doubts continue to surround Le’Veon Bell

Inside Buzz Running back Le’Veon Bell was officially suspended on Friday for three games, having his suspension reduced by one game. Bell’s suspension was reduced from its initial length of four games as a result of a negotiated settlement between the NFLPA and the NFL. Bell officially missed three tests, one in December, one in January and one in April. “They tried to test me in December and January and I missed those tests,” Bell said in an Instagram post he later deleted. “I couldn’t get to the facility and get tested. They couldn’t come to me and get tested. That’s on me.” A Steelers source says Bell’s primary case in getting the suspension reduced was that the December missed

Matt Cullen returns on one year deal

The Pittsburgh Penguins have resigned Matt Cullen to a one year deal worth $1 million, the team announced. Cullen, 39, will receive a $200,000 raise from his salary in 2015-2016. The parameters of a deal for Cullen had been on the table since before July 1. With the resigning of Cullen, Pittsburgh will return nearly the identical roster from their Stanley Cup winning team. [hide] The only subtraction among regulars from the team is Ben Lovejoy who signed with the New Jersey Devils. Cullen returning makes it a lock that 2012 third round pick Oskar Sundqvist will start the season in Wilkes Barre/Scranton, something top officials preferred whether Cullen returned or not. Were Cullen to have signed elsewhere, Pittsburgh planned

The Pirates Resurgence; Vick/Steelers; Vesey camp expands list

INSIDE BUZZ Wildcard Chase *1. LA Dodgers 65-52 (+3.5) *2. St Louis Cardinals 62-56 * Miami Marlins 62-56 Pittsburgh Pirates 60-56 New York Mets 59-59 Six weeks to go in the baseball season and the narrative has changed in a big way over the last week for the Pirates. A bridge season? No so much. The National League has so much mediocrity, there’s no excuse for the Pirates not to grab one of the final wildcard spots. The Pirates recent turnaround, 7-3 in their last 10 games, has also been a good run for management that had a bad PR week in the immediate fallout of the Pirates cost cutting trades. All three trade acquisitions at the Major League level,

Jimmy Vesey Watch; + Which Penguin is a top extension candidate

Inside Pittsburgh Sports

Jimmy Vesey watch is now on around the league. On Monday NHL clubs will have their first opportunity to meet face-to-face with Vesey and his agent Peter Fish. As reported last month here, Vesey only has a list of six teams he plans to consider signing with. Where are the Penguins in all of this going into Monday? [hide] Pretty much on the sidelines. Unlike the Chicago Blackhawks that have been watching Vesey like a hawk this month while he skates four times a week at a local hometown rink of his, the Penguins have not gone out of their way to start laying the groundwork for a signing like some teams are behind the scenes. Penguins officials have told

Steelers – Lions 5 Takeaways

Steelers – Lions 5 Takeaways 1. Sammie Coates was one of the biggest storylines coming out of the always excruciating first preseason game. Coates has flashed star potential at times in camp and at other times looked everything of a second year receiver who never saw the field last season. The inconsistency and lack of mental awareness that plagued him in the joint practices this week, played out in Friday’s preseason opener. Coates fumbled twice, with one lost fumble. From a trust factor, Markus Wheaton will go into the season with a strong hold on the No. 2 receiver spot but Coates performance against the Lions shouldn’t be too concerning. He’s going to be hit or miss early in the

Latest Steelers Buzz: Green, Steelers to part ways?

Talk in Steelers circles is that Ladarius Green will not play in 16 Bad Investment? More like just terrible luck for the player and team. [hide] The Steelers marquee signing of the off-season, tight end Ladarius Green, may never play a game as a Steeler. While most assumed Green was on PUP due to his recovery from ankle surgery, NFL media reported today Green remains sidelined due to lingering headaches. Information gathered today now points to that these aren’t just minor headaches, these are career ending type headaches related to past concussions. Green suffered two possible concussions last season in two weeks but told reporters it was just sinuses. Things could now turn ugly. The Steelers internally believe Green will

Latest Pens Buzz: Management not ready to close door on Fleury being long-term goaltender for club

Penguins goaltender Marc Andre Fleury was in the news this weekend as it was his turn to throw a celebration with the Stanley Cup. Brotherly love! Making sure his sister gets a drink from the #stanleycup @penguins @NHL @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/ShVLTvN05H — Philip Pritchard (@keeperofthecup) August 6, 2016 In the immediate days after the Penguins won the Stanley Cup, many likely assumed Fleury’s celebration later in the summer would be coming as a member of another team. A trade of Fleury never came to fruition leading up to the draft (the only time this summer the Penguins were exploring trading Fleury) in June with two NHL sources, including an executive with a Easter Conference team indicating Fleury’s cap hit being the biggest