January 16, 2015
Podcast: Rapid fire w/ Todd on 970 ESPN
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly rapid-fire segment with David Todd on 970 ESPN. We talked Joe Paterno, the big Penguins-Islanders matchup and the makeup of the 2015 Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates
January 16, 2015
News/views: Pirates sign Kang
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
News: The Pirates sign Korean slugger Jung-Ho Kang, four years for a maximum $11 million guaranteed. That includes the potential buyout of a fifth-year club option of $5.5 million.
Views: Very much to be expected once they’d won the bidding for the rights to negotiate a contract. My initial thoughts on Kang ran Dec. 22 after the bidding process. I’ll have more after Neal Huntington’s 11:45 a.m. conference call.
January 14, 2015
Podcast: Downie, LeBeau, Kang w/ Madden
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly appearance in the 105.9 the X studio with Mark Madden. We talked about the Penguins’ failure to support Steve Downie, the Steelers changing coordinators, the Pirates and Jung-Ho Kang and more. A good time was had by all.
January 13, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Butler, Olli, Pedro, Jagr, Hall
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and offers you a chance to carry the conversation. I’ll be up at Consol tonight to cover Penguins-Wild with a full column, but all topics are welcome, as always.
Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live.
UPDATE 2 p.m.: And off we go …
Wild Bill: Dejan, your News/Views entry today offers your view that Keith Butler will transition to the younger players. Does he, in your opinion, present any other likely forms of change to what the Steelers do on defense? Or will it be mostly the same scheme, but only slightly tweaked?
Until Butler speaks — and there will be no actual press conference, I was just told by a team official — there won’t be a hard answer to that. He’s never been a coordinator in the NFL, so it would be unfair to assume too much based on his work as a positional coach. That said, I find it unimaginable that either he or Mike Tomlin would alter the 3-4 scheme or, for that matter, the zone-blitz element on which it’s founded. Remember, this is Tomlin’s move. He’s getting the coordinator he wants and the defense he wants. If he didn’t want this base defense, he could have changed it long ago, even with Dick LeBeau is present. To think otherwise is naive.
January 9, 2015
Friday Insider: Pirates’ front office transformed
Bob Nutting and Clint Hurdle speak in the PNC Park home dugout before a September game. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Weekly roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our city’s teams …
• Spring training is still several weeks away, but the Pirates will convene next week in Bradenton for minicamp, and not just the players who report voluntarily. It’ll also be a gathering for the front office, managers, coaches, scouts, pretty much everyone in baseball operations all under one roof, a great rarity in an increasingly global game.
And man, will this be one giddy gathering, by all accounts.
I spoke with a few of the folks who will be part of this, including some who only two winters ago were bitterly critical of the back-biting, divisiveness and divergent philosophies that were plaguing the operation. Some of that was the natural exhaust of a 20th consecutive losing season. Some of it was men fearing for their jobs and filling the lifeboats. And some of it, of course, was the infamous Hoka Hey escapade.
Well, forget it all, I’m assured.
January 7, 2015
Podcast: On set w/ Madden at Blue Line Grille
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Here’s the podcast of my weekly appearance on 105.9 the X with Mark Madden, this one at Blue Line Grille across from Consol Energy Center. Fast-forward to the 16:40 mark for the start of our segment. We talked Steelers, Penguins and the Baseball Hall of Fame.
January 7, 2015
Morning Java: What now for football fans?
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
The unique sadness that is a Steelers playoff loss eventually gives way to … something, right?
January 6, 2015
Tuesday 12 Qs: Mitchell, LeBeau, Perron, Lambo
One last time. Obviously. — DEJAN KOVACEVIC
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and tosses the keys to you to do the driving. I’ll be over at the Mike Tomlin press conference at noon but back in plenty of time for the session.
If you’re new, the format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live.
All topics welcome, as always, though I’m sure to lean mostly toward Steelers this week under the circumstance.
UPDATE 2 p.m.: And a sledding we will go …
Mitchell Shaw: DK, I know most people don’t have the luxury of watching the film of games the way the coaches do, but was there one thing from watching all season that you saw that would support Tomlin’s comments about Mike Mitchell’s arrow pointing up?
DK: No.
I actually could end that answer right there, but that wouldn’t be any fun, right?
January 2, 2015
Friday Insider: Tomlin sought to push Polamalu
Troy Polamalu sits on the Steelers’ sideline during their victory two weeks ago vs. the Chiefs. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Weekly roundup of a lot of randomness from a lot of time around our city’s teams …
• Three key points to make regarding Troy Polamalu right now:
1. He’ll start Saturday against the Ravens.
2. He was always going to start if healthy.
3. Mike Tomlin wanted Polamalu to think that No. 2 wasn’t the case.
I’ve spent parts of the past couple days at the Steelers’ South Side HQ trying to get to the bottom of whatever might have been behind the coaching staff’s thinking regarding Polamalu vs. Will Allen, and I feel about as good as possible about all three of the above points after multiple conversations.
December 23, 2014
Tuesday 12 Qs: Ben, Narduzzi, Rust, Kang, Troy
Alex Smith and Ben Roethlisberger shake hands after the Steelers beat the Chiefs, 20-12, Sunday. — GETTY
DEJAN KOVACEVIC, DK ON PITTSBURGH SPORTS
Welcome to Tuesday 12 Qs, our chat that takes place each week at 2 p.m. and tosses the keys to you to do the driving.
The format is simple: Use the comments section below to submit an entry. No more than one per person, please. Submit early if you prefer, and I’ll pick from that batch to get rolling, then monitor new entries once we go live. All topics welcome, as always.
UPDATE 2 p.m.: Away we go …
bernard.diggins: Seriously, Ben Roethlisberger has to be the real MVP of this team regardless of how the players vote, right? What is their record without Ben? Great seasons for each of the big three, but ask Mike Tomlin which player he’d most hate to lose for the playoffs, and he won’t hesitate with the answer.
DK: A lot of variables come into play with a debate like this, and it sounds like the one you’re prioritizing is the position. Almost any team would hate to lose its QB more than any other position. And that would apply doubly for the Steelers, when the drop would take them from Roethlisberger to Bruce Gradkowski.
