Joe Starkey Columns
Joe Starkey: Which Hall of Fame is a bigger joke — baseball or football?
STARK RAVING Just when it didn’t seem possible any Hall of Fame could be a bigger farce than baseball’s, the Pro Football Hall of Fame stepped up and said, “Hold my Belichick.” Bill Belichick reportedly won’t be a first-ballot Hall of Famer? Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh well, at least Shedeur Sanders made...
Joe Starkey’s Mailbag: Will Howard isn’t really the Steelers’ plan at quarterback … is he?
You ask. I answer. It’s time for a weekly Q&A mailbag that appears Tuesdays at TribLive.com. We had a banner Week 1 that’ll be tough to top. But that’s why we lift all them weights. Most of the questions come via “X,” but you can also hit me up jraystarkey@gmail.com....
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: Patriots went from great to bad to great again while Steelers stayed the same
CUP OF JOE: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less. I wonder if New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft looks at 2023 as a wasted year. I’m guessing not. It got him back to the Super Bowl. There are many reasons why the Patriots are in position to win...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: The Pirates owe Andrew McCutchen this much: Tell him they’re moving on
CUP OF JOE: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less. Breakups are hurtful, in life and pro sports. Feelings are injured. Resentments are formed. It wasn’t pretty when the Pittsburgh Steelers moved on from Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger, who wanted to keep playing. Feelings were injured....
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: Mike McCarthy has some interesting pieces — is Will Howard one?
I’ll say this: Mike McCarthy as de facto offensive coordinator is an upgrade on Arthur Smith. Artie’s off to Ohio State. Maybe Jonnu Smith has eligibility and could help invigorate the Buckeyes’ tight-end run game. Mike Tomlin never got the offense right in his later years. He went from his...
Joe Starkey: With Mike McCarthy, the Steelers are basically rehiring Mike Tomlin. Thanks, Art
STARK RAVING Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II said he was willing to run it back another year with Mike Tomlin, and so he shall. Mike McCarthy is Tomlin. Tomlin is McCarthy. Finkle is Einhorn. Einhorn is Finkle. I can see it now: The Steelers go 9-8 next season with...
Joe Starkey: Evgeni Malkin wants 1 more year with Penguins? He’s earned it
STARK RAVING The Penguins have a player who is plus-15, averages more points per game than Jake Guentzel, Mitch Marner, Sebastian Aho, Tage Thompson and Jack Hughes and wants to play next season on a discounted deal. That might sound ridiculous, and in one way it is: Evgeni Malkin will...
Joe Starkey: Kyle Dubas is the star as Penguins return to EdmontonVideo
Yes, it was Sidney Crosby versus Connor McDavid again as the Pittsburgh Penguins made their once-a-year visit to Edmonton on Thursday. But the real star at the moment is Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. After striking out more than Jack Suwinski early in his Penguins tenure, Dubas has suddenly become...
Joe Starkey’s Stick Route: Jeff Capel’s Pitt tenure running on empty
Commentary on day’s news in 300 words or less It’s not Kevin Stallings 2.0, but when you lose to Louisville at home by a million points, Stallings certainly springs to mind. Stallings lost to Louisville, 106-51, on Jan. 24, 2017. Jeff Capel lost to Louisville, 100-59, on Saturday, nearly the...
Joe Starkey’s Mailbag: Is it time to trade T.J. Watt?
You ask. I answer. It’s time for “Mailing It In,” a weekly Q&A that will appear Tuesdays at TribLive.com. I had a record amount of submissions in Week 1, so we’re off to the best start since Starling Marte homered in his first big-league at-bat. Most of the questions come...
Joe Starkey’s Stick Route: Steelers should have at least interviewed Kevin Stefanski
He’s only 43. He’s a two-time NFL Coach of the Year. He made the playoffs twice as many times as all other Browns coaches combined since their rebirth in 1999. His team even won a playoff game (he wasn’t on the sidelines, but his offense dropped 40-plus on the Steelers)....
Joe Starkey: What the national media won’t talk about regarding Mike Tomlin’s Steelers tenure
A few years ago, the great Peter King joined my radio show for his usual spot, and we talked about Mike Tomlin. At that point, Tomlin’s playoff-win drought had reached six years or so. We agreed it was a major concern, but King opined that Tomlin always seemed to overachieve...
Joe Starkey: What a long, strange Trib it’s been
I was working at the Valley News Dispatch one night in 1992 when the sports editor, Kevin Smith, walked through shaking his head. The two big Pittsburgh newspapers had just gone dark. One of them — the Pittsburgh Press — would never return. Their best writers were calling the Valley...
