Chris Adamski stories, Page 126
Steelers coach indicates dearth of 2020 on-field work could render NFL schemes more vanilla
Pittsburgh Steelers training camps of the recent past have been on-field labs for experimenting. Like offseason and preseason practices for all NFL teams, the Steelers have debuted personnel packages, tried players in different positions and even moved some into new hybrid roles. But in 2020 with no on-field organized team...
Steelers’ Steven Nelson aims to be recognized as among NFL’s best cornerbacksVideo
Steven Nelson cracked a smile that showed he was more humored than annoyed. Entering his sixth NFL season and coming off his best as a pro, the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback was addressed by a reporter with a question that referenced his “lack of size” as “not the biggest cornerback.” “I...
Steelers activate CB Justin Layne from covid-19 list, release CB Breon Borders
The Pittsburgh Steelers activated cornerback Justin Layne off of the reserve/covid-19 list Tuesday, leaving only one player on the designated list created this year out of respect to coronavirus concerns. Layne, a third-round pick last year, is expected to again fill a reserve role on defense while playing extensively on...
Steelers offense seeks to bounce back after ‘pretty terrible’ season
A “tough year.” “Not fun.” “Pretty terrible.” If 2020 has been miserable for most everyone on the planet, 2019 wasn’t that much better for the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. During each of the five seasons leading up to 2019, that proud unit had ranked among the top seven in the NFL...
Steelers Pro Bowler David DeCastro never considered opting out, ‘not afraid’ of health risksVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of only three teams that did not have a single player opt out of playing this season, as is permitted in 2020 by the NFL out of concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the Steelers’ highest-paid and longest-tenured players said he didn’t give...
Facing early elimination not overly daunting to veteran Penguins
Hotel X Toronto is considered 4½-star lodging. The grounds of the 404-unit dwelling include, among other amenities, a Guerlain Spa, rooftop swimming pool, eight squash courts and a TopGolf swing suite. The Pittsburgh Penguins booked a six-week stay. Twelve days after checking in, eviction beckons. Trailing 2-1 in their best-of-five,...
‘Gritty’ Canadiens ‘showing some character going toe-to-toe’ with heavily favored Penguins
Wednesday’s 4-3 victory was just the 20th in regulation for the Montreal Canadiens over 74 games they have played during the 2019-20 season. They were “sellers” at the trade deadline, seemingly content that this season was a wash and with building for the future. Participation among the Canadiens for the...
No covid opt-outs yet for Steelers, who Vince Williams says are keeping players safe
The list of NFL players who have elected to opt out of the 2020 season has grown to more than 50 by Wednesday afternoon. Thus far, though, no members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have. One of the team’s oldest and longest-tenured players says that is in part because the organization...
Sidney Crosby’s knack for scoring the 1st goal of playoff games lifts Penguins
Sidney Crosby hasn’t been dominant through two games of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ qualifying-round series against the Montreal Canadiens. He hasn’t stood out as particularly the best player in this unique NHL postseason, nor even necessarily on his own team. But that doesn’t mean the Penguins’ captain isn’t making an impact...
Penguins adjust to peculiar trend of increased penalties during playoffsVideo
In 2020, seemingly everything is weird or backward. So why not the conventional wisdom regarding officiating in the Stanley Cup playoffs, too? The standard operating procedure for hockey postseasons typically involves referees who overlook infractions as part of a “let them play” philosophy. Then again, the standard operating procedure for...
New Steelers QB coach on Ben Roethlisberger throwing post-surgery: ‘He looked really good’
On more than a few occasions in 2016, when he previously was employed on Pittsburgh’s South Side, Matt Canada would take a moment to marvel at Ben Roethlisberger’s throws. “I was always so impressed with the accuracy of Ben,” Canada said Tuesday during a video conference call with media. “I...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 29: Fan-favorite Marc-Andre Fleury a Penguins’ Cup-winning iconVideo
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 29: Marc-Andre Fleury To perhaps best illustrate Marc-Andre Fleury’s popularity in Pittsburgh, consider that during the 2017-18 season that followed the Penguins’ most recent...
Sidney Crosby, Penguins finally to begin playoffs after 4½ monthsVideo
Let’s assume there are no unforeseen and unpleasant surprises between now and then — this is 2020 we are talking about, after all — and the Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice Saturday evening at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena to open up their postseason. By the time Game 1 of their qualifying-round...
Penguins notes: Mike Sullivan won’t commit to goalie, not taking Canadiens lightly
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan on Wednesday declined to even reveal if he had made the decision about what goalie he intended to start in Game 1 of the qualifying-round playoff series. So two days later, when he was asked directly about his choice between Matt Murray or Tristan Jarry...
Penguins ‘pretty confident’ power play can click once postseason beginsVideo
With a roster full of creative offensive scorers and some future Hall of Famers, power-play success would seem to come easy. Not necessarily so this past regular season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And certainly not so during the lone game action the team has had over the past 4½ months....
Steelers’ Stephon Tuitt: ‘I stand for the flag because I am a proud American’
Saying he will “not let a couple unprofessional individuals… steer me from the fact on the opportunity this country gives for everyone,” Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt explained his position for his intention to stand during the playing of the national anthem before games. In a message posted to...
Penguins coaches had meticulous plan for jumping right into playoff intensity
These are unique times, and the NHL is staging an unprecedented postseason. Coaches have no historical data to fall back on in planning how to approach it. Then again, they had little else to do over about a three-month span but to try to figure exactly that out. With Game...
AT&T SportsNet introduces ‘alternate channel’ to air Penguins/Pirates conflicts
After no live sports for months, all of a sudden Pittsburgh sports fans must choose between watching two local teams at the same time. The region’s cable sports network is going to handle coverage of both. A new alternate channel, PIT2, will provide coverage of two Pittsburgh Pirates games next...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear It, No. 32: Franco Harris an ‘Immaculate’ Steelers Hall of FamerVideo
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 32: Franco Harris It’s impossible to distill the totality of the superlatives of Franco Harris’ professional football career down to one moment. Even if...
Penguins notes: Awkward quarantine encounter with Flyers, no injuriesVideo
Not long after arriving at the NHL’s Eastern Conference “bubble” established in Toronto, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang found himself among some unfamiliar — and sometimes-unfriendly — faces. Just part of the quarantine life of these unique Stanley Cup playoffs. “Maybe the first day, we were trying to look around,...
Penguins coach Sullivan remains mum on which goalie will start Saturday vs. Habs
Tristan Jarry said Wednesday afternoon he hadn’t been told who will begin the playoffs as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ starting goalie. Sitting 6 feet to Jarry’s right, alternate captain Kris Letang indicated he didn’t know, either. The dozen or so reporters on the line during the video conference call with those...
First Steelers player placed on NFL’s covid-19 list: former XFL CB Arrion Springs
Former XFL cornerback Arrion Springs became the first member of the Pittsburgh Steelers roster to be placed on the NFL’s new reserve/covid-19 list. Springs joined the Steelers in April after he’d played for the Los Angeles Wildcats until the XFL folded in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A three-year...
Steelers 2020 training camp preview: Breaking down the defense
Defensive linemen (12) 97 Cameron Heyward, 6-5, 295: After not starting until his third season, is Heyward quietly carving one of the all-time best careers for a Steelers defensive lineman? He’s been first-team All Pro two of the past three seasons, totaling 29 sacks in that time. 91 Stephon Tuitt,...
Steelers 2020 training camp preview: Breaking down special teams
9 K Chris Boswell, 6-2, 185 If you take away his disastrous 2018, Boswell has been among the most accurate and consistent kickers in the NFL since the Steelers signed him in 2015. Whatever the issues that caused his 12 missed kicks two years ago seemed to disappear last year....
Steelers 2020 training camp preview: Breaking down the offense
Quarterbacks (5) 7 Ben Roethlisberger, 6-5, 240: At age 38 in his 17th season and coming off elbow surgery, the future Hall of Famer faces legitimate questions as to whether this could be the end. Roethlisberger is running out of time for his stated goal of four Super Bowl wins....
