In Wednesday’s “On Sports,” we look at Najee Harris’ recollection of a telling conversation with former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. We also look at Andrew McCutchen’s defense of his defense, and a Pirates player who got married over the weekend.
Plus there’s a Steelers anniversary, more on an NHL goalie fight and Pens-Flyers TV ratings.
Najee Harris’ exit
Former Steelers running back Najee Harris’ appearance on the “Get Got” podcast, hosted by former NFLers Marshawn Lynch and Mike Robinson, posted Tuesday, and the 2021 first-round pick discussed his time at Alabama as well as with the Steelers.
Saying he considered Mike Tomlin to be a players’ coach, Harris described the end of his time with the Steelers after a friendly conversation with Tomlin.
“He said, ‘Najee, I always talk to you not as a player but as if you are my son. … But he was like, if you was my son, I would tell you not to come back here,’” Harris recalled. “I was like, all right bet, just like that. It wasn’t no hard feelings or nothing like that. I was like, all right, cool.”
After the 2024 season, his fourth in Pittsburgh, Harris signed a one-year deal worth $9.5 million with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Andrew McCutchen’s defense
Andrew McCutchen went on the offensive … about his defense.
The longtime Pirates outfielder/designated hitter, who remains without a contract so far this offseason, took to X this week to combat what he considers a false narrative.
“It is really funny how so many ppl say I ‘Can’t(key word) play defense.’ I haven’t played much defense because they haven’t asked that of me,” McCutchen wrote on social media.
McCutchen, who turned 39 in October, started seven games in the field last year, with 120 starts at designated hitter. With Bryan Reynolds nursing a minor injury, McCutchen said he asked to play in the outfield to help out. McCutchen, who started 20 total games in the outfield since returning to the Pirates in the 2023 season, compiled a perfect fielding percentage in that time.
“Bottom line is if it is needed, I can not only do it, but do it like Ive (sic) been out there all year. So stop creating false narratives and take your wives or GFs out to dinner and get off the coat tails of other men. That’s weird energy.”
It is really funny how so many ppl say I “Can’t(key word) play defense.” I haven’t played much defense because they haven’t asked that of me. The only reason I played a few games last year is because Reynolds needed rest from a minor injury and I ASKED to play defense to get in…
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) January 19, 2026
In case you missed it
Star prospect Konnor Griffin and the Pirates still have a long, long way to go before they can get fitted for World Series rings.
But the 19-year-old is now wearing a different type of ring, as the player considered the top prospect in baseball got married over the weekend in Oxford, Miss.
According to Sports Illustrated, Griffin married Dendy Hogan, his high school sweetheart, after getting engaged in October.
The couple shared photos to their Instagram stories, showing a fireworks display, his-and-her trucker caps and a Griffin Field scoreboard.
More sports
• Steelers conduct 1st in-person interview with Brian Flores, Vikings defensive coordinator
• Joe Starkey’s Stick Route: Jeff Capel’s Pitt tenure running on empty
• Special teams coordinator Danny Smith becomes 1st Steelers assistant to be hired elsewhere
On this day
The Steelers clinched their third Super Bowl trophy on Jan. 21, 1979, with a 35-31 win over the Dallas Cowboys at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was named the game’s MVP, threw four touchdown passes, going 17 for 30 with 318 yards in Super Bowl XIII.
Scoring touchdowns for the Steelers were John Stallworth (with two), Rocky Bleier, Franco Harris and Lynn Swann.
Watch the game’s highlights on YouTube.
More on that goalie fight
San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, a former Penguins player, made some history when he fought Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky on Monday.
Nedeljkovic, who played for the Penguins for two seasons before being dealt in July, became the fifth goalie to net a career Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a fight. Besides Monday’s fight, “Ned” scored his first NHL goal on Jan. 17, 2025, against the Buffalo Sabres, adding an assist in the game too. In his career, he has six assists.
According to Sharks play-by-play broadcaster Dan Rusanowsky, Nedeljkovic joins (former Penguins GM) Ron Hextall, Chris Osgood, Billy Smith and Mike Smith in the elite goalie group.
And when it comes to goalie fights, who could forget Penguins goalie Brent Johnson’s one-punch demolition of New Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro on Feb. 2, 2011?
Penguins departure
Penguins fans know that Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust have been with the team forever. But which player had been No. 5 in terms of how long it’s been since making his Penguins debut?
That would have been forward Valtteri Puustinen, dealt by the Penguins to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
Puustinen made his NHL (and Penguins) debut on March 11, 2022, against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The new No. 5? That would be Rickard Rakell, who debuted with the Penguins on March 22, 2022, after being acquired from the Anaheim Ducks.
TV success
The Penguins-Flyers game on Jan. 15 averaged 690,000 viewers on ESPN, peaking at 841,000, according to ESPN’s PR account on X.
The ratings for the Penguins’ 6-3 win were 69% higher than last season’s NHL on ESPN average. It also came in much higher than ESPN’s NHL ratings this season, which are averaging 555,000 viewers through 14 games.