Before the holiday weekend, Joe Starkey and Tim Benz hosted “Beyond the Bylines” on Friday morning. Among the topics the guys discussed:
Sidney Crosby told The Athletic that he wants to play for “as many years as possible.” So how do the Penguins build their roster with that loose timeline, and what do they do with Evgeni Malkin?
They also kicked around the playoff controversy from Thursday night’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton AHL playoff game, Matt Murray’s flash through Penguins history, and Buffalo’s latest heartbreaking loss.
Then Starkey and Benz moved on to the Pirates’ surprising series win in St. Louis and their bullpen questions. Joe also sticks up for Oneil Cruz, and Tim laments some long-lost relief pitchers.
With Steelers OTAs underway, the guys also disagree with Aaron Rodgers’ assessment that Steelers fans and media need to temper expectations. Both Tim and Joe try to reconcile the Steelers’ O-line shuffle, and they try to figure out the future of the QB situation.
At the end, they wax nostalgic about Joe’s daughter graduating from high school and a few things that are even more emotional … like Jerome Bettis’ greatest runs and multicolored pens.