Still crazy after all these years

Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs: Getty … made clear who the top team in the AFC-North is Travis Kelce is arguably the best tight end in the NFL, and he is a member of the team that has been the class of the AFC the past three years.  Last year, the Chiefs edged past the Cleveland Browns, 22-17, to earn their second Super Bowl berth in the past two years.  And, what is surprising, Kelce believes that the Chiefs and Browns will be two of the top AFC teams — giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a warning that they may be on the way on in the AFC-North.  Kelce a Cleveland native As a person who grew up in Cleveland and rooted for the Browns most of his life, Kelce returned there and joined the Browns players at the Jarvis Landry celebrity softball tournament in mid-June.  The Browns fans are excited for a chance at their first Super Bowl after going 12-6 last year, including a victory over the Steelers and a great battle with the Chiefs.  Kelce thinks that...

David DeCastro: Tribune-Review … David DeCastro was a class act, a leader, and a three-time All-Pro. The release of three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler David DeCastro shocked many Pittsburgh Steeler fans.  It should not have.  What now worries them is that the entire offensive line from 2020 is now gone.  Two of them were first-round draft picks and served as the foundation of the OL for the past decade, earning All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors.  What we should not forget while listening to the praise for 65 percenter Mike Tomlin is that it has been a losing decade. Only three playoff wins in those ten years. Again, Mark Madden places it in perspective. 2021 OL “might be the NFL’s worst” Madden writes for the Tribune-Review that this has an “end-of-an-era vibe” for Tomlin and his offensive rag-a-muffins. After drafting a running back that they are calling a future hall-of-famer, the Steelers did not even draft an offensive lineman in the first or second rounds....

Tunch Ilkin played offensive tackle for the Steelers for 12 years … was a great color man for Steelers radio Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS] can be such a debilitating disease, and former Pittsburgh Steeler offensive tackle has tackled that disease since last year.  Last week, the former athlete turned broadcaster announced that he was giving up his long-time duties as the color man for the Steeler radio broadcasts. He had team with super play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove and his former teammate Craig Wolfley to make up a great radio team.  How good were they? I often would turn off the volume on the national TV broadcasts and listen to them describe the game, even though a time-lapse made it a little different than the actual TV show.  Did not want a retirement announcement Ilkin said goodbye last week without really wanting to do so, Standing on a balcony overlooking the practice fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Tunch Ilkin watched the Pittsburgh Ste...

Kirk Herbstreit was diagnosed with Covid in December: Photo Getty … “After 5 months...is this my new normal or will taste and smell come back???” For those Covid-19 deniers, the story of a nationally-known broadcaster is resonating throughout the sports world. Kirk Herbstreit is an Emmy-award winning sportscaster for ESPN, but since earlier this year, he has suffered from the remnants of the coronavirus.  That became all too clear last week when he tweeted that he was still suffering from the devastating effects of the disease.  While Herbstreit, a former quarterback from Ohio State, not America’s favorite football school, is often controversial in some circles, many still felt sorry for the essence of what he said. The Tweet Herbstreit made his dilemma known to the public last week in something that shocked many people since his Covid diagnosis was late last year, Kirk Herbstreit @KirkHerbstreit Jun 1 Been 5 months since I tested positive for Covid. Still ca...