NEW YORK -- No one knows what'll become of AT&T Sports Net Pittsburgh, the broadcasts of the Penguins and/or Pirates, or who'll be behind them once there's a solution at hand.
And I'm aware of all this after several days of asking high-ranking people with both teams, as well as absolutely anyone and everyone I could find associated with the network, so I'm quite confident it's the case. And that people are nervous. And that fans, too, are eager for answers, with the Stanley Cup playoffs and Major League Baseball's opening day less than a month away.
That said, here are a few items I was able to cull along the way:
• The report out of Boston earlier in the week that the New England Sports Network, that city's cable home for the Patriots, Bruins, Red Sox and Celtics, could be a buyer of the rights to the Penguins and Pirates, raised lots of eyebrows throughout the sports business world. NESN's owned by Fenway Sports Group, the entity that now owns the Penguins. One catch: Though widely circulated, that report doesn't seem to be getting taken too seriously by anyone at the network. That's largely because such a transaction would have to clear both the NHL and MLB since that's a lot of cross-pollination among teams that are competitors within their respective leagues. Meaning both Gary Bettman and Rob Manfred would need to get involved and see eye-to-eye.
• Bob Nutting told me in Bradenton, Fla., that he fully expects all of the Pirates' games to be available, and he spoke this with no shortage of confidence. But no other details.
• The Penguins' owners at FSG ... heck, I'm not even sure they exist. I've got no idea what they think about anything.
• MLB's the best bet to lead the way on any league-level initiatives here, since they've aggressively chased down every opportunity to streamline all web-based properties, and they've been colossally successful in doing so. Manfred covets having control of local TV rights, in part to add the streaming value to the broader product but also because it's the simplest possible path to solving the massive issue of economic inequity within the game while not having to fight for a salary cap.
• Both Manfred and Bettman have assured their respective teams that the leagues will be there for them, but I've heard the NHL isn't nearly as enthused about getting involved. I haven't heard why, but my guess -- and it's only a guess -- is that they're not very good at anything. Light-years behind MLB in every regard.
• There's been no indication at all that either the Penguins or Pirates will try to go this alone. Just wouldn't make sense, I'm told, since it's infinitely easier to sell a year-round package than anything seasonal.
• Streaming will be -- and should be -- a massive priority in any new endeavor. Both teams are aware they can set something of a standard here in avoiding blackouts, in particular, for people who purchase their product online.
PENGUINS
• One path the Penguins might be considering to further diminishing Jeff Carter's damaging presence in their lineup is to use Mikael Granlund in more of those faceoff-specialist assignments. One mega-problem with that: Granland, who'd go 2-8 in the 4-2 loss to the Rangers here at Madison Square Garden on this Friday night, wasn't playing much center in Nashville and appears he'll need time to get up to speed.
• No one, no one, no one even peripherally associated with the team will speak so much as an ill syllable about Carter's season performance. Not that I'm seeking out ill syllables, but even in the most general context. It's like looking at a funhouse mirror when the subject comes up. Alternate reality.
• I asked one veteran player his view, after this game, on what the Penguins most need right now: 'We need everyone to get healthy." A fair assessment, with the way Dmitry Kulikov, Jan Rutta and now Jeff Petry have gone down in rapid succession. Kulikov can come off LTIR with a week to spare before the Stanley Cup playoffs. Rutta didn't sound like he's anywhere near 100%, per our talk after this game. And Petry getting elbowed in the head ... if that's a concussion, no one knows. That's half the defense corps. And with both Brian Dumoulin and P.O Joseph struggling ...
• Jason Zucker, ultimate for-real team guy in every way, appears to be getting fed up. His past couple of interview sessions, including one with the aforementioned network rights-holder, were super-short. Can't say I blame him. No one's giving more.
• Both Ron Hextall and Brian Burke are on this trip, both taking in the game last night from their suite in the Garden press box. That's been standard fare since the NHL trade deadline. Inseparable as ever. Lockstep.
• Absolutely no extension talks yet. With anyone.
• Read my full column from the scene. It's so much more unpleasant than anything I've shared here.
STEELERS
• Nothing's changed from my exclusive reporting three weeks ago that the Steelers would love to have Bud Dupree back. Except, of course, that the most pivotal scenario's now played out, with the Titans having formally cut Dupree yesterday. I can now share, with conviction, that Bud's equally interested in a return. Like, a lot interested. He knows the situation in Pittsburgh, that T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are already here, but he'd have no issue with it.
• No, Terrell Edmunds shouldn't be ruled out, I'm told, just because Damontae Kazee came first between the two free-agent safeties. The ambition behind keeping Kazee, primarily, is the continuation of Teryl Austin's three-safety alignment that caught Mike Tomlin's fancy last summer. Although Kazee was hurt too often for it to get fully deployed over the season, that fancy hasn't abated. To boot, Edmunds and Minkah Fitzpatrick have a long-established partnership that's allowed Minkah to make the most of his ballhawking while Edmunds does the dirty work. And Edmunds always has embraced that. Again, it can still happen.
• Why cut Myles Jack? As I've been writing for months, the Steelers wanted zip to do with that $8 million salary and $11.2 million salary-cap bomb for 2023, and either an extension or restructure was going to be needed for him to stay under any circumstance. But the real wrench was Jack's multiple injuries, to both knees in addition to a late-season groin tear. To his credit, he played through them all, but performance was damaged. It's a shame. Good football player. Good dude. Seemed like a fine fit, too.
• As I've also been writing for months, management likes this offensive line. Doesn't mean there can't be more depth added, and definitely doesn't erase the draft, but the internal view of Dan Moore, in particular, is a lot higher on the inside than the outside. Moore's had his problems, with both technique and penalties, but he's appreciated for his smarts, his athleticism and -- never to be dismissed -- his value. Acquiring a left tackle through free agency can set a team back $20 million. If Moore can hold down his position on his rookie contract, that allows Omar Khan all kinds of additional cap flexibility for what the Steelers see as more pressing concerns.
• Be sure that the Steelers' first preference was to keep Cam Sutton. They simply had a value assigned to him that they weren't going to top, and then the Lions came along and smoked it.
• Know all those times we'll complain about a lack of accountability in the Steelers' world, particularly as it relates to Tomlin? Well, anyone wanting to gauge the extent of his displeasure with his inside linebackers needs only to know that the only player among Jack, Devin Bush, Robert Spillane, Marcus Allen and Mark Robinson who's still around is the youngster Robinson. Even Jerry Olsavsky, longtime assistant in that area, was shown the door. That's serious. That's also how Tomlin rolls. He'll give guys a chance, he'll let them know where they stand as they're going, but they'd better get it done. He'll tell them that openly, that he won't freak out but he will replace them.
• Anytime one sees Tomlin issuing a good-luck or congratulations tweet to another team in town, as he did this week for Pitt men's basketball entering the NCAA Tournament, it's not an accident and it's definitely not an act. He legit follows the Penguins, Pirates and local colleges when he gets a chance. Always found that cool.
PIRATES
• Andrew McCutchen likes what he sees. But then, he's liked it for a while. Almost a year ago in Milwaukee, he and I had a long conversation in the Brewers' clubhouse, and one of the subjects was the Pirates' budding talent, especially the arms. It came up again upon my most recent visit to Florida last week, too: "We'd sit over there and watch the Pittsburgh guys coming out of the pen, one after the other, all throwing gas, and we'd be, like, 'Something's going on over there.' We knew. We saw it. And now that I'm here, I can see it even more clearly."
• That said, the player he's come to appreciate the most since crossing over has been Bryan Reynolds: "Great player. Great guy."
• Had a talk with Ben Cherington in Florida, as well. Bunch of subjects, including the vibe of the clubhouse behind him as we spoke. He seemed to take a tiny slice of personal pride -- as much as that's possible for an understated guy like him -- in that aspect of spring training. He'd set out to install some semblance of leadership to a room that had almost none in 2022, seeing that as a necessary next step for some of the younger talent already in Pittsburgh, as well as what's expected to arrive in the next few months.
• There's no deep secret as to which player the Pirates truly expect will be their next long-term catcher, whether it's Endy Rodriguez or Henry Davis. For real. If anyone knows, all the way up to Cherington, they don't show it at all. Heck, there isn't even anyone ruling out that both could divide the job in some form, now that the DH is a reality in the National League. They're content -- no ecstatic -- to let it play out and adjust accordingly.
• When Reynolds appeared to blurt out earlier this week that he's looking forward to spending "another year" alongside his buddy Jack Suwinski in the outfield, some in the fan base might've seized upon that as some sort of clue about his short-term future in Pittsburgh, if not an outright softening of his stated stance that he'd prefer to be traded. I wouldn't go anywhere near that far. Reynolds told me while I was down there that his approach will be to live in the moment. And at the moment, he's with the Pirates.
• Nothing new on that front, by the way.
• Several springs ago, before anyone on the outside could've/would've considered Mitch Keller any kind of big deal, I'd asked him what he envisioned the Pittsburgh rotation should look like that summer. And he responded flatly, almost blandly that, if he met his objectives, he'd be at the forefront of it: "I've been that at every level, my whole life. There's no reason that shouldn't be my goal now." On March 30, he'll take the ball in Cincinnati. This after being a second-round draft pick way back in 2014. My goodness, baseball takes patience. And perseverance.
• Thanks for reading this, everyone. Go be Mitch today. Think big, achieve big.