Friday Insider

Friday Insider: Ugly breakup with Harrison could have been avoided

POSTED: 12:01 AM December 29, 2017

There are divorces, messy divorces and then there is what took place this week between the Steelers and James Harrison.

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Friday Insider: A long-term corner conundrum unmasked

POSTED: 2:19 AM December 22, 2017

The return of Joe Haden makes for a crowded cornerback situation for the Steelers, not that it's a bad thing.

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Friday Insider: A cool, quiet confidence that this will be different

POSTED: 12:00 AM December 15, 2017

The Steelers have been hearing it, really, since they trudged off that soggy turf in Foxborough nearly 11 months ago.

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Friday Insider: Steelers guarded about Shazier for a reason

POSTED: 1:00 AM December 8, 2017

There is some building frustration among some fans, some media and even some Steelers over Ryan Shazier’s injury situation. It’s only natural in such an emotional time, not only for...

Friday Insider: For many reasons, Harrison drifting into background

POSTED: 12:00 AM December 1, 2017

It's looking less and less likely James Harrison will have any kind of role with the Steelers this season.

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Friday Insider: Gayo’s job, now lost, part of baseball’s wild west

POSTED: 12:00 AM November 17, 2017

at Heinz Field

I've known Rene Gayo for many years. He's a friend to both me and my family.

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Friday Insider: Where’s progress with Jesse?

POSTED: 12:00 AM November 10, 2017

The Steelers aren't too happy with the progress Jesse James has made at tight end in his third NFL season, from what I'm hearing.

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Friday Insider: T.J. Watt finds inspiration from brother J.J. after devastating injury

POSTED: 12:56 AM October 20, 2017

He's the baby brother of the American dream, and he's heartbroken.

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Friday Insider: How McKegg was rescued from Florida

POSTED: 12:00 AM October 6, 2017

Just as the puck followed Greg McKegg through the Penguins' camp, so did some of the setting's most compelling questions.

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Friday Insider: What’s Nutting thinking?

POSTED: 12:00 AM September 1, 2017

Bob Nutting owns the Pirates now, and he's going to continue owning for the foreseeable future. I've had countless people in the know confirm that emphatically.

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zFridayInsider

Friday Insider: Pirates never had ‘appetite’ to be sellers at deadline

POSTED: 12:00 AM July 21, 2017

in Denver

So, the Pirates are now bound to be buyers, right? Sure looks that way.

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zFridayInsider

Friday Insider: Searage monitors Gerrit’s boiling emotions ‘to the extreme’

By Lance Lysowski

in Philadelphia

POSTED: 12:00 AM July 7, 2017

Gerrit Cole often looks like he has a subdued rage on the mound, and those emotions do pour out from time to time.

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POSTED: 12:00 AM May 26, 2017

Friday Insider: Cutch’s hitting coach says ‘it’s not going to happen overnight’

By Lance Lysowski

in Atlanta

Andrew McCutchen spoke with complete confidence Wednesday at SunTrust Park that he knows the issue behind his latest slump.

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Friday Insider: Is Glasnow ready? He’s got the gifts, for sure, but …

POSTED: 12:01 AM March 31, 2017

in Bradenton, Fla.

For all the questions still swirling in the Pirates' camp, even now that they're up in Quebec, the one that continues to tower above all is that of Tyler Glasnow.

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Friday Insider: The brilliantly diagrammed play

POSTED: 1:32 AM March 10, 2017

in Edmonton, Alberta

Ever since the Friday Insider was born, we've offered news, other inside information and various stuff behind the scenes.

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Friday Insider: Liriano trade angered people inside, outside Pirates’ walls

POSTED: 12:01 AM September 30, 2016

Since being traded to the Blue Jays -- sorry, dumped to the Blue Jays -- Francisco Liriano has made 10 appearances, including eight starts, and he's posted a 2.92 ERA.

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Friday Insider: What’s future of Pirates’ front office, Hurdle?

POSTED: 12:01 AM September 16, 2016

When any team goes through a collapse at the level of these Pirates, careening miles out of the contention they knew less than a month ago, it isn’t just about...

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Friday Insider: The Pirates’ Bermuda Triangle

POSTED: 2:35 PM August 5, 2016

in Miami

It seldom takes more than a few seconds from the time the Pirates do something stupid until my text alerts go into a tizzy, so I wasn't surprised Monday.

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Friday Insider: Callups were anger management

POSTED: 12:00 AM February 12, 2016

in Raleigh, N.C.

RALEIGH, N.C. — They say good decisions are rarely made in anger. They can be wrong. A few weeks ago, shortly before the Penguins fired Mike Johnston, much noise was being...

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Friday Insider: The jolt that jumpstarted Kessel

POSTED: 12:02 AM January 22, 2016

at Consol Energy Center

Contrary to widespread public perception, the Penguins can be tough on their stars. Oh, it’s not that they’ll outright torment Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or anyone else in the core. There would...

Friday Insider: He’d leave it all to serve again

POSTED: 12:00 AM January 8, 2016

in Pittsburgh

Alejandro Villanueva and the Steelers will stride in unison onto the Paul Brown Stadium turf Saturday night, seeking a playoff victory that would bury a reviled rival and, perhaps, propel...

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Friday Insider: And the Pirates’ cash will go to?

POSTED: 12:00 AM December 4, 2015

The Pirates have saved roughly $17 million via A.J. Burnett’s retirement and Pedro Alvarez’s release, and they’ve theoretically still got the $12 million salary they’d have been delighted to commit...

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Friday Insider: Pirates’ losses no coincidence

POSTED: 12:19 AM October 30, 2015

Narratives abound about why the Pirates have been successful the past three years, some of them silly (defensive shifts and pitch-framing!) and some of them flat-out wrong (their oft-cited drafting...

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Friday Insider: Steelers loud, proud of Butler

POSTED: 12:14 AM October 16, 2015

It’s gone from a whisper to a roar. Not so long ago, it was completely uncool inside the Steelers’ locker room to diminish in any way anything related to Dick...

Friday Insider: The salvation that is Sprong

POSTED: 12:02 AM September 25, 2015

Daniel Sprong won’t break camp with the Penguins. That’s not hot news as much as it is common sense. Terrific as the franchise’s top pick in this past NHL Draft...

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Friday Insider: No bitterness for Beachum