Thursday, January 31, 2019
Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Thanks, Sidney Crosby, for doing it right way
By Mark Madden
https://triblive.com/sports/-topstories/14553492-74/mark-madden-thanks-sidney-crosby-for-doing-it-right-way
January 28, 2019
Sidney Crosby won the NHL All-Star Game(s) MVP on Saturday at San Jose, compiling four goals and four assists as his Metropolitan Division team won two straight games and the championship of the 3-on-3 tournament.
This is noteworthy for two reasons:
• All-Star Game(s) MVP was one of the few honors Crosby hadn’t won.
• Crosby somehow got MVP without aid of a camera crew, dance routine and/or endless parade of selfies.
Crosby’s MVP provided Pittsburgh with a needed feel-good moment. It’s a lifeline that pulled local sports fans (however briefly) from the quicksand of the ongoing Antonio Brown spectacle.
In 14 seasons, Crosby has never made us cringe.
In nine seasons, that has become Brown’s specialty.
Players like Brown don’t win. His rings are store-bought valentines to himself. Brown is the G.O.A.T. as proclaimed by himself, and at $20,000 a pop.
Crosby never stops winning: Three Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, one World Cup of Hockey gold, and a fistful of individual awards directly connected to winning. “Most valuable” doesn’t often come sans championship.
While Brown and countless others push their “brand,” Crosby just plays hockey. He puts the team and his job first.
Crosby isn’t above reaping the rewards of his fame via endorsements.
But Crosby isn’t on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. JuJu Smith-Schuster might lapse into a coma if denied his constant self-promotion via social media. Where else would Brown “like” those who insult Ben Roethlisberger?
Crosby once had an anonymous Twitter account where he could observe what others said. But he got so mad at something tweeted by a Pittsburgh media member (not me), he got off Twitter and never returned.
That’s perhaps a bit sensitive. But it’s better than Brown using social media to physically threaten a writer.
Comparing Crosby to Brown isn’t just picking low-hanging fruit. It’s gathering fruit that already fell off the tree.
But it’s refreshing to enjoy Crosby’s accomplishment juxtaposed with Brown’s toxicity. The former does it right. The latter does it wrong.
Crosby’s MVP seems a good jumping-off point for the Penguins’ return to NHL action. Before Monday night’s game against visiting New Jersey, the Penguins hadn’t played in eight days or had a home game in almost three weeks.
A few variables loom for the Penguins:
• Can Evgeni Malkin regroup? He’s minus-19, a career worst by far. He’s got just three even-strength goals since October.
• Can Derick Brassard register a pulse, or must the Penguins revisit the third-line center spot before the Feb. 25 trade deadline (or play Phil Kessel on Malkin’s line, not the third line)?
• Can the Penguins stop allowing short-handed goals? They’ve conceded 10, most in the NHL.
• Jack Johnson was on the ice for 12 of the 23 goals allowed during the Penguins’ five-game road trip. Johnson had stabilized since Marcus Pettersson was acquired from Anaheim on Dec. 3 and made Johnson’s partner. But if Johnson is back to his early-season struggles, general manager Jim Rutherford may have to tweak his defense corps.
• Speaking of which, who will Justin Schultz pair with upon his return from injury? Olli Maatta has been a good fit for Schultz but would bring legit value in return if traded.
My worry is Rutherford and coach Mike Sullivan wrongly believe that Riley Sheahan can be the third-line center, or that Jusso Riikola can be a top-four defenseman, and the wrong trades get made based on those erroneous judgments.
But one constant is Crosby. If healthy and performing at his usual level, he gives the Penguins a chance.
Crosby also provides style and class.
After he won the All-Star Game MVP, Crosby was asked if he’s still the best player in hockey.
He replied, “I’m happy to be in the conversation still. As long as I’m in that conversation, it means I’m doing something right.”
Brown would have pounded his chest and yelled, “Connor Mc-who?” over and over.
Crosby is 31, Brown 30. But the difference in maturity is staggering.
Crosby’s All-Star Game(s) MVP gave us respite from Brown’s nonstop barrage of tomfoolery, and the dull thud of PirateFest. Thanks, Sid.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Actions speak louder than words, and no one can hear the Pirates
By Tim Benz
January 29, 2019
From left, Neal Huntington, Clint Hurdle and Frank Coonelly talk to the crowd Saturday (Jerry DiPaola/Tribune-Review)
At PiratesFest over the weekend, Pirates President Frank Coonelly gave Pittsburgh baseball fans a rah-rah speech.
It appears his goal was to build on some late season momentum from the club, which got itself above .500 for just the fourth time since 1992.
I'd suggest the time to do that — in real life and not just with words — has come and gone already. But sure, Frank. Give it a whirl.
"Trust me, nobody is pleased, satisfied or happy with 82 wins last year," Coonelly said Saturday during a Q&A session with fans at PNC Park.
"Eighty-two wins will not get you in the postseason. We need at least 10-12 more wins to get to where we need to be. It's too damn long, 40 years," Coonelly emphasized, referencing the Pirates' last World Series win in 1979. "Nobody is satisfied with 82 wins in this organization. Everybody is committed to doing what we can to put a World Series championship team on the field."
The team's actions, or lack thereof, suggest exactly the opposite.
If that's truly how the Pirates front office feels, why has it allowed payroll to shrink from 2018?
When it was also down from 2017.
That doesn't look to me like the front office is "committed." How about you?
A quick spin around some baseball websites has the Pirates' projected payroll anywhere from $58 million to $68 million to $73 million. Regardless of how you want to account for the raw dollars, every one of those sites projects the Pirates for the same ranking in baseball payroll, 29th.
That's the second lowest in MLB. In each case, only Tampa's is projected lower.
The Pirates made some legitimate strides last year, particularly in the starting rotation. The club improved from 75 to 82 wins. The starting pitchers' collective ERA dipped from 4.47 in 2017 to 3.99 in 2018.
An organization that isn't "pleased, satisfied or happy with 82 wins last year" may want to add a bat or two to help those arms.
The best the Pirates could come up with is signing Lonnie Chisenhall and trading for Erik Gonzalez. Chisenhall's main job appears to simply be a buffer for the loss of Gregory Polanco until he gets healthy. Then, provide bench help thereafter.
Gonzalez may prove to be an upgrade over Jordy Mercer at shortstop. But he's the kind of upgrade the Pirates like. The kind that will save them millions of dollars in the short-term on a two-way pre-arbitration contract.
What makes some of this conversation even more frustrating is that Coonelly's expectations might actually be too high in one regard. In order to make the playoffs, the Pirates probably don't need to win 10 more games. They may need to win only five more. In two of the last three seasons, 87 wins has been good enough to get in the playoffs.
Where the problem comes into play with the Bucs is that every other team in the NL Central has boosted payroll well above $100 million.
NL Central Payrolls as of 1/19/19
Cubs: $205 M
Cardinals: $158 M
Brewers: $114 M
Reds: $113 M
Pirates: $68 M
Cubs: $205 M
Cardinals: $158 M
Brewers: $114 M
Reds: $113 M
Pirates: $68 M
So, gathering those five extra wins in a division where every other team has added talent to its roster may be difficult, as the Pirates' talent level has stayed relatively neutral.
General Manager Neal Huntington loves to say that spending doesn't necessarily equate to winning. He brought up that point again at PiratesFest, noting that the Brewers, Indians, Athletics and Royals have all made the playoffs in recent seasons with less-than-gaudy payrolls.
That's true. But circling back to Coonelly's desired goal of the World Series, the Royals are the only ones in that group to win a title.
Another one of Huntington's favorite quotes is to echo Billy Bean's credo of "there's a randomness to October."
Yeah. It is random. Last year's Red Sox team won the World Series with a league-leading $227 million price tag for its roster. The previous year, Houston's was 17th with $138 million. The 2016 Cubs were 5th at $184 million. The 2015 Royals were 13th at $126 million.
Hence, you don't have to be in the top five, or even top 10 in payroll, to win a World Series.
Although, you can't be 29th, either. And keep in mind those Astros and Royals teams added players as the year went along.
So Coonelly can talk all he wants about wanting to desperately win a World Series. But actions speak louder than words.
And inaction is deafening.
Right now, I'm having a lot of trouble hearing Coonelly.
Monday, January 28, 2019
50 years ago this weekend, the Steelers met their transformation
By Gene Collier
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/gene-collier/2019/01/27/Steelers-Chuck-Noll-50-years-Super-Bowl-Rooney-The-Chief/stories/201901270078
January 27, 2019
Chuck Noll with Terry Bradshaw in 1973 (AP)
No historical marker stands outside India Palace Cuisine on Sixth Street these days, nor along the sidewalk between there and the 7-Eleven on the corner of Sixth and Penn, but that’s a situation eminently fixable by the proper authorities.
For it was just behind these storefronts on Sixth, inside the walls of the old Roosevelt Hotel, where three Rooneys and an obscure defensive backs coach for the Baltimore Colts immersed themselves in the crucial conversation that begat the Steelers hiring Charles Henry Noll 50 years ago this Sunday.
None of the four men could imagine how momentous that meeting was, not only in the history of the football team but of the city and region it had represented often dreadfully for all of its prior history. But Art Rooney Jr., writing about it some four decades later, committed to literature the kind of details only transformative events deserve.
It happened in the hotel’s Sylvan Room, where, at a large round table, Steelers founder Arthur J. Rooney, The Chief, routinely held court, and Art Jr. meticulously re-envisioned it almost as though it should be a painting in some museum.
There’s another good idea. You’re welcome.
“There were three empty chairs at the table,” he wrote in “Ruanaidh (Gaelic for Rooney): The Story of Art Rooney and his Clan.” “On the face of a clock, I’d have been at seven, with (older brother) Dan at six, Noll at five, and AJR at four.”
Penn State coach Joe Paterno had turned the job down and Nick Skorich, the former Eagles head coach, got an interview after Noll. But if a typical process of NFL networking led the Rooneys to Noll, that was to be the last unremarkable thing about the relationship between the Steelers and the Hall of Fame coach who died in June, 2014.
“I miss him every day of my life,” said Marianne Noll, who this week so graciously remembered those moments across the fleeting half century. “In those days, the league was very rigid about approaching coaches for head jobs before the season ended. He’d get calls from people who were not ‘officially’ associated with teams, but he wouldn’t take them. After the disastrous loss to the Jets (and Joe Namath in Super Bowl III), one of his players (Rick Volk) was having seizures and we were in the hospital with him until 1 a.m. The next morning he was starting the interviews.”
Click on the link below to read the rest of the article:
All-Star MVP adds to Crosby’s ‘great memories’ of San Jose
By Sean Leahy
https://sports.yahoo.com/star-mvp-adds-crosby-great-052955337.html
January 27, 2019
Sidney Crosby #87 and Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins pose prior to the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California.
(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
SAN JOSE — For the second time in his NHL career, Sidney Crosby leaves SAP Center with a big individual award.
Crosby’s four-goal, eight-point night during the 2019 All-Star 3-on-3 tournament helped him earn MVP honors as the Metropolitan Division rolled to the $1M prize. It was three years ago that he won the first of two straight Conn Smythe Trophies after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup over the San Jose Sharks. Along with the money and the trophy, he also received a 2019 Honda Pilot.
“You play in it, you watch it as a kid growing up, see the presentation, and it’s pretty cool,” the Penguins captain said afterward. “I had a lot of fun today. [I] didn’t need to win the car today to have a good time.”
Crosby is now the sixth player in NHL history to win All-Star Game MVP, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Hart Trophy, joining Jean Beliveau, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, and Joe Sakic. He’s also the fourth Penguin to be named All-Star Game MVP, and first since Lemieux in 1990.
Being able to take part in the All-Star Game was a relief for Crosby, who missed Friday’s All-Star Skills with an illness, something he’d been battling for a few days during the Penguins’ bye week.
“At the end of my bye week I was feeling sick and didn’t really leave the hotel room for a couple days,” he said. “I was just excited to be able to get out there, get out of the room and exercise a bit. Once I got out there I felt better than I thought. This morning I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel, but I felt a lot better than I expected. To be honest, it was just nice to get out there. The last few days have been pretty long sitting around.”
Whatever Crosby was battling internally this week didn’t stop him on the ice Saturday night. Playing with Penguins teammate Kris Letang and Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, the trio were electric on the ice. They combined for eight of the Metropolitan Division’s 17 goals.
That on-ice success only added to the power of the SAP Center’s boos coming Crosby’s way, which he was expecting after seeing Letang’s introduction before the All-Star Skills. It probably also reminded the Sharks fans in attendance of the 2016 Final, which ended with Crosby earning the primary assist on what turned out to be the Penguins’ game-winning goal in Game 6.
“Got some great memories here, for sure,” Crosby said.
Sidney Crosby still impressive as he evolves his game
By Michael Traikos
https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/traikos-sidney-crosby-still-impressive-as-he-evolves-his-game
January 27, 2019
Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins poses after winning the MVP award during the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center on January 26, 2019 in San Jose, California.
(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America)
SAN JOSE — It was at the very end of a Sidney Crosby’s news conference for winning MVP honours at the All-Star Game, when a thick-accented reporter asked what it felt like to be one of the best players in hockey.
Crosby chuckled.
“Uh, that’s a tough one,” he said. “I’m happy to be in the conversation still, I’ll put it that way. As long as I can be in that conversation, it means I’m doing something right.”
A couple of years ago, when Crosby was winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and playoff MVPs, as well as leading the league in goals, you would not have added the disclaimer “one of the.” He was The Best — period.
Now, he’s got company.
Now there’s Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Elias Pettersson, as well as Johnny Gaudreau and Nathan MacKinnon. Now, in a league where nine of top-10 scorers are 25 or younger, Sid The Kid has suddenly become the old guy.
Which is why what Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are doing this season has been particularly impressive.
Ovechkin, who once again leads the Rocket Richard Trophy race with 37 goals, is on pace for a 60-goal season. Crosby is also playing arguably his best hockey, ranking amongst the top-15 in scoring with 57 points in 45 games — a pace unseen since he won both the Art Ross and Hart Trophies with 104 points in 2013-14.
That Crosby is producing this way on a line with Jake Guentzel and Dominik Simon as his linemates — and we worry that McDavid has no one to play with — has made it all the more impressive. The Penguins, who were one of the worst teams in the conference a couple of months ago and are currently holding onto the final wild card spot in the East, have had their struggles this season. But Crosby has practically willed them into contention with a two-way game that has reminded GM Jim Rutherford of a late-era Steve Yzerman.
“Part of what happens to these players — and it kind of started with Yzerman, where he was getting lots of points every year, but the team wasn’t winning. And that’s when he adjusted his game to be the overall player and the team guy to win championships,” Rutherford told Postmedia News in October. “And I see that as the same way with Sid.”
Though Crosby was not one of the three finalists for the Selke Trophy in the PHWA’s midseason awards released last week — I had him No. 1 on my ballot — he has been gaining more and more recognition for his underrated defensive play. He has a plus-19 rating while matching up against the other teams’ top lines, as well as a 56.4 winning face-off percentage, and 43 of his 57 points have come in even-strength situations.
“Yeah, I feel pretty good about my game. I feel like the consistency has been there,” he said. “As far as the Selke (an award he has yet to win), I’d like to be in the conversation for sure. I mean, I think your play has to earn that. I definitely want to be known as a player who’s responsible defensively and I want to be good offensively, but do it the right way. And I think for the most part this year that’s been the case.”
So we really shouldn’t be surprised that Crosby scored four goals and four assists in a pair of games at the All-Star Game on Saturday night, helping the Central Division win the 3-on-3 tournament. But it was impressive just the same, considering that a nasty stomach bug had forced him to miss the skills competition and pretty well kept him quarantined in his hotel room for most of the weekend.
“Maybe he is still sick — he could have had like 10 goals tonight,” Penguins teammate Kris Letang said of Crosby’s performance. “I don’t know. That’s how special he is.”
“I was literally laughing on the ice, because it was almost too easy,” said Mathew Barzal, who played on a line with Crosby and Letang. “He was just always open, and you just hand it off to him when you’re in trouble.”
Make no mistake, winning MVP meant something to Crosby. Not because he wanted a new Honda SUV and a share of the $1-million in prize money that went to the winning team or that the award was one of the few things he had yet to win in his Hall of Fame-worthy career.
No, it was simpler than that.
At a time when McDavid and others are nipping at his heels, Crosby wanted to show the world that he was still The Best — not just one of the best. After last weekend, he at the very least proved that he’s still in the conversation.
“We’re here to have a good time, but at the end of the day it’s pretty unique to be surrounded by some of the best players in the league and you want to put on a good show,” he said. “You’re certainly right, it’s getting younger. It’s scary coming to these (events). After a few years, you start to realize you’re much more the older guy and it’s a different role … like I said, it’s different being in this position where maybe it wouldn’t have been a few years ago.”
OLDER GUYS PROVING THAT AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
Sidney Crosby is playing perhaps his best hockey at the age of 31. And while no one is going to suggest that 30 has become the new 20, he isn’t the only so-called veteran who is turning back the clock.
From Blake Wheeler and Alex Ovechkin to Pekka Rinne and Mark Giordano, here are several players who are showing that life doesn’t end at 30.
Blake Wheeler, 32
The late-blooming NHL star has only nine goals this season. But the Jets winger ranks amongst the top-10 in scoring, thanks to his 52 assists — second only to Nikita Kucherov (56).
The late-blooming NHL star has only nine goals this season. But the Jets winger ranks amongst the top-10 in scoring, thanks to his 52 assists — second only to Nikita Kucherov (56).
Alex Ovechkin, 32
This was the year when everyone thought Patrik Laine would take over as the NHL’s top sniper. Instead, Ovechkin (37 goals in 50 games) keeps putting the puck in at a level that is astounding.
This was the year when everyone thought Patrik Laine would take over as the NHL’s top sniper. Instead, Ovechkin (37 goals in 50 games) keeps putting the puck in at a level that is astounding.
Brent Burns, 33
The 2017 Norris Trophy winner leads the Sharks — and NHL defencemen — with 55 points in 52 games, which is pretty good considering he’s teammates with Erik Karlsson.
The 2017 Norris Trophy winner leads the Sharks — and NHL defencemen — with 55 points in 52 games, which is pretty good considering he’s teammates with Erik Karlsson.
Mark Giordano, 35
The Flames defenceman was named the midseason winner of the Norris Trophy, largely because he has 52 points in 49 games, as well as a league-leading plus-29 rating.
The Flames defenceman was named the midseason winner of the Norris Trophy, largely because he has 52 points in 49 games, as well as a league-leading plus-29 rating.
Pekka Rinne, 36
Rinne sometimes gets on a team with brick wall of a defence, but with a .915 save percentage, he’s the reason why Nashville’s blueliners often masquerade as a fourth forward.
Rinne sometimes gets on a team with brick wall of a defence, but with a .915 save percentage, he’s the reason why Nashville’s blueliners often masquerade as a fourth forward.
Friday, January 25, 2019
How it's gone wrong with Antonio Brown and the Steelers
By Jeremy Fowler
January 25, 2019
PITTSBURGH -- A tardy Antonio Brown slipped into another Pittsburgh Steelers team meeting through the back door.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin revealed to his team what most already knew in regards to his prolific star receiver.
"(Tomlin) essentially told the group, we'll tolerate it now because of what he brings on the field, but the minute production stops, you don't overlook it," said one ex-Steeler who played with Brown for three seasons, recalling a story that multiple players confirmed.
That philosophy proved easier said than done. Brown's production -- 100-plus catches and 1,200-plus receiving yards in six consecutive seasons -- hasn't stopped, but the team reached a boiling point.
Brown drew the ire of the organization in Week 17 when he skipped Saturday's game preparation, prompting Tomlin to bench Brown for the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals. In his end-of-year news conference, Tomlin said there might come a point where Brown’s antics outweigh his ability as a player. Brown also got upset during a midweek session.
And now, with the Steelers publicly shopping the most prolific receiver in franchise history, not even Brown’s league-high 15 touchdowns can camouflage the frustration from all sides.
Tomlin once navigated a successful coach-player relationship but faces questions about what went wrong.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has broken records with Brown but hasn't been afraid to criticize him publicly, which some believe has affected the dynamic.
"This has been brewing for years," said one ex-teammate of Brown's issues. "It's just now coming to the surface.
"And it's probably over."
After interviews with nearly 20 former or current teammates of Brown, either on record or on condition of anonymity, here's an unfiltered look at Brown's tenure as a Steeler, his layered relationship with the quarterback and head coach, and what might be next.
Beloved 'A.B.'
Brown and the Steelers held down an imperfect but thrilling marriage. Brown had his shortcomings, but he worked ridiculously hard at practice and made brilliant plays look routine.
The man affectionately known as "A.B." was -- and in many ways still is -- beloved in the Steelers locker room. The former sixth-round pick was good to teammates, sharing massage therapy with young players or hitting the trendy South Side area of Pittsburgh for fun with his receiver group.
"Everybody could cling to him," said Chris Hubbard, a Steelers offensive lineman from 2013-17 before signing with the Cleveland Browns last offseason. "And he was cool with everybody. People in that locker room love A.B."
Ex-teammates usually start with the same line when discussing Brown: Hardest worker they've ever seen.
Cobi Hamilton, a starting receiver alongside Brown in 2016, said he had multiple talks with Brown about "what s--- he had to go through to be where he is," and how homeless nights as a teen shaped him.
"Stupid competitive -- never takes a day off, he's full speed," Hamilton said. "I know he's not an a--hole like (media and fans) are portraying him to be. He worked to have those cars."
"Great teammate," said Martavis Bryant, a Steelers receiver from 2014-17. "He showed me his whole game."
That helps explain why many teammates at the Pro Bowl have advocated for Brown’s return, with defensive end Cam Heyward saying "I want him in Pittsburgh with me." But a group of team leaders have privately discussed the situation, preparing for whatever happens with Brown hoping for less distractions in 2019.
Linebacker Bud Dupree said players don't want to pick between Brown and Roethlisberger. Center Maurkice Pouncey likened the duo to brothers who are having issues. Multiple reports claimed Brown’s frustration in a midweek walkthrough during Week 17 was directed at Roethlisberger.
"I don't like seeing A.B. blamed for all this," said one current Steeler. "To me, he's not the problem."
The problem, according to the player, is the Steelers’ locker-room issues play out too publicly, and who fixes it is “above my pay grade.”
Those paid to clean up the mess -- Tomlin, general manager Kevin Colbert and team president Art Rooney II -- are sending a blunt message: Production is no longer enough.
Star treatment
Training camp is a slog. Every morning, Steelers players drag their sizable frames out of modest St. Vincent College dorm rooms with white brick walls and wooden dressers. Vets might get a room to themselves.
Brown had something more: An AirBNB-style rental home close to campus.
Several players say the general belief was that Brown did not sleep at St. Vincent. Though players might get an occasional day off or time to see family, most agree Brown’s setup was different.
They'd see him get dropped off in a black Mercedes or another luxury car sometime in the morning. Bryant said he never visited Brown’s rental house but knew he had it.
Added an ex-Steeler who played multiple seasons with Brown: "We even admired him for it, like how does he pull that off?"
For all Brown's tireless work on the field, he took full advantage of being a star player off it.
Several say Brown routinely showed up late to team meetings that set up the upcoming game week. If he was loosely on time, he might be the last one to walk through the door. One player went as far to say he didn't see Brown once in the Wednesday morning meetings during his one season with the team.
Players say Tomlin has a fine system that can range from $1,000 to more than $5,000. Brown, who has a $72.7 million contract with more millions in endorsements, remained unfazed. Two players recalled Brown and receiver Eli Rogers -- once nicknamed "Little A.B." by some teammates -- walking into the same meeting a few minutes late. Both were told to sit down, but they only remember Rogers getting fined.
Players said Brown was fined from time to time for his tardiness. Tomlin would usually announce the fines as late players entered.
"Tomlin basically could have fined A.B. every day if he wanted to," one ex-teammate said.
Brown was not made available for comment after interview requests through representatives.
Though most players acknowledge punctuality was not Brown's strength, he was around when the game plan was installed. He wasn’t skipping whole days.
He used his mega-watt personality and infectious work ethic to soften any issues. Hubbard added Brown once apologized to the team for being late to a meeting and said he'd do better.
"He shows up late with a big smile on his face," said Doug Legursky, a Steelers offensive lineman from 2009-12 and 2015. "You're not even mad."
And as one current Steeler points out, Brown takes care of his kids, is never in and out of night clubs and works hard every day, so "who gives a f--- if he’s 15 minutes late to a meeting?"
On game days, players marveled at Brown showing up uncomfortably close to kickoff, rocking the mink coat while other players were in full uniform, and then having 150 yards receiving by the fourth quarter.
Through three contract restructures that served as money advances and with every stat sheet he blazed, Brown became virtually uncuttable and invincible.
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’Love-hate relationship’
For years, Roethlisberger and Brown had the chemistry, sheer talent and record-breaking production to offset their occasional issues.
"They've got a love-hate relationship -- they'd love each other and hate each other at times, like all relationships," said Markus Wheaton, a Steelers receiver from 2013-16. "It's usually a misunderstanding -- something Ben did set A.B. off, or A.B. did that set Ben off. But they would get through it, and then it's hugs and touchdowns."
A picture of Brown and Roethlisberger hangs next to Brown's locker with a personalized message from the quarterback: "A.B., we are unstoppable." Not many NFL tandems throughout history can top their ability to win on broken plays or timing throws to the sideline.
But dynamic playmaking wasn't enough in 2018, and despite a relationship built on trust, teammates can't ignore warning signs.
"We just know they are heated at each other -- it's not coach Tomlin, but two grown men ... butting heads," Dupree said.
Brown said all the right things publicly after Roethlisberger criticized him on his 93.7 The Fan radio show for not running a flatter route on a late-game interception in Week 12. But a source said Brown was privately bothered by the slights, which included Roethlisberger saying he wished he had thrown to JuJu Smith-Schuster on all four goal-line downs late in a road loss to Denver.
Roethlisberger has praised Brown on his radio show but also criticized the route-running and his sideline attack on a Gatorade cooler in 2017.
Bryant McFadden, a Steelers corner from 2005-08 and 2010-11, doesn’t remember Roethlisberger doing that when he played with him. In those locker rooms, he said, grievances were addressed internally.
"To limit distractions, maybe keeping things internal is best for the team," McFadden said. "Quarterback is a leadership position. As a leader, I think you should handle criticisms of players differently. It can cause separation."
Roethlisberger has defended his criticisms, saying a quarterback and team captain must motivate in different ways.
"Sometimes you just grab them off to the side, sometimes you have to be honest with them," Roethlisberger said in Week 13. "And so, I think I've earned the right to be able to do that, as long as I've been here. And I'll be just as critical on myself in front of you guys as well."
Many players say Roethlisberger is not confrontational at the facility. Bryant called Roethlisberger a strong leader and teammate but "quiet sometimes," especially with young players who are proving their worth.
Teammates have seen Brown get frustrated when Roethlisberger tells him to turn his music down in the locker room. But one current Steeler said Roethlisberger goes out of his way to be gentle with Brown and did not set him off in Week 17.
"Ben and A.B. talk more than a lot of people on the team ... I've never seen the dynamic between these two (that's demonstrative)," the starter said. "If anything, Ben is really easy on him and always blames himself when a mistake happens between the two."
Despite the pair’s 185 yards in Week 16, Brown left a walkthrough the next week after the Steelers wanted to run a hot read again and sent another player into the lineup, a source close to the situation told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Brown talked with Roethlisberger afterward, telling the quarterback he felt underappreciated and had issues with people in the organization, the source told Schefter.
Pouncey said Brown did not throw a football at a teammate, as has been reported.
If Brown goes over on a slant when he's supposed to come under, or cuts inside instead of toward the sideline, it’s not that he doesn’t understand route-running, one current teammate says. He’s an All-Pro receiver. Rather, his primary job is to get open, which sometimes means feeling out the defensive back and making an unanticipated move.
That can throw off a quarterback's timing, which was fine when Roethlisberger and Brown were at their peak connection and the team's second option wasn't elite. But the emergence of Smith-Schuster complicated matters. As he proved more trustworthy in the offense, Smith-Schuster earned 166 receiving targets in 2018, three less than Brown’s 169. Smith-Schuster turned that faith into a team-leading 111 catches for 1,426 yards and the team-voted Most Valuable Award, and award which Brown previously won four times.
One team source believes Brown failed to show up that Saturday to prove a point: See what happens without me drawing those double teams. The Steelers won 16-13 and failed to score on their first four drives. Smith-Schuster finished with five catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
"I've seen A.B. and Ben going back and forth, but I've also seen them with their arms around each other, talking to each other," said Bruce Gradkowski, a Steelers backup quarterback from 2013-15. "A.B. knew he needed Ben and Ben knew he needed A.B. Both are better with each other."
Tomlin's plight
While Brown is known for his antics on the field, he's also known for his colorful commentary in the team facility. In one team meeting, a then-teammate overheard Brown asking why Tomlin was trying to "Martin Luther King me" over the fine coming his way.
Tomlin sternly asked him to clarify, the ex-teammate said. Someone told Brown to chill, and a small group of players looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.
Most players recognize the quandary NFL coaches face: Harsh punishments for the best players don't help on game days.
Will Johnson, a Steelers fullback from 2012-15, said everyone is not treated the same in the NFL. "Players are paid to make plays,” he said.
And everyone interviewed admires how Tomlin knows his players on a personal level. Not many understand Brown better than Tomlin, who has an ability to point players in the right direction without belaboring the message.
But Tomlin's special treatment of his star receiver may have backfired, one Steeler said.
"As the leash gets longer, (Brown) gets the feeling that he can do whatever he wants," said the ex-Steeler who played with Brown for multiple seasons. "That's where Tomlin might have wished he would have squashed this earlier."
Tomlin was not available for comment for this story but has publicly disciplined Brown in the past, most notably in January 2017 for Brown broadcasting Tomlin’s postgame speech on Facebook Live after a playoff win in Kansas City. Even then, Tomlin warned Brown’s antics might shorten his career in Pittsburgh.
Tomlin could be a stickler for rules when necessary, players said, but policing every on-field sprint or meeting tally would take attention from the big picture of winning. Multiple players believed fining Brown for conduct detrimental to the team -- which the Steelers didn’t do in Week 17 -- would have gotten Brown’s attention long ago.
Asked about the Tomlin-Brown dynamic, Rooney II acknowledged things weren't perfect but the results were undeniable.
"The kind of bottom-line evaluation of that is this guy was a great football player in this league over multiple years," said Rooney II, who added the Steelers did not fine Brown for conduct detrimental to the team in Week 17. "So, as I said before, were there maybe things that we would've liked to have done a little differently or would have liked him to have done a little differently? The answer is probably yes, but he's one of the hardest-working players on the team, contributed to a lot of wins, and I think someday we'll maybe understand better kind of what happened here the last week of the season but don't really understand it right now."
When Tomlin took the Steelers job in 2007, he was 34 years old with a locker room full of leaders, particularly on defense. In that domain, players could mostly police themselves, McFadden said.
Today’s Steelers locker room also has exemplary players, and although they don’t expect a perfect room, they certainly want a smoother ride. Heyward said the team needs to "grow, put the petty stuff behind us" and find a way to work through issues.
"When (Brown) became a bigger personality, a superstar, now you have to have a personality that can relate to him," McFadden said. "When we were there, he had personalities that he had to respect. Everybody had to be treated the same way on the roster. A role player sees that and knows he's not any different. Now on that team, I'm not sure they have a personality that can uphold players to the Steeler standard."
Big Ben and Brown: What's next?
Brown's issues run much deeper than routes. Most believe they fall somewhere between respect and leverage, which he might never find in Pittsburgh, or anywhere.
In a quarterback-centric league, Brown won't win a power struggle with the 36-year-old Roethlisberger.
"We've already started talking to [Roethlisberger] and his representative about extending that contract," Rooney II said Wednesday on a conference call with Steelers Nation Unite members. "I think Ben has some good years left. I'd still say he's close to being in the prime of his career.
"Now that we're seeing quarterbacks around the league that are playing into their 40s, I'm not sure there's any reason that Ben can't play for several more years. We're looking forward to that."
Tomlin, who contract runs through 2020, is due another extension soon -- he typically gets one every other summer -- and Rooney II has said the team would "cross that bridge" at a later date.
While Roethlisberger holds the cachet of two Super Bowl wins and a top 10 ranking in most all-time passing numbers, some recent Steelers privately wonder why Brown takes all the heat when they've seen Roethlisberger and others receive star treatment, too. One recent teammate said he never heard Tomlin call out Roethlisberger in a meeting over his multiple years with the Steelers.
Multiple sources believe Brown has no interest in playing the scapegoat. That might explain why Brown seems intrigued by a new offense, to show he's not a Steelers creation. Brown has publicly flirted with the San Francisco 49ers, FaceTiming with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice and sending starry-eyed emojis to tight end George Kittle.
"A.B. feels he is being pushed over the ledge but everyone is blaming him for acting out," McFadden said. "Not saying he’s not wrong for walking away, but we haven’t heard his side of the story."
Said Wheaton: "He's a Hall of Fame player, and when he's not treated as such or feels there's any sort of disrespect -- foul play in his eyes -- he's gonna let you know. He's one to really speak his mind. Ain't nothing wrong with that. Would I go about it the way he goes about it? Probably not. But he's going to let you know."
Financially, trading Brown is not a daunting task. The move would leave the Steelers with an additional $1.045 million in salary cap space -- $21.120 million in dead money offset by a $22.165 million cap hit off the books by his departure. That’s hardly enough space to replace Brown -- even the notion of replacing arguably the game’s best receiver is a bit silly -- so draft capital is crucial. Rooney II has acknowledged the Steelers will consider keeping Brown because of his talent.
One league exec classified Brown’s trade market as small but strong. A general manager believes both sides will reconcile.
Teams believed to be one piece away could consider giving up a first-round pick for him.
Meanwhile, Brown has done little to silence the rumors. He’s choosing to fuel them, deleting the Steelers from his Twitter profile and trading barbs with former Steelers on social media. He has also labeled the team as "indifferent" about him.
The team is taking a stand against the player who helped define a Steelers generation.
It used to be so simple, when Brown had a personal handshake with every teammate, when his energy was contagious.
"When I was there, you see (the occasional problem), but he always made up for whatever he did wrong," Hubbard said. "He'd apologize. He was always back on course when things didn't go right. It's just scary to see where things are."
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