North Shore Drive podcast - Pittsburgh Steelers, Pirates, Penguins and more Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On the Monday episode of the North Shore Drive podcast, presented by Mike's Beer Bar, host Christopher Carter welcomes Post-Gazette Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo to preview the teams OTAs this week. What will the dynamic between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields be as they compete for the starting QB job? What will Fields have to say about leaving the Chicago Bears in a trade as part of their plan to take Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft? And how will Wilson's leadership look up close. 

Our duo tackles those topics and also looks at other position battles to watch. Will any of the receivers including Roman Wilson, Van Jefferson, Quez Watkins or Scotty Miller prove they can be a serviceable No. 2? How will the cornerback room look with Donte Jackson arriving via the Diontae Johnson trade and Ryan Watts joining a young group that also includes Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush? And how does the absence of Cam Heyward loom over the proceedings? 

Then later, sports columnist Jason Mackey joins to offer his thoughts on the weekend series against the Chicago Cubs in which rotation members Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter and Mitch Keller all pitched well. 
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On their Pirates podcast, Post-Gazette insiders Andrew Destin and Noah Hiles react to a dominant series victory against the Chicago Cubs this past weekend at Wrigley Field. Can the club's rotation continue its recent domination with names including Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, Bailey Falter and Mitch Keller all pitching well? Is Nick Gonzales beginning to lay claim to the second base job after hitting over .300 on the road trip against the Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers? What should we make of Andrew McCutchen making his first start in right field over the weekend? And how much longer can GM Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton continue to give 1B Rowdy Tellez a roster spot? Our duo tackles those topics and more.
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On his daily First 10 podcast, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey reacts to the Pirates' 5-4 win against the Cubs on Thursday night in Chicago. Was the aggression we saw at the plate from players including Nick Gonzales and Edward Olivares a reflection of a changing approach to hitting amid a team-wide slump? Or just a coincidence? How did Jared Jones pitch a solid game despite not having his best stuff? And looking ahead to Friday, what will Paul Skenes do in his second MLB start? 

Jason tackles those questions, gives his thoughts on the Steelers' Najee Harris coming to offseason workouts motivated and encourages the Penguins not to trade defenseman Marcus Pettersson this offseason. 
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On the Friday edition of the North Shore Drive podcast, presented by Mike's Beer Bar, Post-Gazette Steelers insider Brian Batko joins host Christopher Carter to discuss the latest news surrounding defensive captain Cam Heyward. Why is he expected to skip offseason workouts with the team? Will his holdout persist into training camp? Or will he be able to reach a new contract with the team?

Our duo tackles those topics and ponders what it means that running back Najee Harris has dropped some weight ahead of Steelers OTAs and minicamp. Then later, Pirates insider Andrew Destin joins Christopher to look ahead to Paul Skenes' second MLB start Friday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
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On his weekly First 10 podcast, Post-Gazette sports columnist Jason Mackey takes stock of where the Pirates stand after 44 games, on a 70-win pace. How fair would it be for owner Bob Nutting to be losing patience with GM Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton, as young hitters including Henry Davis, Jack Suwinski and Nick Gonzales continue to struggle and young pitchers like Quinn Priester and Roansy Contreras are being shipped out via DFA and the minors? And what happened to the "player-centric" development model Cherington promised, as the club seems to be imposing a cookie-cutter approach on hitters offensively?

Jason tackles those questions, then reacts to the Steelers schedule, released Wednesday, that includes four primetime games as well as a Christmas Day matchup with Patrick Mahomes, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium.
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In his weekly YouTube appearance, Post-Gazette sports columnist Paul Zeise joins host Adam Bittner to react to the Steelers' 2024 NFL schedule release. Is the Christmas Day matchup with the Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Taylor Swift and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Netflix a good thing or a bad thing? Will playing three of the first four games on the road hinder the offense's ability to gel with new faces Russell Wilson, Troy Fautanu and Zach Frazier among others joining the fold? How will this team hold up against a tough second half of the slate that includes all six division games with the Bengals, Ravens and Browns. Plus dates with Super Bowl contenders including the Chiefs and Eagles? And is the home opener against Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and the Chargers a sneaky tough one?

Our duo tackles those questions and more, then gets into the Pirates. What should we make of the short-lived six man rotation and the decisions to DFA Roansy Contreras and option Quinn Priester back to the minors. Does the coaching staff's failure with those players portend bad things for Jared Jones and Paul Skenes? Was Nick Gonzales' success with Triple-A Indianapolis overhyped? And when will Ben Cherington get some real heat for how this team is performing?
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