What Pittsburgh sports fans should be watching during winter break

Steelers

The Steelers are the most important team in Pittsburgh right now and will always garner the most attention. The Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) are sitting behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. What is going on with the offense recently, and where is this historic defense at?

Now, a lot of people are calling for the Steelers to fire 19-year head coach Mike Tomlin. I’m not so convinced, because I’ve seen him almost take Devlin “Duck” Hodges to the playoffs. The Steelers still have five games left on their schedule.
They take on the Ravens in Baltimore for the division lead this Sunday at 1 p.m. Then, the Dolphins at home, the Lions and Browns away and potentially a division title game against the Ravens at home in week 18. 

These next five games will show Tomlin’s true character and I think he and the Steelers will come out on top of the AFC North. It will be interesting to see how things change after this season if the Steelers miss the playoffs.

Penguins

In the hockey realm, the Penguins(14-7-5, 33 points) are sitting at fifth in the Metropolitan Division. Benefiting from captain Sidney Crosby’s hot start to the season, the Penguins’ future has shifted a little. Crosby’s 18 goals and 11 assists in 25 games have boosted the Penguins from a tanking team attempting to retire their big three to potentially taking one last shot at the playoffs. 

They will have to work harder and push to get two points in these games rather than settling for one in overtime. Some additional forward help will come from Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari returning to the lineup. In addition to that, the Penguins called up prospect winger Rutger McGroaty, who will be joining his younger linemates Benjamin Kindel and Ville Koivunen. 

This “kid” line could contribute to the team’s success this season but is also key to the development of the future of the Penguins. Their goaltending has played phenomenally this season so far, with all three goalies averaging over a .900 save percentage. With 20 games on the schedule during the break, this is the meat of the season before the trade deadline. This stretch of games can shake up their plans. 

Pirates

The Pirates are entering a pretty big free agency this offseason that could make or break their future. Star pitcher Paul Skenes recently shut down the possibility of being traded, but Skenes will for sure rethink that if the Pirates don’t spend money on improving the roster.

Skenes already stated throughout the year that he loves the city.

“I got some texts about it. I’m on the Pirates,” Skenes said. “My goal is to win with the Pirates. I love the city of Pittsburgh.” Skenes seems to like winning more than anything at the end of the day. The Pirates have to make moves this offseason if they want to see Skenes in the black and gold any longer.  

They need to win now — there is no other time, and these next couple of weeks will prove whether or not the Pirates’ actions match their words. So refresh your phones, and keep your eyes peeled for some trades and signings from the Pirates over break.