WEBVTT - Pregame Show - Tim Benz Hosts 0:00:08.310 --> 0:00:11.130 Later on this hour, we are going to hear from 0:00:11.310 --> 0:00:15.540 Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas on Ben Kindle's health. And 0:00:15.570 --> 0:00:17.619 the long, the short of it from his press conference 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:23.200 today is that Kindle had a vasovagal episode, which, according 0:00:23.220 --> 0:00:26.180 to the Cleveland Clinic, is what happens when your heart 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:31.040 rate and blood pressure suddenly drop. Also described in the 0:00:31.080 --> 0:00:32.839 entry that I read from the Cleveland Clinic as the 0:00:32.900 --> 0:00:36.320 most common form of fainting. So it sounds like he 0:00:36.500 --> 0:00:40.300 fainted on the plane. That doesn't sound all that severe. 0:00:41.060 --> 0:00:44.720 Why he fainted, though, is the more concerning story and 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:48.310 what they are testing to find out. That's what they're 0:00:48.330 --> 0:00:51.050 attempting to discover. So best of luck to Kendall and 0:00:51.090 --> 0:00:54.070 his recovery and to the doctors and their attempts to 0:00:54.130 --> 0:00:58.680 do so. But as they do so, as Dubas himself 0:00:58.840 --> 0:01:01.540 said today, the show must go on and the Pens 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:05.500 play tonight against the Florida Panthers tonight. Tim Benz with 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:08.110 you on 105.9 The X. In for Mark Madden today. 0:01:08.270 --> 0:01:10.970 All the way up until face-off for that game. Our 0:01:11.010 --> 0:01:13.650 pregame show here in the 2 o'clock hour. Brought to 0:01:13.670 --> 0:01:17.070 you by Dr. Hiles Center for Hair Restoration and Premier 0:01:17.150 --> 0:01:21.500 Plastic Surgery. Here are the lines as they were constructed 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.080 in practice today for the Penguins. Coming off of four 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:27.080 straight losses on the road. Now minus Kendall. Now minus 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:30.220 Brian Rust for... up to six weeks before they even 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:35.750 reevaluate whatever his injury is. It's Crosby between Novak on 0:01:35.770 --> 0:01:39.649 the left side, Raquel on the right. Lapierre between Malkin 0:01:39.709 --> 0:01:44.929 and Koivunin. Lizotte centering Chinnikov and Kuzmenko because Chinnikov. 0:01:44.490 --> 0:01:48.370 Has to play with a fellow Russian. Dewar, Robertson, and Soderblom. 0:01:48.470 --> 0:01:51.050 I don't know why Robertson is on the fourth line 0:01:51.070 --> 0:01:54.700 and why Crosby is playing with Novak. Stastny and Carlson, 0:01:54.740 --> 0:01:58.560 Soloviov and Letang, Carlisle and Korczak, you know, where are 0:01:58.740 --> 0:01:59.600 Shea and Wotherspoon? 0:01:59.620 --> 0:02:02.440 Why aren't they still on the team? They're just throwing darts. Okay. 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:05.190 Let's just, that's what I see when I read that 0:02:05.270 --> 0:02:08.490 with no Kindle, no rust coming off of four straight losses. 0:02:08.930 --> 0:02:10.950 They're hunting in the dark to try to figure out 0:02:11.050 --> 0:02:13.950 what to do. They don't have the answer. I don't 0:02:13.990 --> 0:02:16.810 have the answer. And it's hard to pretend that anybody does, 0:02:17.070 --> 0:02:19.090 but we all know the answer. And the answer is 0:02:19.190 --> 0:02:21.600 not going to be formulated this year. The answer is 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.940 going to come when they finally ripped the bandaid off 0:02:24.200 --> 0:02:27.160 and understand they have, they're done living in two worlds 0:02:27.220 --> 0:02:29.080 at once. They did a really good job of it. 0:02:29.340 --> 0:02:31.760 They did better than we ever expected. That's how it 0:02:31.780 --> 0:02:34.840 went to the playoffs. But if they push the rock 0:02:34.880 --> 0:02:37.440 that far off up the Hill, eventually it was going 0:02:37.460 --> 0:02:40.120 to roll back on them with even more force, the 0:02:40.220 --> 0:02:41.520 further up the mountain they went. 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:44.340 And I think that might be what we're all experiencing 0:02:44.860 --> 0:02:45.260 right now. 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:47.040 Eight, three, three. 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:52.840 412-9939 if you want to talk pens. And like I said, 0:02:53.260 --> 0:02:56.370 we'll hear directly from Kyle Dubas in just a little bit. 0:02:56.750 --> 0:02:58.290 Josh Yowie later on this hour. 0:02:58.669 --> 0:03:01.350 Brian Metzer later on in the program as we go 0:03:01.389 --> 0:03:04.090 all the way up until the Hockey Night Show at 530. 0:03:04.090 --> 0:03:07.550 We're going to mix in some Steelers talk as well, 0:03:07.790 --> 0:03:09.790 specifically with Jerry Dulac from France. 0:03:09.830 --> 0:03:10.510 He's in Paris. 0:03:11.169 --> 0:03:13.160 So he's going to check in with us. He's got 0:03:13.180 --> 0:03:15.120 his riot gear on right now. He's got his gas 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:17.460 mask on. He's got his billy club on, or he's 0:03:17.500 --> 0:03:19.600 drinking a bottle of red and looking at the Eiffel tower, 0:03:19.639 --> 0:03:22.880 depending on which set of videos you want to believe 0:03:22.940 --> 0:03:26.250 on social media. So we'll get the straight dirt from 0:03:26.290 --> 0:03:29.690 Dulac as to what he's seeing, what he's experiencing later on. 0:03:29.750 --> 0:03:31.850 Jerry's going to join us in the three o'clock hour. 0:03:33.910 --> 0:03:38.220 And as we get closer and closer to France, very 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:41.080 different from the ally forces, I'm feeling less. 0:03:40.980 --> 0:03:44.310 And less good about it. That was the end goal then. 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.350 Now I felt like, gee, wouldn't it be nice if 0:03:46.370 --> 0:03:48.550 they just stayed in New Orleans and played there? 0:03:48.830 --> 0:03:51.890 Now, from a home field standpoint, maybe not. I don't know. 0:03:53.270 --> 0:03:57.410 We could go and see another example of Steeler Nation 0:03:57.450 --> 0:04:00.250 taking over a stadium overseas like we saw in Ireland 0:04:00.690 --> 0:04:04.110 or like we saw in Tampa. This could be another 0:04:04.170 --> 0:04:07.190 case where even though it's the home game overseas for 0:04:07.890 --> 0:04:09.950 New Orleans, just like it was for Tampa in its 0:04:10.050 --> 0:04:12.560 regular home stadium, it could be almost all Steelers fans 0:04:12.620 --> 0:04:14.520 because they've got a great international fan base. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.420 Yeah, I know. France, Cajun, and at. 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:20.660 Do they really care about the New Orleans Saints once 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:22.360 you get across the Atlantic? As much as they do 0:04:22.380 --> 0:04:25.580 the Steelers, probably not. I'm going to guess that this 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.700 is going to be a pro Steelers crowd. From that standpoint, 0:04:29.060 --> 0:04:32.280 going over there, playing the Saints over there, probably better 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:35.870 than playing them inside in the Dome, I guess. But gee, 0:04:36.140 --> 0:04:38.270 you get a lot of Steelers fans in New Orleans too, 0:04:38.310 --> 0:04:40.450 don't you? And you don't have to travel an ocean 0:04:40.470 --> 0:04:44.510 to do it. You know, the whole travel overseas, get 0:04:44.570 --> 0:04:46.590 off the plane, practice as soon as you get off. 0:04:46.490 --> 0:04:47.099 The plane, the. 0:04:47.870 --> 0:04:50.810 Saints have been there all week. That doesn't feel great. 0:04:51.410 --> 0:04:54.890 But they followed this protocol last year, and it certainly 0:04:54.930 --> 0:04:56.810 worked to the degree in Ireland that they played one 0:04:56.830 --> 0:04:59.310 of their best games of the season. So I don't 0:04:59.330 --> 0:05:00.970 know what to make of that. All I know is this, 0:05:01.550 --> 0:05:03.850 and I'll retreat back to a point that I made 0:05:03.910 --> 0:05:04.430 on Monday. 0:05:04.450 --> 0:05:05.790 I said it on Monday. 0:05:06.089 --> 0:05:09.070 I feel even stronger about it today that the Steelers 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:12.920 should be 6-2 at their bye, even though they're not 0:05:12.940 --> 0:05:16.080 all that good of a team. Because they're 4-2 right now. 0:05:16.400 --> 0:05:18.950 They should beat the Saints. They should beat the Browns 0:05:18.990 --> 0:05:20.970 at home in the return game after losing to them 0:05:21.010 --> 0:05:23.770 on the road. They should be 6-2, and they won't. 0:05:24.470 --> 0:05:26.750 They'll drop one of these two games, and I won't 0:05:26.770 --> 0:05:28.670 have an explanation now as to how they're going to 0:05:28.730 --> 0:05:30.450 do it, but I feel like it'll be right in 0:05:30.500 --> 0:05:31.340 front of our face. 0:05:31.180 --> 0:05:32.120 When we see it live. 0:05:33.300 --> 0:05:36.160 So I'll pose the question to you right now, here 0:05:36.180 --> 0:05:38.520 in the 2 o'clock hour, are they going to screw 0:05:38.540 --> 0:05:41.420 it up? Are they going to go to France and 0:05:41.460 --> 0:05:49.580 screw it up? 833-412-9939. Because that's what it would be. 0:05:49.700 --> 0:05:53.580 And they almost did it in Tampa. Tampa's not very good. 0:05:55.260 --> 0:05:59.440 And the Steelers gave the Bucs plenty of opportunities to 0:05:59.460 --> 0:06:02.400 win that game, not just with poor offense on third 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.480 downs and failing to stay on the field and getting 0:06:05.540 --> 0:06:09.740 passes batted down for interceptions and settling for field goals 0:06:09.779 --> 0:06:12.060 instead of finishing scoring drives and all those other things 0:06:12.110 --> 0:06:16.290 that went awry, but the defense too. The heralded, beloved, 0:06:16.790 --> 0:06:19.650 always excuse-ready Steelers defense, and I still go back to 0:06:19.690 --> 0:06:22.190 that one comment I got where We can't blame the 0:06:22.230 --> 0:06:25.029 defense because the offense hurt their feelings by not cashing 0:06:25.070 --> 0:06:27.850 in on the Dean interception. That's the extent to which 0:06:27.910 --> 0:06:31.969 Pittsburghers will go to make excuses for the defense and 0:06:32.010 --> 0:06:34.680 go back to the old standby of blame the head coach, 0:06:35.070 --> 0:06:38.520 blame the quarterback, blame the coordinator. Sometimes they're all the 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:40.620 same person, and that's kind of the case with Rodgers. 0:06:40.660 --> 0:06:44.580 But yeah, blame him. Whatever you do, though, for God's sakes, 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.300 don't blame the defense because Mean Joe used to play here. 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:51.590 People still have that default mechanism where it's always about 0:06:51.610 --> 0:06:54.800 the defense did its job even if it didn't, and 0:06:54.820 --> 0:06:57.760 then the variable is always the offense. The defense did 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.780 plenty of good things against Tampa. Statistically, looks like a 0:07:00.839 --> 0:07:03.440 pretty good game that they turned in. They also let 0:07:03.540 --> 0:07:06.750 an undrafted rookie quarterback shove it down their throat, come 0:07:06.760 --> 0:07:09.190 all the way down the field in 73 seconds, and 0:07:09.230 --> 0:07:13.010 kick a game-tying field goal. They also allowed four third-down 0:07:13.070 --> 0:07:17.750 conversions to keep a 70-yard, nine-minute drive alive, again, against 0:07:17.790 --> 0:07:22.540 an undrafted rookie quarterback. They also allowed two conversions after 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:26.190 they had Sachs, To allow a touchdown drive. Where they 0:07:26.230 --> 0:07:29.030 had two guys covering one person. With only six yards 0:07:29.070 --> 0:07:31.570 of dirt to cover. They screwed that up. And Ibuka 0:07:31.610 --> 0:07:34.210 caught a touchdown. And that's how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0:07:34.250 --> 0:07:35.670 got their lone touchdown score. 0:07:36.030 --> 0:07:40.680 Of the game. So this defense is far from foolproof. 0:07:40.710 --> 0:07:45.360 And frankly. They're playing a better quarterback. A better offensive system. 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.740 And I think a little bit. Not the same running back. 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:54.050 Kamara is not what. Bucky Irving is now. They did 0:07:54.070 --> 0:07:56.350 a good job on Bucky, who had been hot before that. 0:07:56.370 --> 0:07:58.040 I don't want to make too much of it, but 0:07:58.330 --> 0:08:01.840 they are facing a stiffer test in the Saints as 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.460 far as an offensive foe, I think, than what they 0:08:04.500 --> 0:08:05.900 had against the Bucs. 0:08:06.460 --> 0:08:08.720 Is that what gets them? Probably not. 0:08:09.660 --> 0:08:12.880 It's probably something that we're not expecting or talking about 0:08:12.920 --> 0:08:15.080 right now. Like I said, I don't have the explanation 0:08:15.140 --> 0:08:18.040 for it right now, which is what makes these losses maddening, 0:08:18.080 --> 0:08:20.440 but everybody in the NFL is going through it right now. 0:08:21.020 --> 0:08:25.890 Everybody is. So is it this week? Is it next week? 0:08:25.930 --> 0:08:29.050 Like, can you see a scenario where the Cleveland Browns 0:08:29.350 --> 0:08:33.360 come to Pittsburgh and sweep the Steelers, even though they know, 0:08:33.540 --> 0:08:35.859 the Steelers do, that first place is on the line 0:08:35.880 --> 0:08:39.800 against Cleveland? This wouldn't be an overlooked the Browns situation 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:42.709 like maybe it was last year or the multiple times 0:08:42.750 --> 0:08:45.230 they've gone up there over the last nine years and 0:08:45.309 --> 0:08:49.440 lost games. The Browns just beat them. The Browns probably 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.760 will be 5-2 and in first place when the Steelers 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:56.090 get them in Pittsburgh. Could they actually lose a game 0:08:56.150 --> 0:08:58.670 like that to Cleveland? Because I didn't hear a lot 0:08:58.710 --> 0:09:03.470 of pushback. I didn't get a lot of pushback online. Emails, texts, tweets, whatever. 0:09:03.830 --> 0:09:06.030 I didn't get any of it when I made that proclamation. 0:09:06.650 --> 0:09:11.070 They should be 6-2. They won't be. Because even though 0:09:11.090 --> 0:09:15.709 it's a new coach, even though it's a new regime... 0:09:16.540 --> 0:09:20.740 They've already shown here by losing to Cleveland when they 0:09:20.760 --> 0:09:23.760 went up there and, frankly, at times it felt like 0:09:23.780 --> 0:09:25.500 we're lucky to keep the game as close as they did, 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:29.800 that that old residue remains of they're going to drop 0:09:29.820 --> 0:09:33.780 games they're just not supposed to lose. And that was 0:09:33.830 --> 0:09:36.709 the case of the Browns. And they're not going to 0:09:36.750 --> 0:09:38.440 play well in some other games. You're going to say, 0:09:38.490 --> 0:09:40.650 how did that game stay that close, like against the 0:09:40.690 --> 0:09:45.569 Bucs on Sunday? I'd love to hear what you think 0:09:45.610 --> 0:09:51.040 about it, if they're actually good enough to be 6-2, talent-wise, roster-wise, 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:57.770 makeup of the team-wise, 42-year-old quarterback, overpaid, overhyped, overpriced, overage defense, 0:09:58.530 --> 0:10:02.080 no real weapons at wide receiver. besides Metcalf and maybe Bernard. 0:10:02.770 --> 0:10:04.319 All these reasons you look at them and say, they're 0:10:04.340 --> 0:10:07.420 not a 6-2 team. Because if they're a 6-2 team now, 0:10:07.460 --> 0:10:10.059 then they're probably an 11-win team. I don't look at 0:10:10.100 --> 0:10:13.580 the Steelers and say 11 wins, but do I see 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.420 them as all that worse than the 10-win team that 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:17.970 they were a year ago? No, I don't. And maybe 0:10:18.010 --> 0:10:22.100 McCarthy's offense makes Rodgers a little bit better. That gap 0:10:22.440 --> 0:10:26.580 between what we know of the Steelers as a 10-win 0:10:26.640 --> 0:10:30.099 Steeler team, it feels so familiar to say that. You 0:10:30.140 --> 0:10:33.800 say 10-win Steeler team, and images of the last nine 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:37.000 years of Steelers football just pour into your skull. You're like, yep, 0:10:37.059 --> 0:10:38.980 that's what it looks like, and that's what it looks 0:10:39.020 --> 0:10:41.500 like now. You say 11-win team, you're like, oh, that 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:43.120 must be a pretty good team. The Steelers aren't that. 0:10:44.970 --> 0:10:48.050 But their one went away from being on pace to 0:10:48.090 --> 0:10:52.950 do that, roughly. I just think we've touched the stove 0:10:53.070 --> 0:10:56.650 so many times that our hands are too burned to 0:10:56.770 --> 0:10:58.910 look at our hands and say, where's the extra digit 0:10:58.950 --> 0:11:02.650 for the 11th win? We're not there yet mentally. And 0:11:02.670 --> 0:11:07.010 I think that could come to prove to be fruition 0:11:08.010 --> 0:11:10.530 at the end of the game in France or the game... 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:13.780 and Akerser Stadium against the Browns. That's going to hurt 0:11:13.830 --> 0:11:16.470 way more. The Browns are a better team than New Orleans. 0:11:17.090 --> 0:11:18.690 For sure. There's no doubt about it. I don't think 0:11:18.710 --> 0:11:19.610 the Browns are all that. 0:11:19.929 --> 0:11:23.290 The Browns could go into the Steelers by in first place, 0:11:23.330 --> 0:11:27.490 having beaten them twice. And I still won't be of 0:11:27.510 --> 0:11:30.110 the conviction that Cleveland's the best team in the North. 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:34.720 They're better than New Orleans. But New Orleans could be 0:11:34.740 --> 0:11:38.930 the game that the Steelers lose. It's entirely possible. And 0:11:38.970 --> 0:11:41.850 even though they might have more of a home field 0:11:41.870 --> 0:11:44.750 advantage or less of a road disadvantage by going to France, 0:11:45.309 --> 0:11:48.900 the travel dynamic makes it real tricky to predict this game, 0:11:49.440 --> 0:11:51.580 even though a lot of things, a lot of things 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:54.200 stack up in favor of the Steelers in this one. 0:11:54.920 --> 0:11:56.860 The Saints defense is not good. 0:11:57.980 --> 0:12:01.290 For as pokey as the Steelers offense can be, the 0:12:01.330 --> 0:12:03.690 way the matchups are, the Steelers should be able to 0:12:03.730 --> 0:12:04.610 do some damage there. 0:12:04.920 --> 0:12:08.120 To New Orleans. They don't defend the run very well 0:12:08.559 --> 0:12:10.760 at all. The Steelers, even though they didn't have a. 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:13.339 Good running day against the Bucs, that's a good run 0:12:13.360 --> 0:12:15.400 defense they went up against, and I think it could 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.470 have been better than what the stat sheet showed if 0:12:18.660 --> 0:12:21.349 Aaron Rodgers didn't throw the ball 17 times in a row. So, 0:12:25.630 --> 0:12:29.000 Generally speaking, there's very little that I see when I 0:12:29.240 --> 0:12:31.780 do the matchup game for the Saints contest coming up 0:12:31.820 --> 0:12:33.319 on Sunday and say, well, that scares me. 0:12:33.900 --> 0:12:35.140 I'm worried about that. 0:12:36.540 --> 0:12:38.660 The only thing I'm worried about is the big picture 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:42.090 of it all, that they're due for a clunker. They're 0:12:42.130 --> 0:12:43.770 probably not going to win all four of these games 0:12:43.809 --> 0:12:45.370 in a row as they should because they never do. 0:12:45.910 --> 0:12:48.550 And they've got a weird travel situation to go overseas 0:12:48.570 --> 0:12:51.330 to play the game. Those are the reasons why I 0:12:51.370 --> 0:12:53.120 feel sticky about it. I'm still going to pick them. 0:12:54.010 --> 0:12:55.720 I feel like I should be picking them by a ton, 0:12:56.100 --> 0:12:57.339 but it's probably going to be a field goal at 0:12:57.360 --> 0:12:59.059 the end of the game or overtime again or something 0:12:59.080 --> 0:13:01.520 like that. And then what do you think about the 0:13:01.559 --> 0:13:02.360 Browns coming. 0:13:02.179 --> 0:13:03.400 Here next week? 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:07.960 They couldn't possibly be swept by the Browns this early 0:13:07.980 --> 0:13:15.280 in the season, could they? 4-1-2, 8-3-3, 99-39. We'll hear 0:13:15.340 --> 0:13:18.330 from Kyle Dubas next, what he had to say about 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:30.420 Ben Kindle on 105.9 The X. Greta Van Fleet at 0:13:30.460 --> 0:13:34.040 PPG Paints Arena on February the 20th. 0:13:34.260 --> 0:13:35.620 Ticketmaster.com. 0:13:35.740 --> 0:13:38.320 We were giving away tickets on the Woody Show when 0:13:38.340 --> 0:13:40.750 I was on from 10 to 2 earlier in the 0:13:40.770 --> 0:13:43.070 week last week as well. So you can get tickets 0:13:43.110 --> 0:13:47.550 there in advance of that show. Tim and for Mark, 0:13:47.570 --> 0:13:50.840 by the way, here on 105.9 The X. Coming up tonight. 0:13:51.630 --> 0:13:56.130 Puck drop at 7. Pre-game at 6. Hockey show, 5.30. 0:13:56.130 --> 0:13:59.820 Penguins versus the Florida Panthers. And last night, I'm going 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:01.500 to talk about this with Josh Yowie coming up in 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:05.939 a little bit when he joins us. Brady Kachuk, he's 0:14:05.980 --> 0:14:09.300 like the biggest heel in hockey now. And you need 0:14:09.360 --> 0:14:12.660 people like this. You need teams like this. I'll give 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:13.939 you for instance, we are going to talk a little 0:14:13.980 --> 0:14:16.330 baseball about the World Series and what the president had 0:14:16.350 --> 0:14:19.250 to say about the state of baseball later on in 0:14:19.270 --> 0:14:21.870 the show. I want to get to that topic. But 0:14:23.050 --> 0:14:26.470 everybody has been saying, I'm tired of the Dodgers and 0:14:26.510 --> 0:14:29.590 Yankees all the time. Why is it always the Yankees 0:14:29.630 --> 0:14:32.750 and the Red Sox? It's always the Dodgers who win 0:14:32.770 --> 0:14:35.739 the World Series because they got a billion-dollar payroll. I'm 0:14:35.860 --> 0:14:38.540 sick of the Dodgers. Okay, no one's going to watch 0:14:38.600 --> 0:14:39.320 Brewers and Rays. 0:14:40.070 --> 0:14:42.570 You say you are. You think you are. You're not 0:14:42.590 --> 0:14:43.050 going to watch. 0:14:43.670 --> 0:14:45.350 You're going to talk like you saw it because you 0:14:45.370 --> 0:14:47.090 picked up the box score the next day and looked 0:14:47.150 --> 0:14:49.230 at it and looked at the highlights online. You're not 0:14:49.290 --> 0:14:52.610 sitting through nine innings, seven games of Raisin Brewers. I mean, 0:14:52.650 --> 0:14:56.750 unless you are a diehard baseball fan, unless you live 0:14:56.770 --> 0:14:59.460 in Wisconsin or you live in the greater Tampa area, 0:14:59.720 --> 0:15:03.160 you might not watch nine full innings, let alone nine 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:04.620 innings a night for a best of seven. 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.230 You just aren't. The ratings for this are going to be. 0:15:09.790 --> 0:15:11.710 I can't even, catastrophically low. 0:15:12.750 --> 0:15:15.370 Everybody says, oh, I don't want to see the Chiefs 0:15:15.390 --> 0:15:17.870 in the Super Bowl again. How happy are you now 0:15:17.890 --> 0:15:19.489 that the Chiefs are back so you have somebody to 0:15:19.590 --> 0:15:23.860 root against? I'm thrilled the Chiefs are good again because 0:15:23.900 --> 0:15:25.840 it gives me something, and they're different now. 0:15:25.860 --> 0:15:28.140 They're going to be a different way to hate them. 0:15:28.580 --> 0:15:30.480 Walker's going to get the ball 100 times a game, 0:15:30.540 --> 0:15:32.600 run it down everybody's throat, and you're going to be 0:15:32.620 --> 0:15:35.040 sick to death of them again by February, and it's 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.140 going to be great because you have someone to root 0:15:38.180 --> 0:15:38.800 against again. 0:15:39.890 --> 0:15:41.750 You know, it's the same thing. 0:15:41.770 --> 0:15:45.050 Like you might hate the Panthers and in the sport 0:15:45.070 --> 0:15:48.670 of hockey, having a Sunbelt kind of team be a 0:15:48.770 --> 0:15:50.590 dominant team like they had been when they won the 0:15:50.650 --> 0:15:52.370 two cups, the back to back cups and gone to 0:15:52.390 --> 0:15:55.960 the finals a bunch of times. Like the Kachuk brothers 0:15:56.020 --> 0:15:58.200 are a tandem. They are so easy to root against 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.520 if they're not your guys. And then when they are 0:16:00.580 --> 0:16:04.120 your guys, when they were our guys playing for Team USA, 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:08.690 you love them. But Brady Kachuk is an unbelievably great heel. 0:16:08.750 --> 0:16:13.250 He is a WWE character on skates. I mean, to 0:16:13.390 --> 0:16:18.850 get the tribute video last night in Ottawa, have it 0:16:19.030 --> 0:16:25.500 booed by the whole crowd and then jump over the boards, twirl, salute, 0:16:25.860 --> 0:16:28.360 tip the cap, wave the fans and do the whole nine. 0:16:28.500 --> 0:16:30.380 That's fantastic. That's great theater. 0:16:30.440 --> 0:16:32.880 And then he scored and then they got boat raced 0:16:32.980 --> 0:16:34.260 after that and lost five to one. 0:16:34.820 --> 0:16:37.320 I would have loved to have been in that rink. 0:16:37.830 --> 0:16:41.260 As a completely impartial observer who could give a crap 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.750 about the Florida Panthers or the Ottawa Senators, that would 0:16:44.770 --> 0:16:46.950 have been one hell of a fun game to attend. 0:16:47.070 --> 0:16:49.170 I wouldn't have given anything to get that ticket. 0:16:49.490 --> 0:16:51.350 The theater of all that must have been, like you 0:16:51.390 --> 0:16:53.150 saw the signs, you saw the clips, I couldn't get 0:16:53.190 --> 0:16:55.430 enough of it this morning when I woke up, put 0:16:55.470 --> 0:17:00.510 on social media and saw all the highlights. So, Panthers 0:17:00.550 --> 0:17:03.690 come here after that, I would imagine they're somewhat flat. 0:17:04.420 --> 0:17:08.080 I know the Penguins have had some really awkward travel situation. 0:17:08.100 --> 0:17:09.660 What with the plane having to go back to Salt 0:17:09.680 --> 0:17:12.179 Lake and everything else surrounding Kindle, the emotional strain of 0:17:12.560 --> 0:17:15.100 not knowing what was going on with Kindle. All that 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.000 is going to wear on the Penguins for sure. But 0:17:17.680 --> 0:17:19.119 I'm sure a lot was left on the ice for 0:17:19.140 --> 0:17:22.540 the Panthers last night, too. They have 12 points right now. 0:17:22.700 --> 0:17:25.960 What are they, 5-3-2, I believe? Something to that effect. 0:17:26.000 --> 0:17:28.020 And the Pens have just lost four in a row 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.440 going over on their most recent road trip. 0:17:30.460 --> 0:17:32.820 We'll talk about all that. in the Hockey Night Show. 0:17:32.880 --> 0:17:34.900 But I wanted to use this segment to play what 0:17:34.980 --> 0:17:37.639 Kyle Dubas had to say today. General Manager of the 0:17:37.660 --> 0:17:42.020 Penguins addressing the Ben Kindle situation. They had to turn 0:17:42.040 --> 0:17:43.640 their plane around, as you know, as they were taken 0:17:43.740 --> 0:17:47.540 off from Utah about 10 minutes into the flight. Kindle 0:17:47.560 --> 0:17:50.359 passed out, and this is Dubas explaining what happened and 0:17:50.380 --> 0:17:51.200 what they're going to do now. 0:17:52.109 --> 0:17:55.949 On Tuesday, about 10 minutes into the team's return flight 0:17:56.609 --> 0:18:02.240 from Salt Lake City to Pittsburgh, Ben collapsed on the 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:09.050 team plane in what has been diagnosed as a vasovagal episode. 0:18:11.530 --> 0:18:11.950 Dr. 0:18:12.250 --> 0:18:15.649 Vias, our medical director from UPMC, was on the flight. 0:18:16.270 --> 0:18:16.550 Dr. 0:18:16.570 --> 0:18:20.300 Vias, along with Jason Meehan, Brendan Mazza, Patrick McGee, and 0:18:20.320 --> 0:18:25.760 Rich Rotenberg, our medical staff, quickly attended to Ben, was 0:18:25.800 --> 0:18:31.710 given oxygen. On the flight, regained consciousness and the determination 0:18:31.790 --> 0:18:35.129 was that the flight needed to be landed back in 0:18:35.170 --> 0:18:41.210 Salt Lake City in an emergency medical landing, at which 0:18:41.270 --> 0:18:45.490 time the plane was met by paramedics and Ben was 0:18:45.540 --> 0:18:49.240 transported to the University of Utah Medical Center for further treatment. 0:18:52.119 --> 0:18:56.300 Ben was cleared yesterday to travel back to Pittsburgh, which 0:18:56.340 --> 0:19:03.389 he did with Nick Bonino, Jason Spezza, Richard Rotenberg, and Dr. Vias. 0:19:04.750 --> 0:19:08.010 He is back in the building for treatment and further 0:19:08.050 --> 0:19:14.840 testing today. We'll place him on injured reserve and we 0:19:14.859 --> 0:19:19.820 will obviously follow very strict guidelines to ensure a safe 0:19:20.260 --> 0:19:24.550 return to training and play for Ben. That's our primary 0:19:24.590 --> 0:19:28.840 and our primary goal and paramount to his future and health. 0:19:28.900 --> 0:19:31.790 So that's how we will handle it. The plan for 0:19:31.850 --> 0:19:32.729 Ben will be. 0:19:33.810 --> 0:19:38.050 Obviously, increased testing, clearance medically, and then return to training 0:19:38.090 --> 0:19:39.090 and return to practice. 0:19:40.470 --> 0:19:42.830 We'll provide those updates as we go along. 0:19:43.930 --> 0:19:48.609 Dubas also praised Dan Mews, Jason Seidling, the team operations director, 0:19:48.970 --> 0:19:51.520 and the Air Canada staff for how they handled the 0:19:51.560 --> 0:19:55.300 situation with Kendall. A number of media members on hand 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.380 for the press conference asked a couple questions, a couple 0:19:58.400 --> 0:20:03.020 follow-up questions of Dubas as well. And this is, let's 0:20:03.040 --> 0:20:06.459 start off with Seth Rorbaugh from The Pittsburgh Tribune, my 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:09.460 colleague over at Trib Live, this is what Seth Rorba 0:20:09.619 --> 0:20:11.939 asked about the actual medical condition itself. 0:20:12.840 --> 0:20:14.940 Veso Vago, I looked this up on the Mayo Clinic. 0:20:15.020 --> 0:20:17.680 It indicates the heart rate and blood pressure drops suddenly 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:20.960 when the body overreacts to certain triggers. Any knowledge of 0:20:21.180 --> 0:20:23.100 what may have triggered this with Ben, and is there 0:20:23.140 --> 0:20:24.000 any kind of history there? 0:20:24.020 --> 0:20:25.800 Being fully respectful of his privacy. 0:20:25.940 --> 0:20:30.510 The understanding is that there's certainly no history with Ben 0:20:30.790 --> 0:20:35.340 of it. And obviously we'll work through to figure what 0:20:35.859 --> 0:20:39.780 exactly triggered it. I mean, I don't know about it either, Seth, 0:20:39.820 --> 0:20:42.200 but no prior history of it, no. 0:20:44.619 --> 0:20:47.820 Kyle, has the sports science done any investigation or begun 0:20:47.840 --> 0:20:51.659 looking into any commonalities from other players who may have 0:20:51.700 --> 0:20:57.310 suffered some significant health events like Philip Hollander or even substances, 0:20:57.330 --> 0:21:04.330 performance-enhancing substances legal substances that might be involved in the 0:21:04.369 --> 0:21:05.430 players training? 0:21:06.010 --> 0:21:07.950 I think we're always looking into that. 0:21:08.070 --> 0:21:11.260 Dan I mean it's newsworthy now and I think it's 0:21:11.280 --> 0:21:14.640 been more common the last year year and a half 0:21:14.960 --> 0:21:17.800 obviously in the news prevalent right now not to do 0:21:17.820 --> 0:21:20.280 with with our sport but you mentioned Phil so blood 0:21:20.300 --> 0:21:23.850 clots come up as a as a matter of fact 0:21:23.869 --> 0:21:25.929 and I think that the way that Dr. Vias and 0:21:26.619 --> 0:21:29.659