The Pomp And Joe Show

Who would you protect on the Pirates, Penguins, and Steelers to protect in a possible expansion draft? Joe Starkey, Jeff Hathhorn, and Austin Bechtold provide their top six.

Sports Director Jeff Hathhorn joined the show. Jeff met with Pitt AD Alan Greene who thinks Pitt is in the second tier of NIL money behind Florida State, Miami, and other schools. Jeff would make a trade for a reliever right now. Joe would be ok with the Pirates overpaying. Jeff thinks Wilber Dotel and Carmen Mlodzinski could be four-inning closers to end the game. Paul Skenes hasn't been the same and teams are making him throw pitches. Skenes isn't throwing 100 mph anymore.

Mike Florio said that the first two years of T.J. Watt's contract were fully guaranteed, and the signing bonus spread out. The Steelers would have a net gain of +$12 million in savings. There wouldn't be as big of a financial burden trading T.J Watt. Joe would sell high on Alex Highsmith.

The Steelers have signed tight end Darnell Washington to a four-year, $42 million deal, with $21 million guaranteed. Washington is the 12th-highest paid tight end in the league. Gerry Dulac reported the Steelers think they can only sign three of the four pick members of the 2023 draft class. T.J. Watt said he was stubborn and wouldn't move around the defense, but with Patrick Graham he's going to move.

We think the Pirates should have used Carmen Mlodzinski in the sixth inning and let him close. Bob Smizik said that Paul Skenes in his last four starts have a 5.85 ERA. Pirates fans are very frustrated with the bullpen. Should the Pirates trade Garcia or Valdez for an arm?

We wonder why the Pirates didn't bring Carmen Mlodzinski into the game after the Pirates said he was going to pitch high-leverage innings. Mlodzinski hasn't pitched in nine days. "Forget tomorrow's plan" Bob says regarding Mlodzinski scheduled to pitch on Thursday. The Pirates should be a really good team, but they're not because of the bullpen.

Could the Penguins acquire a top five draft pick? Joe proposes the Penguins trade Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell to a team like the Sharks for the second draft pick. Tyler Kennedy doesn't think Rutger McGroarty is fast enough to be a two-six.

Stanley Cup Champion Tyler Kennedy joined. Jordan Staal scored his first Stanley Cup Final goal since '09. TK wants to see some new teams make noise and helps the NHL, where the Golden Knights did a great job putting together the team.

The full Pomp and Joe Show, with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey from Allegent Community Federal Credit Union, from Wednesday, June 3rd, 2026

Hour 1 with Bob Pompeani and Joe Starkey: Nick Herbig has a signed a four-year, $100 million deal with $40 million guaranteed. Joe thinks this is a great deal for the Steelers. He believes it will be a bargain at the end of it. Bob likes the numbers involved but was surprised the Steelers chose Herbig as the first young player this year to sign. Herbig led the Steelers in multiple pass rusher categories.