First Call: Steelers interested in ‘brawler’ of a tackle; A.B. pricing himself out of Tampa? Ex-Pirates shine in Rays’ opener
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The Pittsburgh Steelers have their eyes on an interesting tackle prospect. Antonio Brown may be bargaining himself out of Tampa. Money is starting to come in on the red-hot Penguins. Ex-Pirates shine in Tampa Bay’s season opener. Gerrit Cole has a choppy 2021 debut for the Yankees.
And we share some honors from local college hockey.
All that in Friday’s “First Call.”
Tough Teven
Teven Jenkins is a highly touted offensive tackle in this year’s NFL draft. Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline has Jenkins rated as the draft’s fourth-best tackle. The Oklahoma State product had his Pro Day on Thursday.
Here are the numbers Pauline was able to track down. And note the bottom of the tweet.
Numbers coming for Teven Jenkins/T/Oklahoma St from pro day:
6057/317
36 reps on bench
4.91s/fortyGetting a lot of interest from the Steelers & Jets
— Tony Pauline (@TonyPauline) April 1, 2021
Pauline has Jenkins likely being drafted somewhere near the bottom of the first round, so that might be in the Steelers’ sweet spot if they are genuinely interested. Pauline writes a lot about Jenkins here. But one thing that stands out for Steelers fans might be this:
“The guy is a brawler, and at 6-foot-6, 320 pounds, he has a lot of weight to throw around. He’s an extremely powerful offensive lineman whose hands displace defenders easily. He also has the aggressive mentality necessary to maximize that skill set. … (He) has good grip strength as a run blocker, and once he establishes an anchor, he has the straight-line explosiveness and leg drive to power through players and drive them into oblivion.”
Sound like someone the Steelers could use on the offensive line?
A.B. leaving T.B.?
You just knew that the Antonio Brown, Tom Brady, Tampa Bay Buccaneers relationship was going too well, right?
Despite it being a perfect fit, and every other important Bucs player figuring out a way to come back for 2021, Mr. Big Chest may be pricing himself out of town.
According to the NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, “the Bucs and Brown discussed a possible return this week, including money, but noted ‘they’re not close right now’ in terms of the financial situation.”
Garafolo insisted Tampa Bay wants him back, but “just at a different number than he has in mind right now.” I’m sure this will end just great for both parties involved. It always does with A.B., doesn’t it?
Tampa Tyler
Former Pirate Tyler Glasnow had a sparkling season opener for the Tampa Bay Rays. He spun six scoreless innings, striking out six with no walks, and allowing one hit as the Rays beat the Miami Marlins 1-0.
How did the Rays score their lone run, you ask? Take a wild guess.
Yup. A solo home run from another former Pirate, Austin Meadows.
HAPPY OPENING DAY, AUSTIN MEADOWS!
Meadows blasts one to center to give the @RaysBaseball a 1-0 lead in the 8th!
Watch on Bally Sports Sun & stream it here: https://t.co/6wqurMgT2z #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/ziYsaoeBFX
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 1, 2021
Meanwhile, ex-Bucco ace Gerrit Cole got the Opening Day start for the New York Yankees. He got a no-decision after going 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs, five hits and two walks and striking out eight.
Money coming in
It looks like faith is building around the Penguins. At least in the gambling community anyway.
The Penguins’ dazzling 12-3-1 record in March seems to have changed the minds of bettors and oddsmakers at Betonline.ag when it comes to the franchise’s chances of winning a sixth Stanley Cup.
As of March 1, the Pens had fairly long odds at 25/1. As of Thursday morning, they have closed to 16/1. That’s eighth on the board right now, tied with the Boston Bruins. The Pens beat the Bruins 4-1 Thursday night.
The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders are slightly closer favorites at 12/1 and 14/1, respectively. On Thursday, the Islanders outgunned the Capitals by a final of 8-4.
Colorado is the favorite right now. The Avalanche have 5/1 odds. Sidney Crosby’s chances of winning the Hart Trophy have jumped from 35/1 to 12/1.
Tip of the cap
Robert Morris men’s hockey coach Derek Schooley got some national postseason recognition this week.
He’s among 10 finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award. That honor is given annually to the CCM/AHCA Division I men’s ice hockey coach of the year, selected by the nation’s 61 NCAA Division I head coaches.
Schooley was named Atlantic Hockey West Coach of the Year after his Colonials won that division with a 10-5-1 conference record, before falling to Niagara in the Atlantic Hockey quarterfinals.
The Colonials built that record with eight freshmen and nine total newcomers on the roster, plus two new assistant coaches on the staff.
The winner will be announced on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, let’s give a belated round of applause to one of Schooley’s former assistants Michael Gershon. He is now coaching the men’s hockey team at Chatham.
The Cougars were eliminated by Elmira 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the UCHC tournament Wednesday. But that was the first-ever UCHC playoff game for the program in the first season under Gershon.
In a truncated season because of coronavirus, the Cougars went 5-8 this year, 5-5 in conference play. The five conference wins are a program record.
A season ago, the club was 3-21-1. We profiled Gershon and the team at the outset of the 2021 campaign here at “Breakfast With Benz.”