First Call: Antonio Brown struts his Google status, John Tortorella pouts after Pens loss
In “First Call” Friday, Antonio Brown is bragging about his wild “popularity,” John Tortorella wasn’t happy after Thursday’s loss in Pittsburgh, and Rob Gronkowski is staying retired.
This made his day
Antonio Brown spent most of the day melting down on social media again Thursday.
I simply think he has nothing left to do with his life than tweet and post on Instagram.
Anyway, this was a favorite of mine.
“Antonio Brown” was the most Google-searched name in the United States in 2019 and the fifth most Googled topic.
“Mr. Big Chest” seems pretty proud of that.
Remember, this is the same guy who once complained that he was tired of waking up to Google alerts with his name.
So much for that, I guess.
He better hope no one Googles “Antonio Brown outfit” today. Or else this may come up.
Yikes. Then again, Brown posted that himself on Instagram. For reasons that I can’t quite figure out.
Getting all ‘Tortsy’
Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella has a wide range of emotions.
He goes all the way from angrily ticked off … to depressed ticked off.
OK, so, maybe it’s not that wide of a range. I think I like depressed ticked off better. That’s how he acted after a 1-0 overtime loss to the Penguins on Thursday night.
"I don't have any words to describe it" - Torts pic.twitter.com/qXVbtpu1m0
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 13, 2019
If you only had 29 points in 31 games and were in seventh place, you’d be depressed, too. Especially after they managed just 17 shots against the Penguins on a night when they didn’t have Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
You know, their two *bleepin’* stars.
Now that’s clap back
New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton is feeling a little salty, too.
He was on his WWL radio show when he revealed that he was getting second guessed wherever went.
Particularly about a failed two-point conversion last weekend in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
“I got the guy at frickin’ Whole Foods asking me about the 2-point play,” Payton said. “I looked at him, the guy in the meat section, and I said, ‘Hey, your steaks don’t look too good right now. Worry about your frickin’ meat.’”
If there aren’t 60,000 “worry about your frickin’ meat” T-shirts at the Superdome this Sunday versus the Colts, I’ll be stunned.
Nice try
New York Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins is taking heat for suggesting a fan has a mental disability by using the r-word.
Giants CB Janoris Jenkins Interacts With His Fans On Twitter In The Middle Of Practice: "I Can Only Do My Job...Retard."https://t.co/mRWd2obfNx pic.twitter.com/lIsN5wUdmn
— Barstool Sports (@barstooltweetss) December 11, 2019
On Thursday, he offered up perhaps the worst explanation ever for a social media misstep.
Via ESPN.com Jenkins tried to blow off the use of the derogatory term by way of explaining it was a “’hood” phase, or a cultural slang word.
“Where I’m from, we use all kind of words for slang. If it offends anybody, I’m sorry,” Jenkins said. “It’s a culture that I grew up in where I’m from, you know what I’m saying. We use all kinds of words for all kinds of slang. If you don’t know, it’s a ’hood thing. Whatever. I’m not calling nobody no name or pick at nobody. It’s just something we use in the hood back at home.”
Since when did that word become a “’hood thing”? How is mocking someone for having a mental disability at all related to where you grew up?
And actually, Janoris, you are calling someone a name. That’s the very definition of calling someone a name.
I’m not going to overreact to Jenkins using the word. But I will overreact to this ludicrous explanation.
What a jerk.
Gronk gone
Rob Gronkowski is retired. And he is not coming back.
So says his girlfriend Camille Kostek. She was tracked down by TMZ cameras and was asked about Gronk’s status, for about the millionth time.
And she insists. He’s not returning to play.
That’s too bad, because the Steelers could really use a tight end.
In case he’s bored with New England or something.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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