First Call: Ex-NFL star heard 'rumblings' of Steelers' interest in Aaron Rodgers; Devils mock Flyers elimination

The Pittsburgh Steelers were dragged into the pre-draft Aaron Rodgers drama in Green Bay. Guess who did the dragging!

It was a fun night for Penguins fans on multiple levels. The Pirates are getting their first look at the St. Louis Cardinals. And an interesting story from the Duquesne basketball team.

All that in Friday’s “First Call.”

Ocho thought so

In the pre-draft hours Thursday afternoon, there was much discussion about the Green Bay Packers trading disgruntled quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Like many folks in the football world, former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson tweeted that he felt the San Francisco 49ers would be one of the teams interested in acquiring him. But they still have Jimmy Garoppolo, and they drafted North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance, too.

So that guess didn’t work out so well for Ocho Cinco. So far, neither did his other guess — his good friends, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Aaron Rodgers will end up in San Francisco is what I’m being told from my sources, heard rumblings of the Steelers as well, let’s see how everything plays out

— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) April 29, 2021

You know what? If Ben Roethlisberger retires after 2021 and Aaron Rodgers is still ticked off in Green Bay, I would believe this tweet.

In fact, I might tweet it first.

But I have no idea what Ocho Cinco was getting at with this one. What was Rodgers going to do? Back up Big Ben? Have Roethlisberger as his backup? Would they trade Roethlisberger to Green Bay straight up?

Were they going to run a five-quarterback offense with those two, Dwayne Haskins, Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs?

Sorry, Ocho. Get back to me in March 2022 if Roethlisberger retires, and let’s reinvestigate this.

The icing on the cupcake

As if beating the Washington Capitals 5-4 in overtime Thursday (to clinch a playoff spot, no less) wasn’t fun enough for Penguins fans, it happened on the same night that the Philadelphia Flyers were mathematically eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

They lost 5-3 to the New Jersey Devils while the Boston Bruins beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-2. So, the Flyers are officially out. And the Devils were very humble about the process.

A little treat for the drive home to Philly. pic.twitter.com/XbIQrQsae6

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 30, 2021

The New York Islanders also shut out the New York Rangers 4-0.

So as of Friday morning, the East playoff race looks like this (with the top four making the playoffs):

1. Washington Capitals: 69 points (in 50 games)

2. Pittsburgh Penguins: 69 points (in 51 games)

3. New York Islanders: 65 points

4. Boston Bruins: 64 points

5. New York Rangers: 58 points

How are they doing it?

A lot of people are wondering how the Pirates have managed to get through the first 24 games at 12-12.

Believe it or not, similar questions can be asked of the St. Louis Cardinals. The two teams open a three-game set Friday.

St. Louis comes in as 13-12. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in 10 innings Thursday to inch above .500.

This walk-off was wild!#STLFLY x @STIHLUSA pic.twitter.com/VDYqlNo2Rk

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 29, 2021

And they’ve done it without particularly hot starts from Paul Goldschmidt (.224/3 home runs) and Nolan Arenado (.247/4 home runs). Catcher Yadier Molina has five homers. But he’s on the 10-day injured list with a foot problem. Outfielder Dylan Carlson has been good, too (.286/.871 OPS).

The Cardinals are only 23rd in baseball in team batting average at .221. But they are 11th in runs scored at 110. And the pitching staff is in the middle of the pack in team ERA — 15th at 4.01.

The Pirates will see the top two pitchers for the Cards this year in the first two games. John Gant pitches Friday against J.T. Brubaker for the Pirtaes. Gant has the team’s lowest ERA for starters at 2.25. St. Louis’ Jack Flaherty matches up against Trevor Cahill Saturday. Flaherty is 4-0 with a 3.18 ERA and a 27:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Veteran Adam Wainwright has struggled. He’ll throw Sunday with an 0-3 record and a 4.08 ERA.

That’s dedication

Duquesne basketball player Mounir Hima is quite a story. The 6-foot-11 freshman is fasting during the month of Ramadan. But he isn’t backing off his training routine. The school tweeted out this video to show his regimen.

Mounir Hima is halfway through the holy month of Ramadan. Fasting from dawn to sunset. He trains at 6am 3x/wk. and does his basketball workouts at night so he can drink water. Remarkable discipline/incredible attitude.

https://t.co/yYKKmlYCOI#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/qolB3Iwedj

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) April 28, 2021

In other Dukes news, assistant coach Ashton Gibbs is leaving the program. The Pitt product is going to coach at the Phelps Prep School in Malvern, Pa.

After retiring from ball, I knew I wanted to give back to the game through coaching. Thank you @DuqMBB for being the 1st to give me that opportunity. After 2 seasons w/ the Dukes, I will be taking on a new role as the head coach of The Phelps Prep School. Trust the journey.

— Ashton Gibbs (@AshtonGibbs12) April 29, 2021

Gibbs played four years for the Panthers from 2008-12 and coached for two years on the Bluff.