First Call: Hilarious first pitch, Bengals’ Andy Dalton benched, Arena Football League may fold
In Wednesday’s “First Call” we look at some strange home run celebrations. The Arena Football League may be in trouble. And one of the worst first pitches you’ll ever see.
"Ohh"lajuwon
Justin Verlander had a few bad pitches in Houston Tuesday night, as the Astros lost Game 6 of the World Series to the Washington Nationals, 7-2.
And they ended up in the seats. Washington hit two homers off him and one more off Will Harris.
But the worst pitch came from Hakeem Olajuwon. The former Houston Rockets star threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former teammate Clyde Drexler.
And it didn’t go well.
H-TOWN!@HoustonRockets legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler threw out the first pitch for World Series Game 6! pic.twitter.com/8zmEvpPzEy
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) October 30, 2019
Yikes. Has Hakeem ever thrown a baseball before? Maybe he should’ve tried the “Dream Shake” before he threw the ball.
It’s almost as if Olajuwon thought the goal was to throw the ball into the batter’s box instead of over the plate.
Punk the punk
For some reason, when Alex Bregman gave Houston a first-inning lead with a two-run homer, he carried the bat all the way down the first base line with him.
Bregman took the bat all the way to first
(Via @MLBONFOX)
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 30, 2019
That’s… weird.
Not the first time I’ve seen it. Legendary slugger Bartolo Colon did it.
in honor of bregman, here’s bartolo colon hitting his first career homerun and carrying the bat to first pic.twitter.com/L776GKaMGq
— ً (@chIoemets) October 30, 2019
So did former “Indians star” Pedro Cerrano. But it’s still a weird move anyway.
Washington seemed to dislike it, so Juan Soto did the same thing in return to show up Bregman when he homered later in the game.
JUAN SOTO!! He gives the Nats the lead!!
(He also carried his bat to first ) pic.twitter.com/f9QT30bkQP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2019
We’ll see who has the last laugh tonight in Game 7 at 8:08 p.m. Zack Greinke pitches for Houston against Washington’s Max Scherzer.
Boyd has his back
Quarterback Andy Dalton is getting benched in Cincinnati. And former Pitt Panther Tyler Boyd doesn’t know why.
Of all the problems with the Bengals, Dalton’s play is not at the top of the list. He’s thrown for 2,252 yards, the fourth-highest total in the NFL.
Granted, his 9-8 touchdown to interception ratio could be better. So could his completion percentage and his passer rating. But he’s getting crushed. No one has been sacked more often than Dalton (29), and he’s under pressure all the time.
New Bengals coach Zac Taylor is going to see if rookie Ryan Finley can do better. The decision is leaving Boyd scratching his head.
“Nothing seems to be going right this season. It’s not Andy’s fault,” Boyd said via Bengals.com. “There are plays he wishes he had back out there and every guy in this locker room feels the same way. The quarterback is just the most pressured position. I praise Andy for doing what he’s done here. He’s got great numbers. A Pro Bowler. He’s a No. 1 quarterback in my eyes.”
Maybe Finley can find Boyd in the end zone more often than Dalton. The Clairton product has just one touchdown reception this season.
Bad sign
The Arena Football League may be folding. According to the Albany Times Union, the “Albany Empire and five other Arena Football League franchises are closing local business operations.”
The paper said that the league has yet to determine whether it will suspend operations completely.
Reporter Pete Dougherty wrote that the AFL may become a traveling league, where all players practice in a centralized location and fly to a different city each weekend to play games.
There are also franchises in Philadelphia, Washington, Baltimore, Atlantic City and Columbus. The Pittsburgh Power ceased operations in 2014.
Help in Pittsburgh
The Los Angeles Rams are coming to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in two weeks.
But one of their players is here now, trying to get some help.
Receiver Brandin Cooks is getting evaluated in town for his recent concussions. That’s according to head coach Sean McVay, who didn’t provide specifics on his doctors or treatment beyond that.
Cooks suffered his fourth concussion since Super Bowl LII on Sunday in London. It’s his second in less than a month.
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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