Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting quotes from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow about T.J. Watt and the field conditions at Acrisure Stadium.

Some roadblocks are falling between Paul Skenes and a potential start in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Plus, at least one national source isn’t optimistic about Duquesne’s chances for an Atlantic 10 tournament championship repeat.

Fan… not a fan

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was on a recent edition of Barstool’s “Pardon My Take,” and he had some good things to say about Steelers star linebacker T.J. Watt but little good to say about the playing surface at Acrisure Stadium.

“Sometimes Pitt plays on Saturday, and we get there on Sunday, (we’re), like, ‘What’s all this sand?’ I guess it’s kitty litter? I hope not,” Burrow said.

The turf at Acrisure has long been scrutinized. But it has held up much better in recent seasons than it did when the facility opened in the early 2000s. If Burrow doesn’t like it now, he should have seen it back then.

In terms of Watt, Burrow said, “T.J. is a unique player in this league. There’s no other defensive lineman I have to treat like a DB. I have to be conscious of where he’s at because he’s going to jump up and catch it. And there’s nobody else who can do that.”

TJ Watt just intercepted it out of thin air ???? @_TJWatt

????: #CINvsPIT on CBS⁰????: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/4yWkrypYYE pic.twitter.com/VsSiVgo5Yf

— NFL (@NFL) November 20, 2022

You can see the full interview here, with the Steelers conversation starting at 1:20:55.

Dominoes falling

There is definitely a national movement afoot to get Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes on the mound as the National League starter in next week’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game. CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder made a good case Sunday night. ESPN’s Jeff Passan did as well.

On the MLB Network Monday night, two-time All-Star Dontrelle Willis called Skenes “the nastiest pitcher he would not want to face” in Major League Baseball right now, and he said seeing Skenes face Yankees slugger Aaron Judge would be the best possible matchup for the MLB viewers to see in the All-Star Game on July 16 in Arlington, Texas.

???? @DTrainMLB's TOP 5 NASTIEST starting pitchers in baseball right now

1. Paul Skenes2. Tarik Skubal3. Garrett Crochet4. Tyler Glasnow5. Chris Sale pic.twitter.com/DpKKOcg5Zb

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 9, 2024

Now word comes that somebody who could’ve been viewed as competition for that honor, Chris Sale, is unlikely to pitch in the All-Star Game, even though he had been named to the roster. The Atlanta left-hander is scheduled to start on Tuesday and Sunday of this week, which means he won’t throw in the game next week.

Atlanta veteran starter Chris Sale is scheduled to pitch Tuesday and Sunday, which would now eliminate him pitching in the All Star Game.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 8, 2024

Sale is an eight-time All-Star and is currently third in the NL in ERA (2.71) and leads in wins (11) and WHIP (0.91).

Another potential starter, Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler (9-4, 2.74 ERA, 199 strikeouts, 0.99 WHIP), is also currently slated to pitch Tuesday and Sunday. So he may be out of the mix, too.

Thus far, in 10 starts with the Pirates, Skenes is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 78 strikeouts against only 12 walks in 59 1/3 innings.

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Not so fast

However, after being named an All-Star on Sunday, Sale sure sounded like he was laying the foundation for one of his teammates to get the nod as the starter — right-hander Reynaldo Lopez.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, he is the best pitcher in the league right now. You look at what he has done from start to finish; he’s the guy,” Sale said of the 30-year-old former reliever.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, he is the best pitcher in the league right now. You look at what he has done from start to finish, he’s the guy.”

Chris Sale on Reynaldo López earning his first All-Star invitation???? pic.twitter.com/h2EMFtSPtk

— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) July 7, 2024

Lopez has the best ERA in Major League Baseball at 1.71 over 16 starts. He also is 7-2 with nine quality starts and a 1.13 WHIP.

No hype on the Bluff

After winning the Atlantic 10 tournament last year, the Duquesne Dukes aren’t getting a lot of love when it comes to the prospect of a repeat.

At least not from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. In his Atlantic 10 Preseason Power Rankings at CollegeHoopsToday.net, Rothstein placed the Dukes ninth out of 15 teams.

Rothstein listed forward/center David Dixon as one of the conference’s “10 Breakout Players.” However, he did not have any of the Dukes’ incoming transfers in his “Top 10 Impact Transfers” or on his “Under-The-Radar Transfers” rankings.

Personally, I think that’s sleeping on Jahsean Corbett. After calling his 21-point, 11-rebound performance against Duquesne for Chicago State last year, I think he might surprise some in the league.

That said, Duquesne did lose its top two scorers — Jimmy “Tre” Clark III and Dae Dae Grant. Plus, they are going through a coaching change, with Keith Dambrot having retired and passing the torch to assistant Dru Joyce III, who is taking on his first college head coaching job. So, I can see the reasons for some skepticism.

But I think suggesting that the Dukes have fallen to the second half of the conference is a bit severe.

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