First Call: Joey Porter Jr. picks jersey number with history in mind; ESPN praises late-round Steelers draft choice

Pittsburgh Steelers draft pick Joey Porter Jr. has a sense of tradition with his choice of jersey number. Meanwhile, one of his fellow draft class members is getting some props in the national media.

Also, an ex-Pirate assists his old team. There’s some news on the NFL television front. And the Robert Morris basketball team has a big name early on its schedule.

All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Feels familiar

New Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is going to wear No. 24 in honor of another Steelers cornerback: his father’s former teammate Ike Taylor.

The Steelers Super Bowl winner turned team scout let that news slip on Dave Dameshek’s “Minus Three” podcast. Taylor said he found out in a group text with a bunch of former Steelers, including Porter Sr.

“Peezy — Joey Porter Sr. — was like, ‘He’s going to wear that 2-4 in honor of Uncle Ike,’” Taylor said. “I was like, ‘Oh, (heck) yeah. When I saw that this morning in the group text, I was like, that’s pretty cool.”

Ike Taylor (@Ike_SwagginU) joins @Dameshek on Minus 3 to talk about the Steelers strong family ties and keeping things local by drafting Joey Porter Jr.

Plus, Ike announces what number Joey will wear!@OmahaProd
Apple: https://t.co/qFeBgEKYrQ
Spotify: https://t.co/Gk8euUFlPw pic.twitter.com/1vnlc668G7

— Minus Three Podcast (@MinusThreePod) May 2, 2023

One person who may not like that news is running back Benny Snell. Twenty-four is the number he wore in Pittsburgh the last four years. Snell is a free agent now, and if the Steelers are handing out his number to a rookie, that’s probably a pretty good sign the club doesn’t intend on bringing him back.

Help from a friend

Despite losing 4-1 in Tampa on Tuesday night, the Pirates didn’t lose any ground in the National League Central standings. They still lead the Division by 1½ games.

That’s because the second-place Milwaukee Brewers lost too, by a final score of 3-2 in Colorado. Ex-Pirate Elias Diaz helped out his old club by homering for Colorado.

DESTROYED BY DÍAZ #Rockies | @Toyota pic.twitter.com/oOKOLBdYxH

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 3, 2023

That bomb went 453 feet. The 32-year-old catcher also added a double in the eighth inning that would prove to be the game-winning RBI.

DIAZ DOUBLES IN DAZA #Rockies pic.twitter.com/y3FojmMgvf

— AT&T SportsNet™ | RM (@ATTSportsNetRM) May 3, 2023

The Brewers have been scuffling lately losing five of eight to the likes of the Red Sox, Angels, Tigers and Rockies.

Hidden gem?

ESPN.com asked draft analysts Jordan Reid and Matt Miller for their best-value pick in each round of last weekend’s NFL Draft.

In the seventh round, Miller chose the Steelers selection of Purdue cornerback Cory Trice.

“Trice, who fell because of medical concerns, was a top-100 player on my final rankings. His length and physicality at the line of scrimmage are perfect for Pittsburgh, where there are two open starting cornerback jobs,” Miller said.

That may be a bit of a stretch. With Patrick Peterson, Porter Jr., Levi Wallace and slot player Arthur Mallett all on the depth chart, those are four guys for three spots before you get to Trice.

But the former Boilermaker is intriguing. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Trice does have NFL size. He defended 10 passes last year at Purdue, picked off two and had 34 tackles. Concerns about ankle injuries dating back to high school and an ACL tear in 2021 are what suppressed Trice’s perceived value. That said, he did play 13 games in his senior year in West Lafayette.

Reid chose USC offensive lineman Andrew Vorhees as his seventh-round selection. He was picked by the Baltimore Ravens.

More sports

• After drafting pair of big CBs, Steelers announce signing of slot/nickel Chandon Sullivan
• Former Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster already feeling at home with Patriots
• From Dairyland to the Steel City, Steelers gravitate toward Wisconsin defenders

Early challenge

Robert Morris’ basketball team will be the opening opponent for an NCAA powerhouse to tipoff 2023-24. According to CBS Sports’ John Rothstein, the Colonials will be the first team of the year to visit the Xavier Musketeers on Nov. 6.

Source: Xavier will open the 2023-24 season on November 6th against Robert Morris at the Cintas Center.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 2, 2023

RMU’s campus is about 25 minutes from Blackhawk High School. That’s where Musketeers coach Sean Miller attended before playing at Pitt in college.

Xavier ended last season 27-10. They finished second in the Big East during the regular season, then went to the Big East Finals before losing to Marquette. In the NCAA Tournament, Miller’s club went to the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by Texas. In the round of 32, Miller’s club outlasted his alma mater. The Musketeers beat Pitt 84-73.

The Colonials finished last season with a 16-17 record, 10-10 in the Horizon League.

Upon further review

This news probably would’ve felt more impactful back in February, but I’m sure Fox is happy about it anyway. As it turns out, the Kansas City Chiefs-Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl LVII broadcast ended up drawing 115.1 million viewers. Via AwfulAnnouncing.com, “that’s an all-time record for any U.S. broadcast, beating the 114.4 million NBC drew in 2015 for the New England Patriots’ win over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.”

Fox Sports announced Tuesday that a Nielsen review of the audience goosed the number up from an original estimate of 112.9 million viewers.

The Fox Sports PR team tweeted out that the increased number was the result of “a thorough review by Nielsen that revealed irregularities in the encoding that enables Nielsen’s measurement of TV viewing as well as issues with the out-of-home measurement.”

Today, Nielsen restated the viewership for FOX Sports’ presentation of Super Bowl LVII as 115.1 million viewers – the most-watched Super Bowl in history. This revision is the product of a thorough review by Nielsen that revealed irregularities in the encoding that enables… pic.twitter.com/cZV5TysadX

— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) May 2, 2023

The adjusted number makes Fox EVP and head of strategy and analytics Mike Mulvihill look good. As Awful Announcing points out, Mulvihill said in advance of the game that the Super Bowl ratings would be well above Super Bowl LVI’s Los Angeles Rams-Cincinnati Bengals matchup and would hit 115 million viewers to set the record.