First Call: Mike Tomlin avoids Steelers minicamp health questions; Tyler Glasnow blames MLB pitch-grip policy for injury

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is playing coy about some injury questions at minicamp.

Tyler Glasnow went off about his injury and a possible connection to pitch-grip regulations. Marc-Andre Fleury is the new Conn Smythe favorite. And former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue still has concerns about gambling.

All that in Wednesday’s “First Call.”

Nothing to see here

Both quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster reportedly received medical attention during Steelers minicamp practice due to injuries.

Mike Tomlin says he is not required to discuss injuries and so he won't. Asked specifically abt JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving early and Ben Roethlisberger needing attention from a trainer, Tomlin says, "Rest assured, if I thought something was significant I would address it."

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) June 15, 2021

Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster both left the first practice of mini-camp early, and while Mike Tomlin wouldn't discuss specifics of the injuries afterward, he said they weren't serious.

“If I thought injury circumstances were significant, I’d share them with you.”

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) June 15, 2021

But head coach Mike Tomlin downplayed both instances.

“I’m not going to address day-to-day-like things in this environment. It’s not required,” Tomlin said.

Meanwhile, guard David DeCastro was on hand but didn’t practice.

“If I thought injury circumstances or reasons why people weren’t participating were significant, I would share them with you,” Tomlin added.

OK. I don’t entirely believe that last part. But it is just minicamp so fair enough.

Also, Stephon Tuitt was absent so he could remain with his family in the wake of his brother’s recent death in a vehicle hit-and-run.

Unhealthy and unhinged

Former Pirates pitcher Tyler Glasnow is injured. He will likely be out until the playoffs.

And he’s ticked off about it.

The Tampa Bay Rays starter believes that his partially torn UCL and flexor tendon injuries are a direct result of MLB’s sudden crackdown on pitchers using tacky substances to get a better grip on the ball.

Glasnow says he never used the controversial Spider Tack substance which has become a major point of debate. But he has used the popular rosin and sunscreen combination.

In an effort to avoid scrutiny, Glasnow says he used nothing during a seven-inning, 11 strikeout domination of the Washington Nationals on June 8. But he vastly changed his grip to get a better hold on the ball and, as a result, put excess strain on his elbow and flexor tendons. Then he felt a strain during his outing Monday against the Chicago White Sox.

When asked about the injury, Glasnow went on an extended rant against Major League Baseball for making a significant in-season policy change on pitch-grip substances when he says the league knew it has been an understood practice among pitchers for decades.

“I truly believe 100% that’s why I got hurt. I’m frustrated MLB doesn’t understand. You can’t just tell us to use nothing. It’s crazy,” Glasnow said in an extended salvo against the policy shift. “The only thing I learned was that it hurts to throw a ball in the middle of the season, from having something to not having something.”

You can watch Glasnow’s full rant below. Warning: there are some expletives in his responses.

Must-listen: Tyler Glasnow's rant on MLB's crackdown on foreign substances.

"I 100% believe that contributed to me getting hurt."

He's used the sunscreen/rosin mix, then went "cold turkey" last week against the Nats. 11Ks. But woke up sore. "I felt completely different." (1/2) pic.twitter.com/BU2qCxmrtu

— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiWTSP) June 15, 2021

Glasnow clarifies: "There is a fine line between guys using stuff, Spider Tack to make their ball spin more, or doing something to get a grip. I've never been a dude to use it to get my stuff to be better."

He offers some solutions for inconsistent balls around league: (3) pic.twitter.com/D3GcTX2hh1

— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiWTSP) June 15, 2021

By the last 20 seconds of the third video — after all the “woe is me” stuff — that’s where Glasnow had a point.

Make the surface of the balls consistent or come up with a universally accepted treatment better than the rosin bag. But MLB’s ongoing wink-and-nod attitude to this “allowable” substance garbage just blew up in its face.

It’s the micro version of the steroid debate. It is something the league has been aware of for years, then it hit a critical mass, and the league tried to put the genie back in the bottle clumsily. And this is what happens.

Fleury in front

With his team up 1-0 in their Stanley Cup semifinal series against the Montreal Canadiens, Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is now the gambling favorite to win the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP.

In fact, Fleury was a 7/4 favorite before the puck even dropped in the 4-1 Game 1 victory according to BetOnline.ag. And now “The Flower” is one step closer after stopping 28 of 29 shots en route to his 90th career playoff win.

Despite winning three rings with the Penguins already, this would be Fleury’s first Conn Smythe. Evgeni Malkin won the 2009 award when Fleury was part of his first championship team. Sidney Crosby claimed the next two in 2016 and 2017.

Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy entered play Tuesday night in second place at 3/1. He may have narrowed those odds with a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders to even their semifinal at one game apiece.

Fleury is also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender for the first time in his career. The Knights host Montreal in Game 2 Thursday night at 9 p.m.

Flip side

There’s a negative concern about gambling, too. It’s point shaving. Or flat-out throwing games.

Former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue addressed it Tuesday with Jarrett Bell of USA Today.

Tagliabue has a unique perspective on the matter. He says that, while at Georgetown, he won a basketball game where his Hoyas beat NYU. Then NYU was accused of shaving points.

While more unlikely in football, Tagliabue is still nervous with the expansion of gambling across the country in recent years.

“Football, if you get the quarterback in football, presumably you can affect the outcome of the game. But if it’s not the quarterback and you get one or two guys, it may not affect the outcome of the game, which is why people explain there’s (been) point-shaving in basketball but not football,” Tagliabue said.

While in office as commissioner, Tagliabue never wanted to put a team in Las Vegas and tried to publicly distance the sport from gambling.

Despite the Raiders presence in Vegas now and a much more relaxed view of gambling in the United States, Tagliabue still has concerns.

“I still worry about some young guy … and someone says to him, ‘Take the money,’” Tagliabue said.