First Call: Ravens lose out on free-agent target; ex-Pitt star may grab St. Peter's job; RMU coach tired of 'Coach K' coverage

In Friday’s “First Call,” the Baltimore Ravens miss out on a star free agent signing. A Pitt basketball legend may be getting his first head coaching gig. Robert Morris’ head coach is no fan of the hype surrounding Mike Krzyzewski’s last trip to the Final Four.

And we recap another eventful night in the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Almost a Raven

Before signing Myles Jack at inside linebacker, many Steelers fans were hoping that the team may make a run at former Seattle Seahawks All-Pro Bobby Wagner.

Not only because he’s good. But because the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens were also said to be very interested in him.

The Steelers didn’t get Wagner. But, fortunately for them, neither did Baltimore. On Thursday, he ended up staying in the NFC West with the Los Angeles Rams.

Bobby Wagner had a competing offer from the Ravens, but Rams were willing to pay a lot more (five years, base value of $50 million) to land veteran linebacker

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 31, 2022

Ravens players such as defensive back Marlon Humphrey and quarterback Lamar Jackson voiced their disappointment on Twitter after the news broke. ESPN is reporting that the contract could be worth up to $65 million.

The news comes a day after San Francisco’s Arden Key decided to sign in Jacksonville after a visit to Baltimore, as well. He had 6.5 sacks with the 49ers last year.

Potentially proud Peacock

Brandin Knight may be in line to become the new head coach of the St. Peter’s Peacocks.

College basketball insider Adam Zagoria had that report Thursday. The former Pitt Panther is now an assistant at Rutgers.

St. Peters became the NCAA’s first 15-seed to make the Elite Eight after upsetting the likes of Purdue, Murray State and Kentucky.

Shortly after being eliminated one win shy of the Final Four, head coach Shaheen Holloway was hired by his alma mater, Seton Hall.

Knight, now 40 years old, was an assistant at Pitt under Jamie Dixon from 2008-16 after wrapping up his playing career in 2002 as a second-team All-American. His No. 20 was retired by the university.

Toole Time

Andy Toole grew up in New Jersey. But he was a fan of North Carolina. So it’s no surprise who he’ll be rooting for when the Tar Heels play the arch-rival Duke Blue Devils in the Final Four Saturday.

The Robert Morris basketball coach didn’t hold back when talking about how much he’d like to see UNC end Mike Krzyzewski’s career one win shy of yet another national championship game. Appearing on 93.7 The Fan Thursday, Toole said the hype surrounding Krzyzewski’s run has gotten a little thick for his liking.

“Not that anyone is going to care when I retire from coaching — or if I get the opportunity to retire, I should say,” Toole said. “But I don’t really like the way this whole year has kinda gone out. The song and dance. And I didn’t like stuff with him being upset with Carolina not honoring him. I mean, your job as the coach is to be there for you guys. And it just seems like right now it’s much more about Coach K than it is about the team and the players. As much as he tries to say that he doesn’t, you know, ‘Talk to the players first. This is about them. This is not about me.’ It just doesn’t feel that way. In all the things that are being done.”

Toole’s complaints seemed to be as much about the media coverage of Krzyzewski’s last March Madness run as anything else.

“We don’t need to see him walk off the bus every time he gets off the bus in the arena. We don’t need to see him walk to the court every time. There are games going on, and we are cutting away to see Coach K walking to the court. So, there is a little bit of jealousy or animosity on my end, but I would like to see Carolina win the game and move on to the national championship,” Toole said.

That said, Toole did say that a potential Duke title could be considered “a storybook ending to maybe the greatest college coaching career of all time in any sport.”

Krzyzewski has won five national titles since taking over the Duke program in 1980.

Habs don’t help

While the Penguins were grinding out a 4-3 overtime win in Minnesota, they weren’t able to gain any ground on the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes.

That’s because Carolina blanked the Montreal Canadiens, 4-0, behind a shutout from Frederik Andersen and a power-play goal by Sebastian Aho.

Sebastian Aho is a cheat code pic.twitter.com/02pScV7QmQ

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 31, 2022

The Pens were at least able to pick up two points on the idle, second-place New York Rangers. So the Canes sit atop the Metro with 98 points, followed by New York with 93 and the Pens with 92. The Washington Capitals occupy a wild card slot in fourth place at 84 points.

In the other half of the Eastern Conference, three of the top four teams in the Atlantic Division all played and won. The division-leading Florida Panthers (98 points) shut out the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0. The second-place Toronto Maple Leafs (91 points) outscored the Winnipeg Jets, 7-3. And the fourth-place Boston Bruins (89 points) bombed the New Jersey Devils, 8-1.

The third-place Tampa Bay Lightning (90 points) had the night off.