First Call: Steelers still in mix to play Brazil game in '24; NFL commish insists kickoffs not going anywhere
Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at the increasing prospect of the Pittsburgh Steelers playing in Brazil next year. Peter King has some Steelers inclusions and omissions in his personal All-Time team that will have you buzzing.
The NFL insists kickoffs will not be banned in the near future. We look at the Penguins’ first opponent out of the gate to begin their post-All-Star push.
And another honor for a budding Robert Morris hockey star.
Brazil bound?
Don’t rule it out for the Steelers.
The NFL announced on Monday that the
That means the Steelers are a candidate to be the Eagles’ season-opening opponent since they are scheduled to play Philly on the road in 2024.
This will be the NFL’s first-ever game in the Southern Hemisphere. It’ll be played at Arena Corinthians. That’s the home of the SC Corinthians soccer team. The venue also hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. It can hold 68,000 people.
The Steelers haven’t played an international regular-season game since a 34-27 defeat at Wembley Stadium in London in 2013 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Hits and misses
“Football Morning in
Only three Steelers made it: safety Troy Polamalu, linebacker James Harrison and wide receiver Hines Ward.
Polamalu makes perfect sense. Ward may be a bit of a reach. But if he is good enough to be on the bubble for the Hall of Fame, he is good enough to be on a list like this.
King has Harrison coming off the bench. If he revisits this list in another year or two, he may have Harrison demoted for T.J. Watt. In fact, if it weren’t for Harrison’s postseason success versus Watt’s lack thereof, I’d understand if King had done that right now.
All that said, how Rod Woodson didn’t make it somewhere as a defensive back or Dermontti Dawson at center over Jason Kelce, I’ll never know.
I’d also take Alan Faneca over Jahari Evans at guard. But maybe now I’m just being picky.
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Nowhere for now
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is telling us the league won’t be eliminating kickoffs.
After so many rules have been put in place to minimize kick returns thanks to injury concerns, many wondered if the league would just do away with kickoffs. But in his pre-Super Bowl press conference Monday, Goodell insisted that won’t be happening.
“We need to work with our coaches and our competition committee and those across the league to find a way to keep the kickoff in the game. It’s an exciting play. It’s important for us. The same for punts,” Goodell said via NFL.com. “But when you see a higher injury rate for that play, you can’t ignore that. And we haven’t yet found that solution. I think we’ve proven over the last several years, you can make the game safer and more exciting at the same time. And that’s our objective here. I’m confident we’ll get to that. It’s going to take a little work.”
It’s believed the NFL is going to look into adopting the XFL’s “low impact” kickoff approach. That’s when 10 players on each team line up five yards apart, with no running starts. The XFL saw an increase in returns with no spike in injuries.
Jets on the runway
As the Penguins finally prepare for a return to action Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena, they’ll face a difficult foe in the Winnipeg Jets.
It’s the first game since Jan. 27 for the Pens. The Jets should pose a stiff challenge. Winnipeg currently has 65 points. That’s third best in the Central Division and fourth best in the Western Conference.
However, the Jets have lost three in a row and four of six. All of those games came against Eastern Conference opposition.
One thing the Pens need to be aware of is how well Winnipeg plays on the road. They are 14-5-3 away from home. Only Vancouver (15-7-3) and Los Angeles (15-6-4) have more road victories in the West. The Jets also have a plus-39 goal differential. Again, only Vancouver is better in the West at plus-59.
Winnipeg has yielded just 108 goals, the fewest in the NHL. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has a .924 save percentage, third best in the NHL. His 2.20 goals against average is second best, and his 23 wins are tied for third.
The Pens also have to play in Winnipeg on Saturday after a game against the Wild in between in Minnesota.
Well deserved
Robert Morris star Alaina Giampietro was tabbed CHA Rookie of the Week for her standout effort against RIT last weekend.
The Colonials and Tigers played to a split in the series at Rochester, with each team winning a 3-2 overtime decision. Giampietro scored two goals in each game.
GOAL????
What did we say last night⁉️⁉️⁉️ SHE CAN'T BE STOPPED????@alainagiampietr gets us our first goal today and her third of the series!
RMU 1 - 0 RIT#BobbyMo #CollegeHockeyAmerica pic.twitter.com/tbFNPxxVNM
— RMU Women's Hockey (@RMUWHockey) February 3, 2024
In October, the freshman forward was named the CHA Rookie of the Month and, at the national level, was named the Hockey Commissioners Association Rookie of the Month.
Up to 15 goals this season, the Strongsville, Ohio, native is tied for second nationally and ranks sixth in points (24) among NCAA rookies. She leads the Colonials in both of those categories.
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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