For "First Call" on Tuesday, we ask the questions: What city will the Raiders ruin in 2019? Will Pittsburgh get the A-10 tournament again sometime soon? Can Ovi get any better? Can the Lakers get any worse?
The (fill in the blank) Raiders
Here's a paradox. If the Raiders are still homeless the next time the Pittsburgh Steelers visit, technically, can the Steelers still lose if there is no stadium to host the game?
Thankfully, the Steelers aren't scheduled to visit the Raiders next season. That's good. Because no one seems to know where the team is going to play.
The belief is that the Silver and Black will be in Las Vegas for the 2020 season. But they don't have an agreement to play the 2019 campaign in Oakland yet.
They thought they had a deal to play in San Francisco at Oracle Park.
[embed width="350" height="450"] https://twitter.com/rajmathai/status/1092270250203131905 [/embed]
But, apparently, that's fallen through. So now it appears they have to figure out a way to stay in Oakland, or split time at Levi's Stadium, where the Niners play.
[embed width="350" height="450"] https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1092960108651266048 [/embed]
If you are confused, ProFootballTalk.com tried to sort it out https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2019/02/06/oakland-lease-offer-still-on-the-table-for-the-raiders/.
Ovi's Russian record
Alexander Ovechkin now holds the NHL record for points scored by a Russian-born player.
This assist on a T.J. Oshie goal Tuesday against Vancouver was point number 1,180. He passed Sergei Federov in the process.
[embed width="350" height="450"] https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1092940551966593024 [/embed]
The Capitals won 3-2. They now have 64 points. That's two more than the Penguins, good for second in the Metro Division.
LeBron low
LeBron James suffered the worst loss of his career Tuesday. Indiana beat his Lakers 136-94.
That 42-point margin of defeat was the largest in his 15-year NBA career. James had 18 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, and six turnovers in 30 minutes.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the way for Indiana with 24 points and was a plus-37 on the court.
James blamed, in part, the jet lag.
"I think it (the jet lag) hit us," James said. "That first game flying across the country looked like it had a lot to do with it, but we didn't come out with the defensive mentality we had the last time we played them and they made us pay for it."
James missed 17 of the previous 18 games with a groin injury.
When will it end!?
After two straight days of Patriots celebrations, it was good to turn the page to hockey. Am I right?
Finally. Let's move on from a gloomy result to the football season, watching those smug Patriots bask in the glory of their ... wait, what the ...?!
[embed width="350" height="450"] https://twitter.com/BruinsCLNS/status/1092939467680333824 [/embed]
When will it end!?
Fittingly, the Bruins won 3-1. Tom Brady scored twice. Julian Edelman assisted on all three goals. And Rob Gronkowski made 35 saves along the way.
No sleep 'til Brooklyn
The Atlantic 10 Tournament won't be coming back to Pittsburgh anytime soon.
It was at PPG Paints Arena back in 2017. Last year, the conference held the event in Washington, D.C. And the schedule has the Barclays Center in Brooklyn as the destination for this year through 2021.
The conference announced today that it will be holding the tournament back in D.C. at Capital One Arena in 2022. Brooklyn will get it again for 2023 and 2024.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TimBenzPGH. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
