Friday’s “First Call” puts stats behind some impressive Pittsburgh Steelers pass rushing efforts so far this preseason. Antonio Brown gets into a practice fight with a Tennessee Titans player. The Pirates try to find some solid ground in St. Louis. More news on Robert Morris ice hockey transfers.
And Pittsburgh’s Gaelic Athletic Association hopes to bring a trio of championships back from Boston this weekend.
In a rush
A pair of Steelers to watch in Saturday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions are pass rushers Jamir Jones and Cassius Marsh.
Both have been effective getting after the quarterback during the opening two preseason games. Marsh had a sack in the opener against Dallas. Jones had three quarterback hits that day and a sack in the second game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, the NFL Nextgen Stat crew is crystallizing their effectiveness even more.
In their opening preseason game, #Steelers edge rushers Cassius Marsh (0.61 seconds) & Jamir Jones (0.70) displayed pass rush get-off times on par with last season's league-leaders:
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) August 18, 2021
???? T-1st) T.J. Watt & Bud Dupree (0.72 seconds)
Scheme, scouting, or both? pic.twitter.com/ECFXbj6OZ5
Another young Steelers pass rusher, rookie Quincy Roche, has flashed at times. He managed to get a sack in the win over Dallas and half a sack in Philadelphia.
A.B. wanted a K.O.
Former Steeler Antonio Brown was in a fighting mood Thursday.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver got into a training camp scrum with Tennessee Titans defensive back Chris Jackson during one-on-one drills that were part of a joint practice session.
By the looks of this photo montage from The Tennessean, Brown landed at least one good left hook.
(????@GeorgeWalkerIV)
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 19, 2021
Brown was initially sent off the field to cool down and was eventually welcomed back to the workout.
Head coach Bruce Arians said no discipline would be forthcoming.
Familiar foe
When the Pirates face the Cardinals on Friday to open their three-game series, they’ll be doing so against a familiar face.
Miles Mikolas gets the start for the Cards. With 13 appearances and 11 starts under his belt against the Bucs, the Pirates are the opponent that the right-hander has faced more than anyone else in his career.
Mikolas is 4-3 against the Pirates with a 3.06 ERA over 70.2 innings pitched and a strikeout to walk ratio of 57:14.
Mikolas missed the 2020 season after flexor tendon surgery. He’s been out much of this year as well. He experienced shoulder soreness while recovering from the procedure, then his forearm soreness returned. Mikolas has pitched just once this season. He allowed one run on four hits in four innings against the Chicago Cubs on May 22.
Mitch Keller pitches for the Pirates. He’s had a decent amount of success so far against St. Louis, going 1-0 in two starts allowing just one earned run in 11 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, former Pirate Jameson Taillon was on the mound Thursday night for the New York Yankees.
He gave up three runs over 5⅓ innings en route to his eighth win of the season. The Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins 7-5 to maintain sole possession of the first American League wild-card slot with a record of 70-52. They’ve now won seven games in a row.
Head West, young man
Another ex-Robert Morris Colonials hockey player is making his transfer official.
Goaltender Noah West is heading to Michigan.
Welcome aboard Noah West!#GoBlue〽️
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) August 19, 2021
Like many former Colonials, West had these plans in place for weeks. But many of the men’s players held back on making public announcements until the school officially scrapped hockey for the year.
Following attempts to resuscitate the men’s and women’s programs in the wake of a May 26 announcement to cut the teams, the university issued a press release last week that it would be pausing the programs for a year in hopes of restarting them again in 2022-23.
Other Colonials who have decided to play elsewhere include Aidan Spellacy (St. Cloud), Brian Kramer (American International), Grant Hebert (Maine) and Brendon Michaelian (Ferris State).
On Thursday, Robert Morris announced the creation of a funding portal to streamline donations.
Even some of RMU’s Atlantic Hockey rivals have helped publicize the effort.
We can’t believe we’re actually going to say this BUT #LetsGoBobbyMo
— Mercyhurst Men’s Hockey (@HurstMensHockey) August 18, 2021
Help out our closest rival continue to their goal of returning college hockey to Pittsburgh. #PaProud https://t.co/pFNMWQVekH
Boston bound
The Pittsburgh hurling and Gaelic football teams are competing in this weekend’s national tournament in Canton, Mass.
The Pittsburgh Pucas men’s hurling team takes on the Denver Gaels in a quarterfinal match Friday at 3 p.m.
The men’s Gaelic football team — the Celtics — square off against a team from Boston at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
The women’s Gaelic football team — the Banshees — are in action at noon Friday against the Notre Dames from Philadelphia.
All three Pittsburgh teams advanced by winning their Midwest Regional Championship three weeks ago in Cheswick.
