On Sports: Russell Wilson says George Pickens is just ‘misunderstood’; an amazing Jaromir Jagr stat

Whispers out of Pittsburgh Steelers headquarters suggest not many were all that too upset that George Pickens was traded.

A prominent former teammate, though, has Pickens’ back.

During an appearance on the “7PM in Brooklyn” podcast, hosted by former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, Russell Wilson said he “loves” Pickens and that the mercurial receiver is just “misunderstood.”

Russell Wilson clears the air on his relationships with George Pickens & Mike Tomlin during his Steelers tenure ???? pic.twitter.com/MtAp5Kyg0D

— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) May 29, 2025

“Man, I love George,” said Wilson, the Steelers’ starting quarterback for the final 12 games (including playoffs) last season. “His ability to catch the football is one of a kind. Anything in his vicinity, he’s gonna catch it. Hopefully he doesn’t catch none of them against us.”

Wilson signed with the New York Giants in March.

“On a serious note,” Wilson continued on Pickens, “he’s misunderstood. He wants to be great, you know? I think, also, too, his ability, where he can take it from not just being great, to being one the world’s best, I think he has that in him. I’m always rooting for guys I’ve played with, just not when we play them. But he will do great there. He will love it there for sure.”

From social-media comments to tardy arrivals to games to on-field outbursts, Pickens’ Steelers tenure had its share of “misunderstood” moments. He was dealt to the Dallas Cowboys on May 7 in exchange for a third-round pick and an additional late-pick swap.

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Flowers for ‘Coach T’ too

Wilson similarly was complimentary of his 10-month experience as part of the Steelers organization in general and of playing for coach Mike Tomlin in particular.

“Pittsburgh was a good place for me,” Wilson told Anthony. “It really helped rejuvenate me in every way because of the locker room there. It was just cool to be around there, the experience of the history of Pittsburgh. Obviously, coach Tomlin too, as well, and who he is as a man, a guy from Virginia, Black coach who’s been successful. It was really unique to be around his mentality.”

Pressed about Tomlin, Wilson talked for more than a full minute.

“I think there’s three things about Mike Tomlin that’s special,” Wilson said. “His obsession. His work ethic. He’s there early at 4:30 in the morning watching the film himself. Like, head coaches don’t do that. He’s in a little cave, doing his own thing.

“The second thing is his ability to connect to players is remarkable, his ability to have connectivity, his ability to the Black kid, to the white kid, to the guy who’s been successful, to the guy who’s just starting, to find that motivation and turn that up — and also be able to neutralize it and turn it down too, just to be able to connect in the moment, in each moment throughout the game.

“The thing that I really like about him, talking about the ability to embrace the noise and the ability to embrace the obstacles and all that. He stares it right in the face and doesn’t run from it. He’s one of the all-time great coaches, and he’s a guy who’s going to be in the Hall of Fame and everything because of what he’s been able to do.”

46 years and counting

With the Florida Panthers advancing to the Stanley Cup final after closing out the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday, an incredible streak continued in regards to Jaromir Jagr.

The last time a Stanley Cup Final was played without a player who was at one point or another a teammate of Jagr’s was 1979. Again in 2025, the Jagr teammate alumni representative will be Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.

The Stanley Cup Final streak lives on for Jaromir Jagr and his teammates ???? pic.twitter.com/HdZFlohrbH

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 6, 2024

The list comes with an asterisk — the 2022 Cup final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche did not have a player who was NHL teammates with Jagr. But defenseman Ondrej Palat — then with Tampa Bay — had played on the Czech Republic national team alongside Jagr at the 2014 Olympic Games in Russia.

Jagr was on the 1991 and 1992 Penguins’ Stanley Cup-winning teams.

1/10 in 2 days

How much of an outlier is the Pirates’ recent outburst over the past two games they played in Phoenix? During wins by scores of 9-6 and 10-1 on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, the Pirates scored 19 runs in victories against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Consider that over two separate stretches of nine games earlier in May, the Pirates scored 19 or fewer runs — 17 between May 1-10 and 19 between May 12-21.

But how about this … now more than a full third of the way through the season (57 games)… more than 10% (precisely, 10.4%) of the Pirates’ run production came over a 20-hour span this week.

After getting shut out for the ninth time this season in Arizona on Monday, the Pirates have increased their season run total by 11.6% in just two games.

Inhospitable Hoosier?

John Mellencamp is not happy with Plum’s Pat McAfee.

Mellencamp, an Indiana native, was in attendance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Tuesday’s Indiana Pacers-New York Knicks Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.

At one point during the evening, McAfee — who played for the Indianapolis Colts — was given a microphone in an apparent effort to pump up the crowd.

“Indianapolis, Indiana, we’ve got some bigwigs from the big city in the building,” McAfee said. “Spike Lee is here. Ben Stiller is here. Timothee Chalamet is here. Let’s send these sons of (expletives) back to New York with their ears ringing. Let’s turn this (expletive) up.”

Fans booed after each celebrity was introduced.

Mellencamp posted on social media that he was “embarrassed.”

pic.twitter.com/fscxusrh3D

— John Mellencamp (@johnmellencamp) May 29, 2025

“‘Hoosier Hospitality,’” read the X post on Mellencamp’s account. “I was embarrassed when somebody, under whose direction I don’t know, called out some of the people who had made the trip from New York to support their team — and in turn, support our team. The audience booed these people. I’d say that was not Hoosier Hospitality. One could only say it’s poor, poor sportsmanship. I was not proud to be a Hoosier, and I’ve lived here my entire life.

“On behalf of most Hoosiers, I would like to apologize for our poor behavior. I’m sure the Pacers had nothing to do with this smackdown.”

McAfee’s social-media response was simply, “I am ‘somebody,’” an apparent subtle reference to that Mellencamp chose not to use McAfee’s name in his post.