First Call: Antonio Brown mad at Madden video game; competitive-eating scandal

In Monday’s “First Call,” Antonio Brown doing what Antonio Brown does. Perhaps the most impressive point Wimbledon has ever seen. Ranking the Steelers offensive trio. And a competitive-eating scandal.

A.B. on brand

This is right from the Mr. Big Chest playbook.

Antonio Brown is mad that he didn’t get a coveted “99 rating” in the “Madden NFL 20” video game.

And he’s letting us know. Only four players got the best rating possible in the game, and Brown — last year’s cover guy for the game — is not one of them.

Receiver DeAndre Hopkins of the Texans is the only offensive player to be rated as elite. Bobby Wagner, Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack got 99s on defense.

I haven’t seen what A.B. got as a rating yet. But it could be a 98. Regardless, he’s upset. He’s also mad that he allegedly didn’t get paid everything he was supposed to get paid for being on the cover last year.

The former Steeler tweeted, “Madden shorted me on my check for the Madden 19 cover now they short my ratings.”

Maybe Brown didn’t know taxes sometimes get taken out of those checks. Just like he didn’t know he was supposed to show up for the Week 17 game against the Bengals last year.

Or that the speed limit on McKnight Road is under 100 mph.

New trio

Back when Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell were still in Pittsburgh, many in NFL circles thought that the Steelers had the best offensive skill position trio in football.

Now that those two are playing elsewhere, the Steelers no longer hold that designation, even though quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is still in Black and Gold.

That said, NFL.com likes how Bell and Brown have been replaced. The league website rates Roethlisberger, James Conner, and JuJu Smith-Schuster as the 11th-best grouping in the NFL when it comes to quarterback-pass catcher-running back combinations.

Sam Darnold, Robby Anderson, and Bell have the Jets rated 21st. Brown, Derek Carr, and rookie running back Josh Jacobs are 13th in Oakland.

The Saints threesome of Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara are ranked first.

Rivalry renewed

And you thought Justin Verlander’s accusations of MLB messing with the baseballs was bad.

This is way worse.

Former competitive-eating titan Kobayashi is accusing the reigning champ, Joey Chestnut, of getting a competitive advantage.

On TMZ, Kobayashi accuses Major League Eating of conspiracy. He says the organization is giving Chestnut undersized hot dogs to eat so that his record numbers can be propped up.

Kobayashi Says Joey Chestnut Is A Cheater, Questions Hot Dog Record https://t.co/VH4beQkCrl

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) July 15, 2019

Is this the MLB steroid scandal of competitive eating? I think so.

Kobayashi also accused Chestnut of throwing away the crust in a pizza-eating competition. Not only is that cheating, but it’s also a crime. Everyone knows the crust is the best part.

One for the scrap book

Sunday’s men’s final at Wimbledon may go down as one of the best ever.

Top-seeded Novak Djokovic repeated as Wimbledon champion, defeating Roger Federer, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 13-12 (3). It is the second time Djokovic has won the tournament in consecutive years. He also won in 2014 and 2015.

It was the longest final in Wimbledon history, lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes.

This point alone lasted 35 shots.

A 35 shot rally in the #Wimbledon final? Yeah, this is fun. A fifth set coming up between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for all the marbles. #WimbledonFinal pic.twitter.com/WkZJ41ja9r

— Billy Heyen (@Wheyen3) July 14, 2019

Djokovic has beaten Federer all three times they have met in the Wimbledon final. This is his fifth title in London.

Tony time

CBS football analyst Tony Romo has become well known for his predictive abilities before the ball is snapped.

I wonder if he saw this one coming.

Sunday in the American Century Championship, the former Cowboys quarterback won his second-straight celebrity golf title. The CBS analyst finished with a 2-over-par 74 and scored 20 points to finish at 71 in the modified Stableford scoring system.

Former MLB pitcher Mark Mulder was second. He won the event in 2015-2017.