First Call: Bruce Arians destroys Antonio Brown rumors; former Pirate now a pro wrestler

In Friday’s “First Call,” Bruce Arians shuts the door on the Antonio Brown-to-Tampa Bay rumors.

Hard.

Former Pirates pitcher and “Million Dollar Arm” star Rinku Singh is making it big as a pro wrestler.

Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams obviously misses opening day. A dangerous quote from an NFL star. And paying homage to a basketball legend.

B.A. smacks down A.B. talk

Well! That’s that.

Since former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady hit free agency, there was a belief he was going to try to bring Antonio Brown with him wherever he went.

He’s been enamored with the idea of reconnecting with Brown ever since their one-game stint as New England Patriots teammates early in the 2019 season.

Now that he has signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that ain’t happenin’.

As we speculated after the signing, Bucs coach Bruce Arians was never going to co-sign on something like that. He doesn’t have a good history with Brown, going back to their days together in Pittsburgh. Plus, the Buccaneers already have two high-profile receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, as well as two good tight ends in Cameron Brate and O.J. Howard.

While appearing on CBS Radio on Thursday, Arians confirmed those suspicions. He wants no part of helping Brown rehabilitate himself.

“It’s not gonna happen,” Arians said. “There’s no room. It’s just not gonna happen. It’s just not a fit here.”

Hmm. That was blunt. When hosts Tiki Barber and Brandon Tierney pressed the topic, Arians countered again.

“No. I just know him and it’s not a fit in our locker room.”

Ouch!

Credit Arians for being up front about it. And something tells me that if he was this declarative about brushing off the Brown rumors, one of two things happened.

1. Arians and Brady talked about it already, and Brady relented.

2. Brady and Brown didn’t bother pursuing the idea knowing how much Brown hates Arians.

Actually, here’s a third option.

Both!

Rinku the Wrestler

Remember Rinku Singh?

He’s one of the former Pirates minor league pitchers who got his start in baseball via the “Million Dollar Arm” reality show in India.

Dinesh Patel was the other. They became cult heroes of sorts in Pittsburgh. Disney even made a movie about them.

After their baseball careers fizzled, Patel went back home to India after 15 Single-A appearances to compete in javelin competitions and coach baseball.

Singh spent parts of five years bouncing around the Single-A ranks to the tune of 85 professional games then pitched internationally for a bit.

Now Singh is a professional wrestler.

Seriously. Not kidding.

On March 25, Singh and partner Saurav Gurjar made their WWE NXT television debut on the USA Network by attacking NXT Tag Team Champion Matt Riddle.

Via WrestlingInc.com, “Singh made his in-ring debut in late May 2018. Gurjar, who previously worked for TNA’s Ring Ka King project in India, was also signed by WWE in January 2018. He made his in-ring debut a few months later, teaming with Singh at a live event. The Indian Superstars have been teaming at live events ever since.”

If Dinesh and Jon Hamm don’t work their way into the ring somehow as part of this, I’m going to be very disappointed.

Learning the hard way

Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams was going to throw on opening day one way or another.

Covid-19 shutdown be damned!

He just could’ve dialed it back on his son a little bit?

Maybe?

#MLBOpeningDay at home. I’m on pace for 27 punch outs. pic.twitter.com/0UJOy94m8m

— Trevor Williams (@MeLlamoTrevor) March 26, 2020

Nah. Come to think of it, Williams is right. Make the kids learn the hard way these days.

Quite the vocal punch out, though. Maybe the younger Williams charges the mound next time.

That may result in a suspension. Or perhaps time out in his room. But it’d be worth it.

I’ve heard this somewhere before

Colts linebacker Darius Leonard made a bold claim to the “Going Deep Podcast.”

When his time comes, Darius Leonard wants to completely reset the Linebacker market and get what he's worth. Will he be the first $100M LB?

Check out our full sit down with @dsleon45 here:
Apple: https://t.co/aAQtfMG6MM
Spotify: https://t.co/BeBDPFY2dd pic.twitter.com/huDi45mKO2

— Going Deep Podcast (@goingdeep) March 26, 2020

Leonard is a great player. Don’t get me wrong.

All I know is that the last group of guys who talked about “setting the new market” for their positions were running backs Devonta Freeman in Atlanta (five-year, $41.25 million contract in 2017), Todd Gurley in Los Angeles (four-year, $60 million contract in 2018) and Le’Veon Bell in New York (four-year, $52 million contract in 2019 with the Jets)

Well, they reset the market for sure. Pretty much back to zero.

Those three guys all got huge money. Freeman and Gurley have already been cut. And there has been frequent speculation that the New York Jets would like to trade Bell.

So good luck, Darius. Just be careful what you ask for. Because I’m not sure we are ever going to see another running back get huge money like that again.

Sad to see

Harlem Globetrotter Fred “Curly” Neal died this Week at the age of 77 at his home in Houston. The cause of death has not been released.

When I was young, I loved the Globetrotters. Like every kid.

Everybody had their favorite player over the years: Meadowlark Lemon, Marques Haynes, “Goose” Tatum, “Geese” Ausbie.

Oh, that Chamberlain kid they had for a while wasn’t bad either. Whatever happened to that guy?

But “Curly” was my favorite.

Yeah, the guy with the bald head who could dribble like crazy and shoot from a mile away.

He was also the best Globetrotter on the “Scooby Doo” episodes.

Yes. When you were a child in the 1970s, that mattered!

Neal played in more than 6,000 games for the Globetrotters and has his No. 22 retired at Madison Square Garden.

Here’s why.