SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTERS
ADVERTISE| CLASSIFIEDS| JOBS| E-TRIB
HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS NETWORK TRIBLIVE LOCAL
Western Pennsylvania's trusted news source
First Call: Ex-Steeler Chad Brown screws up nickname; Gerrit Cole is strikeout leader; Phil Kessel to speak | TribLIVE.com
NFL

First Call: Ex-Steeler Chad Brown screws up nickname; Gerrit Cole is strikeout leader; Phil Kessel to speak

Tim Benz
Tim Benz
1622537_web1_Chad-Brown
Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Chad Brown reacts after sacking the Kansas City Chiefs Brodie Croyle at Heinz Field Oct. 15, 2006.

In Tuesday’s “First Call,” a former Steeler gives us some bad broadcasting. A former Cowboy looks for big broadcasting bucks. Le’Veon Bell’s ironic tweet. Gerrit Cole’s huge afternoon. And Phil Kessel finally speaks.

Brownout of the brain

Chad Brown is now providing color commentary for the Pac-12 Network.

He had a rough go of it last weekend.

The former Steelers linebacker repeatedly called the Washington State Cougars “the Huskies.”

Seeing as how Huskies is the nickname of the University of Washington, that’s a pretty bad mistake.

Brown did it often enough that Awful Announcing found some tweets where he felt the need to publicly apologize for his gaffes.

Maybe the network should’ve just given Brown the Colorado-Colorado State game. As a Colorado alum, he probably would’ve known the difference between the Buffalos and the Rams.

Kessel conference

Phil Kessel was traded from the Penguins to the Arizona Coyotes on June 30.

He will have his first press conference Tuesday at 10 a.m. (MST).

That’s so Phil.

How long is the streaming window open? Until 10:05 a.m.? What will they do with the extra four minutes?

If Phil had a sense of humor, he’d stream it from the lone chair in his home theater.

Cole’s Ks

Gerrit Cole keeps racking up strikeouts.

During a 3-2 Houston Astros win in Milwaukee Monday, the former Pirate totaled 14 strikeouts in six innings. The right-hander allowed just one run, three hits and two walks.

Cole has 14 Ks in back-to-back starts. He had 14 against the Tampa Bay Rays on August 28. In seven of his last nine starts, “Cole Train” has tallied at least 10 strikeouts.

He now has 266 strikeouts on the season to lead the majors. Cole’s ERA is down to 2.81. He is 15-5. He hasn’t lost a start since May 22.

Consider these numbers.

A few decent names on that list, no?

But, hey, at least the Pirates got Jason Martin back in exchange.

You gotta laugh

Le’Veon Bell is too busy spittin’ fire tracks to be aware of irony.

Check out this tweet posted by the Jets running back.

Yeah. “Playin’ no games” is kind of a familiar concept for Le’Veon, isn’t it?

He played no games in Pittsburgh all of last year as I recall, isn’t that right?

Tony’s tab

Former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is seeking $10 million per year to extend his contract.

The football commentator’s deal with CBS expires after the 2019 season. He is seeking beaucoup bucks to stay with the network.

Front Office Sports first reported the story. Writer Michael McCarthy characterizes the talks as “stalled.” But Romo recently seemed optimistic a deal could be reached, telling the website “I love working for CBS. I love the fact that I get to be an analyst doing football games.”

Romo’ cash earnings with the Cowboys exceeded $127 million over 14 seasons.

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.

Get Ad-Free >

Categories: NFL | NHL | Pirates/MLB | Sports | Breakfast With Benz
";