First Call: Lamar Jackson vs. a jet ski, NHL hub city sleeper, Pirates' Jameson Taillon lashes out

Tuesday’s “First Call” looks at Lamar Jackson’s sand football/jet ski mishap. Belief in the Browns. And an update on the NHL hub city discussion.

This must’ve gone over big in Baltimore

How quickly do you think John Harbaugh passed out after watching this?

First of all, it’s star quarterback Lamar Jackson playing sand football.

(Remember how great that turned out for New England running back Robert Edwards back in 1999? Here’s that video.)

Then, in the middle of the game, Jackson wipes out while colliding into a parked jet ski.

Pick up football game on the beach... @Lj_era8 still took off and scrambled ? pic.twitter.com/0YCI0C1a4d

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) June 15, 2020

ESPN’s Jamison Hensley reports that Jackson is fine after the tumble.

No word yet on how long it took to resuscitate Harbaugh.

Or how quickly he got on the phone to tell Jackson to never … do … that … AGAIN!

Casserly all in on Cleveland

Last week, we explained how the Cleveland Browns could be a swing-team team if the AFC North is going to rise to the division of power in the AFC.

At least one former NFL general manager agrees.

Charley Casserly, now an analyst for the NFL Network, thinks the Browns are postseason bound in 2021.

The former GM of the Washington Redskins picked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an NFC team to make the playoffs this year that didn’t in 2019. He chose the Browns out of the AFC.

Reasons for that belief? Casserly pointed to simplifying the passing attack for Baker Mayfield, improved offensive tackle play and enhanced tight end play.

Casserly insists that fans have to get away from the bias of failure inherently associated with the name “Cleveland Browns” and just look at the roster on paper.

Why I think the @Browns snd @Buccaneers are Playoff teams this year. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/mr2Vhth4xR

— Charley Casserly (@CharleyCasserly) June 12, 2020

That all makes sense. But it’s the whole “ignoring the name on paper” thing that’s a problem.

And, by the way, picking the Browns as a team that can make the playoffs after missing out last year doesn’t mean that Casserly wouldn’t pick the Steelers to do the same thing.

He just sees Cleveland as a better bet.

I’ll disagree there. I like Cleveland’s chances of rebounding better than most in Pittsburgh. But I think the Steelers are the safer call in that regard.

Ticked-off Taillon

Pirates player rep Jameson Taillon is mad as hell, and he’s not gonna take it anymore.

The Buccos pitcher tweeted out this response when he found out that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred shifted the onus of stalled negotiations onto the players again.

This time for alleged health and safety reasons.

These so called “negotiations” (or lack there of) have been sooo slimy, tone deaf, greedy, lying, leaking, and overall out of touch. This is not even close to what you dream of as a kid! Sorry to everyone for this playing out through the media during a pandemic. Brutal.

— Jameson Taillon (@JTaillon19) June 15, 2020

Manfred told ESPN on Monday that he is “not confident” there will be a 2020 baseball season. He blamed a lack of “dialogue” with the players.

Those comments are only a week removed from Manfred saying “unequivocally, we are going to play Major League Baseball this year.”

That’s far less than a 100% certainty at this point.

What’s the ‘hubbub’?

Some new locations are emerging as candidates to be hub cities for an NHL reboot.

And, no, Pittsburgh doesn’t appear to be one.

On Monday, ESPN.com’s Emily Kaplan continued to assert that Las Vegas is a likely selection. That appears to be a fait accompli.

Pinning down the other destination appears to be elusive. Columbus was long rumored as a front runner, with Pittsburgh close behind. Then there was a late charge from Toronto.

Especially if the NHL was determined to put one destination in the East.

Now Kaplan makes it seem as if momentum on all of those sites has cooled, and a few other Western Conference teams are moving out front as leaders to host.

“I’ve heard that Los Angeles is picking up a lot of steam lately as an option, and I wouldn’t be shocked if it’s chosen,” Kaplan wrote on Monday.

“The NHL would be able to use the Anaheim Ducks’ 280,000-square-foot training facility in Irvine, California, though games would likely be played at Staples Center. The Ritz-Carlton in L.A. Live would house the teams. There are plenty of entertainment options within that bubble that should appease the players.”

Then Kaplan added Chicago as a dark horse candidate.

“The league is familiar with the city, after several long playoff runs there recently and a draft in 2017. One theory floating around this weekend was that if the NHL couldn’t secure a Canadian site, Chicago would be the other hub.”

That said, Kaplan had a source tell her Chicago was unlikely.

Re-signing Reaves

Ryan Reaves is staying in Las Vegas.

He signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract with the Golden Knights on Monday. That’s an average annual value of $1.75 million.

The former Penguins enforcer could have become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

And he made the announcement with his usual personal flare.

Ryan Reaves has some news for ya #VegasBorn pic.twitter.com/4Mc1AWgiBJ

— y-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 15, 2020

So look out Art Ross, Ryan Reaves is coming for you.

Or maybe he’ll just beat up whoever wins the scoring title next year.