First Call: Duck Hodges and Lainey Wilson get engaged; Mario Lemieux feels the love in Montreal
Thursday’s “First Call” has wedding plans for a former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.
Sidney Crosby stood out in Canada’s first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Mario Lemieux was a star of the pregame ceremony as well.
Plus, a Cincinnati Bengal has requested a trade, and Pitt’s women’s basketball team plays host to one of the nation’s best.
Quack once for, ‘I do!’
An NFL player and his music superstar girlfriend are getting married.
No. Not … those two.
We’re talking about Devlin “Duck” Hodges and Lainey Wilson. The former Steelers quarterback and the country music star announced their engagement on social media Wednesday.
Congrats on your engagement, @laineywilson & Devlin Hodges! ???? pic.twitter.com/pOjHDDuEMF
— iHeartCountry (@iHeartCountry) February 13, 2025
Hodges played in eight games with the Steelers during the 2019 season. Wilson won “Best Country Album” (Bell Bottom Country) at the 66th Grammy Awards in 2024. She was nominated for “Best Country Album” (Whirlwind) this year.
Via People.com, “The couple began dating in 2021 but didn’t go public with their relationship until two years later when Hodges accompanied Wilson to the ACM Awards in May 2023.”
Mario moment
Mario Lemieux received a show-stopping standing ovation during pregame ceremonies at the 4 Nations Face-Off opener between Sweden and Canada in Montreal on Wednesday night.
The Penguins legend was born in the Ville-Émard section of Montreal in 1965.
Lemieux was accompanied at center ice by his former teammate, employee and tenant Sidney Crosby for the festivities. Crosby is serving as Canada’s captain during the tournament.
"MARIO, MARIO, MARIO!" ????️
Mario Lemieux gets a HUGE ovation from the Bell Centre crowd during the #4Nations pregame ceremony.
(????: @NHL_On_TNT) pic.twitter.com/wjynPatdMP
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) February 13, 2025
They were joined at center ice before the ceremonial puck drop by American goaltending legend Mike Richter and Team USA captain Auston Matthews.
Hall of Famers Daniel Alfredsson (Sweden) and Teemu Selänne (Finland) were present too. Victor Hedman is the Swedish captain. Aleksander Barkov wears the “C” for Finland.
Via NHL public relations, Lemieux scored an NHL International Tournament record 11 goals during the 1987 Canada Cup.
Sid shines
As for the game itself, Sidney Crosby sparkled. He assisted fellow Nova Scotian Nathan MacKinnon on a power play goal with a beautiful blind pass to give Canada a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the contest.
MCDAVID ➡️ CROSBY ➡️ MACKINNON
CANADA'S POWER PLAY OPENS UP #4NATIONS FACE-OFF WITH A BANG ???????????? pic.twitter.com/5qzZNIxeVw
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025
The Penguins captain also set up Vegas Golden Knights star Mark Stone on a rush in the second period to make the score 3-1 Canada.
A perfect setup from Sidney Crosby to Mark Stone! ???? #4Nations pic.twitter.com/vKz8dwFHYt
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 13, 2025
Canada ended up winning 4-3 in overtime as Crosby picked up a third assist, feeding Mitch Marner for the game-winner.
MITCH MARNER!!! ????
He wins it for Canada in just an amazing overtime! ???? #4Nations pic.twitter.com/lcXpPbkoBw
— NHL (@NHL) February 13, 2025
For Sweden, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson had an assist. Ex-Penguin prospect Filip Gustavsson took the loss between the pipes.
Pouting Pratt
A rival of the Steelers wants out of Cincinnati. Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt has requested a trade.
That’s according to both Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport at NFL Network. Rapoport says, “Cincinnati has been devoting resources to keeping their offensive core together, and Pratt was close to (defensive coordinator) Lou Anarumo, who was fired after last season.”
Anarumo is being replaced by Al Golden. He was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame last year.
Pratt has been with the Bengals since being drafted in 2019. Pratt had a team-leading 143 tackles in 2024. He added six passes defensed, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries during the 2024 season.
Via ProFootballTalk.com, trading Pratt would save the Bengals $5.8 million which could help them retain and/or extend the likes of Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson.
More sports
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• After losing 4 games in a row, Pitt confronts injuries, issues on offense
Dukes dunked
The Duquesne women’s basketball team had a rough outing at home Wednesday night. They lost at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, 72-52, to Massachusetts (14-11, 9-5 Atlantic 10).
Four of UMass’ starters were in double figures, led by Megan Olbrys, who had 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Dukes were just 16 of 55 from the floor (29.1%). They missed 29 of 37 3-point shots (21%). Megan McConnell and Andjela Matic led the way with 15 points apiece in defeat.
That’s the third straight loss for the Dukes (15-9, 6-7). They next play on the road Saturday against Loyola-Chicago.
Pitt (11-14, 3-9 ACC) has a huge game at 8 p.m. Thursday as second-ranked Notre Dame (21-2, 12-0) is in town. The Irish boast Hannah Hidalgo. She is second in the country in scoring at 25.9 points per game.
Robert Morris’ women’s team (10-14, 6-9 Horizon) also hosts IU Indianapolis (6-18, 5-10) at 7 p.m. Thursday.
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.
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