First Call: Updates on Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb as Steelers-Browns game looms; fan invades Ravens broadcast booth
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Tuesday’s “First Call” has a health update on a bunch of banged up Cleveland Browns as they prepare to host the Steelers Sunday. The Tampa Bay Lightning are still scuffling as they get ready to face off against the Penguins Tuesday night. Pitt’s success is getting the attention of oddsmakers.
And someone interrupted the Baltimore Ravens radio broadcast in a very aggressive way.
Browns getting better
A few Cleveland Browns offensive starters may be getting healthier in advance of their game against the Steelers Sunday.
According to BrownsWire.com, running back Nick Chubb and tackle Jack Conklin returned to practice Monday. They both missed the last two games.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is still a question mark. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski didn’t rule out Mayfield for Week 8. But he also wouldn’t speculate about the idea of the quarterback perhaps going on injured reserve.
If the Browns medical staff believes Mayfield could miss the next three games, it could suggest IR, making it four missed games in total. He sat out last week’s win over the Denver Broncos.
Should Mayfield miss the game, Case Keenum would be in line for a second straight start. Placing Mayfield on injured reserve would open a roster spot for the next three weeks. But the Browns have some flexibility with the means to elevate Nick Mullens from the practice squad.
Radio gaga
During Sunday’s game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, a woman tried to bust into the Ravens broadcast booth. She was looking for a drink.
Via AwfulAnnouncing.com, Baltimore announcers Gerry Sandusky and Obafemi Ayanbadejo were interrupted in the middle of their call as the woman attempted to scale her way into the booth, in search of an adult beverage.
Insane moment on Ravens radio as a fan tries to climb into the broadcast booth looking for a drink: pic.twitter.com/RIA8lQjk4v
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 24, 2021
After Ayanbadejo was heard saying, “What, what are you doing?!” to the fan, 17 seconds of silence ensued as the broadcasters presumably tried to quell the situation.
Sandusky then resumed play-by-play of a snap and explained, “If you were listening, you heard Femi say, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?’ He was not talking to the players or the coaches. We actually had a fan who was trying to climb into the broadcast booth. She said, ‘I’m a veteran and I’m looking for a drink.’”
There’s no word on what happened to the fan. Hopefully she was escorted out before the wheels really came off for the Ravens en route to their 41-17 loss.
Baltimore’s press box sits very low in the seating bowl and fans often can turn around and bang on the glass separating the media from the fans. If the Ravens broadcast crew had the window open, I could see how a fan may be able to stand on top of the last row of seats and try to climb into the booth.
Pennies for Pitt
Bookmakers have clearly identified some gambling momentum in favor of the University of Pittsburgh football team.
According to BetRivers.com, Pitt is a minus-143 favorite to win the ACC. Wake Forest is second at +250.
The Panthers are +5000 to win the National Championship. Only eight teams currently rank higher than Pitt on the board. Georgia is a +110 favorite.
The Panthers (6-1) are a 10 ½ point favorite over Miami (3-4) Saturday at Heinz Field.
Lightning crashes
The sluggish start for the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t stop with their 6-2 opening night loss to the Penguins.
Tampa dropped a 5-1 contest in Buffalo Monday night, falling to 2-3-1. Coach Jon Cooper’s team has lost three in a row and has allowed 25 goals. Only the Arizona Coyotes (29) and Chicago Blackhawks (27) have yielded more. At 15%, Tampa’s power play is only 24th in the NHL.
While Brian Elliott absorbed the defeat to the Sabres, No. 1 goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn’t exactly been on top of his game, going 2-2-1 with a 3.13 goals against average and a save percentage of just .893.
The Lightning visit PPG Paints Arena for a rematch of Game 1 Tuesday night. Other struggling Bolts include Corey Perry, who is a minus-6 with no points. Defenseman Mikhail Sergachev is a minus-8 with six penalty minutes and three points.