First Call: Early hype for young Steelers; Derek Shelton on run of no-hitters; another Penguins classic moment

Friday’s “First Call” gives us some praise for a pair of young Pittsburgh Steelers skill-position players.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton wonders why we are seeing so many no-hitters this year in Major League Baseball.

We have another reason why Friday is special in Penguins history. And Bruce Arians said he won’t be retiring (again) anytime soon.

Early accolades

The NFL Players Association published a list of 20 “rising stars” in the league. Ten of them are rookies who were just drafted at the end of April. The other 10 are young veterans with at least a year of experience under their belts.

Two Steelers made the list. In the rookie category, first-round draft choice Najee Harris was highlighted in the eighth spot. All 10 names on the list are offensive players. The only other running back besides Harris was Jacksonville Jaguars first-rounder Travis Etienne.

Etienne’s teammate — and fellow Clemson Tiger alumnus — Trevor Lawrence was atop the list. The No. 1 overall pick was one of five quarterbacks mentioned.

Wide receiver Chase Claypool was ninth of the 10 players who made the young veterans list. New Philadelphia Eagles starting quarterback Jalen Hurts was first.

Claypool had 873 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns in his rookie season of 2020.

B.A. is gonna stay

It’s been a decade since former Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians famously (clears throat) “retired” from coaching.

Since then, he has gone on to be the offensive coordinator and interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Then he won a Super Bowl as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season.

Discussion of Arians retiring again — for real, this time — resurfaced on Super Bowl Sunday. It was reported Arians may retire if the team won. He denied it shortly after the win over the Kansas City Chiefs and is taking that statement one step further now.

In a recent conversation with Pewter Report, Arians said he has no plans to retire anytime soon. Even if that means coaching beyond whenever quarterback Tom Brady decides to walk away.

“That’s the plan,” he said. “I don’t have any plans on retiring. It’s just, when do I not want to go back to work? When I’m not excited about going back to work, then I’m cheating somebody. I’m cheating the Glazer family, I’m cheating my players. Right now I can’t wait to get back to work. I don’t know when that’s going to happen. But, no, I’m not tied to any players.”

Arians began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1975. He’ll turn 69 years old in October.

Anniversary for Artie

In Thursday’s “First Call,” we mentioned that Friday is the 12th anniversary for one of the great individual performances in Penguins playoff history.

On May 21, 2009, Evgeni Malkin netted a hat trick in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Well, actually, make it the anniversary for two of the greatest performances in Penguins playoff history. Because on May 21, 1992, Kevin Stevens scored four goals in a 5-1 romp over the Boston Bruins in Game 3 of the Wales Conference Final. Two days later, Mario Lemieux would score twice in another 5-1 win, capping off a sweep and a second consecutive Conference Final victory over the Bruins.

That 1992 team would then go on to sweep the Chicago Blackhawks as well and defend the Stanley Cup they had won the previous season.

Be the ball

There already have been six no-hitters in Major League Baseball this season. And we aren’t even at Memorial Day on the calendar.

So what gives?

Pirates manager Derek Shelton was asked for his opinion before the team’s game Thursday in Atlanta. He’s grasping for an explanation just like the rest of us.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Shelton said. “Offense throughout the league is at a historically low rate. I don’t know if it’s coming out of the shortened season or if it’s because you’re seeing more bullpen guys. I really don’t have an answer for it.”

Shelton was asked whether the actual baseballs MLB is using might be a factor.

“It very possibly could (be the ball),” Shelton said. “The balls feel different. The seams are definitely different. Maybe guys have the ability to spin differently. The one thing about it, it’s been different variants of guys. It’s not the same type of (pitcher). It’s not (only) power guys or control guys. So I don’t know.”

According to MLB.com, in 1884, there were a record eight no-hitters thrown in a single season. The modern era record is seven no-hitters in one season. That has been done in four different years: 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015.