First Call: Feel-good Jordan Staal story; Derek Dietrich punks Pirates again
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In Tuesday’s “First Call,” Jordan Staal’s kind gesture is heartwarming. More replay may be coming to the NHL. And Derek Dietrich continues to provoke.
Jordan’s jet
Carolina Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell shared some thoughts about the team chemistry that helped push his team from the seventh seed to the Eastern Conference finals.
He recently told Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet about former Penguin Jordan Staal.
Hurricanes defenseman Jacob Slavin was about to adopt a newborn baby girl who was supposed to be born between Games 1 and 2 of the first-round playoff series against Washington.
It was Staal who made sure his teammate could be there for the event in person.
“The only way it could work was that Jordan Staal owns some hours on a private plane,” Waddell told Friedman. “Jordan made sure it happened. That’s how they treated each other.”
On the one hand, I know that some may be muttering “jet time.” First world problem-solving from one of three NHL brothers with vast wealth.
More importantly, though, given what Staal and his wife went through with the loss of one of their own children — and knowing Staal the way Pittsburgh does — it’s fair to assume that if anything else was asked of him to help, he would’ve done it.
And more.
You knew this was coming
For as much complaining that takes place about instant replay in the NHL, this postseason has been marked by bad calls that couldn’t be fixed by looking at the tape.
A missed hand pass in the San Jose-St. Louis series. A missed headshot major in the Columbus-Boston series. A blown headshot call in the San Jose-Vegas series.
Because of those moments, hockey fans should brace themselves for more replay soon. It sounds like commissioner Gary Bettman is ramping up the dialogue in that direction.
“Clearly, what we already do still may not be enough,” Bettman said in his state of the league before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. “If we are to extend video replay — and we will be looking at that possibility — we must find the right balance when it comes to how much more to use and when to use it without affecting the flow, pace and excitement of our game. Perhaps most important, we’ve got to have a system that enables us to be consistent.”
Good luck with all that, Gary. But, yes, some expanded rules should go on the books to make sure those mistakes can be fixed.
Dietrich does it again
Back in April, Derek Dietrich hit a home run against the Pirates at PNC Park. He admired it for a while. Then he took a long walk around the bases.
Pitcher Chris Archer took exception and threw behind Dietrich later in the game. That touched off a bases-clearing dust-up.
Hang this in the Louvre. pic.twitter.com/2ArAXSEOqf
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 7, 2019
Dietrich wasn’t intimidated that day, as he homered again later in the game. Monday night, he went yard against the Pirates once more and pimped his way around the bases a second time, en route to an 8-1 Cincinnati win in Game 2 of a doubleheader.
Derek Dietrich crushes HR off Alex McRae — He took his time admiring it AND running the bases. He did that at #PNCPark and it led to benches clearing —it was Archer back then pic.twitter.com/KEEqi60zaW
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) May 28, 2019
Let’s see how Jordan Lyles approaches that situation Tuesday.
Size of the bite in the dog
Size doesn’t matter?
OK. Sometimes it does. But not in the case of Torey Krug and Robert Thomas.
The Bruins’ 5-foot-8, 185-pound defenseman smoked the Blues forward during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
Torey Krug, sans helmet, steamrolls Robert Thomas pic.twitter.com/a7irGDSAS1
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 28, 2019
Krug is 4 inches shorter and 10 pounds lighter than Thomas. But that didn’t seem to matter here.
Boston won, 4-2. The Bruins host Game 2 on Wednesday.
UVA victory
After taking out top-seeded Penn State Saturday in the semifinals, it appeared that Yale was on its way to its second-straight NCAA lacrosse national title.
Not so fast.
Virginia knocked off the Bulldogs, 13-8, on Monday in Philadelphia to claim the crown.
An Amazing Season Came to an End today with the program's Sixth NCAA title. We are all smiles watching these highlights of UVA's 13-9 win over the defending national champions, the Yale Bulldogs. Check out our video highlights below! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/SOUW5PNrAU
— Virginia Men's Lacrosse (@UVAMensLax) May 28, 2019
It was the first time Yale failed to score 10 goals this season.