First Call: Fellow former Pitt player comes through for Damar Hamlin; huge day for Metro Division rivals
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Wednesday’s “First Call” features a first-hand account of how a fellow Pitt Panthers alum aided Damar Hamlin’s mother in her time of need.
An ESPN analyst had a very odd take on what happened to Hamlin Monday night. The Duquesne men’s basketball team looks to build on its conference home opener.
Also, Tuesday night provided highlights aplenty in the NHL’s Metropolitan Division.
For a friend
In the wake of Damar Hamlin’s collapse on the field in Cincinnati Monday night, a CNN live hit with Joe Danneman suggested that the ambulance carrying the Buffalo Bills defensive back waited for an extended period of time for his mother to ride with him to University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
The Fox19 reporter said he was watching the ambulance exit Paycor Stadium and it sat there for five to seven minutes waiting for Hamlin’s mother.
Buffalo Bills sideline reporter Sal Capaccio joined me on 105.9 The X Tuesday. He claimed to have observed Hamlin’s mother, Nina, trying to convince security to let her get on the field or make her way to the ambulance.
Not long thereafter, Capaccio saw fellow Bills defensive back Dane Jackson spot Hamlin’s mother pleading her case. Jackson — also a former Panther — apparently recognized Nina Hamlin wearing her son’s No. 3 jersey in the stands.
“He actually got the attention of the Bills team chaplain and director of player development, Len Vanden Bos. Between him and Bills security and Bengals security, they were able to kind of navigate her to get her to come down to the field so she could be with the ambulance,” Capaccio told me.
In October, the Bills website posted a story where Jackson referred to Hamlin as “a little brother.”
Not so great, Scott?
On ESPN’s “First Take” Tuesday, former Jets and Ravens linebacker Bart Scott strangely put the onus of Hamlin’s collapse on Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins for initiating the contact of the collision with Hamlin.
“Right before the tackle, he lowers his helmet and he kind of throws his body into his chest,” Scott said via the New York Post. “He’s standing up because he’s thinking he’s got to chase Tee Higgins at an angle to make a tackle so he didn’t expect Tee Higgins to launch his body back into him.
It's this one pic.twitter.com/MK8rYyFStH
— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) January 3, 2023
“It’s one of those things, a lot of times you see it as a linebacker … a running back comes through the hole and he knows the contact is coming so he lowers his helmet and you can’t get underneath him so he’s able to get into you and your chest is exposed. They have taken that out of the game but they don’t really regulate it as much as possible. I expect the league will be a lot more vigilant when it comes to that and using that penalty.”
I don’t see it that way at all. That looked like a perfectly legal, routine, clean football play that just happened to have an unfortunate ending.
Former Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum, who also appeared on the show, responded with an opinion similar to mine.
“There are certain things that you just can’t take out of the game. That was a routine play, it was clean, it was legal — obviously tragic what happened,” Tannenbaum replied.
As the Post points out, as of Tuesday, there has been no medical confirmation that the hit itself caused Hamlin to go into cardiac arrest.
Runnin’ with the Rams (part 2)
After dispatching the Rhode Island Rams 72-61 on Saturday, the Duquesne Dukes host a different Atlantic 10 herd of Rams.
The ones from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Dukes (11-4) welcome VCU Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The Rams are 10-4, having won their only A-10 conference game so far. That was an 80-67 victory over La Salle on New Year’s Eve.
Duquesne’s victory over URI balanced out a 69-57 conference-opening defeat at Dayton last Wednesday.
VCU won the only game between the schools last year, 71-62 in Richmond. Junior guard Adrian Baldwin Jr. leads VCU with 13 points per game. Duquesne center Joe Reece is coming off a team-best 18 points against Rhode Island.
Storm subsides
Finally, after 11 consecutive victories, the Carolina Hurricanes’ winning streak was snapped Tuesday night. They fell on the road against the New York Rangers 5-3.
After beginning the third period down 4-3, the Rangers owned the final frame. K’Andre Miller scored the go-ahead goal at the 10:27 mark.
MILLER!!!! THE RANGERS HAVE THE LEAD pic.twitter.com/J2mVKJjGjR
— Rangers on MSG (@RangersMSGN) January 4, 2023
That was Miller’s third of the year. Carolina still leads the Metropolitan Division with 56 points. The Rangers and Washington Capitals are tied for third and fourth place in the division with 48 points apiece.
That’s after the Capitals lost a 5-4 overtime decision at home against the Buffalo Sabres. Alexander Ovechkin scored twice in the loss. He now has 26 goals on the season (third in the NHL) and 808 goals for his career.
WHAT ELSE CAN WE SAY????? pic.twitter.com/Gb2dvE0lYX
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 4, 2023
Tage Thompson had the overtime game winner and a hat trick for the Sabres.
Honestly, who else?
Tage Thompson scores the @Energizer OT winner to give the @BuffaloSabres their first win in 2023! pic.twitter.com/EOSOMgpJ9A
— NHL (@NHL) January 4, 2023
That was the 30th goal on the season for Thompson. Only Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid has more with 32.
After a 6-2 win by the New York Islanders in Vancouver Tuesday, the Penguins are now in sixth place in the Metro with 44 points.
Saad not sad
Gibsonia’s Brandon Saad had a nice night for the St. Louis Blues. He had a pair of goals during a 6-5 shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The first was shorthanded.
This makes us very, very Haappy. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/6lcSH4hibR
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 4, 2023
Saad has 10 goals on the season. St. Louis is up to 39 points, two slots out of the final wild-card position in the Western Conference.