First Call: Josh Dobbs speaks about going to Cleveland from Steelers; ex-Penguins star nets a hat trick

In Monday’s “First Call,” former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Josh Dobbs discusses his move to Cleveland. A former Penguin puts up a hat trick. The Washington Capitals keep winning. And we reflect on the loss of a former Penn State football standout.

Change of allegiance

New Cleveland Browns quarterback Josh Dobbs knows it’ll be strange if he is still with the team when it plays the Steelers this season.

Dobbs was in Pittsburgh from 2017-19 and again in 2020 and 2021. Now he’s trying to stick on the roster of one of the Steelers’ AFC North rivals.

“In talking with Cleveland, it’s a tremendous opportunity as well as a really, really fun (quarterback) room to be in and a really, really talented team,” Dobbs told Sirius NFL Radio Sunday. “It’s a little weird, you play against them every year in the league being in Pittsburgh, and now you are a Cleveland Brown. Of course, I’m excited about the opportunity. I’m excited about the future.”

Dobbs thinks he’ll be a good fit in coach Kevin Stefanski’s offense if he gets a chance to play.

“Just getting a chance to watch Stefanski’s offense, I’ll be excited to dive into it, and play in it, as well — and contribute however I can to help the team win,” Dobbs continued.

As of now, Dobbs is the fourth QB on the depth chart behind Deshaun Watson, Baker Mayfield and Jacoby Brissett. But with Watson’s suspension status up in the air and the likelihood of Mayfield being traded at some point before or after the draft, Dobbs may have a chance to stick with Cleveland.

Dobbs is 10 of 17 for 45 yards with an interception and no touchdowns in his career after appearing in six games.

It had been … how long?

Former Penguin Jordan Staal recorded a hat trick Sunday for the Carolina Hurricanes. It was part of a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Jordan Staal x3

That's an @Enterprise hat trick for the @Canes' captain! pic.twitter.com/ipeElo316B

— NHL (@NHL) April 11, 2022

Staal now has 13 goals on the season. This was his fourth career hat trick. According to NHL public relations, this is Staal’s first hat trick since Nov. 11, 2008. That’s a span of 4,898 days. It marks the longest span between regular-season hat tricks in NHL history, ahead of Dit Clapper (4,363 days: March 9, 1933, and March 4, 1951).

The win gives the Hurricanes 102 points. That’s two better than the New York Rangers atop the Metropolitan Division and eight in front of the Penguins.

Caps attack

As the Penguins were beating the Nashville Predators in overtime Sunday afternoon, the Washington Capitals were keeping pace in the Metropolitan Division, defeating the Boston Bruins 4-2.

Alex Ovechkin put the game away with an empty netter. It was his 775th career goal.

pic.twitter.com/lcPoyLiOng

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 10, 2022

The Capitals have now won three games in a row and Ovechkin has scored in all of them. He has 45 goals on the year, good for fourth in the NHL.

Washington is up to 90 points, four behind the Penguins for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division.

Penn State football mourns a loss

Former Penn State Nittany Lion football player Gary Brown died Sunday night. That’s according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Clarence Hill Jr.

Hill says Brown — a former Dallas Cowboys assistant coach who spent last year coaching running backs at Wisconsin — was in hospice care in Williamsport.

Brown played for Penn State from 1987-90. At 5-foot-11, 230 pounds, Brown ran for 689 yards and six touchdowns in 1989. The Houston Oilers drafted Brown in 1991, and he spent eight seasons in the NFL, playing for the Oilers, Chargers and Giants.

After retirement in 1999, Brown spent some time coaching at Lycoming, Susquehanna, Rutgers, the Browns and Cowboys before going to Madison. According to Hill, Brown had a wife, Kim, and three children.