Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement announcement dovetailed with an ironic anniversary in Steelers history.
Antonio Brown reaches out to Big Ben on the day his career officially comes to an end. The Steelers work out a defensive back with an interesting background. And the Duquesne Dukes look to get themselves right on their home court.
All that in Friday’s “First Call.”
You figure it out
Antonio Brown continues his tour of attempting to mend bridges he burned with former quarterbacks.
First, it was Tom Brady shortly after he jabbed Brady on the way out of Tampa Bay in the wake of his shirtless exit from MetLife Stadium in Week 17.
Then he tried to patch up things with Ben Roethlisberger on Cameo before Big Ben played his last game in Pittsburgh against the Browns.
Now A.B. is stepping it up after Roethlisberger officially retired from football on Thursday.
Best tandem in the NFL, Congrats Legend ???? #7 #SteelerNation #BigBen #PitnotthePalace pic.twitter.com/uwf91N6FSN
— AB (@AB84) January 27, 2022
It doesn’t appear that Brown is apologetic for why he staged the various meltdowns that caused early exits from the Bucs, Steelers or Raiders, however.
During an appearance on Thursday’s “CBS Mornings,” host Nate Burleson asked Brown if he has any regrets for his public outbursts.
“I feel like, man, everything I did, I did it ‘cause my heart believed that was what I needed to do,” Brown responded. “And in life, sometimes you’ve got to listen to your heart because that’s the only way I could go to sleep at night. So — but I believe in my heart, in my eyes, and how I look at things and things I did, I think they all promoted me to be in this position I’m in.”
In his first broadcast TV interview, Antonio Brown tells @NateBurleson his side of the story, after walking off the field in the middle of a game: “Everything I did, I did it ’cause my heart believed that was what I needed to do.” pic.twitter.com/cqDyLoZLU7
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) January 27, 2022
Brown was also asked if he has ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition.
“I never had a mental health diagnosis. … I never had an issue or problem,” Brown said. “I don’t take pills. I just got a high IQ.”
Not high enough to avoid blowing an opportunity to catch passes from Roethlisberger and Brady … twice. But a “high IQ” nonetheless.
Sure.
Crazy coincidence
How’s this for symmetry?
The day that Ben Roethlisberger retired was the same day that the Steelers drafted Terry Bradshaw.
Fifty-two years earlier.
“How did I get to be the first pick in the draft?”
52 years ago today, the @Steelers selected a young gunslinger from Louisiana.
Terry Bradshaw: Going Deep premieres February 1 on @HBOMax pic.twitter.com/2JtHCHhMuA
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 27, 2022
Yup. Back in 1970, the NFL Draft was held in January in New York City.
Bradshaw was selected first overall out of Louisiana Tech. The Steelers were awarded the first pick in the draft after winning a coin-flip tiebreaker with the Chicago Bears. Both teams had identical 1-13 records in 1969.
The future Hall of Famer would play 14 years in Pittsburgh, winning four Super Bowls along the way. Bradshaw is about to be the subject of a documentary called “Going Deep,” which premieres Feb. 1 on HBO Max.
Money talks
The Steelers are taking a look at a defensive back with a cool name and familiar bloodlines.
According to ESPN’s Field Yates, the team worked out Monshadrik “Money” Hunter.
The Steelers worked out free agent DB Money Hunter today.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 27, 2022
The former Arkansas State defensive back is the son of former MLB All-Star Torii Hunter. He is currently a free agent.
Hunter is a four-year veteran of the Canadian Football League. He played in 14 games for the Montreal Alouettes in 2021, making 45 total tackles, one sack and two interceptions.
After graduating from Arkansas State back in 2016, Hunter played two seasons for the Edmonton Elks before joining the Alouettes. He has previously worked out for NFL teams such as the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals.
Wrong team? Right place?
The Duquesne Dukes men’s basketball team is looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Now they are getting a strong Atlantic 10 opponent at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The 13-6 St. Louis Billikens (4-2 A-10) visit the Bluff at 2 p.m. Saturday, having won three of their last four games. Coach Travis Ford’s team leads the conference in scoring at 79.5 points per game. In those three victories, the Billikens beat Fordham by 18, Massachusetts by 31 and George Washington by 13 in a game they never trailed and once led by 21.
One thing St. Louis doesn’t do particularly well, though, is win on the road. They’ve lost three of four road games thus far in 2021-22.
As for Keith Dambrot’s Dukes, they are looking to bounce back from a 72-61 loss at St. Joseph’s on Wednesday.
The Dukes and Billikens had their only game of the season canceled last year because of the pandemic. In 2019-20, the Dukes won both contests, 73-59 at home and 82-68 in St. Louis.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
