First Call: Paul Skenes reacts to his GQ photo spread with Livvy Dunne; Steelers pulled back on Kirk Cousins inquiry

Thursday’s “First Call” has pictures of Paul Skenes’ GQ photo shoot with Livvy Dunne. The Pittsburgh Penguins have a daunting task in St. Louis. The Steelers apparently pulled back from a quarterback inquiry.

Plus, Alex Ovechkin scored again. But now his Washington Capitals are suddenly struggling.

Smile pretty for the camera

GQ magazine published a photo spread with Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and his girlfriend, LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne.

The photos of them are great. But the magazine was, umm, going for a certain theme.

What that theme is, I’m not exactly sure.

It wouldn't be hard to make the case that Livvy Dunne and Paul Skenes are the archetypal Gen Z power couple

They're the pride of Baton Rouge and Pittsburgh, respectively, but the truest measure of their influence lives online https://t.co/7SW2qY0lej pic.twitter.com/QYq2p6trRL

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) April 2, 2025

" It's not my job to take pictures with these people, it's my job to throw, and them wanting to take pictures is getting in the way of that. But she always handles everything very well... she never says no to a picture. I say no to them.” – Paul Skenes https://t.co/7SW2qY0lej pic.twitter.com/HbU50xUA7Z

— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) April 2, 2025

In that one shot, why is Skenes eating Honeycomb cereal in a pinstripe suit coat and no shirt? There is also another picture where Skenes is dressed like Christian Bale from “American Hustle,” and Dunne has 1980s leg warmers on as if she is going to an all Debbie Gibson Jazzercize class — while she’s laying on a piano for some reason.

The couple’s dog, Roux, also makes a cameo.

Paul Skenes on his GQ photoshoot:

"Um, yeah, I don’t know… I didn't know what GQ was until the offer came, [but] glad I did it. I mean, how'd I look?!" ???? pic.twitter.com/FR2gPP4ieH

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 2, 2025

“I’m gonna get some flak in the locker room,” Skenes said on SportsNet Pittsburgh. “I’m not looking forward to that.”

Oh, yes, you are, Paul. Yes, you are.

But keep pitching like you did against Tampa Bay on Wednesday, and you can eat all the shirtless Honeycomb that you want.

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Ovi strikes again

For as steady as Alex Ovechkin was in the month of March if he was going to assure himself of catching Wayne Gretzky on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list this year, he was either going to need at least one big game, or he was going to need to get a consecutive-game scoring streak going.

The Washington Capitals winger basically scored every other game in March, notching seven goals in 14 days. That got him within five goals of breaking Gretzky’s mark of 894 career goals.

Now he has scored in back-to-back games to open April, tallying another goal Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

THREE. GOALS. LEFT. ????

Alex Ovechkin is getting closer and closer to the all-time NHL goals record ???? pic.twitter.com/OwXxNK2F3o

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 3, 2025

The Caps ended up losing 5-1. Ovi is just three goals away from breaking the record with seven games remaining. The last of those games is in Pittsburgh on April 17.

Ovechkin is up to 39 goals on the season. Washington still leads Carolina by nine points in the Metropolitan Division, but the team has lost four times in its last five outings.

Thanks, but no thanks

Atlanta seems ready to move on from veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. But no other NFL team seems very interested in picking him up. Nor is he interested in certain destinations.

According to Bleacher Report’s James Palmer, the Steelers inquired about Cousins at some point in the quarterback search. But he claims that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith — the former head coach in Atlanta — nixed a lot of the discussion after speaking with some folks he still knows in the organization.

“The Steelers called and kicked the tires early, but my understanding is that Arthur Smith, being the former head coach in Atlanta, still knows plenty of people in that building and kind of got the word on where things are with Kirk in terms of his play as a quarterback,” Palmer said Wednesday on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel. “The Steelers, obviously, have fallen off.”

In 14 games last year coming off of an Achilles injury, Cousins put up 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and 16 interceptions with a passer rating of 88.6. For roughly a full season as a starter, those were career-worst stats for him.

Palmer says Cleveland has expressed an interest.

“The Browns had called the Falcons very early in this process, I was told, and Kirk kind of squashed that to some extent, to my understanding,” Palmer said. “Kind of made it through certain intermediaries to get back to the Browns that he wasn’t interested in going there.”

I’m not sure if that means Cousins wouldn’t report or if he threatened retirement if he was dealt to Cleveland, but somehow, he put the brakes on that talk.

The Browns still have former Steeler Kenny Pickett to turn to as the starter if needed.

No Blues to sing

The Penguins visit the hottest team in hockey tonight as they are in St. Louis to take on the Blues.

Coach Jim Montgomery’s team has won 10 games in a row. The club has vaulted itself into a tie with Minnesota at 89 points apiece. Those two are tied for the Western Conference’s two wild card spots, seven points clear of the Calgary Flames.

The Blues haven’t lost since they last played the Penguins on March 13 in Pittsburgh. Rickard Rakell had a goal and an assist that night. The Pens won 5-3.

St. Louis’ defense and goaltending have been outstanding of late. They have yielded more than two goals just once during their streak, which was a 4-3 overtime win against Vancouver back on March 20. Jordan Binnington has won six of the games. Joel Hofer has won four.

The penalty kill for Montgomery’s group has been particularly sharp, stopping 20 of their last 22 attempts. Robert Thomas leads the team with 69 points. Jordan Kyrou is tops with 32 goals.

LISTEN: Tim Benz and Jeff Erickson host their weekly Fantasy Sports podcast.