Have you ever tried to play an organized sport with your sibling? It can be contentious.
My older brother and I did it once, on the Wildewood Wildcats Little League team in the late 1980s. We spent one game screaming at each other — him on first base, me on the mound — in between pitches.
“Throw it over the plate!”
“Shut up!”
“What are you scared of?”
“I SAID SHUT UP!”
Ah, the memories.
But it can work sometimes, too. That was the coolest thing about Thursday night, when former Virginia Tech standouts Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds became the first pair of brothers to be selected in the opening round of the same NFL Draft – simply being reminded of how much those two love each other, and realizing how fortunate we were to get to watch them play together.
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprised a lot of draft gurus when they selected Terrell with the 28th pick — 12 spots after Tremaine had been chosen by the Buffalo Bills. As Andy Bitter reported, Terrell was in the bathroom when he got the word, so he didn’t see it coming either.
Tremaine’s reaction when Terrell got selected was awesome. In a 10-second clip posted on Twitter by the Bills, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound linebacker let out a “WOW, MAN!” and began clapping his hands joyfully.
“Let’s go, man!” Tremaine said, smiling. “That’s my brother, man! Let’s go!”
The pictures of Tremaine and Terrell standing next to each other and holding their new NFL jerseys called to mind those images from 2015, when those two — as well as eldest brother Trey — lined up beside one another on the Tech kickoff team against Ohio State at Lane Stadium.
That game marked the Hokies debuts for both Tremaine and Terrell. They combined for zero tackles that night and just 45 that season, but their talent — and their familial tightness — was obvious even then.
In almost every feature story you read or saw about Tremaine or Terrell during their careers in Blacksburg, the other brother would be mentioned prominently. This past September, I asked Tremaine if it ever bothered him that they’re seemingly always viewed as a package and rarely as individuals.
He seemed surprised by the question. He shook his head no, then said the same four words he did on Thursday night in Texas: “That’s my brother, man.”
Point taken. And a hearty congrats to them both.
Cavalier comeback
A good story is taking shape in the Carolina League, where former University of Virginia pitcher Branden Kline is attempting to revive his career in the Baltimore Orioles system.
The affable right-hander was drafted in the second round in 2012 — a year after serving as the closer for a UVa team that made the College World Series. He was a Carolina League all-star selection for Frederick in ’14 and reached Double-A Bowie before a series of arm injuries jeopardized his career.
Kline didn’t pitch at all in 2016 and ’17 as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery and two subsequent elbow procedures.
Kline finally returned the mound this spring during Orioles camp, then got assigned to Frederick — the Maryland native’s hometown team. On April 5, he earned a victory with two scoreless innings of relief in his first official appearance since 2015.
Kline did not pitch against Salem in this week’s series at Haley Toyota Field, but those teams will square off again in western Maryland next week. Entering Friday’s action, Kline had thrown 8 1/3 innings for Frederick this season.
He’d yet to allow a run.