Mark Madden stories

Marc-Andre Fleury’s curtain call this past Saturday night at PPG Paints Arena was hokey, carny and rooted in a money grab via selling out an exhibition game at inflated prices. But it was incredibly memorable and worthwhile. Tear-jerking, heart-warming, the whole schmear. Absolutely flawless. I loved it. That says something...

Are the Pittsburgh Penguins truly rebuilding? Or are they splitting the difference between rebuilding and reaping nostalgia created by the core three of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin indulging the unbreakable bond of eternal brotherhood? (It’s a truly compelling story. It’s also one reason the Penguins are in...

As the Pittsburgh Pirates mercifully put a wrap on another stinker of a season, whispers circulate that Don Kelly isn’t a lock to return as manager. Maybe that shouldn’t be surprising. Kelly replaced Derek Shelton on May 8 after previously serving as Shelton’s bench coach. Kelly never officially had the...

Andrew McCutchen wants to keep playing baseball, presumably for the Pittsburgh Pirates. That had better be the case, anyway. There’s little demand for 38-year-old designated hitters with zero mobility beyond markets where they can sell interest, hype, some merchandise and a few tickets as a nostalgia act. For McCutchen, that’s...

Some have the fragrance of hope and roses. Others smell like sweat and despair. These refreshing Pittsburgh Steelers notes are decidedly a mixed bag. Not unlike their 2-1 record. • The Steelers scored touchdowns on their first two drives at New England, then got a total of one first down in...

Right now, it looks like the Steelers erred in giving edge rusher T.J. Watt a three-year, $123 million contract extension. It seems too early to say that, right? The Steelers have played just two games. But Watt’s impotence dates back through last season: He’s got no sacks in his last...

There are lots of reasons the Pittsburgh Penguins shouldn’t trade Sidney Crosby. The team’s legacy is served best by him being a one-logo guy. (His, too, probably.) Crosby sells tickets, win or lose. (But attendance did drop by 1,300 per game last season.) Rebuilding is served by him shepherding the team’s...

The Pittsburgh Penguins are signing goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to a tryout contract. He will practice once, then play in the team’s exhibition game vs. Columbus on Sept. 27 at PPG Paints Arena. Fleury will retire as a Penguin. Unless Fleury does well enough for the Penguins to want him to...

The excuses, okey-dokeys and empty platitudes are piling up in the wake of the Steelers’ odious 31-17 home loss to Seattle. “It’s only two games! Be patient!” We’ve been patient for eight years, each without a playoff win. “Broderick Jones needs time to adjust to left tackle.” That time should...

No matter how bad the Pirates are, the true believers and media stooges never run out of excuses. Here’s the latest: On Friday night, the Pirates extended their losing streak to seven with a 6-5 defeat at Washington. It was their fourth straight loss by one run. It was quickly...

Sidney Crosby’s agent has put Crosby departing Pittsburgh in play. Pat Brisson compared Crosby to Tom Brady, who left New England’s dynasty to win a seventh Super Bowl with Tampa Bay. Brisson said a trade “is always a possibility.” Not before Brisson said that, it wasn’t. For the first time,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have problems. Some can be fixed. The eventual return of injured rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon should help the run defense, which got gashed this past Sunday at New York. The rushing attack has two established pros in Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell. If neither step forward,...

I’ve been a Pittsburgh Penguins supporter since the franchise’s first season, 1967-68. I went to my first game when I was 7. The Penguins were bad for a long time. Won four playoff rounds total before 1991. (Then won four playoff rounds that year.) I needed a mistress team. Somebody else...

The Pirates have won 11 of 15, swept Los Angeles, lead MLB in shutouts, Paul Skenes is cooking, Don Kelly’s record sits at .500, Konnor Griffin is on the horizon, and optimism moving forward is out of control. Absolutely unbearable. Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 FM tweeted, “If the playoffs started...

I’ve got a bland prediction. It’s going to be a bland season. The Pittsburgh Steelers will go 9-8. Stuck in the mushy middle. The Steelers will just make or just miss the playoffs. If they do make the postseason, the Steelers will be one-and-done. Same as it ever was. Thursday...

Has anyone ever so quickly devalued his reputation with Steeler Nation like Cam Heyward? Training camp seemed to have dodged turmoil when T.J. Watt signed his extension. Then the big-deal leader dictated otherwise. Only Heyward’s biggest apologists see him as being wronged. If he signed a bum deal a year...

The defense of Arch Manning in the wake of his abject failure this past Saturday at Ohio State has been vigorous. Not as vigorous as the defense that shut down the ballyhooed Texas quarterback. Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia confused and flustered Manning, as Patricia’s pedigree of three Super...

Micah Parsons got traded from Dallas to Green Bay, then signed a four-year contract worth $47 million per year. T.J. Watt’s new deal only calls for $41 million per year. Time to hold in. Time to renegotiate. Time for autocorrect. Myles Garrett’s contract in Cleveland pays just $40 million per....

There’s already a buzz surrounding next year’s Pittsburgh Pirates: “This team is close. Closer than people think.” Close to what? Escaping last place in the NL Central seems the only reasonable answer. But maybe not that close and certainly not that soon. (The Pirates are currently seven games out of...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are supposed to be all in. But the Steelers aren’t. They might think they are. They aren’t. You’re not all in when Calvin Austin III is your No. 2 wideout. You’re not all in when Jaylen Warren is your starter at running back. You’re not all in when...

The Cleveland Browns should cut Shedeur Sanders. It’s stupid to have a backup quarterback who is a constant topic of heated debate nationally and locally. It’s distracting and counterproductive. Cutting Sanders means absorbing heat for a few weeks, perhaps a bit longer. Then it goes away. Sanders certainly wouldn’t be...

Bubba Chandler’s MLB debut Friday night at PNC Park was the latest chapter in the sociological experiment that is Pittsburgh Pirates baseball. The Pirates are last in the National League Central because they unequivocally belong there. Despite leading MLB with 15 shutouts. The Pirates have scored fewer runs than any...

Mike Tomlin unloads lots of horse manure when he preaches to the media. One of Tomlin’s greatest hits is that nonsense about “not living in our fears.” The Pittsburgh Steelers do just that all too frequently, not least when they’re in the red zone. The Steelers lay up and settle...

Chris Boswell ending his hold-in without a fuss is understandable. He’s only a kicker. But Cam Heyward suddenly participating in team drills Tuesday was a bit surprising given previous harsh words and Heyward’s mastery of the hold-in genre. Heyward likely caved for two reasons: • He was becoming the clear-cut...

Andrew Heaney was abruptly removed from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitching rotation and sent to the bullpen. He had pitched 119 innings, one inning shy of a $50,000 bonus. It reeks of last season, when Rowdy Tellez got released four plate appearances short of a $200,000 bonus. But here’s the difference:...