Mark Madden stories, Page 24
Mark Madden: Steelers need to focus on need rather than flash with 1st-round pick
Talk surrounding what the Pittsburgh Steelers do in the upcoming NFL Draft is mostly about stories. It should be about what helps the Steelers most. Former Pitt receiver Jordan Addison wants to play with the Steelers to reconnect with quarterback Kenny Pickett. Addison ditched Pitt to get NIL loot at...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Basketball’s best ever? Give me Wilt Chamberlain
This past Thursday was the 61st anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in an NBA game. That game had a lot of quirks, not least Chamberlain hitting the century mark. It was a neutral-site game played in Hershey. That was the state of the NBA then: A game played...
Mark Madden: Despite little impact at trade deadline, expect Penguins to reach the playoffs
The NHL trade deadline has come and gone. But refreshing Penguins notes last forever. Just like the salary cap problems created by GM Ron Hextall. • The Penguins locker room can’t be happy with what Hextall has done (and mostly hasn’t) at the trade deadline. But this group won’t shrink....
Mark Madden: Jakob Chychrun would help Penguins reach the playoffs, but does that move make sense?
As Friday’s NHL trade deadline looms, the most concrete option for the Pittsburgh Penguins seems to be the potential acquisition of defenseman Jakob Chychrun from Arizona. The price, we’re told, is two first-round draft picks. Other teams reportedly kicked the tires on Chychrun, including Boston, Edmonton and Los Angeles. But...
Mark Madden: If Bob Nutting wanted to ‘find a way’ to sign Bryan Reynolds, it would be done
Spring training for the Pirates has only just started, and the horse manure is piling up as fast as the pitch clock will allow. The attendant stooge media and subservient blogging fanboys will have you believe this will be a good season. Depends on your definition of “good,” one supposes....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Taylor Lewan is not Steelers’ answer at left tackle
The Pittsburgh Steelers need a left tackle. Dan Moore Jr. was serviceable this past season, making improvement on his rookie year. He has started all 33 games at left tackle since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2022. But Moore might help more moving to guard or being...
Mark Madden: Time for the Penguins to deal with reality, not long-shot fantasy
We can hold two truths to be self-evident in the wake of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ four-game losing streak that got extended Thursday at PPG Paints Arena via a 7-2 massacre by Edmonton: • The Penguins should be sellers between now and the March 3 NHL trade deadline. • They need...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ mangled defense needs a shakeup, but can management pull it off?
The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost three in a row, looked bad doing it, and are currently not in a playoff position. They finally got their starting goalie back after a month out, but he soiled the blue paint and blew Monday’s must-win home date with the New York Islanders. Tristan...
Mark Madden: Don’t blame the core 3 or their cap hits for Penguins’ struggles
The Pittsburgh Penguins are, at best, a first-round playoff loser. That’s their ceiling, and they might not reach that. There’s lots of blame to go around, but none should fall on this past offseason’s retention of Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin, thus preserving the core three along with Sidney Crosby....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Blaming the offensive coordinator a relatively new pastime
I’ve been listening to sports talk radio since it started. (The first local show was probably Myron Cope’s, which started in 1968. John Cigna also dabbled.) The Steelers have been through a lot of quarterbacks in that time. When the quarterback faltered back when — whether it was Terry Bradshaw,...
Mark Madden: Keeping 1st-round pick smart for Penguins, who aren’t close enough to contend
As the March 3 trade deadline looms, locker rooms and fan bases in each NHL city clamor for their team to make a deal that gets it to the next level, even a Stanley Cup. False optimism can drive that sentiment even with teams that should be sellers. Seems like...
Mark Madden: Back to being a distraction, JuJu Smith-Schuster shows who he really is — an immature punk
After wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster left Pittsburgh and signed with Kansas City during the 2022 offseason, he went relatively quietly. Smith-Schuster minimized his addiction to social media and self-promotion, chipping only occasionally. Did Smith-Schuster stop dancing on opposition logos, climbing milk crates, going to high school proms and starring on TikTok...
Mark Madden: ‘Just play’ strategy not working for cowardly Penguins
A certain vulgarity used to describe absence of bravery does not, as popularly thought, have an anatomical origin. Rather, it derives from the word pusillanimous, which is defined as “showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.” That understood, the Pittsburgh Penguins are as pusillanimous as can be. The latest...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Patrick Mahomes won’t pass Tom Brady as NFL’s GOAT
Patrick Mahomes is already being talked about as the GOAT, including by people whose opinion is to be respected. But Mahomes can’t be the GOAT. He’s not going to win seven Super Bowls like Tom Brady. If he comes close, the conversation will come around to Brady beating Mahomes in...
Mark Madden: Super Bowl is about more than a football game
The Super Bowl is uniquely American. Many who care little about football watch in the context of it being a social event. The Monday after should be a national holiday. Call it Joe Namath Day. (More later.) Never mind the game: The Super Bowl’s peripheral audience is into the commercials,...
Mark Madden: Steelers would be smart to keep Mitch Trubisky and vice versa
As the Steelers ponder their future at backup quarterback, Mitch Trubisky likely is pondering whether he wants to stay in Pittsburgh. Trubisky has a year left on his contract, so he has no choice if the Steelers insist. But coach Mike Tomlin wants volunteers, not hostages. Trubisky’s base salary for...
Mark Madden: Changing NHL playoff format would keep things fresh, but Maple Leafs still wouldn’t win
Sidney Crosby says he’d like to see the NHL playoff format switched to seeding the teams in each conference from 1 through 8. That’s instead of playing within divisions (allowing for the possible crossover of a wild card) for the first two rounds. This met with manic approval from Toronto...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Hockey just doesn’t know how to be cool
Hockey is my favorite sport. Because that’s true, I feel qualified to analyze why the NHL’s national TV ratings are down 22% from last year. There are regional blackouts. Start times aren’t staggered; games hit intermission at the same time. Cord-cutting takes ESPN and TNT off the radar of too...
Mark Madden: Whether from outside or within, Penguins need a change before trade deadline
The NHL trade deadline is March 3. This space and others like it are debating what the Penguins should do between now and then. Honestly, I don’t know what the Penguins should do. Or can do. But I know they can’t do nothing. GM Ron Hextall has to determine a...
Mark Madden: Penguins need a shakeup, and trading Jake Guentzel would bring good return
With the NHL trade deadline one month away and the Pittsburgh Penguins in a funk, the usual strategy beckons: Trade all our bad players for all their good players. Something like Jeff Carter, Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen to Chicago for Patrick Kane. That deal won’t be discussed by either...
Mark Madden: Penguins goaltending went from NHL’s best 1-2 punch to shambles
The Penguins’ goaltending situation is in shambles. That’s ironic considering the current GM was a goalie and his predecessor was, too. When the Penguins won their second straight Stanley Cup in 2017, their goaltending was the NHL’s best 1-2 punch. They had Matt Murray, who had played the biggest part...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: JuJu’s side hustle has been muted in Kansas City, and success followed
The Steelers are reportedly glad to be rid of JuJu Smith-Schuster because he’s “me-first.” They’re likely happy that Chase Claypool also left, citing similar reasons (and the second-round draft pick he fetched from Chicago, too). But Smith-Schuster is a decent receiver, as evidenced by 78 regular-season catches for Kansas City....
Mark Madden: Stuck in salary cap purgatory, Penguins have to play better to keep playoff spot
It’s difficult to draw a bead on the Penguins. The Penguins mostly look like excrement on skates lately, but have points in each of their last six games (3-0-3). They’re in the Eastern Conference’s second and last wild-card berth, but only two points ahead of hard-charging Buffalo, which has five...
Mark Madden: Scott Rolen’s Hall of Fame inclusion is laughable
The Baseball Hall of Fame drifted further toward insignificance when third baseman Scott Rolen somehow made the grade. Rolen is a ham-and-egger. Mid, no better. Rolen hit .281 lifetime with 316 home runs and 1,287 RBIs. Former Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Dave Parker has better statistics in every category but isn’t...
Mark Madden: Steelers should fight neutral-site conference championships
The Pittsburgh Steelers must make sure the NFL doesn’t play its conference championship games at neutral sites. Because the NFL surely wants to. The NFL mooted the concept because of the Damar Hamlin near-tragedy, which caused cancellation of the Week 17 game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. Because...
