Mark Madden stories, Page 24

The AFC championship game might be headed to Pittsburgh. The Steelers are just extremely unlikely to play in it. It’s been that kind of a year. Lots of contradictory occurrences and opinions. Coach Mike Tomlin is getting praise for navigating the Steelers from 2-6 to 8-8, as if he had...

U.S. Soccer is a nonstop PR nightmare. The U.S. women’s team went from being arguably America’s most beloved athletes to being disliked by half the country via over-politicizing that resulted in polarizing (but did get them paid more). Now Claudio and Danielle Reyna are treating the U.S. Soccer Federation like...

As most said sincerely but a few said by way of disclaimer, everything else was utterly insignificant compared to Damar Hamlin clinging to his life in the wake of the Buffalo Bills safety collapsing during “Monday Night Football.” But that doesn’t mean everything else was utterly insignificant. That game’s result...

Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has assembled two straight dramatic winning drives. The running game has improved. The offensive line is much better. The Pittsburgh Steelers have rallied from 2-6 to 8-8 and are still in the playoff hunt as Week 18 beckons. Everything adds up to the much-maligned Matt Canada...

Kenny Pickett ranks 31st among NFL quarterbacks in yards per attempt at 6.1. Pickett ranks 31st in yards per game at 185.5. Pickett ranks 31st with a passer rating of 75.7. Pickett ranks 33rd with a touchdown percentage of 1.5. Pickett ranks 27th with an interception percentage of 2.7. Pickett...

The Pittsburgh Penguins got routed 5-1 on Long Island on Tuesday. That’s OK. Every team in every sport has the occasional terrible game. But Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to visiting Detroit revealed a lot that’s wrong with the Penguins. Their problems are great, and they are many. (I’ve used that...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers cling to their 2% chance of making the playoffs, it might be more fun to look ahead to next year. On second thought, maybe not. Their problems are great, and they are many. This space has mentioned how rallying to 7-8 will enable the Steelers’ failures...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ win on Franco Day was dramatic, inspirational and happy. It was cool more than cold. That’s saying something given game-night temperatures. Despite the frigidity, it might have been better in person than on television. The crowd at Acrisure Stadium was small but rabid. It deserved that victory....

The Steelers should keep Mitch Trubisky as their backup quarterback next season. It should be an easy decision. Trubisky is comfortable coming in mid-game. He’s a mature, seasoned pro. His salary cap hit for next season is $10.6 million. Combined with Pickett’s cap figure of $3.2 million, the Steelers’ investment...

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Refreshing sports notes nipping at your nose… • Carolina beat the Penguins for the second time in five days Thursday. The Hurricanes would be a hard playoff matchup for the Penguins. Their man-to-man method of forechecking frustrates, and their style of putting pucks on...

If the Immaculate Reception happened now, with plentiful camera angles and replay review, would Franco Harris’ touchdown stand? Probably. The call on the field was a touchdown. None of the video available concludes decisively that it was incorrect. That the ball bounced directly from Frenchy Fuqua to Harris, which was...

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the old-fashioned Steelers way on Sunday. They rushed for 156 yards. They possessed the ball 36 minutes. They had a 21-play drive that took 12 minutes and ended with a touchdown. They played solid defense, especially in the red zone. They were 12 for 16 on...

The Penguins retained their key free agents this past offseason, most notably Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. But GM Ron Hextall faces another challenge this coming summer when goaltender Tristan Jarry gets to free agency. Jarry, 27, is in the last season of a three-year contract with a cap hit...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have thoroughly mangled their quarterback situation. That mismanagement could reach a new crescendo Sunday at Carolina if Mason Rudolph starts. Yesterday’s object of ridicule becomes today’s unlikely hero. Unless he screws up. Things first got botched when the Steelers eschewed any sort of succession plan as Ben...

After putting his previous four goals into an empty net, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals got three past a goalie Tuesday night, the last of those giving him 800 on his career. There’s no belittling Ovechkin’s empty-net success. They don’t ask how; they ask how many. After Mario Lemieux...

When Kenny Pickett relieved Mitch Trubisky in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 4 home loss to the New York Jets, Pickett threw three interceptions. That was OK. The kid has a lot to learn. Be patient. When Trubisky relieved Pickett and served up three picks in Sunday’s home defeat vs. Baltimore,...

Wide receiver George Pickens exploded on the Pittsburgh Steelers sideline last Sunday at Atlanta because he wants the ball more. Pickens’ outburst has been excused by his coach, teammates and the media that cover the Steelers. A competitor should want the ball, we’re told. You’d rather have to say “whoa”...

Halls of Fame have lost much of their significance. Too many mediocrities get inducted, turning them into Halls of Very Good, or even less. Baseball’s best hitter ever isn’t enshrined at Cooperstown. That discredits the institution, not Barry Bonds. But if I can make a legit case for somebody who’s...

The Steelers aren’t very good. But they are determined. Coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t necessarily make his teams or players better. But he does get those in his employ to compete doggedly and pursue lost causes. The Steelers are more likely to collapse when they’re on a roll than to pile...

Refreshing sports notes: As delicate and delicious as a field-goal attempt pinging off the goal post, then dropping in for three points. Matthew Wright is a trick-shot artist. • The Steelers defeated two lousy teams by narrow scores, nearly blowing the game in the second half both times. The Steelers...

Let’s finally bury the romantic notion that U.S. men’s soccer will ever be anything more than it was at this year’s World Cup. It won’t be. The U.S. team did exactly like expected. It scored just two goals in three games to narrowly navigate its way through a weak group...

Pat Maroon is maybe five pounds overweight. He’s a professional hockey player. How fat could he be? But the Tampa Bay winger nonetheless became a martyr for the overweight via an incident that took petty and self-righteous to a whole new level. Jack Edwards does play-by-play for Boston Bruins games...

Sidney Crosby doesn’t split the defense as often as he used to. If you’re looking for things the Pittsburgh Penguins captain doesn’t do at 35, that’s it. Everything else is business as usual. Crosby has maintained his skills and style at the same level he has kept up his conditioning....

The Penguins had won five straight going into Saturday’s home game vs. Toronto. They reminded us that they could still be a good team. Then, in that game, they reminded us that they could be a bad team. They lost handily, 4-1. A mangled line change gifted Toronto’s Mitch Marner...

The United States tied England in World Cup group play 0-0. The usual American outrage immediately began to flow. It mostly revolves around not enough goals and a game concluding in a tie. “Why would I watch a game that ends 0-0?” The easy answer: don’t. Soccer is popular far...