Mark Madden stories, Page 30
Mark Madden: Super-size athletes can make extra large impact
Fat has come to the forefront of the Pittsburgh sports scene. Excuse me, did I say fat? I meant to say beefy, big-boned, heavyset, stocky or any of the other terms that patronizingly substitute but are no less aggravating to us fatsos. The Pittsburgh athlete who recently made fat where...
Mark Madden: NHL is its own worst enemy, allowing stars and skill to be neutralized
The New York Rangers have been eliminated from the NHL playoffs. It’s a sad day. Hockey without heads getting targeted just isn’t hockey. But the Rangers gave themselves a proper send-off in their Game 6 exit at Tampa Bay: Jacob Trouba didn’t quite get nine heads in a duffel bag...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Rival leagues are good for any sport
I don’t watch golf. It’s slow and boring. Golf is a participatory sport, not one for spectators. But I like LIV golf. I won’t watch it. But it stirs the pot. Rival leagues have long been catalysts for improving sports. The American Football League (1960-70) was the best rival league....
Mark Madden: Starting Mitch Trubisky over Kenny Pickett is the ‘Steeler way’
Previously in this space, it was commented that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has never replaced a quarterback and thus doesn’t know how to do it. Here’s how that might play out. The Steelers drafted Kenny Pickett 20th overall to be their long-term quarterback. But Pickett is 24 and started 49...
Mark Madden: Saudi-backed LIV Golf is good for the sport
Athletes compete professionally to make money. The more cash, the better. That’s the primary reason. Anyone who says different is lying. How much money is enough? That’s for the individual to decide, not you. There’s very little real legacy to be had. You’ve got to be Babe Ruth or Michael...
Mark Madden: Browns’ decision to sign Deshaun Watson looks worse every day
JuJu Smith-Schuster hasn’t said much of consequence. But he reinforced one obvious truism: “The Browns is the Browns.” No sports team has ever made a dumber decision than giving quarterback Deshaun Watson a contract worth $230 million guaranteed and sending six draft picks the other way, three of them first-rounders....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins’ Mike Sullivan deserves better in Jack Adams Award voting
The Penguins’ Mike Sullivan was not a finalist for this year’s Jack Adams Award. It’s given annually to the NHL’s best coach, except quite often it isn’t. Sullivan finished eighth in the year’s voting, which is done by NHL broadcasters. He didn’t necessarily deserve to win the award, but he...
Mark Madden: Steelers LB Devin Bush does have something to prove
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason is the gift that keeps on giving. Inside linebacker Devin Bush: “I don’t think I’ve got to prove anything to anybody.” Are you sure? The Steelers didn’t pick up your contract’s fifth-year option. Last season, you either didn’t bounce all the way back from knee surgery...
Mark Madden: Avalanche-Oilers matchup shows what hockey could be
Colorado beat Edmonton, 8-6, in the first game of the Western Conference final Tuesday. That game is how fans want hockey to be: 14 goals, 84 shots, fast, creative, fun, a ton of prime scoring chances and a fierce comeback by the Oilers that fell just short. The stars delivered:...
Mark Madden: Why can’t the Pirates develop talent?
Ben Cherington is in his third season as Pittsburgh Pirates GM. Things aren’t improving. The Pirates just DFA’d Cole Tucker, their first-round pick in 2014. He’s all teeth and hair, no bat. Lots of charisma, zero pop. He hit .175 with the Pirates this season, .135 in Triple-A. Cherington inherited...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers’ starting quarterback job is not a 3-way competition
Here are the big issues at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ ongoing series of OTAs: There are none. OTAs are totally unnecessary. Minicamp is totally unnecessary. The process should start with training camp, not before. Baseball, basketball and hockey don’t have OTAs and minicamp. Football does in the attempt to be complicated...
Mark Madden: Among my top 5 greats, Connor McDavid approaching all-time status
I have long been steadfast when listing my top five hockey players ever. Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky are my top three. List them in any order you like, and I won’t argue. Sidney Crosby and Gordie Howe are my next two. (Howe is included based on tradition,...
Mark Madden: Omar Khan’s role, Mitch Trubisky’s future, Diontae Johnson’s bad PR move among Steelers storylines
The Penguins season is over, Steelers OTAs are mostly meaningless and the Pirates lead the MLB in errors. Refreshing sports notes are your last hope. Allez, allez, allez! • The Steelers spent weeks interviewing GM candidates, narrowed down to six finalists, then hired the in-house guy. That’s entertainment. Here’s betting...
Mark Madden: Bryan Rust was 1st to return to the Penguins, but will he be last?
Bryan Rust left money on the table. The right winger’s new six-year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins has an average annual value of $5.125 million, a raise of a mere $1.625 million. Over the last three seasons, Rust has scored 73 goals in 171 games. Rust is 30. This was...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Mike Sullivan’s approach needs a Plan B
Mike Sullivan is one of the NHL’s top coaches, and arguably the most accomplished in Penguins history. But he needs a Plan B. For a brief moment in the Penguins’ first-round loss to the New York Rangers, Sullivan had one. It worked. The Penguins had blown a 4-1 lead in...
Mark Madden: Penguins GM Ron Hextall hasn’t done anything to lose his job or to keep it
If my program director asks me what’s on today’s show, I tell him. When the home-plate umpire asks a manager for the lineup card, he can’t decline. A chef submits a menu. A football coach designs a playbook. A movie producer needs a script. These are requirements and not kept...
Mark Madden: Penguins need roster refresh, not more excuses
The ending is just a beginning. The closer you get to the meaning, the sooner you’ll know that you’re dreaming. So, it’s on and on and on, it’s refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes. (Look for the answer.) • Sidney Crosby was 100% not cleared to play Game 6. Reports that he...
Mark Madden: After Penguins blow series, it’s time for decisive action from Fenway Sports
Immediately after the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season-ending 4-3 overtime loss Sunday at New York, Jake Guentzel paid tribute: “I thought we had something special here.” Guentzel did: He scored eight goals against the Rangers, the first time that’s happened in a playoff series since 2009. The Penguins used to: They were...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Tom Brady deal a waste of money
In 22 years of playing football, Tom Brady has made $300 million. Brady just signed a 10-year contract with Fox Sports to be their lead NFL analyst upon his retirement from football. He’ll make $375 million. That’s quite a disparity even when accounting for inflation and gas prices. Fox is...
Mark Madden: Jacob Trouba hit on Sidney Crosby was ugly, intentional and typical for NHL
If Sidney Crosby’s series is over, so is the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season. Sure, the Penguins lead their first-round series with the New York Rangers, 3-2. But for Friday’s Game 6, they may be without their best player/captain/first-line center, their starting and second-string goalies, a top-pair defenseman and a top-six winger....
Mark Madden: Goaltending, Crosby combine to put Penguins on cusp of series win
You can flip Igor Shesterkin over. He’s done on this side. It seemed likely that goaltending would decide the first-round playoff series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. But not like this. Third-stringer Louis Domingue has played passably for the Penguins. Shesterkin, the likely Vezina Trophy winner as...
Mark Madden: Penguins finally managed score and situation in Game 3
After Danton Heinen scored to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 5-4 lead with 8 minutes, 58 seconds left in the third period against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their playoff series Saturday, something odd happened: Playoff hockey broke out. The Penguins played below the Rangers’ goal line...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: No one to blame for Penguins’ goaltending situation
When failure occurs in sports, it’s required that blame be attached. There’s always something management, a coach or a player could have done to reverse the result. That’s not the case with the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending situation. “They should have had a better veteran No. 3 goalie!” That’s a common...
Mark Madden: Goaltending leaves Penguins at grave disadvantage vs. Rangers
A good story does not equate to a good player. Don’t confuse the two. Louis Domingue is a good story. He’s the first goalie to enter a playoff game during its second overtime. He ate spicy pork and broccoli during a prior intermission Tuesday because he didn’t think he’d play....
Mark Madden: Penguins’ stars shined in Game 1, but team’s minutemen can’t be diminished
If you’re one of those dullards with a low hockey IQ who doubts the value of Kris Letang to the Pittsburgh Penguins, witness Tuesday’s triple-overtime win against the host New York Rangers. Letang played well. More importantly, he just kept playing. Letang logged 46 minutes and 41 seconds on the...
