Mark Madden stories, Page 4

Dave Parker was the last in line. See how he shined. Parker is likely the final player that will go into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Unless the Hall wises up and finally inducts Al Oliver. It took way too long for Parker. No great player will...

It’s happening again on the occasion of the NHL Draft. The hockey media’s fringe elements whisper, “There’s a very good chance that (Sidney) Crosby will play somewhere else.” (The author of that is fairly oozing CTE from having his head whacked hundreds of times.) Social media piles on, trying to...

The days are turning long and hot, but refreshing sports notes are short and cool. Unwrap a Popsicle and dig in! • When Paul Skenes files for arbitration in 2027, the first year he’s eligible, he figures to be awarded in excess of $30 million. When that happens, the Pittsburgh...

When you’re a 5-foot-7 hockey player, you’re usually too small. But sometimes you’re Martin St. Louis. Truth be told, the 5-foot-8 St. Louis had an inch on West Mifflin’s L.J. Mooney, an 18-year-old forward who is eligible to be selected in this weekend’s NHL Draft. But their situations are similar....

The Pittsburgh Pirates should be covered like a dumpster fire. The Hindenburg disaster. The fall of Saigon. They’re not. Let’s lay out the unvarnished truth: Don Kelly has changed little since taking over as manager. There was a short adrenaline rush, as with any coaching switch. But the Pirates still...

“Betting on yourself” is an overused phrase. It’s showbiz. Most people bet on themselves. Not doing so is to turn away from self-reliance. But T.J. McConnell is on the verge of winning the NBA championship because he bet on himself. The 2011-12 collegiate season had concluded. McConnell had finished his...

Edmonton lost a second straight Stanley Cup Final. That’s no shame, especially when the winning team is clearly better. Florida’s incredible depth and physicality overwhelms. Give the Oilers credit for extending the series to six games and to seven games last year. But that doesn’t help Connor McDavid’s legacy. The...

Vice TV produced a four-part documentary series: “Who Killed WCW?” I was never mentioned. But, judging by social media reaction to me doing color commentary on TNA Wrestling’s TV taping this Friday at Robert Morris’ UPMC Events Center, you’d think that I was most responsible for putting World Championship Wrestling...

Stephen A. Smith played solitaire on his phone during Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Indianapolis. He was on duty and on site for ESPN. ESPN pays Smith $20 million per year. But he couldn’t be bothered to watch what he was being paid to analyze. That’s absolutely par...

Paul Skenes ranks second among MLB pitchers in ERA (1.78) and WHIP (0.85), eighth in strikeouts (97). Skenes is overwhelming. A phenom. Terrific to watch. Skenes won’t win the National League Cy Young Award. Not if he doesn’t have a winning record. Skenes is 4-6. The Pittsburgh Pirates are 7-8...

You know it’s kind of hard just to get along today. If these refreshing sports notes aren’t cool, let’s fake it anyway. • Steelers minicamp didn’t reveal much. Aaron Rodgers showed up. T.J. Watt didn’t. End of story. • Rodgers threw the second-most passes in the NFL last season. The...

Myles Garrett, Cleveland’s All-Pro edge rusher, had an odd response when asked about the prospect of playing against new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers twice this season: “I think it’s a good opportunity to put him in the graveyard.” Garrett’s tongue appeared to be in cheek so as to not...

Aaron Rodgers will wear No. 8 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not No. 12. That was never a possibility. There’s no comparing him to Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh, just like there was no comparing him to Joe Namath in New York. Rodgers will talk to the media in Pittsburgh on Tuesday....

The prevailing wisdom is that Aaron Rodgers gives the Pittsburgh Steelers a better chance to win. Win what, exactly? It would be tangibly better for the Steelers to go 4-13 than to go 9-8. (See Commanders, Washington.) This is 41-year-old Rodgers, not MVP Rodgers. The Steelers roster is dotted with...

A notes column about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching hire is apropos because related factoids and opinions are all over the place. So, let’s look at Dan Muse via the pause that refreshes. • For a guy I never heard of before Wednesday’s announcement, Muse seems a good hire. But it’s...

It’s been 447 days since the Pittsburgh Steelers played a game with a legit No. 2 wideout. Four hundred and forty-seven days since they traded Diontae Johnson to Carolina. It’s like a hostage crisis. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the quarterback (whoever that’s going to be) should be blindfolded. (Not...

In team sports, the pressure nonetheless congregates around individuals, not least in big situations. Such is the case in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, the obvious target being Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. Florida won the Cup last year. This is the Panthers’ third straight final. Nobody truly cares about hockey in...

The NFL is narcissistic, obnoxious and overbearing in its desire to be everywhere, all the time, 24/7/365. It doesn’t make the great unwashed love the NFL any less. But if anything has ever been too popular, it’s the NFL. (Besides populist fascist dictators.) The NFL’s latest victim is shaping up...

I’ve written this before, but I’m going to reiterate in detail because there seems little doubt that the Steelers are going to make a big mistake even as most of you marks cheer them on. There isn’t a single good reason to give edge rusher T.J. Watt a contract extension...

OTAs are underway at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ South Side complex. On the offensive side of the ball, they don’t matter. Little can be accomplished. The first-string quarterback isn’t there. The backup quarterbacks are getting the reps. Top wideout DK Metcalf didn’t bother attending the first day. Perhaps because the QB expected...

On Sunday at PNC Park, Oneil Cruz hit a baseball 432 feet into the Allegheny River. That solo home run was moving at 122.9 mph, the hardest-hit ball since exit velocity started being tracked in 2015. Two innings earlier, Cruz’s throw from center field to home plate sailed to the...

Sports don’t always offer instant validation (or rebuke) of decision-making. But the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 1 game will provide exactly that. It’s more than three months away, but the Steelers’ Sept. 7 visit to the New York Jets looms extremely large. It’s a proving ground. It will set a tone...

The tush push is one play. It’s basically run by one team. (A few others dabble.) But it certainly gets people talking. At this week’s NFL owners meeting in Minnesota, Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie lobbied for an hour on behalf of the tush push, his team’s ballyhooed goal-line go-to....

Paul Skenes isn’t eligible for salary arbitration till 2027. He currently makes a paltry $875,000. The Pittsburgh Pirates are unlikely to retain Skenes through his three arbitration years — because they won’t want to pay what’s decided — and have zero chance of keeping him when he hits free agency...