Mark Madden stories, Page 43
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Odds are stacked against undefeated Steelers season
Jake Scott passed away Thursday. Scott was an All-Pro safety for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in NFL history. Scott was MVP in that season’s final game, Super Bowl VII. He had two interceptions. Scott went to his grave not knowing if the current Steelers would finish...
Mark Madden: National media continues to disrespect Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger
Former NFL executive Gil Brandt posted a Twitter poll: Who is the NFL MVP? Voting for Ben Roethlisberger (four interceptions, no losses) wasn’t an option. Kyler Murray (eight interceptions, three losses) was. Russell Wilson (10 interceptions, three losses) was. Rudy Giuliani needs to get to the bottom of this. Former...
Mark Madden: Sports consumers dwindling during pandemic
The final round of the Masters bombed on TV. Its rating was the lowest since 1957, down 51% from last year when Tiger Woods won, but also down 57% from 2018. Because of the pandemic, the Masters took place in November and not in April as it usually does. It...
Mark Madden: Can the 9-0 Steelers run the ball when needed?
When the playoffs start, the Steelers better hope they don’t have to run the ball. The Steelers very often can’t. When they can’t, they stop trying to. There isn’t much to complain about when a 9-0 team wins by 26. But I do sports-talk radio and am obligated to try....
Mark Madden’s hot take: Criticism of new Marlins GM will be frowned upon
Kim Ng is the new Miami Marlins’ GM. She is the first woman and first Asian American to hold that position in MLB. Ng is a fine hire. Her credentials are impeccable. She also has an advantage no GM in history has ever had: She is above criticism. Given her...
Mark Madden: Steelers run defense taking a hit without Devin Bush
When a team is undefeated, problems tend to be papered over. They’re mentally minimized. “What’s there to worry about? They’re 8-0.” Such is the case with the Steelers defense. There’s a lot to like about that defense. But there are a few things to worry about, too, and they mostly...
Mark Madden: Steelers should have played it safe with Vance McDonald
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been struck by covid — and a bit of irony, too. Ben Roethlisberger and Vance McDonald were among the more outspoken when the ’rona hit Tennessee before the Steelers were supposed to travel there for a game Oct. 4, forcing the Steelers’ schedule and bye week...
Mark Madden: Steelers coach Mike Tomlin lived in his fears in final moments against Cowboys
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-0, but I don’t trust them. Coach Mike Tomlin never has had a losing season and is a lock to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I don’t trust him. Sunday’s victory at Dallas put those feelings in clear focus. The Cowboys...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: OHL goes way overboard with covid restrictions
The Ontario Hockey League is considered Major Junior: the top level of the sport for players aged 16-21. Seven of the 31 first-round picks in this year’s NHL Draft came from the OHL. That includes center Quinton Byfield of Sudbury, who went second overall to Los Angeles. It’s serious hockey...
Mark Madden: No one expected the Steelers to start 7-0, but how will they finish?
This is an odd Steelers season, especially for those in the sports talk genre. There isn’t much to criticize. Darn it. I never imagined the Steelers starting 7-0. Neither did anyone else, if honesty prevails. But the Steelers have so far avoided conceding a sloppy loss to an inferior team,...
Mark Madden: No chance Steelers lose to this catastrophic collection of Cowboys QBs
After defeating Cleveland, Tennessee and Baltimore — all likely playoff qualifiers — in consecutive weeks, the Steelers were due for a less challenging foe. But they never imagined Sunday’s trip to Dallas would be an absolute lock. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott broke his right ankle. Prescott’s backup was Andy Dalton....
Mark Madden: Steelers’ resolve shows again in win at Baltimore
More than anything, the Steelers are 7-0 based on grit and resilience. They got outgained 457-221 at Baltimore Sunday. They had the ball for less than 25 minutes. They were 3 for 9 on third down. Ben Roethlisberger was 4 of 10 for 24 yards in the first half. The...
Mark Madden’s hot take: Baseball no longer belongs to fans, and they’re catching on
I hadn’t watched a baseball game in its entirety all year. Baseball is boring. Too rarely does anybody run the bases or chase the ball. I don’t give a flip about the three true outcomes. I want the ball to be in play. But I watched the World Series Tuesday...
Mark Madden: Bet on Ben Roethlisberger in Steelers’ matchup with Ravens
It took time for meaningful evidence to be presented. But the Pittsburgh Steelers are for real. They can prove it Sunday by winning at Baltimore to take firm control of the AFC North, take a leap toward 10-0 and make surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins sweat. (The Steelers...
Mark Madden: It’ll take more than ‘next man up’ to stop Ravens’ Lamar Jackson
One of Mike Tomlin’s longest-standing empty platitudes is “next man up.” If somebody gets injured, whoever sits below him on the depth chart goes in. Inside linebacker Devin Bush got hurt against Cleveland a couple weeks ago, so Robert Spillane went in. He did fine in his first NFL start...
Mark Madden: Beating Titans earns credibility, but Steelers’ 2nd-half collapse concerning
At halftime of Sunday’s game at Nashville, the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed likely to win the Super Bowl, or at least be counted among the legit contenders. But after those final 30 minutes and even at 6-0, it’s easy to still not be sure about the Steelers. They beat an undefeated...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Antonio Brown hasn’t changed but signing makes sense for Tampa Bay
Antonio Brown didn’t con the entire NFL. But he conned a few of its top quarterbacks. Brown “befriended” Tom Brady when the two played together briefly in New England. He “befriended” Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson during informal offseason workouts. He “befriended” Russell Wilson, causing Seattle’s QB to utter nonsense like “he’s...
Mark Madden: Steelers need to make a trade to keep up with Ravens
Baltimore is a good team. But the Ravens are still trying to get better. They’re adding ex-Dallas receiver Dez Bryant to their practice squad. That seems of little consequence. Bryant, 31, hasn’t played in the NFL since 2017. He tore his Achilles tendon in 2018 after signing with New Orleans...
Mark Madden: Game with undefeated Titans starts telling stretch for Steelers
The NFL has three undefeated teams left. Two of them play Sunday in Nashville. Yet the hype for Steelers-Titans has been restrained. An explosion thereof doesn’t seem imminent. Not like when Mr. Used-to-Be took on Mr. Hasn’t-Won-Enough this past Sunday, sparking constant delirium on WokeCenter and other like programs. Mr....
Mark Madden: Steelers ‘D’ dominant against Browns, but replacing Devin Bush will be a challenge
The Pittsburgh Steelers still haven’t beaten a good team. Cleveland certainly isn’t a good team. The Browns are 0-2 against Baltimore and the Steelers, losing those games by a combined 76-13. Quarterback Baker Mayfield (aka Johnny Manziel Jr.) is a bust and certainly won’t get better via the teaching tool...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Browns defensive end Myles Garrett is still a liar
Myles Garrett is a liar. That wasn’t said enough in the aftermath of Garrett’s helmet-swinging fiasco last Nov. 14 at Cleveland. The Browns defensive end accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph of using the n-word to precipitate Garrett’s assault with Rudolph’s football hat. Garrett got suspended for the rest of...
Mark Madden: Blackhawks’ situation with aging stars sounds very familiar
When NHL free agency hit last weekend, Chicago made moves with an eye toward the future. It traded winger Brandon Saad, a two-time Stanley Cup winner. It let goalie Corey Crawford walk via free agency. He also won two Cups. The Blackhawks want to skew younger. The Blackhawks’ core four...
Mark Madden: Le’Veon Bell has no one to blame but himself for career missteps
Several fallacies are being spoken about the shattered career of Le’Veon Bell. One is that Bell somehow struck a blow for his profession’s laborers when he sat out the 2018 season after being franchised for a second time, thus forcing his way out of Pittsburgh and removing himself from under...
Mark Madden: Steelers defense is getting splash plays but has areas of concern
About a month ago, this space proclaimed that the current Steelers defense might be comparable to the team’s unit in 1976, regarded by some as the best in NFL history. Uh…OK, maybe not. Look on the bright side: The check for that particular magnum opus has long since cleared and...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: The Penguins don’t need another Nick Bonino
Just before NHL free agency hit Friday, another radio personality tweeted the Pittsburgh Penguins needed a “third-line center. Cut from the (Nick) Bonino cloth.” Bonino spent two seasons in Pittsburgh. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in both. But Bonino wasn’t “that guy” until he joined the Penguins and hasn’t...
