Mark Madden stories, Page 45
Mark Madden: NHL, NFL restrictions changing media coverage for now, possibly the future
The NHL didn’t allow any media into its two bubbles except those working for its member franchises and for NHL.com. The Professional Hockey Writers Association protested. I get that. But I also understand what the NHL did. The league wanted to keep the bubble tight and under its control. There...
Mark Madden: Baseball’s old-school, unwritten rules handcuff game
Taylor Twellman made 30 appearances for the U.S. men’s national soccer team and now analyzes that sport for ESPN. But he might understand baseball better than soccer. “(Baseball) is exhausting and so self-righteous, it drives young fans away,” he said. That’s right on the money, and it’s what Twellman tweeted...
Mark Madden: There’s a lot of randomness with these NHL playoffs
The last two Stanley Cup winners trail in their first-round playoff series. The team that won the Cup in the two seasons before is long since eliminated. Given the four-month break because of covid, then starting the postseason cold after a brief training camp, there seems an element of randomness...
Mark Madden: Jack Johnson should not be primary scapegoat for Penguins’ early playoff exit
The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons. Here in Pittsburgh, we know whose fault that is. It’s Jack Johnson’s. The Penguins defenseman is responsible for the national debt, social injustice, the spread of covid-19 from China, the Pirates’ low payroll and, not...
Mark Madden: Penguins face free fall pending difficult roster choicesVideo
When the clock hit all zeroes Friday in Toronto and the No. 24 seed Montreal Canadiens had eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins, some lamented the end of an era. But the Penguins’ era of glory really ended when Evgeny Kuznetsov’s overtime goal took Washington past them in the second round of...
Mark Madden: Penguins offered blueprint on how to beat them
That playoff series between the Penguins and Montreal didn’t go quite as expected. For example, I picked the Penguins in two. But nobody picked Montreal. Not one single person. No one thought the Canadiens would win, not even those in their dressing room. (Not until after Game 1, anyway.) It’s...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ run of success looks to be overVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins were 3-8 before the pandemic caused the NHL to pause, 1-2 since. The Penguins are 1-8 in their last nine playoff games. The run is over. It’s just not a very good hockey team anymore. The Penguins might well salvage their preliminary-round series against Montreal, though there’s...
Mark Madden: Penguins determined to travel most difficult path possible
Desperate times call for unusual measures. In the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs, the defending champion Penguins trailed Washington three games to one. The Penguins were a high-octane flying circus led by Mario Lemieux, scoring a league-high 343 goals. Problem was, the Capitals netted 330 times, second-most in the NHL. The...
Mark Madden: Penguins should make several lineup changes before Game 2 against Canadiens
It’s only one game. That was, no doubt, the phrase that pays in the Penguins locker room after Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal. It’s only one game. The Penguins lost their first playoff game to the New York Islanders last season, also in OT. That was only one game....
Mark Madden: Penguins need to simplify power play, keep stars where they fit bestVideo
Mike Sullivan is the most accomplished coach in Pittsburgh Penguins history and very arguably the franchise’s best. But even ABBA had their Waterloo, and Sullivan’s may be the Penguins’ power play. The Penguins rarely got rhythm with the man-advantage during the regular season because of injury. The unit’s components were...
Mark Madden: Covid-19 chaos is spreading from MLB to NFLVideo
MLB is imploding, and not just the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. As of this writing, 18 Miami Marlins have tested positive for covid-19. This past Sunday, when the outbreak began via three players testing positive, the Marlins players voted to play that day anyway. Memo to morons: You can’t rub dirt...
Mark Madden: Major League Baseball won’t work outside of a bubble
Is America ready for sports to return? Obviously not. Is the reader prepared for refreshing sports notes? Here’s hoping. Get ‘em while they’re hot! (They’re always hot.) • Nine Miami Marlins players (and five other memers of the traveling party) are reportedly infected by covid-19. If Miami has to use...
Mark Madden: Fauci’s symbolic 1st pitch and other storylines surrounding start of unprecedented MLB season
“Opening day — or Opening Day. Depending on how you feel about it.” — Jim Bouton, “Ball Four.” Major League Baseball season is upon us, even if it probably shouldn’t be. Dr. Anthony Fauci threw a first pitch at Nationals Park in D.C. that made Baba Booey look like Greg...
Mark Madden: Despite what some experts say, Montreal’s Carey Price is not NHL’s best goaltenderVideo
Many feel the Montreal Canadiens’ best hope to make a series out of the preliminary-round best-of-five against the Pittsburgh Penguins is goaltender Carey Price. Price was NHL MVP in 2015, also winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie. He has won three international gold medals for Canada. But...
Mark Madden: Matt Murray should start Game 1 but leash should be short for Penguins goalie
The Penguins can’t be blamed for trying to generate hype for a Stanley Cup playoff that begins in August. But they might have regrets about putting the livestream of Saturday’s scrimmage online. Sidney Crosby left that scrimmage early. The NHL’s covid-mandated injury policy of “don’t ask because we won’t tell”...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ Jake Guentzel isn’t the only NHL player returning from injury, you know
Covid-19 and that flood in Edmonton permitting, the NHL playoffs are two weeks away. But the puck drops for refreshing hockey notes right here, right now! • Penguins fans crow about Jake Guentzel returning from injury because of the pause, but the Penguins aren’t alone in benefiting. Columbus got back...
Mark Madden: NHL’s return plan has sound foundation, but things will still get weird
When the NHL resumes, it’s going to be weird. Can’t help but be. As Kris Letang mentioned on my radio program, it’s the first time he has spent the summer in Pittsburgh. It’s the first time the Stanley Cup playoffs will start Aug. 1. When players are unavailable, they will...
Mark Madden: If Penguins get to Toronto healthy — a big if — they’re legit Cup contenders
The Penguins don’t have many problems. But as they open training camp with the Stanley Cup playoffs to (we hope) begin Aug. 1, the main hitch is: Teams won’t quarantine during camp. The Penguins need to be healthy before arriving at the Toronto bubble. Issues will be more difficult to...
Mark Madden: College sports need to tap out for fall season
Relaunching big-time professional sports while a pandemic rages seems ill-advised and is proving difficult. But pro athletes are adults, and get compensated appropriately. It’s time to tap out with college sports, especially football. That’s happening, slowly but surely. The Big Ten has canceled nonconference games. Ohio State football has ceased...
Mark Madden: Steelers defense will benefit from Ben Roethlisberger’s return
Here’s a fun prop bet for Steelers fans: What number will be higher in 2020, Ben Roethlisberger’s touchdown passes or how many takeaways the defense gets? I’d bet Roethlisberger. Anybody want to book that action? At 38 and after major surgery on his elbow, Roethlisberger is hardly a guaranteed All-Pro....
Mark Madden: NFL players have no leverage to make training camp demandsVideo
We have no sports. But we still can have refreshing sports notes! Some are lengthy, others brief. All were conceived and written while wearing a mask. • According to ProFootballTalk.com, the NFL Players’ Association wants the following during training camp: no preseason games. No mandatory hotel stays. No 11-on-11 field...
Mark Madden: It’s long past time for Washington football franchise to find new moniker
Of all the Native American names and imagery that have permeated American sports since they began, a few have stood out as undeniably offensive. Chief Wahoo, the Cleveland Indians’ idiotically grinning mascot, got retired in 2018. Now it’s time to do the same with the name of the NFL’s Washington...
Mark Madden: No need to panic about players opting out amid covid-19 concerns
Babe Ruth was baseball’s biggest gate attraction ever. The New York Yankees built a 58,000-seat stadium to accommodate that. Ruth’s slugging and larger-than-life charisma saved MLB after the Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. Ruth retired in 1935. Baseball kept playing. People kept watching. It’s a business worth...
Mark Madden: No chance pro athletes follow all covid-19 protocols
I have little confidence any of America’s big-time pro sports leagues will see their seasons through to a conclusion, or even start/resume them. The NBA has the best plan. It doesn’t matter that Florida is a covid-19 hot spot as long as all NBA personnel stay inside the Disney World...
Mark Madden: Liverpool’s worldwide fanbase can savor long-awaited championship
It took 30 difficult years. But at day’s end, it was relatively easy. Liverpool FC have been a juggernaut of epic proportion on the way to the pinnacle of English football for the first time since 1990. Their seven remaining games will determine their exact place in history, but that’s...
