Mark Madden stories, Page 46

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred gave Houston’s players immunity from punishment in return for cooperation in the sign-stealing investigation. That deal needs to be revisited, then reneged upon. Astros players from that 2017 world championship team need to be suspended for a year. (That includes those now with other teams.) If...

Jason Zucker seems a good fit for the Penguins, and for Sidney Crosby’s line. His speed and skill generate odd-man breaks. He’s adept at attacking off the rush. Zucker isn’t having a banner season (14 goals in 46 games) but he has topped 20 goals four times since 2014-15, peaking...

Penguins defenseman John Marino wore a full face shield to play hockey for his three seasons at Harvard. This season, he turned pro and immediately went to the NHL, hockey’s most dangerous level. Marino took the full face shield off, replacing it with a visor. That brings us to the...

NHL fans are excited by a new generation of superstars. The “M” guys: Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and Mitch Marner. Throw in Jack Eichel, Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak. These players are all over the statistics: Five are among the NHL’s top 10 in points. They rank second...

Patrick Mahomes put 21 fourth-quarter points on the board to rally Kansas City from a 20-10 deficit and win the Super Bowl. He was a worthy MVP. He also threw two interceptions and fumbled twice. Mahomes’ performance was clutch. But besides the final 15 minutes, it was hardly vintage. That...

“Put your little hand in mine. There ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb.”… as long as we have refreshing sports notes! Too early for flapjacks? • Troy Polamalu was absolutely worthy of first-ballot induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is arguably the best safety ever,...

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ biggest obstacle in the Eastern half of the Stanley Cup playoffs figures to be Washington, and vice versa. Same as it ever was. Last year’s first-round hiccup vs. the New York Islanders was disappointing. But this year’s Penguins have found structure and system and would be legit...

The Pirates got a couple of decent prospects from Arizona in exchange for outfielder Starling Marte. At 31, Marte wasn’t going to fetch much more, let alone Diamondbacks catching prospect Daulton Varsho. (Pirates fans hoped but to no avail.) The prospects acquired are both 19: High-ceiling, which translates to long-term,...

The Pittsburgh Penguins are as fast as they were in their Stanley Cup-winning years of 2016 and ’17. GM Jim Rutherford saw to that by trading for Jared McCann and John Marino, signing Brandon Tanev and promoting Teddy Blueger from the minors. That was by design. But the Penguins have...

One voter left former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter off his Hall of Fame ballot. It kept Jeter from being the second unanimous choice in the institution’s history. New York is ablaze with outrage. New York should be grateful. The manufactured outrage gives the city a platform to burnish...

I’ve been a Penguins fan since I was 6. Working in journalism has made me hide that occasionally. But I’ve never done a great job at it, or even felt the need to. On Sunday, I was embarrassed to be a Penguins fan. Matt Murray struggled in goal at game’s...

I grew up loving the Pittsburgh Steelers of the ’70s: four Super Bowl wins and right in my wheelhouse chronologically. The Pro Football Hall of Fame made me hate those Steelers. Ten players, the coach, the owner and the owner’s son/primary designer of those teams are recognized by Canton. Thirteen...

The Houston Astros were heavily punished for using technology to steal signs during their march to a World Series win in 2017. Their GM and manager were suspended for a year, then fired. They lost first- and second-round draft picks this year and in 2021. The club was fined $5...

Who should play with Sid? That ought to be a game show. Josh Getzoff could host. He’s got the look, and the rap. With Sidney Crosby’s return to action seemingly imminent, the Penguins lineup must be shuffled to accommodate. But not too much. The Penguins have the most points in...

Tristan Jarry leads the NHL in all three significant goaltending categories. Matt Murray’s stats are his career worst in goals-against average and save percentage. Yet the story of the Penguins’ goaltending situation is far from written. Murray is playing better. He has won three of his last four starts. He...

Kris Letang is an elite defenseman. He finished sixth in the balloting for the NHL’s Norris Trophy (top defenseman) last season. Letang’s numbers for 2019-20 are strong: 10 goals, 18 assists and plus-7 in 35 games. His fancy stats are good, too: The Penguins have controlled the puck 54.9% of...

After nearly two full decades, the New England dynasty is over. (Probably.) That’s the good news. But the Pittsburgh Steelers never got a signature playoff win against that dynasty. That’s the bad news. That’s why Steelers fans shouldn’t gloat about New England’s elimination by Tennessee in Saturday’s wild-card playoff round...

Before it started, the Steelers’ season had promise. Then Ben Roethlisberger got hurt. Then the Steelers were 1-4. Then they were 8-5. Then the Steelers collapsed and missed the playoffs. The 2019 campaign was very literally up and down, then up, then down again. Should you be disappointed the Steelers...

Take down the Christmas decorations and put up refreshing sports notes! I got a lot of problems with you people, and you’re going to hear about it! • New Year’s Eve is JuJu Smith-Schuster’s favorite holiday: party for six hours, then drop a ball at midnight. (That joke was stolen...

The Penguins started their Christmas break last Saturday. Unfortunately, they also played that night at Vancouver. What a dastardly performance in a 4-1 loss. But, as we await the Penguins’ re-emergence Friday at Nashville, fans of the team have little complaint. Despite being beset by a hailstorm of injuries, including...

For the second straight year, the Steelers seemed to be locked into a playoff berth late in the season. For the second straight year, they’re going to blow it. What went wrong? The most shocking development: The offensive line fluctuated between mediocre and terrible. Ramon Foster is washed up. Alejandro...

Mike Tomlin is a strong candidate for NFL Coach of the Year. But jabroni quarterback Duck Hodges throwing 38 times in a losing effort vs. Buffalo didn’t help. Neither did Hodges tossing four balls to the wrong team. OK, so the Bills had eight men in the box. Is the...