Mark Madden stories, Page 47
Mark Madden: Steelers’ 2020 draft class won’t offer immediate help
Meh (adjective): Not impressive, so-so; apathetic, indifferent. Now that you know the word, use it in a sentence: The Steelers had a meh draft. The odds of that increase when you don’t have a first-round pick. They also increase when you take a player who wasn’t considered good enough to...
Mark Madden: NHL’s plan to restart season could work in PittsburghVideo
As with any plan for any sports league to resume or start, it’s not to be believed until games are underway. Crazy schemes aren’t constructed with concrete. That said, the NHL’s latest restart plan sounds OK. The NHL ditched the notion of stationing pods of teams in far-flung locales like...
Mark Madden: Lamar Jackson should be careful what he’s wishing for with Antonio BrownVideo
I didn’t think the Pittsburgh Steelers had a chance to win the AFC North until Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (the reigning NFL MVP) said, “I’d be happy if we signed him.” “Him” is wayward wide receiver Antonio Brown, ex of this parish. That puts the Steelers right back in...
Mark Madden: Don’t underestimate NFL’s power, impact on economy
We don’t have sports. But we still have refreshing sports notes! (When these notes were prepared, they were positioned 6 feet apart and doused with hand sanitizer.) • If any sport can start on time with fans in the stands, it’s the NFL. Don’t underestimate the league’s power, political connections...
Mark Madden: Signing LeSean McCoy would lessen Steelers’ draft needs
This year’s NFL Draft means a lot to the Steelers. They have plenty of holes. James Conner isn’t a No. 1 back, not even when he’s healthy (which is rarely). The Steelers don’t have a true No. 1 receiver: JuJu Smith-Schuster tried, but isn’t. He’s a complementary piece, maybe just...
Mark Madden: Steelers should start Stefen Wisniewski at left guard, but they won’t
There won’t be OTAs or mini-camp. Training camp is a long way off. There might not even be a 2020 season. But when the NFL does play, the Steelers will make a big mistake. The right decision is so obvious. It’s equally obvious the Steelers will make the wrong one....
Mark Madden: Playing all MLB games in Arizona sounds far-fetched, but we could use some normalcy
MLB’s proposal to sequester all 30 teams and their attendant personnel in Arizona by way of starting the season there sometime in May sounds far-fetched. But if games are played in empty ballparks, it’s going to be easy to hear the Houston Astros wallop that trash can. They won’t get...
Mark Madden: Don’t expect sports to return in the next year
I originally thought greed would drive big-time sports leagues to return soon. Perhaps sooner than they should. Now it seems covid-19 is stronger than greed. Isn’t that one heck of a statement? It’s not Vietnam, as per the parallel drawn by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter wants the NFL Draft postponed...
Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby’s trophy case earns respect from peers
The NHL Players’ Association asked its membership to select hockey’s creme de la creme. The 588 who responded to the poll chose Edmonton’s Connor McDavid as the NHL’s best forward. They also picked the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby as the league’s most complete player and the player you’d most want on...
Mark Madden: Will Antonio Brown play another NFL snap?
Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians, ex of this parish, issued a hard “no” on the possibility of Antonio Brown playing for his team: “I just know him, and it’s not a fit in our locker room.” Arians’ most damning words: “I just know him.” After what’s transpired since Brown left...
Mark Madden: ‘Dark Side of the Ring’ brought back memories of Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero
I watched the season premiere of VICE’s “Dark Side of the Ring” pro wrestling series Tuesday. There was a scene from WWE TV where Chris Benoit was weeping hysterically over the death of Eddie Guerrero. I started crying, too. Benoit was the program’s subject. It was difficult to watch. Guerrero...
Mark Madden: Would signing Jameis Winston really help the Steelers?Video
A lot of people want Jameis Winston to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup quarterback. None of those people runs the Steelers. ESPN talking heads Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears lead the campaign, joined by Chris Simms at NBC Sports. Winston would benefit learning under Mike Tomlin and watching Ben Roethlisberger,...
Mark Madden: Penguins legend Mario Lemieux was snubbed 31 years ago, and it’s still hard to believe
Thirty-one years later, it still stings. The man himself might not feel it. His fans do. I do. Accolades came thick and fast during Mario Lemieux’s storied career. But to this day, the one that got away still angers. In 1988-89, Lemieux had 85 goals and 199 points. He won...
Mark Madden: Tom Brady makes Tampa Bay better, but slow down on Super Bowl talk
Lots of TV’s talking heads are calling Tampa Bay the favorite to win the NFC. Tampa Bay’s odds to do so went from 20-1 to 13-2 at Las Vegas’ Westgate sports book. Only defending conference champ San Francisco has a lower number at 9-2. Tampa Bay’s odds of winning the...
Mark Madden: Steelers were smart to tag Bud Dupree, wait on long-term deal
If you had any doubt the NFL is God’s chosen league, consider it’s the only one of America’s big-time sports loops to not have its timeline significantly impacted by covid-19. (Yet.) But, as Liverpool FC supporters know, this is not a just and fair God. So, let me present refreshing...
Mark Madden: This sports shutdown stinks, but greed will bring the games back
I’m not as worried about no sports as I am about no toilet paper. You can’t even get it on Amazon. You’d think the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor. We might need rationing. I got nine rolls. May God have mercy on my soul. Or, if I have to use paper...
Mark Madden: Don’t overreact to dumb penalty by Penguins’ Kris Letang
Kris Letang took an ill-advised penalty at New Jersey on Tuesday, so the knives are out. Letang’s petulant slash put the Penguins down by two men for 102 seconds. The Penguins were protecting a 2-1 third-period lead. Letang inadvertently fueled the game’s turning point. The Penguins killed the five-on-three and...
Mark Madden: There’s no easy fix for Penguins, but here are some things to try
It’s not time to panic, mainly because panic never helps. But the Penguins are doing things bad teams do. Consider Sunday’s 6-2 home loss to Carolina: • After losing 5-2 at home to Washington on Saturday, Evgeni Malkin lectured his teammates (and himself) for all that went wrong. Against Carolina,...
Mark Madden: 49ers should stick with Jimmy Garoppolo, not what’s left of Tom BradyVideo
Which scenario is most likely re: San Francisco’s quarterback situation? • Jimmy Garoppolo, at 28, builds on leading the 49ers to this past season’s Super Bowl and helps them challenge for the championship again. • Tom Brady, 43, replaces Garoppolo, masters a new system while playing with new teammates, improves...
Mark Madden: Tristan Jarry should be winner of Penguins goalie competition
The Penguins have been rotating goalies for a month, affecting a competition of sorts between Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray. No date is set for that competition’s conclusion. A decision must be made by the playoffs, likely shortly before. But, right now, Jarry is the clear-cut winner. Jarry’s goals-against average...
Mark Madden: With trade deadline done, time for Penguins to fit pieces into place
The only depressing thing about this edition of refreshing hockey notes is the NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford didn’t trade all our bad players for all their good players. Twitter’s got to be upset. • But Rutherford did get winger Patrick Marleau...
Mark Madden: NFL players deserve better than owners are offering in new CBA proposal
There are many reasons the NFL Players Association should turn down the owners’ CBA proposal. Not least among them: • It adds a 17th game, probably starting in 2022. Football is the most physically damaging of sports. The players don’t need more risk. The NFL doesn’t need to play more...
Mark Madden: ESPN interview 1 of Mike Tomlin’s most significant moments as Steelers coach
I’m not necessarily a big Mike Tomlin fan. Given the resources at hand, Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers teams mostly have underachieved over the past decade. I also think whoever replaced Tomlin wouldn’t be as good or do as well. But that’s another debate for another time. What Tomlin did when he...
Mark Madden: Myles Garrett is lying about Steelers QB Mason Rudolph
Myles Garrett is lying. But very few will say that, at least not directly. As a result, Garrett’s lie is, by default, becoming the truth. Entire sports-talk TV segments are built around “what if.” As in, “what if Mason Rudolph did call Myles Garrett the n-word?” As George Costanza said,...
Mark Madden: Players must be punished in Astros sign-stealing fiasco
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...
