Mark Madden Columns category
Mark Madden: Steelers’ loss at Cleveland littered with ineptitude
If the Pittsburgh Steelers blow the AFC North championship and the playoffs by losing at home to Baltimore on Sunday, Mike Tomlin should be fired before he gets off the field. But it’s more likely Tomlin will sprint to the office of Art Rooney II and immediately sign a lucrative...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Symbolism abounds as Myles Garrett chases T.J. Watt’s sack record
Myles Garrett needs one more sack to break T.J. Watt’s NFL single-season record of 22½. Garrett can set the mark when Cleveland hosts the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Watt won’t be in uniform but figures to be on the sideline watching. He might run on the field and try to...
Mark Madden: Like it or not, NFL needs its fans even more than players
Too many are too quick to say the blue-haired Detroit Lions fan who instigated with DK Metcalf should be banned from games. But that fan paid to get in. Metcalf was paid to be there. If the stadiums are empty and televisions don’t get turned on, the NFL doesn’t exist....
Mark Madden: DK Metcalf has only himself to blame
Only one person is to blame in the DK Metcalf imbroglio. It’s DK Metcalf. Sure, the blue-haired dipstick in the stands at Ford Field was looking to ensnare the Pittsburgh Steelers wideout in a web of stupidity. Shame on Metcalf for letting him. That dope had nothing to lose. Metcalf...
Mark Madden: A fool’s gold start has poisoned the Penguins’ developmental year
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a simple story. It’s not a very good roster. Evgeni Malkin getting hurt triggered the Penguins losing eight straight. But Malkin’s absence wasn’t responsible for their four late-game collapses during those eight defeats. Which felt worse, squandering those leads or getting shut out both games of...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pitt volleyball shouldn’t be shielded from criticism
As soon as Pitt’s women’s volleyball team lost in the NCAA semifinals for a fifth straight season, we saw this sort of blather on social media: “(Pitt) should be incredibly proud for representing the school and Pittsburgh like total pros. Keep those heads up.” “I’m proud of Pitt volleyball. I...
Mark Madden: Mario Lemieux doesn’t need to save the Penguins again
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ ownership transition from Fenway Sports Group to the Chicago-based Hoffmann Family of Companies could be tricky. (Like any transfer of a business worth over a billion dollars.) But one thing is certain: Mario Lemieux will not ride in on a white horse to save the Penguins. Hasn’t he...
Mark Madden: Is this Steelers team better than last season’s?
After Monday night’s comfortable home win over Miami, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said “belief is starting to pick up.” He seemed to be trying to talk himself into it. Or perhaps his teammates. Maybe the citizens. It feels like the Steelers are headed to the same destination as last...
Mark Madden: Choking away 3rd-period leads brings clarity to Penguins’ situation
As bizarre as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ choking streak may be, and wholly inexcusable, it may provide clarity to an oft-debated situation: This is not a team capable of making the playoffs, let alone a playoff run, and president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas should proceed accordingly. If that means stripping...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: With future in mind, the Penguins had to trade Tristan Jarry
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ dressing room perhaps wasn’t overjoyed by Friday’s trade of goalie Tristan Jarry to Edmonton. He was popular and mostly played well this season. But president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas did the right thing. At 21, Sergei Murashov may not be the present of the Penguins’ goaltending...
Mark Madden: The version of Aaron Rodgers many expected has shown up
The NFL’s quarterbacking situation is nuts. Forty-four-year-old Philip Rivers is making a comeback with Indianapolis. He’s got a fat backside and extra chins, so he’s my favorite quarterback ever. Steelers reject Kenny Pickett is likely to start Sunday for Las Vegas against Philadelphia, another of his former teams. Cleveland rookie...
Mark Madden: Pirates are making free agency headlines, but is it all for show?
Some offers are meant to be refused. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ reported four-year, $100 million-plus offer to free-agent slugger Kyle Schwarber, for example. The Pirates knew Schwarber would get better offers. He ultimately re-upped with Philadelphia: Five years, $150 million. The Phillies dangled more cash and, obviously, a better chance to...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ lead in AFC North is restored, along with the Mike Tomlin narrative
The Pittsburgh Steelers are back atop the AFC North, and the narrative is back in place. It ranges somewhere between Kevin Bacon screaming “All is well!” in “Animal House” and Aaron Rodgers saying, “Means maybe (the media) will shut the hell up for a week.” It doubtless involves every talking...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins can’t sacrifice development
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ place in the standings, perhaps unfortunately, dictates that a tightrope be walked between developmental (the primary goal) and contending for a playoff spot (the showbiz goal). But some decisions serve both masters. When Rickard Rakell returns from hand surgery in 3-4 weeks, he can’t resume his old...
Mark Madden: Roster construction, not rink size, should be priority for U.S. Olympic team
The rink for this coming February’s Olympic hockey tournament in Milan, Italy will reportedly be 3 feet shorter and 3 inches wider than the NHL’s regulation size of 200 feet long and 85 feet wide. The rink isn’t yet finished. Construction is behind schedule. But the bigger concern is the...
Mark Madden: It’s time to admit the unpleasant truth about Mike Tomlin’s Steelers tenure
The Pittsburgh Steelers are bad. Prehistoric offense. Rotten defense that costs $163 million. Old and getting older. Stars fading fast. Awful decisions piling up. It’s time to form a narrative. That narrative is: It’s not Mike Tomlin’s fault. That’s the vibe, especially on the national front. There are several forks...
Mark Madden: The Steelers are broken, and it falls on Mike Tomlin
When Aaron Rodgers is hopped up on ayahuasca, or whatever truth serum he’s taking that enables him to play (not very well) with three fractures in his left wrist, it would be fun to ask him if the situation in Pittsburgh is what he’d hoped for. Here’s betting it’s not....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Trading George Pickens was still the right move for Steelers
As the Pittsburgh Steelers stay embedded in the mushy middle with no escape in sight, the new blame-game sidebar is the trade of wideout George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys for two draft picks this past offseason, that the Steelers shouldn’t have done it. Pickens is having a great year...
Mark Madden: What should the Penguins do with Tristan Jarry?
Tristan Jarry has provided grounds for buyer’s remorse since signing a five-year, $26.875 million contract in July 2023. The Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender played poorly and cleared waivers last season, doing two stints with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club. The Penguins got goalie Arturs Silovs this past offseason. Their system is chock-full of...
Mark Madden: Let Aaron Rodgers call plays, feed DK Metcalf and more things the Steelers can try
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 6-5 but seem in disarray. Linebacker Patrick Queen questioned the defensive scheme after the 31-28 loss at Chicago this past Sunday. Ex-Steeler Trai Essex agreed, saying, “It’s not a talent issue. It’s definitely schematics.” Former Steeler James Harrison, like Essex a two-time Super Bowl champ, turned...
Mark Madden: Steelers keep sinking but won’t change course
Dating to last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost 10 of their last 16. Despite lots of personnel changes, many significant, the Steelers have the same feel: stale, outdated and in possession of a one-way ticket to Palookaville. The players who get paid the most aren’t doing the most or...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: No harm done, but Cam Skattebo’s wrestling appearance was bad optics
Cam Skattebo got physical at ringside on WWE TV, and it caused a stir. His New York Giants stink, at 2-9. The rookie running back is out with a broken leg, ankle dislocation and ligament damage. When Skattebo got hurt, part of his leg was facing the wrong way. But...
Mark Madden: The chase replaces the catch for the Pirates
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is one of MLB’s most respected journalists. But most of what he reported about the Pittsburgh Pirates this week is totally full of excrement. Passan knows better. But there’s so little content about a franchise as moribund as the Pirates, so he’ll take what’s leaked. Even if it’s...
Mark Madden: Injured Aaron Rodgers will likely start vs. Bears, but should he?
The Steelers never look past the next game. Sunday’s visit to Chicago won’t be an exception. Which is why Aaron Rodgers will play quarterback even though he probably shouldn’t. Rodgers has a broken bone in his left (non-throwing) wrist. Shotgun snaps might be difficult to handle. Snaps under center will...
Mark Madden: Steelers should stick with Mason Rudolph despite clamoring for Will Howard
Let’s get ahead of the clamor: Don’t start Will Howard. Mason Rudolph did fine deputizing for an injured Aaron Rodgers in the second half of the Steelers’ home win over Cincinnati. Rudolph posted similar stats, maybe a bit better, and directed a game-clinching, fourth-quarter drive. Rudolph did better under pressure...
