Mark Madden Columns category, Page 4
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Kaleb Johnson fits the part in Steelers’ offense, but will he play?
True believers bleat loudly about the “Steeler way.” But some of that preferred method is stupid. Like rewarding veterans who “wait their turn.” Like making rookies “earn it.” Those two notions may conspire to stifle the Steelers’ running game. Jaylen Warren isn’t a No. 1 back. He’s 5-foot-8. Played at...
Mark Madden: Cam Heyward is the villain in contract battle with the Steelers but won’t go full heel
Hunker down for refreshing sports notes! But they’re mostly Cam Heyward contract dispute notes, which makes them not so refreshing. Because we endured this less than a year ago. • With first-round pick Derrick Harmon and fifth-round selection Yahya Black bolstering the defensive line, could the Steelers get by without...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ 1st-round mistake continues path to obscurity
Kenny Pickett can’t catch a break. But he’d have trouble catching anything with those small hands. Pickett is continuing his path to obscurity with the Cleveland Browns, his third NFL team in four years. It’s a further reminder of how absurd it was for the Pittsburgh Steelers to select him...
Mark Madden: Mason Rudolph again proves to be among NFL’s most reliable backups
Steelers fans went into the preseason hoping that sixth-round draft pick Will Howard would breathe life into their imagined status of him being a long-term hope at quarterback. He didn’t, and won’t. Howard’s broken finger will likely sideline him for the entire exhibition campaign. Instead, the citizens got a reminder...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: The Steelers have set up Broderick Jones to fail
This season isn’t a proving ground for third-year tackle Broderick Jones. It’s a proving ground for how the Steelers have developed Jones. So far, the Steelers have mangled it. The Steelers traded up to the 14th pick and took Jones in the 2023 draft. He was seen as a bit...
Mark Madden: Cam Heyward’s hold-in proves his own words hollow
When Aaron Rodgers was pondering whether to sign with the local football team, Cam Heyward spoke thusly: “Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, or you don’t. It’s that simple.” For Heyward, those aren’t words to live by. A master of the training camp “hold in,” Heyward is indulging...
Mark Madden: Paul Skenes signing an extension with the Pirates makes no sense … for him
Somebody employed by the Pittsburgh Pirates’ radio network says the team is talking to Paul Skenes about a long-term contract extension. Breaking news or absolute fabrication? I know how I’m betting. This report strikes me as fiction concocted to dilute negative PR from a trade deadline that reiterated the organizational...
Mark Madden: Stop supporting the Pittsburgh Pirates
The stooges will soon resume hyping the great Paul Skenes (who wasn’t so great in the sixth inning Saturday) and the coming excellence of prospect Konnor Griffin (got to kick that can down the road). But first, let’s sum up what the Pittsburgh Pirates did at Thursday’s trade deadline: They...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Even a salary cap couldn’t fix the Pirates
MLB needs a salary cap. The payroll imbalance is too great. Four layers of playoffs disguise and dilute the competitive imbalance by adding an element of randomness. But too many teams have zero chance going into a given season. Or, in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ case, a given decade. A salary...
Mark Madden: Trading Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell is best for Penguins’ future
It’s imperative that the Penguins get a top-five pick in next year’s NHL draft. It’s a top-heavy draft. Potential stars are available, not least Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, the presumptive first choice overall. President of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas has done a good job restocking the Penguins’ system. But that...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: CB trio offers options, but Steelers need to be aggressive
The Pittsburgh Steelers have three starting cornerbacks: Joey Porter Jr., Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay. None is really a slot guy, though that transition is uncomplicated. None is a safety. Coach Mike Tomlin tells us, “They’re (all) gonna be on the field.” But he doesn’t tell us how. It’s intriguing....
Mark Madden: Hulk Hogan always stole the show, made wrestling a true phenomenon
Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in wrestling history. His match vs. Andre the Giant in 1987 at WrestleMania III in the Pontiac Silverdome remains the genre’s biggest moment. It made wrestling a true phenomenon. His heel turn to ignite the nWo invasion of World Championship Wrestling in 1996 was...
Mark Madden: Caitlin Clark is WNBA’s catalyst, only player to impact new media rights contract
Caitlin Clark is the only reason for the WNBA’s increase in popularity. Clark gets fouled, injured, disrespected and excluded despite being the rising tide that lifts all boats. (Clark’s eight-year, $28 million deal with Nike makes the hurt easier to live with. Clark works for Nike, not the WNBA. The...
Mark Madden: T.J. Watt has more to achieve before climbing Steelers’ franchise hierarchy
This space recently proclaimed that to justify a contract extension that pays $41 million per season, Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt has to make first-team All-Pro, finish top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting and help the Steelers win a playoff game. If the Steelers win a...
Mark Madden: Bob Nutting’s Pirates are permanently broken
The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost 11 of 12 after being swept at PNC Park by the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox have MLB’s second-worst record this season, lost 121 games last season. But the White Sox outscored the Pirates, 27-7. Owner Bob Nutting doesn’t care. The Pirates drew more...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: How is T.J. Watt worth more than Sauce Gardner?
T.J. Watt signed a three-year, $123 million contract extension with $108 million guaranteed. The average annual value is $41 million. Watt will be the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback. Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets got a four-year, $120.4 million contract extension with $60 million guaranteed. The average annual value is...
Mark Madden: T.J. Watt got what he wanted, but this contract raises the stakes
A new concept: Refreshing sports notes about one athlete! It’s an honor to chronicle all the skinny about T.J. Watt in the aftermath of his contract extension! Far superior to Myles Garrett notes! • Watt got what he wanted. Maybe less term than he’d prefer. But Watt got a higher...
Mark Madden: Increased popularity shows changes are working for MLB
After the first-ever “swing-off” brought pizzazz to the finish of Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game, it seems inevitable the concept will be used for regular-season games. It shouldn’t be. It has a fatal flaw. The “swing-off” uses non-major-leaguers to help determine the result of MLB games, namely the batting-practice pitchers. Teams...
Mark Madden: All bets are off with Arturs Silovs now in Penguins’ goaltending rotation
The Penguins’ goaltending situation seemed easy to read after Alex Nedeljkovic got sent to San Jose: Tristan Jarry is the starter in Pittsburgh. The backup is Joel Blomqvist, Filip Larsson or Sergei Murashov. The other two split netminding duties with the Penguins’ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club. (Murashov, 21, is the franchise’s...
Mark Madden: Drafting another pitching phenom latest example of unwarranted Pirates optimism
First-round draft pick Seth Hernandez is the latest reason for Bucco optimism. The Pirates’ head scout called the high school right-hander a “culture changer.” But Paul Skenes hasn’t changed the Pirates’ culture. Skenes is MLB’s best pitcher. But he’s 4-8, and the Pirates are last in the NL Central. If...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Might as well add Brewers rookie to meaningless All-Star Game
Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski has been named to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game. The 23-year-old phenom has started just five games and thrown only 25⅔ innings. It’s exemplary of what the All-Star Game has become. It’s not Pete Rose turning Ray Fosse into roadkill while scoring the winning run for...
Mark Madden: Matt Dumba trade makes sense for Penguins and is probably just the start
It’s time for refreshing sports notes at the speed of sound! Climb on my back and we’ll go for a ride in the sky! • The Pittsburgh Penguins’ acquisition of right-handed defenseman Matt Dumba indicates that Erik Karlsson’s exit is pending and promising 19-year-old prospect Harrison Brunicke won’t make the team....
Mark Madden: Steelers have no good reason to give in to T.J. Watt’s contract demands
The T.J. Watt contract extension saga seems stuck in neutral. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Steelers and Watt are “far apart.” It seems unlikely that negotiations are taking place, or that Watt is willing to negotiate. Watt wants to top what Myles Garrett gets from Cleveland, specifically more than $40...
Mark Madden: What are Pirates saving Paul Skenes for?
Paul Skenes is pitching great: He’s got an ERA of 1.94, second-best in MLB. But he isn’t pitching much. What are the Pittsburgh Pirates saving Skenes for? In his past three starts, he’s thrown just 14 innings. He’s averaged only 81 pitches. Is that what Skenes and his agent want?...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: WWE’s Monday Night Raw color men from Western PA at center of debate
Pittsburgh has a rich pro wrestling tradition: Kurt Angle, Bruno Sammartino, Larry Zbyszko, Shane Douglas, me. But now, internal debate in WWE involves two Pittsburgh-born talents: Pat McAfee and Corey Graves. Plum’s McAfee had been the color analyst on flagship telecast Monday Night Raw since January. He succeeded Monroeville’s Graves,...
