Mark Madden Columns category, Page 54
Mark Madden: Pirates owner Bob Nutting, others specialize in absurdity
With sports media and social media bleeding into each other (think bloody mess), content is at a premium. It doesn’t have to be good content. It doesn’t have to be true content. It just has to be voluminous. As a result, a lot of nonsense gets put out there. (Ahem.)...
Mark Madden: Antonio Brown only thinks he runs the Steelers
As we brace for the summit meeting between the man who owns the Pittsburgh Steelers and the man who thinks he owns the Steelers, the question begs: Is Antonio Brown’s behavior carefully calculated to ramrod his way out of Pittsburgh, or is he just nuts? Here’s betting the latter, because...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ season full of crazy sidebars
The Penguins’ power play is one for its last 21 and has surrendered two short-handed goals in that time. It’s not often a power play is minus-1 over a 10-game span. But the Penguins’ penalty kill has scored nine short-handed goals since Dec. 14, an incredible number. The answer seems...
Mark Madden: Any rule that shortens MLB games is good rule
The National League will not use the DH until at least 2022, according to reports. That’s quite understandable. What’s the hurry? The National and American leagues have illogically differed in this regard since 1973. What’s three more years? Those three years, of course, will be filled with the merciless kvetching...
Mark Madden: Penguins need a 1-A type backup as insurance for Matt Murray
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford might be done dealing after acquiring forwards Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann from Florida on Feb 1. But he probably isn’t. Tweaking the roster is in Rutherford’s blood. He’s changed a quarter of his team since season’s start. That’s no complaint. The results speak for themselves....
Mark Madden: Teddy Blueger belongs on Penguins, not in minors
The NFL has no offseason. Maybe that’s why the Super Bowl drew its lowest TV rating in a decade: The citizens are tiring of football, or weary of New England winning, or maybe America just hates Maroon 5. But everybody loves refreshing sports notes. • When the Penguins get healthy,...
Mark Madden: Coyne Schofield-McGuire exchange was awkward, nothing more
The Kendall Coyne Schofield-Pierre McGuire fiasco on the NBC Sports Network on Wednesday night was much ado about nothing. If you’re just now tuning in, U.S. women’s hockey player Coyne Schofield debuted as an analyst on NBCSN’s NHL coverage, specifically the game between Tampa Bay and the host Penguins. McGuire...
Mark Madden: Thanks, Sidney Crosby, for doing it right way
Sidney Crosby won the NHL All-Star Game(s) MVP on Saturday at San Jose, compiling four goals and four assists as his Metropolitan Division team won two straight games and the championship of the 3-on-3 tournament. This is noteworthy for two reasons: • All-Star Game(s) MVP was one of the few...
Mark Madden: Steelers, Antonio Brown circus may get even crazier
Antonio Brown posted a photo-shop on Instagram that pictured him, in a San Francisco 49ers uniform, embracing all-time Niners great Jerry Rice. Can a player be fined for tampering with himself? Unfortunately, the 49ers lack the components to easily trade for Brown, unless they’re willing to give the Steelers the...
Mark Madden: No easy fix for NFL’s officiating fiascos
Sometimes a bad officiating decision benefits your team. Sometimes it kills your team. New Orleans has lived both sides. In Week 16, a bad interference call on Steelers cornerback Joe Haden greatly helped the Saints beat the Steelers, exiling the Steelers from the playoffs and giving the Saints home field...
Mark Madden: There’s an easy way for Penguins to improve power play
The Penguins power-play unit ranks fifth best in the NHL with a conversion percentage of 25.8. It’s No. 1 on the road with a mark of 33.9. But there are definitely flaws. The minor problem: It doesn’t get enough opportunities. The Penguins have been on the power play 128 times....
Mark Madden: Steelers must excise destructive Antonio Brown
Owner/president Art Rooney said it would be “hard to envision” Antonio Brown at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. That sounds like a one-way ticket to Palookaville, even though the Steelers would have to absorb a $21.1 million cap hit if they Brown. But if a bum tooth hurts bad enough, you...
Mark Madden: Steelers, fans should be done with disrespectful Brown, Harrison
Most professional athletes don’t understand that every single one of them is disposable. That got proven when pro baseball not only survived but flourished after Babe Ruth retired and has been indisputably apparent ever since. Pro football is the topic du jour now that Antonio Brown and his flunky, James...
