Mark Madden: Something has to give with Aaron Rodgers, Arthur Smith

You know it’s kind of hard just to get along today. If these refreshing sports notes aren’t cool, let’s fake it anyway.

• Steelers minicamp didn’t reveal much. Aaron Rodgers showed up. T.J. Watt didn’t. End of story.

• Rodgers threw the second-most passes in the NFL last season. The Steelers offense had the fourth-most rushing attempts. Something’s got to give. I’d trust Rodgers over offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The Steelers averaged 22 yards per opening drive in 2025, third-worst in the NFL. Smith’s first year in Pittsburgh was disappointing, his offense too predictable.

• The Steelers will capitulate on the Watt contract extension. But maybe not all the way. If Watt wants in excess of $40 million per year by way of topping what Cleveland’s Myles Garrett is getting and won’t compromise at all, things could get legitimately tense.

• A movie might get made about the Immaculate Reception. At what point do we let that go? It was a lucky bounce, maybe an illegal play, possibly trapped. Then again, “Rudy” was a full-length feature film about some scrub at Notre Dame who got in for two plays at garbage time.

• Pitching phenom Bubba Chandler is reportedly being kept in Triple-A because he issues too many walks: 26 in 51 innings. But if Chandler is otherwise ready, bring him to Pittsburgh. The Pirates need to find ways to succeed, not reasons to tiptoe. If walks are Chandler’s lone problem, let him find a remedy at the big-league level.

• Then again, the season is already shot: 14 games under .500, 11½ games out of a wild-card spot. New manager Donnie Kelly’s record is the new lowest acceptable artificial level of accomplishment. If Kelly finishes at .500 or better, the citizens will celebrate as if the Pirates made the playoffs. It doesn’t take much to placate Pirates diehards. Move that bar as needed.

• Al Oliver obviously belongs in the Pirates Hall of Fame. He should be in the Baseball Hall of Fame, too. The numbers add up: .303 batting average, .795 OPS, 2,743 hits, 1,326 RBIs, 1,189 runs. Oliver is an easy pick by the Hall’s current standard. (See Baines, Harold.)

• Andrew McCutchen now has more home runs as a Pirate than Roberto Clemente. But there’s no comparing McCutchen to Clemente. Numbers can lie a little bit.

• Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle aren’t likely to buy back the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group. But if they did, it wouldn’t immediately fix the franchise on the ice. Lemieux and Burkle sold at just the right time, with the team’s talent aging and dissipating. FSG isn’t to blame. Nobody is. No team wins indefinitely. Lemieux and Burkle did great. FSG needs time.

• It wouldn’t be a shock if FSG sold. The NHL has limited revenue streams compared to MLB and Premier League soccer, FSG’s other fields of sporting endeavor. The NHL also has a salary cap. FSG is out of its element. (If FSG doesn’t sell the Penguins, it is looking for investors.)

• For those who paint FSG as Pittsburgh hockey’s great Satan, remember that Lemieux and Burkle hired Ron Hextall as GM, which was a disaster. Nobody’s perfect.

• With the exception of Game 3’s third-period detour to thug life, this is the best Stanley Cup Final in recent memory: Three overtime games. Equal parts speed, skill and physicality. Goaltending that isn’t stifling but provides big saves. Star power. But as a best-of-three to produce a winner beckons, the pressure on Connor McDavid grows. The Oilers rallied from three games down to force Game 7 last year. They overcame a 3-0 deficit on Thursday. But if Edmonton doesn’t win the Cup, McDavid is the guy who can’t quite complete a comeback.

• T.J. McConnell is pretty fly for a white guy, not least one from Chartiers Valley. He was electric in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, the first player in Finals history to get 10 points, five steals and five assists coming off the bench. He had an assist, steal, offensive rebound and assist in a 6-second span. Three steals on in-bounds passes. McConnell plays winning basketball. He’s a huge reason why Indiana is two wins away from it’s first NBA title.

• I’m not excited about the U.S. Open, even if it’s at Oakmont Country Club. Golf is bereft of charisma. The most intriguing thing Scottie Scheffler ever did was get arrested at the 2024 PGA Championship.

• Pat McAfee is the king of sports media. Yet he becomes absolutely unhinged whenever he’s criticized or gets any negative publicity. You got the crown. Wear it better.

• A trans woman pitched a shutout to win the Minnesota state high school girls softball Class AAAA championship game. Sports are based on being fair. Nothing else. That was subverted for the sake of one person. The girls who got beat will never get that moment back. Will always feel cheated. What about the greater good? Trans women should live as they choose and be accepted for who they are. But biological males should not be allowed to ruin women’s sports.