Mark Madden: What the Pirates will do with Paul Skenes, should do with Oneil Cruz and more sports notes

The days are turning long and hot, but refreshing sports notes are short and cool. Unwrap a Popsicle and dig in!

• When Paul Skenes files for arbitration in 2027, the first year he’s eligible, he figures to be awarded in excess of $30 million. When that happens, the Pittsburgh Pirates will trade him immediately.

• There’s a new kid in town: Rookie phenom Jacob Misiorowski thoroughly outpitched Skenes on Wednesday at Milwaukee. Misiorowski threw gas while Skenes got too cute with his expanding arsenal of pitches. Memo to Skenes: Stick with the basics.

• Oneil Cruz should be sent to Triple-A. He doesn’t have an extra-base hit in 13 games. He’s hitting .205. He’s a butcher in center field. He’s lazy. He’s got his head jammed up his backside. He makes his manager look impotent. It’s unacceptable. So don’t accept it.

• The heat should be on Minkah Fitzpatrick more than any other Steeler. His salary cap hit is over $22 million, and he’s had minimal impact the last two seasons: One interception, one forced fumble, no fumble recoveries. Don’t spew that horse manure about him being deployed conservatively to make his teammates better. If you make that much, do more.

• The Steelers have 100% of the leverage in the T.J. Watt contract dispute but will 100% capitulate.

• Cristiano Ronaldo signed a two-year contract to continue playing soccer in the Saudi league. He will make $211 million per season. J.J. Watt immediately said, “The Steelers should have extended my brother before the Ronaldo deal got done.”

• Lots of quarter-century “best of” lists are being mooted. Any “best athlete” list that doesn’t include Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the top five is stupid. I don’t include Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps. Not when people only get excited about their sports every four years.

• Sports used to be reading the box scores and Frank Deford. Now it’s Banana Ball and Stephen A. Smith. Something got lost in translation. And a lot louder.

• The NHL Draft is boring because so few players make impact (or even play) in the league immediately. It’s not like the NFL and NBA. All Pittsburgh has to root for is the Penguins drafting West Mifflin’s L.J. Mooney. He’s undersized at 5-foot-8. But Mooney might be the most dynamic offensive talent in the draft.

• The Hockey Hall of Fame is inducting a strong class of men’s players: Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alex Mogilny and Joe Thornton. But none of them affected hockey as much as broadcasters Don Cherry and Barry Melrose. Or Eddie Johnston, who did everything in hockey. It’s about fame and impact, not just stats.

• It’s rare when a legit star in his prime hits NHL free agency because of how the league’s free agency rules are structured. But 28-year-old winger Mitch Marner (ex-Toronto) fits that description. Marner could shift the NHL’s balance of power if he goes to the right team.

• The NHL will increase its schedule from 82 games to 84. The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will expand from 68 teams to 76. The NFL can’t wait to go from 17 games to 18. More is only better when it comes to money. Otherwise, it just dilutes and damages. Sports leagues have zero concern for the quality of their product.

• Caitlin Clark is experiencing her first prolonged slump: 22 turnovers and 1 for 23 from 3-point range over her last three games. Perhaps the onslaught of jealousy and hate from her peers has combined with lack of protection from the WNBA and her going against the league’s racial and sexual dynamic to wear Clark down. Or maybe it’s injury. Or just a bad patch.

• The Dallas Mavericks made what some call the worst trade in NBA history when they sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. But the Mavericks got an established big in Anthony Davis, won the NBA draft lottery and took franchise player Cooper Flagg, and still have Kyrie Irving. The Mavs have a better team than they did and a better team than the Lakers. They’re legit contenders.

• It was heartbreaking to see T.J. McConnell of Chartiers Valley lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals in what might be his only shot at an NBA championship. Not least because next season is already ruined for Indiana because Tyrese Haliburton popped his Achilles tendon in that Game 7 defeat. The Pacers couldn’t overcome that for one game, let alone an entire season.