Mark Madden stories, Page 17
Mark Madden: Mason Rudolph has earned Steelers’ starting job, but Mike Tomlin doesn’t like to be wrong
As we celebrate Mike Tomlin not having a losing season for the 17th straight time, keep in mind the Pittsburgh Steelers should be 11-5. If the Steelers don’t make the playoffs, it will be because they lost consecutive home games to Arizona and New England, both teams with 2-10 records...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Pittsburgh sports had no ‘best of 2023’
This is the time for cliched, year-in-review “best of 2023” lists. But Pittsburgh sports had no “best of 2023.” All the major sports teams were rotten. All seem pointed in the wrong direction. The Steelers, Penguins, Pirates and Pitt football were a combined 20 games under .500 in 2023. The...
Mark Madden: Hines Ward had intangibles, but his stats just aren’t Hall of Fame worthy
Hines Ward, in his eighth year of eligibility, will once again not make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s not yet even been a finalist. This isn’t an outrage, nor would it be outrageous if Ward made it. The former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout defines being borderline. Three receivers are...
Mark Madden: To make playoffs, Penguins need different kind of impact from Erik Karlsson
Erik Karlsson’s brief tenure with the Penguins has been odd. The reigning Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman has not made enough positive impact in the areas it was logically assumed. Karlsson’s statistics are fine: 22 points, plus-9 in 32 games. His advanced stats are good, too. Karlsson...
Mark Madden: After Pyrrhic victory, what’s next for Steelers’ George Pickens, Mike Tomlin, QBs?
Saturday’s home win vs. Cincinnati might be the proverbial Pyrrhic victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was fun, but what was gained? And at what cost? Wideout George Pickens quit on a play the week before, then was decidedly non-apologetic. His punishment? Nothing. So, Pickens went out against the Bengals...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Sidney Crosby proving to be NHL’s most valuable player
Ex-Penguin Colby Armstrong is entertaining, and a rising star in hockey media. When he talks, many listen. Me, too. But Armstrong is pushing this misguided agenda that Sidney Crosby should get the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. Crosby is very deserving. He probably should have won the...
Mark Madden: Easy to root for Mason Rudolph, who never got fair shake from Steelers
Here’s my dream scenario for Saturday when the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals at Acrisure Stadium: Mason Rudolph throws for 350 yards and three touchdowns. Steelers put up 40-plus points, which seems impossible but also necessary because their defense has zero legit safeties and just one real inside linebacker. Steelers...
Mark Madden: Steelers need to bench George Pickens, then dump him this offseason
On Saturday at Indianapolis, Steelers wideout George Pickens quit on a play. Pickens stood idle while running back Jaylen Warren got tackled at the Colts’ 1-yard line. If Pickens blocks, Warren scores a touchdown. On Tuesday, Pickens said he declined to block because he didn’t want to risk injury, citing...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ loss to Colts another embarrassment for Mike Tomlin
The Pittsburgh Steelers are so disheveled, it’s difficult to know where to start. Refreshing Steelers notes seems the correct path. But they’re not so refreshing. More like a kick to the groin. • It’s time to stop making excuses on this sorry team’s behalf. The Steelers stink. Say so. •...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Sidney Crosby is performing at MVP level, yet still underappreciated
Sidney Crosby sits 25th among NHL scorers with 31 points in 28 games. He’s fourth in goals with 17. Imagine what his statistics might be if the Pittsburgh Penguins’ power play didn’t stink most games. He’s carrying a subpar Penguins team on his back, albeit not to great heights thus...
Mark Madden: More needed from Steelers’ defensive leaders to beat Colts
Mario Lemieux was known to say, “I make the most money. I need to do more.” Sometimes after he racked up five points but the Penguins lost 9-6. T.J. Watt’s contract with the Steelers is worth $112 million. Minkah Fitzpatrick’s will pay him $73.6 million. Cameron Heyward’s is $71.4 million....
Mark Madden: Logan Cooley playing against Sidney Crosby, Penguins a special moment for Pittsburgh hockey
In the days before becoming Pittsburgh’s foremost media icon, I wrote about high school hockey for a local paper. As much as they let me, anyway. “Nobody cares about hockey,” was the mantra. My coverage was mostly relegated to the suburban editions. But look at Pittsburgh hockey now. Logan Cooley...
Mark Madden: Shohei Ohtani is a phenomenon, but $700 million baseball return is unlikely
Shohei Ohtani’s 10-year, $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is the biggest expenditure on an athlete in sports history. But there will, ultimately, be a bigger one. There always is. It’s hardly shocking. You could have predicted his destination and (roughly) the amount even before Ohtani hit free...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Keep NHL players away from ’26 Winter Olympics
The NHL is mooting whether to send players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. It’s at the final discretion of the league, not the players. Big fail by the NHL Players Association, though pressing for control would have served just a small percentage of the membership. I’m against it....
Mark Madden: Steelers should fire Mike Tomlin
Coach Mike Tomlin should be fired the minute this wasted Steelers season ends. Enough with adhering religiously to what daddy and granddaddy did. When the coach deserves to be fired, fire him. Never changing coaches is supposed to give the Steelers stability. Do these Steelers look stable to you? Tomlin’s...
Mark Madden: What will happen if Mitch Trubisky plays better than Kenny Pickett?
Thursday’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and visiting New England Patriots figures to be one of the NFL’s worst games this season. Neither team scores much. The over/under is a microscopic 30 1/2. Yet the under seems an incredibly safe wager. The Steelers just lost at home by 14 to...
Mark Madden: The Steelers will remain broken, in plain sight. That’s the new standard
The Steelers are never under much real pressure to fix their problems. Their failures hide in plain sight, aided and abetted by a dopey fan base that thinks playing “Renegade” is a strategy and a stooge media that allows accountability to be shirked. For example, Kenny Pickett stinks. Anybody that...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers must make most of opportunity ahead
It’s difficult to evaluate the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season. They are beneficiaries of an unchallenging schedule, a dearth of quality NFL quarterbacks, a rotten league in general. As Tom Brady rightly said, “I don’t see the excellence that I saw in the past.” I doubt Brady sees it in Pittsburgh, either....
Mark Madden: Madison Square Garden has undeniable buzz, but resident teams almost never win
NEW YORK — Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier once said you can feel the electricity of New York’s Madison Square Garden as soon as you walk into the building. Not sure if Messier said that after captaining the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994 or after...
Mark Madden: Patric Hornqvist changed Penguins; Josh Anderson could do the same
The Pittsburgh Penguins were 10-10 going into Tuesday night’s game at Nashville. You can’t get more mediocre than that. The Penguins have shown signs of life, especially against strong foes. But they don’t look like a good bet to win a playoff series for the first time since 2018 or...
Mark Madden: Steelers lacked scoring but showed plenty of good, so what’s their ceiling?
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 7-4. They’ll be 9-4 after beating pushovers in their next two games. After that, their schedule gets harder but not a lot. It’s easy to imagine the Steelers finishing, say, 11-6 and getting the No. 1 wild card in the AFC. Heck, the Steelers could win...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Nothing should be off-limits to get Penguins on track
Going into Saturday night’s home game vs. the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Pittsburgh Penguins had just 19 wins in regulation time over their last 64 games. They blew a 2-0 third-period lead at Buffalo on Friday night, losing 3-2. The Penguins’ season has taken on familiar characteristics that have been...
Mark Madden: Some advice for Eddie Faulkner in his Steelers coordinator debut
New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Eddie Faulkner has blocked much of the local media on X/Twitter. But he hasn’t yet blocked me. So I must be doing something right. It’s in the spirit of that unsteady alliance that I offer Faulkner the following advice: NO JET SWEEPS. Don’t call any. Not...
Mark Madden: The Steelers’ scapegoat is gone, but will that make Kenny Pickett play better?
The Pittsburgh Steelers fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada. Now we find out who’s really been at fault for the Steelers’ scared, limp offense. Here’s thinking it hasn’t been Canada. Here’s betting we see more of the same. Will quarterback Kenny Pickett use the middle of the field now? Will Pickett...
Mark Madden: Without his ‘it’ factor, Kenny Pickett is one of NFL’s worst quarterbacks
Kenny Pickett is one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks. He should be benched. The Steelers are 6-4, but when they’ve won, it’s mostly been despite Pickett. “Fourth-quarter Kenny” was absent Sunday at Cleveland. Right after Pickett failed to summon a game-winning drive in the game’s final 15 minutes, Browns rookie...
