Mark Madden Columns category, Page 44
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Don’t be surprised if Penguins trade newly re-signed Jared McCann
Jared McCann didn’t score in his last 25 games this season. His last goal was Jan. 14, and the meter still is running. McCann was scratched for the third game of the Penguins’ four-game loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup playoffs’ prelim round. Six million bucks doesn’t buy what...
Mark Madden: Kevin Dotson will be more than adequate on Steelers offensive line
You can’t attend the Pittsburgh Steelers’ home opener Sunday, but you can approximate the same boozy electricity by reading these ice-cold refreshing Steelers notes. The jig is up, the news is out… • With David DeCastro and Stefen Wisniewski gimpy, rookie Kevin Dotson likely gets the start at right guard...
Mark Madden: This Steelers ‘D’ could be comparable to ’76 unit
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense in 1976 is regarded by some as the NFL’s greatest ever and is among the top five by acclamation. The current Steelers defense has a chance to approach those lofty heights. It won’t allow just 28 points over its last nine games or post five shutouts...
Mark Madden: After James Conner’s latest injury, time has come for Benny Snell football
James Conner is a great story. Pitt guy. Cancer survivor. We’ve heard the narrative umpteen times, and it is indeed inspirational. Conner even wrote a book. But the Steelers must move on from Conner as their No. 1 running back. Conner left Monday’s game at the New York Giants in...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Fans, parents should be allowed at HS football games
If a high school football game is played in the forest with no one around, does it make a sound? Of course it does: It’s the noise of parents complaining. You’re never going to shut them up. But WPIAL football parents have a legit gripe, one that transcends, “My Johnny...
Mark Madden: To reach experts’ expectation, Steelers must win 1st 2 games, sweep Ravens
In Pittsburgh, sports fans and the attendant media aren’t brilliant at much. But overrating and overestimating have proven to be specialties. The Penguins had a “great” pre-playoffs camp, whatever that means. They were “flying out there,” especially Evgeni Malkin. That provided pretext for a long playoff run. Actual evidence like...
Mark Madden: Steelers look like wild-card contender
With the Steelers season set to begin Monday, egregiously optimistic predictions ricochet around the football media. Ben Roethlisberger is back. The defense will be even better. A deep and vertical receiving corps will maximize the red zone. Baltimore and Lamar Jackson will backslide. Cleveland and Cincinnati will stink again. This...
Mark Madden: Kudos to Steelers for final roster tweaks
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, the final cuts usually offer few surprises. They could have picked the roster before training camp. You could have picked the roster before training camp. But this year, the Steelers made some wise moves at their depth chart’s fringes. The No. 3 quarterback rarely comes into...
Mark Madden: Could Marc-Andre Fleury return to the Penguins?
It’s not imminent. There are lots of moving parts. Chances seem less than 50-50. But goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury could return to the Penguins. It’s possible. You may recall Allan Walsh, Fleury’s agent, recently tweeting an altered photo that showed Fleury stabbed in the back by a sword stamped “DeBoer.” As...
Mark Madden: Islanders’ defensive style could pose problems for Penguins, rest of NHL
There’s a lot to like about the New York Islanders. The Islanders have Philadelphia on the brink of elimination, leading the Flyers three games to two in their second-round series. Both Flyers victories came in overtime, and after the Islanders had rallied from deficits of three and two goals, respectively....
Mark Madden: Ben Roethlisberger will be AFC North’s best quarterback, not worst
Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum says Ben Roethlisberger might be the fourth-best quarterback in the AFC North. “I would rather see the ball in the hands of Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield or even Joe Burrow,” Tannenbaum said on ESPN. While he was the New York Jets GM, Tannenbaum drafted...
Mark Madden: Actions speak louder than words for pro athletes
The NBA’s players should have left the bubble and canceled the rest of the league’s playoffs. By doing that, the players would cost the league, its franchise owners and its television partners millions in revenue. The men affected have real power and could influence legit change. Or they could lock...
Mark Madden: If Penguins’ window is still open, Kasperi Kapanen trade makes sense
The Penguins’ reacquisition of winger Kasperi Kapanen is easy to evaluate. Just not right now. If GM Jim Rutherford is correct about the Penguins’ window to win still being open, and the Penguins make next season’s playoffs and win a round or two, it’s a good trade. Even if Kapanen...
Mark Madden: Could the pandemic mean end of the NHL as we know it?
As this unique version of the Stanley Cup playoffs enters the second round, it’s sobering to realize when it is concluded, we might not see the NHL for a long time. That means we won’t see the Penguins play again for an extended period. Will Sidney Crosby lose a year...
Mark Madden: NHL, NFL restrictions changing media coverage for now, possibly the future
The NHL didn’t allow any media into its two bubbles except those working for its member franchises and for NHL.com. The Professional Hockey Writers Association protested. I get that. But I also understand what the NHL did. The league wanted to keep the bubble tight and under its control. There...
Mark Madden: Baseball’s old-school, unwritten rules handcuff game
Taylor Twellman made 30 appearances for the U.S. men’s national soccer team and now analyzes that sport for ESPN. But he might understand baseball better than soccer. “(Baseball) is exhausting and so self-righteous, it drives young fans away,” he said. That’s right on the money, and it’s what Twellman tweeted...
Mark Madden: There’s a lot of randomness with these NHL playoffs
The last two Stanley Cup winners trail in their first-round playoff series. The team that won the Cup in the two seasons before is long since eliminated. Given the four-month break because of covid, then starting the postseason cold after a brief training camp, there seems an element of randomness...
Mark Madden: Jack Johnson should not be primary scapegoat for Penguins’ early playoff exit
The NBA’s San Antonio Spurs missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 seasons. Here in Pittsburgh, we know whose fault that is. It’s Jack Johnson’s. The Penguins defenseman is responsible for the national debt, social injustice, the spread of covid-19 from China, the Pirates’ low payroll and, not...
Mark Madden: Penguins face free fall pending difficult roster choicesVideo
When the clock hit all zeroes Friday in Toronto and the No. 24 seed Montreal Canadiens had eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins, some lamented the end of an era. But the Penguins’ era of glory really ended when Evgeny Kuznetsov’s overtime goal took Washington past them in the second round of...
Mark Madden: Penguins offered blueprint on how to beat them
That playoff series between the Penguins and Montreal didn’t go quite as expected. For example, I picked the Penguins in two. But nobody picked Montreal. Not one single person. No one thought the Canadiens would win, not even those in their dressing room. (Not until after Game 1, anyway.) It’s...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ run of success looks to be overVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins were 3-8 before the pandemic caused the NHL to pause, 1-2 since. The Penguins are 1-8 in their last nine playoff games. The run is over. It’s just not a very good hockey team anymore. The Penguins might well salvage their preliminary-round series against Montreal, though there’s...
Mark Madden: Penguins determined to travel most difficult path possible
Desperate times call for unusual measures. In the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs, the defending champion Penguins trailed Washington three games to one. The Penguins were a high-octane flying circus led by Mario Lemieux, scoring a league-high 343 goals. Problem was, the Capitals netted 330 times, second-most in the NHL. The...
Mark Madden: Penguins should make several lineup changes before Game 2 against Canadiens
It’s only one game. That was, no doubt, the phrase that pays in the Penguins locker room after Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal. It’s only one game. The Penguins lost their first playoff game to the New York Islanders last season, also in OT. That was only one game....
Mark Madden: Penguins need to simplify power play, keep stars where they fit bestVideo
Mike Sullivan is the most accomplished coach in Pittsburgh Penguins history and very arguably the franchise’s best. But even ABBA had their Waterloo, and Sullivan’s may be the Penguins’ power play. The Penguins rarely got rhythm with the man-advantage during the regular season because of injury. The unit’s components were...
Mark Madden: Covid-19 chaos is spreading from MLB to NFLVideo
MLB is imploding, and not just the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen. As of this writing, 18 Miami Marlins have tested positive for covid-19. This past Sunday, when the outbreak began via three players testing positive, the Marlins players voted to play that day anyway. Memo to morons: You can’t rub dirt...
