Mark Madden stories, Page 20
Mark Madden: ‘Heels’ is more compelling than WWE and AEW
After a lifetime of watching wrestling that includes eight years of working in it, I’m not interested anymore. Outside of a few instances, like the Bloodline plot and Cody Rhodes’ ascension (both in WWE), the storytelling is hackneyed and often non-existent. There’s too much wrestling on television: Six nights every...
Mark Madden: Small sample sizes being blown out of proportion in Steelers’ preseason games
The Steelers are winning the preseason. They might be preseason champs. It wouldn’t be a shock if Kenny Pickett gets preseason MVP. He’s the king of exhibitions: Three drives, three touchdowns. Pickett has performed very well. I wish he’d played more. Built additional momentum. But Pickett was excellent in last...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Justin Herbert would be more valuable to Steelers than Minkah Fitzpatrick
Minkah Fitzpatrick might be the NFL’s best safety. He’s made first-team All-Pro in three of the last four seasons, including last year when his six interceptions topped the NFL. But if the Steelers hadn’t traded for him in 2019, they might be a better team. The Steelers might have Justin...
Mark Madden: NFL pays lip service to player safety
Football’s preseason has certainly changed. When I was a kid, NFL teams played 14 regular-season games and six exhibitions. Starters played a ton in those exhibitions. Starting jobs and roster spots were legitimately up for grabs. Practices were like the Roman Colosseum: Hard-fought and ugly. The Oklahoma drill tested your...
Mark Madden: Kenny Pickett has intangibles, but Steelers’ success depends on his tangible improvement
When in doubt, write about the quarterback. So here are some truths we can hold self-evident about Pittsburgh Steelers QB Kenny Pickett: His intangibles often get praised, and rightly so. More tangibles have got to show up, and more frequently. But grit, moxie, etc., all those inexactitudes … Pickett’s got...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ Kwon Alexander, Keeanu Benton have talent, pedigree to earn starting roles
Loaded like a freight train, flying like an aeroplane and set to deliver refreshing sports notes to those ready to crash and burn! • Kwon Alexander played well at inside linebacker Friday night at Tampa. If he outperforms Cole Holcomb or Elandon Roberts, Alexander should start. Alexander has started 86...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers trying Kendrick Green at fullback is showbiz
Ben Roethlisberger is a good podcaster. He tells the truth. He can’t help himself. This statement by Roethlisberger drips with veracity: “I love Kendrick Green. He was a great guy, good teammate, loved him. He was my center my last year. They drafted that guy to be my center. “Last...
Mark Madden: Overthinking, or not thinking, is common for football coaches
Coaches too often overthink. Or don’t think at all. Maybe they’re just idiots. Mike Tomlin is likely guilty of overthinking when he places rookie Broderick Jones behind the very pedestrian Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle on the Steelers’ depth chart. The Steelers traded up to draft Jones 14th overall....
Mark Madden: With Erik Karlsson on board, the Penguins need to dominate on the power play
Erik Karlsson will impact the Penguins in every phase of hockey — including chances allowed. Yo, Tristan Jarry … buckle up. But Karlsson will profoundly change the power play. Despite loads of talent, the Penguins’ power play has been a disorganized mess: 14th in the NHL last season with a...
Mark Madden: Penguins’ Kyle Dubas is a miracle worker
When talking potential trades, fans want to swap all of their team’s bad players for all of the other team’s good players. Fantasy gets presented as potential fact but is foiled by the opposition GMs not being stupid. But Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas actually made that...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Preseason reps vital for Kenny Pickett, so don’t play it safe
The Pittsburgh Steelers play their first preseason game Friday at Tampa. How much should Kenny Pickett participate? How many snaps should the Steelers quarterback get over the entirety of the three-game exhibition slate? My suggestion would be: a lot. The reality will be: not very many. A few series. NFL...
Mark Madden: Women’s sports deserve equal opportunity, but equal acceptance can’t be mandated
It’s an era of forced equality for women’s sports. For example, the WNBA’s average attendance is almost exactly that of the American Hockey League, hockey’s AAA loop. The WNBA plays in major cities and big arenas. It’s nationally televised. The AHL has none of the above. Yet the WNBA is...
Mark Madden: Reward is worth the risk downfield with Steelers’ George Pickens
When Cincinnati plays, at some point a lot gets decided by Joe Burrow throwing to Ja’Marr Chase. The same applies with Kansas City: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Buffalo has Josh Allen and Stefon Diggs. Baltimore’s go-to is Lamar Jackson getting funky. Cleveland pounds the ball with Nick Chubb (perhaps...
Mark Madden: Pirates would be wrong to delay turning point further at trade deadline
As the Pittsburgh Pirates stumble through the latest phase of their never-ending rebuild, it’s easy to doubt the franchise’s implied (if not outright declared) optimism that 2024 is going to be a turning point. This season’s 47-58 record (27-50 after a 20-8 start) says otherwise. What the Pirates do before Tuesday’s...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers need to execute their prehistoric vision of running game, defense
If the Steelers are determined to win via running the ball and elite defense, they need to be able to run the ball and play elite defense. The Steelers did neither last season. Najee Harris finished 15th in the NFL with a meager 1,034 yards rushing. He averaged just 3.8...
Mark Madden: Steelers would be better served letting Kenny Pickett, passing game take more risks downfield
The Steelers scored two touchdowns from outside the red zone last season, fewest in the NFL. Last Oct. 30 against the Steelers, Philadelphia scored four touchdowns from outside the red zone in just over 32 minutes. The Eagles scored those four TDs before ever running a play in the red...
Mark Madden: Pro sports are driven by money, but these contracts are rife with stupidity
Money always has made sports stupid. New examples crop up every day. It took the Saudis less than two years to buy golf. Now they have their sights set on purchasing soccer. The Saudis want to lure French star Kylian Mbappe to the Saudi Pro League via a deal worth...
Mark Madden: Steelers fans should be happy when Kenny Pickett is compared to Kirk Cousins
In the dull heat of a summer collapse by the Pirates, refreshing sports notes are like a cold Coors Light from a Styrofoam cooler on a Steelers training camp hillside. Sharky’s or Dino’s? There’s no bad choice! • Ratings are out for the Madden video game. The Steelers’ Kenneth Pickett...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Messi is arguably the best ever, but MLS competition must be taken into context
Lionel Messi’s debut for Inter Miami was electric. Messi netted a 94th-minute free kick Friday to give the MLS club a 2-1 win over Mexican side Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, whatever that is. A-list player, maybe the best of all time. A-list goal, though Messi has produced many...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ commitment to defense is flawed in today’s NFL
Edge rusher Alex Highsmith signed a four-year, $68-million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Good move, bad move … that’s beyond debate. It’s simply what the Steelers do. When a player of any regard is up for renewal, he gets what he wants. That’s the Steelers way. Highsmith didn’t even...
Mark Madden: Running backs just aren’t that important in today’s NFL
If anybody’s at fault for the quandary of the NFL’s running backs, it’s the NFL Players Association. The franchise tag isn’t fair. It keeps free agency from being free. But the NFLPA approves it in each new CBA, getting instead the right to smoke pot. (That’s more important to the...
Mark Madden: Risk-averse Steelers play it too safe
The first practice at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp takes place July 27 at 1:55 p.m. It’s scheduled as precisely as a NASA launch, or the ball dropping in Times Square. “Times Square” should be Diontae Johnson’s nickname. Break out the lawn chairs and Styrofoam coolers. “I really like that undrafted...
Mark Madden Hot Take: Angels have little choice but to trade Shohei Ohtani
MLB’s trade deadline is Aug. 1. The Los Angeles Angels are likely to deal Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is the best player in baseball. Some think he’s the best ever. He hits, pitches, has charisma — he’s the total package. But the Angels are six games out of a wild-card spot...
Mark Madden: Exclusion of Barry Bonds shows how Baseball Hall of Fame is a joke
Barry Bonds has rarely groused publicly about his exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame. But he presented his case thusly on a recent podcast: “I was vindicated. I went to court, I was in federal court, and I won my case, 100 percent. Where is the vindication of me...
Mark Madden: Nice draft pick, Pirates. Now don’t screw it up
The Pittsburgh Pirates took LSU pitching phenom Paul Skenes with the first pick of the MLB Draft. That’s step one. Step two is to not screw it up. Don’t keep Skenes in the minors till June next season by way of manipulating an extra year of team control via Super...
