Mark Madden stories, Page 32

The backup quarterback is the most popular guy in town — until he plays. But, even then, the backup can sometimes fool the fans. Consider Devlin “Duck” Hodges. You can’t spell “quarterback” without “quack.” In 2019, Hodges may have been the worst quarterback to ever start in the NFL. But...

College football is beyond screwed up and not worth paying attention to unless you’re a fan of one of the chosen few and can look past being on the grifter’s end of a con game. So it’s a lot like following MLB. College football’s latest carny move is the SEC’s...

Sports have become driven by stats and analytics. That’s understandable. See, Joe, the numbers don’t lie, and they spell disaster for you at Sacrifice. But the eye test should never be taken totally out of the equation. Take Lynn Swann, for example. The Steelers wide receiver played only nine seasons:...

Sports are one giant funnel. The Los Angeles Dodgers got Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from Washington. The New York Yankees got Joey Gallo from Texas and Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs. The New York Mets got Javy Baez from the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Lakers got Russell...

The latest Marc-Andre Fleury discussion locally revolves around the possibility of his new employer, Chicago, flipping him to the Penguins after acquiring him from Vegas. This before Fleury ever plays a game for the Blackhawks. That’s foolhardy. Fleury is the reigning and defending Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best...

In Pittsburgh, discussing Marc-Andre Fleury will never go away. Not ‘til Fleury comes back to the Penguins, and probably not even then. The Penguins found themselves dragged back into the Fleury vortex Tuesday by an occurrence that had nothing to do with them. Vegas unexpectedly traded Fleury to Chicago for...

One of the problems with a column composed of refreshing sports notes — well-read as those tend to be — is it exhausts ideas for future columns. Take, for example, this excerpt from one such recent piece: (T.J.) Watt might not get the lucrative contract extension he wants before the...

I hate the Penguins’ schedule. But I’m still going to go. I get in free. The Penguins open with two road games, then have an eight-game homestand. Too much, too soon. October isn’t quite hockey season in Pittsburgh. We’ll be watching the Pirates in the playoffs. The Penguins play just...

Training camp is upon us. So are refreshing Steelers notes. But I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news: Under 8½ wins is a lock. • Speaking as a big fatso, I can accurately say Ben Roethlisberger is not fat. He’s a whole lot of great quarterback, that’s all. He looks...

The Penguins faithful and the attendant media have spent most of their time recently sweating what player the Penguins could lose to Seattle in the NHL’s expansion draft and any ancillary moves the team might make. What everybody should be concerned about is the Penguins’ goaltending. NHL free agency starts...

The Steelers cut Steven Nelson, their best cornerback. The reaction: “Oh, well, they had to.” That’s true. It was for salary cap reasons. (But with David DeCastro released, why not bring Nelson back?) The Penguins traded forward Jared McCann to Toronto for a seventh-round draft choice and prospect Filip Hallander,...

Dropping hockey was a bad decision by Robert Morris, especially the timetable. But now good effort is being wasted after that bad decision. The attempt is being made to revive the RMU men’s and women’s hockey teams via fundraising. That’s going to have to be one heck of a bake...

The Penguins’ protected list for Wednesday’s expansion draft seems fairly straightforward. They will protect seven forwards, three defensemen and a goalie. They should be: Forwards — Teddy Blueger, Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, Kasperi Kapanen, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Brandon Tanev. Defensemen — Brian Dumoulin, Kris Letang, Mike Matheson. Goalie —...

“Sports aren’t that important.” We cling to those words, or some approximation, when the aftermath of a game turns ugly. The latest catalyst for turning to these words of wisdom is England’s loss to Italy on penalty kicks in the final of soccer’s European Championships. Three Black players missed PKs...

It was laughable when NBC took a sentimental bow at the end of its 16-year run as the NHL’s broadcast partner. It was understandable from the viewpoint of those who toiled for NBC in the production thereof. Eddie Olczyk teared up. He did a great job. He’s also going to...

Former New York Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum doesn’t think Ben Roethlisberger is going to have a good season. Quite the opposite, in fact: “(Roethlisberger) is going to be bad, and I expect him to be benched by the middle of the season. He’s had a great career. It’s over.” Tannenbaum,...

Tampa Bay has won the Stanley Cup a second straight time, like the Penguins did in 2016 and ’17. You can compare the teams, but the accomplishment is exactly the same. Penguins fans grouse that Tampa Bay cheated the salary cap because winger Nikita Kucherov didn’t play during the regular...

The team-friendly media that covers the Steelers does its best to manufacture optimism despite many signs pointing to a 2021 season that figures to be subpar at best. But I’m creative. So, I’m trying my hand at stooging. Here are three factors that could weigh in the Steelers’ favor: •...

America celebrated its independence Sunday. Celebrate again with refreshing sports notes. What is our most patriotic sports moment? It’s got to be the Miracle on Ice in 1980 or Kurt Angle winning Olympic wrestling gold in 1996. Only one was accomplished with a broken freakin’ neck. • U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri...

When the Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Sidney Crosby in 2005, it wasn’t long before the future became now. It’s been the case ever since. But the Penguins have never been more about right now, than right now. The word is that the Penguins won’t burn it down. Won’t rebuild. Why should...

It’s lucky that pitch count wasn’t a thing in 1956. No one would remember Don Larsen. Larsen pitched a perfect game in the ’56 World Series. It remains the only perfect game in World Series (and MLB postseason) history. The New York Yankees right-hander threw 97 pitches. He went through...

Pine-Richland school district fired Eric Kasperowicz as its high school football coach almost three months ago. Kasperowicz won four WPIAL championships and two state titles in eight seasons as Pine-Richland coach. The excuse for his dismissal was vague, inexact hazing allegations. Personal resentment of Kasperowicz by certain Pine-Richland administrators seems...

There’s no Madden Markdown when it comes to refreshing sports notes. You pay full price, but get maximum value. • Trai Turner being signed to patchwork the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line is like slapping a butterfly stitch on a shotgun wound. Pro Football Focus: “Turner (was) the lowest-graded right guard...

The Pittsburgh Penguins will not rebuild. That will be evident when they extend the contracts of defenseman Kris Letang and center Evgeni Malkin this offseason barring squabbles over price. The Penguins will not get appreciably bigger and tougher. The components aren’t available. Winger Jake Guentzel couldn’t be traded even-up for,...

David DeCastro’s release has Pittsburgh Steelers fans looking forward and backward. Neither view is appetizing. In a little more than a year, the Steelers lost their entire starting offensive line: DeCastro, Matt Feiler, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey and Alejandro Villanueva are all ex- of this parish. Replacing them is a...