Mark Madden stories, Page 33

Forgive the melodrama, but the ongoing Stanley Cup semifinals are a battle for hockey’s soul. Two of the teams have major talent. They play the game the right way, as I’ve heard it said. Their opponents are of lesser (but still considerable) talent. They do everything possible to slow the...

The value of a goaltender’s puckhandling seems overrated in the NHL, and horribly so. It provides value but gets goalies in a lot of jams. Tristan Jarry’s puckhandling was supposed be a strength. But we all remember how Game 5 against the New York Islanders turned out. Tom Barrasso’s puckhandling...

I’m putting together a group to buy the Pittsburgh Pirates. We will bring back the Bulls, Condors, Crawfords, Hardhats, Forge, Maulers, Phantoms, Power, Spirit and Triangles, too. (That’s indoor lacrosse, pro basketball, Negro League baseball, softball, junior hockey, football, roller hockey, arena football, indoor soccer and team tennis.) Robert Morris...

Plenty of dumb stuff has been said by pitchers since MLB decided to crack down on the use of foreign substances to improve grip. Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees (and formerly of this parish) seemed to be nearing a breakdown when he spoke Wednesday after pitching: “It’s so...

Matt Canada is the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator — kind of. If there was any doubt regarding who’s the real boss, Canada erased that Tuesday when he said, “We are going to do what Ben (Roethlisberger) wants to do and how he wants to do it.” Meet the new bobo....

Jenn (Sterger) Decker is back in the news. That’s a shame because it means the problem isn’t solved. Sterger had indecent proposals and photos texted to her by Brett Favre in 2008 when both were employed by the New York Jets: Favre as a quarterback, Sterger as their game day...

Marc-Andre Fleury got Vegas past Colorado in the NHL playoffs’ second round. The Golden Knights face Montreal next. Fleury goes home. He very likely will eliminate the Canadiens. The story gets better and better. Just not in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending has gotten worse since the day Fleury went...

Sidney Crosby had little chance to win the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. He finished 10th in points with 62 in 55 games, a whopping 43 behind scoring champ Connor McDavid of Edmonton. But Crosby isn’t even a finalist. In the era of 200-foot hockey, Crosby is the best 200-foot...

Matt Canada is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new offensive coordinator. He served as the quarterbacks coach last season. Canada was supposed to have influence on the offense then. If he did, it was negligible. But now Canada is in charge. Or maybe he’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s new bobo. Canada’s offense features...

Evgeni Malkin participated in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff series vs. the New York Islanders despite a severe injury to his right knee. It required major surgery. Malkin’s availability for the start of training camp (and perhaps the start of the season) is in doubt. Malkin deserves credit for gutting it...

Tunch Ilkin became a Steeler in 1980 and will never stop being one. His playing days ended in 1993, and he just retired from broadcasting, but Ilkin is as black and gold as any Rooney. Ilkin has been a faithful servant and supporter of the cause. More important, he is...

Near the conclusion of Wednesday’s NHL playoff game between Montreal and Winnipeg, the Canadiens’ Jake Evans scored a game-clinching empty-net goal on a wraparound. The Jets’ Mark Scheifele chugged into Evans just after he scored and knocked him flying. Evans received on-ice medical treatment for 10 minutes, then got stretchered...

Mike Sullivan will reportedly be back as Penguins coach. It’s a good bet the core three will return. Sidney Crosby will never leave unless he asks out. Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin are entering the final year of their contracts. Tickets can (and need to be) sold next season, so...

Fans are trickling back into the stands at American sporting events, and it’s not all good. That applies particularly at NBA games. Ja Morant’s parents were bombarded with racist language when Morant’s Memphis team played at Utah. Washington’s Russell Westbrook had popcorn dumped on him at Philadelphia. Atlanta’s Trae Young...

Mike Sullivan will probably coach the Pittsburgh Penguins next season. But there might be some debate in management’s mind. Sullivan won Stanley Cups in 2016 and ’17. But his Penguins have been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for three straight seasons. Recent bias does Sullivan no favors....

It’s time for refreshing Pittsburgh Penguins notes, playoff edition: one-and-done for a third straight year, just like the Penguins. • The Penguins’ championship window closed after the 2018 playoffs. Do you believe me yet? They organically disintegrated. Just like Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles before them. • Goalie Tristan Jarry...

The Penguins didn’t play horribly Monday. The Penguins are a good team. But they blink. There are many reasons the New York Islanders beat the Penguins, 3-2, in double overtime and lead the first-round series 3-2. Tristan Jarry isn’t a No. 1 goaltender. The stars have aged out of dominating...

Saturday’s 4-1 loss at Long Island was frustrating and disappointing but hardly cataclysmic. The New York Islanders are good, too. Just like the Penguins, they want to win. That’s obvious and elementary but too often gets lost via home-team fervor. If coach Mike Sullivan went with exactly the same lineup...

Nothing in sports is dumber than the unwritten codes. Example No. 1: The NHL playoffs have specialized in stupid since the puck dropped. Violence and dirty play are heightened as the league continues its descent back to thuggery. A particularly idiotic example occurred Thursday in the series opener between Montreal...

“Penguins ill-equipped for heavy hockey” — my column’s headline two days ago. So it was written. So it did come to pass. Don’t be blinded by Thursday’s result, as impressive as the Pittsburgh Penguins’ gutsy 5-4 win on Long Island was. That farce of a game displayed much that’s bad...

The Pittsburgh Penguins won Game 2 over the New York Islanders. That’s most important. But Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech slammed Jake Guentzel to the ice with a check that was a bit late. Who rushed to Guentzel’s aid? The last person who should have to: Sidney Crosby. Brian Dumoulin got...

Very rarely does one player lose a hockey game. But that’s what happened Sunday. Tristan Jarry was that player. Jarry’s rotten goaltending was the primary reason the Penguins lost Game 1 to the New York Islanders. None of the four goals conceded was terrible. But they all were stoppable. You...

The NFL’s big schedule “reveal” this past Wednesday gave clichéd sports media a chance to break down the Steelers’ slate game-by-game in detailed fashion. That approach ignores that A) We knew who the Steelers were playing (and where) months ago, and B) The season is still three months away. But...

The Steelers’ Cameron Heyward wants those invited to not attend the team’s minicamp for rookies this weekend. He posted this on Instagram: “For the ROOKIES and FREE AGENTS find your vets tell them to get you up to speed. Trust me y’all ain’t missing anything you will still get your...

The New York Islanders are the preferred first-round matchup for the Penguins. You asked for it, you got it. The players and staff likely feel the same, albeit quietly. That’s sometimes when the trouble starts. But that shouldn’t be the case on this occasion, the Islanders’ series sweep of the...