Mark Madden stories, Page 9

Optimism is running riot during Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs, and why not? No results are compiled that refute. Standings aren’t kept. So, enjoy! But the NFL is a passing league. The Steelers’ weakest spots are wide receiver and cornerback. That’s OK. The Steelers have the genius of Oppenheimer at offensive coordinator....

Barry Bonds will return to Pittsburgh on Aug. 24 to be inducted into the Pirates Hall of Fame via a pregame ceremony at PNC Park. Don’t boo. There is no reason for Pittsburgh to hate Barry Bonds. You should love him. OK, so he left the Pirates to cash in...

The Pittsburgh Pirates could be on the verge of turning a corner soon. The Paul Skenes phenomenon might be even bigger than expected. Every game Skenes starts is an event, like a playoff game. That won’t wear off anytime soon. I just hope he doesn’t get rattled and drop the...

On Friday, the Pirates pulled Paul Skenes from his second MLB start while he was pitching a no-hitter. I get it. But here’s betting Skenes would have completed the no-no. In six innings, Skenes threw 100 pitches. A vast portion were unhittable. He struck out 11, including the first seven...

The Pittsburgh Steelers got screwed by the NFL’s scheduling. But not that bad. Not playing a division foe till Week 11 isn’t a big deal. Does it really matter when you play which game? If anything, that could help the Steelers. They’re breaking in a new quarterback, different offensive coordinator...

This space predicted three months ago that women’s basketball would blow it with phenom Caitlin Clark. That’s already started. Her first WNBA game wasn’t played on the big stage of, say, New York City. It was played Tuesday night at an arena in a Connecticut casino. Clark’s Indiana Fever lost...

Now that the dust has settled for a few days, let’s discuss what actually happened when Paul Skenes debuted. Stooges are going to stooge, and they mostly did after Skenes’ four-plus innings Saturday against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park. (A PNC Park that was almost 3,000 short of a...

Ever since the Steelers declined the fifth-year option for the contract of running back Najee Harris, there’s been an underlying assumption that Harris is going to be a problem. But Harris hasn’t said anything to that end, or sent bad signals via social media. There was a report that Harris...

As we count down the minutes (seconds!) to Paul Skenes’ MLB/Pirates debut Saturday, I’m rooting for no middle ground. I don’t want six innings, five hits, two earned runs and six strikeouts. That’s pretty good, but you can’t hype that. I want six innings, one hit, no runs and 12...

NHL free agency doesn’t start till July 1, but it’s OK to do some window shopping now. After all, NFL Draft geeks already have started doing mocks for 2025. Two players the Penguins should take a good look at both played for Toronto this past season: winger Tyler Bertuzzi and...

In the seasons of wither, we’ll stand and deliver. Be strong and laugh and shout at the refreshing sports notes. I’m sure you’ve heard it all before… • Andrew McCutchen is hitting .182 with 31 strikeouts in 88 at-bats. The Pirates have scored 121 runs, ranking 24th in MLB. They...

Todd Reirden is a sacrificial lamb. Like ex-Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada before him. Next up: Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines. Canada got blamed for not being able to polish excrement, specifically quarterback Kenny Pickett. Haines is taking heat because, for one thing, Oneil Cruz never learned how to...

The Najee Harris situation is being blown out of proportion. Like all situations involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not picking up Harris’ fifth-year option wasn’t a good decision or a bad one. It was a meh decision involving a meh player. Harris still will be a Steeler this coming season. He’s playing...

Mike Sullivan probably won’t leave the Pittsburgh Penguins to take New Jersey’s vacant coaching position this offseason. Toronto probably will be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, triggering Sheldon Keefe’s dismissal as Maple Leafs coach. It’s easy to see Keefe replacing Sullivan in Pittsburgh at some point. Keefe...

The NFL Draft is mercifully over. But the hype preceding wasn’t the low point. The post-draft is even worse. The draft itself was pretty cockeyed, too. More than three-quarters of a million people gathered in downtown Detroit. This wasn’t Woodstock. It was young people being assigned a workplace with no...

With phenom flamethrower Paul Skenes likely to join the Pittsburgh Pirates in mid-May or a bit later, it’s time to map out the game plan for Skenes’ first MLB start. It will definitely take place at PNC Park. The Pirates aren’t dumb when it comes to matters of profit. There’s...

The Pittsburgh Steelers got a player they wanted in the first round of the NFL Draft on Thursday, selecting Washington tackle Troy Fautanu. Good pick? Bad pick? Who knows? Franchise-changing pick? Not this year and not likely. The Steelers need a four- or five-win season if they want to draft that...

The NFL Draft is anything but an exact science, and the hype surrounding it is a myth. Mike Tomlin bleats about the Pittsburgh Steelers being “prepared,” but every team is equally prepared. Every team has the same resources, information and video. The only difference is how talent available to be...

Conventional wisdom says the Pittsburgh Steelers will take an offensive lineman with their first pick of the NFL Draft, 20th overall. Either a tackle or center. Whichever of those two positions isn’t addressed with that choice, they will likely select in the second round. That’s smart. If it’s the ’70s....

If you need reason not to trust the Pittsburgh Pirates’ developmental process, look no further than the most obvious example. Shortstop Oneil Cruz is 25, has all the raw talent in the world and doesn’t know how to play baseball. Cruz missed almost all of last season after breaking his...

The Pittsburgh Penguins need to understand what they are. They are underdogs. They have been for quite some time. Yes, you can be an underdog with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The evidence is plentiful, not least finishing 10th in a terrible conference with 38 wins and 44...

The Pittsburgh Penguins will miss the playoffs for a second straight season. It feels like an eternity. Or like Buffalo. Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust deserve better. Not many others do. Those who frustrated outnumber those who didn’t. These players are the most disappointing: 1. Erik Karlsson. $11.5 million doesn’t...

Just remember, man, quarterbacks come and go, but Wu-Tang is forever. Here’s some refreshing sports notes that ain’t nothing to, uh … mess wit’. • I got a close-up look at Russell Wilson, wife Ciara and their entourage in the catacombs of PPG Paints Arena after Saturday’s Pittsburgh Penguins game....

With the Arizona Coyotes likely headed to Salt Lake City, it’s easy to dismiss hockey in Phoenix as a failed experiment. The Coyotes currently play in a college rink that seats just 4,600. Ownership can’t get a new arena built. The Coyotes rarely have drawn big in Phoenix, not even...

Whatever good happens to the Pittsburgh Penguins at season’s end, nobody but Sidney Crosby truly will deserve. Very rarely can a win be an utter travesty, but Thursday’s debacle of a 6-5 overtime victory over Detroit at PPG Paints Arena fits that description. That said, the Penguins winning in three-on-three...