Mark Madden: Why can't Cam Heyward play elsewhere, why sit rookie linemen and more sports notes

Refreshing sports notes! I hope they’re not too messianic or a trifle too satanic.

• If Cam Heyward ends his career elsewhere, why is that such a big deal? Did some great things individually. Stand-up community guy. But his record in playoff games is 1-7. Nick Bonino accomplished more for the Penguins than Heyward has for the Steelers, and Bonino has played for seven NHL teams. Bonino won two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh and had big moments like eliminating Washington with his overtime goal in 2016. Who’d Heyward ever beat? And who thought Heyward would be a distraction, let alone constantly?

• Not only is Dan Moore Jr. still first-team left tackle, but Nate Herbig took most of the reps at center during minicamp. Either tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier were the wrong picks in the first and second rounds of this year’s draft, or the Steelers’ tried-and-true method of breaking in rookies slowly is still in effect. That’s if “true” translates to not winning a playoff game for six years.

• On the other hand, we get told that inside linebacker Peyton Wilson, a third-round choice, has first-round talent. Hey, just like Mason Rudolph!

• Who’s more likely to have a great season in 2024, Russell Wilson at 35 or Deshaun Watson at 28? I’ll hang up and listen. Besides the obvious quality of Cincinnati and Baltimore, it feels like Cleveland is being slept on.

• If Wilson plays great, the Steelers won’t be able to afford him for 2025. If Justin Fields doesn’t play, he’s not going to re-up for 2025. The Steelers might have to assemble an all-new quarterback room again. (Should have kept Rudolph.)

• Is Jared Jones falling apart? He got his butt kicked at Denver on Saturday, is now 4-6 on the season, and the Pirates are 5-9 in games Jones has started. Jones is a rookie. He’s going to have ups and downs. He’s a legit talent. But now everything about the Pirates must be viewed through the prism of trying to make the playoffs. That’s a totally different viewpoint. For the Pirates to grab a wild card, they have to prosper in games started by Jones, Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller. That seems non-negotiable. (P.S. — Jones isn’t Skenes.)

• Since the organization doesn’t figure to acquire much before the deadline, the Pirates’ offense must improve from within. Bryan Reynolds is. He’s got a 14-game hit streak. His average in June is .339, his OPS .950. He’s only got two home runs this month, so Reynolds still needs more power. But that lineup will take what it can get. (Oneil Cruz is hitting .300 in June. But only two homers.)

• Certain things go from tradition to mere repetition in a hurry. Like dousing the Pirates postgame TV interview hero with a cooler of liquid after every win. Stop it.

• NHL free agency starts July 1. No, winger Jake Guentzel won’t come back to Pittsburgh. He seems like a natural fit to play alongside phenom Connor Bedard in Chicago. That’s not far from his Minnesota stomping grounds. San Jose might be a dark horse. Guentzel could skate on a line with center Macklin Celebrini, this year’s presumptive first pick overall. Guentzel knows how to perform on a line with stars. That’s not to be underestimated.

• July 1 is also the first day Sidney Crosby can sign an extension with the Penguins, which he will. But he shouldn’t give them a discount. His $8.7 million cap hit has been a bargain for years. Crosby should get at least $10 million per, maybe more.

• Some compare Edmonton in this year’s Stanley Cup Final vs. Florida to the Penguins in the ’08 final vs. Detroit: Get there, lose, use the experience to win next season. Not sure that’s valid. The Penguins lost in six. Each of the last four games was decided by one goal, with the Penguins winning two and nearly tying Game 6 at the death. With the exception of Game 4, Florida has physically run roughshod over the Oilers. That gap won’t be closed in a year. The Oilers lack any semblance of heavy.

• Caitlin Clark absorbed another hard foul, this time of the flagrant variety from college rival Angel Reese. Blow to the head. The WNBA’s players just don’t want Clark there and for a plethora of reasons. That’s the short and skinny. Doesn’t mean Clark should leave. It does mean she’s not going to have much fun beyond profit.

• Teresa Weatherspoon, coach of the WNBA’s Chicago team, stormed angrily out of a postgame news conference after being asked a perfectly reasonable question. That’s because most of the WNBA doesn’t know how to act when people actually pay attention.

• Did Bryson DeChambeau win the U.S. Open, or did Rory McIlroy blow it? Probably equal parts: What a bunker shot by DeChambeau, and what a collapse by McIlroy. After he dodged winning, McIlroy dodged the media. That won’t get him sympathy.

• Central Catholic grad Neal Shipley was low amateur at the U.S. Open. He’d previously been low amateur at the Masters. Only a select few have done both in the same year, notably Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. Shipley is kind of chunky, long hair, sponsored by Arby’s. Has a curly fries headcover. I’m a fan. Shipley turns pro next week.

• Charles Barkley says he will retire from TV work after the 2024-25 NBA season. A) I don’t believe it. B) I hate self-awarded retirement tours. Except Motley Crue’s. Because they came back. C) We’re acting like Dan Rather quit. Not some ex-jock with a microphone. Barkley is better than most and certainly outspoken. It’s like the movie “Idiocracy.” We’ve so drastically lowered expectations.

• Concerts are a much better communal experience than a live sporting event. I attended the Rolling Stones show at Browns Stadium in Cleveland on Saturday. Nobody was waiting for guitarist Ronnie Wood to hit a bum note so they could yell for Mick Taylor to get put back in. (Not that Wood faltered in the least. #FacesForever) The Stones have a pretty good quarterback. Cagey veteran still playing at a superstar level.