Mark Madden Columns category, Page 20

When quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem, the left supported and the right got angry. When Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to wear a pride-themed jersey during warmups, the left got angry and the right supported. Each man did the same thing, namely exercising freedom...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at any number of disadvantages when pursuing free agents, not least that good players have other choices and all those options are better. But right-handed pitcher Trevor Bauer is a good player who might not have alternatives. Bauer, 32, is at loose ends after being cut...

Up to this point in his tenure as Pittsburgh Penguins GM, Ron Hextall has done little. Hextall has made two token deadline trades, doled out two awful contracts, retained lots of players, put the team in salary cap hell and won zero playoff series. That’s a lean two years. Hextall...

Now that Andrew McCutchen is again a Pirate, a big switch must be made: McCutchen should change his uniform number from 22, the digits he wore during his prior Pittsburgh tenure. It doesn’t matter what number McCutchen uses. It just has to be different. There’s no conflict: No. 22 has...

The citizenry has dubbed offensive coordinator Matt Canada the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Great Satan, visiting upon Canada all the sins of an offense that averaged just 18.1 points per game. Everything that went wrong was Canada’s fault. If it went right, it was the doing of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett. The...

The Pittsburgh Penguins need change. They too often come out flat. There’s a sense of familiarity about their mistakes, almost comfort. Little gets solved. Good teams don’t have long losing streaks. But the Penguins recently lost six in a row and had lost seven in a row before that. Bad...

The avalanche of praise began not long after the clock hit three zeroes in the Steelers’ victory Sunday: “Mike Tomlin is Coach of the Year, end of story. One of the best coaching jobs ever.” — ex-NFL GM Michael Lombardi, currently a podcaster. “Mike Tomlin is incredible. He has not...

The AFC championship game might be headed to Pittsburgh. The Steelers are just extremely unlikely to play in it. It’s been that kind of a year. Lots of contradictory occurrences and opinions. Coach Mike Tomlin is getting praise for navigating the Steelers from 2-6 to 8-8, as if he had...

U.S. Soccer is a nonstop PR nightmare. The U.S. women’s team went from being arguably America’s most beloved athletes to being disliked by half the country via over-politicizing that resulted in polarizing (but did get them paid more). Now Claudio and Danielle Reyna are treating the U.S. Soccer Federation like...

As most said sincerely but a few said by way of disclaimer, everything else was utterly insignificant compared to Damar Hamlin clinging to his life in the wake of the Buffalo Bills safety collapsing during “Monday Night Football.” But that doesn’t mean everything else was utterly insignificant. That game’s result...

Rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett has assembled two straight dramatic winning drives. The running game has improved. The offensive line is much better. The Pittsburgh Steelers have rallied from 2-6 to 8-8 and are still in the playoff hunt as Week 18 beckons. Everything adds up to the much-maligned Matt Canada...

Kenny Pickett ranks 31st among NFL quarterbacks in yards per attempt at 6.1. Pickett ranks 31st in yards per game at 185.5. Pickett ranks 31st with a passer rating of 75.7. Pickett ranks 33rd with a touchdown percentage of 1.5. Pickett ranks 27th with an interception percentage of 2.7. Pickett...

The Pittsburgh Penguins got routed 5-1 on Long Island on Tuesday. That’s OK. Every team in every sport has the occasional terrible game. But Wednesday’s 5-4 overtime loss to visiting Detroit revealed a lot that’s wrong with the Penguins. Their problems are great, and they are many. (I’ve used that...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers cling to their 2% chance of making the playoffs, it might be more fun to look ahead to next year. On second thought, maybe not. Their problems are great, and they are many. This space has mentioned how rallying to 7-8 will enable the Steelers’ failures...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ win on Franco Day was dramatic, inspirational and happy. It was cool more than cold. That’s saying something given game-night temperatures. Despite the frigidity, it might have been better in person than on television. The crowd at Acrisure Stadium was small but rabid. It deserved that victory....

The Steelers should keep Mitch Trubisky as their backup quarterback next season. It should be an easy decision. Trubisky is comfortable coming in mid-game. He’s a mature, seasoned pro. His salary cap hit for next season is $10.6 million. Combined with Pickett’s cap figure of $3.2 million, the Steelers’ investment...

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Refreshing sports notes nipping at your nose… • Carolina beat the Penguins for the second time in five days Thursday. The Hurricanes would be a hard playoff matchup for the Penguins. Their man-to-man method of forechecking frustrates, and their style of putting pucks on...

If the Immaculate Reception happened now, with plentiful camera angles and replay review, would Franco Harris’ touchdown stand? Probably. The call on the field was a touchdown. None of the video available concludes decisively that it was incorrect. That the ball bounced directly from Frenchy Fuqua to Harris, which was...

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the old-fashioned Steelers way on Sunday. They rushed for 156 yards. They possessed the ball 36 minutes. They had a 21-play drive that took 12 minutes and ended with a touchdown. They played solid defense, especially in the red zone. They were 12 for 16 on...

The Penguins retained their key free agents this past offseason, most notably Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. But GM Ron Hextall faces another challenge this coming summer when goaltender Tristan Jarry gets to free agency. Jarry, 27, is in the last season of a three-year contract with a cap hit...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have thoroughly mangled their quarterback situation. That mismanagement could reach a new crescendo Sunday at Carolina if Mason Rudolph starts. Yesterday’s object of ridicule becomes today’s unlikely hero. Unless he screws up. Things first got botched when the Steelers eschewed any sort of succession plan as Ben...

After putting his previous four goals into an empty net, Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals got three past a goalie Tuesday night, the last of those giving him 800 on his career. There’s no belittling Ovechkin’s empty-net success. They don’t ask how; they ask how many. After Mario Lemieux...

When Kenny Pickett relieved Mitch Trubisky in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 4 home loss to the New York Jets, Pickett threw three interceptions. That was OK. The kid has a lot to learn. Be patient. When Trubisky relieved Pickett and served up three picks in Sunday’s home defeat vs. Baltimore,...

Wide receiver George Pickens exploded on the Pittsburgh Steelers sideline last Sunday at Atlanta because he wants the ball more. Pickens’ outburst has been excused by his coach, teammates and the media that cover the Steelers. A competitor should want the ball, we’re told. You’d rather have to say “whoa”...

Halls of Fame have lost much of their significance. Too many mediocrities get inducted, turning them into Halls of Very Good, or even less. Baseball’s best hitter ever isn’t enshrined at Cooperstown. That discredits the institution, not Barry Bonds. But if I can make a legit case for somebody who’s...