Mark Madden Columns category, Page 37

The NHL allegedly starts Jan. 13 after a training camp of approximately 15 minutes. That’s right in the middle of the NFL playoffs. Will made-for-TV hockey capture America’s fancy? It didn’t this past summer. With big financial losses guaranteed for every team, there doesn’t seem a logical reason to play...

It crept up quietly because of covid, but 2021 is the 30th anniversary of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first Stanley Cup championship season. AT&T SportsNet aired the official highlight video Thursday. It didn’t look like today’s hockey. The goalies wore reasonably sized equipment. Blocking shots wasn’t every player’s sworn duty. There’s...

It started with Watergate. Since then, we have affixed the suffix “-gate” to myriad controversies. Sports have been included: Bounty-gate, Deflate-gate, Spy-gate. Two of those three involve the New England Patriots, which means Bill Belichick > Richard Nixon. Now we have JuJu-gate. If it wasn’t called that before, it is...

If Ben Roethlisberger is washed up, there’s nothing the Steelers can do to fix that short of inventing a time machine. But assuming Roethlisberger is at road’s end seems abrupt given a mere fistful of bad games — although Roethlisberger’s long throws have been ineffective all season on the sporadic...

They don’t award a trophy for starting the season 11-0. That’s too bad, because the Steelers have zero chance at the Lombardi Trophy. It would be nice to win something. For those who didn’t know better, the Steelers had big buzz at 11-0. But those who did know better (ahem)...

Somebody could break Wayne Gretzky’s scoring records. Somebody could score five goals, five ways again. Somebody could score three goals in 20 seconds. (Bill Mosienko did it in 21 seconds. Look it up.) Outstanding feats come and go. They are matched or bettered all the time. Somebody wins the Stanley...

Sunday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo is the Credibility Bowl. The winner gets perceived to be in the AFC’s upper echelon with Kansas City. The loser is back in the pack. If the Steelers felt disrespected when many said they weren’t as good as their record, this...

The Steelers have to run the ball more and better. They’re not forced to be one-dimensional. They do so voluntarily. It makes them predictable and easy to defend. If the Steelers feel they can’t run, they better figure out how to. Perhaps revisit how they did it earlier this season....

Lots of things are stupid about sports. Idiocy isn’t the sole reason why viewing numbers are down for almost every big-time league. But it certainly isn’t helping. Replay review has bogged down the pace and robbed sports of its emotion and spontaneity. We don’t look forward to big plays anymore....

As Pittsburgh celebrates the success of the 11-0 Steelers, take a moment to bask in the abject failure of Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, aka the Toxic Twins. These two Einsteins finagled their way out of Pittsburgh, mistakenly thinking pastures would be greener and more glorious elsewhere. Bell went to...

The Steelers are 11-0. It’s a weak 11-0. That sounds (is) absurd. But the Steelers have three wins of much note. Beating Daniel Jones, Jeff Driskel, Carson Wentz, Garrett Gilbert, Jake Luton and Robert Griffin III doesn’t add up to a championship-level resume. Those victories against rotten quarterbacks duly noted,...

The NHL season is scheduled to start in January … or February. March, perhaps. But perhaps October of 2021 would be the best idea. Barring utter failure of the covid vaccine or a chicken-hearted approach to returning to normalcy once it’s taken a foothold, it’s difficult to imagine that hockey...

The NFL has problems. The Steelers-Ravens game just refuses to be played. The Ravens have 23 players on the covid list, including six of last year’s Pro Bowlers. The Steelers have four players listed. James Conner tested positive and, as a cancer survivor, is at higher risk. The same applies...

Since the game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens got pushed back to Sunday and then Tuesday, two themes have emerged via local angst: • Baltimore broke the rules. • The Steelers have been hard done by. The former implies that an outbreak of covid is akin to jumping...

One game summed up Diego Maradona: Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in a 1986 World Cup quarterfinal. Maradona scored both his side’s goals. He cheated to score the first, disguising a handball with a flick of his head. “The Hand of God.” The second involved skill that only God could...

When Tom Brady ditched New England and coach Bill Belichick to join Tampa Bay for the 2020 season, debate raged immediately: Who made who? What we’ve learned, however, should have been obvious: They made each other. Minus Brady (and eight covid opt-outs), Belichick’s Patriots are 4-6 and out of realistic...

Sunday’s 27-3 win at Jacksonville showed why the Pittsburgh Steelers, despite being 10-0, aren’t on top of all the power rankings and why they would be underdogs vs. Kansas City, even at Heinz Field. It was unentertaining and nondescript. The Steelers stumbled through the first quarter, put the game away...

Jake Scott passed away Thursday. Scott was an All-Pro safety for the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated team in NFL history. Scott was MVP in that season’s final game, Super Bowl VII. He had two interceptions. Scott went to his grave not knowing if the current Steelers would finish...

Former NFL executive Gil Brandt posted a Twitter poll: Who is the NFL MVP? Voting for Ben Roethlisberger (four interceptions, no losses) wasn’t an option. Kyler Murray (eight interceptions, three losses) was. Russell Wilson (10 interceptions, three losses) was. Rudy Giuliani needs to get to the bottom of this. Former...

The final round of the Masters bombed on TV. Its rating was the lowest since 1957, down 51% from last year when Tiger Woods won, but also down 57% from 2018. Because of the pandemic, the Masters took place in November and not in April as it usually does. It...

When the playoffs start, the Steelers better hope they don’t have to run the ball. The Steelers very often can’t. When they can’t, they stop trying to. There isn’t much to complain about when a 9-0 team wins by 26. But I do sports-talk radio and am obligated to try....

Kim Ng is the new Miami Marlins’ GM. She is the first woman and first Asian American to hold that position in MLB. Ng is a fine hire. Her credentials are impeccable. She also has an advantage no GM in history has ever had: She is above criticism. Given her...

When a team is undefeated, problems tend to be papered over. They’re mentally minimized. “What’s there to worry about? They’re 8-0.” Such is the case with the Steelers defense. There’s a lot to like about that defense. But there are a few things to worry about, too, and they mostly...

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been struck by covid — and a bit of irony, too. Ben Roethlisberger and Vance McDonald were among the more outspoken when the ’rona hit Tennessee before the Steelers were supposed to travel there for a game Oct. 4, forcing the Steelers’ schedule and bye week...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 8-0, but I don’t trust them. Coach Mike Tomlin never has had a losing season and is a lock to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I don’t trust him. Sunday’s victory at Dallas put those feelings in clear focus. The Cowboys...