Mark Madden Columns category, Page 41

Between owner Bob Nutting so obviously prioritizing profit over winning and attendance not permitted at PNC Park for what figures to be well over a year, the Pirates might be in a load of trouble once tickets can be sold again. It’s hard to imagine anyone being interested. The Pirates...

When safety Minkah Fitzpatrick wanted out of Miami, he said the Dolphins moved him around the field too much. Now that he’s made first-team All-Pro with the Steelers, Fitzpatrick would like to spend time at “corner or linebacker, whatever it may be, that’s what I’m going to do.” Fitzpatrick isn’t...

When it comes to the resumption of pro hockey, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman mostly told us what he doesn’t know. Bettman doesn’t know when training camp starts: Not before July 1, and likely later. Bettman doesn’t know when play resumes. Bettman doesn’t know where games will take place: Two host...

The NHL’s proposed 24-team playoff reportedly has the Penguins playing Montreal in a best-of-five preliminary-round series. Montreal features goaltender Carey Price, not quite in his prime but widely regarded as one of hockey’s best. A best-of-five vs. Price is no easy task, even with Montreal 15 points back of the...

The Rooney Rule that promotes minority hiring in the NFL is a noble idea and very worthy of having the late Dan Rooney’s name attached. But right now, it’s just not working. Minorities fill four head coaching jobs in the NFL and two general manager slots. The Rooney Rule requires...

James Harrison went too far…again. He threw Mike Tomlin and the Steelers logo under the bus…again. It’s time for the Steelers to excommunicate Harrison. Make him persona non grata. Harrison should never again be welcome at Heinz Field. When Harrison said Tomlin “handed me an envelope” after Harrison got fined...

The MLB labor dispute that erupted from a health crisis is reminiscent of “Breaking Bad”: No sympathetic figures are to be found anywhere. The owners are employing distasteful opportunism by trying to shame the players into revenue-sharing, however temporary. That is a de facto salary cap, and the players would...

Alejandro Villanueva, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner are all likely headed into their final season with the Steelers. Each will be in the last year of his contract. Villanueva’s exit would be logical. He’s 31 and struggled last season after making the Pro Bowl in 2017 and ’18. Villanueva’s performance...

The Steelers schedule has been released. Now we can predict their record. We could have done that right after last season ended. The schedule template dictated the Steelers’ opponents and sites for each game. We just needed dates matched to foes. That has been done. We have a graphic to...

Episodes 5 and 6 of ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary averaged 5.5 million viewers this past Sunday. That’s a slight dip but still impressive. In cliched talk-show fashion, hacks like me are given to wondering aloud, “What Pittsburgh athlete would be logical fodder for such an endeavor?” The answer: Nobody. Mario...

It looks doubtful any of America’s major sports leagues will start or resume. The minute a plan is formulated, it’s poked full of holes and said to be unworkable. If you want it to be impossible, of course it’s going to be impossible. If you’re looking for reasons to not...

ESPN is doing big ratings despite no games. The NFL Draft drew 55 million viewers over its three days. That’s up 16% from the 2019 draft. Episodes 3 and 4 of “The Last Dance” documentary averaged 5.9 million viewers. The first two episodes averaged 6 million. ESPN could go in...

Meh (adjective): Not impressive, so-so; apathetic, indifferent. Now that you know the word, use it in a sentence: The Steelers had a meh draft. The odds of that increase when you don’t have a first-round pick. They also increase when you take a player who wasn’t considered good enough to...

We don’t have sports. But we still have refreshing sports notes! (When these notes were prepared, they were positioned 6 feet apart and doused with hand sanitizer.) • If any sport can start on time with fans in the stands, it’s the NFL. Don’t underestimate the league’s power, political connections...

This year’s NFL Draft means a lot to the Steelers. They have plenty of holes. James Conner isn’t a No. 1 back, not even when he’s healthy (which is rarely). The Steelers don’t have a true No. 1 receiver: JuJu Smith-Schuster tried, but isn’t. He’s a complementary piece, maybe just...

There won’t be OTAs or mini-camp. Training camp is a long way off. There might not even be a 2020 season. But when the NFL does play, the Steelers will make a big mistake. The right decision is so obvious. It’s equally obvious the Steelers will make the wrong one....

MLB’s proposal to sequester all 30 teams and their attendant personnel in Arizona by way of starting the season there sometime in May sounds far-fetched. But if games are played in empty ballparks, it’s going to be easy to hear the Houston Astros wallop that trash can. They won’t get...

I originally thought greed would drive big-time sports leagues to return soon. Perhaps sooner than they should. Now it seems covid-19 is stronger than greed. Isn’t that one heck of a statement? It’s not Vietnam, as per the parallel drawn by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Schefter wants the NFL Draft postponed...

The NHL Players’ Association asked its membership to select hockey’s creme de la creme. The 588 who responded to the poll chose Edmonton’s Connor McDavid as the NHL’s best forward. They also picked the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby as the league’s most complete player and the player you’d most want on...

Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians, ex of this parish, issued a hard “no” on the possibility of Antonio Brown playing for his team: “I just know him, and it’s not a fit in our locker room.” Arians’ most damning words: “I just know him.” After what’s transpired since Brown left...