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Mark Madden Columns category, Page 6

Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
Mark Madden: Steelers’ highest-paid defense needs to win games
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense is following a familiar path this season: second-best in points conceded, fourth-best in yardage allowed but still not quite as good as it should be, or as good as its status as the NFL’s top-paid defensive unit dictates. Exhibit A: Last Sunday’s 27-24 loss at meh...
Mark Madden: Vasily Ponomarev, Harrison Brunicke offer Penguins a much needed youth movement
The Pittsburgh Penguins are an old team. Their stars are old. It depends on who makes the team, but the Penguins’ roster likely will have the NHL’s oldest average age. You can’t reach unrestricted free agency in the NHL unless you have seven years of service or are 27 years...
Mark Madden: Mike Tomlin’s decision-making again proves costly for Steelers
The national media bleats endlessly about Mike Tomlin’s status as one of the NFL’s premier coaches. As I write this, he’s likely getting credit for the Steelers coming back from a 17-0 deficit to have a chance to beat Indianapolis at the death: “A Tomlin team never quits.” But that...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Move is what’s best for business for A’s
The A’s played their last-ever game in Oakland on Thursday. Oakland Coliseum was packed: 46,889 creating an atmosphere both celebratory and (mostly) funereal. It was sad. But the A’s will finish dead last in MLB attendance. Under a million. They also finished last in 2023 and ‘22. Second-last in 2021....
Mark Madden: How to boost T.J. Watt’s recognition, Justin Fields’ production and more sports notes
LAS VEGAS — Behold, refreshing sports notes! Jotted down on a bedside notepad between blackjack sessions at The D on Fremont Street. Read ’em twice. Double down. • J.J. Watt saying that brother T.J. doesn’t get the recognition he deserves puts the “duh” in dumb. T.J. is universally praised, has...
Mark Madden: Pirates are once again a national punchline
Cutting Rowdy Tellez and Michael A. Taylor in the season’s final week is par for the Pirates’ course, not least because it saves them a measly $200,000 bonus that was due Tellez had he batted four more times. Bad PR and clubhouse discontent be damned, the Pirates are run for...
Mark Madden: Steelers might be good, but there’s still uncertainty
The Steelers are 3-0. But anybody who says they have a clear vision of what the Steelers are is fooling themself. Anybody who says they’re sure who the quarterback should be is also fooling themself. After three games, little is certain about the Steelers. Justin Fields played his first legit...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Shohei Ohtani is on his way to being baseball’s best ever … but not yet
Did Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers post the greatest single-game performance in MLB history at Miami this past Thursday? Probably. It’s hard to come up with any offensive output that matches 6 for 6, three home runs, two doubles, 17 total bases, 10 RBIs, four runs and two...
Mark Madden: Here’s what must go right for the Penguins to reach the postseason
Pittsburgh Penguins training camp has opened. They narrowly missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons and haven’t won a playoff series since 2018. Their expectations are hardly illuminating. The Penguins figure to be on the fringe of contention for the postseason, with a precipitous drop more likely...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ handling of Broderick Jones is going horribly wrong
Broderick Jones is a mess. Most of the blame lies with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers traded up to take Jones with the 14th pick of last year’s NFL Draft. He was supposed to be their franchise left tackle. Jones started 11 games as a rookie, all at right tackle....
Mark Madden: Justin Fields hasn’t done enough to be Steelers’ QB1
Russell Wilson should be the Steelers’ starting quarterback the minute he’s cleared. (That’s assuming he’s not already cleared and was shadow benched Sunday at Denver.) Justin Fields is terrible. Just like he was in Chicago. Sure, the Steelers are 2-0. Huzzah. But they have one touchdown in eight quarters. The...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers should play to Justin Fields’ strength despite the risk
Reports say that Justin Fields will start the next two games at quarterback, including Sunday’s visit to Denver. If the Steelers are 3-0 after that, as they well could be, then Fields will surely keep starting. If that’s what the Steelers choose, here’s how to maximize: • Call Fields’ number...
Mark Madden: Between nostalgia and progression, Pirates face critical decision with Andrew McCutchen
If you look at the stats, re-upping Andrew McCutchen for next season seems a no-brainer. McCutchen is second on the Pirates in on-base percentage (.338) and home runs (20), third in OPS (.771) and runs (64). He’s hiked his batting average to .241, respectable by today’s standard. At 37, McCutchen...
Mark Madden: Steelers can’t escape a quarterback controversy
Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ben Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls and is a lock for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After that, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback history gets a little murky. The Steelers cut Johnny Unitas, who might be...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ conservative offense, missed opportunities look awfully familiar
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense under new coordinator Arthur Smith is a work in progress. Sunday’s season opener at Atlanta didn’t yield much progress. The Steelers averaged 17.88 points per game last season. They scored 18 points at Atlanta. Six field goals. They failed to score a touchdown. Quarterback Justin Fields...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Steelers storylines worth rooting for
Those who do what I do root for the story. Not for a team or an athlete, but the story. Anybody in my profession who says otherwise is either a mark, or lying. Best-case scenario as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to open their season at Atlanta is: • Russell Wilson...
Mark Madden: A losing season seems likely for the Steelers and could be best for the future
The best thing that could realistically happen for the Steelers is to go 8-9 or worse. To get out from under the phony non-achievement of Coach T never having a losing season. To then set the bar higher and take a hard look at the team as it really is,...
Mark Madden: Cam Heyward’s contract another case of do the Steelers know what they are doing?
Let’s be blunt: It’s time to wonder whether the Steelers know what they’re doing. The Steelers drafted Broderick Jones to be their franchise left tackle, or so we thought. Traded up to pick him. But, over a year later, Jones still isn’t at left tackle. Coach Mike Tomlin said he...
Mark Madden: Russell Wilson has to play hero for Steelers’ outdated offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense is going to stink. The Steelers have the worst wide receivers in football. Pounding the ball on the ground, playing it safe and keeping it close till the fourth quarter is outdated. It’s 2024. You score more and faster. You think the Steelers play smart on offense....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Fantasy football is serious business in this Pittsburgh league
We’re in the middle of fantasy football draft season. Most participants are just sadly pretending. If you invest $50 or $100 or whatever piddling sum, there’s no real risk. That’s OK, but don’t posture like you’re Howie Roseman. Don’t bore people with tales of brilliant roster management: “I got Aiyuk!...
Mark Madden: Of all the Pirates’ problems, league’s 2nd-lowest payroll is by far the biggest
The Pittsburgh Pirates not only have collapsed, but they also have lost games in grand fashion. On Wednesday, the Pirates led Chicago, 10-3, at PNC Park but got beat 14-10. That was an award winner, exploding sewer pipe division. It had so many great elements: • Hottie gymnast Livvy Dunne...
Mark Madden: Justin Fields’ upside is higher, but does potential reward justify risk for Steelers?
Justin Fields was never going to start when the Pittsburgh Steelers open their season Week 1 at Atlanta. There was no competition at quarterback. Russell Wilson was not only in pole position to start training camp, but the checkered flag was predetermined. But perhaps Fields should start. Not Week 1,...
Mark Madden: No one was ‘bamboozled’ by Steelers’ quarterback decision
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky said the media was “bamboozled a little bit” because “this was never a quarterback competition” between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. No duh, Einstein. Except you weren’t bamboozled. Nobody ever said it was a quarterback competition, least of all Mike Tomlin. Wilson had “pole position” and was...
Mark Madden: Pirates have decisions to make, or not make, before next season
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ disintegration since the trade deadline defies belief. Except I believe it. Even at their best, this year’s Pirates never truly looked a playoff team. Fringe, no better. But there was nothing marginal about how they dropped out of the wild-card race, imploding via 10 straight losses. Travesty...
Mark Madden: Given Steelers’ QB options, Mason Rudolph would look pretty good in Black and Gold
It’s easy to suggest the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation will work out. But do you see any sign of that? The quarterback “battle” that got invented by the national media seems to be morphing into reality. Not talked into existence, but maybe born of Russell Wilson’s early-training camp calf injury...


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