The "Super Genius" got super canned!

I've listened to Mark Madden podcasts off and on for a year or so now at 1250 ESPN Radio Pittsburgh, but he will be looking for a new job since he was fired for making a tasteless remark on the air. On the day that news broke about Ted Kennedy's cancer (5/20), Double M had the following comment:

"I'm very disappointed to hear that Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts is near death because of a brain tumor. I always hoped Senator Kennedy would live long enough to be assassinated.

"I wonder if he got a card from the Kopechnes."

What makes this story fascinating though, is that it appears that the only reason he was fired is because Bob Smizik of the Post-Gazette wrote a column about his disgusting comment on May 23rd and Madden's last broadcast was on the 22nd. So, this is how I see it... Madden made the comment on 5/20 and he gave an apology 2 hours later, then before he got on air on the 23rd, he got canned. The Post-Gazette hints at this in a follow-up column reporting Madden's "permanent removal." Amazing how influential mass media is, huh?

I can't say that I justify MM's comments, but I hope people realize that he was just playing a character on the radio. I don't know that he's not always an asshole, but I do know that he found a niche in getting 'Burgher's all riled up. He was the editor for Ric Flair's autobiography and he has other ties to the professional wrestling as well. So... Madden was what they call a "heel." Therefore, any hateful comments he had about Bettis or "Whines Hard" may or may not have been genuine, but he was certainly putting on a show. However, it seems he took it a little too far this time and the media attention didn't help.