Sid's Home From Boot Camp

The Penguins returned home yesterday from their boot camp trip to West Point (← make sure to check out the video on the Pens website):

The routine was altered a little from last year’s trip. This time, the Penguins had to embark on a campus-wide scavenger hunt and make a hike up a hill.

[...]

First Sergeant J.B. Spisso, a former Army Ranger and current member of the New York National Guard, oversaw the Penguins’ training. The Greensburg native kept the team moving.

“If we weren’t practicing, we were in our shorts and running shoes out running, climbing hills and carrying heavy stuff,” [Erik] Christensen said. “Every day we had virtually no down time to relax or rest. You were either eating, playing or working on something else. We were pretty busy for about two and a half days.”

The team also played a wicked game of paintball. There were no rules and shots could be taken at close range. As Maxime Talbot said, “some guys had some pretty big welts and bruises. It’s very good for team building because you have to cover each other and try to get plans to attack the other team.”

Last year's trip to West Point is widely believed to have played a big part in last season's remarkable turnaround. (The other part, of course, being Coach Therrien!)

Think they tried to recruit him?

For local Penguins fans (any of you that get FSN Pittsburgh), all next week FSN will be showing Penguins programs to get you pumped up for the start of the season. You can catch Sidney's "In My Own Words" program on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. If you haven't caught it yet, it's a must-see for any Sid fan.

Now, hopefully, the new banner at the top is a little better than the one I made yesterday. I am much happier with this one. :) The final change I've made is visible on the right side of the main page, underneath the Sidney Crosby Monitor. I found this widget to keep you abreast of the latest scores. It displays the score of the last game played, and the time of the next game to be played. I think TSCS is finally ready for the new season - with little more than a week to go. I can't wait until it is finally time to DROP THE PUCK!!!