All-Star Votes and Leather Coats

It will probably come as no surprise to anyone here that the Saint leads all Eastern Conference players in voting for this season's All-Star Game. The number of votes he's gotten so far (94,118) is almost double that of the next highest number of votes received by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov (48,134). Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara currently has the third place in the votes race. From SBRForum.com:

Crosby, Ottawa Senators right winger Daniel Alfredsson (41,198 votes) and Philadelphia Flyers center Daniel Briere (32,751 votes) are tops among Eastern Conference forwards. Washington's Alex Ovechkin (30,686 votes) and Tampa Bay's Vincent Lecavalier (28,615 votes) are currently on the outside looking in among forwards.

Markov (48,134 votes) and Chara (45,949 votes) rank first and second among Eastern defensemen while Toronto's Tomas Kaberle (36,125 votes) and Buffalo's Brian Campbell currently stand as the third and fourth leading blueliners.

The New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist leads all goaltenders with 30,324 votes. New Jersey's Martin Brodeur (29,631 votes) and Philadelphia's Martin Biron are the second and third leading vote-getters.

You can vote to determine the starting lineups for the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta through January 2, 2008. The All-Star game is on Sunday, January 27, 2008.

Most Popular (so far...)

On Monday morning, Sid took part in a photo shoot for ESPN Magazine's 10^th Anniversary issue (which doesn't hit newsstands until March 2008!) and later shot his first U.S. Gatorade commercial at the Mellon Arena. Let's just say the wardrobe was a little out of character for Sir Sidney...

Crosby has a reputation for being exceptionally accommodating and tolerant at these types of things, but rarely do most people get to see or hear about them beyond the finished product. That's in great part because Crosby shies away from talking about them, although in response to a question last week he said they can range from 30 minutes to several hours.

"It's just part of it," he said somewhat sheepishly after the morning shoot. "I'm not coming to the rink hoping to have my picture taken."

Crosby is no ham, judging by this photo shoot.

The stylists, Rachel Thomas and Khalilah Williams, showed Crosby two black jackets, one leather.

"I'll wear whatever you want, but I wouldn't usually wear this stuff," said Crosby, who arrived in jeans, a T-shirt, a gray hoodie and a Reebok ballcap.

If his RbK clothing line is any indication of his personal style, he's Mr. Casual with a preference for T-shirts, sweatshirts, and sneakers over button downs, neckties, and loafers.

That wasn't the only "wardrobe malfunction" (← what a stupid term, eh?) of the day: Evidently, the theme for the photo shoot required Sid to be dressed in black from head to toe. He was given a pair of black slacks and a pair of black jeans, neither of which accommodated his tree trunk legs. He ended up wearing the jeans he came to the arena wearing, which will likely be darkened later using photo editing software for the magazine. You can read all about what went on at the photo shoot (and get a few details about the commercial, too) in this article from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.