Stalking Sidney

by snoopyjode

I try to make it a policy never to mock fans for their sometimes bizarre declarations of love for their heroes, because I myself know what it's like to be so in awe of a man's talent that I write articles about him almost daily. HOWEVER, when I found this video on YouTube while I was desperately searching for something to write about, I changed my mind. Before you start thinking I'm a jerk, watch this video (the person who posted the video disabled the embedding feature so I can't post the video here, and make sure you watch it with sound on) and then come back for the discussion. Go ahead - I'll wait...

...Are you back? Okay, WOW. Can you believe the stones on those guys? I will admit that maybe if I have to make non-Penguins-Game trips to Pittsburgh that I might pack my #87 jersey in my briefcase for the slight chance that I might see Sidney somewhere out in public while I'm there. That's just planning ahead. But driving to a complete stranger's home, knocking on the door, and asking for something is beyond creepy. I know where Mario Lemieux lives, but you don't see me driving there, and anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a HUGE Sid fan who is married to a H-U-G-E Mario fan.

It's unbelievable to me that some people think that because they see someone on TV that they 1. know him personally or 2. are entitled to take things or get autographs from him at any time or any location because the money they spend on tickets and merchandise essentially pays his salary. If you feel that way, too, then try telling a cop that your taxes pay his salary the next time you get pulled over and see what that gets you.

You stay classy, YouTube guys. And by the way, what are you going to do with a picture of a license plate? You can't prove it is Sidney's car that you photographed. (Maybe it was the gardener's car.) And besides, that's lame anyways. I don't want to see pictures of a license plate that is alleged to belong to Sidney Crosby. I want to see pictures of Sid. I don't blame Sidney one bit for not signing an autograph for you. His home is private and you didn't belong there. Sid, if you're reading this I only have two words for you: RESTRAINING ORDER.

Apparently Sid's going to have to look over his shoulder more often...

On a much lighter and wholly unrelated note, Crosby Show readers Cassie C. and Mike H. (who writes to me from JAPAN!!) have pointed out that the Penguins may have a confusing but hilarious issue with one of their new additions that directly relates to St. Sid. Veteran defenseman and new Penguin Darryl Sydor (pronounced sid-OR) has a rather predictable nickname: Syd. As was discussed earlier, Sidney's nickname is Darryl. I'm going to show my age here, but it makes me think that would be like Newhart's Larry, Darryl, and Darryl or (from my grandparents' days) the Abbott and Costello "Who's on First?" skit!!!

And the Winner Is...

by snoopyjode


We have a winner, folks! You voted, and the results are in! I watched the votes go up and up all week, and, after trading the top spot back and forth with El Sid, the winning nickname is Saint Sid.

St. Sid

A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted!!! I really appreciate your participation. Hopefully this helped add a little fun to the offseason for all of you, too. Only two more months to go, and it looks like this season, the Pens will have the "Patron Saint of Pucks" on their roster. ;)

Fantasy Man

by snoopyjode

That's an attention grabber, now, eh? (Settle down, ladies, because it's not what you think.) This offseason is moving slower than John LeClair. There are just over 2 months to go before we'll have so much to talk about that Jes and I won't be able to keep up. In the meantime, there's nothing else to do, so I'll tell you about this piece by John Harris of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In it Harris says that Sid fulfills the sports fan's fantasy because he's willing to make sacrifices for the good of his team ($2 million sacrifices!), he's got an impeccable work ethic, and he's polite and humble. (Well, at least he's polite OFF the ice, right?) Ever since Sid inked his new deal, it's evident that his main motivation was the fact that he loves what he's doing and where he's doing it. Here, Harris examines that new contract and compares Sid to the best players in other American sports leagues:

What he did is just about unheard of for a player of his lofty status. He's a superstar who left millions of dollars on the table when he could have waited another year to negotiate and drive up his price.

Peyton Manning wouldn't do it in the NFL. A-Rod wouldn't do it in Major League Baseball. Kobe Bryant wouldn't do it in the NBA. Make no mistake, Crosby is every bit as good in hockey.

[...]

He's earned the right to squeeze every dollar out of the Penguins because not only does he help his team win, he brings more value to the franchise.

But Crosby isn't consumed by ego. He's comfortable with who he is. He wants to win, and the best way for the Penguins to win is to keep their young and talented nucleus intact.

It's a shame for the fans as well as the team when money begins to matter more to an athlete than his game. Hopefully Sid won't fall into that abyss.

Seems like things are always looking up for this guy!

In other Penguins news, Jordan Staal, his older brother and Carolina Hurricanes center Eric, and 12 other guests were arrested last weekend at a bachelor party that was being held in honor of the elder Staal got a little rowdy. Jordan got tagged for underage drinking. (Maybe he forgot he was stateside?) Personally, I think this story is hilarious. Who hasn't done something like this? As Jes pointed out in the article I linked above, he wasn't driving while he was drunk, so who cares? Hey, at least he's not torturing animals...

And finally, most of you know that comments that you leave here on The Sidney Crosby Show don't appear until Jes approves them. I totally forgot to mention that he was out all last week. If you left a comment and it didn't show up, check back. It will probably be there now. If it's not, drop me or Jes an email, and we'll get it taken care of. :)

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ONLY A FEW MORE HOURS LEFT!!!

Click the "Vote" button to cast your vote for your favorite new nickname for Sidney!

Looking Back at The Season of Sid

by Jes

Mike Brophy of The Hockey News takes a look at the past season, and rightfully declares it to be "The Season of Sid".

The Ducks won the Stanley Cup? *yawn*. Dickhead Messier made the Hall of Fame? *sigh*. Operation Slapshot? Does anyone but the media care? Not really.

All of those events just pale in comparison to the fact that Sidney established himself as the New Mr. Hockey and made the NHL his personal bitch.

But at the end of the day, 2006-07 belonged to Sid the Kid. Because regardless of all else that transpired, Sidney Crosby’s emergence as the best hockey player in the world gives hope for the future to a league scratching and clawing to remain relevant. At 19, Crosby assumed the role of face of the NHL – crowned the league’s top player by both his peers and the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association that named him MVP.

It has been obvious for a long time that Crosby would one day rule the NHL, but the fact he took the helm before his 20th birthday is both remarkable and a tribute to his dedication to excellence. It would be unfair to say he singlehandedly guided the Pittsburgh Penguins into the playoffs, given the team’s other youthful talent – such as Marc-Andre Fleury, Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney and NHL rookie-of-the-year Evgeni Malkin – but clearly Crosby is the driving force behind a team on the cusp of greatness.

The first teenager in NHL history to win the scoring title, Crosby had 120 points in 79 games and has served notice nothing will stand between him and the Cup. Crosby has been criticized for his over-the-top intensity on the ice, be it cussing officials who don’t call the game the way he sees it to trash-talking opponents who try to take liberties with him. The only question is, how soon before the Penguins win the Cup? The betting is sooner rather than later.

I'm always amazed that Alexander Ovechkin gets a free pass for his bombastic style of play and enthusiasm, yet Crosby is branded as a 'whiner'. Both kids are hard working and both play in-your-face. Just because one does it with a smile doesn't mean it's all that different.

*ahem*

Obviously, the next and final step for Crosby to take is some success in the playoffs. Given the Penguins moves this off-season, Crosby has a very good shot at a Stanley Cup if the Penguins could just get a goaltender that doesn't suck.

2007-2008 Schedule

Can you FEEL it?!! It's almost time! The first game of next season is on October 5, 2007! I can hardly wait. If you haven't heard, the Penguins released the schedule for the 2007-2008 season. And everyone knows this means the PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE is out, too! You know I don't go to Mellon Arena for the hockey games; I go for the free stuff... I'm kidding!!!

But you have to admit, sometimes that free stuff really is AWESOME! Last season I got a Sidney Crosby collectible coin, an Evgeni Malkin bobblehead doll, a "Let's Go Pens" Stanley Cup playoff towel, and - wait for it - a free Pittsburgh newspaper. Yeah, that's right - on Fan Appreciation night on April 15, the night that John Barbero announced that "every fan's a winner!" I won a stupid newspaper. And that wasn't the only crappy thing about that night for me, either. You can read that story here, if you're interested, but this is The Sidney Crosby Show, so back to the matter at hand...

73 more days!!!

The upcoming season's promotions include some pretty cool stuff! (I'm going to do my damnedest to get tickets to the Oct. 06 game, myself. And how pissed was I that only little kids can get the Penguins Mr. Potato Head?!) Here's the entire list:

Oct. 06 - Trib Total Media Captain's Patch
Oct. 10 - Highmark Penguins Baseball Cap
Oct. 17 - Trib Total Media Schedule Mouse Pad
Oct. 19 - Highmark Penguins Team Calendar
Oct. 27 - *Highmark Penguins Youth Tote Bag
Nov. 12 - Sidney Crosby Bobblehead
Nov. 15 - Penguins Poster #1
Nov. 21 - Trib Total Media Rally Towels
Dec. 03 - Verizon Wireless Mark Recchi '500 Goals' Bobblehead
Dec. 23 - *Highmark Sidney Crosby Growth Chart
Jan. 14 - Penguins Ski Cap
Jan. 21 - Penguins Poster #2
Feb. 07 - Evgeni Malkin Bobblehead
Feb. 19 - Jordan Staal Bobblehead
Mar. 02 - *Penguins Mr. Potato Head
Mar. 12 - Penguins Poster #3
Apr. 02 - Fan Appreciation Night

Late Edit: The promos with asterisks beside them are for fans 14 and under only.

And finally, for the past couple of days, there have been photos surfacing on the web that are purported to be photos of the Penguins' new jerseys. (For anyone who is unaware, the entire NHL is adopting new jerseys for the coming season. They will be made by Reebok. The new jerseys will be designed like the ones worn at the All Star Games.) So anyways, the Penguins organization has been contacting websites and requesting that the pics be removed, which makes me think they're probably the real thing. As of 7:00pm on 07-24-07, you can still take a peek at them here on this post over at Empty Netters.

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Rock The Sidney Crosby Show Vote!

Click the "Vote" button to cast your vote for your favorite new nickname for Sidney!

Why Snoop H8s Ovechkin

While there's no doubt that Jes doesn't care for Alexander Ovechkin, I'm not sure if you were aware that I don't like him, either. In order to be taken seriously in the blogosphere, I feel like I should explain why I don't like the Washington Capitals' #8. So I'm going to do something a little different for this post and tell you why I don't like Alexander.

I don't dislike Alex simply because Sidney is my favorite player. It's not the perceived rivalry between them that inspires me to feel the way I do about Ovechkin. In fact, when they made their respective debuts on NHL ice, I had high expectations of both players. The fact that Sidney was wearing the black and gold uniform and obviously all of that talent are the reasons Sid is my #1 player. And at the beginning, Alex was an enemy only because he played for the "bad guys." It was definitely fun to watch him, as he truly is gifted on the ice as well, but there was a distinct point in time when my indifference towards him turned into dislike.

In December 2006, Alex leveled Buffalo Sabres' forward Daniel Briere with an ugly, intentional, and suspendable hit from behind. For your consideration:


Alex received more than a bit of bad press over this incident. While he was ejected, given a five-minute penalty for boarding, a game misconduct penalty, an automatic fine of $100, and later fined an additional $1,000, he did NOT get a suspension. Briere Ovechkin is EXTREMELY lucky Briere wasn't seriously injured.

So does this one hit on Briere give me enough reason to label Ovechkin as a dirty hitter? It may surprise you that the answer is no, it doesn't. It certainly didn't make me love him, but we've all done things we've later come to regret. I'm Irish, and I know that my own temper has flared and I've done some stupid crap that, as a result, I found myself needing to apologize to someone afterwards - especially when I was a teenager. But I always tried to learn from my mistakes and took care not to repeat them, which is why I was hesitant to commit to a permanent dislike of Alex Ovechkin.

Then, in May 2007 at the IIHF World Hockey Championships games in Moscow, Ovechkin injured Swiss player Valentin Wirz with a high hit to the head. After serving a minor penalty for the Russian team for having too many men on the ice in the first period, Ovechkin stepped out of the penalty box and promptly stunned Wirz with this hit:


Wirz sustained a slight concussion and needed to be helped off the ice. For this offense, Alex was ejected from the game and suspended from playing in the following game. It was following this incident that I came to the conclusion that Ovechkin is indeed worthy of the tag "dirty hitter." He's always played a physical game of hockey, but playing that way comes with the responsibility of looking out for other players' well being. Anyone that plays that way with a nonchalant attitude for the safety of others (Ovechkin) doesn't deserve the privilege of playing in the NHL. Unfortunately, because he is such a big name and makes a lot of money for the NHL, he isn't punished the way he should be when he pulls stunts like these.

This is not to say that I don't enjoy the physicality of hockey. Au contraire, mon frere!!! It is in fact one of my favorite things about the sport. But I don't like seeing guys getting hurt - sometimes catastrophically - because one player takes a shot at another who's not prepared for it. Give me a good fight, but only if it's a fair one.

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Rock The Sidney Crosby Show Vote! Click the "Vote" button to cast your vote for your favorite new nickname for Sidney!

Re(nick)name Sidney!!!

Okay, folks! It is now apparent that we all agree that Sid "the Kid" doesn't work anymore. I asked for your suggestions for a new nickname for Sidney, and you came through for me - in a big way! A big, huge, giant thank you to all of you that emailed me. I couldn't have done this without you. And now, let's get to it! Some the nicknames that we'll be voting on need a brief explanation of what they mean. Here they are in no particular order, and in the interest of fairness, with no details about who submitted them:

Sir Sidney - It was coined by legendary voice of the Penguins, Mike Lange.

El Sid - I believe it's a more mature twist on "The Kid." It's much more versatile, as it could conceivably follow Sid into his old age. I could see referring to a 75 year old Sidney as "El Sid" but not "Sid the Kid."

Saint Sid - The Penguins' new arena is being referred to as "The House that Sid Built." Enough said.

Dizzy - With moves like these, he makes fans dizzy trying to keep up with him:

Sid Licious - This one is a take on Sid Vicious (again, that Sid killed someone so it's not a good nickname for our Sid). The "Licious" of course comes from delicious! I don't think I need to paint you a picture here, do I?

Sidneyrella - What can I say? I asked for this one. A couple of posts ago, I referred to Sid's life as "Sidneyland™" so a reader submitted this nickname! Also, it makes sense because Sid certainly does lead a charmed life.

King Croz - He's definitely King of The Sidney Crosby Show, but is he good enough to be king of the NHL? Only time will tell, but if I had any spare cash, it's a bet I would take!

Bling Crosby - Hmmmm... A new contract worth $43,500,000.00?! "Bling" is MORE than appropriate. (Here's hoping he doesn't pierce his ears with diamond studs the size of my eyeball...)

Serious Sid - He's definitely all business when he's on that ice.

Captain Kangaroo - This one came to me with the explanation already written: "Signature move of leaping past a defender to take a shot or deflect a pass (Captain Sidney Crosby -> Sydney, Australia -> Kangaroo)" Here's what the reader was talking about (specifically, goal #3):

The Wizard of Croz - It's a bit lengthy for a nickname, but as the two previous videos demonstrate, he really is a wizard with that puck!

Darryl - This one comes from Sid's days in the juniors. He scored 8 points in one game, so teammates started calling him Darryl, after Darryl Sittler, who earned a record setting 10 points in one game in the NHL in 1976. (The record still stands.) Sid's even got "Darryl" written on the cuffs of his gloves, perhaps to use as inspiration to try to break this record, too?

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Now it's time to vote for your favorite! The poll will automatically close at 1:00am on Saturday, July 28. I will post the results later that day. Thanks for voting!

From Captain to... Private?!

First things first: A friendly reminder that today is the last chance to send in your suggestions for a new nickname for Sid. Tomorrow, the voting begins!!

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There's not much to report about just Sidney today, but there has been some interesting Penguins news over the past couple of days. And since Sid is a Penguin, this stuff affects him which gives me good reason to pass it on to you.

For those of you who don't remember or simply didn't know, as part of preseason training for the 2006-2007 season, Ray Shero and Michel Therrien enrolled our boys in boot camp - LITERALLY! The Penguins trained for a few days at West Point U.S. Military Academy in New York last year, and they have been booked to do it again in September of this year. (Make your own Colby Armstrong joke here.) Dave Molinari of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Sid and the rest of the team is scheduled to spend September 23 through 26 at West Point enduring some good old fashioned basic training. Coach Therrien is working closely with West Point officials to develop an itinerary, but - tee hee - he won't release any details to the media so that the players won't know what to expect when they get there!!! What a way to get back into the swing of things, eh? The rigorous training the Penguins endured received last year is credited with making the teammates so close and helping to facilitate the HUGE improvement that took them to the playoffs. Kinda makes you want to enlist, right? Don't get hasty, now!

"You're in the Army now..."

The Penguins front office has some new faces. They've added Tom Fitzgerald (Director of Player Development) and Jason Botterill (Director of Hockey Administration). Ordinarily this would be about as interesting as watching grass grow, but longtime Pens fans recognize the name Tom Fitzgerald and may even experience headache and nausea upon hearing that name uttered. Some new and/or young fans are probably asking, "Why, Snoop?" Well, picture this: It's the 1995-1996 season, game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and our heroes are facing the Florida Panthers at home in what is then known as the Civic Arena. The Panthers feature a right winger named Tom Fitzgerald. It's been a hard-fought series. Key Pens center Ron Francis is out with a broken foot. The score is tied at the start of the third period. Less than 10 minutes into the third, Fitzgerald secures his place in the NHL history books and the ire of every single Pens fan. Fitz fires off a slapshot from about 60 feet back that somehow found its way past goalie Tom Barrasso. The damage is done. It is followed up by an insurance goal from Johan Garpenlov. Penguins lose. Wow.

As if that isn't bad enough, Fitz also played for the 1992-1993 New York Islanders!!! The Isles' improbable and unbelievable upset of the back-to-back Stanley Cup defending champs - our own Pittsburgh Penguins - was completed by a series-winning goal in just over five minutes of overtime in Game 7 from one David Volek. Wow. Again.

Anyhoo, you can now see why it was a bit of a shock to see that Fitz is now working in the front office! One of two things is going on here: Either Mario Lemieux is even classier than I originally thought (is that possible?), or he's living by the "Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer" motto...

And finally, the funding for the Penguins' new arena was NARROWLY passed on Tuesday. TheVoteWasThisClose: 102 - 100!!! Very literally, we were one vote away from a problem. But since the majority always wins, no matter how small the margin of difference is, we can all breathe a big sigh of relief. The Pens are going to get their new home! :)

You Read It Here First

"Don't ever change, Sidney!"

Nope, it's not a quote from a classmate's signature in his high school yearbook. It's what Philip Croucher from Halifax's The Daily News implores of Sid. Much like many of my previous posts, Mr. Croucher writes that Sid is a classy guy. And, as I also pointed out, Sid could have used his massive star power and "mad skillz" to command top dollar, or move to a different team that would give him literally anything he wanted, but he didn't. Actually, the article pretty much says exactly what I've said here (almost verbatim!), so I won't bore you by restating what I've already said here at The Sidney Crosby Show for the past week. Really, the only difference between Mr. Croucher's article and mine is that there's a good chance Sidney, his family, or his friends might actually read The Daily News. (Ha ha!)

He didn't win the Dapper Dan award for nothing!

AND DON'T FORGET: THERE IS STILL TIME, but you've only got until tomorrow evening (July 19) to submit your nickname suggestions! I'll post the nickname poll sometime on Friday, July 20. Then, you'll get an entire week to vote for your favorite choice. I know I keep saying this, but thanks again to all of you who have submitted your suggestions! I couldn't do this without you! :)

Sidney Hearts Pittsburgh

It's official! Sidney LOVES Pittsburgh. He loves the city so much that he wants to be the one to bring the Stanley Cup back. How do I know this for sure, you ask? Well, he's been saying that he's happy in the 'Burgh for a while now, but up til now it's been difficult to tell if that was just lip service. Plenty of players (in every sport) have said how much they love their teams and the cities they are playing in, only to sign a contract to play halfway across the country the very next day. It's never easy to tell if they mean it when they say they like their teams and want to stay, which makes fans apprehensive that their favorite players are going to leave. However, that's all changed for Pens fans since Sidney re-signed with the Penguins on July 10. Two things lead me to believe that Sid loves Pittsburgh, the Penguins, and most importantly, the fans.

For one thing, Sid gave Ray Shero the hometown discount. We all know that Pat Brisson, Sid's agent, was basically given a blank contract signed by Shero and told to fill in the salary and length. Sid didn't go for the gusto and demand every single cent he was legally able to get under the current salary cap regulations. He left $2 million a year for Shero to use for other players. But for some jerks, that's still not good enough. Allen Muir of Sports Illustrated is saying that the money Sid left on the table will only pay for one player with limited depth. He's clearly missing the point. That money isn't going to be used to sign another player. Sid allowed Shero to keep that cash not only to fatten the contracts that are already being considered for stars like Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury, but also to serve as a "lead-by-example" demonstration for other Penguins players to emulate during their contract renewals. How could Malkin, Staal, or Fleury ask for top dollar when the best player in the NHL - their captain - isn't doing that?

Another thing about this article that pisses me off is that Muir has the gall to address this issue under the blazing headline: "Could Crosby signing cost Penguins a shot at the Cup?" I shouldn't even dignify this with a response. All I will say is that Sid, his agents, Lemieux, and Shero all have the same goal in mind: winning that Cup. The salary cap will most likely go up multiple times in the 5 year period that coincides with Sidney's contract extension. That translates to even more money left for Shero to use for non-Crosby contract negotiations. If I figured this out, Sid and his agents knew it, too. Take that to the bank.

We're happy you're staying, too, Sidney!

The other reason I now really believe Sid when he says he's happy to stay in Pittsburgh is the fact that there was a contract renewal in the first place. Sid had another full season left to play on his entry level contract. We could have gone an entire year without knowing whether or not he would be wearing black and gold in the 2008-2009 season. But Sid knew he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh (count on it - he knew what he wanted or these negotiations never would have taken place) and most likely didn't want the 2007-2008 season to be marred with constant speculation about where he would be playing the during the next season. If that doesn't scream out "TEAM PLAYER," I'm not sure what does.

Trust me, Sidney: Pittsburgh loves you, too. :)

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Reminder: I'll be taking nickname submissions until July 19! Another big thank you to all of you who have sent one in already. Keep them coming! :)

Video of the Day: Penguins Go Shopping

Here's a great vid for Sidney Fans

Sidney, Jordan Staal, and his pals go shopping and buy some goodies for an underprivledged kid

Opinions - Everyone's Got One

Okay. I know you've all heard stories about "long lost cousins" showing up on big lottery winners' doorsteps. And Oprah Winfrey once said she stopped reading her fan mail because she gets so many sob-story requests for money. It seems like everyone wants a piece of someone else's action; which leads me to this next story.

You've got a lot more rea$on$ to $mile, $id!

TheChronicleHerald.ca posted an article by Josh Visser in which the author asks Cole Harbour residents, most of whom are under the age of 16, what they believe Sid should do with the money he'll earn from his contract extension. Ummmm, yeah... I have two words for you, Mr. Visser - JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY. Go find some. Is there nothing going on in Sidneyland™ that is more interesting than this? Last time I checked, SIDNEY earned that money, not his former neighbors. Who honestly cares what Joe Blow down the street thinks Sid should buy? (And why did it surprise me that most of the answers were requests, not suggestions?)

Well, since I brought it up, here's just a few of the most ridiculous "suggestions":

• "He could get Hannebury Drive a pave," Karen Costello said, referring to the street the hockey star grew up on.

Yeah, because every multimillionaire teenager can't wait to purchase blacktop.

• "Cole Harbour doesn’t have an outdoor rink," Steve Mac-Donald hinted. "He should spend it on something he loves."

Uh huh, but is that a rink for Sidney or for YOU?

• "Sidney should buy me a bunch of cookies," said Josh Kendall, 14.

Uh, are you freaking KIDDING ME?

• "And Cole Harbour needs a McDonald’s," said Ashley Sweet, 12, snacking on a rival restaurant’s fries.

For some reason, I just can't picture Sid in a "Fry Guy" costume...

Look, I for one hope Sidney will follow the example of some of his peers (Mario Lemieux, Daniel Briere, Cam Neely) and share some his his vast wealth with others who are less fortunate. He can't possibly spend all that money himself, anyways. But, um, shouldn't we let Sidney decide what Sidney wants to do with Sidney's money?

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Don't forget: you have until July 19 to submit suggestions for the nickname vote! A big thank you to all of you who have sent one in already. I've gotten some good ones. :)

Who's Now? Who Cares!!!

Well, folks, we didn't get the upset. Derek Jeter beat Sidney in their ESPN Who's Now face off (63.8% - 36.2%).

Actually, Sidney didn't stand a chance. The fans' votes counted only for 70% of the overall total, while the guest panel's vote counted for 30%. And (like you didn't see this coming) the panel gave all 30% to Jeter. So right out of the gate, the deck was stacked against Sidney. If I start going on about how much I hate ESPN, my head will explode so I'm just going to let it go. Sid, if it counts for anything (and if you're reading this - unlikely!), you're tops with all of us!

Hey ESPN: Who's now? THIS GUY.

Okay, on to more important matters. Thanks to a comment from reader Lisa-Marie reminding me of an earlier thought Jes had, I got an idea. I'm going to try something different and hold an election. Let me explain.

Jes is right: Sid the Kid doesn't work anymore. He's the MVP and the new Captain, plus he'll be 20 when the new season begins. He's a man now, and we need a new nickname for him. I'd like The Sidney Crosby Show to have its own unique nickname. We could call him "Sid Vicious," but that guy (allegedly) murdered his girlfriend - probably NOT an image Crosby wants to be associated with. The guys over at The Pensblog call him "Bing," and I don't want to copy them. So here's what I thought we could do: I will take emails from you with your suggestions for a new nickname for Sidney beginning July 12 until July 19. Then on July 20, I will post the best ones and give you a week to vote for a new nickname for Sid. I'll tell you my nomination up front: Sir Sidney. It's one of the nicknames given to Crosby by the voice of the Penguins, Mike Lange.

All right, people! Put your thinking caps on and send your suggestions to snoopyjode@gmail.com.

A REMINDER TO VOTE FOR SID

Okay, people: The polls have now opened. You have until 6pm on July 12 to VOTE FOR SID. Then when you're done, delete the cookies using your browser and vote for him again (it works - I've done it). Vote from home and vote from work. Tell all your friends and coworkers to VOTE FOR SID. Let's absolutely crush Jeter. Simply click the "Launch Who's Now" button to vote. You may need to turn off any pop up blockers you have running. Wait for the page to load and it will resize itself. Don't try to resize it while it's loading; I did that and it didn't load the page correctly. Sid will be on the right side if it loads correctly.

"I'm Sidney Crosby, and I approved this message." *

I know what you're thinking. "ESPN is a joke, so why should we care?" I'll tell you why. We need to show them that Sidney isn't just some kid with a stick and that hockey is not irrelevant and that hockey fans don't appreciate the crap that spews from the mouths and pencils of ESPN "journalists." (I almost choked to death as I typed that word - Sportscenter is looking more and more like Entertainment Tonight every day, so I hardly think of them as legitimate sports journalists.)

Whatever else you do today, just make sure you remember to
VOTE FOR SID!!!!!




*As cool as it would have been, Sid didn't actually approve this message. Refer to the disclaimer in this site's header, as we aren't officially affiliated with him in any way. I just thought it was a funny line. ~ Jodie (snoopyjode)

Sidney's Jersey Sells the Most

It appears that Sidney Crosby's popularity also expands into the world of jersey merchandise.

Yes, more people want to wear Sidney than Alex Ovechkin.

NEW YORK (CP) - Another year, another increase in the online sale of NHL merchandise.

The league announced Monday that sales on its website (Shop.NHL.com) increased for the 10th straight season and that this year was its biggest ever.

Online sales of NHL-licensed products were up 47 per cent compared to last year, according to the league. The Buffalo Sabres and Stanley Cup-champion Anaheim Ducks were the two biggest gainers, with sales up by 497 per cent and 339 per cent, respectively. Overall, 27 of the league's 30 clubs showed gains this year compared to 2006.

Not surprisingly, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby's jersey was the top selling uniform on the website for the fiscal year ending June 30. Buffalo Sabres jerseys were also a hot item, with Ryan Miller, Chris Drury, Maxim Afinogenov and Daniel Briere rounding out the top five.

Anaheim and the Ottawa Senators, who met in the Stanley Cup final, both experienced significant sales growth on the website in June. The Ducks' sales increased a whopping 1,498 per cent while the Senators were up 473 per cent.

Overall, 17 of 30 teams increased their sales last month.

UPDATE: Sid's Contract

(I have to make an update to my last post, and since this is such a good part of the story, I decided it needed its own post so I could be sure that none of you missed this.) The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has corrected its previous story about the dollar amount Sidney will earn each year for the five years of his new contract. It had previously been reported that Sid would earn $45 million for the 5 years. Actually, he will earn $43.5 million for the five years, and (now this is the cool part) that works out to be $8.7 million a year. Coincidence? I think not. Awesome? Definitely. :)

FIVE MORE YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BREAKING NEWS (I've always wanted to say that):

Sidney has signed with the Penguins for $45 million for the 5 more years!!! That means Pens fans get to watch Sid work his magic for at least 6 more years!!! Details of his contract can be found in this article by Rob Rossi from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

With an average annual salary of $9 million, Crosby stayed true to his word and did not command top available dollar from the Penguins. Under the collective bargaining agreement Crosby could have earned 20 percent of the $50.3 million salary cap, or $10,060,000 per season.

[...]

His new deal will make him among the highest-paid players in the NHL and is one of the richest in club history.

To those people who think the new contract is too expensive, I have but this to say: The best player in the NHL is one of the highest-paid players? It certainly makes sense to me. But even though it is without a doubt a lucrative deal for the Wizard of Croz, he still COULD have used his status as leverage to extract every cent he possibly could from the Penguins (because, as stated in previous posts, you KNOW that Ray Shero isn't going to let Sid get away). But instead, he chose to accept a deal that will help Shero be able to afford to keep some of the other young Pens stars in the future. Wow.

Sid is staying in Pittsburgh!!!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Elvis has just left the building!" ~ M.L.

Again: ESPN = Joke

I know I said I'd be looking at last Sunday's free agent free-for-all, but I didn't realize my colleague, Jes, would do a similar column over at his other project, Hockey Rants. He's already done all the work, so I'm going to take the easy way out and direct you to his "The Free Agency Madness. Get Used to it!" post for all the details of Sunday's action. Besides, I've got something for YOU all to do...

We previously established that ESPN is a terrible network at least from a hockey fan's point of view, but I just heard there is yet one more reason for us to hate it. This time, the network is having a blatant popularity contest called "Who's Now: Determine the Ultimate Sports Star" in which there are four regions of 8 sports stars. The winner of each match up will advance based upon fan voting (70%) and ESPN's three-person panel (30%). The panel members for this first round are Michael Wilbon, Kirk Herbstreit, and Keyshawn Johnson.

The only NHL star to appear in the list of 32 finalists is our boy, Sidney. Not surprisingly, Sid is ranked #7 of the "Billie Jean King" bracket. He's number seven, above only surfer Kelly Slater. No offense to surfers or fans of surfers, but you simply cannot deny that Sidney Crosby > Kelly Slater by a far greater margin than that.

And here's the good part: He's being pitted against Yankee superstar, fellow Gatorade pitch man, and Avon cologne mogul Derek Jeter. Ordinarily, I would say that Sidney doesn't stand a chance against Jeter, but there is a grassroots movement in the blogosphere to get all hockey fans, even [*gasp*] Sidney-hating hockey fans to vote for the Kid in order to pull a spectacular upset on Jeter.

Now for your assignment. First and foremost:
VOTE FOR SID ON JULY 11, 2007!!!!!!
Secondly, make sure to tell all your hockey loving friends!!! Get the word out. I know a lot of you run blogs of your own; if you don't want to write an entire post about it, just create link to this one. It's not about a win for Sidney; it's a popularity contest anyways. It's about upsetting the contest and showing ESPN that there are more than "just a few" hockey fans out there. This is a chance for us to make a little noise. We're going to be up against Yankee nation, but I think we can take on the fans of these guys. ;)

Crosby Taking One for the Team?

As mentioned previously, Crosby had commented that he may take a bit of a discount on his next contract to ensure the Penguins have enough cap room to have a strong team around him.

The Globe and Mail is reporting more about this ...

According to Thursday's Globe and Mail, Crosby will likely seek a long-term deal between five and eight seasons worth around $8-million a season. This would ensure that the Pens would have money to spend in order to surround Crosby with a solid group of players, including goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, is entering the final year on a contract that will pay him $1.6-million in 2007-08.

Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, confirmed yesterday that he has engaged in preliminary discussions for his client with Penguins general manager Ray Shero.

"Ray Shero and I have started to discuss a potential contract extension for Sidney," Brisson said. "We should continue to discuss this either later this week or at the beginning of next week."

Next season, Crosby will enter the final year of his entry-level contract, which will pay him a base salary of $2.55-million. He could earn an additional $1.15-million in performance bonuses.

I know that $8mil isn't exactly going to leave Sid in the poor house, but you'd have to think he could get more given how guys like Gomez can get over $7mil a year.

The fact is, Crosby can't do everything himself, and Stanley Cup winners, like the Ducks, have MANY strong players.

No Contract Renewal News... Yet

Yesterday marked the beginning of the free agent signing period. It also marked the first day on which the Penguins can begin contract extension negotiations with one Sidney Patrick Crosby. So why no news of a 30 year, $500 million deal to keep him in the black and gold? Well, for starters, that's a ridiculous exaggeration (though not too far off from the insane deals DiPietro got a few months ago and Briere got yesterday). Secondly, even though fans like me want to have it in writting that Crosby will be in Pittsburgh for the next half century, Ray Shero, who is much smarter than I am, knows that Sid's not exactly due to be packing up and heading out any time soon.

Shero's not worried because Sid doesn't become an unrestricted free agent until 2012. He becomes a restricted free agent next year - but don't worry: I GUARANTEE the Penguins will match whatever offer is thrown at Sidney, even the outrageous big money deals, like the ones mentioned earlier. And who says Sid wants to leave Pittsburgh, anyways? Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review got this gem of a quote from Sid:

"Pittsburgh is a place I really enjoy," Crosby said in May. "There are a lot of similarities to where I grew up in Cole Harbour (Nova Scotia), starting with the people. I relate to the people in Pittsburgh. They're just working-class people. When I came there, the way they welcomed me, the way they have treated me -- it was very sincere. That is what I grew up around, so I appreciate it."

Sound like a kid itching to explore his options?

No, Rob, I don't think it does. I doubt the Kid is going anywhere especially since he's now the captain. Besides, franchise "lifers" like Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic find themselves in a position to put down roots and have a life off the ice that's not spent living in hotels and apartments.

Not Going Anywhere

And in Pittsburgh, Sid can lead as close to a normal life as Sidney Crosby possibly can because it is, without a doubt, a football town. His star will never outshine that of the 'Burgh's resident sports hero, Ben Roethlisberger, but that is actually a good thing. Ben's now more famous for his social life (yes, that's Carson Daly) than his prowess on the football field anyways, and I'd hate to see that happen to Sid. In Pittsburgh, Sid and company can go to the movies, sign a few autographs at the Mall at Robinson, or have a few drinks at a local pub without being mobbed or harrassed. (Of course, that last one will have to wait a year until Sidney is legal!)

One more thing: Sid has told Pens management that he would accept a less-lucrative deal so Shero would have more money to spend keeping Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Mark-Andre Fleury when their contracts come up for renewal. Considering the money he earns from his endorsement deals, it's not going to hurt him financially, but I challenge you to find many more athletes with the same "team player" attitude as Crosby - especially when it comes to the money. "The unique thing about us is that we have young guys making their mark," Crosby said. "The Cup is what you play for. That is what I am working for. I want to give Pittsburgh the best chance to bring back the Cup."

Sounds like a plan to me, Sid. ;)

Coming up in my next post... a look at yesterday's Free Agency Frenzy.