A Recap of the Weekend Preseason Games

The preseason ended with yet another loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Friday's game saw our man Sid playing some truly inspired hockey. Seriously, if he continues to play with that intensity throughout the regular season, you're already looking at the 2008 MVP! The low point of the pair of games played against Buffalo this weekend came when Saint Sid got boarded due to a can-opener* move courtesy of Jaroslav Spacek. Sid discussed the incident with Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"He 'can-opened' me, so I couldn't stop myself from going into the boards," Crosby said. "I don't think he meant to do anything [malicious], but he puts a player in a pretty vulnerable position when he puts his stick in between his legs with his back toward him, going toward the boards."

Spacek was assessed a boarding minor.

Crosby, who got what he described as "a little bruise," said he was "fine" and skated in practice yesterday. He also traveled here with the team despite being given the night off.

If you watched the game via NHL Center Ice online (like I did), your heart probably stopped for a minute when Crosby went down in a heap (as mine did) following the hit. He staggered off to the bench doubled over in pain. I can tell you that, at least for me, it was quite a relief when he finally came back to the ice.

Sid in action on Friday

The Penguins lost the game with a final score of 5-6, despite a valiant last second effort to tie the game from Evgeni Malkin. He got the puck in the net at 0.00, which unfortunately resulted in a "no goal" call from the officials, which meant no tie game.

Sid watches Buffalo's Brian Campbell score on Pittsburgh's new goalie Dany Sabourin on Friday

Saturday's game was not available online nor was it on XM radio, so I had to rely on the new BallHype score widget that I recently added to TSCS's home page. (It keeps a live score - all you have to do is refresh the page so it will update the data.) Since I didn't personally see or hear anything about the on-ice action, I'll let Molinari recap the game for you (from the same article as linked above):

The Penguins nearly came up with a memorable ending to an otherwise forgettable preseason.

They rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three unanswered goals, but could not hold off a late Buffalo surge and lost to the Sabres, 4-3, at HSBC Arena in their exhibition finale last night.

The Penguins, who will open the regular season Friday at Carolina, completed preseason play with a 1-3-2 record.

They will have today [Sunday] off and are expected to pare their 27-man roster to the league-mandated limit of 23 by tomorrow [Monday].

Don't sweat these losses. Remember that it's only the preseason, and these exhibition games don't count for points. The real show starts on October 5 in Carolina country!

And lastly today, the Penguins may open next season on a different continent. The NHL approached the Tampa Bay Lightning about opening the 2008-09 season by playing the Penguins in a pair of games in Prague, Czech Republic. Lightning President Ron Campbell confirmed that his team was in talks with the NHL and that he is "flattered" by the offer. However, as with most of these rumors, officials at the Penguins declined to comment. It seems like EVERYONE wants an opportunity to see Sidney Crosby play live, and European NHL fans may have the opportunity - sooner than you think! :)

LET'S GO PENS!!!

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*can-opener - (definition from the Northern Ontario Hockey Association: can-opener/corkscrew - a player putting the stick between the legs of an opponent and twisting)

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!!!

Crosby Leaves Early Again

Sir Sidney left practice early yet again, but reiterates that doing so is just a precaution. From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left practice early yesterday when he began to feel groin soreness. His status is day to day.

Crosby said the pain came on gradually during the workout and was not as severe as in November, when he missed three games because of a groin injury. He was hoping to take part in military style workouts and team building at the United States Military Academy later yesterday, today and tomorrow.

"I want to be doing all that stuff, especially the team building," he said, adding that he doesn't want to risk aggravating the condition.

"I know I have to be careful," Crosby said.

Good call, Sid. Better safe than sorry!

Sid stretches in front of Coach Mike Yeo during training camp

So you may have noticed the subtle changes taking place here at The Sidney Crosby Show. I'm trying to make the site easier for you to use. :) Recent changes include moving the previous posts section up higher in the list on the right side of the page. Our blogroll is getting full - even so, I always welcome additions - and I thought it might be time to push it down more towards the bottom of the column.

Another change is that the titles to each post are now linked to the post's permanent page. In other words, if you click on "Crosby Leaves Early Again" you'll be taken to the page that displays the post with the readers' comments directly beneath it. I enjoy reading what you guys write, and I know most of you do, too. This new link makes seeing both sections at the same time a little bit easier. (If any of you have suggestions on how I can make TSCS better or easier to use, feel free to send them my way using the "Contact snoopyjode" link in the upper right corner of this page.)

And finally today, Loser Chris, my co-conspirator over at Taking One For the Team, sent out a questionnaire to a handful of hockey bloggers (both Jes and myself included) regarding our 2007-2008 NHL season predictions. I was stoked to be the only female to participate; however, one of my predictions has already been proved wrong. You'll just have to check out the post for yourself to see which one. :)

Crosby Leaves Practice Early

Here's a bit of breaking news for you that comes to us by way of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

WEST POINT, N.Y. -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left practice early today because of soreness in his groin. His status is day-to-day.

Crosby said he is hopeful he can still take part in the team-building exercises and maneuvers between today and Wednesday. He said the soreness is not as severe as his groin injury last season.

I'll bring you more on this story, if it even becomes an issue. He may have left for precautionary reasons (let's hope!).

HOLY CRAP!!! The Pens are playing with guns.

As you'll recall, the Penguins are in West Point this week for an intense training session at the military academy of the same name as the town. Last year's activities included "three grueling days of trudging through swamps, pushing cars up hills [ ← snoop: WHAT?!], and various other field exercises." A West Point Preview video can be found on the Penguins website (at the top of the article). Crosby had the following to say about their West Point "trainer" (pictured above):

Once again, First Sergeant J.B. Spisso, a former Army Ranger and current member of the New York National Guard, will oversee the Penguins’ training. He is a native of Greensburg.

“He’s the ultimate leader. He could be on our team and not even play and just be in the dressing room between periods. He’s the kind of guy who can motivate anyone to do anything,” Crosby said. “He really left a good impression from everyone. He showed a lot of care in what we did and followed us through the year. I think he was an inspiration to us to keep going and hopefully he’ll have the same effect this year.”

It's one thing for Sgt. Spisso to take the time to train these players for a couple of days; after all, he's more than likely being compensated handsomely for doing so. But for him to keep track of the team all year says a lot about how much he must have genuinely liked these young men. Anyone who watches the season ticket delivery videos can see that all of these guys - not just Sid - have great personalities. It truly seems like they all really care about the fans, and in my opinion, that's just one more reason Pittsburgh has such a great team.

Just a reminder to vote for Sid in AskMen.com's Top 49 poll. I told you about it last month, but I figured I should remind you again since voting ends soon. Expect results in October. Just click the banner below:

Crosby's Many Roles

It's well known that Sidney Crosby wears many hats. He's a son, a brother, a hockey player, a fashion mogul, a product spokesman, an award winner, the captain of his team, record breaker, the biggest star of the NHL, and the role model for kids across the world. Despite all of this, he remains shockingly grounded. That's why Wes Goldstein of CBSSports.com thinks there should be an award created especially for Saint Sid:

One of these days the NHL might have to consider creating a new award for Sidney Crosby. Something like Most Valuable Asset would probably do because right now it looks like the Player thing won't be enough to fully recognize the impact of the young superstar.

[...]

But in the post-lockout world Crosby's value to the Penguins franchise as a player might actually take a back seat to his importance to the NHL. Crosby played a critical role in saving the team from moving by exciting fans enough to push local politicians into a franchise-saving arena deal last year. He is also telegenic and humbly admirable, the closest thing the league has had to an icon in the U.S. since Gretzky and Mario Lemieux left the scene.

In the digital media age being embraced so fervently by the league these days, Crosby has clearly become the focal point for the NHL's short- and long-term marketing plans, and the primary face the NHL uses as it tries to attract a new generation of fans necessary for growth.

Pittsburgh's favorite multitasker

Another role Sid wants to add to his mile-long resume is that of penalty killer. To date, most of Sidney's PK appearances for the Penguins have been at the very end of the penalty in hopes that he could get the puck passed to the man emerging from the box for a chance at a breakaway. This season, however, could be different:

Coach Michel Therrien said yesterday between training camp practices at Mellon Arena that he is looking to add at least one more forward pairing to the two that carried much of the load last year, Maxime Talbot-Colby Armstrong, and Jordan Staal-Ryan Malone.

Several players will get a shot.

"We need to try to add more people," Therrien said. "There's [Jarkko] Ruutu, who has a little bit of experience with the way we play. And we're talking about a Crosby. We're talking about [an Evgeni] Malkin. We're talking about [an Erik] Christensen."

[...]

"I want to make sure I can do a good job and I'm responsible out there, but, yeah, I'm interested," Crosby said. "Your first responsibility is not to get scored on," he said. "At the same time, I would have to use my instincts and if I see a chance maybe I can be a threat offensively. Maybe I can back them off and create something. You've got to look at the risk and rewards."

Hmmm... Sounds to me like someone wants a shot at the "Most Short Handed Goals" title this season! Gronk's got some competition!!! :)

Tonight's Town Hall Meeting

I just finished watching the Penguins Season Ticket Holder Town Hall Meeting, which was held tonight at the Mellon Arena. The biggest news to come out of the meeting is the announcement that the NHL has promised more Ice Bowl Winter Classic tickets to the Penguins for sale after September 28. So there is still hope for anyone who missed out on tickets this Tuesday.

Ken Sawyer and Ray Shero gave updates on the new arena and progress at training camp, and outlined some goals for the upcoming season. Shero didn't sugar coat it: he wants that Cup.

Sidney was his usual aw shucks self as he was given a standing ovation and called "the best hockey player in the world." It continues to shock me how well adjusted and humble this guy is - especially since he's the best of the best. He must have great parents.

The highlight of the night (at least for me) was when Sidney was asked who his favorite player in the NHL is to watch when he has time. His immediate first answer was Daniel Briere, because he's "a little guy" but Sid also mentioned that Briere's move to Philadelphia was a "bad choice." (Cross-state rivalries are AWESOME.)

Then Sidney mentioned that he enjoys watching one Alexander Ovechkin play. The crowd erupted into a fierce storm of "BOO!!!!!!!!!!!" It was so loud that the Saint couldn't be heard over it, so he stopped talking to let the crowd vent. Sidney got a devilish grin, and then he started laughing.

Not that ready-for-my-closeup, trying-to-be-polite laugh he normally does when he's being interviewed, but a harty, real belly laugh like he did when he was on Jay Leno when Jay mentioned Cole Harbour and some audience members cheered. Seems to me like the rivalry between Sid and Alex may not be a rumor after all. ;)

I'm sure he's laughing WITH you, Alex not AT you.

Another moment worth mentioning, Ryan Whitney had Marc-Andre Fleury quote one of Jean Girard's lines from the movie Talladega Nights. Hearing Fleury say "Reecky Booby" in his thick French accent was quite hilarious!

And finally, if you have $55, you can join the Penguins for lunch!

Come celebrate the bright future of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey when the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Penguins Face-Off Luncheon on Wednesday, October 3 at the Marriott City Center.

Join Penguins General Manager Ray Shero, Head Coach Michel Therrien and the entire Penguins team featuring Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Whitney for lunch.

Doors to the Marriott Grand Ballroom will open at 12:30 pm and the luncheon will begin at 1:00 pm.

Lunch with Sid for $55?! That seems like a bargain to me!

Pens v Habs 2: Sidney's Revenge

Well, okay. Sid didn't play last night, but I thought the headline was catchy. ;) The Penguins did get their revenge, however: they beat the Canadiens 5 to 2. Friend of The Show Lana M. went to this game, too. Here's her account of how things went down:

The pens first two goals came so fast i barely saw them happen, not to mention being up in the rafters tonight I could just barely able to make out some names on jerseys. Nice to see new names on the score sheet.

The building Monday night was 21,273 people acting like it was days till the playoffs, not your normal pre-season game. The action on the ice was nothing like a pre-season game, we couldn't believe the passion that was being left out there. Tonight, i have to admit it was much more low-key. You had Latendresse out there forgetting that the next time he sees the Pens he's going to have Laraque and Ruutu to answer to. My heart stopped when Whitney was slow to get up but I felt much better seeing him play just fine on his next shift.

Poor Esposito, I think he fanned on 5 shots before one even came close to the net. He wants it bad. I can imagine the pressure or nervousness he must have felt coming to play here. If he makes the team i just hope he gets the chance to put the winner in on at least one game against Montreal. Just to say "See? See what you passed on?" They deserve it.

Malkin looked great, smooth, soft hands. His penalty seemed pretty much out of laziness and I got a few taunts seeing I had his jersey on tonight but streaking out of the box to score, that... That felt really good.

It's really impossible to base any predictions from the two games as to what will come this season. Montreal doesn't always look great on paper but in my opinion the Bell Center always seems a little louder when the Pens come to play. It's been a great two nights here in the city.

I'm glad you had fun, Lana. Thanks SO MUCH for the recap!

Sir Sidney having a laugh at training camp

I'd like to keep doing this, even after the regular season kicks in and we get the games on TV. I'm not going to try to recap the games this season; I'll be sure to pass along the scores and, of course, all the details about Sidney's performances, but there are plenty of other sites out there that do a much better job of recapping games than I ever could.

So I guess this is how I see the regular season going here at The Sidney Crosby Show this year: I will continue to keep you up-to-date on all the Saint Sid news you can handle, as always, but for the actual game recaps, I've decided to let that one up to you guys. If you go to a game and you want to send me your story, I'd love to share it here. I think it's always best to hear these stories from someone who has been there.

And OF COURSE I will recap any game I attend - which means you all are going to get a first hand account of my experience at the Ice Bowl Winter Classic 2008!!! Currently, I also have tickets to attend the last home game of the season, which is Fan Appreciation Night - a.k.a. The Shirts Off Our Backs Night. Every fan wins something at that game. (Hopefully, I'll win more than a newspaper this year!)

And finally tonight, thanks go out to a new Friend of The Show. Maureen G. informed me that the Penguins website has posted team members' NHL photos for the new season. If you go to our main page, I've changed the picture of Sid to the new one. She said this about the new photo: "Saint Sid is really growing up before our eyes!" Agreed - and I suspect we've only seen the tip of the iceberg of the talent of this young man.

Pens v Habs: Sidney's Got An Attitude

We here at The Sidney Crosby Show are blessed with the best Friends. I'm always getting assists from you guys, and today is no different. Last night, the Penguins faced the Canadiens in a preseason matchup. The Pens lost in overtime with a final score of 2 - 3. (>_<) Here are the first hand accounts of Friends of The Show Lana M. and Lisa-Marie W., who were both lucky enough to attend last night's game.

From Lana:

So they lost in OT but it was great to see them back on the ice. Crosby looked great out there. Just before he scored his first goal, i called it. He was just in his spot and i cheered. So what if i was the only one in my sections or a few sections for that matter, it felt good. He seems to get more emotional when he plays here. At least in my opinion he seems to but Komisarek was on the guy all night, can't blame him for fighting back.

Oooh, and on a side note, it may seem a little lame but Malone flipped me a puck and Malkin was in the press box in front of me and said hi. Go Pens.

No, Lana, that's not lame. That's AWESOME.

The new threads look pretty good.

From Lisa-Marie:

Crosby scored, from the absolute WEIRDEST angle I've ever seen, and he ricocheted it off Komisarek's stick. From the replay--it honestly looks like he did it on purpose. Seriously. He took a few dumb penalties--but that was more the ref's fault. He'd call tripping when Sid was going after the puck and the other guy just tripped. But in fairness, a lot of players got called for penalties on Sidney, too. I was kinda surprised, but happy.

The Croz got into a scuffle with Komisarek late in the third. A dumb thing to do, Komisarek is twice his size and a beast, but I admire Crosby's bravery and take-no-shit attitude. Komisarek cross-checked him, then when Crosby drove the net he tripped him and Crosby went crashing to the ice. The goalie gave him a shot, and a Habs player kneed him. The Kid got back up, took a slash at Komisarek, and a general scuffle of face washing and trash talking ensued. Komisarek and another Hab got a penalty, and Crosby and Recchi took a penalty each, so it was 3 vs 3 in overtime. Crosby and Komisarek were standing up and yelling at each other in the box--is it me, or do you just LOVE it when players trash talk? oh, if I could hear what they said. I mean, I could make ot a few words. "F*CK" and any variation of the word is pretty clear.

I think that "F*CK" might be Sid's favorite verb, Lisa-Marie. Just ask Bryan Murray...

Ladies, thanks for sharing your stories with us!!!

I GOT MY TICKETS

OH MY GOD! I am so pumped right now, I can't even begin to describe it to you. I just got 3 tickets - one for me, my husband, and his best friend - to attend the NHL Winter Classic 2008 (better known on the net as the Ice Bowl)!!!!!!!!! I will be watching Sidney and co. taking on the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL's first outdoor game in the United States!!!

For anyone else who's going, here's a photo that will make you drool:

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL?!

That's an artist's conception of what the Ralph Wilson Stadium will look like on January 1, 2008. And you can count on this: I promise I will take as many pictures as I can for you - especially the International Friends of The Show!!! It's going to be a day to remember, that's for sure!!!

WOOOO HOOOO!!!

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LATE EDIT:

74,000 tickets for the Ice Bowl sold out in less than an hour.That is UNBELIEVABLE. Don't think I don't realize just how lucky I am.

10:00AM Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Mark that date and time on your calendars, kids!!! That's when tickets for the Ice Bowl Winter Classic 2008 go on sale. I got this email:

(Click image above to enlarge text.)

I am so excited that I can't even breathe right now. (I linked the "Click Here For Tickets" to the Ticketmaster site for you, so it's pointing to the same page as the original email.) Hopefully, tomorrow I will be the proud owner of 2 tickets (I don't care which row or section) to attend this game. I will let you know how I fare. Good luck to all of you who are going to be trying to get tickets, too! I hope to see you there. :)

It's (Finally) A New Season

Today is the second day of training camp for the Penguins. Today also marked the beginning of individual ticket sales for Pens games. I was up at 9:30 am waiting for Ticketmaster to release the tickets promptly at 10:00 am. I wanted to buy tickets for 2 games: the home opener and home closer. I had a slight problem with my purchase - I tried to order tickets for each game simultaneously using 2 tabs in my web browser, which apparently the Ticketmaster website doesn't like very much - and in the 5 minutes it took for me to figure out that it wasn't working, the home opener was sold out. Well, at least as far as getting 2 seats together. After all, I can't go without my husband! Or can I??? (Just kidding!)

So I while I was unable to get tickets to the October 6 game against the defending Stanley Cup champions, I was able to score tickets to the April 2 game against our cross-state rivals! And with my husband's access to his company's Mellon Arena luxury box and the owner of my company offering me the chance to purchase some of the tickets to the games he can't go to from his half season plan, I will most likely be going to more than one game this season. And I promise you I will take some sweet pictures (and probably have some funny stories) for you! :)

Back to the Penguins' training camp. Just before it started, Sidney told the Associated Press that he's fully aware of and comfortable with the high expectations that follow an incredible season like the last one:

Crosby understands a lot more is expected of these Penguins, even if it might not be until the playoffs.

"There's expectations, whether it's individually or as a team," he said. "But if you look back to last year, our focus was getting off to a good start and proving ourselves as a young team. It's only a year's difference and we have to keep doing that."

Another fact from that same article: Saint Sid still hasn't decided whether or not he will be using a Reebok stick this season or staying with his trusty Sher-Wood.

Now, I've got an update on Crosby's foot injury:

Sidney Crosby: Fully Recovered From Foot Fracture - 9/14/2007 12:58:54 PM

Update:
Crosby has completely recovered from a foot fracture suffered near the end of the regular season last year, according to GM Ray Shero, Fox Sports Radio 970 in Pittsburgh reports.

Recommendation:
Shero said that it was a matter of timing with Crosby, meaning that he had to rest the foot over the summer, which he did. While it's a bit hard to see Crosby scoring many more than the 61 power-play points he put up in 2006-07, there's no reason why he can't increase his numbers at even strength. Last year the organization struggled to find complementary linemates for the superstar. This season Petr Sykora and perhaps Gary Roberts, among others, will get a crack alongside Crosby.

WHEW!!! I feel a lot better now.

And finally, at the opening scrimmage, Crosby scored twice. One of those goals was a penalty shot facing netminder John Curry, a 23-year-old undrafted rookie from Boston University. Curry spoke of the experience to The Citizens Voice:

Minutes after he entered an intrasquad scrimmage, the 23-year-old undrafted rookie from Boston University had to face a penalty shot.

The shooter was Sidney Crosby.

The defending NHL MVP stickhandled in on goal and deposited a shot over Curry's right pad and under his blocker.

"It's a fun experience, I guess, until he buries it," Curry said. "I've got to get used to situations like that if I ever want to play in the NHL. I don't have to stop Sidney Crosby every time, but I've gotta be ready to make those types of saves.

"I'm not satisfied to get scored on so I can tell my friends I got scored on by Sidney Crosby. That's not what I'm here for."

Uh, welcome to the big leagues, Johnny!!! (Full details of the opening scrimmage game can be found here.)

Sid Vids - Uncut

Friend of The Show Alex M. sent me these links to videos of Sidney being interviewed by a KDKA TV reporter Bob Pompeani (who asks some of the dumbest questions, by the way). Notice the BRIGHT YELLOW CROCS Saint Sid is rocking at the beginning of this one! (I'd make fun of him, but I have a mint green pair that I wear almost daily, so it would be like the pot calling the kettle. Come on! I know they're hideous, but they're sooooo comfy! LOL)

Here's the first one. Topics range from missing out on "the college experience" to Malkin's English to how much Sidney eats to who has the best pick up line on the team. (← If you've watched the Pens for even just one season, you'll already know who that is.) The smack talk between Fleury and Crosby make this one a must see. Make sure you disable your screensaver: This video is almost 13 minutes long.

Here's the second one. It looks like it might be the original report that ran on the news from the footage obtained during the interview from the first video. (It's less than four minutes long.)

Here's the one where he talks about showing up at the Penguins' youth hockey school last month. He also addresses his broken foot - he hasn't skated on it very much. Hopefully, it will not be a problem this season...

Thanks for hooking us up with these videos, Alex!

At least he's not wearing pleated pants this time.

And finally, Friends Cassie C. and Alex (again) sent me links to this article on the Pens' website.

They participated in the 20th Annual Summer sticks Golf Classic at Longue Vue Club in Verona. Penguins General Manager Ray Shero and head coach Michel Therrien joined the Penguins and other participants on the golf course for the popular event. One Penguins celebrity golfer (player or coach) joined each threesome for the four-man scramble.

Check out the photo gallery and then (try to) check out the video. I couldn't get the video from that link to work, but I thought I should post it anyways. (It started really irritating me, so I quit trying.)

Special thanks for the assists, ladies! :)

ANOTHER Reason Canada > USA

Yes, Canadians get to have all the fun when it comes to hockey. They are treated to NHL broadcasts on REGULAR T.V. stations that everyone gets. Our title man Sidney Crosby is Canadian. Hockey is to Canada what football is to the United States. And now they have this:

Game On! With another NHL season right around the corner, hockey fans are getting ready to cheer their favourite teams and follow Canadian superstar Sidney Crosby's first season as captain of the fast-rising Pittsburgh Penguins.

But why just watch Sidney Crosby play on TV, when you could get the chance to fly to a game and meet him in person?

Meeting Sidney Crosby is just one of the incredible prizes the Pepsi(R), Lay's(R), Doritos(R), and Gatorade(R) brands will be awarding every hour, every day during the "Game On with Sidney Crosby" promotion running between September 9, 2007 and November 3, 2007.

I was THRILLED TO PIECES when Friend of The Show Eric B. sent me this link so I, too, could enter a contest for a chance to meet Sid at a game. But those hopes were soon dashed (okay, I know - but I'm being melodramatic for effect here) when I read this:

8. ELIGIBILITY: This Contest is open to all residents of Canada, 13 years of age or older...

Being that I live in central Pennsylvania, I am not eligible to enter said contest. But - even though I am green with envy - I encourage all our Canadian Friends to click here and enter this contest!!! If you win, take LOTS of pictures and send them my way!!! GOOD LUCK!

(Special thanks to fellow Crosby blogger Eric for sending me this information. Check out this blog entry for more details.)

[*Sigh*] Canadians are so lucky.

And finally, since we're talking about contests, congratulations go out to Friend of The Show Cassie C. has good news to share with us:

I won second prize in the NHLPA Pearson Award Fan Contest! I've known for some time but I got the release form today, so yeah, it's official. It'll be even better when I get the stuff. I get a jersey signed by either Lecavalier or Luongo (so close to getting Sid's which went to the grand prize winner). But, there's some other stuff in there, too. I can't remember what all it was, but it was funny because the guy that won was from New York, and the guy that got second was from Ottawa. And then there's me from Mississippi. :)

Congrats, Cass!

Sorry, Alex - Maybe You Can Be Number Two

I found this article from The Montreal Gazette that gave me a chuckle. It's an interview with Alex Ovechkin. In it, he states that the rivalry between him and Sidney was imagined and that HE wants to be the NHL's number 1 this season:

Ovechkin, the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Washington Capitals in 2004, also downplayed his on-ice rivalry with Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins superstar who was drafted first overall in 2005.

"It's the media's (fault)," he said. "They always compare us, but we are two different players."

Maybe they're frenemies.

Although Ovechkin, who turns 22 this month, is two years older than Crosby, both entered the league in 2005 and instantly became impact players.

Ovechkin edged Crosby in the Calder Trophy rookie-of-the-year voting in 2005 after notching 52 goals and 54 assists. Crosby posted 39-63-102 totals.

But Sid the Kid, the pride of Nova Scotia, was top dog last season, winning the NHL scoring crown and becoming the youngest winner of the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player since Wayne Gretzky in 1980.

"Crosby was best player in the league last year," said Ovechkin, whose English is improving. Ovechkin said he's looking forward to the start of Caps' training camp.

"I trained hard this summer. ... I want to be best player in league this year."

Hmmm. That's pretty ambitious for a guy who went from 52-54-106 to 46-46-92 the same year that Sid went from 39-63-102 to 36-84-120. (Maybe Ovie should learn how to pass the puck occasionally.)

While it is absolutely possible that Ovechkin could present Sidney with a bit of a challenge this year, at the end of the day, if Sid improves this year as much as he improved from 05-06 to 06-07, Alex doesn't stand a chance. Either way, it's going to be so much fun to watch! :)

I'm Buying a Full Season Next Year

Several Friends of The Show have pointed out that I seriously dropped the ball by not telling you all about this next story:


WOW. Yeah, I may not live close enough to actually be able to attend a full season's worth of games, and it's true that I may not even be able to afford to be a Penguins full season ticket holder, but if Sidney's going to play mailman and bring them to my house, you can bet that I'll be buying them!! ;)

Here's the story from the Penguins website:

Instead of passing pucks, a few Penguins spent Thursday passing out season tickets.

As a show of their appreciation for tremendous fan support, Pittsburgh Penguins players hand-delivered season tickets to 24 season ticket-holders throughout the Pittsburgh area.

Sid calls the luckiest kid in the world

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Whitney, Colby Armstrong and Maxime Talbot made the deliveries to the fans, who were selected at random.

“It was nice. It was nice to see the reaction on people’s faces,” Crosby said. “Everyone appreciated it; it was fun for me and for the rest of the guys to go and interact with people who support us so much. Some of the people have been season ticket-holders for 30 years. So, this was nice for us to do and to say thanks personally.”

There are two videos posted of Sidney making these deliveries:

Video One (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette version)
Video One (Penguins website version)

(I hope you watched them both; they're slightly different.) The first set of videos are of Saint Sid delivering tickets to Alice Kilgore, a woman (of whom I am infinitely jealous for so many reasons) who has been a Penguins season ticket holder for thirty years. Okay. Sid not only should hand deliver her tickets from now on, but he should maybe mow her lawn or run a vacuum at her house! It's folks like Alice that got the Pens through the lean years. Although I take issue with Alice telling Sid that the Pens aren't getting a Stanley Cup until NEXT year!!! I mean, she's probably right, but to say that to his face?! WOW. She definitely has some Chutzpah!

Oh, and apparently Sid is afraid of dogs, which does not bode well for me, as I have 4 big dogs (a golden retriever, a chocolate lab, and two greyhounds).


Video Two

The second one is of Sid stopping by Joan Kozlowski's home. Sid was even nice enough to phone her son, Matthew, to wish him a happy birthday. Joan - I am jealous of you, too.

I must admit that my home is similar to Joan's home in that I've got Penguins posters, jerseys, game souvenirs, flags, glasses, etc. literally all over my house, but my pride and joy is a shadow box with a jersey signed by Le Magnifique hanging in my hallway. But I can honestly say that I would give my LEFT ARM to have that framed piece of net hanging in her hallway!!! :)



Many thanks to Friends Eighty-Two, Alex, and Lisa-Marie W. for sending these links my way!!!

The "Special" Patch

Remember that I told you the Pens' new jerseys would include a special patch? Okay. Now remember that I guessed that it would probably be for the Penguins' 40^th Anniversary? Yeah, well, I was wrong. The special patch is no more than the city's name and the number 250. Here's a great shot of it that was sent to me by Friend of The Show Yan G. from Trois-Rivieres, Quebec - which, if my four years of high school French serves me well, translates to "Three Rivers" (what a small world!!!):

Max models the new sweater at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. (Click to enlarge for detail)

What an awful patch. It's plain and ambiguous. Tell me - how many of you knew (without anyone explaining it) that the patch is to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the founding of the city of Pittsburgh? UGH!!!

Am I totally wrong in my belief that the "special" patch should have been a patch commemorating the Penguins' 40^th anniversary in Pittsburgh? After all, we did come dangerously close to losing them this year - one would think that the fact that we were able to keep the Pens through that 40 year mark would be something worthy of an appearance on the new sweaters.

Sid's New Threads

Here's a look at the new (official) Penguins jerseys:

These are the real deal!

...and here's me, breathing a HUGE sigh of relief that the Skating Penguin remained untouched!!! Also, I am sooooooo glad that all those photoshop prototypes that people have been posting will FINALLY go away. Some of them were downright disturbing.

Here is an image of the now-former Pens' away jersey so you can compare it with the new jersey.

Personally, I like the new uniforms. I was really hoping they wouldn't change them. I must admit, however, that it was a bit anticlimactic that they aren't different and fresh, but at the same time it is a HUGE relief that they didn't weren't ruined, either.

Tell us what you think of the Pens' new sweaters!

New Jersey Sneak Peek

While visiting the Penguins website this morning, I saw the following two pictures. At different times, they were each attached to the story announcing that the new jerseys will be unveiled later tonight (6:30 pm Eastern). At 8:00am, this image was being used:


Then, my friend Jeff in Korea pointed out this next one to me at 10:00am:

This appears to be a closeup of the v-neck collar.

It seems as though they are using these images as teasers. Notice that the gold is conspicuously brighter (see second image) than the current Vegas Gold (see third image)...

The Penguins' current away jersey.

I'm hoping they will be using another new image in the next couple of hours. The suspense is killing me. I need to know if the Penguins will be butchering their uniforms as so many of the teams have been doing. (Although, I must admit that the Habs' new sweater is pretty nice, in that they didn't really change it all that much.) If I happen to catch anymore pictures like these, I'll edit this post and add them. Remember: you can drop me an email if you find any pictures (snoopyjode@gmail.com).

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Late Edit

Friend of The Show Adrienne F. sent in this picture. It was leaked a few months ago and is widely accepted as authentic since the Penguins organization "politely asked" many blogs to remove the picture when it first started popping up. Considering that there are less than 7 hours until the new sweaters debut, I've decided it shouldn't matter if I post it here:

A new sweater for Sidney?

Sid Vids

There's not a lot of Sid news. There's not a lot of Penguins news. There's not a lot of hockey news right now, for that matter - unless you care that some jerk and his Hollywood girlfriend broke up, or that some teen queen is dating again, or that some celebrity-wannabe married the all-time American-born goal scoring leader - so I went trolling through YouTube again to try to find some videos to help you pass the time. (BTW, you do realize that this final month before the season begins is going to be the longest month of our lives, right? Ha ha, it will be at least until September 2008, anyways...) Anyhoo, I found two really good ones for you.

Okay, first up, I finally found a video from that RbK SC87 press conference! It's a bit strange to watch because the words being spoken don't match up with Sid's mouth at all (you'll see what I mean), but it's a good watch anyways. And yes, those horrible I ♥ Crosby shirts are featured prominently in this video... (>_<)

Next up, I found this video of Sidney's surprise visit with the Penguins' summer hockey camp kids. The quality isn't the best, but it gives us a glimpse of Saint Sid at his best. Personally, my favorite part is at the very end of the video, when the kids thank the Saint for his time with their sticks. :)