Seriously, What Is All The Fuss About?

Here on The Show, I haven't yet brought up the recent revelations that Mario actually never intended to move the Penguins (which, by the way, has been dubbed "Lemieux's Ruse"). I've failed to mention it mostly because I didn't think it was really all that shocking. Of course business executives have to bluff to get the best deals - this is how tons of deals are made every day in Corporate America, and whether we want to admit it or not, running a professional hockey team (or any sport team) is ALL business. And occasionally, the execs have to do things or make decisions that are unpopular but are made in an attempt to ensure the future health of the business (remember the Alexei Kovalev trade?).

I was super pissed about losing this guy. I loved him. I even named my first dog after him.

Personally, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. If you really listen to what Mario was saying, what he meant was that he did everything he possibly could to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh, which included using his best poker face when taking exploratory trips to Kansas City and Las Vegas. And guess what? MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. So why should any of us fans give a damn how he got it done? If he hadn't done what he did, the Pens would not have a new arena, and he'd likely be putting the team on the market, and once the team was sold, it would be out of Mario's hands as to where the Pens would end up. My opinion of Mario has not changed since finding out that he and Ron Burkle had dinners and not meetings while out of town. If anything, I actually respect him a little bit more (← haha, I didn't realize that was possible) for using every tool in his box to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh under the Lemieux Group's ownership. For an more in depth look, Tony from The Confluence of The Three Rivers drops some knowledge on the subject here. Tell us what you think of this whole situation in the comments below.

Lie to me, I promise I'll believe.

Moving on, I've got some more stuff - WAIT. Holy crap! Did I just use a Sheryl Crow lyric?! Someone really needs to smack me... Anyhoo, I've got some goodies from our Friends of The Show to share. First, we have an email from good Friend of The Show Sooska:

PensBob and I went for a short jaunt to Canada because he had business in Toronto. Afterwards we drove east from Toronto about 2 hours along the lake to a small Ontario town near the 1000 Islands (of dressing fame) to see the beautiful islands of the St. Lawrence River.

Click to enlarge the map to see where Gananoque (A) and Crosby (B) are in relation to the city of Ottawa.

To my surprise as we were exiting 401 to Gananoque (Gan-an-ock-wee) we came upon this sign. HELLO! It is only about 20 km (~12 ½ mi) north of where we were. Next visit will be longer so we will go see what’s there. Most likely not Sid but I bet the residents are big fans!

ROAD TRIP!!!

Stephanie B. found this article about The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Shelly Anderson's trip to the Beijing Olympics. It features a greeting from Alex Ovechkin to our title man. (It's near the bottom of the article.)

Jan M. sent in another Siddo sketch. She started with this picture of the Saint:


And created this reproduction in pencil:

I think this one is my favorite so far, Jan! :)

In Roaming Penguin news, Sidney Penguin made his way to his namesake's stomping grounds...


...where Friend of The Show MichelleInNovaScotia caught up with him:

"First, here is Sidney Penguin visiting the welcome to Enfield sign. Sidney Crosby drives by this sign everyday on his way to his summer home in Enfield."

"And here's Sid Penguin sitting next to my computer and pic of his pal Sid Crosby."

And now it's time once again for TSCS's Quote of The Day:

"If it was a negotiating tactic, it was a good one. We're just pleased that the Penguins are in Pittsburgh where they belong. As to how real the possibility of their moving was, I think it is a matter of history."

~ Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, on Mario's admission that he was bluffing

Big thanks to Friends Sooska, Stephanie B., Jan, and MichelleInNovaScotia for their help with today's post! And an enormous amount of gratitude goes out to all of the Friends too numerous to name who have left comments and/or sent me emails saying such nice things about how The Show is helping them make it through a bad day, a tough time, or a boring summer. You truly have NO IDEA how much that means to me. You guys are all SO AWESOME!!! :D