Dapper Dan Sid

I am hoarse. Last night was AMAZING. Our seats were nosebleed city - my friend Shannon and I were two rows down from the highest seats in the Bryce Jordan Center, LOL. (If you check out this BJC seating chart graphic, we were in section 210.) But the tickets were free, so we didn't complain. We saw Neverset (Meh, they were good, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. Nice guys, though. More on that in a minute...), Seether (Good music, but they didn't really do anything exciting. They just stood at their mics as they played.), Three Days Grace (WOW. INCREDIBLE.), and Breaking Benjamin (Also INCREDIBLE.).

And while we didn't see Sidney at the show because as you may or may not know, he was accepting yet another award, we did see the Neverset guys roaming the Bryce Jordan Center corridor. We didn't have any markers for autographs, but they were gracious enough to pose for this picture for me:

Here's what happened with the guy on the far left: As they got together and posed, I said, "Are you ready? Okay..." He must have assumed that my saying "Okay" signified that I had snapped the photo. I told him it was blurry, and he joked that it was okay because he wasn't an important member of the band. I didn't really believe him, but if you go to their website, he's not on it, LOL! Anyways, there was no time for a do-over, because other fans were swarming in to get pictures and talk to them, too.

Back to Sid: He collected his Dapper Dan hardware last night. Here's a little of what he had to say (from the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette):

"It's very humbling to be up here again this year," Crosby told the weeknight crowd of 1,000-plus. "It definitely means a lot. Obviously, I have to thank my teammates."


"It's been a tough second half for me with the high ankle sprain," Crosby added, referring to the mid-January injury that caused him to miss 21 games, play three, then sit out seven more. That limited him to 52 games thus far, with 22 goals and 69 points, but it didn't hamper the young Penguins, who went 16-8-4 in his absence. "I think our team has shown a lot of character. I can't say how proud I am to see the guys respond like they did.

"We have a young team, but I think we all realize how lucky we are to play in a city with a great sports tradition. ... I feel fortunate to be a part of that [Sportsman] group and represent the city."

We're VERY lucky to have you, too, Sid! Congrats on winning the award for the second year in a row!!!

Okay, so I recorded a video at the concert last night for you guys, but I'm not going to post it. We were erroneously informed that we could not have cameras inside the concert, so I left my good one in my car and used the one on my cell phone. THE QUALITY IS AWFUL. It takes decent photos and videos, BUT the sheer volume of the music during the concert makes the video practically unbearable to listen to. So instead, I am posting this video and dedicating it to the Flyers:

Now, I HAVE TO GET READY TO TAKE A ROAD TRIP TO PITTSBURGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I'm not going to be able to speak at all tomorrow, haha!) It's fan appreciation night, so cross your fingers - I'm really hoping to win something a little cooler than a free newspaper this year... :D

Sid Wins Another Dapper Dan Award

Sid has clinched the Dapper Dan Award for the second year in a row! :) The following photos come from the Dapper Dan website. (Click either image to visit the site.)





Thanks go out to the anonymous tipster who let us know about Sid's newest trophy in the comments section!

The Pens face the Lightning tonight. Tampa Bay is coming off last night's stunning 7-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Why was it stunning? Because the Sabres were down 4-1 at the start of the third and scored 6 of their 7 goals in that final period of the game. WOW.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alexander Crosby

Now, I know what you're thinking: Snoop has completely lost it! No, I assure you I did not. And I'm not talking about some NHL superstar-superclone. Something - well someone -much smaller inspired today's title...

Friend of The Show Bryan J. (a.k.a. Eighty-Two) and his wife were blessed with a son this past July. His moniker was, as you have probably already guessed, inspired by two NHL greats. The baby's first name is Alexander. And let me stop you right there! He was not named for Ovechkin, but rather for Alexander Mogilny. Crosby, the baby's middle name, is of course in honor of our title man. Now that's a fan!

So when little Alex was born, Bryan sent the Saint a letter detailing the origin of his son's name. Last Saturday, Bryan received a response and a gift from Sidney to baby Alex. You can read all about it here, then check out the birth announcement so you can see a photo of beautiful little Alex. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Bryan, and belated congratulations to you and your wife! :)

Not yet a father, Sid's got at least one namesake already.

Now, Bryan thinks so highly of Sir Sidney that he's named his son after him. Perhaps you would like a chance to show how much you admire the Saint, too. Well, here's your chance. Sid is once again up for a Dapper Dan award, and you can vote to help Sid add some more hardware to his awards shelf. For anyone who isn't aware of what a Dapper Dan award is, a brief explanation follows (taken from a longer article on The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette online):

Dapper Dan has been a man about town in Pittsburgh for nearly three-quarters of a century. Founded in 1936 by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette sports editor Al Abrams, the organization has evolved from a businessmen's sports club into one of the region's most recognizable pillars of charity with six fundraising events throughout the year.

[...]

The name? It came from an off-hand remark by George "Red" Lai, a restaurant owner in Pittsburgh and one of Abrams' friends. Abrams and his group wanted to attract membership from the sportsmen and businessmen of Pittsburgh, men who were always dapperly dressed. "We could call them Dapper Dans," Lai said.

The Kid and The Big Man are both up for Dapper Dan awards this year. Here is the list of awards for which the Penguins are nominated:

• Sidney Crosby, Sportsman of the Year
• Mario Lemieux, Best Athlete In Pittsburgh Sports History
• Mario Lemieux’s return game from his first retirement (Dec. 27, 2000), Best Moment in Pittsburgh Sports History
• Penguins win first Stanley Cup (May 25, 1991), Best Moment in Pittsburgh Sports History
  
• 1991-92 Penguins (2nd Stanley Cup), Best Team In Pittsburgh Sports History
• 1992-93 Penguins (Presidents Trophy), Best Team In Pittsburgh Sports History

MAKE SURE YOU VOTE FOR MARIO AND SID! GO PENS!!!

What a photo, what a player, what an owner, what a human.

Sidney Crosby is "Dapper" Again

It looks like Sidney Crosby has netted himself yet another award ... The Dapper Dan Award!

From PittsburghPenguins.com:

Sidney Crosby received the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award Sunday night, becoming the youngest recipient in the 71-year history of the prestigious charity event.

Crosby was honored along with WNBA star Swin Cash (Sportswoman of the Year) and Steelers chairman Dan Rooney (Lifetime Achievement Award) in a gala affair at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Penguins winger Mark Recchi made the official presentation to Crosby before a crowd of more than 1,000, which gave the 19-year-old NHL scoring champion a standing ovation.

Crosby congratulated Cash and Rooney, thanked the fans for their enthusiastic support and wrapped up his acceptance speech by saying, “Hopefully, we can bring you, the fans, a Stanley Cup.”

Others representing the Penguins at the dinner were general manager Ray Shero, head coach Michel Therrien, assistant coaches Andre Savard and Mike Yeo, club executives Ken Sawyer and David Morehouse and broadcasters Phil Bourque, Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald.

The event raises money for Dapper Dan Charities, which supports the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania.

Crosby is the third Penguins player to win the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award, joining Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.