Penguins Hut?!

Hello, hello, hello! There's not much going on in Sidneyland™ right now, but there is some Penguins news to tell you about:

For starters, Pizza Hut has become the "official pizza of the Pittsburgh Penguins." Starting this season, Pizza Hut products will be served at concession stands in Mellon Arena. And when the new arena finally opens for business in 2010ish, you'll be able to enjoy pizza from the Hut in a restaurant that will be built within the arena.

Jordan Staal and his older brother Eric have been offered plea agreements from prosecutors in Minnesota that will likely help them avoid jail time. They are consulting lawyers to determine that their visas will not be affected by accepting the offer. They'll be fined $587 each for disorderly conduct, and Jordan will pay an additional $150 for underage drinking. Wow. I hope they don't have to break the bank to pay up! :P

The NHL online shop's most wanted

Finally, sales on shop.NHL.com have increased for the 11th straight month....... [*yawn*]. Here's the teeny tiny bit of Saint Sid news hidden in that article: His jersey is the top seller! (Apparently sales of Penguins merchandise in general have increased almost 200%.) This should come as no real surprise - anyone who went to a Penguins game last season will tell you that it seemed like every fifth person was rocking a Crosby sweater.

Thank GOD training camp starts soon, and there are less than 2 months until it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh again... I don't know about you, but the anticipation is almost KILLING me!!!

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!!!

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Penguins 5 - Senators 4(SO): Deja Vu!

Oops, Sid did it again.

No points during regulation, but the shootout winner. Thanks to Sid's sudden shootout skill, the Pens won a tough battle over the Ottawa Senators 5-4.

Maybe we ought to stop talking about the slump. It doesn't seem to be helping :(

On the bright side, check out Jordan Staal with yet ANOTHER shorthanded goal. When is the last time a rookie has led the league in SH goals? Has it happened?


From NHL.com:

Sidney Crosby is making crucial contributions to the Pittsburgh Penguins' offense despite enduring one of the worst scoring slumps of his young career.

Crosby scored his third shootout goal in four games and Pittsburgh overcame a three-goal deficit for a 5-4 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

Despite being held without a point for the fourth time in five games, Crosby scored on Pittsburgh's third shot against Ray Emery, who made a glove save off Evgeni Malkin after Eric Christensen beat him on the Penguins' first shootout attempt.

"I'm trying to (contribute) any way I can," Crosby said. "Obviously that's the easier way but you get a chance where basically, you score, you win, kind of thing. So I've had that opportunity a couple of times and I've tried to take advantage of it.

"Hopefully the time will come when I'll be able to do it 5-on-5 and in regulation, and obviously in the shootouts, when I need it."

Jocelyn Thibault stopped Dany Heatley and Antoine Vermette before Dean McAmmond scored on Ottawa's third attempt, forcing Crosby's decisive attempt.

"You just kind of wait to see what he does, try to be as patient as you can," Emery said. "I wasn't patient enough."

Crosby scored the winner in Thursday's 4-3 shootout win over the New York Rangers. He also scored in the shootout Sunday as Christensen got the winner in a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia.

"I know before Christmas he was having a hard time scoring in the shootout but we stuck with it and he practiced a lot," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "When the game's on the line those are the type of players you want to see performing and there's no doubt he's performing really well in the shootout."

Crosby, who leads the NHL with 98 points, was held without a point for the second straight game. The 19-year-old phenom has one assist - his 200th career point - in five games, matching the worst slump of his career.

"It's different when you're not getting chances or you're not able to create things, that's probably the most frustrating, but I think the chances have been there," said Crosby, who had eight shots in the game, including six in the first period. "It's just a matter of you're not getting breaks and getting some bad bounces. You go through those times and hope they'll last as short as possible."