Contests Are Awesome

Remember that Men's Fitness Magazine cover? Who am I kidding? Of course you do - whether you want to buy enough copies to use as wallpaper in your bedroom or you're just now recovering from the fits of laughter, this one seems like it will remain as talked about as Sid's GQ and Vanity Fair appearances. It's generating some buzz over at AOL Fanhouse. Our Friend Eric B. from The Sidney Crosby Spotlight also weighs in on the issue (pun intended, haha).

Even more about that Men's Fitness Magazine appearance: Friend of The Show Mike H. found this article on the Pens' website yesterday. It features Sid's teammates giving him a really hard time about the muscle definition in that picture:

“It’s nice when they can airbrush pretty much anything,” Penguins winger Colby Armstrong, one of Crosby’s closest friends, said with a laugh. “I don’t to get to take really sweet pictures like that for a lot of covers. So, I just get generic pictures taken at Wal-Mart and get them developed there. I don’t look so hot. It must be nice to get them like his. He probably did about 100 pushups and ate a little turtle soup before that photo shoot. That’s pretty cool for him to be on the cover. I am kind of jealous about it. I’d be on the cover of Men’s Fast Food – with no shirt on.”

“He denies it was airbrushed. He said they taught him how to flex while the pictures were being taken. He must have done something – maybe some bench pressing just to make his pecs look big. He’s a big kid, but he must have been flexing a little,” Defenseman Ryan Whitney said. “They did a good job with the lighting and stuff like that. I still say his skin looks very, very clear for the front of the magazine,” he said.

Sidney, um, "defined"

The good-hearted ribbing is all done in fun.

“What fun would it be if we didn’t give him a hard time about it? We all kind of live through the stuff he does, so it’s kind of fun,” Armstrong said with a laugh. “He is here all the time. Everyone knows he’s always doing stuff behind the scenes. So, we try to lighten it up for him a bit by bugging him about it or cracking a joke about it. I think it maybe makes things a little easier for him. If not, oh well, sorry buddy.”

Poor Sid doesn't stand a chance in that locker room. I'd give anything to be a fly on the wall to hear what they've been saying to him about that picture when there's no media around! It's probably pretty brutal - and hilarious!!!

Still more about that Men's Fitness Magazine appearance: Friend of The Show Laura H. pointed out that the website is having a drawing. You can fill out this form to enter to win "autographed swag from this month's cover guy." No offense to any of you, but I hope I win! ;)

The Penguins website has some new Winter Classic wallpapers. (Click the picture to go directly to the site to choose the right size for your computer's monitor.)

What a game!

Now I have news of ANOTHER magazine appearance for the Saint. This time, he's appearing on SI For Kids. In the interview, he lists some of his favorite things:

[His] favorite movie ...is "Rocky."
Crosby said his favorite actor is Denzel Washington.
When it comes to the ladies, Crosby said he's an Eva Mendes fan.
His favorite foods are protein-filled chicken and carbo-loaded pasta.
His favorite band is Three Days Grace.
When it comes to athletes, Crosby looks away from hockey for inspiration. He said he's a big Tiger Woods fan.

Sorry, gals - you have to wear a shirt on the covers of magazines for kids.

I'm going to leave you tonight with the latest installment from the guys at the 2-Man Advantage. This episode features interviews with Josef Vasicek and ex-Pen Eric Cairns. A little more than midway through the video, Cairns recalls his toughest fight in his entire career. The opponent is exactly who you think it is. It's pretty funny hearing Cairns relate what thoughts were going through his head when said tough guy showed up in Pittsburgh last season - while Cairns was still on the team:

Thanks so much to all who sent in links!!! :)

Mad Max's Thoughts on The Ice Bowl

Good Friend of The Show Eric B. from the Sidney Crosby Spotlight hooked us up with two sweet links. The first story is from WPXI.com. It covers Sid's appearance on the cover of Men's Fitness magazine which, by the way, hits newsstands tomorrow.

"Sidney Crosby exemplifies the combination of fitness and passion to which our readers aspire," said Men's Fitness editor-in-chief, Roy S. Johnson. "And he's the best hope for a sport that is in dire need of a star. If anyone can help hockey recover from its recent challenges, it's Sidney."

Indeed. I think he's already done the sport a world of good - considering that even my football loving parents will occasionally tune into a Pens game - especially if I'm in attendance - to watch Sid work his magic. (I don't know if I can convey how HUGE that is. They've never watched hockey before Sid, even though I've gone to dozens and dozens of games prior to his arrival in Pittsburgh.)

That's a lot of pressure for a 20 year old...

The second story Eric sent is from The Peru [Indiana] Tribune. Author Tom Davis takes yet another look at the Crosby v Lecavalier: Who's the best hockey player? battle. The two superstars are constantly compared to determine which man is the best player in hockey today. The problem that I have with the comparisons is that Lecavalier is seven years older than Sid, thus he has six more years of experience in the NHL (and one year in Russia, during the lockout). I always see sports journalists saying, "Sid will be better than Vinny." Okay then, a more accurate comparison would be made if Sid's current record would be compared to Lecavalier's record when he was 20 years old. Even the comparisons between Sid and Alexander Ovechkin make more sense, despite their 2 year age difference, because they entered the NHL in the same year, so they have the same number of years' experience. But the comparisons to Lecavalier seem ridiculous to me.

Don't get me wrong; Lecavalier is definitely one of the best hockey players in the league. But here is a little food for thought: Sid's point total for his rookie season was 102 in 81 games played, and his point total after his sophomore season last year was 120 in 79 games played. Lecavalier's point totals for his first and second seasons in the NHL were 28 points in 82 games played and 67 points in 80 games played. Enough said. You can weigh in and leave your thoughts on the matter in the comments section below.

Who's better? Who's best? Who cares!

Speaking of the Sidney Crosby Spotlight, while checking out his site, I noticed that Eric found this great article by Kevin Allen of USA Today talking about how Sidney has helped "the Penguins plow through the league":

When Crosby scored that outdoor goal, it was if everyone suddenly remembered that this kid is going to own this sport for another two decades. He will beat you indoors or outdoors. He will beat you on a smooth sheet or rough ice. He will beat you with good or bad wingers. He will beat you when it snows. He will beat you when the wind blows. He will beat you like a rug. He will crush you like a bug.

The Seussical Allen goes on to list other reasons for the Pens' recent success - bumping Mark Recchi off the roster (and then the team) and starting Ty Conklin in goal, among other factors.

Another good Friend of The Show, Alex M. posted the link to this video of Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey talking about NBA megastar (the word "superstar" just isn't strong enough, haha) LeBron James's reaction to being compared to the Saint:

And finally today, I give you the inspiration for this post's title. I'm going to attempt to use the Google and the Yahoo! translation tools to figure out what Mad Max Talbot had to say about the 2008 Winter Classic. Between the two tools, I THINK I have a handle on what he's saying, but if any of our French-speaking Friends out there spot a mistake, feel free to post the correction in the comments section or shoot me a quick email. (Thanks to good Friend Mike H. for alerting me to Max's Winter Classic journal entry!)

Missed Appointment With Buffalo

My [high ankle sprain] injury not being healed, I missed the party outdoors in the football stadium of the Buffalo Bills on January 1^st. It was a dream for me to take part in it, so there is no need to tell you that my disappointment was great.

I was really hoping to be able to take part in it. I worked very hard to be there and during my rehabilitation, I was anxious that I would not be able to be there. I started to relax when I realized officially and accepted foremost in my mind that I would not take part in it.

I had a glimpse of the experience by participating in the training the day before. It was super. Moreover, I am in the photograph of team. During the game, I was sitting near the players on the bench, so I felt like a part of this historical moment.

During the breaks, Marc-Andre [Fleury, also out due to his own high ankle sprain injury] and I bombarded the mascot of the Sabres with snowballs. [snoop: I personally did not see this happening. If I had, I definitely would have taken a picture or tried to get a video of it.]

Max (l.) and MAF (r.) take a break from torturing Sabretooth at the Winter Classic.

If it had snowed a bit less, it would have been perfect weather. I do not believe that the players were cold. Certain odd things occurred, in particular when shots were stopping on the ice. It was rather amusing to see Sidney Crosby losing the puck in snow.

The crowd was so involved in the spectacle. The guys told me that they were impressed by the fireworks and the flyover of the four large [blackhawk] helicopters before the meeting. It was a unique event.

I think that there will be possibly other games played outside. As [the] Penguins are very popular, I would not be surprised if we were invited to take part in more of them. I know that there are five or six interested cities, including Montreal. I also know that Penguins would like to play Heinz Field, the Steelers' home stadium.

Another Penguins outdoor game?! If it comes to fruition, whether it's at Heinz Field or at Beaver Stadium, I AM SO THERE, MAX!!! :)

Big thanks go out to our GOOD FRIENDS who sent me the links that made today's post possible!!!

Sid's "Scoring" Workout

Jes's co-blogger over at AOL Fanhouse, Greg Wyshynski, found this gem:

Sidney Crosby is all grows'd up. That would be Sid the Kid on the cover of the Jan. 14 issue of Men's Fitness magazine a publication that certainly enjoys BLARING HEADLINES! [...] Now, the sub-headline says "Score With His Workout," and that has me intrigued. If they mean score as in Art Ross Trophy kind of scoring, then I imagine we'll see this issue under Jason Spezza's arm the day it hits newsstands. If it means "score" as in "scoring chicks," then I'll be very interested to [learn] how skating wind sprints around small traffic cones can improve my sex life.

HAHAHAHA! And because I know you're dying to see it, here's the cover pic:


Read Greg's entry in its entirety here.