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!!! :)

The Day After

Thanks to all of you who offered your birthday wishes to me!!! :) I got all kinds of presents: flowers delivered to my work, a Coach wallet, 2 Snoopy Hallmark ornaments, candy, a cake, my lunch paid for by my boss, AND my husband cleaned the entire house while I was at work - bathrooms, dusting, laundry, and everything! Alas, I didn't get anything sparkly - yet. My husband tells me I've got a "big gift" to open this Saturday when my family will be arriving to celebrate my milestone birthday. If it's sparkly, I'll let you know, but truth be told, the house being cleaned by someone other than me is worth more to me than the Krupp diamond! Now on to the Sid news for the day...

First up, Adam and Derek of ThePensblog.com examine the "Secondary Sid" theory. For those of you who don't know what that is, apparently there is a rumor that Sid is credited with unearned secondary assists in order to boost his points to comply with a conspiracy that Gary Bettman has orchestrated to ensure that the new face of the NHL does well. It's a ridiculous theory that ordinarily I wouldn't waste my time on, but since ThePensblog guys went to the trouble of tracking down the origin and debunking the rumor, I thought it was worth mentioning.

Longtime Friend of The Show Eric B. of The Sidney Crosby Spotlight sent me an interesting bit of news. It seems Saint Sid has been nominated for Sports Illustrated's 2007 Sportsman of the Year Award. Sportswriter Michael Farber explains why:

Consider the golden child of the red-haired stepchild of the Big Four professional sports: Sidney Crosby of the National Hockey League. Perhaps that characterization is unfair to both.

Although Crosby is still clumsily referred to as "Sid the Kid" -- he turned 20 last August -- he is a man well equipped to handle anything, legally, except a wine list. And the gross revenues of the NHL (a league that used to be considered the NASCAR of the North and now can only dream about having NASCAR's clout) are within a billion dollars of the NBA, which is not bad considering that hockey's principle cable carrier in the United States (Versus) is as easy to locate as Judge Crater.

Apparently, Farber doesn't read TSCS. If he did, he'd know that we took care of that "Sid the Kid" thing months ago. :) If you're interested, you can read the rest of Farber's essay or check out Sid's competition.

Also on the docket for today, of course you all probably figured that Sir Sidney would appear on the All Star ballot again. Here's where you can vote for whomever you think belongs on the All Star roster. (FYI - Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Whitney are the only other Penguins nominated.)

VOTE FOR SID

Plans are on schedule for "The House That Sid Built." The Penguins have submitted updated sketches of the new arena to the City Planning Commission of Pittsburgh. According to Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer, "Our plan is to be under full-scale development of the building by next June or July. We may be in the ground a little bit ahead of that doing some excavation and foundation work, but we’re on time for our Fall of 2010 opening." Here are some of the details from the Penguins' website:

The approximately 18,500-seat arena’s interior will stress sightlines and accessibility as well as many high-tech amenities.

“The arena is just going to be exceptional. We’re going to replicate some of the great ideas we’ve seen out there,” Sawyer said. “We’re going to have a series of restaurants and food and beverage opportunities. The concourses will be a lot wider than what we have now and a lot easier to move around. Of course, what you don’t see here is our commitment. We want to have the best and latest in electronics.”

Remember how awful it was one year ago not knowing where the Pens would be playing this season? I don't care what the arena looks like. I'm just happy the Pens are staying in Pittsburgh.

And now, I'll leave you today with a tidbit of information that was sent in by our French speaking Friend of The Show Lisa-Marie W. She works with some of Sid's former teammates from his junior days. Yesterday, she sent this interesting story:

A random fun bit--Sidney Crosby will not sign a jersey for a team he hasn't played for. But the father of a family friend turned 87 this year, so he was given a Habs jersey with the number 87 on the back. And scrawled in the 7 was Sidney Crosby's autograph, with "Bonne Fete Pierre!" written. I thought that was neat. A Habs jersey, no less :) Sid signed it when he was here over the summer.

The Pens face the Islanders tomorrow night at the Mellon Arena. The puck drops at 7:30pm Eastern. GO PENS!!!!!!!