Because Once Is NEVER Enough

I've decided to post some photos and a video of Siddo's shootout dominance and Flower's netminding pwnage for you to enjoy one more time... or as many times as you choose to replay it! ;) First, the photos - all of which can be enlarged for a sweet new wallpaper:

In case you've forgotten, Sidney got the first mark on the board.

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Saint Siddo FTW!!!

The Boys congratulate The Kid on his game winning shootout goal.

FLOWER POWER!

And here's the icing on the cake:



OUTSTANDING!!! Speaking of standing(s), I've added a widget to the right side of The Show so we can watch the Boys steadily move up. ;)

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

Sid's Home From Boot Camp

The Penguins returned home yesterday from their boot camp trip to West Point (← make sure to check out the video on the Pens website):

The routine was altered a little from last year’s trip. This time, the Penguins had to embark on a campus-wide scavenger hunt and make a hike up a hill.

[...]

First Sergeant J.B. Spisso, a former Army Ranger and current member of the New York National Guard, oversaw the Penguins’ training. The Greensburg native kept the team moving.

“If we weren’t practicing, we were in our shorts and running shoes out running, climbing hills and carrying heavy stuff,” [Erik] Christensen said. “Every day we had virtually no down time to relax or rest. You were either eating, playing or working on something else. We were pretty busy for about two and a half days.”

The team also played a wicked game of paintball. There were no rules and shots could be taken at close range. As Maxime Talbot said, “some guys had some pretty big welts and bruises. It’s very good for team building because you have to cover each other and try to get plans to attack the other team.”

Last year's trip to West Point is widely believed to have played a big part in last season's remarkable turnaround. (The other part, of course, being Coach Therrien!)

Think they tried to recruit him?

For local Penguins fans (any of you that get FSN Pittsburgh), all next week FSN will be showing Penguins programs to get you pumped up for the start of the season. You can catch Sidney's "In My Own Words" program on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and again on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. If you haven't caught it yet, it's a must-see for any Sid fan.

Now, hopefully, the new banner at the top is a little better than the one I made yesterday. I am much happier with this one. :) The final change I've made is visible on the right side of the main page, underneath the Sidney Crosby Monitor. I found this widget to keep you abreast of the latest scores. It displays the score of the last game played, and the time of the next game to be played. I think TSCS is finally ready for the new season - with little more than a week to go. I can't wait until it is finally time to DROP THE PUCK!!!

Crosby Leaves Early Again

Sir Sidney left practice early yet again, but reiterates that doing so is just a precaution. From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Penguins captain Sidney Crosby left practice early yesterday when he began to feel groin soreness. His status is day to day.

Crosby said the pain came on gradually during the workout and was not as severe as in November, when he missed three games because of a groin injury. He was hoping to take part in military style workouts and team building at the United States Military Academy later yesterday, today and tomorrow.

"I want to be doing all that stuff, especially the team building," he said, adding that he doesn't want to risk aggravating the condition.

"I know I have to be careful," Crosby said.

Good call, Sid. Better safe than sorry!

Sid stretches in front of Coach Mike Yeo during training camp

So you may have noticed the subtle changes taking place here at The Sidney Crosby Show. I'm trying to make the site easier for you to use. :) Recent changes include moving the previous posts section up higher in the list on the right side of the page. Our blogroll is getting full - even so, I always welcome additions - and I thought it might be time to push it down more towards the bottom of the column.

Another change is that the titles to each post are now linked to the post's permanent page. In other words, if you click on "Crosby Leaves Early Again" you'll be taken to the page that displays the post with the readers' comments directly beneath it. I enjoy reading what you guys write, and I know most of you do, too. This new link makes seeing both sections at the same time a little bit easier. (If any of you have suggestions on how I can make TSCS better or easier to use, feel free to send them my way using the "Contact snoopyjode" link in the upper right corner of this page.)

And finally today, Loser Chris, my co-conspirator over at Taking One For the Team, sent out a questionnaire to a handful of hockey bloggers (both Jes and myself included) regarding our 2007-2008 NHL season predictions. I was stoked to be the only female to participate; however, one of my predictions has already been proved wrong. You'll just have to check out the post for yourself to see which one. :)

Back to (Hockey) School

The Penguins held their annual summer hockey school sessions at the Robert Morris Island Sports Complex on Monday, August 20, 2007. The coaching staff of the Penguins offered professional hockey training to more than 150 kids (some who traveled all the way from Montreal!). Those kids got the surprise of their young lives I'm sure when an unexpected visitor showed up:

Penguins star Sidney Crosby made an unannounced visit that shocked some of the players to the extent that some actually fell over trying to get a look at him as he stepped onto the ice. During the two-hour session, Crosby worked with several groups ranging in age from 5 to 16 and posed for on-ice group photos.

"It was just nice for me to have the opportunity to go out there," Crosby said. "I remember when I went to hockey schools and how fun it was for me when I'd see guys I looked up to or followed."

Crosby wasn't the only member of the Penguins' organization on hand. Owner Mario Lemieux, general manager Ray Shero, assistant general manager Cliff Fletcher and coach Michel Therrien all had children participate on the first day of the weeklong camp, but it was Crosby who stole the show by just being there.

Lemieux and Shero had their own children attending the event, but even they didn't know that a guest instructor was coming to help with the training! Some photos of the event follow:

Saint Sid Signing Autographs

Sid helps Mites goaltender Nico Pidro (Pens' Assistant Coach Mike Yeo is in the background)

Sid works with Mites goaltender Alan McIvor

Pens' Assistant Coach Mike Yeo (left) and Sid instruct the kids

The article also makes note that Crosby hasn't really had an opportunity to test his foot on the ice. (You'll recall that it was revealed that his foot was broken just before the start of the playoffs.) With only 23 days until training camp begins, "he is not concerned that his injury or conditioning will be an issue." He is expected to spend this week in Nova Scotia preparing for next week's return to Pittsburgh, and his plans are to ease himself back into skating during training camp.

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You may have noticed the changes to the blogroll on TSCS. If you did, you also noticed that 12 of the NHL teams do not have any links. If your team doesn't have a link and you know a good blog worthy of mentioning, feel free to submit it to us!

Special thanks to the staff at ThePensblog.com for giving me permission to steal their idea for organizing the blogs into the NHL divisions!!! :)

General News

Do you want to dress like Sidney Crosby? Well, now you can! Just visit Reebok's new Sidney360 site to see Saint Sid modeling some new gear. Also, check out his expression in some of those pictures - he looks almost as uncomfortable in them as he did in this picture:

It hurts just looking at this.

Well, almost...

(Thanks to LetsGoPens user penny lane for spotting the sweet new site.)

For those of you who are curious about the construction of the arena but can't stomach the boredom that is the Official Arena Webcam, check out this video. It was made by my Penguins partner over at Battle of Pennsylvania and Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic writer Michael. He made the video so that non-locals could see where the arena will be located and how things are going. Enjoy:

The Sidney Crosby Show will be undergoing some changes over the next couple of weeks - but don't worry: the changes will be to the layout of our site only; the content will not change. First and foremost, Jes and I are hoping to get the blogroll organized. After that, there may or may not be additional changes to the aesthetics. As always, your feedback (by way of comments and/or emails) is always appreciated. :)