The Birthplace of Hockey

A few days ago, Friend of The Show Katie S. sent in this picture that she snapped while on vacation in Cooperstown, New York:


Good Friend Pensgirl sent in the following pictures in response. She added:

So I have some companion pictures for the Cooperstown one you posted today... unfortunately I was in Windsor on Labour Day (which is the same day as Labor Day here) and the hockey museum was closed, so I didn't get to go inside.

First, let's have a look at exactly where in our world Windsor, Nova Scotia actually is located (image from Google Maps):


Now we'll take a look at Pensgirl's pics:







I missed posting this for Sid's birthday, but I thought I should now since maybe some of you didn't get to see this. Friend of The Show Cassie G. sent in this bar list from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. With several adult beverage recipes such as The Penalty Shot, The Iceberg, and Sid's Special, I'm afraid it's only for all the LEGAL Friends, haha!

Even though most of this post has nothing to do with him, I figured I should post this picture to remind everyone that it's still Sid's Show. ;)

And now it's time for TSCS's Quote of The Day:

"Hockey's a funny game. You have to prove yourself every shift, every game. It's not up to anybody else. You have to take pride in yourself."

~ Paul Coffey

Big thank yous go out to Pensgirl and Cassie for their help with today's post! :)

Crosby Cakes

No, it's not a cheesy new nickname for the Saint! :P Some of our Friends of The Show celebrated Sid's birthday with some confections inspired by the man himself. Here are a few pictures of their sugary Sid creations.


Philly Lindsay, who has said that she feels like the lone Pens fan in the City of Brotherly Love, made this cake for Sid (she chose Winter Classic blue for the icing color). She was nice enough to share the cake with her coworkers, and upon learning the cake was for Sidney, her boss told her that he wouldn't have eaten it had he known:


Danielle from CT sent in this picture of a tray of cookies that her friend Ashley made in honor of Siddo's big day:


Sara from Vaughan and her friend celebrated Sid's 21^st by making penguin cupcakes:


Switching gears a bit, Friend Cathy F. sent in this link to an interview that the Saint gave to Pittsburgh radio station 105.9 The X. As of the publication of this post, it is the fifth interview down in the list. (Just look for "Tim Benz with Sidney Crosby 8/6".) Make sure you check the station's interview archives for a handful of older chats with Sid. :)

I found this article last week. The Olympics in Beijing have been plagued by the city's horrible smog problem. The British think they've found a way to combat the problem:

The British women's hockey team are wearing red contact lenses to train for the Olympics because of the smog in China.

This just looks so creepy.

Goalkeeper Beth Storry [snoop: She is shown in the photo above.] and her team-mates were affected by hazy conditions as they played on the island of Macau, near Hong Kong which, like Beijing, is blanketed in pollution. The lenses help focus in the smog.

Now if only they could come up with a way to protect the athletes' lungs...

Ali W. helped out with TSCS's Quote of The Day:

Prior to the 2005 "Sidney Crosby" Draft a National Hockey League general manager was asked what he'd do if Sidney Crosby was a cannibal, he responded, "We'd tell him we'll draft a fat kid in the second round."

~ From "Sidney Crosby: Taking the Game by Storm" by Gare Joyce

Many thanks to all who contributed to today's post. :)

Happy 21st, Sid!!!

In honor of Sidney's big day, I created a collage of 21 significant moments in Sid's life so far. Because trying to caption this collage would be a complete nightmare, each singular image is linked to its individual explanation below the photo. Enjoy!!!

Here's looking at you, Kid!!! (Click for a super-sized view.)

1. Awww! It's baby Sidney Patrick!!!
2. Siddo started to learn how to play hockey at age two.
3. As a pre-teen, buzz about his talent quickly began to build and by age 7, Sid was already doing media interviews.
4. Sid was selected first overall in the midget draft by QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic.
5. Sid helped Team Canada win the World Junior Championship in 2005!
6. Sid is shown on the day that the Penguins won the 2005 draft lottery.
7. Of course the Pens used that number one overall pick to choose The Kid!
8. Sid visited Jay Leno after being picked by the Pens.
9. Sid hits the ice for his first NHL game. The Pens fell to the New Jersey Devils on 10-05-05 (L 1-5).
10. Sidney recorded his first NHL assist in the third period of his first NHL game.
11. But he had to wait until the second period of his third game to score his first NHL goal on 10-08-05 in a game against the Boston Bruins (L 6-7 OT).




To Sid: Sláinte mhaith!!! Have this "drink" on us!

12. Sid took his first trip to the All Star games in 2007.
13. Sidney's first trip to the playoffs didn't end well. In 2007, the Ottawa Senators eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1 in just 5 games.
14. It wasn't all bad though - just a few weeks later, Sid was awarded the Art Ross, Pearson, and Hart trophies for the 2006-07 season.
15. On May 31, 2007, Crosby became the youngest captain in NHL history.
16. The following month, he unveiled his clothing line with Reebok.
17. His first season as captain saw his first NHL fight. It was widely considered a draw when he went toe to toe with Andrew Ference on 12-20-07. The Pens beat the Bruins (W 5-4 SO).
18. Sidney (and I!) rang in 2008 with an outdoor game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York...
19. ...but 17 days later he suffered his first career (major) injury. He missed a total of 29 games as a result of a high ankle sprain.
20. He was back in time to lead the Pens to the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
21. Sidney suffered the disappointment of a lifetime after the Detroit Red Wings beat the Pens for the Stanley Cup in 6 games.

Here's to 21 more healthy, productive, Stanley Cup-filled years as a Penguin for Sid! ;) Now let's take a look at the Saint's hockey mug shots through the past 5 years. (FYI - This is the first animated GIF I've ever created in GIMP, so please excuse the fact that the photos appear to be somewhat pixelated. It wasn't intentional, but I didn't have time to play around with it to fix it.)




Predictably TSCS's Quote of The Day comes from the man himself:

"For me to look far ahead would be a lot of years wasted, and a lot of time and work wasted... I've done the same thing since I was six -- try to get better and have fun playing hockey."

He Drinks a Whiskey Drink

The Saint is less than a week from being legally able to partake in a few adult beverages here in The States, and now we know what drink to buy for him if we see him in a bar...

Either brand will do. :)

Actually, Sid's been pounding them down up north for a few years now, so it's not like turning 21 will have the same meaning to him as it does to us Yankees. Rob Rossi of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review talked to Siddo about his upcoming milestone birthday to find out what the big two-one means to him:

Q: What do you want for your 21^st birthday?

A: I've thought about this because a lot of people have asked. Honestly, I couldn't tell you one thing that I want.

Q: What will you do better at 21 than you did at 20?

A: Play a full season, for starters.

Q: Fair enough. How is the right ankle?

A: It needs to keep getting stronger, but it feels good.

Then Sidney revealed that 06-04-08 still weighs heavily on his mind:

Q: What is your greatest disappointment?

A: Being so close and not winning the Cup is still hard to digest.

It's tough to accept the loss as a fan - I can't even imagine how it feels to the Penguins players themselves. :( He also goes on to talk about his reaction to Marian Hossa's departure:

Q: How did you react upon learning Marian Hossa would not re-sign with the Penguins?

A: I was pretty surprised. He told me that he really enjoyed it in Pittsburgh. He loved the team and the city. He never had one bad thing to say.

Q: Have you spoken with Hossa since he signed with Detroit?

A: We've played phone tag, but I haven't talked to him yet. I thought he liked it here. He was great to play with. It's too bad.

Q: What is your reaction when a former teammate that played alongside you in the Stanley Cup final says another team gives him a better chance to win the Stanley Cup next year?

A: To be honest, if you look at (the Red Wings), they haven't lost anyone. We came within two games, but they won, and they haven't lost one guy. Maybe on paper they have the best chance to win the Cup and, in his mind, that is what he thinks. If you ask anybody else, that's the way it looks. I'm not mad at him or anything like that. That's just the way it is.

"Maybe on paper..." - That is AWESOME!!! It looks like Sid's got other ideas about that. Perhaps he's not angry, but it seems like Sid was blindsided by Hossa's decision to leave town. That must have been quite a blow after losing the cup.

UGH. I don't know about you, but now I need a pick-me-up. Let's lighten the mood with TSCS's Quote of The Day:

"A puck is a hard rubber disc that hockey players strike when they can't hit one another."

~ Jimmy Cannon

It's a good thing pucks don't feel pain because this one would be in serious trouble...

Thanks go out to Friends of The Show Lauren H., Cathy F., and Cassie C. G. for the link!!! (← By the way, Friend Cassie's last initial has changed because she got married a few weeks ago. Congratulations to Cass and her new husband, Will!!!)

Happy Birthday To Sidney!!!

Happy Sidney's Birthday, everyone!

The Birthday Boy

Saint Sid turns 20 years old today. You just have to believe that he's spending his birthday in Canada. His family is there, and he's already legal in Canada. In the States, he's got "one more year 'til beer" - just ask Jordan Staal! ;) Speaking of his family, I kind of feel bad for his Mom and Dad: What exactly do you get somebody for his birthday when he's just signed a contract giving him so much money that he can buy and sell you multiple times? Well, we didn't get him anything, but we here at The Sidney Crosby Show want to wish him a very happy birthday anyways:

I know that is a kid's cake, but isn't it AWESOME?!

My birthday wish for Sid is that next year, he'll be spending his 21st birthday chugging adult beverages from the best cup in the entire world! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SID!!!

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Late Edit:
For anyone who is curious, according to Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sid already celebrated his birthday in Cole Harbour this weekend with a family gathering on Saturday and a fishing trip on Sunday. His plans for today involve getting together and relaxing with friends. Also of note, the author asks if "Sid the Kid" is still an appropriate nickname for him now that he's no longer a teenager. Umm, apparently Shelly doesn't read TSCS!!!

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Late Edit #2:
Check out the cake on the Penguins website for Sid:


They stole my idea!! Ha ha, oh well - theirs is much better than mine. :)