OUT SICK

Hi, Friends.

I'm so sorry I missed the Pens v Leafs game. I'm very, very ill. I've got a nasty case of the stomach flu. I was sent home sick on Thursday, and I've progressively gotten worse over the weekend. The only reason I even turned my computer on tonight is so I could try to find out if my insurance coverage has kicked in because I'm pretty sure I need to see a doctor. But since I had it on, I figured I'd post this note. I just don't want anyone to think that I'm abandoning ship or anything. I still fully intend to keep up with TSCS as much as I can while I work on the new website project at work and then resume full time maintenance of TSCS once I get back on a normal schedule. That is and always has been my plan.

But if I don't post anything for the next game or two, it's because I'm still sick. I'll be back when I'm feeling better. Until then, stay healthy if you haven't caught this thing because it's an effing nightmare. (I've lost 11 pounds in 4 days - not good.) And, as always:

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

Lots O'Links

What's worse than a head cold? A head cold in the summer! (>_<) I feel like hell, and the air conditioning is exacerbating my symptoms. But I can't stand it when I go two days in a row without posting, so today I'm going to hook you up with a bunch of links that I got from several Friends of The Show.

From Lauren H.:

• The Pens are trying to get approval to use the Winter Classic jersey as their third jersey this season. (Yay!)
• The Bleacher Report ranks the 10 most valuable NHL players. Hmm... guess where they ranked the Saint??? ;)

SWEET!!!

From AustinLovesCrosby:

• Alan Muir of Sports Illustrated lists the must see games of the 2008-09 season (most of the recommended games feature our Boys of Winter).
• Should Sid have been awared the Conn Smythe trophy?
• Was the Pens' offseason a success?

Now you didn't think I'd pass up an opportunity to post a picture of Siddo at the Winter Classic, did you?

From Erin from Winnipeg, AustinLovesCrosby, Susan M., and Narmeen A.:

• ESPN.com ranks the Pens No. 1 in East in its summer NHL power rankings.

Okay, this is the last one - I promise. ;) In my defense, that was a really great day that I love reminiscing about often.

And finally, from Mike @ Japan:

• (This doesn't have anything to do with Sid, but I just had to share it.) Alex Ovechkin is a speed demon. He still has his license?? WTF?!?! It must be nice to be famous.

I wonder if either of these two even had their licenses yet when this photo was taken...

Now for TSCS's Quote of The Day:

"We get nose jobs all the time in the NHL, and we don't even have to go to the hospital."

~ Brad Park

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who helped with today's post. :)

I.F.H.S.A.

In case you missed it, that stands for "I F@#&^* Hate Sean Avery!" Friend of The Show Bobby coined that new acronym for us. I'm sure that it will come in handy over the next week, so I wanted to make sure that you all know what I'm saying when I use it.

Anyways, I just wanted to leave a quick note to tell you that the recap won't be up until tomorrow. The dinner ran much later than I anticipated, and now I'm not feeling too good. I don't know if it was something I ate or if it's the fact that I've been up for more than 20 hours, but I'm going to go try to sleep it off, and then I'll recap the game when I wake up.

I already watched the game and have my notes ready to go, so it should only take two hours or so. There's NO WAY I'm not going to recap a sweet comeback like that one!!! Make sure you come back for it - Friend of The Show Ali W. was at the game and got some great photos that she sent in to share with us. :)

Pens v Flyers (in progress)

My apologies, folks. There will be no recap from Snoop tonight. I'm getting a head cold, and I have a wicked sinus pressure headache right now. My head just keeps pounding so I'm going to take some medicine and go right to bed. There are some good sites in our blogroll that do great recaps. Check out one of those sites for a recap. I'll post a mini recap sometime tomorrow.