Wanna Go To Buffalo?

Today's news is almost all Penguins news, but let's face it - if it affects the Penguins, it affects Sid.

The Penguins released preliminary sketches of the new arena. This slideshow displays actual photographs of the future location of the arena as well as artist renderings of the arena to paint a better picture of what it will look like.

Speaking of the new arena, the Penguins are giving you a chance to "Create the Experience" by voicing your opinion about certain aspects of the design of the new arena. The first in a series of surveys is seeking input from fans regarding parking. Read the open letter to Pens fans from the suits and then take a couple of minutes to fill out the survey.

The Penguins will be unveiling their new RbK Edge uniforms on Wednesday, September 5, at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Defenseman Ryan Whitney and forwards Ryan Malone and Maxime Talbot will make be helping reveal the new sweaters, which will be sporting special patches, which will presumably commemorate the Penguins' 40^th anniversary.

In addition to the new RbK SC87 line, Sid's getting some new threads for on the ice, too.

If you have a spare $1,250 lying around, you can join the Penguins for a friendly game of golf. "On Wednesday, September 12, the Penguins will host the 20^th Annual Summer Sticks Golf Classic at Longue Vue Club in Verona, Pa. A shotgun start [snoop: whatever that means] is set for noon."

From the Penguins' website: "Individual game tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15. Tickets may be ordered online at www.pittsburghpenguins.com or by calling 412-323-1919." Hopefully, I will be as successful in scoring tickets this season as I was last season. The game I most eagerly want to attend is, of course, the Ice Bowl, which leads me to the story that inspired today's headline...

New reader Greg left a comment under the post in which I declared that I'll be seeing you in Buffalo. Turns out, Greg has decided to organize a massive pilgrimage of sorts for Pens fans that want to make the trip to New York's Ralph Wilson Stadium for the as-yet-to-be-confirmed Ice Bowl. He's got detailed information about hotels in the area, including prices and distances from the RW Stadium. He has also checked out the cost of renting a bus for the trip. You can get all the information you need to get involved at Greg's Ice Bowl site. For your convenience, I've included it in the Pittsburgh Penguins blogs links.

And finally, a comment left in the post about Sid's appearance on Off the Record from "the silent fan" contained a link to this video GEM. It's Saint Sid answering a handful of Stanley Cup related questions. Two things: It's really nice to see that he recognizes and genuinely appreciates all that his parents did to help him get where he is today, and I think the fact that Sid would celebrate a Cup victory with a game of road hockey with his friends proves how down to earth he truly is. Thank you, silent fan, for the link!!! ;)

As Promised: Sid's Next Question

I got lots of assists with today's post...

First up, Friend of TSCS Erin C. from BigBenNews found this much larger image of Saint Sid with the two models from the unveiling of the RbK SC87 fashion line. She spotted it on "Caught in the Act" on SportsIllustrated.com. You can really see the detail in this picture - like the "I ♥ Crosby" graphic written in PINK on the t-shirt on the girl on the right. Blech.

SI.com caption: Sidney Crosby has a good time introducing his new line of clothing earlier this week.

Next, in a "great minds think alike" moment, friends of TSCS Lana M. and Adrienne F. found this video of an almost 19 year old Sidney playing the "Next Question" game on TSN's Off the Record. Lana mentioned this appearance in a comment under the In Case You Missed It post. She correctly stated that Sid appears to be at his most candid in this clip. Both she and Adrienne came through for us and located the clip:

One can only speculate as to what Sid's advice for "Grapes" ( ← what a suit) would have been. My guess? "F*** Off!"

Courtesy of Kukla's Korner by way of Empty Netters, Sid will be switching to a different hockey stick manufacturer this year. His Sher-Wood endorsement contract will be expiring soon, and - wait for it - Reebok has scored yet another endorsement from the 20 year old center. He'll be using an RbK stick this season, which effectively ensures that everything that Sid uses and/or puts on or near his body on the ice and off will be a Reebok product.

Friend of TSCS (and contributor of the winning nickname!) Christopher L. sent in a link to vote for the best logo in the NHL. Right now, our beloved skating penguin is facing off against the Canadiens, um, letters? Chris had the following to say about it: "The mighty Penguin is a lot cooler than some stupid letters ... and H for Hockey? DUH?!?!?" So get over there and vote for our logo!!! And hurry - the Penguins are behind and voting closes 11:59 p.m. September 4th!!!

And finally, here's a bit of Sidney gossip I found that's coming to you from The Suburban.com, an English language Quebec newspaper:

Crosby and the leggy blond: National Hockey League superstar Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins teammates Ryan Malone and Ryan Whitney were spotted having a jolly good time very recently a the popular W Hotel bar downtown. According to my sources, a couple of attractive young patrons of the bar, the hockey players were in town for a golf tournament. Crosby, who has yet to turn 20, was apparently very quiet and shy. The three teammates drank vodka at their table and had young females falling at their feet. “There was a tall leggy blonde really coming on strong to Crosby,” said one of my sources, a 24 year-old graduate student. “He seemed very uncomfortable over the whole thing.” Crosby recently signed a $43 million five-year extension to his original three year pact. In 2008-09 he will collect a $9 million paycheque. I assume the leggy blonde was aware of that.

Malone was just married this spring, so I wonder if he was just as "uncomfortable over the whole thing" as Sid was. And did any of you care whether or not the sources were attractive and young? Regardless, I'll just let you all contribute your own comments about this story now... :)

I'll See You In Buffalo / Sid v. Ben

Well, it's (almost) official! The NHL New Year's Day Ice Bowl is going to be a reality. The Penguins will face the Buffalo Sabres on January 1, 2008 at the Ralph Wilson Stadium, which is normally the home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. However, no one from the league, the Penguins, the Sabres, or NBC will actually confirm the "news" until September 10th, when an official announcement is expected. If and when the tickets go on sale, I GUARANTEE you that I will be online trying to buy tickets! I'm not too worried about scoring a couple of seats - there will be plenty of tickets: the stadium seats nearly 74,000 people!!! No doubt it'll be a great way for the NHL to get some mainstream exposure (and cash in on the popularity of one Sidney Crosby).

I received this email from The Mario Lemieux Foundation. If I lived a little bit closer to Pittsburgh, I would SO be going to this event. Click the picture to enlarge so you can read the e-vite. Notice that Sidney can't attend this event until next year!!!

Every hockey fan is anxiously awaiting the early October start of the season. We've all been following trivial stories about our favorite players just hoping for something to pass the time until the action starts. Here at The Sidney Crosby Show, we've posted articles about Sid's birthday, found some cool videos, and previewed his fashion line during this offseason. But Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review has gone a little too far this time. Rossi has written an entire novel article detailing the similarities and the differences between Pittsburgh's two biggest star athletes, our man Sid and Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Okay, other than the fact that these two guys are both relatively young men that play professional sports on teams in Pittsburgh, they really couldn't be more different. Nonetheless, here's a sample of how Rossi says they measure up to one another:

Nickname
Roethlisberger: Big Ben
Crosby: The Kid

Age
Roethlisberger: 25
Crosby: 20

Size
Roethlisberger: 6-foot-5, 241 pounds
Crosby: 5-foot-11, 200 pounds

Rookie of the Year awards
Roethlisberger: 1
Crosby: 0

Athletic idol
Roethlisberger: John Elway
Crosby: Steve Yzerman

Championships
Roethlisberger: 1
Crosby: 0

Famous teammates
Roethlisberger: Jerome Bettis
Crosby: Mario Lemieux

MVP awards
Roethlisberger: 0
Crosby: 1

Shoe contracts
Roethlisberger: Nike
Crosby: Reebok

Celebrity girlfriends
Roethlisberger: 2
Crosby: 0

Method of transportation
Roethlisberger: Motorcycle
Crosby: SUV

Music video appearances
Roethlisberger: 1
Crosby: 0

Personally, I would be kind of embarrassed to include the "Celebrity girlfriends" and "Music video appearances" sections, but hey, I'm just a blogger - not a real reporter - right? Besides, this is like comparing apples to oranges. There is no way anyone can say one of these guys is better than the other. The only way you could fairly compare the two of them would be if they played the same sport. But I can imagine Sid would get knocked around QUITE OFTEN if he tried to play football, and I wonder if Ben can even ice skate?

The two of them have met only once, and apparently had a brief conversation so secrative that even the NSA is trying to figure out what they talked about. I honestly cannot wait until the season starts so reporters have something genuinely interesting to talk about again.


Special note to Jody Vance
In the same article, Rossi mentions the following about Sid's charity work: "Crosby hasn't established a foundation of his own, but said he plans to do so soon. For now he offers his time to the Mario Lemieux Foundation for cancer research." Suck on THAT!

In Case You Missed It

First things first: a big birthday shout out to my husband today!!! Don't worry, honey, I won't tell anyone how old you are!!! ;)

A bit of Penguins DVD news: A new DVD featuring the 10 best Pens games is due out on November 6, 2007. If you're interested, you can preorder a copy of NHL: Greatest Games in Pittsburgh Penguins History at Amazon.com.

Now onto the Crosby news: friend of TSCS Lana M. sent me this video. It's a newly drafted seventeen-year-old Sidney on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Many thanks go out to Lana for finding this because I was still in college when this aired, so I missed it in favor of a good night's rest. If you missed it too, you can check it out now. (Take note of how Sid pays no attention to Leno's other guest, the always unfunny Rob Schneider. Outstanding!)

And finally, don't forget to vote for Sid in AskMen.com's Top 49 poll!!! Just click the banner below:

More (Stupid) Advice for Sidney

I hate to rehash an old subject, but someone ELSE has yet another piece of unsolicited advice for Sidney regarding the millions he earns from his contract extension and now his RBK SC87 clothing line. This one comes from Leafs TV sportscaster Jody Vance:

Even young ladies get to join in the fun by donning the "I (heart) Crosby" tops. You must applaud the idea of a new, hip brand targeting the young hockey fan, but there is one thing missing from this marketing equation. Where is the charity element? If there is one, I can't find it.

[...]

Amid all of the organized chaos [of the fans at the September 1998 launch of The Wayne Gretzky Collection], Wayne's message was loud and clear: Part of the proceeds would go to support P.E.B.B.L.E.S. -- Providing Education By Bringing Learning Environments to Students.

[...]

For Sid, this can't be "just" about making money, can it?

We know after signing a five-year extension with the Penguins recently for a cool US$43.5 million, the 20-year-old Pittsburgh captain hardly needs the RBK revenue.

If Sid the Kid is truly tearing a page out of the PR book written by Gretzky, he needs to make sure he is giving back as he grows his brand.

Excuse me, Ms. Vance: EXACTLY WHAT BUSINESS OF THIS IS YOURS? Honestly, is Wayne Gretzky the NHL legend that Sidney should REALLY be idolizing? Personally - and I admit that I may be biased here - I think that Sid's Pittsburgh landlord is a 1,000,000 times better role model than Wayne could ever hope to be.

Sid shows us what his rank will be this season

And, Jody, I can't let this slide: SHAME ON YOU for reducing me and my fellow female Crosby fans to stereotypical, puck bunny caricatures with one sentence!!! As a female sportscaster for Leafs TV, I would think you of all people would understand how hard it is for females who are legitimate fans of the sport of hockey to overcome that particular stereotype. That you would perpetuate that cliché says more about you, ma'am, than it does about Sid's female fans.

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Moving on... Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come (again) for you to vote for Sidney (again). This time our main man Sid is nominated in AskMen.com's top 49 to determine who voters consider to be the best representatives of the male gender. (Last year's winner was George Clooney.) To vote for Saint Sid, simply click the banner below and click the "3. Athletics" link. Also, be SURE to turn on your speakers when you check out his profile and use the slider scale below his picture - that music is priceless, especially when you click the submit button! UNREAL!!!

I'll include this link in the next couple of posts as a reminder to VOTE FOR SID!!!

Stylin' with Sidney

The RBK SC87 media event Jes told you about took place yesterday. Sidney made an appearance at at the Sport Chek in Mississauga to unveil his new fashion line to the public. Funny that reporters seemed more interested in hockey than fashion:

In hockey-mad southern Ontario, and with about a month until NHL training camps open, one suspected the conversation wouldn't stick to clothes for very long. So, while Crosby graciously answered questions about his Rbk SC87 line at Sport Chek near Square One Shopping Centre, he was inundated with queries about the upcoming season.

How deep will the Penguins go in the playoffs? Did signing an enormous contract extension in the off-season ($43.5 million over five years) and being named captain put more pressure on the youngest player to ever win a scoring title in any major North American sports league?

That is, until one of the models emerged wearing one of the new RBK SC87 items:

Usually polished and a bit reserved during interviews, Crosby, 20, answered many of the questions with humour. Case in point, when officials paraded out a young woman wearing a hot pink shirt with Crosby's logo emblazoned on it, and then a model wearing the form-fitting I Love Crosby t-shirt showed up.

"On the female side of things, I didn't have too much input on that," said Crosby, with a smile. "It was actually funny because I'd being going over some of the designs and prints with my parents talking about what's in style and what isn't."

We already addressed Sid's modeling skills, but does pink REALLY belong in a hockey clothing line?

So what is Sidney's preferred style for himself? He says he's "pretty simple and casual, and if I had my choice I'd wear sweat pants all day." And don't worry, folks - just because Saint Sid is joining the throngs of other celebrities slapping their names on the labels of your t-shirts, he's not ready to give up his day job just yet. According to Crosby, "(fashion) is something new for me, but I've enjoyed the process. I'm not going to be changing professions by any means, but I'm trying to enjoy it."

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!!! :)

Sidney to Introduce New Rbk SC87 Designs

Looking to catch Sidney wearing the latest Reebok fashions?

Well, better get moving, because the event takes place tomorrow.

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What:  NHL MVP Sidney Crosby and Reebok will introduce to the media
       the new designs of the Rbk SC87 line of apparel, footwear &
       hockey equipment on August 21, 2007, just in time for back-to-
       school and the upcoming hockey season.

       The event will be the official unveiling of the Fall 2007
       collection and offer an opportunity to connect with the world's
       best hockey player. Sidney will be available to answer
       questions and to be photographed.

       Rbk SC87, named for Sidney's initials and number, is available
       at Sport Chek locations nationally.

       Contact Derek Baker at 416 422 7158 to RSVP

Who:   Sidney Crosby
       Len Rhodes, General Manager of Reebok Canada
       Bill Gregson, President and COO, The Forzani Group Ltd.

When:  Tuesday, August 21, 2007 - 10:00 A.M.

Where: Sport Chek Square One
       (behind Chapters across from Square One)
       199 Rathburn Road West
        Mississauga, ON

Sidney and the Pens to get National Exposure

by Jes

Good news for Sidney fans, Penguins fans, and hockey fans, in general, as Sid and the boys will be featured prominently on VERSUS's national telecasts this season.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are ready for prime time. At least according to the Versus network.

The league announced Wednesday that eight Penguins games will be televised nationally by Versus this season.

Crosby and the Penguins make their 2007-08 debut on Versus on Tuesday, Oct. 23 when they host the New York Rangers at 7 p.m. at Mellon Arena.

Pittsburgh also announced two time changes for broadcast purposes to the regular season schedule. The Penguins' Nov. 7 home game against Philadelphia has been changed from 7:30 to 7 p.m. because it will be televised nationally in Canada by TSN. The Penguins' January 21 home game vs. Washington has been changed from 7 to 7:30 to accommodate the Versus schedule.

Now, since *I* live in Canada, this won't benefit me much at all. I just hope we get a lot more Penguin love and a lot less Oiler love. Who would you rather see? Sidney Crosby, or Dick Tarnstrom?

Exactly.

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. :)

Crosbymania Gets Out of Control

I've probably said more than a dozen times that Sid is my favorite player. But the hype surrounding him is getting out of control. Sidney isn't the only Penguin, and he's certainly not the only guy in the NHL. The media (mediots, as Jes calls them) and even some fans are so obsessed with the Wizard of Croz that they are being disrespectful and discourteous to other NHL players. I submit to you these items as proof:

Exhibit A

As I wrote earlier, the Stanley Cup made its way to Cole Harbour on July 31, 2007, by way of Anaheim's defenseman Joe DiPenta. Festivities included a parade. DiPenta graciously invited Sidney to join him, his family, his friends, and the entire Cole Harbour community, but Saint Sid declined. I don't know Sidney personally, but my guess is that he declined the invitation in hopes that DiPenta would remain the focus of the day. But of course the media would not let that happen. Crosby's name was spoken by every reporter except for one - Global's Ray Bradshaw. Halifax's The Daily News reporter Alex J. Walling scolds his peers:

This day was all about DiPenta, not No. 87.

Bradshaw didn't ask a question about Crosby, nor did he mention anything about him. The other channels should have done the same.

It was DiPenta's Stanley Cup, his parade, his family, his friends and his community of Cole Harbour. That's what it should have been about. But I kept hearing reporters talk about Crosby.

Here's a tip: One can do a local story on the NHL without mentioning Crosby.

By the way, who will be the next person from Cole Harbour to win the Stanley Cup? I loved Bradshaw's answer last Friday morning on Q104 to B.J. Burke:

"Who else? Joe DiPenta."

We'll just see about that last comment, Bradshaw. We'll just see...

Exhibit B

Apparently Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury gets requests for autographs... Sidney Crosby's autographs. All right, now I am (quite obviously) a huge Sidney Crosby fan. But even I wouldn't do something like that. MAF is a great Penguin himself! Why don't these people just be satisfied with his autograph? Or, if they don't want MAF's autograph, why don't they just leave him alone? Asking him for another player's autograph is disrespectful and selfish. Either be happy with the opportunity to meet the Penguin in front of you, or keep walking and don't bother him!

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The Lighter Side of the News

This picture is for reader Sydney: Check out THESE pleats!!!

Michael Buble performed at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh on Friday, August 10. Why do we here at TSCS care? Because Buble "rib[bed] the city for Sidney Crosby being here and not in his native Canada." Jealous much, Buble?! ;)

And finally, today I got an email from longtime reader Adrienne, who sends in this gem of a video (it's a direct link - you'll need Windows Media Player to see it). Check it out and tell me that doesn't look like a dead animal on his head!!! It's difficult not to laugh as he talks about taking his promotion to alternate captain seriously while he's wearing a hat that looks frighteningly similar to a mullet wig!!! Thanks, Adrienne!

Giving Out Some Love

I've noticed that recently The Sidney Crosby Show has been getting a lot of love from sites that I like to frequent. You have NO IDEA how happy that makes me. I thought I would use this slow news day as an opportunity to repay the favor and mention some of what I think are the best sites for Penguins updates and/or general hockey talk to get you in the mood for the upcoming season:

I guess I'll get the shameless plugs out of the way first. I write for 2 more blogs. One is called The Battle of Pennsylvania. It's a source for hockey news from both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Take a guess as to which team I write about! ;) Taking One for the Team is another project of mine. Loser Chris and I are both big Pens fans, but no sport is off limits there.

AOL's NHL Fanhouse is home to our own Jes Gőlbez. It's all NHL news and opinion, all the time. And if you like his work here, head on over and check out his other project, Hockey Rants.

The Pensblog features Penguins games recaps, NHL news, Pittsburgh stories, and sometimes pop culture stories with wickedly smart satire. BE FOREWARNED: This one isn't for the faint of heart. Nothing - and I mean NOTHING - is sacred over there.

Empty Netters is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's hockey blog. For displaced Penguins fans, no blog out there does a better job of recapping the Pens games. Seth Rorabaugh does such a great job giving minute by minute accounts of the action on the ice that it's the next best thing to TV or radio.

The Confluence of the Three Rivers is just a great place for Penguins news and analysis.

These are but a few of the great hockey sites out there. If you're looking for something to do, check out the ones I mentioned as well as a couple of the ones listed in The Sidney Crosby Show's blogroll.

We'll go out on this video of Sid highlights put together by YouTuber Boogaardfan24 and set to the music of one of my favorite bands, U2. A nice touch: About 2 ½ minutes in, there is a series of clips of our one and only getting scrappy!!!

Penguins Hut?!

Hello, hello, hello! There's not much going on in Sidneyland™ right now, but there is some Penguins news to tell you about:

For starters, Pizza Hut has become the "official pizza of the Pittsburgh Penguins." Starting this season, Pizza Hut products will be served at concession stands in Mellon Arena. And when the new arena finally opens for business in 2010ish, you'll be able to enjoy pizza from the Hut in a restaurant that will be built within the arena.

Jordan Staal and his older brother Eric have been offered plea agreements from prosecutors in Minnesota that will likely help them avoid jail time. They are consulting lawyers to determine that their visas will not be affected by accepting the offer. They'll be fined $587 each for disorderly conduct, and Jordan will pay an additional $150 for underage drinking. Wow. I hope they don't have to break the bank to pay up! :P

The NHL online shop's most wanted

Finally, sales on shop.NHL.com have increased for the 11th straight month....... [*yawn*]. Here's the teeny tiny bit of Saint Sid news hidden in that article: His jersey is the top seller! (Apparently sales of Penguins merchandise in general have increased almost 200%.) This should come as no real surprise - anyone who went to a Penguins game last season will tell you that it seemed like every fifth person was rocking a Crosby sweater.

Thank GOD training camp starts soon, and there are less than 2 months until it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh again... I don't know about you, but the anticipation is almost KILLING me!!!

Wanna Know What He's Saying?

Wow. I received another email from Lisa-Marie today. She is amazing. She translated the audio of both videos I mentioned in the Grab Bag of Saint Sid Stuff post and sent it to me. I can only imagine there are other non-French speaking Saint Sid fans that are dying to know what he's saying, too. Without further ado, here are the translations:

GOLF TOURNAMENT VIDEO:

REPORTER: Diana Hayfield at The Mirage golf club. Michel Therrien has convinced a few Penguins players to participate in a friendly round of golf. Sidney Crosby, and the new addition of Angelo Esposito were two of the Penguins who joined on the fun. They were two of about 10 Penguins who accepted the invitation extended by Therrien. Last year, the golf game consisted of mainly Penguins players who considered Quebec their hometown. For this second annual tradition, players like Ryan Malone joined the game thanks to the persuasion of the captain, Sidney Crosby.

THERRIEN: It's important for me. We believe that we have a great chemistry at the core of our team. That chemistry is something that we need to keep up, and keep building on.

CROSBY: It's just a chance to see the guys and have a bit of fun, but it's important too to meet the newer guys. It's just good for the team.

ESPO: It gives me the chance to meet the guys before going to the training camp, and it'll put me more at ease. It'll be good for me.

REPORTER: the young Penguins developed a team spirit and friendship many teams in the NHL only dream of. Marc-Andre Fleury was particularly happy to meet up again with Dany Sabourin, who will be returning to Pittsburgh once again after a season with Vancouver.

SABOURIN: It was my choice to return to the Penguins, to play more games than last year. I'm taking the next step.

REPORTER: Last year Pittsburgh experienced a season that surpassed all expectations. For 2007-2008, Sidney Crosby has the Stanley Cup in his sight.

THERRIEN: Athletes, good athletes will force themselves to achieve goals like that.
However, the first goal is, primarily, to make the playoffs. It's still a great accomplishment, and a good start. We have to be realistic in acknowledging that we do still have a young team, but the big difference between the seaosn before last and last one is, of course, confidence.

TALBOT: I think the environment will be different this year--we'll have a lot more pressure to win, and the pressure to finish first. But it's a good kind of pressure--I think it'll be fun.

REPORTER: Crosby dominated in his second year in the NHL--it could even be said that he far surpassed his rival, Alexander Ovechkin. (snoop: ummmmmm, do ya THINK?!)

CROSBY: I think the comparison will always be there, between me and other players. I just try to focus on my game and on my team.

REPORTER: Sidney Crosby is already on his second vacation in Quebec, in just one week. Number 87 also plans on staying in Rimouski for awhile, at the end of August.

At last we understand one another, Sidney Crosby.

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CROSBY AT A BOUT DE SOUFFLE TOURNAMENT
(I won't type out the english parts...because,
well..y'know *LOL*):

REPORTER: Sidney Crosby makes the crowd crazy. Despite the hair-frizzing 30-degree weather, the Magog arena was packed with fans.

CROSBY: There's always a great group of guys that are here. And I think it's fun for the people to see this kind of hockey--it's a lot of skill and lots of skating, so it's fun to watch.

REPORTER: in his second season in the NHL, Sidney Crosby got his hands on pretty much every individual award available. For 2007-2008, his goal is to win the Stanley
Cup.

CROSBY (speaking english)

REPORTER: The newly appoitned captain was pleased that the team success ultimately persuaded a prolonged agreement for Michel Therrien to remain coach.

CROSBY (english)

REPORTER: As for newcomer Angelo Esposito, Crosby acknowledges that it'll be tough for him to transition from Juniors into the NHL.

The reporter then just goes on to say that Crosby will play at east 3 more matches, and if they make it to the finals, he's got at least 5. But we already knew that ;)

Many, MANY thanks again to Lisa-Marie for her translations. Translating the words may be easy for her, but I guarantee you typing all of that out (I just copied and pasted from the email - she did all that work!) is no picnic. Lisa, your work is appreciated!!!

A Grab Bag of Saint Sid Stuff

Without readers like Rachel, Cassie C., and Lisa-Marie W., offseason on this blog would be as exciting as watching the construction of the new arena on a live webcam. That's right - the Penguins website now has an "arena progress" page that is connected to a webcam that updates the photo every minute. At first, being able to watch them build the Penguins' new playground in (almost) real time sounds cool - until you stop and realize how much time it's going to take to build an entire arena. It ends up being a bit like watching paint dry. Honestly, checking back on it once a day will give you a sufficient view of the progress being made at the site. At any rate, for your convenience, I put a link to it at the right in the Pittsburgh Penguins Links section (underneath the Essential Sid Links section). Now on to the reader submissions:

First up is a cartoon that I got from Cassie C. She received it from a friend, but didn't know what it said. Enter: Lisa-Marie. She very kindly provided us with the translation. And while I know it would have been more appropriately used for the announcement of Sid's new contract, it's a funny cartoon and I thought I would share it with you nonetheless. Enjoy:

Lemieux: C'mon little guy, let's go play!
Crosby: So tell me...when's payday?

Our next item comes from Rachel. She left this in the comments section under the Penguins Off-season Golf Tourney post. It was such a great find that I didn't want anyone to miss it. Read on:

rachel said...
Thanks to a friend that showed me, there's a video of the Pens golfing and being interviewed here. Just search Sidney Crosby and it's the top video, Mirage pour Crosby et Therrien. The catch is they're all speaking French ;)

That website is a veritable French goldmine of El Sid videos. I thought it was awesome to see them all golfing, even though I only recognized words like "I" and "it is" and only a handful of other mostly insignificant words. There is video on there from the Au Bout de Souffle, too. Take a few minutes to check it out even if you don't speak French. Besides, what else are you going to do in this horrible August heatwave?

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!!!

---

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!!!

---

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. :)

Another Penguins Off-Season Golf Tourney

This is about a month late, but I completely forgot about it until I read Jes's post yesterday. (My apologies!)

Every summer for the past ten years, the Mario Lemieux Foundation (MLF) has a private celebrity golf tournament to raise money for the cancer and neonatal research projects of the MLF. Attendance is by invitation only. My husband was lucky enough to score a pass for the 2002 Mellon Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational from the company where he works. He got to watch the celebrities golf and was able to get autographs from Mario himself, Eddie Olczyk (just months before he was named the Pens head coach), and hall of fame goaltender Grant Fuhr, as well as many others. But like I said before, you've got to be invited to go. They don't sell these passes.

This year's tournament took place at the Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pa. over two days beginning June 27 and ending the next day. The MLF website details the action:

The Mario Lemieux Foundation was proud to have Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield take over the presenting sponsorship of the Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational in 2007. For the second straight year, the golf event was held at the exclusive Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, PA and was closed to the public.

The star power was as strong as ever, as Mario Lemieux, Sidney Crosby, Ben Roethlisberger, Steve Spurrier, Dan Marino, Lou Holtz, Lynn Swann and a field of 35 celebrities played with Pro-Am groups on Wednesday, June 27. Presenting sponsor Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield enjoyed six Pro-Am groups, including pairings with Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, and Marcus Allen. The team of Heinz and Grant Fuhr edged out Dan Marino’s team from Accenture to win the first-place team trophy.

This is the biggest picture of Sidney golfing I could find.

The Thursday pairings included Dan Marino, Steve Spurrier, and Jamie Dixon with Highmark, Lynn Swann with Mellon Financial Corporation, and Jim McMahon with Great-West Health Care. Pierre Larouche and his team from Duquesne Light took home the first-place Pro-Am prize.

The final day of the MLCI was the second annual celebrity-only event that pitted Team Lemieux against defending champion Team Larouche in a Ryder Cup style face-off. After winning nine of the possible 15 points in the individual morning matches, Team Lemieux held on [to] beat Team Larouche by a final score of 12½ to 10½ to etch their name on the Lemieux Celebrity Challenge trophy for the first time.

A view of the 18th green and clubhouse at Laurel Valley Golf Club.

It's so nice to see all these celebrities come together for a good cause every year. If you look at the roster on the website, you'll see LOTS of celebrity athletes and actors, many of whom make regular appearances on the MLCI. Congrats to Team Lemieux, but let's hope it doesn't take Sidney 10 years to have his name etched on Lord Stanley's Cup!!!

Penguins Off-Season Golf Tourney

It appears that Sidney has having himself quite a fun off-season, and now coach Michel Therrien is joining in on the fact.

Thanks to a loyal blog reader (who wishes to remain anonymous), we have the inside scoop on what Sidney and Therrien were up to this weekend.

Michel Therrien understands the importance of the team spirit, this is why he has organized, on Thursday August 2nd, a mini golf tournament at the golf course Le Mirage (owned by Céline Dion and husband and manager René Angelil, in Terrebonne about 20 min. from Montreal...).

Present there was their new captain Sidney Crosby, Alain Nasreddine and Mario Boyer (manager of the bar the Tops in Laval), who won the competition with 69 points.

Also present were André savard, Jean-Pierre Jutras, Marc-Andre Fleury, Bob Mailloux, Gilles Meloche, Maxime Talbot, Ryan Whitney, Christopher Letang, Dany Sabourin, Angelo Esposito, Ryan Malone and Rod Scuderi.

Well, Sidney can't win EVERYTHING :/

It's Not a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh

Well folks, there's no getting around it. For hockey fans, this time of year moves slower than progress in Iraq. And the big news in Pittsburgh today is that the new arena will not be completed until the 2010-2011 season - a full year later than originally planned. The team will lose revenue from the delay, but "in the end felt it was prudent to ensure quality design and construction." That's okay with me because it's going to take a while before I'm actually ready to say goodbye to Pens games in the Igloo.

I may be late on this, but I just noticed it today: the Penguins released their schedule in downloadable files for fans. I strongly recommend downloading the Excel file to Microsoft Office users to import into your Microsoft Outlook calendars. It's pretty nice - they have the reminders set to appear about 7 hours before the start of each game. The reminder tells you what team the Pens are facing that day, and if the game is at home or away. It's a great way to keep track of the season's stats. Installation instructions are on the site just belowthe link to download the file. Also on the site are a couple of sweet new wallpapers, including this one:



I was browsing through YouTube again and found some videos that you might enjoy. (Thankfully, I didn't find anymore videos like the gem I found the other day. YEESH!) I'll be adding one of these videos to posts on particularly slow news days (like today) until the season starts. To kick things off, here's a countdown of YouTube user yzermaniac92's top 10 favorite goals scored by our own Saint Sid:

Au Bout de Souffle

For those of you who, like me, are not fluent in French, that translates to "The Breathless Tournament." The following story comes to us from Friend of The Crosby Show Lisa-Marie W. She not only alerted me to the story, she actually took the time to translate several articles about the tournament just so I could bring this story to you. She also took the photos. She did such a great job telling her story in her emails that I'm just going to quote her and add links to some of the things she says for clarification purposes.

(She left this in the comments section on the nickname poll results post:)

Sidney has been in Magog, Quebec (about an hour away from Montreal) in a tournament called Au Bout de Souffle. The tournament is organized by Yanic Perrault, and all proceeds go towards certain hospitals and charities in the area. Overall, this year 32,000 was raised. Sidney played with the Maxi-Club Perrault team, along with Yanic and Jack Johnson. They've all been here since Thursday, and the tournament wrapped up today. Sidney's team went undefeated, won the championship, and Saint Sid racked up 14 points over a few games. He was very gracious -- coming out and signing autographs for every single person waiting in line, paying special attention to the kids. He posed for photos and gave them pucks -- a real nice guy. It was a great tournament!

(She offered to send me some of the pictures she took of Sid at the tournament. I contacted her and she had this to say:)

I did manage to snap these three after the tournament was done, and his team (Perrault/Maxi-Club) won the trophy. Sidney took it last, and when he did, he raised it way over his head, yelled "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!" and kissed it as if it were the Stanley Cup. He's such a goof. He stayed for a long time, making sure all the kids got autographs, taking pictures with them and flicking pucks to people. Just a stand up guy :)

A shot of the Perrault/Maxi-Club

Sidney

Sidney again

(After receiving the photos, I wrote to her that I was going to post about the tournament, but that I'd have to do so without the details because I haven't spoken French since high school and have forgotten most of what I learned. She then sent me this:)

This is the 14th year in a row of the tournament, organized by NHL player Yanic Perrault every year. This is Sid's 3rd consecutive year, all of which he's played on Yanic's team. The tournament is like "shinny" hockey -- there's no checking, and the play doesn't stop for infractions. The whistle is blown and another puck is just thrown on the ice. The tournament is composed of 8 teams composed of professional players (you can find the rosters here: http://www.aboutdesouffle.qc.ca/joueurs.asp). During the tournament, there are also about 8 teams of players from Junior ranks or the AHL (though no real big names, besides Espo). The tournament lasts from July 24th-29, with the juniors battling it out for the championship, and the pros battling it out for a separate championship. Games are one hour long -- 3 periods of 15 minutes with a 3 minutes warm up, a one minute "rest" between period 1 & 2, and a 12 minute rest between periods 2 & 3. There is only one "spare" player per team, so each player got the chance to sit alone on the bench for 20 seconds or so. That's the general info. Here are two articles that I've translated for you:

Magog, Sunday July 29th 2007 - A new record for the "Breathless" tournament
For the 14th year, the tournament submitted a record breaking $31,000 to seven charitable organizations within the region. The money will be split in most part between the Hyperbar Foundation of Memphremagog, Charlotte Dugrenier (a 4 year old girl with cerebral paralysis), The Sports Foundation of Sherbrooke, The Sports Merit Committee of the Eastern Townships, The Circus of Stars, and the Eastern Townships Foundation for Epilepsy.

Magog, July 29th, 2007 - Perreault Maxi-Club maintains their championship
Yanic Perreault's team held onto their championship title for a second time in a row, in the 14th annual "Breathless" tournament. Perreault and his teammates beat the M-150 team in the finals, with a score of 6-4. Yanic Perreault was nominated Player of the Game with 3 goals, and the Best Player in the Tournament was awarded to Sidney Crosby, who earned his excellence with 15 goals and 14 assists in 5 games. In the Spot Wellington (the non-pros), The Quebec Nordiques got the better of the National Bank team in the finals, with a win of 13-6.

For the record, she sent me the link to the tournament rosters. If you click on that link, you'll see more than one familiar name on several of the teams. I really can't thank Lisa-Marie enough for the photos and the story. Without her help, today's post would not have been possible. :)