Today has finally come. The groundbreaking of the new arena began today as Mario Lemieux, Governor Ed Rendell and other state officials did the ceremony ‘dirt tossing’ (uhh I don’t know what else to call it other than groundbreaking and I already said that).
When I first saw this article, all I could think of was how close the Pens were to leaving and becoming the ‘Kansas City Penguins’. It truly is an awesome thing to hear that the new arena is underway and only two years away. Though it does suck to say goodbye to Mellon Arena and it’s memories. It’s great to say hello to a new arena and say hello to its memories.
It’s truly a blessing to have the Penguins in Pittsburgh for a very long time. It’s another one to have Mario Lemieux, who’s saved the Pens time and time again from leaving, as our owner.
The Pens website has also created a page that involves anything and everything about the new arena. Seeing all the slide-shows plus the virtual tour video of the new arena, it looks like it’s going to be SICK! I’m so pumped for it in 2010-2011. Definitely going to take a trip or two up there that season.
Oh and the seating capacity will be 18,087. That’s not a coincidence that the last numbers are ‘87′ is it? I mean there isn’t a player that’s on the Pens that has wears the number ‘87′ is there? (My lame attempt to be funny….it didn’t work out).
A topic of discussion here at TPP is inspired by a thread on HFBoards is a topic that I’m just flat out sick and tired of. It gets to the point where I’m starting to get immune to it and I better expect to happen more in the coming years. I see it everywhere on hockey message boards and hear it from my friends who aren’t Penguins fans and I’m sure that you’ve heard it or you have these opinions.
So I’ve decided to face the topic and hear all the arguments on why Sidney Crosby is hated on so much. Put my two cents in and defend the reasons why Crosby is hated.
Then I realized, most of the reasons are really dumb and some of the arguments for them are even dumber.
So here they are…
Reason Number 1: Crosby is a diver…
Okay I’ll admit it. Crosby DOES embellish a bit more than most NHL players. But is he a diver? No. If you want to see a diver, watch Scottie Upshall, then you’ll know who dives in this business.
But anyways, anytime Crosby tries to sell a call, he gets called a ‘diver’ by the NHL world. Newsflash: EVERY PLAYER TRIES TO SELL CALLS. However, the fact they’re not called divers, yet Crosby does, annoys me the most. If you’re going to call Crosby a diver, then call the whole league one. Every other player does the same thing that Crosby does yet Crosby’s the one who gets the most flak from it.
Example…
Ovechkin dives here and it’s talked by no one. If Crosby did this, oooohhhh man, he would’ve got bashed and reminded constantly of it. Ovechkin does it and you only hear it that one night while Crosby still gets crap that happened when he was a rookie. Coincidence hmm?
Of course since Crosby is possibly the most watched and hated player in the league, many fans like to pick on him for stuff like this more than any other player. Sure Crosby did do a good bit of diving during his rookie season, I’ll admit it, but he’s matured and doesn’t pull that stuff nearly as much.
Reason Number 2: Crosby is a whiner…
Like the diving part, is was okay to call Sid that during his rookie season because he DID whine then…a lot.
However, Crosby has grown up. He’s not the same whiner that he was when he was 18. During his rookie season, every time someone called him out or he didn’t get a call, he whined about it. Okay so saying that he was a whiner AFTER his rookie season is a-okay with me.
But now saying that he’s a whiner doesn’t make sense. If some people would actually watch the game for once instead of making observations about him during his rookie season then they’d realize he doesn’t whine to the refs or to other players anymore.
I don’t even know how you can call him a whiner when he doesn’t complain to the media. If you hear his interviews he never complains about bad calls or other players. Doesn’t even mention it or give a little hint of it. Not even during his rookie season.
Reason Number 3: Crosby gets talked about too much on TV…
I’ll admit it. Crosby does get talked about A LOT during games on NBC, Versus and during highlight shows like on ESPN. But here’s the thing…that’s not his fault. Crosby doesn’t tell NBC, Versus and ESPN to showcase him every 5 seconds. The networks decide to do that…not Crosby. Hate the networks, not Sid.
Just another reason for people to hate on Crosby, I guess. Don’t know how to explain that one.
Reason Number 4:Crosby has a ‘mightier than all’ attitude…
This is where I go…WHAT?! Crosby is THE most boring person in interviews. He doesn’t show any emotion and never says the wrong thing unlike some players of the caliber of Crosby in today’s sports. When he scores he doesn’t run up and smack himself against the glass unlike a certain hockey player *cough*Ovechkin*cough*. In interviews he always gives credit to his teammates and is never about himself. He even said that the lowest point of his career was when he lost in the 2008 SCF and not when he suffered the major injury that kept him out for many games to prevent him to win the Hart and Art Ross.
Just some made up garbage that other fans decide to make up that’s completely untrue. I guess they try to make something up to fit their agenda’s to keep on hating on Crosby.
Reason Number 5: Crosby is a wussy…
Unfortunately I don’t hear the word ‘wussy’ instead I hear the word that rhymes with the word wussy but we’re not gonna go there.
Anyway, Crosby’s been getting this for pretty much his whole life let alone his career (though Crosby probably thinks his life is his career). Reason for it is because he’s not the one to throw the hits or the one that’s very physical. That’s not Crosby’s game though. His game is finesse and using his speed to get through the other team – everyone knows that.
However, Crosby can be physical and is actually hard to take down. He works the boards and works the edge through physical contact and usually doesn’t go down. If he needs to get physical, he will and has. He’s taken so much abuse from the rest of the league that I really don’t think there is any way for him to be NOT physical.
But hey, I love the hate. Bring on the hate every day. It means that he’s doing something right. Gretzky and Lemieux always got hate and I guess you can say Crosby will go down as one of the ‘hated ones’ that turn out to be one of the best.
Of course he plays for my team so I’ll defend him. About Sid playing for my team though, a big part of the hatred towards Crosby is jealousy. Every single fan of every single team would give up an arm and a leg to have Crosby but they don’t. So they decide to hate on the kid since he owns their team when they play him. It’s another reason why I love the hatred towards Crosby. He’s on my team, not yours. My team gets the star, yours doesn’t. My gain, your loss. Deal with it.
With the combination of training camp slowly on the horizon (and I mean slooooowly), and the boredom of summer, I’ve decided to dip into the expectations for the 08/09 team…
Well that was fast. The 05/06 Penguins were one of the worst teams in the NHL, finishing 15th (that’s last place for the uneducated). Fast forward to a short two years later, and the Penguins are in the Stanley Cup Finals. Talk about being WAY ahead of schedule. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t expect the Pens to make this rapid improvement until at least a couple years from now.
That was then, this is now…
Now the Pens lost a few pieces to the Stanley Cup puzzle but added hopefully the right pieces back into the puzzle. As we all know we lost the traitor errr I mean Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Jarkko RUUUUUUUTUUU (ahhh I’ll miss that). Then, as we all know, we’ve added Miroslav Satan (SATAN!), Ruslan Fedotenko, and Matt Cooke (our three biggest replacements/signings).
Now I’m not going to go into big detail because I already talked about our losses and additions in two other posts. However, I do think that our losses out-weigh our additions and we’ll be a worse team that went to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals a year ago. Will it be a HUGE drop-off? No. Why? Because we have Sidney effing Crosby, Evgeni effing Malkin, and Marc-Andre effing Fleury.
I know what you’re thinking. “That’s only three players, they don’t make up the entire roster”. You’re right and wrong. In this day and age, all you need is a solid core to be a Cup contender and in my un-biased (or biased) opinion, the Pens have the second best core in the league (Wings have the best…ugh, I know). Though you still need a solid group of players around the core.
That’s a completely different topic though.
The line pairings I’m about to post are all predictions….
Offensively expect the Pens to be very good though I think we all know to expect that. When you have the two best centers in the game and a third line center that would start on most teams second lines, it’s pretty much a given your offense is going to be more than solid. Add that Crosby will have a true sniper for a whole year in Miroslav Satan and Malkin will have his sniper that he already has experience with in Petr Sykora. The top two lines should be elite and be the main scoring lines (well duh).
But don’t underestimate the bottom 6. Most of the year, Jordan Staal will be anchoring the third line with most likely (prediction time here folks), Janne Pesonen and Tyler Kennedy as his line-mates. That should be a solid energy line that has a little bit of everything. A good puck handler in Staal, a scorer in Pez and a quick, energy guy in Tyler Kennedy. Then the fourth line should consist of Max Talbot, possibly Jeff Taffe, and some WBS guys filling the line-up throughout the year. I know what you’re thinking, “so the second alternate is all the way down on the fourth line?” Well…
That brings me to my next point. Everyone has to remember that Therrien will change up the lines frequently. For example, I can pretty guarantee that Staal will play a bit on the second line, Talbot will be all over the place throughout the year, if Sykora or Satan start to regress they’ll be moved to the third line, etc. Yeah it’s really annoying and I wish Therrien would just tone it down in that department. The line pairings are just what I feel will happen more often and how they’ll be paired up at the beginning of the year more than the whole duration of the season.
Once again, completely different topic though.
The Pens will have something this year that they rarely ever have…..DE-FENSE. I know, it’s really weird to say that the Pens will actually have some defense to go with that offense. Sergei Gonchar will obviously showcase the defense as one of the best in the game. If ’candy-man’ Brooks Orpik can progress on his playoff performance, expect him to be a possible All-Star (and I’m serious). Ryan Whitney is sofffffff but there’s always hope for him to have a solid season. Hal Gill was a surprise last year and I do expect him to continue to be a dependable d-man. Then you have the young gun in Kris Letang (POOTIE TANG!) that will only continue to improve his game defensively (and shoot-outs too surprisingly).
Then the most important defense the Pens have in is net – Marc-Andre Fleury. In an odd way, I guess you can say that Fleury’s ankle injury that kept him out for a large chunk of games maybe is the best thing that has happened to him and his career. He got to observe Ty Conklin do the things that he did wrong and improve on it. Then when he came back he was a COMPLETELY different goalie and had a very good playoff run, including that epic and memorable Game 5 where he literally stole that game.
For the 08/09 year, I have high expectations for Fleury if he stays healthy. If he can play a full season, I expect Fleury to start to be included in that ‘elite group’ of goalies. His ceiling his so high and now that his weaknesses aren’t nearly as big as they used to be, he should be a much improved goalie. We’ll definitely need him too since we have Dany Sabourin as our back-up. Fleury goes down and we’re screwed.
Another thing the Pens will have this year that they never ever had before is Stanley Cup experience. Something that every other team in the East doesn’t have, other than Ottawa. So it’s more of a ‘been there, done that’ routine than it is a way of trying to figure out how to get there. Of course it’ll always be hard to get back but at least they’ll have the upper hand over every other team than Ottawa (which I doubt make it far in the playoffs anyway).
So with all that said, I only have one image for my expectations. You might recognize this trophy when you see it. It’s sort of famous.
I had to make it earlier today because I won’t be home tonight to post.
Anyways, here’s the third edition of TPP’s Friday Night ‘Guins…
I don’t care who you root for whether it’s the Penguins, Red Wings, Capitals, Rangers, Sharks, or whoever, that was one of the greatest Stanley Cup games EVER!
As a die-hard Pittsburgh Penguins fan, that was probably THE greatest moment as a Penguins fan for me ever (I wasn’t old enough to remember the Pens Stanley Cup years in 91 and 92). To stay up with that team till 1 AM when I had to wake up at 6:30 the next morning was unbelievable. The whole time I was thinking “okay when will Detroit score and send us home?” It got to the point where I was almost wishing the Wings would score so that they can end my and every other Penguins fans misery.
But Petr Sykora had other plans. As soon as all these thoughts ran through my head, BOOM! The Pens get a four minute powerplay (that’s longer than a regular two minute powerplay for the uneducated). However, time and time again the Pens let me down during this whole series so I wasn’t expecting anything positive to happen during the powerplay.
Then the moment happened. As I was standing right in front of my TV with my Sidney Crosby jersey that I always wear during games and my backward Pens hat staying loyal with them as always, Sykora made his mark. The next thing I know is I see Sykora’s wicked shot go in the back of the net and all I hear is Doc Emerick shreek that famous “skkkeeoooooorre!” goal call.
What happens then? I did what every Penguins fan did – went BALISTIC. I was then running around my room like a crazy, wild man screaming “YEEEESS!!!!!” (I think I woke the neighbors). I couldn’t believe it. That whole game with the Pens being up by two, then Talbot scoring with less than 40 seconds to tie the game and then to go through THREE OVERTIMES in a game where the Penguins NEEDED to win and then to see Sykora score was a moment I couldn’t believe.
My thoughts after that night were happy, excited, crazy, joy, tired, winded, shock all at the same time. Even though the Pens ended up losing a heartbreaker in Game 6, I will NEVER EVER forget that game.
21 years ago today, the one, the only, Sidney Crosby was born and has changed Penguins fans life….FOREVER!
August 7th, 1987, Troy Crosby and Trina-Forbes Crosby gave berth to young Sidney in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. As he grows older, the vision of him being “Sid the Kid” starts to fade. Well 21 years Crosby is becoming a MAN. He is no longer a ‘Kid’ anymore. He’s matured into a very fine young man and an awesome hockey player to boot.
Sidney Crosby will sport the “C” next season for his captain role and Sergei Gonchar will be wearing the first “A” for his first alternate role – those are obvious.
However, with Ryan Malone’s departure, who will be the second alternate for the 2008/2009 Pittsburgh Penguins? Here are some possible candidates…
Petr Sykora – Sykora would be a fine choice as he’s been with the club for a year, has A LOT of experience and veteran leadership throughout his long career. Sykora has made four Stanley Cup appearances and even scored the game-winner in that famous Game 5 in the SCF (that’s Stanley Cup Finals for the uneducated). He was Malkin’s wing-man for most of last season and will continue to be his wing-man for next season (well with Therrien as coach, you KNOW he’ll be bumped down to third line once he starts struggling).
I would bet on Sykora having a good chance to get the second “A”.
Evgeni Malkin - I wouldn’t have put it unless Penguins fans didn’t mention him though I don’t know why they include Malkin. Now I’m like every Penguins fan and absolutely love ‘Geno. I mean c’moooon, who couldn’t?! But NO WAY does Malkin deserve the second alternate unless he dramatically improves his English. I included Malkin because I’ll get some people that say “uhhhh what about Malkin?!” Please…don’t. I love Malkin but right now he shouldn’t receive the second “A”.
Brooks Orpik – Don’t be surprised if Brooksie becomes the second alternate. Orpik re-signed with the Pens for six more years at $3.5 million a year when in the open market he could’ve got $4 million or even $4.5 million. His desire to stay, along with his long tenure as a Penguin makes him a strong candidate to receive the second “A”. Add to his incredible play during the playoffs by dishing off some “Free Candy” (courtesy of ThePensBlog) got him respect from both players and fans.
Max Talbot – I love Max Talbot. You love Max Talbot. And most importantly, the Pittsburgh Penguins love Max Talbot. Talbot has been nothing but a true teammate and a hard worker for the past three years with the Pens. Before every playoff game, Talbot would pump Fleury up to get his adrenaline going. That’s the kind of thing that I like about players and makes me feel confident that they’re a solid leader. Maybe he’s never shown his leadership skills before but he’s one of the best teammates in the league in my opinion.
Another guy I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see wear the second “A”.
Ryan Whitney – Ray Shero obviously likes him when he put Whits in the ‘core’ along with Crosby, Malkin, Fleury and Staal. Whitney also is a young guy so they might want to use him as the second alternate so that when Gonchar retires or leaves, he’ll be there to take his place as the first alternate. I wouldn’t mind seeing Whitney wear an “A” on his jersey but I just don’t think he’d be the best choice. If it happens though I won’t be upset about it and support it all the way.
Overall, I feel that Max Talbot should receive the second “A”. He’s been with the Pens for three years now and creates the great chemistry the young Penguins always seem to have. He works his tail off every season and every game and is a very underrated role player. Does he have the veteran experience? No. But he does have excellent charisma and a solid work ethic that I love in a player and leader.
Next Thursday, he won’t be “Sid the Kid” anymore. No, no, he’ll be “Sid the MAN”. Crosby turns 21 next week which can only mean one thing…..beer.
Q: What does turning 21 mean for you?
A: To be honest, it doesn’t change anything on the ice. Off the ice, I’m able to drink. I look at it like this: At 19, I’m an adult in Canada. Now, I’m an adult all the way around.
Q: So what adult beverage does “Sid the Kid” drink?
A: Jack Daniels or Crown Royal.
Q: How did being under the legal drinking age in the United States limit your off-ice activities with teammates?
A: All the guys were great about that, actually. The good thing about being on a young team is that all the guys knew we had three guys under 21. Anything we did, we all could be a part of. I didn’t miss out on anything.
It’s so weird seeing Sid talking about drinking. As long as I’ve followed Crosby, he’s always been the silent one that never portrayed the ‘bad boy’ image or doing something like drinking. Of course he’s going to go out and drink next Thursday but it’s still weird.
DON’T DO SOMETHING STUPID SID!
However, this interview isn’t just about Sid turning 21, there’s also more to the article that I find awesome…
Q: What did you learn during your first season as team captain?
A: That I’m still learning. I’d like to be a better leader. I really think it’s a matter of recognizing things and using my experience from last year to recognize when something needs to be said or handled. There are certain moments when you have to be more of a leader. It’s hard to explain, but last year helped make me more aware of that.
LOVE that quote right there. He’s so incredibly humble and always striving to get better. Winners and champions always have that trait and Crosby’s had it his whole career now.
Q: What is your greatest disappointment?
A: Being so close and not winning the Cup is still hard to digest
It was tough for Penguins fans to take the loss but I can’t even imagine how bad it’s eating at Crosby.
Q: How much more motivated are you to win the Stanley Cup after losing in the final?
A: I thought I was motivated before. It’s definitely more now. Being that close and not being able to do it — it’s just hard. The quicker you can get back and win it, the better.
Oh man, what an AMAZING quote. Watch out for a more hungrier Crosby this year. Hungry Crosby = NOT GOOD (well not for the other 29 teams).
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.
Does anyone else agree with me that Crosby has some hate against Hossa in those words? I certainly thinks he does. The thing is though, he won’t show it and that’s what I love about Sid. He sounds like he’s 35 when he’s only 20. So mature and so well spoken to not ‘bad mouth’ Hossa.
Pretty cool interview by Crosby.
Okay now I’m pumped for hockey season. COME SOONER OCTOBER!
I was watching this live when the interview occurred and oh man, I was laughing hysterically during and after it.
I love it when he’s like “and me play good” *shrugs*. If you watch closely (and I hope you did), he’s pretty much saying “yeah, no one can stop me”. But Malkin being his awesome self decides to stay humble and say “me play good”. Although a part of it I think has to do with him not being able to speak English (well duh!).
I thought the best part though was when he’s says “SMILE?!” HA! It was the only word he understood. I started to cry of laughter when he did that. Ole’ Danny Potatsh must’ve felt weird in that situation.
Another thing I love about this video is that Geno looks A LOT like his mama. Definitely shows that he got her looks.
Oh Geno how Pittsburgh loves you and your awkward Russian ways.
