Crosby Has Setback in Recovery

Sidney Crosby had disappointed his fans in a whole new way. He recently stated publicly that a comeback in the playoffs wasn't possible because he had been suffering from symptoms of a concussion.

This changes the public debate between fans and media pundits that want to see him shut down because of further risk to his personal health.

Talk about it more down in the comments section as to weather or not it's a good idea to shut him down for the year and allow the summer off-season to complete the healing process.

[Via: The Globe and Mail]

Crosby's Sister Catches Concussion Symptoms

Concussions are starting to run in the Crosby family. Like brother - like sister, young Taylor Crosby has been struck by the bad luck injury bug forcing her to miss games.

Taylor plays Goalie for the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Prep school U-16 in Minnesota. It's the same one that helped develop her older brother Sidney. The Toronto Star reports that she was recently injured in practice when her record was just starting to get her noticed in Team Canada's scouting list.

Toronto Star

Crosby Homers At PNC Park Batting Practice

After all of the things that Sid Crosby has accomplished in his young adult life, he still continues to go beyond expectations. Already an NHL captain, Stanley Cup winner, clothing and equipment name brand, and home owner and the age of 23, Crosby sets yet another startling level of athletic success by cross-training and showing Pittsburgh baseball fans what it looks like to see a great athlete.

“I’ve never done that before,” smiled Crosby just seconds after hitting his blast. “I had a little bit of an edge because of I am a lefty. To be able to come out here was awesome and to be able to put one out was great.”

Sometime it seems contrived, but I want to believe the humility that Crosby expresses here. Seems as if he would go into the batting cage and not expect anything to happen. In one swing of the bat Crosby has just shown up the entire Pirates organization. However you look at it, there really is no excuse how the Pirates continue to lose.

Pirates rookie second baseman Neil Walker, a Pine-Richland native and avid Penguins supporter, participated in batting practice and he came away impressed with Crosby’s hit.

“He obviously has some serious hand-eye coordination,” Walker said. “I think he would catch on pretty quickly. He is a natural athlete. That was quite a shot right there. That was all of 360-370 feet. That’s some serious strength there’s no doubt about that.”

Check out the video taken courtesy of NHL Video.

Crosby Purchases Home in Pittsburgh

All of the jokes about Sid Crosby living with Mario can be put to rest now that it is reported that he purchased a home nearby in the same community.

Center and captain Sidney Crosby has bought a home in the Pittsburgh area after a few years of looking for the right place. He has not yet occupied it.

This is a good sign to Pittsburgh sports fans who are used to seeing their franchise players stay in the city - even after their career has ended. Crosby doesn't look to me like this will turn out to be his bachelor pad to create many exciting memorable parties.

Since he arrived in Pittsburgh as a rookie shortly after his 18th birthday for the start of 2005-06, Crosby, now 22, has lived during the season with the family of Mario Lemieux, the Penguins' Hall of Fame center and now co-owner. Crosby's new house is not far from the Lemieux home.

And I am sure the community that he is used to motoring around will be at a comfort level for him. He is in big demand and is a celebrity wherever he goes.

[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Crosby (ALMOST) Nets 50 Goals in a Season

What I thought was going to be a different blog, a celebration of a career milestone of one of the classier NHL players, but it was suddenly scrapped for the underlining storyline that Sidney Crosby once again did the right thing for a teammate. When bloggers and writers rushed to churn out an article proclaiming Crosby the first to 50 goals during the year, it was quickly trashed when video evidence suggested that Bill Guerrin had tipped in the Crosby shot.

The last regular season game in Mellon Arena for the Penguins was started by the pageantry of seeing all of the franchise players from the 1967 expansion teams as well as the newer franchise players. Even "the folk hero" Gary Roberts was heralded as a returning player.

The game itself was shaping up to be a real one-sided stat padding event. Crosby was working his way through the Islanders lineup, scrambling for each lose puck, and kept a sharp eye out for his teammates. Even though his 50th goal was retroactively awarded to Guerin, he was able to get credit for an assist making him the third youngest player to reach 500 points in a career.

Brooks Orpik scored 23 seconds into the game and defensive teammate Goligoski was able to tally a just as rare goal. But some of the young Islanders got into scoring as former Pens prospect Matt Moulson scored along with Okposo and Baily.

The final note of the evening was the brutal boarding penalty that newly acquired Ponikarovsky committed on young star Josh Baily. Alex chose to sweep in against Baily and flatten him upper-body first. It caused Alex to miss the rest of the game with a match penalty game misconduct and possibly a later suspension by the league.

[Via: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Crosby versus Ovechkin: The Fan Vote

As the hype to build a rivalry the same way that Bird v. Magic worked in the NBA, the National Hockey League is pushing the two biggest player names against one another. This time, you can vote, just like you would for the all star game that didn't happen this year.
It seems like a great idea to get the fans involved and finally settle this. Only one problem. I have been noticing a lot of jealousy and hate towards both men because they have nothing to do with the other teams in the league. The jealous critics say that Crosby and Ovechkin are being pushed to the point of ad-nauseum.

You can only imagine just who I voted for!

Crosby's Puck in Hockey Hall of Fame

As a piece of history just as coveted as Crosby's uniform, the puck that crossed the goal line to win the gold medal in this past Olympics (forever known now as "the golden puck") will soon be on display for all hockey fans to visit in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

I am happy to see that the puck is going to the Hockey Hall of Fame," Crosby said in a statement Tuesday. "I feel very lucky to have been part of that team and that game as well, and I am glad hockey fans will get the chance to share the moment by seeing things like the overtime winning puck up close."

I would like to see some statistics that breaks down fans making the trek to the Hall of Fame who came to see the Stanley Cup or the "golden puck". No word on weather or not Canadians must face east in worship of that little piece of vulcanized rubber.

[Via: CBC]

United States Fall Short of Olympic Gold

In what is sure to be talked about for very many years to come, the USA and Canada gold medal game went down to the wire. Unfortunately, the game could not end in a tie, the most diplomatic result, and they played one nail-biting OT.

Team USA was feeling confident that the All-World goalie Ryan Miller was once again standing tall in the first period keeping them at a 1-0 deficit. And by the second half of the first period, Edzo noticed that the more the Americans got the puck to the net, "Bobby Lou" Roberto Luongo was unsure of the rebound or where the puck went. Surely, the Americans would feel as they were still in this contest.

But the Americans' backs were to the wall when the second Canada goal slipped by tournament hero Ryan Miller.

"No one knew our names. People know our names now," said Chris Drury, one of two holdovers from the 2002 U.S. team that also lost to Canada in the gold-medal game.

The Herculean efforts continued to the third period where the U.S. team decided to make their final stand against a juggernaut Canada team that had 4 lines of scoring.

"Our team worked so unbelievably hard," Crosby said. "Today was really tough, especially when they got a goal late in regulation. But we came back and got it in overtime."

A few seconds later after the puck had crossed the goal line, I was okay with it. If the Canadians had to win, Crosby was 1 of 2 players I would be okay with getting that goal.

The rematch in Sochi, Russia countdown has begun.

[Via: NBC Olympics]

Sidney Crosby is Canada's Male Athlete of the Year

Even with the depth of talent that the committee had reportedly chosen from, Sid Crosby was selected as the Canadian Male Athlete of the year for the second time. He previously won it in 2007.

"To be part of that group is always an honour," said Crosby. "I don't think I ever measure myself against anyone a whole lot. Everyone has found their own path and had their own success different ways. If anything, I think I just have a lot of respect for what people before me have done.

"I'm just trying to do a good job myself."

It wasn't too hard to give Crosby a serious consideration for the Award since he was the youngest Captain to hoist the Stanley Cup this year. After that, he was quite a leader in pushing to get the NHLPA out of the embarrassment it was in while also being an ambassador for the NHL and hockey while traveling with the Stanley Cup through his Nova Scotia hometown.

Congratulations to Sid for another award, perhaps it is a sign of more to come from this amazing superstar.

[Via: Toronto Star]

Crosby Boasts the Bling!

[Warning: All Crosby-haters look away now!]As the saying goes, "to the victor goes the spoils" so too go the rewards of winning an NHL championship. As the new NHL season is about to begin, the Pittsburgh Penguins have one last chance to revel in their Stanley Cup success today as they were all given their championship rings.

Bill Guerin, who has done this two times before already sounded like it was his first time all over again.

"The ring is the icing on the cake," he said. "It is hardware, but it's not hard to wear. Just like everything else with the Pittsburgh Penguins, it's first class."

And I agree with that statement about the classiness, but what about the gaudiness of the size. The ring in the picture looks like the ring is half the size of Crosby's fist.

I would also want to know what the players really do with these rings? Do they put it in some safety deposit box or will they have to hire armed guards around it 24/7? After the rounds that the Steelers championship team made with the local media, I am sure that the standard question Crosby and company will get first will be to ask to see the cup ring.

Crosby showed off the white and yellow gold band decorated with 167 diamonds, which was enough ice to replicate the surface at Mellon Arena.

With all those diamonds, the players could wear them during the game and reflect the light in such a way that the goalie or defender is stunned.

[Via: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Sid Crosby Goes Home for Birthday

What do you get the hockey guy that turns 22 and just has everything he could ever want? Sid Crosby got his childhood dream of sharing the Stanley Cup trophy earlier this spring, so what else could be better?

"He wants to share it with the young and people of all ages and make it a community event," said Paul Mason, who coached Crosby as a youth. "We're thrilled about that. The hockey community is very proud of him."

As the tradition of having the cup for a day, many players choose to bring it back to their countries of origin. Sid was no different in bringing the Cole Harbor town some big time thrills as well as re-connecting with the community.

Fans will have the opportunity to pose with the Stanley Cup, ask Crosby questions and visit a Hall of Fame dedicated to "Sid the Kid," where they can view photos, trophies, hockey sweaters and sticks from his career.

Already on top of the world at age 22, Sid Crosby has all but conquered the world.

[Via: ESPN]

[edit: You can see pictures from Crosby's trip home on this blog site]

Crosby the Enforcer

Several radio talk show hosts, most notably WXDX-FM, Mark Madden have already mentioned the lack of guts on the Pittsburgh Penguins team when it comes to sticking up for highly regarded players. They along with me have noticed a trend when it comes to tough guys joining up with the Penguins. Nobody ever steps up to throw their weight around like a true heavyweight. Steve McKenna, Georges Laraque, Marty McSorley, Krzysztof Oliwa, Jarkko Ruutu to name a few in the recent years and this season Eric Godard and Matt Cooke forgot what they were signed to do.

If there was any doubt as to the chemistry shared between Malkin and Crosby and if they could co-exist on the same team, look no further to the events that possibly bonded them further. Understanding that the NHL and officials will no longer condone revenge fighting in hockey, it has become open season on the league stars.

This latest example of shortsightedness by anti-fighting pacificts. Brian Campbell, defenceman of the scrappy Florida Panthers, decides to abandon the customary code of professional courtsey and blatantly lowers his shoulder to deliver a check to Malkin speeding up along the boards. This causes Crosby to get angry and pummel Campbell with right hands. What if Malkin's awkward backflip injured his neck or back? Submarining a vulnerable hockey player should warrant a suspension, but hopefully Crosby's heroics may overshadow Campbell's villainy.

You can watch the series of unfortunate events unfold on a youtube video of the Panthers and Penguins battle. Hopefully, this will continue to fuel the debate over fighting's place in hockey and the growing lack of respect among players. I fully condone Crosby's reaction to the situation until players wise up and conform themselves in a more professional manner.If I were Malkin, I would find a way to show my appreciation for what Crosby did. Maybe wax and detail his SUV?

Crosby vs. Ovechkin Revisited

Since the Game of the Week shown on NBC Sunday afternoon, some critics and fans are thinking that there might be a changing of the guard among the player elites. Of course, this brought a whole lot of Crosby haters out from under the primordial slime forever poised and ready to launch yet another uncalled for jealous rant. But to rise to the occasion, WXDX and Penguins flagship broadcaster Mark Madden, wrote on his blog page about how to confront Ovie fans and Crosby haters alike.

Mario Lemieux never acted like a jackass. Wayne Gretzky never acted like a jackass. Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull...not a punk in the bunch,.....I know a bad person when I see one. Alexander Ovechkin is a bad person. Sure can score, though.

Great point. Ovechkin showed a side of himself this year that proved he has a mean streak, a juvenile sense of humor, and absolutely no respect for other players.

What seems to have gotten under Crosby's skin (something he admitted to reporters today) was the total lack of respect. Respect. A word that Crosby hammered home in his presser comments. I agree. When Crosby was under attack from Ovechkin's teammate and fellow Russian Alex Semin, Crosby simply chose the high road and opted not to fan the flames of jealousy and hate against him.

Sid Crosby is the poster boy for the NHL and because of that, he has to cope with overexposure. Not his fault. Ovechkin, no matter how much he tries to fit in, just won't get the kind of attention comparable to Crosby. Ask any puckbunny on her preference.

The jealousy for Crosby is real and very evident. This year, the NHL put into their schedule making that every team must play each other once - the Crosby rule. Making sure other NHL city's fans can be exposed to the Penguin greatness. I don't hear of any teams desperately wanting the Capitals to come to their town.

And just who did Ovechkin beat? For all the goal scoring he can accomplish, Ovechkin's Capitals haven't gotten out of the first round yet. When Crosby is sipping out of Lord Stanley's Cup soon, Ovechkin will look at the legacy of oafish goonism around him and cry in his Stolichnaya.

[Via: WXDX.com - Supergenious]

Crosby Sits Out Second Straight All Star Game

Despite being one of the most popular hockey players in the world and the massive support of hockey fans in North America, Sidney Crosby has again bowed out of playing in the All Star game for the second straight time.

Crosby, who had only one appearance in 2007 in Dallas, did not fair well by barely registering on the box score. Last season, Crosby could not participate because of the ankle injury, but fans held to their hopes that the young star would be featured in many more all star games in the future.

Crosby tried to tough it out playing in the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes games. But it was evident that he was in real pain when local TV broadcasts caught Crosby's grimaced face.

Crosby's status for the Penguins' first game after the break, Wednesday against the New York Rangers at Mellon Arena, won't be determined until after the team resumes practicing Monday.

Could it have been some kind of jinx or voodoo that sent Crosby's misfortunes to take a turn for the worse? Fans in Montreal who were hoping for an all-Montreal starting roster were spoiled by a surge in voting to break up the 100-year-old Montreal club fans.

It could have been real special to see what Crosby would do on the Bell Centre ice. He has made magic happen before and the looming fact that his dad, Troy, was once a part of the Canadians.

Although Crosby won't play in the all-star game, his representatives, along with officials of the team and league, are trying to figure out a way to have him involved in the weekend's festivities.

"We're trying to work that out," general manager Ray Shero said. "He'd certainly like to be part of it."

I haven't seen any Crosby All-Star jerseys around the arena, city, or hockey equipment shops. I guess the NHL shop will discontinue the Crosby all star jersey as well.

[Via: Via: Pittsburgh Post Gazette]

Crosby Beats Down Panther Punks

I am having a hard time defending this conduct by Crosby, even though I know sometimes when the moment is right, you just got to beat some ass.A little while after the fight was over, I recalled that Mario Lemieux had to meet out a little justice of his own back in the day.

Overall, this isn't the type of behavior that should be encouraged. Today, Penguins were getting "jobbed" by the officials and perhaps it starts a rally to begin climbing back to the top of the Eastern Conference.

2009 NHL All Star Starters Announced

The 2009 All-Stars were announced today in Montreal by an aging hockey star Jean Béliveau.

“In three weeks, the world’s greatest players will come here, to one of the world’s great hockey cities, to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens,” former Canadiens star Jean Beliveau said in announcing the rosters. “I had the pleasure of playing in 13 All-Star Games and I can tell you it was an absolute honor. I look forward to watching the stars of today.”

In the Eastern Conference, it was no real big surprise. The top two vote getters Sid Crosby and "Geno" Malkin were named starting forwards along with former Penguin Alex Kovalev. Andrei Markov and Mike Komisarek will be at the blueline to guard for sophomore sensation Carey Price.

On the Western Conference side, the Ducks and Blackhawks will start on the ice. Fresh off their Winter Classic efforts, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews led the West in fan balloting. On defense, another Hawk, Brian Campbel will support Ryan Getzlaf, Scott Niedermayer, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

I am going to refrain from giving too much opinion here so that I could see who else gets selected to go to Montreal for the game. It could depend on who goes with what goalie and who has the worst goalie outing considering they each play one period a piece.

[Via: Yahoo! Sports]

Crosby is More Popular Than Jagr

With special thanks to all the Pittsburgh Penguins fans who got out the vote and challenged the ballot stuffing in Quebec, Sid Crosby has now set the All-Star vote record gaining over 1 million 1 hundred thousand votes.

I don't agree with either the Penguins or Canadians who have been furiously voting to put their stars in the starting line-up. Of course, this doesn't bode well for the future of the NHL All-Star games when fans can affect the voting so drastically. The All-Stars are vastly becoming a game that features the popular stars instead of the players who work hard and deserve a position on the roster. Sergei Gonchar, who hasn't played 1 minute in this current season has scored 969655 votes thanks to the encouragement of local sports reporters and broadcasters.

As a show of fairness, maybe the NHL will come up with a compromising solution. Could the NHL have a exhibition game between the 100 Year Montreal Anniversary team against the best of the NHL young stars. That is what Montreal wants to see.

Jagr previously held the All-Star voting record, but opted to play in Russia for his last years as a pro. It would be interesting to see just what this year would result had Jagr stayed in the NHL this season instead. Would he siphon off some of Crosby's popularity?

Anyway, the best and fairest voting would be to get a system of "One-fan, One-ballot". Since the NHL Fans Association (NHLFA) is looking for something to rally around now that the lockout is over, have all fans register with them and they can take care of the ballots.

[Via: Pittsburgh Penguins Official Website]

Crosby Spares Semin Over Controversial Criticism

I expected Sid Crosby to respond to public criticism in the manner that he did - classy.

"I saw them," Crosby said of the quotes. "I'd be better off keeping my opinion to myself, I think. He can say what he wants, but I'll keep mine to myself about him."

I don't know what Semin was thinking, but the criticism that he offered backfired when part-time fans were left scratching their heads saying "Who is Alex Semin?"

[Via: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Capitals Increase Ticket Costs Against Penguins

Sure the NHL is going to be a gate driven league, so when team owners realized that they can make more money during increased attendance at rivalry games, "Sweaty Teddy" Leonsis is leading the progressive thinking and increasing ticket prices at the Verizon Center when Sid Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town.

Like the season-opener against the Chicago Blackhawks, and contests against the New York Rangers (Nov. 8 and Jan. 3), Detroit Red Wings (Jan. 31) and the two visits from Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins (Feb. 22 and March 8).

Individual tickets for those games will increase by an average of $15 above their usual cost.

So, if each game in an 82 game season matters just as much as the others, then why do they have to pay more for certain teams? Is this some kind of affirmative action on elite teams? No, wait... if they wanted to get more people in the buildings when weaker teams come to visit, then they would make the tickets cheaper to get more people. Makes sense?

Nate Ewell, director of media relations, told me today that this variable pricing is in keeping with the Capitals' long-standing tradition of trying to fill their building with more home than away fans.

This is always a known fact in Penguins history. Fans of the Penguins will often blog and fling this into Capitals fans faces.

I would call the biggest Penguins rival to be the Flyers, but with the latest hype of Ovechkin and company, the Capitals run a close second in deep seeded hate rivals. This ticket price story is only one more chapter.

Puck Daddy on Yahoo! Sports

Crosby Turns Twenty One

Happy Birthday, Sid Crosby.

Today he turns legal drinking age in the United States. Before now, you didn't hear a word about Crosby and any adult beverages. Unlike the Staal brothers who really knew how to party, Crosby played the straight arrow. I am surprised he didn't have "Got Milk?" commercials to his credit. Attached is a relevant segment of Crosby's interview taken by Rob Rossi.

Q: What do you want for your 21st 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 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.

Wow. I didn't expect Crosby to be into any of the hard liquor or even mention it to a reporter.

When I turned 21, my first beer was in State College as I shared a pitcher of Labatt Blue. I didn't drink too much of it at first, but today, you can say that I have embraced the varieties of beer. What do you think should be Crosby's first legal beer in the States? Moosehead for his NS hometown connections or if he is wise on the public relations move, just say his first beer was an I.C. Light. Please go vote over on the right as a reader poll question.

[Via: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review & Pittsburgh Tribune Review]