Yardbarker: Sidney Crosby

Breaking Down The 08-09 Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:54:14 -0500

The NHL schedule is out! What do the defending Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins have facing them on their road back to the FInals? And when will Penguins fans get their opportunity to "welcome" Marian Hossa back to Pittsburgh?

Steeler Owners Fight Over Brass Ring

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:47:04 -0500

Somewhere there is a racehorse. And this racehorse's great-great-great-great-great granddaddy was also a racehorse. And one fine day back in 1933, that horse won a race. A race bet on by a North Sider by the name of Arthur J. Rooney. And Art Rooney used the money he won that day, about $2,500 in total, to purchase a professional football franchise which would one day be known as the Pittsburgh Steelers. For 75 years, the Rooney family has owned the Steelers. Sure, some things have changed but the Rooneys have remained the one major constant. Three Rivers Stadium is nothing but a memory. Art Rooney is gone but not forgotten, his eldest son Dan having been in control of the team for several decades now. And a recent appraisal of the Steelers values the team at around $1 billion. Yes, you read that right. ONE BILLION DOLLARS. Why was the team even being appraised you may ask? Because there is a very real possibility that sometime in the near future the one constant in Steeler Nation might no longer be constant. Yes, there appears to be a day coming when everybody who bleeds Black and Gold wakes up in a world where the Rooneys no longer own the Pittsburgh Steelers. If that doesn't worry you at least a little, it should. With the passing of their father, controlling interest in the team was left to his five sons, Dan, Art Jr., Timothy, Patrick, and John. Dan was team president while Art Jr. was scouting director from the early 70's until 1986 when his brother fired him, primarily because he insisted on taking NT Gabe Rivera over a local kid with a cannon arm by the name of Danny Marino. I would've fired my own mother over that one. The remaining brothers had other business interests and had no direct involvement with football-related matters. The Rooney boys are all in their 50's-70's so they naturally have begun preparing for the inevitable transfer of power. Dan has already groomed his son, Art III, to take his place as team president. I believe this is Sticking Point #1 in that Art III is generally considered an asshole. When Bill Cowher had his farewell press conference, he spoke glowingly of Dan but had nothing to say about Art III. Rumor has it Little Art led the "Screw him! We don't have to pay him because anybody can coach our awesome team!" charge which ultimately led to Cowher's departure and subsequent dental work. Dan Rooney is a powerful man in the NFL. He chaired the committee which nominated tape-destroying slimeball Roger Goodell for commissioner. He's a major voice on every labor issue or contract negotiation. And it's no secret he, and most likely his scheming son, want the team for themselves. Which is why it's a bit suspicious that the NFL has all of a sudden interjected themselves into the Steeler's ownership structure, demanding one person own 30% of the team while also suggesting some of the Rooney brothers' race track business ventures constitute a violation of the league's no-gambling interests policy. The four remaining brothers have responded by doing the unthinkable; looking to sell their shares to somebody outside the family. This is where the appraisal comes in as supposedly Dan/AIII made an offer which was a bit low. Maybe they should bring in Sidney Crosby as a partner. Nah, Marian Hossa wouldn't take a discount to play with him, the Rooneys probably wouldn't either. Enter Stanley Druckenmiller, owner of Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Capital Management,and filthy rich bastard. He's a billionaire which is one requirement for buying something valued at around a billion dollars. He's also a lifelong Steelers fan. Join the club, pal. In fact, here is where it gets interesting. If the Rooney boys are serious about opening bidding for their shares up to the general public, there will unlikely be a free-for-all. I can imagine every disgustingly rich bastard from Mark Cuban to Eddie DeBartolo will enter the fray. Owning the Steelers isn't the same as owning the Pirates or the Penguins. Don't get me wrong, I love all our teams but the Steelers are a legendary team in the most successful (and popular) sports league. Interest in this would be huge. And therein lays the worry. With the Rooneys, we know what we get. Sure we complain about their cheapness, we bemoan their lack of action in free-agency, and hate that while they want to win, it's not Super Bowl-or-failure as it is to many of us. But what if we get a Ford or a Bidwell? Or, horror of horrors, a Danny Schnieder? Would Pittsburgh really want a flamboyant self-promoting clown like Jerry Jones prancing all over the sidelines at Heinz Field? These are the questions we may have to grapple with in the not-so-distant future. Always remember, better the devil you know.

JIM COLONY'S EXTRA POINT ON MARIAN HOSSA

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:46:28 -0500

Jim Colony is a jack-of-all trades at ESPN Radio 1250 in Pittsburgh. He hosts, he does the news, he's on the scene...and he's such a nice guy that he's agreed to share the transcripts of his Extra Point segments, which you can hear regularly on 1250. So whenever possible (or whenever Jim feels like sending them), we'll be able to share in the wisdom of a man that sparred with Mark Madden on a daily basis. Enjoy!

JIM COLONY'S EXTRA POINT

I was standing in front of Marian Hossa when, two mornings after losing Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals, Hossa declared that he'd take less money to play for a good team...and did he ever. Of course, we thought he meant the Penguins. Silly us.

Instead, after finally getting the Pens to extend their $7 million-plus offer for up to seven years - and also enticing others to offer multi-year deals (a reported $9 million per from Edmonton) - Hossa signed with a good team, alright...Detroit. For $7.4 million. For one season. One season!

Hossa tried his best to not disrespect Pittsburgh in a conference call yesterday, saying all the right things...but, in fact, Hossa did exactly that. He said the reason he chose Detroit for one season is that it gives him the best chance to win a Stanley Cup. Like playing alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin for seven seasons wouldn't?

Don't think Sid and Geno didn't take note. Now, let's hope for the rematch next spring.

I'M JIM COLONY … ON 1250 ESPN.

Best-Ever Tennis, Russian Cheerleaders and Brett Favre v. Mats Sundin

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 23:22:28 -0500

A sports zeitgeist with quick take on Federer v. Nadal Wimbledon final, the unfortunate parallels of Mats and Brett's retirement limbo and the escalating (yet hilarious) feud between two cocky NHL General Managers.

Good Riddance (time of your life)

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:14:33 -0500

finally, a guy from the nhl who i hated for a while is gone...good, i always hated that pretty boy jagr girlying up the nhl, hes gone, just one more pu**y to go, lets ship cindy to russia as well

Penguins extend Malkin, lose Ruutu

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:38:59 -0500

The Penguins have signed superstar Evgeni Malkin to a five year extension.

Marian Hossa Stuns The World

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:27:01 -0500

Marian Hossa has signed a mind-boggling deal with the Detroit Red Wings. What could his decision making process have been, and where do the Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins go from here?

Who scored on NHL Free Agent Day? (Full List inc.)

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:42:13 -0500

Here is a list of the 17 most notable moves along with commentary on who got the better of whom:

WHAT'S A REAL FAN?

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:37:28 -0500

I've been taking it on the chin from several readers in the comments section of Sunday's All You Can Eat article, mostly along the lines of "fair weather fan" and "too tough on the Pirates". I was also accused of never criticizing the Steelers or Penguins: "If the Pens and Steelers fall on hard times, the site would never get updated."

There were lots of accusations thrown around. So let's address them.

#1- I'm not a Pirate fan.

I guess those people missed the article in March of 2007 that led off with this line: "I love the Pittsburgh Pirates. They were my boyhood team, they were my inspiration for playing 14 years of baseball, and they're still my favorite team to this day."

That article was entitled, "79 Reasons Why It's Hard to be a Pirate Fan". The point of the article was to show how hard the team has made it to hang in there after all these years of losing. And that was written BEFORE they went 68-94 in '07.

Let me reiterate this for those who missed the message: The Pirates are my favorite team. There is no other team I would like to win more than the Pirates. To see an entire generation of kids grow up without knowing what a winning season of Pittsburgh baseball looks like is a true injustice. In my eyes, a person who's not a fan is apathetic, a much more serious offense against fandom. Criticism shows that you do care about the team, because you want them to get better. Do you ever see anyone calling talk shows discussing the struggles of the Pittsburgh XPlosion? Of course not, because few people care.

#2- "If the Pens and Steelers fall on hard times, the site would never get updated."

That's a comment obviously made by someone unfamiliar with the site. I guessed you missed the painful weekly recaps of the 2006 team that started off 2-6 after winning the championship and looked like they were in a fog. Check the archives.

If anything, a case can be made that REAL fans want to discuss the team more when the team is struggling. Mark Madden would always say that a struggling Steelers team was great for ratings. Why? Because they have passionate fans who want to figure out what's wrong.

As for the Penguins, it's hard to be critical of a team that made what looked to me like all the right moves for an entire season, on the ice and off. From delivering season tickets in-person to the Marian Hossa trade to letting fans watch playoff games outside the arena, this organization has had the Midas Touch. Sure, there were a few times where I disagreed with Michael Therrien's decisions, but it's hard to argue with the results. There was very little to be critical of.

So with that as the background, I wanted to ask: What do you think is a real fan? Is it someone who rubber-stamps their approval on every move, or is it someone who actually voices their opinion when a team makes a move you disagree with?

If you want blind cheerleading, this is probably not the site for you. To use the cliche, "It is what it is."

I have my style and my opinions. There's no one forcing you to keep coming back if you don't agree with what I say. If I bother you so much, why are you still reading? Do you also sit through movies that you dislike?

With the Pirates, we're talking about a team that's on the verge of setting a Major League record for ineptitude next year. Tell me all the positive storylines I should be covering. Tell me the crowd on Sunday was not near-comatose.

Of course, according to some of you, I'm out to get the Pirates. I criticize everything they do. You know, like how I bashed them for taking Pedro Alvarez. Oh, wait...I didn't.:

For as many shots as we all take at the Pirates, it's time to pat them on the back when they do the right thing. And from most perspectives, this looks like the right thing. Although much of this season has played out like the previous 15, right down to the last-place standing that we see today, hats off to the Pirates on a good pick. Now sign the guy!

I love the Pirates, I love the Steelers, I love the Penguins, and I love Pitt. My methods may not be the same as yours, but we all have the same championship aspirations. I talk about their ups and their downs, not just their ups. If anything, all losing does is make winning that much sweeter. Ask the many Penguin fans who were around during the couple of years preceding Sidney Crosby. Pirate fans' expectations have dissolved down to a .500 season. A championship? I think the city's collective heads would explode. And win or lose, I'll be talking about it.

Atlantic Division 2008 Free Agency Preview

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:20:39 -0500

What will the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins be up to come July 1st? Will the Flyers be able to keep their young talent? How many players will the Penguins manage to keep in tow? Who will the Rangers overpay this year? Will the Devils finally find some offense?

Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Who Will Be the Greatest?

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:53:04 -0500

Ovechkin took home the hardware this year, but Crosby was injured for a large portion of the season? When their careers are said and done who will be remembered as the greater player?

Koz: DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:21:44 -0500

by Koz
koz81@comcast.net

The last article I wrote for the site was quite harsh and many of you noticed. I don't consider what I do here to be sports journalism. I have no illusions about my place in the worldwide sports conversation. I'm a fan. That's an important role. Without fans, there are no professional sports. Thanks to technology, fans have a louder voice than ever. I consider it a great privilege to be able to share my thoughts with you. After Game 2, I was in despair.

I was fortunate to be in attendance at the Mellon Arena for Games 3 and 4. When it's all said and done, there will be few emotional experiences in my life that will rival Game 3. The only way I can begin to describe the feeling when Sidney Crosby scored the Penguins first goal of the series is to compare it to Hollywood. You know the climactic scenes in Armageddon or Apollo 13 when mission control is nervously awaiting word from the silent spacecraft to see if the astronauts are safe? You know the pandemonium that ensues when the spacecraft makes contact with mission control to say everything is ok? That sense of joy and relief was what 17,132 experienced when that first puck trickled across the goal line. People were high-fiving, spilling beer, cheering, hugging and some were even getting a little misty-eyed. We had hope.

The crowd noise throughout Game 3 was like nothing I've ever experienced. I honestly have no idea how we stayed that loud consistently from opening face-off to the final buzzer. Game 4 wasn't the same. Maybe it's because the Pens weren't holding the lead the way they had in Game 3, or maybe it's because we were exhausted, but the crowd was more tentative (though still respectably raucous). When it ended in defeat, there was a huge empty feeling that it was the last time we were going to see the team together in person. It was the kind of loss where the lone Penguins star of the game (Hossa) didn't come out for his curtain call. The 17,132 who couldn't be silenced just a few days earlier walked into the Pittsburgh night like a funeral procession.

Then came Game 5. It was what the playoffs are all about. People all over the United States tuned in for the evening news, Jay Leno, and eventually Conan O'Brien but were greeted with the most intense sports scenario on the planet. Before we got to overtime, Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot became Pittsburgh legends. Fleury's toe save on the two-on-one is the kind of stuff that will have children named after him. As the game crept toward the finish with Wings fans chanting for the Cup, I felt like I was sitting with my dying grandmother. Then, with 34 seconds remaining in the season, Talbot tied the game and all of a sudden it was like grandma leaped out of bed and screamed, "Hop in the Cordoba, we're going bowling!"

The overtime was so intense, I forgot what was on the line. In the moment, only winning that game mattered. I had to remind myself, if we lost, it was all over. There would be no more games. I rooted for the Pens, if only for the chance of one more game.

Considering the herculean effort to give us a sixth game, it was even more painful to watch the two soft goals that ended up burying the Pens for good. Late in the third period, just when a comeback seemed impossible, they gave us hope again. Things were coming together so improbably they made you believe. In the final seconds, it seemed impossible the Pens could even generate one more shot, but they did. As the final backhander was launched, you almost knew it was going in – until it didn't.

Game 6 gave Pens fans one last chance to salute their heroes. It was well deserved.

When the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, I cried. I was born in 1981. The Steelers Dynasty of the 70s is my heritage, but they were never my team. After XL, I finally had my own Super Bowl victory to brag about; to buy t-shirts, hats, posters and newspapers. Those tears of joy were for me.

People talk about how young the Penguins are and how bright the future is, but this team will never again take the ice. The 07-08 Penguins are now lost to history. Some could retire. More will leave because of free agency. Nearly 24 hours after the opening face-off of the final game of the 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins season, I cried. But I wasn't sad that I couldn't boast as the fan of a champion. I was sad because it hit me that I will never see this team play again. Even a storybook finish to the Game 7 that-never-was wouldn't alleviate that sadness. Of course it's much worse with this empty finish.

This year's Penguins team gave so much to the fans, and in turn, the fans gave a lot to them. I have great respect for all the folks who sat on the lawn to watch on the big screen, for those who stay for the announcing of the three stars, for D-9 and their cowbells, for section F and their banners, and for the guy in the Jiri Slegr jersey in A-14 who screamed his head off every game.

This year for me as a fan has been unlike any other. It started on September 6 when Sidney Crosby delivered my mom's season tickets and called me for the most memorable 90-second phone conversation I'll ever have. I was given the chance to share my love for hockey and the Pens with you, the Mondesi's House readers. This season had great games, heartbreaking injuries, unsung heroes, and blockbuster trades. It lasted longer than most expected but still ended one game too soon.

I am confident the young nucleus of the Penguins will stay together and our captain will raise the Cup over his head at least once in the next decade. Even if it happens every year for the next ten, it won't make up for the heartbreak I feel for this season's team.

Let's Go Pens.

Koz: DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:21:44 -0500

by Koz
koz81@comcast.net

Game 6 gave Pens fans one last chance to salute their heroes. It was well deserved.

Let's Go Pens.

SO CLOSE...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:21:44 -0500

RED WINGS 3
PENGUINS 2

Watching this season play out, the way the Penguins' 2007-08 campaign finally ended pretty much summed it all up: a talented team facing adversity gave an incredible, gutsy effort.

Down 3-1 while getting only one shot on goal through the first 16 minutes of the third period? No problem. Summon Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa for a little power-play magic and give us renewed hope with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

With the lid of Mellon Arena ready to be blown off, Marian Hossa's final effort trickled past Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, just inches away from tying the score as the clock ran out on the Boys of Winter.

It was an excruciating tease of what could have been.

But hockey, like football and golf, is a game of inches. A bounce here, a bounce there, and the Penguins could have won more than two games in this series. But there is no doubt that the better team won. The Penguins were the NHL's #2 team this year, and considering the age and inexperience of many of these players, there's no shame in that. But the day after, that's a message that no one wants to hear, especially the players.

As the title implies, the Penguins were both close and far in this series. Things couldn't have started much worse than back-to-back shutouts in Detroit, coming home with a 7-0 goal defecit.

There were times when this series had the feel of the 1960 World Series between the Yankees and Pirates. Yes, it was played about 20 years before I was born, but I've heard and read about it enough to know what happened.

Going into Game Seven, the Yankees won three games over the Pirates by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. The Pirates also won three games: 6-2, 3-2, and 5-2. And as we all know, it took every bit of the seventh game, right down to the final at-bat, for the Pirates to eek out a 10-9 victory on home turf, cementing Bill Mazeroski's legacy in this town for the rest of time.

From 1947-1959, the Yankees won eight World Series and appeared in two others. Of the three years in that span that they didn't make it, their records were 94-60 (1948), 103-51 (1954), and 79-75 (1959). Their team was stocked with names like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford...and that was just in 1960, to say nothing of the DiMaggios, Rizzutos, and Billy Martins that played in the years preceding.

To tie my comparison together, the Penguins were outshot by the following margins in this series: 36-19, 34-22, 34-24, 30-23, 58-32, and 30-22. True, shots alone don't win games, but they certainly give you an indication of who is in possession of the puck, and that was not the Penguins. They scored a grand total of 10 goals in six games, with seven of those 10 coming in just two games. They were facing a Red Wings team absolutely stocked with experienced, Stanley Cup-winning talent.

And much like the 1960 Pirates, these Penguins bridged the apparent gap between the two championship contestants with an amazing effort and a never-say-die attitude. After the series' start, few would have been surprised to see a sweep. But a funny thing happened on the way to that four-game series: the Penguins made it a series. This is not a team that packs it in.

The obstacles in the Penguins' path were many. First and foremost was the ridiculous Detroit defense, which was somehow able to totally neutralize the red-hot Pens, who had just had their way with the entire Eastern Conference. At times it was felt like trying to penetrate the Steel Curtain defense.

The Red Wings were able to hold Evgeni Malkin to a mere one goal for the entire series. The Penguins' goal scoring was very top-heavy, with three of their 10 from Hossa, two from Sidney Crosby, and two from the surprisingly efficient Adam Hall. Ryan Malone, Pascal Dupuis, and Gary Roberts were held to just one assist each. Jordan Staal failed to crack the scoring ledger.

With the lack of scoring production came the increased importance of other factors. Marc-Andre Fleury certainly silenced any remaining doubters who failed to notice his 19-10-2, 2.33 regular season or his 12-2 record coming into the Finals. Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill did their part to make the Red Wings sore on a regular basis. For inspirational purposes, you could look at a number of guys playing hurt, most notably Gonchar and Malone. There was the added lift from veterans Roberts and Daryl Sydor. And of course, no one will forget the efforts of Max Talbot or Petr Sykora in the near future.

Even on the losing end, it was as heroic an effort as anyone could have asked for. The Penguins gave, gave, and gave up until the final buzzer. Sadly, it was not to be this year. And I realize we can't take any future Finals appearances for granted, but the future is certainly bright.

So today, the offseason officially begins. GM Ray Shero is in a tough situation, as some combination of Hossa, Roberts, Dupuis, Hall, Malone, Orpik, Ty Conklin, Georges Laraque, and Jarkko Ruutu will surely sign for greater dollars elsewhere. But as he's proven time and time again, he's more than competent at his job. And while I'd love to see a guy like Hossa back in the black and gold next season, the Penguins will be a challenger for the crown regardless of who stays or goes.

To the Penguins, we thank you for an incredible, memorable season. From the October 5th opener against Carolina to the Winter Classic to the climactic finale last night, it will be regarded as a year for the ages.

The great thing for fans about playing this late into the season? Training camp's only a few short months away. I'm sure this nucleus will be more than ready to finish what they started.

Sidney Crosby's Agent Now Has An Issue With CBC

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:59:43 -0500

I passed along a story last week that Canadians were upset with the apparent Sidney Crosby shunning that was taking place during the Stanley Cup Finals and apparently Crosby's management has contacted the network about it. Via Globe and Mail....

At the conclusion of the deciding game of the Stanley Cup final on Wednesday, Sidney Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, huddled with Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena.

The subject was Hockey Night in Canada's coverage or — from the point of view of Brisson and others — the peculiar coverage of Crosby in the NHL final series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' 20-year-old captain was largely ignored by Hockey Night host Ron MacLean and commentator Don Cherry, although MacLean did report on Wednesday before Game 6 that Crosby was the leading scorer of the playoffs. And Cherry aired a piece on Coach's Corner, the thrust of which was referees were allowing Crosby to be fouled because he was known as a diver in his rookie season.

Apparently, the conversation between Brisson and Moore was amicable, but inconclusive.?

I'm not really versed in things Canadian but it's really amazing that one of Canada's own would be ignored or boycotted because of something that happened when he was in Junior Hockey. Don Cherry is seriously good at holding grudges.

CBC should examine Cherry-picking coverage (Globe and Mail)
Canadians Upset With Cherry's Snub Of Crosby (Awful Announcing)