Another Once in a Lifetime

As promised, Nick has sent along the awesome pictures that he took from our vantage point on Monday! I'll shut up and post a few here, but the rest, you'll have to view at my Flickr Page!

Legends - Mario Lemieux and the Stanley Cup

A victorious Sidney Crosby and Lord Stanley's Mug

The Flower Blossoms - Marc-Andre Fleury

Pittsburgh Fans prove why we're The City of Champions!

Update: Gone done and put them up on MySpace as a Photo Album as well. Now all you MySpace addicts (you know you're still out there) can leave silly comments, too...

Once In A Lifetime

Yep, you know me. You know that I just HAD to be in Pittsburgh to catch the Penguins and the Stanley Cup. Although this picture totally sucks, let me assure you that that is Sidney Crosby, hoisting the Stanley Cup aloft on the stage at Stanwix and the Boulevard. Because of the quality, it looks like I was forever away, but in fact, I was probably ~75-100 feet away from the stage. And let me tell you, the view was AMAZING!

Hopefully soon, Nick - a fellow fan I met at South Hills Junction, who had a WAY better camera - will be sending me many more amazing shots. Big thanks to him and the guys who drove all the way from New Jersey (!) for this once in a lifetime event.

To have that much star power - Crosby, Lemieux, Talbot, Fleury, Malkin, Staal, Guerin, Gonchar, and the legendary Mike Lange - in one place at one time... It was something I'll never, EVER forget.

WAY TO GO PENGUINS!

And, thanks to those amazing Pittsburgh Steelers, we are once again The City of Champions! Two major titles in one year! Suck it, Sports World!

Lord Stanley's Prayer (Pittsburgh Version)

Something I came up with for the Crosby haters on Fark:

Our Crosby, who art in Pittsburgh
Hallowed be thy game
Thy Hat Trick come, Mario's will be done
On the ice as it is in the locker room
Give us this day our Stanley Cup
And forgive us, our trash talking
As we forgive those who trash talk against us
And lead us not into obscurity
And deliver us from Bettman
For thine is the Dynasty, The Power Play, and the Glory
Forever and Ever.
GO PENS!

Blasphemy, when used properly, can be a helluvalotta fun...

The Sweet Taste of Irony

Dear Marion Hossa: SUCK IT! Smooth move, asshat. You wanted to win what? Shoulda stayed in Pittsburgh. Fuckwad!


PENGUINS WIN! 'Nuff Said!

A Vapor Trail In The Empty Air

How about them Pittsburgh Penguins, eh? EH?!? Fuckin' right! Pretty good for a bunch of flightless birds! Ottowa swept under the rug in 4. The Rangers, gone in 5, and a playoff series win in Melon Arena for the first time in a long time.

Pittsburgh is Hockey crazy right now. And having been (and always will be) a Pittsburgher, I'm along for the ride and loving it. When the Pens won the Cup in the early 90s, I was just coming into my teenage years. While I lived in Pittsburgh, it was a different story. The Pens were on the outs, and Mario was just stepping up to save the franchise for a second time. And now, 8 years after my departure from the city that I love, the Penguins are once again flying high.

This time, though, if they go all the way, I plan on being right in the middle of it all, just like I was for Super Bowl XL. If only the Pens and Steelers could inspire my haphazard Buccos to at least playoff contention... Eh, can't dream TOO much at one time...

Pittsburgh is a championship town.* Always has been, always will be. Hopefully, Crosby and Crew can bring Lord Stanley's Cup back to the town that's salivating for it. It's not just Crosby's show: The Penguins have assembled one of the greatest supporting casts in NHL history - four lines, all of which can score the big goals, with only two players going without a point in nine games so far this post-season. And each and every one of these lines has displayed some incredible hustle when it comes to defense, back checking like crazy to kill rushes before they have a chance to get going.

Which says nothing for the incredible defense on the ice as well. Anchored by Sergei Gonchar, the rear guard has finally come back to the days when the Sammulssons (no relation) roamed the Igloo ice. And let's not forget The Flower. Marc-Andre was described by one fan as not being just a Flower, but Ivy: He's all over the goal mouth. With two shutouts and plenty of highlight reel-worthy saves in the first two series, not to mention being the heart of what became seven straight playoff wins... It's hard to find anything negative about him.

The board is set, the pieces are moving, and the Eastern Conference Finals are going to be a Pennsylvanian affair. No jet lag, no real need for a hotel for more than one night. The Penguins and the Flyers. South West PA Vs. South East PA. The Hot Corners Series. The City of Steel and Three Rivers takes on The City of Brotherly Love and Independence.

Oh yeah, it's gonna be a fuckin' war. My call? Well, Ottowa in 4, New York in 5, why not Penguins over the Flyers in 6? Then we can bring the hurt to Lord Stanley's Party and take it the full 7 games.

*At this point, I had researched and written four more paragraphs, but got sidetracked and decided to delete them all. Oh well, right? Right. Sometimes, the stuff I type doesn't turn out so hot...

You're In Good Company

Courtesy of Farker Katalyst, by way of your Officiall Wednesday NHL Playoff Fark Thread:
/GO PENS!
//this is for last year!
///i has a SLASHIES!
////way too addicted to Fark, Hockey, and teh Intarwebs

March of the Penguins

It's been a great ride so far.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have come out of nowhere to be Stanley Cup Contenders. Since the All-Star Break, they've been on this unbelievable tear, swimming up from fourth place in the division to a near dead tie with the Devils. If by some miracle the Devils lose one or two and the Pens finish out with wins, they'll have the Atlantic Division sewn up.

I said it before, I'll say it again: Wait, what?

It's every fan's dream for their favorite team to do one of two things: A) Experience the glory that is becoming a champion, and B) Recapture that glory as often as possible. The Penguins, led by names like Mark Recchi, Ulf and Kjell Samulsson (no relation), Jaromir Jagr and the legendary Mario Lemeiux, danced with Lord Stanley for the first and second times in the 90-91 and 91-92 seasons. Since, that mini-dynasty is all we've really had to be proud of in Pittsburgh, until the Steelers' win last year in Super Bowl XL.

For 15 years, the Penguins have danced, not with Lord Stanley, but on the edge of a very, very sharp knife. Twice the team has come close to being sold off and shipped to some other city. The first time, Mario literally took one for the team as he deferred the salary the team still owed him into an ownership stake, keeping his Penguins (the team he played his entire NHL career with) in Pittsburgh. This most recent scare involved some clandestine meetings that have resulted in the construction of a new Arena, again saving the Penguins from packing their bags.

And hey, you know what? It doesn't hurt that this very young Penguins team, with veteran Mark Recchi back in uniform, is doing pretty damn well for themselves, either.

Last year's Caulder Trophy-winning Rookie of the Year Sidney Crosby is at it again. Not only is he the youngest player in NHL history to hit his first 100 point season, but he's doing it again! He's already over 100 points for the year, and has become the youngest player to hit the 200 point plateau as well. Is there any stopping Sid the Kid? At 19 years of age, he's already playing like a Gretzky or a Lemeiux. Eric Lindros, eat your heart out!

I don't think anyone will argue the fact that Evgeni Malkin is going to take the Caulder Trophy this year. Not only because he's at (or near) the top of damn near every rookie stat category on the list, but because of what he went through to get out of Russia and play in Pittsburgh. The culture shock alone would have been enough to have most people crying like children. Not this kid. No, he turns around an churns out an incredible Rookie season.

It doesn't stop there, either. Malkin isn't the only Penguin considered to be in the hunt for the Caulder. Jordan Staal, anyone? For a rookie playing on a team already stacked with young talent, he's certainly managing to have a breakout year. I've watched this kid make some pretty unbelieveable shots with that reach of his, and more often than physics says he probably should, he finds the back of the cage. While the Caulder Trophy will most likely be deferred to Evgeni Malkin, there's no denying that Staal should be mentioned right in there with him.

More later. For now, I've got to fix a real world problem...

Who Are These Kids?

Yes, they're the Pittsburgh Penguins. And for some strange reason, as I write this, they're sitting atop the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, in a tie for first with the New Jersey Devils. Also as I type this, they're leading the Washington Capitals 4-2.

Wait, what?

I don't care who these kids are. All I care about is the fact that my Penguins are back in the hunt for Lord Stanley's Cup, and it's been an incredible ride. LET'S GO PENS!

UPDATE: PENS WIN! And what's even better, they've secured a spot in the playoffs! Rock on!