Marian Hossa is a whore

I was going to wait to post on this subject, but since new events
have been unleashed in the hockey-world, I must wait no longer.

I'm not going to act like I know what all of this legal/financial
shiz is so I'm just going to post the article and pinpoint several
things.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4369897&campaign=rss&source=twitter&ex_cid=Twitter_espn_4369897

Basically the NHL is trying to figure out if the Blackhawks were
trying to find a way around the salary cap in the way that Hossa's
deal was signed- $62.8 mil over 12 years- or not. There are also
issues with Hossa's dropoff in payments in the final years of his
contract.

This is hilarious news because Marian Hossa is a whore. We all
know that he used to play for the Penguins in the 2007-2008 season
when they were up against Detroit in the Stanley Cup Finals and
that Detroit won that year.

He is trying to take the zombie crown away from Chris Chelios as the oldest, most useless player in NHL history (and that's sayin' something.) Chris Chelios didn't even get a chance to play in this year's final- that's pretty sad. Hossa one-upped him by at least making it onto the ice, but he then disappeared- scoring only 1 goal off a steal and really having zero impact on any of the games in the series whatsoever. They might as well have been on a penalty kill during Hossa's ice-time. Seth from Empty Netters posted this before game 1 with an amazing caption:

"We've already gotten more ice time than Chris Chelios will this
entire series"

(Cred to Seth, natch)

That's effing brilliant. I love it.

TANGENT
While we're on the subject of how ancient Chris Chelios is, I'd
like to reminisce (because now I can after winning the cup)...
June 6th, after Game 5 of the SCF 2009. Cried my eyes out for
hours, literally, and had a panic attack. Yeah, i'm hardcore like
that... Anyways, I couldn't bear to read any recaps or look at any
pictures, but I was able to take solice the next day with this
post from Kim and Zoe over at Puck Huffers.

"Isn't it just comforting to know that someday they'll all be
dead? (Except for Chelios, of course.)" -Zoe

Anyways, back to my original point. Marian Hossa is a whore
because he turned down a long-term contract with the Pens for
about $50 mil (or so I heard) for a $7.5 mil one-year contract
with Detroit. He left his team to go play for the team that beat
them. Not cool. He claimed that it was because it would give him
the best chance to win the Stanley Cup. If he had stuck with his
team (that he did well with) he would be hoisting that fabled cup
over his head right now.(Cred to Seth)

This year he turned down a huge 10-year contract with the Red
Wings for a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. 12 years?!
He'll be 42 years old by the time that contract is up which is why
I brought Chris Chelios into the mix. 3 teams in 3 years = team
whore.

If you want to read more comparisons on Hossa's last two seasons,
read [this post from Seth]. It's really good and details
everything I want to say regarding this subject.

http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/emptynetters/archive/2009/06/10/marian-hossa-used-to-play-and-score-for-the-penguins-6-10-09.aspx

Finally, I leave you with this parting gift:

Orpik > Hossa

PS- happy birthday to our favorite Russian, Geno. Happy 23rd
birthday!

The art of flexibility

I grew up watching, loving, doing gymnastics from when I was a
little girl until I was graduating high school. I was always a
tall, lanky kid who could have excelled at other sports such as
volleyball or basketball. But I was into gymnastics. I was on my
high school competitive team, but it wasn't until I was older and
wiser (read: in college) that I came to terms with the fact that I
really wasn't that good. Maybe I just make excuses that my back
is too short and my legs are too long, but I was never built to be
a strong competitor. I was never graced with the ability to be
flexible, which can only help you in your routines. You don't
have to work as hard to have a beautiful scale or split jump, for
example, when you are flexible. So, because of my lack of
flexibility, I never could understand why guys, who would come
watch our meets in the gym, were so impressed by a girl who could,
pardon the choice of words, spread her legs. I accepted that that
girl would never be me.

So it finally dawned on me one day this year, while watching one
of the playoff games (probably on Versus since they do such an
awesome job overall with the NHL games over NBC) why guys liked
those flexible girls. It came to me as I was watching the pre-
game and staring at Marc-Andre Fleury as he was stretching and
getting ready for the game, warming up in front of the net. I was
able to finally fully understand the sex appeal of flexibilty at
that point. I knew there was a sex appeal to gymnastics in
general, but because of my own negative feelings from my own lack
of flexibilty, my mind had always been clouded. Well, let the sun
shine through the clouds because I finally get it. Maybe this is
a topic best for my female readers, but guys, you can relate to it
in the general meaning I'm sure, at least when I was talking about
gymnastics anyways.

Check out this video of MAF with an amazing splits save during
game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals last year in 2008 against Henrik
Zetterberg.

I give major props to any guy who can stretch like that who's not
a gymnast. That is impressive. Hockey goalies always impress me
because they are not only wearing skates and are on the ice, but
have to have lightning-quick reflexes in order to stop pucks
before they're in the back of the net.

Bob Errey had a cute thing to say about Fleury one time: that his
legs are like pinball flippers. I love it!

This is another view of MAF's flippers from a fan's angle
(backside!)

Prospects bonus

I found some extras to post about Eric Tangradi and Dustin Jeffrey.

Eric is so well-spoken and smart about choosing his words. I like him. Here's a bonus video of him talking mostly about his injury and a few other things.

Here's Dustin talking about his draft class and his hopes of making the Penguins roster out of training camp this year. He also touches on the OHL.

Prospects

I'd like to take the time to talk about two of the Pens prospects this off-season.

Eric Tangradi

Eric was part of the package deal with Kris Kunitz when the Penguins traded Ryan Whitney to Anaheim in February of this year. Despite a hand injury to a tendon below his left thumb, this guy looks promising. He had 38 goals in 55 regular season games with Belleville in the OHL this past year.

At 6'4" and 221 lbs, this 20-year-old forward is the 2nd leading scoring in the OHL, only behind Tavares. Do I need to remind you who went #1 overall in the draft this year? Yeah, didn't think so. To be only 2nd to John Tavares is quite impressive.

It also doesn't hurt that he is easy on the eyes and is all around adorable.

Dustin Jeffrey
This guy had 38 goals and 59 assists in 56 games with Sault Ste. Marie in, I believe, the 2007-2008 OHL season.

Dustin is 21-years-old and is a forward (center). He also played in the AHL for the Baby Pens in Wilkes-Barre when Dan Bylsma was still the coach. Maybe he has a decent shot of making the NHL because Danny Bylsma has already been able to see what he is made of and how he can be an asset to the Penguins.

Check out both these guys in this cute video of the prospects bonding over paintball.

Dustin Jeffrey @ 3:41

Eric Tangradi @ 4:45

Hungry like the wolf

A Black 'N Gold original

Inspired by these 2 images of Staalsy...

Is it just me or does it look like Staalsy is going to turn into a
werewolf? Like, his fur is just going to rip through his jersey
and pants and he's going to leap out of his skates, slashing
through Ericsson because he was in his way of ripping apart Chris
Osgood on the other side of the net. In fact, Jordan looks this
way every time after he scores a goal. Teen Wolf 3: Hockey
Edition. Only this time it's not starring Michael J. Fox.

I proudly present: The Staalsy Collection

This was actually my first real piece that I wrote down on June
10th after showing a couple co-workers who gave me the idea and
encouragement to start this blog you are reading right now. By the
time I got around to compiling images, we had won the cup (only
ensuring that more images would be available to further prove this
undeniable fact.)

The Staalsy Collection: Stanley Cup Edition

Remember when I said he was glorious on the back cover of the
Champions DVD?

Jordan Staal is one of the youngest, if not the youngest
professional NHL player to hoist the Stanley Cup over his head at
only 20 years old. He was drafted by the Penguins in 2006 as the
2nd pick overall. Standing 6'4" and weighing 220 lbs, Staalsy has
become clutch. One of the most amazing plays of the Stanley Cup
Finals this year was his shorthanded goal in game 3. The Pens
were down 2-1 and Detroit had a power play.

While I think Max created that, Jordan powered down the ice and
ultimately scored the goal. Max did receive an assist.

Jordan is a strong 2-way player in my book. He is a center, but
at times I think he could do really well as a defensive player.
He is always checking guys at the right time before they have a
chance to put a shot on goal and he is aggressive at getting the
puck in opposite zone. He is a great young player who
unfortunately is part of a team with a lot of depth, making him a
fourth-liner. On any other team he would certainly be a first or
second-liner, however, Pittsburgh's lines are all talented;
they're just running out of room on their active roster for all
their talent that they've managed to sign. I like what I see from
Staalsy and I hope he is with us for a long time. This kid has
got the makings of a star.

Be careful, he might eat you

half-man, half-wolf

grrrr

DVD review

Sorry for being absent for so long, I've been busy. Here is the (maybe long awaited) DVD review I promised. I'm going to list these because it's just easier that way. Deal with it!

First off, cool dvd menu page. Like the rocker music and clips. It's hardcore.

Really liked the combination of the mix of clips and interviews together.

Love that they're all wearing their champions hats during their interviews.

It's presented in nice HD quality, unlike some dvds.

Craig Adams looks adorable in his commentary interviews.

Kris Letang looked so good in a suit arriving at Mellon Arena
before game 3 of the SCF.

It's bittersweet to see Hal Gill's commentary. He looks like
he's teary-eyed the whole time.

Of course they had to address the 6-men-on-the-ice lack of a call
during game 3... Sid reminds us all that we were lucky to get away
with it. 'Bout time for some luck to come our way, I say.

I like that the dvd focuses more on the Pens' good games rather
than lingering on games 1 and 2 of the series. While they didn't
play horribly in either of those games, they really didn't have
the momentum until game 3. As Phil Bourque reminds us, the script
was changing from the year before. Game 3 was when things started
to get really interesting... everyone expected the Wings to
dominate the series so when they took games 1 and 2, no one
was surprised. Kris Letang's tying goal in game 3 was a big
shift. PS- Love Phil Bourque <3

Love that they show a shot of the ice when it flashed : Nothing
Worth Winning Ever Came Easy

Shows a lot of good highlights: staalsy's shorthanded goal in game 4: epic

I liked that we got to see a little Dan Potash get his chance to speak his
mind in there :)

The segment on Bill Guerin was touching and sweet. I love how
much the boys look up to him as a veteran leader even though he
has only been with the team since March of this year. His jab at
Sidney in line was amusing too.

So glad they mentioned Mario's text message. Mark Eaton said it
best: it sends chills down your spine. I think I almost cried
when I first read this article on it.

Media whores: PH staff was right to give Brooks Oprik the gold

2nd place: probably Phil Bourque, but that's ok, we love you.

3rd Mark Eaton

4th maybe Sidney, but he's the captain and you expect them to include a lot of his commentary just based on that alone.

It's nice to see some highlights with Mike Lange's radio broadcast voice-over.

Epic music

The pictures from the parade were great at the end

Bonus Materials:

The wisdom of Bill Guerin was great

Billy G yelling at Geno for being lazy on the bench haha

Staalsy yelling, "Ahhhhh!" twice during practice when Billy was
wired haha

Getting to see the parade was special for me in particular because I live in San Diego and was unable to go to Pittsburgh as I had to be at work on that Monday morning.

Get ready

Very exciting news today as the NHL released the Penguin's 2009-2010 regular season schedule! The Pens begin their defense of the Cup starting October 2nd at home in Mellon Arena.

You can view the full schedule here.

I'm hoping to make it to Anaheim, LA, and San Jose for their West Coast leg of the schedule. It'll be interesting to see Scuderi go up against his former teammates when the Pens play against the LA Kings. It should be a good battle: Crosby and Malkin versus Scuderi, arguably the best offense against the best defense.

Thanks to Seth from Empty Netters for the reminder that play for most of the Penguins will be suspended Feb. 15 through March 1 for the Olympic break. (More on that later as I plan to write in detail about the Pens on the US and Canadian Olympic teams in another post.)

So plan your schedules accordingly and buy new paraphernalia in support of the Penguins because the 2009-2010 season is just around the corner. October never looked so good!