Nella vita di ogni sportivo, vi sono persone e imprese che infiammano l'animo, che ci ispirano a compiere grandi cose, a non mollare mai, a crederci fino in fondo.

Questa è una delle tante imprese; di un uomo che ha combattuto sempre, persino contro il cancro che non gli ha impedito di raggiungere l'Olimpo degli sportivi e diventare un Dio in Terra.

Questo è Mario Lemieux...

C’è un'unica carriera nell’hockey su ghiaccio e nello sport professionistico che assume i contorni della leggenda con passaggi fiabeschi e commoventi.

Stiamo parlando di un uomo che ha dovuto lottare prima con i difensori e poi con qualcosa di più terribile, ma grazie alla sua classe unica ne è uscito vincitore.

Signori e signore ecco la storia di Mario Lemieux, semplicemente l’eroe Magnifico.

Nato il 5 ottobre del 1965 a Montreal Mario Lemieux inizia giovanissimo a calcare il ghiaccio,a 15 anni il suo talento inizia a emergere nelle leghe giovanili prima con i Montreal Concordia nella QAAA (Quebec Amateur Athletic Association)dove in 47 partite realizza 124 punti equamente divisi con 62 gol e 62 assist e poi nei Laval Voisins nella QUEBEC MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE dove in 3 anni realizza 562 punti frutto di 247 gol e 315 assist.

Nella stagione 83-84 la sua terza nelle leghe minori è nominato mvp della stagione, inserito nella squadra dell’anno e nominato “player of the year” della CANADIAN MAJOR JUNIOR LEAGUE. La nhl si accorge di questa stella emergente che causa l’inizio di una gara all’ultimo posto.

La prima scelta della nhl va, infatti, alla peggior squadra della lega, cosi a contendersi Lemieux sono le franchigie di New Jersey e Pittsburgh. I Penguins per assicurarsi la prima scelta decidono di indebolire la rosa cedendo Randy Carlyle ai Winnipeg Jets e cambiando il portiere titolare Roberto Romano con Vincent Tremblay che in quattro partite subisce 24 gol contribuendo cosi all’ultimo posto di Pittsburgh che con 3 punti in meno dei New Jersey ha la sicurezza di avere Lemieux nella stagione successiva.

Dopo questo meccanismo d’indebolimento la nhl decide di cambiare l’assegnazione dei migliori rookie ed evitare altre sconfitte volontarie per avere una prima scelta inventando una lotteria tra le peggiori franchigie conosciuta anche col nome di “Lemieux lottery!"

Il suo talento si vede nascere una volta nella vita cosi ora è tutta Pittsburgh ad essere ammaliata da questa nuova stella. Lemieux sceglie il numero 66 in omaggio al 99 del grande Wayne Gretzky suo connazionale. La sua prima partita è contro i Boston Bruins, dopo due minuti di gioco nella sua prima azione supera Ray Bourque e al suo primo tiro in porta segna il suo primo gol nella nhl. I Pittsburgh Penguins avevano trovato il salvatore della patria. La sua prima stagione si chiude con 43 gol e 57 assist per un totale di 100 punti e il titolo di rookie dell’anno.

Mario Lemieux è da subito accostato al più grande della nhl, Gretzky, e la Canada Cup del 1987 è l’occasione di vedere i due giocare insieme. In finale il Canada affronta la forte Unione Sovietica, dopo aver perso gara 1 è proprio Gretzky a regalare un assist d’oro per Lemieux nel gol determinante del 6 a 5.

La decisiva gara 3 vede tutto il Coops Coliseum di Hamilton vivere un sogno, sul 5 a 5 ad un minuto dalla fine è ancora Gretzky a lanciare super Mario per il gol decisivo del 6 a 5 e conquistare nel delirio della folla la Canada Cup. Nel trionfo tutta la nazione si chiedeva ora chi fosse più grande, con Lemieux re dei gol (11 in 9 partite) e Gretzky re degli assist e dei punti.

I numeri di Lemieux crescono con la stagione 87-88, dove per la prima volta si aggiudica il titolo di capocannoniere (Art Ross Trophy) grazie a 168 punti con 70 gol e 98 assist ed è incoronato giocatore dell’anno. Si migliora la stagione successiva, il 31 Dicembre del 1988 contro i New Jersey Devils realizza 5 gol in 5 modi diversi, su azione, in inferiorità e superiorità numerica, realizzando un penalty shot e chiudendo l’incontro sul risultato di 8 a 6 con un gol a porta vuota, un vero record.

In questa stagione Mario realizza 85 gol in 76 partite con 114 assist vince di nuovo l’Art Ross Trophy e l’Hart Memorial Trophy, spezzando con questi 2 trionfi consecutivi una serie incredibile di successi di Gretzky, con la consacrazione di nuovo Re della nhl.

Nei playoff della stagione 88-89 i Pittsburgh Penguins affrontano il caldissimo derby della Pennsylvania con i Philadelphia Flyers, Mario Lemieux si presenta non al meglio a causa di un infortunio al collo ma in partita supera il dolore e dopo soli 4 minuti e 40 secondi ha già realizzato una tripletta, e nel delirio dei tifosi dei Penguins concede un altro gol nel primo periodo aggiungendo poi al suo tabellino 3 assist e chiudendo una magica serata con il suo quinto gol per un totale di 8 punti nel 10 a 8 finale.

L'allenatore dei Flyers Dineen commentò cosi l’incontro – “ Lemieux oggi questa partita non l’ha giocata, l’ha semplicemente dominata!”

La stagione 1990-91 non si apre con gli scenari migliori, super Mario perde 58 partite a causa di un’operazione chirurgica per rimuovere un’ernia del disco, si riprende a fine stagione, dove realizza solo 19 gol e 26 assist e prepara i suoi Penguins ai playoff.
Nella post season da buon capitano inizia a far la differenza e conquista la sua prima finale di Stanley Cup contro i Minnesota North Stars.

Minnesota si porta sul 2 a 1 nella serie quando Mario Lemieux trascina Pittsburgh nelle tre partite successive riportando altrettante vittorie.

Nel primo match point giocato in casa dei North Stars, Pittsburgh è assolutamente cinica e perfetta chiudendo la partita con un 8 a 0, il suo capitano alza al cielo la prima Stanley Cup della franchigia, con 44 punti in 23 gare grazie a 16 gol e 28 assist Lemieux è nominato miglior giocatore dei playoff. Jagr, Stevens, Francis, Recchi e Barrasso possono scrivere il loro nome accanto alla Stanley cup. Per Pittsburgh Mario Lemieux diventa il magnifico.

Nel 1991-92 i Penguins concedono il bis, la stagione però è funestata dalla scomparsa del coach Bob Johnson per cancro. La sua frase “It’s a great day for hockey” diventa il motto della stagione di Pittsburgh che fa il pienone di grandi giorni di hockey, Mario Lemieux realizza 131 punti vincendo l’Art Ross Trophy con 44 gol e 87 assist.

In finale i Penguins trovano i Chicago Blackhawks dei giovanissimi Roenick e Hasek e della leggenda Goulet. La serie è tiratissima, Pittsburgh vince le prime tre gare con scarti minimi, in gara 4 è ovviamente Lemieux a guidare la sua squadra in un esaltante 6 a 5, vincendo per il secondo anno consecutivo la Stanley cup. Ora i tifosi chiedono il tris.

Il 1992 si apre con i Pittsburgh Penguins squadra da battere, Lemieux Jagr e Francis portano la loro franchigia al primo posto con 119 punti nella regular season grazie a 56 vittorie (record di squadra). Per Lemieux però non è una stagione come le altre, arrivano gol e assist ma anche problemi fisici.

Continua a giocare e trascinare i suoi Penguins ma il dolore alla schiena diventa insopportabile. Il 12 gennaio del 1993 la diagnosi è terribile. I Pittsburgh Penguins annunciano che Mario Lemieux ha il morbo di Hodgkin, una neoplasia maligna del sistema linfatico e che immediatamente il capitano inizierà il trattamento con radioterapia.

Lemieux perde 12 partite in stagione ma riesce a stupire combattendo il cancro di mattina e i difensori della nhl di sera sconfiggendo entrambi. In 60 partite realizza 69 gol riuscendo nuovamente a segnare più di un gol a partita, unico in questo con Gretzky.

Il 9 aprile del 93 contro i New York Rangers un Mario Lemieux stanco dal trattamento contro la malattia segna 5 gol con tutto il suo completo repertorio, classe agilità e furbizia e se per i portieri Richter e Hirsch rappresenta un incubo, tutto l’immenso Madison Square Garden gli tributa una meritatissima standing ovation.

Nel 1993-94 però l’ennesimo infortunio alla schiena per un’ernia muscolare gli fa perdere 62 partite e a causa del ricovero per il proseguire del trattamento del morbo di Hodgkin perde l’intera stagione successiva. Il suo rientro è datato 7 ottobre 1995 ed è l’ennesimo rientro da eroe.

Il 24 Marzo per la nascita di suo figlio Austin regala a se e ai suoi tifosi una partita memorabile contro i St. Louis Blues di sua maestà Gretzky un Lemieux visibilmente emozionato realizza 5 gol e 2 assist. A fine stagione in 70 partite realizza 161 punti grazie a 69 gol e 92 assist.
La NHL lo nomina giocatore dell’anno e aggiunge ai suoi trofei il titolo di cannoniere, semplicemente l’uomo del miracolo.

Si ripete a grandi livelli anche nella stagione successiva, nel 96-97 è ancora cannoniere con 122 punti, con 50 gol e 72 assist. Prima però di ritirare l’ennesimo Art Ross Trophy un annuncio gela tutti i suoi tifosi: “La mia salute non è buona, sono stato in lotta per il mio ritorno una prima volta ma il mio cancro è veramente uno strumento di presa sulla mia resistenza globale, essere stanco per tutto il tempo e non essere al 100% ha svolto un ruolo fondamentale nella scelta di ritirarmi a 31 anni.”

Lemieux aveva deciso di dare l’addio all’hockey al termine della stagione 1996-97.
La Hall of Fame senza aspettare i canonici 3 anni per l’induzione tra gli immortali compie un’eccezione e dopo pochi mesi dal ritiro decide, il 17 novembre del 97 di eleggerlo tra i membri che la compongono, e nella successiva gara casalinga i Penguins ritirano la sua maglia numero 66 appendendola nella sua arena.

Le stagioni successive al ritiro della stella di Pittsburgh sono avare di soddisfazioni per i Penguins, Jaromir Jagr raccoglie sulle spalle tutto il peso del ritiro di Lemieux, e pur realizzando valanghe di gol e assist non riesce a entusiasmare la città.

Per i tifosi la doccia fredda non arriva però dal campo.
La dirigenza dei Pittsburgh Penguins dichiara infatti di avere la società ad un passo dalla bancarotta, la squadra vincitrice di 2 Stanley Cup rischia di sparire per sempre, ora si poteva solo sperare in un miracolo.

Mentre si attendeva l’ormai imminente annuncio di bancarotta ecco il miracolo atteso, una cordata di imprenditori locali guidati da un ex giocatore dei Penguins era pronta a rilevare la società. I tifosi, ormai rassegnati, si ritrovano increduli davanti alla sorpresa più bella, l’ex giocatore che salva la squadra e ne diventa il nuovo proprietario è Mario Lemieux.

Le prime parole da presidente-proprietario di Lemieux sono il riassunto della volontà di una leggenda – “ Sono nato a Montreal ma è Pittsburgh la mia città, non potevo non aiutarla in un momento di grande difficoltà.” La squadra ripreso l’entusiasmo ricomincia a far gioire tifosi e nuova dirigenza grazie ai gol di Jagr e Kovalev ma ancora mancava qualcosa.

La stagione 2000-01 vede Pittsburgh raccogliere buoni risultati ma intorno alla squadra c’è poco entusiasmo e i tifosi nelle partite casalinghe son sempre meno, però basta un annuncio per sconvolgere tutto.

Il 7 dicembre Mario Lemieux conferma che da un po’ di tempo ha ripreso gli allenamenti in vista di un suo possibile ritorno sul ghiaccio. La notizia esplode e cambia i palinsesti tv che solo per lui iniziano a dedicare un conto alla rovescia per il magico rientro, paragonato a quello di Michael Jordan, con un tocco magico in più, si inizia a ipotizzare il rientro per natale, per il più bel regalo ai tifosi.

Il 27 dicembre è il gran giorno per l’hockey, per la nhl e per tutti quelli che vedono in Lemieux un eroe, Mario si avvicina al suo ritorno nella Mellon Arena con queste parole – “ I miei tifosi e chi mi vuol bene sono persone speciali per me, sono sorpresi ma come buoni amici sono stati molto favorevoli, ci ho pensato tanto, mi è sembrata una buona idea e poi mio figlio Austin non mi ha mai visto giocare.” Il Re tornava sul suo trono.

Nella partita contro i Toronto Maple Leafs Mario Lemieux eguaglia il suo idolo Guy Lafleur e Gordie Howe rientrando sul ghiaccio facendo parte della Hall of Fame. Al ritorno assistono 17.148 persone, 200 in più rispetto alla capienza, il match è trasmesso in diretta dalle principali reti televisive americane e canadesi.

Ricomincia da dove aveva finito nel ’97, assist per Jagr dopo 31 secondi nel gol più veloce di Pittsburgh e a metà del terzo periodo è Jagr a restituire il favore per il gol del 3 a 0 facendo esplodere la Mellon Arena. Finisce 5 a 0 con 1 gol e 2 assist di Lemieux, anche Toronto può applaudire colui che ha fatto rinascere l’hockey. Dal 2000 al 2006 gioca 170 partite con 77 gol e 152 assist aggiungendo altri 229 punti ad una carriera memorabile nei Penguins, col record di presenze gol e assist e con l’unica figura nello sport di presidente-giocatore.

La carriera di super Mario non può non aggiungere le Olimpiadi invernali.
Nel 2002 a Salt Lake City è nominato capitano del Canada, ed è medaglia d’oro dopo aver battuto gli Usa 5 a 2 e chiuso il torneo con 2 gol e 4 assist in una squadra che sembra un sogno con Lindros, Sakic, Nolan, Iginla, Blake, Pronger e Brodeur.

A fine partita il suo amico-nemico Wayne Gretzky capo della delegazione canadese raccontava cosi un’emozione: “Con Mario ha vinto l’hockey, ha vinto lui, hanno vinto i suoi fan e chi ha solo il piacere di rivederlo sul ghiaccio”.

Nel 2004 in Canada si gioca la World Cup, Mario Lemieux è nominato ancora capitano.
Il cammino in coppa del mondo è una passerella trionfale, 6 incontri 6 vittorie. A Toronto, nella finale contro la Finlandia, passano pochi secondi prima che Lemieux riceva il disco, disorienti con una finta tutta la linea difensiva finlandese offrendo a Sakic l’assist per il gol del vantaggio.

È delirio come per il gol di super Mario nella semifinale con la Rep. Ceca. Dal delirio si passa alla standing ovation per la premiazione, Lemieux alza la coppa e regala ai tifosi il meritato giro d’onore con le note della canzone “Simply The Best”.

Il 2007 regala a Lemieux il premio come il più grande sportivo nella storia della città di Pittsburgh e la hall of fame internazionale lo introduce come membro della classe 2008, il motivo nella semplice spiegazione dei suoi successi alla sua premiazione:
• 2 Stanley Cup
• 1 Calder Memorial Trophy
• 4 Lester B. Pearson award
• 1 Canada Cup 1987
• 6 Art Ross Trophy
• 3 Hart Trophy
• 2 Conn Smythe Trophy
• 1 Pro Set nhl player of the year
• 1 Bill Masterton Trophy
• 1 Lester Patrick Trophy
• 1 World Cup 2004
• Medaglia d’oro olimpiadi 2002

Il gol più bello di Mario Lemieux resta però la nascita di una fondazione da lui voluta e creata, che porta il suo nome, nata per dare a chiunque la possibilità di sconfiggere il cancro e credere nella vittoria.

Mario Lemieux ha regalato gol, assist, gioie, lacrime, vittorie, ha battuto qualsiasi ostacolo sia sul ghiaccio sia sulla vita, per molti sarà ricordato come il più grande, per altri semplicemente come super Mario ma una cosa mette d’accordo tutti, è semplicemente l’eroe Magnifico!

See you at the next post...

Fonte: Play.it.USA

The most iconic athlete to ever play in Pittsburgh, in my mind, is Mario Lemieux. He was the most consistently great athlete for the longest period of time in the history of all of Pittsburgh's sports teams.

Also, he has done more for sports in the city than anyone else. Lemieux has saved the Penguins repeatedly, and most recently assured that hockey will stay in Pittsburgh for the long term. None of this can be said for anyone else.

Art and Dan Rooney have done a great job for the Steelers, and have made a huge impact. There's no doubting that the Steelers are the first thing everyone thinks about when Pittsburgh is mentioned.

The two have combined to build a franchise that is iconic in football lore. No team has more championships, nor can any team match the dedicated fans of the black and gold.

With all that being said, they have not dealt with the struggles Lemieux has.

Lemiuex not only battled an ailing back and Hodgkin's Disease, but he also battled the politicians of the state of Pennsylvania. He overcame empty verbal commitments and promises to finally lock in an arena deal and save hockey in Pittsburgh.

What a genius. He never gave up, and will now benefit from the arena and a sellout streak with no end in sight.

The reason Brett Favre reminded me of all of this is because he was a Mario Lemieux-like figure in my mind. That is until he decided he wanted to come back weeks away from the start of training camp.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were finally able to move on and start a new era for the franchise. I'm sure it took Packer nation a long time to cope with Favre leaving, but they did and everything was set.

Then the aged veteran decided he was not done. And that he wanted to return. And that he wanted to be 'the guy' again. And that everyone should prepare for the opposite of what they had finally prepared themselves for. It's not the way this legend should end his career with the National Football League and the Packers.

He wants to protect his legacy. If he leaves, his legacy will never be the same. His legacy has been a team player with the right mindset. His new-found attitude reminds me more of Terrell Owens.

Look at how Lemieux handled his final comeback.

Mario came back without a 'C' or 'A' on his sweater. He let the team remain how it was. He saw it as earning his spot back. Jaromir Jagr remained the captain, and everything was harmonious.

Why can't Favre do the same? Why can't he hold the clipboard and wait for his chance to get back in the game?

Favre's actions are that of a premadonna. Kind of like an Alexander Radulov, if you will.

It's the mentality - "Well if I can't be the center of attention, I'm leaving!"

That is not the mark of a super star. Nor is it the mark of the face of a sport.

Sidney Crosby welcomes higher contracts for his teammates than the $8.7 million he is earning. He does what is best for the team.

Lemieux did the same, taking a lower paycheck to help the team stay afloat.

If Favre is a class-act, as I once thought he was, he will stay with the franchise that made him a legend. He will wait for that chance to play (considering the chances of Rodgers tripping over himself are quite high). And when he gets that opportunity, he will win and make no remarks regarding the whole situation we are witnessing right now.

This will not happen though, because there are very few Lemieux-like athletes out there.

Feel proud that you are from Pittsburgh. Feel proud that the Rooneys value merit over talent (though they are going through their own tiff right now).

And most of all, when you attend a game at the new arena, think about how great of a player and person Mario Lemieux was/is. And know that the team and environment is his doing.

Also, when you watch Favre take the field in a Minnesota Vikings or Chicago Bears jersey, realize that this is another moment of athletes not knowing when to call it quits.

Do you remember Johnny Unitas as a San Diego Charger? No. And no one will remember Favre's final season unless it is with the Packers.

I don't mean to preach, but it needed to be said.

Team Captains Charles Barkley, Mario Lemieux, Drew Brees and Ozzie Smith Pick Top Charities for Pro Sports Team Challenge Golf Tournament in Palm Spring

Spokespersons for the charities picked as beneficiaries for the Pro Sports Team Challenge celebrity golf tournament were elated when legendary all-stars from baseball, hockey, basketball, and football chose to represent their organizations in competing for a total purse of more than $250,000.

Read more here

Look to the Stars: The World of Celebrity Giving, April 28, 2008

Charles Barkely's Pro Team Sports Challenge for Charity

You’ve got, of course, Sir Charles in charge of Team Basketball, Drew Brees leading Team Football, Ozzie Smith taking the reins of Team Baseball, and hockey great Mario Lemieux keeping his Team Hockey in check.

The team captains spoke about the event last week and revealed which charities they selected.

“This is one of the most unique events I’ve ever played in.” said Drew Brees. “To find four guys from major sports and bring them together in a fun atmosphere – it’s incredible. I’m gonna have a chance to meet and play with guys I’ve watched growing up – Hall of Famers, world champions.”

Brees also spoke sincerely about playing for charity: “Our charity is Operation Kids. Its an international charity whose mission is to care for the total wellbeing of the child. They focus on education and health care for kids, and they’ve done some phenomenal things.”
http://www.looktothestars.org/news/743-charles-barkleys-pro-team-sports-challenge-for-charity

Read more here

Golf Girl’s Diary: April 29, 2008

I told you a little about the Team Challenge last week. It's the upcoming tournament where iconic basketball, football, baseball and hockey players, will play golf. Team golf. The kind of golf we all love to watch. And the excitement level is going to be bumped up a notch because the organizers have invented a whole new Internet platform, called "strat.e.golf", that's going to let fans make real time coaching decisions. Add to that accelerated scoring and fan selected 2X players who's matches will count for double points... and I think we're actually bumping it up a lot of notches.
http://thegolfgirl.blogspot.com/2008/04/team-challenge-are-hockey-players.html

Read more here

Athlebrities, April 25, 2008
Because of the fan interaction, I was curious about which fan-base would produce the most-trash-talking interaction. Brees: “Well, we got LaDainian Tomlinson, and (John) Elway covering the Rocky Mountain area, myself in the south, and (Michael) Strahan holding down the east, so we’re hopefully going to grab fans from everywhere and it can get very interesting.”

Drew Brees: “This is one of the most unique events I’ve ever played in. To find four guys from major sports and bring them together in a fun atmosphere, it’s incredible, I’m gonna have a chance to meet and play with guys I’ve watched growing up, Hall of Famers, world champions.” And when Drew Brees spoke about playing for charity, I knew he was for real. “Our charity is Operation Kids,” he said. “Its an international charity whose mission is to care for the total well being of the child, they focus on education and healthcare for kids, and they’ve done some phenomenal things.”
http://www.athlebrities.com/?p=1659

Read more here

I got into an argument before today's game because he said Pittsburgh fans are crazy and I agreed that they are crazy but only crazy loud not dedicated. He argued that even in their dark ages fans still came out to support them. I had told him this was not the case and here is the proof.

Their total capacity is 695,279 per season.
Season Total Capacity Change
1992-93 660,290 95% 3.2%
1993-94 685,919 99% 3.9%
1994-95 386,599 95% -43.6%
1995-96 675,147 97% 74.6%
1996-97 684,322(lemieux retires) 98% 1.4%
1997-98 617,900 86% -9.7%
1998-99 607,825 85% -1.6%
1999-00 633,199 88% 4.2%
2000-01 655,937 (lemieux comes back) 96.7% 6.2%
2001-02 641,615
2002-03 604,798 (lemieux retires)
2003-04 486,961
2004-05 None (lockout- crosby, malkin, fleury)
2005-06 647,975
2006-07 673,395

BANDWAGON JUMPERS!!!!!!!!!

Celtics are no different neither are the BoSox.
After 1995, the Gardens was renovated and capacity reached 763584 annually.
Season Total Capacity Change
1993-94 565,820 100% 0%
1994-95 565,820 100% 0%
1995-96 732,841 96% 29.5%
1996-97 664,022 87% -9.4%
1997-98 743,422 97% 15.4%
1998-99 440,602 95% -40.7%
1999-00 683,608 90% 55.2%
2000-01 629,201 82.4% -8.0%
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
660,936 709,049 664,248 656,081
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
692,513 690,576

Fenway Park has seen a rise since 2002. They've seen a rise from 33000 averaging at a game to 36000 in 2002. COME ON! 3000 more people per game.

These fans don't deserve winning teams. Maple Leaf fans have seen crap teams for 40 years yet our Air Canada Centre and Maple Leaf Gardens have always been full.

Season Total Capacity Change
1992-93 849,852 99% 23.6%
1993-94 854,701 99% 0.6%
1994-95 377,866 99% -55.8%
1995-96 644,930 99% 70.7%
1996-97 643,884 99% -0.2%
1997-98 644,098 99% 0.03%
1998-99 424,512 100% N/A
1998-99
ACC -
MLG - 687,372
262,860
424,512 100%

6.7%

1999-00 785,484 100% 14.3%
2000-01 789,467 102.3% 0.5%
2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05
790,457 788,847 794,439 None
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
795,747 798,981

Considering the way the press has changed in how it treats athletes over the years, I fully support every athlete's attempt to control his or her own image as much as possible -- and that even extends to Lemieux, who is now an owner, but is being sought out because of his situation as a former legend of the club he owns.  Shaughnessy and Jordan even admit as much.  Jordan writes:

In those days, there was no big disparity between the income of a writer and that of an athlete. Catfish was probably making about 20 G's a year, and I was making 25 G's a year from SI. That's why Catfish was so accessible—those free dinners, and, maybe, when my story came out, some employee for Skoal or Red Man tobacco would call up Catfish and ask him to endorse their products for a sum of money almost equal to his salary.

This is crucial to me -- because so many writers seem to have this sheen of resentment about covering athletes who make much more now than they will ever hope to see in their lives; it slants their views on whether a player is producing (notice how just about every player in a slump will come with a reminder of his contract in baseball, for example), and players don't need that extra bit in a 24/7 sports news cycle that's already designed to chew them up and spit them out.

Is it any wonder Andruw Jones, slumping fellow that he is and overpaid, was telling T.J. Simers of the L.A. Times that he didn't care. Simers went up there and mocked him, and what did he expect? I certainly don't expect journalists to fawn over their subjects (they don't work for MLB), but given the way journalism as a whole has gone over the past couple of decades, with every bit of police blotter fare and public slip-up being there for scrutiny, every pro athlete better have a crack PR staff to vet interview requests. Due diligence requires it.

No, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings are a solid matchup and two good hockey towns to boot. Pittsburgh had an NHL team in 1925, the Pirates, which lasted until 1930, and the city's had the Penguins since league expansion in 1967.

Detroit's been in the league since 1926 when they took over the Victoria BC franchise. The city and team like to call itself Hockeytown, which is a little off. If Detroit's Hockeytown, then Montreal and Toronto must be Hockeycities.

And if the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit doesn't start getting more fans in the seats, the nickname might have to be changed to 'Used to Be Hockeytown.'

This leads me to my second complaint. It's fine that Gordie Howe is called Mr. Hockey, but isn't that for others to label the man? My personal opinion is, he shouldn't be signing autographs as "Gordie Howe, Mr. Hockey." Doesn't that make him just a little bit full of himself?

Gordie Howe is considered by not all, but many, as the greatest ever. Greater than Gretzky, Orr, Richard, and Lemieux. It's a judgement call. Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall told me Howe was the best there was.

He doesn't need to blow his own horn. Let others do that for him. Let others call him Mr. Hockey.

And I say this with the utmost respect for Mr. Howe.

Am I wrong for thinking this? I'm pretty sure Mario never signed as Mario "The Magnificent One" Lemieux, or Orr as Bobby "The World's Greatest Defenceman" Orr, or Maurice "Hero of a Province" Richard.

This year's final is a sexy affair because of so many stars involved. Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Staal, Malone, Zetterburg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Lidstrom, Draper. And the guy who played on the original 1926 Wings, Chris Chelios.

It'll be good. I may even watch some of it.

The thing begins Saturday in Detroit.

Speaking perfect English is an amazing thing when it's not your mother tongue. It's very admirable. Some European NHL players have mastered it. For most, of course, it's impossible.

Detroit's Swedish star Nick Lidstrom speaks English almost perfectly, but you can detect that Swedish tongue in there just slightly. And it's a little more so with Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson. You can definitely here the Swedish way of talking in their speech, although their English is excellent.

But not at all with Lundqvist. In those two interviews I heard, he could've been the guy in the pool hall, Or the Canadian goalie in the beer league. I need to hear more from Lundqvist. I'm curious about this.

The NHL Russian guys' English is basically all the same, ranging from pretty good to lousy.  Alex Kovalev speaks English pretty well, with the obvious Russian accent,  but Alex Ovechkin is still a work in progress, and Evgeny Malkin is only beginning. Igor Larionov, on the other hand, spoke excellent English back in the days when Soviet players couldn't play over here, and so had very little exposure to English. Somehow, though, he got great at it.

Larionov even snuck away from the Russian camp to Wayne Gretzky's parent's house in Brantford during the 1987 Canada Cup and partied with all the Canadian guys.

Remember the 1972 Summit Series? We got the odd interview with some of the Russian players including Valeri Kharlamov, and they were interviews using an interpreter. But at the end, the few Russian players managed a meek "thank you" in English, and it was both surprising and wonderful.

The Finnish players pick it up pretty well, like Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, but you can hear the Finnish accent in there, even though their words and grammar are perfect.

The Czechs, it seems, have a little bit of a harder time of it. Jaromir Jagr's English is terrrible, after all these years in North America. Tomas Plekanec, however, looks promising as a speaker of English. But the Czechs, like the Russians, use their throats and tongues differently, so there's many English words they'll never master properly.

Some of the English guys speak French really well. I can't learn French, but they speak it with almost no accent. Mike Bossy wins by a landslide on this front.

Henri Richard was so quiet in the early days of his career, that when Toe Blake was once asked if Henri could speak English, Blake replied, "I don't even know if he can speak French."

French guys like Daniel Briere, Martin Biron, Vincent Lecavalier, Mario Lemieux, and Canucks' coach Alain Vigneault speak English with only a trace of an accent. It's very impressive.

It's just a good thing there's no heavy-duty Scotsmen in the NHL. Their accent can be thicker than lumpy gravy. I worked with a Scottish guy in Calgary who had been in Canada for years, but he could talk to me for fifteen minutes and I wouldn't have a clue what he was saying.

Compared to this guy, Alex Ovechkin sounds perfect.

I wanted to share our pictures from the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year.  Check them out!

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators 04-09-08:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17791&l=c2769&id=559709463

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators 04-11-08:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18158&l=faadd&id=559709463

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphi Flyers 05-09-08:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18343&l=6649d&id=559709463

And don't forget to check out my previous blog about the Winter Classic from 01-01-08 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, New York where the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Buffalo Sabres!

LET'S GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the Flyers-Penguins series draws closer, you're going to see journalists everywhere predicting a bloodbath fueled by eight games of regular season divisional play.  But just as people fail to observe that ogres, like onion, have layers, the Pennsylvania pugilism has far deeper roots than eight bouts in an 82-game schedule could produce.

Historically speaking, the fire began in the early 1990s, when the Pittsburgh Penguins were flying high with consecutive Stanley Cup victories, the great Mario Lemieux, and the flash Jaromir Jagr.  Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Flyers had sunk from the high of the mid-1980s to missing the playoffs.  To this day, Flyer fans hurl whistles and cat calls at Jaromir Jagr whenever he comes to the Wachovia Center, commemorating the long-gone mullet that used to fly behind him as he whirled down the ice as a Penguin.

Moving forward, you discover the 2000 playoffs.  The Flyers entered PIttsburgh behind by two games.  Both teams received great goaltending from goalies Ron Tugnutt (Pittsburgh) and rookie Brian Boucher (Philadelphia).  But the most memorable scene came in the fifth overtime of Game 4.  Keith Primeau, who had only scored 7 goals in 78 career playoff games, managed to place a wrist shot over the shoulder of Tugnutt, tying the series and giving the Flyers the necessary momentum to advance to the next round.

And then came the lockout.  Veterans left North American for the various European leagues; youngsters stayed here to play in their clubs' AHL affiliates.  Check out some names from the 2004-2005 Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins: coach Michel Therrien, Ryan Whitney, Maxime Talbot, Kris Beech.  And for the Philadelphia Phantoms: coach John Stevens, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, RJ Umberger, Randy Jones, Riley Cote, Antero Niittymaki.  That year the Baby Pens and the Phantoms met in a heated playoff war, from which the Phantoms emerged victorious and advanced to win the Calder Cup.  Note the coaching staff.  Anyone wondering where this year's war of words may have begun?

Coming out of the lockout, we stumble across the Sidney Crosby era.  Bill Fleischman gives a great rundown of Crosby's relationship with the Flyers and their faithful fans, so I won't go too deeply into the ins and outs.  Let's just say it involves Derian Hatcher, the loss of some teeth, a face wash exchange with Peter Forsberg, and a strong belief that Crosby cries too much. 

Last season the Penguins swept the eight-game season series.  This season the Flyers came back with a vengeance, stirring the pot with an 8-2 crushing of the Pens in December.  Laraque executed a baseball slide into Martin Biron, and Philly fans chanted "We want Crosby" when Therrien benched his star halfway through the third period.  Pittsburgh responded by delivering their own crushing blow: a 7-1 home ice victory over the Flyers in February.  And all this was surrounded by the constant verbal sparring between head coaches Stevens and Therrien.

Neither team wants to reach the Final Four just to go home.  Especially if defeat means losing to this partcular opponent.  It may well be a war, physical beyond anything we've witness thus far.  But at least there will be plenty of material to build new layers into the cross-state rivalry.

I could care less who wins or loses this series--I don't know which team I despise more--but it might make for good practice doing predictions in the future. So let's go for it--Tarot of the Angels, in a Celtic Cross layout. I have to ask the question from the standpoint of one of the teams, since my deck doesn't exactly have Flyers or Penguins cards.

The question: "How will the Pittsburgh Penguins do in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Flyers?"

First impression: Wow, three Major Arcana cards on this layout, two of them reversed, and both of those reversals are in the prediction spots. If the Penguins do in fact lose, there might not have been anything they could have done about it, if this layout is correct. So this could be very good news indeed for those of you who want to see Sid the Kid get bounced. But it's really sucky news for those of you who don't want to see the Flyers win a conference championship after needing a ticky-tack call against us in overtime in Game 7 to even get that far. But on to the cards...

Card 1: Basis. King of Wands. The King of Wands is a leader in spirit, someone who's been around the block several times and who has the wrinkles to prove it. My intuition says this represents Crosby, even though he's only in his third year and ought to rank no higher than a Knight. But since he wears the C--and since as he goes, so tend to go the Pens--I have to rank him as a King, because the team really is all about Crosby. That's what the King of Wands represents: the spiritual leader of any enterprise, and that has got to be Sidney Crosby. What this card tells me in this position is that the Penguins are where they are because of Sidney Crosby. Well, duh...except that the story doesn't end there.

Card 2: Crossing. 5 of Swords. Ouch! The 5 of Swords is NOT a fun card. 5's in general are challenging to deal with, but the 5 of Swords is probably the meanest 5 in the deck, and that's saying something. It's not The Tower, but as far as the Minor Arcana goes, this is one of the most challenging cards of the whole 56. The 5 of Swords is about one thing: Defeat. So the path the Pens are on, and the obstacle getting in their way, is one of defeat. Unless they make some changes in what they plan to do, they won't win this series. And even WITH changes, they may not have much hope, as there are some reversed Majors elsewhere on the layout (as usual, no skipping ahead, please.) This is not a good card for the Penguins to have drawn here: you can't reverse a Crossing card, so this is an energy of defeat that they're going to have to face, like it or not.

Card 3: Distant Past. 6 of Chalices, reversed. In general, Sixes represent helping energy, and Chalices represent emotions. So, think emotional help, turned back on itself. Think emotional drainage from the distant past, which is still affecting the Penguins. I've had my hands full following the Caps, so I can't really say for sure what this refers to, but it's a situation in the past where the Penguins were getting some kind of emotional help, only to see that help go bad. It's kind of a long-ago...e...mo...tion...al...drain...on the Pens that's going to come into play in the Conference Finals. I'm not going to look anything up, but the energy represented by this card is some kind of emotional parasite, some kind of monkey on their backs, that's still nagging the Penguins.

Card 4: Recent Past. 3 of Chalices. Wow, when it rains, it pours, doesn't it? The 3 of Chalices in this position represents some kind of emotional pick-up in the team's recent past. Beating the Rangers that handily might be what this is referring to, but I could be wrong. Unfortunately for the Penguins, the fun's over. The emotional left they got in their most recent series is about to go away--that's what happens to cards in this position. If this is a bad news card, it's good-bye and good riddance, but this is a good news card. So even though the Pens are going to try to keep their emotions up against their cross-state rivals, the Flyers evidently have other ideas. And judging by the full layout, the fun may be over for the summer for the black and gold.

Card 5: General Direction. The Chariot, reversed. I'm beginning to think these cards hate the Penguins more than I do! When face-up, The Chariot is all about being master of your domain. You're in command of where you want to go, and the horses pulling your chariot respond to your every command. Now, flip that situation on its head, and you understand why I think these cards don't exactly like the Pens that much. The Chariot, reversed, speaks to being out of control, of not having any say in where you're going. The horses pulling the chariot now have other ideas of their own, and where they go is out of your hands. Essentially, the Penguins have no control over where this series ends up. Their captain (Card 1) is being blocked by energies of defeat (Card 2), they're carrying around emotional dead weight from the past (Card 3), and the fun emotions they had in the Rangers series are on their way out (Card 4). Put simply, they are losing control of their season, at least on a subtle, subconscious level. And even that is not the end of the bad news. Read on.

Card 6: Immediate Future. Knight of Pentacles, reversed. A Knight of Pentacles, in hockey terms, generally refers to either a youngish player with a very physical game, or the team's designated enforcer, no matter how long he's been in service. My intuition on this one says this refers to Georges Laraque, and you have to use your intuition when you read Tarot. So, Laraque, reversed, what then? He may end up having an off series, and may be looking at missing a game due to injury or suspension if he's not careful. Now, this is an immediate future card, so something like that would happen in the first, I'm going to say, three games, maybe even two. Laraque needs to be careful for the next couple of games: that's what this card is telling me in this position.

Card 7: Querant. The Emperor. The Emperor is a very "Dad" energy in the Major Arcana. Face-up in the Querant position, he's good news, as he represents a very kind and loving fatherly person (or energy) surrounding the question, as well as the person (or organization) the question is about. So right now, the Penguins have "Dad" looking out for them. So, who's their daddy? (Sorry, couldn't resist.) Management, alumni, it's kind of hard to say here. For lack of a better way to put it, there is a lot of father-like energy surrounding the Pens right now. I want to say this is a reference to Mario Lemieux, but I'm not quite sure how he plays into this. The message here is that the Pens have the full support of their elders, but more than that, I'm having trouble coming up with.

Card 8: Outside Influences. Ace of Pentacles, reversed. And the hits just keep on coming! Face up, the Ace of Pentacles represents physical or material abundance; reversed, it indicates a lack of something physical or material. Or, perhaps, material possessions or physical health being taken away from the outside. Based on this, I would look for the Flyers to be throwing around cheap shots with the intent to injure, whether they want to admit it or not. If I had to guess, based on the Knight of Pentacles a couple of cards ago, I'd say that one of the Flyers might throw a cheap shot, and Laraque may be lost for a game or two as a result of what happens when he tries to play cop on the beat. I could be totally misreading this, however.

Card 9: Hopes and Fears. Queen of Pentacles. This is something I'd have to scan the card to explain, but I'm not doing that for copyright reasons. Basically, the scene on this card is of the Queen calmly sitting on a stone throne in a field of flowers, holding her coin with both hands. Meanwhile, above her, angels and demons are in a swordfight. Putting it all together and placing it in position, what this tells me is that the Penguins are subconsciously going to try their darndest to hang on to their resources, despite a very real conflict going on behind the scenes. Maybe they're aware of the conflict; maybe they aren't. But they can't just sit there forever and try to hang on to what they're losing (consider the 3 of Chalices in the Recent Past.) Sooner or later, the unseen conflict will become visible. At that point, it may be difficult, if not impossible, to hang on to what they think should rightfully be theirs. They think the Flyers are in the Conference Finals because of some very lucky officiating. And they're right about that, too. But they take the Flyers lightly at their own peril. If they're not careful, they could end up jumping on I-76 in an 0-2 hole.

Outcome: The Wheel, reversed. For lack of a better description, The Wheel, when reversed, means just plain bad luck. For it to be showing up as an Outcome card means that this series may end up going the Flyers' way based on a couple of pinged posts, ticky-tack calls from the officials, softies they let in...there are any number of hard-luck scenarios to be had in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and when the Outcome of the series is this card, it may very well mean that this series will be decided on just a bad-luck break. Sometimes, despite all the planning and practice, Dame Fortune decides to take a hike, and her daughter Miss Fortune comes a-calling. That looks like it's going to be the final result of the series: just a couple of pieces of bad luck, and that's the end of the season for the Pens.

Final Thoughts: If the Penguins do indeed lose this series, there may not have been much they could have done to save themselves. With two Major Arcana cards turned against them--and both of those in predictive positions, no less--this series may end up completely outside the Penguins' control. Throw in the 5 of Swords as a crossing card, and it doesn't look good at all for the boys from Steeltown. I don't want to see the Flyers go to the Stanley Cup Finals any more than the next Caps fan, but somebody's got to lose this series, and based on everything I see here, that losing team is going to be the Penguins.

PREDICTION: Flyers take the series at home in Game 6.

I'll take my crow medium-well.

CAPITAL SPIRIT
EVEN THE CARDS DON'T LIKE THE PENGUINS

Dans un excellent article de la Presse Canadienne, on apprenait aujourd'hui que c'est la faute à Mario Lemieux si R.J. Umberger joue au hockey.

Umberger nâtif de la région de Pittsburgh a assisté à plusieurs match des Penguins dans l'Igloo et c'est de voir les prouesses de Mario Lemieux qui lui a donné goût au hockey.

Au cours de son enfance Umberger a eu la chance de rencontrer Lemieux à quelques reprises. Il a surtout apprécié la chance qu'il a eue de l'affronter une fois, peu de temps avant qu'il n'accroche ses patins au début de la saison 2005-06.

Umberger fête son 26e anniversaire ce samedi en affrontant les Canadiens de Montréal, au moment d'écrire ses lignes il a déjà 2 buts et son équipe est en avance 4-3 après avoir tiré de l'arrière 3-1.

C'est ce qu'on appelle un gars chanceux et il se paie bien la traite dans cette série face aux Canadiens.

Last month we went to Pittsburgh for a few days.

Even though we "grew up" there, it was almost like visiting a new (as in unfamiliar) city.

We always lived in the suburbs, and almost never went into the city except to see the Penguins!

This time though, we stayed downtown at a former railway station called The Pennsylvanian.

During the dark ages, they were going to tear it down.

Thankfully they turned it into condominiums!

It's the most beautiful building in the world.

And as far as we're concerned, the real reason Pittsburgh is known as "The City of Champions."

This is the top of the dome when viewed from the inside.

We were reminded of the great cathedrals of Europe.

And how like so many of the great cathedrals, there is something sepulchral about The Pennsylvanian; its grand spaces are now almost always empty.

We went to the Strip District, which is only a few blocks away.

On the way we admired old signs for dead companies.

In person, you can see the ketchup pouring out of the bottle, which makes this the Times Square of Pittsburgh!

Heinz doesn't make anything in Pittsburgh anymore, but its corporate headquarters are still here, in the Death Star U.S. Steel Building, which hovers malevolently over everything downtown.

Growing up, we always liked to tell people that this was the tallest building between Chicago and New York!

These companies don't seem to have prospered the way Heinz has.

We passed an old church that has apparently been "rezoned" into a gay dance club.

We had our doubts, but the front door of "Altar" seemed to prove it! It made us remember how we watched every episode of the worst series in the history of television Queer as Folk, which hilariously was set in Pittsburgh.

Finally we arrived at the Strip, which was filled with Hillary Clinton supporters people!

The Strip is like "the Queens" of Pittsburgh, but all in a few blocks.

Here's one of two Italian places owned by the Sunseris. When we were growing up, the Sunseris (or at least some of them) lived in our town and we thought they were the richest people on earth because they had a pool in their backyard and columns in front of their house. They have great Italian food though, so they deserve to be rich!

Chipped ham is something everyone in Pittsburgh remembers. Sometimes we meet people from Pittsburgh in other places around the world and they go on and on about how they miss the chipped ham, which is fun for about a second and then gets annoying.

"Wholey's" is a combination fresh-fish market and Zabar's mixed into one well-oiled operation. It pretty much has always ruled the Strip and we can see why.

This is a billboard they have on the side of their building: "Vote for Hillary Clinton or I'll smash you over the head with this pot!"

We ate lunch at Primanti's, which is where they serve the fries and slaw right on the sandwich! We thought it was pretty awesome, but our nephew was like: "Yeah, except now they have one in every mall in Pittsburgh."

We had dessert here, which was fucking great. We would pretty much give anything to have one of these within walking distance of us in Washington Heights. (Even if it does make us evil gentrifiers!)

On the way back to the Pennsylvanian we passed the 16th Street Bridge, only one of hundreds in the area, almost all of which are achingly dignified and beautiful.

Here's another shot, somewhat marred by the obnoxious Tequila sign.

And another.

And then we saw this: ha!

And the best sign ever for a dentist.

Back at the Pennsylvanian, we spotted this "DONT WALK" sign: we've met a lot of people in New York who are nostalgic for these more acerbic signals. Guess what? In Pittsburgh they still have them! (Also note the "Purple Belt" sign, which is part of a hidden code to navigate the city that nobody understands, but has existed for centuries!)

We took a picture of the Civic Arena, which is where the Penguins play. (Nobody in Pittsburgh calls it the "Igloo.") They're going to tear it town to put up something with luxury suites. Which makes us a little melancholy when we remember all the games we saw there.

But we suppose we'll be able to relive all those great memories of the Penguins here, once the Sports Museum is finished.

People sometimes ask us why we don't watch sports anymore.

Part of it for us was growing up in Pittsburgh during the 1970s. For us, nothing will ever surpass the Chuck Knoll era Steelers, or -- because we lived and breathed hockey for so many years -- the Mario Lemieux Penguins in the early 1990s.

We see all the rabid sports fans now and we can relate: how desperately we wanted the Penguins to win -- we literally prayed to god for them to win -- and they did! Twice!

But that obsession has given way to new ones, and we don't need to relive the desperation of those years.

When these days, we are happiest finding bridges to the landscape of our forgotten past.

Finally, after flights of stairs and cramped hallways, we made our way to the center of the arena. And, for the first time, I caught a glimpse of center ice; the not yet familiar CH insignia, the red leather seats and a deep voice blaring overhead. The Montreal Forum in 1994, albeit years after most of the Habs magic happened, was still impressive.

My Dad, a regular-season ticket holder for many years, had been inside the building numerous times. From witnessing the speed of Guy Lafleur to the infamous Don Cherry arms-outstretched image from his Bruins coaching days, my Dad had seen it.

The Next Generation

And now it was my turn to join in the family tradition: supporting the Montreal Canadiens. Through coach changes, homegrown superstars, bad trades, and both good and (numerous) bad times, my allegiances were clear. I bled blanc et rouge.

My brother and I used to get into arguments about the NHL, especially during All-Star games. I obviously supported the East, while my brother, a Mighty Ducks fan (thanks in large part to Paul Kariya and/or Emilio Estevez), pushed for a Western win. In fact, a running joke in my family involved my uncle alerting my brother to a strange trade: Donald Brasheer for Paul Kariya; he swore, it happened. Poor Dan wasn't too pleased.

Still, despite our differences, my brother and I collected hockey cards together and traded when we had doubles. By this time, around age 12, I had become a staunch Mario Lemieux fan. And one shiny, limited-edition card that I, like any avid collector, placed beneath a protective case, was my pride and joy.

I saw Mario knock the Canadiens out of the playoffs with an impressive four goals and two assists performance at the Habs' Molson Center home. And, although I had to wait until next season for more hockey, I couldn't help but smile. If anyone was to win, besides the Canadiens, I approved of the Penguins.

Waning Interest

Still, after a while, I lost interest in hockey and the Canadiens. As is the case in most professional sports, I felt that the players didn't care. The regular season was more often than not a bore. No one tried, showed any heart. I didn't feel a connection.

Add to that new rules (Brett Hull's toe in the crease, anyone?) and expansion teams sprouting up like dandelions, hockey wasn't what it used to be. Sure, the playoffs were always exciting, and you could always count on an upset or two to get you through the day. But when push came to shove, when the choice came between watching hockey or anything else, I usually chose anything else.

Sure, sports still played a huge role in my life. I spent most of high school running between practices and games, and from field hockey fields to basketball courts. I watched Monday Night football and I developed a sincere love for the Kobe-Shaq combo in Los Angeles. In fact, I had liked Shaq since his Orlando days, but that's another story.

Still, with the choice of Brisebois, Damphousse or Jose Theodore staring me in the face, I decided not to decide. Who cares, I thought. The Canadiens suck. They're choke artists - even worse than Ottawa, I reasoned - and they never get out of the first round. Worse yet, they somehow always meet Boston, and just can't beat them. Don Cherry and the rest of his cronies must be laughing somewhere (most likely Toronto?), I always thought.

Today's Conundrum

All this to say that today, as I sit in my Danish apartment, the Canadiens are one win away from beating the Bruins and heading to the second round of the playoffs (Ed. Note: The Habs are STILL one win away from knocking the Bruins out of the playoffs. Only now they're once comfortable series lead has evaporated. It's Game 7, ladies and gents, and all bets are off.) Not only that, but they finished the regular season as the number one seed in the East. I can barely remember when the last time the Habs finished in the top four spots was.

Hockey in Europe is pretty much non-existent. Their sports coverage consists of football (yes, soccer), the occasional tennis tournament, cycling and maybe some cricket, if you're in the UK. So while I'm here pretending to enjoy football, fans in Montreal are enjoying something I've never truly experienced: a winning Habs team.

So, does supporting the Canadiens, despite having abandoned them in desperate times (read: 1994 until 2007), make me a bandwagon jumper? What about all the hours, the patience and the energy I invested back in the day? What about my enthusiasm as a youngster? What about the time I saw Shayne Corson (pre-Maple Leaf Betrayal) at the Angrignon Shopping Center, and almost passed out with excitement?

I'm supporting the Canadiens today, even though I'm on the other side of the Atlantic and I've been acting like a scorn girlfriend for the few past years. So what. I've paid my dues, and now it's time to enjoy the Habs' success, regardless of how long it will last, or who thinks I'm a faker.

If you don't believe my sincerity, just check under my bed in Brossard. The cards are still there; my childhood treasures, sealed in plastic coverings and just waiting to be enjoyed once more. And hopefully, years from now, they will spark something in the next generation of Kestler-D'Amours Habs fan. Or at least they'll turn someone on to the greatness that was Mario Lemieux. I'd be happy with either.

One of my favourite memories has to be Mario Lemieux coming back from retirement for the second time. The Penguins were facing my most hated team, the Leafs, and Mario not only came back, he stole the show. Super Mario put up a goal and two assists leading his Penguins team to a 5-0 drubbing of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His comeback kind of plateaued midway through the season and eventually his season was cut short because of injuries and fatigue but I will never forget the moment Lemieux scored that goal and I started to remember just why I love hockey so much in the first place.

Another great memory I have doesn't really have to do with the NHL but it was the year the NHL was under its lock out and subsequently the Ontario Hockey League and the related QMJHL, and WHL competing in the Memorial Cup became my NHL. The centre of that sub-NHL universe was London Ontario, my home town. This tournament was filled with talent and this London Knights team was the cream of the crop. This team lost 7 games all season with an astonishing record of 59-7-2-0 and went on a 31 game unbeaten streak (29-0-2) and I had the pleasure of attending game number 31 of that streak. This was the most exciting game I have ever been to. The Knights were down 3-0 going into the third. Ten minutes into the third they made it 3-1, with 5 minutes left they made it 3-2 on a power play and then with their goalie pulled with 30 seconds left they tied it up and I thought a crowd could never get as loud as the John Labatt Centre was at that moment. I was wrong because 2 minutes into overtime Robbie Schremp took a breakaway pass from just outside his own blue line and buried a backhand just over the Kitchener Ranger's goalie blocker. I had a smile on my face that stretched from ear to ear and it solidified my belief that I was watching the greatest Junior team to ever lace up their skates collectively. They went on to confirm feelings by dominating the Memorial Cup with a 4-0 Hockey School against Sydney Crosby and the Rimouski Oceanic.

Uwe Krupp scoring the overtime winning goal in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals has to be on this list. Earlier that year Patrick Roy told the Montreal Canadiens that he just played his last game as a Hab. He was subsequently traded to Colorado where the team flourished backed by his goal tending and some amazing talent in Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic. In the Stanley Cup finals the Florida Panthers were no match for the near All-Star team the team from Denver had and Uve Krupp's overtime blast from the point was the final touch in the biggest Fuck-You ever completed in the NHL by Patrick Roy to the Montreal Canadiens.

The barn was burning last night, and my voice is long gone from the festivities.  The photographs are by Alan Diaz, and the top three are thumbnails if you need to see the proof with more detail.  Sidney Crosby, already anointed as the next big thing, got smacked around OUR house like a felt-covered stuffed mouse.  A Pittsburgh Penguins black and gold scratching post.  David Booth looked like the world-beating all-star, and Sid remained a kid for one more night.

I have mad respect for the man, he looks great on the highlights.  I have confidence that he will become the legend that the media is already labeling him.  But last night, from five feet away, he looked human to me.

My life is blessed enough to have included in-person viewings of a few homosapiens that appear to be endowed with some sort of "extra" ability when they strap on skates and swoop across the ice with a stick in their hand.  These are my choices for the most legendary examples:

1. Pavel Bure.  I swear he is a vampire.  Russia is close enough to Transylvania for me.  We worked for the arena for two years just to see him skate practice.  His ankles do things that none have ever done before.  Too bad his knees couldn't keep up.  I doubt we will ever see a more exciting hockey player again.

2. Paul Coffey.  Imagine this.  You are 35 years old.  Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Very important game, against the team your fans love to hate most.  You are in front of your goalie, and the puck squirts free at your feet.  You instantly react, clearing the puck from danger.  You slam dunk it, right into your own net.  Ouch.  Then you have the talent, will, and pure unadulterated killer instinct that allows you to weave the length of the ice, using four men a decade younger than yourself like orange cones in an obstacle course, and pop one top shelf on the other side of the rink for the win.  Both nets, one period.  When it matters most.  Paul Coffey was smooth as fresh cream, and clutch as it gets.

3. Mario Lemieux.  We saw him beat the Beezer on a penalty shot in the Miami Arena.  It was supposedly his last regular season game ever.  We saw Stu Barnes and the rat pack pull off one of the biggest upsets in NHL history the year before, and enjoyed the exquisite ruckus that falls out in a town when the opposing royalty gets knocked off the throne.  But.  He is the greatest player ever.  I never much cared for Gretzky.

GORDIE HOWE, Mr. Hockey, was 6'1", 205 lbs, and played right wing. In his career, he won 4 Cups, 6 MVP's, was scoring champ (Art Ross trophy) 6 times, played in 23 All Star games, and holds 9 NHL records. In 1767 games, the big guy scored 801 goals, 1049 assists, for 1850 points.

Howe was also tough as nails, strong as an ox, and if you tried to rough him up in the corner, chances are you came out with your nose broken. He is Hall of Fame goalie Glenn Hall's choice as greatest ever.

BOBBY ORR was like a forward playing defense. He could skate like the wind, make end to end rushes and get back quickly enough to break up the attack. and for all the beautiful things he could do with his skills, he was also undeniably strong and could hold his own in fights with pretty well anyone in the league. He was 6'!", 200 lbs, and is the only defenseman in history to win the Art Ross trophy as scoring champion. He won two Stanley Cups, and in 657 games, notched 270 goals, 645 assists, for 915 points. He holds the record for most points by a defenseman in one season with 139. He would be Don Cherry's choice.

WAYNE GRETZKY, The Great One, can only be measured by the magical numbers he put up because he wasn't strong, couldn't fight, and looked like he should be playing beach volleyball instead. But what numbers! In 1487 games, he scored 894 goals, 1963 assists, for 2857 points. He was a machine. He holds 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 All Star records. He won 4 Stanley Cups, was MVP 9 times, and had over 200 points 4 times. And when you think about think about the fact that a 50 goal season is an incredible accomplishment that only a few of the elite can reach, remember that Gretzky had a 92 goal year, and an 87 goal year. He was a machine.

MARIO LEMIEUX was big - 6'4", 230 lbs, and if he hadn't had problems with his health that included Hodgkins Lymphoma, his numbers just may have been up around Gretzky's. Gretzky played 572 more games than Mario.

 In 915 games, he scored 690 goals, 1033 assists, for 1723 points. He holds 12 NHL records and 11 Pittsburgh Penguins records. He also won 2 Stanley Cups and was MVP of the league 3 times. He had a big reach, soft hands, and could score carrying players on his back, much like the Rocket did.

BUT AS GM, YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF ONE OF THESE GUYS.

I suppose there's two choices. Bite the bullet and choose one, or just retire early so you don't have to make this decision.

But I'm making mine. And I choose........Mario.

Mario was huge but didn't really care for the rough going. (An aside: His very first fight was against my good friend, the much smaller, and tragically, recently deceased Gary Lupul). Howe was tougher than anyone in the league, Orr was tougher than the majority, and Gretzky had Dave Semenko. Mario also wasn't all that hard a worker when he didn't have the puck.

Other than these, the only reason I can come up with is I just can't see myself saying goodbye to Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr, or Wayne Gretzky. 

I'm sure he must know something about Wayne Gretzky, and possibly Mario Lemieux. He's probably aware of Alex Ovechkin, but only because they work in the same city. George is a baseball and football guy. But from time to time, he might check out page 7 or 8 of the Washington Post sports section, where hockey is buried, and notice something about the Capitals.

Why, he may have even noticed a story about the big 4-0 win by Montreal over his home team the other night. Cripes, I hope he doesn't bomb Montreal.

I like the Caps, but only because of their new coach, Bruce Boudreau. Otherwise, they're meaningless to me. Boudreau seems like the kind of guy you were pals with in school, the one who helped with your paper route, the one whose mom had the great cookies. He seems like just an ordinary Joe who happens to be fullfilling a dream right now. I hope he does well, just not on Thursday night.

Saturday afternoon, Montreal takes on the Islanders, then Sunday it's down the freeway into Manhattan to tackle the New York Rangers, home of Mr. Congeniality, Sean Avery.

Note from Dennis:  It's 1 am Saturday morning and I just realized the Islanders and Rangers are playing in Montreal. So about the last paragraph? Pretend you didn't read it. Except the part about Mr. Congeniality. (It's not my fault. I'm old.)

Caps star Alex Ovechkin and Pens stud Evgeni Malkin, former Russian league roommates, put on a show to remember Monday night in Pittsburgh

First of all, to anybody who hasn't seen it, or for anyone who has and just wants to have their mind blown again, take a look at this Rick Nash goal from last Thursday against the Phoenix Coyotes. Goal of the century at the least, if not the best goal of all-time. Ranks right next to this goal from Washington's Alex Ovechkin which was, coincidentally, against the Coyotes as well.

Speaking of Ovechkin and the Caps, if you missed Monday night's game in Pittsburgh, you missed one of the best games of the season. In a hotly contested offensive shoot-out, the Pens and Caps went back and forth all night. Ovechkin put on his usual show, scoring two goals and an assist, plus a shoot-out goal to put the Caps ahead.

Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin continued to find the back of the net at a ridiculous pace, scoring two goals while assisting on a Ryan Malone power play goal early in the third period. Malkin and Ovechkin put on an absolute show in the 'Burgh, making electric play after electric play all night long. The two even almost dropped the gloves in the second after Ovechkin tried delivering a big hit (fast-forward to the 8 second mark if your really impatient) on Malkin. Needless to say, Malkin proved to be the tougher Russian.

The big thing I take away from this game, however, is Malkin's performance, and how it could effect the future of the Pens. Prior discussions on this forum and countless others have questioned whether Malkin, whose face-off performances have not been all that impressive to date, should be moved to a wing position next to Crosby as a long-term solution. I think Monday night's game proves that keeping Crosby and Malkin split is necessary to maximize both players talents.

Malkin's started hit the back of the net with a lot more regularity when Pens' coach Michel Therrien began using Malkin as a wingman on the top scoring line next to Crosby. However, there is just no way the Pens can keep those two together. Malkin would just be too valuable centering the second line, being the Ron Francis to Sidney Crosby as Mario Lemieux, or Mark Messier to the Oiler's Wayne Gretzky, if you will. Malkin creates way to many opportunities on his own to use him as a pure scorer next to Crosby. The guy has too much talent not to captain his own line.

One more intriguing stat that I take away from Monday's game -- the Pens were an impressive 3-of-8 on the power play tonight. That's without Sidney Crosby in the line-up. Also worth noting, Petr Sykora has scored 8 of his 14 goals this season on the power play, which is odd considering he hasn't even been a regular on the top power play unit, so far as I know. Maybe Therrien needs has some considering to do regarding his power play units once Crosby returns. We'll see if tonight's power play success was a fluke, or if maybe Crosby's presence on the ice was somehow holding the Pens back, although I can't imagine how it would be.

Montreal fans hoping to see young Sid will have to settle for a big Habs' win instead. That's way better anyway. Maybe Sidney will peak in at the Montreal dressing room when the teams are on the ice and see the room he dreamed about being in when he was growing up.

Sidney is just what the NHL has had wet dreams about for a long time. He's single, and women of all ages want to cuddle him and take him home and change his diaper. He says all the right things to the media, just like Gretzky did, and better than Mario Lemieux did. He's no prima donna, as he works harder than most. He skates a little bow-legged, and therefore is hard to push aside. He's a team player, and gives credit to others. He respects those who came before him. He grew up loving the Habs, and must love playing in Montreal. He's got all his hair. Any GM would give their first-born to have him on their team.

But he's hurt for the big game tonight.  Montreal must take advantage of this uh, ahem, unfortunate situation. Cough.

First of all, I want to address the, "What do the Pens do when Marc-Andre Fleury comes back?" question. While what Ty Conklin has done so far this season has been absolutely superb, you have to remember that the guy is 31 years old already. If he was really capable of playing at a level anywhere near as high as that which he's performed since his December call-up, he would have already earned himself a starting job with a nice, long-term contract elsewhere. Fleury is still young enough that he has a future ahead of him, while Conklin is just a career back-up in the middle of a good hot streak.

That said, here are some interesting lines from Penguins' defensemen Brooks Orpik that do make it sound as though Conklin could be more than just a flash in the pan.

"The big thing is the way he handles the puck," Orpik said. "It makes it so much easier on the defense. It is really like having an extra defenseman out there.

"His saves speak for themselves. But one thing we have talked about as defensemen is how much easier things have been with the way he handles the puck."

Perhaps Conklin's performance is more than just him being on a hot streak. Maybe his stand-up style and consistent positioning are meshing well with the style of defense the Penguins like to play. One cannot help but notice that Conklin does an excellent job of controlling rebounds and always seems to be in the right place to knock down a shot. Meanwhile, he has only made a small handful of spectacular, Fleury-like saves. Maybe Michel Terrien and his defensive scheme just clicks better with a knowledgable, consistent, but not necessarily flashy goaltender? Something to consider when Fleury makes his return in the coming weeks.

The other major area of concern for the Pens down the road will be the question of adding a strong offensive winger to put next to Sidney Crosby in the coming years. Madden claimed the Pens would be much better off splitting Crosby and Evgeni Malkin up, allowing them each to center their own line, rather than placing the two together on one super-line. He referenced how Mario Lemieux had Hall of Famer Ron Francis centering the second line behind him during the Penquins stronger periods in the '90's, and honestly I agree with Madden there. You have to balance your talent to win hockey games.

But if, three years from now, you have Crosby and Malkin centering lines 1 and 2 respectively, while Max Talbot, arguably the best, most mucking-ist (the only word I could use to describe Maxime) third line center in the NHL, takes face-offs on the checking line. Where exactly does that leave Jordan Staal and Angelo Esposito? Staal, despite some struggles this year, still has one of the brightest futures ahead of him of maybe any 19 year old on the planet. It isn't at all crazy to think he'll be a 30 goal scorer year in and year out by the time he's 22, and his improvements in the face-off circle this year would make it very tough to split him out to a wing position.

Esposito, the Penguins 1st round draft pick this past summer, has a bright, bright future ahead of him, except for his natural position is at center. Granted, I think there is still plenty of time to turn Esposito into a wing before he makes his NHL debut, even if it means holding him in the minors for an extra few months to a year.

That said, neither Esposito or Staal is a 4th line center. Both need to be on the ice, and Staal in particular needs to be at center. In my mind that leaves the Pens with two options:

A. Keep Malkin and Crosby together on line one while you build depth on the rest of the team, namely picking up another solid scorer to put next to Staal on line 2 and developing a solid core of defensemen to put in front of Fleury or whoever ends up being the Pens goalie of the future.

B. Let Malkin center the 2nd and line and use Staal as a trading piece to acquire a front line scorer, possibly Marian Hossa, who is known to be on the block this season.

It's going to come down to a judgement decision on the Pens part, but honestly the offensive pieces are already very much in place for this team to compete for a title. Throw a better set of defenders and some consistent goaltending behind those scorers, and this team could be a serious contender in a highly competitive Eastern Conference.

The Penguins committed 23 penalties for 98 minutes, giving the Flyers 13 power play opportunities (they capitalized on four). It only took 20 seconds to set the tone when Flyers' captain Jason Smith dropped the gloves with Pittsburgh's Ryan Malone. The pace continued when the Flyers weren't putting the puck in the net. Both Joffery Lupul and R.J. Umberger notched hat tricks. Lupul was the first Flyer since Eric Lindros to score 6 points in a game. The third period got ugly when there were two brawls where all the skaters on the ice were involved. Late in the third Georges Laraque, the Pens' resident tough guy broke his stick cross checking Lasse Kukkonen away from the play. The Flyers beat the Penguins 8-2 and then proceded to beat the Penguins winning virtually every fight. Jeff Carter even dropped the gloves and put a beating on Ryan Whitney. The sign held up to the glass right in front of the two said "OLDE TIME HOCKEY" and it could not have been more perfect. This was Flyers hockey. The witch hunt continues this season however as Pens' coach Michel Therrien whined about the Flyers racking up a score (the Pens beat the Flyers by the same score on Oct. 28 last year) and defended the utter douche baggery of his team in the third. When it became way too late to come back the Pens decided to challenge the Flyers in a physical battle which was a big mistake. Despite the cries of Philly faithful Therrien would not put Sid the kid on the ice for the final six minutes of the game. It is assumed that he was concerned for the imminent decapitation of Crosby (whether it come from Martin Biron, Ben Eager, or any of the 18,000+ fans in attendance).

There is definitely bad blood here that spilled over from last season when the Flyers lost all eight meetings between the two teams, but this team is just purely annoying. Crosby alone will dive away from the direction of anything that moves on the ice but all the Penguins just seem to skate like they all have protective bubbles around them and cannot be touched. And when they do get hit they whine about it like their 20-year-old captain. Hockey is a contact sport however, so the presence of Georges Laraque and Gary Roberts is not enough to save the young bunch of baby faced skaters.

After years at the bottom of the division the Pittsburgh Penguins had a pretty good year last year....ONE YEAR. They won ONE playoff game and finished the year two points behind the division winning Devils. The fact that they think they are a legitimate team annoys me to no end. They play like they are owed some kind of respect despite being next to last in the division. Last year was an anomaly. The Flyers are never as bad as they were last year and the Pens are never as good. Not since Mario Lemieux retired (the first time).

The Flyers endured EIGHT losses last year. Already the Pens are crying after three. ESPN's Mike and Mike usually do a segment called "Just Shut Up", but they do it on Tuesdays, so Therrien will have to wait until next week to win an award this year. If nothing else, last night's debacle should set the stage for a VERY energetic match up between the two teams on January 24.