thavoice wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: No surprise to me that Bettman wants Pittsburgh back in it. Surprised he doesn't want his precious Coyotes in the Winter Classic, however. If they aren't a bust, the fans will come, right Gary? Oh wait...even when they are challenging for the Western Conference lead, they STILL have no fans!

Gotta play up the top players in the league...

Right now Crosby and Ovechkin are two of the top players in the league.......so that is why

No. It's not. Anyone who saw game 5 of the SCF last year knows that isn't the reason. Detroit was up 5-0 in the second period, and a camera found Bettman in the audience *in tears*. Pittsburgh fans can say what they want, but Bettman has a boner for Crosby, and he doesn't exactly hide it. Not trying to be anti-Crosby or anything, but Bettman has some serious issues with how he handles professionalism regarding the kid, and his rampant man-boy love for him. It has nothing to do with being one of the top players in the league. It has EVERYTHING to do with Bettman's FETISH for Crosby. There is something wrong with the way Gary has conducted himself around that franchise, be it crying when they lose, throwing an 18 year-old kid into the spotlight far before he'd truly proved himself, etc.

I don't say this out of jealousy - I know most Pittsburgh fans think otherwise when this argument is brought up, but really, I have no reason to be jealous of Pittsburgh, and am excited for where my own team seems to be going as the regular season is closing out. I say this out of concern for the league itself, as the man in charge has some very clear issues with both professionalism and hockey knowledge, as he has shown in numerous cases regarding teams like Quebec City, Winnipeg, Hartford, Pittsburgh, Nashville, and Phoenix.

If the Winter Classic is about playing up the top players, then what exactly were Philly and Boston doing in it this year? Philly brought in one of the least respected former NHLers before the season, and Boston proved to be nowhere near the same team without Kessel in the lineup. It was a lackluster game with lackluster teams, and it still brought in loads of money and ratings.

The_Crosby_Show wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: No surprise to me that Bettman wants Pittsburgh back in it. Surprised he doesn't want his precious Coyotes in the Winter Classic, however. If they aren't a bust, the fans will come, right Gary? Oh wait...even when they are challenging for the Western Conference lead, they STILL have no fans!

IF the Coyotes win the Cup this year, does Bettman get his name on the cup? Since he pretty much owns the team.

No, Daly will. Still, this would be yet another black eye to the league during Bettman's reign.

GeneralsIcer89 wrote:

thavoice wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: No surprise to me that Bettman wants Pittsburgh back in it. Surprised he doesn't want his precious Coyotes in the Winter Classic, however. If they aren't a bust, the fans will come, right Gary? Oh wait...even when they are challenging for the Western Conference lead, they STILL have no fans!

Gotta play up the top players in the league...

Right now Crosby and Ovechkin are two of the top players in the league.......so that is why

No. It's not. Anyone who saw game 5 of the SCF last year knows that isn't the reason. Detroit was up 5-0 in the second period, and a camera found Bettman in the audience *in tears*. Pittsburgh fans can say what they want, but Bettman has a boner for Crosby, and he doesn't exactly hide it. Not trying to be anti-Crosby or anything, but Bettman has some serious issues with how he handles professionalism regarding the kid, and his rampant man-boy love for him. It has nothing to do with being one of the top players in the league. It has EVERYTHING to do with Bettman's FETISH for Crosby. There is something wrong with the way Gary has conducted himself around that franchise, be it crying when they lose, throwing an 18 year-old kid into the spotlight far before he'd truly proved himself, etc

Bettman crying over the Pens game 5 loss? Come on!

Crosby has been under the microscope since he was a 9 year old, he's used to it and I would hardly call it being "thrown" in to the spot light. The facts are, Sid is talented, well mannered and spoken........the perfect poster boy for the league. Plus the fact that he's playing on a top notch team that has the best ratings in the league doesn't hurt either. What you call a fetish, I call a very smart marketing ploy.

thavoice wrote: about the scheduling and such.....

Many people look at the last couple of weeks having a home game as very, very important. Well...if you dont take are of business early on then yeah, it is very important. We go to enough games.....have season tix...and to be quite honst for the most part a home games in the last week or two of the season MANY times dont mean a whole heck of alot. Dont get me wrong...at times it does but most seasons if you play well you have cemented your chances early on.

So.....by wanting the game at Heinz field and possibly having some road games late could stack the schedule early on with home games.....it COULD....

Maybe stack some home games early to make up for it...could help them build a lead early on in the seasons....


Goodall is also talking about making sure the last game is a division game to ensure teams try to win them....putting more importance on them....

Maybe they will make them the last game as this....the teams that finished 1-2 in each division will play in the last game that nxt year.

I dont know...as I said....many times the last game doesnt mean much.

We will see I guess.

I thought it was gonna be at PNC...but agree...football stadiums are much better ideas for this.

IMO, it's just one game and I would be amazed if the Rooneys had a problem with that, then again, you never know.

rock_knutne wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote:

thavoice wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: No surprise to me that Bettman wants Pittsburgh back in it. Surprised he doesn't want his precious Coyotes in the Winter Classic, however. If they aren't a bust, the fans will come, right Gary? Oh wait...even when they are challenging for the Western Conference lead, they STILL have no fans!

Gotta play up the top players in the league...

Right now Crosby and Ovechkin are two of the top players in the league.......so that is why

No. It's not. Anyone who saw game 5 of the SCF last year knows that isn't the reason. Detroit was up 5-0 in the second period, and a camera found Bettman in the audience *in tears*. Pittsburgh fans can say what they want, but Bettman has a boner for Crosby, and he doesn't exactly hide it. Not trying to be anti-Crosby or anything, but Bettman has some serious issues with how he handles professionalism regarding the kid, and his rampant man-boy love for him. It has nothing to do with being one of the top players in the league. It has EVERYTHING to do with Bettman's FETISH for Crosby. There is something wrong with the way Gary has conducted himself around that franchise, be it crying when they lose, throwing an 18 year-old kid into the spotlight far before he'd truly proved himself, etc

Bettman crying over the Pens game 5 loss? Come on!

Crosby has been under the microscope since he was a 9 year old, he's used to it and I would hardly call it being "thrown" in to the spot light. The facts are, Sid is talented, well mannered and spoken........the perfect poster boy for the league. Plus the fact that he's playing on a top notch team that has the best ratings in the league doesn't hurt either. What you call a fetish, I call a very smart marketing ploy.

I'll see if I can find the video in a bit - gotta run for my dinner break at work. Wish I was kidding, but I'm not. Bettman was actually in tears after Detroit scored the 5th goal in that game. It was either CBC or VS that had the shot - I know it wasn't on NBC.

And no, Sid was not in that big of a spotlight at 9. He had a failing league AND a failing franchise thrust on his shoulders at the age of 18, and was expected to fix both. I *don't* think he's responded well to that pressure in a lot of ways. He was not mature enough as a person to handle that role then, and I'd argue he still is not. I'd argue he is NOT well-mannered, especially when it comes to how one should conduct himself on the ice. Ask anyone who actually plays the game, and I'd bet they will agree with me. He turns to the refs instantaneously after anything he thinks was unfair, no matter how good of a play it was. Want examples? Check the game with Toronto yesterday. He argued for a penalty shot claiming that Gunnarsson had thrown his stick when he kicked the stick right out of Gunnarsson's hand (though the trip was a correct call), and his minimum of five cross-checks to Zetterberg at the end of the game against Detroit last week are prime examples. Any hockey player will tell you he has had a history of diving, then immediately looking to the refs. Regardless, I'm not trying to be anti-Crosby. Just responding to your claim from the view of someone who actually plays the game. I'm an anti-Bettman guy, however. My beef is not with Crosby.

Marketing ploys done well are not overdone, and Crosby is more than overdone. If anything, I think the best marketing ploy the NHL ever did was the one from the all-star game a few years back where a ton of NHLers were in a hotel. That was genius, and spawned some great commercials for marketing. It was supplanted with the Gatorade CROSBY. DOESN'T. STOP. commercials. Then we saw the Versus ads that had Crosby in almost every frame. Then the NBC ones. Then the NHL Network ones. Then the Center Ice ones. It's important to promote more than just a small number of players. Raising one or two fanbases doesn't help the rest of the league as much as Bettman would have you believe with revenue sharing. It hurts the other teams far more. The fact remains that even with the Crosby and Ovechkin promoting as a marketing ploy, Toronto, the Rangers, and Montreal still pay for every other team in the league to some extent. So long as that is the case, this league is in trouble. It is FOOLISH to think otherwise, and clearly the marketing ploy is NOT fixing the issue.

^^^Doesn't matter what the players in the league tell you about Cindy, only matters what Rock wants to believe about his crush.

Turns out NBC had the initial footage. VS had footage shortly after this with Bettman literally in tears, but the link no longer exists. A friend of mine did the video work for VS and caught it that night, but the link he posted on another forum I frequent no longer brings anything up on Youtube, so it apparently was taken down. Here's the NBC footage from shortly before Bettman was crying.

Strapping Young Lad wrote: ^^^Doesn't matter what the players in the league tell you about Cindy, only matters what Rock wants to believe about his crush.

I'm not even talking about players in the NHL. I'm talking about ANY hockey player.

Strapping Young Lad wrote: ^^^Doesn't matter what the players in the league tell you about Cindy, only matters what Rock wants to believe about his crush.

How're you doing pedophile?

Strapping Young Lad wrote: ^^^Doesn't matter what the players in the league tell you about Cindy, only matters what Rock wants to believe about his crush.

Wow, you have some big time problems. You're a loser who roots for loosing teams........nuff said!

rock_knutne wrote:
Crosby has been under the microscope since he was a 9 year old, he's used to it and I would hardly call it being "thrown" in to the spot light. The facts are, Sid is talented, well mannered and spoken........the perfect poster boy for the league. Plus the fact that he's playing on a top notch team that has the best ratings in the league doesn't hurt either. What you call a fetish, I call a very smart marketing ploy.

Well mannered?? You do have an erection for Crosby. I can once again post the video of Crosby cross checking people from behind or hitting people with his stick after a game if you like?

And if the Rooney's have the Steelers close to the playoffs and they are forced to play a few games on the road at the end of the year, I don't think they will be too happy since football is more important to them than hockey.

Can't blame the NHL for putting the Caps and Pens in the game since it will probably draw big ratings but the appeal is also in where they have played the games. Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are great historical places. Heinz Field is no such place and doesn't make as much sense with the theme they have had for recent games. It might change over time but Bettman is a turd and ruins just about everything.

rock_knutne wrote:

Strapping Young Lad wrote: ^^^Doesn't matter what the players in the league tell you about Cindy, only matters what Rock wants to believe about his crush.

Wow, you have some big time problems. You're a loser who roots for loosing teams........nuff said!

You can't spell and from your name, etc. I'm guessing that you're an ND and Pittsburgh Pirates fan.....

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: I'll see if I can find the video in a bit - gotta run for my dinner break at work. Wish I was kidding, but I'm not. Bettman was actually in tears after Detroit scored the 5th goal in that game. It was either CBC or VS that had the shot - I know it wasn't on NBC.

And no, Sid was not in that big of a spotlight at 9. He had a failing league AND a failing franchise thrust on his shoulders at the age of 18, and was expected to fix both. I *don't* think he's responded well to that pressure in a lot of ways. He was not mature enough as a person to handle that role then, and I'd argue he still is not. I'd argue he is NOT well-mannered, especially when it comes to how one should conduct himself on the ice. Ask anyone who actually plays the game, and I'd bet they will agree with me. He turns to the refs instantaneously after anything he thinks was unfair, no matter how good of a play it was. Want examples? Check the game with Toronto yesterday. He argued for a penalty shot claiming that Gunnarsson had thrown his stick when he kicked the stick right out of Gunnarsson's hand (though the trip was a correct call), and his minimum of five cross-checks to Zetterberg at the end of the game against Detroit last week are prime examples. Any hockey player will tell you he has had a history of diving, then immediately looking to the refs. Regardless, I'm not trying to be anti-Crosby. Just responding to your claim from the view of someone who actually plays the game. I'm an anti-Bettman guy, however. My beef is not with Crosby.

Marketing ploys done well are not overdone, and Crosby is more than overdone. If anything, I think the best marketing ploy the NHL ever did was the one from the all-star game a few years back where a ton of NHLers were in a hotel. That was genius, and spawned some great commercials for marketing. It was supplanted with the Gatorade CROSBY. DOESN'T. STOP. commercials. Then we saw the Versus ads that had Crosby in almost every frame. Then the NBC ones. Then the NHL Network ones. Then the Center Ice ones. It's important to promote more than just a small number of players. Raising one or two fanbases doesn't help the rest of the league as much as Bettman would have you believe with revenue sharing. It hurts the other teams far more. The fact remains that even with the Crosby and Ovechkin promoting as a marketing ploy, Toronto, the Rangers, and Montreal still pay for every other team in the league to some extent. So long as that is the case, this league is in trouble. It is FOOLISH to think otherwise, and clearly the marketing ploy is NOT fixing the issue.

Yes he was, here's an interview with Sid at age FOURTEEN!



Crosby has been giving interviews since he was age seven:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Crosby

His career has been under the scope since he was a little kid, if you think otherwise then you're uninformed. I really have to laugh at the part where you say he hasn't handled the pressure, for God's sake, he's the youngest captain in the history of the league, the youngest captain to ever win the Stanley Cup and he carried the weight of an entire country enroute to a gold medal at the Olympics........yeah, that's not handling pressure what so ever.:rolleyes:

As for the rest of your post, alot of it is jealousy (not neccesarily by you) and NO the Leafs, Rangers and Habs don't pay for other teams to any extent. Did they bail out the Coyotes? Did they fund Pittsburgh's new arena? The bottom line is Crosby and the Pens equal great ratings and that's what the NHL needs in order to generate more revenue.

I understand how other fans can be jealous and I thank my lucky stars every day that Crosby fell to the Pens when he was drafted.

Removed by wes_mantooth for Name calling, personal attacks.

KnightXC1 wrote: Well mannered?? You do have an erection for Crosby. I can once again post the video of Crosby cross checking people from behind or hitting people with his stick after a game if you like?

And if the Rooney's have the Steelers close to the playoffs and they are forced to play a few games on the road at the end of the year, I don't think they will be too happy since football is more important to them than hockey.

Can't blame the NHL for putting the Caps and Pens in the game since it will probably draw big ratings but the appeal is also in where they have played the games. Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are great historical places. Heinz Field is no such place and doesn't make as much sense with the theme they have had for recent games. It might change over time but Bettman is a turd and ruins just about everything.

Yeah, well mannered, he says and does all the right things in public. What happens on the ice is another story and it should be, a lot of players do things like that, especially some of those so called clean players from Detroit.

As for the Rooneys.......how will they know that they are in a playoff fight months before the season starts? There's no reason to believe they wouldn't cooperate, it's how they do business and keep the city in the forefront of sports. Besides, you don't play many back to back home/road games in the NFL, especially at the end of the year, not saying it doesn't happen but it's not a common occurance.

Strapping Young Lad wrote: ^^^Haha, you're so gay. I thank my lucky stars everyday that I don't ever have to be around you in real life and hear you say gay shit like that......

You know, I've had just about enough of your bull shit! You sit there like a tough guy and call people gay and accuse other of being pedophiles. It's assholes like you that should be thrown the fuck off of here!

Dude, you're a little high-strung....

No not at all, I don't appreciate you posting lies and calling people gay and pedophiles. Maybe you're high strung or have a mental illness? Probably both.

rock_knutne wrote:

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: I'll see if I can find the video in a bit - gotta run for my dinner break at work. Wish I was kidding, but I'm not. Bettman was actually in tears after Detroit scored the 5th goal in that game. It was either CBC or VS that had the shot - I know it wasn't on NBC.

And no, Sid was not in that big of a spotlight at 9. He had a failing league AND a failing franchise thrust on his shoulders at the age of 18, and was expected to fix both. I *don't* think he's responded well to that pressure in a lot of ways. He was not mature enough as a person to handle that role then, and I'd argue he still is not. I'd argue he is NOT well-mannered, especially when it comes to how one should conduct himself on the ice. Ask anyone who actually plays the game, and I'd bet they will agree with me. He turns to the refs instantaneously after anything he thinks was unfair, no matter how good of a play it was. Want examples? Check the game with Toronto yesterday. He argued for a penalty shot claiming that Gunnarsson had thrown his stick when he kicked the stick right out of Gunnarsson's hand (though the trip was a correct call), and his minimum of five cross-checks to Zetterberg at the end of the game against Detroit last week are prime examples. Any hockey player will tell you he has had a history of diving, then immediately looking to the refs. Regardless, I'm not trying to be anti-Crosby. Just responding to your claim from the view of someone who actually plays the game. I'm an anti-Bettman guy, however. My beef is not with Crosby.

Marketing ploys done well are not overdone, and Crosby is more than overdone. If anything, I think the best marketing ploy the NHL ever did was the one from the all-star game a few years back where a ton of NHLers were in a hotel. That was genius, and spawned some great commercials for marketing. It was supplanted with the Gatorade CROSBY. DOESN'T. STOP. commercials. Then we saw the Versus ads that had Crosby in almost every frame. Then the NBC ones. Then the NHL Network ones. Then the Center Ice ones. It's important to promote more than just a small number of players. Raising one or two fanbases doesn't help the rest of the league as much as Bettman would have you believe with revenue sharing. It hurts the other teams far more. The fact remains that even with the Crosby and Ovechkin promoting as a marketing ploy, Toronto, the Rangers, and Montreal still pay for every other team in the league to some extent. So long as that is the case, this league is in trouble. It is FOOLISH to think otherwise, and clearly the marketing ploy is NOT fixing the issue.

Yes he was, here's an interview with Sid at age FOURTEEN!



Crosby has been giving interviews since he was age seven:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Crosby

His career has been under the scope since he was a little kid, if you think otherwise then you're uninformed. I really have to laugh at the part where you say he hasn't handled the pressure, for God's sake, he's the youngest captain in the history of the league, the youngest captain to ever win the Stanley Cup and he carried the weight of an entire country enroute to a gold medal at the Olympics........yeah, that's not handling pressure what so ever.:rolleyes:

As for the rest of your post, alot of it is jealousy (not neccesarily by you) and NO the Leafs, Rangers and Habs don't pay for other teams to any extent. Did they bail out the Coyotes? Did they fund Pittsburgh's new arena? The bottom line is Crosby and the Pens equal great ratings and that's what the NHL needs in order to generate more revenue.

I understand how other fans can be jealous and I thank my lucky stars every day that Crosby fell to the Pens when he was drafted.

He was NEVER given both a broken league AND a broken team to TAKE ON HIS BACK at that age. To think he did is ASININE! As for the pressure and how he takes it, he obviously has NOT taken it well enough to mature as a person. He is not the class that Gretzky was on the ice, and he never will be if he doesn't start realizing he is his own man. If you don't think Mario has been filling him with the same crap that Bettman has, think again. I talked to Sid once for an extended period of time from before he started in the NHL, and he is not the same person now as he was then. Handling pressure isn't just about accomplishments and feats. A huge part of it, especially for someone his age, is maturing through it. Sid has not done that, nor has Ovechkin. Both of them are whiny kids who want to get their way because they've seemingly been handed everything as young as 18. If you can't see that statement for what it is, then you need to take off the black and gold goggles. Both of them are dirty players in their own way, and quite a few hockey lovers are sick of BOTH of them. With the scrutiny the NHL has come under for dirty hits and dirty plays, NEITHER one of these two should be a poster boy. Ovechkin is reckless, and Crosby is manipulative and whiny.

Do you have any idea how income happens in the NHL? Three teams actually make money. Other teams sometimes break even, or come just barely above doing so, but in the last ten years, every team in the league has required help from the Leafs, Rangers, and Habs. Phoenix was funded almost ENTIRELY by Toronto this season. Leafs Nation has made more than enough jokes about it this year, to the point of joking if we should celebrate for them should they win the Cup, since we paid for them! If you are unfamiliar with the revenue-sharing policies of the league, I suggest you read up on it. Toronto alone has held up the Coyotes, Panthers, Islanders, and Lightning for the past 4 seasons. Pittsburgh has just recently gotten to the point of breaking even again, and will not be making any real revenue until they have the new arena. I would think the arena deal was worked out with the city of Pittsburgh rather than the league, but if the league was involved, then yes, Toronto, NYR, or Montreal would have helped foot the bill. It isn't jealousy - it's lunacy! Then again, this is Gary Bettman at the helm for you. This did not happen prior to him.

In truth, I would rather not have Crosby on my team, for the same reasons I would not want Ovechkin or Kovalchuk. Too much money tied into one player. This is not to say Toronto doesn't overpay for players (we do, and it pisses me off), but I'm a bigger fan of having more than two top-tier players on my team.

GeneralsIcer89 wrote: He was NEVER given both a broken league AND a broken team to TAKE ON HIS BACK at that age. To think he did is ASININE! As for the pressure and how he takes it, he obviously has NOT taken it well enough to mature as a person. He is not the class that Gretzky was on the ice, and he never will be if he doesn't start realizing he is his own man. If you don't think Mario has been filling him with the same crap that Bettman has, think again. I talked to Sid once for an extended period of time from before he started in the NHL, and he is not the same person now as he was then. Handling pressure isn't just about accomplishments and feats. A huge part of it, especially for someone his age, is maturing through it. Sid has not done that, nor has Ovechkin. Both of them are whiny kids who want to get their way because they've seemingly been handed everything as young as 18. If you can't see that statement for what it is, then you need to take off the black and gold goggles. Both of them are dirty players in their own way, and quite a few hockey lovers are sick of BOTH of them. With the scrutiny the NHL has come under for dirty hits and dirty plays, NEITHER one of these two should be a poster boy. Ovechkin is reckless, and Crosby is manipulative and whiny.

Do you have any idea how income happens in the NHL? Three teams actually make money. Other teams sometimes break even, or come just barely above doing so, but in the last ten years, every team in the league has required help from the Leafs, Rangers, and Habs. Phoenix was funded almost ENTIRELY by Toronto this season. Leafs Nation has made more than enough jokes about it this year, to the point of joking if we should celebrate for them should they win the Cup, since we paid for them! If you are unfamiliar with the revenue-sharing policies of the league, I suggest you read up on it. Toronto alone has held up the Coyotes, Panthers, Islanders, and Lightning for the past 4 seasons. Pittsburgh has just recently gotten to the point of breaking even again, and will not be making any real revenue until they have the new arena. I would think the arena deal was worked out with the city of Pittsburgh rather than the league, but if the league was involved, then yes, Toronto, NYR, or Montreal would have helped foot the bill. It isn't jealousy - it's lunacy! Then again, this is Gary Bettman at the helm for you. This did not happen prior to him.

In truth, I would rather not have Crosby on my team, for the same reasons I would not want Ovechkin or Kovalchuk. Too much money tied into one player. This is not to say Toronto doesn't overpay for players (we do, and it pisses me off), but I'm a bigger fan of having more than two top-tier players on my team.

Wow, you must not have been watching Sid the last couple of years, he's matured right before our eyes. Also, don't be like some of these other fools on here and try to put words in someone's mouth. I never ONCE said Crosby had to carry a team during his adolescent years, only that his game has been followed by the media since he was a very young boy, and you know how the media is in Canada when it comes to hockey. BTW, Crosby is a dirty player.....maybe you should take the hate glasses off.:rolleyes:

Now as for revenue sharing, YES I know how it works but the Penguins can sustain themsleves now, plus the salary cap and new rules saved the game, just about every franchise is turning a profit. BTW, Mario's partner, Ron Burkle, is a multi billionaire, they don't need outside funds to survive.

FYI, Pittsburgh is the 11th richest franchise in the league with revenues of $222 million, not bad for a small market and a team that was nearly moved (article from 2009):

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/story/2009/11/12/sp-nhl-leafs-forbes-value.html

Your comments about Mario Lemieux are also way off base. He's done a fantastic job molding Crosby in to a role model. Christ, the kid is a multi millionaire now but still lives with Mario, what's that tell you?

Finally, how can you say the Penguins have too much money tied up in Crosby? Sid took LESS than he could have commanded on the open market by a team like let's say "Toronto" but he wanted the organization to be able to sign their young stars like Malkin, Staal and Fleury. They have built quite a nucleus around those players and arguably Pittsburgh, as a team, may "roll" the best four lines in hockey. I can't see how you can say they over spend for Crosby when they have a team loaded with talent and all of them have been signed long term plus all within the salary cap. Maybe Toronto should hire a GM like Ray Shero.

rock_knutne wrote: Yeah, well mannered, he says and does all the right things in public. What happens on the ice is another story and it should be, a lot of players do things like that, especially some of those so called clean players from Detroit.

As for the Rooneys.......how will they know that they are in a playoff fight months before the season starts? There's no reason to believe they wouldn't cooperate, it's how they do business and keep the city in the forefront of sports. Besides, you don't play many back to back home/road games in the NFL, especially at the end of the year, not saying it doesn't happen but it's not a common occurance.

Says all the right things? Like never giving any team or player credit when the Pens get beat? Which he has done the last two postseasons and whined a ton just like the previous Pens coach (Therrian?) did throughout the playoffs. He is far from saying the right things and being a role model. Where are all the dirty Detroit players? (Not counting Bertuzzi for obvious reasons but he has done nothing goon like the last couple year) Because Lord knows Lidstrom, Rafalski, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg are as dirty as they get. When Crosby has 3 straight Lady Byng's or a Selke since you claim him to be such a great 2 way player and well mannered, please do let me know.

It's the Steelers, of course they will be in the hunt for a playoff spot and I doubt they would compromise a chance at making a lot more money in the playoffs by having their last 2 games on the road. Rooney can claim how great it would be, but he cares more about the Steelers succeeding than the Pens and the NHL.

Crosby alone didn't have the weight of Canada on his shoulders. That entire team, Mike Babcock, Steve Yzerman, and Ken Holland all had tremendous weight and pressure to win a gold medal, not just Crosby. He wasn't even close to being the best player on that team and was outperformed by many players. But everyone remembers the game winning goal so they think he is great. The best player on team Canada made the pass for his winner and anyone who watched all or most of their games would agree that Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley were the 2 best players on Canada's team.

Secondly, Pittsburgh is not a small market team. Carolina, Nashville, Minnesota, and Florida are small market teams. Pittsburgh, Detroit, New York, and any Canadian teams are large hockey markets. Although the Pens did almost move a few years ago since they were broke and no one in Pittsburgh cared about them but they are far from small market.

^^^There's no way in hell Minnesota is a small market team. Unless we're talking TV revenue/coverage then yes.

KnightXC1 wrote:
Says all the right things? Like never giving any team or player credit when the Pens get beat? Which he has done the last two postseasons and whined a ton just like the previous Pens coach (Therrian?) did throughout the playoffs. He is far from saying the right things and being a role model. Where are all the dirty Detroit players? (Not counting Bertuzzi for obvious reasons but he has done nothing goon like the last couple year) Because Lord knows Lidstrom, Rafalski, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg are as dirty as they get. When Crosby has 3 straight Lady Byng's or a Selke since you claim him to be such a great 2 way player and well mannered, please do let me know.

It's the Steelers, of course they will be in the hunt for a playoff spot and I doubt they would compromise a chance at making a lot more money in the playoffs by having their last 2 games on the road. Rooney can claim how great it would be, but he cares more about the Steelers succeeding than the Pens and the NHL.

Crosby alone didn't have the weight of Canada on his shoulders. That entire team, Mike Babcock, Steve Yzerman, and Ken Holland all had tremendous weight and pressure to win a gold medal, not just Crosby. He wasn't even close to being the best player on that team and was outperformed by many players. But everyone remembers the game winning goal so they think he is great. The best player on team Canada made the pass for his winner and anyone who watched all or most of their games would agree that Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley were the 2 best players on Canada's team.

Secondly, Pittsburgh is not a small market team. Carolina, Nashville, Minnesota, and Florida are small market teams. Pittsburgh, Detroit, New York, and any Canadian teams are large hockey markets. Although the Pens did almost move a few years ago since they were broke and no one in Pittsburgh cared about them but they are far from small market.

Wow, you know what man, you're compltely CLUELESS when it come to Pittsburgh!

First off, Crosby does say all the right things, take your hate glasses off for a minute and realize that! He's pure class off the ice!

Second, who was on the cover of SI........not Babcock, not Yzerman.......they didn't lace it up and play, Crosby did! Crosby was the one who the media spoke about! BTW, he came through in OT didn't he?

Third, you make the Rooneys out to be cut throats, rest assured, if Pittsburgh can secure the Winter Classic, the Rooneys will cooperate!

Finally, Pittsburgh is a small market, I wish you were right about that one, I really do but again you're wrong! Pittsburgh has just over 300,000 citizens and the greater Pittsburgh area (seven counties wide) is way under a million in population. BTW, the fans did care about them when they were on tough times, fans still attended the games.

Next time, check your facts before you post, because just about EVERYTHING in your post is either FALSE or so far off base that it's not funny.

Rock, if you continue to try and twist arguments, then this whole debating thing doesn't work. Don't wait four posts to respond to something I've said in every post and try to throw it in my face. That's bullshit.

Second, yes, Pittsburgh finally does turn a profit. It is middle of the road in the NHL and in the lower half of the league, and pales in comparison to what the top 3 make. You might figure out what revenue means. The Penguins are valued at 222 mill as a franchise. They only bring in $87 million, which is 16th.

And yes, I know Sid took a pay cut so he and Malkin could both be with Pittsburgh. That's still a ton of money to have tied up in two players, specifically near 30% of the cap space each season. I like teams that spend to the cap, but I think throwing that much to two players can be a handicap. I'm not Ray Shero, however, so he can run his own team. Worked for him last year, and I guess we'll see if it continues to. Don't see the Pens repeating this year, myself.

You think my comments on Mario are way off base? He consistently tells the media things about Crosby that he knows are false. Says Crosby is better than he was, etc. Think I'm making that up? He had an interview about it in Detroit on the waterfront. Sid is going to be up there at the end of his career, but I'd bet he doesn't break the top 10-15 players of all time. If he proves me wrong, then great for him. He just doesn't play well enough defensively for me to consider him being on that level. Being on the ice for a quarter of your teams goals against is pretty piss poor, to be honest, especially when the game is far more defensive now than it was in the 80s.

Also, I find your claim that the fans still attended to be hilarious. Pittsburgh plummeted from 15th in attendance to last in a span of two years. Those are what we call fairweather fans, bandwagoners, etc. I'd LOVE to see how many current Penguins fans could even name who was on the team back in 2004.

The_Crosby_Show wrote: ^^^There's no way in hell Minnesota is a small market team. Unless we're talking TV revenue/coverage then yes.

Minneapolis / St. Paul is not considered a big market. The Twins are a small market team (Thank God they finally payed Mauer though and good for them) as are the Wild. Obviously it's different in hockey than baseball where there is no salary cap but the Wild would not be considered a big market. Don't get me wrong, they have great fans there and have since the North Stars were there but that area is not a big sports market.

rock_knutne wrote: Wow, you know what man, you're compltely CLUELESS when it come to Pittsburgh!

First off, Crosby does say all the right things, take your hate glasses off for a minute and realize that! He's pure class off the ice!

Second, who was on the cover of SI........not Babcock, not Yzerman.......they didn't lace it up and play, Crosby did! Crosby was the one who the media spoke about! BTW, he came through in OT didn't he?

Third, you make the Rooneys out to be cut throats, rest assured, if Pittsburgh can secure the Winter Classic, the Rooneys will cooperate!

Finally, Pittsburgh is a small market, I wish you were right about that one, I really do but again you're wrong! Pittsburgh has just over 300,000 citizens and the greater Pittsburgh area (seven counties wide) is way under a million in population. BTW, the fans did care about them when they were on tough times, fans still attended the games.

Next time, check your facts before you post, because just about EVERYTHING in your post is either FALSE or so far off base that it's not funny.

Crosby is not pure class or else he would give credit where it's due, something you almost never see him do for any team or player. Case in point, during both Stanley Cup Finals and last week when he gave Zetterberg no credit for shutting him down the entire game. Take your love glasses off and realize that! He was voted by 324 NHL players, not media, not coaches, but actual players last year as not even the best player on his own team (Malkin) and barely in the top 10 (just under 2% of the vote, same percentage as Brodeur) behind Ovechkin, Iginla, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg. This was done right before the playoffs last season. He's good, but not as good as people make him out to be. He isn't the savior of the league and is only the poster boy because NHL marketing department sucks thanks to Gary Bettman.

Being on the cover of SI has nothing to do with the point I made. Pressure from the ENTIRE country of Canada was on the ENTIRE team, ALL of the coaches, and ALL of the people who put the team together, not just Crosby. Yzerman and Holland were under pressure to put together a team that wouldn't finish 7th again, especially on their own home soil. Yea, the players put on the gear, but if you don't think every single person that was a part of that team and put that team together wasn't under pressure, you know nothing about hockey in Canada or sports in general. And once again, Crosby doesn't sniff that goal without the brilliant play Iginla made in the corner. There were easily 4-5 guys (Iginla, Heatley, Toews, Doughty) who were much better than him in that tournament. Once again, take off the blinders.

Never said the Rooney's were cut throats or tried to make them out to be. But the NFL is a business which they are in to make money. The economic impact of going to the playoffs in any sport right now is huge. Not going to the playoffs for a few years in a row is why the Pens were almost sold and relocated. Something they will certainly consider about whether or not cancelling out any potential home games at the end of the season when the playoffs could be possible.

Pittsburgh may not be a large market when compared to New York or LA, but they certainly are not a small market team such as Carolina, Phoenix, Nashville, or Florida. And no people didn't care about them when they were losing which is why they were dead last in attendance in 2004 and 25th in 2003, and 20th in 2006. The only reason the team wasn't moved during that time period was because Mario Lemieux decided not to sell the team, and all power in the world to him for doing that.

Those are all facts which you are free to look up (but I know you won't since you like to be argumentative) at your disposal.