I'm absolutely sick and tired of Matt Cooke's shenanigans.  How's that statement to start off a poll?  I also really don't care what the other 29 teams or their fans care about Cooke, either.  This is purely between myself and the Pens.  It is my opinion that management needs to come down hard on Cooke and make him reform the way he plays the game.  No more headshots, no more needlessly crossing the line.  Without further ado, here's my poll question for all of you.  What should the Pens do with Cooke?

Just saw this:

The Edmonton Oilers should find out within the next 24 hours the status of defenceman Ryan Whitney, but they're not expecting him back any time soon.

Whitney, 27, will meet with a surgeon on Monday, with the possibility his season will be shut down because of a right ankle injury. The most optimistic scenario would see him return before the end of the regular season.

Was this the same ankle he was having problems with when he was with the Pens?

Anyone else going to come out of the East besides the Pens, Caps, and Flyers?  I know we could all go on rants about how much we hate the Caps and Flyers, but I don't see anyone else representing the East besides those 3 teams.  Anyone else have a case to make for any of the other teams?  The Thrashers, Canadians, Bruins, etc.?  I'd like to see the Thrashers or the Lightening take out the Caps, but that's probably not going to happen.  And the Flyers and the Pens are for sure not going to meet in the first round.  This is just my first half arrogance, and a lot of hockey is left in the year.  Can anyone else come up with a reasonable counterpoint?  The West seems a whole lot more open at this point.

Quick update:  there was a discussion similar to this with hockey talking heads from the Daily Globe (Canadian paper) here.

PensBurgh Fantasy Hockey Hooligans:

Got an open question to all of you.  Last year there was  bit of yahoo! fantasy hockey fun.  Anyone up for it?  I'd be willing to set up a few leagues if people are interested.  Or, if Hooks and Frank already have a league going, any chance I could get an invite?

Pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease.  I'll even bite the bullet and draft Pronger.

Gotta have something to do at work besides work.

I've been a Pens fan since probably 1997-1998.  I qualify that because I didn't know squat about hockey then, and had just graduated from high school.  I knew more about Rugby and Soccer at that point than anything related to hockey.  Wait!  I had seen Gretzky play for the Kings a few times at the Great Western Forum a few times.  I knew that hockey existed.  Forgive my ignorance.  I was born in Los Angeles.

Anyway, I started watching hockey religiously in college.  I picked up a Pens jersey in a buy one get one free sale at a sporting goods store in an outlet mall somewhere in the middle of the desert.  On my way to vegas, maybe?  Of all the places to become a Pens fan!  I was even thinking about getting a Bruins jersey but they didn't have one in my size.  I liked the black and gold, so I got the Pens (and a Sharks jersey for my "free" jersey, which I never cared about): 

Fast forward a year.  I went to the University of Montana in 1998.  I took along my beloved Pens jersey with me and thought, "I might as well watch hockey".  If I own a jersey, and don't watch hockey, then I'm a poser!  I hate posers (which is what I was at that point).  So, Rocky Mountain SportsWest was the local feed that carried hockey games at the dorms.  It was the home of the Colorado Avalanche.  At this point, the Crapalanche were dominating the league and the announcing crew couldn't stop shutting up about them.  This made me hate them.  Loathe them.  Give me a team that could beat the Avalanche, and I'd buy you a beer.  I think I rooted for the Wings a few times back then...

It was a completely arbitrary reaction.  I would have been an annoying message board noob, and probably would have said stupid stuff that 'real' hockey fans would have rolled their eyes at me for saying -- if there were message boards back then.  I miss napster... 

None the less, I found an affection for the Pens that has never wavered since.  I had my Pens' jersey, and liked their odd assortment of players (Ian Moran and Darius Kasparitus were my favorites).  I pretended to be a Pens' fan, even though I knew little about the team, or the town.  The bastard down the hall, whom I loathed, loved New Jersey, and had wore their stupid jersey around all the time in the dorms.  "My Pens" beat his Devils in 1999 4 games to 3 to advance to the second round.  I actually did watch all the games then.  I was starting to become a "real fan" of hockey, and the Pens.  Here's a writeup I stole on the Interwebs about that season:

"As the season began uncertainty faced the Penguins as the team was forced to declare bankruptcy for the 2nd time in its history. With expansion and realignment the Penguins would be put in to the Atlantic Division where they finished in third place as Jaromir Jagr captured the scoring title and Hart Trophy. Facing the New Jersey Devils in the playoffs the Penguins were less then three minutes away from elimination trailing 2-1 in Game 6 at The Igloo. However, with Jagr would rise to the occasion tying the game with 2:12 and winning the game in overtime to force a seventh game, where they would stun the Devils 4-2 at the Meadowlands to advance to the second round. In the second round the Penguins would fall to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games losing two of the final three games in overtime. Following the season Mario Lemieux would save the Penguins again when he headed an ownership group that rescued the financially troubled team from bankruptcy."

Anyway, what do you all remember about those years?  Fond memories?  Your thoughts?  I've watch about 70-82 regular season games a year, and every playoff game.  NHL Center Ice, and my trusty DVR allows me to be a shameless hockey consumer.  I've been hopelessly addicted ever since.  Check out this roster!  These names and memories are taking up precious brain space.  I still remember these guys:

• Jaromir Jagr
• Martin Straka
• German Titov
• Alex Kovalev
• Robert Lang
• Kip Miller
• Jan Hrdina
• Kevin Hatcher
• Stu Barnes
• Rob Brown
• Brad Werenka
• Jiri Slegr
• Aleksey Morozov
• Bobby Dollas
• Ian Moran
• Darius Kasparaitis
• Matthew Barnaby
• Tom Barrasso
• Martin Sonnenberg
• Patrick Lebeau
• Jean-Sebastien Aubin
• Sven Butenschon
• Sean Pronger
• Pavel Skrbek
• Peter Skudra
• Chris Tamer
• Tyler Wright

As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan that once had access to DirecTV's NHL Center Ice package, my new living situation has stripped me of all ability to enthusiastically watch games at my leisure.  I'm now fully employed as a corporate mercenary, and am renting a tiny room in a dysfunctional house far away from home during the week.  My hopes and dreams of watching the Penguins defend their Stanley Cup were logistically crushed.  Except for NHL's Gamecenter Live thingamajig I just found out about while watching the NHL network yesterday.  It looks like an online equivalent of the Center Ice package, and is promoted at the same price point, with similar marketing materials.  I was wondering if anyone else had experience watching Gamecenter, and if it was worth shelling out $159 for it?

Here's a screenshot of the product (and of Crosby scoring an own goal?):

More info here.

Marian Hossa has once again jumped ship and just signed a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.  It has been reported that the deal is worth $5.5M a year.  Kudos to the Hawks for pulling this deal off.  Hossa should fit in well with the Hawk's young talent, and transforms the team from a middle-of-the-pack Western conference team into an instant contender.  But as most Penguins fans will tell you, the Hawks will have to overcome a lot with Hossa on their roster to raise the Cup and have their names engraved on Lord Stanley's jewels.  No team in the history of the NHL has won a Stanley Cup while Hossa has been on their roster.  What most teams realize...

To dethrone Mike Ricci as hockey's most beautiful man?  Both have rugged good looks meticulously cultivated through years of hard work in the NHL.  Ricci might have a slight edge on the long curly locks, but I think Brind'Amour's propensity for black eyes more than makes up for the lack of a mullet.  They both sport the old-school visor-less look, too.  I don't know.  This could be a close one.  I've always been partial to Ricci.  What do you guys think?

The PG is reporting that Jason Botterill has been promoted to Assistant GM.  Evidently, he was a salary cap guru that Shero relied upon.  Considering that this move happened as quick as it did, it sounds like there was a succession plan in place and Botterill has been singled out for quite some time.  As everyone knows, management of the salary cap is what is going to make or break GM's in the new NHL.  Best of luck to ya, Botterill.