Mario Is 30 Again!

[Teddy Ballgame]

- Friday's NHL hockey juniors lottery and draft reminded me once again how small but deep is the Canadian hockey talent pool.

- Owner Mario Lemieux won the lottery big time when his Pittsburgh Penquins scored the most talented and marketable junior Sidney Crosby as their first player acquistion. (In contrast, our Toronto Maple Leafs got 21st pick.) Mario - in my opinion the greatest offensive talent in the history of hockey - is a close friend of Crosby's agent and over twenty years ago Mario played hockey in the Quebec Junior League with Crosy's agent and also with Crosby's father!

- The great thing about Crosby going to Pittsburgh is that it ensures the team will probably not only survive but get a sorely needed new arena and it ensures that Mario - who turns forty in a few weeks time - will want to play and will get into top shape to play at least one more year on a line with the junior phenom.

- As a friend of Mario said yesterday on hearing about the Crosby catch, "Mario just turned 30 again!".

It will be great to see these two super talents on the same line for a full season.

[imgreat95]

i was telling Dan last night... by the time you add in Mark Recchi and Ryan Malone, this team could remind many people of the early 90s teams.... I am so excited today.

[Blue56]

It'll be Exciting to Watch.

[Plastic Bat]

- Friday's NHL hockey juniors lottery and draft reminded me once again how small but deep is the Canadian hockey talent pool.

- Owner Mario Lemieux won the lottery big time when his Pittsburgh Penquins scored the most talented and marketable junior Sidney Crosby as their first player acquistion. (In contrast, our Toronto Maple Leafs got 21st pick.) Mario - in my opinion the greatest offensive talent in the history of hockey - is a close friend of Crosby's agent and over twenty years ago Mario played hockey in the Quebec Junior League with Crosy's agent and also with Crosby's father!

- The great thing about Crosby going to Pittsburgh is that it ensures the team will probably not only survive but get a sorely needed new arena and it ensures that Mario - who turns forty in a few weeks time - will want to play and will get into top shape to play at least one more year on a line with the junior phenom.

- As a friend of Mario said yesterday on hearing about the Crosby catch, "Mario just turned 30 again!".

It will be great to see these two super talents on the same line for a full season.

*Cough* Wayne Gretsky *Cough*

[Trots]

I hope this helps the Pens. I'm just not convinced Crosby's mere arrival will ensure a new arena or the team's future in Pittsburgh.

[Teddy Ballgame]

Plastic Bat ... *Cough* Wayne Gretsky *Cough*

- PB - Hey, Gretsky has almost all of the all time offensive scoring records and most of the fans and probably the largest number of the experts would agree with you that he is number one. But if Lemieux had not been stricken by cancer and retired very early and if he had not been saddled with a crappy team and mediocre wingmen through most of his illustrious career, it is my opnion that he would have shattered every one of Wayne's great records except perhaps for career assists.

- SuperMario was much bigger, stronger, faster skating and harder shooting than Gretsky and on an overall career basis has much better goal scoring stats than The Great One. Wayne spent the final six or seven years of his career as strictly an assists guy becaue he simply couldn't score very well or very often after he left the Oilers with his terrific wingmen. Mario was a scoring machine every year he played including the last two seasons of his storied comeback and when he led Team Canada to Gold as Captain two years ago. Also, he's now much more media savy than he used to be and is even approaching Gretsky's skills as a spokesperson and ambassador of the game. Indeed, Lemieux's transformation from inaccessible and aloof to warm and media fuzzy is reminiscent of the transformation of George Formen from his first boxing career to his second.

- So while most would pick Gretsky and some would pick Bobby Orr and a few Rocket Richard and one or two Mike Bossy as the greatest offensive player in hockey history, some including me would pick SuperMario.

[Teddy Ballgame]

Trots ... I hope this helps the Pens. I'm just not convinced Crosby's mere arrival will ensure a new arena or the team's future in Pittsburgh.

- T - I wrote it "probably" ensures the survival of the team and a new arena but I certainly agree with you that it is not automatic, not a given and that Crosby in concert with Supermario have plenty to do to create the excitement and success needed for the Penquins to survive. But I do think that they probably can pull it off and I'm pulling for them to do so. As imgreat noted, the team also has a few other stars such as Mark Recchi.

[Trots]

Sorry, TB. Apparently, I missed the probably part.

Mario was a far better goal scorer than Gretzky, imo. He just had more natural ability in that regard. Both were close is passing ability, but I'd give 99 the advantage. I wouldn't argue with anyone who said Mario was the game's greatest offensive force.

[renuszm]

the drafting of Crosby could potentially lead to a new arena deal for the Pens. The future of this team is very bright.

[Blue56]

I know it might be farfetched, but would it have been possible that the NHL fixed it to save the Pens franchise. Just a thought. The pens have been having so much problems for so many years, obviously getting Crosby would help. Just my thought.

[Trots]

Possible? Sure, it's possible. The problem I would have is that the NHL has so many teams in bad shape, how would they choose which one to help?

[imgreat95]

blue, it has only been the past 3 years that the Pens were in "bad shape" until 2002, they had made the playoffs every year since 1989 and had a very promising team which went unbeaten over a 16 game stretch at one point during the 2003-2004 season. I would think that there would be a lot of other teams that the league would be looking to "help" first.

That being said, even before the lottery, i could so sick and tired of people calling for the "fix" before the damn thing had ever even happened.

[Blue56]

They were having TONS of trouble to keep the team the past couple of years. Look at it this way: Everyone wants to see Crosby play in the NHL right? They could have said How would the fans feel about Lemieux-Crosby, now that can bring back fans. Crosby and someone else, would too but not as much as Crosby-Lemieux. Anyways to quote me or anything, I'm just saying.

[00_Agent]

I have to suppress maniacal laughter when I think to myself that this is all real, and we're actually getting Sidney Crosby. I've been hearing about this guy for, what, 3 or 4 years now right?

With him centering a line that also boasts Lemieux and Recchi, not to mention a second line that could have Malkin and Malone, we're not going to be hurting for offense this season - and the new rules will only help Mario dominate with his stick handling and passing abilities.

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[Blue56]

Pens have until Aug 15 to sign Evgeni Malkin or he stays in Russia.

[I Are Baboon]

I think it'll be cool to see Crosby playing for Pittsburgh. There are so many crappy places he could have wound up, but I think Pittsburgh is a good one. Should be fun to watch. :)

[imgreat95]

The only disappointing thing about getting Crosby is that I am sure tickets will now be very tough to come by. With the team being put together here... wow...

I think that the days of student rush tickets are officially over. It used to be that you could go down and stand in a long ass line for about 2 hours. An hour before game time, they would start letting you in. With a student ID, you could get the best available seat for $20. I am guessing that there will no longer be available seats.

[I Are Baboon]

Yeah, but I am sure you'd take that over the team struggling again and Pittsburgh NOT getting Crosby.

[imgreat95]

well, of course i would. I will just have to handle watching them light the NHL on fire from my living room..;)

That being said, I do believe that the Pens were set to make the playoffs again this season even without Crosby. I just think that getting Crosby insures of not only MAKING the playoffs... but of being contenders.

[Big R]

mario my fav player im glad he got some talent around him and the penguins can do big things this upcoming season

[00_Agent]

Now it looks like Malking is going to be coming to play in the NHL this season, as soon as they negotiate his release from his team in Russia.

I too think the Pens were set to make the playoffs this season even without Crosby. They looked great at the end of the last season played, plus they added Recchi and Lemieux (who was injured last time there was hockey), and were going to be active in free agency no matter what happened.

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