Bring Back ThePensBlog!!!

The PensBlog has been shut down due to possible "terms of service" violations. ACHOOO!!! Sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit. Anyways, I'm starting this petition to get them back up and running. They deserve this much from us....

Vote 'yes' if you support bringing them back to our daily reading pleasure. Vote 'no' if you're a complete and utter toolshed.

Back to where we started.....

Well, 3 successful seasons (depending on how you define 'successful') later, we are right back where we found ourselves in 2004. The NHL lockout that took place during the 04-05 season was all about the owners not wanting to pay players so much when they, themselves, were losing money due to the league's high unpopularity in the United States, and well, i guess the rest of the world. But here we stand just years after the graduation of the 07-08 season, and the salary cap up is up $18 million in just over 3 years. Yowza! That's a lot of sauce....

You have guys like Marian Hossa wanting more than 7 million/yr and guys like Ryan Malone who are worth, at most, 3mil/yr, wanting 5. I must be taking crazy pills because Ryan Malone is not a "skill" player, he is a grinder, a fighter, a hard worker and what I like to call, a "momentum changer." He is NOT a top line forward, but yet he will get top line dollars. To translate this into pop culture terms, you would not pay Tara Reid $5 million for a movie. For those kind of dollars you want to go with someone who has...whats it called....oh yeah, talent; not to mention you'd want someone who did not have a botched boob job and liposuction job you are SURE was perfomred by Kavorkian himself. Her body looks like Chris Farleys ass. Anyways, back to hockey....

Out of the four major sports (NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA), hockey is by far the least popular and lucrative. We all know this, it is no surprise. But what shocks me is that thinking back 5 or 6 years, hockey was so unpopular that if it were a high school student, Screech would be giving it daily beatings in the halls of Bayside High. No one wanted to invest in it, because you were guaranteed to lose money, and no fans wanted part of it because it was about as popular as Saved by the Bell the new class. But we now, finally, have fans and people are coming by the bus-full (gratned, its a small bus, but a bus nonetheless) to see games. So answer me this, why oh why are we starting to pay players tens of millions of dollars so soon???? It blows my mind.

The NHL needs to be cautious of these players salaries. Too much too soon and we are all headed for another lockout and labor disagreement. I, for one, am enjoying post-lockout hockey. I do not need another year without hockey.....the NBA can kiss my ass, it sucks, i won't revert to watching a bunch of assholes pounding their chest like they are king-ding-a-ling everytime they get to the free throw line....fucking snoozefest. So, lets all hope league commisioner Gary Bettman knows what he is doing. He has the IQ of a hangover fart but we gotta have faith. Go Pens.

The calm before the storm....

July 1st is just days away, and for some hockey fans, it will be sweet bliss as their favorite teams' general managers and owners shell out serious cash for some of the league's elite players. For some fans, however, this day is nothing short of Armageddon. Why Armageddon you ask? Well, its quite simple. It is not unheard of for teams to go through "rebuilding" phases, meaning trading any player of value for young players who may or may not develop, but don't cost more than a "shanghai-surprise" from your local massage parlor. You spend the next few years "dying alive" (sorry to use that quote two posts in a row) as you watch your team lose 60 games. Hence how Pens nation felt post-Jagr trade.....

The NHL playoffs ended only a few weeks ago, but are a distant memory in many peoples mind. Of course, for us Pens fans, it seems like yesterday you watched that last second shot by Crosby in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals barely miss the net and Hossa almost burying it as time ran out....Oh man that was so close. That memory alone, of what could of been, but was not meant to be, could turn even the strongest of men from having a successful career in law to a successful career in doing sex acts for crack in an alley.....it's a fine line my friends.

So what it really boils down to is that there are some amazing players available the minute the clock strikes midnight and the month turns from June to July. This little quiet town we live in known as Hockey Village will turn into Bourbon street during Mardi Gras. Owners will be showing some nipple while throwing bags of cash to get the rights to guys such as Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, Ryan Malone, Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin. Even players under contract will be showing some skin and tossing beads trying to lure in a solid FA to help their team. It becomes a dog eat dog world, just hope that the higher ups running your team have a lethal bite, or prepare yourself for a long year. I, however, do not have to worry, because the penguins have Ray Shero making their moves. Let's put it this way, if it really is a dog-eat-dog situation, Ray Shero would be the apple of Michael Vick's eye; the undisputed, undefeated heavweight champion of the canine division. Go Pens.

Jagr would work well with Crosby

If you can, for just a minute, forget the past 7 years of anger and flat out hatred you have had for Jaromir Jagr and anything directly related to him (personally, I have chosen to root for anyone to beat the Czech Republic and Rangers/Caps, just to watch him cry. I also watch that youtube clip of Ruutu crushing him into the boards during the 2002 Olympics just to make me smile when I'm feeling the slightest bit down. It brings me great comfort). It is time, even if for a moment, to talk realistically about the Penguins options for the 2008-2009 season.

The PensBlog, who have inspired me and brought my obsession/love for penguins hockey to an all time high, have started what they call the Jaromir Jagr Movement. I must say, I am completely on board. In fact, I am riding shotgun chugging a bottle of Jack Daniels with a "Flash Me" sign and screaming out the window at the top of my lungs in support of this.

First of all, the penguins are in desperate need of wingers, veterans and a proven sniper to compliment Crosby's vision and passing touch. Aside from Hossa (who I would not like to re-sign at 7mil/yr), Crosby has not had a proven scoring winger on his line. Think about it. Recchi was the closest thing and he was well into his 30's! God bless his effort and heart, but Colby Armstrong didn't bring much to the table, nor did Christensen and Malone didn't click until he played with Malkin. We need someone who can adapt to Crosby's game and has a similar touch and vision.

Secondly, like Crosby and Malkin, Jagr is extremely hard to knock off the puck. Now You have 2 lines with 3 players who have the ability to keep the puck in the offensive zone, thus creating more chances.

Jagr had some great years/plays/memories in a Penguins sweater and he is a year, maybe 2 away from hanging it up. He should not come back for the poetic ending or to patch up old wounds...we all know it would take 1 announcement of his name over the PA at Mellon Arena to get the fans back in love with him. He should come back for a shot at the cup; to win; to teach these young kids what this game is about and how hard you have to work to be remembered as one of the best of all time.

The bottom line is that if I saw on ESPN that the penguins had signed him, id open up the bubbly and get a little saucy while watching youtube clips of his days with Lemieux while sporting the black and gold. Go Pens.