PROOF!!!

This came to me a few minutes ago courtesy of Friend of The Show Sooska:

I took a screen shot from the HERE a few minutes ago and photoshopped it only to draw a line and circle and add the text. The rest of the image is unchanged. Go to the site and see for yourselves. On Geno's page the menu is in the lower left. The file of the screen shot is attached. Please note it says GENO- not Gino. Nike says it is Geno, therefore God Gary says it is Geno.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

I think we can safely put this controversy to rest and concentrate on the rumors of his trade. Pensgirl told me last night she had been alerted to a rumor that our boy Geno had already signed with a team from Tokyo for all-you-can-eat-sushi. This rumor has credence since we all know for a fact, as he stated it openly on Inside Penguins Hockey, that his favorite place to eat in Pittsburgh is Umi in Shadyside.

That's very difficult to argue against! Looks like it's CASE CLOSED for good on the Geno v Gino issue! :) And speaking of Geno's alleged possible relocation, it turns out that Ray Shero was actually listening to some of the offers being sent his way, though he ultimately didn't accept any of them. Check out this article that details what Geno's agent has to say about the coveted star's future:

Sidney Crosby cracked the door open last July.

Evgeni Malkin wants to rip it from its hinges next month to allow teammates - specifically impending unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa - a clear path toward long-term futures with the Penguins.


Malkin's agent, JP Barry, said Friday his client would follow the precedent set by Crosby last summer and sign a long-term extension at less than his presumed market value to provide the Penguins salary cap space necessary to remain a Stanley Cup contender.

I believe the words you're looking for are "BOO" and "YAH." But, as they say, you've got to take the good with the bad: Unfortunately, talks with Marian Hossa have broken down. He has decided to decline the Pens' offer for a longterm deal in favor of trying his luck in free agency. (>_<) Evidently, "[Ray] Shero said he is 'not optimistic and not pessimistic' about keeping Hossa." Okaaaaaay...

Sid will definitely still need a winger if Hossa leaves, but I'm so glad Geno wants to stay!!! This photo of Geno comes courtesy of good Friend of The Show Teka of Talk Hockey To Me. She took the photo in Philadelphia when the Pens met the Flyers on 11-10-07.

Oh, and in HOLY SCHMIDT news, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Pittsburgh native Penguin killer R.J. Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here are the details of that trade:

The Flyers received the Blue Jackets first round pick (19th overall) and third round pick (67th overall). The Blue Jackets also received the Flyers' fourth round pick (119th overall) in the deal.

Umberger, a graduate of Plum High School, was a restricted free agent that the Flyers were having difficulty re-signing because of the salary cap. The Blue Jackets will now have exclusive negotiating rights with Umberger until July 1, when other teams can make a contract offer that the Blue Jackets would have to match or risk losing him.

Umberger and the Saint play in Philadelphia on 01-13-07.

Umberger ...was a restricted free agent that the Flyers were having difficulty re-signing because of the salary cap.

Hmmm, do you think that had anything to do with the fact that the Flyers had no money to spare after shelling out $10 million to Danny Briere?

Finally, in draft news, the Pens picked up right wing Nathan Moon, and goaltenders Alexander Pechurski and Patrick Killeen in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th rounds, respectively. Don't forget to keep working on our TSCS Summer Project! I've already gotten some really good ones. :)

Big thanks go out to Friends Sooska (for sending in the PROOF! screenshot) and Teka (for the shot of Geno).

'Cause There Ain't No Cure For The Summertime Blues

Today seemed like a good day to dig into some of the stuff I've been holding and/or didn't have a chance to get to during the playoffs. But first (I PROMISE this is the very last time I'm going to bring this up) I have to reopen "The Great Malkin Debate." Now we've got two items that suggest we need to go back to GENO over GINO. First, Pengylady sent me this:

For what it’s worth . . . . After he scored the goal last night – the arena Jumbotron was flashing GENO. And I don’t think that article from the official site was by Penguins staff – it had an NHL.com byline.

Now I've seen "GENO!!!" flash on that Jumbotron with my own eyes (several times!), and yet I have no idea why it never occurred to me to refer to that when we were trying to determine how to spell Malkin's nickname.


Then, Pensgirl sent me this:

Not to drag out the Geno/Gino debate, but I happened to look over at my computer just now and the attached file was going by on my screen saver. It's one of the 'comic book' wallpapers the Pens put up on their official website. Talk about muddying the waters - if the Pens themselves are the best source, we now have both spellings coming from them!

This is the wallpaper she was referring to:

Click it to enlarge it.

This is another thing - I have this cycling through my Webshots so I've seen it probably hundreds of times, yet it never occurred to me to refer to it, either. GEEZ!! Anyways, since "GENO" is how the actual Pens staff is spelling it (and since "GENO" is preferred by the majority of you), it will remain GENO on TSCS unless and until I actually see Malkin himself writing it differently. CASE CLOSED, haha! ;)

Aisha V. sent me this hilarious video of Mad Max Talbot and Big Georges Laraque talking about Game 3.

Lexie101 was at the Mellon when BGL and Mad Max were taping that interview:

Max was nice enough to stop and give her an autograph and take a picture with her.

Stephanie S. sent in pictures of herself with her beloved Dallas Stars' goaltender Marty Turco as well as one of her standing beside hockey's Holy Grail:

Haha, Marty's kind of skinny. I wonder if he's got stems like our Flower! :P

Christine sent me an article that eased my mind a bit. Evidently Marian Hossa wants silver more than salary:

"If I wanted to make a couple more dollars, I would probably just re-sign with Atlanta," said Hossa. "...There's always a limit, but I'd rather take a little less and play on a good team, definitely."


...captain Sidney Crosby made it clear that he does not want to enter next season the way he did this one -- without a high-scoring winger to make best use of his talent as a set-up man.

Crosby, whose five-year, $43.5-million extension begins this fall, said yesterday that he is willing to drop his tag as the team's highest-paid player in order to keep his right-hand man in Hossa. [snoop: Another reason Sid is the Saint...]

"I want to play with him," Crosby said. "He's a great player. I hope it works out that he's able to stay. He's a great person. He works hard. I enjoy playing with him. As we played together more and got used to each other, things started to happen, and it was a lot of fun out there. It would be a lot of fun to keep playing with someone like that. I hope it works out."


...[Hossa said,] "Sid is an incredible player and even better person. But there's lot of players to be signed. We'll see what's going to happen. I'm sure Ray's going to do everything he can to keep everybody together."

That is freaking awesome. Of all the players set to become UFAs this summer, I hope Ray Shero can find a way to keep Hossa, Ryan Malone, and Brooks Orpik. They are my top 3. If Shero can pull out the magic pixie dust and keep them all, well, that would be FANTASTIC! But realistically, we should be preparing ourselves to say goodbye to a few of them... Leave your top 3 UFA "keepers" in the comments section below.

Finally, this one is for our Red Wings loving Friends. Our Friend Daily Su keeps a blog over at NHL Connect where she writes under the name MotleySu. Here's an interesting story she found:

WDIV sports babe in hot water! WDIV sports reporter Katrina Hancock is embroiled in controversy among Detroit sports fans.

Hancock followed the Red Wings to Pittsburgh to cover game six of the Stanley Cup finals. While there, she allowed herself to be interviewed by a KDKA reporter. He stated that she was the only reporter from Detroit willing to admit that Penguins fans are better than Detroit fans. She then admitted to that on camera.

Dissing your viewers is not exactly a smart thing to do...

The KDKA reporter followed her remarks by saying he had to promise Hancock the interview would never run in Detroit (I guess he never heard of the internet).

Internet bulletin boards and sports talk radio shows have exploded with fans calling for her head.

Interesting...

Seriously, even if she only has limited knowledge of modern technology, how could Hancock think that no one from Detroit would find out about this?! Haha, I can't wait to hear her mea culpa. :P

OH!!! One last thing before I let you go - I know most of the regulars here have already checked out RaleighSkyline.com (aka: the site with the stunning pictures of the Stanley Cup). BUT YOU HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT AGAIN!!! At some point between when I first linked it and now, Matt Robinson added an absolutely unreal closeup photo of the Penguins' spot(s) on the Stanley Cup. It's amazing.

Many thanks to Friends of The Show Pengylady, Pensgirl, Aisha, Lexie101, Stephanie, Christine, and Daily Su for the assistance with today's post!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Looks Like We've Got Ourselves A Cowboy

After more than 24 hours, I'm still bowled over by Petr Sykora's stunning announcement to Pierre McGuire that it would be he that scored the game winning goal - and then actually doing it. Here's what Syko said about his prophecy (from the Pens' website):

Sykora's teammates said he told them he was going to end the game.

"And about the shot, just between the periods, something stupid I said, just 'Guys, I'm just going to get one. So just don't worry about the game. I'm going to get a goal,'" Sykora said. "And luckily, I got a great pass from 'Gino.' I missed it one time before, probably by 20 feet. And it was kind of a lucky play. It hit the ref and went behind the net and 'Gino' got it, made a beautiful pass. I tried to put it upstairs, and the puck went in."


"Gino," the struggling Evgeni Malkin, was desperately looking for something to go right in this series, and got his wish, making the pass out from behind the Detroit net to Sykora as he skated into the right circle. Sykora's rising shot went over the glove of Chris Osgood to send the Penguins to not only an improbable victory, but another home game, Wednesday night at Mellon Arena.

Oh, and did you notice how author Phil Coffey spelled Malkin's nickname? Since this article is from the Pens' website, that's almost as good as getting him to write it himself, so GINO it is from now on.

Friend of The Show Bobby T. sent in this picture he took yesterday. Now, I'm no psychic, but do you think the hockey gods might be sending us a sign? Take a look at the street name, then follow the One Way arrow to the sign in the background:

(Click to enlarge)

Regardless of what happens tonight, this is the last home game until autumn. If you're going to be there, MAKE IT COUNT. I don't want to be able to hear Doc and Edzo all night!!!

DO IT.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GINO v GENO

I know this issue I'm about to present is trivial, but I can't help it - I'm antsy and therefore I'm probably overthinking it... (I guess this is what happens when there's still 20ish hours left until the biggest series of the postseason starts.)

I'm torn about how The Show should handle the "GINO" v "GENO" issue. I still think that logically it should be "GENO" because Evgeni is the Russian equivalent of Eugene. And just a few hours ago, I got another reason to support why it should be "GENO" (I'm posting it in its entirety in case you've missed it in the comments section):

Pensgirl said...

You know, just because his stick says "Gino" doesn't mean that's the correct spelling. You don't know who's responsible for putting the nickname there. I say that as a person whose real name is misspelled All. The. Freaking. Time.

So until the person who gave him the nickname (Colby, I think) states officially that it's spelled "Gino," I'm going to continue to assume it's "Geno."

Here's why.

Hmmm... I before E?

There was this Caps video I saw a few months ago (living in Baltimore I get the Caps' local broadcasts) where they asked the players to give out some underground hockey lingo. Each term was subtitled on the screen.

Turns out, there's a little-known slang term that means "goal."

It's geno.

Anyone else think that mighta been the real source of his nickname? I don't know why they wouldn't just say that, but it sure makes sense.
May 23, 2008 7:54:00 PM

As a victim of misspellings myself - Jodie (← correct), Jodi, and Jody, and don't EVEN get me started on the butchering of my last name - I know all too well that this scenario is a distinct possibility. Sooooo, I've decided to let it up to you. Vote for which spelling you think The Show should use. I'll check the results tomorrow before I begin the SCF Game 1 recap, and I'll use the spelling you guys pick. I know, I know - it's silly. Buy hey, what else are you going to do to pass the time until that puck drops???

And since it IS his Show, here's a picture of Sid from Friday's practice (click to enlarge for wallpaper size - the Malkin picture is huge, too):


GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!