Lightning Sign Ryan Malone

Ryan Malone has accepted a 7-year, $31.5 million contract from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Each of the first two years will pay him between $7 and $8 million. Ok, Ryan is a good player... but $7 million?! What are you smoking, Tampa?!

Good-bye Gary

This weekend, the Penguins traded away the rights to soon-to-be free agent Gary Roberts, along with Ryan Malone, to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It wasn't too much of a surprise. The Penguins were not expected to keep either so it was a good idea to get at least a draft pick or something for them. Gary Roberts only spent a year and a half with the Penguins but in that small timeframe, he became a legend here. He was the epitome of a warrior. At 42 years of age, he played his heart out on every shift, not caring what happens to him or the guy he was charging full force into. He was a great leader for the young Penguins. His mythical status among Penguins fans was epic. But he could not be kept. He was simply too old and too costly to keep, especially for a fourth-liner. Gary, your time here was very much appreciated and you will always be remembered.

Gary Robert's Greatest Moment as a Penguin

The Final Adventure

It is being reported that on September 27, all the clubs in Pleasure Island will close. Disney will turn the area into more of a retail experience. I can't say that I'm surprised. I've been there many a night where those clubs were so empty, it was sad. In fact, if not for cast members, I'm pretty sure the place would be a ghost town. There is one exception, however. And it breaks my heart to have it included in the clubs that will shut down, The Adventurers Club. This to me was the only club worth visiting in Pleasure Island. It is the most beloved club among guests and cast. Each visit was always different and such a blast. I can't believe it's going away. I am so going to miss the tales of Hathaway Browne, Otis T. Wren, Pamelia Perkins, Samantha Sterling, Fletcher Hodges, and the rest. This club was popular and always lively. But I guess, you can't just keep one club in the place. You have to get rid of them all. I'm gonna try to visit a few more times before it closes. I'll miss you guys. Kungaloosh!

Sierra Performs at the Tony's

It's been a while since a Little Mermaid post. So here's one. It's Sierra Boggess singing a shortened version of Part Of Your World at the Tony Awards.

A Look Back

It's been about two weeks now since the end of the season. Time away from hockey has been good for me. It's given me time to focus on other things. Ok, "other things" meaning Disney. But the loss of hockey has hit me a little hard as well. I've spent the last 9 months completely enveloped in this amazing story of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And now it kinda feels like, "Okay, story's over. Go home." Now what do I do? I think it would be nice to take a look back at the Penguins' season. Although it ended in heartbreak, this really was an incredible year.

Highlights of the 2007-2008 Pittsburgh Penguins:

- Filled with such high expectations coming from their surprise performance the previous season, the Penguins came out of the gate very poorly. The first part of the season was mediocre at best.
- People immediately pointed the finger at coach Michel Therrien and calls for his firing were loud and clear.
- Mark Recchi is let go from the team.
- The ridiculous body count. The Penguins suffered so many injuries this year, losing guys like Max Talbot and Adam Hall for extended periods. Mark Eaton was lost for the season. Injuries were so bad that Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal were the only Penguins to play all 82 games.
- Gary Roberts beating the snot out of Ben Eager!
- The loss of Marc-Andre Fleury to a high-ankle sprain.
- The shocking emergence of Ty Conklin, who leads the Penguins on a huge winning streak.
- The magnificent Winter Classic between the Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. Now that was hockey at its finest, an event you'll always remember.
- The loss of Sidney Crosby. When Crosby went down, it seemed like the Penguin's playoff hopes were dashed. That is until...
- Evgeni Malkin takes the team on his back and delivers a dominating MVP-caliber performance in Crosby's absence. Not only did the Penguins stay in the playoff race, they chased the top seed.
- The blockbuster deadline trade that brought Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis here in exchange for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, and a 1st round pick. Hal Gill was also added on deadline day. The Penguins made a statement that they wanted to win and want to win now!
- Crosby and Fleury return but Hossa falls to injury.
- The Penguins win their first division title in a decade. And better yet, most of their players are healthy for the playoff run.
- The Penguins just steamroll through the Eastern Conference, easily disposing of the Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, and Philadelphia Flyers. Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, and Hossa are superb!
- The Penguins fall just two wins short of the Stanley Cup against the Detroit Red Wings. The Game 5 triple OT thriller will live in Penguins lore forever.

What a season, huh? So where do we go from here? Well, Ray Shero, it's up to you to keep as much of this team together as you can. (That means keeping Marian Hossa!!!) And come October, we start this all over again. Wow, I dunno if I could take another season like this. But whether or not I can take the drama, I will be with the Penguins on every step along the way.

Stanley Cup Final - Game 6: Red Wings - 3, Penguins - 2

So this is how it ends. It's over. After 102 games played, the Pittsburgh Penguins fell two wins short of hockey's holy grail. Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings. They deserved the Stanley Cup. They were the best team in the NHL this year. They were so good, it was infuriating how they systemically picked teams apart. They deserved this night. But you know what? The Penguins proved that they were the 2nd best team in the NHL. I am so proud of these guys. I am so proud of this team. They never quit. They never gave up. They fought with everything they had until the final horn. They were just an inch away from tying this up. That's just how the Penguins are. This season was absolutely magical. It was the greatest season I have ever been a part of. There were so many stories, so many incredible moments. I will look at them in detail on a later day. It's just hard to right now. It was especially upsetting to see the Stanley Cup brought out on the ice of the Mellon Arena and handed to another team. That was to be our Cup, our dream, our destiny. We came so far, fought so hard, reached so close... and yet came up so short. It's hard not to be disappointed. At the start of the series, when all the analysts were making their predictions. Something common that was said was that the Penguins will win the Stanley Cup. They would win many. But not this year. They were not ready. It was said that before they could win, they had to lose. And so they have. But in losing, they have shown so much. This was an incredibly young team with so much skill and talent, but they were untested. We got to see this young team grow up. This group of boys became men in front of our eyes. They gained experience that cannot be obtained in any other fashion. If they were not ready before, they are now. Let Detroit enjoy its last hurrah. Our day will come and it will come soon.

Thank you so much, Penguins. I am so proud of you.

Knob Hockey

My friend just sent me these Knob Hockey videos. They are absolutely hilarious. I remember the ones from previous years. It's nice to see the Penguins involved in this year's.


Sidney rallies the Pens. "Mighty mighty Pittsburgh!" LMAO!




Interview with Scary Gary.




Video Breakdown of Crosby




Holmstrom vs Fleury




And my favorite... Ruutu gets under Detroit's skin



Ruutu: Knock knock!
McCarty: Who's there?
Ruutu: **** You!

Awesome!

Stanley Cup Final - Game 5: Penguins - 4, Red Wings 3 (3OT)

OMG! OMG! OMG!!! At close to 1 am, I'm tired and trying my hardest to stay awake and then it happens... and I fall out of my chair, onto my knees, screaming and shedding tears of joy. I have not experienced a game so intense and emotional since Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Semis against Buffalo. Wow! I thought it was over. It felt like it was over. The series. Our season. Our dream. I thought it was over. The Penguins gave up a two-goal lead and trailed 3-2 to the Red Wings with less than a minute left in what seemed like our season. The Detroit crowd was ready to welcome the Stanley Cup. But then with Marc-Andre Fleury pulled, Max Talbot and the Pittsburgh Penguins said, "NO! WE ARE NOT DONE!" Talbot scored with 34 seconds left sending the game into overtime. It was an overtime that would go into 3 rounds. The Penguins and the Red Wings would end up playing a 2nd game tonight. Sudden death is what they call it and that's exactly what it felt like. I couldn't breathe. I was too scared to. Any shot, any bounce, any hit could end this and it would be over. But the Penguins refused to go down without a fight. Sergei Gonchar was lost to injury. Without our top defenseman, the rest of our core stepped up like they did so many times this season. Fleury was incredible! He was the main reason we were still even in the game. The ending was as storybook as you could imagine. Gonchar came back to help the powerplay, even though he was in pain. And Petr Sykora, who had been invisible all series, said on national television that he would score the winning goal... and he did. He called it! Amazing! The goal was a beautiful shot off a precise pass from Evgeni Malkin. After much lackluster play, the Malkin-Sykora combo finally showed up and at the time the team needed them the most. I'm so proud of these guys right now. This game will go down in Penguins lore. The Red Wings were ready to hoist the Cup and we took the moment away from them. "Not yet", we said. We are still in this!

14 wins down, 2 to go!