The Universal Cynic

...because I called the goodness that is Vesa Toskala.



· From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

"Sidney Crosby still doesn't care to elaborate on the finer points of that 'lower-body injury' he got in a 1-0 loss Saturday night at Tampa, and he's not ready to commit -- not completely, anyway -- to being in the lineup when the Penguins meet Philadelphia at 7:08 p.m. today at the Wachovia Center."

Someone's been taking lessons from Pat Quinn, it would seem.

This sort of secretive behaviour would be accepted if, say, the Penguins were in the thick of a playoff race. One always wishes to protect their best interests in such a case. But unfortunately for Pittsburgh, they'll be torched in just a few short weeks. So why the secrecy? I'm left to believe it's a move to protect the crown prince's golf swing.


· More Crosby crap: There was a lascivious blog headline in The Globe and Mail that read, "Sid's pink stick highly coveted". I can't link directly to the story, but here's a short clip:

Sid's pink stick highly coveted

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - - Someone paid $4,750 (U.S.) for a pink hockey stick used by Sidney Crosby in a pregame warm-up, topping all sales in a charity auction.

The pink sticks were part of an NHL fund-raising event, Tribute to Hockey Moms, an auction to raise money for breast cancer research.

More than 200 players from all of the NHL's teams participated in the event on March 18, using the sticks in warm-ups or even in the game. But the Penguins painted sticks didn't arrive in Montreal in time for their game, so they used them this past Sunday.

A nice story to be sure, but that headline kills me. Make sure you wrap that thing up, kid.



· Here's where I'm supposed to write about how disappointing it is to lose a CFL franchise.

Yep, I'm choking up over here.

And how about Dave Gross on the Team 1200 questioning former 'Gades media relations guru Arash Madani about the possibility of the team returning to the NCC next year as an expansion team?

Direct quote: "Dave -- it's over."

Could these mensas possibly be any more pathetic in their bleating desire to retain a third-rate franchise, that serves as nothing more than a dumping ground for the NFL? The argument may always be that this is a hockey town (and it is -- I've stated it publicly myself), but there was a time when it was difficult for the Senators to fill the then-Corel Centre. It's not about marketing. It's about winning -- the potential, the ability and the consistency. The media can blame poor ownership until they're blue in the face, but no one wants to come out and admit that Ottawa is a fair-weather city when it comes to sports franchises. Now, I wouldn't expect people to pony up repeatedly, a la Chicago Cubs fan, with blind alligance and bottomless pockets -- but it's a two-way street. There needs to be proof that a successful team can be fielded, and there has to be trust from the fans that the team possesses some potential. Neither of those characteristics were present in the city for the Renegades.



· Reading material for extra credit: I'm not a Canucks fan, but
this was an interesting story about life on the road (G-rated and no crazy hazing crap).

P.S. Credit to whoever photoshopped the above photo -- I've seen it on multiple sites and am unsure of the original source.