Goodbye to Malone and Roberts

We covered this in a post earlier but both the Post-Gazette and the Trib have new articles up for today that you can read here and here. The Post-Gazette one has some info on who is making what money next year and the fact that people still believe there is a chance Hossa will sign with the Pens. Hossa doesn't have a lot of time though, because Shero may try to sign other people before Hossa makes up his mind. All this is a little crazy and it'll be interesting to see how things work out.

The Trib also has an nice article on Ty Murovich, a Mt. Lebanon hockey product who got an invitation to the Penguins' prospect camp.

Next up is an article by Ron Cook that you really don't want to get us started on. We've obviously had some issues with a lot of Cook's articles for a while, and this one is no different. Basically he says that Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, and Brooks Orpik have every right to sign somewhere else and Pens fans shouldn't expect them to sign for a discount. He's right that they do have a right to go where they choose, but if you've read us before, the whole money thing is more than a little ridiculous to us. We're sorry if we're wrong, but isn't staying in a good situation with a good team and playing with Sidney Crosby, possibly the best hockey player in the world, worth like $5-7 million? According to Cook, it's not. Now every player has their own choice to cash in and make some crazy amount of money if they so choose, but you can't blame Sidney Crosby, and soon, Evgeni Malkin for being fan favorites both for their exceptional hockey talent and willingness to take less money to do it. Ron Cook claims in this article that Sidney Crosby can AFFORD to give the Pens a discount because of all the money he'll make in endorsements being the face of the NHL. Are you serious? You can't live on $8.7 million a year? We somehow think Crosby would manage. And we think you would too. Although we're sure it'd be rough. Yeah right. With the economy in the state it's in, we can't quite swallow this BS. Ron Cook says that they have their right to do what they wish and owe nothing to the organization, and he's right, they don't. But to say that these guys have an ego that basically needs to be fed and somehow "need" or "deserve" all this money and the possibility to be ridiculously overpaid is more than we're willing to swallow. He also says the Pens aren't the only team that has a chance at the Cup, and he's right, there are others and they have the right to go there too. But please don't tell us that this is a great organization with the chance to win the Cup for years to come or that you're willing to sign for less money in order to win and then walk out the door. If you do, don't expect everyone to accept that it's "just business." Most of us don't know what a million dollars is like, let alone millions a year. Consider yourself lucky and remember that money can't make you happy.

Well that was our rant. Sorry Ron Cook that we think it's crazy considering there's a good chance we'll never see a million dollars, let alone millions in one year. We think we could find a way to "get by."

Last but not least is the Post-Gazette's coverage of the Steelers releasing Najeh Davenport and three others. Your random YouTube is in the previous post. Enjoy.