Thursday, May 22, 2008

Thursday's Things

(on most Thursdays at OOB, I rant in list fashion. Last week it was Things I Remember Most About The Pistons-Celtics Playoff Rivalry Of The Late-1980s, Early-1990s)

Things I Think Of When I Think Of The Pittsburgh Penguins

1.
That their colors used to be blue and white before changing them -- in mid-season -- to black and gold in response to the Steelers and Pirates' championships of 1979

2. That for some reason I know that Gordie Howe scored his 700th goal in Pittsburgh -- even though I was too young to remember it

3. That they are one of the two NHL teams that blew a 3-0 series lead (in 1975 against the Islanders)

4. That they're yet another one of Scotty Bowman's Cup-winning teams (1992); Larry Murphy, too.

5. That not too long ago it looked like they'd be kicked out of Pittsburgh due to poor teams and a stalemate over a new arena

6. That TV analyst Eddie Olcyzk once coached them, B.C. -- Before Crosby

7. That the throwback sweaters they wore in Buffalo for that game played outside were awesome



8. Their TV announcer, Mike Lang, and his colorful calls of goals, i.e. "He beat him like a rented mule!"

9. That the Civic Arena was once known as The Igloo for several years

10. That I have an early-1990s Pens jersey with my name on the back -- because I have a thing for penguins (I collect penguin stuff)

11. Mario Lemieux

12. Ken Schinkel (don't ask me why; I always thought the former Penguin player and coach of the 1970s had a cool name)

2 comments:

Brian said...

Ok, I need your opinion on this. You say you got a jersey with your name on it in the early 90s, which would have put you in your late 20s. I'm not trying to insult you (I just want your opinion 15 years later), do you now think that's lame?

The reason I'm asking is because I've always wanted a Wings jersey with my name on it (I have kind of a hockey name - DuJardin). A few years ago, just as I was about to pull the trigger on it, I heard people on the sports stations around here talking about how lame it is to have your own name on a pro sports jersey.

Why is it lame? Wouldn't having someone else's name (like Yzerman or Polanco) on your clothing be even more lame?

I'm confused.

Greg Eno said...

Obviously I'm biased, but I think some overweight dude wearing an Yzerman jersey is a turn-off! Hey, it's me, so I put MY name on it! :-)