Are you ready for some ... hockey?

Rookie camp begins September 7th with the vets come in a week later. The team heads Moncton, N.B. on the 17th and will face the Ottawa Senators on the 19th in Halifax, N.S. Media credential requests are the highest they've ever been for a preseason game and the game will be on TV back in the 'Burgh.

Crosby's hometown and the likely debut of Malkin wearing #71. Oh, yeah we'll get a peek at the Staal kid too.

It's a shame it will be overshadowed by the Steelers in Jacksonville on Monday night football.

More on Malkin

Pittsburgh Trib's Karen Price scored the first big local one-on-one with Malkin, an outstanding story:

Here's the link:
Pittsburgh Trib Story Escape to LA



So, our Toronto sighting was obviously "unconfirmed."

Sports Illustrated will be talking to him within hours.

The shameless execs at NBC are really trying to do an interview on "Today." No doubt we'll be reminded on how the saga will play out on NBC when the Penguins visit the Flyers on January 13.

The Script:
(Image of Liberty Bell with VOICE OVER: "Life, Liberty and the persuit of happiness." Cross Dissolve of Liberty Bell and morphing image of Malkin)

Malkin in the Middle

Evgeni Malkin is in transition, but was spotted Tuesday in a private vehicle along Queen Street near Kingston Road in Toronto. Unless he is outed, he'll be doing an "exclusive" from an "undisclosed location" for a Toronto-based newspaper, a Pittsburgh newspaper and one Canadian television network before the week ends.

Auld Lange Syne

Times gone by.

Nearly 30 years.

It will be strange, for sure, to see and hear the opening of a Pens' broadcast. For the first time since the Boys of Winter Campaign, televison games will not start with Mike Lange's opening gusto, "It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh!"

FSN Pittsburgh will televise 71 Penguins games in the regular season with Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey doing the announcing.

I'll miss the Mike Lange opener, the insight, the calls and the personality he delivered on TV.

No disrespect intended to Steigy or Bibs, but I will listen to Mike on radio as often as I can. There's something so completing when he finishes a goal call with one of his signature catch-phrases. It's the closest thing a fan can feel to bragging, or trash-talking the opponent without being on the ice.

The conspiracy theorist in me holds the Pirates repsonsible, in part, for this travesty. Yes, the Pittsburgh Pirates. They have not captured the interest of the fans. A perennial loser, the Bucs can't hold fan's interest on television and the ratings have been dropping fast since they held the fourth-highest rating in baseball just a few seasons ago. Ratings drive revenue and FSN started a slow bleed.

The firing of Mike Lange was a Band-Aid for a wound that needs stitches.

Last name first, First name last

The Penguins signed forward Connor James today. The veteran of two NHL games seems likely to be a journeyman forward in Wilkes Barre. He did make the NCAA All-Tournament team en route to winning a National Championship with Denver. He'll never make the NHL's greatest hockey name team. No man with two first names ever should, unless you add "Battleship" between the names - like Bob Kelly.

He joins other Penguins with two first names:
Peter Allen
Russ Anderson
Rick Berry (and coach Bob Berry)
Tom Cassidy
Marv, Gary and Roy Edwards
Jeff Daniels
Shean Donovan
Gary Edwards
Ron Francis
Jim Hamilton
Paul Harrison
Grant Jennings
Stan Jonathan
Chris Joseph
Peter Lee
Todd Nelson
Kevin Stevens
Bob & Mark Taylor
Jeff Toms

Evgeni is not a Malkintent

>>Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar says Penguins fans shouldn't get too excited about seeing Evgeni Malkin in the NHL this coming season. "He told me he's staying another year," Gonchar tells the Pittsburgh Tribune Review after speaking with the Russian junior a couple of day ago. "He said he has a reason to stay over. I don't know the reason, but he's staying now."<<

This is not about heart, or desire to play in the NHL for the Penguins. There is something going on here. Be skeptical and listen to what is not being said, or can't be said.

Politically shorthanded

If the fix isn't in - as former Mayor Tom Murphy suggested (and later retracted) - why won't the Gaming Control Board make a decision BEFORE the election in November? Surely they can sort through three slots applicants four weeks early. There's alot of questions surrounding the team and this would go far in showing what cards Gov. Ed Rendellphia has hidden up his sleeve.