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Penguins Notebook: Crosby keeps political opinions to himself
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Sidney Crosby, left, with Georges Laraque, likes the Penguins chances. As for Hillary vs. Barack, no comment.
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You never know where Sidney Crosby's name might come up. Recently, the Penguins star center was mentioned on CNN during, of all things, a political discussion about Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama and the upcoming Pennsylvania presidential primary.
In talking about Clinton, Dick Armey, former House majority leader, told host Wolf Blitzer, "I think if she would get Sidney Crosby to come out strong for her, he could sew up the whole state for her right now. He's probably the most popular person in the entire state."
To which Blitzer replied, "Who's Sidney Crosby? ... I thought he was talking about Bill Cosby for a second."
Crosby isn't interested in following Armey's suggestion.
"I wouldn't endorse anyone," he said yesterday. "People have to decide for themselves."
Crosby has been following the high-profile race between the two Democrats.
"Every channel you turn to, it's so big and it's been going on forever," he said. "I have my own opinions, but I'll keep them to myself."
Crosby wouldn't be able to back up an endorsement anyway. Being Canadian, he's not eligible to vote in U.S. elections.
Marty Galosi, Robert Morris associate athletic director for marketing and sales, attended the NCAA Frozen Four last weekend in Denver and came away more positive than ever about the city's bid to play host to that event in 2013 at the Penguins' new arena.
"What I saw has me energized," said Galosi, who went on the fact-finding trip with Jennifer Hawkins, national sales director for sports with VisitPittsburgh.
"You don't see a lot of casual fans. These are hockey fans. They are into it."
Galosi got a strong response when he mentioned Pittsburgh as a possible future site for the championship weekend.
"The Penguins are so popular that the first thing they said was, 'Oh, wow, Pittsburgh,'" he said.
The Penguins are actively supporting the bid, which is being prepared by Robert Morris and VisitPittsburgh. Galosi, along with representatives from host hopefuls St. Louis, Kansas City and Omaha, sat in on planning meetings for the cities that have been awarded the Frozen Four the next four years.
"We have a way to go in the process, but I came out of there saying, 'Hey, if we get this, we can do this,' " Galosi said.
Winger Gary Roberts (groin) was the only player who didn't practice. He missed Games 3 and 4 of the Penguins' four-game sweep of Ottawa in the first round and is considered day-to-day. ... Coach Michel Therrien also skipped practice because of illness. ... Practice lasted about an hour and featured a four-on-four scrimmage. "You want to go gradually. You don't want to go high-tempo right away," assistant coach Andre Savard said. ... Crosby hopes to stop by the National Aviary to see the fluffy baby penguin named Sidney. "I thought it was pretty neat," Crosby said of having the bird named after him. ... Forward Casey Pierro-Zabotel, a third-round draft pick of the Penguins last year, signed an amateur tryout contract with team's affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which is in the American Hockey League playoffs.
First Published April 20, 2008 12:00 am
