Pens gameday; Now is not the time to get complacent

Make no mistake, the Penguins are at absolutely no stage to take anyone lightly on their schedule, especially the Flyers, who've played much better lately on their West Coast swing. That includes a blowout win vs. Anaheim, who the Pens lost to when they went out yonder.

Depending on who you believe, either John Leclair is in the lineup or will be the infamous "game-time decision". I'm sure he's not the kind who's gonna bitch about his benching on Saturday night. Leclair's no dummy, but I'm sure he's beginning to see the writing on the wall. But as I said previously, the Pens' roster needs to improve it's depth. The return (or shall I say arrival) of Petrovicky was a pleasant surprise, for one game anyway. Ryan Malone is due back in a few weeks, after getting his ass handed to him yet again in a fight. Who knows, Malone's return may pull the trigger on the trade that's been rumored for quite a few months now. But just having Malone return won't be enough. The Pens have had Cairns and Roy in the press box for the majority of the year so far, and there is nothing to suggest that their situation is going to change. Unfortunately, the trading of either of them isn't exactly going to bring back anything substantive. In order to get either a scoring winger or a decent right-handed defenseman, you're going to have to part with a decent young forward (Malone/Ouellet/Christensen) and possibly a draft pick, and then, and only then, may you be lucky enough to get one of those needed commodities.

I've read some places that Sid is going through a slump, I imagine to them because he's not gathering so many of the top headlines in his 2nd go-round in the league. Yeah, they must be right. He's 4 points out of the NHL scoring lead, with either 3 or 4 less games than those above him. And I have to repeat, just imagine what this kid's gonna do when he actually has someone who can put the puck in the net regularly.

We are at the T-minus one month mark for the awarding of the slots license in Pittsburgh. Today is the day that the IOC and Forest City (Harrah's) make their final sales pitches to the Gaming Board. I have to admit, I am nothing close to being an expert on the city of Pittsburgh itself. However, one of the big issues I'm reading is talking about the locations of the two main casinos-to-be. To me, in my amateurish point of view, this is a no-brainer. Everytime I've drove over to Station Square, it's always been a royal pain in my buttocks. However, I have NEVER had a problem driving in the IOC location, whether that's right around the Igloo, or down towards the Sports Museum. Easy access to 79/279 and elsewhere. Throw in the new arena freebie, and what's the discussion ??? I just hope that politics doesn't rear it's ugly head in the discussions in the next month. Let's hope we get an early XMAS present on Dec. 20th.

Nice article in the Trib concerning Jordan Stall shacking up with Mark Recchi in his guest house. That's gotta be a pretty sweet deal. Get a good home-cooked meal from Mark's wife, and have a private place to crash (and invite the honeys). Compare that to Sid, who still lives in "Maison Lemieux", and Geno, who lives with Gonchar. You can tell by Geno's comments that he's itching to get his own place, English speaking or not. I do know enough about Pittsburgh that there are plenty of Russians there.

Gotta pat myself on the ass a little for my prediction on the Colts losing their first game yesterday. They've been winning by the skin of their frickin' teeth for a lot of the year, it just caught up to them in Dallas yesterday.

And finally, thanks to Dan Patrick for bringing the fact that Bo Derek turns 50 today. Yes, that makes me feel older as well. But damn, any of you seen her lately ?? She is still quite a gorgeous woman. Those of you in my age group revere "10" as one of the classic hot chick flicks of all time.

And yes, for those of you wondering, IN A HEARTBEAT.

LET'S GO PENS !!!!!