News Article: SI Article Written By Sid

[Bart9349]

It is a very nice piece with some genuine humility and self-reflection.

That said, I think a special thanks would have been in order, especially for the likes of Kessel, Bonino, and Hagelin. A lot of "lesser" players essentially carried the team when Crosby and Malkin were on hiatus.

There is no doubt Crosby is a great player. He has certainly solidified his place in the HHOF.

But only the Kool-Aid drinkers believe that Crosby was the only possible choice for the Conn Smythe.

From Wikipedia:

Kessel narrowly missed winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, falling short of teammate and captain Sidney Crosby by three points. In the 5-3-1 point distribution scheme based on the ballots of 18 voters, Crosby had nine first-place votes, five second-place votes, and three third-place votes, while Kessel had seven first-place votes, eight second-place votes, and one third-place vote

(It is hard for me to believe that there wasn't some anti-Kessel sentiment, especially from the Toronto media. That is another story, however, and would be inappropriate for this thread.)

It was a nice article. It will temper the critical article on Crosby in SI a few months ago.

 

[ColePens]

Bart - i love your first sentence. I think that's a good way to put it. One of the main reasons I absolutely love Sid as a person. We are so damn lucky.

And even though it wasn't said, I think Sid has probably thanked HBK a million times. He's not an idiot. He knows that line was instrumental in us winning.

 

[lettuceAA]

I actually thought it was a lot less polished -- I would say there minimal ghostwriting/editing, unlike Players' Trib articles which seem heavily ghostwritten. Which, if true, is even more impressive to me -- that Sid would take the time to sit down at a laptop and pound out an article is pretty badass.

Pretty obvious, sid received another concussion in training and is now looking to move into writting.

 

[ColePens]

On a side note and in regards to those Player's Union pieces... I find "A letter to my younger self" pieces to be the laziest writing and dumbest reads. Such lazy writing.

Sid answered some questions and looked back on a year that was an up and down journey. That's what I see. Nothing more and nothing less. Very enjoyable to get into his mind and look at his perspective of how the year went.

 

[Human]

It is a very nice piece with some genuine humility and self-reflection.

That said, I think a special thanks would have been in order, especially for the likes of Kessel, Bonino, and Hagelin. A lot of "lesser" players essentially carried the team when Crosby and Malkin were on hiatus.

There is no doubt Crosby is a great player. He has certainly solidified his place in the HHOF.

But only the Kool-Aid drinkers believe that Crosby was the only possible choice for the Conn Smythe.

From Wikipedia:



(It is hard for me to believe that there wasn't some anti-Kessel sentiment, especially from the Toronto media. That is another story, however, and would be inappropriate for this thread.)

It was a nice article. It will temper the critical article on Crosby in SI a few months ago.

one voter, I don't remember who, has voted for Kessel 10 minutes before the game 6 ending. he did put a condition in that if Sid gets a point in those last 10 minutes he changes his vote... that vote changed the CS.

 

[NOLAPensFan]

one voter, I don't remember who, has voted for Kessel 10 minutes before the game 6 ending. he did put a condition in that if Sid gets a point in those last 10 minutes he changes his vote... that vote changed the CS.

It was Bob McKenzie.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sidney-crosby-barely-edged-phil-kessel-for-conn-smythe-203331662.html

 

[Ugene Magic]

On a side note and in regards to those Player's Union pieces... I find "A letter to my younger self" pieces to be the laziest writing and dumbest reads. Such lazy writing.

Sid answered some questions and looked back on a year that was an up and down journey. That's what I see. Nothing more and nothing less. Very enjoyable to get into his mind and look at his perspective of how the year went.

Yep.

He did his thing, started his normal off-season routine, and for me, that article, the ending,

I don’t want the first half of last season to happen ever again. I want the second part. I want to keep the Cup.

Reminds me a lot of this Sid.




Just call this one, "I don't want to have another first half of a season like that again."

There is no guarantees, but I'm betting they make a great effort to that effect, that they don't. What happens in the final stages of the season into the playoffs, if they are there, they will make the best of it. It's like the first time there, even though he stated he didn't want to be in that picture again they still had trials and tribulations.

Unless catastrophic injuries, I expect them to be true contenders, and maybe even the front runners. I'm not talking about how you can't count out the defending champs. Healthy, I expect them to be or near that.

A little cliche, but it was a great article. The part where he was talking to himself, "the hard truths" he's not being cliche there.

I like this Sid.

I think he understands about the last 5/6 years. Not all of it was failure due to team, the coaching and the players.

They had themselves some really tough breaks. Now everything seems fixated on pushing through those tough breaks because, they didn't stop coming, but they kept together, KEPT WINNING AS A TEAM.

I expect them to not change, but I don't expect them to be this past playoffs dedicated like they were.

 

[Bart9349]

It was Bob McKenzie.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sidney-crosby-barely-edged-phil-kessel-for-conn-smythe-203331662.html

Crosby is the third skater to win the Conn Smythe Trophy without scoring a goal in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Scott Niedermayer in 2007 and Jonathan Toews in 2010. But it was his all-around play, timely scoring and leadership that probably won over voters

Could be that Crosby obviously deserved the trophy. But it could also be the anti-Kessel bias of some writers.

Let's see how Kessel is perceived by many writers: Supposed disruptor of the hallowed Maple Leafs, lazy with an unorthodox training style, not a Canadian Olympic hero, etc.

Now living on the west coast, I have a more detached perspective of the Penguins playoff run. I am forced to do my own research on the game, not relying on the superficial analysis by local pundits.

I have great respect for Crosby. Possibly without him (and certainly without Lemieux before him), there might not be a Penguins team in Pittsburgh at all.

I am certain that most members of this subforum have a greater insight about the recent Penguins success than I. Most teams have a few notable stars. It is the unsung heroes that create a championship team, however.

I don't want to hijack this thread, so I will cease and desist now.

 

[Shwag33]

Sid is a robot. This article isn't really much different than all the others; just a different story line. The only time you see or hear the real sid, is when it's not hockey related. Sometimes he'll accidentally open up.

I don't fault or dislike him; it is what it is and I understand.

 

[plaidchuck]

God can crosby haters ever give it a rest? I guess if you're not a mongoloid like some other stars in the league then there must be something wrong with you.

We had to listen.how Toews is the greatest ever for a five year span, but can they at least give Crosby some credit? Of course not. As a center crosby had the bigger impact on his team winning. He deserved the smythe. End of.story.

 

[CertifiedLurker]

Do people really think Crosby didn't deserve the CS at all? Like I get having some people ahead in your own personal choices, but it's not like picking Crosby didn't make sense.

He was totally deserving of the Conn Smythe, like if I was voting, my first vote goes to Kessel but it's really splitting hairs though between those two this post-season. I guess when you're the best in the world, people tend to do anything to discredit you.

I'd like to see what a no slump first half Penguins team can do now that Sid has been rejuvenated and the team actually has an identity coming into the season.

 

[Darth Vitale]

To be honest I didn't even read it. I'll give you the reasons why, if anyone cares:

1) Even though Sid is absolutely a class act and — from all outward indications to those who don't know him — a decent human being... that doesn't mean he has the kind of personality or verbal skills that often accompany a good writer or story-teller.

Most people, in fact, have a hard time writing long-form content that keeps a reader's attention. So it's not an insult at all just a plain fact of writing and communications. And really we can extend this to all athletes as a general categorization, with the understanding the intent of the article matters as to whether it succeeded in its purpose. Dupuis' articles were not great stories or anything close but they served their purpose which was to drive home that he was Mr. Hockey Warrior guy and was conflicted about playing and all that stuff.

2) In the end analysis what is Sid (or any recent champion) going to write about, beyond overcoming moments of doubt on the ice, enduring pain during play, and the joy of victory / vindication / etc? Same stuff all recent champions write about generally, unless there's some very unusual angle to their life or adventures. Sid's not that guy. Sid's the quiet guy who just barrels through the work every day and has a singular focus on hockey.

Put another way, if I'm going to take the time to read a long-form story from SI or ESPN or whoever, given all the other stuff in life I haven't read that is truly important on a higher level than any sports event ever could be, it has to be something totally unique. Something way beyond the standard issue work ethic / overcoming adversity / believing in yourself / loving your teammates like family stuff. Heard it all 1000x.

It's great and all but honestly there are other things that occupy my mind this year, things that can do great damage to my country. It's cool to read this stuff if you want to, but don't forget to dedicate equal or more time to what really matters. And by dedicate I mean read, and I mean real sources.

 

[Darth Vitale]

(I'll add also the problem we have in here is that some people conflate the idea of Sid being boring or giving robotic quotes, with some kind of character flaw. Most of use who acknowledge he does have robotic elements to his personality — at least as we can perceive it from here — also acknowledge that fact has nothing to do with how classy he is or how good a person he likely is off the ice. A person can be both a very respectable class-act, and boring at the same time. The two things are generally not related.)

 

[ColePens]

I think you are wrong, Darth, and you should read the piece. From every single quote I've ever heard from Sid, I've never seen one where he's admitted doubt. He does here. He puts a good perspective on the season and I feel it's actually worth a read.

 

[ColePens]

And why people hate Sid? Because people are stupid and sick. They sit there and ***** and moan about athletes should be perfect, while 99% of us are not. Those types of individuals are huge hypocrites. They come out in masses when a person messes up or something happens like a team giving up a huge lead and "choking" a win away, but are unheard of when things go normal. They are the same ones who are all over message boards, facebook, etc. regarding some idiot back-up QB who refuses to stand for the National Anthem and make it a story when it's a complete non-story.

Think about it... there is a big majority of people who want to see a team lose rather than a team win because they'd rather ***** and moan then live without negatives. I think you all know the few we have on this board.

But I digress. Sid is awesome. We are blessed. That's the only thing we should probably keep in mind.

 

[Shady Machine]

To be honest I didn't even read it. I'll give you the reasons why, if anyone cares:

1) Even though Sid is absolutely a class act and — from all outward indications to those who don't know him — a decent human being... that doesn't mean he has the kind of personality or verbal skills that often accompany a good writer or story-teller.

Most people, in fact, have a hard time writing long-form content that keeps a reader's attention. So it's not an insult at all just a plain fact of writing and communications. And really we can extend this to all athletes as a general categorization, with the understanding the intent of the article matters as to whether it succeeded in its purpose. Dupuis' articles were not great stories or anything close but they served their purpose which was to drive home that he was Mr. Hockey Warrior guy and was conflicted about playing and all that stuff.

2) In the end analysis what is Sid (or any recent champion) going to write about, beyond overcoming moments of doubt on the ice, enduring pain during play, and the joy of victory / vindication / etc? Same stuff all recent champions write about generally, unless there's some very unusual angle to their life or adventures. Sid's not that guy. Sid's the quiet guy who just barrels through the work every day and has a singular focus on hockey.

Put another way, if I'm going to take the time to read a long-form story from SI or ESPN or whoever, given all the other stuff in life I haven't read that is truly important on a higher level than any sports event ever could be, it has to be something totally unique. Something way beyond the standard issue work ethic / overcoming adversity / believing in yourself / loving your teammates like family stuff. Heard it all 1000x.

It's great and all but honestly there are other things that occupy my mind this year, things that can do great damage to my country. It's cool to read this stuff if you want to, but don't forget to dedicate equal or more time to what really matters. And by dedicate I mean read, and I mean real sources.

Honestly you spent more time telling us why you didn't read it than it would have taken to read it haha

 

[plaidchuck]

Eh just because there are far more.important things in life than sports doesnt mean the article isn't interesting. Sports are part of human culture and do have merit regardless of how they rank in the "big picture" of life.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Honestly you spent more time telling us why you didn't read it than it would have taken to read it haha

Haha. I figured it was one of those long-form SI pieces they do to showcase certain athletes.

Still, I feel there is truth in what I wrote. Truth Matters. Also I type pretty damn fast.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Eh just because there are far more.important things in life than sports doesnt mean the article isn't interesting. Sports are part of human culture and do have merit regardless of how they rank in the "big picture" of life.

Sure. That's fair. I didn't say people shouldn't read it or that everyone should agree with me that it's not interesting. I just posted why I don't usually find those types of profile pieces or articles interesting. I may be in the minority though, given my opinions on the written word.

Just remember

 

[ColePens]

I heard Darth types 53 WPM. Pffffft. Don't be stubborn. Go read it.

 

[Darth Vitale]

At least 60, bro! Spent much of my career as a technical writer, so I better be fast. If I couldn't average a word per second I would feel shame. A scourge to my profession!

OK I'll go read it just to appease you people.

*disappears*

 

[Darth Vitale]

A) Shady was wrong: it took me at least twice as long to read it as write my original comments. That was not a short-form piece.

B) It was exactly what I said it was for the most part:

Dealing with self-doubt? Check.

Working to overcome adversity? Check.

Another one that's common but which I didn't mention: Do the little things / don't try to fix everything at once? Check.


SURE... it's fine as a profile of the challenges of the game from a famous athlete who plays it, but it's not something I haven't seen many many times before in one form or another. NOT saying it's not well-written or that nobody should read it. Merely validating exactly what I said in my original post, bros.



Now I have to load up the car with bacony-delicious German potato salad and cakes for our annual Father-in-Law birt'day / Labor Day feast. #livinDaLife <g>

 

[PensPlz]

Pretty bland.

 

[johnniewalker]

I appreciated that he both recognizes and acknowledges that his playoff beards are piss poor.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I appreciated that he both recognizes and acknowledges that his playoff beards are piss poor.

I do give him full marks for calling out his own shabby playoff... beard thing. It's egregiously bad. I think guys like that who can't get the beard going, they should instead grown their hair out like 80s rockers.