A Time For Everything

I watched live hockey for the first time in five months and it was glorious!!

Despite their teams (Penguins and Flyers) having one of the biggest rivalries in hockey, the players mixed it up during the playing of the national anthem in the spirit of unity and solidarity and to stand against social injustices, racism, and hate.



My favorite player--Sidney Crosby. And, no, he's not a Dallas Star...but he's the best in the world.

Sidney's teammate, Evgeni Malkin.

Sadly, my Pens lost...3-2 in overtime, however it was an exhibition game with no playoff consequences...except for maybe the mental ones from losing... :0(

Hope you're having a great week--I AM!!

Okay, I thought that would be a more interesting topic when I came across it, but as I was thinking about who the celebrities would be... after Benedict Cumberbatch, it would be... drum roll please...

I bet you know the answer, right?

Yup.

Hockey players.

Tyler Seguin, Sidney Crosby, Marc Andre Fleury, Mattias Janmark, and Nate Schmidt. Maybe Roman Polak, Anton Khudobin, and Evgeni Malkin. Oh, and Jason Dickinson.

This is actually a nice cross section of positions. Two goalies, two defensemen, and five forwards. I have one more goalie and two more forwards than I need on a single shift, but this isn't about a game. It's about my dinner party.

Are they all pretty? I find them all pleasing to my eye but not all of them are necessarily classically handsome or hot.

One of my favorite pics of Tyler...

He's a good player, don't get me wrong. One of the Stars best. But the aesthetics...



Sidney...

Sidney is actually the best player in the world right now. But also the aesthetics. He might not be everone's cup of tea, but between his hockey, his personality, and his looks, he's my straight up favorite hockey player.



Marc Andre...

Marc Andre no longer plays for the Penguins--he's a Golden Knight now, but it's a cute picture. One of the things that I love most about Marc Andre is that he's almost always smiling. That, and he thanks the posts and cross bars of the net (he's a goaltender) when they help him out by giving them a rub or a pat.



Mattias...



Evgeni...
I'm not sure I can explain the appeal. He's Sidney Crosby's teammate and a great hockey player in his own right. He's also Russian, so there's that.



Are we noticing a trend? I like the backwards ball caps. :0)

Jason...
One of the Stars talented young forwards. I chose him to attend the dinner party more for DD than myself. She's a big fan.



Anton...

Nate...
This picture doesn't reflect it, but in post-game interviews Nate almost always has this rosy glow about him. He's got a huge smile and you can just see how much he loves to play. And he's always got more than a general soundbite for the media.

And last but not least..Roman...
Okay so he's no Sidney Crosby or Tyler Seguin. And it's not the most flattering picture of Roman, but I chose it for a reason. As you can probably see he's a bit banged up: cut across his nose, his left eye his black and blue. That's because this guy always sticks up for his teammates. If he thinks justice wasn't served, he'll take it upon himself to avenge them.

What's on the menu? Probably a lot of protein and carbs. Hockey players have a hard time maintaining their weight as the season progresses.

So that was a pleasant way to spend a few minutes on a Friday. At least for me.

Have a great weekend...

The Pittsburgh Penguins won back to back Stanley Cups. The Stanley Cup is probably the hardest trophy in sports to win. Doing it two years in a row is feat that hasn't happened in nineteen years for various reasons, but mostly because hockey is a very fast and very physical sport. Hockey hits are generally speaking, 17% harder than football hits. As a result of being hit, a player may end up in the boards (the sides of the rink) or hitting the ice. Whether that's factored into that "17% harder"I don't know, but regardless... And I digress.

This year the Penguins overcame injury after injury of player after player, bringing in guys from the lower leagues to fill in. They brought in rookies who showed up and played big games.

This morning I watched the Penguins parade through downtown Pittsburgh, and what an event!!

Can they go for three in a row? Why can't they? But we'll see, won't we?

Some screen grabs of the parade, because why not? I can!



Some of then Pens on stage at the end of the presentation after the parade. Holding the Cup is the best forward duo in the NHL, #87 Sidney Crosby, considered by most to be the greatest player in the world, and #71 Evgeni Malkin.

I hope that someday soon, the Dallas Stars will win the Cup. I look forward to celebrating a little more up close at that point and in person and attending their parade. *fingers crossed*

And if the Stars don't make it next year, I'll be rooting for the Penguins for sure.