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| (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File) |
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If you haven't checked out the new NHL broadcasts on TNT yet, you should. They are extremely well done, do not have that anti-Penguin feel of the NBC Sports broadcasts, and the cast does a great job of entertaining. The more pro-Penguin feel could be because the broadcast features two former Pittsburgh Penguins in Paul Bissonnette and Rick Tocchet, in addition to Anson Carter and, occasionally, Wayne Gretzky.
If you haven't checked out the new NHL broadcasts on TNT yet, you should. They are extremely well done, do not have that anti-Penguin feel of the NBC Sports broadcasts, and the cast does a great job of entertaining. The more pro-Penguin feel could be because the broadcast features two former Pittsburgh Penguins in Paul Bissonnette and Rick Tocchet, in addition to Anson Carter and, occasionally, Wayne Gretzky.
We also, from time-to-time, get great insider stories about our Penguin stars like Sidney Crosby. Crosby and his superstitious nature is well known in the hockey community and some very entertaining stories have come out about it. Last night, was no different.
Bissonnette told a story he had heard second-hand from former Pens' center Joe Vitale. Vitale was the team DJ during his time with the Penguins (2010-2014), and would choose the songs played in the locker room before each game.
The story goes that Crosby had been on a yacht trip the summer before the season and heard the song Dog Days Are Over by the band Florence and the Machine. One night, in the locker room before a game, Vitale had picked that song for the team playlist, and Crosby loved it. He told Vitale a 2-3 minute story about the yacht trip as an explanation as to why he loved the song. Of course, Crosby had a multi-point night and credited the song for it.
The next game, Vitale picked the same song, to lend to Crosby's superstitious nature. Crosby then went on to tell Vitale the same exact 2-3 minute story from the game before as an explanation to why he liked the Dog Days Are Over song. Vitale thought that with the concussions Sid had dealt with in his career, maybe Crosby totally forgot that he had told Vitale this story.
However, the Penguins went on a double digit game winning streak where Crosby was on a tear. Of course, due to his superstitious nature, Crosby would tell the same story, every single game, to Vitale, about why he loved the song Dog Days Are Over. It wasn't Crosby forgetting, it was Crosby taking his superstitions to that extreme of a level.
That is the mindset of superstar Sidney Crosby. When the team is on a win streak, and he is playing consistently well, not even the conversations you have can change. I love it, and I love that Bissonnette is on the TNT broadcasts sharing these stories with us.