Summary
Tribune-Review Penguins writer Rob Rossi answers questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following are questions answered prior to December, 2007.
Check out Chipped Ice Rossi's Penguins blog, for the latest on 2007-08 Penguins.See the full content of this document
Extract
Penguins Q&a Archives
Q: What is Gary Roberts' recipe for his famous protein shake? My wife is a workout and organic food nut and would love to be in that kind of shape at his age.
- Don Wallish of Northumberland, Pa.A: I want you, Don, and all readers to know that Gary Roberts smiled when I approached him with this question. He then picked me up with simply his pinkie finger, tossed me against a wall inside the Penguins' dressing room and said, in a very demonic voice, "Thou shall not steal!"Kinda...Roberts did smile when I approached him with this question, and did, in a joking manner, say he does not make a habit of sharing the complete recipe for his famous protein shakes, which he and others in-the-know swear by after practices. He did drop that coconut oil is one of the secret ingredients, but my suggestion on this subject is to simply accept the fact that Roberts' recipe for protein shakes is like the unknown ingredient in the secret sauce for the Superburger at Eat'n Park. It will never be known to mere mortals such as you, Don, or your wife. And if I do know, I am not telling because, honestly, I am scared to death of Roberts. He has been kind to me, and I wish to keep it that way to thus avoid a pounding so severe that I might awake one day and find myself rooting for the University of Michigan, or worse, Pitt.Kidding aside, Roberts said to pass along the following advice: Do not put too much stock into the protein shakes. He does not. With him, it is all about the organic food, which he swears allows for a stronger immune system and quicker recovery. And given that my diet consists of Dairy Queen Blizzards and afore mentioned Superburgers, and that I am always sick, maybe I should take the advice of Roberts.Scratch that, I am sure I should take the advice of Roberts. I mean, the guy is personally responsible for dinosaurs being extinct, right?Q: I cannot believe the free ride that you and ever other sports (writer) give Jordan Staal. I believe it must have something to do with his bloodlines. His offensive play is vastly overrated, having never scored 30 goals as a junior. For some reason you and the Penguins management keep talking about how they are building around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Staal, but he does not warrant being mentioned with those three players.- Jeff Van Wart of Nova ScotiaA: Jeff did not meet the requirement of including his hometown, but I do trust that he is real and lives in Nova Scotia, and his odd venom towards Jordan Staal is something I do not understand. So, for this time and this time only, I will break the rules and answer his question.Perhaps I can be accused of giving Staal a free ride, except that I recently pointed out on my "Chipped Ice" blog that he does, in fact, need to score more goals. I am no longer willing to buy the argument that he is playing well and that goals should not be a measure of judgment on his contribution to the Penguins. Staal scored 29 goals last season. I was not expecting that many this season, but I thought he should score near 20, and at this point, with three through 35 games, he would have to go on a serious tear to reach the 20-goal mark.However...Staal is not an overrated offensive player. He did score 29 goals last season, and I will put more stock into that total than anything he did in junior hockey. Junior hockey, junior hockey, junior hockey -- blah, blah, blah; can hockey fans agree to stop talking about a player's junior production when he has appeared in over 110 NHL games? Really, what Staal accomplished as a junior player is a non- factor at this point, save for to point out that he was not a huge goal-scorer as a teenager in junior. Guess what? He has not proven a huge goal-scorer as a teenager in the NHL, either.I still think he has the size and skill to eventually be good for 35 to 40 goals per season, but maybe not for another five years, when he would be, oh, 24!Jeff is hard on Staal, but he forgets the kid is only 19. (But Sidney Crosby is only 20 and he has scored 91 goals.) Yep, and Staal is no Crosby. And few in this league are.Take a look at the early inconsistent play of Tampa's Vincent Lecavalier, a player that has no equal this season. He was up and down after breaking into the NHL as a teenager. But as he matured physically from a teenager to a young man to a man, he became a dominant and consistent offensive force. However, he only started to realize his full potential last season, when he scored 52 goals and 108 points. Lecavalier is the favorite at this point to win the Hart Trophy this season.Now, I am not suggesting Staal will become Lecavalier, but he will become something pretty sweet. ...See the full content of this document
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