INAUGURAL HALLOWEEN EDITION

OK - so I have all these random posts that need posted somewhere / sometime -- THIS is the day, ladies!!!

And anything random from here on out will be covered on "FREAKY Fridays" - OK?!

Happy Halloween, ladies - ENJOY!!

And make sure to stock up on your "sweet treats" to hold you over until next year (I've already started)!!!

YUMMY (Sid-licious)!

Who's Your Imaginary Self-United Husband?

I don't think I need to tell you who my imaginary self-united husband is (Sid, of course)!!

But what am I talking about? Well, I was reading the BurghBlog the other day and PittGirl had a post asking her to give more information on self-united husbands. Self-united husbands, you ask? From PittGirl's "Lexicon"

Imaginary Self-United Husbands: It’s legal to self-unite in marriage in the great state of PA, so I [PittGirl] went ahead and united myself to David Conrad, Matt Lamanna, Daniel Sepulveda and most recently, Pirate utility man Doug Mientkiewicz. Step off.

This, ladies, is the answer I've be looking so long and hard for -- this ingenious creation is the answer to all my Sid-licious fantasy worries (and hopefully yours too!)! So I now officially proclaim, with the powers vested in me by the BurghBlog's PittGirl, to be self-united with Sidney Patrick Crosby!! I DO ([imaginary] Sid does too)! And, yes ladies, the picture in this post IS Sidney on our imaginary Self-Uniting Day!!

And just to give you a little more information on the subject, here's the answer to the question asked by one of her readers:

The answer to “how many husbands can you have” is this question: “how many
husbands can you handle and keep them from killing each other?” If you can handle 100, have 100. As for me, four is about all I can take.

I'm trying out one for now (because I'd really like to focus my attention on Crosby for right now), but I'm certain I will upgrade later and already have some suitors at my door. With this information, I ask you - my loyal HftL readers,

Who is (are) your imaginary self-united husband(s)?

You can give your answers in the blog "comments."

The Most AWESOME Grouping of Words EVER (for this Week!)!!!

Have you ever been simply unable to find the right words to accurately describe your fantasy man? Do you just get so caught up in the sight of him that your brain freezes and you're unable to think?

Yes - I DO know the feeling, so I've decided to post a sentence that may sum up your fantasy man no matter who or how hot he may be.

It's just too damn good to keep between Kena and I, so I just felt the need to share it with all of you!!


THANKS to Kena (who ROCKS, by the way!), we all have the ultimate combination of words that suits our feelings towards any HOT hockey man!! Here it is, ladies (we both ask that you PLEASE use it wisely)!!

hot, steamy sex wrapped in a warm towel

First, let's see what this group of words can look like -- this is a picture of Sidney looking like "hot steamy sex wrapped in a warm towel [or hoodie]!" Any questions?!

Now we'll use it in a sentence to better illustrate the shear awesomeness of this grouping of words (as Kena herself has used it), shall we? Ladies, this is just a sample of the context in which it should be used:

[Brenden] Morrow is hot steamy sex, wrapped in a warm towel. I'm not even sure I could face him to get his autograph without just melting or jumping him. It's almost frightening.

Kena and I would also like to encourage you ladies to come up with new and exciting ways to use it in a sentence!! We welcome your ideas AND would also ask that you e-mail us with your favorite or any awesome description words / group of words that you have used to describe your HOT fantasy guy whom you lust after!!

So please humor us and send an e-mail or post a comment with your thoughts and ideas (it will be awesome)!!

THANKS, ladies!!

Believe it or not, I've come up with another blog feature to support my Crosby addiction!

I'm going to start counting all the things I LOVE about Sidney Crosby -- that should take us to the time I die, so we're in good shape!!

Please keep in mind that there is no particular order, just whatever way they come to mind OR whatever suits an article I read or picture I see!

Today, I'm starting with what originally made me think of this feature:

Crosby is a humble leader -He understands the delicate balance between dealing with the spotlight without placing himself above the team.

HERE'S the article from MercuryNews.com!

American Dream

A few weeks back I came across another Crosby fanfic blog, American Dream, after looking into some new HftL followers.

To my surprise, when I went to read it, the blogger posted that she was no longer going to continue writing the blog and felt that since she did not have any followers that somehow she couldn't compete with the other fanfic blogs. It made me a little bit sad to see someone give up on something they appear to enjoy so I decided to send Gill an e-mail trying to encourage her to think about taking a break, but not giving it up totally.

Since then I've come to know Gill a little bit (she's from Perth, Scotland-how cool is a Pens fan from the UK?!!) and she has acquired some new followers. She also continues to write her Crosby fanfic, American Dream, and just recently posted a generous "thank you" to me and a few others. It was very heartfelt and I was just so tickled that she would think to post something like that on her site since she could've easily sent me an e-mail just as simply!

I would also like to convey something to all of you that I have to Gill and a few other bloggers: I feel that it's important for us bloggers, especially female bloggers, to stick together and help each other out -- it makes our community stronger and allows everyone to find their niche and growth in it. I enjoy writing (and "researching") for my blogs and realize how important others' support has meant to me so I try to provide it to others. I try to "pay it forward" when I can (someone supports me, I support someone else, and so on --) and encourage all of you to do the same thing!!

So if you guys have a free minute, stop over to read American Dream (it's one of the better fanfics and I would group her in with the very talented Lauren's Heart and Soul when it comes to fanfics!)!! I enjoy it very much.

Thank YOU, Gill (keep up the good work)!!

An Introduction to this Week's "WC Hotties"

I feel the need to make an introduction to this post before any of you loyal Pens fans / HftL readers get the wrong idea (or feel the urge to "lynch" me or my buddy, Kena!)!!

Kena and I both realize that the Detroit Redwings defeated the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup last season and we all know that Marian Hossa left the team for a "better chance" at the Cup (and the wounds may still be fresh); however, what we fans must realize is that Detroit was / is a good team (despite the number of geriatric players making up their lineup) and that we may be fighting an urge to totally disregard their hotness based on strong loyalty to our team. If anything, this blog and it's writers prides itself on the fact that we do not discriminate based solely on team association. When you're hot, you're HOT!!

And please understand that I have explained to Kena (to which she has laughed at me hysterically) that under no circumstances will I allow her to write nor will I post a WC Hottie post for Marian Hossa (to which Kena responded, if I'm remembering correctly, "not even if he was the last man on earth!")!! Aside from the fact that he is now part of the Detroit organization, I cannot get past the facts that he feels he has less of a chance to win a SC with the Penguins, but worst of all he lied to Pittsburgh and robbed them of valuable time that could've made the difference between keeping more of our UFA's and losing a majority of them like we did. This is not acceptable and unforgivable as far as I'm concerned so, although he may / may not be attractive (Kena and I argue this point quite often), he is in no way deserving of HftL's attention or precious blog space!! I'm not anything if not a loyal Penguins fan (you just DON'T mess with my boys!)!!

With that said, I ask you to keep an open mind with any "WC Hotties" on players from the Detroit Redwings!!

Thank you, ladies! ENJOY today's post!

Hotties of the Western Conference: Niklas Lidstrom (Detroit Redwings)

Before submitting myself to all of your conjectures, let me reiterate that I am not a Red Wings fan. That being said, I can't help but notice hot guys where ever I find them and now that I've admitted to that, lets get on to the good stuff, shall we? Great.

Here we have Niklas Lidstrom. I think he's the first defenseman we've scrutinized in this series (of articles) so far. Which is kind of strange, considering the fact that one of my favorite things about hockey is watching good defense. Oh well, onward...

IMPORTANT HOCKEY STUFF: It's hard to prove your mettle as a defenseman with numbers, but Nicklas Lidstrom has won pretty much every single honor of distinction available to someone who's specialty is defense. Starting with those 5 (I might be one off in either direction) Norris Trophies, Olympic Gold Medal, several World Championships, etc. He's the only European to ever win the Conn Smythe Trophy. He has 10 appearances in the All-Star game. His coach says that “he's the most professional person (in fact, he's so professional he rarely gets any penalty minutes which is unusual for a player who has caught my eye), I've ever seen,” and “he just doesn't make any mistakes.” When I get to watch, I always see him setting down there, just waiting like a cat to pounce on some unsuspecting forward. Yes, he's that good.

THE REALLY IMPORTANT STUFF: 6'1” 198lbs. Dark blond hair (which he thankfully keeps fairly short), with one of the most dangerous looking blue-eyed stares I think I've ever seen. [This video demonstrates it well - it starts at about 6 sec. in] I mean, the intensity of his stare is highly disconcerting. Kinda makes you want squirm, (and not just in a good way, either). In fact, he actually does make me squirm. I have every confidence that if he were in law enforcement, he could simply stare at criminals and they would confess every traffic ticket they ever received. It's no wonder everyone finds it hard to score on him. I'd really like to try, though (and I don't just mean hockey with that statement either). In other bonuses, he's got 4 beautiful boys (all of which are blond), so I get to be jealous of that too.

I can't imagine what it would be like challenging him on the blue line. Enough can not be said about his leadership capabilities. He leads by example. Nothing ever flusters him (although, again I'd like to try, [sly grin]).

[there's really no denying that Lidstrom is sexy - an attractive older man - distinguished (look at the bottom pictures). Kena will laugh at me for this!]

Sidney's Large ASSet!!!

Did any of you catch the article in the PPG last Sunday by Dave Molinari that started off talking about Noah Welch's (previous Penguins prospect) decision to donate his brain for the study of the effects concussions have on the brain in athletes and ended up having the Penguins players telling him which teammates body part(s) they would offer up to science. Yes - it was an interesting article; it actually led to some pretty interesting answers believe it or not [pure sarcasm]!!

The one that caught my attention was Rob Scuderi's which I, of course, had to post on this blog!!

"I would probably give Sidney Crosby's rear end, because I'd like to see how in God's name it got that big."

His answer was the BEST by far!!! I think I'm going to legally change my name to "Science" so I can have Sidney's "rear end" donated to ME (and what a fine specimen it is)!!

I could go on ALL DAY with these innuendos, but I'll spare you and won't!! OK - just one more!!

What a fine piece of ass!

I'll STOP now!! But I just don't know what it is about Sid that reduces me to a blubbering idiot (when I'm normally a decent young woman of average-intelligence)!!

DAMN YOU (and your ass), Sidney!!!

Crosby Picture of the Week

Keeping with the theme of Sidney's assets, this week's picture is a view of him "from behind."

NICE.

This week's "eye candy" is dedicated to my buddy, Kena from "Girls are Reals Sports Fans Too" blog, who has it as bad for Staalsy as I do for Crosby (so we can pretty much relate to each other as I'm sure all of you can as well). I decided to begin with a preface so that you'll understand why this post will end up being 50+ pages long and has 100 zillion pictures (it was a little friendly bet we had going and I promised her the most awesome Staal "eye candy" post ever as long as she'd go an entire week without looking at anything related to or pictures of Jordan; so you Staal lovers out there are in for real treat and will benefit from her week-long agony as well -- you can all thank her!)!! However, I am hoping that the mere sight of this post doesn't cause her to go deaf, dumb, and blind -- I suppose we'll have to wait and see (but if I know Kena, I'm sure she'll tell us it would all be worth it)!!

Since she's having such severe withdrawal symptoms, I feel it's only right to start off with a HOT picture of Jordan (which is why I posted the pic above, but let's post another one -- the one below is from the year he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006) -- I think it's a pretty good picture!! Kena, please don't stare at it too long because I don't want you to go blind right off the bat before you have the chance to get to the end of this "hottie" - you'll be missing out on alot more good stuff! OK?!!
Jordan was only a few months shy of his 18th birthday when he was drafted by the Penguins during the first round (2nd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Before he was drafted, Jordan started his hockey career playing 2 seasons with the Petersborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League from 2004-2006 during which time he was selected to play in the OHL All-Star Game for the 2005-2006 season.

Let's move on to some Staalsy background / bio information. As all of you probably already know, Jordan is one of 4 boys in the Staal family who are all hockey players. His older brother Eric was the first to be drafted in the NHL and led the way for the rest of them. He currently plays for the Carolina Hurricanes. Next, Marc was drafted by the New York Rangers and then Jordan by the Pittsburgh Penguins. His brother Jared is the youngest of the four and played for the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), but was more recently drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2008 NHL draft.

Jordan grew up on his family's sod farm in Thuder Bay, Ontario which is most likely where he began to develop those bulky muscles of his. Did anyone else notice he has the strength of brick shithouse? This was originally brought to our attention by Sidney Crosby who once mentioned that Jordan has amazing strength and is built like a tree. Have any of you seen opponents try to push him off his skates? It's usually quite amusing but not so pretty for them -- hardly affects Jordan at all and the opposing player usually bounces off him and hits the ice hard. The only players I've ever seen take Jordan off his skates and land him on his ass was his older brothers, Eric and Marc!! I guess after all those years, you learn a trick or two about "laying out" your brother when no one else is successful at it.

Jordan and his brothers were also fortunate enough to have their dad build an outdoor ice rink that they could practice skating and playing hockey (and killing each other) on which may have given them an advantage over the competition and enabled them all to become NHL-caliber hockey players. The rink was 100 feet by 50 feet and included accessories such as boards and lights. Jordan describes it as "huge" and "amazing" and explains that he and his brothers were outside on the ice every waking minute, but none of them ever realized it would lead to careers.

It was pretty intense -- a few elbows thrown, some sticks thrown across the rink and stuff. It was usually me and Marc against Eric and Jared, and we definitely didn't want to lose.

Jordan is quite tall at 6'4" (210 pounds) and has the benefit of a long reach which is why the Pittsburgh Penguin TV color commentator and Penguin alumni, Bob Errey, dubbed him with the name "pterodactyl" (I have no idea where that came from, but whatever). Other nicknames he's known by: Staalsy, the Gronk (here's a whole FSN segment about this one!).

Some other facts you may not know about Jordan:

• the first time he played against his older brother, Eric, they had a bet on one of the draws they had against each other for a Gatorade and Jordan lost so he had to take Eric a Gatorade after the game.
• everyone says that out of the four boys that Jordan is the biggest "mama's boy," but he disagrees and points the finger at his youngest brother Jared.
• his craziest fan experience was when he had a signing in a Pittsburgh store that was scheduled for an hour, but ended up lasting 1-1/2 hours and there were still 100's of people waiting in line that went right outside the mall; as he left people tried to grab him "and stuff" and he was honored to have that kind of a fan base.
• he won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2007 World Championships
• he LOVES to chew on his mouthpiece (well, you may know that; you actually can't miss it - he does it all the time)!!

As I come to the end of this post, now I probably know more about Jordan Staal than I do about my own hockey man, Sidney Crosby, and I have Kena to thank for that! For the "grande finale," I include the new Jordan Staal FSN commercial which Kena has not seen yet, so ENJOY!!

However, Kena (and all the rest of you Staalsy lovers), if this still isn't enough of a post, here are some additional links to read / see more on your own!!

ARTICLES:

Penguins Notebook: Staal Understands Sod Problems (November 28, 2007)

Sports Illustrated: Farm Fresh, NHL Ready (October 30, 2006)

VIDEO:

Inside Penguins Hockey, Episode 10 - Taffe and Staal (February 11, 2008)

YouTube: Jordan Staal vs. Matt Pettinger (October 20, 2007)

YouTube: NHL - The Staal Brothers

YouTube: NHL Road Trip Commercial (Eric and Jordan pillow fight)

YouTube: Staal Pillow Fight (uncut version scene)
Nike Bauer Collection (really GOOD videos!!) --

YouTube: Staal Family Weekend

YouTube: Staal Family Interview

YouTube: Golfing with the Staals

YouTube: Shooting Galley in Staal Family Barn

YouTube: Wall of Fame in Staal Family Basement

And MORE PHOTOS (because I just couldn't fit them all into the post!):