City of Champions

Very recently, the sports fans in Pittsburgh have taken to calling themselves by a name that Edmontonians are very familiar with - the City of Champions. But Edmonton has been using that moniker for a long, long time now.

I don't know whether to feel cheated or feel disappointed. The last Edmonton Stanley Cup was back in 90 and Pittsburgh fans count NFL titles whereas Edmonton fans count Grey Cups.

Here's what Pittsburgh has achieved:

• 3 Stanley Cups
• 6 Lombardi Trophies
• Great NCAA tradition
  

Here's what Edmonton has achieved:

• 5 Stanley Cups
• 13 Grey Cups
• Great CIS tradition

So the questions are, who is the real "City of Champions," and can there be two "City of Champions" simultaneously?

Punish Crosby

We need a little less love and little more blood and vinegar. No need to fear retaliation... this is their game to lose and the Oilers' to win through hard work. They need to go out and give it some elbow grease.

Theo Peckham is recalled in place of the concussed Smid.

Reel in the chariots. Prepare the war horses. It's Edmonton in Pittsburgh and it's the biggest game for the Oilers this season. We win, we keep up the success on the road trip. We lose... well... the OilersNation folk will be buying PensBlog merchandise for a while, not that it wouldn't be funny either way.

But back to the Oilers... we need to stay at least 2 games over .500 on this road trip to be heading in the right direction, in my opinion.

Also, it would be useful to use this game as a way to rally the troops. We haven't been getting a full 60 minutes from everyone on this team and its time to get everyone on the same page for a common goal - the elimination of the Penguin threat.

Day before the Storm

There's a big storm brewing in the United States: the election of the country's first black President is about to take place. To many people, it is significant that a major minority group in America is about to be represented. To myself, it makes little difference what race the President so much as what he plans to do while he's in power.

For the Edmonton Oilers, it's another kind of storm: they are about to embark on another one of the sixteen back-to-back game sets we have this season as they continue their road trip. First game in Columbus and second game in Pittsburgh.

Expect Raffi Torres to throw a big hit or try to do something to keep us from forgetting his name in Edmonton. He's that kind of player and if you're familiar with the Edmonton Oilers from the past decade you know about the Milan Michalek hit.

Watch out Oilers!

Also, expect both Hemsky and Huselius to do well.

Here's another man whose success bodes well for Edmonton:



The bottom line is, the Oilers are in tough both games. It would be more important to win the game in Columbus because the Penguins will be a bigger challege. But a victory against the Stanley Cup finalists from last year will also be a good measuring stick and confidence boost. Victory in both is an option but embarking on another 4-game winning streak would be over-optimistic.

But I hope, at the very least, someone takes a run at Sidney Crosby, and dedicate it to the fans at Pensblog.

Good luck to Obama, the better of the two candidates, and good luck to the Oilers.

GOILERS, and GOBAMA!