Crosby out of lineup again.

When the "Crosby Update" was announced today, we knew it wouldn't be a good one. And I knew exactly what was going to happen when he missed the past two games, I knew it would be longer. I wished it wasn't true but it is. Also, I don't want to be so pessimistic, but we know that this will plague Crosby for quite some time; and no, I am not talking a little bit more this season, more likely for many seasons to come, if not his whole career. We know that Crosby did not just have a minor concussion, he had a pretty serious one. We are all well aware of that because of the 10 months he has already spent recovering from his concussion.

Crosby said in his "update" today that he just didn't feel right after the game against Boston, though he did well on his ImPact test and he says he does not feel as badly as he did when suffering from his concussion last January. Sure, these are all good signs, but that does not deny the fact that Crosby will miss a number of games while getting back to 100% and that the risk of this happening again is quite high.

Needless to say, I am a huge fan of the Pens and that means that I am a fan of Crosby's, how could a Pens fan not be? However, I did see some things that I rather would not have seen when Crosby returned. The first couple games back for Crosby, it was evident that most opposing players were respectful of Crosby's situation and were doing their best to try and not hit him too hard. However, to gain respect, you have to earn it and by being Crosby, he earned some, but he quickly lost it when he went out there throwing hits and sticking up for teammates by giving hits out. Don't get me wrong, I am all for a strong, close team and sticking up for one another, but not in dicey ways that put the team and player's health at risk. That is what Crosby did. By going out and playing the way he did at times gave other teams a reason to hit him when they may not have due to his situation. I know that some hits are going to happen and I also know that sometimes you just can not avoid things and your emotions get the best of you, but let the people on the team that are there to give the hits and throw some punches take care of sticking up for players.

Crosby is a great player and the way he plays: emotions, intensity, skill and focus all included are wonderful, but it would be in his best interest and the best interest of this team if he were a little more careful and tried to control the hits he gives out. To get respect, you have to show respect for others.

Without Crosby, the Pens are still strong and we are a fine team without him, so we will just have to come together again and show the other teams what we are still capable of!