Sidney Crosby profile

I'm a huge sports fan, but I've often sat on the fence about whether I'd like to become a sportswriter because my allegiance to my favorite teams is too great. I couldn't be like Mike Wilbon, who loves his Bears but can speak with great admiration for Aaron Rodgers, or Bill Simmons who concedes that Magic Johnson was better than Larry Bird despite his lifelong love affair with all things Boston. I'm concerned, I guess, that my writing might come off a bit too much like Sean Conboy's, the author of "Don't Trust Sidney Crosby With Your Car Keys" from Pittsburgh Magazine. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume this guy doesn't think too highly of Alex Ovechkin, but I could be wrong.

That's not to say there's necessarily anything wrong with biased sports journalism. I read a Spurs blog, a Bengals blog and a Reds blog every single morning when I wake up, and none of those blogs' authors are remotely objective about the teams they cover. But when you're writing a profile piece like Conboy's, there might be at least some obligation to be even-handed. Our author feels no such responsibility.

Don't get me wrong; I like Sidney Crosby. I think he's probably the best player in the NHL today – although as a Blue Jackets fan I'd give anything for Rick Nash to be better. I just didn't find this article to be anything that needed written. I guess I felt the same way about the Megan Fox article we read during the first week. Is there some new, interesting insight on Sidney Crosby in the piece? No, we pretty much learn that he's really nice, really hardworking, and really good at hockey. Well, no shit. But wait – he's kind of a prankster! Uh, he plays professional sports. Why are you telling me this?

I guess if I was a huge Penguins fan this would be an awesome article. But I'm not. From a style perspective, it's decent, but never once is it gripping. The lead and kicker are both about as manufactured as it comes. "Whoa, this guy is a paradox, check out these opposite-sounding things that he is both of!" and "Ha, ha. Watch me quote the title of my own article!" both come off about as sincere and interesting as the liberal use of puns. This is a fluff piece written for a Pittsburgh audience that will eat it up, and no one aside from Penguins fans and people told they needed to read it for a class likely read the entire thing. Or am I somehow bitter? Go Jackets!