Lady Byng Candidate?

It's hard being a superstar.  It's hard being the captain of an NHL team.  To be an elite player, and to continue playing at that level on the other side of 30, very difficult.

It's gotta be complicated to be Sidney Crosby.

And it sucks to be sent to the penalty box, especially when you're whupping up on the other team but good.  And so then imagine, you're this superstar, sitting in the penalty box, waiting for your incarceration to be over so you can get back onto the ice and inflict more punishment on the other team, in this case the New York Rangers, when all of a sudden, you hear:

"Hey, Crosby, you were voted third toughest Canadian, behind Celine Dion, and a close second to Avril Lavigne!"

Speaking?  Rangers fan Nick Lipeika, apparently a heckler of some note.  He continued his witticisms for Crosby's entire detention, par for Lipeika's course.

Seriously, dude?

How does one respond, if one is Sidney Crosby?

"Man, I'd slash that dude if I was Sid,"  Your Crusading Blogger grumbled, only half in jest, to her sidekick, Christine.

"Bet he gives him an autographed stick," smirked Christine.

Can somebody tell me why she's always right?

So, every year, the Professional Hockey Writers Association chooses a candidate to receive its Lady Byng Trophy given to the hockey player who is "adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."

Yes, I know the young Crosby had the reputation of a whiner and a diver.  But he was team captain by his third year in the NHL, a nod from the Pittsburgh Penguins to Crosby's work ethic and good example, not to mention his amazing ability.  This player does things on the ice nobody has ever done, the likes of which we will probably never see again.  I don't know if his conduct with other players qualifies him for the Lady Byng Trophy.

But his reward to a "chirper" should.

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/01/03/sidney-crosby-autographed-stick-rangers-fan-chirping/