Dapper Dan Sportsman: Sidney Crosby

Dapper Dan Sportsman: Sidney Crosby / Pittsburgh's adopted son

Sunday, February 04, 2007

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Although he grew up in the Canadian Maritimes steeped in hockey, Sidney Crosby quickly became a fan of other Pittsburgh sports teams after joining the Penguins.

He's met Jason Bay, the Pirates' Canadian outfielder. He's been to the Steelers' home opener the past two seasons.

"Pretty much every Sunday we were off, I was watching the Steeler game," Crosby, the top overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft, said last week.

"I think it's just natural to pull for the other teams in the city you're in. It's a good atmosphere in a city when they pull together and pull

for the teams that are there. You see other athletes at our games, and you see us at Steelers games, baseball games."

So, despite being such a recent transplant, Crosby has an appreciation for the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year award he will receive at the annual charity dinner and auction April 15 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

"It means a lot, especially here with this being the sports town that it is and to join that company that's gone through here," Crosby said. "It's a huge honor. To have that support from people outside of hockey, that's a good feeling. When I came here, people were so welcoming. I couldn't get over how nice they were. That really means a lot."

Crosby, 19, is the youngest recipient of the honor since the Dapper Dan's inception in 1939. He's one year younger than 2003 Sportsman of the Year Larry Fitzgerald, then a Pitt receiver and now with the NFL Arizona Cardinals.

Crosby edged Pirates third baseman Freddy Sanchez, who hit .344 last season to win the National League batting title. Last year, the recipient was Steelers running back Jerome Bettis.

Crosby is the fifth from the sport of hockey to be named Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year and, assuming the Penguins remain in Pittsburgh, could make a run at Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's three awards.

Although he finished second to Washington's Alex Ovechkin in the chase for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 2005-06, Crosby's 102 points eclipsed the team rookie record set by Lemieux in 1984-85.

It also set the stage for a superb sophomore season. He is making a strong run at the scoring title and his first Hart Trophy as league MVP. He's a huge reason the Penguins could make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

Going into the weekend, Crosby led the NHL with 82 points, including 25 goals, in 47 games. He took over the scoring lead in December and is just the second teen-ager to sit atop the statistical rankings. The other was the legendary Wayne Gretzky.

For calendar year 2006, Crosby led all NHL players with 118 points. He turned 19 in August.

He's also an alternate captain -- no doubt on his way to the captaincy -- and has become not only the Penguins' spokesman but perhaps also the face of the NHL.

It would be difficult to find anyone on the team with a stronger work ethic.

"The way that that kid approaches every single game and every single practice, it's like all the rest of the team, they buy into that," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "They follow their leader. There's no doubt he's got a big responsibility on our team, and our young players are following that young leader.

"I've never seen such young player so dedicated to the game, dedicated to his teammates, dedicated to his team like Sidney Crosby."

Penguins veteran Mark Recchi, who is in his third stint with the team, has been to Dapper Dan banquets and has a good grasp of the cross-section of talent that is represented on the banquet dais and among the award winners.

With Western Pennsylvania's deep pool of athletes through the decades, the Sportsmen of the Year have come from several sports and include many Hall of Famers and national and international stars.

"I think it's a great honor," Recchi said. "This is a fantastic sports town, and to be the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year, that's a pretty significant thing."

"And it's well deserved by Sid. He's been everything everybody expected, and more. He'll enjoy it. He has a great understanding of stuff like that."

There's little about hockey and his career so far that Crosby hasn't enjoyed.

"It's been fun," he said. "With such a young team, it's exciting to be a part of something where everyone is growing and experiencing a lot of things for the first time. At some points it's busy, no doubt, but I don't think I or anyone else would trade playing here -- and, hopefully, playing here for a long time."


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(Shelly Anderson can be reached at shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721. )