Jim Colony's Extra Point

As part of the sweeping changes in store for Mondesi's House this year, I'm happy to announce a new feature: Jim Colony's Extra Points. As you know, Jim is the drive-time sports announcer for ESPN Radio 1250 in Pittsburgh. And he's such a nice guy that he's agreed to share the transcripts of his Extra Point segments, which you can hear regularly on 1250. So whenever possible (or whenever Jim feels like sending them), we'll be able to share in the wisdom of a man that spars with Mark Madden on a daily basis. Enjoy!

Considering the Penguins have teetered on the brink of Pittsburgh extinction a time-or-two (or 3 or 4) over the last quarter century, it’s amazing that we’ve had the privilege of watching the best hockey player on the planet first-hand throughout most of that time.

Mario Lemieux passed the torch to Jaromir Jagr … then, after it got too hot for Jagr (I believe that torch actually “died alive”), and the few down years that followed, Sidney Crosby came along. But who knew that even with Crosby now on injured reserve … the best player in the world would still call Mellon Arena home?

What Evgeni Malkin has done since Crosby went down has been impressive – and in the last 9 days – he has been nothing less than breathtaking. In the ten games Crosby has missed, Malkin has 21 points … and in the last 5, Malkin has 15! He has elevated the play of linemates Ryan Malone and especially Petr Sykora … plus, Malkin also demonstrated responsibility in his own zone which is crucial for a center.

Beyond that, as befitting the title of best player on the planet, Malkin simply does stuff that even excellent players cannot.

But here’s the best news that came out of Sunday’s win over Philadelphia. Malkin said afterward that he already hates the Flyers, talking about Philly fans throwing popcorn at him on the bench (I guess as opposed to Scott Hartnell throwing a sucker-punch at him on the ice).

In addition, you also may have noticed that in the 2 games he’s played since Ma and Pa Malkin arrived from Magnitogorsk, Geno has 3 goals and 4 assists … and Malkin says they’re going to be here for another 2 weeks.

Any chance of talking the Malkins into staying, say, into June?

I'M JIM COLONY … LISTEN TO MY SPORTSCENTERS FROM 3-7 … ON PITTSBURGH'S ESPN RADIO 1250.