MONDESI'S HOUSE INTERVIEW: PENS VP OF COMMUNICATIONS TOM McMILLAN

I recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Pittsburgh Penguins VP of Communications Tom McMillan, who is the man pictured above left showing anthem singer extraordinaire Jeff Jimerson around the exterior of the Consol Energy Center.

Tom joined the Penguins in 1996 after working as a writer, columnist, editor and broadcaster, covering the team exclusively for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during their Stanley Cup runs in 1991 and 1992. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge on the team, its players, and its new facility, and I jumped at the opportunity to ask him about all of that and much more.

We managed to cover a lot of ground and Tom answered every one of my questions, so if you're a Pens fan on any level, this should be right up your alley:

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE CONSOL ENERGY CENTER

On Friday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Penguins gave a handful of bloggers (myself included) the opportunity to tour their new home, the future hockey palace known as the Consol Energy Center. Accompanying us on the tour: Pens VP of Communications Tom McMillan, Director of Media Technology Chris DeVivo, and a surprise guest, anthem singer supreme Jeff Jimerson, who came in his own customized Pens jersey:

I could repeat every minute detail of what we saw today, but instead, I'm choosing a different path. My thoughts will focus more on the bigger picture, and why the Penguins are one of the best-run franchises in not only the NHL, but in all of pro sports. Our tour guides may not have even realized it, but all of that came shining through on this tour.