PITTSBURGH - It's awkward to say someone who is only 23 years old has a legend, so let's just say this is part of Sidney Crosby's profile.
In his rookie season, 2005-06, the Pittsburgh Penguins were given Sunday off after a Saturday road game.
Crosby drove to the Civic Arena, got into his gear, went on the ice alone and worked on a part of his game that had been troubling him.
He felt he wasn't lifting the puck well enough with his shot, so he grabbed a bucket of pucks, put a board across the bottom of the net and shot the pucks over the board.
When he was done, he gathered the pucks and repeated the process.
He was on a team going nowhere and he was scoring enough to be the best player on that team, but it wasn't enough.
So he surrendered part of his day off to voluntarily work on something that others would have considered drudgery.
He's obsessed with hockey, and isn't that a sweet deal for the Penguins?
When his faceoffs were lacking, he spent extra time working on that. Now he's the Penguins' first choice for important faceoffs.
When he felt he wasn't scoring enough goals, he spent part of the summer working with weighted sticks to unload the puck quicker.
When people suggest that Washington's Alex Ovechkin is a better overall player, Crosby opens a 15-point lead on him in the scoring race.
If there's anything he can't do, he'll work like a madman to get better at it.
The Penguins have had great players, but they've never had one as driven as Crosby is.
Temporary stop?
As Pitt searches for a new football coach, there's concern that candidates will view it as a stepping stone to something bigger and better.
When hasn't it been that?
Johnny Majors won a national championship at Pitt in 1976, and parlayed that into his dream job at Tennessee.
Jackie Sherrill took over and ran a Top-10 program, then used that to land at Texas A&M.
If a coach can turn Pitt success into something better, that means Pitt wins.
Spending spree
People like to point to the New York Yankees as the cause for salary escalation, but they're not alone.
MLB was shocked by the seven-year, $126 million contract the Washington Nationals gave to outfielder Jayson Werth.
He's been a productive player for the Philadelphia Phillies, but seven years is too long a commitment for a player his age. He's only ever had two seasons with more than 500 at bats.
Werth's deal was probably watched with interest by Albert Pujols, who is approaching the final year of his contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mehno can be reached at johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com.
