V-neck Photoshop Expo Raises $2700 to Fight Cancer

The V-neck Photoshop Expo fundraiser to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ended Friday night during a "Donation Deadline" edition of the Cblog Radio Show.  Check out the final results here.

Total votes/donations:  225 (led by Leeny's fantastic "Paper Doll" photoshop with 31).

Total amount donated:  $2,755.72  (led by "Dancing V-neck GIF" with $720.84).

Even taking out the PayPal fees, that leaves $2,610.97 going to the LLS.

On Friday alone more than $1200 was raised, with over $600 of that coming in the 2-hour radio show leading up to the midnight deadline.  During that show, @PensKnittngLady's hand knit scarf was won by a very lucky Rags fan.  Adam12, who helped get this whole thing started by agreeing to wear the oh-so-stylish v-neck shirt, won a signed Marc-Andre Fleury print.  High Heels and Hockey's Stevie Watson called in to award a prize pack to the winner of the photoshop expo.  Some other great prizes were given out and a slew of cbloggers called in to mildly embarrass themselves for a good cause.

It was a great way to end an incredible week of fundraising that far exceeded even the wildest expectations of the organizers, Cblog Radio co-hosts YinzerinCt and Adam12.  They set out thinking that $400 or $500 would be pretty successful, and ended the week raising nearly that much in the final hour alone.  It was simply an unbelievable effort on the part of all those involved.  Just goes to show what a few determined jobbers can accomplish when a bunch of greedy NHL owners and players conspire to rob us of our customary October distraction.

Great job, everyone, and by all means, don't stop giving.  Charities like the LLS, the Mario Lemieux Foundation, Susan G. Komen For the Cure and countless others deserve our help throughout the year.

Knitting Lady Scarf Raffle

Continuing with this week's theme of raising money to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in their battle against blood cancers, our very own @PensKnittngLady is offering up this hand knit Pittsburgh Penguins colored scarf to one lucky winner during Friday night's Hockey Fights Cancer Donation Deadline Show on Cblog Radio.  The show starts at 10:30PM EDT, but your chance to win starts much earlier.

The Scarf

Details on that later, but first let's talk about the scarf.  It was once part of a larger scarf, hand knit by the Knitting Lady and presented to Iceburgh.  He wore the scarf during his pregame routine before the Pens 8-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 25 and their 4-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 26.  He would continue to wear the scarf through the late part of the season and into the playoffs.  

The new scarf is a work-in-progress, though nearly complete.  Once finished, the scarf will have the frilly fringe and knitted "KL" insignia as seen on Iceburgh's scarf.

However, there was a problem as it was a little too long, even for Iceburgh.  In order to keep the ends of the scarf from getting tangled in his skates and other body parts during his routine, he had to wrap it several times around his head.  This got to be a little too warm, especially as the season marched into Spring and the weather started to heat up.

So Knitting Lady said no problem.  She ripped out a few feet of yarn and the resulting scarf was the perfect length for Iceburgh.  The remaining yarn would make a great scarf for a more normal sized, non-mascot person to wear.  And she started knitting.

As you know, if you've been keeping track, fellow Pens fans and bloggers YinzerInCt and Adam12 came up with a great idea to raise money for LLS by first hosting a photoshop expo involving Adam12 and a certain v-neck shirt, and then having people "vote" on their favorite photoshops and GIFs by making donations to LLS that would count toward the winning total for each photoshop.  That has been going on this week and voting ends Friday at midnight.

How to Win

That brings us back to the scarf.  Here's the deal.  By making your donation to LLS during Friday's final day push, you could be giving yourself a chance to win the Knitting Lady's scarf.  Make your donation of at least $10 between 6 AM and 11 PM EDT Friday using the voting links provided in the posts below.  Your first $10 in donations gets you one entry in the raffle, but we want you to give even more, so for every additional $5 after the first $10, you'll get another entry in the raffle.  

Give $10, get one entry.  Give $15, get two entries. Give $20, get three entries.  I think you get the idea.  Want to give $50 to this great cause?  You'll be entered nine times to win.  Get information on the photoshop expo and the voting/donating at the links below.  Your amount does not have to be in a single donation.  If you want to vote for several photoshops, we'll tally all of your donations to determine how many entries you get.  Having said that, larger donations are better since PayPal is taking out a small fee, and the more you give, the lower the percentage that is going to PayPal.

Follow this link to see the photoshop expo and vote for your favorites (don't forget to give at least $10):

Dancing for Dollars to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Follow this link to see updated donation totals for each of the 13 finalists.  This also has links for voting/donating in case you get the urge to give more but don't want to go back to the first post:

Fundraising Update

You can keep donating and voting until midnight, but the deadline for raffle entries is 11 PM.  That way we have time to collect all of the entries, draw the winner and announce it during the show.  Don't forget to tune in to see if you've been chosen.  Winners will be notified via the email address included in your PayPal payment.

Wait, "winners"?  Well, yes...maybe.  If we get enough entries so that it would just be unfair to have only one winner, we may have some other cool stuff to draw for.  So start giving!

Good luck and thanks for your support!

Fundraising Update

Here are the total donations so far for each of the finalists in the Vneck Photoshop Expo Fundraiser to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in their battle against blood cancers. If you missed it, check out that post here. Voting ends Friday at midnight. A huge thanks to all who have donated or helped spread the word about this great cause!

(Note: if you have loaded this page previously, you may have to clear your web browser's cache to see the most up-to-date totals.)

Dancing for Dollars to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Fellow Pens fan Adam12 proudly sported the v-neck for a recent photoshop expo.  Wait, did I say proudly?  Reluctantly might be a better word for it, but it's all for a good cause as the dollars being raised from the voting are going to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in their fight against blood cancers.

Out of 48 very creative and humorous entries, 13 finalists were selected (3 animated GIFs and 10 still images).  You can check out all of the entries here.  The finalists are below, with a link for each one where you can go to place your vote in the form of dollars.  Donations are collected safely and securely through PayPal, and all of the money will go to the LLS (minus the small fee that PayPal charges).

So, even if you don't have a particular interest in selecting a winner in the contest, you can still give a little or a lot to a great cause.  If you are interested in how the contest is going, check out the Fundraising Update to see the latest donation totals.  Voting ends Friday at midnight.

Also, don't miss your chance to win a scarf hand knit by @PensKnittngLady!  Click here for details.

Take a look at the finalists after the jump.

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With Crosby extended, Shero poised for July 1

Inspired by the recent news about Sidney Crosby, and the upcoming start to the free agency period, cblogger WetShoes had the brilliant idea to insert Ray Shero's face into the GIF above.  I was happy to help bring that idea to reality.

The Crosby news, in case you've been living in a cave and haven't heard, is that Sid is willing to take another hit to his potential earnings for the good of the team.  He and the Pens have agreed to terms on a 12-year, $104.4 million dollar extension to his contract.  This will keep his annual cap hit at $8.7 million, far below the salary that he could have commanded.

This leaves Penguins GM Ray Shero with a lot more room to work when it comes to signing free agents starting July 1, not to mention next year when he'll be negotiating the extension of another superstar's contract.

Malkin, Not Stirred

The Penguins released the below video "From Russia With Love" as part of the campaign to help get Geno on the cover of NHL 13, the next installment in EA Sports popular video game series.  Cast your vote here. 

WBS Penguins vs St. John's IceCaps, Game 4

The Penguins and IceCaps met Sunday afternoon in game four of their AHL Calder Cup Playoffs second round series, just over 18 hours after the IceCaps got a big win in overtime of game three.  The Pens really needed to bounce back and even the series with a win today.  Check out our photos from the game after the jump.

Defenseman Joey Mormina poses with PensKnittngLady's sock.

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WBS Penguins Game 3 Yields Tough Loss, New Sock Pic

Still need to finish going through the photos from the WBS Penguins 2-1 overtime loss to the St. John's Ice Caps in game three of their second round series Saturday night.  The Pens fought hard, overcoming a sluggish start in a first period that saw St. John's controlling much of the play.  The Ice Caps came out of the first with a 1-0 lead, after which WBS mostly dominated the rest of the way, finally netting the tying goal in the final minute with goalie Brad Thiessen pulled for the extra attacker.  St. John's would go on to score the winner just past the halfway mark in the extra frame.

It's a tough way to lose, no doubt, but we saw the Pens bounce back from a less than stellar performance in game one of the series to post a convincing win in game two.  Let's hope they show the same resilience as they take the ice for game four Sunday at 4pm.

Continue after the jump for some early photos.

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NHL Playoffs Round 2: Let's Go (gulp) Devils?

Game Photos: Pens vs Flyers Game 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins improbable comeback from what was a 3-0 series deficit to the Philadelphia Flyers continued Friday night at Consol Energy Center. Our photos from the game after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Flyers Game 2

Pens fans probably aren't lining up to relive this game, but what the hell, continue below for our gameday photos from this Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round matchup between the Pens and Flyers.

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Whiteout t-shirts are sold out

The whiteout shirts have sold out. Thanks to everyone who ordered one. I hope we can do something like this again.

Game Photos: Pens vs Flyers & Shirts off Our Backs Night, 2012-04-07

Finally, the long awaited post from the final regular season game has arrived. Sorry, a busy schedule yesterday filled with driving home from a lovely weekend of hockey and then packing up a hundred t-shirts to ship out today prevented me from getting this done sooner. Oh well, we've got some time to kill before the playoffs start. Let's spend one last day looking back and smiling at the season we've had before ratcheting up the hate in anticipation of Wednesday night and game 1 against the Flyers. Photos and video after the jump.

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Shipping day approaches for the whiteout shirts!

The orders have been taken and the shirts have been printed. All that remained was to package them up to ship out to the buyers first thing Monday. And that's just what we did after getting home from a successful trip to Pittsburgh.

This has been a fun experience. Thanks to everyone who ordered the shirts. I hope you all love them as much as I do. (I mean, you know, for a white t-shirt, it's not bad.)

Of course there are still a few remaining for those who'd like to show your support during the Pens playoff run and beyond.

And now we wait. Bring on the Flyers! LET'S GO PENS!!!

Game Photos: Pens vs Rangers 2012-04-05

Pens beat the Rangers 5-2 Thursday night at Consol Energy Center to secure home ice advantage in their first round series against the Philadelphia Flyers. Check out a few of our photos from the game after the jump.

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Evolution of the sock pic - autographs!

Some of our haul from today's gameday skate.

Pens sock pic collage

Walgreens' photo department is doing a special "7 Days of Deals". Today's deal is a free 8x10 collage. I prefer to do my own collages, but I'll take a free print any day. The result is the collage of sock pics above, with most of the Pens from this year's team who have been photographed with the lucky sock. It's interesting to see the progress that Knitting Lady has made on the sock throughout the year.

Keep an eye out later this week. Our return to Pittsburgh is imminent, so there'll be a fresh batch of game photos coming up!

And don't forget, there are still a few whiteout t-shirts available. Get yours in time for the Pens-Flyers first round series.

My photos on ROOT Sports and James Neal's Twitter

It started this afternoon. While I was busy selling playoff t-shirts, serious Pens fan and "friend of the blog" @Allie874 (if you don't follow her, you should...no joke, she knows hockey like nobody's business) tweeted this:

Sure enough, Neal was using a version of the photo shown at the top of this post, which I had donated to Wikipedia for use on his page. Pretty cool, especially since it has been a while since any Pens have used my photos, as TK stopped using my pic on his Twitter not long before he stopped using Twitter altogether.

Anyway, it was back to selling t-shirts and then watching the Pens smite the Devils. While tuned into the first period of the ROOT SPORTS Pittsburgh broadcast, Knitting Lady asked "isn't that your photo?". On the screen Dan Potash was talking about wearing a Shamrock Sweater the previous week in New Jersey, and there was a picture I had taken of him during his pregame interview with Kris Letang. It was a photo that I had taken at Dan's request and sent to him after the game, so it wasn't a shock that he had it, but still a pleasant surprise to see it being used in the broadcast.

Who knows where things go from here? I guess I just sit back and wait for the job offer from the Pens to show up in my mailbox. I mean, I'm sure Gregory Shamus, Justin K. Aller and the rest of the pros could always use a helping hand, right? No? Yeah, I guess not. Better get back to selling these t-shirts and preparing for our next game on April 5.

Until then, LET'S GO PENS!!!

Pens Playoff / Whiteout T-Shirts / Burgh Bracket

It's old news by now, but the Pens clinched a playoff spot with their 5-1 win over Nashville Thursday night at Consol Energy Center. The question is, will this be the shirt that carries them through a long and rewarding postseason run? I think it might be. Contact me on twitter or via email (see below) if you're interested.

***UPDATE: THE SHIRTS HAVE SOLD OUT***

In other news, Knitting Lady has been eliminated in the region final in the Burgh Bracket. She had some tough competition in Half the Civic Arena. She breezed past the Pitt Mens Basketball Team, Pittsburgh Steelers Young Money WRs and Eileen from Blawnox, but the Igloo came out ahead and will move on to the Final Four. Thanks to everyone who supported Knitting Lady and keep voting for your favorites!

Game Photos: Pens vs Devils 3/17/2012

The Pens and Devils met for a St. Patrick's Day game Saturday afternoon and the fans were dressed for the ocassion.



Check out the rest of our photos from the game after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Bruins 3/11/2012

The Penguins two big guns entered the Sunday matinee against the Bruins on a bit of a mini-slump. Geno had been held pointless the last two games and "Real Deal" Neal hadn't hit the scoresheet in his last three. The standing room only crowd at CEC wanted to see their top line firing on all cylinders once again, and they were willing to get National TV loud to show it.

Check out our photos after the jump.

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Shootout Videos: Pens vs Panthers 3/9/2012

I'll post some photos when I get a chance but for now enjoy the shootout videos taken from our vantage point.

Penguins sock photos and more

Being the only two fans to go out on a cold, Friday morning before the Pens morning skate certainly has benefits as we managed to get a fresh crop of sock pics, and these are some of the best.

For Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, soon to make his second comeback of the season, being photographed with the lucky sock couldn't have come at a better time. Same goes for injured defensive star Kris Letang, who we all hope to see back in action very soon.


More pics after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Maple Leafs 3/7/2012

From 2012-03-07 Pens vs Maple Leafs

Pens and Leafs played last night. We were there, took some photos, hope you like 'em!

Photos after the jump.

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Mario Statue

From Mario Statue

Just a few of our pics from the unveiling of the Mario Lemieux statue in front of Consol Energy Center earlier today. Not much time to do more than post the pics since we're getting ready to head out to the game.

The rest of the photos after the jump.

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Photoshop Expo: Trolling/Laughing Crosby

In case you've missed it, the Pensblog unveiled another photoshop expo today. Readers sent in over 150 submissions. My own contributions are below. It was a lot of fun, if not quite on the level of last year's "Where in the World is Sidney Crosby?" expo.

Check them out after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Blue Jackets 2/26/12

The Penguins and Blue Jackets met for a Sunday matinee. Stories of the game:

1. Mark Letestu's return to Pittsburgh.

2. Malkamania.

3. Disallowed goals.

4. Brad Thiessen's first NHL start.

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Photos after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Bolts 2/25/12

The Penguins played Saturday afternoon. Tampa Bay was scheduled to appear, but didn't. The only real competition was between Geno and Staal to see who would net the hat trick first. Photos and video after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Sabres 2/19/2012

The Penguins came into Buffalo Sunday following an emotional win over the Flyers the day before and fell victim to a bit of a letdown and a really strong effort by the Sabres. Not really the kind of game you want to have driven 7 hours to see, but fortunately we were still riding high from the events of the prior evening.

Check out our photos after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Ducks 2/15/2012

Back in December, it was then 39-year-old Jaromir Jagr scoring a huge goal against Pittsburgh. Wednesday night it was 41-year-old Teemu Selänne scoring the game winning goal in the third period. At the very least, you'd have to say the Pens are respectful of their elders.

Check out the photos from Pens-Ducks after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Lightning 2/12/2012

The Tampa Bay Lightning stormed into Consol Energy Center Sunday night to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, accompanied by plenty of bad memories. After all, the last two times we had seen the Lightning in person they beat the Pens by a combined score of 13-3. Of course things were different this time around, much different. As Tampa would soon learn....

More pics after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Jets 2012-02-11

The Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Winnepeg Jets Saturday afternoon at Consol Energy Center. We were there, with our camera, check out the photos after the jump, including some #PensToons versions.

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Bring out the GIMP

So long without hockey. Oh sure, the Pens just played Tuesday night, but we're going on three weeks since we've actually been to a game. Idle hands are the devil's playthings and all that, so I've had to find ways to keep busy.

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Pens 'Magnificent Seven' Game Winning Streak

The Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to seven games heading into the All-Star break with a 3-2 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues.

Game Photos: Pens vs Caps 1/22/2012

Kind of strange for it to happen so early in the year, but the Pens and Caps met for the 4th and final time this season. The Pens came in hoping to even up the season series and were also looking for their first regular season win in Pittsburgh since Caps coach Dale Hunter actually played in the NHL (well, not quite, but almost). The fans were treated to a pretty entertaining game that featured big performances from the star players. Check out our photos and video after the jump.

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Game Photos: Pens vs Habs 1/20/2012

The Penguins looked to extend their winning streak to five games Friday night against an old nemesis. It didn't matter that they had already beaten the Canadiens twice this season, Montreal always seems to give Pittsburgh trouble. Check out our photos and video after the jump.

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Malkin and Neal continue Florida rampage; Pens shock Lightning 6-3.