Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux has maintained a low profile all season with the media. He has let other members of the front office speak out on club issues. That was until yesterday.

Lemieux held a 12-minute press conference prior to the start of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday. Looking tanned and rested, Super Mario offered his opinion on a variety of subjects, including young Penguin superstar Sidney Crosby, the post-lockout game of hockey, and the chances of his team in their return trip to the Stanley Cup finals.

Here are his comments on Crosby:

The Pittsburgh Penguins owner – and one of the greatest NHL players of all-time – indicated that Crosby is much better at age 21 than he was. Lemieux thinks the team’s captain is a lot more mature, too.

“He’s a special kid,” Lemieux said Saturday night. “He’s a better player than I was at the same age, for sure. Some of the things that he does on the ice, his strength, skating ability is incredible. His passion for the game and his will to be the best each and every shift.

“His work ethic, he’s got it all.”

Crosby has lived with Lemieux since entering the league four years ago and has become like another member of the family. The two men speak about hockey “all the time,” according to Lemieux.

He added that the overall play in the league has been great this season, and this is coming from someone who called the NHL a “garbage league” of players clutching and grabbing the elite superstars in the neutral zone. Lemieux hopes his team follows the same path of the 1984 Edmonton Oilers. The previous year, they lost the finals to the New York Islanders before winning the Stanley Cup. He feels both teams were built similarly, with two elite players headlining an up tempo offensive-minded team.

Hockey fans rejoice!

The conference finals were a big yawn, but the Stanley Cup offers an intriguing matchup. Sid the Kid looks to dethrone Hockeytown and spoil the back-to-back title party being planned in the Motor City. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings were the preseason favorites to meet once again in the Cup finals, and both encountered a rough road back to this anticipated rematch.

Oh, and the Lakers and Magic look to close out their respective series this weekend.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 9 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ESPN)
Sat, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)
Sun, 8:30 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Lakers *if necessary (ABC)

Stanley Cup Finals
Sat, 8 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)
Sun, TBD: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays (FOX)
Sun., 12:40 PM: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs (ESPN)

French Open
Fri, 5 AM: Opening Round Matches (Tennis Channel)
Fri, 12 PM: Opening Round Matches (ESPN2)
Sat, 5 AM: Opening Round Matches (Tennis Channel)
Sat, 1:30 PM: Opening Round Matches (NBC)
Sun, 5 AM: Round of 16 (Tennis Channel)
Sun, 3 PM: Round of 16 (NBC)

Thanks to a 2-1 victory in overtime against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, the Red Wings have set up a rematch with the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Detroit won the Western Conference finals 4-1. The Red Wings and Penguins, coming off a four-game sweep over Carolina in the East, will open the championship series Saturday night in Detroit.

The series will start nearly a week ahead of schedule because NBC and the NHL didn’t want a long layoff to stunt the excitement about the matchup.

I think plenty of casual hockey fans wanted to see some new blood in the Finals, but it’s hard to beat a matchup between Sidney Crosby and the red hot Penguins vs. the defending champs. This will also be the first rematch of the Stanley Cup finals since the Islanders and Oilers battled each other in back to back years in 1983 and 1984.

The 21-year old Crosby draws a lot of comparisons to the “Great One” Wayne Gretzky and legend Mario Lemieux, but even he’ll admit that until he wins a cup, people will always question the legitimacy of those comparisons. A Cup victory over the powerful Wings would go a long way in helping Sid Kid gain even more backers.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Wings get Nicklas Lindstrom and Pavel Datsyuk back on Saturday. Both players were scratched from Wednesday night’s game after expecting to play. Hopefully Detroit will be at full strength come Saturday, because this series should be a battle.

The Penguins are heading back to the Stanley Cup Finals after beating the Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday night and sweeping the best of seven Eastern Conference Finals series. The Pens will now await the winner of the Blackhawks-Red Wings series, which Detroit currently leads 3-1.

After battling the Capitals for seven games in the semifinals, some pundits believed that the Penguins might be worn down for their series against the Canes. But Pittsburgh put those doubts to rest when it took the first two games on its home ice and then crushed the Canes 6-2 in Carolina in Game 3. Game 4 Tuesday night turned out to just be a formality as Carolina struggled offensively.

Now the Pens will wait to see if the Red Wings can finish off the Blackhawks tonight at Joe Lewis Arena. If Chicago plays as bad tonight as it did in Game 4 on Sunday, then the Stanley Cup Finals could kickoff this weekend.

Making matters worse for the Blackhawks, the Wings could get both Nicklas Lindstrom and Pavel Datsyuk back from injury tonight. Detroit coach Mike Babock won’t make a decision on their playing status until each get the opportunity to skate in pregame, but chances are both players will be on the ice tonight.

If the Wings do finish off the Hawks, they would set up a rematch of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they beat the Penguins in six games. Some hockey fans wanted to see a new matchup, but it’s hard to beat the drama that comes from watching Sidney Crosby try to take on the juggernaut that continues to be the Detroit Red Wings.

“Gentlemen, start your engines.”

These four words begin one of the grandest traditions in auto racing, as the 93rd Indianapolis 500 will take place this weekend. The Old Brickyard has been home to some memorable finishes and characters that make this one of the marquee events on the racing season.

The NBA Conference Finals are really heating up. Arguably, the four best players (LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard) in the league are fighting tooth and nail for a title. All four have shown the determination and drive needed to win a NBA crown.

All times ET…

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
Sat, 8:30 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Denver Nuggets (ABC)
Sun, 8:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Fri, 8 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (Versus)
Sat, 7:30 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)
Sun, 3 PM: Detroit Red Wings @ Chicago Blackhawks (NBC)

MLB
Sat, 4:10 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Yankees (FOX)
Sun., 1:30 PM: New York Mets @ Boston Red Sox (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins (ESPN)

Auto Racing
Sun, 1 PM: The 93rd Indianapolis 500 @ Indianapolis Motor Speedway (ABC)

Tennis
Sun, 5 AM: The French Open (ESPN2)