The new digs in Pittsburgh (and an oldie but goodie)

Here’s some pictures and video for the afternoon. The real gem is at the end. It’s something I’ve never seen before, but is apparently legendary and was unearthed today by Seth Rorabaugh, the immensely talented blogger for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s website. First, though, I took some pictures in and around the new arena, Consol Energry Center. It’s pretty fantastic. The locker room area is immense although, as a few people pointed out, Pittsburgh also doesn’t have two NBA teams in its building, so it’s hard to draw comparisons. Still, I was impressed, and I had heard good things. Here’s a quick spin around…

(Below: The lounge area outside the Penguins’ locker room. Bonus points if you can identify the two people at the far right…)

(Below: The Penguins’ locker room)

(Below: In their locker room, the Penguins commemorate each victory this season with a puck from the game.)

(Below: The shovel, introduced to the world during HBO’s “24/7” show, that the Penguins award to a teammate after wins…)

(Below: The old Mellon Arena/Civic Auditorium/“Igloo.”)

(Below: This really speaks for itself. Any chance of a 2011 version with Brown, Doughty and Kopitar?)