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The Penguins' charter flight had just departed Detroit's airport in the early morning hours after they won the Stanley Cup on June 12 when general manager Ray Shero first heard the question. "Guys started asking right away, 'Are we going to the White House?' I was, like, 'Yeah, I think so,'" Shero said Friday. "It's not something you think about before you win, and it's not something you want to do just once." No strangers to the District of Columbia - they won Games 5 and 7 of a second-round playoff series at Washington's Verizon Center in the spring -...

Near the Ross Sea, Antarctica - Scientists studying wildlife here on the antarctic ice shelf were overjoyed recently at what many believe to be the discovery of a new breed of penguin. FULL ARTICLE: http://bunnynewsnetwork.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/scientists-elated-fearful-over-discovery-of-new-species/

"Gay penguins adopt an egg, prepare for parenthood" read the headline. I'm guessing they're not talking happy penguins adopting an egg; but more along the lines of birds in the business of homosexuality adopting an egg. Not that any of this matters really because as far as I have been concerned penguins are asexual - I mean a quick bodily glance at one shows no bodily differences. No breasts. No external sexual reproductive organs. Nada. Their sexuality can only be established via DNA tests. "Gay Penguins!?" one would ask and thereafter attempt to conclude that these birds must be from...

Live Internet TV Feeds (Direct Windows Media Player Links)Pittsburgh NBC | Pittsburgh ABC 06.15.09: Pittsburgh Officials Prepare for 350,000 fans at Penguins' Victory Parade The City of Champions has gone Cup crazy. As Pittsburghers basked in the glow of a second pro sports championship in four months, the Stanley Cup toured PNC Park on Sunday, Sidney Crosby talked about the excitement of a two-title town and people crammed hotels in advance of today's celebration parade Downtown. "It's been an amazing couple of days," Penguins winger Bill Guerin said after throwing out the first pitch at yesterday's Pirates game. "This city...

scored two second-period goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins overcame the loss of captain Sidney Crosby(notes) and a whole lot of history to beat the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 on Friday night in Game 7 and win the Stanley Cup for the third time. Instead of the Red Wings becoming the NHL’s first repeat champion

Game 7 of the Final is hockey's ultimate contest For a hockey fan, Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final is like waiting for Christmas: It seems like the big day takes forever to get there, but when it does, it's well worth the wait. Of course, Christmas comes just once a year. A Final series that goes the maximum seven games comes along infrequently. Since the NHL expanded from the Original Six teams in 1967, the championship round has gone the distance just eight times, including this year's Final between Detroit and Pittsburgh. If the Stanley Cup Final is...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Pittsburgh Penguins are on their way back to the Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins completed a four-game sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory at the RBC Center. Ruslan Fedotenko, Maxime Talbot, Bill Guerin and Craig Adams scored for the Penguins, who outscored the Hurricanes 20-8 and dominated play for most of the four games. Even in Game 4, when the Hurricanes jumped in front on an early goal by Eric Staal and shut down Penguins star Evgeni Malkin, they couldn't find a way to win....

WASHINGTON – Changing wind patterns linked to global warming are altering the food chain in Antarctica and may lead to further increases in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The most basic food, plankton, is declining in the northern portions of the Antarctic peninsula reaching toward South America, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science. At the same time, populations of Adelie penguins, who require a colder climate, have dropped sharply in that region, while warmer-weather chin-strap penguins have increased. "We're showing for the first time that there is an ongoing change on phytoplankton concentration and composition along the...

Enlarge ImageOn thin ice. One emperor penguin population may be headed toward extinction. Credit: Samuel Blanc Climate change may be poised to claim its first Hollywood celebrities. Shrinking sea ice could wipe out the tuxedoed cast of March of the Penguins--or their descendents--by the end of the century, researchers report online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Other emperor penguins that live farther south may fare better. Emperor penguins--the world's largest at over a meter tall--are completely dependent on sea ice. They breed on it, and they eat fish that ultimately rely on the plankton...

A pair of gay penguins thrown out of their zoo colony for repeatedly stealing eggs have been given some of their own to look after following a protest by animal rights groups. Last month the birds were segregated after they were caught placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs. But angry visitors to Polar Land in Harbin, northern China, complained it wasn't fair to stop the couple from becoming surrogate fathers and urged zoo bosses to give them a chance.

A pair of gay penguins thrown out of their zoo colony for repeatedly stealing eggs have been given some of their own to look after following a protest by animal rights groups. Last month the birds were segregated after they were caught  placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs.But angry visitors to Polar Land in Harbin, northern China, complained it wasn't fair to stop the couple from becoming surrogate fathers and urged zoo bosses to give them a chance. In response, zookeepers gave the pair two eggs laid by an inexperienced first-time mother....

A group of isolated Antarctic islands have proved to be unexpectedly rich in life. The first comprehensive biodiversity survey of the South Orkney Islands, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, has revealed that they are home to more species of sea and land animals than the Galapagos.Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the University of Hamburg, Germany, carried out the survey using a combination of trawl nets, sampling as deep as 1500m, and scuba divers. The team found over 1200 species, a third of which were not thought to live in the region. They also identified five new...

A couple of gay penguins are attempting to steal eggs from straight birds in an effort to become "fathers", it has been reported. The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft. But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracised the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season. A keeper at Polar Land in Harbin,...

A couple of gay penguins are attempting to steal eggs from straight birds in an effort to become "fathers", it has been reported. The two penguins have started placing stones at the feet of parents before waddling away with their eggs, in a bid to hide their theft. But the deception has been noticed by other penguins at the zoo, who have ostracised the gay couple from their group. Now keepers have decided to segregate the pair of three-year-old male birds to avoid disrupting the rest of the community during the hatching season.

The dwindling march of the penguins is signaling that the world's oceans are in trouble, scientists now say. Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper. A University of Washington biologist detailed specific problems around the world with remote penguin populations, linking their decline to the overall health of southern oceans. "Now we're seeing effects (of human caused warming and pollution) in the most faraway places in the world,"...

Congratulations to the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins! Two great teams who have earned the chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup! There are a multitude of stories on the NHL website - http://www.nhl.com/ And on the Red Wings website - http://redwings.nhl.com/ And on the Penguins website - http://penguins.nhl.com/ This promises to be one of the greatest series in NHL history! Something for those who don't usually watch! So spread the word, and do your part to recruit a new fan or two!

Minnesota may call itself “The State of Hockey,” but right now Pennsylvania is challenging that title. While the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins open the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday in Pittsburgh, the franchises’ American Hockey League affiliates, the Philadelphia Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, are battling in the East Division final of the Calder Cup Playoffs. It’s not the first time Philadelphia and Pittsburgh squads have met in the crucible of the playoffs. In fact, some of the same players who take to the ice Friday night in Pittsburgh (7:30 p.m. ET, VERSUS, CBC, RDS) skated in the last “Keystone...

What could be sillier than "World Penguin Day" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Origin of Penguin Days: World Penguin Day coincides with the annual northward migration of penguins. This happens each year on or around April 25th. Penguins do not fly. Rather, they walk, or waddle their way to and from. Our research did not uncover any information about the origin of Penguin Awareness Day. And, we found no consensus on the date. Rather, we found several conflicting dates in January. If anyone can provide information about this day, please contact us. Did you know? Penguins are found in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia,...

There's no debate: Pens trump politics tribune-review by salena zito Politics stops at the water's edge -- even if that water's frozen, apparently. About 57,000 more households in the Pittsburgh region tuned in to watch the Penguins beat up on the Ottawa Senators than tuned in to see two senators (Obama and Clinton) beat up on each other in the Democratic presidential debate, according to Nielsen Media Research. The hockey game played in 175,000 – or 23 percent – of all households in the Pittsburgh metro market, while the blame game played in 118,000 households – or 14 percent of...

Flying penguins found by BBC programme By Neil Midgley, TV & Radio Editor Last Updated: 1:45am BST 01/04/2008 The BBC will today screen remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution. Camera crews discovered a colony of Adélie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands. The programme is being presented by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, who said: "We'd been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come. "But then the weather took a turn for...

The BBC will today screen remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution. Camera crews discovered a colony of Adélie penguins while filming on King George Island, some 750 miles south of the Falkland Islands. The programme is being presented by ex-Monty Python star Terry Jones, who said: "We'd been watching the penguins and filming them for days, without a hint of what was to come.

The biggest creche on earth - and surely also the coldest for these king penguins Last updated at 01:03am on 2nd March 2008From the sky, it looks like a giant swirling frothy coffee. Yet this scene shows an extraordinary community at work - thousands of king penguins instinctively herding their recently born young into giant huddles to stop them freezing to death. Scroll down for more... Birds of a feather... Thousands of penguins form striking pattern in this picture taken 2,000ft above South GeorgiaParental instinct takes over in the inhospitable climate of the South Atlantic and the furry brown chicks...

Move over Alexander The Great, make room for Magical Malkin. With a pair of assists in Tuesday night’s 3-2 comeback win over Florida, Evgeni Malkin took over the NHL scoring lead with 79 points (34+45). He passed countryman Alexander Ovechkin, who has 78 (48+30). “It’s a great feeling to be leading the NHL in scoring,” Malkin said through translator George Birman. “There are still lots of games left and Ovechkin is a good player. He will try to prove he’s the best in the NHL. We’ll see what will happen.” Malkin continues his torrid play. He saw his five-game goal...

Last Updated: Friday, 21 December 2007, 00:02 GMT Historic penguin sketches found The signed chalk drawings are to be cleaned and restored Penguin sketches made by Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton have been found in a basement at Cambridge University. The legendary explorers drew the pictures on blackboards, probably for public lectures, in 1904 and 1909. Nobody knows how the fragile images, in need of cleaning and restoration, ended up at the University's Scott Polar Research Institute. Staff are appealing for donations to help preserve the signed chalk drawings and put them on public display. Chalk and charm "People often...

A cold, abrupt end to a honeymoon By: DAVE DOWNEY - Staff Writer Encinitas couple that fled Witch Creek fire returns home after cruise ship sinks off Antarctica ENCINITAS -- Three times since marrying June 11 in a beachside ceremony at La Jolla Cove, Trevor Takayama and Torrey Trust have dodged disaster. In August, the Encinitas couple fled an approaching hurricane while camping in a Costa Rican rain forest, on a summerlong honeymoon tour of Central and South America. In October, the Witch Creek fire forced the newlyweds to evacuate the hilltop three-bedroom home she grew up in, near Manchester...

Dinosaurs like Velociraptors owe their fearsome reputation to the way they breathed, according to a UK study.They had one of the most efficient respiratory systems of all animals, similar to that of modern diving birds like penguins, fossil evidence shows. It fuelled their bodies with oxygen for the task of sprinting after prey, say researchers at Manchester University. The bipedal meat-eaters, the therapods, had air sacs ventilated by tiny bones that moved the ribcage up and down. "Finding these structures in modern birds and their extinct dinosaur ancestors suggests that these running dinosaurs had an efficient respiratory system and supports...

The Pittsburgh Penguins benefited from going to West Point last year. They hope it pays off again this season. The Penguins returned home to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night after spending two and a half days at the United States Military Academy at West Point for some team building and practice. “It’s always a fun time to go to West Point. You never know what to expect,” Maxime Talbot said. “It’s really fun for the guys and great for team chemistry, team building and leadership. It was a great experience again.” The routine was altered a little from last year’s trip....

It seems that fossils of giant penguins with long, spear-like bills (now there's a scary thought) have been found in Peru, disproving scientists' formerly held belief that prehistoric penguins lived only in colder climes. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times: "These discoveries tell us about the more complex relationship between penguin evolution and climate change," said study coauthor Sara Bertelli, a paleontologist at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. The fossil penguins lived 30 million to 40 million years ago, just as the planet was beginning a cooling phase. The climate near the equator stayed warm...

Paleontologist Dr. Julia Clarke, assistant professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences at NC State with appointments at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and the American Museum of Natural History, and colleagues studied two newly discovered extinct species of penguins. Peruvian paleontologists discovered the new penguins’ sites in 2005. The research is published online the week of June in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It was funded by the National Science Foundation Office of International Science and Engineering and the National Geographic Society. The first of the new species, Icadyptes salasi, stood 5 feet tall and...

PITTSBURGH -- They chugged Labatt Blue and shared man hugs at Happy Hour just down from 66 Mario Lemieux Place on Tuesday night because the planets aligned and the politicians agreed and hockey was staying in Pittsburgh. Lemieux was nowhere to be found. He slipped out of a press conference a mile across town, shielded in a herd of dark power suits, away from the handshakes and backslaps. The job was done, Lemieux saved hockey in Pittsburgh a third time, and the quiet Canadian who has somehow become the face of a blue-collar American city was tired. "In the deal...

The Penguins and public officials have agreed to borrow up to $290 million for an arena, but must figure out how to make payments on that much debt, Gov. Ed Rendell said Friday. "We've agreed on the concept; we just have to agree on how to get there," Rendell said. "Everyone has to pay a little more." National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman has joined the negotiations as a mediator. "He would like to see this thing brought to a head, and so would I," Rendell said.

Ice is threatening to trap a damaged Japanese whaling ship stranded off Antarctica, raising fears of an enviromental disaster close to a major penguin colony. The Nisshin Maru has been disabled since last Thursday when a fire killed a crewman. The ship was left drifting about 100 miles from the world's biggest penguin breeding ground - Cape Adare - home to some 250,000 pairs of Adelie penguins. Environmentalists fear some of the 330,000 gallons of oil aboard the ship could leak and be carried by currents to the breeding area.

Argentina`s first couple, a power pair often compared to Bill and Hillary Clinton, won`t say whether it will be a his or hers candidacy in this year`s presidential election. President Nestor Kirchner boasts soaring approval ratings amid an economic recovery. His wife, Sen. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is also popular — and unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, she established her own political career long before her husband became president. With both Kirchners doing well in the polls, they`ve been floating the idea that she should run to succeed him while he`s still in office. Cristina Kirchner flew off without her...

At this rate, the Penguins might need a new Uptown arena for no other reason than to meet fans' desire to watch the upstart hockey club. The Penguins, in the thick of a playoff race after finishing with the league's second-worst record last year, played before their 17th sellout of this season Saturday at Mellon Arena. The Penguins have sold out all but 10 home games this season. The capacity crowd that watched the showdown between the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin, the league's top two scorers, represented the team's 10th sellout in the past 11 home games....

HARRISBURG - The Penguins apparently have cut a deal with public officials to finance an Uptown arena that would keep the team in Pittsburgh, a state senator said Wednesday. "I'm hearing that a deal could be made any day, which makes me suspect it's all about crossing the t's and dotting the i's," said Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Brookline Democrat who serves on the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which would own the arena. "I don't know that there are any major hurdles left. It's all just little things." Fontana said he expects officials to announce a deal today or...

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell says the arena deal that state, city and county officials are putting together for the Pittsburgh Penguins is the best offered to any National Hockey League Team in recent years. "It's also by far the best of any offer made to any Pennsylvania professional sports team for a new stadium," Rendell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as he left a hotel Friday. Rendell stayed in the city overnight after meeting late Thursday with Penguins officials and local politicians to negotiate a new arena deal. No deal was struck, but Rendell aide Chuck Ardo said he...

Penguins owners agreed to meet next week with Gov. Ed Rendell and local leaders to talk about how to pay for an Uptown arena that could keep the team in Pittsburgh, according to a letter they sent Thursday evening. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle warned that "time is of the essence" and said they are "in the process of exploring all of our options." The Penguins' lease at Mellon Arena expires in June, and team officials have said they will consider relocating. "It is essential for the future of this franchise that we negotiate an arena deal that makes...

'Gay' penguin book returns to shelves, at least for now 12/21/2006 9:17 AM By: Associated Press CHARLOTTE -- A picture book about two male penguins that raise an adopted hatchling together is headed back to bookshelves in the Charlotte schools. That is, at least until a school district panel decides the fate of the book, which was banned by Superintendent Peter Gorman. School district administrators admitted Wednesday that a miscommunication caused them to ban the book without following district policy that calls for a formal complaint and review process. "And Tango Makes Three" is based on a true story about...

You didn't have to believe in omens to find it a bit odd that on the subway ride toward Mellon Arena yesterday, "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" seemed to be squawking in a continuous loop. This was right at the top of zero hour, when the long-awaited, viciously anticipated casino licensing issue would finally be decided. Twenty minutes later, the Penguins had begun practice on the NHL's oldest living hockey pond, and at precisely 11:27 a.m., the franchise learned it was indeed getting nothing for Christmas. Oh yeah, mommy and daddy are mad, the NHL is mad, even the Rooneys...

MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica (Reuters) - The first Adelie penguin chicks of the season -- black fluffballs small enough to hold in the hand -- started hatching this month, and the simple fact that there are more of them in the south and fewer of them further north is a sign of global warming, scientists say. Smaller than the more majestic Emperor penguins, the Adelies have some 193 colonies that have a total population of 2.5 million breeding pairs, said researcher David Ainley in a telephone interview from his camp at the penguin rookery at Cape Royds in Antarctica. "We're looking...

It should be the ideal family film for Christmas: the animated adventures of a colony of penguins singing and dancing on the ice floes of Antarctica.But just days ahead of its British release, Happy Feet is struggling to avoid an iceberg of its own, after Right-wing critics accused it of targeting youngsters with anti-mankind messages. Commentators in the United States, where the film opened last month, have labelled the plot – penguins struggling to survive man's wrecking of their ecosystem – as pro-green propaganda hidden in a children's adventure. Fox News presenter Neil Cavuto said: "What I found offensive is...

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Penguins, dog vomit and human sexuality -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: November 21, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Gary DeMar "And Tango Makes Three" is an illustrated children's book about two male penguins that raise a baby penguin. It's based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo that "adopt" a fertilized egg and raise the chick as their own. Some concerned parents see the book as a homosexual propaganda piece and want it removed from the library's regular shelves. A parent would have to consent before his or her child could check out the book....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Evgeni Malkin was cleared to stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins after a federal judge denied a demand by his former Russian club that he be yanked from the NHL. Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a Russian Super League team, claims that Malkin is under contract in his native country. The club sought a preliminary injunction that would have banned the forward from playing for the Penguins until the matter is resolved. But the ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska clears the way for Malkin, a star rookie with Penguins, and minor leaguers Andrei Taratukhin of the...

LOS ANGELES - Sidney Crosby talked before Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings about the importance of getting big plays that make a difference in games. The big play last night came with 2:17 left in overtime on a power play. Evgeni Malkin, who scored in the first period to tie a modern record with his sixth goal in his first six games, first drew the penalty that put his team on the power play. Then he got a rebound off Sergei Gonchar's one-timer to beat goaltender Dan Cloutier and win the game, 4-3. It was his first...

Evgeni Malkin should have many assists during his NHL career. However, his biggest assist may have come off the ice. Dasha Tusaeva, right, stands with her mother, Natalia. Submitted Photo Malkin, the 20-year-old Penguins rookie, helped facilitate a much-needed surgery for a 6-year-old girl in Magnitogorsk, Russia, in September. Dasha Tusaeva was born without a left arm and her mother, Natalia, hoped she could one day improve her daughter’s life. This year, Natalia found out it was possible for Dasha to get an operation that would allow her to have a prosthetic arm. However, with Dasha’s father paralyzed during a...

As it stands, Cuban won't be fish that saves Pirates or Penguins Some substantial part of a lifetime ago, Mark Cuban found himself standing in this same strange Uptown building, having sneaked inside to watch the filming of "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," the cinematic airball that, as a finished product, had most people sneaking out. Funny, Cuban doesn't have much luck sneaking around anymore, especially in Pittsburgh. When you grow up in Mt. Lebanon with enough vision and tech savvy to launch Broadcast.com and wind up selling it to Yahoo for $5.7 beellion, when your major decisions tend to...

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - It took Sidney Crosby less than two games to figure out where to find new Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Evgeni Malkin. Crosby broke out of a mini-slump Thursday night with three assists, and defenceman Sergei Gonchar scored Pittsburgh's third power-play goal 3:33 into overtime to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Trailing 3-2 in the third period, Pittsburgh used the tandem of Crosby to Malkin to get even and set the stage for Gonchar. Crosby dug the puck out from behind the net and found Malkin with a...

Evgeni Malkin is recovering from his dislocated shoulder and is palying his first NHL game with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now, as we speak. The game started at 7:30 and it's 0-0 after the first period. Malkin almost scored a goal but it bounced off the post on the goal. In addition, Malkin has won 3 face-offs witha slightly-injured shoulder. Crosby, who was hyped up by the media, has won none. You can watch the game here http://www.comcast.net/sports/nhl/hockeylive/ If it doesn't work at first, allow pop-ups temporarily on the site by right-clicking the blocked pop-up bar at the top of...

PITTSBURGH -- Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, out since injuring a shoulder in his first preseason game, will make his NHL debut Wednesday night against New Jersey. Malkin, the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NHL draft, dislocated his shoulder Sept. 20 while colliding with teammate John LeClair behind the net. He returned to practice Friday with a shoulder support and has been cleared to resume playing. "I'm a little bit nervous before every game, but I'm not going to be too much more nervous before the first one," Malkin said through a translator after practice Monday. "But we will see...