DALLAS -- Sidney Crosby has accomplished as much as any player of his generation, and a lot more than most.
He's captained three Stanley Cup winners. Earned two Olympic gold medals. Probably had to add a wing to his house to hold all of the individual trophies, plaques and honors he's received.
But there is at least one thing that hundreds, if not thousands, of his peers have accomplished that Crosby has failed to.
Crosby, you see, never has scored a goal in Dallas, despite playing nine games there since he entered the NHL in 2005.
American Airlines Center is one of the six venues in which he has played but not scored, and his O-fer streak there is Crosby's longest.
His next opportunity to get a goal there will come Saturday, when the Penguins will face the Stars at 2:08 p.m. Eastern.
Crosby's only other dry spell of note is at the United Center in Chicago, where he has been unable to get a goal in six games.
The other venues in which he has failed to score are Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden (two games), Soldier Field (one), UBS Arena (one) and Ralph Wilson Stadium (one).
The final two of those probably could carry an asterisk, since UBS Arena, which is the New York Islanders' new home, only opened in November and Crosby actually did pick up a goal at Ralph Wilson Stadium. A pretty memorable one at that, since it clinched the Penguins' victory in the NHL's first Winter Classic.
In fact, that probably will go down as one of Crosby's more memorable goals, but because he scored it in a shootout, it is not recorded the way one scored in regulation or overtime would be.
Crosby, by the way, didn't need long to scratch Climate Pledge Arena off this list. He scored less that five minutes into their first-ever game in Seattle, and it proved to be the game-winner in a 6-1 victory against the Kraken on Dec. 6.
MORE PENGUINS
• It's no secret the Penguins set a very high bar for retiring a player's number; after all, Mario Lemieux and Michel Briere are the only two who have been so honored during the franchise's first five-plus decades in the NHL. It's also a given that Jaromir Jagr and Crosby will have their numbers retired when they give up the game (assuming either ever does), and Evgeni Malkin looks to be a pretty safe bet to have that done with No. 71, as well. However, simply retiring Crosby's number seems an inadequate tribute to all he has meant to the Penguins, so how about this: When the time comes, place a statue outside PPG Paints Arena that would depict, say, Crosby lifting the Stanley Cup? But that's not all it should include. For while Crosby's impact certainly has been greater than Malkin's, Malkin remains one of the top four players to pull on a Penguins sweater. It would be entirely appropriate for him to be a second figure on a Crosby statue. In the background, perhaps, but a presence there somewhere. If a couple of Islanders defensemen could turn up on the Lemieux statue -- even if it was simply to show them being beaten by him -- making room for Malkin on one honoring Crosby doesn't see unreasonable. -- Molinari
• COVID-19 has had an obvious impact on how many aspects of day-to-day life are handled in the U.S., but the pandemic has caused even greater restrictions in Canada, where the Penguins had two games postponed late last month. Individuals are required to show evidence of being fully vaccinated as well as a negative PCR test administered within the previous 72 hours simply to cross the border (people entering the U.S. must do that only if arriving by air), and the regulations don't end there. Consider that fans were barred from the Bell Centre in Montreal in mid-December and that attendance at all venues in Ontario, including the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa and Toronto's Scotiabank Arena, temporarily has been limited to 1,000 by provincial officials. And it's not just sports and entertainment sites that are operating under strict rules. For example, the restaurant in a popular hotel in downtown Ottawa will seat patrons only after they show proof of vaccination -- and provide a phone number, for purposes of contract tracing if there is a COVID-19 outbreak involving someone who was in the restaurant around the same time. The Penguins, by the way, will have to make up those games against the Maple Leafs and Senators that were postponed, but no dates have been set yet. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• Will T.J. Watt finally win NFL Defensive Player of the Year award? Well, it depends upon the 50 voters the Associated Press uses to decide such things. The previous two years, Watt hasn't gotten the votes necessary to win the award, finishing third in the voting in 2019 and second in 2020. He did that in 2020 despite leading the NFL in sacks. Watt is leading the NFL in sacks again this year with 21.5 and enters Sunday's game against the Ravens and has a chance to break Michael Strahan's official NFL record of 22.5 set in 2001 (sacks didn't become an official stat until 1982). But if you only saw the Steelers in one of the two full games he's missed, one of the games in which he's been forced to leave early due to injury -- three times -- or one of the games in which he's returned from injury, you might wonder what the big deal is. Or, apparently, if you have a bias against a certain individual or team, that matters, too. Hub Arkush, Executive Editor of Pro Football Weekly, based in Chicago, said this week he won't vote for the Packers' Aaron Rodgers as league MVP. This despite the fact the Packers are 13-2 when Rodgers starts this season despite Green Bay dealing with a ridiculous amount of injuries. Of course, Arkush is one of several AP voters based in Chicago. A number of others are based in New York or at least on the East Coast or in major media markets. It used to be the AP voting included at least one media member in each NFL city. Now, at least for the NFL awards, the voters work for large media companies. For example, SiriusXM is the primary employer of five voters. A number of other voters also appear as hosts on that outlet. The TV networks that cover the NFL are the main employers for 18 of the 50 voters. That leads to group think. Keep that in mind if Watt does not win the award again this season. Don't blame the media as a whole. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• Though he's been one of the most important players in team history, don't expect the Steelers to retire the No. 7 worn by Ben Roethlisberger -- at least not officially. The only numbers officially retired by the Steelers are the No. 70 worn by Ernie Stautner and Joe Greene's No. 75. But the Steelers also have a number of jersey numbers that haven't been given out since the player who made them famous last wore them. That would include Terry Bradshaw's No. 12, the No. 32 of Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis' No. 36, the No. 43 of Troy Polamalu, Mike Webster's 52, Jack Lambert's No. 58, Dermontti Dawson's 63 and Hines Ward's No. 86. Jack Ham's No. 59 has been worn by just one player, Todd Seabaugh, in 1984. It hasn't been worn since. You can expect No. 7 to get similar treatment. But at some point, you do run out of numbers that you're not giving out, especially with rosters expanded. -- Lolley
• Last season, I made note several times over the course of the season that holding penalties were way down. Well, things went back to normal this year. Holding became illegal again. After calling just 477 holds -- 14.91 per team over the course of the season -- in 2020, NFL teams have been penalized for offensive holding 631 times -- an average of 19.72 per team -- this season. That's still down slightly from what was called in 2019 and 2018, when teams were penalized 732 and 735 times, but it's more realistic. Nobody is happier than Watt. Sacks are up again. Watt led the NFL with 15 sacks in 2020, the fewest for a league leader since Kevin Greene, then with the Panthers, led the league with 14 in 1996. including Watt, there are four players heading into Week 18 with 15 or more sacks, including Watt with a league-best 21.5. That doesn't cheapen what Watt's done at all, even with the additional game this season. Remember, he's got 21.5 sacks despite missing two full games. So even if he breaks Strahan's record with at least a sack and a half on Sunday, Watt will have done so while playing 15 games. -- Lolley
• On the issue of holding, anyone pining for former Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva should realize that he's been pretty bad this season. He's tied for second in the NFL with eight holding penalties this season. Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson are tied for the Steelers' lead in that dubious stat with four each. But holds also aren't necessarily a bad thing for interior line players, especially ones who are asked to pull a lot. Offensive linemen who pull more get tagged with more holding penalties because they're easier to see. Rookie left tackle Dan Moore has two holding calls against him this season, while right guard Trai Turner and right tackle Chuks Okorafor both have none. As a team, the Steelers have 19 holding penalties. That ranks middle of the pack in the league and also includes their special teams holding penalties since those are considered offensive plays on returns. All of their offensive linemen combined have 10. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• The final minor-league development camp, which was set to kickoff next week, was officially canceled Thursday due to public health concerns. This was supposed to be the big camp of the offseason, inviting both pitchers and hitters and creating a spring training-like environment, but with rising COVID-19 cases, the Pirates didn’t feel it was worth the health risk to get that many people together at this time. And while the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations have put the MLB's spring training start date in question, the minor-league spring training isn’t affected by the CBA status. Barring another pandemic delay, the prospects will start on time. -- Alex Stumpf
• Asking industry sources this winter, I keep hearing the end of January as an unofficial cutoff for a new CBA to be agreed to in order to ensure spring training starts on time. So those reports that the player’s association and league don’t have any meetings scheduled doesn’t bode well. -- Stumpf
• Cole Tucker, first baseman? No, probably not, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility either. The Pirates don’t have a ton of depth at that position, especially if they lose Mason Martin in the Rule 5 draft. Michael Chavis and Ben Gamel can take some reps behind Yoshi Tsutsugo, and the Pirates could add someone via free agency or trade once the lockout ends. But Tucker played first base as an underclassman in high school, and when tasked with playing the position last year in an emergency role, he handled it well and then took extra reps there with bench coach Don Kelly. Tucker is in the mix for a middle infield job to start the season, but if he’s a utility player again, he’s going to need reps and find ways to get in the field. -- Stumpf