A month before the season I stop putting ketchup on my french fries.
All I can say to the young players is, enjoy every moment of it. Just enjoy every moment of it. Your career goes by very quickly.
As I've said, in 2007, we're free to go and we'll just have to do what's best for the business.
Certainly we're not satisfied with just winning games. We've been playing some pretty good hockey, but we think we can play much better.
Depending on how we start the season, I can play center or wing... It doesn't matter to me.
Everybody I talked to - from my friends to my family and some of the players - really gave me a lot of support from the start. And that certainly made me feel good about trying to come back and be one of the best again.
He's only 4 years old, so I don't think he realized, you know, that I played so many years. Of course, we watch tapes here from the Stanley Cup years, but I don't think he realized how many years I played.
I can no longer play at a level I was accustomed to in the past.
I didn't like the way the game was being played.
I didn't speak English until I came to Pittsburgh.
I don't try to match wine with food, I just drink what I like. And I think a lot of people are going towards that now, which never used to be in the past.
I feel that the game has changed the last two or three years since I left, and the game is a lot better than it was.
I think people in Montreal smoke a lot, and I used to smoke when I was 17-18, and just picked it up when I was playing juniors. But I think I stopped when I was 22, which was a big decision in my life.
I think that with a lot of hard work and dedication, I feel that I could be the best in the world. I'm still only 35 years old... I have a fresh start physically and mentally, and I feel that I can achieve my goal to be the best again.
I think the game has opened up, and that's why I decided to come back and try to be a part of it.
I think the lottery changed everything for us... Once we got Sidney, it helped us turn this franchise around overnight.
I think we have to show some pride in the jersey that we are wearing, and can't quit.
I'm not surprised we're seeing a lot of empty buildings in the cities we're going into. The way the game's played now, it's a pretty boring game.
I'm only 35, and I felt that the time was right to try to come back and have a chance for him to see me play.
I've gone through back surgery a couple times, and of course, my radiation treatments for six weeks got me to the point where I was not able to play at the level that I was accustomed to.
It's up to the community now to decide if they want to keep this team.
My body's feeling it a little bit. But one good thing, my back is in good shape, and that's my main concern. I know that my legs are going to take awhile to get back to where I was a few years ago, but as long as my back is solid, I feel that I can play many years.
Of course, my family has been a big reason for me to come back, especially my son who loves the game of hockey - he was a big reason for me coming back.
Oh, I did stop smoking a long time ago.
Once I'm at the arena with the guys in the dressing room, and in the bus, and on the plane, I'm a player. And I sit in the back with the players and I play cards and try to take their money.
One thing I hate is people screaming at me. If you want me to do something, talk to me.
One thing I hate is people screaming at me. If you want me to do something, talk to me. When someone screams at me to hurry up, I slow down.
Since the beginning, I always loved the game. When you grow up in Montreal, one day you want to be a professional hockey player. When I was six or seven, I knew that was what I wanted.
That was my first couple years in the league where, you know, I was smoking quite a bit, probably two packs a day.
The first few games that we played against some of the teams, the young guys, you know, want a stick sign or photo sign, and I think that they respect what I have achieved throughout my career.
We feel that, with Sidney, we have a great opportunity over the next few years to put a great team on the ice. We're prepared to lose some money along the way. Eventually we're going to need some help.
Well, I think just a desire to come back and be a part of the game again.
When I'm able to see the ice ahead of time when I get the puck, I'm able to make some pretty good plays.
When someone screams at me to hurry up, I slow down.
Mario scored 22 points in the 26 games he played in the 2005-2006 season.
Lemieux was the first former player to own a professional sports team in the modern era.
After Mario's retirement the Penguins ended a 10 game losing streak by beating the Capitals 8-1. Veterans Mark Recchi and Johnny LeClair both had two goals, Sidney Crosby, Eric Boguniecki, and Tomas Surovy each had one goal. Ryan Malone scored a penalty shot.
On January 19, 2006 Mario Lemieux announced that he was going to sell the Pittsburgh Penguins and resigned as their CEO.
He was born on the same day and in the same city as Patrick Roy, one of his favorite goaltenders.
During the 1988-89 season he became only the forth player to score 50 goals in 50 games.
He is Ranked 10th in all-time NHL assists with 1018.
Mario is 6 feet, 4 inches (1.93 m) Tall.
FSN Pittsburgh has a special 60 minute edition of "In My Own Words" for Mario Lemieux.
The Mario Lemieux Foundation was created in 1993 by hockey legend Mario Lemieux. He devotes much of his time to the Foundation raising funds to help reach the ultimate goal: a cure for cancer. The Mario Lemieux Foundation has also established the Austin Lemieux Neonatal Research Project, in honor of Mario and Nathalie Lemieux's healthy son who was born prematurely.
Mellon Arena's address is 66 Mario Lemieux Place
He sponsers his own celebrity golf tournament which is in Pennsylvania.
Mario's jersey number 66 is retired even though he is still playing.
Mario Lemieux plays center for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Sidney Crosby lives with Mario Lemieux and family while he plays for the Penguins.
Mario has recently been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) He's on medication and played 12/16/05 vs. Buffalo Sabres one week after being discharged from the hospital.
in 1997, he was inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame.
1996-97 season he tied a NHL record of scoring 4 goals in a period, in his hometown of Montreal.
He became the first and only rookie to win the All-Star Game's MVP.
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