Sidney Crosby Out of NHL All-Star Game

The NHL All-Star game just became a little more unwatchable, as Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby has withdrawn himself from the weekend's festivities. He will be replaced by Tampa Bay Lightning forward Martin St. Louis.

Crosby, currently second in the league in scoring, has been bothered by a knee injury -- and he took a shot off his hand against Carolina on Tuesday night, just for good measure -- the past couple of weeks, and as recently as Wedneday was going to try and tough it out for the NHL's premier exhibition game. Sanity, it would seem, has prevailed, as Crosby will take full advantage of an extended break to rest his injuries. This should please the Penguins, even if it makes Gary Bettman gently sob into his pillow.

The absence of Crosby, combined with the fact no Detroit Red Wings -- the defending Stanley Cup champions! -- will play in the game leaves this as quite possibly the dullest All-Star game ever. Especially when you consider fan voting has given us the pleasure of witnessing Alex Kovalev (the captain of the Eastern Conference) and Mike Komisarek as starters in the East, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere as the starting netminder in the West. Good times.

As for St. Louis, he is currently leading Tampa Bay with 46 points (17 goals, 29 assists) which is good enough for 19th in the NHL. It will be his fifth All-Star game.