FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 24th, 2013

BOB COSTAS GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH SIDNEY CROSBY ON COSTAS TONIGHT

Costas’ In-Depth Sit-Down with Crosby Debuts Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 11 p.m. ET on NBCSN 

“Scoring an overtime-winning goal in your own country, playing for Canada, a country that’s so passionate about hockey – it’s pretty special.” – Sidney Crosby on 2010 Vancouver Olympics

Costas Tonight Follows Penguins-Bruins NHL Rivals 

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 24, 2013 – Pittsburgh Penguins captain, 2009 Stanley Cup champion, and 2010 Olympic gold medalist Sidney Crosby sits down with 25-time Emmy Award-winner Bob Costas for the newest edition of Costas Tonight, a 30-minute episode to debut on Tuesday, October 29 at 11 p.m. ET on NBCSN.

Crosby, the Penguins’ first overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, currently leads the NHL in points, as Pittsburgh has jumped out to the Metropolitan Division lead to start the 2013-14 season. Crosby was named Penguins captain in 2007 at age 19, the youngest captain in NHL history at the time, and led Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup title over the Detroit Red Wings in 2009.

Tuesday’s Costas Tonight episode featuring Sidney Crosby will follow next week’s NHL Rivals episode featuring the Bruins-Penguins rivalry, ahead of their matchup on Wednesday Night Rivalry on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET. NBCSN will also air an encore presentation of Costas Tonight on Wednesday at 11 p.m. ET.

The interview was filmed in Suite 66 at the CONSOL Energy Center, an ice-level suite in the Penguins’ home arena which is themed to Penguins legend Mario Lemieux.

Following are excerpts from Costas’ interview with Crosby:

Crosby on his relationship with Lemieux: “He’s meant a lot. In my first year, (I) had the opportunity to live with him and learn a lot pretty early. I’m glad I had him around and had a chance to play with him…that made a big difference, especially early on.”

Crosby on overtime goal against Team USA in 2010 Vancouver Games to clinch gold medal: “Scoring an overtime-winning goal in your own country, playing for Canada, a country that’s so passionate about hockey – it’s pretty special…playing for Canada, we always know that expectations are high. But being in Canada, in the Winter Olympics, we knew we had to find a way.”

Crosby on Russian LGBT Laws and 2014 Sochi Games: “Growing up in Canada, that’s something I never even really thought about or discussed – it didn’t matter. Anyone had the opportunity to play a sport, and to go through that was something that was a learning experience for me. I never even thought that’s something that would come up.”

Crosby on his history with concussions: “I look back to the first time I came back from the concussion, and I almost overdid it.  I almost hit guys more than I typically would.  I went into those areas probably when I didn’t need to almost to prove to yourself that, ‘hey, everything’s good.’”

–NBC Sports Group–