Mario Lemieux Has A Glass of Whine

Which is nothing extremely new...and I say that as a fan of the Penguins and their history. But, in this instance, Mario doing such sampling is rather infuriating...

In this corner: Mario is 'very disappointed' in the arena deal.

And in this corner: Pittsburgh politician(s) say that it's the best deal they can conceive AND they could get the NHL to intervene if Pens reject offer.

I may be just a fan and blogger, and not the most business savvy person in the universe, but wouldn't it not be a bad idea for Mario and the Pens to take what they can get at this point? I cannot help but think they better...especially if #66 wants to keep the boulevard in the middle of Steeltown named after him.

At this point, I don't see how taking the offer could be any worst a business decision than any one made by Howard Baldwin. Isn't it ironic that BOTH teams ever owned by the guy have fallen victim to the threat of moving, one way or another? Things that make you go "Hmmmmmm..."...

That said, the biggest difference I see between Hartford and Pittsburgh is that the Pens have a bit more history AND Stanley Cups won than the WhalerCanes did at the time of their exodus from Hartford. Should the NHL have to intervene, I hope they keep Pitt's history AND TV ratings (top 20 in the country, beating out Kansas City, who's in the top 35) in mind.

Current Music: "Foolin'" by Def Leppard

January 16th, 2007 - Canes @ Panthers: Random Musings and Observations

- Yet another game where I don't know if I should be frustrated with the Canes' overall play, or just happy to get the win.

On the frustrated front, I know I'm not the only one...as evidenced by a few posts here AND Chuck Kaiton voicing his displeasure with the Canes at certain points of his broadcast.

- I think the Canes' saving grace tonight is that the Panthers apparently don't read the local paper.

"It was a fluke. We should have won that game. But they showed there is a reason they won the Stanley Cup last season," said Panthers captain Olli Jokinen. "It's good we face them right away. We don't want to let that happen again."

"This is a huge game for us," Jokinen said of tonight's 7:30 game at BankAtlantic Center. "We need the points more than they do. Every game is big for us."

Well, you and your boys sure didn't play like you said any of that, Captain Peachfuzz*. :P

- What is it about games against the Puddytats and their being so danged boring, no matter how much scoring happens? No wonder they can barely draw a crowd down there near the Vice City.

While I'm usually not an advocate for teams moving, all of the talk of my beloved second favorite Pens possibly moving makes me want to say that if any team is ripe for shipping out, it's Florida. And I think PackNCanes at The Score Boards said it best...

"Two random thoughts:

- Games against Florida are, on their own "merits", enough of an argument to cut back on divisional games.

- I know that we're not world-beaters when it comes to attendance, and I'm a little leery of being accused of living in a glass house, but if the Panthers moved to anywhere tomorrow, would anyone south of Toronto notice...and would anyone in their "market" care?"

And 'cause you can never have enough Chuck and the Letter K, something tells me that he may not necessarily disagree with PackNCanes and moi...

"If it seems quiet here, it's because seats don't make noise."

Current Music: "Sure Know Something" by KISS

* - "Captain Peachfuzz" is my (playful) nickname for Olli Jokinen, and has been ever since 2003-04, when he attempted to grow a goatee that just...well...didn't really work out that great.