Say it aint So Mario

[Dr. Sak]

Disclaimer: This is not a joke. This article has been taken from the Pittsburgh paper this morning.

I guess the days of the great athletes staying in one city are gone forever. Especially since Jordan and now the great Mario Lemieux leave the teams that they put on the sports map. I was at the Pens game last night against the Flyers, and let me tell you it was sad. I really felt sorry for the Penguins. It was like the Flyers were playing against their AHL minor league team. And to look at the expression on Mario's face I could not blame him for not wanting to play anymore this season or just retiring forever. But please don't go anywhere else. Mario saved hockey in this city and for him to go and finish off else would be tragic. He could possibly be the most popular athlete in Pittsburgh Sports history. I know some people say well Ray Bourque did it. Well IMO that was different. Ray never won a cup, Mario has two. I really hope Mario doesnt decide to sell his share of the team and go somewhere else because if he does the Pens will be lucky to have 10,000 fans each night, they will never get their new arena, and they will be lucky to have a team in 2 years.



Say it aint so Mario (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/sports/s_126709.html)

[Tarkus]

Okay, let my Rangers pay him the $10 mil. Then maybe they can get one more Cup before I die, hopefully at least 40 years from now. :D

Tarkus

[Maple Leafs]

If he goes, my money's on Montreal.

[sachmo71]

Well, since he's losing money as the owner of the Penguins, and he could make over 10 million with another team, I wonder what's stopping him? Loyalty?

[bbor]

I think he's gonna see this thing through till the end.If he wanted to leave he could have done so a long time ago and gotten paid lotsa $$.Mario is a pretty propud guy and i don't think he wants to be known as a the person who ran the Pens into bankruptcy.

[Fidatelo]

Originally posted by bbor
I think he's gonna see this thing through till the end.If he wanted to leave he could have done so a long time ago and gotten paid lotsa $$.Mario is a pretty propud guy and i don't think he wants to be known as a the person who ran the Pens into bankruptcy.

Mario could steal every asset the Pens have left and not be known as the person who ran the Pens into bankruptcy... oh wait, he is the only asset they have left. Still, he has singlehandedly kept that franchise afloat for almost 20 years, no one will blame him for walking away now if that's what he wants to do.

[Swaggs]

Unless he (personally, no the Pens) is in much worse financial shape than we all think, I don't see him leaving Pittsburgh.

One of the saddest things, in hindsight, about the Penguins' saga is that Mark Cuban wanted to purchase the team out of bankruptcy (prior to buying the Mavericks). Imagine his huge pockets bankrolling an NHL team. I guess our only hope is for another multimillionaire or billionaire to rescue us.

[Havok]

The death of hockey... its sad to watch really :(

so many team are broke or losing a ton of money every year. My capitals lost like 15 mil last year and i think there gonna lose another 15 mil this year.

I remember a time when Hockey owners and Baseball owners used to make a profit.... those were the days :(