"Scratch My Back With a Hacksaw! Penguins Win!"

1 game to 1.

next game, Sunday, 6:00 pm.

Say It Ain't So

The Penguins might be leaving Pittsburgh. And this, at a time when their fans are attending the games in large numbers and the team has the most exciting players in the game.

Why? Because politicians can't work a deal to replace the oldest arena in the NHL. To read a bit more on the saga, click here or here.

Bottom line, this is a matter of "want-to." The politicians don't want it bad enough. And so, the people of Pittsburgh and vicinity will lose one of the few professional sports teams in this half of the state.

I don't blame the owners on this one. Lemiux has tried hard for almost a decade to keep this team in this town. He rescued the Penguins from a certain move in 1999 when he put together a group to buy them from bankruptcy. The value of this team to this region should speak for itself. I guess it doesn't.

Our governor got involved. His final word? "They're tough negotiators." So are you, Mr Governor. You seem to get your way when you want to raise our taxes (sales tax going up, employer payroll taxes to pay for health care welfare, a million other little taxes) and when you want the casino big-bosses to get their slot palaces. I guess Mario Lemuix, who wants to keep the team in Pittsburgh, is just too tough for you. Yeah, right. And I'm the NHL's leading scorer.

Come on, guys. Let's get this deal done.