I'm taking the Penguins' issues little too personally at this point. I don't blame this on the team. The boys (and most of them are boys) are a pleasure to watch, as frustrating as the experience is.
Nope, I'm frustrated with Craig Patrick for not using the resources he had available to create a viable team. I'm frustrated with all those people who shouted me down at the beginning of the season when I said that signing all those veterans over using the amazing talent available from Wilkes-Barre Scranton and Wheeling was a bad idea. I'm frustrated with city, county and state officials who are actively driving the team from the state of Pennsylvania.
And, as it turns out, former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy was correct when he said that the “fix was in” when speaking about the Isle of Capri's chance of getting the slots license, thus funding a new arena and keeping the Penguins in Pittsburgh.
According to an article published in the Sunday, January 29th edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Ratner family, owners of Station Square via their development corporation Forest City Enterprises, have partnered with Harrah's to expand Station Square into a casino complex. And the Ratner family has deep, deep pockets and political ties. To the tune of $150,000 to Governor Ed Rendell, $29,000 to Mayor Bob O'Conner and $20,000 to Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.
One of my husbands clients lives in Manitoba, is an avid Steeler fan and has been following the Penguins fortunes. In a recent email he wrote that if the city were to lose the team, he hoped they would consider going to Manitoba (Winnipeg used to have a professional team) and promised to take very good care of our boys if they did. While I don't think I could bear to lose the team to Kansas City, I felt comforted by the idea of them going to Canada.
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