New Arena

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be holding a news conference on Monday (Jan. 15) afternoon to announce a tenative agreement to stay in Pittsburgh. The story will break before that, but Seasame Street Live and Saturday's game in Philly will keep the announcement from being formalized until then.

Time tables for demolition and construction phases will be presented. Lease at Mellon will be extended for 18-months

Well, Isle Be Damned

The Isle of Capri-funded arena idea is dead. Get over it.

Plan B just got promoted to the first line.

There's no time left to screw this one up. There is no room for error in trying to fix a seven year procrastination.

This city's failure will be pounced on in a city like Kansas City.

Lemieux has the city/local government over a barrell, and he should.

The first three minutes of the news is arena-related, not "were gonna get gambling in Pittsburgh." Pittsburgh Trib and Post-Gazette covers focus sharply on ARENA, not gambling.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and County Executive Dan Onarato have an explosive issue that dominates the news. Luke has an election in four months. Look for Ravenstahl's opponets to add to the debate. This is very messy for the local pols.

Plan B is now the ONLY PLAN, or, the LAST PLAN.

Schultz, You Bumbling Idiot!

I heard someone in the Igloo ask who "SCHULTZ" was, and why the Pens jerseys were blue? A question was posted on the Let's Go Pens site and I wanted to share some obscure information.

It is really not John Banner as Sgt. Schultz from Hogan's Heroes.

The real Schultz, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, was a hero for "your" team and a hated opponent. Take a peek at his gaudy penalty minutes in his Career Statistics, and you'll see why he was loved.

Philadelphia-based Mitchell & Ness makes the vintage throwback jerseys. Throwback jerseys require permission from retired players to use their name and number.

M&N already had Schultz signed for their Flyers throwbacks, he simply agreed to lend his name for use on a jersey for another team he played for. M&N also had an agreement with Andy Bathgate, who's credited with scoring Pittsburgh's very first goal in team history. He's the guy represented in the #9 baby blue jerseys with "PITTSBURGH" on the front.

A few year's back the NHLPA felt shame for the meager pension funds left for the old timers and decided to push the union to allow retired players to reap the potential "royalties" to augment autograph sessions.

Ask Bobby Orr how he really feels about the players he represents, like Pittsburgh's Noah Welch, who might eventually earn more money in one season than Orr took a career to earn. Alan Eagleson, Orr's agent, squandered Orr's riches and now Orr has his own website to cash in on something that wasn't possible when he played. Other former players have had difficulty earning money after hanging up the skates.

People don't line bookstores and card shows for old-time NHL'ers like they would for former NFL or MLB players.

As for why the Penguins jerseys were blue?, PittsburghHockey.net has a history of the blue jersey and logo in the "uniforms" link.

Shock and Awe

Two fans in the arena's E-balcony had their foam fingers confiscated by arena security, and others were warned, during Tuesday night's Penguins-Islanders game.

The foam fingers weren't the "Number One" hands common at sporting events, rather they were the three-finger "shocker" symbol - a hand gesture that has a graphic, sexual connotation.

One of the fans protested on the wildly popular Let's Go Pens board. Discussion of free speech quickly turned into a five-page thread. The topic went way off course and the board administrator removed the whole posting. Two hours later, the topic was reborn and monitored heavily.

Mellon Arena management has every right to control events like this and that's not new. They do there best to make fans feel comfortable. One complaint usually represents the unspoken thoughts of many others.

Back in the day when fans started a "BULL****" chant to object a poor call from a referee, Vince Laschied would do his best to squelch the chant with a loud organ solo.

Off-color signs directing their wrath an NY Rangers' Adam Graves (who broke Mario Lemieux' hand with a slash in the '92 playoffs) were removed from the balcony.

A woman that sat near the Pens bench and flashed her breast behind Coach Ivan Hlinka was also ejected from the arena.


Last season ushers confiscated a young woman's poster that had lewd suggestions for Sidney Crosby.

Buying a ticket isn't a license to act like a fool.

Beeline for Plan B

The Pennsylvania State Gaming Board has released their internal earning expections of Pittsburgh's three potential slots parlors.

These are the numbers the board will use, not the projections of each casino.

At first glance the Majestic Star Casinos has the best payout expectations of nearly $484 million a year with 5,000 slots machines.

Forest City came in second at $426 million per year with 4,000 machines.

The board says the Isle of Capri would fetch about $345 million a year with 3,000 slots machines.

Those are not good numbers for the IOC, who have promised $290 million to fund a new multi-purpose building for the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the comparisons are unbalanced.

If the IOC ups their ante to add 2,000 machines, the projections could come closer to the Majestic Star's numbers at $487 million a year. Similarly, if Forest City added 1,000 machines their projections would approach $533 million per year - giving them the best payout projection.

Only 23 days until we learn what has been Harrisburg's dirty little secret for the past three years.

Here's Betting on Plan B

The future of the Pittsburgh Penguins is getting murkier.

The team is hoping that the seven-member, Pennsylvnia Gaming Control board selects the Isle of Capri (Hill District) plan on December 20, and grant them Pittsburgh's sole stand-alone slots parlor license over Harrah's (Forest City, Station Square) and PITG Gaming LLC (Majestic Star, North Side).

Isle of Capri has promised to build a $290 million multi-purpose building that the Penguins can call home if IOC wins the license.

Five of the seven members must agree on the plan, and that's a problem in a three way race:

Four members are solid backers of the Harrah's plan. Two are behind the IOC plan and one is a die-hard supporter of Majestic Star.

The numbers are there for Harrah's if they convince one member's defection from IOC, or cut a deal by trading a vote on the Philadelphia parlor with the Majestic Star voter.

Here's the early poll on the seven members:

Tad Decker (Chairman) - Appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell
Sanford Rivers - Appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell
Mary DiGiacomo Colins - Appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell
Jeffrey W. Coy - Appointed by Rep. H. William DeWeese, the House Democratic Leader

Kenneth T.McCabe - Appointed by Senate President Pro Tempore Robert C. Jubelirer
Joseph W. Marshall III - Appointed by Speaker of the House John Perzel

Ray Angeli - Appointed by Sen. Robert Mellow, the Senate Democratic Leader

Think the fix isn't in? Here's two recent things to remember.

Rendell's 2005 Transportation Funding and Reform Commission waited less than one week after Rendell beat Lynn Swann to announce it's recommendation to increase gas taxes by nearly 12 cents a gallon. Think the announcement's timing is suspect?

How about the "sudden" announcement that State Supreme Court Sandra Shultz Newman will leave her post at the end of the year? Shultz Newman survived a retention vote in last month's election and now her departure will allow Rendell to appoint her replacement. She didn't make her decision before the retention vote? Come on, now.

By the way, Newman is the mother of Jonathan Newman, chairman of the state Liquor Control Board.

Any guess what person appointed him to the post?

Ah, Ekman...that was a goal

I have studied the replay like the Zapruder film...BACK, and to the LEFT...BACK, and to the LEFT...BACK, and to the LEFT...
If I were in the replay booth and saw what viewers in Carolina and Pittsburgh saw, I'd have to say "No Goal" (inconclusive evidence).

Referees Brad Watson and Justin St. Pierre didn't know for sure and there was no overhead camera angle available for the War Room in Toronto. Chris Seward of The News & Observer captured the moment:




The News & Observer Photo Gallery

Nils Ekman was robbed. Pure hockey sense and watching Ekman's reaction tell you it was a goal. Body language like that tells the truth.

From the Trib: "It was a goal, for sure. I will bet anything on it," said Ekman, who along with Dominic Moore started celebrating in front of the net. "The puck was turning up on an edge. The whole puck was over the line, by a lot. There's no doubt about it. I had a pretty good view. I was by that post. I can't explain it."

Karen Price's Trib article

Anyone remember the Brady Bunch episode where Greg wasn't good enough to play football and instead took pictures of the football team for the yearbook? He captured the controversial play that provided "conclusive" evidence that his team won...