ok, thats all well and good.

but i still believe that team had every intention moving if a new arena wasnt built. mario saying it was a ruse was just him whistling out his ass and trying to look good in the process.

if you want to disagree, sweet. thats how i see it.

the arenas built, and rumour has it the new arena may get a relocated NBA team to play second fiddle to the pens.

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I only took exception to your Sidney Crosby saved the franchise talk, I pretty much agree with everything else you said although I think you may need a history lesson about Lemieux and his efforts to get a new arena built. Back in 1999 he had a verbal agreement in place to get a new arena built. But a verbal agreement with a politician is no better then a crack whores, in fact I would take the word of a crack whore over a politicians. Mario was naive, he learned how to deal with politicians over time.

Sidney Crosby didn't save the Penguins.

Mario Lemieux didn't save the Penguins.

Gambling saved the Penguins.

Make no mistake about that. If the casino license had not been up for bid at the time it was, the Penguins would have left town.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

oh, sweet. high five!

thats what i thought, i thought he inadvertently saved the team. that his presence started the resurgence. kinda like how babe ruth "built" yankee stadium.

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Who would this NBA team be?

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"Call a cop he robbed Delmore blind!!!"
Rick Jeanerette after Marty Biron's diving save back in 2000.

"I'm going to go to the spa and have a hot tub and massage and relax," Miller said. "That's it, and it's back to work tomorrow." Ryan Miller after clinching the North East division.

i keep hearing the pistons. which is fine. no one gives two shits about the pistons here.

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It's a romantic notion, but even here in Pittsburgh--where even Sidney Crosby's own parents have a hard time competing with the love--nobody considers him the savior of the franchise or the reason the arena was built. Lemieux gets that kind of praise and it is somewhat deserving when you consider his entire history here and how politicians have lied to him.

Today, #87 IS the Golden Goose that will keep the Penguins a healthy franchise for at LEAST another 10 years-if he chooses to stay. There's no disputing that at all. If he leaves, and I certainly would with the wingers they ruin him with. The cornerstone will be removed.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

I'm sorry Mike, but I'll take the word of the guy who lives in that town, was a fan of the team, and more exposed to the day to day machinations in the media about the team over your hunches. Just saying.

That arena gets built with or without Crosby. Period.

fair enough.

even so, if the arena doesnt get built, that team was history. which was my original point. and it was voted down, what? twice? and like i said, mario saying it was just a ploy to get what he wanted what just him trying to save face. it sounds like x-pen agrees with me.

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Is that what you said the first time you seen a woman nekked, x-pens? Sorry man, all in good fun, couldn't pass it up

I've been following the construction of this building. I know I've said this before, but I love looking at pics of places like this being built. Even when they were building the ACC in 'Tranna. I have a thing for hockey rinks and their construction. I think the layout is somewhat close in ways to HSBC, the rafters, though, remind me a lot of the UC in Chicago. But Tom is right. Most buildings today are going a lot smaller. Look at the Devils new barn in Newark. The old CAA held almost 18,500 or 18,600, the new rink holds just a bit over 17,000. Sorry if the exact figures aren't present in this post as I is a lazy bastard atm

The days of the more cavernous buildings that went up in the mid-late 90's are coming to an end, if not over completely. I think the best example of a somewhat smaller building with seats stacked one on top of the other, was the old Chicago Stadium. It may have been old, only held 18,500, but they crammed 21,000 in there every night and it was the loudest mother fucker of its time, right till they ripped'er down.

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

Why isn't Mike complaining about what a jinx it is to attach a CURRENT player's name to an arena?


The Sidney Crosby swine flu watch starts now.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

hey, weve had too many jinx's NOT to believe them. from someone calling shutout, and miller losing it on the next shot, to that pittsburgh game last winter.

if i jinx the pens, so be it!

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If you're going to jinx them Mike, might as well make good on it and wrap the Caps up in that same box and kill two birds with one stone at the Winter Classic!

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

the verizon center... the house that bondra built?

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For some strange reason, I always think of Joe Juneau when I think of their building and I have no idea why. Sure he played for them, but a lot of guys have in the past...

Meh.

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If it's a tight squeeze, spit on it! - NyI

He's a middling AHL player who had the good fortune of a drunk arbitrator. - The Squanto re: Tim Kennedy

I agree.

I can see the jumbotron really being a problem, especially for center-ice faceoffs.

Maybe the way they get to 18,087 attendance is to have a few seats on top of the center-ice jumbotron. Those would be primo seats.


Actually.......

That pic reminded me of this:



I wonder if they had kept the receipt?

calle johansson

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I probably did, but instead of applause I was warming up. Tragically, there is not a whacking off smiley to share.

I'm not creepily fascinated with building like you are (cue the whacking off smiley lol) but I gotta say, I was so excited about the idea of seeing a new arena that I drove to Columbus with my GF to take in a Blackhawks/BJ game. Heavy emphasize on the later but I digress. The arena there is EPIC, and I love how when you walk out the door the night life is right there in front of you.

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"I love that you know how to do that." Cheryl/Carol/Crystal

"And I love that I have an erection that doesn't involve homeless people." Kreiger

I gotta side with Mike on this one - regardless of who you are (and Lemieux seems like one hell of a straight talker), if you have the cojones to play the "new arena/new lease at our terms or we move" threat, you gotta stick to your guns.

Of course after it worked, he says it was just a tactic. But what if it didn't work? We'll never know.

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mechaphil

Nice. The rarely seen Calle Johannson reference

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"Let's just trap Sekera in the caverns underneath HSBC arena." -BlueandYellow

Reporter: "Steve, you guys now lead the league in defensive scoring."
Montador: "It's probably because of how good-looking we are."

Without Crosby, the pens are still a playoff team. They have Malkin and decent defense and decent goaltending.

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"Counting all the assholes in the room, I'm definitely not alone!" ~ Michael Poulsen, Volbeat, Still Standing.