CBC’s reporting that Jim Balsilie has withdrawn his offer to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins. I guess we’re not getting a team here now 🙁
It appears that the reason that Balsillie walked away from the purchase of the Penguins is because of über-sucky-commissioner Gary Bettman‘s crazy mandates:
Reports suggest part of the reason Balsillie walked away from the sale was his displeasure with league’s mandate to keep the team in Pittsburgh as part of the agreement.
There had been speculation that Balsillie, 45, could try to move the franchise to Hamilton, which is close to his home and RIM’s head office in Waterloo, Ont., if a new arena in Pittsburgh isn’t built.
So Mr. Bettman would prefer to see a team full of young stars, like Sid Crosby, wallow in uncertainty because the city of Pittsburg’s hopes of keeping the Penguins hinges on whether the state government will allow a casino to be built or not.
SARACSM WARNING!
In the event that the Penguins finally have to leave Pittsbugh, I bet good ol’ Gary would love to move the team to hockey-hungry cities like Las Vegas, Kansas City or Oklahoma City. That would be frickin’ brilliant! Hey, it’s working in Phoenix, Florida and Atlanta. And nobody would dare go watch NHL games in Winnipeg and Quebec City anyway.
END SARCASM WARNING!
