Mario again super, keeping the Pens in Pitt

It seemed aeemed almost inevitable that the Penguins would be forced to leave Pittsburgh and relocate in some desolate city. Not that Kansas City or any number of other southern cities are desolate; they are from desolate, in fact. But as much as I'd love to see a hockey team back in Winnipeg, I wanted even more for the Pens to stay put.

Pittsburgh governor and co. finally agreed with Mario and co-owner Ron Burkle on a new multi-purpose $290 million arena that will allow us to watch Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the other young Pens finish their careers, hopefully, in Pittsburgh.

Minnesota should have never left town. We can say the same about Quebec, Winnipeg and maybe even Hartford (despite the Canes' Cup). We've already lost enough history in the tearing down of all original arenas. The least the league ought to do is work to save our historic franchises. Everyone wanted Pittsburgh to work out and in the end, the deal was done.

We can once again thank Mario Lemieux, the man who combined size with super-human skill and made it look easier than anyone had ever before. The man I saw in Boston overshadow Jaromir Jagr, arguably the best player spanning my childhood.

Now some day, I'll be able to add Pittsburgh to my list of hockey cities to visit, a trip not far off that will not be without another historic team.