Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Mario Lemieux Moves On and Retires for Good
So, this is the end for Mario Lemieux, who retired due to heart problems.
It certainly is an anti-climatic ending to a great career, but almost fitting given the
numerous injuries and ailments he’s overcome over his adult life.
I know a faulty heart isn’t anything to mess with, but I am surprised that Lemieux did not come back for one more farewell game. With him giving up his executive position with the Penguins, he seems to be divesting himself from the club awfully quick.
In the meantime, the focus, as is has been most of the year, will shift even more to the rookies and young stars in the NHL. Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Dion Phaneuf, and many others are already stars in their own right and have given us many memorable highlight reel plays.
From PittsburghPenguins.com:
“I realize that the new NHL is really for the young guys. I think we have a lot of young guys in the league who are dominating,” Lemieux said. “We have a few in Pittsburgh, too. These young guys are the future of the NHL and look forward to next several years watching these guys play.”Now, where does this leave Sidney Crosby? I heard some rumours that he would be given the Captain’s “C”, which would be an awful idea and not likely to happen. Crosby has been living with Mario this year, but now has to be ‘the man’ now that both Zigmund Palffy and Lemieux are retired. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, it may be very likely that nobody gets the “C” this season.
"Being young coming in here, obviously he was in a similar situation coming in, he’s faces a lot of adversity and been able to rise through it. I think that just being around him and learning through his experiences have helped me,” said Crosby, who lives with the Lemieux family. “It’s tough to see him leave. He had such a great impact on the game. He really has a passion for the game. It’s never easy to go and I am 18 years old, but that’s something I can still feel for that and realize that you play hockey for so long and then, all of a sudden, one day you have to stop. It’s something that can’t be easy at all."
“It’s really tough. You never like to see anyone have to step away from a game they love,” he continued. “I am glad I got a chance to know him so well. He really is a great person and has a real passion for the game. He’s put so much into it. At least he’s going away on his own terms.”
In addition, Crosby, already an alternate captain, seems a natural fit to assume Lemieux’s role as the Penguins’ leader on and off the ice.“I don’t think I will ever be able to do the job that he did, but if I can even come close to that, I think it will be all right,” Crosby said. “He was an amazing player and an amazing person. When I came in here, it’s tough to know what to expect living with someone I grew up watching and idolizing, but he’s helped me so much. Hopefully, I will continue on from now.”
On that note, it is also time for be to take a break of sorts. I am feeling a bit of blogger’s burnout as you can tell in the recent days. Posting will be light for me for about a week or two, until I get my mojo back or something stirs within me. In the meantime, I’ll have a few update posts and I invite you to visit some of the other excellent blogs on the blogroll to the left.
PS: How can the Canucks lose to both the Blues and the Dinner Jackets? Bleecccccccch!
remember the following:
mario was allowed to sell players for money only (unless you REALLY want to count rico fata as a player-bahahaha). this is never a good thing and officially not allowed.
this was done to allow mario to pay off the creditors which the major one was mario. so mario sold his stars, put crap on the ice for a decade and put money in his pocket all at the same time.
the penguins managed to pay off ALL creditors that had a legal issue (i.e. anyone who was involved in the bankruptcy proceedings and had filed a claim) DURING the lock-out when the pens where losing what-ever money they "weren't making" under the nhl is broke days. let me repeat that. the pens were so broke, when they had NO revenue they still paid off their creditors (mario)
the penguins kiss kc and complain in pittsburgh, get buttman to publically yell at pittsburgh as well. result? an election of pro pen supporters who publically announce they will stupport and build a new stadium (although nothing is in writing)
what does all this mean for mario in the last 3 seasons?!?
ch-ching, cha-ching and now CHA-CHING
and what happens as soon as the city of pittsburgh (THE CITY) is announcing it is going to pay off mario? he steps down from chairman, resigns from hockey and puts the team for sale.
NEVER FREAKING FORGET THAT THE OWNERS ARE GETTING RICH OFF THE COMMON PEOPLE. (it is NOT the players, the OWNERS) and in this case, should pittsburgh follow through NON-HOCKEY FANS will be paying mario.
now this time at least, the person getting paid off is someone i LIKE. (i.e. not laurie or wertz, or etc)
but it happens everywhere in every sport.
take the cardinals, a recent playoff contender under new ownership who force a new stadium, and get paid off. what happens? several owners line their pockets at my expense and sell out for FIVE times their investment and buy into the second OLDEST stadium in baseball. yeaaaah. that new stadium was soooo important. important to ripping me off! oooh and now with the brand new stadium, a new fan unfriendly radio deal, and more corporate support, the cardinals cut budget!! CUT THE FREAKING BUDGET!
love mario all you want, but remember who is paying him off, and who will pay of wayno, and who already paid off the millionaire cardinal ownership, and who IS paying off the new jersey devils.
100 million devil buy-in needed into a 310 million statium with the new jersites all picking up the rest?!? that doesnt even count the not included 22 million it already took to flatten the ground and throw a few roads and water lines into the area :) which was paid for by umm all of us. so how does the crappy nj owner get an IMMEDIATE 3 to 1 return on his cash?!? smoochie smoochie
i wonder just how much it would take for me to kiss buttman's ass. somehow i might actually do it for mario money.
: 9:45 am they'll finish their season without a captain the same way Carolina did in 03-04 after Ron Francis Trade v2.0.
Surely, the Apocalypse is at hand.
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