And then... WHAM!
Like a steel chair to the back of the baby faced hero (Lemieux), Balsille instantly became one of the many villains in the plight of the Penguins.
His last-second pullout has the left the Penguins ownership stunned, angry and most damaging of all, appearing unstable. The slots license will be awarded Wednesday and Balsille's sudden departure further damages the IOC's chances by casting a shadow of uncertainty over the Penguins.
The Pens already had a steep hill to climb. It has been foretold by many politicians, whose pockets have not been filled, that the "fix" was in.
It was pre-ordained two-years ago that the famed Harrah's would win the prize. Along side the IOC, Lemieux has been fighting seemingly unmoved state politicians and national lobbyists for nearly three years.
The good-guy Lemieux has been fighting the bad-guy city politicians for seven years for a new arena. In 1999, he had a verbal commitment from city officials to build an arena. He even had in writing that city officials would give him a "best effort" to build a new barn. Yet, no arena.
Instead of a WWE pay-per-view event, this has become a Greek tragedy.
How many broken promises, near misses and road blocks can one man endure? Oh, and Balsille said restarting the deal is possible – just a little salt for the wound.
The Penguins have decided to await the decision on the slots license before proceeding. More potential suitors have, again, lined up. The Penguins have ample on-ice assets and merchandising clout to lure buyers. What they don't have is ample revenue, due in large part to an arena that predates the Beatles on Ed Sullivan (if needed, ask you grandparents who Ed Sullivan was).
Will the Pennsylvania Gaming committee come racing to the ring to save a beaten Lemieux? Or will they grab a chair and join attack? Find out tomorrow.
