Dunlap: Mario Can Do It His Way
If anyone in this town deserves to do it his way, it is Mario Lemieux.
He saved hockey a few times; did it both with skates on his feet and a business suit arranged neatly on that titanic body.
He saved hockey as he battled cancer and also saved it as he battled political backbiting, badmouthing and a bankruptcy.
Mario is our conquering hockey hero.
There's simply no other way to put it. Lauding him 66 ways wouldn't come close to being enough. And, again, if anyone in this town deserves to do it his way, this is the guy who deserves it.
You see, the Penguins are far from on thin ice, but they are for sale --- at least that's the looks of it from the organization electing to retain the services of Morgan Stanley, a financial services firm with expansive experience in such matters.
Lemieux and co-owner Ron Burkle hold the controlling interest in the franchise that also joysticks the development rights to the former Civic Arena site.
When news broke on Wednesday evening that Lemieux and Burkle were tinkering with the idea of selling off some --- and maybe even all --- of the franchise they rescued from the depths of bankruptcy in 1999 to turn into an organization worth an estimated $565 million, there was one quick thought that blared through my mind: Lemieux wants out.
He's about to turn 50, wants to cash in, play a ton of golf, spend time with his family and finally enjoy a life on autopilot that he has so richly earned.
Find me one good reason why Lemieux should ever be questioned if he comes out in the next few days and announces those are his very intentions. If he comes out and announces that he's taking his stake in the team, cashing it in and saying, "sayonara," what would be the problem?
It can be stated --- and it isn't an overstatement – that Mr. Lemieux is the predominant reason as to why our wonderful city is even still able to enjoy this grand game of hockey, even able to have that magnificent arena with a statue of Lemieux and two tomato cans outside of it.
He has done enough.
Actually, he has done more that enough for all of us.
And he will continue to do more, even if he decides to cash in his stake in the Penguins and set sail off to something else --- or, well, nothing at all.
You see, Lemieux's name will adorn the new magnificent practice facility in Cranberry, which cost in the neighborhood of $70 million to construct and will serve this franchise for decades.
More important --- and this isn't hyperbole --- Lemieux's charitable donations should be mentioned whenever you reference surnames in this city such as Carnegie, Frick, Mellon and Hillman. Perhaps he hasn't given as much individually as those others, but his combination of generosity and using his visibility to prompt others to give might never be matched in our city.
Mario was, is and, in perpetuity will be, one of the Princes of Pittsburgh. That can't be debated from this vantage point.
All that said, if anyone in this town deserves to do it his way, it is Mario Lemieux --- even if doing it his way means cashing out right now and pulling a disappearing act.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
