The big hockey story of the day, of course, is that Research in Motion (RIM) chairman Jim Balsillie is poised to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, possibly -- anything's possible, right? -- setting the wheels in motion for the franchise to move.
Whenever a super-rich guy such as Balsillie (whose company makes the BlackBerry) buys a sports team, it's always tempting to wonder if the team is headed out of town. As a sidebar, the mind really goes wild when it comes to wondering about spin-off partnerships between the NHL and RIM. Lots of upwardly mobile types would love to get hockey highlights on their CrackBerry, don't you know. (I'm not the guy to figure out what a synergy with RIM would be worth to the NHL.)
If anything, though, having Balsillie's bucks probably raises the team's likelihood of staying in Pittsburgh. (Presumably, he has presumbably more equity than Mario Lemieux's perpetually cash-strapped ownership group.) He's entering into a situation where there is already a framework in place for funding a new arena for the Penguins. Super-rich guys such as Balsilllie look for a sure thing.
As for the Penguins moving to Hamilton, the Spectator's Scott Radley says don't count on it, estimating it would take about $300 million Cdn to get the team up and running on top of the purchase price. That figure includes paying the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs for intruding on their turf. So while it's tempting to think of a new owner trying to take on the Leafs -- and it's not like the Toronto-Hamilton area couldn't support a secoond NHL team -- it ain't happening.
The only wild card, of course, is if some middle American city that has grown big enough to support the NBA or NHL -- think Omaha, Oklahoma City or Kansas City -- makes Balsillie or whoever ends up owning the Pens an offer they can't refuse.
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