Cue the Music...

Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come!

Well, at least the Penguins very well could be. While that story doesn't say it, earlier reports state that Sam Fingold has ties to Kansas City. It is no secret that Kansas City is looking for either an NHL or an NBA team and I think it was wise to reject the group with Mark Cuban. The NHL does not need that kind of embarrassment owner in the league when it already has Charles Wang.

Yeah, I know this isn't a done deal yet. The Penguins could very well end up staying in Pittsburgh, but it doesn't look good. If it did why is stuff like this being written? People forget that the franchise has gone into bankruptcy multiple times throughout its history. Something is clearly wrong up there. Yea, I agree with anybody who says that Mellon Arena is dump, it needs to be replaced. But after the PNC Park fiasco, why should the city or the state provide any funding for the team to build a new arena? Yes, I know that was the Onion, just play along alright?

Last year the Pens flatly admitted that if even if they sold out every regular season home game along with the first two rounds of the playoffs, they would still lose $$$$$. Last year was a disaster and this year does not look to be much better. The fans didn't pack the place to see Secondary Assist Sydney Crosby skate with Mario Lemieux, John LeClair, Mark Recchi, and Zigmund Palffy. They aren't going to come out in droves to see Secondary Syd skate with Evgeni Malkin either. That of course is assuming that Malkin does come over this season, which is anything but assured. I'm tired of hearing Crosby and Malkin, Crosby and Malkin, Crosby and Malkin. First of all, Secondary Syd already has the reputation of a diver and a crybaby, I don't think that's the image the NHL wants to project, especially after what went on in the World Cup. (But we can't get enough of those shootouts!) And Malkin has yet to prove himself, he was all the rage heading into the Olympics and the only thing of note that he did was getting ejected in the Quarterfinal vs. Canada. A.O. has already outclassed Secondary Syd in the NHL and will no doubt do the same to Malkin. A.O. did that the Olympics.

I know some could say the same things about Washington, D.C. and the Caps. But the Caps have never gone into bankruptcy. They may not have always had the best ownership, but they have never had to go begging hat in hand for a decent place to play in. Just because you won a Stanley Cup does not mean you get to keep your team forever. If the NHL really wants to set up an A.O.-Secondary Syd rivalry to mimic the 1980's Byrd-Magic rivarly in the NBA, it is in the NHL's best interest to get Secondary Syd and his team out of the Eastern Conference. That type of matchup is better suited for a Stanley Cup Final instead of a Conference Final.

The only bad thing I can see from a Pittsburgh move to Kansas City are the continual concoctions to get the Caps out of the Southeast Division and back into the Atlantic Division from the denizens of a place I affectionately refer to as Darwin's Waiting Room. Personally, for my own selfish reasons I was hoping that the Pens would end up in Las Vegas. While that no longer seems likely, everybody's favorite rumor monger says a team may end up there, eventually. I'll take it with the grain of salt it deserves.