Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Steelers ownership drama

Yesterday we posted a link or two about the drama surrounding the Steelers' and their ownership. More light is being shed on the situation, and while not all is bad, not all is good either. Dan Rooney wants to buyout the rest of his brothers' shares, but does not have the money to do so at this time. There is a whole lot else to this saga that we'll refrain from trying to explain and let you read the links we have available. All we have to say is that we really hope the Steelers can remain with the Rooney family considering how well they have run the franchise. Dan Rooney has been the go-to guy in the NFL when it comes to solving problems. He's been well respected for years. We hope something can be worked out so that the Rooney family does not have to give up the majority of the franchise.

The Post-Gazette has a few articles on this topic starting with the fact that an investor is in talks to control the Steelers. The investor, Stanley Druckenmiller, is ranked 91st by Forbes Magazine's 400 richest Americans in 2007, reportedly worth around $3.5 billion. He's in talks to buy up to four of the brothers' shares. He's a longtime Steelers fan who says he wants the Rooneys' to continue to run the Steelers. It's reportedly been a lifelong dream of Druckenmiller's to own the Steelers. You can read up on that here. Stanley also is such a huge fan that he makes a trip to all Steelers games and holds tailgate parties in the parking lot before the game. He even likes to paint his face black and gold and prefers to sit in the stands with the crowd than sit in a private box say his friends. This guy sounds like a nice guy and someone who would never want to move the Steelers from Pittsburgh, but we still hate to see the Rooneys' not have the majority of the Steelers in their control. Stanley says he wants the Rooneys' to run the Steelers but when you don't own the majority of the team, you never know what could happen down the road. You can read all about Stanley Druckenmiller here. Bob Smizik has some commentary on the situation entitled 'Dan Rooney faces a tough, inevitable decision' that you can read here.

In other NFL news, Michael Vick owes the Falcons millions and has filed for bankruptcy protection, and the NFL has hired Pennsylvania's state police chief for a new position that will cover stadium security.

Maybe you've heard that Santonio Holmes made some comments about OTAs, or organized team activities, which are not mandatory. We probably didn't post this because we were infatuated with the Penguins. Which is okay, right? The Penguins in the playoffs and free agency is a little more important than Santonio Holmes making some comments. Right? We thought so. But now Santonio, or Tone as he's known by teammates, is clearing things up about what he said and has been working hard this offseason. You can read his comments here.

                                              Christopher Horner/Tribune-Review

Is it just us or does he look weird in that picture? He looks like an old man. Kinda creepy. We still love you though Santonio. Keep working hard.


In Penguins news, they have signed two AHL stars in forward Adam Henrich and defenseman T.J. Kemp to one-year contracts, most likely for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Your random YouTube of the day is from the My Wish series on ESPN's SportsCenter. Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were featured with a boy named Akeem whose wish was to play video games with Ben Roethlisberger, but got to do a whole lot more. Try to keep those eyes dry, we dare you. Enjoy.

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