Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell definitely will contend for this year's innaugural Sports Politician of the Year.
He does weekly on-air commentary before Philadelphia Eagles games, he's a fixture at the famed Palestra for Penn men's basketball games (including last night's Penn-Temple matchup) and now he is personally getting involved in trying to keep the NHL's Penguins from moving out of Pittsburgh.
According to the Associated Press, Rendell -- the former mayor of Philadelphia -- is optimistic that a new agreement can be reached to build a new arena for the Pens. Rendell spoke with Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle on the phone Tuesday night and the two expect to speak again next week.
"We want to reach an agreement. We think we're getting closer," Rendell said Wednesday. "We're hopeful."
This is a shrewed political move by Rendell. First, politician sports fans associate themselves with a new sense of populism. They seem like "regular guys," even if -- like Rendell -- they are well-to-do Ivy League graduates.
Secondly, a big knock on Rendell is that he cares too much about Philadelphia and not about his state's other metropolitan center. He'll gain a lot of street cred in the Steel City by trying to save the Penguins.
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Are you kidding me? Rendell could have made sure that the Isle of Capri was given a gambling license by the state gaming commission to build a casino in Pittsburgh. The Isle of Capri had made building the Penguins a new arena (and thus keeping the team in the 'Burgh) part of their proposal. Instead the license went to another investor group (coincidentally this other investor group happened to be the only one lead by a "diverse" investor) putting the Penguins future in jeopardy. This also upset the Rooney family (owners of the Steelers) who have more sway with the average citizen than any state politician will ever have. The people of Pittsburgh HATE Ed Rendell. His little act is not fooling anyone outside of the 'Burgh.
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