I'm not sure it was due to last night's post, Gage being sick, or the abject lack of sleep, but I was feeling very surly this morning as I got ready for work. I get in the car and what discussion do I hear on the radio...who is the greatest Pittsburgh athlete? I'd give you multiple guesses for my answer, but you don't need them. So as I listen to the different callers rattle off their opinions, how many of them do you think agreed with me? One. One. And he was the radio announcer. Terry Bradshaw, Roberto Clemente (both potential choices), but Mike Webster? Rocky Blier? Franco Harris? Yes, I'm biased against hockey, but when you have an athlete of Mario's caliber and you fail to recognize that it's more than just short-sightedness or a sport to sport bias.
So, I'm pretty jacked going into work. Then I log on to the computer. And, again, I don't know if it was due to last night's post or the fact that everyone knows my hockey bias, but a lot of friends began to send me articles, podcasts, photo retrospectives, etc. about Lemieux and his retirement announcement. The following came from Susie and was located at the end of the Pittsburgh Pirates Q&A section

In closing ...

On this extraordinary week for sports in Pittsburgh (PirateFest!), I feel I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the retirement of Mario Lemieux and at least one question I had on the matter that might be of interest to fans of the baseball club:

Was there any greater athlete in the city's history?

My answer is no.

The only one who comes close, in my view, is Honus Wagner, both in terms of individual performance within a league-wide scope (eight batting titles), team championships (remember the Pirates won three National League titles before there the World Series was born), and the great intangible of having spent so much of his career in one city (all but his first three years in Louisville).

Roberto Clemente? No, with all due respect. One MVP award, four batting titles and two World Series championships is impressive, as are his many intangibles. But there are few accounts I have read that describe him as the greatest player of his era. The same cannot be said for Lemieux and Wagner.

The Super Steelers of the 1970s? Maybe the best team in NFL history, but who among them stands out? Terry Bradshaw? Joe Greene? Was either one of them the best player of his era?

And what about Ben Roethlisberger? Well, if he keeps going as he has, he might be the greatest athlete in the history of civilization. At the least, he could be viewed that way in our corner of the world within 11 days.

To date, there has been no one like Lemieux. Not in our town. He is seen by many as the most talented player to ever play his sport -- though Wayne Gretzky still gets most of those nods -- and no other athlete with a firm stake in Pittsburgh can make that claim. Not even Wagner.

And just imagine if Lemieux been healthy for even half of his 20 years since being drafted.

The city will not be the same without him on the ice.

Without a doubt I agree with his sentiments. In fact, I sent him a message thanking him.

Tom also passed along the podcast of the Mike and Mike show from ESPN and during their segment they batted around the idea of where to place Mario on the list of all time greatest hockey players. And, they came up with a point that I'm willing to concede to. Part of a superstar athlete's career and legacy is longevity. Obviously the longer you play the more you can accomplish. So, I will advocate the following two statements.

The hockey player with the greatest career is Wayne Gretzky.
The hockey player with the greatest talent is Mario Lemieux.

And I could link to any number of articles, but that would take forever so I'll just link to this retrospective.

Oh, and please can someone schedule the rest of our games this season against the Washington Capitals?