Mark Evans

Will Peguins Become the Hamilton Blackberries?

Is tomorrow the day Research in Motion co-CEO Jim Balsillie finally spends some of his hard-earned Blackberry dollars to purchase the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins? When asked yesterday while attending the Toronto Maple Leafs' home opener if the rampant speculation was true, all Balsillie would say is “tomorrow”, which is a telling departure from his previous “no comment” comments.
Update: According to reports out of Pittsburgh, Balsillie bought the Penguins for $175 million. Now, wouldn't it be cool if he moved the team to Hamilton or London, and Sidney Crosby got to play his home games in Canada? To put the Penguins' purchase in context, Balsillie's stake in RIM is worth about $1.4-billion. What will make Balsillie different from other NHL owners is he's a huge hockey fans who still plays hockey every week. Maybe he'll change the Penguins' name to the Hamilton Blackberries or the London Pearls.
Update II: I dropped Balsillie a congradulatory e-mail after the news of the deal became official. Much to my surprise, he responded within minutes. Among other things, Balsillie's got a lot of class.