I didn't get to see reports till tonight's news... Saw Lemieux's press conference and it was beyond sad. He sorta was crying towards the end... I think it hurt him greatly.
Bill Cowher took some time out of his press conference today to address Lemieux's retirement and show respect for what he's done for not only Pittsburgh but what Lemieux did for the sport of Hockey. He's a MAJOR reason the NHL is a better entity today than it was 1 or 2 years ago.
Paul Steigerwald (Radio guy, used to do color commentary for TV on the Pens) said today that the best thing he'd like to see is the new arena built, and right in front a large statue honoring Mario Lemieux and his contributions to hockey and Pittsburgh.
Lemieux is every reason I ever picked up a stick and played the game. I've been through his retirement once before so maybe it didn't hit me quite as hard this time. The first time I was almost devastated though inside... It was watching an icon step down, a driving force in my motivation steppping aside... This time it's still the same but I think it's the right call. His heart problem's scary for him and he has a wife and kids to think of... He's able to compete, he proved that at the beginning of the season... He's as good as he ever was, he's a dominant player when he's healthy, but he just can't trust his body to hold out for himself and peace of mind. You have to respect anyone who did what he did... If he'd been healthy throughout his career with only the "regular" health problems plaguing him, I have no doubt in my mind Lemieux would have been the record holder Gretzky is. I'll miss him, but at the same time I know Mario Lemieux will still be a major part of hockey in the city of Pittsburgh, and just a major part of the city of Pittsburgh overall. I hope the city renames one of our more prominent landmarks for him as they did with Clemente. He's certainly earned that I believe.
I hope he has a good golf game his first day out on the links during retirement.