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PITTSBURGH -- They chugged Labatt Blue and shared man hugs at Happy Hour just down from 66 Mario Lemieux Place on Tuesday night because the planets aligned and the politicians agreed and hockey was staying in Pittsburgh. Lemieux was nowhere to be found. He slipped out of a press conference a mile across town, shielded in a herd of dark power suits, away from the handshakes and backslaps. The job was done, Lemieux saved hockey in Pittsburgh a third time, and the quiet Canadian who has somehow become the face of a blue-collar American city was tired. "In the deal...

The Penguins and public officials have agreed to borrow up to $290 million for an arena, but must figure out how to make payments on that much debt, Gov. Ed Rendell said Friday. "We've agreed on the concept; we just have to agree on how to get there," Rendell said. "Everyone has to pay a little more." National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman has joined the negotiations as a mediator. "He would like to see this thing brought to a head, and so would I," Rendell said.

Ice is threatening to trap a damaged Japanese whaling ship stranded off Antarctica, raising fears of an enviromental disaster close to a major penguin colony. The Nisshin Maru has been disabled since last Thursday when a fire killed a crewman. The ship was left drifting about 100 miles from the world's biggest penguin breeding ground - Cape Adare - home to some 250,000 pairs of Adelie penguins. Environmentalists fear some of the 330,000 gallons of oil aboard the ship could leak and be carried by currents to the breeding area.

Argentina`s first couple, a power pair often compared to Bill and Hillary Clinton, won`t say whether it will be a his or hers candidacy in this year`s presidential election. President Nestor Kirchner boasts soaring approval ratings amid an economic recovery. His wife, Sen. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is also popular — and unlike Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, she established her own political career long before her husband became president. With both Kirchners doing well in the polls, they`ve been floating the idea that she should run to succeed him while he`s still in office. Cristina Kirchner flew off without her...

At this rate, the Penguins might need a new Uptown arena for no other reason than to meet fans' desire to watch the upstart hockey club. The Penguins, in the thick of a playoff race after finishing with the league's second-worst record last year, played before their 17th sellout of this season Saturday at Mellon Arena. The Penguins have sold out all but 10 home games this season. The capacity crowd that watched the showdown between the Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Washington's Alexander Ovechkin, the league's top two scorers, represented the team's 10th sellout in the past 11 home games....

HARRISBURG - The Penguins apparently have cut a deal with public officials to finance an Uptown arena that would keep the team in Pittsburgh, a state senator said Wednesday. "I'm hearing that a deal could be made any day, which makes me suspect it's all about crossing the t's and dotting the i's," said Sen. Wayne Fontana, a Brookline Democrat who serves on the city-county Sports & Exhibition Authority, which would own the arena. "I don't know that there are any major hurdles left. It's all just little things." Fontana said he expects officials to announce a deal today or...

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell says the arena deal that state, city and county officials are putting together for the Pittsburgh Penguins is the best offered to any National Hockey League Team in recent years. "It's also by far the best of any offer made to any Pennsylvania professional sports team for a new stadium," Rendell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as he left a hotel Friday. Rendell stayed in the city overnight after meeting late Thursday with Penguins officials and local politicians to negotiate a new arena deal. No deal was struck, but Rendell aide Chuck Ardo said he...

Penguins owners agreed to meet next week with Gov. Ed Rendell and local leaders to talk about how to pay for an Uptown arena that could keep the team in Pittsburgh, according to a letter they sent Thursday evening. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ronald Burkle warned that "time is of the essence" and said they are "in the process of exploring all of our options." The Penguins' lease at Mellon Arena expires in June, and team officials have said they will consider relocating. "It is essential for the future of this franchise that we negotiate an arena deal that makes...

'Gay' penguin book returns to shelves, at least for now 12/21/2006 9:17 AM By: Associated Press CHARLOTTE -- A picture book about two male penguins that raise an adopted hatchling together is headed back to bookshelves in the Charlotte schools. That is, at least until a school district panel decides the fate of the book, which was banned by Superintendent Peter Gorman. School district administrators admitted Wednesday that a miscommunication caused them to ban the book without following district policy that calls for a formal complaint and review process. "And Tango Makes Three" is based on a true story about...

You didn't have to believe in omens to find it a bit odd that on the subway ride toward Mellon Arena yesterday, "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" seemed to be squawking in a continuous loop. This was right at the top of zero hour, when the long-awaited, viciously anticipated casino licensing issue would finally be decided. Twenty minutes later, the Penguins had begun practice on the NHL's oldest living hockey pond, and at precisely 11:27 a.m., the franchise learned it was indeed getting nothing for Christmas. Oh yeah, mommy and daddy are mad, the NHL is mad, even the Rooneys...

MCMURDO STATION, Antarctica (Reuters) - The first Adelie penguin chicks of the season -- black fluffballs small enough to hold in the hand -- started hatching this month, and the simple fact that there are more of them in the south and fewer of them further north is a sign of global warming, scientists say. Smaller than the more majestic Emperor penguins, the Adelies have some 193 colonies that have a total population of 2.5 million breeding pairs, said researcher David Ainley in a telephone interview from his camp at the penguin rookery at Cape Royds in Antarctica. "We're looking...

It should be the ideal family film for Christmas: the animated adventures of a colony of penguins singing and dancing on the ice floes of Antarctica.But just days ahead of its British release, Happy Feet is struggling to avoid an iceberg of its own, after Right-wing critics accused it of targeting youngsters with anti-mankind messages. Commentators in the United States, where the film opened last month, have labelled the plot – penguins struggling to survive man's wrecking of their ecosystem – as pro-green propaganda hidden in a children's adventure. Fox News presenter Neil Cavuto said: "What I found offensive is...

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Penguins, dog vomit and human sexuality -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: November 21, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Gary DeMar "And Tango Makes Three" is an illustrated children's book about two male penguins that raise a baby penguin. It's based on a true story of two male penguins in New York City's Central Park Zoo that "adopt" a fertilized egg and raise the chick as their own. Some concerned parents see the book as a homosexual propaganda piece and want it removed from the library's regular shelves. A parent would have to consent before his or her child could check out the book....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Evgeni Malkin was cleared to stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins after a federal judge denied a demand by his former Russian club that he be yanked from the NHL. Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a Russian Super League team, claims that Malkin is under contract in his native country. The club sought a preliminary injunction that would have banned the forward from playing for the Penguins until the matter is resolved. But the ruling Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska clears the way for Malkin, a star rookie with Penguins, and minor leaguers Andrei Taratukhin of the...

LOS ANGELES - Sidney Crosby talked before Wednesday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings about the importance of getting big plays that make a difference in games. The big play last night came with 2:17 left in overtime on a power play. Evgeni Malkin, who scored in the first period to tie a modern record with his sixth goal in his first six games, first drew the penalty that put his team on the power play. Then he got a rebound off Sergei Gonchar's one-timer to beat goaltender Dan Cloutier and win the game, 4-3. It was his first...

Evgeni Malkin should have many assists during his NHL career. However, his biggest assist may have come off the ice. Dasha Tusaeva, right, stands with her mother, Natalia. Submitted Photo Malkin, the 20-year-old Penguins rookie, helped facilitate a much-needed surgery for a 6-year-old girl in Magnitogorsk, Russia, in September. Dasha Tusaeva was born without a left arm and her mother, Natalia, hoped she could one day improve her daughter’s life. This year, Natalia found out it was possible for Dasha to get an operation that would allow her to have a prosthetic arm. However, with Dasha’s father paralyzed during a...

As it stands, Cuban won't be fish that saves Pirates or Penguins Some substantial part of a lifetime ago, Mark Cuban found himself standing in this same strange Uptown building, having sneaked inside to watch the filming of "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh," the cinematic airball that, as a finished product, had most people sneaking out. Funny, Cuban doesn't have much luck sneaking around anymore, especially in Pittsburgh. When you grow up in Mt. Lebanon with enough vision and tech savvy to launch Broadcast.com and wind up selling it to Yahoo for $5.7 beellion, when your major decisions tend to...

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - It took Sidney Crosby less than two games to figure out where to find new Pittsburgh Penguins phenom Evgeni Malkin. Crosby broke out of a mini-slump Thursday night with three assists, and defenceman Sergei Gonchar scored Pittsburgh's third power-play goal 3:33 into overtime to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Trailing 3-2 in the third period, Pittsburgh used the tandem of Crosby to Malkin to get even and set the stage for Gonchar. Crosby dug the puck out from behind the net and found Malkin with a...

Evgeni Malkin is recovering from his dislocated shoulder and is palying his first NHL game with the Pittsburgh Penguins right now, as we speak. The game started at 7:30 and it's 0-0 after the first period. Malkin almost scored a goal but it bounced off the post on the goal. In addition, Malkin has won 3 face-offs witha slightly-injured shoulder. Crosby, who was hyped up by the media, has won none. You can watch the game here http://www.comcast.net/sports/nhl/hockeylive/ If it doesn't work at first, allow pop-ups temporarily on the site by right-clicking the blocked pop-up bar at the top of...