Is It All About the Money?

Yesterday started like a normal day.  I had an appointment to get something fixed with my car then I went to visit my grandfather, who is in the hospital.  It was this visit that really got me thinking…

I was wearing my Penguins Sykora shirt that I bought a few weeks ago and everyone was commenting on it.  They kept asking me what I thought would happen tonight (last night) during the Penguins game.  Would they win?  Would the series go 5 or 6?  Would they lose intentionally to bring the game back to Pittsburgh so that we can make more money?  …….. HUH?

I’m an optomistic type and I normally only think the best about things.  It shouldn’t have, but the question took me by surprise.  My though was ‘how can anyone in the Eastern Conference Finals blow a game and risk not going to the Stanley Cup Finals?’  Being a hockey player myself, I couldn’t believe that the players would risk it to give Pittsburgh a ’shot in the arm.’

Sure, winning the game last night would have given the Penguins the sweep and would have deprived Pittsburgh and the Penguins of millions of dollars in revenue.  It also would have given the Penguins a couple of extra days to rest before the next series… which is going to be a tough one for either Eastern Conference team.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of throwing the game.  This is a brainstormed list and includes any possible pros and cons I could think of.  Pros will be in green while cons will be in red.

Good and Bad of Losing Intentionally
Economic boost for Pittsburgh
Economic boost for Penguins
No sweep of Philadelphia
Less days to recover before Stanley Cup series
Unethical process
Increased risk of not making it to Stanley Cup series
Loss of respect from fans
Chance to win in front of home crowd

Now, I’m not saying that the Penguins threw the game last night.  I’m not saying the game was fixed.  I refuse to believe that, even for an economic boost.  All I’m saying is that everywhere I went yesterday, people were talking about how they would like the Penguins to sweep the series but it isn’t going to happen because they want more money for Pittsburgh.

Knowing the outcome of the game was a 4-2 (with the empty net) loss to Philadelphia, what do you think?  Was this a loss from the beginning or did the Penguins just come out flat?  Was it a blown chance to get some recovery days or just a chance to win in front of a home crowd?  Sound off in the comment section!