CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Mario Lemieux is an intensely private man. Has been since he arrived here as a teenager in 1984. Probably was long before that, too.
But put him alongside his longtime co-owner with the Penguins, Ron Burkle, and Lemieux comes across as a world-class extrovert, a veritable social gadfly.
Burkle is as reclusive, at least when it comes to maintaining a public profile, as he is wealthy. And he is very wealthy.
It's unclear at the moment whether he will maintain a minority interest in the franchise if the proposed sale to Fenway Sports Group goes through.
What couldn't be more apparent, though, is the impact he's had on the Penguins during the two-plus decades he's partnered with Lemieux.
Lemieux was ridiculously gifted as a player and, not surprisingly, quite well-to-do, financially, by almost any measure.
Except maybe the measure of people who own major-league sports teams.
Lemieux gave the franchise total credibility when he was awarded it out of bankruptcy in 1999, but adding Burkle to his ownership group gave the Penguins the financial support needed to establish and operate a first-class organization.
During Burkle's tenure, the Penguins have consistently spent to the salary-cap ceiling, invested heavily in scouting and player development and provided players and coaches with amenities and considerations that helped to make Pittsburgh an attractive destination for free agents and others.
There's no reason to believe that will change if John Henry's group acquires the franchise -- the Fenway Group has even greater resources than Burkle -- but Burkle made it possible to set a high standard for how the Penguins are run.
He never sought recognition for his contributions -- Lemieux and other team executives had to lobby Burkle hard after the Penguins' Cup run in 2017 to submit to a one-of-a-kind, in-depth interview so that he could get credit for his role -- but no one should ever overlook his impact.
Without Burkle, the last three Cup banners raised at PPG Paints Arena might never have gone up. And perhaps there wouldn't even be an NHL franchise here.
MORE PENGUINS
• Jim Rutherford has moved back to North Carolina, but remains interested in securing a position with another club after abruptly resigning as GM of the Penguins in January. A person close to him said that while Rutherford, who has steadfastly refused to explain his decision to step down, has "had some opportunities" to work elsewhere, he hasn't received any that convinced him to accept. At least some of that reluctance, the source said, appears to be that Rutherford believes it will be "hard to duplicate" the positive experience he had with the Penguins. -- Molinari
• People inside the organization believe one of the major benefits of the proposed sale will be the opportunity to exchange marketing ideas and possibly even engage in some cross-promotion with Liverpool Football and the Boston Red Sox, both owned by Fenway Sports Group. If the latter comes to fruition, the Penguins should bring Liverpool goal-scoring machine Mo Salah to town. Not to oversee a ceremonial pregame faceoff or wave to the crowd from a luxury suite, but to take part in the pregame soccer ball-kicking warmups that take place in an alcove outside the Penguins' locker room at PPG Paints Arena. Perhaps he could pick up a pointer or two that would come in handy at the next Champions League game or Merseyside derby. And maybe Salah could even hang around long enough to score a power-play goal or two. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• COVID-19 has obviously been in the news of late, particularly regarding the Steelers. The Steelers are nearly 100 percent vaccinated but not completely so. To the best of my knowledge, there is at least one player who is not vaccinated, though I'm not going to out that player because I'm not 100 percent certain of his status. For the league, 94 percent of players are vaccinated. But there obviously remain some high-profile players who are not, including Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Jackson missed his second consecutive day of practice for the Ravens Thursday with what was termed a "non-COVID illness." Any little sniffle is going to mean Jackson can't be with the team because of his vaccination status. With all four teams in the AFC North separated by just a game in the win column heading down the stretch, Jackson's vaccination status could be a major factor. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• When Mike Tomlin said earlier this week that he wouldn't rule out T.J. Watt for Sunday's game in Los Angeles because of knee and hip injuries, many rolled their eyes. It seemed like pure hyperbole. But Tomlin has long believed that extraordinary athletes such as Watt don't adhere to the typical healing timetables of others. For example, I can recall having a conversation with Tomlin in 2012 after Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs suffered an Achilles' tendon injury that many assumed would end his season. Tomlin, however, wasn't about to write Suggs off, saying that great athletes aren't built or wired like everyone else. That's why he never counts out premiere guys when they get hurt. And, as we saw recently with Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, who made it back in four weeks from a fractured finger that was supposed to sideline him for six to eight weeks. There is some truth to Tomlin's belief. Don't be surprised if Watt doesn't wind up being a game-time decision or at least listed as questionable on Friday with a final determination coming out Saturday one way or the other. -- Lolley
• Much has been made of Ben Roethlisberger getting rid of the football quickly with a low average depth of target. Some have even put it on the quarterback, saying the short passes are because that's all the farther he can throw the ball. But the stats from last week's game against the Lions tell a different story. Roethlisberger is getting the ball out of his hands in 2.38 seconds this season, the quickest in the NFL and only slightly higher than the 2.3 seconds he got rid of it last season, which also led the NFL. Mason Rudolph got rid of the ball in 2.39 seconds in his spot start. Roethlisberger has an intended air yard average -- his average depth of throw -- of 6.8 yards downfield. That's tied with Kirk Cousins for third-lowest in the league. Rudolph was at 6.5 yards last week. Roethlisberger's percentage of aggressive throws is at 18.4 percent this season, which is actually one of the higher percentages in the NFL. Rudolph was at 18 percent. Now, the Steelers said they didn't change the game plan at all last week, and with Roethlisberger being ruled out Saturday afternoon, that did leave less than 12 hours to tweak things -- with no practices involved. So that's true. But looking at those numbers, you have to say that the short passing game with the occasional deep shot is offensive coordinator Matt Canada's game plan, not because it's simply what Roethlisberger wants to do. -- Lolley
• Warren Sapp had a little back-and-forth on social media after Sapp retweeted a photo of the Football Night in America promo that featured Cam Heyward and Justin Herbert. "Who's #97?" Sapp tweeted. In later replies, Sapp asked, "How many sacks he got bro?" Heyward saw the tweets and responded simply, "Bet." But before you lose your minds regarding that, ask yourself who was on the Tampa Bay coaching staff when Sapp was with the Bucs? When Sapp made his comment about the Steelers in 2011, saying the defense was "old and slow," I later learned that was done with some prodding from Tomlin. He wanted Sapp, then a panelist on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" to prod his defense a bit. With the potential for Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden to all be missing this week, it might be that Tomlin called in a favor from an old friend to prod Heyward a little, as well. Every little bit of ammunition helps. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• I wrote about the different types of goggles players sometimes wore while batting or taking outfield practice at the “Get Better At Baseball” camp, but there were a handful of drills and quirks I hadn’t seen in spring training or other instructional camps before. Players would take some batting practice swings one-handed with a fungo bat, on a cushion to maintain balance or taking a step from the outside of corner of the batter’s box to the inside while starting their swing (I assume this is a weight balance drill). Not everyone does each drill, and in fact some were done by just one particular player in my time down here. The point of this camp was to get better, and while there was some fungo and traditional BP, they weren’t afraid to experiment. -- Alex Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• Henry Davis didn’t get to do a lot of catching with Class High-A Greensboro before an oblique injury ended his season, but he did get a couple sessions with 2020 competitive balance first-rounder Carmen Mlodzinski. “That’s a dude that when he’s on the mound, he’s the ultimate competitor, winner,” Davis told me. “He’s a lot of fun to just sit back there and dominate.” Davis' oblique is "100%" healed now, in case you were worried. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• Some quick impressions of some lower-profile players in camp: Alexander Mojica has some serious pop at just 19. He’s a bigger kid and probably profiles better at first base, but he made a couple nice snags at the hot corner. Don’t put too much stock into his mediocre season stats in Class Low-A Bradenton. That was a big jump for him. Fifth-round draft pick Jackson Glenn was a deep, deep underslot guy, but I like the swing and was struck by his maturity in my chat with him. That was a very top-heavy draft class, but he might be a sleeper. Endy Rodriguez doesn’t look like a catcher at all. He's really athletic and can move. I understand why John Baker told me earlier this year why he believes Rodriguez could get playing time at other positions, including even second base, next season. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• It sounds as if the Pirates’ coaching search is finally going to wrap up sooner rather than later. Between the prospect roster decisions being due Friday and this, it could be a busy week for Pirates news. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.
• As I reported earlier this week, Yoshi Tsutsugo is interested in a one-year, prove it deal. He’s turning 30 next week, so if he does have a big year, he would be positioned for a nice payday next offseason. The Pirates were at one point, and perhaps still are, interested in a multi-year contract with him, but I don’t see that happening. It’s still interesting they have that much faith in him after just a seven-week stretch. They’ve liked him since he was playing in Japan, and with no guaranteed contracts or money on the books for the 2022 (outside of Gregory Polanco’s $3 million option buyout) or 2023 teams, a low-salary multi-deal is hardly a risk. I’m predicting a deal does happen because the Pirates want to keep him, and Tsutsugo wants to repay their faith in him, but it will have to be a one-year pact. -- Stumpf in Bradenton, Fla.