28 Quotes by Tom McMillan

We picked Sidney at 4:30 on July 22 and the phones started ringing immediately at 4:31,

There has never been a three-week stretch of season ticket sales like this. Ever.

There has been a backlash against Sidney and frankly, it's amazing to us. He's our leading scorer, he's great in the community and he's there for the media after tough losses. This is not the season we've hoped for, but he has done everything asked of him. Both Mario Lemieux and Wayne Gretzky have said they never faced the kind of pressures he has to deal with at age 18. This can be a cynical sports town and if Sidney wasn't doing his share, believe me, you'd have heard the stories from here, first.

The phones started ringing at 4:31 that day. The reaction was spontaneous combustion,

We are aware of the responsibility to the league as well. This isn't just a Penguin thing.

Even if there is a substantial new investment in the team, Mario Lemieux will continue to be involved in all aspects of the operation.

Think about it. It's a Friday in July in Pittsburgh and it's 4:30. You don't sell season tickets on Friday evenings in July. Our staff said they would stay until the phones stopped ringing. They stayed until midnight.

I've never seen anything quite like it, all the fuss over a guy they had never seen play. But the phone hasn't stopped ringing since.

The similarity is the spontaneity of the unexpected great news. No one expected Mario's comeback announcement, and no one expected us to win the lottery.