Mario Lemieux's agent Tom Reich, responding to a column
Tuesday by Al Strachan of the Toronto Sun, said that Lemieux
"won't be resuming his playing career anytime soon, if
ever," according to Dave Molinari of the PITTSBURGH POST-
GAZETTE. Reich: "I'll never say never ... but he isn't
going to be playing any hockey" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE,
5/27). In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont writes that Penguins
co-Owner Roger Marino called the story "baloney," but would
not comment on any specifics of Lemieux's contract. Marino
also declined comment on the legal action that Lemieux has
taken in the last two weeks "aimed at getting the money he
says Marino owes him" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/27). On Tuesday,
Strachan cited sources who said the Penguins "owe Lemieux
$35[M] U.S. -- money which he earned during his career but
which he agreed to take on a deferred basis." Another
source said that Lemieux's deals "were personal-service
deals" with Penguins co-Owner Howard Baldwin, who was
running the team at the time, and added that "there was
always a lot of secrecy about them" (TORONTO SUN, 5/26).
