The Pomp And Joe Show
Mario Lemieux returns to PPG Paints Arena, a trip inside Starkey's mailbag
17 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: Why was Mario Lemieux at the Penguins game?
Bob, do you stay in touch with Jory Rand? Occasionally through text, you know. Just check in, see how he's doing. Same thing with me, but he lives on a different coast. He's a nice man, isn't he? I find myself texting him at hours that he should be sleeping and vice versa. Yeah, Jory's a good dude. Has three kids now, doing well. Remember how mad Tomlin used to get at him?
yep i do remember when jury ripped the mario statue when it first was unveiled on unveiling day and that became a huge thing i remember that too it was so funny he was under intense heat because he was the only guy uh who had the guts to say i don't think this is a great statue the penguins were mad everybody was mad you guys must have got a lot of hate mail did you
Well, a lot of Penguin fans absolutely didn't like that comment. I kind of appreciated it. It took me a while to get to that point, but when you see him splitting defenses all over the place, that's one of the things that made him special. It's a very meticulous piece of art. It's incredible, but I will always admit that when they first unveiled it, I was there.
that day when they pulled the cover off it. And my first words were, where is Mario? And that's never a good thing when it's a statue. But I think upon further viewings, it's a wonderful piece of art. It really is. It's a testimony to what he did. He just would go through people. And he was there last night, Bob. Do you think what's happening with the Penguins' ownership situation?
And do you think Mario will be involved with the new owner or owners? If there are new owners. I think there will be. I think that's going to go through. This is strictly guesswork, but if I were the Hoffman group, that group that's reportedly going to buy this, I would do everything in my power to have him back involved. Everything.
And I think he would be willing to do it because it's a new ownership group. And if they reach out to him, why wouldn't you do that? I mean, it sure is a different vibe. It's a mistake the Fenway group made. And a good vibe to see him in the building, isn't it? It just, that needs to be. And now he's a grandfather and many times over, so he understands how precious all this stuff is, I think.
Does his son Austin still golf, Bob? Yeah, I know he's really good. I don't know how good he can be. Is he better than you? Way better than you? He's better than Mario. He's better than, you know, he can hit the ball a ton. Wow. And he's won some local events. Righty or lefty? Righty. Is he better than Ben? Yes. I mean, I think he's an upper echelon guy who can compete on local tours and win.
I don't know how far he's going to get in this because it takes an awful lot, man. You've got to be shooting 65 every time you're out there, no matter what the event, no matter what the yardage. But he's going to give it a good go, I think, or has. I don't know exactly. I haven't talked to him in a while, so I have no idea where he is in this. Are you friends with Andrew Stocke, Bob? Yes.
Is there a little bit of a personal rivalry as well? No. No. Okay. Why? I just wanted to check. Out of the blue, that comes out. No, Andrew and I, we once rode in a celebrity harness race. Celebrity harness race? Yeah, down in the meadows. Can you further elaborate that? It was Albie Ochsenreiter, me, and Andrew. Talk about coming out of nowhere.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Mario Lemieux's potential ownership involvement?
No, not once. Didn't know it existed. Well, Dave Pallone, if you ever want a guy, that dude is the most decorated harness racer there is. He's from here. He's at the Meadows all the time, setting records over and over. Just got involved in the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Really good person. He's a really good golfer, Joe. You'd like him for that reason.
But, man, he's got all the records in the world of harness race. I'll tell you what. The power of a horse in flight. Oh, my God. Limits, you would be blown away by that. Well, literally, I would be blown away. I'd be off the horse and flying about 15 feet in the air. You would, Bob. I don't know if Limits could hold the harness. He might be broken in half in a harness racing event.
You know what, though? That is strenuous as well. Very strenuous. One false move there, you could be in a bad accident. Yeah, we would have to strap limits in like he was in a roller coaster ride, right? With the little handles and a bar, wouldn't you? Yeah, I would say the same for me.
Bob, they would have to make me look like the Michelin Man with the amount of protection on me that they would need. Pillows, a helmet. Bob, would you like to go through the old mailbag with me today? Sure, that's a very popular thing you do. Yes, it is. I'm sure you got some interesting questions. No, it's intergalactically red too, Bob. I'm sure it is. Yeah, Ron still reads.
Do you think Ron reads or listens to anything that happens in Pittsburgh sports, Bob? Yes. Do you really? Do you limit? I don't think so. Very, very occasionally. Do you think he stayed up for the whole game the other night? Yes. Absolutely not. No chance. What do you think, Limits? No, no chance.
Well, I remember when Ron called in for the one-year anniversary earlier this year of his retirement. Maybe we should do that again for his two-year anniversary. That he says that he does not listen to the show. And he really doesn't consume much at all. He's a man of routine, Bob. Oh, I know that. And I know he goes to bed early every night. He wakes up early.
I don't think he's making Steelers, Dolphins a special occasion to stay up for. As a retired person, I think you can do that because you control what you do next. He may have worried about a deadline here and had to get up and run. He doesn't have that worry anymore. Telephone, Bob. That could be Ron. Who's calling? It is. Hi, Chelsea. I'm on the air. I'll call you back. That's okay.
Everything good, Bob? Yeah, she's good. Are you good, Chelsea? Kids are good. Everybody's good. Okay. I'm glad to hear that. Whenever my daughter calls, the first thing I say is I immediately pick up the phone in a panic and say, are you okay? I don't even say hello. Well, that's the first thing I ā anytime you ā especially when they're young kids. Yeah.
You know, the age of, you know, like Kevin here or Austin. Maybe not Austin. He's older. What are you now? 24. Okay, you're old. Thanks. When they're your kids and they're teenagers driving. Yeah. And you tell them, I mean, that ā Yes, that's exactly what's happening. You will never get over that feeling of when they're not like back at a certain time.
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