Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 2, 1993 TAG: 9303020072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From Associated Press reports
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
LEMIEUX MAY PLAY TONIGHT
Mario Lemieux will play tonight in Philadelphia if there are no complications earlier in the day from his final radiation treatment for Hodgkin's disease, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced Monday.Lemieux will undergo the last of two low-dose radiation procedures at a Pittsburgh hospital, then fly to Philadelphia hours before the game. He completed four weeks of full-dose therapy last Friday.
The NHL scoring leader until a week ago, Lemieux hasn't played since Jan. 2, six days before learning he had cancer in one lymph node. Lemieux missed two games with a chronic back problem before the Hodgkin's disease was diagnosed.
The return of the acknowledged premier player in hockey - and the sport's highest-paid player - couldn't come at a better time for the Penguins, who are 2-5-1 in their past eight games.
Lemieux, 27, apparently has had few of the normal side effects - fatigue, nausea and loss of appetite - of radiation. He resumed skating only a week after starting his therapy and has practiced as many as four times a week.
\ EXPANSION COMPLETE: Welcome to the NHL, Mighty Ducks and Florida Whatevers.
The NHL added two new teams on Monday when new commissioner Gary Bettman announced that Anaheim and South Florida will begin play next season.
Walt Disney Company chairman and chief executive officer Michael Eisner, and Wayne Huizenga, CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., said their franchises would be set to begin play in the NHL's 77th season. It will be the third straight season the league has expanded, bringing NHL membership to 26 teams.
San Jose joined the league for the 1991-92 season, while Tampa Bay and Ottawa came in this season.
"I am thrilled to welcome the fans of Anaheim and South Florida to the NHL family for the 1993-94 season," Bettman said.
He also said having a team named Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - after a 1992 Disney movie - was fine.
"I believe there was a team called the Ducks on Long Island [in the Eastern Hockey League] once, so Ducks is not unheard of, and Anaheim is where they play," Bettman said.
Disney's franchise recently reached an agreement for a lease with the new arena in Anaheim.
The unnamed Florida team hired Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke on Monday as vice president and general manager. Clarke, 43, gave up his job as senior vice president of the Philadelphia Flyers. He also had served as general manager of the Flyers and of the Minnesota North Stars after his 15-year career as a player with the Flyers.
"My family and I love Philadelphia and the Flyers," Clarke said. "But I have to work, and I wanted to manage, and that job wasn't in Philadelphia."