So when this whole thing first went down I was told, and relayed to you, that the city was extremely optimistic regarding their ability to come up with the additional $75 million. Since that time they have grown increasingly pessimistic and tomorow my hunch is they are going to pull the plug.
One of the most difficult aspects of this whole process has been managing peoples expectations and the constant ups and downs. This is one of those times. How do we go from "this is absolutely critical!" to "We still have another chance?"
There is no answer to how or why, we simply have to do it. This is one of those times. We have had this lawsuit in our back pocket for a long time and it remains the trump card. Believe me the league is begining to sweat things and they have documentary discovery deadlines coming up soon that are extremely problematic.
I don't know where exactly this leaves us. I can tell you that the Griffen/Ballmer group has to continue to put on a game face and be prepared to walk away. That is great when they are working with Frank Chopp or the Governor but it is hard on us as fans. They want to help save this team. They want to help the community and I don't think they are turning their back on us. We can't lose hope if they walk away from the table. They still have their phones on and the city is committed.
The Mayor has simply been a rock. he deserves a ton of credit for being resolute and his office confirmed again their commitment to not accepting a cash settlement. They are going to take this to trial.
There is some very intriguing conversation begining to occur around the league that could result in a resolution. Again the powers that be are sweating this trial. I really don't think they ever anticipated the potential that the mayor would not blink and the best chance to see a brokered solution is probably about 3 weeks from now.
Don't give up now. Nothing we didn't all expect for the last several days...