I cannot understand why professional sports teams act like needy and poor victims in need of charity.

The Flames are owned by billionaire (yes, with a "b") Murray Edwards. If he wants a sports team, let him spend his money to attract paying members of the public and get off the dole.

I can now hear the appeal to the emotion of Calgarians who, for love of a hockey team, will bend over and get fleeced where it really hurts. Get rid of the emotion. Edwards did not get rich by paying for projects that did not pay. And he should be ashamed to twist the public into a knot over possibly losing a local team to add more pennies to his already bloated piggy bank.