Tickets for Penguins’ Stanley Cup games are in high demand in the Steel City. So, scalpers outside Mellon Arena should be rolling in dough, right?

Well, not exactly - thanks to the Internet.

(Iceburgh outside trying to score some primo seats)

The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports how guys selling seats outside the arena are getting scuttled by online ticket brokers like StubHub.

Some scalpers say that sites like StubHub are trying to squash their operations by setting the sales bar too high:

“They’re chasing people away because they [list] astronomical prices,” complains “Joe,” a scalper who prefers not to give his name even though scalping is legal.”People go online and they see those prices,” Joe says. “The walk-up crowd gets deterred from coming out here, because they look at those prices and decide to watch it on TV. They don’t realize that they can get the tickets out here cheaper. There’s reasonably priced tickets out here.”

But StubHub coordinator Daryl Fein says it’s safer for fans to deal with online sources such as his:

“The big thing with us is the guarantee,” Mr. Fein says. “You can’t get that from the guy on the street.”

Once again, the World Wide Web is aiding the extinction of a long-term profession. First, it’s blogs beating a death knell to the newspaper biz. Now, sites like StubHub set their sights on eradicating the time-honored tradition of haggling & hawking outside the stadium for fun & profit.

Where’s Buzz Bissinger when you need him?