Only a day after we posted a reminder about the unsettled situation with ownership of the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise, the situation's unresolved status became further highlighted.

Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reported on his blog that investor Jeff Greene has dropped his bid to buy into the Lightning franchise:

"After careful due diligence and a thorough analysis of the terms and economics of the deal, we have determined that this investment does not meet our criteria,’’ Greene said. "At Florida Sunshine Investments, we are presented diverse investment opportunities here in Florida, throughout the United States and around the world. We looked at the investment in the Lightning like we look at any other potential investments, and after doing our final analysis, the numbers did not work for us."

Damian Cristodero, reporting for the St. Petersburg Times, reminds us (and clarifies a bit) that Anthony Sansone Jr. is still out there as a potential ownership candidate:

The ball now seems to have bounced to St. Louis real estate investor Anthony Sansone Jr., who,  basically, had taken over Barrie's bid to buy the team after Barrie in August walked away from his exclusive window to buy the team. Sansone has not made any statements recently. His last communication in late September was his "passion" for the project remained strong.

There is a gag order in place so no comments have been made by Oren Koules, Len Barrie, former Lightning owners (and sale financiers) Palace Sports and Entertainment and the league regarding the situation besides ambiguous comments and non-comments.