SFGiants58 14,557 Posted September 23, 2020 Wasn’t it a Yakuza group that founded the Bolts? Also, we have to take into account the early ‘80s Cavs for worst-run organizations. The NBA had to enforce changes to trading rules because owner Ted Stepien traded away five consecutive years’ worth of first-round draft picks. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
See Red 2,152 Posted September 23, 2020 1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said: Wasn’t it a Yakuza group that founded the Bolts? Also, we have to take into account the early ‘80s Cavs for worst-run organizations. The NBA had to enforce changes to trading rules because owner Ted Stepien traded away five consecutive years’ worth of first-round draft picks. I'm not sure if the Yakuza association has been confirmed. It was all really suspicious, though. I don't remember all of the specifics but they were supposed to get funding from the Pritzker Group (Hyatt Hotels) but they backed out a few months before the franchise was awarded to Phil Esposito's group. They sought to replace Pritzker's $50m and a relatively small Japanese golf resort company named Kosukai Green paid the franchise fees and basically forced the rest of the ownership out. At some point it was revealed they were owned by Takashi Okubo, which surprised everyone. And also, he may or may not exist. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the admiral 29,074 Posted September 23, 2020 Vinik was aided by being able to buy the Lightning and some real estate adjacent to the arena at fire-sale prices. The guy who bought the Stars just agreed to pay off Hicks's debt. It's the next best thing to inheriting a franchise like Rocky Wirtz did. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
See Red 2,152 Posted September 23, 2020 10 minutes ago, the admiral said: Vinik was aided by being able to buy the Lightning and some real estate adjacent to the arena at fire-sale prices. The guy who bought the Stars just agreed to pay off Hicks's debt. It's the next best thing to inheriting a franchise like Rocky Wirtz did. The extent of my knowledge of Vinik buying the team was from a recent Athletic article where he said he didn't know how to spend the billions he made from his hedge fund so he googled "how to buy a pro sports team." He actually considered buying the Stars but didn't see himself fitting in with Cuban and Jones personality-wise. The guy's a great owner, though, and has been great for the local community as well. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the admiral 29,074 Posted September 23, 2020 Interesting kicker there that draws contrast with the Panthers and their lack of civic engagement. What community does Broward County have that doesn't have the word "gated" in front of it? 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GDAWG 1,830 Posted September 23, 2020 44 minutes ago, See Red said: The extent of my knowledge of Vinik buying the team was from a recent Athletic article where he said he didn't know how to spend the billions he made from his hedge fund so he googled "how to buy a pro sports team." He actually considered buying the Stars but didn't see himself fitting in with Cuban and Jones personality-wise. The guy's a great owner, though, and has been great for the local community as well. The Stars Current owner Tom Gaglardi is nothing like Cuban and Jones. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tp49 1,115 Posted September 23, 2020 10 hours ago, Ridleylash said: The New York Knicks. Also, the New York Jets. You forgot the New York Mets. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridleylash 4,189 Posted September 24, 2020 2 minutes ago, tp49 said: You forgot the New York Mets. The Mets are an entirely different scale of Wilponery. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sodboy13 5,763 Posted February 16 Well, the Coyotes are making the news again, so it's time to bump the ol' thread! Katie Strang of The Athletic went deep on the current suspect state of operations, and here are some highlights: - Alex Meruelo tried to buy the Hawks from Atlanta Spirit in 2011, but got turned away by the NBA because of questions about the legitimacy of his finances. (I add this in because it's a very long thread we have, and it's good to include little callbacks like this one for the sake of continuity.) - Under Meruelo, vendors working with the team are being asked to "work with them," which means they either need to accept less payment than the team agreed to in their contract, or the team starts threatening to bring out its big expensive scary lawyers. - Ownership refused to expense pizza for the players during an overtime playoff game in the Edmonton bubble. - Alex Meruelo's son, Alex Meruelo Jr., has a front office job as a "strategic advisor of business and hockey operations," despite having never been involved in the operation of hockey at any level in his life. Meruelo Jr. has commanded influence in managing player development, but he also has a very short attention span and doesn't want to bother learning anything, so he spends the day watching YouTube videos in his office while also expecting people to follow his orders. - Meruelo and his cohorts have built a business environment that demands loyalty and secrecy under threat of termination, which is probably why it was so easy for Katie Strang to get all this stuff to leak out. - The new GM, Bill Armstrong, is both an ideal lackey and bumbling bully. - The ownership may be under investigation for workplace sexual harassment, inaccurate financial reporting, and misappropriation of league funds. - If this sounds like another casino owner's business operations to you, congratulations on being conscious at some point in the last 5 years. 11 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the admiral 29,074 Posted February 16 The Coyotes' bumbling failures made it so that NHL revenue sharing went from a formula to Gary Bettman asking "okay, how much ya need." The Coyotes' mere existence is a misappropriation of league funds. The NHL could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if they had just let Chipman and Thomson buy the old Jets back in 2010 or 2011. Somehow, every post-receivership ownership group this team has had has been even dumber than the last one. I didn't think they could downgrade from Andrew Barroway running out of money and having hockey's answer to Nathan Fielder GM the team, but look! they did! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RyanMcD29 860 Posted February 16 Man it's been 7 and a half years since the Tom Goes to the Mayor city council meeting and yet here we are, the Coyotes still managing to one up themselves 6 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
monkeypower 3,108 Posted February 16 46 minutes ago, the admiral said: The NHL could have saved everyone a lot of trouble if they had just let Chipman and Thomson buy the old Jets back in 2010 or 2011. Is that Jim Balsille's music? 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DG_ThenNowForever 16,701 Posted February 16 26 minutes ago, RyanMcD29 said: Man it's been 7 and a half years since the Tom Goes to the Mayor city council meeting and yet here we are, the Coyotes still managing to one up themselves If Seattle had picked up the Coyotes way can then, there's no doubt in my mind we'd have the Sonics by now too. The Coyotes are a cancer. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sodboy13 5,763 Posted February 16 12 minutes ago, monkeypower said: Is that Jim Balsille's music? Jim Balsillie's music: Chiptune that approximates the theme from "The Sopranos" Quebec Nordiques music: Something mind-blowingly racist, but it's in French, so most people outside the province don't notice Hartford Whalers music: BAH BAH BAH BUH-BUH-BUH-BUH NOPE 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LMU 7,759 Posted February 16 Move them to Houston already. Leave the Johnny Rockets for the NBA Rockets. It’s fate. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SFGiants58 14,557 Posted February 16 Contract the Coyotes. It is the only way to make sure the demon is truly dead. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the admiral 29,074 Posted February 16 31 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said: Contract the Coyotes. It is the only way to make sure the demon is truly dead. This seems extreme, but a fresh start all the way up to dispersal and expansion drafts might be the only way to get Coyote Stink off the organization. It would allow for some more Jets retconning, too. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mcj882000 1,077 Posted February 16 Just pull a 1983 Blues - fold the team outright and reestablish it under a new owner, giving them all of the old team's players and IP in the process 5 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the admiral 29,074 Posted February 16 I forgot all about that! The NHL's answer to the Boston Celtics "technically" "becoming" the Los Angeles Clippers. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
schlim 775 Posted February 16 The latest Forbes ranking of NHL team values has the Coyotes dead last at $285 million. The NHL can fold the franchise (or buy it out, whatever legally has to be done) then sell an expansion franchise in the neighborhood of Seattle's $650 million and turn a healthy profit to cover some of the losses of the pandemic. Hockey gains a (hopefully) better market, the Player's Union doesn't lose any jobs, and Bettman and the NHL gets to wash away one of its biggest mistakes under the no-fault guise of 'the pandemic' and everybody is happy, except Quebec City, because you know they'll never get an expansion team. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
