Page 901 of 2956

      Sterling should sell the Clippers, but won’t

      June 9, 2010 /

      I’ve basically ignored this story because it seemed pretty outlandish when I first heard the rumor, but David Geffen indeed tried to buy the Clippers on the promise that he could deliver LeBron. This rumor was supported by Geffen sitting with LeBron’s right hand man, Maverick Carter, at a recent Finals game.

      Unfortunately for the Clippers and their fans, the team is not for sale.

      “Mr. Sterling has never expressed a desire to sell any part of his team,” Clippers President Andy Roeser said in a statement. “Because it is an asset of remarkable value, it’s true that there have been countless inquiries over the years. But the Clippers have never been for sale.”

      Forbes estimated the Cavs value at $476 million (#5 in the league), while the Clippers sat at #23 with a value of $295 million. The Cavs are worth so much more largely because of LeBron James. If he were to switch teams, I wouldn’t be surprised if those two numbers flip-flopped almost instantaneously. The Clippers’ value could even approach the Lakers’ value of $607 million.

      So let’s say your Donald Sterling, and David Geffen is offering to buy 51% of your NBA team, which under your leadership has amassed a pathetic .341 winning percentage and just four playoff appearances in 29 seasons. So you make, say, $150 million (51% x $295 million) with the sale, and then after Geffen lands LeBron, your remaining 49% share of the team jumps in value from $145 million to at least $233 million (49% x $476 million).

      Your net worth has just jumped by $88 million and all you had to do is give up control of something that you have no idea how to run in the first place. (Granted, the Clippers are profitable, but they are not successful.) Once Kobe retires, many of the notoriously frontrunning Laker fans will become Clipper fans, and the value of the franchise will jump even more. You can still sit at half court, only now you’ll be watching LeBron lead a perennial 50+ win team deep into the playoffs every season.

      What’s wrong with that?

      Yes, there’s the little matter of Geffen following through on his promise to land LeBron. So why not make the sale contingent on LeBron’s signing at least a three-year deal by July 10? That way, if Geffen fails to deliver LeBron as promised, there is no harm done. You can keep running the team the way you have.

      Chances are slim that Sterling would be this pragmatic and the press release from Roeser is a great example. The part that gets me — it’s true that there have been countless inquiries over the years — seems incredibly shortsighted, especially considering this offer would add a 25-year-old two-time MVP to the team.

      I feel sorry for Clipper fans. They have stuck by their team despite historic ineptitude, and even though there’s a possibility that the league’s best player would agree to lead the franchise into the next decade provided there is an ownership change, the owner in question refuses to play ball.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Olympic medallist Ruggiero takes offense to Chicago Tribune drawing of Pronger

      June 9, 2010 /

      The Chicago Tribune was trying to get under the skin of Flyers’ defenseman Chris Pronger, but instead ticked off three-time Olympic medallist Angela Ruggiero with its “Chrissy Pronger” photo, which ran in the Tuesday edition of the paper. (The photo shows Pronger wearing a skirt beside a headline that reads, “Chrissy Pronger. Looks like Tarzan, skates like Jane.”)

      From SI.com:

      Chris Pronger Story“I don’t read what you guys write, good or bad,” Pronger said Tuesday. “I really couldn’t care, to be honest with you. I’m worried about playing the game.”

      Others weren’t so dismissive of the poster.

      “I’d like to see that editor out on skates. I’ll take them one-on-one on the ice any day,” three-time Olympic medalist Angela Ruggiero told The Associated Press. “They obviously have never seen women’s hockey and are living in the dark ages.”

      “For her and others who took offense, I apologize. No qualifiers, I’m sorry,” Chicago Tribune sports editor Mike Kellams said in an e-mail. “We were just having a little fun with a guy who has come to personify all that has gotten under the collective skin of Blackhawks fans. Pronger is talented that way. And we were trying to connect to that emotion in a fun way.

      “I grew up in Indiana and came to hockey as an adult. Ruggiero vs. me on the rink would be no contest. I know that from what she and her team did at the Vancouver Olympics.”

      “Some people are still ignorant,” Ruggiero said. “Our sport doesn’t get a lot of exposure, so you have to see us play in the world championships or the Olympics to see what the highest caliber of women’s hockey is.

      “Obviously, it’s offensive. It’s disappointing more than anything. I grew up playing with boys, trained with NHL players. I would go head-to-head with Pronger any day I could.”

      Not to piss Ruggiero off even more than she already is, but I think she’s being a little defensive here. She needs to consider the context of the joke. The Tribune wasn’t taking a shot at women’s hockey or suggesting that it’s not on par with the NHL; it’s taking a shot at Pronger by suggesting he plays like a woman figuring skater. (Hence the women’s figure skater skirt that he’s wearing in the photo.)

      That said, I’m not Ruggiero and I don’t want to qualify what her or anyone else takes offense of. The photo obviously offended her and I thought it was right for the editor to apologize and explain the paper’s intentions. He also did well to put Ruggiero up, while putting himself down in the comment about how a match between those two would be “no contest.”

      Again though, people have to keep in mind the context of things like this. For there to be even a little outrage over this photo (which comes from a Chicago paper, directed at a boisterous Philadelphia player in the middle of the Stanley Cup finals mind you) is kind of absurd in my opinion. We’re way too sensitive as a society.

      External Sports, NHL

      Nebraska leaning towards joining the Big Ten?

      June 9, 2010 /

      As long as the conference doesn’t leave them hanging without an invitation, it appears that Nebraska could be heading to the Big Ten.

      From ESPN.com:

      The source said the school is leaning toward the Big Ten, but an invitation hadn’t yet been extended, and there was no indication when that would occur. The consensus within the athletic department is that Nebraska wouldn’t separate itself from the Big 12 without some assurance that a Big Ten invitation would come, the source said. The Big Ten has set no date for any announcement in the coming weeks, leaving open the possibility that Nebraska could be left in limbo.

      Adding another school would allow the Big Ten to implement a championship game and expand its cable television network. Adding a title game would be exciting for fans of the conference, especially considering the Big Ten usually doesn’t play past the last weekend in November. When other conferences are still getting exposure in December thanks to their title games, the Big Ten is sitting with its thumb up its ass waiting for bowl season to start. It makes sense for them to expand.

      That said, would Nebraska be a good fit? Yeah, probably. From their point of view, they get security (as everyone can see, the Big 12 is ready to fall apart at any moment, where as the Big Ten will stay intact long-term) and added revenue (Big Ten schools bring in $22 million each year thanks in large part to the Big Ten Network). A Nebraska-Iowa rivalry is also intriguing and the Huskers would no doubt bring competition to a conference that sorely lacks it.

      We’ll find out by the end of the week whether or not Nebraska is Big Ten bound or will stay in the Big 12. But as of Wednesday morning, it appears that Ohio State, Iowa and Michigan are going to get some new company.

      College Football, External Sports

      Stephen Strasburg bound for Cooperstown

      June 9, 2010 /

      I’m kidding, I’m kidding! I just wanted to hear the guy’s head explode that always reminds everyone, “It was only one game! It was only one game!” when a young player does well in his first career appearance.

      And actually, Strasburg did more than “well.”

      In his major league debut last night against the Pirates, Stephen Strasburg struck out a franchise record 14 batters over seven innings to pick up his first career victory. His only blemish came in the fourth inning when Delwyn Young took him deep with a two-run dinger to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead. Thanks to Adam Dunn’s two-run dinger in the sixth, the Nationals were able to retake the lead at 3-2, before adding two more runs in the eighth to give them a 5-2 victory.

      Getting back to Strasburg, perhaps the most impressive stat from his debut (besides the 14 Ks, of course) is the fact that he didn’t walk anybody. That’s impressive considering he’s a 21-year-old kid pitching in a packed house for a franchise that has lofty expectations of him. The amount of control he exhibited was also impressive, as he mowed down the Pirates for seven innings.

      Granted, this wasn’t a very dominant lineup he was facing, but so what? He was brilliant and he gave fans a lot to cheer about in his first time out. Who knows where he goes from here, but one thing is for sure: he’s off to a fantastic start.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, MLB

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑