Abe Pollin's Legacy
In a random collision of events, the tales of two N.B.A. owners intersected Tuesday and broadcast a clear message about owning sports teams: above all else, fans really want you to care. If you knew anything about Abe Pollin, it was that he cared about the Washington Wizards. When he died Tuesday at the age of 85, that’s what people talked about. No, the Bullets-turned-Wizards didn’t win all that much, but Pollin tried and he cared and he built an arena that rejuvenated a D.C. neighborhood because he cared about that too.
On the same day, the Nets’ owner, Bruce C. Ratner, won a court battle in his attempt to move his sad-sack team from its dreadful and hated home in the Meadowlands, potentially rejuvenating a Brooklyn neighborhood, and everyone still seemed to hate him. The former Net Kenyon Martin used the occasion to blame all of the team’s woes on his bad decisions, and Ian O’Connor of The Record wrote that Ratner’s failing is caring far more about real estate than basketball. Fittingly, the Nets fell to 0-14 Tuesday night.
Pollin, in contrast, left a far more positive legacy, particularly in the area of the city transformed by the Verizon Center, writes Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post. He helped turn the District of Columbia into a major league sports town, writes Kevin Blackistone of Fanhouse.com. In other circles, he will be remembered for firing Michael Jordan as president of basketball operations, ending his first disastrous attempt at a nonplaying basketball role, but ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande believes that’s a short-sighted view of Pollin’s career.
Now, Pollin’s team will most likely fall to another owner who cares, Ted Leonsis, who bought the Capitals from Pollin in 1999 and has become a civic fixture since. Leonsis has the right of first refusal on the Wizards and the arena as well.
Much of the focus in the N.B.A. has sunk to the bottom of the standings, where everyone is saying, “At least we’re not the Nets!” The Lakers’ Ron Artest actually tried to give the Knicks a boost by criticizing free agents for being “scared” to play in New York. The Warriors actually gave themselves a much-needed boost by beating the Mavericks despite playing with only six players.
The fixation with college football’s failures remained firmly on Notre Dame, as its athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, telegraphed Coach Charlie Weis’s future by saying Weis would not stay in California to recruit after the Irish’s final game on Saturday. Swarbrick also said quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who wore a tinted visor to hide a black eye at practice Tuesday, was the “victim of a sucker punch” outside a local bar and was not involved in a fight. Notre Dame, by the way, is only one of the 10 reasons this season has stunk, offered by Foxsports.com.
Many bad teams, WSJ.com’s David Biderman writes, have recently resorted to begging for their fans’ forgiveness in open letters.
Baseball’s season did not stink (it just took too long), particularly for the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols, who won his third National League Most Valuable Player award with what Foxsports.com’s Jon Paul Morosi believed was his most impressive season. Ted Keith of SI.com believes Pujols is in a class by himself these days, and Brian Burwell of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the art and science of baseball are personified in Pujols. The art and science of a big payday should be ahead for the Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo.com.
There still isn’t any art and very little science to the treatment of concussions in football, writes Ann Killion on SI.com, with a culture in denial in the N.F.L. leading to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s playing again after being knocked out last week. Jason Cole of Yahoo.com believes Roethlisberger could help himself a lot if he would throw to running backs more. The N.F.L. would help its fans a lot if it would abandon its bizarre loyalty to Thanksgiving Day games in Detroit and Dallas, writes Michael Hiestand in USA Today.
If you’d like a few more heartwarming thoughts heading into Thanksgiving, there is the story of the golfer Ken Green, who is resolved to return to competitive golf despite having a leg amputated after a tragic crash this year. And then there is the tale of Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, who told ESPN.com’s John Buccigross that he is gay. And The Toronto Star’s Damien Cox writes that Brian Burke has offered his unwavering love.
And what we learned on Tuesday is, fans admire sports executives who care and let it show.
Follow Leading Off on Twitter: twitter.com/zinsernyt
In a random collision of events, the tales of two N.B.A. owners intersected Tuesday and broadcast a clear message about owning sports teams: above all else, fans really want you to care. If you knew anything about Abe Pollin, it was that he cared about the Washington Wizards. When he died Tuesday at the age of 85, that’s what people talked about. No, the Bullets-turned-Wizards didn’t win all that much, but Pollin tried and he cared and he built an arena that rejuvenated a D.C. neighborhood because he cared about that too.
On the same day, the Nets’ owner, Bruce C. Ratner, won a court battle in his attempt to move his sad-sack team from its dreadful and hated home in the Meadowlands, potentially rejuvenating a Brooklyn neighborhood, and everyone still seemed to hate him. The former Net Kenyon Martin used the occasion to blame all of the team’s woes on his bad decisions, and Ian O’Connor of The Record wrote that Ratner’s failing is caring far more about real estate than basketball. Fittingly, the Nets fell to 0-14 Tuesday night.
Pollin, in contrast, left a far more positive legacy, particularly in the area of the city transformed by the Verizon Center, writes Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post. He helped turn the District of Columbia into a major league sports town, writes Kevin Blackistone of Fanhouse.com. In other circles, he will be remembered for firing Michael Jordan as president of basketball operations, ending his first disastrous attempt at a nonplaying basketball role, but ESPN.com’s J.A. Adande believes that’s a short-sighted view of Pollin’s career.
Now, Pollin’s team will most likely fall to another owner who cares, Ted Leonsis, who bought the Capitals from Pollin in 1999 and has become a civic fixture since. Leonsis has the right of first refusal on the Wizards and the arena as well.
Much of the focus in the N.B.A. has sunk to the bottom of the standings, where everyone is saying, “At least we’re not the Nets!” The Lakers’ Ron Artest actually tried to give the Knicks a boost by criticizing free agents for being “scared” to play in New York. The Warriors actually gave themselves a much-needed boost by beating the Mavericks despite playing with only six players.
The fixation with college football’s failures remained firmly on Notre Dame, as its athletic director, Jack Swarbrick, telegraphed Coach Charlie Weis’s future by saying Weis would not stay in California to recruit after the Irish’s final game on Saturday. Swarbrick also said quarterback Jimmy Clausen, who wore a tinted visor to hide a black eye at practice Tuesday, was the “victim of a sucker punch” outside a local bar and was not involved in a fight. Notre Dame, by the way, is only one of the 10 reasons this season has stunk, offered by Foxsports.com.
Many bad teams, WSJ.com’s David Biderman writes, have recently resorted to begging for their fans’ forgiveness in open letters.
Baseball’s season did not stink (it just took too long), particularly for the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols, who won his third National League Most Valuable Player award with what Foxsports.com’s Jon Paul Morosi believed was his most impressive season. Ted Keith of SI.com believes Pujols is in a class by himself these days, and Brian Burwell of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that the art and science of baseball are personified in Pujols. The art and science of a big payday should be ahead for the Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, writes Tim Brown of Yahoo.com.
There still isn’t any art and very little science to the treatment of concussions in football, writes Ann Killion on SI.com, with a culture in denial in the N.F.L. leading to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s playing again after being knocked out last week. Jason Cole of Yahoo.com believes Roethlisberger could help himself a lot if he would throw to running backs more. The N.F.L. would help its fans a lot if it would abandon its bizarre loyalty to Thanksgiving Day games in Detroit and Dallas, writes Michael Hiestand in USA Today.
If you’d like a few more heartwarming thoughts heading into Thanksgiving, there is the story of the golfer Ken Green, who is resolved to return to competitive golf despite having a leg amputated after a tragic crash this year. And then there is the tale of Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke, who told ESPN.com’s John Buccigross that he is gay. And The Toronto Star’s Damien Cox writes that Brian Burke has offered his unwavering love.
And what we learned on Tuesday is, fans admire sports executives who care and let it show.
Follow Leading Off on Twitter: twitter.com/zinsernyt
Source: New York Times
