MILWAUKEE -- The NBAs board of governors unanimously approved the sale
Thursday of the Milwaukee Bucks to New York investment firm executives
Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry, bringing the forlorn franchise one step
closer to starting a new era.
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Former U.S. senator Herb Kohl reached agreement with them last month for
a price tag of about $550 million after they pledged to keep the team
in Milwaukee. The NBA said Thursday in a statement that the transaction
is expected to close shortly.
The leagues expected approval comes days before the NBA holds its draft
lottery. The Bucks, who had a league-worst 15 wins, have the best odds
to get the No. 1 pick next week for Junes talent-rich draft.
"The Bucks and their fans will benefit greatly from their vast business
experience, energy and strong commitment to Milwaukee," commissioner
Adam Silver said in a statement.
Lasry and Edens committed to providing $100 million to help build a new
arena. Kohl also announced he would donate $100 million for a new
facility to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the teams downtown
home, which opened in 1988.
Edens had said he hoped to get a plan completed for a new arena in a
year, and have it built in a couple of years. He thought it might take
about $400 million to build a new facility, though the new owners might
face a tricky task in seeking public funding if they dont get more
private help.
Kohl bought the Bucks for $18 million in 1985. The Milwaukee native,
whose family owned a chain of department stores, was hailed as a
hometown hero.
Silver praised Kohl for his "unprecedented and historic financial gift
toward the construction of a new Milwaukee arena and for his outstanding
service to the league and his community over his nearly 30-year
tenure."
An injury-plagued season left the Bucks a franchise-worst 15-67. They
have finished above .500 only three times since 2000, though Milwaukee
did make the playoffs in 2012-13. The Bucks were swept in four games by
Miami in the first round.
With new owners and a 25 per cent chance to pick up the No. 1 pick in
the draft, the Bucks face a defining off-season. Even if it doesnt win
the lottery, Milwaukee cannot fall below the fourth pick in a draft
stocked with top prospects, including Dukes Jabari Parker and Kansas
Andrew Wiggins.
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.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los
Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over
four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center.There is a fine line in
sports betweeen age-old experience and just plain old age. Generalyl
speaking in sports, getting older equates to more injuries and greater
recovery time from said injuries. Yet the past two seasons, it was
largely the younger pitchers of the Toronto Blue Jays, Kyle Drabek,
Drew Hutchison and Brandon Morrow who were injured and, last year in
particular, veterans R.A. Dickey and Mark Buehrle who pitched the most
innings.
I dont know if it should concern the Blue Jays or not at this point, but
the two youngest and most economical rotations in their division
belong to the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles.
With the Rays rotation as is right now with Jeremy Hellickson
recuperating from an injury, David Price, Matt Moore, Alex Cobb,
Chris Archer and Jake Odorizzi, the likely fifth starter to start the
season, have a cumulative age of 124. If Hellickson eventully supplants
Odorizzi, the number will move up to 127 years. Without Hellickson, they
will be spending a little over $16.4 million in total on their five-man
rotation and $19.6 million when he returns. Not bad at all for a team
that has been a post-season contender since 2008 and not one of those
pitchers is above 28 years of age.
The Orioles made the post-season two years ago and came fairly close
again last season. Their projected rotation is slightly older and a bit
more expensive than the Rays. The total age of their top-five starters
will be 139 or 140, depending on whether Bud Norris or recently signed
Korean right hander Suk-Min Yoon slots into the rotation. If Norris is
in the rotation, the cash layout is about $20 million. If it is Lee it
drops off a bit to $17 million and change. The oldest pitcher in the Os
rotation is recent signing Ubaldo Jimenez at 30.
The Jays and Boston Red Sox have the most 30-or-over starters at three
apiece. Bostons highest paid starter is also their oldest in
John Lackey, whos 35 and will be making $15.25 million this season. The
BoSox will be paying just over $50 million to their top-five starters.
If Ricky Romero somehow earns the fifth starters job, every one of the
Jays starters will be 29 or over and their cumulative age will be 162.
Thats an average age 32.2 and speaks to how the Blue Jays havent done as
good a job at developing young pitchers, like the St. Louis Cardinals
have, and how their prospects have either been set back by injuries or
have been traded. If Esmil Rogers or Todd Redmond fills the five-slot,
the age of the Jays pitchers will still total 161, good for the oldest
in the division with Bostons starting five totaling 152 years of age or
30.4 on average.
The Jays pay for their starting pitchers if Romero iis in the rotation
will be $50.
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7 million, virtually the same as the Red Sox. Mark Buehrle will be
making the most at $18 million, more than any Boston starter. If Romero
isnt in the rotation, the payout for starters will be about $44
million.
The Yankees, as usual, are in a class all their own. They will be paying
out $77.8 million to their five starters, including about $23 million
each to C.C. Sabathia and rookie Masahiro Tanaka. If Michael Pineda
doesnt rebound after missing two years with shoulder troubles, they
might have to add another veteran starter who would push their cash
outlay even higher. Even with 39-year-old Hiroki Kuroda in their
rotation, the total age of the Yanks current top five is 149 years or an
average of 29.8 years old.
What all this means is hard to say. After all, talent is talent at any
age. But Tampa Bays average age of 24.8 for its staff, just sounds a lot
better than the Jays average age of 32.2 and the Rays record since 2008
speaks for itself.
- Did I miss something here? Roy Halladay signs a one-day contract with
the Blue Jays over the off season, so he could retire officially as a
member of his original ball club. There was all kinds of talk about him
joining the organization, at least initially as a spring training guest
instructor, with the role growing as the years progressed. Then, over
the weekend, Halladay shows up at the Philadelphia Phillies camp as a
guest instructor. Did the Blue Jays fumble the ball or did Halladay
simply feel he owed something to the Phils for his years with that club?
It makes sense in one regard. Roy would certainly know more about the
Phils up and coming young pitchers than he would about the Jays at this
point and, perhaps, felt he could contribute more there. Still, it would
be a shame, if, somehow, the Blue Jays have lost Roy Halladay to the
Phillies again.
- I dont know if this means the wall blocking PED users from making the
Hall of Fame is beginning to crumble, but relations are at least
beginning to thaw. First, the Red Sox announced Roger Clemens would be
inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame this summer and now Barry Bonds
is at the San Francisco Giants camp as a special guest hitting
instructor. Two of the most villified PED users are now being welcomed
back into the fold.
Then over the weekend, ESPNs Buster Olney, one of the great clean-up
hitters in the baseball media whose opinion carries a lot of weight,
wrote an article on the "incongruity" of Barry Bonds not being in
Cooperstown. It may take some time, but clearly, the movement has begun
to include all of baseballs greatest stars in the Hall of Fame, no
matter their sins against the fans and the game.
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