Fun Friday: What Sports Team Would You Buy If You Could?

Comments (Archived):

1. Worked for two venture capitalists who owned an IPL cricket team. I had a lot of fun working and consulting with that sports team. Can only imagine the fun owning a sports team must be!But in answer to your question – Manchester United of course 😉

   1. Who are those vc’s if I can ask you ? I want to work for them , being a true cricket player myself

2. I would buy the Grizzlies and bring them back to Vancouver. Or buy the Thunder and bring them back to Seattle.It’s sad when a team leaves the city they were born in. I was heartbroken when the Sonics got sold. They were what got me hooked on the NBA when I moved as a teenager to Seattle in 1978.

   1. maybe ballmer will move the clips to seattle

      1. Yeah!!!! Can he change the name back to Sonics?

         1. possibly

            1. I thought I saw Ballmer’s answer on possibly moving Clips to Seattle – he thought it would be “value destructive”. Maybe true. But seems like more recently, the value of the team has shifted not just from where you are located but to what stars you have. See OKC w/ Durant or the increase in value of the Heat when LBJ signed.

            2. I would take whatever he says as not meaning much. He may feel it’s value destructive or he may simply not want to mix the pr battle (if any) of moving a team with the purchase. And muck things up.After he buys it, and assuming no restrictions contractually, he is free to spin this another way and do what he wants.Point being why indicate his preference upfront?I would think though that other owners would be ok with a team moving if simply because it creates a wider market of potential buyers for a team.

      2. Ballmer will move the Clips to Seattle and new ownership will move the Bucks to LA (understand there is a no move clause but one can dream)

   2. I’d buy the Sacto. Kings and move the Royals back to Cincinnati. I’d buy the Braves and move them back to…Milwaukee and send the Brewers to ATL. I guess I’m showing my age and transient childhood.

      1. I think sports teams shouldn’t be allowed to move to another city.

         1. It’s painful for fans, but they have to go where they can make the most money. Cities change. Talk to a Brooklyn Dodger or NY Giant fan from the fifties.

            1. They become part of the city’s soul- it is painful to lose a team when that happens.

            2. Yup, but it happens. The aforementioned baseball teams, but the St. Louis Rams have had two or three homes. Boston Braves to Atlanta. Oakland A’s started in Philly, then KC, then Oakland. New Orleans Jazz, I mean Utah Jazz. Probably the worst was the Baltimore Colts leaving. The movie Diner shows the fanaticism of the old Colts fans.

3. If I was up for a real challenge maybe I’d buy the Detroit Lions…

   1. yesssss. tyler likes the lions, right?

   2. Hey now, the Lions have great fans (we even came to games when we had to put paper bags over our heads), a modern stadium and top talent. We’ve come a long way the last few years. You could do a lot worse these days.

      1. They do have great fans! My little brother is a big fan, so I said I’d buy them only out of support for trying to get them to be division champs or maybe even Super Bowl champs. Who owns them now that Ford died?

         1. The next Ford.

4. The Mighty Red Machine — Liverpool Football Club

5. New York Rangers! But again, Dolan would never sell

   1. Good luck in the Cup. Hope you play the BlackHawks. Original 6 babeee

   2. we want the cup, we want the cup

      1. I will root for NY unless the BlackHawks are there. They dug themselves a pretty big hole.

         1. My now father-in-law feels the same way. I hope the hawks pull it out.

            1. Game 6 tonight. Me too. Want to see a Game 7 in the Chi-hear the anthem and watch them hit. I know it’s a bit ethnocentric, but the Blackhawks have the best jersey in all of sport.

6. Kinda cool the only reason you can’t buy the Knicks is they’re not for sale and not that $billion + price

   1. Agreed – it’s the Augusta factor. The hurdle is not the price tag, it’s the invitation.Also – what Walla are you?

7. Easy. Real Madrid. Largest sport market in the world

8. I don’t think any single person should own a sports club… But maybe I’m just too German for that discussion 😉

9. The New Jersey Devils

10. LA, meet your new mascot, Clippy…..the $2 billion price tag is absurd, looks like Sterling is getting the last laugh here.

    1. .The pricing on this deal is so absurd I suspect owners everywhere are focus grouping racist comments.Could be wrong.JLM.

       1. lol

       2. The pricing on this deal is so absurd I suspect owners everywhere are focus grouping racist comments.I don’t think it’s absurd at all. In no way. Ballmer is in his fifties and has billions. He is buying the team because he wants the team, independent of whether it will be worth anything at the point Ballmer dies or wants to sell. Only one of those events is certain anyway.Further, I suspect that the current group of owners can’t contain their glee as a result of this transaction. Which has no doubt, and with no uncertainty, increased the perceived value of their assets. Imagine if you had negotiated last week to buy another team at a much lesser value. But the papers hadn’t been signed yet. What’s the chance of that deal getting done at the previously agreed to price? Honor schmoner. Not going to happen.All the sudden ballmer’s social proof has shown that the value of a franchise is way more than it previously was. Same way we have all sorts of wealthy people spending money on all sorts of things that they didn’t do 30 years ago.Ballmer has plenty of money and even if he only had 3 billion and spent 2 billion of it on a team makes plenty of sense in my mind.People spend money on many things that have no payback or asset value. What is the investment potential of taking a vacation or having a vacation home vs. renting?What is the purpose of money other than to spend it on something that your brain says will make you happy? [1] (Regardless of whether it will or not that doesn’t even matter it’s what you think it will do).[1] Which could be charity of course if that is what makes you happy.

          1. Makes me glad Microsoft got rid of Ballmer. I.e., from the $2 billion, he looks a bit weak between the ears.Or, as you noted some days ago, there have been, uh, frustratingly many bugs in Microsoft’s software. And now I’ve been held up too long mud wrestling with DLLs — IIS and ASP.NET like my DLL but a console application does not. I’ve been throwing guesses at the wall every way, underhand, backspin, linedrive, etc., trying to get something to stick. Why? Because the documentation is clear as mud. I really CAN read; Microsoft really CAN’T write.Maybe without Ballmer, Microsoft will find some people who know how to do technical writing (hint: see a good freshman physics book or a moderately advanced applied math book, nearly any one on the shelves since nearly all of them are A+ at technical writing basics where Microsoft fails) and get the bugs, especially the absurd security bugs, OUT of the software.Security and OS bugs? Sure: Going back to Multics and CP67/CMS and to VM/CMS and more, the standard has long been clear: Be able to run any user mode software at all, literally ANYTHING that even in principle could exist, safely. Nothing less.And of course CP67 and VM can run literally any operating system software that can be written, safely. At one time IBM had VM running on VM, …, seven levels deep.CP67 was written at IBM’s Cambridge Scientific Center as a tool for writing operating systems on a time-sharing system. When I was writing PL/I code to schedule the fleet at FedEx, I used CP67, and I had my own copy of the operating system CMS and started it with the command IPL or ‘initial program load’ which otherwise was a red button on the real hardware. VM really worked. Windows can’t run a Web browser add-on safely, e.g., Flash which long was not not safe.Multics was designed to permit time-sharing of several users, all safely. So, no user code could hurt either the operating system or other users. All this is quite doable.Last I noticed, Ballmer was worth ballpark $8 billion; his $2 for that team seems a bit much.Ballmer is making Bill, Melinda, and Warren look really good, and there I suspect a lot of the credit goes to Melinda and her K-12 teachers.

          2. .I rarely disagree with you but I find myself when confronted with value propositions often saying — when in doubt do without.There is a special kind of stupid associated with parting with that much potential for good works for a bunch of millionaires.JLM.

             1. What do you mean by this though “special kind of stupid associated with parting with that much potential for good works” ?

       3. “The pricing on this deal is so absurd I suspect owners everywhere are focus grouping racist comments.” – Love it!

       4. The largest line item on the Balance Sheet of Sports team is “EGO.” We can’t begin to understand the value of that intangible asset.Any rich person can own a private jet. Only 30 can own an NBA team and only two can own an NBA team in Los Angeles.

          1. The question is at what point does buying something for your ego turn into a problem because people will view you as a schmuck?In other words paying a bit more, maybe even 20% more, keeps the ego intact. But paying a vastly greater sum is a different.Consequently I think there is something else (as I have mentioned) going on here. I don’t think you pay that price simply because you are motivated primarily by ego. Because in order to have ego involved there has to be a sense that you have at least attempted to play a fair game. And overpaying at this level (from what groupthink is saying) is not a way to feel good about yourself.Of course if you shift the time period a bit, and depending on whether Ballmer is ok with deferred gratification and waiting, then we enter into “last laugh” territory. If team prices go up as a result of this (which they will it’s only a matter of how much) then 5 or 10 years from now Ballmer no longer has to worry about being labeled a schmuck anymore.If I haven’t made it clear in my other comments Ballmer has vaulted way up in my ranking system for doing this. And although I am not willing to forgive him for being part of the Microsoft “war crimes machine” (OS pain and suffering) I really admire him spending money in a way that (he thinks) will make him happy. More people should do that (if they have the money that is..)

             1. @LE:disqus Balmer doesn’t mind being viewed as a schmuck. The evidence is clear: https://www.youtube.com/wat… 🙂

          2. .Very keen insight.Well played.JLM.

       5. I suspect owners everywhere are focus grouping racist comments.I wonder if the bidding “runners up” are doing any research and intel on Balmer in order to potentially derail this deal.Imagine if someone was able to turn up some kind of video or written proof of Ballmer being racially insensitive at any point in his career.Essentially almost impossible for me to believe that any of the other people who own teams haven’t done or said similar things to what Sterling has done. (Cuban all but almost admitted the same but it didn’t get much media play for some reason.)http://www.nydailynews.com/…http://www.dallasnews.com/s…”Black kid in a hoodie” comment:http://www.usatoday.com/sto…

       6. priceless!

    2. It’s not what the team is worth but rather what you’re willing to pay. Let’s be honest, Ballmer will still die a rich man. Also it’s important to note that in our history sport franchises only went up in price and therefore I can assume the clippers in 20 years will be worth 8 billion. (Pretty good investment)

       1. They are like housing prices…. good investments that always go up until they don’t.

       2. Agree. There are only so many NBA teams and ability to say you own one is worth a lot to some. And Ballmer loves basketball. Plus, $2B is reportedly only about 10% of his net worth.

    3. Would love your rationale on why the price is so absurd. Any you seen any good analysis done?

    4. perhaps Sterling was operating a strategy when he said what he said?

    5. Really too bad what happened.If you didn’t hear, Ballmer’s wire transfer to buy the Clippers froze. He tried Ctrl+Alt+Del but IE popped up and the money went to Nigeria instead. He’s on hold with tech support, which experts estimate gives Oprah a solid six hours to swoop in and steal the deal.

11. If the Clips are worth $2B, what are the Knicks worth? Have friends that own teams. If I owned one, it’ would have to be an iconic team. We have them in Chicago. I hate to say it, but if I was going to be a pro football owner I’d probably want to own the Green Bay Packers. As a Bears fan, that is tough to type.

12. The Yankees……and give you a box so you’d have to go. 🙂

13. Definitely, no doubt, right away, the Swedish Bikini Team!

    1. Haha, brilliant. If they’re not available try the Brazilian volleyball team.I’d buy the US track&field team; athletics is more my sport than football/baseball/soccer.If it’s a soccer team then, obviously, Brazil’s 1970 World-Cup winning one.

       1. Don’t misunderstand: In part I’m trying to keep down the OpEx, that is, the cost of the team uniforms!Why Sweden? My father’s family was from England, and my mother’s, from Germany. So, after the US and likely Canada, I’m partial to the northern parts of western Europe, e.g., France, Germany, the Baltic states, the British Isles, and the Scandinavian countries.Ah, for a second choice, I’d buy the Dallas Cowboys, trade the players, and keep the cheerleaders!Below Tracey Jackson wants to extend the definition of a ‘team’, and in that case I’d buy the Bolshoi Ballet and keep the ballerinas and let the rest go! Hmm, wonder if they could still do a good version of ‘Coppalia’?

          1. Very considerate about costume material costs! Haha.By your basis then, I’d buy the entire male US & Australian swimming, diving and gymnastics teams.

             1. Oh, how meek, shy, and demure of you? Whatever happened to sweet, secondary, submissive, subordinate, subservient? “Gone with the wind!” My dad lied to me? Gee, I’m being teased! Ah, I probably deserve it! Better than being ignored!And much better than high school where I assumed that if I said anything to any of the girls my age I would have gotten back “Say even one more word to me, even ‘Hi’, and I will call the police and accuse you of harassing me.”. Some of those girls pretty but not very friendly!Now if my family had had a 60 foot yacht and I’d had a new Corvette, situation might have been better? Yet, I knew a family where the sons did grow up that way, and their marriages were train wrecks before they finished decorating their first houses, a little $25,000 dining room table here, a BMW 7 Series there, some $25,000 Saturday clothes shopping trips now and then, some little boat trips for $2000 in Diesel fuel, each, a few times a month.Actually, maybe less than a Corvette could have worked! I teased a girl in 7th grade; she invited me to a party in her backyard in the 9th grade and wore some sheer, floral, pastel thing tied up with satin ribbons and bows, totally drop dead gorgeous, and in the 12th grade when in trig class I won a shootout at the board against the best student in the school (except maybe in trig class, and I beat him by a little on the Math SAT) and word traveled fast in the halls, she walked up, stood close, looked up, smiled, and said, “I heard what you did in trig class”. Dumb me; total nerd; brain-dead; she was a pretty girl, and really nice, and that was a chance; “How about we share a chocolate soda at the drug store across the street? I’ll meet you at the west entrance after school and walk you home?”. I didn’t. I’d waited five years for that and missed it when it arrived!But, what the heck was I to do? I mean, the first time she’d said anything to me for three years was when I’d blown away the best student in school in a shootout at the board; that was my only shootout; so, even though I was batting 1000, that wasn’t a lot of opportunities for chocolate soda invitations.Earlier today I finally did actually look at the full ballet of ‘Coppélia’, that is, instead of just listening to the music. I still don’t know the libretto, but with that ballet, why care?There is a terrific performance at:http://www.youtube.com/watc…from Australia. Gee, they’ve got more than just mining, beer, and a lot of big, rugged, wild kitty cats!Yup, both the girls and the music are gorgeous. Super fun stuff. Half the population dreams of having their very own ‘Coppélia’ doll!No, watching the thing, of course the ballerinas are the total stars of the show, but actually for some of the scenes couldn’t do a good job with only the ballerinas. Soooooo, my favorite team can’t be just the ballerinas doing ‘Coppélia’, at least not all of it. Besides, the costumes for that ballet stand to be much more expensive than for bikinis!

14. The Yankees

15. No question I’d buy the Phillies. Just to hang out at the ballpark and take a few swings.Also, I’ll chip in $5 and a suitcase to help you buy the Knicks to ship Melo off.

    1. not the Eagles or the Sixers?you are a baseball fan, first and foremost?

       1. Baseball first, yes.I love the Eagles, but I wouldn’t want to be a part of the macho NFL culture as an owner – though business-wise it would make a lot more sense than baseball.And I’d only buy the Sixers if I had a time machine and could own them when Dr J played. Or AI, too. That would’ve been amazing.

          1. the answer. i love him. a hoya.”practice, we talking about practice?”

             1. Same.Yes, Wilt and Dr J are the greatest “Sixers” ever, but AI was and always will be my favorite player. Pound for pound the toughest and quickest to play the game. I think I broke my ankles a few times just watching his crossover. Wicked. #3

             2. AI was a perennial loser, just like Melo. Both great scorers, neither winners.

             3. He’s a winner in my book.See 2000-2001 season. Single handedly lead a team of nobody’s to the finals and battled the Lakers who at the time had the greatest coach of all-time (Phil Jackson) and two of the top 20 players of all-time in the NBA with Shaq and Kobe.Does he have a ring, nope, you’re right. But he’s got 100x heart than many who do. I call that a winner.

             4. i am siding with Kirk in this beef

             5. That’s cause AI is a Hoya!!!

             6. and because i watched him play the game.

             7. One guy can’t do it by himself. Unless he’s Michael Jordan. But even he had Pippen, and a pretty good team around him.

             8. LOL Pippen was mediocre at best. I coulda avged 12 with Jordan on floor with me

             9. He could play D. Luc Longley did average about 12 a game I think. So you probably could have too!

             10. Agree. I watched those games and he was fantastic.

             11. Oh and this PAINS me beyond belief as Buster can attest… BUT… to refute your Melo isn’t a winner, he single-handedly strapped Syracuse on his back in 2003 to win the National Title.Ugh, that hurt saying that. I hate Melo.

             12. that experience taught him a lesson that has proven to be his downfall in the NBAyou cannot do that in the NBAAI triedMelo triedPatrick triedWilt tried

             13. If any thread is up my alley, it’s this one.(I’m going to run numbers on this later, but my first gut is that any anecdotal labeling of someone being a “winner” is somewhat ridiculous. AI never had even an average supporting cast. Seriously, name the best player who played with him on the Sixers for his entire run. Derrick Coleman? Add to that a revolving door of coaches, a handcheck league that still about a decade away from really protecting it’s stars..yeah. AI is underrated by everyone, if anything.)

             14. Pistol Pete Maravich tried….

             15. Pistol Pete!!! Smoooooth. Troubled soul though sadly.

             16. A single player can much more easily dominate and win at the college level. Melo cert is a prime example. An athlete’s legacy should be based on his performance/success over time, not in a single year. The great ones are great cause they did it time and time again (Russell, Kareem, MJ).

             17. You compare players with great supporting casts to players with none…

             18. True, but the diff is those players would have been great on any team. Yeah, they likely wouldn’t have won as many rings (if any) surrounded by mediocrity, but their teams would have consistently won and been contenders. Conjecture, yes, but not a tremendous leap of faith.AI played for the Sixers for 12 seasons. His cumulative winning % during that period was .476. You can say his teams sucked for a few years, but it’s hard to dismiss an entire 12-yr run.Yes, AI was a phenom scorer, but clearly not a winner.

             19. The pride of Scranton PA – Gerry McNamara also played a huge part in the national championship. 6 three pointers in first half in the title game!

             20. .Selfish players.JLM.

             21. Saw the Sixers in their first appearance at Chicago Stadium when Doc J entered the NBA from the ABA. He took the ball on a breakaway from half court-whole place rose to their feet to see him slam-and out of nowhere Mickey Johnson blocked the dunk. It was electric, and awesome.

             22. I read that Wilt had quite a few dates back in the day.

          2. I dunno. I think you got to go Iggs. a) Philly is and will always be a football town above all else, b) Eagles are only team without a modern championship. Best chance to be the true hometown hero .. esp. since Lurie is really a Boston guy

             1. I remember when Lurie bought the team the thought was he had overpayed for it at the time.

          3. “but I wouldn’t want to be a part of the macho NFL culture as an owner”I would rather own the Eagles since they only play 12 games a year.Speaking of Philly sports you must know about the Don Tollefson saga:http://philadelphia.cbsloca…

             1. Hadn’t heard about Tolly, no. Sad for all involved.

    2. If you want to teach a kid about statistics, there is no better sport than baseball. Negative Correlation Coefficient = Phillies and Mets performance year after year.

    3. First order of business is changing that terrible logo. Must have been designed by the same shop that did the Nittany Lions.

16. I would buy the Eagles. I was in the city the night the Phillies won the championship it was insane and dangerous . I would love to see the reaction of people if the Eagles won. It would be a lot bigger and wilder. I also would not make stupid decisions such as trading our star receiver. Yes he is a mini Terrell Owens but last time the Eagles were in the Super Bowl TO was the only one who really stepped it up . But that’s a discussion for another day 🙂

17. $2B is crazy. There’s a huge disparity in market valuations created by major market teams’ ability to monetize the asset via local media rights opps. Yankees started the trend w/ YES Network.I too am a big Jets, Knicks and Mets fan, the latter two led arguably by the worst team ownership in their respective sport. James Dolan and Jeff Wilpon, rich offspring playing w/ toys.I also believe in the GB Packers ownership model. Let the fans literally own a piece of the team, even if it’s mostly symbolic. If you think about it, the fans already have emotional ownership. Sell a million shares to fans, the community effect would be exponential.

    1. Have you ever been to Lambeau for a game? You should-and then go to a Bears-Pack game in Chicago. It’s a great rivalry. Big city vs Backwater. Sausage vs Cheese.

       1. Never been to Lambeau, would def welcome the opp. Def big on “old school” venues rich w/ history. Been to Wrigley and Fenway both a bunch of times. Got a picture of me somewhere shot in the “old” Yankee Stadium making a call to the bullpen from the team’s dugout phone.

          1. If you get the chance, go see a game at Lambeau, especially while Rodgers is QBing.

       2. Sausage v sausage.Green bay is a strange place. I went to the Lions/Packers game on New Years Day a few years ago. After parking in someones backyard I was invited into their garage to stand around a heater and drink beer. Very welcoming fans. That cold is no joke.

          1. You betcha! It’s why they have fish boils and drink “cherry bounce” up der dontcha know.

    2. Great big city vs. small city analysis here by Nate Silver: http://fivethirtyeight.com/…

18. I’d get the Jets. Just because Gary V would be an “emotional buyer” and I could flip them to him at any price.

19. Liverpool FC, You’ll never walk alone. At least we have good ownership now, with a real chance of winning the EPL.

    1. YNWA 🙂

20. My poor, beloved New York Islanders. One, because of course, I live and die with them and anyone who admits that in public can’t possibly be lying about it. Two, it’s because it would be impossible for me to be any more inept, insane and backwards than the crew of owners/management outfits that have controlled that team for the last 20 years. It literally reads like a “who’s who” of atrocious ownership. If you’re not an Islander fan (or hockey fan) you couldn’t make up all of the nonsense that’s gone on, both in public and behind the scenes.And you can imagine how nauseating this Ranger run is for me right now.

    1. i feel your pain. i really do.

    2. there is something about hockey that makes it enjoyable to absolutely detest other regional teams. i hate the devils (i hate them), but boy do i hate the islanders and the flyers. can’t stand them. In football I am a Jets fan, but don’t mind the Giants. In Baseball I am a Yankees fan, but think the Mets are pretty ok. But the Islanders?! light the torches.

       1. oh trust me, the hate is mutual. i despise the rangers with the fury of a thousand suns. 😉 although even i have to give them their props. they’re playing fantastic hockey and they’ve gotten hot at the right time.I think it’s a couple of things. Obviously the physical nature of the sport stirs up more passion, hatred. (maybe too much.) The proximity and amount of times they play each other relative to their schedule is another thing. The Mets and Yanks only play each other a couple of times a year which is nothing in a 162 game schedule. Jets-Giants play each other in preseason and maybe once every what, three years? So you just don’t get the same level of energy and intensity. Basketball, I’m not sure why the Nets-Knicks rivalry isn’t crazier. I’m really only a casual basketball fan and just started watching the Nets again since they’ve moved to BK (and since they’ll be arena-mates with the isles next year). Maybe now that they both are in NYC, things will get more intense between them and the Knicks. But basketball also doesn’t have the same level of physicality as a sport. So I’m not sure if it will ever reach the craziness of an isles-rangers, habs-bruins, flyers-penguins etc.

          1. Thinking a bit more about it, the way the divisions are structured is quite relevant. I hate boston sports, but since the Bruins aren’t in the same division as the blueshirts, I don’t really care about the Bruins or hate them nearly as much as I hate the Patriots (hate them) and that baseball team that boston has, oh i don’t like them one bit. all division rivals. direct competitors to get to the next round of the playoffs and the teams that can and do END your season.

          2. On the plus side whoever comes out of the west is going to thrash the Rangers. The Kings will beat them in 4 or 5 games. The Hawks will take 5 or 6.The pacific is the best division in hockey and no one on the east coast notices because the games don’t start until 10:30 PM

             1. I think so too. Both CHI and LA have the kind of experience the NYR are lacking, plus more depth up front. The Kings are also big up front, which can cause NYR problems. The mitigating factor is still Lundqvist though. He is capable of stealing games.

             2. Henrik is their best hope.The Rangers were 6-8 vs the Pacific and 8-5-1 vs the Central.The Kings were 11-4-1 against the Metropolitan, Chicago was 10-4-2 against the Met.

             3. Apples to oranges. those numbers are not relevant in a stanley cup finals.

             4. @BlairMacGregor:disqusTo be dramatic, that’s what everyone said about the Russians in 1980. Rangers have heart and are on fire right now. Blueshirts need to score the first goal in at least 3 games; it’s like steroids for Lundy and I think he’s good for one regardless.

             5. Single elimination is a whole different thing. If that soviet team played that US team 10 times the Soviets would win 9 of them.

             6. That’s a fact. And the example I used was quite dramatic. really hope the hawks kings series goes to 7…

             7. It is possible but seem unlikely. The Hawks were luck to pull out game 5 in 2OT. Their only other win came when they were rested and the Kings had played a game 7 against a really physical Ducks team 36 hours earlier and then had to travel halfway across the country.

    3. Remember those Mike Bossy teams. Wow, they were good.

       1. 4 consecutive cups…..

          1. and then came Gretzky. Had a stats prof at UChicago run every single stat there was for almost every sport. Gretzky and only Gretzky was +4 standard deviations away from the mean as he related to other players in his sport. Jordan, Babe Ruth, Chamberlain were +3 Std Dev. away, and within the bell curve.

             1. no shit. interesting. i’ve heard that his peripheral vision was/is freakish in that he can see more than 180 degrees. Maybe that was the edge that took him to the 4th SD.

    4. Would you bring back the fish stick guy logo?http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3…

       1. No way, no how! That logo is a scourge on all that is good in this world. Although I will confess to liking the wave jerseys w/the primary logo that they wore for a year in the late 90’s before they reverted back to the old colors. http://www.sportsjerseypedi…The funny thing is they’ve never released any “vintage” fisherman logo gear through Mitchell and Ness or any other suppliers. If they did, it would probably sell like crazy. The Ducks finally re-released gear with the old Mighty Ducks logo (plus that purple/teal-ish color scheme) this year and made a killing off of it. People really love throwback sports logos/gears, no matter how ugly or how little it might have sold at the time.

    5. As a proud islander myself, I don’t want to add to the pain. But it will get worse when they play in Barclay’s, with the rink not centered in the arena but pushed up against the far wall. An original approach to making a very bad situation visibly, embarrassingly, worse. From the wonderful people who brought you the train wreck that is now CA, we also have the New York Islanders..

       1. I went to the pre-season game last September at Barclays against the Devils. The majority of the seats are perfectly fine for hockey, albeit steep; not dissimilar from the other new buildings out there. There will be some obstructed seats since the arena was built primarily for basketball. But there are badly obstructed seats both at MSG and other buildings around the country. Certainly, I’ll miss the intimacy of the Coliseum and the great sightlines. But I think it’ll be fine to watch games at Barclays, so long as they spend the money necessary to ice a competitive team.

21. Manchester United.I like to think I will someday. Blame it on my youth! 😉

22. Great One!In the emotion of our first stanley cup appearance in 20 years…..THE NEW YORK RANGERS. I’m in love w the blueshirts these days. We want the cup!

23. I would buy the Clips on the cheap after Ballmer implements his ‘vision’.Then do the same John Henry of Fenway Sports Group did with Liverpool FC.

24. Yanks in my wildest dreams. A good AAA minor league team. I always enjoy the smaller stadiums and being closer to the field.

25. A S Roma, the eternal team of the eternal cityHopefully one day they will win the CL

26. Please note, when Forbes published this they didn’t say ‘the worst performing CEO’, but “the worst”. The absolute worst.https://twitter.com/vruz/st…

27. Steelers. Always been my #1 dream in life.Comparably speaking, probably the hardest of all of the NFL franchises due to the the amount of capital it would take and the length of time it’s been in the Rooney family.

28. I would buy one of the NASCAR teams and INDY CAR teams. Penske Racing, Gibbs Racing, DEI Incorporated.

29. I would buy Bergdrorf Goodman. A team of sorts. But my husband would like to own the Giants, so I guess that is who we would end up with. Maybe it’s called Fantasy Friday this week.

    1. Ha. So funny.

    2. .As a guy whose wife has made a serious stab at it, I think she would JV the deal with you. Could be wrong.JLM.

       1. We would need some extra help no doubt. But then if one of us is declared insane…well, we can worry about that when the time comes.

    3. I like your plan. If you buy it, can I have a discount on the clothes?

       1. .No, but you can have free clothes.JLM.

          1. Yay!

       2. I would make you General Manager. And you can have whatever you want.

          1. Tracey, if you think I can add value in any way …. 😀

             1. Will take note…:)

          2. So game!

30. .Texas Longhorns or Tar Heels.I recognize there are those who will feel compelled to suggest these are not “professional” sports teams but I beg to differ.They just don’t currently pay their players very much, no?So, Hook ‘Em, Heels!JLM.

    1. I think they pay their players as much as the pros at those two schools already don’t they?

       1. .Well…uh…um…maybe?SMU used to even after they got caught. Then Gov Clements said: “Hey, a deal is a deal, ya’ll!”JLM.

31. Which sport has the network effect that is a Mr.Wilson(Fred’s) mantra for investing…I would look purchase some soccer clubs in the fledgling Afro Asian Soccer league that will be formed in the next 15 -20 years. High speed broadband enabled smartphones will be the medium for many to watch games live and there shall be some decent profits to be had.

    1. If you don’t want to wait 15-20 years I reckon the cricket IPL probably comes the closest.

       1. IPL is trading at a ridiculous multiple…

32. Easy – Red Bull Racing. If there ever was a sports epitome of a techno-centric startup it is them: they built a strong team where many with more experience, automotive history and deeper pockets failed and it’s brings me so much joy to see them succeed.

33. .I would buy the Rockettes. The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and I would have them give the Christmas show all summer long.I would also want to be 25 years old and get to “know” every single one of them.JLM.

    1. I may join you on this one

       1. .You start at one end, me at the other. It could have happened when I was 25.JLM.

    2. ewwwww..the thought..guys..dancers are professionals!

34. I’m a bigger football fan but I’d have to take on the challenge of turning things around for the Mets. Plenty of good young pitchers to build around and payroll flexibility. Gotta get playoff baseball back in Queens

35. .I would like to own the Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers, the Army Special Forces — yes I know they are technically not “sports” teams but if one squints their eyes just so…I would travel the world “smoting” persons. I would smote those MFers in Africa who kidnapped those girls. I would smote them so bad, their Mommas would not recognize them.I would come calling at 3:00 AM with nothing but vintage Fairbairn-Sykes lovelies sharpened to a shaving edge and harvest them like cabbage heads. I would be done smoting by dawn and disappear.If you were a bad guy anywhere in the world, I would come smote you.The Devil would wake up every morning fearing who was on the list to be “smoted” that day and he should be worried because sooner or later he gets smoted also.Can you imagine how much better the world would be after a couple months of unfettered smoting?JLM.

    1. ha. to smote is to live. i am sure you’ve seen this already, but just in case: http://online.wsj.com/artic…

       1. .Big news in Austin where I live. He is the real deal.The basic values of spec ops units is a great metaphor for life. The elegant simplicity of their execution of difficult things.It is only the quality of the vision and training that makes them “special” but when you are focused on how you make your bed in the morning as a core value, the complicated stuff is very easy.McRaven is a national treasure.Compare his reception to the barbed wire enema Obama got at West Point. Less than 20% of the audience, including the cadets, rose to greet their C in C.That is inappropriate military protocol. Whenever a senior officer walks into any gathering, an officer rises out of military courtesy and discipline. I would have risen to attention and anyone in my unit who did not would have felt my wrath.The military disrespected him to the freakin’ max. It is actually sad.The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Dempsey, spoke at the VMI commencement and he got a bangup reception.It is a commentary on the respect the military has for our C in C.JLM

          1. it is sad. thanks for sharing.

          2. I love that he started his speech with …. (i paraphrase poorly here) ” I remember few things from my graduation day..i do remember i had my serious girl friend with me who is now my wife… it is important to remember that”I thought that was first class. Here is one of the most trained, accomplished fighter and leader, one who spends his days with some of the most dangerous men alive. In the midst of all this he hasn’t forgotten the value of relationships and the tenderness it requires.A national treasure indeed – fully agree as an austinite, McCombs alumni and a recently naturalized immigrant. This is what makes our country great and continues to attract the dreamers, doers, poets and scientists from all over the world.

          3. It is a commentary on the respect the military has for our C in C. Inexcusable. You serve the country not the man. I bet there have been numerous soldiers in history who wanted to sit when any number of past C in C’s entered a room but discipline and honor dictates that you stand your ass up.This makes me question the condition of our military more than the respect they have for our C in C. If you can’t drill such a basic thing into your people as respect the chain of command, what can you actually teach/train them to do?

             1. .I agree more with you than you do with yourself.Unfortunately, Pres Obama has never comfortably worn the mantle of C in C. He does not really know how to command.He has also put a woefully inadequate Sec of Def in charge. Sec Hagel is a putz.When I read Pres Obama “negotiated” with his Generals as to the troop and force level in A’stan, I realized how weak his sense of the chain of command is.Regardless of whether you “like” Pres Obama, he is the C in C. Being C in C does not require “like” as part of the equation.If you do not like a decision or policy, you request permission to place before the C in C an alternate view or policy or plan. I did just this on a multitude of occasions. I got a fair hearing and sometimes the CO modified the plan and sometimes he told me to STFU as the “plan” was the plan.I saluted and made the plan work to the best of my ability. When briefing the plan to my guys, I never gave a whiff I had ever not agree with the plan. Ever.That is the way it is supposed to work.If you can’t do that, then go get another job because that is the way the military is supposed to work. Sec Gates had it right in his book.In the McCrystle incident, as an example, I would have busted McCrystle to Colonel and discharged him. I would not have met with him, discussed it with him — I would have had his ass and nothing more. Any General stupid enough to invite a Rolling Stone reporter inside his command is a complete total a’hole. It is a special kind of stupid. The result speak for themselves.JLM.

             2. .One more word as to the issue of training — all of this is driven by the military’s perception that Iraq and A’stan will end up in the loss column.The military does not agree with the notion of announcing to the Taliban when the war is over.When the T’ban return from the French Rivera — great tans, rested, armed, full of mischief — A’stan will wish it were a banana republic if for no other reason than the nutritional value of bananas. It is going to be a modern bloodbath-narco state destruction of Biblical proportions.The military is beside themselves with anger perhaps rightfully so.JLM.

             3. > all of this is driven by the military’s perception that Iraq and A’stan will end up in the loss column.What the heck else? We should have expected something else? As far as I can tell, the guy who had the best grasp on how to run Iraq was, right, Saddam. To get along with him, i.e., have him behave well enough for our interests, we should have made him an up close and personal “offer he couldn’t refuse”. Otherwise, let him run the place. For Akrapistan, something similar. There actually are people who know how to run that place; it appears that maybe for now they are on vacation in the south of France. Okay, with them do much the same as with Saddam.But what Bush 43, Cheney, Rummy, Wolfie, etc. had in mind — just pointless flushing away for no good reason a lot of great US blood and treasure.McCain? Apparently so far he has never seen an opportunity to fire a gun he didn’t want to pass up; I can’t imagine that McCain would have done better in Iraq or Akrapistan.For what we’ve spent, NPV, on Iraq and Akrapistan, we could have built a 3 BR, 1 1/2 bath, two car garage, etc. house for every man in the place or some such.At this point, my main hope is that we will have left enough ‘assets’ in place to protect our interests, but I doubt we will.

             4. .The fundamental problem is A’stan is a barbaric, shit house, narco-kleptocracy from the top down starting with Karzai and his corrupt family.You cannot build anything on a cracked foundation.There is a reason why A’stan is called The Graveyard of EmpiresThe US has now paid full tuition for the learning.All wars are stupid but particularly ones in which we “rebuild” a shitty culture into a different “shitty” culture. Not a better one, just a different one.JLM.

             5. > barbaric, shit house, narco-kleptocracySuch high praise from such faint damnation!We should’a known; plenty of people told us. We should have seen it before we stepped in it and should have smelled it before we saw it.Besides, we have a good, learning example close at home, Detroit!

          4. > Compare his reception to the barbed wire enema Obama got at West Point. Less than 20% of the audience, including the cadets, rose to greet their C in C.Wow. I hadn’t known that.

    2. Ahh I always thought your were Keyser Soze!

    3. They would be ‘smitten’ with your team

    4. Can you imagine how much better the world would be after a couple months of unfettered smoting?Yes…and then it gets way worse when the power corrupts, and it inevitably will, because the law of power is as veracious as the laws of energy. So in the end, we’d have to send them for you.

       1. .Actually I would just retire after a few years of smoting. I have an excellent sense of timing particularly as it relates to smoting.JLM.

          1. Smote away. I’ve thought of it myself but so far have deferred; if you do, then I won’t have to!Do a good job: Use the jaw bone of an ass, a 50 caliber rifle with laser and computer aiming, drones, etc., or better.Definitely a “target rich environment” out there, so many such deserving dirt bags. Darwin’s a really busy guy and could use a lot of good help!

    5. I would lie if I said that I’ve never had similar thoughts 😀 This will solve most pertinent world problems in no time: hunger etc. 🙂

36. C’mon, you already know the answer to that. The deal is already in the works. 🙂 J!-E!-T!-S!

37. Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins (anyone from Title Town.)

    1. Title town…. light the torches. I’d smote beantown if i could. full of beans.

38. A team of Synchronized swimmers, though not sure from where. All those Esther Williams glam bathing suits. I’d design the swim caps, natch, and have rh teach me all the moves. Maybe call Norma Kamali for new swim suits. Source awesome vintage ones.

    1. LA has a synchronized swimming team

39. Detroit Tigers. I have loved that team since I was a kid.

    1. How close to downtown is the stadium?

40. Buy Low Sell High with the New York Metropolitans. Id crowdsource highschool and college talent scouting and hold a half dozen data hackathons a year to optimize everything.

41. Nottingham Forest Football Club, and then sell it to the fans, on a one share per fan basis. It was once upon a time a football club incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (until 1982), run by a committee elected by the membership (the season ticket holders). It was a similar structure to that still used by amongst others Real Madrid CF, and FC Barcelona, and FC Bayern Munchen (although Munchen does have a minority corporate shareholder block).The club will celebrate its 150th year in 2015.One can but dream.

42. Boston Red Sox for sure. Don’t know why as baseball games take too long and therefore are nowhere near as exciting and “physical” as many of the other professional sports. But there is something about going to Fenway…But if either NCAA basketball was considered a team or F1 was considered a team I would scoop them up in that order!What dreams are made of.

43. The math gets interesting on valuations if a good chunk is a loan from a bank (given Paul Allen net worth).

44. The Chicago Fire. I don’t love soccer, but as far as sports goes, that’s where I’d invest my money considering its growth trajectory. And Chicago sports fans are ravenous customers, seemingly even more so if the team is on a decades long losing streak (good to know you’ll still be selling tickets and jerseys even when shit hits the fan). Lot’s of money to be made with that.

45. Bayern Munich or Chelsea.

    1. Bayern Munich is my favorite European football team and the only one I follow on the OneFootball app

       1. Dortmund Fred! I love Bundesliga!

46. Definitely the Pacers. For all the craziness this season has brought there has always been something comforting about Herb and Mel Simon (RIP) staying out of the spotlight and letting their people handle the business of basketball, unlike owners such as James Dolan and Daniel Snyder. It’d be a crazy dream come true if I could own the Pacers.

47. i want the harlem globetrotters.

    1. I’m thinking there is more upside in the Generals…

       1. excellent point!

48. I like upside. So though my favorite sport is Baseball (Yanks), it feels like the NBA has the most room to grow given their stars and the international growth of hoops. I’m a Celtics fan so probably not enough upside there. I’d want a good sports city with an underperforming team. So the short list would be Blazers, Raptors, Wizards, 76ers or Pistons — let’s go with Wizards and immediately change the name.

49. I would buy the Brazilian national soccer team. Looking forward to hear Fred talk at the CPSE summit today.

50. The New York Yankees. The greatest baseball team in the world.

    1. YES

    2. It would be pretty damn sweet to own the Yanks.

51. Here’s the 2014 Forbes list of the value of each NBA franchise. It has the Clips at $575m (13th most valuable). I suspect someone at Forbes is scrambling right now to update this list… http://www.forbes.com/pictu…

52. Those who follow me (un-muted) on twitter already know my answer….

    1. Wow!

    2. Andy, save my name, if you ever need an interpreter with business acumen 😀

53. The Charlestown Chiefs 😉

54. I would wear a Brooklyn hat every day for the next year if I had a one-month paid summer internship at USV.

55. Any soccer team. That sport is just taking off in the US. I’d also bring the best international players and coaches here (while they’re in their prime) to elevate the level of play. US World Cup Champions by 2030 would be my mantra.

    1. That sport has been “taking off” and supposedly the “fastest growing sport” since I was 8 years old. Youth participation is huge but the good athletes always end up going to the major sports in 6-8th grade

       1. There is a very simple reason why soccer has never taken off in this country. (We had soccer at my high school in the 70’s and this was way before it was played in local communities.) [1]The reason is it’s a chicken and egg thing.Kids like sports because a) dad takes them to sports when they are young and b) sports teams are already established in major markets and are paid attention to on tv and in newspapers. Goes along timing wise with the rise of television.As far as alternative leagues (say USFL) that gets stopped in it’s tracks because of lack of what I call “secondary meaning”. If the NFL is important and gets all the attention then anything that isn’t the NFL (or NBA etc.) is simply not going to work to supplant the huge halo around the thing that people already know about.Although kids are playing soccer in communities left and right all over the US (today) since there are no local teams to obsess over dad can’t take kids to the game and watch the games with the kids on TV. It’s really that simple.You can trace many things people like back to either some bonding with parents or grandparents or bonding with friends that liked a particular sport during the kids formative age. Lacking one of these, in general, prevents the kindling of desire.[1] Attached photo. The 70’s picture of a high school friend playing soccer.

          1. I think the simpliest reason is that US TV execs didn’t think there was a way to show ads during the game. In the US, money drives sports, and TV drives money.

          2. So, that’s why I don’t much care for sports! My dad didn’t!

       2. Yeah, it’s been the “sport of the future” forever. Does seem to finally be getting a bit of traction now though.Or, maybe not: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike…

    2. Portland and Seattle are killing it w/ MLS fans. The expansion team New York City FC, jointly owned by NY Yankees and Manchester United, is sched to begin play in 2015. The purchase price was $100M. With guidance led by ownership, the two most valued franchises in sports, this is gonna be a winner. NYC’s diverse ethnicity is an add-on. Team will play in Yankee stadium vs. the (NY) Red Bulls, who play in Harrison, NJ (wherever the fuck that is).

56. O boy, what a great question. This will be the most fun of Fridays. And will cause me to ramble…Determining which team I’d buy is less a function of what sport I like the most or which team I love the most, but more a function of what the CBAs/economic arrangements/technology regulations of each league allows.The NFL is highly centralized — TV rights and most sponsorships are determined at the league level. A few years back they were in the process of centralizing all of their digital…team sites were getting pulled from them and there were limits on what they could do with mobile (though the jaguars allowing fans to live stream their games may hint towards new rules). Economically, there is a hard cap so I could not “flex my muscles” as an owner…instead one has to finesse the salary cap, which surely takes strategic brilliance but that is of a GM more than an owner.The MLB is the least centralized economically but the most digitally. Did you know a team does not own their own logo for the purpose of digital? MLBAM is an incredible venture — one of the best the MLB, a traditionally conservative group, has done — but is centralized with equal ownership among the respective teams. No fun in that as an owner. As for the CBA…it allows a team to spend away, but there are severe repercussions in forms of luxury taxes that are compounded by the fact FAs are by definition old. Further, CBA arrangements remove the variance in skill when it comes to finding structural market inefficiencies — no more unlimited spending on the draft…international prospect signing rules will shortly change…players are locked up so long that you rarely get a chance at a FA with his prime ahead of him. The best part of being an owner is you get local media rights but that isn’t enough to warrant buying in.And then there is the NBA…where owners can make a difference (see Cuban, Mark). Teams can negotiate local TV contracts and own much of their digital rights (see Knicks Now). There are “extraneous” investments that are still not mainstream that can make huge differences — foreign scouts and analytic tools. International popularity of the game will make an NBA team the fastest growing asset of all the major sports, especially with current initiatives in China and India. And the CBA allows the NBA owners to differentiate themselves more than any. The soft cap, luxury cap, apron and rules around trades allow owners to “flex their muscles” wisely and get guys in their prime (see Arrison, Mickey…who can thank LeBron for his net worth sky rocketing these past few years). NBA owners can make (Dallas) or break (NY) teams while also enjoying the business and tech sides of pro sports.So I’d own an NBA team…preferably the Knicks. And I would’ve paid Steve Kerr as much as he wanted. When it comes to coaches it is just money….no loss in franchise flexibility.

57. Dallas Cowboys… killing 2 birds with one stone

58. The Cleveland Browns. Likely, I’d have very little competition to buy them. They Browns are like a horrible girlfriend. She treats you poorly year in and year out. And I always say, I’ve had enough and I’m moving on. But every September, I come crawling back to her.

59. Cleveland Browns

60. Knicks – so i can supplement my lifetime of emotional suffering with some financial. As a fan since Bernard King (i dont even have the early 70s to reminisce about) and a mother of a 5 year old fanatic, I often wonder if they will ever win in his lifetime, let alone mine.

61. American Ballet Theater or the Alvin Ailey CompanyIt used to be people actually watched dance – I think trying to bring in super modern coregraphy including outside of ballet’s traditional sphere and then bringing down the ticket prices so that they fill seats might bring back dance.But you need a name in order to adicalize unless you have a patron – and even then, you get elite questions (see Ben Millipied’s new company is going to primarily be seen by hollywood it people, and that’s it )- and I think NYCB is too traditional and the Joffery has hold of Chicago. You’re basically left with the fuscion modern/ballet company or American in terms of size and back catalog. I think ABT would be more first choice though….

62. The Yankees, though that would have quite the premium.

63. I don’t follow any sports at all. But even I’d like to own the Yankees. The branding is that good.

64. Green Bay Packers, no question!Fun fact:The Packers are the only community-owned franchise in American professional sports major leagues. Typically, a team is owned by one person, partnership, or corporate entity, i.e., a “team owner.” The lack of a dominant owner has been stated as one of the reasons the Packers have never been moved from the city of Green Bay. It has long been operated as a non-profit organization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wik…#gopackgo

65. Steve Ballmer drives the lane and slam dunks! Can you imagine the crazy celebration dance he’s doing right now? Congrats on the new paradigm shift…

    1. pre game speech

66. $2B isn’t crazy. He’s buying a media conglomerate (or he hopes it will be). Sports teams are brands that are growing like crazy and there is a TON of loyalty. This will be a bargain price 10 years from now.My heart would buy the Mets.My head would buy the Yankees or the (football) Giants.

67. The Knicks would be my first choice. Real Madrid would be my backup plan.

68. Here is another angle to this.If the consensus is that Ballmer “overpaid greatly” for this team (based on team values as reported everywhere including the forbes link below) then you have to wonder why (if he was willing to pay so much) he didn’t spend any time simply making outrageous offers to other sports teams (NBA or otherwise).In other words if you are going in not trying to buy below market the whole world is your oyster.This points to a few thoughts:a) It wasn’t something he really gave much thought to prior to making this offer (recent retirement etc.)b) He got caught up in an auction mentality (don’t think that was the case)c) He might have done what I presented but given the time pressures obviously couldn’t (also “a” above). Couldn’t contact all the owners, make offers, and make a deal prior to this bid deadline.d) He needed to buy a team that he could move to Seattle (if that is the case just repeating what I am reading elsewhere).Rationally if he really wanted a team and was willing to pay the price that he paid he could have started by making offers to many other teams and (given owners age and other considerations) very well might have found a team willing to sell that was either better or more attractively priced.A reply by someone of “not for sale at any price” is really just another way of saying “I don’t think you will offer an amount high enough to make me sell”. (Separate from being a negotiation ploy..)

    1. There is one other theory and that is you have to overpay to “get into the club”I have seen this happen in Art, Automobiles, and Black Angus Cattle (I know that last one is an outlier)If you are an outsider and want to become an insider, the easiest way to do it is to overpay with the implicit understanding of the other insiders.The other insiders like this because it makes the value of their asset increase, therefore you can then become an insider.If you have made a ton of money elsewhere this is how you get admitted to the club.

       1. Agree.Not that Ballmer needs any more friends or acquaintances (I’m sure with what he already has he can pretty much associate with anyone he wants and there is a line to blow smoke up the you know what from various peasants) but along the lines of what you are saying having certain assets opens up a world of social possibilities and entertainment circles.I remember in high school very distinctly several guys who were able to drive their fathers luxury and/or sports cars. In one case someone father bought him a foreign convertible. [1] So other guys were envious and crowded around and wanted to spend time with those guys that was disproportionate to whatever their base benefit would have been sans transpiration. (And the addition of this status became a self fulfilling prophecy since they actually became more confident as a result of it).I’ve told the story before of back when I used to have a boat and drive it in the back bay I would see these really old men sitting at their pools (on the bay) and all these young people (teens and 20’s) running around enjoying the pool as the old man sat and slept. No doubt relatives of the man and their friends. Easy to say “hey why don’t you come down we are staying at “Dad’s|Grandpas” house at the shore in our own room. God knows people used to come out the woodwork just to go out on my 24′ boat. Wish I knew that in college.Guy at shore? Chance of being able to do the same if your grandpa lives in a row house in Philly essentially zero – 0. By buying the shore house (with extra rooms) grandpa ended up with much more (his grandkids every weekend and their friends) than just a seat at a pool.[1] Note to younger people reading back when I was in high school nice cars were a really really big thing and quite coveted by guys. Was a way to raise your stature with men which led to a raising of stature with women (which was the end game).

69. Lakers.

70. Even if cost were no object I would buy a minor league baseball team over a major league baseball team.When we were living in Maine we used to go to Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox AA) games all the time. The game experience at those games is everything baseball should be and has basically vanished from major league parks. It’s about kids and family and watching players who are total long shots trying their hardest to succeed.It’s not about egos, and sushi delivered to your seat, and $12 beers.

    1. Yes and you sit close to the field

71. The Gwent Dragons…. http://www.newportgwentdrag…

72. I would definitely buy that team that I root for that has been mismanaged for decades. In my case, that’s the M̶e̶t̶s̶ make that the J̶e̶t̶s̶; um, the K̶n̶i̶c̶k̶s̶. I mean the I̶s̶l̶a̶n̶d̶e̶r̶s̶Can I spend $8B to buy all 4?

73. Without a doubt, the Chicago Cubs. Over a hundred years of unsuccessful seasons while also placing in the top 5 of highest revenue generating MLB teams and placing 23rd out of 30 in terms of payroll.

74. I’d buy the Redskins, just to change their name.

75. 49ers for surenobody’s got it betterhttps://www.youtube.com/wat…

76. I would bring back the Hartford Whalers.

    1. You would have to take them away from Carolina.

    2. buy the danbury whalers and use the extra money to buy talent and bring them up to the nhl

77. The Yankees – my first move would be to sign myself as a player-owner.

    1. great move

78. Da Bears and then I’d bring back Da Coach.

79. Niners

80. @swfc 🙂

81. Sterling is coming out as a genius, given that forced sale at $2bln gets him a half unicorn in taxes saved. Market proof of the buyer’s insane delusion: http://www.forbes.com/nba-v…If I could I would follow Roman Abramovich’s example: buying the cheapest team in a fun city, which is impossible in the NBA. Only LA has two teams and ONLY because Sterling wisely moved Clippers there AGAINST NBA wishes.Bucks would be my choice then:1. Only 2 hours away from Chicago and 2. The cheapest team in the league (just got a new owner)

82. I’m just waiting for the video of Balmer jumping around on court while sweating profusely and shouting “Players! Players! Players!” (or maybe “Cheerleaders! Cheerleaders! Cheerleaders!” ;-)https://www.youtube.com/wat…

83. The Denver Broncos?https://www.youtube.com/wat…You just don’t understand football Marge.

84. The answer is obviously the “Tunes Squad” from Space Jam. The branding and fan base you would have with a team that included the starting 5 of Tasmanian Devil, Lola Bunny, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Michael Jordan and a bench of Tweety Bird, Wile. E Coyote, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Pepe Le Pew, Bill Murray and Porky pig would be unrivaled from a value standpoint. Plus, I don’t think cartoons age as fast as real people so you’re team would have a lot more staying team than other teams.

85. Download free movie here you get primium account free this offer till 1st jun;

86. I love that the only reason your not buying the Knicks is because the owner won’t sell. Must be nice to have that kind if scratch!

87. Dunno about an entire team, but new crowdfunding concepts like Fantex (athletes going “public”) are starting to get really interesting. No reason why an entire team couldn’t float some shares in a similar way one day.

    1. There are already publicly traded teams. For example, Manchester United trades under the ticket MANU on the NYSE.

88. Worked for two venture capitalists who owned an IPL cricket team. I had a lot of fun working and consulting with that sports team. Can only imagine the fun owning a sports team http://goo.gl/Ycao5z