Hawks’ sale is in peril — and that’s bad news we don’t need
Alex Meruelo insists he has the resources to buy and run the Hawks.
The NHL wasn’t happy with the Atlanta Spirit when they owned the Thrashers. The NBA never has been thrilled with them as Hawks’ owners, either. But the league and Atlanta may be stuck with them a little longer.
Our Tim Tucker is reporting that the proposed sale of the Hawks from the Atlanta Spirit to Los Angeles businessman Alex Meruelo has hit a “significant snag.” You generally can read that as financial.
Tucker noted last week that the league approved the sale of the Philadelphia 76ers but would offer no update on the Hawks’ sale. Now we know why.
Meruelo, whose purchase of the team was announced Aug. 7, subject to league approval, did not deny that the deal might be in trouble in a statement but he maintains that he has the resources to purchase and run the team: “I have more than ample resources to purchase and operate the Hawks in a first-class manner. I am committed to the purchase of the Atlanta Hawks. While I can’t comment on the details of the approval process, I have and will do everything I can to bring the process to a positive conclusion.”
Here’s my first thought: Not again.
Many of the Spirit’s problems stemmed from partners battling each other, usually in course, and those issues filtered down to the sports franchises. It significantly affected the perception of the franchises, hurting the product and even attendance. The Spirit is a damaged brand at this point and new ownership is needed.
Meruelo doesn’t bring any guarantees as to how good of an owner he would be, but he certainly would provide a needed new face in the executive suite.
In short, this would be bad news.
By Jeff Schultz
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165 comments Add your comment
Reid Adair
October 26th, 2011
8:01 pm
Oh no.
we should have expected this
October 26th, 2011
8:06 pm
WE SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED THIS!
Brian
October 26th, 2011
8:06 pm
Until ASG is gone I will not step foot into Phillips Arena…..this is sad news for fans in Atlanta.
Time for a change.
jay
October 26th, 2011
8:11 pm
anyone have David’s number. he’s got extra cash now.
tmc
October 26th, 2011
8:15 pm
Figures. They couldn’t own a team and run it worth a damn.
Why would anyone think they could sell a team?
Atlanta Spirit = colossal failure.
JJ
October 26th, 2011
8:19 pm
Why is this news right now? There isn’t going to be an NBA game played for at least a year from now. Plenty of time to work all this out and let Merulos get everything in order.
If there was even a chance that an NBA game was going to be played anytime soon, this might be news.
ryan
October 26th, 2011
8:20 pm
Screw the NBA ASG is going to be the death of Atlanta sports teams .
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
8:21 pm
NOTHING goes right with the damn Atlanta Spirit. GET OUT OF OUR LIVES GEARON AND LEVENSON
ASG to HELL
October 26th, 2011
8:25 pm
Please don’t yell me that we have to deal with these losers for another year….They cost us our hockey team..I wouldn’t be surprised if they ruin basketball in Atlanta.
Greg
October 26th, 2011
8:25 pm
No wonder the NBA is on the verge of extinction
ASG to HELL
October 26th, 2011
8:25 pm
Enter your comments here*tell
chalkdawg4
October 26th, 2011
8:25 pm
Who cares??
Blind faith
October 26th, 2011
8:27 pm
Enter your comments hereAgree with Brian. Recognize they weren’t selling 100% which means either meruelo didn’t have money to exorcise ASG or they were unwilling to sell 100%. Both scenarios were scary Looks like the first scenario. Although ASG was trying to hide under the rock of being minority owners there were rumors they were heavily financing the purchase. A true white knight is needed to clear ASG out 100%. My guess is NBA has brains to agree. In meantime Philips is a nice empty facility.
ryan
October 26th, 2011
8:28 pm
Occupy Atlanta needs to go over to ASG and demand them to get the hell out .
ryan
October 26th, 2011
8:32 pm
Geeeeeeez Atlanta is becoming Cleveland Ohio of the south all we have now is the Atlanta Falcons .
Wayne stuck in AL
October 26th, 2011
8:32 pm
PLEASE LET THIS BE TRUE!!! I want to see Levenson and Gearon bled dry!!!
ryan
October 26th, 2011
8:35 pm
I hope they can get it work out but we saw what happened with the Thrashers so i am not getting my hopes up to much .
The Emperor Has No Brains
October 26th, 2011
8:40 pm
And people still blame Atlantans for the loss of the Thrashers? Look at the incompetent ownership we’ve been stuck with for nearly 10 years. I can’t even watch hockey anymore, thanks to that fiasco, and basketball is next! Way to step up Mayor Reed and Atlanta business leaders!
ryan
October 26th, 2011
8:41 pm
This is Ted Turner fault he sold the Braves , Hawks , Thrashers to the owners i blame him for this misery .
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
October 26th, 2011
8:50 pm
Who the EFFF cares!!! Good, I’m glad it won’t go through. I hope the EFFing ASG bleeds more money and I see Gearon and his bunch of a-holes at the unemployment line.
After they freakin’ stabbed the loyal Thrashers fans of this city in the back…..I pray that they lose EVERYTHING they own.
As for the Hawks, they suck!!! The NBA sucks!!! Hope the whole season cancels and those gangsta millionaires are thrown out on the streets!!
Please, please….some rich dude buy the Phoenix Coyotes and bring them to the Gwinnett arena!!
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
8:53 pm
Anyone who thinks the NBA is full of thugs and gangstas, aside from being a racist, clearly has never met an actual thug or gangsta.
Sage of Bluesland
October 26th, 2011
8:54 pm
Wait, so ASG has how many empty nights at Philips Arena? Serves them right!!
Knowing they’re losing money is the best news I’ve heard all month!! Frauds!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
October 26th, 2011
8:56 pm
Now me I’ve met plenty of thugs. On the down low of course.
Alex
October 26th, 2011
8:58 pm
Look y’all, i’m a pretty smart guy. I’m just keeping the funds in my account until stern and the rest of the yahoos get done screwing the players over.
Horsetoothedjackass
October 26th, 2011
9:05 pm
@ryan, Ted Turner had nothing to do with these sales, he didn’t own them at the time they were sold, Time-Warner owned them, as Ted had sold his empire to them. His son and his son-in-law are part of this clusterfark of an ownership group.
doc
October 26th, 2011
9:07 pm
alex i am looking forward to a check in the mail to reimburse me in full. the only way to go with no strings attached going further. no season and i have all my “investment” returned to be reinvested only after i know what the product will be.
jojatek
October 26th, 2011
9:07 pm
Never thought I would long for the days of Ted Turner. Say what you want, but “Captain Outrageous”, in his prime, was that weird uncle that we all somehow could identify with and be proud of… and really cared about Atlanta and its identity. If this sale falls through, it will be just another chapter in the tortured history of pro sports in Atlanta…
The “Atlanta Spirit”? What the hell is that??!!! I never understood it, and I live here in DC with at least some of that group. That’s not an owner… that’s our next WNBA franchise!!
There… now I feel better…
BBQ MAN
October 26th, 2011
9:09 pm
first, the NBA is full of wannabe thugs and gangstas…… 2nd… so?
ASG must go
October 26th, 2011
9:09 pm
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha …breath……. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Hey Gearon and Levenson. US Bankruptcy Court for Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division is located at 75 Spring Street Atlanta Georgia 30303.
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
October 26th, 2011
9:09 pm
There’s Najeh the “pooper”…..pulling out the race card…..this gets so tiresome, (sigh!!)
NBA SUCKS!!!
doc
October 26th, 2011
9:10 pm
yeah sage, it would have been the only game in town for a while and i would have easily turned to hockey for sports entertainment. basg knows how to time the market all the while many ancillary businesses suffer greatly.
CONservative Johnson
October 26th, 2011
9:12 pm
The Hispanic version of Herman Cain’s “purchase” of the Hawks has seemed dubious from the start. He’s just someone being propped up by the ASG anyway. This sale will probably go down in flames just like Herman Cain’s sham of a presidential candidacy . . .
Laughing out Loud
October 26th, 2011
9:12 pm
Ya’ll are so funny. Ya’ll make me laugh out loud….Gangsters, thugs, rich dudes, yahoos, so offended personally, telling other people what top do with their money, running other people’s business, acting like you know it all…..it all just makes me laugh.
Section 303
October 26th, 2011
9:14 pm
Just when you thought it was safe to buy into a Hawks owner….D@mn! One thing after another with this organization. Here I was, looking forward to games at Philips without haveing to see Rutherford and the other silver spoon clowns.
(STILL)2-10 Against Ranked Teams, how was Najeh pulling the race card? Just because race was brought up doesn’t mean a race card was played. You’re really in a struggle to sound smart.
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
October 26th, 2011
9:17 pm
He he he he…..keep laughing, “laughing out loud”……..hope you keep laughing when the vans come to Philips and cart out that b-ball court piece by piece
I could give a rats tail……went to one Hawks game in 15 years here, now there’s 2.5 hours of my life I’ll never get back. Don’t watch it on TV……now if I want to see “body art” (tattoos), I’ll go to the museum……
(STILL) 2-10 Against Ranked Teams
October 26th, 2011
9:19 pm
Yup…..I pray that this “deal” goes down, ASG goes bankrupt……the Hawks??? Who cares????
matt from mn
October 26th, 2011
9:21 pm
This is just hilarious. ASG is so incompetent, they can’t even sell correctly. Tell me again how these jerks are successful businessmen?? Bankruptcy, here they come. Enjoy your deserted arena!
dj
October 26th, 2011
9:23 pm
HAHAHA I hope ASG is stuck with them while the lockout is going on. Just hemorrage the money baby. I hope all those guys go bankrupt.
Vain Jangling
October 26th, 2011
9:24 pm
This just in: Meruelo is taking in Steve Belkin as an equity partner. Yeah, you’re right. We should have seen that one coming. Although the ink isn’t yet dry on the operating agreement, they’ve already stopped talking. They’ll be filing suit against themselves before midnight. The only thing they can agree upon is that the date of Joe Johnson’s cash cow signing will now and forever more be known as, “a date that will live in infamy.” Film at eleven.
KevinM
October 26th, 2011
9:24 pm
I’m glad I have not bought into the ASG’s push to buy tickets yet.
This is not a group I want to support in thie city.
We have an inept group that run this franchise and it just might be karma for them to have to hang around and pay out for Joe’s contract.
DC
October 26th, 2011
9:26 pm
So there is still a chance that someone from St.Louis could buy the Hawks and return them to where they should be! St.Louis Hawks in 2012-13!
KevinM
October 26th, 2011
9:29 pm
These pizza guys sure have a lot of money to throw around…
Maybe I should have been selling pizzas all along……
Delbert D.
October 26th, 2011
9:35 pm
I pointed out when his name first came up months ago that his businesses are the kind that are typically part of organized crime enterprises. That post might not get me a Pulitzer Prize, though.I don’t have any evidence to back it up. It justs smells funny.
ryan
October 26th, 2011
9:36 pm
Well any way ASG sucks nothing ever seems to change its like Groundhog Day we have the Liberty group with Braves it never ends its hard to cheer for these teams anymore man if only Mr. Blank could help out .
Court
October 26th, 2011
9:37 pm
The Hawks have made it to the playoffs with this “bad ownership”. Not a penny will come out of my pocket if this sale goes through or not – so who is this “we” that doesn’t need “bad news” ?
Delbert D.
October 26th, 2011
9:37 pm
My post on MB’s blog:
Delbert D.
August 7th, 2011
4:45 pm
A pizza chain and casino owner? Better check him out with the FBI.
Former Hawk Fan
October 26th, 2011
9:39 pm
Thrashers would have been the only game in town this year, but the jerks sold them out from under us. I am truly thankful the NBA is on strike and Philips is empty.
R. Stroz
October 26th, 2011
9:40 pm
I smell more lawsuits and a possible bankruptcy.
Mr. ATL
October 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
Wish we could trade the Hawks back to St. Louis in exchange for the Blues.
ASG must go
October 26th, 2011
9:42 pm
Pizza dude doesn’t have enough dough. Hope ASG is reading these comments. In their own words. Deal with it!!!
Art Vandelay
October 26th, 2011
9:45 pm
I know I’m in the minority here, but if there’s a question about Meruelo’s financial ability to own and run the Hawks, then I hope they reboot the process and start looking for someone else. The last thing we need is an owner who’s living paycheck to paycheck, so to speak, and won’t spend the money necessary to raise the Hawks to the upper echelon of the league. They’ve managed to be a good second-tier team, but haven’t risen above that level since around 1987. The Hawks need a Mark Cuban style owner — someone with more money than he knows what to do with, and actually cares about basketball (and ideally, has at least SOME connection to this city).
Ray Hudson
October 26th, 2011
9:47 pm
Agree with Art. The last thing the Hawks need is an undercapitalized owner.
Vain Jangling
October 26th, 2011
9:49 pm
Thank God the attorneys will be well fed.
Delbert D.
October 26th, 2011
9:49 pm
Dubai is a lot nicer than Atlanta.
ASG must go
October 26th, 2011
9:52 pm
This is a blessing ultimately if the ASG or their bankruptcy trustee can find someone to buy the team and arena 100%
Joe
October 26th, 2011
10:23 pm
Owning the hawks is asking to lose $
sports
October 26th, 2011
10:36 pm
the sooner the better to get the hawk thugs outof Georgia
DawgNole
October 26th, 2011
10:39 pm
Gotta agree with you on this one, Delbert. The deal announced this summer just never has seemed “right.” Something odd about it that I haven’t been able to pinpoint. No big surprise now that it appears on shaky ground.
Dan
October 26th, 2011
10:47 pm
This clown, Alex Meruelo, should never go anywhere near the Hawks. For him to have donated to the Swift Boat Veterans Against Kerry is disgusting. He must have severe mental issues. Anyone who would donate to that group has no business being anywhere near an NBA team. You can’t go much lower than to disparage John Kerry’s military service. What a loser.
chris
October 26th, 2011
10:51 pm
WHO CARES!!! Quit wasting Ink on a team that isn’t going to play this year. Personally I hope the NBA fizzles and goes away and if they do come back that they play an half empty arena’s.
Hawker 2
October 26th, 2011
10:53 pm
maybe the hawks will leave town like the nhl team. Atlanta fans don’t want to pay big money to watch these overpaid mediocre players on the hawks. move on!
Bluestreak
October 26th, 2011
11:15 pm
It’s the Curse of Thrash!!
The sale will stall until ASG is forced to turn the team over to the league else they go completely broke!
There is a Winnipeg version of the curse too, have you seen the standings? The team still stinks north of the border and won’t be there in 3 years.
Former Hawk Fan, you make a great point and it epitomizes the lack of foresight the ASG has been plagued with since the beginning.
Objective fan
October 26th, 2011
11:37 pm
SON OF A…..
Objective fan
October 26th, 2011
11:40 pm
Where are the local billionaires in this city? We see other wealthy individuals buying up non-contending NBA franchises like it’s going out of style, yet NO ONE wants this bunch? In a Top 10 market? What a joke!
Columbus
October 26th, 2011
11:40 pm
Not good news. None of you know what you are talking about. None of us know what is going on. I will hold out hope because if the ASG can work through their “snag” I would think anyone can. There is no rush with there not being a season anyway. The question is I would think is, will the new guy have to cough up more cash than he is comfortable with doing as a safety net. I mean who wants to put up a “deposit” of millions of dollars that will just sit there and he cant touch it. I mean will the league just keep the money until he sells the team or dies or what? I mean this guy is a business man and that is valuable liquidity to use on other ventures that is just locked away like a deposit on an apartment or house you rent, but it is MILLIONS! I guess he could get interest of some sort on it but not nearly as much as he could make by putting it to work, especially in this economy with their being all kinds of companies he could pick up as a huge discount. Whats up with the NBA?
I say let Mark Cuban decide if Mureulo is financially sound or not since he does the same thing basically. The NBA wants to get some cash anyway they can since there will be no season or what?
I dont know, but it aint over till its over. Hope this guy can afford to and does get the team because he is passionate like Cuban and will do whatever he can to win it all.
C from Marietta
October 27th, 2011
12:08 am
Love to jump to conclusions huh? No one is saying the sale will not go through. Jezz
CrazyDiamond
October 27th, 2011
12:47 am
We are so screwed!
David Smith
October 27th, 2011
1:33 am
I should have know we hadn’t heard the last of The ASG.and the thought of them running anything related to this city is discouraging news.
BooBoo
October 27th, 2011
1:52 am
Hopefully the sale will not happen simply because the NBA will sleep with the fishes. One down, baseball and football next. Disgruntled millionaires with no college degrees and barely any control of the English language can cry me a river when they are unemployed and have so many tattoos no one will hire them. Of course Plaxico Burris can always find a job as a possey bodyguard.
extremus
October 27th, 2011
1:56 am
Well, if the NBA as a whole goes under because of their general stupidity, greed, and arrogance then the sale of the Hawks won’t matter, will it? Let’s think positive; the NBA lost me and a whole lot of other fans quite some time ago, and if the league dies it will inspire positive changes in labor negotiations and ridiculous guaranteed contracts in other pro sports. Maybe if those hedonistic (”What Should I Do?” sums up most of the stars nowadays) clowns have to learn Italian or some other foreign language to continue playing pro basketball, perhaps they’ll be a bit more appreciative of the fact they get payed AT ALL to play a GAME. And if not I hope their skill set goes beyond fast food, for their sake.
Wxwax
October 27th, 2011
3:23 am
Why is everyone in a hurry to get a new under-funded owner?
We already have those. What we need is an owner with deep pockets, not an owner who barely qualifies.
free pizza
October 27th, 2011
6:49 am
if he doesn’t have the cash, can he pay part of the bill in free pizza for the hawks owners for 3 years? If so, they can get unlimited ingredients and free delivery?
Paddy
October 27th, 2011
7:08 am
Ryan……..Ted Turner didn’t sell these teams to the ASG! Don’t blame Ted he had nothing to do with it.
SG
October 27th, 2011
7:08 am
With ASG still having a “sizable” chunk of minority ownership is this really a surprise? Think back to 2004 when their initial smoke and mirrors plan failed to fool the Boards of both the NBA and NHL. And so now the new guy can’t foot the entire note (bad sign to begin with), but the only partner he can find is the ASG? He comes to the table w/ the same clowns who really don’t want to be involved anymore but don’t have any other option and the NBA already despises? I say good for the Board.
Ted Turner
October 27th, 2011
7:26 am
N*@#er Please!
Ted
October 27th, 2011
7:34 am
No one cares about the Hawks.
Paul H
October 27th, 2011
7:48 am
Can Joe Johnson buy them?
Don
October 27th, 2011
7:56 am
Move them back to St. Louis.
ChillyMutt
October 27th, 2011
8:00 am
*yawn* NBA *yawn*
waffleboy
October 27th, 2011
8:14 am
This is karma for screwing over Thrashers’ fans.
Miles Zaharko
October 27th, 2011
8:18 am
After the loss of the Thrashers, I welcome anything that further damages the ASG and their properties. As long as any of the ASG partners have a “significant minority stake” in the Hawks or Philips Arena after the sale, I will NEVER set foot in that building for ANY event.
Jason
October 27th, 2011
8:32 am
Does anyone really still care about the Hawks anyway? And if they do, why???
TED!
October 27th, 2011
8:34 am
bring back Ted Turner to buy the hawks! He’s got billions in cash and tons of land—he can buy the hawks with pocket change.
Richham
October 27th, 2011
8:46 am
The reign of the Atlanta Spirit continues…hahahahahaha. It’s a fitting story with Halloween around the corner. Cursed you say?
GT
October 27th, 2011
8:47 am
Seems to me if there was a market of these teams ,like the reported values would tell you, that the line would be long with buyers. Certainly in the hockey situation I have never heard such whining from local carpet baggers who have landed in our city to make a living off this situation. I think their disgust was more about losing an easy paycheck because the team couldn’t find the next sucker to take over this foreign sport than telling fact. I have always imagined that those reporting spots were long taken in Philly and Boston so the minor league reporters floated down to Atlanta to find a seat at the table. You don’t find minor league college football reporters down south, yet what tickles me some is these carpet baggers try to get into that market too. I hope they know more about hockey. Anyway if this is such a great deal and there is such great interest in hockey the team was for sell. There is a thing call demand in the market place Demand killed the Flames and it is about to kill the Hawks for a separate reason but the same lack of demand.
J
October 27th, 2011
8:47 am
Najeh, your comment will fall on deaf ears … these idiots are classless and assume NBA players are thugs. I’ve commented many times on this fact alone but people still call the NBA players thugs (even though i have yet to see an example of that from our Hawks players) and still say they hate the Hawks/NBA but yet they follow college basketball. It’s the worst kind of hypocrite i can think of. None of these fools even think about the amount of jobs this affects as a whole. It’s so old now to read about people saying “i won’t step foot in Philips Arena now b/c of ASG”. Ok, GREAT, we got your point a long time ago … now please, beat it. Half of them probably have not stepped foot in Philips since 2007 and yet they come on here to still voice that. Honestly, i’m tired of hearing it. If there is a great event going on at Philips, i’m bringing my family. I may hate the ASG but it’s not the shows fault we attend for their bad decision making. It’s not the Arena employees faults.
Thrash
October 27th, 2011
8:49 am
Karma, baby, karma…
J
October 27th, 2011
8:51 am
and why the F&*% do these retarded bloggers get on here to bash the Hawks? That’s getting old too … you don’t like the Hawks, GREAT, don’t come to games.
Ben
October 27th, 2011
8:54 am
Can we now list Atlanta’s most hated people as:
1) Atlanta Spirit Group
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2) Eric Gregg
3) Jim Leyritz
J
October 27th, 2011
9:07 am
(STILL 2-10) Against Ranked Teams = obvious Thrashers (racist) loyal fan still whining about his Thrashers and trying to throw dirt at the Hawks, whom have been the only sports team in Atlanta to consecutively make the playoffs the past 4 years. Ok, so they didn’t win anything but neither did the Thrashers. Thrashers are stinking it up in Winnipeg right now and didn’t do too great here either. Your point is you hate the Hawks, great, go troll somewhere else. Or go sit in your closet and cry (which you’re probably already doing, with computer in hand).
juice sourcer
October 27th, 2011
9:14 am
Another example of why Atlanta continues to be Losersville USA and always will.
GT
October 27th, 2011
9:14 am
They are thugs. The problem with worshiping these thugs is we forget they are thugs and the conduct is spread to the society as a whole. Somebody in this paper had written about how the players had trumped the owners this week. You keep believing that, but if you don’t have adults involved in this business you are not going to have the NBA, which will barely be noticed by most of America. There is a reason we don’t raise our kids to be thugs and if you watch how most of these millionaires end up you began to see why.
again
October 27th, 2011
9:19 am
Again, I’ll say it….No One Cares
The NBA has so little to do with basketball, it’s a shell of what was once a great game.
ASG in a world of hurt
October 27th, 2011
9:31 am
Is anyone honestly surprised by this? If you paid attention to the details about how the Spirit was financing a large portion of the sale to this guy AND that some of the Spirit were going to keep up to 20% of the ownership, you knew this was a sketchy deal.
They RUSHED to make this announcement before the league had even started their approval process because they wanted to draw attention away from the Thrashers debacle as quickly as possible.
GT
October 27th, 2011
9:31 am
again you are right, I am just amazed at what a publication will back to make money. But it is what it is.
PMC
October 27th, 2011
9:35 am
Well…… at least it happened quick. I guess the NBA could take over the team.
Que outside comments about how Atlanta cannot support teams blah blah. We have ONE owner, exactly one who has the financial wherewithal and the pride to be a team owner.
It’s just sad. People want to have pride in this town.
Beau Turner
October 27th, 2011
9:35 am
Have all of you saps finally figured out that Time Warner pulled the rug out from David McDavid’s feet and sold to my group instead because my daddy pulled some strings?
Tech'10
October 27th, 2011
9:35 am
meh. Now where did the coffee machine get moved to.. that is a more important issue to me.. Good luck Hawks, the Spirit ruined half of ATL sports, so I hope this guy can actually come in a make a change.
PMC
October 27th, 2011
9:36 am
again – you haven’t paid attention. The NBA last year was fantastic. Regular season and playoffs.
Rutherford Seydel
October 27th, 2011
9:37 am
Beau! Stop giving away family secrets!
Do you want to go down to the Pink Pony for lunch? Your father gave me a few more million to blow.
Peter
October 27th, 2011
9:39 am
Can anyone tell me if the players make $$ while not playing? How does their contract work?
Ed Peskowitz
October 27th, 2011
9:40 am
Rutherford, you little punk! You still owe me $20. You’re a total coward. You better pray that I never find you b/c I’m going to beat your rear like your father should have a long time ago.
Rutherford Seydel
October 27th, 2011
9:42 am
Ed, everyone knows you’re drunker right now at 9:40 in the morning on a Thursday than I was when I got yanked offstage at that Widespread Panic show a few years ago.
Meet me at the Pink Pony at lunchtime if you want me to bust your Rudolph nose into a hundred pieces.
Beau Turner
October 27th, 2011
9:44 am
Rutherford, I’m in. My dad didn’t give me any money this month because I spit on him a few weeks ago for calling me a failure.
See you there around 11:45.
St. Louis Native
October 27th, 2011
9:47 am
“Wish we could trade the Hawks back to St. Louis in exchange for the Blues.”
Nice idea, but there is a solid base of lifelong Blues fans in St.Louis and a solid base of youth hockey in area, so they aren’t going anywhere. The Hawks broke my heart as a kid when they moved – my Dad used to take me to games in St. Louis; I steadfastly refuse to attend a game here in Atlanta regardless of the current ownership. This situation with ASG and the sale was utterly predictable. Get ready fans, if they don’t get a sale done you’re in store for what we witnessed at the end with the Thrashers – uncommitted ownership, lies, and constant attempts to blame Atlanta and the fans for the messes they create.
Davey
October 27th, 2011
9:50 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again about the ASG:
This is the most dysfunctional yet fully operational group I’ve ever seen…
rename it
October 27th, 2011
9:54 am
Can we rename Turner Field to get Ted back for making Time Warner sell the teams to these clowns? I like the name “Aaron Field” much better.
KevinM
October 27th, 2011
10:04 am
I gotta say this isn’t the best time to buy a team, much less the Hawks.
How the ASG is making a profit by selling this team is beyond me! These guys have nothing left to offer this city, yet someone is coming in to bail them out by writing a check for more than their actual value?
Seriously, all we hear is teams are losing money, and yet, we find a guy who knows little about basketball, lives across the county, and sees this as a fit for ‘profit’? Call me a bit cautious here. And he keeps the ASG around as ‘co-habitants’? Sounds like 2 desperate groups trying to make something happen, and the fans of this franchise are the ones that get screwed in the end.
We are so desperate to get this team from under the ASG buffoons, we will accept ANYONE in place of the ownership disaster we have now. I don’t have a lot of motivation in any of this that the NBA, the ASG or Muruelo having a handle on this. With the negative CBA ongoing, this probably isn’t at the top of the priority list. So do we end up with the ASG for yet another less than stellar year?
I can tell you this; I would never accept the payroll that the ASG have given to Muruelo. They are strapped at the cap, with no room to grow as I believe the penalties to overspend will exceed the need to do just that.
We are part of an average team in a Top NBA market who doesn’t have a lot to offer its fan base because the GM and coach are considered ‘average’ in their results.
Can you tell I can’t wait for the NBA to get this year started?
Dough Boy
October 27th, 2011
10:06 am
Where’s the dough?
J
October 27th, 2011
10:15 am
GT – you are among the racists here calling these guys thugs. How quick we forget the community functions they attend, the money they put into certain charities, and the entertainment they bring to the games. THEY are the talent, fans don’t attend games to see owners. THEY are entertainers just like movie stars are entertainers, like comedians are entertainers, like musicians are entertainers, etc. That fact is quickly ignored as well. AND GT, the facts also show that while you call them THUGS, the NFL has more players going out causing chaos … UGA’s football team alone has more chaos to it but yet you don’t call them thugs? And how do the Hawks fall into this? None of the Hawks players have had a run-in recently with the police (unless you count Powell’s blocking of an intersection due to traffic). Should i call you a thug GT b/c the last NBA player to have a run-in with the law graduated from GT? Seriously, take your racist crap out of here. It GETS OLD! You have no facts to support your calling of NBA players thugs. JACKA$$
J
October 27th, 2011
10:17 am
Keep your comments at the ASG, and stop branching out to bash the Hawks … it doesn’t make any sense.
Hillbilly D
October 27th, 2011
10:21 am
If this deal doesn’t go through, my guess is that the Hawks will follow the Thrashers out of town, in a year or two.
Back when we used to talk bad about the Smiths, if we’d only known what the future held.
meh
October 27th, 2011
10:35 am
I wish Ted Turner would buy all his teams back.
Simeon Rice N Gravy
October 27th, 2011
10:39 am
THIS JUST IN……………
NOBODY CARES.
Simeon Rice N Gravy
October 27th, 2011
10:40 am
NBA is turrrrble.
Sideline Dude
October 27th, 2011
10:43 am
The NBA is nothing but a bunch of thugs anyway. Overpaid, spoiled hoodlums for the most part. So if the Hawks can’t go away, maybe they can just fade away. And on the NBA season being cancelled, who cares? I certainly don’t.
PMC
October 27th, 2011
10:48 am
There are more Thugs on Wall Street than in the NFL.
Atlanta native
October 27th, 2011
10:48 am
Thanks for your incompetence with our Hockey team. You stink
PMC
October 27th, 2011
10:48 am
NBA rather
Kramer
October 27th, 2011
10:55 am
I thought they moved to Winnipeg. Don’t tell me they are coming back!
JoeFan
October 27th, 2011
11:15 am
Does anyone really care whether the Hawks stay in Atlanta or not? The Hawks are for entertainment pruposes and I use that term loosely. The fans do not own them or any professional sports team. Their fans if there are any and Meruelo should just count their lucky stars and run not walk away.
Wayne stuck in AL
October 27th, 2011
11:35 am
JEFF:
Question: Would Gearon and Levenson lose MORE money with a prolonged lockout, or less?
J
October 27th, 2011
11:50 am
joenobody and sidelinedud – nobody cares about your comments … go troll the harry potter website
GTJohn
October 27th, 2011
11:50 am
Who cares.
If all of pro basketball went away, it would be good thing except for the prison population which would go up dramatically.
GTJohn
October 27th, 2011
11:59 am
J, it looks like you are in the minority on this blog. Real basketball left the scene years ago when players like Jerry West, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlin, Nate Archibald, etc. retired.
All these inked up guys we see today are not basketball but streetball – no finese in the bunch and very little pure talent, just pushing, shoving, elbowing and trash talk. You will not see ball handling like we did with the Pistol, nor outside shooting like the big O.
J
October 27th, 2011
12:01 pm
and a little fact to the trolls that said nobody cares … last year, the Hawks had the highest gate revenue in NBA history for the Heat v. Hawks game. Kind of goes against your theory that nobody cares. NBA was at an all-time high last season thanks to the upcoming stars. People care, just not the 5 or 6 bloggers on here that obviously don’t attend games and can’t speak facts. We don’t care if you don’t care! You’re just a handful!
GTJohn
October 27th, 2011
12:11 pm
Still no real talent.
Basketball is a celebrity entertainment sport and for people who want everyone to think they are a celebrity or know one.
You are right, I do not go to Hawks games any longer – not since the days of Hazzard and Bellamy. Would not be caught near the place now.
The half-time show put on by Pete Maravich will never be equalled – that’s right, the Hawks once had a player so good, he could do the entire half-time show by himself and it did not involve dunking a ball – just pure talent.
J
October 27th, 2011
12:13 pm
really? Pretty sure that Jason Kidd & Steve Nash fall into the category of great ball handlers & team players. I’m also pretty sure that LeBron/Wade/Bosh took paycuts to head to Miami (not that i’m a fan of trying to create a championship team that way). The Boston Celtics did the same to acquire the big three. I also see very talented athletes in the NBA as well. Everytime i hear somebody bash the NBA, it’s the white crowd … it’s racist. Tatoos are common these days. Baseball players, nfl players, hockey players, soccer players, etc ALL HAVE TATOOS. Maybe you can blame America for the demoralizing of values in the US, but passing it onto the NBA is ridiculous. Times have changed, people have changed. Not many people i see these days that don’t have a tatoo at some point on their body. Should i call my friend a thug b/c he’s inked or how about i call my girlfriend a thug b/c she has a small tatoo on her?
I will defend this b/c of racist like most of you bloggers on here who get on here and spit venom with no facts behind it, other than trying to get people to follow your propaganda. Anybody who reads these blogs should at elast know facts. This article was written about a potential owner not having funds to buy the Hawks … not about NBA players being thugs. It’s ridiculous and it should stop. Obviously it won’t though when there are people like yourself out there who troll around and hide behind computers.
Ted M
October 27th, 2011
12:17 pm
I would like to know how much, if any, money the Atlanta Spirit lost during their ownership and possibe sale of both franchises.
Anyone know?
The more the merrier!
J
October 27th, 2011
12:23 pm
you named pete maravich, when you have guys like Jason Kidd & Steve Nash who have similar talents. It’s a mute point, especially b/c you don’t even attend games. Jason Kidd & Steve Nash are BOTH in the Top 10 in assists in NBA History. Their ball handling abilities, especially Nash, are also unequaled today.
dunking a ball was exactly what started making the NBA big, so not sure why you even bring that up. Dr. J, Michael Jordan, Spud Webb started it. Guys like LeBron, Kobe, Blake Griffin continue it. It’s entertainment! If i go to a game and i don’t see at least one great dunk, it takes the fun away from it. It also gets the crowd going. Same as a great three point shot in transition. I seriously can’t even listen to you GT John. You’re part of the problem with these blogs. Uneducated when it comes to the NBA. There are legends in the making today, and it was obvious by last season’s ratings. How about you continue you’re bashing of the ASG, probably something else you know nothing about.
alex
October 27th, 2011
12:29 pm
J, of course they thugs, do you know the fax that about 70% NBA players had numerous encounters with police from drinking driving to more serious criminal matter. NBA hiding this, but it on the record in well known book about behavior of NBA players. compare for example with pro soccer players around the world, NHL, or basketball players playing in Europe this number coming down to 4%. to folks who mocking Winnipeg jets, don’t worry they going to be OK because of steady big attendance, also don’t worry about philly baseball with average attendance in the lebron world not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, but 15 thousand more than beloved braves. so this teams for sure going to get in much better shape for signing than hawks. watch out for winnipeg three years from now. for sure they be in playoff with success. no good Atlanta, no support for pro sport team translated in just one big win in 1995 and several relocates. still asg suck.
J
October 27th, 2011
12:33 pm
also, this didn’t post but too many people are quick to judge players based off tatoos when probably 50% of americans have tatoos these days … and not just your mlb/nfl/nhl/mls players. Try your dentist, doctor, hair stylist, server, car mechanic, etc. It’s not the NBA’s fault that values have been demoralized in America. Times have changed, people have changed. If you put the player’s of the past into today’s society, they would also mainstream too … tatoos, flashy cars, houses, etc. But yet you idiolize players of the past as some type of excuse to bash today’s players. You bring up these names of past players, and makes me even wonder if you even watched the games back then. Most all of our storied heroes in baseball/basketball/nfl, etc had some type of character flaw.
J
October 27th, 2011
12:46 pm
alex, i will agree with half of what you said (b/cc the other half i can’t even understand), Atlanta is VERY VERY bad when it comes to supporting pro teams. Mainly b/c most teams don’t have a storied tradition here, they were brought in from other cities. I’m from Gwinnett County, lived here all my life. Atlantans got spoiled by all thsoe trips to the postseason with the Braves so they stopped attending Braves playoff games. That WOULD NOT HAPPEN in Chicago/Boston/New York. Your point about 70% of NBA players being involved with police incidents seems skewed and i’d like to see where you got that number from. I do recall Braves pitcher Derek Lowe getting arrested for driving fast and being intoxicated but he “got off”. Players are human beings too, they have character flaws. Do we hold all of our own friends in high standards? Each of us have friends that have done something stupid in their lifetime. Unfortunately, most of those don’t make the news. The media likes to go after well-known people to make fools of them. Just b/c Mr. Superstar gets pulled over for driving drunk doesn’t make me the label the whole professional league as drunk drivers. I’m just as pissed as that person driving drunk as i am with the regular working guy getting pulled over drunk. Doesn’t mean i won’t attend games. And to hit home with my point, if regular guy that gets pulled over drunk works for Target, are you going to stop shopping at Target. NO, you’re not. These bloggers are just racists with nothing better to do than bash a product they never really supported in the first place.
BillS
October 27th, 2011
12:51 pm
Please help me understand why more people than I think care about the Hawks. I went to one game last year, three the previous year, looked at maybe a half dozen games on TV. What I saw in obviously limited experience was absentee management, mediocre coaching and a roster of mostly modest talent. Attendance for the Hawks shows not a whole lot of interest in the team com pared to attendance in other cities. So why — I’m asking seriously — do people want to spend money on season tickets? Or, in my case, even individual game tickets here and there? I’m frustrated and about to lose complete interest in this team and everything to do with it. Thanks for whatever replies show up.
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:17 pm
Frankly, most of us could care less what happens to the Hawks or to the NBA….the longer the lockout continues, the better…
checkercab
October 27th, 2011
1:21 pm
too many thugs outside the arena and on the court to want to buy overpriced tickets to hawks games. plus, you get hassled by the atl police and security wherever you go downtown—no thanks!
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:29 pm
J – You’re breaking out the race card.
That immediately makes you an idiot not worthy of being listened to.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
Attendance for any pro team in Atlanta is going have the same result Bill. Braves played the Phillies near the end of the season and the place wasn’t even close to being packed. I went to the game and wasn’t too surprised by that. Thrashers games were the same way. Even Falcons games are that way now. The Falcons had an awesome team last year but yet, they still didn’t sell out every game. The games they do sell out is b/c of certain teams coming to town or certain players. Atlanta is a joke when it comes to support, mainly b/c nobody is from here anymore. Also, what exactly got you to go to that one game last year? What got you to go to three the previous year? Which team did you see and who did you take with you? I can say that there are dog games, as most teams have dog games on their schedule. I can promise you if you came to the Clippers game last year, you got to see a show. Same for the Heat game, Lakers, early March Bulls game.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:30 pm
Phil, you broke out the “who cares about the NBA & Hawks” card – which, likewise, makes you an idiot not worth listening too.
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:34 pm
J – I may very well be an idiot as you say. The NBA just isn’t worth watching anymore, aside from the great enjoyment I got from watching the Mavs oust the Heat….
The Hawks have never amounted to a hill of beans….
Please, I beg you league, continue the lockout until May….
J
October 27th, 2011
1:35 pm
I’m on a blog that directly relates to the Hawks & my interest … shouldn’t you be on a blog where people give a crap about your comments, i’d try the ignorant UGA fan blog for starters, seems to be a good fit for you
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:36 pm
Fire FG….
J
October 27th, 2011
1:37 pm
we ALL got enjoyment from watching the Mavs beat the Heat … the Heat were the most hated team in the league this year. The Hawks have at least developed a team of really good players who are making the playoffs year in and out. Better than the 13 win season a few years back. They are one great player & a new owner from coming close to a championship. Also, these guys are giving back. Look up Al Horford and check to see his community involvement. You’ll be surprised.
BillS
October 27th, 2011
1:38 pm
J, thanks for replying. Last year I saw the Bucks, hardly a classic, you’re right. From what I’ve read, however, overall attendance for the Hawks ranks on the low end in the league. And I’m sure you are correct: some of the games are gems. But again, given the team’s shortcomings, I’m not wiling to take the time, trouble and cash to go. I don’t fault those who do, but count me out, at least for now.
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:38 pm
I AM one of those ignorant UGA fans, though I tend to bash them myself because they are, to the most part, incredibly stupid…
And since you actually have interest in the Hawks, J, you and your racist rants are perfect here….
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:40 pm
I like Horford. I DON’T like lazy, whiny Josh Smith….in fact, he makes me want to wretch violently into a bucket.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:40 pm
either way, i can debate you all day on this subject which i know a hell of a lot more than you do … i’m also a fan of the once Thrashers and the Braves. I at least go to games, even if i am fed up with owners. It’s bonding time i get with my son and for the most part, entertaining. I’m not going to pay and arm and a leg though.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:42 pm
Phil, nobody likes J-not-so-smoove … he’s one that i hope is traded. The most bone-headed player we currently have on our roster. His shot selection is criminal, and that IS something he should be locked up for.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:45 pm
Phil, i’m white and tired of seeing people randomly come on here to bash the NBA/Hawks. Let’s not sugarcoat it, 99% of them are white. That doesn’t make me a racist for calling it out as i see it. Also, it’s pretty obviouse when they talk about Thrashers that they have no common knowledge/interest in the NBA for the most part. Just another forum for them to cry. I’m sick of hearing the crying. At least they can do it on this column but bringing the Hawks into it is still senseless. Bash the ASG, not the Hawks, they have nothing to do with the loss of the Thrashers.
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:46 pm
J – I’m sure you have plenty of sense…in fact, it’s obvious.
As for knowing a heckuva lot more about whatever the subject is you’re talking about, I can’t say I agree when I don’t know what you mean.
The Hawks? Sports in general? Racism? What?
phil
October 27th, 2011
1:47 pm
I could have cared less when the Thrashers moved…they were doomed here from the start.
As for the Hawks, I was once a huge fan and would be again if they’d let me be. With Smith on the team, and a few others, forget it.
J
October 27th, 2011
1:50 pm
Bill, the Bucks series was a wash … it only got entertaining b/c the Hawks came close to losing it. We also had coach Woodson here, which says a heck of a lot why we came close to losing that series. At least the tickets were cheap for it. I guess they knew the series was a crappy one. Unfortunately, Hawks attendance won’t change much, unless it’s a big game. I wouldn’t even consider Hawks v. Bucks a great game, even in the playoffs. Hopefully you’ll come back, but if selective, at least pick a big game to make it out to. Different atmosphere for sure. Alright, i’m done for the day. I think i vented enough …
alex
October 27th, 2011
1:55 pm
J, hawks going nowhere at least at you live time and i wish you long, as far as criminals, just check prison population in America and local news with 11 minute not interruption like war zone. no good. by the way lockout is almost over, i am not buying watching 20 mil. man and smooth under asg management, once more year of mediocrity
J
October 27th, 2011
1:55 pm
Obviously, Phil, i meant the NBA/Hawks. I know you’re just being a true jack@$$ though by wondering what i meant by that, so i won’t fault you for that. Great conversation, now should i tell you now that i’m a GA Tech fan?
J
October 27th, 2011
1:57 pm
alex, you lost me with that first fragmented sentence
t@t.co
October 27th, 2011
2:14 pm
Winnipeg wants to buy.
phil
October 27th, 2011
2:30 pm
No, J, I was serious.
The Hawks? I know a few things there too. Congrats, though, if your knowledge is superior to mine.
J
October 27th, 2011
2:38 pm
no congrats needed, nobody wins anything here ,,, besides, i’ve vented enough today.
alex
October 27th, 2011
2:41 pm
J, nothing i can do for you, sorry. only friendly avise – education, education, education and taking responsobilities. o… one more killing in atlanta today, bye.
5150 UOAD
October 27th, 2011
2:50 pm
Schultz WHERE are your picks? Are you going to post a Pic or 2 of the Porn Star with the new England Patriot?
schultz likes barbie dolls
October 30th, 2011
2:58 am
You what Racist here folks payin 6 dollars for a Hot dog are 10 dollars for Pizza there are coke for 7dollars….watchin fans scream owners did that players did this its simple math when tickets for a floor runs 350.oo that cheap compared if in Ny are La land boston is higher!Furthernore folks Hawks will never win a title untill they get some true forwards center and guards and a GM n coach..That a real coach not one made at Ford plant too….
falconfan58
October 30th, 2011
11:27 am
If you have found someone that wants to buy this team–let them. There may not be another sucker around for at least 100 years. And by the way, if the NBA does not play a game this year- no one will care. The NBA is the worse excuse for a sports league in the world. Nothing but a tax write-off for a bunch of wealthy owners.
buy me
October 30th, 2011
6:58 pm
maybe tom glavine will buy the team with some of his millionaire friends. He almost bought the thrashers.
Max Joe
October 30th, 2011
7:00 pm
Give Max Joe more money–he’s the future of the franchise!!!
ThugVille
October 30th, 2011
7:04 pm
move this team of thugs to another city. Atlanta has too many already.