Franchise Notes

Franchise Notes

Published June 9, 2010

Magazine Ranks Mavs' Mark Cuban As Best NBA Owner

DIME MAGAZINE's Daniel Marks ranks the Mavericks' Mark Cuban as the best owner in the NBA, writing, "Any discussion of the best owner in basketball begins and ends with Mark Cuban. This man has poured his heart and soul into the Mavericks (and his cash) making them a mainstay in the NBA playoffs." Cuban is followed on the list by the Lakers' Jerry Buss, the Spurs' Peter Holt, the Cavaliers' Dan Gilbert and the Rockets' Leslie Alexander. Marks lists the Clippers' Donald Sterling as the worst owner in the league, calling him "probably one of the worst owners in all of sports" and a "penny-pincher who has refused to invest" in his team. The Warriors' Chris Cohan, the Knicks' James Dolan, the Bobcats' Michael Jordan and the Suns' Robert Sarver round out the bottom five (DIMEMAG.com, 6/8). 

GLASS HALF EMPTY? In Milwaukee, Michael Hunt notes during last night's Cubs-Brewers game at Miller Park there were an "eye-opening 12,000-plus unoccupied seats for a surprisingly good game ... that featured the multiple incentives of a rivalry, staying warm and dry and seeing one of the Brewers' few remaining attractions," P Yovani Gallardo. It used to be that Cubs-Brewers "was enough to pretty much fill the place any time, but no more." With the Brewers 24-34 through last night's game, team Owner Mark Attanasio said that his "thoughts were on fixing the team and not the turnstile count." Hunt: "We're about to see how sincere the Brewers, at least within their means, are about that" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 6/9).

TAKING IT TO THE COURTS: Sunburst Entertainment Group LLC, the business subsidiary of the Rays, has filed a lawsuit in Pinellas County (FL) court to receive the remaining $300,000 owed by the UFL Florida Tuskers. Sunburst owned a minority stake in the Tuskers but "exercised its out-clause in January, requiring the Tuskers to refund a $600,000 investment, plus the $64,000 spent to host one Tuskers game at Tropicana Field." The Tuskers "had paid back $364,000" (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 6/9).