NFL Teams For Sale

There has been plenty of interest in – and sufficient reporting about – the process of selling the Carolina Panthers.  The last time I checked Forbes.com, they had the franchise valued at $2.1B; recent reports said that the bidding could go as high as $2.5 – 2.7B.  That is not a bad rate of return for a franchise that cost $206M in 1993.

I mention the Panthers’ situation because there is another NFL franchise that could change hands if the pieces fall together.  Suzie Adams has a one-third interest in the Tennessee Titans; Suzie Adams is one of three heirs of Bud Adams who left equal interests in the team to the three heirs in his will.  There may or may not be some tension among the three heirs depending on which report you read, but the fact is that Suzie Adams would like to sell her one-third share.  For the moment, Amy Adams Strunk is in control of the team; but the NFL does not like situations in ownership where there can be significant internal struggles.  Obviously, the simplest solution would be for Amy Adams Strunk to buy out Suzie Adams and move on.  That has not happened for whatever reason so there is a significant chunk of an NFL team out there for sale and not much action surrounding that commodity.

For the record, Forbes.com has the value for the Titans at $2.05B which is awfully close to the value they set for the Panthers.  Granted, whoever purchases the Panthers would have total team control and that factor might be the motivation for bidders to up the ante there.  However, a one-third interest in the Titans should be worth about $700M.

Speaking of the NFL – sort of – the league released its “preseason schedule” yesterday.  Here in Curmudgeon Central, we call it the Exhibition Game Schedule most of the time and even the “Make-Believe Game Schedule” occasionally.  If you were hanging onto your computer waiting to catch this release seconds after it happened or worse yet you were tuned in to hear the announcement live and in person, you need to get yourself into a Twelve Step Program.  And I mean NOW…

Surely, you have read some reports about the tragic accident involving the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.  Even if you have read other reports, let me highly recommend that you follow this link to a column at SI.com by Charles P. Pierce.  I thought the piece was excellent.

Consider this comment from Bob Molinaro in the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot:

“All in good time: With two national championships in three years, Jay Wright’s success should serve as a lesson for impatient boosters and school officials everywhere. In his first three seasons at Villanova, Wright’s record was 52-46 with no NCAA tournament appearances. Now he oversees what may be the best program in the country.”

“Best program in the country” is certainly open to debate, but the fact that Villanova is now an elite basketball program is established.  The important part of this comment is the call for patience.  Boosters and Athletic Directors who are impatient and who send coaches packing after only a couple of years on the job are not demonstrating their commitment to winning by terminating a coach.  What they are doing is demonstrating very clearly that they did not do a good job in selecting “the right guy” to do the job they wanted done.  They cloak their action(s) in a commitment to winning and excellence when those action(s) more accurately represent either impatience or an incompetent process for selecting the coach about to be fired.  And when fans think of it that way, why should they be more optimistic that the same folks who did not get an “instant winner” out of their last set of hiring deliberations are going to get it right this time?

The NY Knicks are a good example of the above.  Reports this morning say that the Knicks have fired Jeff Hornacek as the head coach.  If so, that means the Knicks will be looking to hire their 5^th coach since 2012 and their 12^th coach since 2001.  Looking back at the Knicks since 2001, they have posted a winning record only twice, so it is not as if coaches have gone there and been successful and used the Knicks as a stepping stone to go on to other things.  The Knicks situation demonstrates one of two things to me:

1. The problem is not coaching.  The problem is roster construction.  Or …
2. The problem is not coaching.  The problem is the process by which the Knicks owner and Front Office make their selection of head coaches.

Shed no tears for Jeff Hornacek.  In 2016, he signed a 3-year contract with the Knicks reportedly worth $15M.  If those numbers are accurate, he should collect about $5M next year to stay home and be with his family.  My long-suffering wife has lived with me in that same situation since I retired to spend 168 hours a week with her; the difference is that I am not bringing in $5M per year to compensate her for her time and effort.

Finally, I often like to report on culinary concoctions available around the country.  Earlier this week, Brad Rock of the Deseret News uncovered this beauty in Utah:

“The Salt Lake Bees are upping their food game with a new sandwich that is half ham, turkey, roast beef and cheddar cheese with a basil aioli; the other half consisting of salami, capicola, pepperoni, provolone cheese and green chili aioli.

“Both halves are topped with jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and carrots mixed with Italian dressing.

“The $24 sandwich, sized the same as a regulation base, is called the ‘6-4-3 Double Play.’

Also known as ‘Gwyneth Paltrow’s Revenge’.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………