Owners Rumors

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Reinsdorf, chairman of the Bulls for the past 31 years and chairman of MLB’s Chicago White Sox for 35 is one of the few owners whose teams have won championships in two of the four major U.S. team sports. The multi-sport owner has kept things seemingly simple along the way. Seizing opportunities as they presented themselves, suffering little apparent doubt, brushing himself off briskly after missteps and sticking to a few core principles have him, at age 80, fit and nearly as involved as ever. “He wants to win,” said Michael Reinsdorf, 49, the second-born of Reinsdorf’s three sons and the president and COO of the Bulls since 2010. “After the World Series [won by the White Sox in 2005], he was like, ‘Well, this will make it easier now. I won’t get so emotional now during games.’ And it’s never changed. Easier said than done.”
It’s the “team” thing again for Reinsdorf. “At the end of the day, it’s up to the players,” he said. “But somebody drafted them, somebody generated money to pay them. You can have the greatest players in the world and they’re not going to win without the coaches. The greatest coaches aren’t going to win without the players. “I don’t think there’s anybody who’s been super-successful who did it by himself or herself. You’ve got to have help from other people.”
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A federal judge Tuesday (Aug. 30) pushed back a trial in Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson’s team ownership fight to February. In the meantime, lawyers in the case have until Oct. 28 to question representatives of the National Football League and the National Basketball Association in depositions, U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo ordered. Benson, 89, is suing to remove ownership shares in the Saints and Pelicans out of trust funds created for his daughter, Renee Benson, and grandchildren Rita and Ryan LeBlanc.
Benson has authority to remove assets from the trusts in exchange for assets of equal value. The trustees blocked Benson’s attempt to remove the team shares in exchange for promissory notes, arguing the deal wasn’t good enough. If the case does go to trial, testimony and evidence is expected to make public details of internal NFL and NBA financial information, the financial performance of the Saints and Pelicans, and Benson’s personal fortune. It wasn’t immediately clear who would represent the NFL and the NBA in depositions.
“I feel like my brain as far as the game of basketball is unique and I would love to continue to give my knowledge to the game,” James said. “And I would love to be a part of a franchise, if not at the top. My dream is to actually own a team and I don’t need to have fully hands on. If I’m fortunate enough to own a team, then I’m going to hire the best GM and president that I can. “But I have a feel like I have a good eye for not only talent, because we all see a lot of talent, but the things that make the talent, the chemistry, what type of guy he is, his work ethic, his passion, the basketball IQ side of things, because talent only goes so far.”