Wrigley, Cubs in limbo
Associated Press
March 24, 2008

Despite a Midas touch for eking profit from distressed properties, Sam Zell surely didn't know that having control of baseball's lovable losers would be this hard.
As Opening Day approaches March 31, the new Tribune Co. chief's plan to sell the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field is months behind schedule, and both hoped-for sales are in limbo.
Fans are venting about the prospect of him selling naming rights to historic Wrigley. Public officials oppose his plan to sell the ballpark to a state-city agency. And some prospective Cubs buyers are frustrated the ball club would come without the ballpark.
Yet whether or not Zell is able to win approval for a sale of Wrigley to the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, clearing the way for a Cubs sale, few are willing to bet against the real estate billionaire and renowned dealmaker in the end.
"It's gotten a lot more complicated because of his effort to maximize the proceeds" from selling Wrigley and the Cubs, said analyst Dave Novosel of the Gimme Credit bond research firm. "But from his viewpoint, if he can get more dollars out of this, even if it takes an extra few months, it's a worthwhile delay."
The controversy over changes involving Wrigley, Novosel said, "obviously is creating a lot of buzz, but I don't know that it's hurting his pocketbook."
Zell's personal fortune, estimated by Forbes magazine last year at US$5 billion, enabled him to risk orchestrating a buyout of Tribune last April at a time when others hesitated to bid for the ailing newspaper and TV company.
Selling off the Cubs seemed the easiest step, and Zell pledged to sell the team quickly — first saying it would happen as soon as last season ended, then by the start of this season. Now, as would-be bidders wait impatiently, it's anyone's guess when a deal will conclude.
A person involved in the bidding said the sale is now unlikely to occur until after the 2008 baseball season.
"He's not under financial strain to sell quickly," said the person, who was not authorized to talk publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. "He can make his required loan payments with other sales."
The Tribune's new chairman and CEO, in fact, said in a statement Thursday that the company has begun a review of its assets amid reports that bidders have emerged for one of its biggest newspapers, Long Island, N.Y.-based Newsday. Other assets also could be sold.
A spokeswoman for Zell said he would not comment on the status of Wrigley and the Cubs. But the person familiar with the process said that despite opposition from public officials, the billionaire is still working hard to sell Wrigley to the ISFA.
ISFA Chairman and former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson is expected to make a formal offer to Zell soon, which he says would mark the beginning of negotiations over the ballpark.
The obstacles to a final deal, however, are formidable.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley doesn't like the idea of diverting local sales tax revenue to help pay for a Wrigley renovation or altering the landmark status of the 94-year-old ballpark. Thompson said recently that the agency's plan would require the city to relax the landmark status and forfeit 30 years of sales tax growth generated by the renovation.
Just as important, Illinois legislators have publicly questioned the idea of involving state funds amid a faltering economy.
Senate Majority Leader Debbie Halvorson, a Democrat, thinks the proposal won't fly in Springfield.
"I don't think it has a chance because it's going to take taxpayer dollars and this isn't the time to do anything that's going to take taxpayer dollars," she said in an interview. "Sam Zell has enough money. He shouldn't be coming to the state for more."
If the ISFA deal falls through, Zell could turn to private buyers or sell Wrigley and the Cubs in one package, as prospective bidders hope.
What fires up fans more than the public funding issues, though, is Zell's proposal to sell naming rights to the iconic ballpark.
The public outrage over that idea may have scared off any corporation that might have been willing to pay for full naming rights. But the Tribune-owned Chicago Tribune, citing unnamed sources, reported that the company has acknowledged holding talks with three possible sponsors and intends to sell naming rights to various parts of the park for an expected total of more than $12 million annually.
Zell, who invested only $315 million in the debt-laden, $8.2 billion Tribune buyout, doesn't seemed concerned about the stalled status of the Wrigley and Cubs sales.
"Excuse me for being sarcastic, but the idea of a debate occurring over what I should do with my asset leaves me somewhat questioning the integrity of the debate," he said on CNBC when asked about the Cubs last month. "There's a lot of people who would like to buy the Cubs and would like to buy the Cubs under their terms and conditions and, unfortunately, have to deal with me."

Smoking casts its carcinogenic cloud over golf
Mike Bianchi
March 23, 2008

Remember the old rock 'n' roll song Smokin' In The Boys Room about the teenage juvenile delinquents who used to sneak into the school bathroom and puff away on cancer sticks?

"Smokin' in the boys' roomSmokin' in the boys' room. Now, teacher, I am fully aware of your rules,But everybody knows that smokin' ain't allowed in school."

The reason we bring this up is to point out how smoking may not be allowed in school, but for some unknown reason it's still allowed on the PGA Tour. Which seems almost unbelievable in this day and age when congressional intervention has forced all sports leagues to strengthen their drug-testing policies and start sending the right message to America's youth.

The PGA Tour will start testing for steroids in July, but before the Tour starts worrying about performance-enhancing drugs, shouldn't it first ban performance-detracting ones like nicotine?Congress has made a major issue about pro sports sending the wrong message when it comes to steroids, but what about pro golf sending the wrong message when it comes to lung cancer? Scientific fact: A relative handful of deaths have resulted from steroid abuse; hundreds of thousands die every year because of nicotine abuse."I don't think we have a problem with smokers," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational .”W e have some. We don't have many. . . . I don't think it's worth spending any energy on."

A few years ago, Finchem was similarly nonchalant when it came to mandatory drug-testing of golfers, but finally capitulated amid public pressure. Why there has not been more of an outcry about the Tour's tacit approval of smoking is harder to figure out than the World Golf Rankings.

Maybe it's just apathy – because Tiger Woods doesn't light up, nobody notices or cares. In fact, Tiger, the ultimate competitor, says he has no problem with tobacco on tour and even jokingly encourages cigarette-toking opponents like John Daly to, "smoke more."

Glad to know Tiger is concerned about the well-being of his fellow competitors. But even if you totally disregard the enormous health risks, smoking during competition just looks bad. How are we supposed to take golf seriously as a true "athletic" competition when pros are smoking while they're playing?

Here's all you need to know: Professional bowling doesn't allow its competitors to smoke during competition but professional golf does. Granted, bowling tournaments are held indoors, but it's still embarrassing for the PGA Tour.

Hey, if Finchem is going to allow cigarettes, why not set up a table at every hole so the golfers can have beer and pretzels, too?Seriously, what other professional sport do you know where an athlete is allowed to actually light up during competition? Can you imagine Eli Manning flicking his cigarette to the side just before taking a snap in the Super Bowl? Or Dwight Howard doing his Superman dunk with a Marlboro dangling from his lip? Or Barry Bonds puffing on a Pall Mall while rounding the bases after hitting No. 756?Such scenarios happen in golf all the time. In fact, it happened at the U.S. Open last year when Angel Cabrera not only smoked the field in the final round, but he also smoked about a dozen cigarettes.

"Some players use sports psychologists," Cabrera said then. "I smoke."Another smoker, Frank Licklighter II, when asked at the Arnold Palmer Invitational why he smoked during competition, deadpanned: "It keeps me from killing certain people."

Good line. Bad habit.

Just because a few golfers like Licklighter, Cabrera, Daly, Nick Price, etc., are addicted to nicotine doesn't mean they should be allowed to turn golf's fairways into tobacco road. This isn't the 1950s and '60s when smoking was an accepted part of golf and other sports.

Ben Hogan used to smoke two packs of unfiltered Chesterfield cigarettes per round. Sam Snead used to commercially endorse Lucky Strikes even though he detested smoking. And, of course, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus were chain smokers in their early days on the Tour.

But Arnie points out he stopped smoking on the golf course in 1962, the same year Jack also quit publicly puffing. Nicklaus told Golf Digest a few years ago that he stopped smoking on the golf course after watching a replay of a playoff with Arnie in the '62 U.S. Open -- a day when the two future legends turned Oakmont into Smokemont."We must have looked like two chimneys," Nicklaus said. "I never smoked again in public after that."Now here we are nearly a half-century later, and cigarettes are still allowed in a sport where Tiger Woods presents a chiseled, sculpted image of health and fitness.Then TV cameras flash to Daly swinging the golf club with a cigarette dangling from his mouth or Cabrera walking up the fairway at the U.S. Open enveloped in a carcinogenic cloud.Just like that, the image of golf as a legitimate athletic endeavor goes up in a puff of smoke.

Road hockey feud has forever altered Kingston neighbourhood
Jordan Press
Kingston Whig-Standard

Longwood Terrace, a short cul-de-sac nestled away between Collins Bay and Woodbine roads, is the centre of the debate about whether to legalize street hockey.
City council couldn't come to a decision and instead has delayed concluding the matter until the spring at the earliest. For now, playing sports on city streets remains illegal.
The debate has divided a city as residents on both sides of the issue have crowded council and committee meetings in attempts to persuade city politicians to favour their side.
On Longwood Terrace, the debate has had a much more debilitating effect: It has forever divided a neighbourhood.
"It's just shot all to hell. Nobody up here speaks anymore," said resident Penny Faulkner, who opposes changing the bylaw to legalize street sports.
Faulkner said there is no way to resolve the tension among the neighbours.
"The damage is done now," she said. "It will never be repaired."
Wednesday morning in a Kingston courtroom, a local radio station pleaded guilty to violating the city's noise bylaw during a remote broadcast from the street that tried to highlight the controversial issue.
The plea from CTV Limited, which owns radio station Bob FM, meant the lone resident named in the case didn't face a fine.
The city dropped charges against resident Dave Pople and broadcasters Mike Reid and Carl Richards in exchange for the station's guilty plea.
The station will pay a $220 fine.
"They're showing some remorse and saving the city some considerable trial time," city prosecutor Mark McLaughlin told the court.
During the months of debate, Pople has found himself to be one of the people speaking on behalf of those in favour of changing the bylaw, appearing before council more than a year ago to urge officials to make the change.
He had hoped a political decision on the matter would have been made before the start of 2008.
"It's definitely gone on longer than I had anticipated," Pople said. "The wheels at City Hall are really, really grinding slowly."
Those wheels started grinding in early June when Pople stood before city councillors and asked them to start the process to change the bylaw. The move stemmed from a dispute between neighbours.
Some on the west-end street weren't happy with the way the children played. They complained about property damage and children not listening when asked to stay off the lawn.
One day, one resident stumbled on the fact that sports are not allowed on city streets. The bylaw, however, is complaint-driven, meaning if there are no complaints, then no action is taken.
The resident filed a complaint, and a few days later, a municipal bylaw officer handed out notices to 13 homes on the street alerting them to the fact that street sports were illegal and violators could face a fine of up to $5,000.
Since that time, there have been 12 complaints and warnings issued on Longwood Terrace with regards to playing street hockey, said bylaw enforcement manager Kim Leonard. She said that number is the highest of any street in the city.
So far this year, Leonard said, there have been 11 street-sports complaints to the bylaw office, of which three are from Longwood Terrace.
The debate around the city council chamber took a peculiar turn in November. A city committee recommended that the bylaw stay as is, based on information from staff that allowing sports on streets would open up the city to possible lawsuits if someone were injured while playing in the street.
A majority of city councillors weren't convinced and instead decided to have municipal staff craft a bylaw legalizing road hockey based on a similar law in Ottawa.
(The problem with the Ottawa bylaw is that while it legalized street hockey, it didn't change sections of the city's traffic and parking bylaw that prohibits anyone from playing sports on a roadway. Basically, Ottawa passed a bylaw that can't be enforced.)
A draft bylaw is scheduled to be presented to the arts, recreation and community policies committee next month.
Councillor Rob Matheson, whose district includes Longwood Terrace, introduced the idea of changing the bylaw. He said the whole thing has taken longer than he expected. The problem, he said, is that committees are overloaded with work.
He wants to see the debate come to an end very soon.
"I'd like to see it be done with by the time people are able to play street hockey this summer," Matheson said.
While it might have divided neighbours, Matheson said the bylaw has brought together residents in favour of changing the bylaw.
Throughout the debate, Pople and Faulkner talked about their difference of opinion on the matter. But the grind of the debate and the emotions involved have taken their toll.
They have been neighbours for eight years and were good friends.
They don't talk anymore.
"It's definitely black and white now," said Pople. "The line has been drawn in the sand."
The problem, Pople said, is that he doesn't think a council decision will close the rift that has been opened between neighbours on Longwood Terrace.

Enough with the pro sports handouts
Dave Perkins
Thestar.com

Don't envy Peter Fonseca his job in the coming stuttering economy. As Ontario's tourism minister, he juggles the reeling U.S. dollar, $4-a-gallon gas down below and necessity to run ads reminding the locals to be nice to visitors. When you need to tell people that, you're in tough long before the first $9.50 glass of beer is sold to a disbelieving tourist.
The gang at Queen's Park has commissioned yet another tourism study, this time naming Greg Sorbara chair of the Ontario Tourism Competitiveness Study and Action Plan. Fonseca couldn't say how much the study would cost or exactly who would pay for it. We can guess.
Anyway, a particular old hobby horse here has been the willingness of our governments to subsidize professional sports with taxpayer funds and let's ride it again: Fonseca's ministry is open about its grants to events, some of extremely dubious value (it says here), owned or administered by wealthy corporations and individuals. There's a nearby chart that indicates, for instance, $150,000 a year and $550,000 in the past four years granted to the Rogers Cup tennis toona-mint for "marketing" purposes. This is Rogers as in Ted Rogers, the laughing billionaire who loves to publicly rub everyone's nose in the fact that he scooped the SkyDome, for which taxpayers covered the majority of the $620 million cost, for $25 million.
Do we feel good about this, knowing Uncle Ted's tennis division nuzzles up for a small taste every year?
Fonseca indicated that Ted and Larry Tanenbaum will be eligible to apply for "marketing" funds when they bring in the Buffalo Bills. Great. So we can put our tax dollars into helping kill off the CFL.
We learned recently about the now-gone auto race at the CNE sucking up $850,000 of our money over the years. How about the Tim Hortons Brier getting $125,000, $50,000 to Telus for golf's Skins Game, or the Grey Cup, which reaped a sizeable profit this year for Messrs. Cynamon and Sokolowski, getting $200,000?
It's happening in a province whose biggest city, this one, required a $160,000 donation from MasterCard, run by an American, to keep 41 public skating rinks open in December. (Those 41 rinks are closed now; it would have cost a reported $266,000 to keep them open and, yes, the province is one pocket and the city is another, but didn't all money come out of our pocket in the first place?)
All these funds come out of the tourism ministry's TEMPP fund, which stands for Tourism Event Marketing Partnership Program.
"Our ministry looks at all partnerships and how they are able to impact our economy in terms of tourism," said Fonseca, once a marathon runner of note. "Something like a judo tournament in my riding that attracted over 800 participants, many from all parts of the world. So that was great."
Maybe so. And doubtless the event needed the handout the way some enterprises don't.
"We'll also look at other partnerships, at things like the Indy, as well as with professional sports and amateur sports. What we are there to do is to really be the glue and the strategic partner to help develop and invest in a product that will attract tourists with it," Fonseca said.
If his ministry was serious, it would cease handouts to pro sports, which don't need them, and join the health people in supporting something like the 2015 Pan Am Games bid, which might draw a few tourists, in a pre-Olympic year, and also would leave behind a legacy of badly needed sports facilities.
Long term, giving kids places to play is a better idea here than spending $21 million on surveillance cameras to identify the swarmers on the TTC.

Overview of Ontario's Tourism Event Marketing Partnership Program funding for major sporting events:
Rogers Cup tennis
2004-05: $50,000
2005-06: $200,000
2006-07: $150,000
2007-08: $150,000
Canadian PGA Champ.
2004-05: $15,000
2005-06: $8,000
Grey Cup
2004-05: $200,000
2007-08: $200,000
Tim Hortons Brier
2006-07: $125,000
Telus Skins golf
2007-08: $50,000
x-Toronto Grand Prix
2006-07: $333,000
x-Grand Prix was allotted a total of $850,000 from 2003 to 2007.

Are Bills the thin edge of the wedge?: CFL fans fret that plan for Toronto to host 8 NFL games will hurt Canada's league
Jim Byers
TheStar.com

Canadian Football League fans look at the plan to bring eight Buffalo Bills games to Toronto over the next five years and get nervous. The folks in charge of boosting Toronto's stagnant tourism numbers look at the plan and see a glittering sports entity that dwarfs anything and everything in North America.
"This is a real blessing for us," said Tourism Toronto president and CEO David Whitaker. "It's a tremendous opportunity and we're looking to take full advantage."
Backers of the plan, who include Larry Tanenbaum of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and media mogul Ted Rogers, say the event could lure thousands of border-shy Americans into Canada from both Buffalo and from the cities where the Bills' opponents play.
There also would be visitors from other parts of Ontario or Canada, many of them happy to drop some cash on hotel rooms or in city bars and restaurants.
"In Canada we used to think, `Oh, well, we're the land of the 65-cent dollar and we have to appeal to budget travellers,'" said Rogers vice-chair Phil Lind. "But we'll have something here now that intrigues them and captivates them, and so it puts us in their league. I think it's a good thing for economic development, a good thing for tourism and a good thing for overall impact."
Lind said bringing in tourists is nice but that the TV exposure south of the border is probably worth more. Bills games routinely attract millions of viewers in the U.S., and the team's Monday-night game against the Dallas Cowboys last year drew more than 13 million viewers in prime time.
Visitors to Toronto increased 1.1 per cent last year over 2006, but Tourism Toronto officials say there was a 4 per cent drop last year in U.S. overnight visitors. Some 2.2 million Americans bedded down in the city last year.
"The primary issue is that Americans will pay attention and focus on something happening in another country," Lind told the Star. "They'll say, `Not only does Toronto have that (the Bills game), they've got a lot of other things as well.' It'll mean something on the day of the game, but the lingering effect is probably more important."
Mayor David Miller is a little more circumspect.
"There's no question that getting Toronto shown positively on U.S. television, although that might depend on having a winning team, is helpful. But I think our number one priority has to be the health of the CFL. From Toronto's perspective within Canada, if we were seen to be killing the CFL or harming it significantly, it would really hurt us."
In a January survey of 500 southern Ontario residents taken for Rogers Communications by The Strategic Counsel, 54 per cent of respondents said bringing the Bills to Toronto for one or two games a year would be "very good" for the city and province, while 28 per cent said it would be "somewhat good." Only 5 per cent thought it would be somewhat or very bad.
About one-third said bringing the Bills here for one or two games would have a positive effect on the CFL, and only a quarter thought it would have a negative effect. But among self-identified CFL fans, those statistics were reversed.
Forty per cent of the people surveyed, CFL fans or not, didn't think NFL games here would have any real effect.
Perhaps the most worrisome note was that 41 per cent of those questioned admitted they preferred NFL football to CFL football; among those 24 and younger, 56 per cent did so. Overall, only 8 per cent preferred the CFL, while 31 per cent said they like both equally.
People who hold season tickets for the Argonauts will get first crack at NFL Toronto tickets. And the Argos, for now, are working with the Bills' Toronto supporters on combined publicity. But many CFL types are understandably wary.
"If you make the assumption that an NFL team would come into this market, it would cut into (the CFL's) ad revenue, ticketing, and would remove our ability to compete, as there's a limited (amount) of sponsorship and television money in the Canadian marketplace," CFL commissioner Mark Cohon has said.
There's talk that the eight-game run is a mere prelude to having the Bills pull up stakes for Canada permanently.

Auto dealer: scrap deal for Marlins ballpark
Associated Press

MIAMI — Norman Braman, a former owner of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, opposes a giant $3-billion (U.S.) public works deal that includes a long-sought stadium for baseball's Florida Marlins.
Braman is suing to stop Miami's so-called "global agreement" in its tracks, contending it was illegally hatched in secret and improperly uses money intended to cure urban blight and help poor people. Braman wants voters to decide projects of such magnitude, rather than politicians.
"Taxpayers in this town have been ripped off constantly over the years," Braman said in a recent interview in his downtown Miami office. "It's time that as citizens of this community that we say enough is enough — that we're not going to put up with this any more."
The 37,000-seat, retractable-roof Marlins stadium — along with a 6,000-space parking garage and possibly a future adjacent soccer stadium where the soon-to-be-razed Orange Bowl now sits — is only one part of the grand agreement between the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County.
It also envisions a $1-billion tunnel under Biscayne Bay for trucks rumbling to and from the Port of Miami, a passenger trolley line serving the downtown area, additional money for a just-opened performing arts centre with budget problems and work on a park that will become home to several Miami museums.
Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, politically an independent, said each project has been discussed exhaustively for years, and each will contribute to the city's revitalization and create jobs in different ways.
"This agreement really deals with a number of issues which I think are essential for us to create the kind of city we want to create," Diaz said in an interview.
Braman contends in his lawsuit that the deal approved in December violates Florida's Sunshine Law requiring open government because many negotiating sessions were conducted in private between the city, county and the Marlins. The lawsuit claims that money intended for districts created to fight poverty and blight is being illegally diverted into the projects.
Braman, the Eagles' owner from 1985 to '94, said he's not flatly opposed to a new Marlins stadium but favours private financing — a method the cost-conscious Marlins aren't willing to consider.
If officials would put the issue to voters in a referendum, the 76-year-old Braman said he would drop his lawsuit. But Diaz said many of the projects have already been approved by voters.
As for the Marlins ballpark, Diaz called it "one piece of the puzzle" that adds up to a vibrant economic future for the city. "It's one of these destinations that fill it out," the mayor said. "There's a tremendous intrinsic value to sports."
The Marlins, who hope to play in the new stadium in 2011, have threatened to move to another city if it doesn't get built. They currently play in Dolphin Stadium, home of the NFL team, under financial terms the Marlins don't consider favourable to them.
Marlins executives and owner Jeffrey Loria declined comment on the lawsuit, as did Miami-Dade County officials.

Oklahoma City approves proposal: Voters hope tax will lure NBA team to Oklahoma
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City voters approved a sales tax extension Tuesday to fund $121.6 million in improvements to a downtown arena and build a practice facility in hopes of luring an NBA team.
The proposal received support from 44,849 voters, or 62 percent of those who cast ballots, according to final results from the Oklahoma County Election Board.
"We will not let you down. We know we have some work to do and we'll get to it starting first thing tomorrow morning," Cornett said.
Bennett issued a statement Tuesday night thanking Cornett, the city council and the chamber of commerce, which backed a campaign promoting the vote as a way to become a "Big League City."
"Above all, we are grateful to the citizens of Oklahoma City for their continued commitment to excellence," Bennett said.
The Ford Center opened in 2002 and hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina. Average attendance for those games was more than 18,000, but the proposed upgrades were designed to help increase the arena's ability to generate revenue from multiple sources and also keep up with a new arena in Kansas City, Mo., and one under construction in Tulsa.
"What it did was basically assure we're going to hold our own on Big 12 tournaments and NCAA regionals," Cornett said. "We were in danger of slipping. If we didn't pass this, it was going to be tough for us to get those featured events. That's taken care of, no matter what else happens."
Less than 11/2 hours after polls closed, Cornett announced expected victory to supporters at a watch party at a restaurant in the Bricktown entertainment district.
"You need places like this, you need those important infrastructure elements, you need a strong arts community and you also need to have a sporting presence," Cornett said.
"I couldn't tell you how proud I am that we're creating this complete picture. We really are creating a city where people want to be. This a golden age in Oklahoma City. I think some day we'll be able to look back and people will realize it."
The Ford Center was built using funds from a similar sales tax plan that also raised money to build a minor league ballpark and transform a warehouse district into the city's bustling Bricktown entertainment district. It also hosts a minor league hockey franchise and an arena football team.
The Hornets' temporary stay was the city's first chance to host a professional team from one of the four major league sports.
"I think that the Hornets hooked a lot of people on the NBA. A lot of people follow it now," said Greater Oklahoma City Chamber president Roy Williams. "I believe that this is going to be a renewal sort of unlike we've seen. I think people are going to begin tracking and paying more and more attention that it could be soon that it's announced we're going to be an NBA city."
Planned upgrades include restaurants, clubs, suites and new locker rooms. If no team relocates to Oklahoma City before June 2009, the sales tax will run out after 12 months and the practice facility and any NBA-specific improvements to the Ford Center will not be built.
"The Sonics are in Seattle, and the Sonics can stay in Seattle. That's in the hands of Seattle," Williams said. "Seattle can still keep their team if they're willing to do what it takes to pay for it.
"It's not ours to win. It's Seattle's to lose."
"We will not let you down. We know we have some work to do and we'll get to it starting first thing tomorrow morning," Cornett said.
Bennett issued a statement Tuesday night thanking Cornett, the city council and the chamber of commerce, which backed a campaign promoting the vote as a way to become a "Big League City."
"Above all, we are grateful to the citizens of Oklahoma City for their continued commitment to excellence," Bennett said.
The Ford Center opened in 2002 and hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina. Average attendance for those games was more than 18,000, but the proposed upgrades were designed to help increase the arena's ability to generate revenue from multiple sources and also keep up with a new arena in Kansas City, Mo., and one under construction in Tulsa.
"What it did was basically assure we're going to hold our own on Big 12 tournaments and NCAA regionals," Cornett said. "We were in danger of slipping. If we didn't pass this, it was going to be tough for us to get those featured events. That's taken care of, no matter what else happens."
Less than 11/2 hours after polls closed, Cornett announced expected victory to supporters at a watch party at a restaurant in the Bricktown entertainment district.
"You need places like this, you need those important infrastructure elements, you need a strong arts community and you also need to have a sporting presence," Cornett said.
"I couldn't tell you how proud I am that we're creating this complete picture. We really are creating a city where people want to be. This a golden age in Oklahoma City. I think some day we'll be able to look back and people will realize it."
The Ford Center was built using funds from a similar sales tax plan that also raised money to build a minor league ballpark and transform a warehouse district into the city's bustling Bricktown entertainment district. It also hosts a minor league hockey franchise and an arena football team.
The Hornets' temporary stay was the city's first chance to host a professional team from one of the four major league sports.
"I think that the Hornets hooked a lot of people on the NBA. A lot of people follow it now," said Greater Oklahoma City Chamber president Roy Williams. "I believe that this is going to be a renewal sort of unlike we've seen. I think people are going to begin tracking and paying more and more attention that it could be soon that it's announced we're going to be an NBA city."
Planned upgrades include restaurants, clubs, suites and new locker rooms. If no team relocates to Oklahoma City before June 2009, the sales tax will run out after 12 months and the practice facility and any NBA-specific improvements to the Ford Center will not be built.
"The Sonics are in Seattle, and the Sonics can stay in Seattle. That's in the hands of Seattle," Williams said. "Seattle can still keep their team if they're willing to do what it takes to pay for it.
"It's not ours to win. It's Seattle's to lose."
Oklahoma City to decide on NBA plan
Associated Press
March 3, 2008 at 4:11 PM EST
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma City voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to vote on a $121 million plan aimed at luring the NBA to the city on a full-time basis.
Oklahoma City mayor Mick Cornett's proposal would spend $97 million to upgrade the Ford Center and another $24.6 million to build an NBA practice facility in hopes of completing the city's courtship of the Seattle SuperSonics.
While Cornett has been promoting the improvements to the Ford Center as mandatory to show Oklahoma City's long-term commitment to the NBA, David Glover has been spearheading opposition to the plan that would extend a one-cent sales tax increase for another 15 months.
Cornett considers the improvements to the Ford Center necessary even if the SuperSonics, owned by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, don't end up relocating. Without them, Cornett says Oklahoma City will fall behind competitors for concerts, the Big 12 tournament and other events.
Bennett declined interview requests from The Associated Press and through a spokesman refused to say what would happen if the vote fails. The SuperSonics are in the middle of a court battle to break their lease in Seattle, and the NBA Board of Governors will vote in April on Bennett's request to relocate to Oklahoma City.
While reserving comment on the specific proposal in Oklahoma City, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said "the NBA will always support teams' and cities' efforts to enhance the experience for our fans."
The cost of adding restaurants, clubs, suites and other amenities to the Ford Center — which hosted the New Orleans Hornets for two years following Hurricane Katrina — falls about in the middle of the cost fronted by new NBA cities when the past two franchises relocated.

TSN clear winner on NHL trade deadline day
WILLIAM HOUSTON
Globe and Mail

TSN won the battle for NHL trade deadline viewers on Tuesday by a wide margin, drawing more than triple the audience of Rogers Sportsnet and almost 14 times as many viewers as The Score.
TSN's audience of 166,000 jumped 11 per cent from last year's trade deadline day. Sportsnet's 54,000 was flat. And the Score's 12,000 represented an increase of 33 per cent.
Réseau des Sports, the French-language sports service, topped them all, drawing 268,000. But the RDS telecast was only four hours in length, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
TSN and Sportsnet were on the air for 10 hours and the Score for 10 1/2 hours. It's more difficult to hold an audience over 10 hours than four.
"We did fantastic, really," TSN president Phil King said. "We're continuing to grow every year."
King noted TSN (and the other English-language networks) went on the air two hours earlier this year than last and presented a longer telecast, but still managed to increase the audience.
"The first two hours are the toughest, because trades are unlikely," he said.
The TSN, Sportsnet and Score numbers are down from 2006, but interest in hockey two years ago was extraordinarily high because of the NHL's return from the cancelled 2004-05 season.
Although Sportsnet improved the quality of its coverage from last year, when it employed a failed studio party format, it was unable to win back viewers. The Score continued to rank a distant third.
Speculation about the Montreal Canadiens trading for Atlanta Thrashers star Marian Hossa kept viewers glued to RDS in the afternoon.
But TSN, Sportsnet and Score took a hit when Toronto Maple Leafs veterans with no-trade clauses, including captain Mats Sundin, refused to be moved.
Online, records were set.
TSN.ca had its busiest day, with 14.26 million page views, up 39 per cent from last year and bettering the previous mark of 13.92 million in 2006.
The Score set a one-day record for its online traffic. Its website received 88,647 visits, an increase of 89 per cent from last year's trade deadline.
TSN.ca provided 1.4 million streams of its TV coverage, more than double last year's 607,000. It had 359,00 unique visitors to its live video and audio services, up 30 per cent. At Sportsnet, 60,000 used its live video stream, double last year's traffic.
Page views for the deadline special on Hockey Night in Canada Radio streamed on CBCsports.ca jumped 135 per cent to 800,000 from about 300,000.

Ontario's Ultimate stalemate: Against a tide of popularity and precedent, province stands firm in its reluctance to join the mixed martial arts boom
Steve Buffery
Sun Media

The Montreal Canadiens are one the hottest teams in the NHL and a sense of optimism is growing in Quebec that Les Glorieux could go deep in the playoffs this season.
But the hottest ticket in Montreal these days is not for a Canadiens game, but for the Ultimate Fighting Championship card which will be held at the Bell Centre on April 19 -- the first time in history an UFC event will be held in Canada.
To say that Montreal has embraced the show would be a major understatement. Most of the tickets for UFC 83 (as the promotion is called) were sold within 24 hours -- and tickets were made available only to UFC Fight Club members in a pre-sale. When the remainder of the 21,000-plus seats were offered to the general public, they were snatched up in less than one minute.
Mixed martial arts (the UFC is the leading MMA organization) has grown by leaps and bounds in popularity the past few years and interest in Canada has reached the point where, in 2007, eight of the top 10 live events on Viewers Choice Pay Per View were UFC events (it is UFC policy not to release actual Pay Per View numbers).
While fans in Quebec finally get a chance to see a UFC event live, connoisseurs of mixed martial arts in Ontario may never get that opportunity. In fact, Ontario is one of the last holdouts in terms of refusing to allow MMA promotions, a stance that has become increasingly controversial and unpopular. As usual, the person wearing the goat horns is Ontario athletics commissioner Ken Hayashi.
As far as Hayashi is concerned, mixed martial arts is an illegal activity and until Canadian federal law is changed, there will not be any shows held in this province.
It all comes down to the interpretation of Section 83 of the Canadian Criminal Code, which deems "prize fighting" as being illegal, with this exception: "A boxing contest between amateur sportsmen, where the contestants wear boxing gloves of not less than one hundred and 40 grams each in mass, or any boxing contest held with the permission or under the authority of an athletic board or commission or similar body established by or under the authority of the legislature of a province for the control of sport within the province, shall be deemed not to be a prize fight."
To Hayashi, who is a karate black belt and master instructor, it all comes down to the words "a boxing contest." Hayashi says mixed martial arts, or any sport of that ilk, is not boxing, although the province has made one exception, and that is professional kick boxing, which allows kicking, but only above the waist. Unlike MMA, kick-boxing shows in Ontario are held in a traditional boxing ring and fighters are obligated to wear standardized boxing gloves. UFC contests are held in a showy octagonal cage and UFC fighters wear smaller, open gloves.
"It's still a stretch, absolutely," Hayashi said of the province's amendments to allow kick boxing. "But that's the limit the government feels comfortable with. (Kick boxers) can't kick to the legs, they can't grab, they can't throw to the ground, can't choke out, can't put someone in a submission hold, can't elbow, can't knee ... there is a difference."
Even with stricter rules and safety measures implemented by the UFC in recent years, Hayashi's stance on mixed martial arts is firm, and no other commissioner, no promoter, no fight organization such as UFC, will change is mind.
He believes emphatically that any combat sport, other than boxing and kick boxing, is illegal in Ontario (and Canada for that matter), and he does have precedence on his side.
In March 2000, Ontario court justice Judge Nancy Kastner banned the sport of muay-Thai boxing, a mixed martial art practised by many UFC fighters. Following an investigation by the Toronto Sun and, subsequently, the office of the Ontario athletics commissioner and the province, Kastner ruled that the Thai boxing was "inherently dangerous" in part because of the practise of striking with elbows and knees, and therefore, the sport contravened section 83 of the federal criminal code.
Today, Hayashi says mixed martial arts offer up the same problems, even with stricter rules and regulations.
"If the courts agreed with us, how can the province be wrong?" Hayashi said of the Thai boxing ruling. "If we had lost that court case, then bottom line is, okay, I guess it is a 'boxing contest.' "
Hayashi, who has long been at odds with the boxing and kick-boxing communities in Ontario for his strict adherence to the commission's many rules and regulations, and for not helping promote their sports, is incredulous that other jurisdictions in Canada, including Quebec, interpret section 83 of the Canadian criminal code in such a way that MMA contests, like UFC, are allowed. Hayashi, the Ontario commissioner since 1995, believes that if anyone gets seriously hurt at the April 19 show at the Bell Centre, the Quebec commission and the province could face a lawsuit -- possibly launched by the federal government. As it is now, the feds have not challenged a provincial commission regarding MMA shows, although Vancouver City Council last September voted unanimously to ban MMA contests until more information is gathered about the sport. Then again, no one has been seriously hurt -- yet -- in Canada.
Hayashi says no matter how safe any combat sport is, serious injuries will occur. Last October, Houston fighter Sam Vasquez died days after being floored by a hard right to the chin, following a flurry of punches by his opponent, Vince Libardi, during a mixed martial arts contest at the Toyota Center in Houston -- the first documented death in MMA in North America (American fighter Douglas Dedge died as a result after competing in a MMA bout in Ukraine in 1998). Vasquez collapsed to the floor and suffered a seizure. His condition gradually worsened and he underwent two operations to relieve the pressure of a large clot in his brain. Following surgery, he suffered a massive stroke and was placed in a medically induced coma, before dying.
The Ontario commish believes if the Vasquez bout was held in Canada, even with the insurance purchased by the promoters, the federal government would have been in a position to consider legal action against the provincial commission because the show would have been ruled illegal, in accordance to section 83 of the criminal code. At least, that's his interpretation.
"It's breaking the law," Hayashi said. "The federal law supersedes provincial law."
It's a different story in the United States. The legality of mixed martial arts is the decision of each state. Part of Marc Ratner's job, as the UFC's vice-president of government and regulatory affairs, is to lobby state commissions and legislatures to sell MMA as a safe and viable (not to mention lucrative) practice, and to encourage states to make amendments to their laws to allow MMA promotions. Ratner is certainly the man for the job, having served as executive director of the Nevada state commission for 14 years.
RESPECTFUL
Ratner insists he respects Hayashi's interpretation of the Canadian criminal code regarding the legality of MMA, but he is encouraging the Ontario commissioner, whom he has known for years, to take steps to have the Canadian code amended, so MMA shows can be held in Ontario. There is no doubt, Ratner says, that there is a demand for live UFC shows in Ontario.
"It's no secret that Toronto would be the next place we would love to go (with a major show), but until (the province) gets the law fixed the way they want it, it certainly won't go there," Ratner said. "But certainly we're bullish on Ontario."
Ratner says he is encouraging, not pressuring, Hayashi to take steps to have the criminal code amended, to allow MMA shows in Ontario.
But Hayashi will not take it upon himself to initiate movement to the have the criminal code amended. If someone wants to make the first move, Hayashi says he will do what he can to help. But he insists that it's not up to him to get the ball rolling.
It's precisely that attitude that has made Hayashi Public Enemy No. 1 with the combat sports community in Ontario.
Mick McNamara, a long-time kick boxing promoter, club owner (Twin Dragons) and instructor, along with his brother, Martin, believes that Hayashi's, and the province's, real agenda is to eliminate kick boxing and boxing shows by implementing unreasonable rules and regulations. Promoters in Ontario have long complained about unreasonable upfront costs and being overregulated by the commission, and have criticized Hayashi for doing nothing to promote either sport.
"They can't ban boxing or kick boxing (like they want to), so they have found another way to do the job," McNamara said. "Safety has been a mask, an excuse, to regulate us to death."
But Hayashi is adamant that it is not his job to help promote boxing, kick boxing, or any such sport, only to regulate it. Hayashi insists his primary responsibility is to ensure the safety and welfare of fighters and that stance would be compromised if he took it upon himself to act as a de factor promoter. Hayashi bristles at suggestions he goes out of his way to make it difficult for promoters to organize shows. If the rules in this province are strict, Hayashi insists, it's only for the safety of the fighters.
Still, the professional fight game in Ontario has been in decline for years and there are fewer and fewer promoters attempting to put on shows. The one bright spot has been IBF super bantamweight Steve Molitor, whose promoters have staged regular successful cards at Casino Rama near Orillia.
Tim Lueckenhoff, president of the Association of Boxing Commissioners, said the diminishing popularity of boxing is not restricted to Ontario. Interest in that traditional combat sport has been on the downside for years, and that's one of the reasons his association (of which Hayashi is a member) has embraced mixed martial arts.
Lueckenhoff says the majority of states in the U.S. are now on board to allow MMA contests -- even though, in some cases, it took years of lobbying to have laws amended, as was the case recently in Missouri, Lueckenhoff's home jurisdiction. After two years of working with the state legislature, Missouri amended its laws to allow MMA shows and Lueckenhoff said he is busier than ever.
"Mixed martial arts is huge, it's unbelievable," Lueckenhoff said. "We've had eight shows so far (since September), by far outpacing the boxing shows, with seven more MMA shows scheduled for the next week."
For Hayashi, not allowing MMA contests is a simple matter of interpreting the criminal code. But for others, there is a feeling the commissioner, and others involved in traditional combat sports, believe the real reason for resisting mixed martial arts is because of the sport's reputation for brutality.
MMA, near to its present form, first appeared in Brazil in the early 1900s. In 1993, a North American group formed UFC and held its first show that year, attracting 86,000 pay-per-view hits, increasing to about 300,000 by the third show. In the early days, UFC shows were described as "no holds barred" contests, but with the building popularity of the sport came increased criticism and outrage, as there were few rules, other than no biting or eye-gouging. Arizona Sen. John McCain, now the leading candidate to earn the Republican nomination for the 2008 U.S. presidential election, launched a highly visible campaign against UFC.
In response to the backlash, UFC officials, including current president Dana White, took steps in the 1990s to clean up the sport, including the establishment of a strict set of rules (including a ban on punches or kicks to the groin), as well as limits on the number of rounds and the time of rounds. Now the sport has gone mainstream and is more popular than ever, confounding those who maintained that its attraction was based on blood lust. In fact, recent studies in the U.S. concluded that knockout rates are lower in MMA competitions than in professional boxing.
Ratner says many serious injuries and fatalities in boxing occur as a result of the amount of punishment fighters absorb during training sessions, and that often leaves them open to serious injury in the actual bout. Mixed martial arts fighters, on the other hand, don't suffer as many shots to the head during training as they work on wrestling moves, kicks to the body and holds.
Lueckenhoff believes that Hayashi's reluctance to accept MMA also stems, in part, from the Stephan Johnson incident.
In April 1999, in a clash for the vacant World Boxing Federation super welterweight belt at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, veteran American boxer Stephan Johnson suffered a TKO loss at the hands of Canadian star Fitz Vanderpool, after absorbing a series of straight rights and left hooks in the 11th round. Johnson was hospitalized after the fight, slapped with a 60-day suspension, and ordered by Hayashi to undergo a series of neurological examinations -- a CAT scan, psychometric evaluation and EEG. Hayashi refused to lift the suspension after it was discovered Johnson had a CAT scan done, but declined the other two tests.
Despite still being under suspension in Ontario, Johnson was allowed to box in South Carolina, Georgia and, finally, New Jersey. On Nov. 20, 1999, six months after his fight in Ontario, Johnson was knocked out during a bout in Atlantic City, fell into a coma and later died. Hayashi denies that the Johnson death has anything to do with his strict stance on mixed martial arts, but others aren't so sure.
"That kind of thing scars you for a long time, and I kind of understand what Ken is feeling," Lueckenhoff said. "But everybody is legalizing mixed martial arts."
Lueckenhoff, who described the early days of MMA essentially as "a free for all," said the ABC is actively encouraging state, provincial and city commissions to legalize the sport, now that strict safety regulations have been established.
"I know Ken very well and I know he's very safety-conscious," Lueckenhoff said, "and some states still feel the sport is barbaric and it shouldn't be legalized. And Ken hasn't been sold on it yet. But we believe that it is truly a safe sport."
As does Quebec boxing commissioner Mario Latraverse, whose jurisdiction is by far the most active in Canada and generates the most money for the fighters, promoters and the province. UFC 83 is expected to generate millions for the Montreal economy and Latraverse had no hesitations in allowing the first UFC in Canada, in his jurisdiction.
In fact, he says the majority of provincial commissions in Canada accept MMA, adding that Ontario is in the minority. Indeed, mixed martial arts is allowed in 32 states and most provinces, including Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and British Columbia -- aside from Vancouver city council's opposition.
Latraverse said he would not allow MMA shows unless he was convinced the sport had cleaned up its act and was now safe, or as safe as any combat sport can be.
"You're going to see more blood in (mixed martial arts) because of the gloves they use. You're going to cut a little more, but, still, you don't have the major injuries you might see in boxing," he said.
TRAUMATIZED
In a pro boxing show in Quebec, if a fighter is knocked to the canvas as a result of a blow or series of blows to the head, the referee will often allow him to get back up and continue fighting after he has been given a standing eight count, Latraverse says. In most UFC fights, the referee will stop the fight immediately if a combatant hits the floor as a result of a strike to the head -- a much safer practice, he says, than the standing eight count.
"Even when you get an eight count, you're still traumatized and you're in a position to get really hurt afterward," he said.
Neither Latraverse, Lueckenhoff nor Ratner criticize Hayashi (at least officially) for his stance on mixed martial arts and his interpretation of section 83 of the criminal code, though Ratner has invited the Ontario commissioner to attend UFC 83 in Montreal as his guest, to give him a feel for what the sport is about. Hayashi says he will respectfully decline the invitation.
"I think it would be inappropriate to attend an event that we have determined to be illegal," the commissioner said.
The bottom line is that for MMA to be allowed in Ontario, the criminal code would have to be amended, and that's something that Hayashi says is out of his hands.
"Don't shoot the messenger," Hayashi said, stressing that he couldn't sanction an MMA event even if he wanted to. "I'd be breaking the law if I tried to do that," he said. "I don't have the regulations to do that."

No country for old jerseys
BRIAN MILNER
Globe and Mail

Doug Wilson wasn't the only San Jose Sharks executive who had a hectic trade-deadline day.
While the Sharks' general manager was making a big splash with his acquisition of all-star defenceman Brian Campbell from the Buffalo Sabres, Malcolm Bordelon, the executive vice-president of business operations, was working behind the scenes to set in motion a marketing strategy for the team's newest prized asset.
Within hours, the team had replica jerseys in its store and was ready with a few T-shirts and player pucks, Bordelon said between meetings after the big trade.
The team website also featured a photo montage of Campbell in action (as a Sabre and an all-star), as well as backup goaltender Brian Boucher, the team's less illustrious acquisition on trade day.
The Sharks and other NHL clubs have to scramble when name-brand players arrive or depart, because trades can have a huge impact on marketing plans and merchandise sales, the latter of which is becoming an increasingly important source of club revenue.
"We can do things almost instantly," said Bob Wagner, the Anaheim Ducks' chief marketing officer.
In San Jose, only ardent fans of the sport would even know what position Campbell plays and many have never seen him in a game.
For the less hockey-savvy, "we'll spend a little more time doing some things like educating people as to who this player is, his calibre and his expertise and what he brings to the team," Bordelon said. "That will be emphasized on our weblogs and website videos, as well as on our broadcasts over the next few weeks."
By the time San Jose plays its next home game, on Monday, Campbell will also have done a spate of interviews and will be a much more familiar face.
Back in Buffalo, the value of Campbell-related merchandise will plummet and he will fast disappear from all Sabres' marketing, if past experience is any guide.
Whether his Sabres jerseys will be worth more down the road will depend on the kind of career Campbell ends up having and whether his Buffalo days are considered a significant piece of it, memorabilia experts say.
Meanwhile, in Toronto Maple Leafs land, those diehard fans looking for a Wade Belak, Hal Gill or Chad Kilger jersey (which would truly be the definition of diehard) will find them already heavily marked down in price.
And there won't be another trace of the players to be found anywhere in and around the Air Canada Centre. And that includes videos shown during games.
"What we do is prepare for those situations, should they happen," said Beth Robertson, the vice-president of marketing and community relations with team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "And they do. That's the nature of our business."
When the Toronto Raptors dealt away Juan Dixon last week at the NBA trade deadline, his jersey went on sale the next day at 50 per cent off.
"We would do that with any player traded," she said.
That's just smart business. No matter how good the player, apart from the superstars, the value of their old uniforms crashes once they leave through trade or free agency.
Just ask Brian Ehrenworth.
"This is a tough time of year for us, because we'll surely be stuck with inventory on our shelf for whoever got traded," said the president of Frameworth Sports Marketing in Toronto, which specializes in hockey memorabilia.
"It will pretty much kill the sales on almost everybody that we have who moves to another team."
Sidney Crosby might be the only NHL player whose merchandise value would remain unchanged, Ehrenworth said.
The collectible value of most other players, even stars such as Alexander Ovechkin, would be severely impaired.
Ehrenworth points to the example of Joe Thornton, who was a rising star with the Boston Bruins before his surprise trade to the Sharks in 2005.
Just before the trade, Frameworth bought about $10,000 worth of items featuring Thornton as a Bruin.
"I still have about $9,000 worth of that product. And Joe is one of the premier players in the league."