Maryland Stadium Authority Chair John Moag is profiled in
this morning's Baltimore SUN. Moag, who recently took the
position, has taken a more aggressive stance than his
predecessor, Herbert Belgrad. Moag is considering a lawsuit
against the NFL to help push the league toward putting a team in
Baltimore. SUN writer Jon Morgan calls Moag "a brash,
politically connected Washington lobbyist who acknowledges more
familiarity with the halls of Congress than the politics of the
NFL." Moag says that Baltimore's record of "currying favor" with
the league in trying to obtain a team was appropriate when trying
to land an expansion franchise, but "may not suit a city trying
to pry a team out of its hometown." Moag says if a team does not
commit soon, the state's stadium fund may go to other uses --
one reason for his suggestion that a basketball-hockey arena may
be an option. Moag: "You have to look at everything. With the
time constraints I think we have politically, and the patience of
our fans, I think a new strategy is required" (Baltimore SUN,
4/25).
