LOS ANGELES magazine's Mark Rowland profiles Clippers
Owner Donald Sterling and writes that Sterling is "a man who
thrives on paradox. He's courteous in manner, ruthless by
trade. He craves public attention, but avoids the press."
One "longtime acquaintance": "Everyone thinks he's stupid
running the Clippers. But he's playing a different game
than other people are playing." Rowland notes that Sterling
bought the Clippers in '81 for a "paltry" $12.7M and the
team is now valued at $200M: "How stupid is that?" (LOS
ANGELES, 12/99 issue)....The ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL's
Christine Hawkins reports on Bill and Nancy Laurie's effort
to sell naming rights to the Kiel Center and writes, "Some
of the largest St. Louis companies that could be interested
in such a deal include" Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Emerson
Electric and Firstar, the parent company of Mercantile Bank
(ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 11/22 issue)....The ECHL
Richmond Renegades are "seeking someone ... willing to pump
new money into the financially troubled" team. Renegades
President & CEO Harry Feuerstein: "I'm at the point now
where our partnership group needs to take a look at finding
a strategic partner. Meaning somebody who has capital, and
maybe some expertise, to join our group. Or maybe it's time
to sell" (RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH, 11/23)....Sacramento's
new minor-league baseball team scheduled to debut next
spring will be called the "River Cats" (SACRAMENTO BEE,
11/23)....In Cincinnati, Scott MacGregor writes that owners
of the IBL Cincinnati Stuff are "banking on the idea fans
will show up because they love basketball and want something
to do -- and because the team has stocked the roster with
players of local interest." IBL organizers say that each
team will need to average "about" 4,000 fans to break even
and Stuff officials "hope" to reach that average. The
league opens on Friday (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 11/24).
