Franchise Notes

Former NBA Entertainment Dir of Marketing & Entertainment Merritt Paulson, the son of U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, was introduced as the majority owner of the Triple-A PCL Portland Beavers and USL Portland Timbers yesterday. He will serve as Beavers President & GM and Timbers President. Henry Paulson will be a minority owner of both clubs, but “will not be involved in operations or management decisions” (OREGONIAN, 5/23).

JUNK MAIL: PROFOOTBALLTALK.com reported Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein mistakenly forwarded an e-mail containing a pornographic video he received from Steelers Pro Personnel Coordinator Doug Whaley “to everyone who has been added to the league's ‘All General Managers’ e-mail distribution list,” including secretaries and Commissioner Roger Goodell (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 5/21). While the team did not identify the person in question, Steelers Communications Coordinator Dave Lockett in a statement said “the sending of inappropriate e-mail messages is against club and league policy, and the sender has been warned.” A source said that neither Zierlein nor Whaley are “likely to be disciplined” by the club (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 5/23).

Free Agents Like Pavano Have Cashed In On Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry

ONE-UPMANSHIP: In N.Y., Bill Pennington reports “in the modern era of escalating salaries, the Red Sox and the Yankees have become their own worst enemies.” The Yankees signed P Carl Pavano in December ’04 to a $40M contract after the Red Sox “zealously ... pursued Pavano.” The Red Sox days later “found their own mediocre pitcher” in Matt Clement, who signed a $25M deal. This offseason, after the Red Sox signed P Daisuke Matsuzaka for a total of $103.1M, the Yankees “could not help themselves” and signed P Kei Igawa for a total of $46M (N.Y. TIMES, 5/23).

MONARCHS REIGN: WNBA Sacramento Monarchs VP/Business Operations Danette Leighton said that the team “has turned a profit for each of the past three seasons.” The team has upped corporate sponsorship by 50% this year, and it signed Wells Fargo to “one of its largest deals with a corporate partner.” The company has worked with the club and NBA Kings before, but was not a Monarchs sponsor. With deals “still being struck, the Monarchs expect to land about 25 corporate sponsors for the season, most of them renewals” (Kelly Johnson, SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5/18 issue).