The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS’ Tim Kawakami wrote the MLB Giants are “treading right towards baseball financial superpower status, and the way to keep that momentum going is to re-invest some of the surplus right back into the product at the appropriate moment, for the appropriate player.” That time “is probably now, and that player seems to be Mets OF Carlos Beltran, a proven postseason performer beyond all doubt.” The defending World Series champions are “awash in cash and adoration -- the sellout streak, the 2010 trinkets sold, the videos, the record TV ratings, the whole take-our-money-please Giants fan lalapalooza.” Kawakami: “Giants management owes the fans, who have supported this franchise to the fullest measure” (MERCURYNEWS.com, 7/13).
MARKING THE MOMENT: Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban on his blog wrote since his team won the NBA championship "there have been surprises,” and the first “is just how many people around the country were rooting for us.” Cuban: “As I travel around the country the response and support is far beyond anything I have experienced.” He added, "The second and still the most amazing to me is how Dallas Ft Worth and all of North Texas is responding to the Mavs. I expect people to come up and congratulate me. But that isn’t what is happening. Instead, people are thanking me. ... To be part of something so special is Tremendous” (BLOGMAVERICK.com, 7/12).
FAMILY TIES: In London, Ian Herbert notes Manchester City “may have to prove that their Abu Dhabi owner,” Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is not influenced by his half-brother, Etihad Airways Chair Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, if the EPL club's US $644M sponsorship deal with the airline “is to avoid failing one of the key tests of the UEFA Financial Fair Play regulations.” Manchester City is “comfortable” that the deal “represents ‘fair value’ and is not simply a means of the Abu Dhabi royal family, which founded Etihad, artificially inflating the balance sheet of the club.” Manchester City will have to "demonstrate that several members of Sheikh Mansour’s family who have been integral to Etihad do not exert" influence over him (London INDEPENDENT, 7/14).
WOMEN'S WORLD: WNBA President Laurel Richie, when asked in a Q&A if there was anything she could do to “counteract persistent skepticism about” the 15-year-old league, said, “The truth is that all of our metrics are heading in the right direction. Sponsorships are up. Ticket renewals are at an all-time high” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 7/14).
