Franchise Notes

On Long Island, Anthony DeStefano reports Mets Owners the Wilpon family is taking its legal "battle with the trustee in the Bernard Madoff case to the U.S. Supreme Court -- at least they are trying to." In a "little noticed filing last Friday, Sterling Equities Associates, the umbrella organization of the Wilpon family and other team owners, asked the nation's high court to review a major ruling by a federal appeals court over which Madoff investors can recover some of their losses from a special fund." Legal experts said that it will likely take about four or five months for the Supreme Court to "decide if it will take the case." The case "likely wouldn't be argued until early 2013." In the meantime, trustee Irving Picard's lawsuit "against the Wilpons and Sterling for well over $300 million ... is scheduled to go to trial on March 19 in federal court in Manhattan" (NEWSDAY, 2/9).

UNCERTAINTY IN OAKLAND: A's Owner Lew Wolff during an appearance at the Rotary Club of San Jose yesterday said that the "uncertainty" about his team's possible move to San Jose "is harming the franchise more than anything else." The AP's Antonio Gonzalez noted Wolff is "hopeful that a resolution from baseball is coming soon." Wolff: "I’m not going to continue this much longer. What we want is an answer. We want a yes, you can relocate and share the district, share the territory. Or you can’t. But not having any answer is very difficult." He added that "buying out the Giants' territorial rights to San Jose 'has not been discussed with us.'" He also confirmed that the team "would be renamed the San Jose A's if it relocated" (AP, 2/8).

STERN WITH SPIRIT: NBA Commissioner David Stern said that he "remains confident in the Atlanta Spirit following the group's attempt to sell the Hawks and the operating rights to Philips Arena that fell through last year." He said, "They’ve committed to pay the luxury tax, which not many teams in our league do these days. They are committed to hire the personnel to demonstrate to the fans that this is a franchise worth supporting. I think they are committed to Atlanta, and I’m committed to them." He added the team "could be sold if they were interested in selling it. But without naming names, they are well down my list of current worries" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 2/9).

INNOVATION NATION: The Suns, Verizon and Samsung yesterday announced that the team has become the first NBA franchise to integrate wireless tablet technology into their business and basketball operations. Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1, powered by Verizon's 4G LTE network, will become the official tablet for the Suns, who are incorporating the device into business development opportunities, client and season ticket-holder presentations, and in-game promotional programs. The Suns are also integrating the Tab into various elements of their TV and radio broadcasts as a way to interact with fans through social media and other in-game promotions (Suns).