Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert said yesterday that he plans to approach the NBA about “bringing its annual All-Star Game back to Cleveland.” Gilbert: “That is something definitely that we are interested in.” The AP's Tom Withers noted Gilbert's Horseshoe Casino Cleveland "opened Monday night to rave reviews.” Its arrival along with a new convention center, medical mart and hotels has “re-energized the city's downtown.” Gilbert believes that an entertainment district “centered around the casino and Quicken Loans Arena could be enough to entice the NBA to consider Cleveland for a future NBA All-Star weekend” (AP, 5/15).
DODGE BALL: In L.A., Steve Dilbeck writes coming off the heels of an interview with the L.A. Times’ T.J. Simers, the “disturbing thing is less that” new Dodgers ownership “didn’t understand the deep-rooted animosity in ‘that community’ toward [former Owner] Frank McCourt than that they still don’t get it.” Guggenheim Baseball Management execs are “off to an awful start,” in part because they “act like they’re hiding something, and all that’s going to do is make people nervous and suspicious.” Dilbeck adds, “Certainly there is an element of fans so tired of the McCourt fiasco, they just want to turn the corner; but new ownership best not count on that. The vast majority feels scarred and is angry McCourt remains.” Dilbeck: “It’s not too late for Guggenheim to come clean, get it all out there and ask for a do-over” (L.A. TIMES, 5/16).
TWO-MINUTE WARNING: SI.com’s Peter King wrote, “I think you should watch the machinations between St. Louis and the local government about fixes to the Edward Jones Dome and to the lease closely, and you should watch the Raiders' poor stadium situation in Oakland as well. Though I think the Rams will eventually work things out in St. Louis, it's not a sure thing, and they're nearing the end of their lease” (SI.com, 5/15).
FRIAR PLUCKED? In San Diego, Kevin Acee writes Baseball HOFer Tony Gwynn “met for two hours on Tuesday morning with Thomas Tull, movie mogul and prospective Padres purchaser, at a downtown hotel.” Whether Gwynn is “being wooed as a partner and/or PR man by Tull or anyone else interested in taking the Padres off [Owner] John Moores’ hands, we can only surmise. And hope” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/16).
