President Trump took the oath of office on Friday, but "long before there was politics, there was sports," according to ESPN's Chris Connelly. After Trump entered the "family real estate business, Trump would ever after be drawn to sports’ strong personalities." In the '70s an "eager, younger Trump looked up to" late Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner. Trump in '02 said, "George Steinbrenner has done something, in my opinion, with unbelievable class, unbelievable style." Trump owned the USFL New Jersey Generals from '84-86, and his "master plan (was) to force his team into the NFL by spearheading a USFL suit against the established league." The USFL shortly thereafter folded, but Trump by then owned a casino in Atlantic City, where "nothing brought in betters like boxing did." Trump’s "peak in boxing” was the '88 Mike Tyson-Michael Spinks bout. The '91 Evander Holyfield-George Foreman fight would be "Trump's last big bout," but there were "more forays into sports." He created the Tour de Trump cycling event on the East Coast and supported a "New York City Trump superspeedway for NASCAR." Neither the track nor his attempt to buy the Bills in '14 "did not happen." But for Trump, there "was always golf, in good times and bad." He managed to "combine two of his lifelong pursuits -- golf and real estate -- becoming the owner of 17 courses worldwide." While sports "would be an outlet for his relentless competitiveness," golf courses would "bring out another side." Trump said in '15, "What I do best is build and building is building. When you build a golf course you're dealing most importantly with beauty" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 1/19). THE BIG LEAD's Ty Duffy wrote Trump has been a "notable figure for multiple decades and had an array of different interactions with the world of sport." Duffy wrote about 17 instances in which Trump "truly made sports great again" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 1/17).
GOLF HAS A VOICE: GOLFWEEK's Kaufmann & Klein in a cover story note Trump Golf is "entering its most important year" while it goes under new leadership as Trump takes on the presidency. In his new position, Trump gives the golf industry something it "never has had: An informed advocate at the highest rung of government." The golf industry "often has felt scorned by Washington," but it "now is wondering if it finally has found an unlikely champion" in Trump. Golf execs would "welcome a president who not only takes an unabashed joy in the game, but also understands the industry's issues" (GOLFWEEK, 1/ '17 issue).
MIAMI ICE: In Miami, George Richards notes Trump in '00 "inquired about buying" the NHL Panthers. Trump had "previously been interested" in buying the Islanders when former GM Bill Torrey was there in the early '90s, before he took the same position with the Panthers. Torrey had "met with Trump" when the Islanders were available. However, Torrey said that when he was with the Panthers, things "didn’t progress that far." Torrey: "I don’t think they had much interest in the Panthers, but they did inquire." Former Panthers Owner Wayne Huizenga had told Torrey to "keep ownership local." Torrey: "The Trump folks inquired, but they knew we were trying to keep it local" (MIAMI HERALD, 1/20).
