Franchise Notes
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Writer Says Panthers Had No Choice
But To Keep Bouwmeester |
In Ft. Lauderdale, Dave Hyde writes the NHL Panthers had "no choice but to keep" D Jay Bouwmeester rather than trade him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer. If the team loses Bouwmeester to free agency, it is "payment for past sins more than current ones." Hyde: "What's worse? Losing your best player for nothing at season's end after making the playoffs for the first time in eight years? Or trading him away at Wednesday's deadline for tomorrow's hopes and giving long-suffering fans another reason to tune out today?" Panthers management this week, "for the first time in seven years, made some good decisions with this team" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/6).
SPRING CLEANING: In Minneapolis, Jim Souhan writes it is time for T'Wolves Owner Glen Taylor to "clean house." If Taylor is "not going to have the good taste to fire himself, he's going to have to fire pretty much everyone else." In their 20th year of existence, the T'Wolves "still lack intelligent ownership, a savvy front office, talent, a productive scouting and drafting mechanism, and a culture promoting high standards." T'Wolves coach Kevin McHale "will have to be the first to go." The front office "must be disbanded, and Taylor must hire a real general manager who has no connections to the franchise" (Minneapolis STAR-TRIBUNE, 3/6).
AVOIDING A CARDINAL SIN: PHOENIX BUSINESS JOURNAL's Mike Sunnucks noted the NFL Cardinals Wednesday re-signed QB Kurt Warner to a two-year contract, a "move marketing experts say will avoid a public relations disaster that could have erased gains made with the underdog team's" Super Bowl appearance last season. Thunderbird School of Global Management marketing & global branding professor Rich Ettenson said had the Cardinals lost Warner, the "brand would have suffered a big blow, and the reaction would have been 'the same old Cardinals' something the team has nicely moved away from" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 3/4).
CLOSING SHOP: REUTERS' Martin Petty reports EPL club Manchester City has "closed down its Thailand operations ... ending ambitious plans of becoming 'Asia's Premier League team.'" Former Manchester City Marketing Company Marketing Dir Jimmy Heosontaty said that plans for an academy had been "scrapped and the club's merchandise shop ... had closed due to a lack of interest." Heosontaty added the club "saw no point in carrying on" in the region after former Manchester City Owner Thaksin Shinawatra, a Thailand native, sold his share in the team (REUTERS, 3/6).
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