This Week's Newsmakers: L.A. Execs Save Lakers' Victory Parade
THE DAILY each Friday offers our take on the performances over the past week of people and entities in sports business. Here are this week’s newsmakers:
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L.A. Business Execs Step Up To Raise
Funds For Lakers Victory Parade |
WIN: L.A. BUSINESS EXECS -- Several L.A. business execs, including sports powerbrokers CASEY WASSERMAN and TIM LEIWEKE, help raise private funds to ensure the city's budget woes do not rain on the Lakers' victory parade. The celebration had been the subject of much political wrangling within L.A. following the team's NBA Finals victory over the Magic, with many politicians against spending public dollars on the event. But luckily for fans, a number of white knights rode to the rescue, ensuring the city has a celebration worthy of the 15-time NBA champions.
LOSE: ROSS GREENBURG -- The HBO Sports boss is forced to apologize after comedian ARTIE LANGE goes on an expletive-filled tirade during the debut of "Joe Buck Live." The show makes headlines the next morning for all the wrong reasons, proving not all buzz is good buzz. And while there is no excusing Lange’s boorish behavior, HBO should have known what it was getting into when it booked Lange. After all, he is a regular on "The Howard Stern Show."
DRAW: CHICAGO 2016 -- Mayor RICHARD DALEY and Chicago bid officials eliminate one of the biggest hurdles to winning the right to host the '16 Games by agreeing to sign the IOC host contract without any modifications. Daley agrees to sign the contract and commit to the financial guarantees included therein after Chicago adds an additional $500M insurance policy to the existing private guarantees. But while the decision improves the city's chances with the IOC, signing the host city contract as is could leave Chicago taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars. Daley saves some face by rethinking his initial plan to sign the contract without consulting the City Council, but he seems unlikely to gain the support of the aldermen based on early reactions.
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