Franchise Notes
MARLINS: MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, on ads by the Marlins and Blue Jays directed at opposing players: "The clubs are only embarrassing themselves with these kinds of things." However, in N.Y., Bill Madden cited a source as saying that Selig "privately fined both teams" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/20). In Palm Beach, Joe Capozzi noted the Marlins in the past two days "ran this ad in local newspapers plugging a three-game series that starts [today]: `Your kinder, gentler Marlins wish the Milwaukee Brewers the best of luck and a pleasant stay'" (PALM BEACH POST, 4/21). Meanwhile, in Miami, Christina Hoag reported U.S. Secret Service agents "have decided to turn a blind eye to the" Marlins' promotion to celebrate their tenth anniversary — defaced dimes. The club ordered 75,000 dimes "with the heads side painted in the team's teal uniform color and black `F' logo, the idea being that the dime symbolizes the club's 10 years," and can be exchanged for Marlins tickets. But the "problem is that tinkering with coins is a federal offense." Secret Service agent John Mrha said, "We told them not to do it again and that this shouldn't have been done. We'll be contacting the marketing company and the company that did the coins. We'll also ensure that the coins are cleaned up after they're redeemed at the stadium. ... Common sense had to come in on this one. We didn't want the kids to miss out on the games. There's real crime out there" (MIAMI HERALD, 4/19).
FALCONS: In Atlanta, Matt Winkeljohn notes "Falcons University" will debut next month, a "multi-pronged program" developed by Falcons Owner Arthur Blank that includes "counseling on financial planning, parenting, preparing for life after football and even dealing with the media." Speakers include Falcons Exec VP David Homrich and former NFLer and BellSouth President of Consumer Services Ike Harris (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 4/22).
MAVERICKS: The WALL STREET JOURNAL's George Anders profiles Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban in a front-page piece and writes Cuban is "one of the sports world's shrewdest owners." Anders adds that a "winning season and a string of sellouts helped the Mavericks boost this season's revenue to about $100[M], up from $40[M] before" Cuban bought the team (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 4/22).
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