“No institution should be allowed to ignore the obligations of Conference membership while continuing to receive the benefits of membership” - Chris Carr, Georgia Attorney General, threatening Lane Kiffin should he dare play a former NFLer!
🎙️ Leading Off
Dancing in the streets of Lake Forest, Irvine, and Newport Beach as Arte Moreno is officially out as Anaheim Angels owner. It can be hard for non-Californians to grip how ready Orange County is to enjoy the Halos again. The OC, both on television and on the ground, is a distinct identity with hardly any overlap with LA. The Angels face none of the challenges that the Chargers and Clippers struggle with relative to the Rams and Lakers. The Angels own Orange County (a radically successful and well populated region). It will take Stan Kroenke twenty minutes to double his money. On the horizon for Halo fans:
A proper GM. No Moreno meddling. No Perry Minasian or Billy Eppler. Kroenke (most specifically his son Josh) has a checkered history of hiring GM’s to run the Nuggets, but he struck gold with Rams architect Les Snead. The Halos front office has been woefully behind their rivals in Seattle and Houston. Kroenke’s first step is to hire Theo Epstein. WHAT? THEO? Idk, just steal someone from the Dodgers.
A new stadium. Kroenke is the largest private landowner in the United States. Numero uno thanks to some rather large ranches in Texas and across the midwest. Will he be a renter (because Anaheim technically owns Angel Stadium)? He will not. Expect him to leverage Irvine, Tustin, and Long Beach to get Anaheim to sell him the land.
The playoffs. Probably in 2028 since we can’t guarantee 2027 baseball. But the Halos are BACK. We’ll check these receipts at the appropriate time. Consider though how average Houston, Seattle, and Texas figure to be for the next 4 years. There’s a window for Anaheim to find the postseason if they’re playing in a division where 92 wins almost guarantees a title. A sprinkling of investment has Mike Trout back in October.
🏀 Hard In The Paint
(NBA.com)
Surely you’ve the heard the news? Steve Ballmer, Clippers owner and founder of USAFacts, a non-profit civic initiative designed to deliver honest, unbiased coverage of national policy objectives, has been found MEGA GUILTY of salary cap fraud! Operating within the confines of a collectively bargained agreement was too much for Honest Steve so he hatched a $100m scheme to divert money around the First and Second Apron, through multiple companies (Aspiration, Boingo Wireless, Daktronics), and straight into Kawhi Leonard’s pockets.
The Clippers will now be without 5 first round picks, $30m, and Ballmer for a year. They are the basement of the league and this piece doesn’t need the most spectacular takes to convince you. Beyond this punishment, LA was facing the end of Kawhi and a roster with little impact.
To borrow from Pablo Torre, Adam Silver took the team away. Why? Because Silver works for the other 29 owners. The singular goal of the current CBA is to limit ownership’s expenditures on player salaries. 29 owners are very excited about that! Had Ballmer’s actions received a slap on the wrist, Silver would have been communicating to the rest of the league that they better be prepared to fork over tens of millions of dollars off the books should they want to chase a superstar of Leonard’s abilities. Silver’s punishment is a message to the league: spend up to but never beyond the second apron, and NEVER spend off the books. That’s how WE ALL MAKE MONEY. A rather collectivist mindset, but the league’s position nonetheless. This is not a competitive fairness punishment. This is a Protect the Business punishment. Something Ballmer should understand.
📻 Over The Air
📡 JumboTron: Thursday’s Must Watch
All times PST
Red Sox vs Orioles, 4:10pm Fox, officially playoff hunt baseball
Colorado vs Georgia Tech 5:00pm ESPN, Deion I guess
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
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Walkup Song
Walkup Song
The Who
For Steve learning to follow the rules:
Spotify