When news broke about Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez being interested in becoming managing owners of the New York Mets I was skeptical. Was this a concocted story by a desperate sports media looking to fill pages and/or airtime since there are no sporting events occurring?
Even if the Rodriguez and Lopez were serious about purchasing the Mets there were still questions that needed to be answered. While they are obviously wealthy they don’t have the kind of billionaire capital that is de rigeur for buying an MLB, NFL, NBA, or even an NHL team these days.
They will have to partner with a deep-pocketed white knight such as hedge fund operator Steve Cohen whose previous offer the Mets current owners, the Wilpon family, spurned. Rodriguez’s former Yankees teammate, Derek Jeter, followed that route by having billionaire Bruce Sherman do the heavy financial lifting to purchase the Miami Marlins two years ago.
The entertainment trade magazine, Variety, reported last week that Rodriguez is working with healthcare financier Wayne Rothbaum on a bid for the Mets. According to Variety, Rothbaum is content to be an investor and have Rodriguez be the face of their proposed venture to purchase the Mets.
The key question is “Are the Wilpons truly serious about selling the Mets?” After the breakdown of talks with Cohen earlier this year it’s easy to have doubts.
For the sake of the argument let’s assume that the Wilpons are willing to sell the Mets. The problem is that they’ll be understandably reluctant to also sell off their very profitable cable television network, SNY, which broadcasts the vast majority of Mets games.
Alex Rodriguez has quietly become the most successful athlete turned entrepreneur since Magic Johnson. Last year he partnered with Anheuser-Busch to purchase the Dominican Republic’s top beer brand, El Presidente. He also owns a number of commercial and residential properties.
The one industry that A-Rod knows better than any other however is television. He currently works for both ESPN and Fox Sports. In addition he hosts CNBC’s “Back In The Game” in which he dispenses financial advice to retired athletes who find themselves down on their luck.
There is no way that Rodriguez would contemplate buying the Mets without also obtaining SNY.
Sorry, Mets fans. I don’t see a change in ownership in the foreseeable future.
If the deal were to fall through then Jennifer Lopez won’t have to worry about harming her “Bronx Jenny” persona by wearing a Mets cap in public!
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell deserves a Sports Emmy for the way he handled the remote telecast of the NFL Draft from the basement of his Westchester home. He admitted that he missed the traditional booing from the crowd that he gets when he first hits the stage on draft night.
Goodell was well aware of another NFL Draft tradition. Before the New York Jets made their second round pick he implored Jets fans to get up and boo. They’ve generally been right in doing so.
The cold opening of “Saturday Night Live” which had Brad Pitt playing Dr. Anthony Fauci may have been the best ever in the history of the show. Even staunch Republicans had to chuckle.
Jerry Springer, who grew up in Kew Gardens and attended PS 99, Russell Sage Junior High, and Forest Hills High School, stopped producing new episodes of his outrageous “The Jerry Springer Show” last year.
That doesn’t mean he is no longer doing new episodic daytime television. Springer, who was an attorney before become mayor of Cincinnati and later a TV star, has dusted off his legal background for a new small claims court show, “Judge Jerry.”
Springer obviously knows that there’s a glut of daytime talk shows so to differentiate his from the pack, nearly all of the litigants would easily have been at home appearing on his old talk show.
In one case, a man riding a bicycle sued a motorist for hitting him in the crosswalk. The plaintiff seemed more upset at not getting to the marijuana store before it closed than for any physical harm he may have sustained. In another one, a woman accused a man of acting like a pimp. When the defendant protested, Springer deadpanned “So you see yourself as a mentor!”
“Judge Jerry” airs weekdays at 2 PM on WPIX/Channel 11. My guess is “Judge Judy” Scheindlin can’t be very happy with him.
Marshmallows have long been a snack staple. I grew up loving Campfire Marshmallows which has been an American institution for over a century.
Campfire is getting some new competition from a new marshmallow baker, Stuffed Puffs (stuffedpuffs.com). What makes them different is that all of its marshmallows are stuffed with milk chocolate.
This is a guilty pleasure worth indulging while sheltering at home. Hopefully Stuffed Puffs can also be used at marshmallow roasts this summer if things can get back to near normal.