Warriors sold for record $450 million

[thatsrightimirish]

"Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will not be the next owner of the Golden State Warriors, according to a source close to the situation. A potential deal between Ellison’s consortium, which includes the current Warriors’ minority ownership group, has fallen through, according to that source.

The next owner of the Warriors will be a group led by Mandalay Entertainment CEO Peter Guber and Joe Lacob, a minority owner of the Boston Celtics.

The group paid $450 million, topping the previous NBA record of $401 million for the Phoenix Suns in 2004.

Guber has been a fixture in the entertainment industry for more than 30 years. He has personally produced or executive produced Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple, Midnight Express, Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey, The Witches of Eastwick, Missing and Flashdance."

WOW!
http://www.csnbayarea.com/07/15/10/FONT-COLORFF0000EXCLUSIVEfont-Ellison-Ou/landing.html?blockID=271862&feedID=2478

[Auggie]

1. He's not a stranger to sports:

From wiki:

Mandalay Sports Entertainment is a national sports entertainment provider with professional baseball, sports marketing and venue management. Among the professional sports franchises that are owned and/or operated by MSE’s subsidiary Mandalay Baseball Properties are the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, a Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Frisco RoughRiders, a Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers; the Dayton Dragons, a Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds; the Erie SeaWolves, a Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and the Staten Island Yankees, a Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. MBP recently began consulting with the Winston-Salem Dash, a Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Guber

[thatsrightimirish]

2. I'm just glad Cohan is gone

He will go down in history as one of the worst, if not THE worst owner of any sports team on this planet.

[Auggie]

5. Some info on Cohan:

Associated Press / 7-15

"...Cohan has had financial problems. In 2007, the Internal Revenue Service said he owed more than $160 million in back income taxes and penalties from the 1998 sale of a cable television company.

Cohan bought the Warriors in January 1995 for $119 million and made the playoffs just once in his entire tenure. The only other franchises that have been in the league since then to make the playoffs fewer than five times are the Los Angeles Clippers with two appearances and the Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies with three.

The one playoff berth came in 2007, when the Warriors became the first No. 8 seed to beat the top seed in a best-of-seven series. Golden State lost to Utah in the following round and failed to make the playoffs in 2008 despite winning 48 games. The Warriors have reverted to form the past two seasons with 55 wins in that span.

LINK: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5383261

[Yavin4]

7. Frisco RoughRiders?

Wow.

[Jack Rabbit]

3. Good luck, Mr. Guber

Now, just as a good movie producer finds a good director, turns over the cash and says, "See you at the premiere," so a good owner of a sports franchise finds a good general manager, turns over the cash to run the team and otherwise keeps his nose out of it.

[madinmaryland]

8. Heh! The Frisco Rough-Riders!!

:rofl:

[JonLP24]

4. Good luck to the Warriors

except when they play the Suns. :D

[thatsrightimirish]

6. Statement from Larry Ellison

"“Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan decided to sell to someone else. In my experience this is a bit unusual. Nonetheless, I wish the Warriors and their fans nothing but success under their new ownership,” said Larry Ellison.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2010/07/15/larry-ellison-statement-on-losing-out-on-warriors-sale-i-was-the-highest-bidder/#more-8509