Fake Tom Anselmi Diary

[Oldtimer]

Absolutely bang on, as usual. That article is also very enlightening. Larry is in a no-win situation, and Anselmi is just there to wield the axe. Should be very interesting. Change is coming.

[Oldtimer]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/...-twist-dimanno

Maple Leafs’ new ownership gives knife in Brian Burke’s back another twist: DiManno

Anselmi's clearly not in charge here.

[OgtheDim]

Dimanno's stock in trade is bemoaning faceless bureaucracy. The Burke apologists bemoan how this was done. The other point of view points out that Burke did not have a coherent plan moving forward to deal with some obvious issues.

Thinking through those two reports, its pretty obvious the board got those binders of analysis from somebody other then the current hierarchy. And what they saw was lacking with the Leafs, and TFC, was an ability to discuss issues in depth.

Which is probably one reason why Payne got the go ahead to hire Nelson - Nelson was able to discuss issues of the team succinctly, and provide a plan.

I also get the strong suspicion the BOD didn't like Mariner's inability to provide a coherent plan.

Regardless, Nelson's hiring had to get BOD approval.

[Beach_Red]

The Burke thing is a sideshow, the bosses can't have guys bragging about how they don't have to take orders from the man. He had to be taken down.

Pour encourager les autres.

The real move was the takedown of Tanenbaum. He is contractually entitled to go to his beloved NHL Board of Governors meetings, but only as a figurehead, an empty suit.

In a flash, everything Larry fought for, when he had all the cards in the Teachers sale, is gone. He thought he would hold the balance of power between two bitter rivals, but surprise surprise! we live in Canada, and these guys only pretend to compete.

It's over. Bettman et al will smile at Larry but talk to Cope/Mohammed, or their designates, from this day forward.

Larry is totally screwed - his 25% minority interest would be very tough to sell, given the dominant position of Bogers, and why would those guys buy it from him?

Next up - the new overlords publicly piss all over the internal plans for the teams. "We are hitting the reset button". This is from real reporters, not sports section stenographers.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle7265097/

The air war is underway, and you can see the ground war coming. They are going to do the village.

I think I just found out I'm about to be fired in today's paper.

So much fun in that Globe article. I like the line about there being some risk, as if that's a crazy idea, risk before reward, what is this, some kind of competition?

And this: "But Teachers, accountable only to its members and the Ontario government, could safely ignore the catcalls from fans. For BCE and Rogers, each with millions of customers in the heart of Leafs country, the public-relations stakes are somewhat higher. Losing could rub off on their brands."

Rub off how? Is there a way to watch TV or use a cellphone in this city without paying either Rogers or Bell? How many people are going to sign up for Techsavvy and cancel their cable? Wind? Mobilicity?

I hope Bogers fix the sports teams in this city, but to say their reality is any different from the Teachers is fantasy.

[ag futbol]

Dimanno's stock in trade is bemoaning faceless bureaucracy. The Burke apologists bemoan how this was done. The other point of view points out that Burke did not have a coherent plan moving forward to deal with some obvious issues.

Thinking through those two reports, its pretty obvious the board got those binders of analysis from somebody other then the current hierarchy. And what they saw was lacking with the Leafs, and TFC, was an ability to discuss issues in depth.

Which is probably one reason why Payne got the go ahead to hire Nelson - Nelson was able to discuss issues of the team succinctly, and provide a plan.

I also get the strong suspicion the BOD didn't like Mariner's inability to provide a coherent plan.

Regardless, Nelson's hiring had to get BOD approval.

Looking at this from afar, I've found it pretty funny how the press has covered Burke. It's almost like the new management has challenged the natural order of things, with the media moaning that a lame duck GM was hard done by and fired at a time that was illogical. Seems heavily at odds with what the average leaf fan says who you talk to. I guess we're not the only ones who feel like the press has their own agenda.

[ryan]

So much fun in that Globe article. I like the line about there being some risk, as if that's a crazy idea, risk before reward, what is this, some kind of competition?

And this: "But Teachers, accountable only to its members and the Ontario government, could safely ignore the catcalls from fans. For BCE and Rogers, each with millions of customers in the heart of Leafs country, the public-relations stakes are somewhat higher. Losing could rub off on their brands."

Rub off how? Is there a way to watch TV or use a cellphone in this city without paying either Rogers or Bell? How many people are going to sign up for Techsavvy and cancel their cable? Wind? Mobilicity?

I hope Bogers fix the sports teams in this city, but to say their reality is any different from the Teachers is fantasy.

I don't think it's being looked at the right way with this.

Will Bogers brands lose out if these teams still don't win? Possibly a bit, not really likely, I dunno.

Could Bogers reel in a lot more money if these teams win? Absolutely. For previous ownership? Wouldn't have made too much of a difference. This is the key I think. If we all can agree on anything, is that corporate greed is undeniable. These teams win and more people will be subbing for Leafs TV, Raps TV, GolTV, Sports HD packages, Mobile TV packages, etc, etc.

[ensco]

So much fun in that Globe article. I like the line about there being some risk, as if that's a crazy idea, risk before reward, what is this, some kind of competition?

And this: "But Teachers, accountable only to its members and the Ontario government, could safely ignore the catcalls from fans. For BCE and Rogers, each with millions of customers in the heart of Leafs country, the public-relations stakes are somewhat higher. Losing could rub off on their brands."

Rub off how? Is there a way to watch TV or use a cellphone in this city without paying either Rogers or Bell? How many people are going to sign up for Techsavvy and cancel their cable? Wind? Mobilicity?

I hope Bogers fix the sports teams in this city, but to say their reality is any different from the Teachers is fantasy.

The situation may be hopeless, but I do see Bell/Rogers as fundamentally different than Teachers.

1) Teachers was terrified of public scrutiny, in a way that was pathological. Notwithstanding the fact that it turned out to be a good investment, it was inappropriate for a pension fund to own this (and really, to have a control position in anything). This is the vacuum that all of Peddie, Anselmi and Burke exploited. Acting like the controlling shareholder would have exposed Teachers to the kind of adverse coverage Bell/Rogers are about to start getting. But Bell/Rogers are used to it, people rip them in the papers every day.

2) Teachers was clearly goosing EBITDA at the expense of the long run (i.e. the cost of spending to the cap to finish 10th, and keeping up the illusion that the teams are close, is less than rebuilding properly and taking the big revenue hit ), and this is not necessarily what Bogers will be doing.

But I suspect we have traded one set of corporate dysfunctions for another, which is the root of the anguish in you post.

God must hate Toronto sports fans.

[Alonso]

So much fun in that Globe article. I like the line about there being some risk, as if that's a crazy idea, risk before reward, what is this, some kind of competition?

And this: "But Teachers, accountable only to its members and the Ontario government, could safely ignore the catcalls from fans. For BCE and Rogers, each with millions of customers in the heart of Leafs country, the public-relations stakes are somewhat higher. Losing could rub off on their brands."

Rub off how? Is there a way to watch TV or use a cellphone in this city without paying either Rogers or Bell? How many people are going to sign up for Techsavvy and cancel their cable? Wind? Mobilicity?

I hope Bogers fix the sports teams in this city, but to say their reality is any different from the Teachers is fantasy.

This guy.

No cable. Free to air better then cable HD quality tv, with about 32 channels or so. More then I need.

Tecksavvy unlimited internet which gets me any show in HD or movies that I want. Thinking about adding the American version of Netflix as well.

Wind mobile, unlimited everything including canada wide calling and data for cheaper then any Rogers or Bell plan.

The only money Bogers is getting from me is my TFC Season tickets.

[ensco]

This guy.

No cable. Free to air better then cable HD quality tv, with about 32 channels or so. More then I need.

Tecksavvy unlimited internet which gets me any show in HD or movies that I want. Thinking about adding the American version of Netflix as well.

Wind mobile, unlimited everything including canada wide calling and data for cheaper then any Rogers or Bell plan.

The only money Bogers is getting from me is my TFC Season tickets.

Sure.

Once more than 25,000 people are doing what you are doing, Bell and Rogers will unleash the mother of all lobbying campaigns to stop this, it's already in full gear but I suspect we ain't seen nothin' yet.

[OgtheDim]

Bogers already tried that.

Tried to make 3rd party providers pay more for using the systems the government basically paid Bell and Rogers to put into the ground. They wanted to charge $1 for what costs them $.0005.

They also tried to get WIND kicked out for foreign ownership.

CRTC kicked both to the curb.

****

Bogers doesn't like it when people don't do what they want. Its a corporate trait.

[billyfly]

Treksavvy uses lots of the Rogers backbone is the irony in Telecom. Everyone uses everyone in the WAN biz.

[ensco]

It was Larry trying to get Real Tom the CEO gig, that started this whole thing. Amazing.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...anization.html

[Beach_Red]

It looks like it might be fun watching what happens in the NHL with a motivated Toronto owner.

[Oldtimer]

It was Larry trying to get Real Tom the CEO gig, that started this whole thing. Amazing.

http://www.thehockeynews.com/article...anization.html

The backroom politics at ML$E is fascinating... good article.

It's clear that Larry is the root cause of the problems... imagine wanting to reward Tom for his incompetence with the CEO gig! It could be argued that Larry being reduced to a figurehead is a good thing. Finally some accountability after years of abject failure.

Whether Cope knows what he's doing is another thing altogether. Hopefully that will be the case.

[Phil]

This was gold:

One observer had an interesting point about all of this. He said that under the previous ownership, the Leafs were concerned with winning only news conferences.

I can tell you with Tom in the pressers they won't be winning them. What a train wreck that Burke firing was.

I think its total chaos at that level in MLSE right now, it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[Oldtimer]

Fake Tom really had it right:

Larry is totally screwed - his 25% minority interest would be very tough to sell, given the dominant position of Bogers, and why would those guys buy it from him?

[Canary10]

It's a very good article. Seems that the pattern of rewarding friends over competence goes all the way to the top in MLSE. If Bell/Rogers can break that down and make results/performance driven personnel decisions that alone would be a minor victory.

[Alonso]

It's a very good article. Seems that the pattern of rewarding friends over competence goes all the way to the top in MLSE. If Bell/Rogers can break that down and make results/performance driven personnel decisions that alone would be a minor victory.

And hopefully the exit of Anselmi.

I shudder to think how his management style at TFC would translate into all the sports teams that MLSE own.

[ensco]

Peddie called to tell me it's OK, think about Larry, he's a guy who invested $500M and his reward is he has the right to fetch Leiweke's coffee at board meetings.

I fought fights you never heard about. There were people who wanted to put ads on Leaf jerseys. People who wanted to crucify me for spending money on grass at BMO. Was there ever a more thankless job?

I spent 200% of my time on this goddamn minor league soccer team. Fucking Mo is the cause of all this. I bet my career on that SOB, and never figured out another way when he failed. Everybody acted like it mattered, it's the most bizarre thing I ever saw. I made hundreds of millions in TV rights renewals, but people think that's easy or something.

None of you understand. I wasn't supposed to be here. I went to Ryerson and the University of Saskatchewan. I built buildings for the majority of my working life. I am just like you. Maybe I didn't know what I was doing, but nobody does in this business.

I lived the dream.

Anyways, it's done, now that it's over, there's one call I have to make.

Corleone.

I gotta know - how much did he make on Sean Penn?

[__wowza]

the end of an era.

[Huyton]

Needs one last entry...

[ensco]

The Burke thing is a sideshow, the bosses can't have guys bragging about how they don't have to take orders from the man. He had to be taken down.

Pour encourager les autres.

The real move was the takedown of Tanenbaum. He is contractually entitled to go to his beloved NHL Board of Governors meetings, but only as a figurehead, an empty suit.

In a flash, everything Larry fought for, when he had all the cards in the Teachers sale, is gone. He thought he would hold the balance of power between two bitter rivals, but surprise surprise! we live in Canada, and these guys only pretend to compete.

It's over. Bettman et al will smile at Larry but talk to Cope/Mohammed, or their designates, from this day forward.

Larry is totally screwed - his 25% minority interest would be very tough to sell, given the dominant position of Bogers, and why would those guys buy it from him?

Next up - the new overlords publicly piss all over the internal plans for the teams. "We are hitting the reset button". This is from real reporters, not sports section stenographers.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle7265097/

The air war is underway, and you can see the ground war coming. They are going to do the village.

I think I just found out I'm about to be fired in today's paper.

Nothing left to say, Huyton. They've done the village. No survivors.

It's been a slice.

[Huyton]

Nothing left to say, Huyton. They've done the village. No survivors.

It's been a slice.

You are right. It's just that I'd enjoyed the entire series, and was hoping for one last entry.

Thanks for these...there were some truly inspired moments along the way.

[ensco]

Thanks for these...there were some truly inspired moments along the way.

You are welcome. Thanks for the kind words.

I may not be 100% done here - I'm told the Peddie book is a festival of howlers. If I ever get around to reading that, I may have one last kick at the can.

[Phil]

The Peddie book confirms most of our worst fears on so many levels. There may be entries here that are word for word.