I'm not a huge puckhead but I follow the playoffs and was happy to see the Los Angeles Kings lift the Stanley Cup tonight, not because I'm a Kings fan - I'm not - but because they're owned by AEG. For all the money Phil Anschutz and AEG have sunk into MLS, it's nice to see them get rewarded with another trophy outside of MLS Cup.
F*ck em, and f*ck Los Angeles. Kings, Lakers, Dodgers, Galaxy, the stench of LA that still hovers over the Raiders like the thick cloud of pollution over that trash heap called a city... f*ck em all. And the Sparks. Do they still exist? F*ck them too. The library known as the Staples Center... The entire city and county... USC, UCLA.. f*ck them too. That is all.
For all the money Phil Anschutz and AEG have sunk into MLS, I'm guessing they're doing ok overall (and likely getting back a decent chunk of that investment already from their MLS and soccer initiatives), so I'm not too concerned with any other successes he and they may or may not be having as a businessman and multi-tentacled corporation and entertainment group.
Obviously, we'll never get to see the books to know for sure, but I bet if you took all the money AEG has spent on start-up costs, operating capital, stadium construction, DP salaries, etc... that they still haven't gotten all the money back that they put into MLS and soccer since 1995. Now, that doesn't include the value MLS has provided top their ledger in terms of a tax write-off or future profit as the league's revenue and value increases. But I still think they've lost more money in MLS than they've gotten back. Folks can feel how they want about AEG, and I get why people in San Jose and, to a lesser degree, Houston might not think favorably of them. But I still remember MLS of a decade ago and that without Phil Anschutz agreeing to prop up the league by running Colorado, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose, New York and DC, there wouldn't be an MLS today. So for me, that buys them some good will and if my team can't win the Stanley Cup then I'm happy AEG got to.
Yes, it is a shame we can't make that "bet" since as you state "we'll never get to see the books to know for sure" -- but AEG is doing very well via their involvement with LAG and SUM. Have they "lost more money in MLS than they've gotten back" (at this point)? Who knows or cares? But they're still in the MLS (growing) business, and if they aren't "over the hump" now, I'd suspect they will be at some point relatively soon (with relatively nice sponsorship and media deals regularly coming online for LAG specifically). Fair enough.
Siri, can you pull up appropriate posts from 2005? "The Kings didn't 'deserve' this." "Typical. The idiots at NHLHQ obviously favor the Kings." "What will The International Hockey Community think when they realize that the lowest ranked team won the Western Conference Final and then the Stanley Cup???111!!!" "I didn't realize that hockey is a big sport in Guatemala and I didn't even know the Kings had a Guatemalan, b/c we all know that an AEG team cannot win a championship w/o a Guatemalan."
And how's that working out for them? Seems like settling for the hottest reject after being turned down by the prom queen...
David does like him some bandwagon. Though, I give him daps for embracing the local teams. What next, pulling for the Dodgers in their (likely) playoff chase?
Are you a ********ing idiot.. They went up 3-0 in every ********ing series during the playoffs and they dont deserve it.. Im a blackhawks fan, but even I have to say that was good work by them..
Actually, I'm not an idiot. What's amazing about this whole exchange w/ Siri is that she was able to pull up quotes on Big Soccer from 2005 -- the year that the 8th seeded LA Galaxy, you know... the team that plays about 20 minutes from the UCLA campus -- and exchange LA Kings for the LA Galaxy. What's even more amazing is that I was able to get Siri to do this and I don't even own an iphone. What's even more amazing is that you took any of this shit literally. Guatemalan hockey wasn't a clue about the sarcasm? Guatemalan. Hockey.
Yeah, but those guys were all world class sprinters, so the gamble (almost) paid off. Chapines ain't got what it takes to be elite hockey players, so it's not just that it's not a winter sport country. Btw, I partied w/ the Mexican national hockey team's goalie in Cuba. Dude was tiny, nowhere near the linebacker size of true hockey players. Basically, if you can ice skate, you've got what it takes to be on the national team of those countries.