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Technology Stocks : Blank Check IPOs (SPACS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jrhana who wrote (1238)	10/7/2007 12:36:30 PM
From: Glenn Petersen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3862

Given the focus, this deal will probably attract a lot of attention. As you note, it could be, at the very least, "entertaining." Maybe they will put a bid in for the Cubs. For the most part, the inclusion of Jack Kemp, Hank Aaron, and Mario Cuomo are for window dressing. Kemp owns a 44% interest in 100,000 shares and Aaron and Cuomo have no stock interest. The deal is controlled by Medallion Financial Corp., which owns 90.5% of the shares. The S-1 lists two advisors: Randel E. Vataha has served as one of our advisors since our founding. He is currently the President and a member of Game Plan LLC, a firm that he co-founded in 1995 to provide consulting and investment banking services to the sports and entertainment industry and retained by Medallion to assist it in connection with sports-related investments, including our efforts to identify a target business in the sports, leisure or entertainment industries. Prior to that, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Bob Woolf Associates Inc., beginning in March 1986. Mr. Vataha was employed by Korn-Ferry International from 1984 to March 1986. Mr. Vataha was also a co-founder of the United States Football League in 1981, co-owner of the Boston Breakers Football Club in 1983 and President of the New Orleans Football Club in 1984. Prior to his involvement with the United States Football League, he was the founder and owner of the Playoff Sports and Fitness Clubs from 1977 to 1981, after his retirement from the National Football League as a wide receiver with the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers. During his career in the National Football League, Mr. Vataha was the Player Representative for the New England Patriots during the 1974 season. Mr. Vataha received a B.A. in political science from Stanford University. Robert L. Caporale has served as one of our advisors since our founding. He is currently the Chairman and a member of Game Plan LLC, a firm that he co-founded in 1995 to provide consulting and investment banking services to the sports and entertainment industry and retained by Medallion to assist it in connection with sports-related investments, including our efforts to identify a target business in the sports, leisure or entertainment industries. Prior to that, he served as an attorney practicing litigation, business and sports entertainment law. He has served as an attorney for a number of professional sports leagues and franchises, including the World Hockey Association, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Florida Marlins, the Edmonton Oilers, the Quebec Nordiques, the Winnipeg Jets and the Hartford Whalers. He previously served as an Alternate Governor to the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an attorney for the New Boston Garden Corporation in connection with the development and financing of a new sports arena that opened in Boston in 1995. He was the President and a partial owner of the Boston Breakers Football Club, one of the original franchises of the United States Football League, from 1982-1983. He is currently a member of the Board of Advisors of the Red Auerbach Youth Foundation and has previously served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Boston Stock Exchange and as Chairman of the Sports and Entertainment Law Committee of the Boston Bar Association. Mr. Caporale received a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from Boston College Law School.

To: jrhana who wrote (1238)	10/8/2007 12:30:32 PM
From: jrhana	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3862

Stern considering games in Europe mail.google.com ROME (AP) - The NBA is staging another successful preseason tour in Europe. Regular-season games on the continent are the next step. "I think that time is coming closer," NBA commissioner David Stern said Sunday at halftime of the Toronto Raptors win over Virtus Lottomatica Roma. "That has historically been a matter of euros. It costs many euros to buy a game from a regular season because our teams do so well. "But with the new O2 Arena in London, with the new arena in Berlin, with the proposed arena in Rome, Europe is beginning to develop buildings that look much like the ones that we have in the United States, and those buildings will yield more revenue for such a game." Real Madrid also has plans for a modern facility in the Spanish capital. The NHL recently played its first regular-season games in Europe at the O2 and the NFL will play a regular-season game at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium when the Miami Dolphins face the New York Giants on Oct. 28. The NBA has played regular-season games in Japan and Mexico, along with a recent exhibition game in China with a mix of league stars. It was the first league to export its brand and league officials have flirted for years with the idea of European expansion, although Stern said that's still a way off. "Not in the short term, but those very same buildings I referred to, to the extent that they become NBA-ready buildings, I suspect there will be more conversation, gossip and speculation about that prospect," Stern said Sunday. On Wednesday, the Boston Celtics and star player Kevin Garnett will face the Minnesota Timberwolves at the O2 in London. The Memphis Grizzlies are also playing in Spain. However, the NBA still needs to increase its fan base in Europe before establishing a franchise, Stern said. Most basketball fans in Europe are kids, Stern said, adding that "those younger fans will age into a category when they have disposable income." "I think that we still have to develop — and that's why we're here," the commissioner said. The Raptors-Roma game was not sold out. The attendance was 9,823, smaller than the capacity crowd of 11,118 that attended the Raptors-Celtics game a night earlier at the Palalottomatica. "We had a full house in Istanbul (Saturday) with Efes Pilsen against Minnesota," Stern said. "The real lesson may be that you need a night off between games. It's not about the place. I think it's really just a question of Saturday night vs. Sunday night games back-to-back. And also a gentlemen by the name of Kevin Garnett." When Garnett was introduced before Saturday's game, the crowd cheered for him even louder than the Raptors' Andrea Bargnani, who was born in Rome. "We need to develop a revenue model that works, both as to ticket pricing and television rights fees," Stern said, getting back to European expansion. "But in the meantime, nothing we do is meant to be against that eventuality, it just all helps the game grow." Stern said he also enjoys the development of the international game. "I just remember when people laughed in 1992 when I said that the gap between the U.S. and the rest of the world would close," he said. "You only need to look at the Toronto Raptors roster to see the internationalization of the game at every level." Besides Bargnani, the Raptors feature the Spanish players Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa, Carlos Delfino of Argentina and Rasho Nesterovic of Slovenia. Also, Bargnani became the first European selected with the top pick in last year's draft, Dirk Nowitzki of Germany was the league MVP and Tony Parker of France was the MVP in the finals. "That highlights the contributions being made to our game by international basketball," Stern said.