RIP Jerry Buss

Fuck the running thread.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-lakers-jerry-buss-hospitalized-20130214,0,6683573.story

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer


One of the greatest self-made success stories you'll ever see.

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

He made growing up in L.A. in the '80s one of the great joys in life.

Our season tickets were right below his. A large group of lovely ladies always surrounded him.

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

I went to 10-15 Lazers games, too.

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

A tale of the tape pitting him against Steinbrenner for greatest owner of the last 40 years would have Buss decidedly ahead in two pivotal categories:

Number of Championships (10 to Six)

Type of character associated with that made him look a bit unsavory (Young women vs. gamblers)

The conversation here when George died:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/78610/

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

Even as much as I hated those Lakers and the current team as well, that Lakers team from the 1980s was one of the most fun to watch ever...

But has it been officially confirmed that he's dying from cancer and it's not actually watching D'Antoni's team play this season? OK... Bad joke...

As Mile High pointed out, arguably one of the best owners in professional sports history...

One of the rare owners who seems universally beloved by just about everyone who has ever played for any of his teams.

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

Without disagreeing with the premise that Buss is a great owner and better than Steinbrenner. The NBA has had about 10 different Champions since Buss bought the team in 1979. In the same time frame MLB has had 20 different Champions. And in that time frame the NBA has had 4 teams win only one Championship, Phiily, Seattle, Dallas and Miami. Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets and Spurs have won 29 of the last 33 Finals. OTOH MLB has the Yankees (5), Dodgers, Cardinals(3), Twins, Blue Jays, Marlins, Phillies, Giants and Red Sox having won 2 or more championships.

I don't know why, but between the NBA (salary cap) and MLB (non salary cap), baseball has greater parity and apparent depth of talent.

This takes nothing away from Buss' accomplishments and a deserving spot on the Mt Rushmore of Sports ownership since WWII

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

The lack of parity in the NBA is pretty amazing... I think some of that has to do with if you get a superstar at the level of Shaq, Bird, Kobe, Jordan, Magic, LeBron... you're pretty likely to win multiple championships and most of those guys don't move around much. Bird. Magic and Kobe all were on the same team for their entire careers (so far), and Jordan just had the Wizards during NBA stint No. 3. (That's 19 of the titles right there...)

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

1-2 HOFers on your team mean everything in the NBA. They touch the ball almost every possession. Means little in baseball, where your top two players will only get 8-10 whacks (out of about 35-40). And even if you amass a HOF pitching staff, its window of opportunity before one or more players break down is pretty small.

Salary cap doesn't mean a whole lot if the cap is pillow soft (Lakers are at about 172% of the cap).

Positions mean more in baseball. A basketball team can acquire anyone and just make room for him. Baseball team might have a hard time signing a free agent All-Star catcher or 3B if they already have stars at those positions already in place.

 

Re: Jerry Buss has terminal cancer

And that's why owning a professional sports team, even though a business, is not the way to make a living or even earn money. Supreme Douche bags, like Peter Angelos and Bill Bidwell bottom line every single decision, from the type of shower towel the players use in the locker room to the number of quality scouts employed to which players are on the roster and which managers run the organization.

Does Buss make money on the Lakers, I'm sure he does. But the decisions made for the team are driven by whether or not the team is on a championship path. Making a playoff run is not the definition of success any more than increasing the marginal rate of profit.