Breaking: Rogers Aquires Bell Stake In MLSE

[Kingsway_fan]

People a bit quick jumping to conclusions. Agree that rogers is into long resume white corporate dudes. However, they were willing to chase for Otani. So at least it shows they are willing to spend. My guess is we may not see as many changes as people expect.

Just glad not one cent is going to Rogers anymore now that I don't live in Canada... monopoly to print money while charging insane prices ... it's the Canadian way now...

"A three star hotel charging 5 star prices" one colleague describing present day Canada.

Welcome to Trudeau 3rd world banana Republic....

At least I got to witness a championship.... in person--- won't be seeing one again in my lifetime... Raps have had great management in this era, when compared to any time in it's history.... Rogers ownership does not inspire confidence.... if you are à basketball fan.

[Jerry Lucas]

In this thread Rogers is already a cheapskate and a guy who spends foolishly. That probably means not enough is known. Reporters are complaining about lack of access means they don't know, either.

He is a cheapskate when it comes to certain things.
Example: sports executive salaries.

He also spends foolishly when it comes to certain things.
Example: just look at the Jays opening day payroll tracker from 2023-2024 and compare it to how much less money they spent on players from 2021-2022, which were 2 objectively better Jays teams. Jays should have become a tax paying club at least 1, maybe 2 seasons earlier than they actually did.

[ill-Will03]

Fantastic news for the Raptors who have been in a mediocre cycle for almost a half decade now.

Ed has put a ton of money into the Blue Jays in recent years which helped them make the playoffs in 3 of the last 5 years (and would have been 5 out of 5 with a better manager/FO).

There’s also no way he will continue paying Masai Ujiri that much to make mistake after mistake in basketball operations given their history. We may finally get some real much needed change in the front office again.

Quite possibly the worst take I’ve seen on here all time… congrats that truly deserves an award

[ATLTimekeeper]

In this thread Rogers is already a cheapskate and a guy who spends foolishly. That probably means not enough is known. Reporters are complaining about lack of access means they don't know, either.

He is a cheapskate when it comes to certain things.
Example: sports executive salaries.

He also spends foolishly when it comes to certain things.
Example: just look at the Jays opening day payroll tracker from 2023-2024 and compare it to how much less money they spent on players from 2021-2022, which were 2 objectively better Jays teams. Jays should have become a tax paying club at least 1, maybe 2 seasons earlier than they actually did.

I don't know enough about the Jays or what Shapiro makes relative to his peers to weigh in, but aside from trying to wrest ownership %s from Masai in a contract negotiation are there examples of MLSE being cheap with executives?

What we have is a relatively small sample with the Blue Jays alone and a lot of corporate propaganda. If he's cheap with execs, let's hope he's more like the Kroenkes.

[Johnny Bball]

In this thread Rogers is already a cheapskate and a guy who spends foolishly. That probably means not enough is known. Reporters are complaining about lack of access means they don't know, either.

All I know is its a pretty bad near monopoly that somehow can turn good profits when its handed straight to them. Its kind of incompetent, or arrogant, or both

Rogers might end up making more money off MLSE than their core business.

[ForeverTFC]

Dumars went 5 straight seasons with the Pistons missing the playoffs and was gone, Masai has missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons and quite likely will miss it 5 of the last 6 by the time his contract is up with the way this team is headed. In some ways Dumars was more successful with the Pistons than Masai has been with the Raptors.

Presti missed the playoffs for 3 straight years. Should he have been fired last year? Dumars has had more success than Presit ever has with OKC! Ainge has missed 2 years in a row, likely to be at least 3 years. Should he be fired? Spurs haven't made the playoffs for 5 years, time for Pop to go right? Or maybe, like Masai, they all decided to lose in multiple of those seasons while Dumars was trying to win the entire time. Or they all have future cornerstones they drafted through the losing while Dumars whiffed over and over and over and over...

BTW, ever look at Dumar's draft track record? I don't think you have.

If Ed isn't paying you, I feel bad for you.

This is rich, everyone and their mother chanting "Masai never tanks" but then when convenient, "Masai decided to lose". At best I could allow that for Tampa, but even then I don't fully agree. Every single other season he tried his damnedest to win, and trying to say otherwise is just, I don't even know how to describe how delusional that is.

Masai never intended to lose any season on purpose, just stop man, this is insanity.

You think he tried to win last season? Hired a rookie euro coach who moved our best player off ball. You call that doing everything to win?

[Randle McMurphy]

The Jays were not a top-5 team for 3 years.

Their ranking each season according to pyth record:

2021: 5th
2022: 7th
2023: 13th

In 2021 they missed the playoffs. In 2022 and 2023 they got in as the WC and then got swept both years, the definition of a treadmill team.

The Jays are a poster child in how to mismanage a sports franchise for a decade.

Accounting for the strength of their division and the unbalanced schedule, they were easily a top 5 team in 2021-2022. Less so in 2023 but they still made the playoffs out of the toughest division in baseball that season. Definitely top 10 that year.

And no, making the playoffs in MLB (a stage where any team can win/make a WS) is not the definition of a treadmill team. What the Raptors were for the last 3 seasons where they actively tried to be the 16th best team in the league certainly constitutes that.

What any of this Shapiro/Atkins/Jays stuff has to do with Masai Ujiri completely failing at his job over the last five years, though, I’m not sure. It’s a nice diversion tactic by you, I suppose, but the sooner they get rid of him the better and all signs point to Ed Rogers as being the owner to do it.

You said Rogers taking over the Raptors is a good thing.

I'm showing you why it isn't. Shapiro was Ed's pick to run the Blue Jays. The hire led to a decade of mediocrity.

I have no issues with Masai being replaced. I have every issue with Ed being the one selecting his replacement.

It's miles better than the status quo where the current ownership has let Masai Ujiri absolutely destroy this franchise for the last 5 years with no repercussions. And there was absolutely no reason to think this was changing any time soon as long as Tanenbaum and his allies at Bell held control. Now they don't. It seems very simple to me how this is beneficial from that standpoint alone (beyond the fact that Rogers has invested an unprecedented amount of money into the Jays over the last five years and shown a willingness to improve both the team and the fan experience).

[Randle McMurphy]

In this thread Rogers is already a cheapskate and a guy who spends foolishly. That probably means not enough is known. Reporters are complaining about lack of access means they don't know, either.

He is a cheapskate when it comes to certain things.
Example: sports executive salaries.

He also spends foolishly when it comes to certain things.
Example: just look at the Jays opening day payroll tracker from 2023-2024 and compare it to how much less money they spent on players from 2021-2022, which were 2 objectively better Jays teams. Jays should have become a tax paying club at least 1, maybe 2 seasons earlier than they actually did.

The Jays have become one of the largest spending franchises in the league since Ed got more involved, which is the first time you can say that about them in 30 years. Rogers treated them like a small market team for much of the early years of ownership (when his father had control of the company) but that is very clearly no longer the case.

[Randle McMurphy]

Fantastic news for the Raptors who have been in a mediocre cycle for almost a half decade now.

Ed has put a ton of money into the Blue Jays in recent years which helped them make the playoffs in 3 of the last 5 years (and would have been 5 out of 5 with a better manager/FO).

There’s also no way he will continue paying Masai Ujiri that much to make mistake after mistake in basketball operations given their history. We may finally get some real much needed change in the front office again.

Quite possibly the worst take I’ve seen on here all time… congrats that truly deserves an award

Another Masai Ujiri apologist clinging to the past after five years of complete failure and directionless leadership, I see. He's got a lot of them still, but at least we know that he won't have one in ownership shortly.

[kalel123]

I don't follow other sports enough to have a strong opinion on Rogers acquiring Bell's stake in MLSE. I mean, I obviously didn't like that Ed Rogers supposedly didn't want to give Ujiri a new contract after he'd steer us to a championship at the time. But Ujiri has steered us into about the worst place a team could be since then.. so WTF do I know? Neither bad enough to realistically go after top pick nor good enough to go after a playoff spot. We are outside looking in both directions and are in serious need of a shakeup. If this ownership change is what brings it about sooner, then so be it.

Make no mistake, Ed didn't want Masai gone because he somehow predicted that the team would be bad in five years. He wanted him gone because he doesn't like confident, capable executives working under him. And, given Ed's close ties with Trump, I wouldn't be surprised if Masai being Black played a part in his decision as well.

Why play the race card and discredit your already weak argument? Fact is there's nothing you nor I can do about any of this whether you like it or not. (And we can certainly see where you lie) So might as well hope it at least brings about something that this team desperately needs: a change.

[Scase]

Presti missed the playoffs for 3 straight years. Should he have been fired last year? Dumars has had more success than Presit ever has with OKC! Ainge has missed 2 years in a row, likely to be at least 3 years. Should he be fired? Spurs haven't made the playoffs for 5 years, time for Pop to go right? Or maybe, like Masai, they all decided to lose in multiple of those seasons while Dumars was trying to win the entire time. Or they all have future cornerstones they drafted through the losing while Dumars whiffed over and over and over and over...

BTW, ever look at Dumar's draft track record? I don't think you have.

If Ed isn't paying you, I feel bad for you.

This is rich, everyone and their mother chanting "Masai never tanks" but then when convenient, "Masai decided to lose". At best I could allow that for Tampa, but even then I don't fully agree. Every single other season he tried his damnedest to win, and trying to say otherwise is just, I don't even know how to describe how delusional that is.

Masai never intended to lose any season on purpose, just stop man, this is insanity.

You think he tried to win last season? Hired a rookie euro coach who moved our best player off ball. You call that doing everything to win?

You think that trading for established players instead of picks and prospects is trying to lose? Masai is doing what he is always doing, re-tooling on the fly and trying to lay tracks as the train is running, don't be obtuse, you've been watching him for over a decade now.

[ItsDanger]

Some can't see the forest through the trees. Don't know if this works out or not but denying the hard truths about this team in recent years is getting old. Good GMs make good owners.

[Kordic27]

People a bit quick jumping to conclusions. Agree that rogers is into long resume white corporate dudes. However, they were willing to chase for Otani. So at least it shows they are willing to spend. My guess is we may not see as many changes as people expect.

Just glad not one cent is going to Rogers anymore now that I don't live in Canada... monopoly to print money while charging insane prices ... it's the Canadian way now...

"A three star hotel charging 5 star prices" one colleague describing present day Canada.

Welcome to Trudeau 3rd world banana Republic....

At least I got to witness a championship.... in person--- won't be seeing one again in my lifetime... Raps have had great management in this era, when compared to any time in its history.... Rogers ownership does not inspire confidence.... if you are à basketball fan.

Extra points for somehow shoehorning Trudeau into Rogers buying Bell's portion of MLSE.

[Chandan]

To be honest if Rogers is dead set on getting rid of Masai he should do it sooner rather than later.

There really is no point in the team going through another transition doing GM change, coaching change, team going to clean house again in 2 years.

[Quattro]

Fantastic news for the Raptors who have been in a mediocre cycle for almost a half decade now.

Ed has put a ton of money into the Blue Jays in recent years which helped them make the playoffs in 3 of the last 5 years (and would have been 5 out of 5 with a better manager/FO).

There’s also no way he will continue paying Masai Ujiri that much to make mistake after mistake in basketball operations given their history. We may finally get some real much needed change in the front office again.

Quite possibly the worst take I’ve seen on here all time… congrats that truly deserves an award

Another Masai Ujiri apologist clinging to the past after five years of complete failure and directionless leadership, I see. He's got a lot of them still, but at least we know that he won't have one in ownership shortly.

Nah. He was right. Pathetic take. How's that massive payroll working out for your ball team when the guy signing the cheques can't realize that everyone he's hired is incompetent?

Quick, tell us all again how the jays made the playoffs a few times (as if that's somehow an achievement with their payroll) and cry about how they play in a hard division.

[ItsDanger]

https://www.thestar.com/sports/rogers-is-now-one-of-the-most-expansive-sports-owners-in-the-world-here-s/article_a92d683a-75fc-11ef-b271-431192d52322.html

"In 2023, Forbes valued MLSE at US$6.42 billion . . ." I think the price paid by Rogers works out to US$9.3B. Forbes numbers are just rough back of envelope estimates, no shock they were wrong again. The numbers should only be a reference to indicate trendlines, and then maybe.

[C_Money]

Supposedly Rogers are the 3rd or 4th richest owners in the MLB so them having the 7th highest payroll isn’t the huge deal some of you make it seem.

[ItsDanger]

Quite possibly the worst take I’ve seen on here all time… congrats that truly deserves an award

Another Masai Ujiri apologist clinging to the past after five years of complete failure and directionless leadership, I see. He's got a lot of them still, but at least we know that he won't have one in ownership shortly.

Nah. He was right. Pathetic take. How's that massive payroll working out for your ball team when the guy signing the cheques can't realize that everyone he's hired is incompetent?

Quick, tell us all again how the jays made the playoffs a few times (as if that's somehow an achievement with their payroll) and cry about how they play in a hard division.

AL East has often been referred to as the hardest division in sports, for good reason. Schedule and format changes have reduced that somewhat over the years. However, you can't compare playoffs between sports on the same basis.

[Randle McMurphy]

Quite possibly the worst take I’ve seen on here all time… congrats that truly deserves an award

Another Masai Ujiri apologist clinging to the past after five years of complete failure and directionless leadership, I see. He's got a lot of them still, but at least we know that he won't have one in ownership shortly.

Nah. He was right. Pathetic take. How's that massive payroll working out for your ball team when the guy signing the cheques can't realize that everyone he's hired is incompetent?

Quick, tell us all again how the jays made the playoffs a few times (as if that's somehow an achievement with their payroll) and cry about how they play in a hard division.

More red herrings to divert from the actual point. Can somebody explain what Shapiro/Atkins building a bad team in 2024 on a massive payroll has to do with Masai Ujiri being awful at his job and needing to go?

[ForeverTFC]

This is rich, everyone and their mother chanting "Masai never tanks" but then when convenient, "Masai decided to lose". At best I could allow that for Tampa, but even then I don't fully agree. Every single other season he tried his damnedest to win, and trying to say otherwise is just, I don't even know how to describe how delusional that is.

Masai never intended to lose any season on purpose, just stop man, this is insanity.

You think he tried to win last season? Hired a rookie euro coach who moved our best player off ball. You call that doing everything to win?

You think that trading for established players instead of picks and prospects is trying to lose? Masai is doing what he is always doing, re-tooling on the fly and trying to lay tracks as the train is running, don't be obtuse, you've been watching him for over a decade now.

We are not arguing whether he's retooling or tanking. But here you go again shifting goal posts.

I'm done.