Ted Leonsis/Orioles? (UNFOUNDED RUMOR)

[irishterp10]

He changed the Wizards back to red, white, and blue (and soon to be the Bullets). Maybe he'll bring back the cartoon bird and, in addition, really reach out to the Orioles rich history by deeply involving guys like Cal, Brooks, etc.

[Arthur_Bryant]

guy for the Mets in 1985.

And for those that have not heard Thorne doing hockey:

Good stuff, thanks.

The color guy at the start of the first clip (John Davidson?) is spectacularly good, too.

[CharmCityCrab]

Maybe Leonsis is talking about buying a minority share in the Orioles with some sort of option to buy a majority share if Angelos passes away in a few years or whatever, kind of like he had with Abe Pollin the Wizards. Pure speculation.

Most likely scenarios, I think, are probably just some sort of cross promotion between the Orioles and Caps/Wizards, or maybe discussing the idea of the Caps and Wizards getting a share of MASN and putting their games on the network.

Leonsis would make a great majority owner, though. I doubt that's what is being discussed, but I'd be practically dancing in the streets if Angelos actually did sell the team to the guy.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Nothing to do with the O's, but Leonsis had some great quotes in today's Washington Post about a sports team's role in the community. Ted Leonsis gets it.

"You end up holding the psyche of the community in your hands," Leonsis later said. "We played Pittsburgh, one of the great sports cities in the country two Saturdays ago in the Winter Classic and we won a big game there, and when we left someone said you're the Grinch that stole Christmas. It is that meaningful. And when all of our teams win and prosper, the city's uplifted. And when we struggle or we lose in the playoffs, it's hard for all of us. And so I do understand and believe we're in it together, and we all know the big social responsibility we have in leading these enterprises."

Later, when asked about what to emulate from each other, Leonsis returned to this theme.

"I think the deep history of the Redskins is one of the assets of the city," he said. "There's not a person you meet that doesn't have some kind of connective tissue to the team, but it's really the championships. We can't forget how hard it is to win a championship. Will's been associated with a championship with the Giants, and D.C. United's won championships. The Redskins have won many Super Bowls. The Caps have never won a Stanley Cup. Mr. Pollin won an NBA ring.

"And when you win a championship, it creates a set of lifelong memories, and that's really the business that we're in. The metric that we need to measure is this touchpoint for mothers and fathers and children and best friends that they can remember fondly, and it's one of those lifelong memories....There's a generation of Redskins fans that have that as a touchpoint, and I hope to be able to deliver that to Caps fans."

[Arthur_Bryant]

Nothing to do with the O's, but Leonsis had some great quotes in today's Washington Post about a sports team's role in the community. Ted Leonsis gets it.

Spot on the money. Championships create a bond, and conversely nothing dispirits a fan base more than the feeling that your team is out of the running and isn't even trying. Unfortunately a whole generation of Orioles fans and potential fans have grown up knowing nothing else.

[CharmCityLights]

Ted Leonsis has an interesting 101 intems on his "bucket list". Check out #40...

40. Own a sports franchise (basketball, hockey or football)

There is no mention of a baseball team.

[skanar]

I attended a semi-private talk with him once through school connections. Really, really astute guy. Good stories, good observations. By far one of the best owners in all of sports. He's made it easy to become a Caps fan over the past few years. Don't think he has the money to buy another team, though; reports were that buying out Pollin's heirs was stretching him a bit.

[ilbm88]

If leonsis ever takes over the Os, he needs to get the old orioles involed with the team, like cal, brooks,frank and others.

[Avsfan]

Ted Leonsis gets it.

Angelos isn't exactly a bafoon either...he may meddle where he doesn't belong (The Front Office)...but the man also has done many things for Baltimore that don't get much attention, because everyone wants to hate him.

[sangar]

I'd worry that they would try and relocate the O's to Brooklyn or Connecticut

Or Los Angeles.

[alaniee]

Not going to happen regarding Angelos selling the O's. This is probably most likely about the Capitals being on MASN. Perhaps Angelos will bring on Ted as a partner so they can show Capital games. That would be awesome. The more revenue, the better!

[Craig...No Dots]

Uh, yea, that would of course be cool.