Is Rogers the Saviour of MLSE?

(BOD - Jessica Rabbit)

Thursday NFL Picks: Tewks - Philly (-8.5), CSzem - Philly (-8.5)

In a word: No.

Ok, see you all next week.

Truthfully, I could end today’s column there and my thoughts on the Rogers Communication takeover bid of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment would be captured perfectly. But since I’m down to one column a week on this site (be sure to check out http://proballorbust.blogspot.com), I figured I owe it to my loyal readers to come up with some reasons why this merger is such a terrible idea.

I love how, when the story first broke, everyone was saying that this was the shot in the arm MLSE needed to start producing winning franchises.

Really? Rogers is the organization that will teach the Leafs, Raptors and TFC how to win? How many titles have the Blue Jays won under the stewardship of Rogers? Zero. How many times have they reached the playoffs? Zero.

This partnership would be more like the blind leading the blind.

The only thing his merger would guarantee is that the coverage of the putrid performances of Toronto’s sports teams would covered to such a pervasive degree that every fan watching in the GTA will be able to see and feel each loss like it’s a member of their own family producing such disappointment.

Can our teams win? Not a chance. But we’ll talk about them and spin rosy images about how we’re just on the cusp of breaking through on a myriad of sports channels all led by talking heads whose command of the English language is as underwhelming as their sports knowledge.

Is every Rogers customer going to receive a stake in the newly formed conglomerate since it’s the wildly overpriced and overvalued cable services Rogers charges for that has allowed the company to make the takeover bid in the first place?

The part I hate most about this story is that its being pitched as a business move pure and simple, with talks of ‘branding’, positioning’ and ‘marketplace.’ Way to take the fun and passion out of sports in Toronto. Why not talk about winning and bringing championships to the city?

I know I’ve said this before, but the biggest problem the Toronto sports scene has is that none of the teams have a billionaire owner at the helm. I’m convinced that you cannot win championships unless you have an owner whose only concern is winning and not the bottom line.

I’m sorry, but winning sports franchises cannot be treated as a business. They need to be treated as a billionaire’s plaything (analogous to a trophy wife). The owner’s desire to win has to trump everything, including the bottom line. Sports cannot be run thinking about profits and losses. They should only be measured in championships.

And until that happens in Toronto, we will be forced to deal with losing season after losing season, no matter what billion dollar company is at the helm.