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Kohl has made mistakes, but his focus has been on winning more than maximizing profit. |
| By Dave Begel Special to OnMilwaukee.com E-mail author | Author bio More articles by Dave Begel |
| Published Feb. 19, 2008 at 5:21 a.m. |
|
Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!
You know the saying, "Stupid is temporary, dumb is forever?"
Well, I can't believe the idiocy I heard last week. I was listening to sports talk radio in Milwaukee. I'm not going to say which station, because somebody somewhere will accuse me of playing favorites. But, this is too dumb to ignore.
The subject was the Bucks and their difficult season.
There were lots of calls and a good portion of them placed some of the blame, even most of the blame, at the feet of Sen. Herb Kohl, who has owned the team for a couple decades. That's fair, and I didn't have any objection.
Then came a comment that may be the dumbest I've ever heard.
"The problem is that the Senator only cares about money," said the caller, whose nickname I didn't get. "He doesn't care about winning. He just wants to turn a profit every year, and that's all he cares about."
This caller then made a comment that I'm not going to repeat here, but suffice it to say it was a sexual reference about a U.S. Senator and the owner of a basketball team.
Now, this caller was clearly dumb. What made it even worse, though, was that one of the hosts of this show proceeded to give some credibility to this idiot. The host said, "Yeah, that's right. Lots of people feel that way. I hear that a lot."
Now, anybody with a brain and a sense of understanding, would have called this idiot out and cut him off at the knees. Instead, the host compounded the idiocy.
I've known Kohl since before he bought the team and before he ran for the Senate. I know him well. And to say all he cares about is money is absolutely nuts. He's got money. He's got more money than he'll ever need.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, buys a professional sports team as an investment. It is not a moneymaker. Ask anyone who knows. You might make a little bit when you sell the team. When you own it, though, the cash flowing out almost always exceeds the cash flowing in.
If Kohl is guilty of anything, it's of being impatient thanks to his intense desire to win. He's broken the bank for coaches and players. The amount of money he's spent is crazy.
Last year, Kohl and I were in Ma Fischer's. We were talking about his team and he said, "If people knew how much I worried about my team compared to my Senate duties, I might have trouble getting re-elected."
Has he been a perfect owner? Of course not. Has he made mistakes? Of course he has. Does he know as much about basketball as he thinks he does? Probably not. Does he care about money? Certainly.
But the biggest thing about Herb Kohl is that he wants to win! Unquestionably. He may not always know how to go about it, but there is no doubt that he wants it.
The dunce who made that comment and the host who affirmed it should be banned from speaking in public. Forever.
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7 comments about this article. Post a comment / write a review. |
Posted by EliCash on Feb. 19, 2008 at 6:23 p.m. (report)
When I see Herb, I just think Willem Dafoe in "Shadow of the Vampire."
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Posted by brewguru on Feb. 19, 2008 at 2:54 p.m. (report)
Herb Kohl is the worst thing to happen to basketball in the city of Milwaukee. Sure, people will bow at his feet and thank him for "saving basketball for the city", but at what cost? When he bought the team, the Bucks were in the midst of their sixth straight season of 49+ wins and had won at least that many in 11 of their first 17 seasons. After 2 years of this continuing trend, he then drove Don Nelson out of town and the Bucks have won that many only 2 times in 20 years. He hires coaches, then GM's in that order so no one has any authority. He listens to his "advisors" (Rick Majeris, Dan Kohl, Ron Walter) and undermines his paid decision makers at every opportunity. I don't know if all Kohl thinks about is money, but I do know that the franchise value shot up $50 million thanks to Yi. And I do know that he "saved" basketball, then ran for the Senate at the next opportunity. Compliment Herbie all you want, but if the man left the state of Wisconsin permanently, we would all be better off.
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Posted by soboMP3 on Feb. 19, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (report)
I appreciate the senator's drive to keep the team in Milwaukee, I really do. That said, the senator needs to set a price point each year, and let the GM do their job. Kohl's insistance to meddle in personnel decisions has cost this team year after year. Ask one of basketball's great coaches (Don Nelson) what he thinks about Herb Kohl and his meddling.
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Posted by fatcat on Feb. 19, 2008 at 11:45 a.m. (report)
I'm glad it seems you are defending the Senator and the Owner of the Bucks, the caller obviously was way out of line. I just wish you didn't give it any more legs by even referencing the callers last statement. It has absolutely nothing to do with winning, or anything for that matter. Senator Kohl has always been someone of impeccable integrity. I applaud him for remaining the owner of the Bucks and keeping them in Milwaukee.
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Posted by sandstorm on Feb. 19, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (report)
Look Begel, if every idiot who said something done was banned from speaking in public or writing for the public, rhis column never would have been printed and this post of mine would never see the light of day either. you're the genius who suggested last year that Favre be benched before the 2007 season. and as the dumb columns keep piling up you have the audacity to whine about someone else's idiocy? i don't know, maybe your intentions were good-a free lunch on the Senator. sorry Dave this whole column just seems to be one big suck up to your old buddy whether the caller was right or not.
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