Arturo Angels
VARIOUS CONFLICTING THOUGHTS ABOUT the raging controversy over Arte Moreno’s apparent (and many think puzzling) attempt to change the name of his baseball team from the Anaheim Angels to the Los Angeles Angels:
* This is what a smart guy from Phoenix does who understands the numbers but doesn’t appreciate Southern California’s fractional sensibilities. OC is not northeast New Jersey.
* Moreno is correct. We in Orange County are a bunch of provincial rubes who ought to smell the beer and thank Arte for making us the baseball headquarters of his big-time, L.A.-centric marketing strategy.
* It’s all about ratings. The Los Angeles Dodgers got $43 million from TV and radio this season, the Angels only half that. Moreno is determined to close the gap.
* Moreno is bluffing, only seeking leverage for potentially difficult negotiations that could arise over parking spaces and future development around Angel Stadium, should Anaheim succeed in attracting an NFL franchise.
* Moreno is bluffing, hoping to create enough discord to frighten off the NFL.
* Moreno is bluffing, hoping to renegotiate an ironclad stadium contract in order to win other concessions from the city.
* Don’t be deluded by all of “The O.C.” hype. It’s still L.A., baby!
* Moreno, for all of his obvious business smarts, is just wrong on this one. Putting L.A. on an OC team will alienate more OC loyalists than it attracts in
L.A. newcomers.
* Moreno underestimates Anaheim.
* His critics underestimate Moreno.
* This flap is yet another indictment of OC’s business community for failing to market the county. Fox and MTV can’t do the work alone. Maybe if Orange County had the reputation it deserves, Moreno wouldn’t be trying to remove “Anaheim” from his team’s name,unless it was to replace it with “OC.”
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ARTE, DON STERLING’S HOLDING ON LINE TWO JOHN SHAW’S ON
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