Mr. Pollin is an absolutely phenomenal man. He’s an incredibly smart business man so I’m sure he has a plan in place for the team. I sure hope we can make some noise next season for him…he sure deserves it. Please read this Mike Wise column about Mr. Pollin…its a great tribute!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030903096.html

From top to bottom:

• In what way does Polin not “value the team”? He’s got a pretty high payroll for someone who only cares about “buildings and property”. Not fan friendly? I’ve always thought the Bullets/Wizards were one of the MOST fan friendly teams in the league with their frequent and innovative promotions and fan nights.

• I don’t see how the NBA has passed Abe by at all. His “acumen” is quite sharp and I think he’s doing pretty well by the Wizards.

• I’ve never felt like the Caps were a “neglected step-child” to anyone, certainly not Pollin. In fact in the 70’s-80’s I was always surprised that the Caps were treated so on par with the larger sport Bullets.

• Not sure what to make of this:

The assumption…was that ol’ Abey would stay in the game for 2-3 more years tops before transferring power.

Whose assumption? The author’s? Abe’s? Ted’s? In the next paragraph this made up “assumption” becomes a “promise”.

• This “historically inept hockey franchise” was in the Stanley Cup finals only a year before the sale.

I think it’s absurd and a little sad that in a down year for the Wiz and an up year for the Caps that the author advises an ailing Abe to fade away, essentially pitting one franchise against the other. Next year the Wiz could be in the finals and the Caps could miss the playoffs. Would that mean that Ted was out of touch and Abe was a genius?

The guy built all of this by himself from almost nothing. Unlike nearly every other pro sport franchise, Pollin hasn’t relied on municipal money to run his business. Take a look at New York City’s baseball stadiums if you want to see what it looks like for a municipality and community to be ripped off and trampled.

I hope Abe is around a long long time and he keeps his Wizards and watches them win a championship. He’s earned it.

If Abe were a meddling owner like Dan Snyder and/or wouldn’t spend the money necessary to build a championship-caliber team, then I might be led to agree with you. But he leaves the big decisions to a pretty competent general manager and appears to have given that GM the flexibility to go over the salary cap when necessary. I have no major problem with Abe and wouldn’t mind seeing him continue to own the Wizards.

That said, I do have a few minor problems with Abe. His loyalty to players can sometimes hurt the team’s future, such as when he asked Ernie to resign Etan Thomas to that toxic contract with the trade kicker. And until recently, he has appeared unwilling to spend enough money to make this team competitive, although I admit that this might be more perception than truth.

I agree with your first “minor problem”. I’ve always considered that Abe’s real flaw, but that’s a pretty good flaw to have if you’re going to have one. Imagine having Cuban, Dolan, Sterling, as the owner of your team. I’ll take “too loyal”.

Not sure I agree with “minor problem” number two. I haven’t looked at Bullets/Wizards salary numbers, but my impression is that they’ve always been up there. Abe hasn’t seemed to be afraid to spend or make a move. The one thing that comes to mind was the Howard situation, when they let him walk at first rather than paying a high price. That was the right move. The subsiquent spending was a mistake. They let Jeffries and Hughes walk rather than break the bank. Both good moves. Ditto Mcilvaine. But he’s ponied up the dough when needed.

we got to win one for Abe or get really close

we are going to blow this team up with Ted im sure
i dont want to go back to winning 20 games a year again :( for the next 5 to 7 years

give it to Leonsis already.

Truth brings up a sentiment that is shared by many Wizards fans – but I tend to side with those who think Abe deserves at least another shot at a Championship.

Abe has been an incredibly generous Owner…. a vast difference between some other owners in the Association that held their Cities hostage for new Arenas (see: Howard Schultz , Maloof Brothers, etc…).

Instead of shopping the team around to Cities with the highest bid, Abe built his own Arena…. TWICE.

I think earlier in his Ownership, the Bullets could be fairly called “cheap”… but since the 1990’s, Abe has shown he’s willing to invest in transportation, revamped locker rooms, top flight training facilities, Coaches, and everything else to attract and retain the best players. And as for Players, Abe has shown he’s willing to invest in large long-term contracts if he thinks it will help the Wizards win.

So – I’m all for giving Abe the next couple of years to see if he can win a Championship before his time here is done. Let’s face it, he doesn’t have all that much time left – so it would be nice if he could go out with that trophy.