Management Ian Mendes: Snoop Dog involved in Neko Sparks bid

[ACLEVERNAME]

There's also literally nothing wrong with Mendes choosing to write a few more articles on Sparks/Snoop. If he wrote exclusively about Remmington/RR no one would be calling him out for it would they?

He's a mouth piece for the group just like boo-boo was for Remington with that "Billion dollar Bid" article a couple weeks back. Don't pretend this is journalism. This is a controlled and targeted info dump.

My issue, that you seem to have completely glossed over, is the absolute gall it takes for someone who's built a career and public persona as a 'progressive' and thoughtful champion of social justice and women's rights to do a complete about face without a shred of self reprospection on the matter just because "oh wow, it's snoop Dogg! Everyone loves Snoop!"





And then we go on to interview (promote) a known and proud abuser of women. It was definitely worth the scoop and the clicks tho, right?

 

[maclean]

WHAT IF... the Melnyks cobbled together this Sparks group just to drive up the price??

(for the record i'm being silly but... WHAT IF )

 

[IpsoPostFacto]

Didn't the Yakuza own part of Tampa at one point?

You would think the NHL is going to be more careful this time around.

you know what. I recall that. I think they were part of the original financing.

the league was brutal on this stuff then. As I recall, the thing that put the Senators over the top is that Tim Horton's wanted to spread the 50m (lol) franchise fee over 2 or 3 payments while the senators just wrote the cheque. That was good enough for the dummies on the BOG.

 

[Flamingo]

Sorry Flamingo: I was not trying to reply to you.

When Neko first came to the surface several months back he introduced himself as a multi faceted business man - everything from blockchain to movie producer. Ok, what do we know. At that time he led with POC ownership etc. and as far as I recall that was met with positive or minimally neutral reaction - people were thrilled it was leaked they would go to 950M

skip forward to now and he is still around. ok, who's this guy talking to Snoop.

This "heavy research" was going to his various social media accounts and corporate website. He seems to have less followers than my 10 year old nephew. This seems odd for a guy in his type of business.

The rest of the bidders are known to us - at least to the extent we need to - we know how they made their money - importantly, that they have money and have social media and websites that tell us who they are and have some sort of obvious reason to buy the team - they like hockey, and oh look, they are builders and it seems there is some downtown land and the current rink's land. hmmmm.

We know who the Hockey News guy is. We dragged that guy to the point he wrote a self serving pity party of an op-ed lamenting about the good looks and charm of "celebrity bidders". Nobody was calling anybody on that research.

I think pretty much every potential group has been accused of "they are just going to move the team to Quebec/Houston/GTA".

There were folks on this site who were for sure a little disappointed in everything surrounding the liver donation for Euge.

it's big business and people care about it.

I don't think it's too much to ask that sport reporters would ask even some basic questions. Example "Neko, when you first indicated interest you told us you had a nice mix of UK, American, and Canadian money, but this week we find out that you have hired a search firm to find Canadian investors. Can you explain that?"

I agree with all you wrote.

I didn't word my post very carefully. I'm responding to the criticism that some posters are expending a lot of energy finding fault with this particular bid, and the implication that it's veiled racism. This bid is the one getting coverage from Mendes and ESPN mainly due to the intrigue over the mystery celebrity. Of course we're going to discuss it. And there's lots to talk about, this group flew under the radar until March and nobody's been able to understand whose money is being pledged.

 

[swiftwin]

If there was "f*** all" info about the Sparks' group's financials the NHL would have already dismissed it long ago. To think that a bunch of amateur detectives in here know more than the NHL does is hilarious.

Maybe we're not at the stage yet where he can be dismissed. Maybe he just passed the "do you have the money" stage. And now we're in the more serious stage where he may already be dismissed, but we or he don't know it yet.

I think you overestimate how quickly the NHL is going to dismiss someone with a ton of money from the process. Just have a read at how the Yakuza owned part of Tampa at one point:

https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/03/30/team-turmoil-a-mystery-owner-squabbling-management-a-nine-figure-debt-and-a-rotten-record-have-put-the-tampa-bay-lightning-probably-the-worst-run-franchise-in-sports-on-the-brink-of-ruin

It's not unheard of to use a pro sports team to launder money. Crypto is a huge financial grey area. It's perfectly reasonable to ask questions when we know absolutely nothing about this this guy and where the money came from, other than "crypto".

 

[IpsoPostFacto]

I agree with all you wrote.

I didn't word my post very carefully. I'm responding to the criticism that some posters are expending a lot of energy finding fault with this particular bid, and the implication that it's veiled racism. This bid is the one getting coverage from Mendes and ESPN mainly due to the intrigue over the mystery celebrity. Of course we're going to discuss it. And there's lots to talk about, this group flew under the radar until March and nobody's been able to understand whose money is being pledged.

np. You just got sideswiped. I clicked on the incorrect post when I was responding.

 

[WORLDSTARHIPHOP]

If there was "f*** all" info about the Sparks' group's financials the NHL would have already dismissed it long ago. To think that a bunch of amateur detectives in here know more than the NHL does is hilarious.

That's literally just an assumption. Do you know how the bid works and how much due diligence is done in the first round? You're literally just guessing. Why would the NHL come out in public to dismiss a bid? It's not their place. Would it open them up legally to lawsuits if they came out to say someone is a fraud and their bid is disqualified before it was even in consideration by the owners? People would be screaming at them in that case.

If you know more about the bid process, the due diligence done and how NHL conducts business than everyone else here, you can explain it to us or stop pretending like you do.

It's easy to be worth "billions" in crypto. What happened to FTX arena? We literally had the biggest frauds in the crypto world be "vetted" by congress months ago, sponsoring stadiums and getting the biggest names to shill for them.

 

[Senator Stanley]

Lol how tf am I clutching my pearls? I'm not the one writing post after post about the Sparks group. I'm just calling out the obvious bias.

There's also literally nothing wrong with Mendes choosing to write a few more articles on Sparks/Snoop. If he wrote exclusively about Remmington/RR no one would be calling him out for it would they?



If there was "f*** all" info about the Sparks' group's financials the NHL would have already dismissed it long ago. To think that a bunch of amateur detectives in here know more than the NHL does is hilarious.

I think focusing on the financials of the bid starts to miss the point.

Does the Sparks group have the financial backing to buy the team? At minimum, I think they must have a plausible path to securing the financing. Enough that other bidding groups have to take their bid seriously, and therefore the bank, the sellers and the NHL have an interest in keeping them involved. Maybe the NHL has concerns about Sparks. Maybe they don't. Either way, it's not in their interest to quash a motivated bidder at this stage.

But does having the financial backing to win the bid mean this would be a good, stable and competent ownership group? Of course not. And that's where I think it's fair to ask questions about Neko Sparks, the businessman.

The reality is, none of us know for sure if the Bratty's (or take your pick) will actually be good owners. Melnyk looked like a good owner when he bought the team. We won't know until we see it. But the difference between Bratty/Reynolds and Sparks et al is that at least with Bratty/Reynolds, if you do a cursory review of who they are, what they do, how much money they have, etc., you can find decent answers and not a lot of red flags. They are relatively known quantities. We won't know until we see it, but there is reason for confidence.

With Neko Sparks, I've done the same cursory review, but it only led to more questions and red flags. And that's where I'm at now. Still trying to understand who the guy is. Still trying to find any reason for confidence.

 

[DaveMatthew]

That's literally just an assumption. Do you know how the bid works and how much due diligence is done in the first round? You're literally just guessing.

If you know more about the bid process, the due diligence done and how NHL conducts business than everyone else here, you can explain it to us or stop pretending like you do.

Gary Bettman has said that the league is not very involved in the first round of this process:

"We, meaning the league, doesn't make the decision in the first instance. There's an investment banker who's running the process, we're being frequently consulted as to what's going on, occasionally weighing in, but ultimately it's up to the estate to decide what level of interest will satisfy them," Bettman said, adding the NHL Board of Governors will have to approve the purchase.

I don't think it's an outlandish scenario if:

a) Neko Sparks is using this "bid" as a way to raise his own public profile and he's found a willing partner in Ian Mendes
b) An investment bank tasked with getting the highest price for their clients is fine with the media reporting a potential $1B sale number even though they full well know that one of these bids will never be selected

 

[Golden_Jet]

Maybe we're not at the stage yet where he can be dismissed. Maybe he just passed the "do you have the money" stage. And now we're in the more serious stage where he may already be dismissed, but we or he don't know it yet.

I think you overestimate how quickly the NHL is going to dismiss someone with a ton of money from the process. Just have a read at how the Yakuza owned part of Tampa at one point:

https://vault.si.com/vault/1998/03/30/team-turmoil-a-mystery-owner-squabbling-management-a-nine-figure-debt-and-a-rotten-record-have-put-the-tampa-bay-lightning-probably-the-worst-run-franchise-in-sports-on-the-brink-of-ruin

It's not unheard of to use a pro sports team to launder money. Crypto is a huge financial grey area. It's perfectly reasonable to ask questions when we know absolutely nothing about this this guy and where the money came from, other than "crypto".

Don’t think what happened 30 years ago applies, since Daly said they made changes to their due diligence after Spanos.

 

[swiftwin]

Don’t think what happened 30 years ago applies, since Daly said they made changes to their due diligence after Spanos.

Has the NHL confirmed that they've done this type "due diligence" at this stage? Or is it something they only do as a final step?

 

[Golden_Jet]

Has the NHL confirmed that they've done this type "due diligence" at this stage? Or is it something they only do as a final step?

I imagine it’s happening now. but not sure.

 

[Micklebot]

Where's @2CHAINZ to defend the good name of Crypto...

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

GARRIOCH: There's lots of racetrack left before the Ottawa Senators are sold

"With the deadline for final non-binding bids set for May 15, it's anybody's guess who will own the Senators because seven groups remain involved."

www.thepost.on.ca

sorry if this was already posted.. did not go back to read previous pages

This one speaks about the process a little

GARRIOCH: The bidders for the Senators would like this process to move along

Those trying to buy the NHL franchise know the next five months before training camp opens in September are pivotal to on- and off-ice success.

ottawasun.com

 

[Flamingo]

GARRIOCH: There's lots of racetrack left before the Ottawa Senators are sold

"With the deadline for final non-binding bids set for May 15, it's anybody's guess who will own the Senators because seven groups remain involved."

www.thepost.on.ca

sorry if this was already posted.. did not go back to read previous pages

Not a lot of noise from the rest of the field, all on the D-L.

 

[PlayItAgain]

Has the NHL confirmed that they've done this type "due diligence" at this stage? Or is it something they only do as a final step?

Interested parties got a complete look at the senators books. You’d think some sort of basic vetting took place before giving this access

 

[DaveMatthew]

Darren Dreger pours a bit of cold water on the Snoop Dogg thing on Overdrive.

"Ryan Reynolds has been involved since the beginning and has helped put together that bid. Some are wondering if Snoop Dogg will really be involved moving forward."

Also sounds like you can't really count out Andlauer (Brucey Boo posted an article a few hours ago saying the same thing).

 

[RyCam]

WHAT IF... the Melnyks cobbled together this Sparks group just to drive up the price??

(for the record i'm being silly but... WHAT IF )

I don't think that you're that far off from the truth TBH, I could see the NHL/Melnyk sisters keeping the Neko Sparks bid alive to put pressure on the other bidders, especially with all the noise about the Sparks bid being the only bid above $1b(before the latest news about Remington upping their bid).

 

[Tuna99]

Aren’t We talking about Neko Sparks because there’s nothing to talk about in Sens land and Snoop is showing the world He wants to own an NHL team because of his burning passion for hockey but he doesn’t know the word “deke” and “snap shot”

Just seems kinda weird that out of nowhere at the 11th hour Snoop wants to own the Ottawa Senators. I’m a die hard fan and even I don’t want to own the Ottawa Senators

 

[Tuna99]

Definitely feels likes Snoop is a paid promoter and they went straight to the Atheltic to raise the profile and it worked.

i think Gretzky has a better understanding of expanding hockey and bringing it to the sunbelt. #99 said he wanted to see kids play hockey on tennis courts, in parking lots and gymnasium. You want to make the sport more accessible, start with a cheap stick and a ball

Just not feeling Snoop on this. I’m enjoying it, just not believing it.

 

[Micklebot]

Just seems kinda weird that out of nowhere at the 11th hour Snoop wants to own the Ottawa Senators. I’m a die hard fan and even I don’t want to own the Ottawa Senators

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I don't think that you're that far off from the truth TBH, I could see the NHL/Melnyk sisters keeping the Neko Sparks bid alive to put pressure on the other bidders, especially with all the noise about the Sparks bid being the only bid above $1b(before the latest news about Remington upping their bid).

Could also be a play the other way. The Melynk sisters are young and into today's changing culture. Sparks saying diversity at every opportunity could also be taken as an appeal to them.

 

[coladin]

Elizabeth Holmes generated a networth of $4.5B and raised $700M from investors selling them on a technology that never existed. The capital that was injected into her company came from idiots, I guess.

Look at Sam Bankman-Fried's web of corruption and fraud. He was the "60th" richest person in the world at one point.

The list of fraudsters and con-men with overinflated wealth is long.

Which is why I like boring, established money like Andlauer Group

 

[coladin]

For the record, why are people bashing Mendes. He is a reporter and he is getting the scoop on a bid for our benefit as consumers of media. He isn't f***ing endorsing the group or any group. Some people have a hard time with reading comprehension and many here probablky think that if Sparks wins the bid that Mendes will quit and work for them. The fact that he has been able to extract this info, and not Garrioch or Friedman, shouldn't mean that he endorses the bid.

He is a reporting on a group that is trying to buy the team.

 

[Golden_Jet]

For the record, why are people bashing Mendes. He is a reporter and he is getting the scoop on a bid for our benefit as consumers of media. He isn't f***ing endorsing the group or any group. Some people have a hard time with reading comprehension and many here probablky think that if Sparks wins the bid that Mendes will quit and work for them. The fact that he has been able to extract this info, and not Garrioch or Friedman, shouldn't mean that he endorses the bid.

He is a reporting on a group that is trying to buy the team.

It bizarre to be honest,