| So Citigroup, the huge New York bank, is being | | | | million from the $8 million they (incredibly) receive. |
| pressured into reneging on its $400 million deal with the | | | | And the Knicks? Where do we start? Let's take a |
| Mets to plaster its name on the team's new stadium. | | | | player whom few outside of Madison Square Garden |
| That's right, $20 mil per year for 20 years to call this | | | | have ever heard of: Jerome James. While we're sure |
| baseball pleasure dome, which is arising beside the | | | | Mr. James toils hard in his chosen profession, he is |
| defunct Shea Stadium, "Citi Field." | | | | given what would seem to be an overly generous $6.2 |
| The agreement has brought outrage because | | | | million. Ka-ching! Another $6.1 million for Gotham. |
| Citigroup received $45 billion in bailout aid from the | | | | Unfortunately, the football Giants and Jets play in |
| federal government. The bank denies that any of this | | | | northern Jersey, outside Mayor Bloomberg's grasp. But |
| money has gone toward the stadium, but this is a | | | | baseball commissioner Bud Selig isn't, his office being in |
| facile deception: if it hadn't allocated the marketing | | | | Manhattan. Bud is 74 years old and we don't think he's |
| funds so lavishly and foolishly, it would have needed | | | | quite up to spending every cent of the $18.35 million he |
| $400 million less from Uncle Sam. | | | | was (incredibly) granted (in 2007) for his services. So |
| Giving federal aid indirectly to a bunch of smug, grossly | | | | $18.25 million goes back to the city fathers. |
| overpaid athletes is more than we can stand. | | | | On and on we could go, but we're easily generating |
| Here's what we would do if we were NYC Mayor | | | | hundreds of millions of dollars from athletes who don't |
| Michael Bloomberg. | | | | need or deserve this money to taxpayers who do. |
| First, we would declare a state of fiscal emergency. | | | | So where would it go? We would begin by paying the |
| Then we would force the Mets ... not ask them, not | | | | city back $75 million it (incredibly) spent for building |
| beg them, force them to give the money back to the | | | | parking garages to service the new $1.3 billion Yankee |
| bank so it could be loaned out for more | | | | Stadium and another $135 million spent to create |
| business-worthy activities to help get this country out | | | | parkland around it. We're not accountants but we're |
| of its terrible economic mess. | | | | sure there were other public subsidies for this edifice, |
| Then we would take a look at the bankrolls of the pro | | | | not to mention the Mets', that need to be returned. |
| teams in town, declare a salary limit of $100,000 per | | | | Anything left over, well, we're confident Mr. Bloomberg |
| athlete, and use the oodles of extra money to pay off | | | | can think of a proper use for it. |
| the city's debts ... thus relieving the taxpayers of a | | | | Other needy metropolises could follow suit. |
| municipality that's dead broke. | | | | Why should people be starving in Detroit when Red |
| Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, already a | | | | Wings hockey player Henrik Zetterberg is raking in $73 |
| very wealthy individual, would have no problem | | | | million over a 12-year period? |
| donating $27.9 million of his annual $28 million salary to | | | | Why should Chicagoans shiver in the brutal cold while |
| the city. We're sure he'd be glad to do it, to help out his | | | | Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly, who had a good year (17-9) but |
| fellow urban dwellers. Maybe girlfriend Madonna could | | | | certainly not great, enjoys a reward of $12 million? |
| show how civic- minded she is by chipping in with a | | | | Why should Houstonians still struggle to recover from |
| few of her spare millions, too. | | | | last year's hurricane when oft-injured Rockets guard |
| Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran certainly wouldn't miss | | | | Tracy McGrady, who can barely move around the |
| parting with $18,522,809 of the $18,622,809 he received | | | | court anymore, nevertheless hauls in $20.37 million? |
| for hitting .284 last year. | | | | Athletes often say, for public consumption, that they |
| New York Rangers hockey players Scott Gomez and | | | | would gladly play for free. It's time to take their word |
| Wade Redden could probably scrape by minus $7.9 | | | | for it. |
