SCOTT JACOBS

I had wondered this aloud, but had heard nothing of it: with Citi banks in the tanks, what would they do with their massive naming rights deal with the New Yorks Mets?  The first premise of the question stemmed on the issue of whether they could break the deal before the first year (it was inevitable I figured that a naming rights deal would be the first thing a dying company would eliminate).  But in these horrendous economic times, apparently you can have your cake and spit in our government’s faces too.

Shockingly, Citi is not only keeping their naming rights deal with the Mets, it seems like they never had any plans to ditch it it in the first place.  This despite the fact that they recently let go (I mean axed) 53,000 workers, and saw their stock freefall.

ABC News reported the following:
Citicorp is not reviewing its deal with the Mets, chief financial officer Gary Crittenden said in an interview Monday. 

And with it comes one of the biggest slaps in the face to our government I’ve ever seen.

Let me get this straight: Citi is sticking to a $400 million deal over 20 years that they will pay the Mets (not the other away around folks) in the midsts of getting a ‘multi-billion dollar emergency ‘backstop deal’ with the U.S. government?’

$400 MILLION!?!?

CitiCorp will receive a government bailout worth approximately $326 billion.  But don’t worry, they’ve saved up $400 million so they can pay the Mets to have their proud name on New York’s brand new stadium

They laid off 53,000 workers.

They laid off FIFTY-THREE THOUSAND WORKERS!

And they have the nerve to continue a naming rights deal with the Mets to pay them $400 million?

Are you freaking kiding me Citi?

There are times when sports and economics clash, and clearly this is one of them.  Yes, having your name high atop a  new state of the art stadium in New York is great press, but when you CLEARLY can’t afford it, it’s ruthlessly unjust.

Read the full article here (Warning: story may make you nauseaus)

There’s a really interesting piece on the fourth page about why companies supposedly do naming rights deals, and what other companies are doing with their naming rights deals in the shadow of this economic freefall.  So check it out, it’s a very informative read.

Read more about Bailout Ballpark (I mean Citi Field)

> In the meantime, Newsday has an article up stating that the Mets may actually not see the $20 million.
> Flashback: Citi Field?  What’s next: Krispy Kreme Grounds
> $20 mil a year? Why Citi’s deal is double the largest per year naming rights deal in sports history!

SCOTT JACOBS

The Yankees found out earlier this week that nothing lasts forever.  The Mets are wondering why they keep getting trampled by the Marlins, who stomped on New York’s post-season hopes for the second year in a row.

That means, that the Milwaukee Brewers, who beat the Chicago Cubs behind another brilliant performance from C.C. Sabathia 3-1, are going to the playoffs for the first time, since 1982!

For the Mets and their fans, it was another devastating way to close the season. New York looked well on its way to a playoff spot (and redemption) a couple weeks ago, but yesterday the Phillies sealed off another NL East crown, and today, the Marlins dusted off the “ol’ does any team play in bigger in games that you’re not supposed to win” jerseys to end Shea Stadium.

So here’s how the NL Playoffs will look.  Two teams from the same division cannot face each other in the first round, so here are the NLDS matchups:

3) Los Angeles Dodgers versus 1) Chicago Cubs
4) Milwaukee Brewers versus 2) Philadelphia Phillies

I said at the beginning of the year, that the only way the Mets don’t win the division is if they collapse again.  Well, they did.  More interestingly though our the picks we made at around the All-Star Break .  Surprisingly, some of us did very well.