Who is #theBalkan ?

[lethalweapon3]

Thrashers fans in Atlanta have been clinging to the hope that an anonymous interest, referred to only as "The Balkan" by 680 the Fan's John Kincade, wishes to offer a bid with the A$G to keep the franchise here. It is believed that Kincade assisted in getting The Balkan in touch with A$G members. Recent tweets from a frustrated Kincade and others paying close attention (Jay Clemons of SI, @NHLWinnipeg) indicate The Balkan will NOT negotiate with A$G unless the buyer can acquire ALL three assets: the Hawks, the Thrashers, and operating rights at Philips Arena.

Kincade seems to suggest ASG is not interested in selling all 3 entities. And that #theBalkan is ONLY interested if he can buy all 3.

Kincade suspects the A$G is interested in selling only the Thrashers to "The Balkan," but may have designs on another buyer for the Hawks and A$G.

IF ASG is selling off Thrashers to WPG then this PR campaign to get new investors has been nothing but a charade and I will share details

You wonder if they already have a fall back plan.to sell Hawks and Arena too to someone else? My belief is yes and I will also explain why

IF this plan has truly been in place for months deception and cover story would be only reason to have wasted the time of potential buyers

If Thrashers WERE sold, who is buying Philips and Hawks? There would have to be someone lurking in shadows to do this. I am suspicious

The Mayor has asked for a buyer to step forward and that ball is officially in motion. Everyone better get their story straight

11 Alive's Jeff Hullinger spoke with Bruce Levenson last night prior to the Hawks-Bulls game:

http://www.11alive.com/rss/article/190818/5/Thrashers-owner-on-Atlanta-future

Hullinger: Is this solution any closer today than it was a month or two?

Levenson: I don't think so. No.

Hullinger: What's your drop dead date on this? When does it have to come together?

Levenson: I don't have a drop dead date.

Hullinger: So you continue to have negotiations with other parties? Without being specific.

Levenson: My job is to try and find buyers that will either buy all of it or as Michael (Gearon Jr., Spirit co-owner) and I have indicated, we would be happy to retain an interest if that helps make the deal better.

Hullinger: How about this scenario -- the team stays here for another year while you shop it for a new owner. Is that within the realm of possibility?

Levenson: That's a scenario we haven't thought about. We want to find somebody to keep the team here.

Hullinger: If you were a betting man -- one year from today -- are you standing here as owner of the Thrashers?

Levenson: Well, ah--no. I hope we can find somebody who can come in and take either a controlling interest -- it's their choosing -- (or) own the whole thing. We have been working on this a long time.

Hullinger: What would you like to say to fans wondering where all this stands? What would you like to say to them?

Levenson: If you know anybody who is interested, have them get in touch with us.

Hullinger: Do you regret getting involved (as Thrashers owner) in this at all?

Levenson: That's a great question. There have been a lot of highs and lows. I'm disappointed we haven't had more success with the Thrashers. I'm disappointed we haven't had the same success as the Hawks.

Any ideas on who "The Balkan" might be? Kincade comments suggest that the anonymous entity may not be a singular individual, and the word "Balk" in Balkan might imply the involvement of at least one former baseball pitcher.

~lw3

[Dexmethylphenidate]

Balkan = Belkin?

[lethalweapon3]

Balkan = Belkin?

LOL that would be epic, wouldn't it? I can't imagine Kincade could keep hiding that secret without at least a couple phonetic slips by now.

Keeping with the Balkan theme I'll throw out another name... Socrates Kokkalis. Josh Childress' former billionaire boss with Olympiakos. Although he's in the gambling industry, so that might not go over well with Stern and the NBA owners. It would be consistent with the Raine Group's reported efforts to seek foreign investors.

~lw3

[frosgrim]

Gearon Jr and the other Atlanta faction would be pariahs if they let the team move to Canada.

It seems to me this is just an extension of the core problem with the ASG. None of these guys are on the same page. My guess is that Gearon wants to keep ownership of the Hawks, but the Washington group wants completely out of the sports business. Gearon has now dug his heels in and won't sell his interest in the 3 properties. This is driving down the price the other owners can get for just the Thrashers. Let's face it, the price for all 3 is much greater than the Thrashers alone. Thus we are at this point because the ASG once again can't get the snot together.

What a cluster flub.

[lethalweapon3]

Keeping with the Balkan theme I'll throw out another name... Socrates Kokkalis. Josh Childress' former billionaire boss with Olympiakos. Although he's in the gambling industry, so that might not go over well with Stern and the NBA owners. It would be consistent with the Raine Group's reported efforts to seek foreign investors.

~lw3

Other Greek co-investors might be members of the Angelopoulos family (brothers George and Panagiotis), current co-owners for Olympiakos.

~lw3

[coachx]

Any ideas on who "The Balkan" might be? Kincade comments suggest that the anonymous entity may not be a singular individual, and the word "Balk" in Balkan might imply the involvement of at least one former baseball pitcher.

~lw3

I assume your alluding to Tom Glavine since he is a hockey lover and businessman. I could see Glavine being part of a group but he does not have the money to be an individual owner of the Thrashers.....let alone all 3 together.

"The Balkam" to me means a guy from the "Balkan States" of Southeastern Europe like: Greece, Turkey, Czec Republic, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Istanbul, etc.

Any billionaires in Atlanta from the Balkan States ?

Did some quick research. I have only found 5 billionaires in Atlanta:

1. Ann Cox Cambers ( Cox Enterprise) $12.5 billion

2. Jim Kennedy (Cox Enterprise) $6.2 billion

3. Truett Cathy (Chick-fila) $1.6 billion

4. Bearnie Marcus (Home Depot / Built Atlanta Aquariam) $1.5 billion

5. Arthur Blank (Home Depot / Bought Falcons) $1.2 billion

My conclusion: "The Balkan" is probably from over seas.

Edited May 13, 2011 by coachx

[lethalweapon3]

Looks like it is a "he," and not a "they."

http://blogs.ajc.com/iceman-thrashers-blog/2011/05/17/the-balkan-is-detroit-venture-capitalist-jb-smith/

~lw3

[hazer]

Ahhhhh. My twisted little mind was shuffling the letters of Arthur BLANK: BALKN. Brilliant guess before the JB Smith scoop, you must admit :scratchhead:

[DrReality]

Gearon Jr and the other Atlanta faction would be pariahs if they let the team move to Canada.

It seems to me this is just an extension of the core problem with the ASG. None of these guys are on the same page. My guess is that Gearon wants to keep ownership of the Hawks, but the Washington group wants completely out of the sports business. Gearon has now dug his heels in and won't sell his interest in the 3 properties. This is driving down the price the other owners can get for just the Thrashers. Let's face it, the price for all 3 is much greater than the Thrashers alone. Thus we are at this point because the ASG once again can't get the snot together.

What a cluster flub.

Guess they are pariahs.

[frosgrim]

Guess they are pariahs.

i'd Billy Knight anyone of them if they offered to shake my hand.