Two items left out of yesterday’s news post have to do with the ongoing financial struggles of the Mets and Dodgers, or rather their ownership groups.

• Hedge fund mover and shaker David Einhorn has dropped $200 million for a 1/3 share of the Mets, which may be enough to rescue Fred Wilpon. Or is it? According to ESPN and the New York Times, Einhorn has an option to acquire up to 60% (and controlling) interest in the team from Wilpon, should the beleaguered owner not be able to pay back the $200 million. If the Madoff trustee case ends with Wilpon having to liquidate much of his real estate holdings or other investments, he may not be able to pay back Einhorn, setting the stage for a takeover. Einhorn is no stranger to playing hardball, having called for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s ouster earlier in the week. Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital owns more than 9 million shares of MSFT. No matter how you slice it, the deal is not the safe one many expected Wilpon to make.
• Reports came in over the last couple of days showing that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt will in fact make payroll in time for the end of the month. By taking certain future payments up front to cover the May 31 payroll, McCourt has ensured that MLB won’t be able to pull the trigger on a takeover of the team. In doing this McCourt has written off that revenue for later in the season, and he merely pushes the deadline back two weeks. The next payroll deadline is June 15, and it is unknown what tricks McCourt has left up his sleeve to take care of business then. Combine that with flagging attendance, a lawsuit against the team and owner filed by the family of beating victim Bryan Stow, and the fact that another round of divorce settlement talks ended earlier in the week with no movement, and it’s clear that it’s only a matter of time before McCourt loses the team completely. The only thing up for debate is how delusional McCourt is to keep this charade up.

One interesting arena tidbit. Arena operators will be scrambling this summer to fill dates in anticipation of what may be a lengthy NBA lockout. A quote from Orlando executive director of venues:

Johnson said he can book a popular artist to replace a Magic game with a notice of 30 days. He said Taylor Swift’s concert next Saturday sold out in three minutes.

And that’s an arena is more lucrative to run than any outdoor stadium. It also reminds me of George Vukasin Sr.’s anecdote about Bill Graham getting The Grateful Dead to help the Coliseum Commission on occasion by booking a weeklong “residency.” It’s almost inconceivable to think that a local band could quickly and easily sign on for one or several dates just to help out an arena operator or city these days.