Good news for Pistons fans. Mike Ilitch has throw his hat in as a potential bidder for the club. He already owns the Red Wings and Tigers and there is no NBA rule against such cross-ownership.
There would be some interesting synergies for Ilitch. He owns the Fox Theater concert venue in downtown Detroit, so adding the Piston's Palace of Auburn Hills would give him another venue to book. Having all three non-NFL clubs in town would put him in position to start his own local cable network if he didn't like what Fox Sports Detroit was offering for rights. Also, such a trio could create some one-stop shopping for advertisers.
Beyond that, Ilitch has a reputation of not being stingy, being the NHL's version of Mark Cuban in paying well to build the Red Wings into a winner (without the theatrics, however). The Tigers haven't quite responded to that touch quite yet, although they have been in the hunt and won the 2006 AL title.
The Pistons could do far worse for an owner.
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