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Drew Sharp, Unsurprisingly, Finds The Negative In Ilitch-Owned Pistons

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Drew Sharp, the hard-hitting investigative Detroit Free Press columnist we all know and love, doesn't like the fact that Mike Ilitch is potentially going to be the new owner of the Detroit Pistons.

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Say it ain't so Drew!

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Sharp says that Ilitch owning three teams "won't work" because Ilitch is going to have to skimp on the money to one team in order to stay afloat. No, seriously, that's his reason.

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Some team will suffer -- and it won't be the Red Wings

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They're the established brand, the proven championship contender. So either the Pistons or Tigers will find themselves with a hand out to ownership, expecting a dollar but only getting a dime. Even a shrewd businessman -- and an even more maniacal local sports fan -- such as Ilitch can't treat all three teams equally.

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Keep in mind that Ilitches, who also own Little Cesar's Pizza, the Fox Theater and the Motor City Casino, are collectively worth $1.5 billion according to Forbes.com.

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Sharp also mentions that Ilitch is in this just so he can get his new downtown arena, a fact Ilitch himself has made no secret of. You mean it wasn't really because he was being a good citizen of Detroit and wanted to make sure the Pistons stayed in town, Drew? The horror, oh my, the horror!

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Sharp is entitled to his opinion, but to say that this won't work before Ilitch even buys the team is a little premature. Ilitch has had his name in the ring of potential buyers for a while now, so why are you only now worrying about this? Sharp made no mention of his concern in a previous column about the story.

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The column itself is just 181 words long; I have homework due later today that is longer than that. This just looks like Sharp was bored and needed something to do, so hey, let's get back on the negative train!

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Oh, and in case you're wondering, this post was 268 words long--without the paragraph from Sharp's column.