So What’ll It Be, a Write-off or a Title?

With all due respect to Tim Leiweke [Dec. 19], his logic in claiming the Kings are losing money has as many holes as the new netting behind the goals. Why did billionaire owner Philip Anschutz even purchase the team if he has no inclination to spend the necessary dollars to acquire the top-level talent who will carry the team to the next level and the Stanley Cup?

It is all well and good to want to impress your fellow owners and stay within the corporate spending limits, but the fans want a winner and not an also-ran. Does George Steinbrenner care if the other baseball owners are upset when he signs a high-priced free agent? No, because it is a competition and the desired end result is the championship.

If Anschutz and Leiweke are serious about bringing a Stanley Cup to Los Angeles, they need to stop complaining about the system and start competing within it, as other successful teams have been able to do. If they insist on claiming poverty and using the Kings as a tax write-off, do us all a favor and sell the franchise to an owner who truly wants to win and will do whatever it takes to succeed.

Elizabeth Buckley

Westchester