Last week, I kicked up a little dust with my post in this space, “Would buying the Indians make sense as Dan Gilbert's next step?”

And, as I have many times, I wrote that the Indians' fan base is influenced by a misplaced, “irrational” hatred of the team's owner, Larry Dolan.

Of course, many fans are poisoned by their irrational hatred of the Dolan family. If Gilbert, who despite his off-the-cuff behavior lately in NBA collective bargaining talks, bought the team, maybe it'd be more attractive to fans. Players, of course, follow the money, so the team again could be a free-agent destination.

But is that dislike of the Dolan family irrational? Longtime reader Don Sinko took the time to map out why not, and I figured I'd share it with the group”

“I just got around to reading your Jan. 6 blog, and I took a little offense to your term ‘irrational hatred of the Dolan family.' I am a quiet, conservative, level-headed CPA, and 2012 is my 19th year as an Indians season ticket holder (personal, not business). I do not like the Dolan ownership of the Indians, and I don't think that feeling is irrational.

“The two things they do that I can't stand is that they lie to the public about their profitability, and as every business person knows, you have to spend money to make money. I read in one of the business periodicals a year or so ago that the Indians are in the top 10 most profitable MLB teams. Ahead of them include Pittsburgh and Miami. While they use the same philosophy, pay for cheap, minor-league talent and make money off the luxury tax, at least Pittsburgh and Miami admit that that is their strategy. (At least it was Miami's until this year.) Cleveland does the same thing, makes a lot of money, and then cries small market and money losses. A big problem is that the losses the Dolans speak of are prior to their luxury tax money. After the luxury tax, they make a bundle. And let's not even talk about (SportsTime Ohio, the Dolan-owned regional sports network that broadcasts Indians games).

“That and telling us that we have to buy tickets first and then they will spend money. There are no businesses today that started out that way. Most have to front significant dollars to get started, put a good product out there and then have the profits come in. Can you imagine a successful restaurant saying, ‘I am going to serve crappy food until enough customers come in over a long period of time so that I can serve better food'? Give me a break.

“I support the Indians because I support Cleveland. If it was a vote of confidence on the Dolans, I would have dropped them long ago. I don't trust anything they say. (Former owner Dick) Jacobs used to run the Indians like a business too, but they were honest to the fans about what they were doing, and spent money on players. At one point, they had the third-highest payroll in the American League. I can't stand being lied to and hearing that we should pay first and then maybe we will get something we like. I don't think that is irrational.”

Fair points. My point remains that in no other industry are business owners expected to deficit spend, and for that, I don't blame the Dolans for their prudence. And, let's be honest: They've spent. Of course, they spent on the wrong players, it turned out; so argue they need to be better with talent evaluation all you want. No argument from me there.

With a hat tip to Crain's managing editor Scott Suttell, the famed Madison Square Garden in New York City has a unique new feature: individual, wireless charging stations at each seat, thanks to a partnership with Duracell.

Fans attending a concert this summer or watching a Knicks basketball game or Rangers hockey match next season will be able to plunk their phones down on wireless mats at various locations in the arena.

"As someone who spends almost 200 nights a year in venues, I'm thrilled," says Scott O'Neil, president of Madison Square Garden Sports. "So many of our fans are downloading photos (during games) and engaging in social platforms. (That's) a suck on the battery."

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