Who is Steve Belkin? By TIM TUCKER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/10/05 He once was offered a basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech. He tried for 20 years to buy an NBA team. And now he is at the center of one of the biggest storms in Atlanta sports history. So just who is Steve Belkin? The personal side Age: 57 ‧Grew up: East Grand Rapids, Mich. ‧Lives: Weston, Mass., a Boston suburb. ‧Education: Graduated from Grand Rapids (Mich.) High, Cornell University and Harvard (MBA). ‧Family: Wife Joan, whom he met at Cornell, and two daughters (ages 29 and 26). Sports background Turned down a basketball scholarship to Georgia Tech. Quit the basketball team at Cornell because the practice schedule interfered with his studies. Played on the more flexible tennis, squash and soccer teams. Still an avid tennis player, has won his club championship 15 times. How he made his fortune An entrepreneur who has started 26 companies under the umbrella of Trans National Group, he hit it big in the direct marketing of group travel packages and credit cards. Claim to fame Pioneered the concept of the affinity credit card, the now-ubiquitous card that carries the name or logo of a sponsoring organization. "We started the whole affinity business back in 1982," Belkin said last year. "Now, it's over 50 percent of all credit cards." His company originated 12 million credit cards in the U.S. from 1983 to 1993, earning a fee for each approved applicant it generated. Then, in 1993, Belkin sold the domestic credit card business to Maryland National Bank and took the same idea overseas. Claim to shame Was fined $250,000 last year by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman — a record fine for an NHL owner — for violating a gag rule and saying the league might use replacement players if the lockout lasted more than a year. A day at the office The Trans National building is next to Fenway Park in Boston. A basketball goal stands in a lobby, the Hawks logo on the backboard. Basketball memorabilia adorns Belkin's large, elegant office. Trans National's current businesses run the gamut: travel, telecommunications, selling books and videos to affinity groups, real estate and venture capital. Chasing a team In 1983, he had a letter of intent to buy the Celtics. In 2001, he almost had another deal to buy the Celtics. In 2002, he was a finalist to buy the NBA's Charlotte expansion franchise. Belkin's two-decade pursuit of owning a team was finally fulfilled with the Hawks purchase. Farm system Recently bought what he believes to be the oldest continuously operating farm in the United States — 200-acre Lookout Farm in Natick, Mass. It dates to 1680. Atlanta presence Attended about five Hawks home games last season. Friends in basketball Former Celtics general manager Jan Volk, who was in court with him Tuesday, and former Celtics great Larry Bird. When Belkin bought into the Hawks, Volk said: "He is combining his two passions — his passion for the game and his passion for business and marketing." Belkin 的基本资料，希望有助於更深入了解 Hawks 。另外一偏外电有稍微提到离盟准 备召集双方进行谈判， Stern 希望利用谈判的方式寻求一劳永逸的解决方案。喔，还有 Billy Knight 似乎深获 Hawks 与 Thrashers 的人心。 恩，再补一则 Insidehoops 谣言，据说 JJ 的交易仍有可能发生。可信度可能有点低， 文章写得不是很完整。 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/hawks/0805/10belkin.html http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/0805/11hawks.html http://www.insidehoops.com/johnson-hawks-081105.shtml --

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