The issue with Rogers as king of sports in Toronto

On the morning the Maple Leafs opened another year with renewed aspirations "to a degree, it's Stanley Cup or bust," said defenceman Morgan Rielly - Edward Rogers won. Not on the field, no. The Blue Jays are a mess, and for the last two and a half decades, that has been the only sports team Rogers owned in full.

- BRUCE ARTHUR

But Rogers is now the king of Canadian sports. Rogers Communications announced Wednesday it was buying Bell's 37.5 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion. That puts the company's valuation at $12.53 billion, and gives Rogers control of the Leafs, the Raptors, the Blue Jays, Toronto FC and the Argonauts, plus Rogers Sportsnet, Scotiabank Arena and Rogers Centre.

Bell suddenly, unexpectedly decided to focus on the core business and pay off some debt. So now Edward Rogers this paper previously referred to him as Ed, before a request from Rogers Communications to use his full name-controls it all.

That means a lot will change. Not everything: Bell announced that TSN will keep the rights to Leafs and Raptors games for the next 20 years, and that's good for sports in Canada because TSN remains the gold standard in sports broadcasting in this country.

After that? Larry Tanenbaum still owns 20 per cent of the company, after selling five per cent of his stake earlier this year to a Canadian pension fund, OMERS. But Tanenbaum and Rogers have been at odds a lot over the years, and especially recently, and while Larry has managed to extend the sunset clause in his ownership agreement before, the horizon is coming into view. Tanenbaum hasn’t been perfect, but he has been the human face of the franchises, and a wise and influential counsel. He was recently reelected as the chair of the NBA’s board of governors, and he is admired for his attention to detail.