By now everyone is familiar with the story: An embattled member of a loose federation struggles with solvency issues related to high labor costs as angry creditors try to force it to accept austerity measures. I am speaking, of course, of the Dallas Mavericks:

Mark Cuban’s financial management of the Dallas Mavericks was described as “reckless” in a lawsuit filed Monday in Texas by a minority investor in the team who accused the flamboyant owner of amassing net losses of $273 million and debt of more than $200 million.
Ross Perot Jr., who sold Cuban control of the team in 2000 but retained a small stake, said in the state court filing that the team is essentially insolvent and lacks the revenue to pay its debts. […]
In an e-mail message to The Dallas Morning News, Cuban said: “The Mavs operations and debt are guaranteed by me. There is no risk of insolvency. Everyone always has been and will be paid on time.” He added that “being in business with Ross Perot is one of the worst experiences of my business life. He could care less about Mavs fans. He could care less about winning.”
Adam Silver, the deputy commissioner of the N.B.A., said the league has “absolutely no concern” about Cuban’s financial situation. In an e-mail message, he said, “We are in the process of addressing our teams’ ongoing losses through the collective bargaining process with our players.”

Another haunting parallel: Both Hellas and Dallas have become over-reliant on an inconsistent German.

(Via Pollowitz)