Jerry Reinsdorf

“Chicago seems to follow New York, and coming from New York and being in real estate, I worry about things happening in Chicago that have happened in New York. I've seen a great city like New York go downhill. It has a wonderful financial downtown, but the rest of the city is not very nice.”

“The only thing about sports is making sure you don't read the papers too often.”

“My greatest moment as a jock occurred when I was 14 and playing punch ball in front of my house on Albemarle Road near East 17th Street in Brooklyn. I ran back, back for a ball, and it fell in my hands. I didn't even see it. Everyone congratulated me on the catch, and I never told them how it really happened.”

“Players alone don't win championships. It takes an entire organization. Someone has to acquire the players. Someone has to coach them. Someone has to generate revenue to pay them. But at the end of the day, the players are the ones who put their minds and bodies on the line to win.”

“I know I could have a better public image if I were less open, if I ducked more issues and didn't speak out. But it's not my nature.”

“The small-market teams should know I've always been with them.”

“I had been a basketball fan growing up, and I felt that if we brought in the proper coach, and we played basketball the old fashioned way - where defense is paramount and offense involved movement off the ball and movement of the ball - we could build a winning team, and Chicago would respond to that.”

“I thought that the Bulls were an undermanaged, under-operated team and that it could be a very successful franchise if run properly.”

“Baseball is a poorly run business.”

“The best thing for the fans is having a team with a chance to win. That's what everyone wants.”

“When I bought the team, I wasn't thinking about a new arena. But obviously I'm very proud of the contributions that the Bulls franchise has made to the community between Chicago Bulls Charities and the re-development of the West Side with the United Center being the catalyst.”

“I have tremendous confidence in John Paxson.”

“There must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone's ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private... When everyone is on the same page, trust develops, and teams can grow and succeed together.”

“I admire honesty more than any other trait.”

“I operated a business where I let someone steal three-quarters of a million dollars.”

“If I hadn't been fair, I would never have made the $6 billion in real estate deals that I did. I mean, if you're not fair, people don't want to deal with you.”

“When I got started, the Bulls weren't even that popular in Chicago. The Chicago Sting, the indoor soccer team, was outdrawing the Bulls. Now you can travel all over the world - Europe, Far East, Africa, wherever - and you see people with Bulls memorabilia or merchandise. It's incredible and the one thing I never could imagined accomplishing.”

“I've always believed certain things: You treat everybody nicely because, more than anything, it's the right thing to do. And then you also never know when someone will be in position to help you or hurt you. I know I've gotten help from a lot of people who said good things about me because I treated them well.”

“I haven't said anything bad about Fay Vincent publicly, and I won't. I like him personally.”

“I was a Knicks fan until the day I bought the Bulls.”