Tiffany Disney's house
Myrtle Avenue
San Diego, CA
Tiffany Disney (Chairwoman of the Board; Mighty Ducks of San Diego)
Excerpts from an interview hosted by Bob Costas ahead of a Mighty Ducks/Silver Knights game carried by the USA Network.
Tiff:
"In my garage, I found a few drawings that Trey did with crayons when Dad brought the
TMNT into the Disney fold back in '89. It was basically four of the Fab Five cosplaying as the Turtles. 'Goofael,' 'Mickey-Angelo,' 'Donald-Tello' and 'Pluto-Nardo.'"
Tiff:
"I had a TV in my room as a kid, and I would always have
SportsCenter on the morning before school and every night before bed to see how the Ducks were doing."
Bob Costas:
"Last season at the NHL All Star Weekend in Las Vegas, you and Paris Hilton pretty much buried the hatchet."
Tiff:
"Right. While she was still in charge of the Chargers, she had dissed me over my condition a few years earlier. That was why there was that infamous
Celebrity Deathmatch episode where we faced each other. After the NFL rightly forced her to sell the Chargers, I learned that she had played hockey in high school. So when Dad put me in charge of the Ducks in '05, I wanted a chance to squash the beef with Paris. And the Pro-Am roller game during the All Star break provided that opportunity."
Costas:
"Besides your father, who else would you consider your mentors in sports franchise ownership?"
Tiff:
"Steven Spielberg and Magic Johnson, both of whom of course have been involved with the Los Angeles Rams since '92. Also, Rachel Stone-Abbott who, not many people know, actually co-owns the Baltimore Ravens of the World League with Tom Clancy."
Costas:
"What was your first act with the Mighty Ducks? After the NHL Board of Governors allowed your father to put the franchise in your name?"
Tiff:
"I fired Al Coates and replaced him with Brian Burke. I then said to Brian that I'd let him sign whomever he wanted, as long as the players he brought in were team oriented. Then, I bought the Sempra Energy Center from the City of San Diego, the city government actually. After that, I lowered the Clippers' rent so they could afford the luxury tax to lure Kobe Bryant away from the Lakers."
Costas:
"How did you learn about Kanye West's remarks last year?"
Tiff:
"I didn't know he said those things about me until a day or so after the fact. During the daytime, I was giving a tour to executives from the NBA and NHL to show them a preview of the sensory-inclusive upgrades we were making to the arena. Brian Burke and Randy Carlyle (Ducks bench boss) were there. Wayne Gretzky (commissioner) came, with Bill Daly (deputy commissioner) and Scotty Bowman (director of hockey operations). Elgin Baylor (Clippers' GM) was also on hand with Jerry West (NBA commissioner) and Adam Silver (deputy commissioner)."
"Anyways, when I got home, Joyce was on the couch eating ice cream while watching the postgame show of a Royals/Warriors game (Joyce grew up in Oakland). Ernie Johnson asked Charles Barkley about the rumors of a Shaq/Kobe reunion with the Clips. Barkley thought that was trivial compared to the 'turrible' things he heard Kanye say on
106 and Park about me."
Excerpt from Inside the NBA (Courtesy TNT)
Chuck: "Ernie, I gotta tell ya, Kanye West is a knucklehead. What he said about the Mighty Duck owner I forget her name..."
EJ: "Tiffany Disney?"
Chuck: "Yeah, thank you. Kanye making fun of her condition was turrible!"
Costas:
"But at the time, you went several days without responding..."
Tiff:
"I tried for as long as I could to not give Kanye any reaction and just let it roll off my back. Besides, I had other shit to deal with. Like for instance, (sports agent) Pat Brisson was up my ass for three months prior to give Jean-Sebastien Giguere a five year extension. We gave Jiggy a one year deal, then he earned that extension when he won the Cup for us last June."