Winners: Jay-Z, Bloomberg, ACORN, Bruce Ratner

Yesterday, rapper Jay-Z announced that the basketball team he co-owns, the New Jersey Nets, will simply change its name to the Brooklyn Nets when the team moves to its new arena on Atlantic Avenue next year.

All new sports arenas, it seems, involve subsidies and political shenanigans. This one more than most. ACORN’s race-hustling, Mayor Bloomberg’s technocratic central-planning, and developer Bruce Ratner’s cronyism all played a big role in building the arena and the surrounding development.