Brickbat to Alan Verlander

Brickbat to Alan Verlander, executive director of the city’s Sports & Entertainment Office, for violating procurement rules in hiring six vendors, and failing to seek sports advisory commission contract approval while trying to stage a college basketball game on a ship to honor the Navy. According to the Times-Union, a series of problems arose, and the city lost $736,000 on the game between Florida and Georgetown — it ended at halftime when the “court” got wet. As a result of financial missteps, the Jacksonville Sports & Entertainment Commission will now oversee the city’s sports trust fund, a move we hope will squelch Verlander’s plans to host any more athletic contests on the deck of an aircraft carrier.