it would not result in much revenue for 30 years. It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes. Finally, in 1998, Kokusai Green found a buyer. Although William Davidson, longtime owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was thought to be the frontrunner, the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams, who previously owned the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The team was $102 million in debt at the time the sale closed. Williams knew very little about hockey, but was very visible and outspoken, and immediately pumped an additional $6 million into the team's payroll. He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era. After taking control, Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe, only to fire them two games into the 1998–99 season. He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager. The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998, a player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come. Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. They ended up losing 54 games that year, more than the expansion Nashville Predators. Return to respectability By the spring of 1999, Williams had seen enough. He had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart". He lost $20 million in the 1998–99 season alone, as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years. Williams sold the team for $115 million—$2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier—to Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, who had almost bought the team a year earlier. Along with the sale, the Lightning acquired a new top minor league affiliate; Davidson also owned the Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League. Davidson remained in Detroit, but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Wilson immediately fired Demers, who despite his best efforts (and fatherly attitude toward Lecavalier) was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership. Wilson persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager (and former Vipers GM) Rick Dudley to