Sale of the Sox

[Yogi#8Fan]

I figured no one else started it, so I figured I'd give it a go.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2001-11-29-sale-bids.htm

http://www.boston.com/sports/redsox/sale/stories/113001_bids.htm (includes background info on far left under "Online Extras")
http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox12012001.htm

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/1129/1286875.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/news/2001/11/29/redsox_ap/

http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/articles/20011201/364397.html

http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,4621734_52,00.html

Any thoughts out there?

[CubFan7125]

Yogi:

Lets get to the most important matter of all - When does Duquette get fired?

[hmrsf]

is according to the Yawkey Trust, the team MUST be sold to the highest bidder. Thursday was the last day to submit bids. Why in God's name will it take 3 weeks to figure out the bottom line?

[Yogi#8Fan]

CF, who is it, John Harrington who's the owner? As soon as he can extract Duke from his lofty position and the resulting feuds w/players. As an aside, one of the members here (redsox617, who's in the team draft) is webmaster of a related site: www.duquettesucks.com/.

Duke and Carlasaurus (as he's called by some Yankee fans I know) have been called the twin cancers in Boston and I've even heard diehard Sox fans say that Duke's firing is one of the keys to the sale (not in contract terms, but in the team's going forward as a "team"). If you'd like to know more, here's a Sox site similar to this: Sons of Sam Horn (http://pub38.ezboard.com/fsonsofsamhornbostonredsox).

Here's another Sox site http://www.redsoxdiehard.com/. Click on this "you may be a diehard if" (http://www.redsoxdiehard.com/features/if/) link. Here's another for great Sox links (http://www.red-sox.net/Links/RedSox/). BTW, the masslive link should be: http://www.masslive.com/forums/redsox/ (they'd omitted "forums/"). These may be good sources for finding out Sox fans' views but the registration site (Sam Horn) I would imagine is more reliable than the non-registration (masslive).

Here's another link to Fenway itself from a fan's perspective, which includes stuff of the sale at bottom of URL: http://www.redsoxdiehard.com/fenway/

[Yogi#8Fan]

HM, do you have any link to the deadline of bids? I've only got this: Batter up! Sox suitors step to plate with binding bids (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox11292001.htm).

[hmrsf]

Yes I have been following closely. The Boston Herald sends me the sports pages every am. 617 site is wonderful.....he has all the papers and other sites and links. It is a great one stop shop.

John Harrington is a 8% (?) owner and trusted friend of the late Tom Yawkey. He has been at the helm of the Red Soxs and manager of the Yawkey trust fund. He has been totally silent this year to the fans sheer horror. I would not want him as a friend never mind protect my best intrest.

My gut feel is the Duke will have a do nothing, no power position until the end of this contract. The new owner should not allow him to interact with people.

If I was buying 54% of the Bosoxs for 3-400,000,000....no that is not a typo......I would make part of the sale Harrington personally responsible for Everett and Duquette' s contract. He should eat it, and I pray the 'poor gentleman does not choke on it.' Oh my, that was not nice.....forgive me but I am more angry at Harrington than I am at Duquette or Everett.

[Yogi#8Fan]

HM, would you care to follow this thread more closely? I'm decent w/links but perhaps you can provide background info on Fenway's sale requirements. I've heard it was a need for a larger, newer stadium to remain competitive. The Yawkey Trust wasn't able to fund this new stadium and there was a requirement that the team be sold. If you could explain in a fan's view why the team needed to be sold, why a new stadium was required (size, capacity, age), I'd appreciate this.

BTW, I hope you like the links I've provided so far. Just a few quick web searches, that's all.

[CubFan7125]

I'm not a Sox fan but thanks for the links, I found them informative. I just think it's criminal that a G.M. can do what he has to any team. At least up here in Saint Paul Carl is messing up his own investment, but if i'm correct I don't believe Mr. Duquette has any money tied up in the Sox. Summed up my major problem with Dan Duquette is his basic incompetence & the fact that no one above him seems to give a f***.

[hmrsf]

The Yawkeys had no children. They ran the Red Soxs as a not for profit. All profits - expenses went to the Jimmy Fund. Written in the estate was that the Red Soxs would preferably go on and be run as a not for profit for 10 years. When no one came forward wishing to run the team as a NFP...team goes up for sale to the highest bidder and all proceeds go back to Yawkey trust.

Originally Harrington was working with the city to get a new ballpark built and felt the sale would go better if the new owner built the new park. I do not think finacing the ball park had anything to do with it. Yawkey Trust could easily afford to build the park but would it increase the profit of the sale. They must have thought not.

As a fan...and a season ticket holder...the charm of the old park is lost in the dank, expensive uncomfortable seating arangement. Fenway was a hitters park until they built the stupid 600 club above my seat. The piping system was leaking on the row behind me. (I kept thinking someone in the 600 club must be flushing.)
Many people still chant save the park (when I was young and dumb, I said the same) but we have all said goodbye....now stick a fork in her and shut off the lights.

Yes I did like the links.....son of sam horn....great site, new to me.

[CubFan7125]

I meant to add that the DuquetteSucks.com sites is absolutely fantastic. I could spend hours & hours on that site. Congrats to redsox617 on a fantastic site.

[Yogi#8Fan]

CF, glad you liked the links. I figured the Duke site would garner some merits. I've liked it when I first saw it but felt it was worth a link even w/o checking f/updates. He's also got a chat site (http://www.duquettesucks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum&f=1) there also. It seems well run from a true Sox fan.

Duke's problem is that he has way too much power and still doesn't seem grounded on baseball as a sport or even business itself. Ticking off Clemens and this "twilight" comment were almost as bad as when Seaver was traded (http://www.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nym/history/nym_history_timeline.jsp?period=2) (06/15/77).

As to the other Carl (Pohlad), if someone gives him some $250M buyout, I'm sure his crop is ready to bloom pretty much, and he and Bud are trying to harvest it.

[SmedIndy]

Is it just me, or are the a plethora of idiots in the GMs office??

That's probably another topic!

The Sox and Cubs deserve to play in the WS in 2002, but considering their management, they could wait as long as the Phillies did after 1915.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Smed, that's another "how low can they go" thread I'd like to see.

You mean the White Sox against the Cubs? The White Sox, of course! If referring to one New England team somewhere north of Joisey, that's already happened in "1918 (http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1918_WS.shtml)", but I'll try not to say that so loud. If not, HM may hear me. Shhhhhhhh.

[hmrsf]

Originally posted by SmedIndy
Is it just me, or are the a plethora of idiots in the GMs office??

That's probably another topic!

The Sox and Cubs deserve to play in the WS in 2002, but considering their management, they could wait as long as the Phillies did after 1915.


My idiot GM for your idiot GM and no backsies!!:p

My ears are burning, odd ringing......19 or 18 times!;)

[Yogi#8Fan]

I'll trade you the Duke for the idiot who signed A-Rod to his $252M deal. Anyone who does anything that crazy oughta be lined up and bullwhipped, but that's another story. Especially when the next suitor was offering much less.

I'll try getting back on target later on.

[hmrsf]

2001 baseball season will be remembered.......? I know way off topic. :topic: Hey that could be a cool thread.....!

[Yogi#8Fan]

Sources: Dolan submits one of highest bids for Red Sox (http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/articles/20011204/365239.html)

December 4, 2001 Print it

Steve Zipay
Newsday

(1st paragraph):

Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan, continuing his pursuit of professional sports teams, has submitted one of the highest bids -- more than $365 million -- to acquire controlling interest in the Boston Red Sox and other properties, two baseball sources said Tuesday.

[Skipper Steve]

Originally posted by Yogi#8Fan
http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/articles/20011204/365239.html

Thanks for the link Yog - - but how about a small/short line with it - even just the article title - so folks will know if they want to click it?

If you want to "OK Skip" me on this, please use PM - - no need to make a post for that. Thanks.

[Skipper Steve]

Whoever does buy the Sox, they are probably thinking they're getting a pot o'gold.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Bidders making a splash: O'Donnell/Karp propose new Sox park at Pier Four (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox12062001.htm):

by Steve Marantz
Thursday, December 6, 2001

A local group bidding to buy control of the Red Sox is developing a plan for a new ballpark on the South Boston waterfront with an eye toward gaining the approval of Major League Baseball owners, sources close to the group say.

[hmrsf]

Is it too much to ask for a real live owner. We still are not sure what Harrington is. Anyone got a mirror....I need proof that he is still alive.....because Duquette is killing us!!!!!

Yogi, good read...have not seen that one. I change my mind every day who I hope buys it. I just wish they would get on with it.

Steve, I was about to ask..Who has been sitting in my seat!


My guess is sect 27-29.....just a weeeebit left of mine....no lie, check it out I am the short lady with the big red finger.:p

[Yogi#8Fan]

HM, BostonHerald.com has some BusinessToday.com link (perhaps they're too cheap to hire biz writers), so that's my source. I didn't see much in Boston.com (the Globe), but I'll add later on if anything interesting pops up.

[hmrsf]

on the radio this am rumor has it that the Doylan group has exclusive rights to negotiate with Harrington for the tune of 405mil.


They are the cable empire people out of New York. My biggest concern is that they maybe more interested in the 80% of NESN than the 54% of the Bosoxs.

[satchel]

Originally posted by Yogi#8Fan
Bidders making a splash: O'Donnell/Karp propose new Sox park at Pier Four (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox12062001.htm):

by Steve Marantz
Thursday, December 6, 2001

A local group bidding to buy control of the Red Sox is developing a plan for a new ballpark on the South Boston waterfront with an eye toward gaining the approval of Major League Baseball owners, sources close to the group say.

Yogi or hmrsf, have you ever come across a map showing precisely where these potential stadium locations are? I'm just curious. Mostly I want to know how far they are from the office I'll be working in come September. :)

[Yogi#8Fan]

Satch, you may need to check the Boston or other sports press, since I'm not the best geographical person. Since Boston is smaller than NYC, it can't really be that far away by car or public transit.

[hmrsf]

not very good with Boston either....go every weekend but take the T see the game and get out! I asked 617 on his site about T set in the waterfront......he said red line. Check out his website or email him....good guy and knows the area. I live in the wood on the other end of the state. Sorry not much help!

[Yogi#8Fan]

general Boston map (http://www.smartraveler.com/scripts/bosmap.asp?city=bos&cityname=Boston)

Boston subways (includes Logan Intl Airport) (http://www.mbta.com/schedmaps/subway/)

road map of Boston/Cambridge (allows zomming in, also includes Logan) (http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/boston_overall)

[satchel]

Originally posted by Yogi#8Fan
general Boston map (http://www.smartraveler.com/scripts/bosmap.asp?city=bos&cityname=Boston)

Boston subways (includes Logan Intl Airport) (http://www.mbta.com/schedmaps/subway/)

road map of Boston/Cambridge (allows zomming in, also includes Logan) (http://www.aaccessmaps.com/show/map/boston_overall)

Yogi,

Thanks, but I've lived in Boston for 9 years and pretty much know my way around. My question was more specifically where the actual ballpark sites were located. I appreciate your effort though.

It's not so much that I wanted to know how to get there by T; I wanted to know if it's walkable. The spousal unit and I regularly walk all the way from Fenway across the river to Kendall square after a game so we have a pretty high tolerance for walkability.

One of the proposed sites (not one of the South Boston sites), that probably isn't going to be the one, is in the area of the Moakley courthouse, which is where my firm's new building is. I had talked with some of my future coworkers about who I'd have to bribe to get a stadium-side office should that plan ever be selected. All I'd need is a decent pair of binoculars...

[Yogi#8Fan]

I wouldn't know offhand where the proposed new park will be located. If I do come across this, I'll be sure to let you know.

[hmrsf]

back page of the local paper has this.......

That Charles Dolan is the highest bidder...the Boston Globe estimates Dolans bid at 405 mil- some 25 mil higher than nearest bid. It is also said that Dolan would be willing to toss in another 250 mil to buy out the teams 7 limited partners.


This, if true looks like a done deal. That is alot of cash:jaw:

[Yogi#8Fan]

After $655M, what about a new stadium? Isn't that part of the deal, that the new owner would build a new stadium? If you know if it's entirely financed by the new owner, if Boston is willing to kick in 1/3 of the cost, tax breaks, utility fee discounts, can you post this?

[sweaver]

Originally posted by hmrsf
back page of the local paper has this.......

That Charles Dolan is the highest bidder...the Boston Globe estimates Dolans bid at 405 mil- some 25 mil higher than nearest bid. It is also said that Dolan would be willing to toss in another 250 mil to buy out the teams 7 limited partners.


This, if true looks like a done deal. That is alot of cash:jaw:

$650 mil for the Red Sox? Wow.

Does that mean they are one of the "5 teams" that showed a profit this year?

[hmrsf]

I always thought that was some fuzzy math.


The bosox are a non-for -profit team set up in trust so they have an odd ledger to begin with.


Dolan is rumored to be worth 2Bil....think he can build a ballpark,eh?

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by hmrsf
I always thought that was some fuzzy math.

The bosox are a non-for -profit team set up in trust so they have an odd ledger to begin with.

Dolan is rumored to be worth 2Bil....think he can build a ballpark,eh? I say no way you can be worth $2B and pay 1/3 of your net worth into a team. You're buying the team, paying salaries and I'm sure all the operational costs like paying your team, operating the farms need to be done before any profit is made. That's the same way I feel about Watkins (the African-American worth $1.5B who's trying to buy a small market team, as discussed here (http://www.netshrine.com/vbulletin2/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1141)).

Dolan should either get together w/filthy rich investors and try to buy the team, since the burden of expenses can be shared. My thoughts are if they bought the team, would the cable contract (I've heard it's in the $20M range) come along with this? I presume that all the income would be the same as before, except it wouldn't be under non-profit organization anymore.

As a final offering, I'd say that Dolan and Watkins could consider getting together, since neither seems able to support such a large expense all by themselves. Either this or both can try for smaller markets.

[Goose]

Dolan has some grand plan where he could combine MSG Network and NESN and that plays into why he'd overpay for the Red Sox.

He hates Steinbrenner probably more than the people in Boston! (believe it or not)

[Skipper Steve]

Originally posted by Goose
He hates Steinbrenner probably more than the people in Boston! (believe it or not)

I believe it - - I remember the rumors of him bing the Yanks for GS - - and it all ended up in the Yanks starting their own network.

[Goose]

Yeah, well I guess the one thing a Steinbrenner hater couldn't call him is stupid!! :D:D

[sweaver]

Originally posted by Yogi#8Fan
I say no way you can be worth $2B and pay 1/3 of your net worth into a team. You're buying the team, paying salaries and I'm sure all the operational costs like paying your team, operating the farms need to be done before any profit is made. That's the same way I feel about Watkins
Dolan should either get together w/filthy rich investors and try to buy the team, since the burden of expenses can be shared

Nobody buys a team by themselves. Dolan is just the chief investor. He has a number of people with their cash pledged to the syndicate.

[hmrsf]

they have a huge base and sell out clearly the most run down park and at the highest prices. NESN is a huge $ maker. No longer pay channel.


He wants the whole shooting match.....wow that is alot of $$$$$

[hmrsf]

Wow! can you believe this: taken from Sporting News




N.Y. lawyer said hiking Red Sox bid
Prentice, fund partner seen rivaling Dolan in offer for the team

By Meg Vaillancourt, Globe Staff, 12/11/2001

mid an unsolicited second round of record-breaking bids for the Boston Red Sox, New York lawyer Miles Prentice has increased his offer and is now ranked among the top tier of bidders, an executive close to the sales process said yesterday.

Prentice's bid is being fueled by a partnership with The Quadrangle Group, a $1 billion private equity fund led by former Lazard Freres partner Steve Rattner and backed by a group of powerful media executives.

Quadrangle agreed to join Prentice in the bidding after an intense round of negotiations, according to another executive familiar with the bidding. While the terms of the partnership have not been finalized, Quadrangle is listed as an investor on the offer Prentice filed with the Sox.

While the amount of Prentice's bid has not been disclosed, the addition of Quadrangle appears to give his group the funds needed to match the reported high bid of $405 million submitted 12 days ago by Charles F. Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp. Like Dolan, Prentice has also expressed interest in buying out some or all of the team's limited partners.

A corporate lawyer, Prentice grew up in Montpelier and owns minor league baseball and hockey teams in Texas. Prior to bidding on the Red Sox, Prentice made three unsuccessful bids to buy the Anaheim Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and most recently, the Kansas City Royals.

Prentice's group actually won the bidding war for the Royals, and the nonprofit foundation set up by the late owner of the team, Ewing Kauffman, accepted his $115 million offer.

But other Major League Baseball owners questioned whether Prentice's group, which included more than 40 partners, had sufficient financial resources to keep the team afloat if times got tough.

League officials were also concerned that Prentice's group, which included some of Kansas City's leading citizens and former Royals players, was too large to effectively manage a team. In the end, Wal-Mart chief executive David Glass, who had been Kauffman's favored bidder and had the support of Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, won the Royals franchise.

In the bidding for the Red Sox, Prentice has assembled a much smaller group of investors, whom he has declined to identify. Quadrangle is particularly interested in the Yawkey Trust's controlling interest in the New England Sports Network, which is included in the sale, and the team's long-term media rights.

Quadrangle executives are well-versed in the value of regional sports networks. Until they pulled out of the deal this fall, the firm was a lead investor in YankeeNets, the sports network modeled after NESN being developed by George Steinbrenner, the Yankees' principal owner, and Raymond Chambers, owner of the New Jersey Nets.

The unexpected collapse of the New York deal left Quadrangle with hundreds of millions of dollars to invest, at least some of which is now apparently being dedicated to Prentice's Red Sox bid.

In negotiations with Red Sox chief John Harrington, Dolan offered to buy out the team's limited partners, in addition to paying $405 for Yawkey Trust's 54 percent stake in the team.

According to a Dolan adviser, Dolan indicated that he was willing to spend as much as $250 million to purchase the limited partners. At that price, Dolan would be setting a value of $655 million for 100 percent of the team and Fenway Park and 80 percent of NESN.

But while some limited partners want to sell, it's unclear how many will do so - and at what price. As a result, the $655 million figure is now viewed as a very rough estimate and not a specific bid offer, the adviser said.

Until the limited partners are brought into the discussions, it's impossible to determine how much Dolan - or anyone else - might have to spend to acquire the limited partnership stakes. No meeting of the limited partners has been scheduled.

Over the past few days, other rival groups also increased their offers or indicated they are prepared to do so. Although Harrington did not solicit the offers, he is considering them.

Boston Concessions owner Joseph O'Donnell, who bid a reported $375 million in the first round, indicated his group is willing to buy out limited partners, though he declined to specify how much he is willing to pay to win the auction.

''We've got no problem with how the process is being run,'' O'Donnell said. ''It's a marathon and we are staying with it until the end. We feel confident about our prospects.''

Television executive Tom Werner and Florida Marlins owner John Henry, who is slated to finalize the sale of his team shortly, may also be willing to buy limited partnership units. However, both Henry and Werner have declined to discuss their offer. ''We will have no comment on our bid or our prospective strategy,'' spokesman Joseph Baerlein said yesterday.

A fifth bidder, Delaware North concessionaire Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the Bruins and the FleetCenter, has also declined to comment about his bid.

Already the owner of the remaining 20 percent of NESN, Jacobs could become the sole owner of the valuable sports network and control Boston's two professional sports venues by buying the Red Sox.

However it's unclear if he will raise the offer he submitted on Nov. 29. Jacobs partner in the Red Sox bid is former baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth. The sixth bidder in the Red Sox auction is South Boston landowner Frank McCourt.

A late entry in the sale process, McCourt changed lead investors shortly before he submitted his bid, prompting rival bidders to question whether he has sufficient funds to match Dolan's bid.

[SmedIndy]

There's an article on ESPN Page 2 about the ownership groups. I didn't realize Tom Werner was involved. :( :rolleyes: :mad:

Also John Henry? Yeah, he wants to get out of baseball doesn't he???:mad: :eek: :redhot: :worm:

[CubFan7125]

Henry, Werner-led group paying record sum for Sox (http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/1220/1299374.html)

Does this mean Roseanne will sign the Star Spangled Banner at Fenway?

Associated Press

BOSTON -- In a $660 million deal that would double the record price for a baseball team, the limited partners of the Boston Red Sox voted unanimously Thursday to sell the franchise to a group led by Florida Marlins owner John Henry and former San Diego Padres owner Tom Werner.

The team said the agreement also included $40 million in assumed debt, bringing the total to $700 million. The current record is the $323 million that Larry Dolan paid for the Cleveland Indians last year.

"The Boston Red Sox represent the spirit and passion of New England," the winning group said in a statement. "We will become active and visible members of this great community and always remember that the team belongs, not to us, but to all of you."

The record price for a North American sports franchise is $800 million, paid by Daniel Snyder in 1999 for the Washington Redskins and the team's stadium in Landover, Md.

Thursday's agreement includes 100 percent of the Red Sox franchise, which owns Fenway Park and 80 percent of the New England Sports Network. The agreement must be approved by 75 percent of the 30 major league owners, who usually take about six months to consider sales.

Henry is negotiating to sell the Marlins to Jeffrey Loria, the owner of the Montreal Expos, a team baseball commissioner Bud Selig wants to eliminate.

The group's efforts to bring in local partners failed Thursday when talks collapsed between Henry's group and local businessmen Joseph O'Donnell and Steven Karp. The Red Sox, controlled by the Yawkey family and its trust since 1933, would pass into the hands of Henry, a Florida financier, and Werner, a New York television executive.

But the sale could save Fenway Park, the oldest and smallest stadium in the majors. Werner's group has said it would like to renovate the ballpark, which opened in 1912 and has a capacity of about 34,000 fans.

The group also could negotiate a deal with developer Frank McCourt, who dropped out of the bidding but owns land in South Boston where he has proposed a new ballpark.

Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington is confident Werner and Henry, both close to Selig, have the cash to close the deal, saying they were committed to the team and fans. They are "deeply involved and passionate about the game of baseball," Harrington said.

Larry Lucchino, the former president of the Baltimore Orioles and Padres, is likely to become the Red Sox team president if the sale is approved.

Other investors in the group include ski resort developer Les Otten and The New York Times Co., the parent company of The Boston Globe.

Harrington said the Werner-Henry group offered the highest qualified bid for the team. Harrington has repeatedly said the trust would accept the "highest qualified bid" not necessarily the top price offered.

Harrington announced on Oct. 6, 2000, that the Yawkey Trust, which has controlled the Red Sox since 1994, would sell its 53 percent stake. After an initial round of bidding, several bidders raised the stakes by offering to buy out the entire team.

Four groups remained in contention when the limited partners met Thursday and decided to sell their shares. In a joint statement Thursday, Henry and Werner said they couldn't solve the issue of control of the alliance with O'Donnell and Karp.

Others bidders included Cablevision Systems Corp. chairman Charles Dolan -- Larry's brother -- and a group that includes New York lawyer Miles Prentice and a private equity firm, the Quadrangle Group.

A spokeswoman for Dolan declined to say how much he bid, and a spokesman for Prentice did not immediately return a telephone message.

Thomas Yawkey bought the team from J.A. Robert Quinn in 1933, and Jean Yawkey took over when her husband died in 1976.

Jean Yawkey, Haywood Sullivan and Buddy LeRoux bought the team's general partnership from the estate and Jean Yawkey later bought out LeRoux.

When Jean Yawkey died in 1992, she willed all her holdings to her trust, and Harrington gained complete control of the team in November 1993 when the trust bought out Sullivan.

Werner, who made television hits like "The Cosby Show" and "Third Rock from the Sun," made unpopular trades as owner of the Padres in the early 1990s, claiming they were necessary after the team lost $7 million in 1992.

Werner's group later added Henry, a former commodities trader who bought the Florida Marlins from H. Wayne Huizenga in 1999 for $150 million.

Otten, who built American Skiing Co. into the country's largest Alpine ski resort operator, with holdings in New England and in California, Utah, and Colorado. He was forced out of his skiing company last spring.

[sweaver]

Gee, I'm sorry about the bad news, Sox fans. Hope for the best.

[CubFan7125]

I love Yogi, we late nite posters need to stick together.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by CubFan7125
I love Yogi, we late nite posters need to stick together. Difference is I post during the ungodly hours when people w/common sense are snoring.

From CubFan's posted article, above:But the sale could save Fenway Park, the oldest and smallest stadium in the majors. Werner's group has said it would like to renovate the ballpark, which opened in 1912 and has a capacity of about 34,000 fans.I hadn't realized Fenway only held 34,000. I think that was about the capacity of Ebbets Field, which is why they became uncompetitive, couldn't get a new stadium and decided to skedaddle out of the Big Apple forever. :eek::eek2:

Curious, just how many people would a new "competitive" Boston stadium need to hold anyway? 50-60,000? If anyone can tell me of some of Fenway's modernizations or lack thereof which a park would need to attract the type of audience it needs to survive, could they let me know?

I keep hearing about the team but not enough about the park itself. Either this or I haven't been listening as closely as I should've.

[satchel]

60,000 is too big for a ballpark. Don't most of the new stadiums hold on the order of 40-45,000?
Most have smaller capacity than, say, Yankee stadium, because the luxury boxes take up a lot of space.

So I'd guess any new Boston ballpark would seat around 45,000. They'd have no trouble filling it, as they sell out Fenway nearly every game and there's clearly demand for more. It would need far more parking than is available at Fenway now - though goodness knows I cannot understand why people want to drive to Fenway. It would also presumably have the upscale concessions that the new parks have; concessions at Fenway now are basically hotdog and beer stands of the old-fashioned variety. Finally, there are some features that fans don't see that I have heard need serious upgrading - I think everyone hates the clubhouses at Fenway, and there's inadequate press services and space.

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by satchel
60,000 is too big for a ballpark. Don't most of the new stadiums hold on the order of 40-45,000?
Most have smaller capacity than, say, Yankee stadium, because the luxury boxes take up a lot of space.

Yes, Yes, and yes. ;)

[TGwynn19]

Please forgive if this has been addressed previously in this thread...

With John Henry being part of new ownership in the Sox, doesn't that give Sir Bud a huge PR problem. Here is an owner who got out becasue baseball is bad business and is losing money across the board. But here he is, part of a group who plunked down $655 million to buy a team that needs a new stadium. How do you think Bud Light will spin doctor this???

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by satchel
60,000 is too big for a ballpark. Don't most of the new stadiums hold on the order of 40-45,000?
Most have smaller capacity than, say, Yankee stadium, because the luxury boxes take up a lot of space.I must've been thinking NFL again. Either that or the Rose Bowl. Whatever.

Here's a few articles on the sale:

Boston.com (Boston Globe)
New owners take aim at Yankees (http://www.boston.com/sports/redsox/sale/stories/122101_new_owners.htm)

Henry, Werner looking forward to taking control
By Boston.com Staff, 12/21/01

Would-be Red Sox owners John W. Henry and Tom Werner vowed to make the Sox a contending team immediately during a press conference at Fenway's Diamond Club this afternoon.

"We will give the Yankees a run for their money, starting this year," an emotional Henry vowed.

Sold Towne Team (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/355/sports/Sold_Towne_Team+.shtml)

Harrington had golden chance to hit home run for Sox fans, but he whiffs

By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Columnist, 12/21/2001

The Red Sox are a public trust. They are the heart and soul of New England. They are as important as any local institution. And last night they changed hands for the first time in 68 years.

Michigan-born, Yale grad Tom Yawkey rescued the franchise in 1933, and now we have unknown men named Henry and Werner taking charge of this most-cherished local team.
Duquette may not be in a position to coexist with Lucchino in charge (http://www.boston.com/sports/redsox/sale/stories/122101_edes.htm) :cool2::rockon::music::hooray::jsmile:

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 12/21/2001

If it isn't the first question being asked from Assabet to Wilbraham, it is the one that barely makes it past the first sip of this morning's coffee: Will Larry Lucchino, who will make the baseball decisions for the new prospective owners of the Red Sox, keep Dan Duquette as the team's general manager?

BusinessToday.com BostonHerald.com's business newslink)
Visitors 1, Boston 0: Sox sold to outsiders (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox12212001.htm)

by Scott Van Voorhis
Friday, December 21, 2001

A group led by Florida Marlins owner John Henry and Hollywood TV mogul Tom Werner won the crown of Red Sox Nation last night with a record-shattering deal worth $700 million, winning a decision that capped a day of wild, behind-the-scenes maneuvering and powerplays.

New ballpark unlikely to get help from city (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/men12212001.htm)

by Ellen J. Silberman
Friday, December 21, 2001

The new owners of the Red Sox shouldn't count on city funds to build a ballpark, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday.

"I don't think it's available right now,'' Menino said. "We have a very tight budget.''

NYTimes.com:
Red Sox to Be Sold to Owner of Marlins (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/21/sports/baseball/21SOXX.html)

December 21, 2001
By MURRAY CHASS

A group led by John Henry, owner of the Florida Marlins, won the Boston Red Sox yesterday in a unanimous vote of the team's majority owner and limited partners.

CNNSI.com
Change of Sox -- Club sold in record deal to group led by Henry, Werner (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2001/12/20/redsox_ap/)

Posted: Thursday December 20, 2001 8:57 PM
Updated: Friday December 21, 2001 11:54 AM

John Henry, the current owner of the Florida Marlins, is part of the new ownership group controlling the Red Sox. AP
BOSTON (AP) -- In a $660 million deal that would double the record price for a baseball team, the limited partners of the Boston Red Sox voted unanimously Thursday to sell the franchise to a group led by Florida Marlins owner John Henry.

USA Today's BaseballWeekly.com:
Henry leads group to buy Red Sox (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2001-12-20-sale.htm)

By Justin Pope, The Associated Press
By Alan Diaz, AP

Marlins owner John Henry, above, is teaming with Tom Werner, who made The Cosby Show.

BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox, controlled by the Yawkey family and its trust since 1933, could be turned over as soon as January to a Florida financier and a New York television executive in a record-breaking $660 million deal.

[Edited to correct errant Duquette link :rolleyes:]

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by TGwynn19
With John Henry being part of new ownership in the Sox, doesn't that give Sir Bud a huge PR problem. Here is an owner who got out becasue baseball is bad business and is losing money across the board. But here he is, part of a group who plunked down $655 million to buy a team that needs a new stadium. How do you think Bud Light will spin doctor this???

I was thinking the same thing - - plus, if it's true that the owner of the Expos is taking the Marlins, then, if I'm Bud, I would not allow the Bosox, Marlins, or Expos to make any player moves until all owners are where they should be - - - the whole thing smells.

It's stupid. When I ran a roto-league, we even had a rule that said you could not ditch your team and take another that was available. Just for reasons like this.

[sweaver]

That's it! We won't move teams, we'll move owners! This solves everything!

Huh? Oh, sorry. Guess I'm just bucking for a job on Mr. Bud's spin-doctor team.

[Xanadu Dragon]

Bud could learn by listening to the boys of BABA: (http://users.aol.com/babaelder/98charter.html#eighteen)

Any owner who wishes to dispose a franchise or who has been discharged must return their franchise back to the association. Any subsequent transfer of ownership must be approved by the Council of Elders. A current franchise owner may not exchange their franchise for the vacant one as such a move would disrupt continuity. (As one of the strengths of any Fantasy Baseball league is the building of traditions, the more stable the league in terms of having franchises with uninterrupted ownership, the deeper the traditions will run.)

Once a franchise is without ownership, the Council of Elders will form a search committee to select a new owner for the next season. For draft purposes, the new owner will be entitled to all privileges as if the franchise had actually never changed or lost ownership. Specifically, they will draft in the order based on where the franchise actually finished at year end and will inherit any draft pick liabilities or gains which were the result of trades made by the previous ownership before their withdrawal or expulsion. Potential owners will be judged on knowledge of baseball, enthusiasm, personality, cooperation, and (most importantly) an understanding of exactly what they are about to undertake.

[TGwynn19]

Ok...i tempered my previous statements because i was not sure it was addressed before....

.....>big breath<......


I simply cannot believe this crap is happening....how freaking stupid do MLB owners think we are...here is a former owner that claimed all kinds of financial difficulties that were rooted in a bad stadium and now he is the spearhead of the biggest $$$ deal ever for a team????

I hope that the average American can see this deal and see that baseball is, indeed, a very very viable business enterprise. Otherwise, why would someone who lost sooooo much money get back into it??

GEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZ does this piss me off.....soory Steve for the rant

[Xanadu Dragon]

:splat: <- that's me, right long side ya. Witcha on the rant.

[Yogi#8Fan]

I was wondering, w/the sale, do the Sox now change from a not-for-profit org to a for-profit? I wasn't sure about this part.

[CubFan7125]

I do believe I heard on Sporting News Radio that they will become a for profit orginization(unless you listen to Bud, in which case they all lose money.)

[hmrsf]

Can not provide a link but the whole state has been talking about this. Talk radio reports the States Attorney General will be looking into collusion allegations. (figure Dollan maybe behind the complaint.)

Eariler in the week when Dollan was the front runner, a Boston sports writer (can't remember who) reported the fix was in. Did not know what that ment until today.

I'm not saying this is a bad thing for the Bosoxs BUT, I can not see how 2 failed former owners will enhance my beloved team.
This whole thing stinks of conflict of interest.

I can think of one good thing. Good ridance of Harrington! Will these guys be any better? One would hope so!

[Xanadu Dragon]

Collusion? Great, just what MLB needs now.

[Yogi#8Fan]

CubsFan, thanks for writing back.

For some strange reason, I'd figured DD's presumed exclusion from the team would be the major story. Now Bud's Boys may be trying to take the $ and run, but to where?

If an MLB team, especially one so historic is being shafted by a setup, then Bud and all the rest should be left penniless in the end. What I'm reading from my fellow forumers seems obscene and I can't believe my eyes. I just wish this weren't happening.

[hmrsf]

the Florida Marlins, now the Red Soxs..........but did you know he owns 1% of the New York Yankees. There should be rules about that.......don't you think, eh?

[sweaver]

You people couldn't be accusing the baseball owners of.......................well...............dishon esty, would you?

I mean, who could imagine such a thing?

After all, they really did lose half a billion dollars last year, right? And that's why one current owner and one former owner are teaming up to buy a ........... wait a minute.

um.

uh.

Guess I'll have to give up that dream of working for Bud's spin doctors. Can't explain away this one.

And yeah, if there was a commissioner, Henry would not be able to own even a tiny piece of the Yankees while owning the Marlins, and even negotiating to buy the Bosox. But, of course, we don't have to worry about that.

[CubFan7125]

Originally posted by hmrsf Yogi, John Henery will not only own...... the Florida Marlins, now the Red Soxs..........but did you know he owns 1% of the New York Yankees. There should be rules about that.......don't you think, eh? I don't think it matters. To quote John McMullen, former Astro owner & before that a limited partner with the Yankees,on what it was like being a part-owner of the Yanks "There is nothing so limiting as being a partner of George's". It doesn't matter who the minority partners in N.Y. are, George calls the shots.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by CubFan7125
I don't think it matters. To quote John McMullen, former Astro owner & before that a limited partner with the Yankees,on what it was like being a part-owner of the Yanks "There is nothing so limiting as being a partner of George's". It doesn't matter who the minority partners in N.Y. are, George calls the shots. For someone who owns about 55% of the Yankees, he's certainly been called "The Boss" by the back page of all the NY tabloidss (NY Post, NY Daily News).

I guess the others wouldn't matter too much. Anyway, 1% of even Microsoft wouldn't give you Bill Gates' power so what's the diff?

[hmrsf]

Out with old, in with new: Sox fans reap biggest benefit
by Jeff Horrigan

Saturday, December 22, 20


Meet the new boss. Nothing like the old bosses.

For nearly 70 years, those who operated the Red Sox have taken an ivory-tower approach toward dealing with the team's fans. Inaccessible, often unaccountable for their actions and frequently accused of neglecting those who pay top-dollar prices for the ``privilege'' of entering Fenway Park, the upper echelon of the team's management traditionally has had the public presence of upper-crust recluses.

Larry Lucchino is an avowed baseball traditionalist, but when he was introduced yesterday as the president and CEO of the John Henry and Tom Werner ownership group, he made it clear that the previous operational style is one tradition that he'll quickly abandon.

Lucchino, who previously ran the Baltimore Orioles (1988-93) and San Diego Padres (1998-2001), vowed that things will be different if the new owners are approved by Major League Baseball. He outlined a list of five ``commitments'' that he plans to adhere to and all are focused on making the team more fan-friendly.

Lucchino cited these five commitments:

1) To field a team ``worthy'' of New England fans' support, both in performance on the field and character off it.

2) To preserve the character of Fenway Park but also to ``take it to a new level,'' most likely involving extensive renovation and expansion.

3) To promote the Sox throughout the region as New England's Team.

4) To have the owners become active participants in the community in charitable, philanthropic and other activities.

5) To do everything possible to ``extinguish the Curse of the Bambino'' and bring the region its first World Series championship since 1918.

Under Lucchino, the Padres became one of the most fan-friendly organizations in baseball, constantly honoring scholars, children's groups, the military and charity leaders. The team expanded its fan base into Mexico, built countless youth baseball fields and livened up the aesthetics and atmosphere at previously drab (at least for baseball) Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium. He indicated that he will take a similar approach with the Sox.

``We recognize full well the traditions we are inheriting,'' Lucchino said. ``We will approach this with some new ideas while being fully respectful of what preceded us.''

That may not include, however, members of the current front office, particularly embattled and unpopular general manager Dan Duquette.

Apparently no job is safe, although he admitted that outgoing CEO John Harrington provided ``certain protections for some members of the staff,'' evidently in the form of reworked contracts.

``There will certainly be some changes to the Red Sox organization and I don't think that's a surprise to anyone,'' Lucchino said. ``It's inevitable in any business, as well as baseball.''

He said that he is aware of the dissatisfaction and ``strong feelings that Sox fans'' have for Duquette but refused to address the GM's future.

``I'm not going to comment on any particular person, that would really be out of place,'' said Lucchino, who is expected to bring in several current and former members of the San Diego front office.

The 56-year-old cancer survivor (who received treatment at Boston hospitals) is considered a ballpark visionary and is given much of the credit for the development of Camden Yards in Baltimore. The ``retro'' ballpark immediately became the standard to which all subsequent new stadiums aspired.

Lucchino also spearheaded the Padres' drive to construct a new stadium in downtown San Diego. The project nearly died on a handful of occasions due to the region's reticence to provide any public financing, as well political gaffes by owner John Moores. Lucchino, perhaps borrowing a page from new colleague George Mitchell, ironed out the problems and negotiated an acceptable solution that allowed construction to begin.

That history makes it somewhat ironic that the Henry-Werner group was the only bidder for ownership of the Sox to say it wanted to renovate Fenway rather than construct a new stadium. Lucchino said yesterday, however, that if the new owners discover that remaining at the current site isn't viable, they will be forced to consider the construction of a new stadium to improve revenues.

``If we explore (renovation) and find it's unworkable, obviously we'll have to make adjustments,'' he said.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by hmrsf
1) To field a team ``worthy'' of New England fans' support, both in performance on the field and character off it.

2) To preserve the character of Fenway Park but also to ``take it to a new level,'' most likely involving extensive renovation and expansion.

3) To promote the Sox throughout the region as New England's Team.

4) To have the owners become active participants in the community in charitable, philanthropic and other activities.

5) To do everything possible to ``extinguish the Curse of the Bambino'' and bring the region its first World Series championship since 1918.For #1, are they going to screen for character? I guess the manager and coaches will need to sit down w/the eventual team and instill a sense of values in them. Hence, no more Crazy Carl "Family" days.
:dizzy::shockbig:

For #2, does this mean they're not going to build a new stadium? I thought a new one was part of the plan. Is that a requirement that a new one will be built or is that just something the new owner group may or may not do?

To #5, let's just agree to disagree. :devil::D

[satchel]

Originally posted by hmrsf
the Florida Marlins, now the Red Soxs..........but did you know he owns 1% of the New York Yankees. There should be rules about that.......don't you think, eh?

There are rules against that. It's called antitrust law.

oh ... wait ... never mind.

[CubFan7125]

I have a couple of questions maybe someone can help me out with.

Now that John Henry owns the BoSox, who's running the Marlins?
How does this effect the Expos since Jeff Loria is rumored to be going to Miami?

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by satchel
There are rules against that. It's called antitrust law.

oh ... wait ... never mind.

:loud: Worse, MLB ownership is now become some sort of Springer Inbreeding Special. I can just see Bud on the porch with his banjo.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
:loud: Worse, MLB ownership is now become some sort of Springer Inbreeding Special. I can just see Bud on the porch with his banjo. Tryin' to say somethin' about the southern folks just because their sister is the mother of all 10 kids? What's wrong w/that? ;)

[hmrsf]

Attorney General asking questions about Sox sale
By Associated Press, 12/22/2001 14:29
BOSTON (AP) The Massachusetts Attorney General is looking into the bidding process by the Red Sox to find out if the team's sale would provide the maximum possible benefit to charitable groups in the state.

Attorney General Tom Reilly said that while he has no regulatory power over the team sale, he does have jurisdiction over public charities, including the Yawkey Trust, which Boston-area newspapers say bypassed a $790 million bid for a lower $700 million offer.

''It is prudent to get the facts so we can determine whether the Yawkey Trust appropriately discharged its fiduciary responsibility to the charities that stand to benefit from the sale of the team,'' Reilly said in a statement.

The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald, citing unidentified sources, reported that New York lawyer Miles Prentice offered $750 million for the team, plus $40 million in assumed debt.

But the winning bid came from Florida Marlins owner John Henry and partner Tom Werner, the former owner of the San Diego Padres, who offered $660 million and $40 million in assumed debt.

The deal must be approved by at least 75 percent of the 30 major league owners, who could vote on the deal when they meet in Phoenix in mid-January.

Under state charities laws, organizations must take the ''full market value'' for the sale of their organizations to satisfy beneficiaries, according to Harvard Law School professor Paul Weiler.

''That is a major league legal issue, if that amount of money is riding on it,'' Weiler told the Boston Herald. ''You cannot, in effect, be making a charitable donation at a discounted price to a friend.''

Daniel Goldberg, a lawyer for the Red Sox, told The Boston Globe that Prentice's offer contained several major contingencies that made it unacceptable. For instance, he said, Prentice didn't appear to have a final agreement with the Quadrangle Group, a private equity firm expected to help fund his offer. It also referred only to a prospective agreement with an unnamed media company, he said.

''Throughout the process, the Prentice group was repeatedly warned that we could not accept conditional offers and that we needed a clean bid,'' Goldberg said. ''Yet they submitted the offer with major contingencies.''

Reilly said he plans to meet with again Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington to determine the facts in the case.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, a close friend of Harrington, defended Harrington's judgment, calling any allegations of political influence on the bidding ''ludicrous.''

Reilly spokesman Stephen Bilafer said that the inquiry was not the result of any complaints from losing bidders.

''This is something that we foresaw when the team went up for sale,'' Bilafer told the Globe. ''We knew this day would come.''

Representatives of the trust said they will cooperate with Reilly.

In the last fiscal year, the trust donated $2 million to dozens of Boston-area charities that support health care, social services, education and youth athletics.

[Xanadu Dragon]

Bud uses the L-word too many times, I can just see and hear him using it in my mind.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, a close friend of Harrington, defended Harrington's judgment, calling any allegations of political influence on the bidding ''ludicrous.''

[Yogi#8Fan]

Owners-to-be consider ballpark options (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/park12222001.htm)

by Cosmo Macero Jr.

Saturday, December 22, 2001

Red Sox owners-to-be John Henry and Tom Werner yesterday pledged to give strong consideration to renovating historic Fenway Park as an alternative to building a new ballpark elsewhere.

But the winning bidders in the Sox ownership sweepstakes left the door wide open to a variety of ballpark plans, saying it's too early to commit to any one project.

"What all of the plans have in common is a recognition that there has to be an increase in capacity,'' said former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, a minority partner in the Henry/Werner group. "It is of course common in life . . . that differing views are expressed.''

Pols cool to `out-of-towners' (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/pol12222001.htm)

by Ellen J. Silberman

Saturday, December 22, 2001

The Red Sox' euphoric winning bidders could get a cold dose of reality as they make the rounds of courtesy calls to the city and state politicians whose support they'll need to renovate Fenway Park or build a new stadium.

"After they finish all the camera flashes and all the ego gratification, we need to sit down and see the details of the project,'' said Senate Ways and Means Chairman Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford). "The burden of proof is very significant.''

Montigny and others on Beacon Hill said the climate had changed dramatically in the 16 months since then-Gov. Paul Cellucci signed legislation promising $313 million in public funds for a new $665 million ballpark project.

[Yogi#8Fan]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
Bud uses the L-word too many times, I can just see and hear him using it in my mind.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, a close friend of Harrington, defended Harrington's judgment, calling any allegations of political influence on the bidding ''ludicrous.'' I thought the "L" word was LYING. BTW, why trust the fox guarding the henhouse?

[hmrsf]

Here is what all the buzz has been about on local talk radio.
COLUMNISTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The fix was in
by Cosmo Macero Jr.



Friday, December 21, 2001

So the fix was really in on the Red Sox sale, as Larry Moulter warned us.

But leave it to John Harrington to almost blow the game even when it's rigged.

Not a bad way to start the transition into his new life, though - sticking it to the billionaire owner of Cablevision; double-crossing a hometown favorite with more connections than Verizon; leaving other bidders in the lurch while orchestrating a secret deal; and clumsily buying votes for his favored group in a last-minute offer to Fenway concessionaire and Sox limited partner Aramark.

I'm thinking losing bidder Charles Dolan and his legal muscle, Bob Popeo, have Harrington right where they want him: in the docket room at U.S. District Court.

John Harrington. He's the puppet to Bud Selig's puppeteer.

And exactly how is it that Milwaukee's Worst was running the end game for the Yawkey Trust, just weeks after getting his lunch eaten by Congress?

The Major League Baseball commissioner was ready to do anything to marry John Henry and Katie Couric's boyfriend with a bidding group that actually had some dough.

We know this because even as Joe O'Donnell and Steve Karp were being drawn into a devil's deal with Henry on Wednesday night, Henry and Hollywood mogul and Couric squeeze Tom Werner were hastily meeting with Dolan in a move designed to cover everyone's behind.

No way Dolan was signing on with these guys. The fix was in.

``I think that's an unfair accusation,'' Werner said last night. He added that the meeting with Dolan was simply to talk about ``improving NESN.''

Of course it didn't matter in the end. If one heavily leveraged group with scant investment from local partners was good enough for John Harrington, it was good enough for Bud Selig.

``The John Henry group is the highest qualified bidder,'' Harrington said last night. ``I'm very proud of what we've accomplished for Jean and Tom Yawkey.''

Give Selig credit for having the stones to tell Dolan to his face this week that everything was on the up and up, even as the Big Plan was playing out elsewhere.

``Anybody that owns a major league franchise will tell you that it's the league that drives the process, not the local owner,'' said one high-ranking Boston executive. ``The commissioner is going to get what the commissioner wants. And at the end of the day, he really doesn't care about . . . everyone else.''

Joe O'Donnell wasn't supposed to pull out when he realized his shotgun partnership with Henry & Co. gave him no control over the ballclub.

But the deal fell apart at about 4 a.m. yesterday, was briefly put on life support, and died for good about 12 hours later, when O'Donnell scrapped the partnership and pulled his own bid off the table.

It didn't matter to Selig or Harrington - trusted guardian of the Yawkey Foundation - that even with O'Donnell on board the Henry/Werner ship, Dolan's estimated $700 million bid was still high.

``The inside ballgame got flushed out,'' Moulter was saying yesterday, doing a good job holding back on the ``I told you so's.'' ``It became more public than they wanted it to be. They hoped this would be a much more private game.''

Dolan was reportedly ready to step in and grab Joe O'Donnell off the waiver wire and lay strong local roots beneath his jaw-dropping bid.

But that scenario didn't fit the script Bud Selig wrote for this deal so many weeks ago. And that was enough for Harrington.

Forget that Henry must now extract himself from a situation in which he is owner of the Florida Marlins and also a minor partner in the New York Yankees.

Speaking of New York, have you seen The Times today?

You will, soon enough.

Harrington's last-minute deal with Aramark, proposing to extend their Red Sox concessions contract for as much as 10 years, helped launch him toward the unanimous approval that Sox limited partners gave the Henry/Werner group.

It was that move, combined with Harrington's clear acquiescence to Selig, that set off wild speculation into whether this sale process was ever on the level.

``Did they set up Joe O'Donnell to freeze him up and put him on the shelf, so Harrington could get the votes from the limited partners?'' Moulter, an admitted O'Donnell loyalist, was asking last night.

``And if they were prepared to take a lesser bid, maybe Dolan sues them. It's really a classic study of how the process controlled the participants. What (we've seen) is a sloppy and very unprofessional way to sell this team.''

Indeed, Harrington has to be asking himself how many important people he can afford to alienate in the name of doing Bud Selig's bidding.

``What the hell is going on with Harrington and Selig?'' asked another Boston executive close to the sale process. ``This is more than just friendship. He's putting everything at risk right now.''

Good for John Harrington that he's about to embark on a life of charitable giving. But too bad the charitable sentiments may not be coming his way, after this performance.

[Xanadu Dragon]

I had no idea about Katie and Tom - - great, now we're going to have to hear about the Red Sox on the Today Show.

[sweaver]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
I had no idea about Katie and Tom - - great, now we're going to have to hear about the Red Sox on the Today Show.

Does this mean that Katie Couric will sing the National Anthem in Boston?

[Xanadu Dragon]

:topic: I had a teacher in HS - math, 2nd year, whose name was Rose - - she was a dead ringer for Fred Flintstone - - the hair, face, body and clothes. She used to call me "Steverino" - - thanks sweaver, hadn't thought of her in about 20 years - - - the memories, well, works better than a cold shower.

I just hope Katie doesn't become the Jane Fonda of the North - - - sitting there with Tom on National TV days looking bored.

[CubFan7125]

Originally posted by sweaver
Does this mean that Katie Couric will sing the National Anthem in Boston? God I hope so, Katie is the only celebrity I have ever had a crush on.

[Yogi#8Fan]

NYTimes.com:
Time for Baseball to Get Its Story Straight (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/23/sports/baseball/23VECS.html)

By GEORGE VECSEY

It has just become even harder for baseball to whimper its sad tales of poverty, what with the Boston Red Sox valued at $700 million during the current sale of the franchise.

Bud Selig is still frantically trying to whack two franchises, yet two owners who purport to have failed in Montreal and Florida are hustling to buy other teams in other towns.

[snip]

BaseballWeekly.com:
Fenway to be expanded, maybe replaced (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2001-12-22-fenway.htm)

By Howard Ulman, The Associated Press

BOSTON — The winning bidders for the Red Sox renewed their pledge Friday to expand Fenway Park but didn't rule out the possibility of building a new stadium elsewhere.

The fate of Fenway, the oldest and smallest ballpark in the major leagues, was a key question during bidding for the team.

[snip]

[sweaver]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
:topic: I had a teacher in HS - math, 2nd year, whose name was Rose - - she was a dead ringer for Fred Flintstone - - the hair, face, body and clothes. She used to call me "Steverino" - - thanks sweaver, hadn't thought of her in about 20 years - - - the memories, well, works better than a cold shower.


The quote is from the Jack Paar show, the frequently used line by Louis Nye for the "Man on the Street Interview" bit.

[sweaver]

Not Jack Paar, Steve Allen. The other host of the Tonight Show before Johnny Carson. What was I thinking?

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by sweaver
Not Jack Paar, Steve Allen. The other host of the Tonight Show before Johnny Carson. What was I thinking?

I knew - - actually, "Rose" told me when I was in her class - - as if I knew this when I was 15?

CubFan - - I'm with ya - - when Katie's got the legs going, it's hard to turn off the TV andgo to work. ;)

OK, we're way :topic: - sorry.

[satchel]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon


:loud: Worse, MLB ownership is now become some sort of Springer Inbreeding Special. I can just see Bud on the porch with his banjo.

Then it must be the Minnesota fans who are gonna squeeeeeeel like a pig. :(

[Xanadu Dragon]

Originally posted by satchel
Then it must be the Minnesota fans who are gonna squeeeeeeel like a pig. :(

LOL Satch. Yeah, color them Ned Beatty.

[sweaver]

You know, Ned Beatty's career tanked for years after "Deliverance" because of that role? No one could see him as anything else.

In an attempt to make that relevant to baseball, players often get cast as role players, or minor league sluggers, and don't get a chance at "The Show."

Sorry, best I could do.

[Yogi#8Fan]

TSN.com
Duquette mum on his future under prospective Red Sox owners (http://www.sportingnews.com/baseball/articles/20011224/370178.html)

December 24, 2001

BOSTON -- Prospective new owners for the Boston Red Sox mean an uncertain future for general manager Dan Duquette. But on Monday, Duquette said he hasn't talked with the new owners about his future, and wouldn't say if he has been promised job security.

Duquette ducked any discussion of what role he might play if and when the team shifts hands to the group led by John Henry and partner Tom Werner, who offered $660 million for the team, plus $40 million in assumed debt. The deal must still be approved by major-league owners and is being looked at by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

CNNSI.com
Duke's days numbered? -- Red Sox GM says no talks with new owners about his future (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2001/12/24/redsox_duquette_ap/)

Posted: Monday December 24, 2001 5:35 PM

BOSTON (AP) -- Prospective new owners for the Boston Red Sox mean an uncertain future for general manager Dan Duquette. On Monday, Duquette said he hasn't talked with the new owners about his future.

Duquette ducked any discussion of what role he might play if and when the team shifts hands to the group led by John Henry, who offered $660 million for the team. The deal must still be approved by major league owners and is being looked at by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

"As far as the ownership change goes, we'll just have to see how that goes," Duquette said in a conference call. "I'm looking forward to working with John Henry and Tom Werner and (incoming team president) Larry Lucchino."

ESPN.com
Duquette's future in Boston still up in the air (http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2001/1224/1300920.html)

Monday, December 24
Associated Press

BOSTON -- Prospective new owners for the Boston Red Sox mean an uncertain future for general manager Dan Duquette. On Monday, Duquette said he hasn't talked with the new owners about his future.

Duquette ducked any discussion of what role he might play if and when the team shifts hands to the group led by John Henry, who offered $660 million for the team. The deal must still be approved by major league owners and is being looked at by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

"As far as the ownership change goes, we'll just have to see how that goes," Duquette said in a conference call. "I'm looking forward to working with John Henry and Tom Werner and (incoming team president) Larry Lucchino."

Duquette discussed a busy offseason that's seen the team sign several free agents, notably outfielder Johnny Damon. But the topic turned to his future.

Lucchino, the former president of the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, will take over as the team's president and chief executive officer, has said there will be changes in the Red Sox front office. He also said the new owners will inherit some employees with contractual protection. Duquette wouldn't say if he's one of them.

"I'm looking forward to working with the team," he said. "I do have two years on my contract."

Boston.com (Globe)
GM waits it out -- New owners leave Duquette hanging (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/359/sports/GM_waits_it_out+.shtml)

By Bob Hohler, Globe Staff, 12/25/2001

Dan Duquette went home for Christmas last night without knowing if he will lose his job by Valentine's Day. The embattled Red Sox general manager said yesterday he has yet to hear from the team's new owners since their introductory tour of the front offices last week.

No private vote of confidence. No pledge of job security.

''We'll have to see how that goes,'' Duquette said in a conference call in which he reflected on the newly released 2002 schedule. ''I'm looking forward to working with John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Lucchino.''

Duquette says no talks with new Red Sox owners about his future (http://www.boston.com/dailynews/358/sports/Duquette_says_no_talks_with_ne:.shtml)

By Associated Press, 12/24/2001 17:10

BOSTON (AP) Prospective new owners for the Boston Red Sox mean an uncertain future for general manager Dan Duquette. But on Monday, Duquette said he hasn't talked with the new owners about his future, and wouldn't say if he's been promised job security.

Duquette ducked any discussion of what role he might play if and when the team shifts hands to the group led by John Henry and partner Tom Werner, who offered $660 million for the team, plus $40 million in assumed debt. The deal must still be approved by major league owners and is being looked at by state Attorney General Thomas Reilly.

Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell of Maine and former ski resort developer Les Otten are members of the ownership group.

BusinessToday.com (biz link f/BostonHerald.com; article unrelated to Duke)
Reilly to quiz Sox' Harrington brass on sale (http://www.businesstoday.com/business/business/fsox12252001.htm)

by Steve Marantz
Tuesday, December 25, 2001

Attorney General Tom Reilly plans to meet with Red Sox chief John Harrington Jan. 2 to discuss the controversial sale of the franchise, a spokeswoman for Reilly said yesterday.

Reilly will be seeking details to determine whether Harrington legally satisfied his responsibility to charities aided by the Yawkey Trusts in the sale to a group led by Florida investor John Henry and Hollywood television producer Tom Werner.

Two other groups reportedly outbid the Henry-Werner group by as much as $90 million, resulting in an inquiry by Reilly, who oversees public charities.

[CubFan7125]

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 12/30/2001

While the first hint surfaced yesterday that approval of the new Red Sox ownership may not come as soon as the owners' meeting in mid-January in Phoenix - a source saying that the Tom Werner-John Henry-Larry Lucchino team, while hopeful it will get the OK then, is prepared for the possibility it may have to wait until February - there is little doubt that plans already are afoot to bring about changes in the way the team is run.

Timing issues ultimately may dictate whether general manager Dan Duquette and manager Joe Kerrigan are still in place when pitchers and catchers report Feb. 15. Duquette, though his responsibilities could be either curtailed or shifted, essentially has assembled the 2002 roster, and it could be a coin flip whether he stays or goes, especially with two years left on his contract. Kerrigan also has a two-year deal and with spring training so close, his chances for survival may be greater than Duquette's.

Hiring a GM already in place becomes an increasingly unlikely proposition - it's hard to imagine the Giants or A's allowing the Sox to spirit away a Brian Sabean or a Billy Beane (we'll never know about Brian Cashman, who signed a three-year contract extension with the Yankees but had dropped hints to friends that Boston would have been a great landing place).

Lucchino refused to comment on whether he'd contacted J.P. Ricciardi before Ricciardi was hired as GM of the Blue Jays, but there seems little doubt that Ricciardi was made aware of Lucchino's interest through intermediaries. The Worcester native would have jumped, of course, at a chance to run the Sox, but with the Sox sale still pending, Ricciardi took the Toronto job.

There is an intriguing GM candidate in Florida, one who would seem to match Lucchino's stated preference for a talent evaluator, one with success in scouting and developing players. That would be Al Avila, an assistant general manager for a team, the Florida Marlins, that has been without a GM since Dave Dombrowski left in November to become president of the Detroit Tigers.

Avila, 42, is entering his 10th season with the Marlins, his fourth as head of scouting and third as VP of scouting and Latin American operations. The team has had terrific drafts in each of the last three seasons - two of his more notable picks being pitcher Josh Beckett and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez - and the Marlins' Latin American efforts are the envy of many clubs. One of his prizes is 18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Miguel Cabrera, already pegged by some for greatness.

Avila, whose father, Ralph, was instrumental in the Dodgers' signing of the Martinez brothers, Ramon and Pedro, as well as Jose Offerman, oversees a deep and talented staff, and has earned high marks not only for his ability to judge talent but for his people skills. And while he may not have mastered all the administrative skills required of the position, one baseball insider said Avila has more experience than Kevin Towers had at the same stage, and Lucchino did not hesitate to promote Towers in San Diego.

Avila, whose first job in baseball was as an intern in the Dodgers' PR department more than 15 years ago, also has this going for him: His boss in Florida is Henry, who once he sells the Marlins almost certainly would like Avila to come with him. As a native of Havana who grew up in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, Avila also would satisfy commissioner Bud Selig's desire that more minority candidates be hired for front-office positions.

Contacted by phone, Avila politely declined to discuss the Sox situation, saying that he is under contract through the 2003 season. And that's where matters become complicated. Henry's sale of the Marlins to Expos owner Jeffrey Loria is expected to be executed simultaneously with the approval of the sale of the Sox. Loria is certain to bring Jeff Torborg, his close friend and Montreal manager, with him to Florida. The Marlins don't have a manager, and Torborg also has been rumored to be a candidate to become Marlins GM.

What is not known is whether Loria plans to bring numerous Expos employees with him, and whether Major League Baseball will allow him to do so. The only thing that appears certain is that he will not be allowed to bring Vladi Guerrero and other Expos stars south. Either the Expos will be contracted and the players divvied up in a dispersal draft, or, more likely, MLB will assume the operation of the club for a year, until the team is eliminated or moved.

In the meantime, Marlins personnel remain in limbo, uncertain of their future. Avila does not know, for example, whether Loria would promote him to be Marlins GM, keep him in his current position, or give him permission to follow Henry north. Scott Reid, another Florida assistant GM who served as the Marlins' top adviser on major league personnel matters, is another worthy candidate for a job in Boston.

Meanwhile, Lucchino is expected to import some top talent from San Diego, including Theo Epstein, the Yale graduate and Brookline native who at 27 is the Padres' director of baseball operations. Dr. Charles Steinberg, the former Orioles team dentist whose marketing expertise was used by Lucchino in Baltimore and San Diego, also is all but on board here, and he is expected to tap another Brookline native and Padres marketing exec, Sam Kennedy, to come, too. Lucchino also has hired an outside consultant to examine the Sox' PR operation, where potential changes are in the offing.

[CubFan7125]

This Red Sox sale could get REAL ugly before everything is finalized.
Massachusetts AG asks to meet with Selig (http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0102/1304487.html)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Associated Press
BOSTON -- Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly said major league baseball "played a major role" in deciding the winning bidder for the Boston Red Sox, calling into question the fairness of the sale process.

Reilly is investigating the sale of the team after the Red Sox rejected the highest bid in favor of a $660 million offer from a group headed by Florida Marlins owner John Henry, who is close to commissioner Bud Selig. Lawyer Miles Prentice headed a group that offered $750 million for the team.

"Major league baseball was calling the shots here," Reilly said after a four-hour meeting with Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington and team lawyers.

Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief legal counsel, denied the accusation.

"It is absolutely untrue that major league baseball directed or in any way influenced the Red Sox with regards to their decision," he said. "While we consulted with the Red Sox and were kept advised, as any league would do in the transfer of any ownership, we didn't approve of or disqualify any bidders and did not play a role in selecting the winning bid."

The Jean R. Yawkey Trust owns a majority stake in the team. Reilly, whose office oversees charities and charitable trusts, said he has an obligation to make sure that the charities receive the maximum benefit from the sale.

The Red Sox have said that Prentice's bid was unacceptable because he had not secured financing.

On Wednesday, Harrington called his meeting with Reilly "very productive." He said he's confident that after Reilly has gone through all the documentation turned over by the team, he will agree that the team picked the best offer.

"Not only have we sold the team for the highest value ever in major league baseball," Harrington said, "we've sold it to a group that truly loves the game."

Harrington also said Reilly would see that the charities, which stand to gain more than $400 million from the sale, would get a better value from the Henry deal.

Reilly said he'll demand that Selig and his representatives meet with him to explain their role in the sale, and he singled the commissioner's office out for criticism.

"It is clear that major league baseball and particularly the commissioner's office played a major role in who would be the next owner of the Red Sox," Reilly said. "The commissioner's office -- an assistant in that office -- was involved in the final negotiations and decision-making that took place in the latter days of that transaction."

He declined to identify the assistant.

Reilly also called into question the fairness of the process by which the team solicited bids and chose a winner.

"It's a club, that's what you're dealing with here," he said. "It was very clear that certain people would not be accepted and one would."

Reilly said his office tried to contact major league baseball last week about that concern, but the calls were not returned. He declined to say if he would subpoena league representatives.

DuPuy acknowledged that Reilly's office contacted league representatives last week, but they were told Reilly would be out of the office until Wednesday. Baseball intends to cooperate with the investigation, DuPuy said.

Reilly admitted that his office has no explicit jurisdiction over major league baseball, and he said it was the prerogative of baseball owners to choose who owns teams.

But he referred repeatedly to the antitrust exemption that Supreme Court granted baseball in 1922.

[hmrsf]

Prentice not bothered by three strikes
by Cosmo Macero Jr.
Friday, January 4, 2002

Miles Prentice isn't ready to walk away just yet.

And he's known when to walk away before.

``I haven't given up,'' Prentice said yesterday, breaking the silence he's maintained since the Red Sox passed on his $790 million bid for the team. ``Absolutely, no.''

It's not over, this debacle of Bud Selig's and John Harrington's making. And it may not end until Congress has its say, and Harrington burns every bridge he's ever crossed.

In the meantime, Prentice, the New York lawyer, will watch the endgame unfold on a dream he's had since 1990.

``This is the best franchise in sports. I think it's the best franchise in the world,'' Prentice said. ``I think I'd be good for Boston.''

Miles Prentice. Harrington's flunkies, enablers and personal scribes like to call him a three-time loser - as in the Anaheim Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers and Kansas City Royals.

I guess the count is four when you throw in the great Yawkey Way bag job.

But it's been genuine baseball people who have seen Prentice as good for the big league game. He was no loser after turning a Double-A team in Midland, Texas, into a huge community draw in the early 90s.

Former Angels general manager Bill Bavasi got Prentice interested in that MLB franchise eight years ago, when then-owner Gene Autry was in failing health and his wife, Jackie, was looking for $130 million.

Prentice agreed to meet the asking price during informal discussions. But the pursuit ended when Disney chief Michael Eisner told Autry he'd pay $145 million.

``I said, `Jackie, I'm not going to play that game. That's not Michael's money. That's Disney money,' '' Prentice recalled yesterday. ``Major League Baseball never even knew I was interested. I never made an application to the league.''

Indeed, Prentice has developed a keen sense for baseball economics.

Without ever getting access to the team's books, he placed a value of about $300 million on the Dodgers in 1997, when he recruited former NBC entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff (now dead) to make a run at buying the franchise.

Goldman Sachs wanted to keep the Prentice offer - ``a preliminary indication of interest'' - on reserve while it sought other bids. But Prentice walked away from those long odds - having never seen the financials and never applying for MLB approval as a bidder.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. later paid $310 million for the team.

Somehow, in the twisted logic of current Red Sox ownership, Prentice's cursory exploration of the Angel and Dodger deals count as strikes against him.

``You can't be a loser if you don't go to the starting gate,'' says one Prentice confidant. ``They had an initial interest in owning the Dodgers. There was never a formal application.''

If Kansas City was strike three against Miles Prentice, then Bud Selig was throwing spitters from the mound.

In that case - a lengthy Sox-like sales process in which Prentice bids grew from $75 million to $115 million - David Glass, the Royals chairman and Wal-Mart executive, wound up getting the franchise for a low-ball $96 million.

Royals executives had given initial approval to Prentice in November 1998, and the foundation that owned the team spent much of 1999 successfully implementing his business plan. But a mandate that Prentice obtain at least 50 percent of his equity from within Kansas City led to an ownership group of more than three dozen people.

Major League owners, in late 1999, deferred final approval of Prentice. They never got to take a vote.

Glass, who as a Royals board member had been crucial to helping Selig become permanent commissioner in 1994, was quickly appointed to the MLB Executive Committee when he became owner.

It was a victory for the Bud Men - indoctrinating Glass into what Attorney General Tom Reilly calls ``the club.''

And it's a ritual that Selig and Harrington hope to repeat with John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino - three more familiar faces in an increasingly hostile world.

Miles Prentice won't talk specifically about the Red Sox sale process - swearing to uphold a 10-year confidentiality agreement. But those close to him say Prentice feels strongly that Major League owners would approve his group if somehow the bidding was thrown open again.

The Kansas City Star - just one day after Henry, Werner and Lucchino were named the next Sox owners - reported that league officials were prepared to give Prentice ``full consideration'' if the Red Sox declared him high bidder.

But Harrington and the limited partners never gave the league that opportunity.

``Major League Baseball has never actually voted against this guy,'' says the Prentice confidant.

Maybe the Bud Men are afraid to take a chance on the outcome.

[hmrsf]

1/5/2002 11:30 am ET

Report: O'Donnell back in Red Sox sale picture

By Mike Petraglia
MLB.com

BOSTON -- Despite pulling out of the bidding for the Red Sox on the day the team was sold to the John Henry group, Boston businessman Joe O'Donnell and Boston real estate developer Steve Karp are reportedly close to re-entering the Henry association.

In its Saturday editions, the Boston Globe reported that Henry flew to Boston Thursday to meet with O'Donnell and Karp, trying to convince the pair to rejoin his group.

On December 20, the day Henry's $700 million bid was approved by the Red Sox limited partners, O'Donnell and Karp were close to joining in the Henry group before pulling out at the last moment.

"The idea isn't to get more investors," a source close to the sale told the Globe. "It's to create the best ownership group possible for the future of the team."

Henry is seeking a partner who would have local ties to the political community in Boston, as well as a real estate developer who could help them build a new stadium if his plans for a renovated Fenway Park don't materialize.

[BuzzBuzzard]

Here is an odd pairing. The NY Times being part owner of the RedSox.

From Sunday's NY Times Week in Review

January 6, 2002

FOUL BALL
Somewhere the Bambino Is Smiling
By CHARLES McGRATH

Attorney General Calls Sale of Red Sox Flawed (January 3, 2002)

THE recent sale of the Boston Red Sox attracted little notice in New York, and probably wouldn't have even if New Yorkers hadn't had other things on their mind. Who are the Red Sox, after all, except another team that gets beat by the Yankees? But in Boston, where the Sox are no mere ball club but a civic and cultural institution, the story was front-page news and the occasion of public lamentation. "Sleazy," "sordid," "bag job" were among the kinder descriptions in the local press of the deal that will eventually hand over the Sox to a group headed by John Henry, a Florida financier and owner of the Florida Marlins, and Tom Werner, a Hollywood television producer and creator of "Roseanne."

Dozens of suitors, including several locals, had lined up for the privilege of paying a fortune for the historic franchise (the winning offer was estimated to be $700 million), and nearly all were found wanting by the Red Sox faithful — mostly on grounds of underfinancing. Fans were concerned that the new owners might have to hit up the taxpayers to pay the bills or, worse, that they would scrimp on players' salaries, thus lengthening the team's legendary World Championship drought, which has lasted since 1918. The Werner group appeared to be well financed, and had promised to preserve the team's fabled home, Fenway Park, but not even that made up for the fact that they were outsiders — "carpetbaggers," in the words of Dan Shaughnessy, a columnist for The Boston Globe.

Not just any kind of carpetbaggers, either. Critics were quick to notice that the Werner group included, as a minority partner, The New York Times Company, and this was more than many Bostonians could bear. Some of the objection took the form of hand-wringing over journalistic ethics. Dan Kennedy, the media columnist for The Boston Phoenix, pointed out that The Times Company owns The Boston Globe, and he worried that fear of offending their corporate overlords might now cast a pall over The Globe's baseball scribes. How could they cover the Sox fairly and objectively? In Boston parlance, to "cover" the Red Sox usually means to criticize; the relationship between the team and its fans is like a longstanding marriage in which affection is expressed most ardently through complaint. What if the suits in New York didn't understand this local custom? "I look forward to the wondrous day when The Globe runs a headline saying `Sox lose another exciting cliffhanger, 10-1,' " fretted another Globe columnist, Brian McGrory.

It's true that precisely because the Red Sox are such an institution, not all articles about the team appear on the sports page, and so the journalistic concerns are not entirely far-fetched. (The Times says its minority interest would present a conflict of interest only if Globe or Times reporters or editors were required or encouraged to give the team favored treatment. This, the company adds, will not be the case.) All the same, outsiders may be forgiven for wondering if Bostonians would object as strenuously if both the team and The Globe had been purchased by, say, the Tribune Company of Chicago, whose ownership of the Chicago Cubs has not noticeably deterred The Tribune's writers from commenting on what takes place at Wrigley Field.

IT'S possible, in other words, that The Times is not really the issue at all (though some Bostonians still resent its takeover, six years ago, of The Globe, which until then had been owned by a local family, the Taylors, who, as it happens, were also the builders of Fenway Park). Rather, the problem may not be the paper so much as its address: N.Y.C.

The rivalry between Boston and New York, between the Red Sox and the Yankees, is one of the oldest and bitterest in sports, and Boston has been on the short end ever since the fateful moment in 1919 when Harry Frazee sold Babe Ruth, then a Red Sox pitcher, to the Yankees for $25,000 and three i.o.u.'s so he could finance a Broadway musical. This was the beginning, many Bostonians are convinced, of the dread Curse of the Bambino, a spell of inferiority and World Series winlessness that has hung over their city ever since. If you acknowledge the Curse (and the Red Sox loss to the Yankees in the 2000 playoffs made confirmed believers of many who had only been slightly paranoid before), then to have your home team owned by The New York Times only confirms your sense that the universe is deeply and hurtfully unfair.

On the other hand, studious Bambinologists may have noticed a curious augury or two. New York's new mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg, is a Bostonian by birth and has confessed to being a furtive Sox fan. At his swearing-in ceremony outside City Hall on New Year's Day, the host was not a Yankee (as he surely would have been if it were Rudy Giuliani taking the oath again) but a Met. And not even Mike Piazza but the journeyman hurler Al Leiter, who had a 2.87 E.R.A. against the Yankees in the 2000 Series. Was His Honor trying to send a message to the folks back home?

[Xanadu Dragon]

If this isn't a smokin' gun, I don't know what is one?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0110/1309354.html
Thursday, January 10
Dolan ups offer for Red Sox to $700M
Associated Press

BOSTON -- Charles Dolan made a new bid for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, a $700 million offer for the team that was $40 million higher that the winning offer the team accepted three weeks ago.

The team acknowledged the offer from Dolan, the chairman of Cablevision System Corp., but didn't say if it would effect the $660 million offer it accepted in mid-December from a group led by John Henry, the current owner of the Florida Marlins.

"We received a new bid this afternoon from Mr. Dolan of $440 million for the Yawkey interests in the Boston Red Sox and $260 million for the remaining limited partner interests," the team said in a statement.

The statement said that the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly office had been informed, and that, "we are in the process of letting the Red Sox limited partners know of this development and will comment further when appropriate."

Reilly was to meet Friday with Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief legal counsel, to discuss the proposed sale, which baseball owners could vote on when they meet next week in Phoenix.

"We're simply in the middle of conducting the comprehensive review that the attorney general vowed he would make into the bidding process," said Ann Donlan, Reilly's spokeswoman. "There's been no determination of any particular action."

Reilly has accused baseball officials of manipulating the Red Sox into accepting a bid from the Henry group for $660 million, less than New York lawyer Miles Prentice's $750 million bid for the team, which owns Fenway Park and 80 percent of the New England Sports Network.

Red Sox chief executive officer John Harrington said Prentice's bid did not have secure financing.

Reilly also met this week with Prentice and with limited partner Samuel Tamposi Jr., a New Hampshire businessman.

Reilly said he has an obligation to make sure the charities that stand to benefit from the sale receive the maximum amount because his office oversees charities and charitable trusts.

Tamposi said he tried to convince Reilly that charities benefiting from the Red Sox sale will get more, not less, from the sale of the team to the Henry group.

Henry's group includes former Padres owner Tom Werner, former Orioles and Padres president Larry Lucchino, former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and The New York Times Co., the owner of the Boston Globe.

Donlan said Reilly does not view the owners' meeting as a deadline for any action.

"We've been taking it day by day," she said.

The Red Sox cannot be turned over to Henry until he has an agreement to sell the Marlins.

[satchel]

RE the Times having ownership interest in the Sox: maybe it's naive of me, but I can't imagine the Globe getting soft in its coverage of the Sox. The Times company wants to sell papers in Boston and sports pages sell papers. Both the Times and the Globe understand their role in sports culture, and as much as Bostonians hate to admit it, sports press in New York is pretty similar to sports press in Boston: great when they love you, unforgiving when you let them down. It would be alienating to try to change that -- I can't imagine that the Times brass really thinks there's any connection between what is said in the paper and how many tickets get sold at the gate.

RE the bidding process: Dolan's new bid should be neither here nor there. Once the auction is closed and someone else's bid has been accepted you don't get another chance. The other allegations are more troubling. If the Sox rejected the Prentice bid merely to make sure Henry would be able to buy another team when he sold the Marlins, well, that's just baseball, Selig-style.

Which reminds me - if baseball is such a sick business, hemorraging money and all that, why are so many takers lining up to buy in?

[BuzzBuzzard]

Originally posted by satchel
RE the Times having ownership interest in the Sox: maybe it's naive of me, but I can't imagine the Globe getting soft in its coverage of the Sox. Agreed, but this what the papers do so well...drum up stories.


Originally posted by satchel
Which reminds me - if baseball is such a sick business, hemorraging money and all that, why are so many takers lining up to buy in? RedSox ain't one of them doing so poorly.

[BuzzBuzzard]

At some point, Dolan's ever-increasing bids can't be ignored.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/news/2002/0114/1311472.html

[Xanadu Dragon]

As much as I want to see Bud get fried on this - - - part of me also is against this upping the bid.

If I bought a house, and then once the deal was final, if someone offered the old owner more, I would expect him to honor our deal.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
As much as I want to see Bud get fried on this - - - part of me also is against this upping the bid.

If I bought a house, and then once the deal was final, if someone offered the old owner more, I would expect him to honor our deal.

Only in this case, it is not an honor issue.

"According to documents signed by all bidders, offers can be made until the sale is finalized."

[Xanadu Dragon]

Thanks GYB - didn't know that.

[gyb13]

Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
Thanks GYB - didn't know that.

Then you're not making good use of the links provided by our buzzing friend ;)

[hmrsf]

Henry group won Red Sox in fair fight


By Daniel L. Goldberg, 1/15/2002

DESPITE SUNDAY'S decision that reaffirms the sale of the Red Sox to a group led by Florida financier John Henry, misinformation abounds. Let's hope this will set the record straight so that misconceptions do not become urban legends. The facts are as follows:


Red Sox CEO John Harrington's sale process produced unprecedented financial results for charity. Harrington could have sold the 53.48 percent Yawkey interests in the team in a privately negotiated sale. Instead, he auctioned those interests to enhance amounts destined for charity. The $410 million winning bid for roughly half a team is more than ever paid for an entire baseball team. The figure eclipsed predictions by more than $100 million. The winner had the highest unconditional bid when the auction closed and provides the best expected value for the Yawkey interests.

The auction was governed by clear rules, including that bids had to be unconditional and binding. Final bids were due Dec. 20. Henry's winning bid met the rules. No unconditional bid was higher on Dec. 20.

New York lawyer Miles Prentice attached elaborate conditions to his higher bid. His conditions would have required several as yet nonexistent agreements, including hoped-for deals to tie up the Red Sox cable, TV, and radio rights for 30 years and to sell controlling interests in NESN to a media company. Furthermore, although he had over a year to do so, he had not secured the financing for his bid.

Cablevision executive Charles Dolan's latest bids were higher, but came more than three weeks after the auction closed, and after commitments had been made to the Henry group. Also, the bids did not provide the same expected value when discounted for the risks attendant to the potential extensive delay of his approval by Major League Baseball, given his cross-ownership of other professional sports teams, his media holdings, and conflicts presented by his brother's ownership of the Cleveland Indians.

Major League Baseball did not control or mandate selection of the Henry group. The reason why limited partners selected Henry is that he submitted a timely unconditional bid that no one topped and had the best prospect of a closing before the season started. The importance of being the highest bidder in the final round of bids is reflected by the bidding history. When the initial binding bids were opened on Nov. 29, Dolan's was by far the highest. The process therefore started toward his likely approval by the limited partners (a meeting was even tentatively scheduled). Major League Baseball did not object. However, when Dolan's advisers surprisingly made his bid numbers public, it set off a round of higher bids. Until the day they withdrew, the new bid by Boston concessionaire Joseph O'Donnell and Newton-based developer Stephen Karp was the highest.

As a result, it was anticipated they would be proposed for limited partner approval. Intermediaries of both the O'Donnell-Karp and Henry groups raised the prospect of combining forces. Negotiations fell apart the morning of the limited partners' meeting. That morning, Henry and Dolan raised their bids to equal levels, although Dolan's expired at 5 p.m. and O'Donnell/Karp withdrew.

A new owner needs to be approved by the owners of Major League Baseball teams. Sox partners appropriately assessed the comparative approvability and time line for approval. The limited partners voted unanimously to choose Henry. No one was pressured. It was a straightforward business decision. They unanimously reconfirmed that decision Sunday.

The sale process was fair. Bidders had 14 months to put together groups, financing, and bids. Unconditional, binding bids were required. All bidders understood the dynamic of an auction, in that bids beget higher bids. Final bids were due before the limited partner meeting started on Dec. 20. The ultimate winners had to increase their initial bids for the Yawkey interests by $100 million to win.

Bidders knew they would need a majority vote of the limited partners to be approved to buy the Yawkey interests. Aramark, the concessionaire of Fenway Park, holds seven limited partner units. To help ensure that Aramark had no vested interest in voting against a bidder who was a competitor in the concession business (there were two) and to keep bidders from trying to secure Aramark's votes by promising them a future concession deal, the Red Sox extended Aramark's Fenway Park agreement. All bidders were told of the extension, which is a great deal for the Sox. Three bidders raised their bids after learning of the extension.

Nor is baseball's antitrust exemption relevant. The NFL, NHL, and NBA all require a supermajority vote of owners to approve a new owner. After a long and arduous sale process, Harrington has secured astronomical sums for the trust that Mrs. Jean Yawkey left in his care. Mrs. Yawkey would be proud of the results he has obtained for charities and for the fans. So should all of Red Sox Nation.

Daniel L. Goldberg is a partner at Bingham Dana, longtime adviser to the Red Sox and the Yawkey Trust, and chairman of the board of NESN.

This story ran on page A19 of the Boston Globe on 1/15/2002

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Red Sox
Sox set to change hands

Owners expected to OK the $700-million deal today

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer Top Sports stories:
Last update: 1.16.2002 00:14

PHOENIX -- Nearly seven decades of Yawkey family ownership of the Red Sox is expected to end this afternoon when the sale of the club to a group headed by John Henry is approved by Major League Baseball and its owners.

The vote, which requires three-quarters approval by the 30 clubs, comes 15 months after outgoing CEO John Harrington announced plans to sell the team's majority interest, and nearly four weeks after Harrington awarded the club to Henry's group amid charges from unsuccessful bidders of favoritism.

Henry and former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, another investor, were expected here last night. Larry Lucchino, who will serve as the team's president and CEO, spent much of yesterday huddled with Major League Baseball officials, preparing for this afternoon's vote. Tom Werner, who will serve as team chairman, is due to arrive this morning.

At various points since Harrington accepted the group's $700-million bid on Dec. 20, the sale threatened to be sidetracked. At least two other bids topped the one submitted by Henry's group, but were rejected by Harrington, prompting Massachusetts Atty. Gen. Tom Reilly to investigate the process.

Reilly's stated concern was that Harrington's decision to award the team to Henry cost Massachusetts-based charities -- the beneficiaries of the Yawkey trust -- tens of millions of dollars. But in recent days, a vow by Henry to restructure his bid to allow the charities to realize a greater percentage of the sale proceeds seems to have mollified Reilly.

Major League Baseball was concerned that Reilly would seek an injunction to halt the sale, but as of last night, the transfer remained on the agenda for today's owners' meetings.

"It's a go -- as far as we know," confirmed a senior baseball official last night.

This morning, the ownership committee, chaired by Atlanta Braves chairman Bill Bartholomay, will review the purchase and file its recommendation to Major League Baseball's Executive Council.

Later, the ownership committee will report its findings to the general membership, where 23 of 30 votes are needed for passage. Commissioner Bud Selig, criticized heavily for his alleged involvement in the sale process, is likely to win overwhelming approval for the group.

Unanimous approval might not be forthcoming, since a "no" vote could be cast by Cleveland Indians owner Larry Dolan. Dolan's brother, Charles, was an unsuccessful bidder for the Red Sox, and has upped his bid twice since last Thursday, much to Harrington's displeasure.

"Let's put it this way," said another baseball official yesterday, when asked to handicap the vote. "I don't think one ['no'] vote is going to be too significant here."

Lucchino, who previously served as CEO of the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, said yesterday that the controversy and uncertainty surrounding the sale was relatively minor.

"The prize here is worth that kind of [trouble]," he said, "because we're talking about the stewardship of the Boston Red Sox. There's a great deal of excitement attached to that. It's been intense, and required a lot of time and effort. But it will all be worth it."

Since Thomas A. Yawkey bought the franchise in 1933, the Red Sox have been bound by tradition and marked by their inability to win a World Series. Their last world championship, in 1918, predated Yawkey's arrival by some 15 years.

Yawkey spent lavishly to assemble the best teams money could buy, but the team won just three American League pennants during his ownership (1946, 1967 and 1975) and each time lost the World Series in heartbreaking fashion.

After his death in 1976, his widow, Jean R. Yawkey, retained majority ownership of the club. When she died in 1992, the team was run by the Yawkey Trust, led by Harrington.

Having grown frustrated with his inability to replace aging Fenway Park, the team's home since 1912, Harrington put the team up for sale in October 2000, but announced last spring that the team would not be sold until after the season so as to avoid a distraction.

The selling price for the Red Sox -- with $410 million originally earmarked for the majority interest, and another $260

million for the limited partners who comprise the remaining 47 percent interest -- is nearly double the record sale price of a major league baseball team.

Assuming the sale is approved today, the official transfer to Henry may take weeks, or even months as the complicated process is closed. Additionally, Henry must sell his majority ownership in the Florida Marlins to current Montreal Expos owner Jeffrey Loria, who will in turn sell his moribund franchise to Major League Baseball.

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AG Reilly, Sox strike a deal
By Leslie Miller, Associated Press, 01/16/02


BACKGROUND


The following are the highlights of the agreement reached Wednesday among the Boston Red Sox, the prospective owners and Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly:

-- The number of trustees of the Yawkey Foundation, the charitable trust that is now majority owner of the Red Sox, will expand from four to nine. A professional search firm will identify potential new trustees.

-- The attorney general will determine whether new trustees meet qualifications established under the new agreement.

-- Qualifications for new trustees include preference for candidates familiar with the late Jean and Tom Yawkey's charitable goals, including health care, education, athletic, environmental, conservation and social services programs.

-- The new board will elect a chair who may not serve for longer than one year.

-- The new board will draft bylaws and policies and procedures for dealing with conflict-of-interest issues, grant-making policies, filling board vacancies and investments.

-- The new policies and procedures will be subject to review by the attorney general.

-- The foundation will be required to submit written status reports on the agreement to the attorney general on March 31, 2002 and Sept. 30, 2002.

The attorney general said he infrequently enters into governance agreements. Past agreements include Boston University, Mt. Ida College and Berkshire health systems. They are designed to ensure foundation operates appropriately in light of enlarged funds.

-Associated Press

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts attorney general agreed Wednesday not to fight the sale of the Boston Red Sox to Florida Marlins owner John Henry after exacting another $30 million for the state's charities.

The deal cleared the way for baseball's other owners to approve the sale and could put the new owners in place by Opening Day.

"I'm proud today that this sale can go forward," attorney general Tom Reilly said. "I'm looking forward to just being a fan, quite frankly."

Henry bid $660 million for the team, Fenway Park and the NESN television network -- $90 million less than the highest bid. Reilly was critical of the deal, claiming that it shortchanged the charitable trust that owns 53 percent of the team.

Under the agreement, the prospective owners will create a $20 million charity to fund youth, educational and other organizations. Another $10 million will be contributed to the Yawkey trust by the limited partners who agreed to sell their 47 percent share to the group led by Henry.

The group also includes former Padres owner Tom Werner, former San Diego and Baltimore Orioles president Larry Lucchino and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell -- all friends of baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

The deal was announced only hours after talks had broken down and Reilly sent Selig a letter urging him to reopen the bidding. And the announcement came just an hour before baseball owners began meeting in Phoenix to vote on the team's sale.

"We had run out of patience," Reilly said. "It was important to us to get it done."

With the agreement, Red Sox CEO John Harrington will share control of the Yawkey trust -- which will soon be worth almost a half-billion dollars -- with a board that will expand from four to nine members. The new trustees will have to be approved by the attorney general.

"We will bring in professional management," Reilly said. "We wanted to get the foundation on sound footing and get it moving forward. That's what we accomplished."

Reilly's letter to Selig had urged owners not to approve the sale to Henry's group, saying his review needed more time.

"I have a responsibility not only to assure that the charities of the Commonwealth receive as much as possible from the sale of the Red Sox, but also to guarantee that the foundation is prepared to meet its obviously enhanced obligations," Reilly wrote to Selig.

Harrington eventually gave Reilly what he was seeking.

Thomas A. Yawkey bought the Red Sox in 1933 and controlled the team until his death in 1976. His wife, Jean R. Yawkey, died in 1992 and put the majority share of the team in a trust that has been controlled by Harrington.

"I look forward to continuing to carry on Mrs. Yawkey's legacy in my role as trustee and executive director of her foundation for many years to come," Harrington said.

Henry said the agreement to establish a New Boston Red Sox Foundation would continue the Yawkey's long history of community involvement.

"We look forward to forging strong ties within the Boston area and throughout the New England community via this foundation for many years to come," Henry said in a statement.

New York lawyer Miles Prentice and cable TV billionaire Charles Dolan have each submitted higher offers than Henry, but the Red Sox said Henry has the best chance of being approved by the owners at their meeting, which began Wednesday, in Phoenix.

Prentice and Dolan had no immediate comment.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NOW I WILL GET MY BILL!!

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once I have a link I will post. Some say on ESPN.....Henery is on live. Can not see it on Espn I or ESPN II. I guess vote is final with MLB owners.


It's Over! Selig concludes Red Sox sale first [Post#: 110709 ]
(not a link but looks credible)

Sox sale is first on the agenda. And it's 29-1 abstain in favor of Henry/Werner.

Bud: says we're fortunate to have experienced people of the highest integrity running this great team.

John Henry: First to the fans: "bringing a dream team of baseball people, baseball runs in our veins, we're excited today, can't wait to get started, tremendous honor and privilege to run the Boston Red Sox"

Tom: "Alot of focus on these business transactions, we're looking forward to talking baseball and spring training"

Faxes from Ted Williams: "Great news for Red Sox fans. I have known Larry Lucchino for years. Today starts great chapter in Red Sox history."

Yaz fax: Congratulate John Henry et al on purchase of Sox.

Tom: "Wants to erase that damn curse" (yuk!) He's gotta lose that.

Mitchell thanks Harrington for working to benefit the charities.

Bud: All the other deals are to be completed before the closing. Not a problem. Mid to late February.

Bud: Can't comment on the what others may do regarding suing, but is confident sale was handled properly on Harrington and MLB end.

Larry Lucchino: Formal authority to act making changes comes upon closing, but with approval they have greater rights to participate in decision making. Possible to make organizational changes before closing but the current regime would have to make those changes. Do not expect immediate action from his group only more participation.

Not appropriate to discuss GM, Manager changes.

McAdam: Discussion about right to make changes now?

Larry: Haven't had extensive discussions on that. Fair to say they have to run everything by him (yes)

Bud: Shawn you have to use common sense here. Harrington will be having alot of discussions with Larry, but until there's a closing date, that's about as much that can go on, or should go on...

Bud: The asset value of the Boston Red Sox has no relation to the other teams. They're one of the magical teams in baseball. Bud came into baseball with Harrington. Tom and Jean Yawkey would be so proud right now of where he's taken this franchise

[hmrsf]

Another Duquette may be in Sox' plans


By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff, 1/22/2002

While Larry Lucchino is committed to finding a new general manager to replace Dan Duquette, he is considering the possibility of keeping the job within the family.



Jim Duquette, the New York Mets senior assistant general manager and cousin to the Red Sox GM, is on a very short list of GM candidates Lucchino has assembled, major league sources said yesterday. Oakland GM Billy Beane and San Diego GM Kevin Towers are also on the list, but Towers is unlikely to be given permission to leave the Padres with two years left on his deal, and Beane's contract has three years to run.

Towers met this weekend with Padres owner John Moores, sources said, and was given assurances that the team wants him for the long haul. The likelihood is that Towers will remain with San Diego, unless legal issues stall the opening of a new ballpark in San Diego beyond the start of the 2004 season. There is a lawsuit pending that has delayed construction, but a decision is expected next week.

If the decision is unfavorable to the Padres, sources said, Moores would consider allowing Towers to leave his job for Boston. There, he would be reunited with Lucchino, who first promoted him to GM in San Diego.

Beane, by most accounts, remains Lucchino's first choice after Towers, and according to another general manager, Beane told Lucchino he would love to come to Boston. But other Beane associates and confidants say that it isn't automatic that Beane would leave.

''Money has a way of changing things,'' one confidant said yesterday, ''but my gut feeling is that Billy would stay.''

No such complications would stand in the way of the Sox signing Jim Duquette, who is seven years younger than the current Sox GM and shares the same hometown, Dalton. Jim Duquette has a clause in his contract that would allow him to be interviewed for the Sox job, and Lucchino, who has researched Duquette's background extensively, is known to be high on him.

Like his cousin, Jim Duquette has spent years in scouting and player development. He first joined the Mets 11 years ago, spent a year with the Astros as director of player development, and has been on the fast track with the Mets ever since his return in 1997, going from director of player personnel to assistant GM to his present position.

Jim Duquette, reached by telephone last night, had no comment on the Red Sox. He was involved in finalizing details of the 11-player deal the Mets made last night with the Brewers and Rockies.

''I know that Larry likes him a lot,'' a major league source said last night. ''The only thing he doesn't have going for him is the name, and that's not going to scare Larry away.''

Lucchino, who was not available last night, has not sought permission to speak with any of the GM candidates, sources said, and it's possible he could wait until the sale of the team is closed before making a public declaration of his intentions. The sale is not expected to close until mid to late February; one source said that the closing date of Feb. 23 has been tentatively set, which would be a week into spring training.

Despite sharing a surname, Jim Duquette and his cousin have notable differences. Dan was Amherst; Jim is Williams. He also has a much different reputation among club officials, agents and the media than Dan.

''Jim has a personality,'' a major league source said.

''If it came down to Billy Beane or Jim Duquette, I think Larry would hire Billy,'' a major league source said. ''But if it came down to Jim Duquette and anybody else out there right now? I think he'd go with Jim. The only question is whether Larry would wait a year if he thought he could get Billy then.''

Did not know where to put this.....feel free to move it to "things that make you say HMMMMM!"

[Xanadu Dragon]

At least RS617 can keep his URL.

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Originally posted by Xanadu Dragon
At least RS617 can keep his URL.

But the $1,000,000 question .....would the URL still ring true?


Need to ask a Mets fans!!!