Rams President John Shaw said there was little to report on
a Monday meeting with three Buccaneers team officials in L.A.
Shaw said the group "compared notes, that kind of thing. ... We
caught up with each other on where we were with St. Louis.
Nobody should read too much into this" (Himmelberg & Mouchard,
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 11/23). Meanwhile, in Tampa, two local
leaders "in the battle to keep" the team have "taken a beating in
the stock market in the last two days." Outback Steakhouse CEO
Chris Sullivan says the drop in his company's stock will not
"affect his ability to make an offer for the Bucs -- if he and
fellow investor Bob Basham event want to." Falling stock prices
have "stripped" Outback of 16.8% of its value over the past two
days. Personally, Sullivan and Basham have combined to lose
about $43M (Joe Henderson, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/23).
IS THE TABLE FULL OR IS THERE ROOM FOR MORE? George Stamos,
an attorney for Orioles Owner Peter Angelos, said it is
"possible" Angelos "could keep the team" in Tampa if was the
buyer. Nelson Peltz, CEO of the company that controls Arby's and
R.C. Cola, also may be considering making a bid for the franchise
(Joe Henderson, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/23). ESPN's Chris Mortensen
reports the Bucs are determined to sell the team by January, "in
part to facilitate an offer to [Jimmy] Johnson. And the NFL
privately believe that a fertile, football-crazy market like
Tampa would thrive under new ownership and Johnson as coach"
("SportsCenter," 11/22). HOLIDAY SHOPPING: Bucs "boosters"
are trying to restructure legislation that would allow state
sales tax money to be used to help renovations on Tampa Stadium.
The "hitch" in the legislation is no money can be used for
existing franchises. Reworking the legislation is not considered
easy, and supporters in Tampa are "reluctant to talk about the
initiative for fear of creating a stir in other parts of the
state." But FL Gov. Lawton Chiles says he will do all he can to
keep the team. Chiles: "I'm trying to call the NFL commissioner
to add my two cents, and I'm ready to meet with him" (Phil
Willon, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/23).
