William Clay Ford, Jr. is slowly gaining control over the
Lions operation from his father, William Clay Ford, Sr. "There is
no timetable on when the younger Ford, 37, will take control of
the franchise" that his father has run since 1964, as the
transfer of leadership will "come only when father and son decide
the time is right."  Ford, Jr. will represent the team next week
in Denver at a meeting of NFL owners (Mike O'Hara, DETROIT NEWS,
11/30).

     The Grizzlies brought Magic Johnson to Vancouver yesterday
in an effort to boost the franchises season-ticket sales.  "For
three whirlwind hours, he pressed the flesh as part of the
Grizzlies full-court press" to secure the franchise (Mike
Beamish, VANCOUVER SUN, 12/1).  Johnson sent a message to the
city, saying "the team is like a new baby being born.  Take it.
Embrace it.  Love it. Nurture it."  Johnson urged the Vancouver
press to "stress how important it is to get those 3,500 tickets":
"Write nice things.  We don't want this to fail" (Elliot Pap,
VANCOUVER SUN, 12/1).    HOW MANY MORE? It was a big day for the
Grizzlies, who also announced their "magic number" to secure the
team had been reduced to 3,580.  The NBA is requiring the
Grizzlies and Raptors to have sold 12,500 season-tickets by
December 31 in order to preserve their franchises.  Grizzlies
VP/GM Stu Jackson said two companies, Wall Financial (100) and
BC's Pontiac/Buick (300) had made significant purchases of season
tickets "to make sure the Grizzlies are a reality on January 1."
After Johnson's appearance, Uniglobe Travel announced they had
purchased a block of 100 season-tickets for a total of 400
corporate sales in one day.  Grizzlies Owner Arthur Griffiths was
optimistic on reaching the NBA minimum: "I think we will get
there. ... With the number of initiatives going, we'll get the
job done" (Elliot Pap, VANCOUVER SUN, 12/1).  One initiative the
team is offering is a giveaway of five Pontiac cars in a contest
open to all season ticket holders who pay their full 50% deposit
before December 31.  With just a month to go, the team needs to
average just over 112 sales a day, including Sunday's and
holidays, to reach 12,500 (Grizzlies).

     "Two prospective owners" of the Buccaneers contacted Jimmy
Johnson's attorney about hiring him to coach the team. Johnson's
attorney, Nick Christin, declined to "confirm the Tampa
overtures," but said he has received calls from around the league
(Pat Yasinskas, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 11/30).

     The Anaheim group trying to keep the Rams in Orange County
met yesterday with Rams President John Shaw "for more than two
hours" at the club's practice facility.  Save the Rams Co-Chairs
Leigh Steinberg and Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly said the main topic of
discussion was the "possibility of building a stadium" for the
team.  Steinberg: "Essentially, Mayor Daly outlined a willingness
of Anaheim to explore the concept of a new football stadium."
When asked of Shaw's response, Steinberg said Shaw wished the
discussion wasn't occurring in late November, as the team has
moved forward in their negotiations with St. Louis, but that he
"appeared interested."  Steinberg said he remained hopeful to
keep the team in CA, despite daily reports that a move is
"imminent" (Jim Thomas, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/1).

     TX Governor-elect George Bush will "relinquish" his role as
Rangers managing partner on December 31 and be replaced by club
President Tom Schieffer.  Bush had served in that position since
1989.  Bush's investment will be put into a blind trust while he
serves as the state's chief executive.  Bush said it was best if
he "not be involved in investment decisions whatsoever or
management decisions in the case of the Rangers."  Rose will
retain his position, and Schieffer will continue to oversee the
day-to-day operations of the team (Sullivan & Gonzalez, FORT
WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/1).

     A dispute over Israeli taxes is causing some of the problems
in the sale of 40% of the Miami Heat.  Whit Hudson is seeking to
purchase the share of partners Lewis Schaffel and Billy
Cunningham, but not directly.  Instead, Schaffel and Cunningham
would "resell their shares for $60 million to Florida Basketball
Inc., which is the official name of the Heat's general
partnership.  That would give the Arison family complete control
over the team."  The Arisons would then sell "managing control"
of the team to Hudson.  But the deal, set up for tax reasons, has
reportedly generated a dispute between Hudson and Arison.  Since
Marilyn Arison lives in Israel, the sale would be subject to
Israeli taxes.  But Hudson says he agreed to pay U.S. taxes, and
that terms of the sale "do not address Israeli taxes."  The two
also disagree over who pays limited partner Julio Inglesias $2.4M
upon any sale (Alex Marvez, MIAMI HERALD, 12/1).