The Hillsborough County Commission, the elected body that
will try to keep the Bucs in Tampa, is faced with internal
disagreements on how to help the franchise.  Two staff members
have been directed to monitor the sale and develop options on
what can be done to help the team, but several "members also
warned that they do not want to commit any public dollars to the
project too soon."  Much of the funding to renovate Tampa Stadium
would come from the county (Kevin Walker, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 12/8).
     FOR SALE:  Palm Beach millionaire George Lindemann said he
will not enter a "blind auction" for the team and described the
sale price of $175M-$200M unrealistic for a group planning to
operate the club in Tampa.  Lindemann: "I can't afford to match
what Baltimore will pay" (Rick Stroud, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES,
12/8).  If Orioles Owner Peter Angelos bids "high" and loses,
"he'll go after the NFL and the Bucs in court," according to USA
TODAY'S Gordon Forbes.   Forbes also reports the NFL is working
behind the scenes to keep the Rams and the Bucs from moving.
"The fear is that a Rams move might be followed by a Raiders
move, and the NFL also wants a Jacksonville-Tampa rivalry" (USA
TODAY, 12/8).

     John Labatt Ltd. may seek a partnership or joint venture in
its bid to "spin off part of its sports and entertainment
assets," according to company President George Taylor.  Labatt
"is mulling over a number of options in its selloff strategy and
not only a public offering, as has been widely reported."
Labatt's sports and entertainment assets include the Blue Jays,
the SkyDome and TSN.  Taylor said the company still intends "to
control and drive the development of these businesses -- whether
its 49% or 45 or 40, (that is sold off) doesn't much matter."
Taylor acknowledged that the baseball strike, "which soaked up
about" C$16M of Labatt's earnings, has delayed selloff plans.
And the "sinking stock markets probably aren't as receptive to an
issue as they were last June."  Labatt has been hit by the NHL
lockout as well, but to a much lesser extent (Marina Strauss,
Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 12/8).

     Raptors President John Bitove said the ticket office's phone
lines continue to ring after Tuesday's open house at SkyDome.
About 600 season tickets were sold from the event, and the team
is believed to be about 3,000-3,500 sales away from meeting the
NBA's mandate of 12,500 season tickets by December 31.  The team
is working on a "massive corporate sponsorship said to be worth
multiple million of dollars."  Rumors had GM signing on (Jim
Byers, TORONTO STAR, 12/8).
     COLLEGE HOOPS STRUGGLES TO SELL: This weekend's U.S. college
basketball games at Maple Leaf Gardens are having trouble
selling.  The poor sale of lower end seats have led to a $5-off
coupon program, lowering prices from $7-12 for the Georgetown-
Memphis game.  Peter Allemang, organizer of the adidas Toronto
Invitational and president of DWA Canada: "In reality, we're
surprised.  We feel we priced the event really well" (Jim Byers,
TORONTO STAR, 12/8).