The "official ending" of John Spano's "brief tenure as
owner of the Islanders -- and the potential death watch for
the franchise's future in Long Island -- is on the verge of
being announced, quite possibly as soon as today," according
to Peter Botte in the N.Y. POST. Botte writes that a
"source close to Spano" said recent negotiations have "been
an attempt to reach an agreement whereby the besieged Spano
would rescind control of the team." Former team Owner John
Pickett has said he wanted to "get the team back and re-sell
it." Botte adds that among prospective buyers who would
keep the team in Long Island are Mets co-owners Nelson
Doubleday and Fred Wilpon, and Bob Gutkowski's Marquee
Group. All "have expressed interest in the past, and would
seem to remain at the head of the list of any prospective
buyers with such an agenda." Botte notes that the NHL
"still has issued no public stance on the increasingly ugly
matter" (N.Y. POST, 7/10). Also in N.Y., Colin Stephenson
adds that "it appears the league will take the team away
from" Spano and return it to Pickett (DAILY NEWS, 7/10).
THE FLEET IS IN: NEWSDAY's Fessenden & Valenti write
that sources "confirmed that the main sticking point" of
arbitration talks involving the league is the $80M loan from
Fleet Bank that Spano used to buy the team, with the club
and cable TV revenues as collateral (NEWSDAY, 7/10).
