John Spano formally relinquished ownership of the
Islanders on Friday to former Owner John Pickett, according
to Richard Sandomir of the N.Y. TIMES. As part of the deal,
if Pickett does not reach an agreement by July 25 with the
six banks that lent Spano the $80M to purchase the team, NHL
Commissioner Gary Bettman "will convene an arbitration to
determine who owns the Islanders." Bettman could "rule that
the team belongs to Pickett, to the banks or, conceivably,
to Spano." Bettman: "I may have to decide who has legal
title to the franchise. That may not relate to who is
qualified" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12).
DUE DILIGENCE: Bettman, on league approval of Spano:
"How this happened is something that we're going to have to
continue to look at" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/12). Bettman: "I
don't think it's a black eye for the league. I think it's a
black eye for the owner" (NEWSDAY, 7/12). In an examination
of how the top four leagues approve ownership transfers,
NEWSDAY's Bob Glauber wrote that the NHL "apparently erred
in the examination of Spano's financial dealings in what
appears to be an isolated case" (NEWSDAY, 7/12). In
announcing the move, Bettman "took exception to criticisms
that the league had issued no public stance before [Friday],
claiming since he was invoked to arbitrate the case under
league by-laws, that it was 'highly inappropriate' for him
to comment publicly" (Peter Botte, N.Y. POST, 7/12).
STAYING ON THE ISLAND: On Friday, Bettman gave his
"guarantee" that the Islanders will be remain on Long
Island. In N.Y., Peter Botte wrote that Bettman "seems to
be putting his credibility on the line with such words,
suggesting perhaps he knows more about what will follow than
he let on" (N.Y. POST, 7/12). From Long Island, Steve Zipay
wrote that sources said the future owner of the Islanders
"could be a joint venture" between The Marquee Group CEO Bob
Gutkowski and Mets Owners Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday
(NEWSDAY, 7/12). In N.Y., Colin Stephenson wrote that
Gutkowski, "the immediate frontrunner" to buy the team,
"told friends he is definitely interested and intended to
call ... Wilpon, a close friend, to see if they can
formulate some kind of offer" (DAILY NEWS, 7/13).
SETTING RECORD STRAIGHT: In today's N.Y. POST, Phil
Mushnick retracts a report he made last week that the
Islanders' radio station, WLIR-FM, was unhappy with its
multi-year deal with the club. Mushnick: "Station
management, however, insists that's not true, and that the
association with the team has proven both affable and
profitable" (N.Y. POST, 7/14).
