MARLINS PRESIDENT WON'T BE A GRINCH; HE'S STILL SMILIN'

          Marlins President Don Smiley said that he "still
     expects to buy the team from" Owner Wayne Huizenga but
     admitted that he is "tinkering with his strategy," according
     to Antonio Fins of the Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL.  Smiley
     said that "he is ready to drop his original strategy of
     seeking to piece together a group of as many as 30 investors
     each pitching" in $5M.  Smiley: "I thought the business
     community would step up in a more significant way."  Smiley
     said that he was still talking to members of The Ackerley
     Group, headed by Sonics Owner Barry Ackerley, one day after
     it said it wasn't interested in being part of a group bid
     (Antonio Fins, Ft. Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 12/19).