MLB's ownership committee, which has been gathering
information on the sale of the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch's
News Corp., yesterday sent its findings to the 30 MLB teams,
according to Ross Newhan of the L.A. TIMES. The sale could
be voted on in a joint owners meeting today in FL (L.A.
TIMES, 3/12). In San Diego, Tom Krasovic reports that
Astros Owner Drayton McLane "said he's prepared to vote in
favor" of Murdoch. McLane: "Free enterprise is one of the
things that has made America great, and we need less
bureaucracy. We don't need just one or two owners saying,
'No, this shouldn't be a buy." But McLane said that his
support of Murdoch "hinges on one condition": "We've got
make sure Murdoch isn't going to use this and take Dodgers
broadcasts to Japan, where baseball is very popular, or the
Philippines, or South Korea. We want to make sure that is
controlled, because that really is the property of [MLB]."
Krasovic added that without McLane's vote, Padres Owner John
Moores appears "unlikely to get the five" NL votes needed to
stop the Dodgers sale (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 3/11).
THE EFFECTS? Murdoch's "influence already is being felt
at Dodger Stadium," according to Bob Nightengale of USA
TODAY BASEBALL WEEKLY. The Dodgers are taking out field-
level box seats to install 17 rotating ad signs that will
bring the team $3.4M in revenue (BASEBALL WEEKLY, 3/17).
News Corp.'s bid for the Dodgers was examined by CNBC's Don
Dahler, who said Murdoch, "In many ways ... represents the
future of professional sports: gigantic media conglomerates
with very deep pockets." Dahler: "The concern among some
Major League owners is that Murdoch's entre into American
baseball would raise the players' salaries to even more
astronomical levels at a time when revenues are stagnant or
even slumping." Nevertheless, the sale "more than likely,"
will go through ("The Edge," CNBC, 3/11).
