Larry and Charles Dolan "have raised the stakes in
their bid to become the next owner of the Browns" by
bringing Don Shula into their ownership group, according to
Terry Pluto of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Shula was born and
raised in OH and the Dolans will introduce him at a press
conference today as an Exec VP in their proposed
organization. Pluto writes that Shula "is a big name and
known commodity to NFL owners," and with him on board, "the
Dolans believe their seemingly already strong group is even
more attractive to the league" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 6/16).
In Cleveland, Tony Grossi reports that Shula "might ...
invest nominally in ownership. But his value to the Dolan
effort is priceless." Grossi: "Shula's universal acceptance
by NFL owners makes it increasingly difficult for them to
deny the Dolans' bid." Bengals Owner Mike Brown: "He's a
significant plus for the Dolans" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER,
6/16). In Miami, Kevin Ding reports that Shula would become
a 5% owner in the Dolan group (MIAMI HERALD, 6/16).
MORE BROWNS NEWS: In Cleveland, Tony Grossi reported
that Browns ownership applicants Thomas Murdough and Bart
Wolstein "were less than amused" when they read that Howard
Milstein termed the expansion team ownership derby "a two-
horse race" between he and the Dolan brothers. Wolstein:
"We don't need a New Yorker running our team." Ownership
candidates will have to send a check for $150,000 to the NFL
this week to receive material on the stadium lease and
revenue sharing projection information (PLAIN DEALER, 6/14).
Bernie Kosar, who has been approached by Murdough and the
Dolans about joining their ownership bids, has "serious
questions about whether there is enough time to build a
viable NFL franchise" by '99. Kosar: "I'm concerned about
the timeline of it. It's a tight timeline to get ready to
play in '99" (Carter Gaddis, TAMPA TRIBUNE, 6/14).
