Marlins President Don Smiley's bid to buy the team
"hinges on a three-way marriage" between Marlins Owner Wayne
Huizenga, Cablevision Chair Charles Dolan and USA
Broadcasting Chair Barry Diller, according to Alan Snel of
the Fort Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL. Sources close to the
negotiations said that Huizenga and Smiley "struck a deal"
on July 21. Snel: "But that agreement, witnessed by
National League President Len Coleman, is contingent on a
complicated three-way transaction." The tenets of the deal:
Huizenga sells SportsChannel to Dolan for about $100M, with
SportsChannel broadcasting Marlins games until 2024; Dolan
also gains control of the over-the-air TV rights to Marlins
games from UPN-Channel 33, and he in turn, "cuts a deal to
provide the over-the-air rights" to Diller, "who wants the
Marlins as programming" for his newly launched WAMI-69. The
"key to any Smiley deal is Huizenga selling SportsChannel.
Huizenga doesn't want to sell the Marlins before he sells
SportsChannel because the cable station's value rests in the
broadcast rights to Marlins games." Huizenga was
unavailable for comment Monday, and Smiley could not be
reached (Alan Snel, Fort Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 8/11).
MEANWHILE, IN MIAMI: The HERALD's Barry Jackson reports
that Huizenga's spokesperson, Stan Smith, said that FL
business exec John Henry is "a serious candidate" to buy the
team and that negotiations can begin as soon as Henry is
approved by MLB. However, Huizenga has not submitted
Henry's name to MLB for approval. Jackson also reports that
sources confirmed Monday that Diller has an interest in
joining Henry's group, with Henry serving as the Managing
Partner in that scenario (MIAMI HERALD, 8/11).
WAYNE'S BANE: In Ft. Lauderdale, columnist Dave Hyde
writes that Huizenga "keeps being the deadbeat dad of
baseball owners, not just shirking any responsibility to his
franchise today but refusing its fans any hope for tomorrow.
Huizenga ... keeps running the most misguided attempt to get
a stadium in sports history by directing the most
transparent sale in sports history" (SUN-SENTINEL, 8/11).