MLB: The Yankees need to draw only 18,652 to break
their all-time attendance record of 2,633,701 set in '88
(Newark STAR-LEDGER, 9/14). But with only 10 games left,
the Yankees would have to draw 39,521 fans a game to hit the
3 million mark -- the figure that Yankees Owner George
Steinbrenner said was needed to discuss remaining in the
Bronx. Team execs now say that reaching 3 million is "a
longshot" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/14)....In Boston, Peter
Gammons quotes one MLB exec as saying one "big advantage"
for the Northern VA group looking to land an MLB expansion
team is that the state hired Gabe Paul, Jr. as an adviser.
Paul worked for MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, and one MLB exec
said he "was a big player" in getting Miller Park built
(BOSTON GLOBE, 9/14)....News Corp. CEO Peter Chernin called
the Dodgers' season "frustrating," but added, "We bought
this for the long term. You can't assume things are going
to go right at the beginning. ... I feel pretty good about
most of the moves that were made" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 9/12).
NFL: In DC, Michael Wilbon writes that the NFL owes
Redskins President John Kent Cooke "every consideration --
and then some" in his effort to buy the Redskins and Jack
Kent Cooke Stadium. Wilbon: "You see, there's no rule that
says the league and its owners have to take the highest
bidder" (WASHINGTON POST, 9/14)....In Akron, Weinreb, Adams
and Pluto wrote an expansive, behind-the-scenes look at the
process of selecting an owner for the new Browns (AKRON
BEACON JOURNAL, 9/13). In Cleveland, Tony Grossi wrote that
while a "few" NFL owners felt if they delayed a selection on
the new Browns owner, and "worked the finalists for more
money, the bids would've come in higher." But Cowboys Owner
Jerry Jones and Bucs Owner Malcolm Glazer felt Al Lerner's
$530M bid "represented a pretty good price" given the
instability on Wall Street (Cleveland PLAIN-DEALER, 9/14).
