Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones said Wednesday that "he knows
of no issues that would prevent" prospective Redskins Owners
Howard Milstein and Daniel Snyder from being approved to buy
the team, according to Leonard Shapiro of the WASHINGTON
POST. Jones noted the NFL's hiring of DC-based Terry
Lenzner's Investigative Group to conduct a background check
on the bidders, and "pointed out" that Milstein was pre-
approved by a committee of several NFL owners during his
unsuccessful bid last year for the Browns. Jones: "Most of
the owners I talk to say that anyone who has that kind of
money and also got approved by the league in Cleveland, it
shouldn't be an issue. We knew there weren't any issues in
Cleveland. Why should there be any now." Vikings Owner Red
McCombs also stressed that Milstein's participation in the
Browns sale "should have covered many of the issues" the
league is examining. The NFL has stated that the pre-
approval process for potential owners of the Browns "was not
as thorough as the in-depth financial review it is
conducting now" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/25). Also in DC, Eric
Fisher reports that the NFL's hiring of Lenzner's Group
"has fueled criticism that the league is unduly prolonging"
the $800M sale. One Milstein supporter, who said the group
has nothing to hide: "Whatever it is, the league should just
come out with it" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 2/25).
INSPECTOR LENZNER: USA TODAY's Larry Weisman reports
that the NFL asked Patriots Owner/Finance Committee Chair
Robert Kraft "not to comment on Lenzner," who once was hired
by President Clinton's private attorneys. Republican
National Committee Press Secretary Mike Collins: "You don't
hire Terry Lenzner to look at somebody's books. You hire
him to look at somebody's garbage" (USA TODAY, 2/25).