"Vowing to restore Dodger tradition and bolster the
organization's sagging morale after two tumultuous seasons
under Fox," former Warner Bros. co-Chair Bob Daly was named
team Chair & CEO yesterday, according to Jason Reid of the
L.A. TIMES. Daly will also become a minority owner in the
team, starting with a 5% stake and "an opportunity" to
increase it to 10%, at a price of $15-31M. Fox remains the
team's majority owner and "will be consulted on major
moves." Reid: "Fox essentially becomes a silent partner --
not a moment too soon for frustrated fans." Though Fox
officials "disagree, Daly's emergence has been viewed
throughout baseball as Fox waving a white flag." But Fox
Group CEO Peter Chernin said, "I don't think this is Fox
trying to retreat at all. ... This was a unique opportunity,
as opposed to, in any sense whatsoever, either a retreat or
feeling of defeat." Reid reports that rehiring former team
President Bob Graziano "tops Daly's to-do list" (L.A. TIMES,
10/29). Daly said yesterday, "I am not going to bring a
movie mentality to running the Dodgers, but I will bring the
mentality of treating athletes like I've treated actors or
directors or anything else. And that is to respect their
ability, to be courteous to them and to do the best I can.
But we have to run the Dodgers like any other business, in a
way in which we hopefully can make a few bucks" (L.A. DAILY
NEWS, 10/29). Daly said that the deal is "structured so
that he cannot become a majority shareholder" of the team
and that the organization is not looking to take on any more
minority shareholders at this time (HOLL. REPORTER, 10/29).
A RETURN TO NORMALCY? In Riverside, Joe Christensen
writes that the setting of yesterday's announcement "had the
organization's tradition stamped all over it." Christensen:
"Employees throughout the Dodgers offices expressed their
good feelings. And relief. For once an organization that
had seemed determined to break from its tradition with every
move since Fox took over in March 1998 was reversing that
trend" (PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 10/29). In L.A., James Bates: "If
nothing else, Daly puts a face on the club, something it has
sorely lacked since Fox bought it from [O'Malley] and his
sister in March of last year. More important, the
personable Hollywood executive brings to the troubled
organization a paternalistic management style that is
increasingly rare as financial pressures move sports teams
out of the hands of individual owners and deep into media
conglomerates and their subsidiaries" (L.A. TIMES, 10/29).
Also in L.A., Karen Crouse, on Daly: "With his business and
baseball background, he'll add some substance to an
organization that has lived off ostentation for years" (L.A.
DAILY NEWS, 10/29). Sports Business Group President David
Carter: "Clearly the Dodgers front office now will resemble
the Yankee front office where you have someone decidedly in
charge, someone giving the marching orders and expecting
people behind him to follow those" ("Biz Buzz," 10/28).
FOX TAKING A BACK SEAT: In Long Beach, Bob Keisser
writes that "not everything that happened" to the Dodgers in
the past two years "was Fox's fault, but that's where the
blame usually went." Chernin: "We didn't love it. I don't
think there were that many changes (under Fox). I find it
amusing that some people thought (we) were choosing what
music was being played at the stadium and what caps were
being worn. It's a little naive to think those were Fox
decisions" (PRESS-TELEGRAM, 10/29). Chernin: "It's far too
early to say this hasn't worked out for Fox. We're in this
for a long time" (DAILY VARIETY, 10/29). In L.A., Bill
Plaschke writes that Chernin "graciously [accepted] the
criticism of the past two years. Chernin had a look on his
face that seemed very much like relief" (L.A. TIMES, 10/29).
