In MLB, it's pay — not play — to win

The phone in David Dombrowski's office is ringing again, chirping incessantly, as it seems it has been without pause for seven months. "I have to take this," says Dombrowski, general manager of the flea market that doubles as home to baseball's defending champions. In an instant, he switches his ...

Tags: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Rangers, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pro Player Inc., San Diego Padres, Southwest Sports Group, Texas Rangers, Time Warner, Toronto Blue Jays, YankeeNets

Wolff guiding merger of Northeast, Northern leagues

When minor league baseball impresario Miles Wolff brought his name and backing to the independent Northeast League recently, it injected instant credibility. The merger that followed can only increase that impact. The Northeast League and the Northern League, the latter of which has Wolff as its ...

Tags: MLB, Philadelphia Phillies

The power behind baseball's throne

You can hear the city's heartbeat from Paul Beeston's corner office; the honk and screech of cabs squirreling up New York's Park Avenue, the rhythm of a steel band playing across the street, the occasional random voice that fights its way through the din. x You can hear them all because, ...

MLB draft: Cards step up to the plate to face Boras, Drew

The St. Louis Cardinals needn't look far back in their draft history to justify the pair of high-risk, potentially high-return moves they made last week when they selected J.D. Drew in the first round and Chad Hutchinson in the second. Last year, they used their second-round pick to take Rick An ...

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Miami Marlins, NFL, Prince, St. Louis Cardinals

Drew won't test system again, but he won't be patsy

J.D. Drew will figure prominently yet again when baseball's annual draft gets under way on Tuesday. Drew's path — kissing off offers from the Phillies and signing with the Northern League in an attempt to gain free agency — may be tempting to players who'd like to cash in, the way prev ...

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals

His father's son: Veeck covets piece of Twins

Mike Veeck, one of the more innovative promoters in minor-league baseball, has mounted his white horse. Now, it's up to Minnesota Twins owner Carl Pohlad to decide whether he's willing to let Veeck ride in and lasso the wayward franchise for the Twin Cities. Veeck, who is in the process of se ...

Tags: Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, New Orleans Saints

CART merchandising changes put sales on fast track

Only 17 months after creating a division meant to bring the bulk of its licensing in-house, motorsports sanctioning body CART is showing mammoth sales gains. Three races into this year's FedEx Championship series, at-track sales of CART licensed products were up 46 percent in comparison to last ...

Tags: Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc., Gear For Sports, Reebok

MLB won battle, but might have lost the war

The status of baseball mega-prospect J.D. Drew remained in limbo last week after an arbitrator ruled that while the Players Association's grievance on behalf of Drew was well-founded, it did not apply to him since he is not a member of the union. That put the matter in the hands of baseball's ex ...

Tags: This Week's Issue

McGwire goes from fastballs to fast cars

Add the back of Bobby Hillin's race car to the growing list of places you can check for an up-to-date count of Mark McGwire's home run total. McGwire joined the stock car world last week when he bought a share in Hillin's Busch circuit race team, paying $50,000 for an equal piece of the car, whi ...

Tags: This Week's Issue

Teams add Beanie Babies to lineups

The Beanie Babies craze that has swept sports promotion was born in the bowels of John McDonough's Chicago home. McDonough, the Chicago Cubs' vice president for marketing and broadcasting, was cleaning the basement with his eldest daughter, Colleen, when he found that the room was overrun with t ...

Tags: This Week's Issue