Facing a deadline of 11:59pm ET last night, Raptors
Owner Allan Slaight and VP Isiah Thomas "had agreed to keep
talking through the weekend. Nothing official has been
signed, but talks were described ... as 'friendly,'"
according to Craig Daniels of the TORONTO SUN. Daniels:
"[A] source close to the Slaight family said a deal by the
end of the weekend looked possible" (TORONTO SUN, 8/1).
THOMSON IN OR OUT? The SUN's Daniels reported that
David Thomson, son of media baron Ken Thomson, was part of
Thomas' group trying to buy Slaight's share of the Raptors.
The price for Slaight's 81% "is said to have hovered in the
range" of $75M. Daniels reports that while the Thomson
family is "said to be ready to ante up" $50M, they were also
"said to be ready to pull out of Thomas' group when a story
about its involvement" appeared in the media. Daniels: "But
by the end of the day, calm had prevailed and talks were
back on track" (TORONTO SUN, 8/1). Peter Thomson, Dep.
Chair of Woodbridge Co., the holding company for Hudson's
Bay Co. and Thomson Corp., which owns The Toronto Globe &
Mail, said he had "no idea" if his brother David was
involved in the Raptors sale, according to Michael Grange of
the GLOBE & MAIL. Peter Thomson: "I've got nothing to do
with the Raptors. It's got nothing to do with me" (Toronto
GLOBE & MAIL, 8/1). In other news, Raptors President
Richard Peddie "has a meeting" with WNBA President Val
Ackerman on Tuesday "to discuss a pro women's team for
Toronto" (Craig Daniels, TORONTO SUN, 8/1).
