MLB: ESPN's Peter Gammons reported that Marlins
President Don Smiley thinks a deal to buy the team "will be
done by sometime in May or June." Gammons adds that the
Marlins are "still looking at possibly ending up with close
to" 13,000 or 14,000 season tickets, "which isn't that great
a decline from the" 16,500 the team had in '97 ("Baseball
Tonight," 3/9)....The D'Backs are considering a proposal to
transport fans to games in shuttle buses. D'Backs Managing
General Partner Jerry Colangelo: "I think the potential is
there for a crisis." The cost of the shuttle service could
come from the city's share of new sales-tax dollars
generated by the baseball team (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/10).
HOCKEY: Red Wings Owner Mike Ilitch, after matching the
$38M offer sheet for Sergei Fedorov and the impact of
lucrative contracts on the NHL: "[T]he difference in hockey
is that we don't have the owners ... to sustain that kind of
heat. They're not getting anything out of national TV, so
you've only got your gate, basically" (DETROIT FREE PRESS,
3/10)....Despite his increasing interest in film production
and the increased role of co-Owner Roger Marino, Penguins
co-Owner Howard Baldwin said there is "no change" in his
role with the team. Baldwin: "I've always been devoted to
the Pens, it's just that now I have a partner [Marino] who
is really enjoying it, and that's a good thing." Baldwin,
asked if he will keep his interest in the team: "Absolutely"
(TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/10)....The WPHL announced the addition of
its 15th franchise for next season in Tupelo, MS. The team
joins two other new franchises in Corpus Christi, TX and
Arkansas (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 3/9).
NOTES: The Bills and Rochester, NY-based Wegmans Food
Markets are negotiating for the supermarket chain to become
the team's new main ticket outlet, making tickets available
in 55 stores in NY and PA (DEMOCRAT & CHRONICLE, 3/9)...The
NPSL Milwaukee Wave announced a sellout of 18,000-plus for
its game Friday night, the largest crowd in Wave and NPSL
history. The "drawing card" is Brett Favre, who will appear
in a halftime promo titled "One on One with Brett Favre" and
will throw 30 passes to fans in a fund-raising event for
Children's Hospital of WI (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/7).
