Marlins President Don Smiley "today will try to
convince owner Wayne Huizenga to sell him the team for well
below the asking price or to give him yet another deadline
extension to seek investors," according to Barry Jackson of
the MIAMI HERALD. Smiley was still "well short" of
Huizenga's $165M asking price as of Monday, "even if
Huizenga invests" $25M and Huizenga's brother-in-law, Whit
Hudson, "puts in another" $25M. Sources said that Huizenga
"will consider" giving Smiley more time. On Monday, Smiley
"failed to secure investments from WQAM or broadcast mogul
Barry Diller" (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21). Smiley said that he
expects Huizenga to decide on his offer by the end of the
week: "I don't think he would take that long at all, maybe a
day or two" (Alan Snel, Fort Lauderdale SUN-SENTINEL, 7/21).
FILMING ON THE DUKE: Agent Joe Cubas, who also may bid
on the Marlins, will fly to L.A. today to meet with "several
movie studios who have interest in making a film about Cubas
and one of his clients," Yankees P Orlando Hernandez. Barry
Jackson also reports that while in L.A., Cubas will meet
with an undisclosed movie studio that has expressed interest
in building a theme park in Miami within a mile of a
proposed downtown site for a ballpark (MIAMI HERALD, 7/21).
