SAN FRANCISCO: 49ers co-Owner Denise DeBartolo York
filed a motion in Federal Court in OH to "dismiss" her
brother and fellow co-Owner Eddie DeBartolo's $150M breach-
of-contract lawsuit. In San Jose, Sam Farmer writes that
documents "included in the motion give the public a first
glance of a deal that might have put the 49ers back into her
brother's hands." One other revelation in the motion is
that DeBartolo borrowed $4M from Devcon Construction and his
daughters' trust fund "to help finance the campaign for a
new stadium" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/13).
NOTES: The Suns failed to sell out last night's home
playoff game, ending their consecutive home playoff sellout
streak of 50 games, which dated back to '85. Last night's
attendance of 17,306 was 2,717 short of capacity (ARIZONA
REPUBLIC, 5/13)....Former NHLer Brent Sutter has purchased
the WHL Red Deer Rebels for reportedly more than C$3M.
Sutter will also be the team's head coach (EDMONTON SUN,
5/12)....In Las Vegas, Tim Graham reported that the IHL
Thunder has decided to keep its nickname, logos and history
in Las Vegas, even if Mandalay Sports "relocates or sells
its homeless franchise." IHL President Doug Moss said a new
team "could be under different ownership, but the Thunder
name will stay in Las Vegas" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 5/11)....A FL
TIMES-UNION editorial, under the header, "A Classy Gesture,"
praises Jaguars players for thanking fans around the city
for their support: "There's no selling or hidden messages
here, just an expression of appreciation that professional
sports fans could use more often" (FL TIMES-UNION, 5/13)