In Phoenix, Lisa Halverstadt reports organizers behind an effort to overturn the city of Glendale's lease deal with the Coyotes said that their "battle is over largely because the Goldwater Institute won't provide legal backing." Yesterday's decision comes a week after Glendale "booted the referendum from the ballot, citing failure to meet a July 9 deadline or gather enough signatures" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 7/24).
FACE OF THE FRANCHISE: Mariners Chair & CEO Howard Lincoln said that team Principal Owner Hiroshi Yamauchi "was on board with the decision" to trade RF Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees. In Seattle, Larry Stone reports Lincoln also "strongly denied speculation the Mariners are for sale." Lincoln: "I've read this and heard this and can tell you it's absolute nonsense. There are no plans by this ownership group to sell the Mariners, and this decision today and any other decisions we make stand on their own and have nothing to do with a sale" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/24).
COMPANY MAN: EPL club Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said of team Owner the Glazers, "I am comfortable with the Glazer situation. They have been great. They have always backed me whenever I have asked them. I have never faced any opposition. They have always been as sensible as they can be in terms of financing the club. They have to invest in the team to maintain the value of their asset" (PA, 7/22). ESPN.com's Gabriele Marcotti noted ManU won four EPL titles "and a Champions League crown in the seven seasons that the Glazers have been around." But that is "as many as the club won in the seven years before they came on board." Marcotti: "What seems evident to most is that United's recent success has come in spite of the Glazers and not because of it." For better or worse, Ferguson's fate "is aligned with the Glazers." Were Ferguson to "cast even the slightest doubt on their stewardship of the club ... it could damage the upcoming IPO" (ESPN.com, 7/23).
FOR SALE SIGNS: In California, Jay Paris cited a source as saying that negotiations between the Padres and prospective buyer the O'Malley group "are progressing, albeit at a slow pace." But indications "remain that the transaction will be brought to a vote at the August owners' meetings" (NCTIMES.com, 7/22).
