Posts Tagged ‘Bill Shaikin’

There are a couple of noteworthy LA tidbits in Bill Shaikin‘s great profile of NHL players’ association executive director Donald Fehr.

In the 1930s, Fehr’s grandfather owned a clothing store on what is now the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, but was forced by the Great Depression to close up shop and move back to Indiana. Then there’s this reminder that the 64-year-old Fehr is someone who does not concern himself with how fans and media view an ongoing NHL lockout:

“He is as impervious to media criticism as anyone I’ve ever met,” said Dodgers president Stan Kasten, a friend of both Fehr and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

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The Los Angeles Kings and Fox Sports West have agreed to terms on a new $250 million deal that will keep the hottest team in hockey on the network through 2024.

Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times broke the story Sunday night and has the details:

The contract ranks among the most lucrative local cable deals for any NHL team…

“We’re not only business partners with the Kings. We’re fans of the Kings,” said Steve Simpson, senior vice president and general manager of Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket. “We’re excited to showcase their success on our network.” Read more

And then there were three.

Another round of cuts were made in the Los Angeles Dodgers bidding process and we could have a winner as soon as next week, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times:

The three finalists include a group led by hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Patrick Soon-Shiong; a group led by Magic Johnson and veteran baseball executive Stan Kasten; and St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

The cut was confirmed by two people familiar with the sale process but not authorized to comment.

Major League Baseball owners are expected to vote on the three remaining bidders early next week. Final negotiations then would take place with Frank McCourt and Blackstone Advisory Partners, the investment bank brokering the sale.

Winners of the 2011 Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) contest have been announced. And when it comes to daily newspapers with a circulation of 175,000 or more, the LA Times finds itself once again in good company.

The paper, for the second year in a row, was deemed to have one of the nation’s "Top 10" sports sections. Also named this year in that category were:

Boston Globe
Chicago Tribune
Dallas Morning News
Denver Post
Kansas City Star
Los Angeles Times
Newark Star-Ledger
New York Times
Philadelphia Inquirer
USA TODAY

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Here’s a tip for all you Dodger ownership bid watchers. If you have not already, set up a Google News alert for “Bill Shaikin.” The LA Times baseball beat reporter remains the go-to source for breaking developments about the Frank McCourt sweepstakes.

Shaikin’s latest scoop, posted online last night, reveals that 31-year-old New York real estate entrepreneur Jared Kushner is among nine groups in the current running to buy the Dodgers. Kushner is the son-in-law of Donald Trump, as well as the owner of a Manhattan newspaper re-invented by former mediabistro.com editorial employee Elizabeth Spiers:

Kushner, who became owner and publisher of the New York Observer in 2006, has played a key role in expanding the family business beyond real estate. At 31, he would be the youngest owner in Major League Baseball.

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As first tipped by New York Times columnist Richard Sandomir, there’s another group jumping into the Frank McCourt bankruptcy sweepstakes. And it’s a good one.

Former Dodgers manager Joe Torre has left his MLB executive position to join a bid led by The Grove and Americana on Brand developer Rick Caruso, in what would be a tremendous bit of local-karma competition for Magic Johnson‘s planned bid. There’s also another key person involved. Per Bill Shaikin‘s LA Times blog item this morning:

The investment banker working with Caruso and Torre is Byron Trott of BDT Capital in Chicago, described in this London Evening Standard article as the only banker Warren Buffett trusts.

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Less than three weeks after Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp finished runner-up in the National League MVP race,  Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun reportedly tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

The Los Angeles Times polled 20 writers that selected Braun as MVP and Kemp would easily win if there was a revote:

Several writers who voted for Braun said they would cast their ballots for Kemp in a revote, but a majority of reporters contacted by The Times —15 of the 20 — were against voting again, and two were unsure. Read more

As soon as news broke Tuesday night that Frank McCourt had finally agreed to sell the Los Angeles Dodgers, rumors started swirling as to who would purchase the team.

You can scratch Fox from the list of prospective buyers as Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Shaikin tweeted Wednesday that the media giant isn’t interested in purchasing the team at this time.

With Fox out of the picture, Dodger fans are one step closer to a dream scenario where Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban purchases the team.

“It all comes down to price,” Cuban told ESPNLosAngeles.com Wednesday morning via email. “It’s important to have more than enough money to pay players and invest in the organization.”

One can dream, right?

Los Angeles Times sports reporter Bill Shaikin was elected president of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America at the organization’s World Series meeting Saturday.

Shaikin, who has done an excellent job of reporting the ongoing Frank McCourt saga, succeeds Ken Davidoff of Newsday as president.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was elected vice president of the BBWAA, which puts her one step away from becoming the first woman to head the organization.

Traditionally, the vice president serves one year before becoming president.

The Los Angeles Angels are reportedly working on a new broadcast deal with Fox Sports, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times:

“In a court filing this week on behalf of Major League Baseball, Los Angeles sports media consultant Ed Desser said the Dodgers would be unlikely to succeed in launching a cable channel of their own, in part because they would not have “any other significant sports team” to join them. He noted that the Lakers are launching two channels of their own, the Pac-12 Conference is launching another for UCLA and USC, and the Kings and Clippers are bound to Fox.

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