Sometimes it's not about the money. Sometimes it's about who you want to impress the most, or piss off the least.

Despite reports yesterday that Rupert Murdoch does not plan to raise his $580 million bid for Tribune Co. owned Newsday in the face of both a competing one by Mort Zuckerman and a larger one ($650 million) from Cablevision, it seems he may still be the favorite, in a Fear Factor sort of way.

The dilemma appears to be whether Tribune chief executive Sam Zell could afford to risk a relationship with News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch if he sold to the highest bidder.

And even though Rupe may come with a whole lot of baggage, i.e. a slew of federal regulatory hurdles, it seems Cablevision might be facing similar challenges due to its position "as the primary distributor of television content on Long Island." So the question seems to be: is a mere $70 million really worth angering the future master of all media over? Probably not.