The proposed sale of the World Series champion Anaheim Angels from The Walt Disney Co to Arturo Moreno has been approved by baseball's ownership committee and will be voted on by all owners next week.
Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said Friday the committee met by telephone conference call earlier this week to consider the deal, which is worth about US$185 million.
Moreno, a native of Tucson, Arizona, would become the first Hispanic controlling owner in the major leagues. He used to own a small interest in the Arizona Diamondbacks and currently owns a part interest in the NBA's Phoenix Suns. His net worth has been estimated at US$940 million by Forbes magazine.
Disney bought a 25 percent share of the Angels and took control of the team from founding owner Gene Autry in 1996 and purchased the remainder of his team following his death in 1998. Anaheim won its first World Series title last year, beating San Francisco in seven games.
Disney also has made inquiries about selling its other team, the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks. The sale of the Angels is the major item on the agenda for next week's meeting. The committee considering the future of the Montreal Expos met Wednesday in Chicago, and DuPuy briefed commissioner Bud Selig the following day, but DuPuy said no decisions on the Expos are imminent.
Portland, Oregon, Northern Virginia and Washington all are interested in obtaining the Expos, who were bought by the other 29 teams before the 2002. Government officials in all three areas have proposed financing for a new ballpark, but complete plans have not yet become law.
All stars
Dusty Baker's All-Star coaching staff will have a local feel. Baker asked St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa and Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon to be part of his staff for the All-Star game, hosted by the Chicago White Sox on July 15. He said Friday both accepted.
La Russa's managerial career began on the South Side. Named the White Sox's skipper on Aug. 2, 1979, he was 522-510 in seven-plus seasons. He was named AL manager of the year in 1983 after leading the White Sox to a major-league best 99-63 record and the AL West title.
"I thought about Tony and him being a former White Sox. Kind of going back to where he first started," Baker said, explaining his reason for picking La Russa. "I know the amount of people he knows in Chicago, that went into that.."
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB