Glazer May Go for the Double-Team

Malcolm Glazer’s ownership of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not be an impediment to his family acquiring the Dodgers after all.

In a meeting with sports editors before the draft Saturday in New York, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue said that Glazer could buy the Dodgers and remain the owner of the Buccaneers as long as the enterprises were operated separately.

“We have talked to them, and our understanding is that they’re looking at [buying the Dodgers] as a family opportunity that would be consistent with our rules on cross-ownership,” Tagliabue said. “That basically means that whatever they did would involve independent resources, independent financing and management separate from the Buccaneers, even though it would possibly be family owned.”

Glazer’s ability to potentially purchase the Dodgers without selling the Buccaneers adds another twist to the sale process, baseball officials said, and the major league commissioner’s office is monitoring the situation.

Glazer is one of several bidders for the Dodgers. Los Angeles real estate tycoon Alan I. Casden has made an offer for as much as $450 million for the team and its stadium. Glazer’s offer is said to be about $400 million.

Radio entrepreneur Jeffrey Smulyan, the former owner of the Seattle Mariners, put in a bid on behalf of a group of Los Angeles investors, but the proposal is contingent on the sale of six television stations owned by News Corp.’s Fox subsidiary. David Checketts has withdrawn an offer for more than $620 million that included a share of one of Fox’s regional sports networks, and is now pursuing a deal to buy one or more professional teams in Atlanta from AOL Time Warner.

Glazer, 74, leaves much of the running of his NFL franchise to two of his sons, Bryan and Joel. The senior Glazer owns a home in Beverly Hills, and another son, Edward, lives in Los Angeles. Joel Glazer has been spending considerable time in Los Angeles in recent weeks, according to an NFL source.

The NFL’s cross-ownership policy states that no NFL owner can acquire any interest in a baseball, basketball or hockey franchise except for one located in his NFL club’s home city or a non-NFL city that is not a potential NFL city. Although the Los Angeles area has been without a team since the end of the 1994 season, the potential of a team or teams returning to the region keeps the rule relevant to the Glazer situation.

But Tagliabue, just as Buccaneer General Manager Rich McKay has said in recent weeks, seemed to end speculation that the Glazers would sell the Super Bowl champions.

“I think they are delighted to own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and I think they plan to continue to own the Buccaneers the way they have been,” the commissioner said. “They really view [the Dodgers] as a separate opportunity, and it would be handled separately.”

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Center fielder and leadoff batter Dave Roberts was out of the lineup a day after straining his right hamstring Friday. Roberts is expected to be sidelined at least a few games.

“Shoot, I haven’t really played in two games and we’ve got two wins,” said Roberts, who leads the major leagues with 10 stolen bases. “I’m shooting for Monday, but I’m sure they probably want to hold me back an extra day, so we’ll see.

“It’s still April right now, and they want to err on the cautious side. I want to get out there and play. I don’t want to be Wally Pipp.”

Dave Morgan reported from New York, Jason Reid from Pittsburgh.