It's the end of the world as they know it ...
We'd like to tell nervous fans in England that they have nothingto fear from foreign ownership of one of their great sportsinstitutions.
But having been through six years of Australian Rupert Murdoch andhis Fox group controlling the Dodgers ... we advise Manchester Unitedfans to head for the bomb shelters.
The Fox years were the low ebb in Dodgers fortunes since ... oh,1930s Brooklyn. Enormous payrolls, mediocre and unlovable teams,dopey management. (Does the name Kevin 'Sheriff' Malone ring a bell?)
Murdoch never had seen a ballgame until he bought the Dodgers. Hedidn't care if they won or lost. He bought them only to anchor Fox'snew regional sports stations. That accomplished, he was keen to sell.
So, why did American Malcolm Glazer buy control of the famedsoccer club? Perhaps because it might be a great investment. Sportsfranchises sometimes can be like L.A. real estate. Buy, hold for abit, sell for a big profit.
Of course, Glazer might be out to get Man-U back to beingchampions of the Premier League. And Rupert Murdoch might havechecked the National League standings every morning, too.
People from Manchester are called Mancunians. Just thought you'dlike to know.
Have to give Glazer this: He owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, andthey won a Super Bowl on his watch. The Bucs never even played in oneuntil Glazer hired John Gruden away from the Raiders.
We're making headway, as a soccer nation, when many of us haveheard of Manchester United. David Beckham's former team. The RedDevils, all that.
However, we're not as far along as Tim Lieweke, boss of AnschutzEntertainment Group, would suggest.
AEG owns the Galaxy, which signed Landon Donovan. At Donovan'sintroduction, in March, Lieweke said he wants to see Major LeagueSoccer become 'one of the top two leagues in the country.'
Which means MLS will have to pass the NBA, or big-league baseballto get up there with the NFL, and that isn't going to happen inAnschutz's lifetime. Or yours or mine, either. Unless we get about100 million more immigrants in the next 10 years, or we live to 150.
Maybe he was just excited to be back in SoCal, but Landon Donovanpicked up on the Lieweke theme, back in March. 'There's somethinghappening,' Donovan said. 'You can jump on now or wait till later.We're part of something special, and I hope everyone realizes it.'
Drew Carey apparently 'realizes it.' The actor/comedian is aGalaxy season-ticket holder, and was at the Home Depot Center forDonovan's press conference.
Carey isn't Jack Nicholson, but it's a start.
In its TV promos, Fox invites viewers to watch 'Landon Donovan andcompany' play. Gotta wonder if ''company' gets annoyed by thatdesignation.
The Milton Bradley Baseball Academy? Two of them, no less. InBaldwin Hills and Long Beach. Maybe not the best idea, consideringBradley's, uh, volatile past. Might be one of those 'kids, do as Isay, not as I do' situations.
It took Angels manager Mike Scioscia a month, but he finally gotDarin Erstad out of the leadoff spot. Erstad has an on-basepercentage of .278 which is fine if you're a backup catcher but ascandal for anyone in the '1' hole.
The average fan probably believes Erstad is a better player thanfellow first baseman Hee-Seop Choi. He's not. Erstad has an on-basepercentage of .278 with 21 runs, two homers and 14 RBI in 153 at-bats ... to Choi's .407, 15, six and 18 in 93.
Early in the season, when Choi was struggling, we asked Dodgersgeneral manager Paul DePodesta how long he would stick with Choi. 'Atleast 300 at-bats,' DePodesta said. 'It takes a while for young guys.It took Cesar Izturis two years.'
Directors need to get away from those tight facial shots offrustrated ballplayers. Don't have to be a skilled lip-reader to pickup on the expletives being uttered by guys (Jeff Weaver) who justgave up homers.
Our ballplayer names of the day: Seattle Mariners reliever J.J.Putz ... and Cubs reliever Will Ohman. As in, 'Ohman, not him again.'
Homer Simpson's favorite ballplayer? Has to be Rockies farmhandScott Dohmann.
Aaron Rice doesn't have the prototypical pro baseball body, butneither did Kirby Puckett, Rice's body double. Rice can flat hitwhich is why he was the conference MVP at Cal State San Bernardino,and why he ought to be signed to a minor-league contract.
Those following the see-saw Phoenix-Dallas NBA playoffs seriessuggest the Suns are in trouble since the eye injury to guard JoeJohnson. Phoenix's bench is feeble.
Kudos: To NBA MVP Steve Nash, for scoring 48 points against Dallason Sunday.
Condolences: To Nash, who needed to score 58 just to forceovertime against Dallas, on Sunday.
Lookalikes: Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, Hollywood legend MickeyRooney.
Where are they now? Jeff Conine, the Rialto native, is still withthe Florida Marlins. He's just scratching for playing time since theclub signed Carlos Delgado. Conine, 39 next month, gets $3 millionthis season whether he starts or sits.
They said it: 'The suggestions range from sheer pandemonium, tohurling thousands of beach balls on the pitch, to a Gandhi-esqueprotest of people just walking onto the field and sitting down.' aMan-U fan, on plans to protest Glazer's takeover, as reported by theLondon Sunday Times.
And finally: We're confident Malcolm Glazer knows as least as muchabout soccer as Rupert Murdoch did about baseball.
- Paul Oberjuerge may be reached at (909) 386-3849 or atpaul.oberjuerge@sbsun.com.
