that would be a positive

[ldh2013]

TAMPA, Fla. . -- Malcolm Glazer, a self-made billionaire who shunned the spotlight while leading the takeover of English soccers Manchester United and transforming the NFLs Tampa Bay Buccaneers into Super Bowl champions, died Wednesday. He was 85. The reclusive Palm Beach businessman had been in failing health since April 2006 when a pair of strokes left him with impaired speech and limited mobility in his right arm and leg. He was not involved in day to day operations of either of his sports franchises and was rarely spotted at games in recent years, instead remaining at his mansion in South Florida while entrusting leadership of the Bucs to three of six children, sons Bryan, Joel and Ed. While some disgruntled fans blame ownership for a stretch of futility that has seen the Bucs miss the playoffs the past six seasons, the elder Glazer generally will be remembered for making the commitment necessary to keep the team from moving to another city in the 1990s. Glazer raised his profile in 2005 with a $1.47 billion purchase of Manchester United that was bitterly opposed by fans of one of the worlds richest soccer clubs. Before that, his unobtrusive management style helped transform the Bucs from a laughingstock into a model franchise that won the franchises only NFL title 12 years ago. "The thoughts of everyone at Manchester United are with the family tonight," Manchester United said in a statement. Born Aug. 25, 1928, in Rochester, New York, the son of a watch-parts salesman, Glazer began working for the family business when he was 8 and took over the operation as a teenager when his father died in 1943. As president and CEO of First Allied Corp., the holding company for the family business interests, he invested in mobile-home parks, restaurants, food service equipment, marine protein, television stations, real estate, natural gas and oil production and other ventures. Forbes ranked him this year, along with his family, as tied for No. 354 on the worlds richest people list with an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion. He purchased the Bucs for a then-NFL record $192 million in 1995, taking over one of the worst-run and least successful franchises in professional sports. And while Glazer once said he probably overpaid by $50 million, the value of the team has more than quadrupled. "Malcolm Glazer was the guiding force behind the building of a Super Bowl-champion organization. His dedication to the community was evident in all he did, including his leadership in bringing Super Bowls to Tampa Bay," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "Malcolms commitment to the Bucs, the NFL and the people of the Tampa Bay region are the hallmarks of his legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Linda, their six children and the entire Glazer family." In an era when many owners of professional teams attract nearly as much attention as the athletes, Glazer was content to allow three of his sons handle daily operation of the Bucs and rarely granted interviews or visited the teams offices and training facility. But he was a fixture at games before his health became an issue, and he spent generously to acquire players and provide coaches and front office personnel with the resources to do their jobs. To fans accustomed to the frugal ways of original Bucs owner Hugh Culverhouse, Glazer was a saviour. "With our major investment here, we didnt come in here to have a loser," Glazer said after acquiring the Bucs. In one of its boldest moves as NFL owners, the Glazer family fired Tony Dungy as coach after the 2001 season and paid a hefty price -- four draft picks and $8 million cash -- to the Raiders for the opportunity to sign Jon Gruden to a contract. The move paid off right away. Gruden led the Bucs to their first NFL title the following season, and Glazer joined in the celebration in the locker room. "He came from heaven and he brought us to heaven," Glazer said. "We were waiting for the right man and the right man came -- Jon Gruden." The Glazers didnt get a warm reception in the United Kingdom, where Man U fans protested and burned Glazers likeness in effigy because they feared the American was acquiring the storied British soccer franchise purely for financial gain. At the time, Mark Longden of the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association, said his group was "calling on all supporters to wear black. If they can get hold of black flags, they should wave them because it represents what is happening to the club." The club, though, has had success on the pitch, winning the League Cup in 2006, 2009 and 2010, the English Premier League from 2007-09, 2011 and 2013 and European Cup and Club World Cup titles in 2008. Within a year of the leveraged buyout, Glazer had two strokes and his children ran the 20-time English champions, with all of them sitting on the board of directors and owning the remaining 90 per cent of the club that was not listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012. Although Uniteds debt has dropped from a high of high of $1.1 billion in 2008-09 to $590 million, anger toward the Glazers has remained among sections of the fan base. The familys divisiveness in Manchester has been exacerbated by its reluctance to engage with any supporters or speak publicly about the club. Despite its worst league finish in 24 years this season, United has been generating record revenue, each quarter, with income set to exceed $700 million in the 2013-14 financial year. Before he bought the Buccaneers, Glazer made failed bids to land an NFL expansion franchise for Baltimore and purchase the New England Patriots, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates. He also tried to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers from Rupert Murdoch before turning his attention to Manchester United. "I will remember Malcolm Glazer as someone whose influence made a lasting impact on both ends of the Atlantic in the worlds two greatest sports leagues, the National Football League and the Barclays Premier League, Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan said. "But his greatest legacy may be in the state of Florida, where I am now fortunate to own the Jacksonville Jaguars. Malcolm brought to our state the Bucs, Super Bowls and of course a world championship in 2002. In essence, he helped turn a good football state into a great football state. He will be missed but always admired." . Louis Rams had some fun during the coin toss of Sunday’s game at the expense of the Washington Redskins. . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. . The third-seeded former Wimbledon runner-up Bartoli outlasted Russian Vera Dushevina 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 in just over three hours on the green clay at Family Circle Tennis Center. NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer hopes to place its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. "Were making progress in both of those markets. I wouldnt say were close," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said Tuesday ahead of this weekends championship game between Real Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City. Former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Los Angeles Galaxy star David Beckham is leading the Miami effort and has the right to an expansion team at a discount fee of $25 million. "We are very excited about the opportunity of David putting together an ownership group and finalizing a stadium site in downtown Miami," Garber said. "We cant go to Miami without the right stadium solution. David understands that. The city understands that. That is an indisputable fact." New teams have been announced for 2015 in New York City and Orlando, Fla., increasing the leagues total to 21. MLS began with 10 teams in 1996, expanded to 12 and then contracted to 10 in 2002 when Miami and Tampa Bay were eliminated. "The Miami today demographically, socially, politically is very different from the Miami of 2002 where we folded the Miami Fusion," Garber said. "So we believe Miami could work if we get the right stadium situation. We dont have that yet." Falcons owner Arthur Blank heads the Atlanta venture, which would play at a new stadium for his NFL team, a venue scheduled to open in 2017. "Weve been working on a downsizing technology that we think would be unique, would be the only one of its kind anywhere in the world," Garber said. "Weve got to continue to work hard with Atlanta to see if this whole project makes sense for them. But I am encouraged by the discussions and hope to be able to finalize something." They would give the league 23 teams, one short of the leagues goal for 2020. Garber said Tuesday that Minneapolis, San Antonio, St. Louis and Austin, Texas, are among the possibilities for a 24th team. MLSs regular-season attendance average increased from 15,504 in 2006 to a record 18,807 last year before dropping slightly this season to 18,594. Garber said the league is spending more than $20 million annually on player development and must grow revenue. "Major League Soccer still loses money as an enterprise, and weve got to find a way that we can get closer to being a break-even enterprise," he said. The league receives an average of about $28 million annually from its national broadcast contracts with ESPN, NBC and Univision, which expiire after the 2014 season. . In the first season after Beckham left the Galaxy, regular-season ratings dropped from an average of 180,000 viewers to 170,000, according to Nielsen Media Research. However, viewers for the playoffs not including the final have increased from 240,000 to 270,000. "We did a heat map of the MLS broadcast schedule against that of the EPL, two other European leagues and the four other major leagues in this country, and you get dizzy looking at the MLS schedule," Garber said. "What we need to have is a consistent game of the week or games of the week that run from the beginning of year to the end of the year as much as we can at consistent times. And if that can be a Friday or a Saturday or a Sunday, that would be a positive." In its first season televising the English Premier League under a $250 million, three-year contract, NBCSN is averaging 429,000 for games televised in the U.S. mostly on weekend mornings. Nine games on NBC are averaging 788,000. "I think what NBC did for the Premier League is unprecedented in the history of pro sports. They really took the Premier League and made it as important as anything that was going on in the NBC Universal family, and its paying off in ratings and its certainly making economic sense for them," Garber said. "So if were able to create that kind of a scenario with a broadcaster, I think it would be beneficial for us." Garber also went into detail on the leagues examination of whether to switch its March-to-December schedule to the international calendar, which runs from August until May. MLS discussed playing from July until December, taking a break and finishing from late February until May. "Its not just about are we going to play a few more games in cold-weather markets at an earlier time of the year. Its about what do we do with an extended break, because I dont care what market it is, were not playing in February and in January in places like Toronto, Vancouver," he said. "We went through some fairly extensive discussions as a league to figure out if we could do this sometime in the future. It wouldnt have been for 14. But thats not something that were going to do in the short-term." He also promised more transparency in the leagues complex and opaque player control rules, which make if difficult at times to determine which teams control rights. "We are still evolving," he said. "and we still are doing some of this stuff on the fly." ' ' '