Florida owners under scrutiny

BARRY JACKSON

bjackson@herald.com

 

Over the next five days, the Dolphins will face teams run by two of the most involved and scrutinized owners in sports -- the Washington Redskins' Daniel Snyder and the Dallas Cowboys' Jerry Jones.

 

So, how do South Florida's owners rank by comparison?

 

A stark contrast has emerged over the past year. The Marlins' Jeffrey Loria and the Panthers' Alan Cohen have become intimately involved with their teams, surprisingly so in some cases. Conversely, the Dolphins' Wayne Huizenga and the Heat's Micky Arison take a more hands-off approach, content with occasional briefings.

 

How involved are Loria and Cohen? Besides suggesting the signing of Ivan Rodriguez last winter, Loria told general manager Admin Beinfest to trade for Ugueth Urbina in July and regularly consults Beinfest on potential roster moves.

 

Loria traveled to most road games since July, contributed to the look of the Marlins' advertising campaign, sometimes drives to Jupiter to watch the minor-league team and even attends the organizational meetings where minor-league prospects are discussed.

 

Cohen, more involved in the hockey side than the business side, doesn't dictate personnel decisions but was furious when goaltender Jani Hurme was lost in the waiver draft in October and likes to be kept in the loop on roster moves.

 

Cohen, not general manager Rick Dudley, handled negotiations with first-round pick Nathan Horton -- something you never would see from Huizenga and Arison. Cohen often attends practice and travels to some road games.

 

Cohen and Loria handle their involvement in a smarter, less public, way than Snyder and Jones. They don't act like know-it-alls who veto coach's decisions (unlike Snyder); they don't seek the media spotlight (unlike Jones); and they don't run their businesses with the threat of intimidation (unlike Snyder).

 

Plus, they treat players generously, such as Loria taking them on a trip to Las Vegas this year and Cohen having players over for dinner at his home in Vail, Colo.

 

CHATTER

 

? Amusing to hear the same Dolphins fans who were clamoring for Brian Griese now are treating Jay Fiedler like a savior.

 

''The fans have been quite unfair with Jay,'' his agent, Brian Levy, said. ``I think a lot of the fans always perceived the Dolphins as winning in spite of Jay instead of because of him, but maybe they will alter their opinion now. Jay has really never been appreciated for what he has done.''

 

? Former Heat forward Anthony Mason, whose contract was bought out by the Milwaukee Bucks, is working part time for the Fiedler family, his longtime friends, handling promotional aspects for their basketball camps in New York. Mason, 36, ''is pretty much retired,'' said Fiedler's father, Ken.

 

? We hear there were actually as many or more players on defense (including prominent ones) as there were on offense who asked Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt to re-sign receiver Oronde Gadsden. At least one offensive assistant coach also lobbied for Gadsden.

 

? Word is the Atlantic Coast Conference is considering rotating its proposed conference championship football game, expected to begin by 2006, if not sooner. That could be good news for Pro Player Stadium, which might end up in the mix with Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte and Jacksonville.

 

? Rick Horrow, a Palm Beach businessman who helped put together the deal to build Miami Arena, has linked up with two money men to try to bring a Major League Baseball team to Norfolk, Va. They will join Washington, Northern Virginia and Portland, Ore., in pursuit of the Montreal Expos.

 

? University of Miami officials are less than thrilled about the prospect of a baseball stadium next to the Orange Bowl -- an idea that has lost some momentum the past two weeks. Athletic director Paul Dee points to problems that could arise with scheduling conflicts, such as parking and traffic.

 

? Goof of the month: The Heat running ads on WQAM encouraging people to watch '' Javaris Hayes'' and the Washington Wizards. There is a Jarvis Hayes, but no Javaris Hayes. Not that anybody wants to watch Jarvis Hayes.

 

? Camping out overnight by the box office for tickets -- a tradition at universities where college basketball is big -- has been banned for weeknight games at the University of Florida. Some UF students are miffed because two marquee home games are on weeknights: Maryland on Dec. 10, and Kentucky on Feb. 3.

 

They will need to compete online for the 2,500 tickets available to students. Incidentally, top Gators recruit Al Horford, a 6-9 forward, is the son of former UM center Tito Horford.

sorry....I had another spasm.

 

Thanks for the article really.

? Goof of the month: The Heat running ads on WQAM encouraging people to watch '' Javaris Hayes'' and the Washington Wizards. There is a Jarvis Hayes, but no Javaris Hayes. Not that anybody wants to watch Jarvis Hayes.

That was great.

 

:lol :lol :lol

Nice piece.

Hey! After LeBron and Anthony, Jarvis Hayes tops all rookies across the leaderboard.