BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : King County Will Help Buy the House

The King County Council approved spending $200,000 to help buy 200,000 tickets for the cash-strapped Seattle Mariners’ remaining 13 home games. The action was aimed at preventing financially distressed Mariner owner Jeff Smulyan from invoking an attendance-linked escape clause in his Kingdome lease. The ticket-buyout plan is expected to cost about $600,000, with the additional $400,000 coming from businesses.