Deal to Sell Marlins May Be Falling Apart

H. Wayne Huizenga said he couldn’t envision a scenario in which the deal to sell the World Series champion Florida Marlins could fall apart.

But such a scenario may be unfolding.

The sale of the team to club President Don Smiley is in jeopardy because he has experienced setbacks in his search for investors willing to help meet Huizenga’s $150-million asking price, the Miami Herald reported Sunday.

Smiley, who would own a small percentage, also needs to raise an additional $10 million in working capital.

Huizenga announced Nov. 6 that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to Smiley’s group.

“I spoke to Don last week, and he gave no indication that [the deal could fall apart],” Huizenga said. “I’m optimistic.”

Both Huizenga and Smiley have said they don’t want the Marlins for the long term unless there is a new publicly financed stadium. If there is not a commitment for a new stadium, Smiley or Huizenga would consider moving the Marlins out of South Florida.

“Selling to an out-of-town investor is the very, very, very last resort,” Huizenga said.

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Atlanta Brave pitcher John Smoltz will miss most of spring training after elbow surgery to remove chips and calcium deposits, the team said.

Smoltz, 15-12 last season, underwent a three-hour arthroscopic procedure Friday, the second time he has had the operation.

Winter Sports

Austrian Hermann Maier, the newest star of the World Cup giant slalom circuit, was disqualified after finishing comfortably ahead of Switzerland’s Michael Von Gruenigen at Val D’isere, France.

Maier was disqualified for stopping in a restricted zone and displaying his skis while surrounded by cameras. The international ski federation is trying to prevent skiers from making too much of a show of a sponsor’s skis.

Goalie Lesley Reddon made 32 saves, including several clutch stops in the third period as Canada held on for a 3-2 victory over the United States on the second day of the Three Nations Cup women’s hockey tournament at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Olympic organizers officially ended their luge preparations when Albert Demtschenko and Andrea Tagwerker took the men’s and women’s singles titles in the All-Japan Championships at Nagano, Japan.

Kjell Storelid of Norway defeated Dutchman Gianni Romme in the men’s 5,000-meter speedskating World Cup meet at Hamar, Norway.

Norway’s Bjorn Daehlie won a 15-kilometer pursuit cross-country race at Lago Di Tesero, Italy, to extend his World Cup lead, and Russia edged Italy in a women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay.

Austrian Mario Stecher skied away from the field in a 15-kilometer race at Steamboat Springs, Colo., to win a Nordic combined World Cup meet.

Germany I, led by Harald Czudaj, won the World Cup four-man bobsled competition at La Plagne, France.

Norway capitalized on poor shooting by Russia’s anchor to win a men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer World Cup biathlon relay at Ostersund, Sweden.

Soccer

Juan Palencia and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored two goals each as Mexico routed Saudi Arabia, 5-0, in a Group A Confederations Cup match at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In the day’s other match, Australia held world champion Brazil to a 0-0 draw.

A wave of violence struck Italian soccer throughout the country, with fans battling police, spectators setting fire to seats and team buses requiring police escorts.

About 15 fans and police were hurt during and after a game between Inter Milan and AS Roma. Unruly spectators also marred Italian League games in Naples, Bergamo and Bologna.

Miscellany

Kelly Tanner passed John Dillon to go ahead with 57 laps remaining, and led the rest of the way to win the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour 200 at Tucson.

Eric Kimaiyo of Kenya won the Honolulu Marathon for the second consecutive year and Svetlana Vasilieva of Russia captured the women’s division.

Russia’s Andrei Chemerkin broke two world records at the World Weightlifting Championships at Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chemerkin broke the world mark in the clean and jerk for the over 238-pound class with a lift of 578 pounds, five pounds better than the previous record he set at the Olympics last year.

Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik shot a two-under-par 70 in soggy conditions and finished with a four-shot victory in the eight-man Johnnie Walker Super Tour at Taipei, Taiwan, a tournament played in four different countries in six days.

On courses in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Taiwan, Parnevik put together a 12-under 276 total. Briton Nick Faldo, struggling with his putting early on, also shot a 70 and finished second at 280.

Johnny Buss, president of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, said he hopes to announce at a Tuesday news conference that Julie Rousseau has signed a contract to be the team’s coach. Rousseau was appointed interim coach after Linda Sharp was fired 13 games into the season.