NATIONAL LEAGUE: INSIDE THE N.L.: DODGERS SALE IN HOME STRETCH.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Malcolm Glazer is finalizing his agreement to purchase the Dodgers from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., and people with knowledge of the negotiations believe the deal will get done by the end of the week.

News Corp. and Glazer, owner of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have been in exclusive negotiations for weeks, but several things have slowed down the timetable.

Glazer had NFL meetings in Philadelphia, where he declined to comment on his interest in the Dodgers, and there also was the Memorial Day weekend.

The process was further slowed because Glazer had to circumvent the NFL's rule on cross-ownership of another major sports franchise. Therefore, Glazer's son Ed is the likely choice to run the Dodgers. Ed Glazer is in the Buccaneers' front office but lives in Los Angeles. Glazer's other two sons, Joel and Bryan, are involved in the daily operations of Tampa Bay.

``It's definitely close,'' a person familiar with the negotiations said. ``Anything can happen, but it could be done by the end of the week.''

Because one of Glazer's sons would run the Dodgers, additional background checks, particularly on the financial end, had to be conducted to ensure the resources, management and finances to be used for the Dodgers were separate from the NFL club.

The purchase price is believed to be in the $375 million range, but even if an agreement is reached this week, it could be months before the ownership officially changes hands. Major League Baseball previously said it wouldn't schedule a special owner's meeting before one in mid-August.

News Corp. purchased the Dodgers from the O'Malley family in 1997 for $330 million.

--Snake eyes: The Arizona Diamondbacks are without pitchers Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling - both are on the disabled list with injuries - and are languishing in fourth place in the West. The perennial division contenders also might not be healthy, or good, enough to make a run for the division title, a fact of which Schilling is aware.

The D'backs went into Saturday's game against Cleveland 9 1/2 games behind San Francisco.

``I don't care what time of year, 9 1/2 games is 9 1/2 games,'' Schilling said. ``With a full roster of veteran, big-league players, it's a big deficit. Which we don't have. I think we'll know quickly in the next couple of weeks how legitimate our chances of getting back in it are.''

If the D'backs are to get back in the race by the end of June, don't look for Schilling to be a part of it. He broke two bones last Friday when he took a comebacker off his right hand.

``Optimistically, he can be back right before the (All-Star) break,'' Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. ``Pessimistically, it would be a little bit after.''

--Fernandomania II: In case you missed it with the hoopla of former Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela ending his estrangement with the team and entering the Spanish broadcast booth, his son was drafted in the 10th round by the San Diego Padres.

Fernando Valenzuela Jr., a first baseman at UNLV, batted .337 with 14 homers and 75 RBI for the Rebels in 63 games.

``He's a great defender, and if you knew his dad, he was a tremendous athlete,'' Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. ``He was a scratch golfer. You look at the body types and that's probably why he slid down to the 10th round.''

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) AROUND THE HORN

By Jeremy Littau

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Matt McHale