POST APOLOGIZES; KOUFAX UNMOVED DALY TO MEET WITH DODGERS LEGEND; NEWSPAPER `VERY SORRY'.Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer VERO BEACH Vero Beach (vēr`o), city (1990 pop. 17,350), seat of Indian River co., E Fla., on Indian River (a lagoon and part of the Intracoastal Waterway); founded c.1888, inc. 1919. , Fla. - The New York Post The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and the oldest to have been published continually as a daily.[3] Since 1976, it has been owned by Australian-born billionaire Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation and is one of the 10 issued an apology Friday to Dodgers Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax gossip column gossip n (Press) → échos mpl gossip column gossip n two months ago, but it doesn't appear to be enough for Koufax to end his estrangement from the organization. While Dodgers coaches and players were sad to learn Koufax wouldn't be around this spring, team executives viewed the newspaper's apology as the potential first step toward reconciliation. Dodgers chairman Bob Daly will be at Dodgertown as early as Sunday and is expected to meet with Koufax, arguably the most revered player in franchise history, within a week. ``I hope he comes back, but that's a decision he must make,'' said former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda
Interview requests for Koufax were denied Friday. The Dodgers, as an organization, declined comment, hoping the issue will fade from public view. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what his feelings are, what his reaction is,'' Lasorda said. ``The only time I'll talk to him about this is if he talks to me about this. I will not even mention it to him. I will not even talk to him about it.'' Shortly after the gossip item appeared Dec. 19 in the Post's Page Six column, Koufax informed the Dodgers he was ending his long relationship with the organization. The Post and the Dodgers are both owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., which also owns the Fox Television Network, Twentieth Century Fox studio, and an array of media, entertainment and communication companies. News Corp., the Dodgers and a public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most firm that handles The Post worked in unison to orchestrate the apology. News Corp.'s Andrew Butcher said the matter was between Koufax and the Post, and therefore News Corp. wouldn't comment. Koufax, a private individual but a regular at past spring trainings, told the club he would have no relationship with the team until it was sold. News Corp. has retained the investment banking firm of Allen & Co. to solicit buyers for the franchise, but business analysts believe it will take a long time for a sale to go through. The Angels have been on the market for more than two years and are without a buyer. Former Madison Square Garden Current arenas in the National Hockey League Western Conference Eastern Conference chief Dave Checketts Dave Checketts (born c. 1956) lives in Connecticut and is a familiar face to those who follow sports. At 28, he became president and general manager of the Utah Jazz, making him the youngest chief executive in National Basketball Association history. is trying to put together a group to finance a $650 million bid to buy the Dodgers and a Fox Sports Net cable television station. Reached on his cell phone, Checketts said the episode regarding Koufax does not change his plans. ``I think my desires are pretty clear,'' Checketts said. ``I think I'll leave it at that.'' Sports fans throughout the country were outraged Friday when the story broke. Without naming Koufax, The Post wrote that a Hall of Fame lefty gave an author access for a book in exchange for his sexuality remaining private. It was in reference to Jane Leavy's book, ``Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy.'' A few weeks later the New York Daily News New York Daily News Morning daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson and his cousin Robert McCormick as a subsidiary of the Tribune Co. of Chicago. The first successful tabloid-format newspaper in the U.S. named Koufax as the baseball player but refuted the statement of his sexuality. The Post's apology: ``A two-sentence blind item we ran here on Dec. 19 about a `Hall of Fame baseball hero' has sparked a series of unfortunate consequences for which we are very sorry. The item said the sports hero `cooperated with a best-selling biography only because the author promised to keep secret that he is gay.' ``Two weeks later, the (New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ) Daily News' Michael Gross, after finding `Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy' by Jane Leavy on the best-seller list, named Koufax as the player and ran a photo of him. Koufax himself, an intensely private man, was deeply offended by our item. The author has denied making any deal with Koufax and called our item `erroneous.' We apologize to both Koufax and Leavy for getting it wrong.'' The apology is out, but the consequences continue. Koufax regularly tutored pitchers at Dodgertown, speaking about every aspect of the art. He captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. today's pitchers the same way he mesmerized hitters during his stellar 12-year career. ``Sandy Koufax is a walking legend,'' Dodgers closer Eric Gagne said. ``Every time he talks, everybody listened because he knows what he's talking about. He's way, way over our heads. You have to listen to him. He's the best pitcher in the history of the game. Sandy Koufax is such a nice guy, too.'' |
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